Ilandiraiyan

Tondaiman Ilandiraiyan or Ilamtiraiyan was a ruler of Kanchipuram and a contemporary of the Early Chola king, Karikala.[1][2] He is traditionally regarded as the founder of the Pallava dynasty.[3] [need quotation to verify]Ilandiraiyan is referred to in the literature of the Sangam period and is the hero of some of the poems in the Pathupattu. He was a poet himself and four of his songs are extant even today.[2] He ruled from Tondaimandalam and was known as 'Tondaman'.[3] According to historian S. Krishnaswami Aiyengar, the Pallavas were natives of Tondaimandalam and the name Pallava is identical with the word Tondaiyar.[4]

Scholar M. Arokiaswami identifies Tondaiman Ilandiraiyan with king Adondai Chakravarthi, the legendary figure who is referred to in the Mackenzie Manuscripts.[5]

  1. ^ Iyengar 1995, p. 397.
  2. ^ a b Sastri 1961, p. 126.
  3. ^ a b Ramaswamy 2007, p. 80.
  4. ^ T. V. Mahalingam. Kāñcīpuram in early South Indian history. Asia Pub. House, 1969. p. 22.
  5. ^ M. Arokiaswami (1954). The Early History of the Vellar Basin, with Special Reference to the Irukkuvels of Kodumbalur. A Study in Vellala Origin and Early History. Amudha Nilayam. p. 72.