Muthuraja

Muthuraja or Mutharaiyar also known as Kudiyaanavar , Ambalakarar is a Tamil speaking community prevalent in southern India.[3] They were historically zamindars and landlords. Their primary occupation is agriculture and trade.[4] The Muthuraja people are the descendants of the Muttaraiyar line of kings who ruled the districts of Trichy, Thanjavur and Pudukottai between the sixth and the ninth century.[5] The Muthuraja people are spread throughout rural area around Trichy region. The community is mostly distributed in the Tiruchirappalli, Pudukkottai, Tanjore, Karur and Perambalur districts of Tamil Nadu.[6]

Muthuraja
Regions with significant populations
Tamil Nadu
Languages
Tamil, Telugu[1][2]
Religion
Hinduism
Related ethnic groups
Mutharaiyar dynasty

Etymology

The etymology of the community name, Mutharaiyar, is unclear. In Tamil, they were called as Muthuraja, Muthurayar etc. while in Kannada they were called Muttarasa.[7] One theory is that it may be derived from Mu or Mundru meaning "three" and tharai meaning "earth", that is roughly translated as People of three territories. It may also mean Lord of three territories as araiyar also meant king.[8][9][10] The word Muthi also means old so according to some scholars, their name could also mean Princes of 3 territories.[11] One of their titles was Lord of Tanjore.[12] Some of the chiefs of the Muttaraiyar family used the title Maaran like Kuvavan Maaran, Suvaran Maaran, Maaran Parameswaran etc.[13]

They are commonly known as KaavalKarar, derived from Tamil word Kaaval meaning "protect" in reference to their earlier occupations as village guards and soldiers.[14][15] Their title Ambalakkarar is derived from the Tamil word ambalam meaning panchayat or "village council", as they served as the heads of these councils.[14]

Origin

According to Tamil historians, the Muttarayar are said to have invaded kingdoms in Tamilakkam around the 2nd century CE from Erumainadu, which is identified with the area in and around modern Mysore in Karnataka.[16] They seem to have established themselves as Lords of the Tanjore district in Tamilakkam around this time. The most famous of the dynasty were Perumbidugu Mutharaiyar, also called Kuvavan Maaran, his son Maaran Parameswaran, alias Ilangovadiaraiyan, and Perumbidugu Mutharaiyar II, alias Suvaran Maaran.[17][18]

During the 7th to 8th centuries, they served as feudatories of the Pallavas and controlled the fertile plains of the Kaveri region. An inscription in the Vaikuntha Perumal temple in Kanchipuram mentions a Muttaraiyar chief receiving Nandivarman II Pallavamalla at the latter's coronation.[19] According to historian T. A. Gopinatha Rao, this chief was Perumbidigu Muthurayar II,[20] who is styled as Kalvara Kalvan in this epigraph.[21] According to historian Mahalingam, he fought along with Udayachandra, the Pallava general of Nandivarman II, in at least twelve battles against the Cheras and Pandyas.[22]

The Sendalai inscription of Perumbidigu Muthurayar II states that Tanjore and Vallam were under his control.[23] When the medieval Cholas came to power in 850, Vijayalaya Chola wrested control of Tanjore from the Muthuraja chieftains and turned them into vassals.[24][25][26]

The early rulers of the dynasty seem to have encouraged Jainism. The Jain acharya Vimalachandra from Sravanabelagola is said to have visited Suvaran Maaran's court and challenged the Saivas, Kapalikas, Pasupatas and Buddhists.[27]

During the post Vijayanagar era many of the soldiers and poligars were drawn from the ranks of the Muthuraja community.[28]

Literature

One of the most notable Muthuraja people was Peru Mutharaiyar, who was known for his great wealth and grand feasts. Two stanzas (200, 296) of Nālaṭiyār, a Jain work of ancient Tamil literature, is dedicated to him.[29] Another work called Muttolaayiram which is part of the Tamil anthology lauds the exploits of the Mutturaja chieftains.[16]

Paluvettaraiyar regiment
Paluvettaraiyar temple in Melapalur, Ariyalur dt

The Paluvettaraiyar regiment was a military regiment maintained by the Mutharaja chief Paluvettaraiyar. It comprised both Muthuraja and Sengunthar soldiers[30] in the regiment of Paluvettaraiyar and were involved in the invasion of Lanka by Cholas in the 10th century.[31][32]

See also

References
  1. K. M. Venkataramaiah, ed. (1996). A handbook of Tamil Nadu. p. 425. ISBN 9788185692203. Muthuracha: A Telugu caste found in some districts of Tamil Nadu, the Muthuracha (muthurācha) is also called Muttaraiyan. Some are talaiyāris or watchmen of villages. They seem to be a major sect in the coastal villages of Andhra Pradesh
  2. India. Criminal Tribes Act Enquiry Committee, ed. (August 1951). Report of the Criminal Tribes Act Enquiry Committee, 1949-1950. Manager of Publications. p. 31.
  3. Fuller, Christopher John (1996). Caste Today. Oxford University Press. p. 72. ISBN 9780195637953. They all agree that the very name Valaiyar is demeaning, and they tend to reject it accordingly; they have started using the name Mooppanar but this is not yet very widespread. Many people call themselves Ambalakkarars.
  4. Setty, E. Desingu (1990). The Valayar of South India: Society and religion. Inter-India Publications. p. 293. ISBN 9788121002387.
  5. Madras (India : State), B. S. Baliga (1998). Madras District Gazetteers: Tiruchirappalli pt. 1-2). p. 278.
  6. Singh, Kumar Suresh (1998). India's Communities. Oxford University Press. pp. 2426–2429. ISBN 9780195633542.
  7. Archaeological Survey of India, India. Dept. of Archaeology. Epigraphia Indica, Volume 27, Volumes 13-14 of [Reports]: New imperial series, India Archaeological Survey. Manager of Publications, 1985. p. 223.
  8. University of Calcutta. Dept. of Ancient Indian History and Culture. Journal of Ancient Indian History, Volume 5. D.C. Sircar, 1972 - India. p. 78.
  9. Journal of Indian history, Volume 19, page 40
  10. "A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Tamil Language". www.tamilvu.org. Government of Tamil Nadu. p. 200. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  11. M. Arunachalam. The Kalabhras in the Pandiya country and their impact on the life and letters there. University of Madras, 1979 - Kalabhras - 168 pages. p. 38.
  12. Majumdar, Ramesh Chandra, ed. (1954). The History and Culture of the Indian People: The Classical Age. G. Allen & Unwin. p. 266.
  13. V. Ramamurthy. History of Kongu, Volume 1. International Society for the Investigation of Ancient Civilization, 1986 - Kongu Region (India). p. 232.
  14. Kent, Eliza F. (26 March 2013). Sacred Groves and Local Gods: Religion and Environmentalism in South India. Oxford University Press. pp. 33–34. ISBN 9780199895472.
  15. Delhi, University of (1991). Annual Convocation ... Handbook of Research Activities. University of Delhi. p. 293.
  16. Anthropological Survey of India. Bulletin, Volume 3, Issue 2. India. Dept. of Anthropology. p. 8.
  17. Ve Pālāmpāḷ (1978). Feudatories of South India, 800-1070 A.D. Chugh Publications. p. 135.
  18. Naṭan̲a Kācinātan̲ (1978). Hero-stones in Tamilnadu. Arun Publications. p. 20.
  19. Parmanand Gupta. Geographical Names in Ancient Indian Inscriptions. Concept Publishing Company, 1977 - India - 176 pages. p. 55.
  20. N. Subrahmanian (1993). Social and cultural history of Tamilnad, Volume 1. Ennes. p. 66.
  21. Parmanand Gupta (1977). Geographical Names in Ancient Indian Inscriptions. Concept Publishing Company. p. 55.
  22. D Dennis Hudson (2008). The Body of God: An Emperor's Palace for Krishna in Eighth-Century Kanchipuram. Oxford University Press. p. 541.
  23. Siba Pada Sen (1980). Sources of the history of India, Volume 3. Institute of Historical Studies. p. 342.
  24. Kesavan Veluthat. The political structure of early medieval South India. Orient Longman, 1993. p. 112.
  25. University of Allahabad. Department of Modern Indian History; University of Kerala. Dept. of History, University of Kerala. Journal of Indian History, Volumes 19-20. p. 40.
  26. Indian History. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. p. B55.
  27. H.S. Bhatia. Political, Legal And War Philosophy In Ancient India. Deep and Deep Publications, 2001. p. 180.
  28. Venkatesh B. Athreya; Göran Djurfeldt; Staffan Lindberg. Barriers broken: production relations and agrarian change in Tamil Nadu. Sage Publications, 1990. p. 25.
  29. M. S. Ramaswami Ayyangar, B. Seshagiri Rao (1982). Studies in South Indian Jainism: South Indian Jainism. Sri Satguru Publications. p. 56.
  30. Ramaswamy, V. (1985). Textiles and weavers in medieval South India. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  31. Studies in Indian epigraphy, Volumes 26–27
  32. Historical perspectives of warfare in India: some morale and matérial determinants By Sri Nandan Prasad, Centre for Studies in Civilizations (Delhi, India)
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