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Warrior

The Marudhu brothers

Rulers of Sivaganga, authors of the 1801 proclamation

1748—1801

Periya Marudhu 1748–1801; Chinna Marudhu 1753–1801

Periya Marudhu and Chinna Marudhu commanded Velu Nachiyar’s army when she won back Sivaganga in 1780 and later ruled the country themselves. In June 1801 they issued the Jambudweepa Proclamation calling on all the people of the south to rise against the Company, and were hanged at Tiruppathur on 24 October 1801.

01Servants who became rulers

The brothers came from a family of Maravar soldiers and served Muthu Vaduganatha Thevar of Sivaganga. When he was killed at Kalaiyar Kovil in 1772 they went with Rani Velu Nachiyar into hiding, and in 1780 they led the army that took Sivaganga back. Periya Marudhu, also called Vellai Marudhu, was famed for his strength; Chinna Marudhu was the statesman. Through the 1780s and 1790s they governed Sivaganga, dug tanks, and built and endowed temples, among them the tall gopuram at Kalaiyar Kovil.

02The Jambudweepa Proclamation

They sheltered Kattabomman’s brother Oomaithurai and joined a league of southern chiefs reaching from Dindigul to the Kongu country. On 16 June 1801 they posted a proclamation on the wall of the Srirangam temple and at the Tiruchirappalli fort, addressed to the people of Jambudweepa of every caste and creed, calling on them to unite and drive out the Europeans. The Company sent large forces into the forests of Sivaganga. Kalaiyar Kovil fell on 1 October 1801. Both brothers were captured, and on 24 October 1801 they were hanged at the Tiruppathur fort along with members of their families and followers.

Rock Fort, Tiruchirappalli
Place · Rock-cut cave shrines of Mahendravarman I Pallava, early 7th century; fort and temples enlarged by the Madurai NayakasRock Fort, TiruchirappalliAn 83-metre rock over the Kaveri at Tiruchirappalli, with Shri Ganesh on the summit, the Thayumanaswamy temple halfway up, and Pallava cave shrines cut into its flanks. In the 18th century whoever held it held the Kaveri delta.Read →

Battles

Recovery of Sivaganga

Eight years after her husband’s death, Velu Nachiyar returned to Sivaganga and took back her kingdom, one of the few Indian rulers to recover a throne from the Company’s allies.

1780

Polygar Wars

The palaiyakkarars, hereditary chiefs of the far south, refused to pay tribute to the Company and fought it for six years, from the walls of Panchalankurichi to the hills of Kongu.

1799–1805

Places

Rock Fort, TiruchirappalliStanding
The Age of Great Kingdoms

Rock Fort, Tiruchirappalli

An 83-metre rock over the Kaveri at Tiruchirappalli, with Shri Ganesh on the summit, the Thayumanaswamy temple halfway up, and Pallava cave shrines cut into its flanks. In the 18th century whoever held it held the Kaveri delta.

Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, SrirangamStanding
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam

The first of the 108 Divya Desams, on an island between the Kaveri and Kollidam, with seven concentric walls and 21 gopurams. Ramanujacharya lived and taught here.

SivagangaStanding
Maratha ascendancy and the Sikh empire

Sivaganga

Capital of the small Maravar kingdom that Rani Velu Nachiyar won back from the Nawab of Arcot and the Company in 1780. The Marudhu brothers ruled it for her and fell defending it in 1801.

Kalaiyar KovilStanding
Maratha ascendancy and the Sikh empire

Kalaiyar Kovil

The Shiva temple and forest stronghold of the Sivaganga rajas, sung by Sundarar in the Tevaram. Here Raja Muthu Vaduganatha Thevar fell to the Company’s army in 1772, and here the Marudhu brothers made their last stand in 1801.

Tiruppathur (Sivaganga)Standing
Company rule and the war of 1857

Tiruppathur (Sivaganga)

The town where the Marudhu brothers, Periya and Chinna Marudhu, were hanged by the Company on 24 October 1801 with their kin and followers. Its old Shiva temple was sung in the Tevaram.

On the timeline

  • 24 October 1801

    Marudhu brothers hanged at TiruppathurResistance

    Periya Marudhu and Chinna Marudhu of Sivaganga, who had issued the Tiruchirappalli proclamation calling all of the south to rise against the Company, are hanged with their kin at Tiruppathur fort.