0124 October 1801
On 16 June 1801 the brothers had posted their proclamation on the walls of the Srirangam temple and the Tiruchirappalli fort, calling the people of Jambudweepa of every caste and creed to drive the Europeans out. The Company answered with large forces sent into the forests of Sivaganga. Kalaiyar Kovil fell on 1 October. Both brothers were taken, wounded, and brought to the fort at Tiruppathur. On 24 October 1801 they were hanged here, and with them sons, kinsmen and many followers. Tradition says Chinna Marudhu asked that his body be buried facing the gopuram of Kalaiyar Kovil, the temple they had raised; their samadhi is there.
02Temple and memorial
Tiruppathur is an old temple town of the Pandya country. Its Thiruthalinathar temple is one of the shrines sung in the Tevaram, and its Yoga Bhairava, seated in meditation, draws devotees from across the south on Ashtami days. Tamil Nadu has built a memorial to the Marudhu brothers at the place of their hanging, and every year on 24 October the people of the Sivaganga country gather there for the Marudhu Pandiyar guru puja.
The life of this place
- 1 October 1801Kalaiyar Kovil fell to the Company; the Marudhu brothers were soon captured.
- 24 October 1801The Marudhu brothers were hanged at the Tiruppathur fort with their kin and followers.
