29-633: Puhar (also known as Poompuhar ) is a town in the Mayiladuthurai district in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu . It was once a flourishing ancient port city known as Kaveri Poompattinam , which is described in Post Sangam literature like Silappadikaram, Manimekalai, Paṭṭiṉappālai ( Sangam Literature ) and Akananuru ( Sangam Literature ) as the capital of the Early Chola kings in Tamilakam . Puhar
58-449: A Buddha statue, and a Buddhapada (footprint of the Buddha) were found in another section of the ancient city, now at Pallavanesvaram. Also some claim that Manimekalai attained Mukti there. Kaveripattanam is located at 11°08′21″N 79°50′57″E / 11.13917°N 79.84917°E / 11.13917; 79.84917 . It has an average elevation of 1 m (3.3 ft). It is at
87-472: A Tamil literature scholar. There are mentions of Mahalakshmi painted on walls and considered her as the goddess of fortune and wealth. The poem explains that the high and strong walls of the city secure the king where Mahalakshmi sits enthroned. There are mentions in Paṭṭiṉappālai that many Tamilians worshiped tall pillars or posts as Mayon (Vishnu) . There are Many mentions of Maha Vishnu throughout
116-543: A distance of 24km from Mayiladuthurai and 40km Chidambaram. Poompuhar assembly constituency is part of Mayiladuturai (Lok Sabha constituency) . Attractions in Poompuhar include: Mayiladuthurai district Mayiladuthurai district is one of the 38 districts of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu . The district was carved out of Nagapattinam district in 2020. Its headquarters are located at Mayiladuthurai . The district
145-435: A lengthy initial section on the harbor capital city of the ancient Cholas, Kaveripattinam, also referred to as Kavirippattinam, Kaveripumpattinam, Pugar, Puhar , or Kakanthi. This section contains a vivid description of a busy maritime coastal city, the big ships, the fishermen, the markets, its festivals and feasts, and the people. The lines about the lover's separation appear in lines 261–264 and lines 379–382. Between these,
174-401: A man who wants to move there and the separation pain of his wife who would miss her husband's love. Of the 301 lines, 153 are in the vanci meter and the rest are in akaval . It is sometimes referred to as Vancinetumpattu , or the "long song in the vanci meter". The poem was composed by Katiyalur Uruttirankannanar , sometime around 1st century and 2nd century CE, states Kamil Zvelebil –
203-612: A mansion as high as the Kailasa, and having different kinds of beautiful entrance-towers on the outer wall, I lived in an old mansion there and wrote this work.. In the Nigamanagātha of Vinayavinicchaya, Buddhatta describes how he wrote the work while staying at the monastery built by one Venhudassa (Vishnudasa) on the banks of the Kaveri in a town called Bhootamangalam near Kaveripattinam. Pattinappaalai also gives an idealised description of
232-495: Is bounded on the north by Cuddalore district , on the west by Thanjavur district , on the south by Tiruvarur district and Karaikal district of Puducherry , and the Bay of Bengal to the east. The district is situated in the fertile delta of the Kaveri and is entirely flat plain. The Kaveri, as well as many of its distributaries, flows through the district and enters the sea here. Most of
261-671: Is located near the mouth of the Kaveri river, on the sea coast. It is mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea . Marine archaeological research (conducted by the National institute of marine archaeology, Goa) indicates that much of the town was washed away by progressive erosion and floods. In the 1960s and 1970s, archaeological research was conducted under the archaeologist K. V. Soundararajan. Submerged wharves and several meter lengths of pier walls excavated in recent times have corroborated
290-404: Is the description of the generous Chola king and the kingdom. The husband is so moved by his wife's inconsolable pain that he postpones his move. The poem is an important and rich source of historical information about the ancient Chola kingdom and its capital city. The Pattinappalai mentions the city's music and dance traditions, cock and ram fights, the thriving alcohol and fisheries business,
319-448: Is the predominant language, spoken by 99.32% of the population. Pattinappaalai Paṭṭiṉappālai ( Tamil : பட்டினப் பாலை ) is a Tamil poem in the ancient Sangam literature . It contains 301 lines, of which 296 lines are about the port city of Kaveripoompattinam , the early Chola kingdom and the Chola king Karikalan . The remaining 5 lines are on the proposed separation by
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#1733084635859348-425: The capital Kaveripattinam in his manuals ( Pali language) as follows: In the lovely Kaveripattana crowded with hordes of men and women from pure families endowed with all the requisites of a town with crystal clear water flowing in the river, filled with all kinds of precious stones, possessed of many kinds of bazaars, beautified by many gardens, in a beautiful and pleasant vihara built by Kanhadasa, adorned with
377-524: The dynasty centuries ago. It is quoted in Tamil literature and temple inscriptions composed during the 11th and 12th century. The Pattinappalai is notable for its mention of the early Chola kingdom as a cosmopolitan region, where Hindu and Jain monasteries and communities co-existed. According to scholars such as Miksic, Yian, Meenakshisundararajan and others, the Pattinappalai is an early textual evidence of
406-470: The king's army and court dancers occupied Pattinappakkam. The five Manrams - Vellidai Manram, Elanchi Manram, Nedankal manram, Poothachathukkam and Pavaimanram were located in Pattinappakkam. Gardens like Elavanthikaicholai, Uyyanam, Chanpathivanam, Uvavanam, and Kaveravanam added beauty to the town. The city of Poompuhar is a very ancient one. A Purananuru poem (poem 30) says that big ships entered
435-433: The literary references to Poompuhar. It was rebuilt several times after that. Pottery dating back to the 4th century BCE has been discovered off shore by marine archaeologists east of the town. The general plan of the city of Puhar is described in considerable detail in the fifth book of Silapathikaram . The town was built on the north banks of the river Kaveri . The town had two distinct districts, Maruvurpakkam near
464-512: The merchants plying their trade in Puhar ( Pattinappaalai – II – 199–212): The ancient city of Puhar was destroyed by the sea around 300 AD. Marine archaeologists from the National Institute of Oceanography have established that this could have been the effects of sediment erosion and periodic tsunamis. Such a tsunami is mentioned in the Tamil poem Manimekhalai (see below), which relates that
493-489: The northern border with Cuddalore is formed by the Kollidam River . As of 2020 , it comprises the following taluks: At the time of the 2011 census, Mayiladuthurai district had a population of 918,356, of which 176,568 (19.23%) lived in urban areas. Mayiladuthurai district has a sex ratio of 1029 females per 1000 males and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes made up 32.31% and 0.23% of the population respectively. Tamil
522-524: The overseas and domestic trade among the Indian peninsular port cities. There is a mention of goods coming from Burma, Ceylon, northern India, and the River Ganges valley. The section on the Chola king describe the king's initial struggles to gain his throne because neighboring kingdoms had invaded the Chola territory when he was a child. The poem then describes the wars he won, the slaves he took, his return to
551-528: The poem. There are temples present even now, where Maha Vishnu is worshiped in a pillar form. A well known example is the Kaliyuga Varadaraja Perumal Temple . It mentions the worship of Maha Vishnu , Mahalakshmi and Murugan . Muruga was worshiped as the red god and the god of war. The title Pattinappalai is combination of two words, pattinam (city) and palai (desert, metonymically "separation, love division"). The poem has
580-401: The port of Puhar without slacking sail, and poured out onto the beach precious merchandise brought from overseas. In the extensive markets of Puhar there were many tall mansions surrounded by platforms reached by high ladders. These mansions had many apartments and were provided with doorways, great and small, and with wide hallways and corridors ( Pattinappaalai – II –142-158). In all parts of
609-437: The sea and Pattinappakkam to its west. These two villages were separated by a stretch of gardens and orchards where daily markets were held under the shades of the trees. The market place was known as Naalangadi during the day and as allangadi by night. The district of Maruvurpakkam was near the beach and had several terraced mansions and warehoused with windows shaped like the eyes of the deer . Maruvurpakkam being close to
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#1733084635859638-498: The shore and hence to the shipyard was naturally preferred by the many overseas travellers, merchants and yavanas (Greeks). Maruvurpakkam was inhabited by the fisher folk. The town had several warehouses . Weavers, silk merchants, vendors , fish and meat sellers, potters , grain merchants, jewellers and diamond makers lived in Maruvurppakkam. The King and nobles , rich traders, physicians , astrologers , members of
667-517: The significance of overseas trade that economically and culturally linked Tamil regions with southeast Asian communities in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. One of the trade destinations "Kadaram" in this poem has long been proposed to be the same as modern Kedah in Malaysia, starting with the proposal of K A Nilakanta Sastri in his History of Sri Vijaya . The poem is also an early record attesting to
696-464: The taking of these lives, They tolerate not thieving vile, They do their duties by the gods, Oblations offer, tend with care Fine bulls and cows, exalt the priests That teach the Vedas four, they give Their guests food cooked and uncooked too Unstintingly they dispense alms And live a life of gracious love For the merchants plying their trade, some of the lines in this poem state: They speak
725-558: The throne, his generosity to his people, the artists and the bards. The Pattinappalai gives a window into the ethical premises that were idealised by the ancient Tamil society in the Chola kingdom. The peaceful lives of the people is thus described, according to JV Chellaih: Quite free and happy are their lives Amidst their multiplying kin They know no foes; the fishes play Near the fishers' quarters unafraid, And cattle multiply untouched In butchers haunts. The merchants thus Condemn
754-423: The town Kāveripattinam or Puhār was swallowed up by the sea. This event is supported by archaeological finds of submerged ruins off the coast of modern Poompuhar. The town of Kāveripattinam is believed to have disappeared around 300 AD due to this tsunami The ancient Tamil poem Manimekalai by the poet Seethalai Saathanar is set in the town of Kaveripattanam. Ancient ruins of a 4th-5th-century Buddhist monastery,
783-464: The town there were flags flying of various kinds and shapes. Pattinappaalai , a poem that describes the ancient Puhar very vividly, was written by the poet Kadiyalur Uruthirangannanaar is part of the Ten Idylls anthology and was sung in praise of Karikala Chola , a second-century CE Chola king. Buddhadatta , the 5th century writer who lived during the reign of Accutavikkante vividly describes
812-518: The truth and deem it shame To lie. For others' good they have The same regard as for their own In trade. Nor do they try to get Too much in selling their own goods Nor give too little when they buy They set a fair price on all things. The borders of the city with great fame are protected by the celestials. Swift horses with lifted heads arrive on ships from abroad, sacks of black pepper arrive from inland by wagons, gold comes from northern mountains, sandalwood and akil wood come from
841-515: The western mountains, and materials come from the Ganges. The yields of river Kāviri, food items from Eelam, products made in Burma (Kedah) , and many rare and big things are piled up together on the wide streets, bending the land under. This ancient poem regained popularity during 9th to 12th century CE, the later Chola empire, when the court poets used it glorify the ancient heritage and success of
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