Thalaivankottai is traditionally recognized as one of the 72 Palaiyams of

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

. This

Maravar Maravar (also known as Maravan and Marava) are a Tamil community in the state of Tamil Nadu. These people are one of the three branches of the Mukkulathor confederacy. Members of the Maravar community often use the honorific title '' Thevar''. T ...

Palaiyam was located in the Sivagiri

Taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

, at the foot of the Western Ghats, in the

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tam ...

province of the Nayak Kingdom of Madurai.Princely State of India
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Palayakkarar (Polygar)

Thalaivankottai's Polygar belonged to the Kondayam-Kottai subcaste of the

. The Polygar family traced its origins to a court official of the latter Pandya Kings. Thailavankottai was one of the Palaiyams that joined

Puli Thevar Puli Thevar was a Tamil Palaiyakkarar who ruled Nerkattumseval, situated in the Sankarankoil taluk, Tenkasi,formerly Tirunelveli Tamil Nadu. He is notable fighting against East India Company from May 22, 1752 - 1767 in India. Worship of God ...

’s coalition in 1754–1762 ( Nerkattumseval).

Post-1799

At the end of the First Polygar War in 1799, the

Polygar Palaiyakkarars, or Poligar, (as the British referred to them) in Tamil Nadu refers to the holder of a small kingdom as a feudatory to a greater sovereign. Under this system, ''palayam'' was given for valuable military services rendered by any in ...

of Thalaivankottai surrendered two forts and 100 armed men to Major J. Bannerman. At the time of the general settlement of 1802,

Zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as ...

Sivanu Thevar held five villages. The Palaiyam survived into the 19th century as a

Zamindari A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as ...

consisting of eighteen villages and having an area of 6.14 square metres and a population (in 1879) of 3,117. The Polygars carry the same title Indhran with their names. The last titled Zamindar, Indhran Ramasamy Pandya Thalaivanar, (who belongs to the Kondayamkottai Subcaste of Maravars) married Sivabaghyanachiar, Sethupathy Princess of

Ramnad Ramanathapuram (), also known as Ramnad, is a town and a municipality in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Ramanathapuram district and the second largest town (by population) in ...

, (belonging to the royal Marika branch of Semmanadu Maravars) in 1944 and had five children — three sons and two daughters. The royal family of Thalaivankottai and their heirs administered all the temples in Thalaivankottai and its surroundings, most notably the Masthiasthanathar temple of Dharugapuram.

References

Madurai Nayak dynasty Palayam {{Madurai-geo-stub