Kizhanilai, Pudukottai
The place, Kizhanilai ('kee-zhaa-ni-lai') contains a
dilapidated fort. From the days of the imperial Chozhas and the Pandyas upto
the 19th century, Kizhanilai was an important military station.
The name Kizhanilai means 'the eastern gate', as
distinguished from the adjacent village called Melanilai ('the western gate').
Between them is Pudhunilai ('the new gate').
Historical Background
According to Mahavamsa, the Srilankan chronicle, a line
running from Ponnamaravathi to Kizhanilai and then to Manamelkudi, divided the
Chozha and Pandya in the 10th and 11th centuries, before the final subjugation
of the Pandya kingdom by the Chozhas. This line marks the northern limit
reached by the Sinhalese in their invasion of South India.
Parts of the 12th - 13th century
strategic road leading from Kizhanilai to Aranthangi in the east and to Tiruppathur
and Ponnamaravathi in the west can be seen even now. About the middle of the
12th century, the Ceylonese general, Lankapura, who was in alliance with
Parakrama Pandya, defeated Kulasekhara, a rival claimant to the Pandya throne,
who had killed Parakrama (c. 1162 AD) and placed Virapandya Parakrama's son, on
the Madurai throne.
During this campaign, a sanguinary battle was fought at
Kizhanilai in which, according to the Mahavamsa, the slaughter was so great
that the corpses of the slain covered a space of four leagues. Kizhanilai was
one of the frontier forts of the Thanjavur kingdom under the Nayaks. Vijaya Raghava,
the last Nayak ruler, is the reputed builder of the fort, now in ruins.
History of the Fort
The Statistical Account of Pudukkottai (1813) informs us
that the fort, which had an arsenal, was built about 1683 by a Sethupathi. It
is probable that this Sethupathi, who got possession of the fort, repaired or
extended it by adding an arsenal. In 1756 when Vijaya Raghunatha Raya Tondaiman
of Pudukkottai temporarily occupied the place, a granary was built in which to
store provisions against sieges.
The fort passed through different hands over a time,
including Thanjavur and Ramanathapuram, before coming to Pudukkottai. It was
afterwards part of the debatable land, which passed from Ramanathapuram to
Thanjavur in 1750 and 1763 and again in 1771.
Thanda Thevan of Ramanathapuram promised the fort and
district of Kizhanilai to the Pudukkottai Tondaimans in 1723, if he succeeded
in gaining the throne with Tondaiman's assistance. Tukoji, Raja of Thanjavur
(1729-36) also appears to have granted it to the Tondaiman, who sold it back to
Thanjavur on certain conditions. The conditions were violated and the Tondaiman
attempted to recapture it.
In 1749 Manoji the Thanjavur general, ceded it to the
Tondaiman on his own account in return for military assistance, so that the
Tondaiman actually got possession of it. But the Raja of Thanjavur refused to
ratify Manoji's act and ordered its recovery in 1756.
Hyder's forces seized and occupied it for a time in
1781, but the Tondaiman recaptured it in the same year at the request of
Colonel Braithwaite of the Madras Army. When, soon after this, the whole of the
Thanjavur territory was annexed by the British. Kizhanilai, which originally
formed part of Thanjavur but had all along been claimed by the Tondaiman, was
finally ceded to Pudukkottai.
The only condition imposed was the payment annually of
the tribute of an elephant. This, however, was never paid, on the ground that
the stipulation was inconsistent with previous treaties, and with the rank and
status enjoyed by the Tondaimans. It was formally waived in 1837 by the Court
of Directors themselves.
The Fort
This extensive but now dilapidated fort, covering an
area of 43.61 acres, is built of laterite, quarried close by in the extensive
Sengirai and Sakkottai patches. The first place of interest that a visitor
observes within the fort is a small temple of Hanuman then he approaches the
Ariya Nayaki Amman, which is the principal one. There are other temples
dedicated to Vishnu and Munisvara.
Sections of walls have fallen down. According to the
tradition, an underground passage near south gate, now blocked, leads to a fort
in Sakkottai in the Ramanathapuram district. A fairly large gun lying on one of
the ramparts is all that now remains of the efficient military equipment with
which the fort was once fitted.
There is a small hamlet within the fort surrounded by
flower gardens.
Connectivity
Kizhanilai is a village, 33 km from Pudukkottai. One can reach this place via Thirumayam and Kanadukaththaan.