Prithvipati Pallipadai Temple,
Thiruppurambiyam – History
Thiruppurambiyam was
the venue of the fierce battle fought in the 9th century CE that
decided the future of Chola dynasty. Battle of Thirupurambiyam was
fought between the Pandya king Varaguna Varman II and a
confederacy of the Pallavas, Western Ganga Dynasty and the Medieval
Cholas in about 879 CE in Thirupurambiyam
near Kumbakonam. The Pandyas lost the battle with Varaguna II going into
retirement.
The battle is considered to be a
turning point in the history of South India for it precipitated the
fall of the Pallava and Pandya kingdoms and triggered the re-emergence of the
Chola power in history after centuries of obscurity during Kalabhara rule. At
the dawn of the 9th century, the Pallava kingdom which had ruled
most of South India for three centuries began to decline.
Seizing the opportunity provided
by weak Pallava rule, the Pandya king Varaguna Varman tried to force the
Pallava king Aparajita into submission. The Chola king Vijayalaya, then a
feudatory of the Pallavas, and his son Aditya Chola I, came to his
assistance. Aparajita was also assisted by the Western Ganga king Prithvipati
I. Involvement of Vijayalaya Chola in the battle is still in debate since he is
said to be deceased in 870 AD, about nine years before the war happened.
The forces of the Pallava
kingdom, Western Ganga kingdom and the Chola kingdom met the Pandyan army at Thiruppurambiyam in
the Thanjavur district of present-day state of Tamil
Nadu in 879 CE. Though, according to the Udyendiram plates of Prithvipati
II, Prithvipati I was killed after a brave fight, the allies were still able to
salvage a pyrrhic victory. A
Pallipadai temple was built in the remembrance of Prithvipati I in Thirupurambiyam.
The Pandyas were completely
devastated as a result of the battle and never recovered from the loss for two
centuries. The Pallavas, though victorious, were forced to give heavy
concessions to their rising Chola feudatories, who declared their independence.
The Pallava kingdom was eventually annexed by the Cholas during the reign of
Vijayalaya Chola's son Aditya I.