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| Thirumayam Fort, Pudukottai distt. TN pudukkottai.nic.in |
Centuries ago when Monarchy was ruling the roost, the rulers were particular about expanding their lands by way of raiding other ruler's kingdom. The king had to safeguard his family and his subjects in the midst of constant threats from enemies. So construction of forts and royal palaces, etc., with built-in facilities within it became inevitable. The Thirumayam fort came up here to meet an emergency situation.
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| Temple water tank. Thirumayam fort. TNalamy.com |
Thirumayam Fort, an ancient monument situated in Thirumayam town on the Pudukkottai-Karaikudi Highway in Pudukkottai District of Tamil Nadu is an ancient monument steeped history. Built in
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Thirumayam Fort, Pudukottai distt. TN alamy.com
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the year1687 by Raghunatha Raya Tondaiman, the Raja
of Ramnad
Vijaya Raghunatha Sethupathi became his successor. The fort was renovated by Archaeological Survey of India in 2012 to maintain its heritage value. It was here Oomathurai (alias Duraisingam), the younger brother of Panchalamkurichi chieftain Kattabomman was imprisoned inside the fort. Oomathurai was a great warrior and fought wars along with Kattabomman against the East India company's army. The English company, that got the rights to collect taxes on behalf of Arcot Nawab, demanded land taxes (Kisti) which the Palayakarar chieftain refused to pay. Both Kattabomman and his brother Oomathurai were executed by the British, the latter was hanged to death on 16 November 1801. Reason: They revolted against the company rule.
The fort that was originally built as a 'ring fort' with seven concentric walls has only four surviving ones now. The three rings did not survive either due to war or internal strife or vagaries of weather. Built on a 40 acre plot, the fort is made of small blocks of stone along with bricks and has an entrance on three sides - north, south and east with gates mounted by British-era cannons. As in many forts, there are 6 canons (of British period) mounted at the gate. The date of the British cannon on the Bastian is not clear slightly marred by graffiti etched on the barrel. The original size of the fort was two times greater than the present one. The main entrance to the fort is one km away from the present structure.
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| Thirumayam Fort, near Puddukottai, TN. justdial.com |
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.Thirumayam Fort, near Puddukottai, TN.tripadvisor.com
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There are shrines dedicated to Hanuman, Sakthi, Ganapathi, Karuppar (guardian deities of the fort) on the south side and to Bhairava on the north side. On the western side atop the rock there is a rock-cut cave that houses a lingam on yonipitha. The south side has two rock cut temples dedicated to Sri Sathyamurthy and Sri Uyyavanda Nachiar while the other one is dedicated to Sri Sathyagireeswarar and Sri Venuvaneeswari. The former is Vaishnavite place of worship and the latter is that of Easwaran (Shiva). There is a bastion on the summit with cannon that belongs to the British era.
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| Thirumayam, Pudukottai dist. TN..mapsofindia.com |
The English company, after the fall of Kattabomman's fort at Panchalamkuruchi near Tirunelveli, was after Oomathurai, because he acted against the interest of the British. Oomathurai was at large for some time and finally he was captured and jailed here. This fort is also called Oomayan Kottai (Kottai in Tamil means fort) and is 18 km from Pudukkotai town on the way to Tirupathur town.
This fairly preserved fort is less known than other forts in South India and the monuments often gets overlooked by the tourists for a better location. This fort and rock cut temples have yet another treasure: old rock paintings and they seem to be older than Pandya era..
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