MY RESEARCH ABOUT THE MARUDHU SERVAI BROTHERS AND THE SIVAGANGAI COUNTRY

by Dr.S.Jayabarathi

This is just a very short synopsis about the research which I carried out about the Sivagangai Country and its famous rulers, the Marudhu Servai Brothers. The duration of this research lasted for about forty plus years. I was continuing a part of it even after I came back to Malaysia. I have been conducting a research about the Marudhu Brothers and Sivagangai. In the course of the research, I have accumulated a huge amount of information. I have manuscripts, books, rare photographs, details about interviews with knowledgeable persons, and palm leaf manuscripts and notes from archives. About forty years ago, there were very rich sources of information which were available from many people. There were people who were descended from Marudhu supporters, and those against them. Many of the people were non-partisan and they told stories about the valour, the philanthropy, and the achievements of the Marudhus. The memories about the Marudhus were still very fresh in the minds of the people some forty years ago. I became interested in Marudhu history when I read the books written by Dr.Sanjeevi who later became the Professor and Head of the Department of Tamil in the Madras University: Maanam Kaaththa Marudhu Paandiyar Marudhiruvar The interest was further kindled by the film, 'Sivagangai Seemai. The song from that film, Veerargal vaalzum Draavida naattai venravar kidaiyathu, velum vaalum thaangiya Maravar veelzndhathum kidaiyaathu remains as a major source of inspiration to my mind whenever I am dejected. The research picked up momentum when I was working in the Swedish Mission Hospital in Tiruppathur, Sivagangai District. That was the place where the headless body of Periya Marudhu lies buried. I am also from Penang, Malaysia. The later part of Marudhu Saga continues there.

I have delved into some hitherto unknown aspects of this history. I have covered several places which played a very crucial part in the war of the Marudhus against the Arcot/British/Poligars alliance. I have taken part in several seminars. I have brought up many unknown details and thown new light on the Marudhu Brothers. The late Karthikeya Raja, the Raja of Sivagangai invited me and asked about the details of my research. My researches and findings set in motion many initiatives like the memorial which they have built in Tirupathur where Marudhu was hanged. I am creating these pages which throw some special light upon certain aspects of my Sivagangai research. Here is an introduction about how did my research -

This is just a part of my collection of manuscripts, photos, etc.

These are some of the numerous maps and sketches which I made. Above are some detailed maps of the Sivagangai region.

This is a hand-drawn map of hills and terrain around North-Eastern Madurai Region and adjoining Sivagangai and Tiruchi districts.

This is a type-written bound manuscript of 80 plus pages. This research was done by some missionaries more than fifty years ago. Since the missionaries left the country, the manuscript was passed to a missionary who was not interested in such research. Seeing my interest, he passed the manuscript to me.

We made three copies. Two copies are lost. The only remaining copy is with me. This bound volume is a mine of information. I could not followup with it because I received it when I was about to leave India to come back to Malaysia. Soon I joined the Malaysian Medical and Health Services and never had the opportunity to do anything about it. And I could not trust anyone with the Manuscript.

This is one my hand-written manuscripts. I have a copy of the last will and testament made by Periya Marudhu Servai, just before he was hanged.

I will now give a glimpse of some little known aspects of the war of the Marudhus. Piranmalai is a hill 1760 feet in height which is a last out-crop of the Eastern Ghats. It is very much barren, now. But in the days of Marudhu it was covered with dense jungle. The town of Piranmalai is situated at the bottom of the hill. There is a huge temple complex there. The temple is fortified. It is in fact, in the form of a fort. The hill itself is fortified. During the Sangam Age, it was called Parambu and was the capital of VaLLal Pari. There are several forts in the hill. There are several remnants of the war which was waged by the Marudhus. This war started because, Chinna Marudhu Servai gave refuge to UmaiDurai without consulting his elder brother, Periya Marudhu Servai. They threw in their lots and together they fought on bravely. At one point in the war, they hid UmaiDurai in a very inaccessible cave in the summit of the hill. This place is known as the Umaiyan Kudambu. A kudambu is very special type of cave which opens from the top and goes downwards. The following pictures show you the position of Umaiyan Kudambu

This is an overall view of the Piranmalai Hill.

At the left side along the bottom of the hill, is the town of Piranmalai and its famous ancient temple. At the summit of the hill is Dhargha of Waliullah Sheikh Abdullah Shaheb. You can see that much of the hill is barren now. But once upon a time, it was part of a large tract of jungle extending right across from the Eastern Ghats to the Palk Straits. Let us have a closer look at the steep scarp face of the southern side of the hill.

The southern face of the Piranmalai hill is very steep for half of its height. The scarp face is a sheer drop of about 1000 feet. At the summit of the hill, there is a lip of rock which is a small passage. After passing through it, there is the famous kudambu which can hold an army. It leads to the Umaiyan Kudambu.

This is the Umaiyan Kudambu. Just before going there, there is a sizeable flat piece of ground which can hold a crowd.

The Umaiyan seat

There is a very old tree underneath which, there is large flat seat of stone. This served as a special seat for the Umaiyan. To go to the Kudambu, you will have to climb down a precarious wall of rock. You have to climb down with help of creepers, roots, tree trunks nd rock projections.

There is a very good supply of water which could be obtained from a spring/pond. This is situated inside a cleft in the rock, some distance away from the Umaiyan Kudambu.

The Little-Seen, Little-Known KASI SUNAI

This is the Kasi Sunai. Even when there were failure of rains lasting for 12 years,this sunai never dried up. The water is cool, very refreshing and contains minerals and herbal essence. A sunai is natural fountain of fresh water which is specially placed in a hill. The sources of water for many of the sunais in Piranmalai are never known. They just are filled with water, all the year round. Even in the scorching heat of the height of summer, there will be water. So...... The water does not come from rain alone. It cannot come from the ground to such heights either. The Kasi Sunai is placed in a precarious place, shaped like a protruding lower lip of a slightly opened mouth. If you slip, you had it. You will get sucked into the sunai and where you will end up, nobody knows. Because, nobody has ever seen the end of the sunai. On the other hand, if you trip, you fall one thousand feet. I was telling you about some fortifications.

The Marudhus had carried three cannons to the top for their defence. After the war was over, one of the cannons was taken to Pudukkottai.

The second one was at the summit when I saw it. It has ornamental designs on it. It must have been over-used. Because, the end of the barrel has exploded and split. The third cannon is lost. May be in some deep kudambu or fallen into dense undergrowth. May be another interested man will come in search of it. Placed in strategic positions, these cannons commanded a large swath of land and could fire a shot which could reach about 5 miles. The Sivagangai country was ruled by the Marudhus as a proxy to Queen Velu Nachiyar whom Periya Marudhu married after her husband MuthuVadugaNatha Thevar was killed by a cannon shot. The Marudhus saved her and took her to Dindukal where they were helped by the Mysorean Hyder Ali. With his help, the Marudhus recaptured Madurai and Sivagangai, Periya Marudhu paid up all the arrears of kisthi. There is an inscription which has been made by the Marudhus on behalf of MuthuVadugaNatha Thevar. This is found in front of the SriSevugaPerumaL Aiyanar Temple of Singampunari.

It is the only inscription of the Marudhus.

After the capture of the Marudhus, Periya Marudhu and many of his relatives and followers were hanged in the south-western bastion of the Fort of Tirupathur. The families of the Marudhus were dispossessed and reduced to grinding poverty. All their properties were confiscated and made over to the new king of Sivagangai. Then the British severed Periya Marudhu's head from his body and took it to KaLaiyarKoyil. They buried the head in front of RajaGopuram which he had built. They placed the head in such a way so that it was facing the Gopuram. This was according to the last wish of Periya Marudhu.

But the British did not bury the whole body, they were afraid that people would start worshipping Periya Mardhu as a guardian deity. So the separated the head from the body and buried only the head in KaLaiyarKoyil. The body was buried in a wilderness in the outskirts of Tiruppathur. This land was later given to the Swedish Mission which built a hospital there. When I was working there for some time, I was staying in a hspital doctors quarters. I used to pass the place where the body of Periya Marudhu lay buried.

There was only a piece of stone which was placed over his grave. Later on, they seem to have built a memorial for the Marudhus at Tirupathur. I had also made a detailed study of the Ammanais and Kummis and many other pieces of information together with folklore and stories about the Marudhu Brothers.

I presented a paper 'New Light On Marudhu Brothers in a seminar held at the Madurai University in 1971. It was well-received.

I received a lot of encouragement from Dr.AV Jeyachandrun, Ismail Rawther of Tirupathur, and several others. Dr.Sanjeevi was the pioneer of research about Marudhu Brothers. He wrote the first books. I still keep the autographed copy of his book, Marudhiruvar. I was only 30 years old at that time.

This is what he said about me and my research in his letter of introduction.

After that I was invited by the Raja of Sivagangai for an audience with him. Soon after that, I left India. A sheer twist of fate is that my hometown in Malaysia happens to Penang. Penang was known as the Prince of Wales Island when it was taken over by the British. Two hundred years ago. It was a penal colony where exiled convicts from India were sent.

Chinna Marudhu Servais youngest son, Durai Samy Thevar and seventy one other followers and revolutionaries were exiled to Penang. Major Bannerman who captured Panchalamkurichi and hanged Kattabommu was there as the governor. Colonel Welsh was a close friend of the Marudhus. But he had to fight them in the end. He had married the daughter of Sir Francis Light who was the first governor of Penang. They all met in Penang under very different circumstances. Major Bannerman built a well-planned new town called Georgetown. He had a church built also. The church was built by convict labour. Duraisamy, the son of Chinna Marudhu was one the convicts who built the church. Bannerman's daughter was married in the church which was built in Pitt Street. She was born in Palayamkottai when Kattabommu came to power. Colonel Welsh came to Penang on some important business pertaining to his father-in-law's properties in Penang. He attended the wedding at the church. When he was there, Duraisamy came to see him because he had been a close friend of his father during better times. He begged him to take a letter to his relatives in Sivagangai. But Colonel Welsh declined on legal grounds. Major Bannerman lies buried at the European cemetery in Penang. I used to pass by it, when I cycled my way to my school AngloChinese School fifty five years ago. Just as I passed by the place where Periya Marudhus body lay buried in Tirupathur thirty five years ago.