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From Ezhumur to Egmore

T.S. Subramanian

Inscription from A.D. 1309 proves the antiquity of Egmore settlement

— Photo: K.V. Srinivasan

TALE OF A VILLAGE: An inscription in Tamil from A.D. 1309 that mentions “Ezhumur nadu” (Egmore) coming under “Puliyur kottam (division) which, in turn, fell under “Jayamkonda Chola mandalam. This inscription is found on the northern wall of the Sri Parthasarathy temple at Triplicane in Chennai.

CHENNAI: On June 11, the Egmore railway station building completes a hundred years. Egmore, or “Ezhumbur” in Tamil, was originally “Ezhumur.”

Ezhumur has a history of about 1,000 years and finds mention in two inscriptions at the Parthasarathy temple at Triplicane in Chennai.

R. Nagaswamy, former Director, Tamil Nadu Department of Archaeology, said: “Ezhumur was an ancient settlement like Mylapore, Tiruvanmiyur and Tiruvottriyur in Chennai. It became an important administrative unit during the period of the Cholas. A number of records from the 11th century to the 16th century refer to Ezhumur as an administrative unit, and it commanded a lot of importance.”

The earliest available inscription about Ezhumur, from A.D. 1309, is found on the northern wall of the Parthasarathy temple.

It belongs to the reign of the Pandya king Kulasekara Pandya and talks about how “Ezhumur nadu” fell under “Puliyur kottam” (division) of “Jayamkonda Chola mandalam.”

It provides information on how a chieftain, “Ayanpura kizhavan,” sold land to raise funds to provide for offerings to the temple’s deity.

The inscription calls it “Thelliya Singaperumal” temple: later it came to be called the Parthasarathy temple. “Puliyur” exists near present-day Kodambakkam.

On Tuesday, R. Vasanthakalyani, Chief Epigraphist-cum-Instructor and R. Sivanandam, Epigraphist, both from the Tamil Nadu Department of Archaeology, identified the inscription of A.D. 1309 in the temple.

“Ezhumur Nadu”

The other inscription of the 16th century of the Vijayanagara period is found on the outer wall of the shrine of Manavala Mamuni, a Vaishnavite saint. It talks about how “Ezhumur nadu” came under “Puliyur kottam” which, in turn, fell under “Jayamkonda Chola mandalam.”

These inscriptions are included in a book, Inscriptions of Madras (1970), edited by Dr. Nagaswamy and published by the Tamil Nadu Department of Archaeology.

“It was a perfect administrative system that prevailed during the time of Cholas,” said Dr. Nagaswamy.

A region then was divided into many ‘mandalams.” Under the ‘mandalams’ fell ‘kottams’ (divisions) and “nadus” fell under ‘kottams’ and villages came below ‘nadus.’

The Chola emperor, Raja Raja Chola, renamed “Thondamandalam” as “Jayamkonda Chola mandalam” after one of his titles.

Dr. Nagaswamy said: “Ezhumur had gradually grown during the Chola period into an administrative unit called ‘nadu’ with a number of residential areas around it.

“There were agricultural fields around it and settlements in between, such as Pudupakkam and Chepakkam (present-day Chepauk). It remained an administrative headquarters till the end of the 15th century.

“This administrative system underwent a change during the Vijayanagara period.

“However, Ezhumur grew as a residential area. That may perhaps indicate why a railhead was established there.”

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