Ancient Seat of the Cheras & The Gateway of South Indian Commerce
Kongu Nadu (also known historically as Kongu Mandalam, Chola-Kerala Mandalam, and Adhiraja Mandalam) comprises the western and north-western heart of Tamil Nadu. Covering roughly 60,895 square kilometres and home to over 27.4 million people, the region sits at the high crossroads of the Deccan Plateau, sheltered by the magnificent Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats meeting at the blue peaks of the Nilgiris.
Archaeological excavations at Kodumanal on the banks of the Noyyal River prove a thriving industrial and bead-making megalithic metropolis dating back to the 4th Century BCE. Serving as the eastern entrance to the historic Palakkad Gap along the Rajakesari Peruvazhi, Kongu was the vital trade conduit linking the Roman Mediterranean through Muziris to Arikamedu.
Celebrated in Sangam literature such as the Patiṟṟuppattu and the 2nd century epic Silappathikaram, Kongu was ruled sequentially by the early Cheras (with their ancient capital at Karuvur), the Western Gangas, Imperial Cholas under Aditya I & Rajaraja I, Hoysalas, the Vijayanagara Empire, and the Madurai Nayaks who organized the region into 24 historic Palayams. In the 18th century, it was heroically defended by Maaveeran Dheeran Chinnamalai against British colonial rule.
