Pudukkottai was a kingdom and later a
princely state in
British India, existing from 1680 until 1948. showing location of Pudukkottai State from the Pudukottai hoard (
British Museum). The
princely state of Pudukottai was created by
Raghunatha Raya Tondaiman (1641–1730), who earlier had ruled
Thirumayam. In appreciation of Tondaiman's services,
Ragunatha Kilavan Setupati (r. 1671–1710) gave Pudukkottai to Tondaiman as an honor for his services. In later centuries, the Thondaiman rulers, while nominally feudatories of the
Ramnad state, often pursued an independent foreign policy, a trend common in all parts of India at that time. After the death of Setupati, Thondaiman become ruler of Pudukottai. Thondaiman soon fought against the
Nayaks of Thanjavur in support of the
Nayaks of Madurai and conquered
Thirukattupalli, a very important place. A direct clash between Thondaiman and the Nayaks of
Tanjore soon followed. From 1751-1752, The next ruler,
Vijaya Raghunatha Raya Tondaiman (1713-1769), helped the Muslim Nawab of the
Carnatic Sultanate against
Hyder Ali, the ruler of
Mysore, who was loyal to the British Government. After some time, when Hyder Ali's army tried to enter Pudukkottai, Thondaiman's army defeated and drove Hyder's army away. Thondaiman then captured Kilanilai, Aranthangi and helped the British government against
Tipu Sultan. Pudukkotai eventually came under formal British protection. This was arguably unavoidable since the Thondaimans were much menaced in that period by a resurgent Mysore ruled by Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan. When Tipu Sultan sought to leverage the power of the
French against his British adversaries, Pudukkotai, in common with its neighbors, such as
Thanjavur and
Travancore, found it expedient to ally with the British.
Raja Rajagopala Thondaiman (1928–1948), the last and ninth in the line of Thondaiman rulers, was selected by the British Government and was crowned when he was six years old. After Indian independence in 1947, the Pudukkottai Princely State was amalgamated with the Indian Union on 3 April 1948 and became a division in Tiruchirappalli District. The long history of the Thondaimans' rule came to an end. Some of the major kings of the dynasty are
Tondaiman (1686–1730),
Vijaya Raghunatha Raya Tondaiman,(1730–1769),
Raya Raghunatha Tondaiman (1769 – Dec 1789),
Vijaya Raghunatha Tondaiman (Dec 1789 – 1 February 1807),
Vijaya Raghunatha Raya Tondaiman (1 February 1807 – June 1825),
Raghunatha Tondaiman (June 1825 – 13 July 1839),
Ramachandra Tondaiman (13 July 1839 – 15 April 1886),
Marthanda Bhairava Tondaiman (15 April 1886 – 28 May 1928) and
Rajagopala Tondaiman (28 October 1928 – 4 March 1948). Pudukkottai became a
princely state of
British India under the political authority of
Madras Presidency. The state had an area of 4663 Sq.miles and in 1901, a population of 380,000. The Rajas of Pudukkotai were entitled to a 17-gun salute. The last Thondaiman raja of Pudukkottai acceded to newly-
independent India in 1948, and the state became a division of the
Trichinopoly District of
Madras State. The state was reorganized twice in the succeeding decade, taking its present form in 1956; it was renamed Tamil Nadu in 1968. On 14 January 1974, the present
Pudukkottai District was formed from parts of Tiruchirappalli and
Thanjavur districts. ==Geography==