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Chandrayen Modeliar Vyapooree

The surname is derived from the honorary title Mudali meaning a person of first rank in the Tamil Chola feudal society which was bestowed upon top-ranking bureaucratic officials and army commanders in medieval South India.[1] The surname is generally prevalent among Indian Tamils (Nattar) and the Tamil diaspora though it is also used in other parts of South India.[2][3] literally meaning The first citizens or first ones after his son Athondai had won the battle against Kurumbars.[4]

Thondaimandala Mudaliars are the natives of Tamil Nadu, from time immemorial. This community with rich heritage, traditions and civilization and known for their honesty, intelligence, valour, loyalty and administrative ability were occupying high positions like ministers, army chiefs, regional rulers etc. in various southern kingdoms.[5]

Chola king Karikal Cholan has awarded the title of “Mudaliars” (meaning muthanmai (first) citizens) to these community members. Since then we are called as “Thondaimandala Mudaliars”.[5]

These community members had the privilege of handing over the crown at the time of coronation ceremony (mudi-sootu vizha) of the kings, religious heads etc. This fact can be seen from old Tamil classical literature “Thirukkaivazhakkam” which states “mangaiyoru bhagarkum, madhavarkum, mannavarkum thunga mudiyai sootumkai (the hands that handover the crown to kings/religious heads at the time of coronation ceremony)”.[5]

Some of the Mudali clans of Thondaimandalam migrated to Sri Lanka during the period of the medieval poet Kambar. For example, some of the Tamils in Ceylon trace their lineage to this group, some of whom had become saints called Nayanars. The book The Tamils in Early Ceylon by C. Sivaratnam traces some of the Mudaliyars in Ceylon to Thaninayaka Mudaliyar (among others), a rich Saiva Vellalar who emigrated to Ceylon from Tondaimandalam.[6] Maanadukanda Mudali, a Vellala king of Thondai Nadu had shed over kamban a shower of gold for his work of Erezhupatu, a literary work praising agriculture. Taninayaga, a Vellala of Seyur was made the chief of Neduntiva.[7]

Jaffna has two or three clans from Thondaimandalam with the Mudali surname. Irumarapum Thooya Thaninayaga Mudali from Seyyoor and Mannadukonda Mudali whose clan has been quoted even during poet Kambar's time. Here is the direct quotation from Kailaya Malai, a historical book of Jaffna on the migration into Jaffna from Thondai Nadu. The other clans may come under this section or under Sri Lankan Vellalar section.

The next was the Vellala of the family of him who shed over kamban a shower of gold for the work of Erezhupatu, whose country was Tondainade, who had a widespread name, who used to wear a lotus garland and whose name was Maanadukanda Mudali. He was made to reside at Irupalai. The next was the Vellala of Seyur, who was as wealthy as Indra, and who never deviated from the path of visture. whose garland was of water lilies. Whose fame was great and whose paternal and maternal lines were matchless and pure and whose name was Taninayaga. He was made a chief of Neduntiva..[7][unreliable source?]

Castes using Mudaliar title[edit]

Agamudayar[edit]

Main article: Agamudayar

Agamudayar is a community whose members are prevalent in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.. Agamudaya have been using the title of Mudaliar since the 13th century. Thevar, Pillai, Servai, Udaiyar and Reddy are their other titles used by them in various parts of Tamil Nadu.

Agamudayar literally means a person who stood steadfast with pride. The community has several synonyms, viz., Tuluva Vellala, Arcot Vellala, Arcot Mudali, Agamudayaan, Agamudi Vellalar, Agamudi Reddy and Agamudi Mudaliar. Some of their ancestors are believed to have migrated to Chittoor District, during the reign of the Lingayat kings of Punganur some 200 years back. Some of them had served in the capacity of village munsiffs during the British period and post-Independence period and hence they style themselves as ‘Agamudaya Reddy’, since ‘Reddy’ is the title for the village munsiff in the Telugu country. It is also the title of another agricultural caste known as Kapu.

Kerala Mudali[edit]

Kerala Mudali is an aggregation of various castes that use Mudaliar title. They are predominantly found in the areas of Trivandrum and Palakkad Districts of Kerala and Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu. They migrated to these places starting late 17th Century onwards for various purposes including Agriculture, Coconut oil extraction, Coir Trade and as Specialized Fighters and Reliable Spies. They were given special preference by Royal Family of Travancore due to their cultural similarity and loyalty. This status resulted in further deepening their area of influence within Travancore. During the British era, many families embraced Christianity. Kerala Muthalis still keep their separate identity even though they are a micro-minority caste in Kerala. Due to their linguistic and educational backwardness Kerala,[24] Tamil Nadu [25] and Pondicherry [26] states have categorized them as BCs. Gradually after independence and state reorganization, Kerala Muthalis have completely integrated with the Kerala Culture, but still consider Lord Muruga/Subramanya as their primary god of worship while most of the Kerala Hindus are devotees of Lord Vishnu.

Saiva Vellalar[edit]

Main article: Thondaimandala Mudaliar

Saiva Vellalar (otherwise known as Thondaimandala Saiva Vellalar or Thondaimandala Mudaliar) is a Forward caste and vegetarian community in the state of Tamil Nadu, India.[8] They trace their lineage to Sekkizhar, the author of the Periyapuranam. They are the original homogeneous group of Mudaliars who were settled in Thondaimandalam (otherwise known as Thondai Nadu) in South India by Chola King, Karikala Chola. The legendary great king “Karikal-cholan” of “Chola- dynasty” had two sons. He divided his kingdom into two and gave the northern part including “Kanchipuram”region to second son named “Aathondai Chakravarthi”. This region has come to be called as “Thondai-mandalam”, named after the founder-emperor. Aathondai chakravarthy has divided his kingdom into 24 divisions (kottams) and appointed members from ‘Saiva-velalars” community as “rulers” of these regions or “kottams”, under his empire.[5] They were emerging as 'Landlords' during the time of British rule.[ <Ấ" />