Kundavai Pirattiyar, commonly known mononymously as Kundavai, was a Chola Indian princess who lived in the tenth century in South India.Lalit kalā, Issue 15, page 34 She was the daughter of Parantaka II and Vanavan Mahadevi.Early Chola art, page 183A Topographical List of Inscriptions in the Tamil Nadu and Kerala States: Thanjavur District, page 180Worshiping Śiva in medieval India: ritual in an oscillating universe, page 5 She was born in Tirukoilur and was the elder sister of Chola emperor Rajaraja I. She had title as Ilaiyapirātti Kundavai Nachiyar.

However, when her husband Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan was crowned king in his hometown Bana kingdom, she did not accept the offer to become queen of the kingdom and remained as the princess of Tanjore.

Life Kundavai (also transliterated as Kundhavai or Kunthavai) was born in 945 CE. She was the only daughter of the Chola king Parantaka II and queen Vanavan Mahadevi. She had an elder brother – Aditha Chola II, and a younger brother – Raja Raja Chola I.

Kundavai married Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan, a member of the Bana dynasty, a feudatory of the Cholas mentioned in the Tanjore inscriptions. He was also the commander of the Chola infantry that fought in Sri Lanka in the days of Rajaraja l. The territory under his authority was known as 'Vallavaraiyanadu', and occasionally 'Brahmadesam'.

Along with her great-aunt Sembiyan Mahadevi, Kundavai brought up her nephew, Rajendra I, who was the son of Rajaraja I and Thiripuvana Madeviyar, princess of Kodumbalur. Rajendra I spent most of his childhood in Pazhaiyarai with Kundavai and Sembiyan Mahadevi.

Life and works

Kundavai commissioned many temples for Tirthankars, Vishnu and Siva. She revered many Jain Monks and Vedantic seers .Women in Indian life and society, page 49South Indian Inscriptions – Vol II-Part 1 (Tanjore temple Inscriptions) She features in Chola inscriptions.Śrīnidhiḥ: perspectives in Indian archaeology, art, and culture, page 364Encyclopaedia of Jainism, page 1000

She is believed to have built many Jain temples but at least two Jain temples have inscriptions that records to have been built by her, one at Rajarajeswaram later known as Darasuram and the other at Tirumalai. She built a hospital after her father named Vinnagar athura salai at Thanjavur and donated extensive lands for its maintenance.Ancient system of oriental medicine, page 96 She made lavish donations to the Brihadeeswarar Temple at Thanjavur during the reign of her younger brother Rajaraja Chola I and her nephew Rajendra Chola I.

One of the inscriptions reads:

Portrait sculpture in south India, page 34 Some of the images or idols set up by princess Kundavai include:Middle Chola temples:Rajaraja I to Kulottunga I (A.D. 985–1070), page 42

Here is an excerpt from the 29th year of Rajaraja that lists some of her gifts to Brihadeeswarar Temple:

Kundavai spent the last days of her life with her nephew Rajendra I at the palace in Pazhaiyarai.Great women of India, page 306Encyclopaedia of Status and Empowerment of Women in India: Status and position of women in ancient, medieval and modern India, page 176Middle Chola temples: Rajaraja I to Kulottunga I (A.D. 985–1070), page 381

Influence Kundavai is celebrated as mentor to Rajaraja I. Her influence continued into the next generation as she helped rear Rajendra Chola. Uniquely for her era, where royal women were used to forge alliances, Kundavai's father allowed her to exercise her free will, whereupon the princess resolved to stay in the Chola kingdom all her life. Esteemed throughout the Chola realm for her taste and learning, Kundavai was requested to look after the daughters of other royal clans, tutoring them in art, music, and literature.

In popular culture

Ponniyin Selvan a 1955 historical fiction novel by Kalki Krishnamurthy revolves around the early days of Rajaraja, the mysteries surrounding the assassination of Aditha Karikalan and the subsequent accession of Uttama to the Chola throne. S. Varalakshmi portrayed Kundavai Pirattiyar in the 1973 movie Rajaraja Cholan that had Sivaji Ganesan portray the role of Raja Raja Chola. Trisha Krishnan portrayed Kundavai Pirattiyar in the movies Ponniyin Selvan: I and Ponniyin Selvan: II.

See also

Ponniyin Selvan Raja Raja Cholan Ponniyin Selvan I Ponniyin Selvan II

References

Further reading Great women of India By Madhavananda (Swami.), Ramesh Chandra Majumdar Lalit kalā, Issue 15, Lalit Kalā Akademi., 1972 Middle Chola temples: Rajaraja I to Kulottunga I (A.D. 985–1070) By S. R. Balasubrahmanyam, Oriental Press, 1977 Śrīnidhiḥ: perspectives in Indian archaeology, art, and culture By K. R. Srinivasan, K. V. Raman Encyclopaedia of Jainism, Volume 1 By Indo-European Jain Research Foundation Portrait sculpture in south India By T. G. Aravamuthan Ancient system of oriental medicine By S.P. Verma Worshiping Śiva in medieval India: ritual in an oscillating universe By Richard H. Davis Women in Indian life and society By Amitābha Mukhopādhyāẏa A Topographical List of Inscriptions in the Tamil Nadu and Kerala States, Volume 7, T. V. Mahalingam, Indian Council of Historical Research, 1985 Śāṅkaram: recent researches on Indian culture By S. Sankaranarayanan, S. S. Ramachandra Murthy, B. Rajendra Prasad, D. Kiran Kranth Choudary South Indian inscriptions: Volume 2, Parts 1–2 By Eugen Hultzsch, India. Archaeological Survey, India. Dept. of Archaeology Encyclopaedia of Status and Empowerment of Women in India: Status and position of women in ancient, medieval and modern India By Raj Pruthi, Rameshwari Devi, Romila Pruthi