Hindu temples and maths · The Chola empire of Kulottunga III · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Tiruvannamalai

The fire linga of the five elements at the foot of the Arunachala hill, in the country of the Kadavas and Sambuvarayas on the Chola north-west border.

Chola, Hoysala and later kings gave to it.

Who holds it

Name
not named in any source we reached
Title
Managers of the Arunachaleswarar temple
Since
not known
Born
not known
Confidence
low

Overlord

Chola; the local chiefs of the Kadava and Sambuvaraya houses

What it holds

  • Temple villages
  • The hill's shrines and ashrams

Allies and rivals

Chola; the local chiefs of the Kadava and Sambuvaraya houses

How things stand that morning

Held for the Chola by feudatories.

Wealth

Temple villages.

Military

No armed force is recorded for the house.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The shrine or community is real, but what it held and who ran it in 1200 is inferred from general or later accounts; no page we read dates anything about it to 1200.

On the map: Drawn as a small disc round the shrine; the real estates were scattered villages.

Primary sources for Chola empire

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

4 more in the sources library for Southern India and Sri Lanka.

Sources and studies

  1. Annamalaiyar Temple, English Wikipedia

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.