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Abstract
Tiruvannamalai region was a part of the “Tondai Mandalam” in the ancient period. The history of this town dates from the mediaeval Chola period particularly from the period of Aditya I and Parantaka I (A.D. 871-955) when the Chola Empire had expanded northwards to include practically the whole of Tondaimandalam. An inscription of Kannaradeva (Krishna III) indicates that after Parantaka I the Chola rule over this region was not very much effective because of the Rashtrakuta invasions and occupation of this area by Krishna III. The recovery of this region by the Cholas was a slow process and reached its successful conclusion only towards the close of the rule of Rajaraja I in A.D 1014. Further, the rule of Rajendra I and Rajadhiraja I over this area is attested by their inscriptions. Once again a fairly long gap of over a hundred years is indicated by the absence of any Chola inscription till the beginning of Kulottunga III's reign (AD 1183). Large scale activities in the period of Kulottunga III and Rajaraja III are indicated by a number of records in the Arunachaleswarar temple. An interesting inscription at Tiruvannamalai, which records the agreement entered into by a number of feudatory chieftains to support one another and swearing allegiance to the ruling Chola king Kulottunga III in A.D 1210, is pointing to a period of great political tension under the late Cholas.