KONGUNADU HISTORY

                     விநாயகர் காப்பு

ஐந்து கரத்தனை யானை முகத்தனை
இந்தின் இளம்பிறை போலும் எயிற்றனை
நந்தி மகன்தனை ஞானக் கொழுந்தினைப்
புந்தியில் வைத்தடி போற்றுகின் றேனே.

 

 

 

MAP OF KONGU DESAM

Ancient name: Gangavadi
Ancient capital: Gangeyam (Kangeyam)
Ancient language: Gangeya Bhasai(Kangee or Gangee)
Ancient dynasty: Gangas(Kongas)
Ancient species:kangeyam bull

What is Kongu?

வடக்கு நந்திகிரி வராககிரி தெற்கு
குடக்கு பொறுப்பு வெள்ளிக்குன்று
களித்தன்டலை மேவு காவிரிசூழ்
நாடு-குளித்தன்டலை அளவு கொங்கு.

Thus the borders of Kongu of the seventeenth century are:
Northern: Nandigiri (Nandi hills in Kolar and Tumkur dists. of Karnataka located seventy kilometeres to the north of today's Bengaluru).
Southern: Varahagiri (Panrimalai mountain in the Palani-Kodaikkanal ranges, Panrimalai is referred in it's Sanskrit name).
Eastern: Kudagu and Vellikundru (Kodagu in the Madikeri dist. of Karnataka and Vellingiri hills near Coimbatore which form the border with Kerala).
Western: Kulithalai (Karur dist. located on the Karur- Tiruchirappalli highway).
Further he adds that the region is like a basin (Kavirisoozh) and surprises us with his geographical knowledge through expressing Kongu as the entire Kaveri catchment basin, the Kaveri valley. I have drawn an approximate map, from google earth of the desccribed region. This region comprises of the following modern districts of the following states.
Tamilnadu: Coimbatore, Erode, Udagamandalam, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Salem, Namakkal, Karur, Dindigul (excluding the Nattam, Nilakkottai and southward slopes of Kodaikkanal taluk), Vellore (Tiruppattur taluk only), Villuppuram (Kalrayan hills only), Perambalur (Pachamalai hills only) and Tiruchirappalli (Pachamalai hills, Turaiyur taluk's western parts and Musiri panchayat union).
Karnataka: Madikeri, Chickmagalur, Hassan, Tumkur, Kolar, Bangalaore Urban, Bangalore Rural, Mandya, Mysore and Chamrajnagar.
Kerala: Wayanad, Palakkad (villages with a majority Tamil speaking population now only), Malappuram (Bhavani river valley only) and Idukki (Amaravati river valley only) .
One thing which got clear beyond doubt after my research which is also commonplace knowledge is that the Kongu region, from the dawn of history is always connected to the southern part of the Karnataka state which is given, which is also called in Karnataka as Mysore Karnataka or Hoysala Karnataka. The Kongu region has always been along with this region from the dawn of history to the collapse of the Mysore Kingdom and the arrivel of the British.
Thus I also broadened my postmodernist research and found many revelations. The first was that the original name of Kongunadu as mentioned in the Komaralingam copperplates (2)inscriptions give the name of the region as Kanku (கங்கு). When we go in detailed research, the name of the Gangas appear. These local cheiftains are mentioned in the Sangam Akananooru (verse 44 ) as Gangan (கங்கன்). These must have probably the feudatories of the Cheras at the beginning.
Kongu Nadu,the nomenclature: There has been a lot of controversy regarding the name of Kongu.It is a fact thet Kangars(the Tamil version of Gangas)according to Kongu Desa Rajakkal from the lapse of Mahabharata and the starting of Kaliyugam(3106B.C) ruled Kongu Nadu for some period.Some people had concluded that the region ruled by Gangars was initially called `Ganga Nadu` and with the passage of time,it began to be called `Kongu Nadu`,as mentioned by Thirumathi T.K. Sathi Devi, in her book `Kongu Vellalar Varalaaru`. There has been mass hype over the name Kongu where Dravidian Tamil bygots say it to be Kongu honey,Kongu flower and even Kongu meaning mentally deranged! According to inscriptions,it is mentioned as கங்க,which is read by Tamil bygots,as the people who reside in the edge கங்கு.This means that the region is on the edge but if you see any map Kongu always has been strategically located.The importance of Kongu has given Tamilsayings:

கொங்கு செழித்தால் எங்கும் செழிக்கும்.
கொங்கில் வாழான் எங்கும் வாழான்.:

It has always been the centre of wealth because ancient Kongu had the only gold mines of all south asia,Gold fields which in the Kongu Mandala Shatakam which are said to have given all the gold to the roof of the Chidambaram Natarajar temple.Kongu Nadu still contributes 2/3 revenue of the state of Tamilnadu.
The borders of Kongu Nadu: The borders of Kongu Nadu(Ganganadu) according to the Jain period poet of Vijayamangalam Valasundarakavirayar are:
They reduce drastically during the next couple of centuries in another suceeding Shatakam as:

வடக்கு பெரும்பாலை வைகாவூர் தெற்கு
குடக்கு பொறுப்பு வெள்ளிக்குன்று
களித்தன்டலை மேவு காவிரிசூழ்
நாடு-குளித்தன்டலை அளவு கொங்கு.

In another shatakam of the same time,they are said to be,

வடக்கு தலைமலை வைகாவூர் தெற்கு
குடக்கு பொறுப்பு வெள்ளிக்குன்று
களித்தன்டலை மேவு காவிரிசூழ்
நாடு-குளித்தன்டலை அளவு கொங்கு.:

Thus they drastically reduce from their earlier extent of Nandigiri near Bangalore and Kudagu now in Karnataka to Perumpalai(Dharmapuri dist.) and Talaimalai(Erode dist).The other borders of east Kulithalai and west Vellingiri are retained.This is due to the confusions which ensued in the reorganisation of states.The linguistic,rather than cultural and geographical factors was taken into account.