10th June 1801. Two brothers who were ruling the region of Sivagangai, declared from the ramparts of the Trichy Srirangam Temple the Jambutheevu Declaration – that they would not bend their knee to the British. Periya Marudhu and Chinna Marudhu popularly called together as Marudhu Pandiyargal/Marudhu Brothers were one of the earliest to rebel against the British even before the 1857 War of Independence happened in the north. Their stories of valiance are however not known much beyond the borders of Tamil Nadu.
Early life
Periya Marudhu and Chinna Marudhu were born to Mookiah Palaniappan Thevar and Ponnathal. Periya Marudhu was born in a small hamlet called Narikkudi near Aruppukkottai near Virudhunagar district. Chinna Marudhu, five years younger, was born in Ramnad in 1753.
Mookiah Palaniappan moved his family to Virudhunagar from Narikkudi. He served as a general in the army of Raja Muthuvaduganatha Thevar, the king of Sivaganga. The Marudhu brothers from a young age got trained in native martial arts at Surankottai, which traditionally served as a training centre for the Ramnad army.
During their time at the king’s palace, the teenage brothers got acquainted with warfare and artillery. There exists a legend that states that they earned the title of Pandiyar from the king after they had saved him from a tiger.
The Marudhu brothers were also very skilled in aerodynamics, and invented many variants of spears and Valari, a type of boomerang.
The Kattabomman Connect
The Marudhu Brothers were also in close association with Veerapandiya Kattabomman of Panchalankurichi. The palace of Sivagangai used to be the spot where Kattabomman and Marudhu Brothers frequently met to discuss about overthrowing the British.
After Kattabomman’s execution, the Marudhu Brothers gave asylum to Kattabomman’s brother Oomadurai. This became a thorn in the British’s heel and marched towards Sivaganga in 1801. However, Maruthu Pandiyars and their allies sent them running helter-skelter and captured three districts from the British. Thus, the British started viewing Maruthu Pandiyars as a serious threat to their future in the south.
The Velu Nachiyar Connect
Shortly afterward, the British had claimed lordship over the Nawab of Arcot’s kingdom and had sent their officers to collect taxes. The refusal to yield kicked of another battle between the British and native rulers. The British forces under Colonel Joseph Smitt and Captain Bonjour marched towards Kalayar Kovil, the seat of throne of Raja Muthuvaduganatha Thevar. Although the Kalayar Kovil temple was saved by the brothers, Raja Muthuvaduganatha Thevar died in the battle. Queen Velu Nachiyar along with her daughter Vellachi Nachiyar and her commandent Kuyili escaped and camped at Virupaatchi near Dindigul.
Gopala Nayak, the king of Virupakshipuram, took them in and they stayed under his protection for 7 years. It was here that the brothers trained Velu Nachiyar’s commandent Kuyili and the Udayal Padai (women’s army). Along with the queen and her allies, they took over Sivangangai again, with Periya Marudhu as the General in Command.
The attack
Velunachiyar had formed an allegiance with Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan and had been leading a strong fight against the British in the South. The British, meanwhile, had been infiltrating through the kingdoms in the South and had massacred and pillaged many kingdoms. One of them who had stood up to them was Veerapandiya Kattabomman, who had been hanged at Kayatharu.
It was then that Velu Nachiyar spotted a storehouse of British ammunition, and along with her firs-in-command, she planned a suicide attack to destroy it. She handed over the kingdom to her daughter Princess Vellachi to take over, and made the Marudhu brothers her primary advisors.
Jailbreak and subsequent captures
In 1799, a jailbreak in Coimbatore orchestrated by the brothers and their Southern allies failed, with many of their people being captured and executed. Their spirit was still strong, and after taking in Kattabomman’s brother Oomadurai, they led the fight of the rebels by employing guerrilla tactics in the deep jungles of Thiruverkadu.
After a bloody battle that lasted for several weeks, they were wounded and captured by the British army, without food or water at Cholapuram, on October 19, 1801.
They were hanged after four days, at the Thiruputhur fort in Sivagangai. Chinna Marudhu was hanged in a cage made specifically for the purpose by Major Agnew. All of their clan was annihilated, except for Periya Marudhu’s son Doraisamy who was banished to Malaysia. A total of 500 people, including close associates of Maruthupandiyar, were hanged. The bodies of the dead were dismembered and were strewn on the streets of Thiruputhur by the British. The heads of Marudhu Brothers were pierced on spears and put in public display to instill fear.
Later, the bodies of Marudhu Brothers were buried opposite the Kalayar Kovil as per their wishes.
Where are Marudhu Brothers now?
A temple cum memorial has been built at the place of their burial. Their memories and folklores have been carried forward by the Thevar community. A guru pooja is held every year in October to commemorate the supreme sacrifice they made to the motherland.
A commemorative postage stamp was released in October 2004.