Thirukkovilur is the seat of Udayaar and the birthplace of Aditha Karikalan, joining the prince’s private family history to the military and dynastic conflicts shaping the Chola realm. Its palace recalls a lavish royal birth; its earlier destruction preserves the record of a feud that still colours relations among the lords; and, as the home of a trusted elder with forces of his own, it remains a possible source of support when danger gathers at Kadambur.

Seat of Udayaar and Setting

Udayaar, the elderly lord and guardian of Malai Nadu, is introduced near the Kedilam River while travelling toward Thirukkovilur. At the ferry, his chariot stops beneath an Arasu tree, apart from the mounted party. Aditha Karikalan turns his horse toward him when Udayaar signals, then leaves the horse and walks with his grandfather to a raised platform. The meeting gives the place a presence before either man reaches it: Thirukkovilur is the destination toward which the elder is proceeding, and the setting for a conversation he considers important.

The nearby landscape also carries political and religious associations. Udayaar points out the temple spire at Thirunaavalur, describing it as the birthplace of Nambi Arurar, also known as Sundaramurthy, and recalling its other role as the site of Rajadithyar’s Chola encampment twenty-five years earlier. He identifies the land between the Kedilam and Then Pennai rivers as suitable for assembling and training a large army. The account therefore places Thirukkovilur within a region whose landscape can serve both sacred memory and military preparation, without making the town and the encampment the same site.

Palace, Birth, and Dynastic Memory

Udayaar remembers Aditha Karikalan’s birth in his own palace at Thirukkovilur twenty-four years earlier. He recalls visitors from the prince’s and his own clans, including kings and chieftains from Chola Nadu and Thondai Mandalam, and reports that the assembled lords brought forces numbering at least thirty thousand each. The feasts, tournaments, and festivities were so costly, he says, that the accumulated treasure in his vaults was spent within three days. His recollection makes the palace a setting for an exceptional public celebration as well as a family home.

The birth was treated as a dynastic event because Aditha Karikalan was a male heir at a moment when the succession mattered intensely to the family. Udayaar recalls the presence of Paranthaka Chakravarthy, Kandaradhithar, and the prince’s father, Sundara Chozhar, and emphasizes their joy at the arrival of an heir. He also recounts that the prince’s father was Arinjayan’s only son and that the older brothers of the prince’s grandfather had no issue. The palace celebration thus carries a political meaning: the child’s birth represented the continuation of the Chola line.

The choice of the child’s name further binds the palace memory to martial ancestry. Some wished to name him for Karikal Valavan; others favoured Rajadithyar. The name Aditha Karikalan, as Udayaar explains it, commemorated both revered warriors. The place where the prince was born consequently becomes a setting in which family memory, dynastic expectation, and the legacy of earlier Chola fighters converge.

Historical Conflict and the Town’s Destruction

Thirukkovilur’s past is also marked by conflict. In recounting the long feud between Udayaar’s clan and Kadambur Sambuvaraiyar’s, the characters trace its origins to Malayaman Thirumudikkaari’s killing of Valvil Ori. Valvil Ori’s descendants, they say, maintained their resentment across generations. The retaliation followed quickly: Valvil Ori’s kinsman Athigaman Nedumaananji marched on Thirukkovilur and destroyed it, and the hill fort at Mullur was also razed. The account identifies Killi Valavan as an ally who helped Athigaman accomplish this retaliation.

This history gives the town’s destruction a continuing political life. When the feud is raised during a meeting at Kadambur, Udayaar is described as repeatedly accusing the rival family and keeping old hostility alive, while Kadambur Sambuvaraiyar suggests that his own side would rather forget it. The disagreement makes Thirukkovilur more than a remembered victim of an earlier campaign: its past remains an argument used by living political actors, and an inherited grievance complicates the possibility of reconciliation.

Military Importance and Political Role

The region’s military associations extend beyond the older feud. Udayaar recounts that Rajadithyar intended to invade the northern territories, defeat Kannara Thevan of Rettai Mandalam, and destroy the capital Manyakhedam. The ambition was inspired by the earlier destruction of Vathapi by Pallava Chakravarthy Maamallar. Rajadithyar believed that he could assemble an army in three or four years, rather than spending seven years gathering forces as Maamallar was said to have done. Udayaar identifies the land between the Kedilam and Then Pennai as a suitable place to muster and train the required forces. In this recollection, the geography around Thirukkovilur is connected to the scale of royal ambition and the practical work of preparing for war.

In the later crisis at Kadambur, Thirukkovilur matters as the home of a potential ally. Aditha Karikalan speaks of Udayaar’s concern that he should not sleep in Kadambur palace, and makes light of the old man’s caution. Later, when Aditha Karikalan fears that Pazhuvettarayar may return with Madhuranthakan and a large army, a companion advises him to send for Udayaar and request reinforcements. Aditha Karikalan acknowledges that he has considered doing so, and again the possibility of calling on Thirukkovilur arises when the danger seems pressing. The place’s importance in these scenes lies not in a narrated battle there, but in the military aid its lord might provide.

Thirukkovilur consequently gathers several kinds of history into one location: the palace birth of a future prince, the memory of a celebrated Chola ancestor, the destruction that began a persistent clan feud, and the prospect of troops answering a call during a succession crisis. Its meaning shifts with the account being told, but the same ties remain visible—family, inherited conflict, and the power of a regional lord to affect the fortunes of the kingdom.