The Thirumayam fort is situated on and around a rock hillock. On the
Pudukkottai-Karaikkudi (புதுக்கோட்டை-காரைக்குடி) Highway, it is a land mark
for miles. Approaching the town, one can catch sight of the fort walls.
Presently there are three concentric walls and the one adjacent to the road
is the outermost one. There is a small Bhairavar-koil (பைரவர் கோயில்), on
this wall, facing the Pudukkottai road.
A view of Thirumayam Fort
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Locally it is known as Oomayan Kottai (ஊமையன் கோட்டை,
'fort-of-the-dumb'). The dump (Oomayan) refers to the younger brother of
Katta-bomman (கட்டபொம்மன்), who fought against the British and was executed
by the British. Local stories claim that Oomayan and his brother,
Katta-bomman, during their escape from the British, constructed this fort in
a night! According to the Statistical Account (1813), it was built in 1687
by Raghunatha Sethupathi (இரகுநாத சேதுபதி) of Ramanathapuram (இராமநாதபுரம்).
The fort is said to have been originally a 'ring' fort with seven
concentric walls and a broad moat all round. The lines of the old outer
defences are now marked by occasional remains of the works and ditch.
The walls above the rock, which enclose the main citadel, are
comparatively well preserved. From the remains one may judge that the walls
were surmounted by parapets of strong brickwork, serrated by machicolations
and pierced by musketry vents.
Inside the fort...
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The rock-cut shrine in the fort
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Nearly half way up to the top, to the right, is chamber that was used as
a magazine. Opposite to this, on the western slope of a boulder, a little
below the top of the fort, is a rock-cut cell containing a lingam placed on
a square yoni-pitham (யோனி பீடம்), cut out of the living rock. To the left
of this cell, is a Grantha inscription of the 7th century AD reading
‘Parivadinidaa’ (பரிவாதினிதா). It is held by many that the word 'Parivadini'
refers to a variety lute. The label 'Parivadinidaa' is also inscribed in the
Siva cave temple in this town, and also in
Kudumiyamalai (குடுமியாமலை)
temple.
The canon at the top of the hill
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On the top of the citadel is a platform on which a canon is mounted. To
the south of the platform is a tarn.
The citadel and the walls of the fort on the hilltop provide an
excellent perch for a view of the houses in the town with their tiled roofs,
the tank and the surrounding countryside.
The northern main entrance
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Presently there are three entrances, on the north, on the south and on
the south-east. Originally the main entrance to the fort was from the south
side.
Old fort entrance
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Even today there are some beautiful structural remains of this old
fort-entrance, about one kilometer south of the fort. The structure of this
fort-entrance is like a courtyard with pillared corridors on all sides and
majestic entrances. The entire structure is decorated with a number of
beautiful sculptures all along. There are shrines of Hanuman, Sakti-Ganapathi,
and Munisvara, all protecting deities of the fort.
HISTORY OF THE FORT
The fort was built in 1687 by Raghunatha Sethupathi (இரகுநாத சேதுபதி) of
Ramanathapuram (இராமநாதபுரம்). It was handed over by the Sethupathi to his
brother-in-law, Raghunatha Raya Tondaiman (இரகுநாத ராயத் தொண்டைமான்)
(1686-1730), the first Tondaiman raja, along with the area of Thirumayam.
The cession was confirmed in 1728.
The value of the acquisition of the Palayam (பாளையம்) and fort must have
been fully realised by the Pudukkottai king, when in 1733 the Tondaiman was
left with this bit of territory alone after Ananda Rao, the Thanjavur (தஞ்சாவூர்)
general, had overrun the whole of the Tondaiman country. Here, Vijaya
Raghunatha Raya Tondaiman (விஜய ரகுநாத ராயத் தொண்டைமான்) lay besieged until Ananda Rao had retired.
There is an unconfirmed tradition that Katta-bomman and his brother the
Oomayan were for a time detained at the fort before the Tondaiman handed
them over to the British. (Hemingway in the Gazetteer of the Trichinopoly
District mentions only Oomayan as having been lodged at this fort).
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