Sivagiri, Tirunelveli

<!-- See WikiProject Indian cities for details -->Sivagiri is a panchayat town in Tirunelveli district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.It was one of the Palayams in Ancient Madurai.Sivagiri is traditionally recognized as one of the 72 palayams of Madura.

Ancient History

Location

This palayam was located in the Sankarankovil taluk of Tirunelveli, on the slopes of the Western Ghats.

Founder

Sivagiri's polegar, known as the Varaguna, belonged to the vanniyar caste. The founder of the family is Jayatunga Varaguna Rama Pandyan Vanniyadi, who held the estate of Tiruppuvanam and Piranmalai under the Pandyan kings of Madura. Putrasampattu Vanniyadi, at a later time, defeated the Chola king and was given kavali rights over 108 villages. Succeeding members of the family added to the estate. They were originally established in Sundankulam, and later at Thenmalai (20 miles to the west), and fin ally, circa 1733-34, in Sivagiri.

Anglo Wars

The polygar of Sivagiri bore a personal animosity to the Puli Thevar of Nerkkatumseval and refrained from joining the coalition he put together to fight the Anglo-Nawabi forces in 1754. *In 1757, he joined forces with Yusuf Khan, the nawab military commander, against the Puli Thevar.

• When Kollamkondan again rebelled in 1764, following the execution of Yusuf Khan for having betrayed the nawab, Sivagiri was quick to join.
• Victories over the Anglo-Nawabi forces helped the revolt spread to other...
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