About Perumbidugu Mutharaiyar:
- Perumbidugu Mutharaiyar (705 AD-745 AD), also known as Suvaran Maran, was a ruler of the Mutharaiyar lineage.
- Suvaran Maran was also known as Shatrubhayankar.
- Perumbidugu Mutharaiyar fought several battles alongside the Pallava king Nandivarman, and is remembered as a great administrator.
- He seems to have patronised Shaivya and other scholars.
- As a Jain monk Vimalachandra visted his court.
Who are Mutharaiyars?
- They were the feudatories of the Pallavas.
- As the Pallavas’ rule weakened, many such chiefs earned more power and prominence and were treated as rulers in their own right.
- The Mutharaiyars held sway over areas including Thanjavur, Pudukkottai, Perambalur, Tiruchirappalli, and others near the Cauvery river.
- As the feudatories of the Pallavas, the Mutharaiyars were great temple builders.
- They were “engaged in cave temple enterprises up to the opening decades of the ninth century.
