Aniruddha Brahmarayar

Aniruddha Brahmarayar was a leading minister in the court of the Chola emperor Sundara Chola. The "Anbil plates" of Sundara Chola are the primary source of information about him

Family and ancestry

Aniruddha was born in a Vaishnavite Brahmin family of the village of Anbil. He belonged to Harita gotra. Aniruddha's father was a teacher of the Vedas.}

Position

In the Anbil plates of Sundara Chola, Aniruddha is mentioned as manya sachiva. He was given the title Brahmarayar or Brahmadhiraja meaning "Brahmin king", usually reserved for high-ranking Brahmin bureaucrats in the Chola Empire. Aniruddha's family was also given a generous grant of several velis by the monarch.

In popular culture

Aniruddha Brahmarayar is one of the central characters in Kalki Krishnamurthy's semi-historical novel Ponniyin Selvan.

References

• K. A. Nilakanta Sastri (2000) [1935]. The CōĻas. Madras: University of Madras. p. 465.