Why in the news?

• The Vice President of India released a commemorative postage stamp in honour of the king Perumbidugu Mutharaiyar II (Suvaran Maran).

Perumbidugu Mutharaiyar ( 705 to 745 AD)

• Who is he?: Perumbidugu Mutharaiyar II, also known as Suvaran Maran is a feudatory under the Pallava dynasty.
• Titles: “Thanjai Kon”
• Area: Thanjavur, Tiruchirappalli, Pudukkottai, Perambalur, and Thiruvarur regions.
• Religious and Cultural Contributions
  • The Pallava period witnessed a revival of Hinduism amid the earlier dominance of Jainism and Buddhism.
  • Patronised Shivasim.
  • A Jain monk, Acharya Vimalachandra, visited his court and debated Shaivas, Pasupatas, Buddhists, and Kapalikas, indicating a vibrant intellectual and religious milieu.
• Architectural Significance
  • The Mutharaiyars played an important role in the development of South Indian temple architecture.
  • They were involved in cave temple construction and early structural stone temples.
  • Scholars credit the Mutharaiyars with influencing early Chola architecture, especially before the rise of the Vijayalaya Chola line.
  • Inscriptions at Senthalai Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple record his genealogy, titles, and religious devotion.
• Fall: The defeat of the Mutharaiyars by Vijayalaya Chola, through the capture of Thanjavur, marked a major political transition in Tamil history.

Source: The Indian Express