Author: K. Jeevabharathi
Translator: Derpitron
Once there lived a king named Balraj who ruled the place called Vadikottai (erstwhile Andhra) located in present day Bellary district of Karnataka. He had a son named Bommu who succeeded as the next king. Bommu had a beautiful daughter who was sought after by several kings. During that time, several parts of Andhra was ruled by a powerful Muslim king. This Muslim King was also interested in marrying Bommu’s daughter. However Bommu did not want his daughter to marry a person from another religion. But it was also not a wise choice to go up against that Muslim king. So he decided to migrate with his family entirely to a different place.
Bommu arrived at a place called Salakulam near Maniyachi, Tirunelveli district. It so happened that the village was being plundered by robbers at that time. Bommu single handedly fought with them, eventually chased them away and protected the local villagers. His brave actions were appreciated by the people and he came to be known as Kattabommu which is a short form of Gettikkara (meaning: talented) Bommu.
The region called Azhagiya veerapandiyapuram was then ruled by a Pandiya king Jagaveera Pandiyan. Bommu had joined as a commander under this king’s army. Due to his bravery and affection he became one of the close aides to the king. Later, Bommu got the opportunity to become the next king of Azhagiya veerapandiyapuram since Jagaveera Pandiyan did not have any heir. This marked the beginning of the so-called Kattabomman dynasty. These rulers had prefixed the title Veerapandiya in honour of the Pandiya king Jagaveera Pandiyan (who gave them the opportunity to rule) and also as a phrase from their territory Azhagiya veerapandiyapuram.
Bommu loved hunting. One day when he went for a hunt he saw a strange thing happen. A dog was chasing a rabbit. The rabbit scarily kept running away. However upon reaching a certain location the rabbit stopped running. It rather turned back and faced the dog angrily. Finally the dog got intimidated by the gestures of the rabbit and left the place. Bommu was very surprised upon seeing this. He felt that this is not the ability of that rabbit but it is the greatness of that place. So he decided to build a fort at that particular place which seemed to be a source of courage. And he wanted to rule the kingdom from there. This is what later became the fort of Panchalankurichi.
In this lineage, there was a king named Veerapandiya Nayakkar who was the 44th king of Panchalankurichi. He was succeeded by his son Pal Pandiyan who was the grandfather of Veerapandiya Kattabomman. Next to Pal Pandiyan, Panchalankuruchi was ruled by his son Jagaveera Pandiyan (Veerapandiya Kattabomman’s father). Jaga Veerapandiyan and his wife Arumugathammal give birth to a baby boy. That boy was named Veerapandiyan. This boy went on to become the famous hero Veerapandiya Kattabomman.