Tondamandalam became part of the Chola empire after its conquest by Aditya I and remained so till about the middle of the thirteenth century.
The earliest record available here is that of Parantaka I (I-12) (907-955) dated in the 29the year of this reign. His son, Parthivendravarman alias Aditya n, was viceroy of Tondamandalam for nearly fifteen years commencing from 956 A.D., Samavai, the wife of a Pallava subordinate, consecrated in the temple of Tirumala a silver image named Manavalpperumal, a replica of the original deity and instituted festivals (1-8,& 9). There are three inscriptions of Rajaraja I (985-1014) in this area of which one (I-14) from the
Templc on Tirumala states that a queen of Parantaka II gifted a paltam of gold.
()f Ihe next king, Rajendra Chola, two records are available. One of I hem mentions the construction of the Kapilesvara temple at h.ipilalirl ham (1-20).
T here are eleven inscriptions of Kulottunga I. (1-21 -32) (1070- 11 .’0) m ihe temples of Tirumala and Jogi-Mallavaram and one h t urd of Vikrama Chola (1-33).
Of the next king, Rajaraja III, there are seven inscriptions. It is in . cssary to refer here to an event which changed the character of ihe ivmples of this region and gave them the present complex. Vaishnava saints, popularly known as the Alvars, preached devotion n i god and inspired many honest souls to take to Vishnu worship. After them came the Acharyas who gave this early Vaishnavism a definitc shape and form and put it on a Firm basis. The greatest of thesc was Ramanuja. He made Srirangam his headquarters and carried on missionary activity. His new interpretation of Vedanta,
popularly known as Visishtadvaita, was making rapid progress. At harya Nadamuni, who restored the practice of reciting the Tamil prabandham in the temples, visited Tirumala during the course of a pilgrimage . Alavandar, the next acharya, also paid a visit to the hill Templc. He deputed one of his grandsons, Tirumalai Nambi, to go ant I reside on the hill and attend to the pious task of supplying holy water and flowers to the temple. Tirumalai Nambi migrated to Tirumala and spent his life there in god’s service. Next was Ramanuja.
This teacher is said to have visited Tirupati thrice. On the first i m easion, he spent about a year with his uncle, Tirumalai Nambi, It .ii ning the esoteric meaning of the Ramayana. His second visit was for settling a dispute that arose between the Saivas and the V.ushnavas regarding the nature of the image set up in the Tirumala it mple. During the last visit, which was at the advanced old age of
102, the acharya installed the image of Govindaraja and laid the foundations of the present town of Tirupati.
