as to why the Nagarathar left the Chola kingdom and moved away from Kaveripoompattinam to the Pandiya kingdom. Another older one, recounted to Edgar Thurston, that they were encouraged to go there by a Pandyan king who wanted to take advantage of their trading skills. The legends converge in saying that they obtained the use of nine temples, with each representing one exogamous part of the community. The traditional base of the Nattukottai Nagarathars is the Chettinad region of the present-day state of Tamil Nadu. It comprises a triangular area around north-east Sivagangai, north-west Ramnad and south Pudukkottai. They may have become maritime traders as far back as the 8th century CE. They were trading in salt and by the 17th century, European expansionism in South East Asia during the next century fostered conditions that enabled the community to expand its trading enterprises, including as moneylenders, thereafter. By the late 18th century expanded them to inland and coastal trade in cotton and rice. In the 19th century, following the Permanent Settlement, some in the Nagarathar community wielded considerable influence in the affairs of the zamindar (landowners) elite. There had traditionally been a relationship between royalty and the community based on the premise that providing worthy service to royalty would result in the granting of high honours but this changed as the landowners increasingly needed to borrow money from the community in order to fight legal battles designed to retain their property and powers. Nagarathars provided that money as mortgaged loans but by the middle of the century they were becoming far less tolerant of any defaults and were insisting that failure to pay as arranged would result in the mortgaged properties being forfeited. By the 19th century were their business activities developed into a sophisticated banking system, with their business expanding to parts of Southeast Asian countries such as Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and China. Varna Classification In the absence of a proper chaturvarna system in South India, Naattukottai Nagarathars were classified as high ranking Shudras and sometimes as Vaishyas (Vyshya). Religious influence The nine temples connected with the Nagarathar community include: Ilayathakudi, Iluppaikkudi, Iraniyur, Mathur, Nemam, Pillayarpatti, Soorakudi, Vairavanpatti, and Velangudi. Cuisine Famous personalities Pattinathar, a philosopher and ascetic who belonged to the 10th or 14th century CE. Karaikkal Ammaiyar, a Saivite saint and one of the 63 Nayanmars. Raja 'Sir' Annamalai Chettiar, Raja of Chettinad P