Chola Nadu also known as Chola Mandalam,is an ancient region spanning on the current state of Tamil Nadu and union territory of Puducherry in southern India. It encompasses the lower reaches of the Kaveri River and its delta, and formed the cultural homeland and political base of the Chola Dynasty which ruled large parts of India and Sri Lanka between the 9th and 13th centuries CE. Uraiyur (now part of Tiruchirapalli city) served as the early Chola capital, then medieval Cholas shifted to Thanjavur and later cholas king Rajendra Chola I moved the capital to Gangaikonda Cholapuram in Ariyalur district in the 11th century CE. Chola Nadu is therefore larger than the Tanjore region or the Cauvery delta in the strict sense. Although it essentially corresponds to these two overlapping areas.
The boundaries of the region roughly correlates with those of the British India districts of Tanjore and Trichinopoly, and the établissement of Karaikal in French India. Historically, the region also encompassed at time present Ariyalur and Perambalur districts (parts of erstwhile South Arcot), parts of Pudukkottai district (erstwhile Pudukkottai State) and southern reaches of Cuddalore district (taluks of Chidambaram and Kattumannarkoil).
