#PonniyinSelvan novel is famous for its characters, history and plot twists. Did you know that its geographical descriptions are accurate?

Come, let us travel along Vandhiyathevan to retrace the hero's journey in modern day Tamilnadu, with google map links and images! (A thread)

Vandhiyathevan is on a mission - to deliver two secret messages from Kanchipuram to Thanjavur.
After 175km of travel, both the hero and his horse are tired. That is when he sees the refreshing visuals of Veeranarayanapura lake.
It was Aadi 18, and the Cholas were celebrating.

This dam of 16km length was built by Rajaditya Chola who named it after his father Parantaka-1 aka Veeranarayanan.
Ramanuja was influenced by the magnitude of this lake and decided to establish 74 mutts : a number based on the 74 openings in the lake. Map:
https://t.co/c8O0numTgr

Hero & Aazhvarkadiyaan proceed south to Veeranarayana Perumal temple. They see a young Nathamuni, singing the 10 known pasurams of the time (who later goes on to discover the lost 3990 pasurams)
This is Kalki's genius: making his reel characters meet real historic people!

This Abimaana Sthala temple is in Kattumannarkoil, which is 26km from Chidambaram and 6km from Veeranam lake.
Chola inscriptions mention the temple's name as Veeranarayana Vinnagaram (Tamil for Vishnu's Griham-house)
Map:
https://t.co/yFWOdiZ9V8