Lying east of Kerala and south of Andhra Pradesh, this state was formerly known as Madras State, and members of this state's namesake  
The Nilgiri Hills are in the western part of this state near its second-largest city of Coimbatore, and the Pallavi Kingdom was centered in this present-day state at Kanchipuram, one of the holiest cities in Hinduism. This state is home to the delta of the Kaveri River, which flows into the state from Karnataka. This state, which borders on the Gulf of Mannar and has the northern terminus of Adam's Bridge, surrounds the city of Pondicherry. Lying east of Kerala and south of Andhra Pradesh, this state was formerly known as Madras State, and members of this state's namesake  (*) ethnic group tried to create a breakaway republic in nearby Sri Lanka. For 15 points, name this state of southern India with capital at Chennai.
The Nilgiri Hills are in the western part of this state near its second-largest city of Coimbatore, and the Pallavi Kingdom was centered in this present-day state at Kanchipuram, one of the holiest cities in Hinduism.
Tamil Nadu