Insqribed to the Memory John Weir - Forgotten Books

INSQRIBED TO THE ME MORY

JOHN WE IR

(ISSPEGmm N-Emzt, a? m! stigma]

P R E F A C E

THE first chapter dea ls with the early portion of Indian

History, and so the titl e ‘ Ancient India '

h a s been given

to the book . The other chapters dea l with a variety of

subjects, an d a re ba sed on lectures g iven on different occa

s ions . One wa s original ly prepared as my thesis for the

M A . Deg ree Exam ination of the U n ivers ity of Mad ras .

The favourab le reception g iven to my early work by

historica l and orienta l scho lars encouraged m e to put m y

resea rches into a more permanent form , which a l ibera l

gra nt from the Madras School Book and Literature Society

h a s enabled me to do .

I have to thank the editors and publ ishers who have so

kind ly a l lowed m e to reproduce articles which first appeared

in their res pective periodica l s . Among st these are Sir

Richard Temple , Mr . G . A . Natesan ,the Comm ittee of th e

South India n Associa tion , Mylapore, and the Myth ic Society ,

Banga lore . I a l so desire to acknowl edge the a ssista nce

which ha s been g iven me in the publ ication of the work

by the Rev . Canon Sel l , and my obl iga tion to Mr . Vincent

A . Sm ith for his va luab le Introduction .

CHAMARAJENDBAPET ,

BANG ALORE CITY ,

Augus t 1 , 1911 .l

INTRODUCT ION

CHAPTER I A HISTORICAL SURVEY UP TO A . D .

II H ISTORY OF SOUTH INDIA

STRUGGLE F OR EMP IRE IN SOUTHINDIA

INDIA AT THE DAWN OF THE

CHRIST IAN ERA

V THE MYSIHU L‘

STATE—A RETROSPEL

THE GHDLA EMP IRE IN SOUTH

SR I RAMANI’

JACHARYA,HIS LIFE

AND TIMES

I THE MAK ING OF MYSORE

VISE N CVARDHANA

BIJJALA

MYSORE UNDER THE

THE VALUE OF.‘ LITERATURE IN

H ISTORY

XIII THE TH IRD TAMIL SANGAM

THE AUGU S’

AN AGE OF TAMIL

HISTORY

X CONTENTS

CHAPTER XVI SELF - IMMOLATI-ON WHICH IS

XVII AGNIKULA : THE F IRE-RACE

XVIII THE AGE or NAMMALVAR

XIX TIRUMANGA I ALVAR AND HIS DATE . 402

APPENDIX—NOTESERRATA

SOUTH INDIA ABOUT AD . 1100 F ACING

SOUTH INDIA AT THE SANGAM PERIOD F ACING

INTRODUCTION

THE request made to me by Mr . S. Krishna swami

Aiyang ar tha t I shou ld prefix to his vo lume of collected

e s says on the l i tera ry and politica l h i s tory of Southern

India , a few words of introduction met with readya cceptance

,because nothin g gives me grea ter plea sure

than to wa tch the steady progres s made by Ind ian

born s tudents in the investiga tion of the ancient

h i story of their countrv . It wou ld be ea sy to name

m anv recent Indian author s who have made important

and s o l id contribution s to a ccura te knowl edge of the

ea rly hi story of Ind ia . Among such writers, Mr .

Krishn a swami Aiyangar holds an honoura ble pla ce

and if he had l e isure gr ea ter than tha t which officia l

dut ie s permit, he might, perhaps , produce tha t Ea rly

His tory of Sou thern India, which i s so much wanted

and can be written only by a schola r familiar with

the country and on e or m ore of the Dravidian verna

culars . The col l ect ion of papers now offered to th e

publ ic does not profess to be such a history . It i s .

s imply a rei ssue of es say s printed on various occa sions

a t d ifferent t imes , and in some ca ses now subj ected to

s l ight revi sion . A volume of the kind which is ra ther

ma teria l s for history than history i tself, neces s aril v

suffe rs from unavoidable overlapping and repetition ,

and from a lack of uni ty . But notwithstand ing the

d efect s inheren t in an a ssemblage of deta ched es says

INTRODUCTION

I can cordia lly recommend this book a s be ing a reada

ble and genera l l y sound introduct ion to th e study in

d eta i l of the history of the Sou th .

The first chapter , A Histori ca l Survey up to A . D .

700’ i s a well - written summary . The hypothesis

(p . 17) tha t the Saka s of Seistan were d i s turbed and

s et in motion towards Ind ia by pressure from the

Sassanian dyna sty of Persia establ ished in A . D . 226

m ay yet be verifi ed . The next three chapters give an

excellent genera l review of th e sa lient fa cts of early

South Indian history so far a s known . If the author

(p . 67 ) i s correct in saying tha t th e GuI-jjara s a re

mentioned in the Tamil epic poem ca l led Manimékha lai,

the composi t ion of th a t work cannot be much anterior

to A . D . 500, ina smuch a s the Gurj jara s do not seem

to h ave entered India before the midd le of the fi fth

century . He holds (p . 7 5 ) tha t th e epic i s ea rl ier

than the time of Varah amihira (A . D. becau se the

poet uses a reckoning of the a sterism s which wa s

superseded by the improved system of the Hel l eniz ing

a st ronomer .

Many of the essays now col l ected,I ' may observe,

make va luabl e contribut ions to the history and eb ro

nology of Indian , and especia l ly of Tami l l i tera ture .

The older hi stories of Indian l itera ture wer e restri cted

to the di scussion of works written in Sanskrit and

Prakrit . The idea l h i s tory of th e va st l itera ture of

India should g ive a lmost equa l a ttention to the nobl e

works in the Southern languages, among which Tamil

i s pre - eminent . The translat ions publi shed by Mr

Gover,Dr . Pope, and a few other scholars suffice to

p rove the high ethica l and a rtistic va lue of the Tamil

INTRODUCT ION xi ii

compos i t ions . So fa r a s I can judge Mr . Krishna swami

Aiyan g ar i s right in da t ing the best period of Tamil

l it era ture in the second and third centuries of the

Chri s tian era .

The most important and genera l ly interest ing chapter

i n the book is the s ixth (pp . 90 which gives an

admirable abstra ct of the po l it ica l his t ory of the

Chola s , with a deta i l ed account of their system of

G overnment and vil lage administra tion , Wel l des e rving

of a ttent ive study . The Chola drna s ty wa s singula r l v

prol ific in kings of more than ordinary capa city,from

the midd l e of th e ninth century to the end of the

reign of Ku lottung a in A . D . 11 18 . It i s clea r from the

deta i l s on record tha t the administra tion of the kingdom

wa s‘ highly systema tized

from an ea rly da te . F or

in stance , there is abundant evidence tha t ‘th e lands

under cul tivation were ca reful lv surveyed and hold ings

regi stered at l ea st a century before the famous Dam es

day record of W il liam th e Conqueror ’

. The re - survey

of 1086 wa s exactly contemporaneous with the Engl i sh

record .

‘ The Chola s w er e grea t bui lders ; bui lders not on l v

of cit ie s and temples (s ometimes for stra tegi c purposes

sometimes in obedience to the d ic ta tes of their vanity) ,

but a ls o of usefu l i rriga t ion works’

. It is lamentable

t o be obl iged t o record the di sgracefu l fa ct that ‘ when

th e lower Coleroon anicut (dam ) wa s buil t , the strue

ture (tha t i s to s ay,th e noble temple of G angaikonda

puram ) ,was di smantled of a la rge pa rt of the spl endid

granit e scu lptures which adorned i t , and the enc losing

wa l l was a lmost wholly destroyed in order to obta in

m a teria l for th e work .

’ By the kindness of Mr . Rea ,

INTRODUCTION

I have been suppl ied with photographs of some of the

s urviving figure scu lp tures, a few of which wil l be pub

lished in my forthcoming His tory of Fine Art in

India and Ceylon. They may, perhaps, be cons idered

the finest known Hindu sculptures, and certa inly tak e

rank among the best . A ful ly i l lustra ted monograph

on Ganga ikondapuram and Chola art genera l ly wou ld

b e of grea t interest .

The discussion in Chapter VII of Sri Ramanuja

charya ,his L ife and Times

, throws much light upon

a n important epoch in the s tory of Indian religious

d evelopment .

The origin and growth of the Sta te Of Mysore are

trea ted at l ength in two chapters . But the identifica

tion of the ancient Mahisha Manda la with Mysore

must, a s Dr . F l eet ha s shown , be given up . Mahi sh

mati appears to have been the capita l of the Mahisha s ,

a nd is now represent ed by Mandhata on the Narbada .

The la ter chapters dea l ing with certa in specia l

problems, chiefly concerned with Tamil rel igious and

l it erary history, are of les s genera l interes t .

OXF ORD, VINCENT A . SMITH .

F ebrua ry 8, 1911 .

CHAPTER I

A HISTOR ICAL SURVE Y UP TO A . D . 700

IN a ttempt ing to look back upon our own his tory,the first es sentia l would appea r to be th e ma rkingof a few of the more sa l ient features, so tha t wem a y group round th ese a number of minor eventsand incidents . This wil l g ive us perspective ; and

whatever imperfec tion there m ay be in deta i l i t wi l lmake the who le presentable . If, at this distance, wetake a retrospect, th e history of India of the Aryaninva sions wou ld appea r, like our own Hima layas at a

grea t distance, a l l smooth but for a few peaks ofcommanding h eight.

‘ Happy is the nation whoseanna ls are a b lank,

’ sa id Carlyle , and if we can derivec omfort from th is s eem ing blankness, we sha l l perhapsbe in a delus ion . I sha ll a ttempt, therefore, to presentin outl ine the outs tand ing fea tures with a view toclothing these la ter on to make them a s presentable

looking as we may.

\Ve have to begin with the Aryans in their ownhomes wherever they might have been and move a l ongwith them . This wil l be extra - Indian in character and

witha l essentia l to the proper understanding Of theirdoings in India .

We sha l l n ame this the Pre - Indian

ag e of the Indo - Aryans circ. 3000 B. 0 . During thi s

age the Aryans advance up to the Indian frontier .

They are a nomadi c - agricul tura l folk , a lready differen

tiated from the ir Iranian brethren , developing some

of the features pecul iar to the Indo - Aryans of th e

Rig -Veda .

2 ANCIENT INDIA

The next step in advance takes them a cross thefrontier into India . During this stage of their migra

tion we find them in occupa tion of the land of the fiverivers . It is here for the first time tha t the Aryanscome in contact with th e aborigina l inhabitants of

India and the struggle for possession of the countryb egins . The more rudimenta ry civil iza tion , of course,gives way to the more advanced and vigorous . It isaga in in the land of the five r ivers tha t the s implecivil izat ion and compact triba l organiza tion take forma nd are pictured to us in the Rig - Veda . The richsoil and flourishing communit ies ca tch the eyes and

a ttract the desires Of the neighbouring, but sti l l pr imitive, cousins of these Indian Aryans . To makeroom for these new arriva l s, not without a fightperhaps , the Indo - Aryans move forwa rd a cross therivers to the Doab of the Ganges and the Jumna .

A l l this may be a scribed roughly to the ha l f mil lennium2000- 1 500 B . C .

As the Greek cou sins of these Indo - Aryans did, so

these la tter underwent a similar course of developmenta ccording to their own environment

,geographica l and

politica l . In the Gangetic Doab, we find the Aryansdeveloping more powerful communities, which, instea dof becoming city - sta tes a s in Gre ece, l ed to strongmona rchies ru l ing great tribes and va st kingdoms

ticularly a s the country wa s more Open . It wa s inthese regions that the great inter - triba l wars typifiedin the Ma habhara ta, must have taken pla ce . At lea st,the incidents referred to in th e grea t epic have thei rthea tre here . Hence thi s period of history h as come

to be known tha t of the Ma habhara ta . It i s here forthe fi rst t ime tha t the Arvans get into touch

, not onlywith the uncivil i zed aborigines who a re the fea ture ofthe Punjab pla in s , as even the la ter Briha t Ka t/id

makes it clear, but a l so with the civil ized DravidiansOf India . It i s here, a s with the Greeks in Attica and

THE DEVELOPMENT on THE A l tYANS 3

Boeotia , that the Ary ans change their policy of usurpa tiou to tha t of ama lgama tion

, which a lone wa s poss ible under the circumstances . To these events i sa scribed the period included in the centuries between1500—1000 B . C .

F rom here the further expansion ea stwa rds cou ld not

be in the whole sa l e fa shion a s heretofore, but h ad to

be in dribl ets . This expansion takes the form of a fewpowerful kingdoms farther ea st than the Doab . XVha t

the Kurus (or Kaur ava s) and the Panch ala s were tothe Doab , the Kasa la s and Vidéhas were to the furtherea st Of tho se times . It is these regions tha t the Rams

ya na, descr ibes . The period taken up in the expansion

(or infi ltration) into these regions m ay have been the

qua rter millennium 1000—750 B . 0 .

During these periods the Indo - Aryan s wer e rearingtho se great edifices of learning and re ligion

, which

h ave given thi s land of ours a l l i t s c la ims to grea tnessin the various departments of human activitv . The

p re-Vedic Aryans brought in their tradit ions, which

they could elabora te at leisure in the Punjab . These,

in course of time, were put into shape in the hymns

of the Veda , which, a s t ime advanced, required to beexpla ined by an elabora te commentary . Thes e com

m entaries a re the Brahman a s . These in their turn l ed

to the fur ther disquis i tions ca l l ed the Aranyaka s cul

min ating in the philo sophica l fl ights of the Upanishads .

This transformat ion, or rather elaboration, h a s been

g oing on steadi ly up to the period we arrived a t in

th e la st section . This i s not a l l . Certain scientific

inquiri es h ad to be made for the proper understanding

of the Veda s and the Vedic ritua l . Their need wa s

met by the elaboration of the Vedanga s namely, (1 )K a lpa which included geometry so far as i t applied

to the construction of sa crificia l a ltars, (2) Siksh a or

phonetics, (3) Chanda s or metre, (4) \ 1yakarana or

g rammar, (5) Nirukta or study of words, (6) JyOtisha

4 ANCIENT INDIA

or astronomy . Th ese Vedanga s find brief trea tment inthe Brahmana s or Upanishads and acqui re the mec es

sary scient ifi c ca st in the age we have come to ju st now .

This development lea ds us on to the soca ll ed Sutra

period,because thi s growing ma ss of litera ture requ i red

to be put in a sh ape which cou ld ea s ily be ma stered .

The a lphabet, no doubt, h ad been invented a l rea dy (or

adapted thoroughly to Indian requirem ents) , thoughperhaps i t was not brought qu i te into common u sage .

This period overlaps the next and m ay be taken to

occupy the four centuries between 7 50 B . C . and s ay

350 B .C . So far then we have to rely entirely uponsuch evidence a s i s ava ilable in our sacred l itera ture,and scholars have a l lotted these to very va rying per iods .

The Aryan home is pla ced within the Arctic C irc l eby Mr . Tilak , and he a scribes a very ea rly period

(7000 B . C . ) indeed for th e ear l i est hymn s Of the RigVeda ; while European scholars wou ld bring it to

1500 B . G . Mr . Tilak rest s h i s a rguments upon certa in

solar and other astronomica l phenomena referred to in

th e earl i er hymns which upon his hypothesi s find cl ea rexplanat ion . The la te Mr . Shankar Ba lakri shna Dikshit.

refers certa in at l east of th e Brahmana s to 3800 B . C .

there being a ref erence in the Sa tapada Brahmana tothe Pleiades being in the Equ inox , which is verifiabl e

astronomica l ly . Dr . Thibaut cons iders tha t the versereferred to is a la te interpolation . SO our pos itionhere is not very secure, and therefore our chronologyrespecting thi s period canno t l ay cla im to much ao

curacy . The u lt ima te downward l imit oi our per iod

m ay be taken to be accurate, a s i t brings in an nu

locked for synchronism . Pythagora s,‘ the Greek phi los0pher, is bel ieved to have l ea rned in India not only

his theory of transmigra tion, but a l so hi s theory of

numbers from our Sankya system . Drs . Gol dstucker

l A. B . Keith disputes this . vol . 1909, pp . 569 et s eq .

ARYAN IMMIGRATION INTO THE SOUTH 5

a nd Bhandarkar r efer the gramma rian Pan ini to thisperiod, and if thi s be correct it brings the history of

South India into touch with tha t of the North .

Taking a fresh starting point, therefore, somewherein th e sixth century B . C ., we find ourse lves upon somewhat firmer ground a s outs ide light begins to bea t inupon u s . In the centurie s on either side Of 750 B . C .

the Aryans begin penetra ting into the Mahakantara

round about the Vindhya s , the memory of which ispres erved in the tradition rega rding Agustia

s advent

into the south . If the Ramayana could be trusted tobe correct rega rding its geographica l deta il s, the grea tforest extends up to the Pampa Sa ras , which i s onthe north bank Of the Tungabh adra near modern

Hainpe, though the Sa ra s (or tank) must haVe beenforgotten under the name, a s the author of the TamilRamayana makes it, P ampanadi. The advent of Agus tiaintrodu ces reclamation of the jungle into arable land ,

and he i s the reputed author of the first Tami l gram

m a r . \Vhoever th is Agustia wa s , Rishi or some one

el se by tha t name, he does for Tamil wha t Panini did

for Sanskrit . Tha t he cri tic izes Pan ini appea rs to be

in evidence in one of the very few quota tions thathave come down to us . It woul d thus appear tha t the

A ryan migra tion into south India has to be referr ed

to this period of the Sutra s .

\Vhen the whole of India , north and south, i s get tingorganized .

the overgrowth of ritua l i sm ,and perhaps of

re lig ion becoming too much of a mystery, sets thought

ful peop le thinking about this very subj ect . There

appea r in the sixth century two grea t men whohave contributed very much to bring about a mighty

transforma tion . It i s c erta inly in the fi tnes s of thingsth a t these shoul d have flour ished in the spots favoured

by na ture, where before their time the daring fl ights

of specula tion into the mystery of the Unknown rea chedit s grand cl ima cteric under the Indian Pisistra tus a s he

6 ANCIENT INDIA

i s ca l led, or Rajarishi' Janaka . These two great sons

of India are Maha Vira Vardhamana, the founder of the

religion of the Jina , and Gautama Sakyamuni , the

Buddha . The new tea chings of the la tter, and theappea l they made to the people have long been recogniz ed as the potent cause Of the development of thelanguages of the people. This influenc e from thedistant north found rea dy Tesponse even in the distantsouth, with which communica tion appears to have been

ma inta ined by way of the s ea,while yet the Danda

karanya had not been penetra ted by a great highway,.

the Dakshinapath a . In another way the advent O fthe Buddha h as a l so been of advantage to studentsOf history . His religion i t wa s tha t took India fromher blissful i sola tion, and l ed her to take her place

among the world Powers, but this wa s not a s yet .With the advent of Buddhism comes into promi

nence the kingdom of Magadh a ,perhaps semi - Aryan,

as it wa s in the borderland of Aryavarta . The capi ta l s

of this kingdom appear to have been Raj agriha , Kai

keyi’s father’s kingdom, and Vaisali, a l so spoken of inthe Ramayana . Bimbisara of the Saisunaga dyna styand his pa tri cide son Ajatasa tru were contemporarie s .

of the Buddha . Before the Buddha a tta ined nirvana ,

Buddhism had obta in ed a grea t hold upon the peopl e

of India , and Buddhist monks and nuns had gone aboutcarrying the Buddhist gospel .

This age when two religious reformers flourished, andin which the founda tion of th e grea tness of the kingdom

of Magadh a wa s la id i s remarkable in many ways .This is the age in which an Indian cont ingent fought

in th e ba ttl es of Th ermopylae and Plataea in Greece,

‘ in cotton clothes, cane bows , and iron - tipped arrows ’.

This was possibl e becaus e of the twent ieth satrapy onthe west bank of the Indus, formed by the adventurousski l l of th e Carian admira l of D arius Hys ta spes, by

name Skylax . The da te of the naviga t ion of the Indus

8 ANCIENT INDIA

of the tribes having had their lo ca l habita t in Bundl ekhand, the other being located somewhere in N epa l ;the Ma l la s round about Kusinara a long the Nepa l Tara i ;the Va j jian s , a confedera tion of eigh t clans of which

the Chief were the Licchavis of Vaisaliand the Vidéhas

of Mithila ; the KOsa la s whose kingdom during thi speriod included Srava s ti in Nepa l on the one side and

Benares on the other with Sakata in the midd l e ; theKasi s round mod ern Benares ; Magh ada round Pa tna

including in i t southern Beha r up to Bhaga lpur on theGanges ; and Anga with it s capi ta l Champa not fa r

from Bhaga lpur .

It is c l ear from the above tha t so far the southernexpansion h ad come up only to th e Godava ri . Thi si s not inconsistent with th e sta te of things portrayedin the Ramayana ,

which nowhere mentions an Aryankingdom nor an Aryan settlement Of any importancebeyond Janasthana a l ong the upper rea ches of th eGodavari . The polit ica l fea ture of this peri od i s th estruggle for supremacy between the neighbours , theKOsa la s and th e Magadha s . The Saisun ag a s pa r ticularly under Bimbisara and his pa tricide son A jatas’

atru wer e successful in expanding Magadh a to inc lude

Vaisali and the Licchavi country and keeping KOs a lawell within bounds . It wa s dur ing their rul e tha tRa j agriha wa s fortified and the capita l changed to

Vaisali. It was a successor of Ajatasa tru,by name

U dayana ,who enla rged his predecessor’s fort of Pata li

pura into the grea t capita l of Magadh a . The fa l l ofthis grea t dynasty wa s , however, a t hand and wa s

probably brought a bou t by di ssensions within and

inva sion from without . The inva sion of ChandaP a jjota

1(PradhyOta) of U j j a in must have weakened

1 This is the fa th er of vas avada tta Queen of Udayana of Kosam b hi.

It wa s this king wh o is described in th e Brikot Ka thd a s Ch a nda

Mah as ena . Th at th e two refer to th e s ame king is cl ear fromP riya

'l ar si75a .

P ORUS 9

th e Sta t e much and a pa la ce revolution did th e rest .‘

T h e Sais una gas were overthrown and the Nanda s cameto power. The ill - g otten power la sted for two genera tions only, and the Nanda s

,in turn, were Over

thrown by Chandragupta Maurya .

It i s while this revolution in pol i tics was gradua l lyworking out in the midd l e kingdoms that the westernfrontiers were thrown into confusion by the advent Of

one of the world ’s conquering heroes . Starting fromMa cedonia , the young champion of Hel lenism , A l exande r th e Great, ma rched ea stwards combining withth e wa rl ike instinct s of the genera l the in sa tiablecuriosity of the explorer . Meeting with feebl e res ista nce on th e way a cro ss the empire of Pers ia ,

hema rched a long the left banks of the Kophen (Ca bu lr iver) and crossed the Indu s somewhere above Attock

with the friendly hospita lity of Omphes of Taxila , whosej ea lousy towards hi s powerful neighbour Porus threw

him in to the arms of A l exander . It cost A lexander

a grea t effort of skil l and da ring before he could take

the h il l fort of Aornos (identified with Mahaban) . Thisdone he ma rched down the Peshawar pla in to thebanks of the Jhelum . Here a t la s t he met his ma tch .

POrus was a fter a l l worsted ; but so far compel l ed

A lexander's admira tion , a s to get his kingdom restored

to him . It was probably extended , under the ViceroyPhi lip

. A lexander’s furth er advance upon the Mag adh a

k ingdom was prevented by a mutiny among his troops ,

a nd he h ad to turn ba ck , never to return . Havingbeen thus bau lked in his a ttempt to bring about A lex

ander’s intervention

,Chandra gupta wa s able to levy

troops in the Punjab among the severa l war - l ike tr ibes ,

and brought about the revo lution which, thanks to theexert ions of the most a stute d iploma tist of the t imes

C hanakya (or Kautilya or Vish nugupta ) , gave him the

k ing dom of Ma gadh a The a cces sion of this firstMaurya i s pla ced in th e yea r ii_. l L . C . and provides

10 ANCIENT INDIA

us with the first rel iable da te in the his tory of India .

During the first decade Of his reign, he wa s ab le so:

far to organize his resources tha t he wa s ma ster of

Hindustan up to the frontiers . POrus wa s a ssa ssina ted?

in the meanwhile . It wa s in 305 B . C . or a few years

earlier that on e of the most promising among A lexander’s genera ls, who h ad made h imself ru l er Of As iaafter his ma ster’s dea th

,a ttempted th e conquest of

the ea st . This time the east outma tched the westSeleucus Nicator (the victorious) h ad to agr ee to a

humiliating trea ty,giving up to Chandragupta A l ex

ander’s ea stern v iceroya lty under Philip, i. e . the countryof Afghanistan .

After this , Chandragupta’

s empire stretched from themounta ins running a cross A fghanis tan to the Bay of

Benga l, and from the Hima laya s to the Vindhya s .

This va st empir e was organized on the t ime - honouredba si s of loca l autonomy, with the condition atta chedOf providing contingents to the imperia l a rmy and Of

a cknowledging suprema cy . NO o th er c loser a rrangement cou ld have been made on a ccount of meredi stance a lone . The empire might have la sted on ,

i fonly the members Of such a federa t ed empire understood ea ch other better an d h ad a cted up t o the

agreements entered into , or in the absence th ereof, h ad

consu lted the common interests of a l l . This perhapswa s too much in a dvance of the times to expect

Ch andragupta’

s successor Bindus ara fol lowed in thewake Of hi s predecessor and cons iderably added to

the empire . He entrusted the two important frontiers

to his two sons , the eldest being viceroy of the northwest at Taxila , while the younger, the more famou sAsOka , wa s the viceroy at Vidisa (Bhi lsa) of th e

Dakshinapath a .

F rom Bindusara we pass on w ith plea sure to h isson A soka , the Constant ine of India . A s6ka wa s

viceroy Of the then most difficul t frontier when his

ASOKA 11

fa ther di ed . A sOka h ad to assert hi s cla im as aga instan elder brother, the viceroy Of Taxi la , and overthrewhim at la st . Having thus got the throne

,he began

his reign in the manner Of both of his predeces sors .His only acqui s it ion to the empire

,however is ex

plicitly sta ted to be Ka lingam ,the Mahanadi Delta

and Orissa . The rest of the Dak shinapatha must

have been conquered and brought under,while yet

h is fa ther wa s a l iv e . Pa s sing over the Buddhist

delinea t ion of the cha racter of AsOka , a lmost a s theevi l principle inca rna te, we find him a ccepting Bud

dhism, a fter his conquest Of Ka lingam , out of remorse

for the bloodshed, on account of which h e is sa id to

have given up Brahmanism in which he was born .

The merciful doctrines he taught, the hospita l s hebu i l t both for m an and anima l , the interes t he tookto s end the Gospel of the Enlightened far and wide

and the pa ins he bestowed upon the col lecting and

conso l ida t ing of the teaching of the Grea t One are

ma tters of common knowledge . In spite of the greatchanges tha t h ad taken pla ce, the administration ofthe empire went on in the time - honoured method

with l itt le change of principl e though the personne lchanged . This empire now extended in the southinto Mysore , and the sou thern frontier may b e re

garded a s about 19°

N . l at. A long the frontiers of

this va s t emp i re and pa rti cula r places w ithin it,he

cut on rocks and pil la rs his own instructions to hisoffi cia l s and people . Besid es this, be erected innumer

able stfipas or topes to hold the rema ins of the great

Arha ts . These are the ma teria l mos t r el iable for hishi story . His missionary enterprise ca rried the teach

ings of the Buddha a t lea st to a s far a s Syria .

F rom his own edicts we lea rn tha t b e negotiated

with five kingdoms a l ong the southern frontier . Theywere

,Chola, Pandya , Kera la , and Satiyaputra in Ind ia

and Ce y lon close t o i t . At the westernmost extremity

1 2 ANCIENT INDIA

of Asia and ea stern Europe his influenc e preva iled .

He entered into diploma tic rela tions with Antiochu sOf Syria , Ptolemy II of Egypt, Maga s of Cyrene,Antigonu s Gomates of Macedonia and A l exander of

Epirus . According to Profes sor Mahaffy, Buddhistmonks prea ched in Pa lestine and Syria a couple of

centuries before Christ . He is sa id to have sentmissionaries to different parts of India and

dominions beyond . Among them,his brother and

sister (or son and daughter) he sent to Ceylon .

Having done the best he cou ld to further Buddhismand having ruled his va st empire in the most humaneSpirit possible, he resigned the respons ibil i t ies of thisearthly existence to weakling successors .A soka wa s fol lowed by four succes sors an d the

dyna sty came to an end by the a ccession to th e

empire of the Sénapathi Pu shyamitra ,the founder of

the soca l led Sunga dyna sty . He is b el ieved to havea ssa ssina ted the la st Maurya Brihadrath a on the occasion of a review of the army . There a ppears to havebeen a l oya l ist in the person of th e minister

, th e

Maurya Sachiva lof the Md la vikd gnimitm ,

which a ft era l l i s better authority for the period, a s Kal idasacla ims to base his fa cts upon others ’ a ccounts whichm ay have been contem pora ry, a s we have rea son toinfer . This u surpa tion wa s not uncha l lenged from

outs ide . Pushyamitra could hardly have secured hi sposit ion when he wa s threa ten ed by two grea t enemiesfrom without— Menander (Milinda of Buddhistic trad ition) from across the north - western frontier and Karavé la , the Ka linga ra ja from th e south . Having la idwa ste the country a s far ea st a s even Sakata (poss iblythat in Oudh) and besi eging Madhyamika (near Chitorin Ra japutana) , Menander ret ired and no other Euro

1 Th is according to th e drama wa s a b roth er - in - l aw of th e king of

Vida rbh a , who dem ands his rel ea se of Agnimitra . Th e comm enta rym akes Maurya Sa chiva a lm ost a proper name .

PU SHY AMITRA 13

pean a ttempted the conquest of India from the lands id e ever s ince ; nor an y a t a l l up to the days ofVa sco - de - Gama . It is a pa rt of th is a rmy , accordingto Vincent Smith , tha t wa s defea ted by Prince Va sum i tra on the banks of the Sindhu between Rajaputanaand centra l India and not on the banks Of the Indus .

This appea rs a needl ess l imitation Of authori ty for one ,who thought of celebra ting a Rajasuya and who h ad

his son Agnimitra , viceroy of Malva .

Pus h y amitra got the upper hand of even the otherenemy Of Ka linga ,

which appea rs to have kept at

pea ce with the empire s ince the conquest of Asoka .

P ushyamitra’

s w a s the age of the grammarian Patanja l i, and from his t ime there wa s a reviva l of Brah

manism . There appea rs to be no foundation in fact

for rega rding him as a persecutor . Agnimitra , whileyet hi s fa ther’s viceroy , h ad conquered Vidh arba ,

themodern Centra l Provinces, and placed i t under two

kings of the same family subs idia ry to himself .

Bril l iant a s Pushyamitra’

s a chievem ents were, they

did not ava i l much to keep his dyna sty long inpowe r . The Punjab and the north - west frontier were

in a sta te of flux , and those pu lsa t ing movementsbegan among the grea t Mongol tribes on the Chinesefrontier

,which were soon f el t on the banks of the

Indus . A domestic revo lution subverted the dyna sty

of the Sunga s a fter three genera tions , and there was

a l ine of ru l ers of the Kanvayana family for les s thanha l f a century . This in turn wa s overthrown by the

Andhra s , a purely South Indian dyna sty of the Dravidians, whose territory occupied the region between

Ka lingam and the Krishna .

The overthrow of the Brahman Kauva s and the

a ccession of the Andhra s in‘37 R C . mark an epoch in

Indian history . It Opens to our view India south of the

Vindhyas whi ch hi therto rema in ed a term. incognita .

We sha l l have to trea t of Indian history herea fter

14 ANCIENT INDIA

in thre e compartments,namely, tha t of Hindustan up

to the Vindhya s , tha t of the Dekhan between the

Vindhya s and the Krishna , and tha t of Ind ia south

of th e riv er Krishna .

The age of the Sunga s and the Kanva s wa s to

Hindustan the age of Sanskrit reviva l and th ere

appears to be some historica l founda t ion for the tradition which places a Vikramaditya a t the la tte r end of

this age . It wa s at the same t ime an age of domesticrevolution . The ebb in the fortunes of the kingdom

O f Asia under the descendants of Seleucus wa s fel t inCentra l Asia , and i t wa s communica ted thence to

India . A fter the successful inva sion of the ea st,Antiochus the Great fa red bad ly in the contest he

h ad brought on himself from the Romans . U nder h is

immedia te successors,two kingdoms came into exist

ence,the Pa rth ian under Ars akas and Ba ctr ia under

its own Greek viceroy . This viceroy whose indepen

dence h ad been recognized tried to extend his terr itoryeastwards and wa s himself overthrown by a u surper .This la tter carried a rms up to and perhaps evenbeyond the Indus and wa s a ssassina ted by his own son .

I t was his successor Menander who inva d ed Pushyamitra ’s dominions and h a d to draw back becaus e of the

m ovements among the Saka s who themselves mov edbecause of the Yueh - ch i beyond oust ing them . It i sthese Saka s tha t marched into Ind ia and founded kingdoms in the Punjab and the lower Indu s

,perhaps

under the Parthian suzera inty of Mithridatis I . Thes e

Sakas appear to have be en fina ll y beaten back and

g ave their nam e to Saka stan (Sei s tan) . In thi s enterprise a ruler of Malva dis tingui shed himsel f . He wa sthe patron of Kal idasa and his name h a s been handeddown to us by a gra teful people a s that of the saviour OfIndia . There sti l l were Saka s or Kshétrapa s on th e

right bank of the Indus and of thes e we sha l l have tospeak in the section on the D ekhan .

16 ANCIENT INDIA

Magadha , having h ad their flank protected by the h il lsand rivers from th e Yavan a inva sions of Menander .During a l l the transa ctions described in th e la st sect ion,the Andhra power in the interior was unaffected ; and

these had to be activ e only on the west where theKshétrapas or the Saka Sa traps of the Pa rthians wer epushing their a rms southwards . The Andhra s h ad to

countera ct this and do so by making Pa itan an a l ter - 1

na tive capita l to Dhan akataka in the ea st .The la ter rul ers among them showed themselves quit esuccessful aga inst these Sakas, pa rticularl y VilivayakuraII ll (the Ba leokuros of the Greeks) . He wa s able tobea t off the Kshétrapa s from the south

,where their

power went a s far down a s the Ma laya country a longthe coast . His son followed in

the wake of the fath er,and a fter two more genera tions the dyna sty cam e toan end, about - the same time the Kushana ru l e diedout in the north .

On the south - eastern side Of the A ndhra s we see

a new power rising, namely, tha t of the P a l lava s ,

rega rded th e same a s P a hlava or P arthiva (Pa rthian ) .The earliest records of these come from pla ces farnorth of Kanchi which, la ter on , became the capita l ofthe P a l lava s . The P a l lava s have not yet come to be

a pol itica l factor .

South of this reg ion we find a number of pettyStates, and farther south st i l l th e three kingdoms OfChola , Pandya and Kéra la and beyond these Ceylon .

These Powers appear to have a ctively helped th e Andhra s,as ea ch of these States (at lea st certa in rul ers amongthem) , cla im to have defea ted

‘ the Aryan forces ’

somewha t la ter Tamilian rul er of Kéra l a,with his capi ta l

atmodern Kranganore , cla ims to have beaten some princes‘ on the banks of the Gange s .

’ These three Sta t eshad their own loca l riva lries, and as his tory opens upon

1 Ca l led Gotamiputra Sataka rniby some historia ns .

INTERREGNUM 17

thi s pa rt of the country, the Chola s are in the a scendant .Th i s a scendancy pa sses to the Chera or Kéra la rulerwhen we rea ch the end of th is period

,tha t i s about

the end of second century A . D . This period a l l knowncircumstances point to as th e era of grea t Tamill itera ry act ivity and the development of the loca l

prakrits—among the la tter P aisachi. It i s in thi s

langua ge and under the Andhra s tha t Gunadya composedhis Brih a t Ka tha.

It i s an unfortunat e coincidence tha t in Indianhistory the century fol lowing is env eloped in mist a sregards a l l the three regions into which we have dividedthe country . When aga in the mist l ifts , the P a l lava sare found dominant in the south the Chalukya s occupythe Dekhan and the Gupta s are prominent in the north .

Thu s there appears to have been a great interregnumin India , which m ay be a ccounted for somewha t as

fol lows . The grea t Ars akian dyna sty of Pa rthia wa smaking way before the Sa s sanian Persians . The ri se

of th i s new power in Persia put pressure upon the

Saka s of Sei stan , who perhaps moved ea stwa rds toj oin their cousins a l ong the lower Indus and Guzerat .

This mus t have thrown the whole western fronti er inconfusion . F rom this sa l ient angle the Saka s , amongwhom there might have been some Parthians , pushed

themselves ea stward into Malva and southward intothe Dekhan . This put s an end to the Dekhan power .

A simi la r incurs ion into the Punjab woul d overthrowthe Kushana dyna sty there . When we come upon theGupta s, we find them just at the pla ce where , under

th e circumstances, we ought to expect resistance to

the advance of thi s aggressive power . The next Dekhanpower i s the Chalukya , in the south Of the BombayPres idency, about Bijapur . It is a l so perhaps out of

this confusion th ere a rises the ‘ fo reign P a l lava’

Sta te

in th e N ell ore District . This aggression provokes re

sis tance and the organizer of the genera l resis tance

18 ANCIENT INDIA

ri s es up out of the struggle . With respect to SouthIn dia, the Chera a scendancy is questioned by the unitedChola and Pandya , and th es e wear out ea ch other .This leads to the break - up of one empire into a numberof petty principa l it ies, which fa l l an ea sy prey to theri sing P a l la va s .

“h en the light Of day breaks in upon the theatre

of our h istory at the beginning of the fourth c entury

A . D . ,there i s a wedge of the Saka s driven in between

th e Dekhan and Hindustan . These Saka s, known inthis region the Ksh étrapa s , h ad a lready overthrown theA ndhras of the D ekhan and were in secure occupa tion

O f the land Of Vikramaditya—Malva with its capita l

Uj j a in . These had been continua l ly here from theb eginning of the Christian era and, gett ing eventua l lythe better of the Andhras, they had become a greatPower under the grea test of their ru lers Rudradam an .

On e of the records bea ring upon the history of th isrul er’s reign throws a cur ious l ight upon the timm .

Armies pa ssed and repa ssed an d dyna sties ros e and fel l,but the pea cefu l pursui ts of the agriculturist and theartisan went on undi sturbed . The grant h as refer enceto the repa iring of a tank, by name Suda rs

ana , con

structed in the reign of A soka , but damaged owing to

a breach . This was repa ired under Rudradaman and

adequa te provision wa s made for its up - keep in the m an

ner u sua l in the country, foreigner a s he wa s in thatregion . But for this sensible continuity of administrative pol icy , the evil consequences Of th e rapid succession of inva sions wou ld have been immensely moredetrimenta l to the country .

It wa s in the region set over aga in st Malva tha t thenext grea t Indian Power comes into being . A certa inOfficer, poss ibly of the Andhra s , by name or title, Gupta ,

h ad a petty province in and about Kosambi south - west

of Al lahabad . His s on pa ss ed away unnoticed a l so . It

wa s the grandson Chandragupta, who became the

SAMUDRAGUPTA 19

founder of a dyna sty . His period of rule wa s certa inlya go lden ag e in Indian hi story . Chandragupta marrieda Licchavi princess of Vaisali, which gave him suchinfluence and , wha t is more , such powerful aid tha t hewas abl e ea sily to make himself the ruler of wha t wasancient Mag adha . He not only bea t ba ck the advanc

ing ti de Of Kshetrapa aggression in centra l India , but

a l so uprooted the power Of thes e Saka rulers . Havingma de h imself so far succes sfu l , he founded an era inA . D. 319 . known a s the Gupta era . Ch andragupta

reign was devoted to securing wha t under the Mauryas

wa s Magadha . Having been happily so successful inthis, he h ad a l so the d iscernment to j o in with him inthis work of empire bui lding his eldest s on Samudragupta , the Napoleon of Ind ia .

Samudragupta well deserves the compari son . He was

not only a grea t conqueror but a l so a capable administrator ; and both the fa ther and son were skil led in thefine a rts . Samudra gupta i s described as a

‘rupakrit

which schola rs interpret a s a drama ti s t . The wordordinar i ly means a sculptor . He seems to have earlyconceived the idea of uniting the whol e of India into

one empire, and th is i dea he began to put into practice

with a l l the uncompromis ing zea l begotten of confi

dence in his capacity . L eaving in the extreme ea st,Kama rupa (Assam) , Day aka (middle ) and Samatata (theDelta ) independent a l l ies upon hi s eastern frontier, heconquered the whol e of Hindustan except ing the Punj ab .

(His fa ther Chandragupta ca rried his conquest s up to th e

Arabian sea ) . This done he sta rted on a ca re er of con

quest to the south . Starting from Pa tna , he pa s sedrapidly through the Mahanad i va l ley down the ea st coa st ,coming up to Kanchi in the south where the P a l lavas

had a l ready made themse lve s s ecure . Taking a turn

to the north - wes t,he passed through the Maharash tra

country and Khandesh and entered his territory aga in .

F rom the el even kingdoms he pa ssed through , he

20 ANCIENT INDIA

exac ted a ll egiance but otherwise l eft them autonomous .

He then entered into sa tisfac tory poli tica l engagements

with the autonomous tribes of the Punjab, Raj putana

and Malva ; and with Nepa l and the tribes a long itsborders . Not content with th is, h e not only entered

into diploma tic rela t ions with the Kushana rulers of

the Ghandhara and Kabu l, but a l so with the chief

Kushana rul er on the Oxus . In the south he received

a mission from Méghavarna of Ceylon, who requestedpermission to bu i ld a Buddhisti c mona stery at Gaya .

Having a chieved so much,he got his exploits set in the

best Sanskrit verse and inscr ibed it upon an Asoka pil lar

now at A llahabad . Wha t wa s mere vanity in Samud

ragupta i s comfort to the historian . He wa s succeededby his son Chandragupta Vikramaditya who, through

an equa l l y long reign with hi s fa ther and grandfa ther,preserved the grand fabric of empire hand ed down to

him, and made his reign so glorious tha t scholars nowfind it the mos t sui table to a scr ibe to the trad it iona l

Vikramaditya . With the Gupta s, Brahmani sm and

Sanskrit l itera ture take a fresh start, though Buddhismwa s not persecuted as such .

If the amba ssadors Of the Ceylonese king are to be

trusted, Buddhism seems to have a l ready decayedconsiderably . Somewha t la ter, h owever, the Chinesepilgrim F a Hian visited the country

, and pa ssed acrossthe whole of Hindustan from Taxila to the mouths ofthe Ganges . His observa tions are a l l the more va luable,a s they were those of a m an who notes them only bythe way . If F a Hian i s to be bel ieved Buddhism wasnot in such a bad way . The whole administra tionwa s very creditable and crimina l law wa s m i ld, capita l

punishments having been few . There appears to havebeen nothing harass ing in the Government

.People

enj oyed a large measure of freedom and considerabl e

wealth . Private benefa ctions were large and the whol ecountry wore a look of grea t prosperity . The roa ds

THE GUPTA EMPIRE AND THE HUNS 2]

were wel l looked a fter a nd kept clea r of marauders ; a ndthrough a l l his long jouIney F a Hian wa s not subj ectedto an y molesta t ion wha tever , Buddhist though he was .

The Gupta s were Va i shnava s , but l ike Indian monarchstheir benefa ctions were di stributed a l ike among a l l r el ig ions in the country . Tolerance m ay be a virtue or a

weakness ; but the most powerful Hindu dyna s ty wa stolerant in the highest degree . F a Hian Spent a num

ber of yea rs in lea rning Sanskrit and wa s rewa rdedby ga ining va lua ble Buddhist works in tha t language .

In the reign of Chandragupta Vikramaditya ,tha t

grea t scourge of the world,the Huns , broke in upon

the Gupta Empire a s they did upon the Roman

Empire . Skandagupta his grandson not only repa iredthe mischief done to the empire in the reign of hisfa ther Kumara gupta I , but a l so bea t back the Huns .

But a la ter inva sion Of these made him fa l l back , and

the Huns under Toramana established themse lves inMalva , and the country in the north - west , h aving

overthrown the Saka ru lers of Gandhara by the way .

It was as a resul t of this misha p to the empire tha tGuzera t s epara ted under Sénapa ti Bhattaraka , who

founded the Va l labhi dyna sty which la sted on til l they

were overthrown b y th e Muhammadan inva sions about

A . D. 770 . A lthough the empire was d ivided the rul er ofMalva Yaéodharman and the Emperor Baladitya , now

confined to Magadha , both defeated Mihiragula , thefiendish son Of Toram ana . Mihiragula wa s takenpri s oner

, but wa s restored by the magnanimity of

Baladitya .He l ived to hand down his name to pos

terity, a s an infamous tyrant of Ka shmir , a de spoi l er of

temples and mona s teries as on e who cul t iva ted cruelty

a lmost a s a fine art. With the continued incursions ofthe se Huns the Gupta Empire comes to an end . Beforetaking leave Of thi s empire it is but doing justice to

a grea t dyna sty of emperors , who not only bui lt an

empire

, but took grea t pains to administer it upon

22 ANCIENT iNDIA

the most enl ighten ed princip les, despotic a s thei rauthority was , to quote a sma l l pa ssage from F a Hianregarding free hospita ls, which were due perhaps toth e influence of tha t humane predecessor of theGupta s, Asoka . These hospita l s were endowed bybenevol ent and educated c itizens . Hith er come a l l

poor or helpless patients suffering from a l l kinds of

infirmities . They are well taken care of and a doctorattends them, food and medicine being supplied a ccording to their wants . Thus they are made qui te com

fortab le, and when they are well they may go away .

Comment woul d be sup erfluous . The overthrow of

the Gupta s brings Indian history to a lmost the endof the sixth century A . D.

Turning to the Dekhan, during the p eriod the disintegra tion tha t came upon i t in consequence of th esuccessfu l wars of the Malva Kshetrapas continued ,and the whol e region wa s broken up into a number

of petty principa l it ies . When Samudragupta undertookhis grea t invas ion of this reg ion, it wa s composedof eleven kingdoms, possib ly more . Even then the

Western ha lf rema ined a l i ttl e more compa ct havingbeen d ivided between Daivar

ash tra and Erandapa l la ,corresponding respectively to the modern Maharashtraand Kamdesh . It is from the former tha t the firstpowerful dynasty works it s way up . During th e periodof the lat er Guptas, when they were engaged in thatdeath grapple with the Huns, the Chalukyas g radua llyoccupied the territory of their northern neighbour and

pushed down the Krishna to occupy the country since

known as Vengi . Here they come into touch withthe P a l lava s , with Whom they h ad to ma inta in per

petua l war a long th e borders .The fart-her south was a l so getting conso lida ted

under the new rulers, the P a l lavas of Kanchi . When

Samudragupta came to the south, Vishnug0pa wa s th eruler of Kanchi . His successors at Kanchi gradua l ly

24 ANCIENT INDIA

the same time tha t a certa in combina tion of circumstances brought about the accession of Harshavardhana

Siladitya of Thanésvar, la ter on of Kanouj . Ive must

now turn to this ru ler .

Out of the confusion caused by the incursions of

Mihira gul a , the Hun king of Saga la (the cap ita l ofancient Madra Desa) , there arose, in the l ine of m arch

of the enemv and in the far- famed region of ba tt leswhere more than once the fa te of India wa s to bedecided, a Chiefta in by name P rabhaka ravardhana , who

wa s connected by marria ge with the imperia l Gupta s .

P rabhakara bea t ba ck the Huns through his twova l iant sons, the elder Rajyava rdh ana and the y ounger ,a l ad of fi fteen, Harsb avardhana . The la tter com

manding the rear, while hi s brother marched ahead,wa s sti l l in the region below the mounta in s on his way ,

when he heard hi s father wa s taken i ll and returned .

The elder soon fol lowed, having crushed the enemyand placed the frontier in a cond ition of sa fety .

P rabhakara d ied and wa s succ eeded by his eldest son,who heard of a mis fortunellth at befel l hi s only si sterBajya s ri ma rried to G rahavarm an of Mag adh a . Thela tter had been kil l ed by th e ruler of Malva and

Rajya s ri had been thrown into prison . Raj y avardhanamarched upon Malva , and h aving defea ted the kingof tha t country, wa s on the march homewa rd whenhe wa s entrapped by Sasanka of Benga l . Rajyavardhana wa s a ssa ssina ted bV Sasanka and Rajyasri hadto escape to the Vindhyan forests to save herself .Hars havardhana appea rs to h ave been unwill ing to

a ccept the responsibil ity of rul e, but he h ad to do so

a l l the same .

His firs t ta sk was to go in search of his sister,and find where she wa s , which he soon did a nd just

saved her from death . He then turned to Sasankaand reduced him to subjection . This done, he s et tohimself the ta sk of rebuilding the empire, as i t was

HARSHA 25

under the Guptas . Throughout a compara tively long

reign he was constant ly engaged in wa r for aboutthirty yea rs , and brought the whole of Hindustan underhis sway , his authority having been acknowledged by

the Brahminica l rul e r of Kama ri‘

ipa (A ssam) and theSa iva ruler of Benga l on th e one side to the far off

Va l labhi and Ka shmir at th e other extremity.In

one direction a l imit wa s set to hi s arms , and so hi sa chievement fell far short of his ambition

,which

wa s probably tha t of Samudragupta . Harsha undertook an inva sion of the Dekhan , but the Vindhyanpa sses were so wel l guarded by Pulikésin of theDekhan tha t Ha rsha wa s a ctua l ly defea ted . Lik emany another grea t man he recognized th e l imita tionto his own capacity and a cquiesced in this defea t ,a s he never aga in made any other a ttempt on thissid e . Thus , ha ving reconstructed an Empire of

Hindustan, he turned his attention to ma inta ining thisempire .

It wa s during the la ter part of his reign tha t HinenTh s ang , the grea t ma st er of the Law from China ,

travel led in India . He found the administra tion of th eempire a s sa ti sfa ctory a s his predecessor of a coupl eof centurie s ago had done, except tha t the land and wa terways were not so secure a s in the age of the Guptas .The emperor was constantly on the move and hiscamp wa s a lmost a moving city . Crimina l justice

a ppea rs to have been prompt , but somewha t sever er

than in the prev ious age . There wa s a regular

system of offi c ia l record s, a l though non e of thesehave come down to us . Ha rsha , a grea t schola r and

poet himsel f,gave a stimulus to l ea rning , and, ao

cording to the Chinese scho lar, educa tion appears tohave been wide spread . In h is court, and under his

d i r ec t pa tronage, poets flouri shed in such numbersthat hi s name ranks among typica l patrons of letters .

By na ture or by educa tion, he appears to have been

26 ANCIENT INDIA

extremel y tolerant l His ecl ect i cism wa s much l ike

that of Akbar ; but la tterly, and through the influence

of Hiuen Th sang , he leant more and more to the

Mahayana school of Buddhism . The grea t Buddhistfest iva l he celebra ted at Kanouj and the tolera t ion

feast h e h eld at A l lahabad show tha t he enterta inedvery broad and enl ightened views upon rel ig ion .

A lthough he had to carry on wa rs incessantly for

th irty years, he seems to have been led in to war out

of sheer neces sity,ra ther than of a ta ste for i t . The

stories rega rding his act s of persecut ion have to beconsiderably d iscounted . When he pa ssed away in

A . D . 648 he does not appear to have left a propersuccessor . A mini ster of his Arjuna u surp ed th e empire .

The usurpa tion proved a fa i lure, through the intercession of a Chinese amba ssador . Harsha sent a Brah

m an a s amba ssador to China . When this amba ssadorreturned ,

China s ent a return embas sy under VVangHiuen - t’se . When this latter arrived the u surpa t ion

h ad taken place . The usurper i l ltreated the amba ssador

Who fled to Tibet for protection . Returning with

Tibetan help,he overthrew the usurper

,and thu s came

to an end the la st Hindu empire, of Hindustan .

Dur ing the centuri es fol lowing A . D . 700 up to theMuhammadan conques t

,there never wa s bu il t up

another empire of any dura tion and the want of a

centra l power accounts for the conquest,with compa

rative ea se, of India by the Muhammadans .At about the same time a l so came to an end thegrea t P a l lava Power in South Ind ia . Since adminis

tering the check to Ha rsha , Pulikesin h ad to grappl e

with th e Pa l lava Narasimh avarman ,the builder of the

cave - temples at Mama l lapuram , th e seven pagoda-s .

One of the P a l lava genera l s,marched up to the capita l

1 This is th e a ge and Bena res the pl a ce wh ere Sanka rach arya is

b el ieved to h ave written his Bh rishyam .

EMPIRE - BU ILDING 27

of the Chalukya s at Badami and destroyed i t so com

pletely tha t there was an in terregnum of thirteenyears a fter P u likesin . His successors

,however

,often

carried the war into th e P a l lava territory,the northern

frontier having been undisturbed . It was to ma inta inpeace on thi s P al lava frontier tha t Pulikesin organizeda separa te viceroya lt y at Vengi under his broth er, whoin hi s turn became the founder of a dyna sty .

A s ad ca lamity overtook the Chalukya s about thela tter ha lf of the seventh century A . D. This wa s theoverthrow of their dynas ty and the usurpa tion of theChalukya Empire by the Rashtrakfita s, with theircapita l fa rther, and therefo re sa fer , from th e P a l lavas .

This gave the P a l lavas a l it tl e respite ; but a fter thetempora ry occupa tion of Kanch i by the Rashtrakfita

Vairamegh a ,the P a l lava Empire breaks up into sma l l er

States, from out of which the great Chola Empire

i s eventua l l y to ri se .

Amidst a l l this ceaseless flux of the po l it ica l unitstha t constituted India through al l these ages, therestands out one fa ct, namely

,tha t whenev er grea t

empires were in existence,such a s th e Maurya or

Gupta or even tha t of Harsha , India en j oyed not onl yin terna l tranqui ll ity and the b less ings of a good

administra tion, but a l so security on the frontiers .

Whenever thi s imperia l unity was wanting, i t fol lows

as unmistakably tha t the anarch ica l e lements ins ide

asserted themse lves . This sta te of d ivision invited an

invader, and he was readi ly forthcoming, so tha t i fthere i s one feature which can be sa id to be th e

dominant fea ture of the history of India during themil lenium end ing A . D . 700,

that fea ture i s the a ttemptto bui ld a permanent empire . In spite of a l l these

d isturbances there stil l wa s a good measure of peace and

plenty in the country, and wha t fo l lows, a s a nec essary

cons equenc e thereof, cons iderabl e success in making

l ife not only tol erable but comfortable . The l itera ry

28 ANCIENT INDIA

and artis tic achievements of the period are th ings wem ay wel l be proud of ; and thi s has been due ent irelyto a broad outlook into the future by our ancestors .

It is only to be regretted tha t they did not d iscovera method of reconci ling the opposing princip l e of loca lautonomy with imperia l unity . This accounts for a l l

the ill s that foll owed .

The history of Hindu India has a unity of i t s own ,

if only the ma teria l ava i lable be used construct ive ly .

This unity wou l d become the clear er, i f we could butbring together a l l the ava ilable information . It is everyday becoming more and more poss ible, thanks to theexertions of orienta l i sts, to write such a history .

CHAPTER II

HISTORY OF SOUTH INDIA

A GOOD m ap of Ind ia , wil l show very clea rly tha tIndia , south of the Hima laya s, fa ll s natura l ly intothree divis ions, namely , the river pla ins Of Hindustan inthe north

,the p la teau of Malva Dekhan in the midd le

and the pla ins b elow the Ghaut s bounding the Dekhanpla teau . Historica l ly each Of these na tura l divisionsmay be trea ted separa tely . Hindustan h a s a history

of it s own ,coming into touch with that Of the Dekhan

only at parti cu lar epochs . The Dekhan h a s i ts per iods

of history qu ite d i st inct from tha t of Hindustan ; whil ethe history of South Ind ia and th a t of the Dekhancome into conta ct much Oftener, and the genera l movements of both regions show a grea t dea l more of

connexion and interaction . The reason for this sta te

of things is not hard to understand . In the earlydawn Of h istory in India , between the first two divis ions there wa s an impenetrable forest ca l led Mahakantara (or the grea t forest) flanking the Vindhya s ,and proving wi th them a grea t barrier to th e freedom

of movements of the popula tion . W i th respec t to theDekhan and the south there h a s never been any suchbarr ier either of mounta in or forest . Hence i t is we

are justified in trea ting Of th e history of this part of

India - India south of the Vindhya s—a s one whole,though it i s pos sibl e and often neces sary to trea t i t in

compartments .

The history of peninsu lar India begin s , then , somewhat la t er than tha t Of Hindustan ; for th e Dravid ian

30 ANCIENT INDIA

civi lization of the south, though much more ancientthan its history, owes its hi story to Aryan immigra t ion,a s much as does north India . This immigration Ofthe Aryans took p lace certa in ly much later than Vedict imes . Of the period tha t intervened between thisimmigration and the beginning Of historica l t imes insouth India

,we have but few traces Of evidence, and

these are more often indirect than direc t .The first definite mention of kingdoms in the south,which can be a ccepted a s historica l, undoubtedly i stha t in the thirteenth edict of A soka . This we haveto regard as the historica l sta rting po int, until thechr onology Of th e Purana s and the Epics are sett led

beyond doubt . Even a s such we have to come downto the Christian era for any deta i led knowledge of

South Ind ia .

F or this knowledge we are more dependent upon theso- ca l led auxil iarie s to history than any history we have,even of the chronicl e kind . The evidence is to be foundin the monuments Of human industry and art, and theinscrip tions that have come down to us on co ins,meta l l icp la tes, or upon stones . The inscriptions do not take usvery far, and the informa tion conta ined in them, thoughrel ia bl e and Often clea r, i s not qu ite so ful l a s one

wou ld wish they were . The monuments have begunto be studied only recently, and, so far, the result sthey have yie lded, though qu ite sa t isfa ctory, are notful l enough . There is much to be done here beforeresu l ts can be achieved . The traditionary evidence

is Of a different charact er . It i s far ful ler, though verycarefu l s ift ing is requ ired before any rel iance can beplaced upon it. These traditions may be grouped intoethnography and folklore, and l itera ture . The customs,habits , and the various and varying pra ctices Of thepeople tel l their own ta l e, not only in regard to themovements of the people and their change of habita t,but a l so give us the clue to their history.

32. ANCIENT INDIA

Chola ,and Pandya ; and the Chieftains have their strong

holds on hil locks, l ike the doorg s of the Palayagars of

a la ter genera tion . The region specia l ly rema rkable

for these chiefta incies was the hi lly strip of country

running through South Arcot, Sa lem, and Coimba tore

di stricts, at the foot of the ghauts where th ey move

out to meet each other . Kanchi wa s the head - quarters

Of one,Tirukoilur of another, Anj i, Kari, and Oribelong

to the Sa l em dis trict ; P éh an ,Evviand a few others to

Madura and Tinnevel ly ; while Amur (Ambur) and

Vellore belonged to yet another Chiefta in Of Mavilangai.

There wa s some commercia l activity during this t ime,a lthough the period must have been fu l l Of wa rs a s well .Happy confusion preva il ed in ma tters re ligious , a singlestreet Often conta in ing shrines sa cred to the bright bene

ficent Vedic deities and the blood- thirsty and vengefu l

devi l worship . A longside both of these are the quiet

abodes Of the holy ones of the Ja ins and the Bud

dhis ts as well . There appear to have been the rud iments

Of good government, mostly in some sort of self government

,and justice wa s administered with even - handed

impartia l i ty . The authoritie s present to us , no doubt,i dea l i zed picture Of the sta te Of society ; but behindthe work of art it i s ea sy to discover the bed - rock of

fact . There seems to have been more unity in society,and the hard hidebound exc lusiveness (which is only tooapparent now) , does not find much vogue . Buddhis tand Ja in influences are at work ; but the worsh ip of

Siva and Vishnu seem to ca rry the largest cl ientele .This O l d order changeth yie ld ing place to new, and

we find instead a struggl ing body Of warring pol it ica la toms . F rom out of this struggle aris es the greatF a llava power, and we pa ss into the second period . Itoften appears tha t the history of India ,

before the Britishsuprema cy was establ ished, can be considered on ly as

a perpetua l struggle to found an empire . Regarded

in this manner, the establ i shment of tha t European

A GREAT LANDMARK 33

power wou ld be the na tura l resul t of the pol it ica levo luti on of th e country a s a whole . This view seemsto be clearly right with respect to South India inparticu la r, and thus can be seen a pa ra l lel ism in Ind ianhistory to that Of Greece in pre- Macedonian times .

At the commenc ement of the first of these periods theCho la s a re in the a scendancy . They give place to theChera s , who in turn make room for the Pandya . ThePandy a supremacy pa ss es away and the P a l lavas ris einto importance . The la test scientific estima te of th e

age of a l l thes e vicissi tudes i s the fifth century ; butthere is a vo lume of evidence in favour of pushing thi s

period ba ck a few centur ies . Here the inves tiga t ionwil l have to go hand in hand both in Sanskrit and

Tamil . Thi s i s not th e place nor the occa sion for an

elabora te s xmin ation Of the conn exion between the twolanguages, but i t mus t be rema rk ed in pa ssing tha t oneof the earl iest Tamil Kavya s i s ba sed on the Briha t

Ka t/rd of Gunady a , who flourished in the court Of a

Satavah ana at Pa itan . This gives us the ult ima te lowerl imit ; while the fifth century would be the u l t ima te

upper l imit for this period of efflorescence of Tamil .There i s one grea t landmark between the first period

and the second , and tha t is the inva s ion of the south

by the grea t Samudragupta . He came south down toKanchi and then turned north -west from it . Thecontempora ry of thi s Gupta wa s VishnugOpa of Kanch i ,which name figures among the ea rly rul ers Of Kanchiin th e P a l lava records . With them we come uponfirmer historica l ground . Simu l taneously wi th thes erise into importance the ea rly Chalukya s , in the regiontha t h a d,

in the earl ier period, been in the possess ion

of the Sitavahanas . These la tter had to m a inta intheir poss es sions a s aga in st the Kshétrapa s , first fromGuzera t and then a ga inst them from Malva . In thi sstruggle they were fina l ly overthrown, and i t i s from

among the feuda tories of these Satavahana s tha t the

34 ANCIENT INDIA

Chalukya s rise . The Andhra or Sitavah ana rule i s

cha racterized by a lmost the same soc ia l features as thefarther south ; but in point of religion they seem to

have been grea t pa trons Of th e Ja ins and Buddhists .Trade gui lds and commercia l corpora tions seem to havebeen in existence ; and a brisk commercia l intercourseappears to have been ma inta ined both with the interiorby way Of land, and with the ou ter world by way of

wa ter . The Prakrit dia lects seem to have been cu lt i

vated with ca re, and the P ais achiBriha t Ka tha”

evid ence of this cu l ture . P ra thishtana (Pa itan) , Patri,Va l labhipatan , are sa id to have been grea t marts and

ports of exit for commerc e on the west coast ;while equa l ly important in the east and south wereplaces lik e Tamra lipti, Kataka , Tondi, Pubar, Korka i,etc .

,on the Coromandel ; Cranganore, Tondi,Vaikkarai

on the Arabian Sea Coa st . Other places referred to

are Katab a, Sambah ava and some i slands , and regions

about the Persian Gul f .Through the centuries Of its sway, the Satavahanadyna sty h ad it s power extending from s ea to sea ,

and we are not quite sure how it actua l ly pa ssed out

Of existence . The usua l break - up probably fol lowed,a grea t externa l impa ct, and when aga in we ga in a

gl impse we see the Chalukya s wel l on their way to

hegemony in the Dekhan . F rom A . D . 500 to 750 wefind the Chalukya s and the P a l l ava s constantly at war.

The Pal lavas ga in th e upper hand and destroy thecapita l Of the Chalukya s at Badami about A . D. 640.

In consequence th ere is an interregnum for thirteen

years . During the next two genera tions the Pal lavassuffer s imilar disa sters from the Chalukya s . Kanchi

has Often to stand siege and even suffer occupation byan enemy . The constant wars on the Pa l lava frontierwear them out, and an interna l revolution does therest . The Chalukyas fa l l and the Rasb trakutas rise inthei r p lace . The P a l lava s at tempt to a ssert their inde

FALLAVA ASCENDANCY 85

pendence but th e a ttempt is frus tra ted by the energeticaction of the Rashtrakuta Dantid

urga Vairamégha .

With thi s pa sses away P a l lava greatn ess, and their

territory becomes broken up into a number of chiefta inci es , the fi rst Of these being overthrown by the CholaAditya before A . D . 900 . Thi s same ruler Of the Choladyna sty a l so overthrew the Kongu country

, and thusbegan the Cho la empire in the Dekhan .

The period of P a l lava a scendan cy i s remarkable inmany ways . It wa s th e period of grea t rel ig ious activity,when Buddhi sm h ad to give way before the rising tide

of P auranic Hindu ism , both Sa iva and Va i shnava .

According to Mr . Venkayya the ea rl iest Pa l lava s of

the Prakrit re cords were Buddhists ; the next oneswere Va i shnava and the la st ones Sa iva . This wasa l so the period when cave - templ es, and other temples , a swel l

,came to be constructed in la rge numbers . There

wa s a l so con s iderabl e a ctivi ty in lit erature . Many of

the Tamil cla ssic s th a t we have a t present have to be

a scribed to this period . In the Dekhan a l so there wassimilar activity, th e Kailas anath a temple at El lorahaving been bui l t during the period .

When th e P a l lava power brok e about the end ofthe eighth century A . D. , and the Chola s were beginning

to ri s e, South Ind ia wa s d ivided in politica l a l legiance,the border l ine pa ssing through the fringe of theplateau . Just in the region where we are, there wasthe dynasty Of the Ganga s ru l ing over the pla in d istrict sOf Mysore

,with th eir capita l s at Kolar and Ta lakad at

different t imes . The P a l lava s and Pandya s seem to

have been at war, which ended in the complete over

throw Of the former . The Pandya activi ty in th enorth received a check from the Ganga feudatorie s of

the Rashtrakutas in a ba ttle fought so far out as

Tiruppa rambiyam near Kumbhakonam . The Pandya

Varaguna had to withdraw, and this was the time

propit ious to the ris e of a new dyna sty Of enterprising

36 ANCIENT INDIA

rulers, such as the Cho las were . They ris e into prominence no doubf by the a cqu is it ion of the P a l lavaand the Kongu kingdoms . This latter acqu is it ion bringsthe Chola s into touch with th e Rashtrakuta s throughtheir southern feudatories th e Ganga s . The Rashtrakuta s a nd th e ris ing Chola s go to war . Krishna III

of the former dynasty is so far successful tha t he isin occupa tion of Kanchi . L a ter on Rajaditya , the son

of Pa rantaka I , fa l ls in a ba ttle fought in A . D. 949—50With a Ganga feudatory, Butnga ; and thi s for a time

c hecks the ri sing tide Of Chola aggression . About a

quarter Of a century thenc e the Rashtrakuta s fa l l avictim to a domestic revolution, and a scion Of thewestern Chalukya s ris es into importance . This revo

lution gives the Chola s the requi si te leisure to organizeth eir resources, and when they r eappea r under Rajaraja they are a l ready a grea t power . The Chalukya ss imilarly have a succession of able and energeticrulers . The plateau becomes the deba tabl e frontier

b etween the two powers, and this struggl e continues for six or seven g enera tions, with va rying suc

cess, until at last the Chola s and the Chaluky a s mark

off their spheres Of influence a s it wer e . The Cholasrema in below the Gha ts , and the territory in the

pla teau rema ins nomina l ly under the Chaluk ya s . The

end of this struggl e—a bat tle roya l between twoequa l ly matched powers—wel l organized and with grea tresources—brings into prominence a number of fendatory sta tes, chief among whi ch have to be mentionedthe T

adava s of Deva giri, the Kakativas of \Varanga l ,and th e Hoysa la s of Dvara samudra . In the souththe chiefs of minor principa li ties rise into importance ;but the lea ding pa rt i s taken by a succession war forthe Pandya throne, in which th e C eylonese on theone hand, and the Chola s and their feudatories on

the other take part . This civil d is sension contributesto weaken a l l parties , the Chola s fa l l, and the P andyas

AGE OF H INDU PROGRESS 37

and the Hoys a la s fi ght for the quarry, a s the Hoys a la s

and the Yadava s did before on the break up of theChalukya Empire . At th e time that Ma rco Polo wa ssail ing a long th e Indian coa s t , Nara simha Hoysa la and

Sundara Pandya were ru l ing in the south ; the Yadavas were under Ramad eva , and th e Kakatiya s under

Pratapa Rudra II . It wa s into th is world of SouthIndia thus pol it ica l ly d ivided tha t A la

d - din Khilj ibroke in . \Vhen next his genera l . Ma l ik Kafur , undertook a more Systema t i c ra id into the south, the kingdoms were in a high sta te of decay . They were

a l l crushed and th e Musa lman stood a rbi ter for a

t ime .

This i s the period of high wa terma rk of Hindu progress a l l round . Modern Hindui sm a s sumes the shapein which we find i t tod a y . The indigenous l itera ture

as wel l a s the cla ssica l Sanskrit receive considerablepa tronage and blossom into fu l l maturity to pa s s into

artificia lity . Rel ig ion h as been readjusted to the re

quirements of the ma sses, and administration h ad come

to be highly organized upon surprisingly modern lines .Reviva l ism in re ligi on and re—invigora tion wa s theorder Of th e day . It i s upon a world so situa ted tha t

the flood wave of Mus lim incursion broke in , over

turning every thing . A s in na ture SO in poli tic s action

provokes re - ac tion aga inst i t . This incursion , and theconsequent confus ion and apprehension, provoked l oca l

re - a ction , wherever there were loca l ru ling famil ies .

The Mus l im outpos ts a re bea ten in and the empire

i s in no pos ition to a s s ert i ts authori ty . The lo ca leffort s are ga th e red up in the founda tion of a la rge

and united Hindu Empire known to his tory a s th a tof Vijianag ar .

Thi s empire la sts from the middle Of

th e fourteenth c entury to the end Of th e s ixteenth ,

when in its turn it fa l l s before a coa l ition of th e.

Musa lnian kingdom s of th e Dekhan . The two ch ief

Mu sa lman Sta te s of Golkonda and Bijapur divide the

38 ANCIENT INDIA

south between themselves, the Ka rnatic Balaghat goingto the one, and the pa’in ghat to th e other . In theformer , arise s the kingdom of My sore, and in the

la tter the Nawabship Of Arcot . Happi ly the first one

rema ins to- day under its na tive ruler, though under

the aegis of the British Empire ; whi l e the other isrepresented by a titula r sc ion of th e family thusfounded. It is this other tha t gave the occa sion for the

European merchant companies to drop their quil ls

and try the sword . It i s th i s plea sant divers ion of

s ome Of the Company’s clerks, be i t by a ccident or

by design , tha t wa s the sma l l beginning of that great

p ol itica l phenomenon—th e British empire in India

a s we see it to - day . It is these a ttempts , which have

never cea sed to be made from the beginning of history,tha t have cu lm ina ted in the empire that for the firsttime holds sway from the ‘ Roof of the VVOr ld ’ toCape Comorin and from the Mek ran coa st to theMekong va l ley .

No a ttempt ha s been ma de in this chapter to trace

the his tory of South India on any la rge sca le —a ta sk

of the grea test magnitude and d ifficu lty . I have only

a ttempted to indica te th e many issues, both principa l

and subsidia ry , that wou ld require careful study and

investiga tion . There is room for much good work on

a l l these periods, the ea r l ier more than the la ter

genera l ly . The fi rst i s a virg in field for any explorer,whi le much yet rema ins to be done in th e second .

The periods intervening the bright er epochs a re so fara mere blank The history of thes e interva l s Of

da rknes s could be worked out by a study of th e placeswhere local Ch i efta ins flourished ; while th e P a l lava

period ha s to be worked up by a study Of the Ganga

and o ther dyna sti es coeva l w i th the P a l lava . There is

much useful work to be done a long the l ines indica t ed,and work , too , tha t would be a l l the better for th e

co- Opera tion and co- ordina tion of ind ividua l effort.

CHAPTER III

STRUGGLE F OR EMPIRE IN SOUTH INDIA

F ROM the dawn Of history , empire h a s been a problem

of such importance tha t a ta l ented historian, Ma spero,h as named his history of the Tigres and Euphra tesva l ley, during the second and thi rd mill enn iums B . C . ,

The P a ssing Away of Emp ires . This h a s been thecase with empires ever since Pericl es played his noblerOle of empire - bu ilding on the stage Of Athenian

polit ics down to our own t imes, chara cterized by

imperia lism a s represented by Chamberla in and Ceci lRhodes . SO far a s India i s concerned this ha s beenthe problem from the days Of Chandragupta—nay evenfrom the days of th e Ma habhara ta—to the comparatively la te times Of Mah ada jiScindia . It is a commoncompla int of historians tha t in Indian hi story thereis no centra l argument round which to marsha l factsso a s to present a connected and consis tent whole .

This,no doubt, is true to a certa in extent and the

Hindu period of Indian h istory h a s , in consequ ence,been given the di st inguishing epithet ‘ forma tive ’, tha t

is,the period when Sta tes were in process of forma t ion .

I would ra ther give this dis tinction to the earl ier pa rt

of the Hindu period ; and cha ra cterize the later one

‘ the struggle for Empire ’

. It wa s in this struggl e

tha t the States tha t ha d been formed were broughtinto a larger union with the inevitable t endency tobreak up . Empire is after a l l a compromise between

the Opposing principles of l oca l autonomy and imperia l

unity . Whi le for a time one of the two riva l principles

THE THREE DIVISIONS 41

m ay be in the a sc endant, the other i s a lways inexist ence to take advantage of any weak ening in it .This, in essence , h a s be en the ca se with Indianempires , with the d i st inction tha t persona l ity played a

far more prominent pa rt than the principle underlying

it . This la tter pecu l ia rity it is tha t makes the strugg leassume in India the appearance of a rise and fa ll Of

dynasti es , without much affec ting the even tenor Ofl if e of the people, or their c ivil i za ti on .

India ha s through historica l times been divided intothree d i stingui shable geographi ca l pa rts despite much

hi s torica l unitv . These a re Hindustan , the Dekhanand th e fa rther south . Before the establi shment Ofthe Brit ish empire these parts h ad each a dist incth istory of its own and were never

,more than tempo

rarily, united into a cons is tent whol e . There occa sion

a l l v a rose grea t ru l ers l ike A soka Or Samudragupta ,

who made an a ttempt at weld ing them into on e, but

the a ttempt wa s pra ctica l l y successfu l on lv for theirlifetime . A soka

s bounda ry in the south wa s a l ine

drawn from Pond icherry to Cannanore and the part soutside it lay beyond his authority . \Vith regard to

Samudragupta i t wa s even l ess—his cla im to authori ty

over th e Dekhan Sta tes having been one of sufferancera ther than of a ctua l rule . He cla ims to ha ve con

quered the Sta te s of the Dekhan and to have restored

them to the d efea ted ru lers . SO i t i s poss ible to con

s ider the history of any one Of these three geog raphica lpart s by i tself, and without refer ence to the other

two . Thus I can now give a summary of the struggle

for empire in the sou th between the rul ers of the

D ekhan and of South Ind ia .

The earl ie st known hi s torica l reference to these is

in the inscriptions of A soka where he refers to theChola ,

Pandy a ,Kera la ,

Sa tiya putra and the rul er of

Cey l on . But Of th e a ctua l s ta te of the country or of

it s rul er s we know but l ittl e ; but from l itera ture

4 2 ANCIENT INDIA

(Tami l) of an ancient cha ra cter we m ay ga in a gl impse

of the poli t ica l condi tion of South India in the ear ly

c enturi es of the Chri stian Era . It i s then that we

see, a s I have pointed out in the Chapter on the The

A ugus tan Ag e of Tamil Litera ture, tha t Sta tes wereformed by the ama lgama tion, ma inly by conquest, Ofthe sma l ler communities into th e la rger kingdoms,so tha t at the beginning of the Chri stian Era wefind three wel l - defined and compa ct k ingdoms of the

Chera,Chola , and Pandya . These l ay cla im to having

overcome th e A ryan forces, and thus p erhaps indica te

their having played a not unimportant pa rt in thewa rs of the Dekhan ru lers aga inst the northern invad ers , the Kshetrapa s of Guzera t and Malva . The

Dekhan contempora ries Of the three crowned kings of

the south (Chera ,Chola ,

Pandya ) and th e seven chiefswere the Andh rabbritya s . Of thi s dyna sty the mostd istinguished rulers were Gotamiputra Satakarni and

h is successor Pulim ayi or P ulOrnavit . These bea t backth e Kshétrapa N ahapan a from the south and kept hissuccessors confined to Guzera t and thus saved thes outh . The territories under th eir rul e included thepresent N izam ’s Dominions and the Maharashtra ,

their capita l s a t G untoor (Dh aranikot or Dh anakataka)a nd at Pa itan on the Godava ri . The constant references in Tamil l i tera ture to Ka rikala Chola ’s erectingh is tiger- emblem on the Hima la ya s, and the fa ther ofSenguttuvan

s having h ad for hi s northern boundary

the Hima laya s, wou ld wa rrant the inference tha t theyca rried their a rms successfu l ly towa rds the north .

The more so a s Karikala i s sa id in th e Silapp adhi

karam, to have received presents (tribute s as they are

ca l led) from the ru lers of Malva (Avanti) , Bunda lkh and

(Va jranadu) and Magadha . It wou l d thus appea r tha tthe struggle for empire had a lready begun, and thisprobably continued for a couple Of centuries , when we

s ee the Andh rabbritya power going out of exist ence .

SHIF TING OF P OL IT ICAL POWER 43

So a l so in the south we l ose th e thread , and weh ave ba rel y any mention of a grea t ru le r . Ther e isthus a hia tu s in the avai lable records which wouldindica te an anarchy consequent on the fa l l of thegrea ter Powers tha t held swa r . This anarchy wa s takena dvantage of by the rising power of the Gupta s, who,

under Samudragupta and probably under his father,conquered the Dekhan States . and restored them totheir former ru l ers , perha ps , a s a ma tter of policv .

This s ta te of va ssa lage cou ld not have la s ted long, and

from out of th is ana rchy there a ros e two greatPowers , the P a l lava s in the south and the Chalukya s in Maharashtra . These two dyna s ties

,with th eir

ca pita l s respective ly a t Kanch i and at Badami (nearBi j epur) , cont inued th e same struggle for empir e and

were seen fighting con s tantl v on th e Tung abh adra

Krishna frontier . A s a consequence of this perpetua l

antagonism , we see the Chal uky a s , fo l lowing the ex

ample oi the Andh ra bb ritya s , cr ea te a frontier provincewith head - quarters a t Raj amahendri . This wa s done

b y th e grea t Chalukya Emperor Pu likésin II , who ma deh is younger brother the viceroy . Tha t this wa s a w ise

mea sure and wa s ca l led for b y the necessity of th e ca s eis amply borne out by his grea t enem v Na ra sim hava r

m an P a l lavam a l la’

s a ttacking Badami and burning it

down, so a s to cause an interregnum of th i rteen rea rs .

The s e two g rea t rul ers were the imperia l contempora ri es

of th e Chinese travell er, Yuwan Chwang (Hieun Th s ang ) ,and of hi s host H a rsh avardh ana Siladitya of Kanouj .Thi s wa s abou t the midd le of the s eventh centurv

a fter Christ . A l i tt le a fter the end of tha t century ,bo th thes e powerful dyna sties wore out each other so

thorough l v tha t they went out of exi stence and gave

way to others to take thei r place in the Dekhan

and in the south a fter the inevi tabl e ana rchy . s ee

about th i s time the pol itica l centre of g ravity shifting .

The ri sing Rash trakfi ta power is on i ts tria l and not

44 ANCIENT INDIA

m erely ha s to make good it s cla im ; but i t a lso ha s

to contend aga inst factions within the camp . Now it

was the role of the Ganga s of Mysore to extend theirterritory northward and southwa rd . In this la tter

direction they received a check from the P andya s under

Varaguna , who turned ba ck the Ganga s a fter inflict

ing a defea t on them a t Tirupparambian nea r Kumba

konam . The Pandya was too far off to defend th eMysore frontier aga inst the Ganga s and not long a fterthis we find the Rash trakfita s tightening their gripupon th e Mysore country , and putting their southernfrontier in a sta te of defence, at a. time when a newpower comes into being immed ia tely to the south of

Mysore .

This wa s no other than the grea t Chola dynasty,whose inscriptions in la rge numbers give us an insightinto their grea tness and the pol i tica l condi tion of thetimes . Taking their origin somewhere in the Tanj ored istrict (near P udukotta ) they ma stered pos sess ion of

the Chola country ; and when the th ird in succession ,but the first grea t rul er

,P aran taka came to the throne

about A . D . 900,their authority extended over Chola

Tonda and Kongumanda lam . I t wa s he tha t foughtaga inst and bea t ba ck aggression on the Pandya,Kera la and Ganga frontiers . When he pa ss ed awayin the midd le of th e century, h e l eft to his sons thewa rs a l l a long the northern frontier . It is now thatthe Cho la fortunes fe l l so low tha t the Rashtraki

ruler , Krishna III, wa s in occupa t ion of Kanch i for awhile, and that Rajaditya , the Chola ru l er, for thetim e being , wa s s la in in a ba ttl e at Takkolam aboutA . D . 950, chiefly through the ex ertions of P erum anadi

Butnga , the Ganga feuda tory of the Dekhan rul ers .About a twenty yea rs a fter thi s , th e Rash trakfita s wereo verthrown by a scion of th e Chalukya s

,and the

confusion in the Dekhan wa s th e opportunity for theChola s of the south . \Vhile yet the Chalukya s were

RAJARAJA , THE GREAT 45

strugg l ing to make good the ir newly a cqui red pos ition,

the Chola s began to recover so wel l tha t, when thegrea t Chola , Rajaraja the Grea t , a scended the thronein A . D . 985

, he found himself in possession of the

Chola , Tonda and Kongum anda lam s, and he h ad to

fight the Kéra l a s on the west coa st and the Ganga sin their own country . This la tter power wa s overthrown about the y ea r A . D . 1000, thanks to the exertionsof th is grea t Chola , ably seconded by those of h isgrea ter s on Rajendra , th e G angaikonda Chola ,

so tha tthe deba table frontier herea fter wa s Y edatorénad, 2000.

\Yhile the son wa s thus fighting to establish pea ce onthi s frontier

,the fa ther h ad va st ly add ed to his empir e

by a stroke of pol icy in the north by the addition ofthe Whol e of the ea stern Chalukya kingdom of Venga imanda lam .

This kingdom beginn ing a s a viceroya lty under KubjaVishnuvardhana ,

the younger bro ther of Pulikésin II,

the Chalukya ,continued to a cknowledge a l legiance to

the Chaluky a s,probably t i l l these la tter were over

thrown . Then the ea s tern kingdom continued in com

parative peac e t i l l the Chola s made their frontiercontiguous to the ea stern Chalukya frontier . Raja raja

now gave his daughter in ma rriage to Vim a ladity a ,

and restored the conquered kingdom to his son - in - law,

who wa s only too glad to have the powerfu l Chola

to help him in ca se of atta ck either from the west

or from the north . The ea stern Chalukya territory,i t must be sa id to the credit of the far - seeing pol icyof Raja raj a ,

rema ined ever a fter fa ithful to the Chola s

and continued an in tegra l part of the empire .

When Raj a raj a died in A . D . 1013 , he l eft beh ind

him to h is son ,the G angaikonda Chola , practica lly

the whol e of the Madra s presidency except Madura

and Tinnevel ly . Only the Chal ukya frontier was in

di spute .The son h ad to fight on this frontier and if

hi s inscrip tions can be taken a s unpim each ab le evidence

46 ANCIENT INDIA

he secured i t . He sighed for new worl ds to conquer

in his own smal l way, and ca rri ed his a rms succes sful ly

across Ka lingam (Ganjam) , etc . He fought ba ttles on

the Ganges and in Burma , ea rning thus the highsounding surname of the G angaikonda Chola, the magni

ficent ruins of whose capita l at G angaikonda - Solapa ram

(in the Wodiyarpal ayam ta luka) a ttest h is greatness

to this day . “Then in his turn the Gangaikonda Chola

(the hero of the Kanarese Rajasékh ara Vilasam) , h ad toleave his earthly empire to his son Rajadhiraja inA . D. 1042,

the frontiers wer e a l l afiame in revol t, andthi s condi tion of the Chola empi re wa s made the worseby th e Chalukya ruler of the time having been a

great wa rrior .Three genera t ions of ru lers h ad l ived and passed awayin the s even and a ha l f lakh country 1 of the Chalukya s

and their exertions l eft the empire qu iet in al l other

di rections except tha t of the Chola frontier . On thi sfrontier there was constant war even in the days ofRaj araj a and his son, so tha t, when Samésvara Ahavama lla a scended the throne of hi s fathers A . D. 1044,

he had to continue the work of his father and grandfa ther . Meanwhi le Rajadhiraja h ad had time to introduce order into his own empire, and to bring therevo lted frontiers back to their a l legiance . “Then thewa rrior - king SDmésvara broke in upon him Rajadhir

ajawa s ready to meet him . The wars were long and

wea ry ing and the resu lt s were often doubtful . Theymade at la st a res o lute a t tempt to decide once for a l lthis deba te of a rms, and the resul t was the grea t ba ttl efought in the year A . D . 1052 at Koppam on the Tungabhadra . Ra jadhiraja fel l in it and, for the t ime, vic torywa s with the Chalukya s ; but Rajendra ,

the youngerbrother of the Chola , brought up re in forcements and

retr ieved the fortunes of the Chola s and thus ea rned

l This refers either to th e revenue, or to th e num ber of vil lages .

48 ANCIENT INDIA

a dvanced up to the Palar, from which river Virarajéndrahad to chase them back . After this the norma l condit ion of affa irs wa s restored, and the five Chola inva sions

h ad for their obj ective the territory at the angle between th e Tung abhadra and the Krishna . Virarajaonce occupied Kampl i and planted a

‘ Pi llar of Victorythe re’ .

The Chola cla ims to have won three times in ba tt les

a t Kuda l Sangam an a t the junction of the rivers . Inmost of these Vikramaditya , the second son of Somesvara , p layed a di stingu i shed pa rt . On the la st occasionwhen th e Cho la wa s there, having accepted the cha l lenge

of Somés vara I, he ha d to wa i t long and neither

Somesvara nor his a rmy appea red . Whi le the Cholawa s about to break up camp and move on , Vikra

maditya appea red a t the head of hi s a rmy and

showed a readier inclina tion to tr ea t than to fight .This pa rleying ended in a t rea ty betwe en the Cholaruler an d th e Chalukya prince who set the sea l bytaking the Chola princess as his wife .

This change of front on the part of Vikramaditya

h as to be expla ined . While the Chola wa s wa it ing,Somésvara Ah avama l la d ied by drowning himself inthe Tungabhadra as a result of an a tta ck of a ma l ignantfever . There wa s a change of rulers at Rajamahendri .

Raj araja Chalukya, the nephew and son ' in - law of theG angaikonda Chola , ha d d ied leaving a son and a

daughter . This son does not appea r in the transactionsimmed ia tely fol lowing Rajaraja

s dea th . The westernChalukyas moved ea s t, but Vira rajéndra wa s tooqu ick for th em . He won a victory at Bezwada

(Vijayavadi) and appointed a brother of the la te Kinga s Viceroy a t Raj amahendri . Virarajéndra thus secured h ims elf on this s ide of h is empire and

return ed, sending ou t an exped i tion across Ka ling am to

Centra l Ind ia . In this poli tica l cond ition of hisfrontiers Samésvara Ah avam a l la d ied

, and his eldest

VIKRAMADITYA 49

son Somésvara Bh i‘

ivanaikam a l la succeeded . Vikra

maditya did not wish to play the role of a l ieutenantto his les s d i stingu ished, though elder, brother , butcou l d not strike single- handed . Hence the inclina t ionto enter into an a l l ianc e with the powerful Chola onthe frontier .

This done , Ikramaditya moved through the southernpart of his brother

s dominions to feel the temper of

the grea ter viceroys of th e empire . Some time inthe course of this progress , Vira rajéndra died a t Ganga ikonda Solapuram the capita l . This unsettled the plansof Vikram aditya who hurried there , set his brotherin - law on the throne and re turned to his more directsphere of a ct ivity . Soon a fter the new Chola rulerfel l a vic tim to a revolution , and a nother young ambi

t ious m an wa s upon the Cho la throne . Vikramaditya

h ad to bid e his time , and wa i ted six more yearsbefore he though t he could venture upon his danger

ous ca reer towa rds empire . The young man who a s

cended th e Chola throne in A . D . 1070 wa s no other

than Kulottunga , the son of the Chalukya Raja raja

and grandson ,through his mother, of the G angaikonda

Chola . He appea rs to have been brought up in h is

grandfa ther’s hou se and seems to have dis tingu ished

himself,while yet a prince, in di stant expeditions in

centra l India . A s Yuva ra ja , he is sa id, in his in

scription s , to have captu red a herd of elephants a t

Vairaga ram and to have taken Chakragottam . Thi sla tter i s in the territory of Dhara where th e great

Bhoja h ad recent ly rul ed , and it might have been tha t

Ku lOttung a ha d to pla y a lead ing pa rt in the expedi

t ion sent out by Vira rajéndra . Vira rajéndra is sa id

a l so to ha ve sent an expedi t ion to the Ta la ing country .

As Yuv ara ja of the Chalukya Raj a raj a ,KulOttunga

could not h ave gone there . This is furthe r borne out

by ‘ Ku lottunga’

s having upl ifted the lotus goddess

in the d i rect ion of the ri s ing sun .

This cou ld , perhaps ,4

50 ANC IENT INDIA

be made to mean the Telugu country , which is not

quite to the ea st of the Chola country .

It would thus be c lea r, bea ring in mind that thename of Kulottunga does not figure in the transa ct ions a fter the ba t t le of Bezwada ,

tha t Kulottungaspent his youth in the immedia te entourage of thegrea t Chola s . He appea rs to have been qu i te contentto acc ept a l ieut enancy from his uncles , but not from

any of his cousins . F urther there is nothing to

connect Kulottung a with the revolution a fter Virarajendra

's d ea th . This m ay have been th e natura lcons equence of the Chalukya intervent ion , and Kulottunga merely reaped the benefi t a ris ing therefrom,

having had rea son to believe , a s some of his in script ions and the Ka ling a ttupp a ra ni show, tha t he wa sadopted by the G angaikonda Chola , though th is la tterh ad three sons to succeed him and anoth er older thanthese who preferred quiet l ife to sovereignty . It

wa s thi s Kulottung a who upset the ca l cu la tion ofVikramaditya , and , under the circumstances of hisa ccession, fought aga inst Vikram aditya in hi s scheme s

of s elf - aggrand izement .Kulottunga h ad his own frontiers to qu i et before h ecou ld think of Vikramaditya , and thi s respite on thisfrontier was taken advantage of by Vikramaditya

to ga in grea ter hold upon the Mysore country . In

thi s he wa s successfu l in th e ma in . When he,there

fore, thought his time had come to put his plans intoopera tion , Ku lottunga wa s ready . Somésvara Bhuva

naika’

m a l la h ad rea sons to su spect Vikramaditya , and

this la tter deemed i t unsa fe to reside at court . Vikra

maditya ma de up his mind , and with his brother Jayasimha got things ready in the south aga inst hi s elderbrother and sovereign . SGmésvara asked for help and

Ku lottung a glad ly agreed ; but before Kulottunga coulda rrive Vikramaditya had won , and Semés vara was

thrown into prison . This wa s in A . D . 1076 . After an

THE IMPERIAL RIVAL S 51

inva sion or two of the Mysore country to wrest th esouthern ha l f of i t from the Chola s

,and another into

the Telugu country , Vikramaditya a l lowed ma tters tosett l e themselves in the frontier between the Chola sand the Chalukya s . Ea ch of these sovereigns rul edover his resp ective empire for ha lf a century,genera l lyin peace . Vikram aditya sent out two exped i t ionsacro ss the Narbudda , Centra l India , (Dhara and Dab a la ) ,having been d i stracted by wars , civil and externa l , inthe earl ier par t of hi s reign . He dispa tched contingents to help rul ers at such a grea t di stance as

Kama rupa (A s sam) . Ku léttunga conquered and evencolonized the south and west up to Kottaru nea rCape Comorin, and subjuga ted the Ka lingam s (Orissa )through hi s genera l Ka runakara Tondaman .

Affa irs on the My sore frontier were developing fa stfor a fina l is sue, and chiefly through the strenuousexertions of a Mysore chief, Vish nuvardh ana Hoyéa la,

and the wa rl ik e inst incts of hi s genera l G angaraja .

G angavadi and Nol ambavadiwere l os t to th e Chola inA . D . 1116 and only nomina l ly added to the Chalukyanempire . This marks the beginn ing of the disruption .

The southern viceroys who stood firm by the side of

Vikramaditya in his wa rs aga inst the Chola , and evenin his usurpa tion, na tura lly expect ed the reward of

their servic es in nomina l a llegiance, if not ac tua lindependence . This h ad to be acqui esced in and th e

ambition of some of these redoubtabl e champions ofthe prince

,the a spirant to the throne, proved the

bane of the emperor and his empire . Vikramaditya

was , however, saved the humiliat ion of a break - up ofthe empire by the exertions of th e loya l Sinda chief

ta in , AchugiII of Gulburga (in the Niz am’

s Dominions) .He defea ted in a night a tta ck at Kannega la the

Hoyéa la forces and chased them ba ck to Béh‘

ir, th eirhead - qua rters . Their a l li es in the revolt , the Kadamba s

of Hanga l and Goa had a l so to find shelter in their

52 ANCIENT INDIA

strongholds . So when Vikramaditya d ied in A . D . 1126,

the empire wa s left inta ct no doubt, but withoutchances of continuing much longer

,unl es s i t found

a succession of very capable rule rs , which the empirewa s fa ted not to have .

Kulottunga was more fortuna t e . Doubtles s he h adto a cqu iesce in the loss of southern Mysore, but hea cquired a hold upon Ka lingam . What wa s more heh ad capable sons, d i s tingui shed in wa r and tra ined inadministra tion to succeed him

,when he di ed A . D. 11 18 .

There were thre e successors who ma inta ined theempire intact and when the Chola Empire fel l

fel l from the impa ct of s imu l taneous Pandya,Kera la

and Kakatiya invas ions from the south, west and

north . Both these emperors were grea t a dministrat ors , each in his way. They h ad perfected the Govern

tim ent, a s i t had been handed down to them,and were

ioth erwis e patrons of letters . They a dopted a po licy-of enl ightened l ibera l i sm in rel igion . After a coupl e of

g enera t ions of weak ru lers , the Chalukya empire wa s

subj ected to the doubl e misfor tune of di sorganiza tion

and dissensions within , and the onset of a powerfulinvader without. This double ca lamity wa s avertedby a man of genius Bijja la , who usurped the empire

and infused some fresh life in to it for a qua rter of

a century . The new power of the Kakatiya s of

Waranga l wa s emerging into a grea t ca reer, and the

process of dis integration wa s going on , though, in themeanwhile, unobserved only by those whom it concerned the most . The Hoysa la s pressed from thesouth ,

Yadava s from the north -west and the Kakatiya sfrom the ea st . The empire wa s dead and these sha redthe qua rry . L ike the Cho la empire somewha t la t er,this empire wa s pa rcell ed out among numbers of

petty Chiefta ins , who cla imed independ ence , and h ad to

ma inta in it by perpetua l readiness to fight . At thecommencement of the thirteenth century there stood

MU SLIM INCURSIONS 53

out the Yadava s of Deogiri, the Kakatiya s of Waranga lor Te ling a na . th e Hoysa la s of Dvara s amudra , and a

number of sma l l chiefs in l i eu of the great Chola empireand the P andy a s and Kera la . At the end of the fi rstdecade there broke in into th is world south of theVindhya s the grea t Mus l im wave of inva sion underMalik Kafur . Overthrowing in succes sion the grea t

feuda tory principa l i ties of Deogiri, “T

aranga l and

Dvara samudra , Kafur Mal ik advanced south a s far a s

Rameswa ram . L eaving sma l l garrisons behind,he

went back to ma ture his own plans of king -making

and becoming king . The genera l movem ent aga instthis occupa tion of the country by the Muhammadanscu lmina ted in the grea t Hindu empire of Vijayana gga r . The ga rri sons were dr iven out and thethreads of these isola ted ri sings were ga thered togetherby the genius of on e m an ,

who p la ced th e h ead

quarters of the rising empire in the frontier outpost

of th e sou th to guard at lea st this la st citadel a ga ins tthe Mus l im conquest . This story, however , belong s to

another period .

CHAPTER IV

INDIA A T THE DA l-I'

N OF THE

CHRISTIAN ERA

INDIA the wonderland of the ea st, a s it i s even now

ca ll ed, wa s made known to the west, when the world

conqueror,A l exander the Great, forced op en her ga te s

on the north - west . Our knowledge of Ind ia a t a l l of

a definit e cha ra cter m ay be sa id to extend no fa rtherthan this period

,a s , a ccording to the most r ecent

authority, his connexion with India w a s not muchmore than a grea t ra id . It is m a tter of common know

ledge tha t h e h ad to give up his idea of carry ing hisconquests righ t up to the ea stern l imits of the land,

(a ccording to hi s own notion of the configura ti on ofthe earth) , owing to a mutiny among his so ldiersheaded by his cava l ry commander Koinos . Beforeleaving India , however, b e d ivided his conquest s on

this side of the Ind ian Caucasus into th ree vice - roya l ties

as fo l lows :I . P a ropanis adae , the country west of the Indus,

with Oxyartes , the fa ther of Roxana ,for i ts viceroy

II . The Punjab including in it the kingdom ofT axi la , and tha t of Porus, tha t of th e SCphyte s

together with the territories of th e Oxydrachoi and

the Ma l loi, under th e viceroy Phil ip , son of Ma ch eta s ;l eaving the civil administration in the hands of thena tive princes .

III . Sindh inc luding the kingdom of Mousikanos ,

Oxykanos , Sambus and Ma eris of P ata lene under

P eithon , the son of Agenor, for it s viceroy .

56 ANCIENT INDIA

hold upon the more powerful and di stant of its va s sa l s,and the days of the dyna sty a re numbered .

F rom this event to the year A . D . 319 the da te of

the rise to power of the Imperia l Gupta s , th e historyof Ind ia i s yet quite uncerta in, a l though we are ableto ga in a few g limpses a s to the genera l fea tures

of the h i story of tha t period . The A sia tic empire of

the Sel eucida e wa s a ttacked simu ltaneously by the

Romans and the Gau l s from the west and northwest, and the Pa rthians from the ea st . About thebeginning of the s econd century B . C .

, Pa rthia madegood her independence under Ars akes Mithrida tes Iand Baktria under Eukratides .

l This wa s but thereflex a ction of the movements of the nomad tribesin the far - off pla ins of Mongolia . Th e grea t tribe of

th e Hiung - nu fel l , with a l l the fervour of n eigh boui'ly

love, upon th e Yuet - chi , and d isl odged them fromtheir then habita t in the pla ins of Z ungaria . Thes ein th eir turn fel l upon the Wu - sung

,ki l led the Wu

sung Chiefta in in ba ttle , and ma rched further uponthe region then in th e occupa t ion of the Se, Sok or

Saka s . T hes e la st h ad to make room for th em a longth e right bank of th e Oxus and occupy the countryprotected by the Ind ian Cauca sus . The Yuet - chi werethemselves defea ted by the son of the la te Vv

n - sungchi efta in . When his fa ther fel l in ba ttl e he founda secure a sylum with the Hiung - nu

, who now helped

him to rega in hi s lost pa trimony . It wa s in thecourse of these movements tha t the Saka s and possiblysome of the Hiung - nu moved down the Kabu l va l l ey

into India ,and occupied the country on the right

bank of the Indus , right down even to Guja ra t.It

i s one of their out~sett lements on the Jumna tha t thecoins and other an tiqu it ies of Muttra wou ld seemto warrant .

1 V, A . Smith ,Ea r l y History of India , p . 210 fi .

SHIFTINGS OF P OLITICAL POWER 57

Wh ile a l l this wa s taking pla ce a cros s the bordersof India , in India i t s el f there was going forwa rd a

revolution of no less consequence . The Mauryan empirewa s overthrown by P ushyamitra Sunga . the Maury a

genera l, in spite of the loya l i s t m in i ster, a broth er-inlaw of Yeg fia séna Sataka rni of the Dekhan . Theusurper

s streng th wa s tried by a triple war

aga inst Menander , ru ler of Kabul ; (2 ) aga inst Karave la ,

the Ka linga rul er of Or issa ; (3 ) aga inst the loya l istYegfia séna and in beha lf of a counter - cla imant to thethrone of the kingdom of Vidha rba . Though for thet ime successfu l aga inst a l l these

,the empire h ad suffered

v i ta l injuries . The Dekhan kingdom or viceroya ltybecomes so powerful tha t the Andhras establish an

imperia l position themselves, and render their quota

of service by holdin g out aga inst th e Saka invadersfrom th e north-west and west. It must have been inthe course of these wars tha t the occa sion shou ld have

a risen for the founding of th e era which now goesby the name of Vikramaditya, and tha t under th e

name of Saka . A s to both these era s and the circumstances of their origin, there i s very considerable

d ifference of opin ion among schola rs . In th e course

of the pol itica l shiftings described above, a clan of

the Yuehchi, by name Kushane , was able to push its

way into India and establ ish a kingdom in the Punjab

inc luding Kasmir . The grea test ruler among them ,

whose empire came into touch with th e Chinese

Empire on the one side and the Pa rthian on th e.

other,i s Kanishka , the Cons tantine of the Buddh ism

of the grea ter vehicle (Mahayanism) . Learned schola rs

a s socia t e him with both the era s above referred to,

whil e there are yet o thers, who wou ld dissocia te himfrom either and r efer him to a period la ter than both .

None of them ,however, take him beyond the period

I have ma rked at the beginning . At the very beginningof the Christ ian era then the Punjab and the front ier

5 8 ANC IENT INDIA

p rovince, including Kasmir, were under the Kushana s

or their immedia te predecessors or their succes sors .

G ujara t and Malva , including northern Konkan, wereunder the Sakas .

Dur ing the period ma rked out above , we have been

pa ssing from the suprema cy of Buddhism (if sucha n expression can be rega rded a s appropria te at a l l) ,through a rea sse rtion of the Brahman a s cendancy , onto a fina l compromise , end ing on the one s ide inMahayanist Buddhism , and on the other in the

Hindui sm of the Gita . F or a s Professor Kern ma inta ins, on the autho rity of the Tibetan historian Tarana th

and th e Saddharm a -

pundarika , the founder of theMadhyamika s chool of Buddhism , Nagarjuna was a

d isciple of the Brahman Rahu labhadra who wa s muchindebted to Sage Krishna . Pa raphra sed , this m eans nol ess than tha t these teachers drew a pa rt of theirinspira tion from th e Gita .

l This is borne out by theimportance tha t a tta ches to Bhakti (devotion) inMahayanist Buddhism and la ter Hindui sm .

During a l l thi s period of a ctive muta tions both inreli gion and poli tics, South Ind ia wou ld appear to havebeen out of this great vortex . This is a de lusion duem ore to lack of informa ti on than to a la ck of history .

The edicts of Asoka mention the Chola,Pandya ,

K era la , Satiyaputra ,and Ceylon, among those with

whom he entered into diploma tic rela tions . He thoughtit worth hi s while to send his son and daughter toC eylon a s miss iona ries . These fa cts put i t beyond a

doubt tha t there was some communica tion betweenMag adha and Cey lon, genera l ly by way of the sea .

It cannot be tha t the neighbouring coa st was nota lso brought into touch with the north . The edictsof A soka , found in the Chita ldroog d istrict, make itc erta in tha t there was some connexion

, and in a l l

1Manua l of India n Buddhism, 9 . 122.

MARITIME ACTIVITY 59

l ikel ihood by way of land, and by the ea st coa st . The

Ceylonese trad ition , a s embodied in the Ill a ha raméa ,

i s quite in support of this conclusion .Between th e

Maharashtra and Malva there wa s a grea t trunk roadnotwithstanding the g rea t forest region between them .

This road it i s tha t h a s given us the name Dakshina

pa tha (Dekhan) . Most l ikely this roa d wound its wayover the hil l s by way of B urhanpur into western

Malva . The middl e reg ion wa s the fore s t, which it

con t inued to be even up to the da ys of Ha rs ha .

During th i s period , and for a long time a fter,

Hindustan (the country north of the Vindh y a s ) , kepttouch with the outer world by wa y of land ma inlyth e south kept itsel f in conta ct w ith the rest of theworld chiefly by way of the s ea . Tha t the Hindusdid not a lwa y s wa it for others to come to them for

goods i s in evid ence in a va riety of ways . There is,

first, the statement of Cornel iu s Nepos, who says that

Q . Metel lus Celer received from the king of the Su evisome Indians , who h a d been driven b y s torm intoGerman y in the course of a vo y age of commerce .

This is qui te a precise fac t, and i s borne out b y a

number of ta l es of voyages with the h orrors a ttend ingnaviga tion depic ted in the l iveliest colours in certa incla sse s of writings both in Sanskrit and Tami l . Amongthe pla ces mentioned in the la tter cla ss es of sources

a re those in the Ea st Indian Archipelago , such

as Java (Savah am ) , Sambh ava (Ka rpfira sam bh avam ) ,

Ka t-ah a (Suma tra ) , and Kal aham (Burma ) not to

mention C h ina . It wou ld thus appea r tha t there wa s

some very considerable a ctivity in ma ri time commerce .

They used to h ave lighthouses to wa rn ships and one

such i s described at the grea t port a t the mouth of

the Kavery, a big pa lmy ra trunk ca rrying on the top

of it a huge oi l lamp .

1 Ma crind le , A ncient India , p . 1 10.

60 ANCIENT INDIA

On either coa st were towns of grea t comm erc ia limportance . Beginning with the coa s t of the Arabian

Sea and pa ssing over the ports beyond the region of

South India, the first town of importance i s wha t thelcla ssica l geographers ca l l Tyndis (Tondi) where Quilandynow stands . Opposite to it l ies wha t wa s ca l l ed

L iuke (White Island) now going under the name

Sacrifice Rock or ‘

Ve l livan Ka l lu’

among the people .

The Ophir of thes e geographers i s loca ted by some at

the site of modern Beypore . South from this wa s the

great mart of Muz iri s (Muyirikkodu ,Kodung a lur or

Cranganur) the port of Vanj i or Karur , the capita l ofthe Chera s, with the river -mouth P s eudos tomos (A li

mukham or fa l se mouth) . This is the port to whichnaviga tors turned their course when, through the

enterprise of Ha rpa los ,the south -west m onsoon wa s

d iscovered . Pa ssing thi s port we come next to Bakare

(Vaikkarai) the port of Nyeacinda in the territory ofthe Pandi on of Madura (Nirkkunram in the k ingdom

of the P andyan s at Madura ) . After thi s th e cla ssica lgeographers mention only Cape Comorin (Kumari) .Pa ssing Kumar i th ey lead us into the Arg a lic (A rga l iin Tam il , Mahodadi in Sanskrit) gu lf, and thence intothe port of Kolkoi (Korka i) . It i s her e tha t theisland of Taprabane na tura l ly finds mention . Theorigin of this name for Ceylon ha s been the caus eof very ingenious specu lation . It is rega rded by someas th e equiva lent of Tamraparni (th e Tamb apanni of

the Buddhists) . There is another deriva t ion morefancifu l than this, namely, tap Ravana a s a corruptionof dipa Ravana . The more l ikely and much lessingenious origin would be dip Ruan , Ruan being one

of the kingdoms in the Is land of Cey l on , about th ebeginning of the Christian era , a ccording to the Ma ha

ramsa ; and tha t the kingdom to which sa il ors shouldinevitably go from the Arga lic gu lf . Proceeding sti l l

further through the gulf these sa i lors came to the

P OLITICAL GEOGRAPHY 61

e a stern emporium of Tondi, the grea t mart for Ch inesewa res, and commod it i e s from the Ea stern Archipelago .

F urther north of th is wa s Puhar at the mouth ofthe Kavery ; the next port of importance on thi s s idewa s Maisolos a s Pliny ca l l s it

To ta ke up the pol it ica l geography of south Indiaa s a whole then , the country sou th of the Krishnawas divided among ‘ the three crowned kings ’

sev en chiefta ins , with an eighth coming somewha tla ter . It is th e coa st r egion and th e m ore op encountry tha t belong ed to the kings , whil e the midd leregions of hi ll s and forests belonged to th e chiefta ins ,and p erhaps even a few tribes (Naga s and others) .

The ea st coa st from near the mouth of the Krishnato the south of Tondi, in the Z amindari of Ramnad,be longed to the Chola ,

a l though midway between thekingdom proper and i t s northern viceroya l ty of Kanchi

l ay the hi l l - country round Tirukoilur, in the posses

si on of a c la ss of chiefta ins named Ma layaman , veryOften loya l supporters of their suzera in, occa siona l lytruculent and rebell i ous . South of the Chola king

dom l ay tha t of the Pandya, which extended fromcoa st t o coa st , and embra ced with in its borders themodern d istricts of Madura and Tinnevelli, and the

Sta te of Travancore, taking in a l so a pa rt of Coimba

tore and Cochin . This included in it the chiefta inc ies of Aay (the A io i of Ptolemy) round the Podyil

hi l l in the western gha ts, and of Evvi round about

th e port of Korka i in Tinnevel l i . Ther e wa s besides

the doma ins of Pehan round the Pa lnis , which comes

under their sphere of influence a s well . North of this

and a long the western gha t s on the sea - side lay the

terr itory of the Chera : a territory stretching right

a cro ss the Pa lgha t gap through Sa lem and Coimba

l Ka naka s a bh a t s Tamil s , 1800 yea rs ago,ch . iii a nd Macrindle

Ancient India and Ptol emy .

6 -2 ANCIENT INDIA

tore . South Mysore wa s pa rcel l ed out among a number

of chiefta ins corresponding to the modern P alayagars,whose a l legiance wa s at the d isposa l of either, butthe more powerfu l , of their neighbour kings . Suchwere the Irungo of Arayam , Pari of P arambunad,

Adiyaman of Tagadur (Dha rmapuri) and Ori of theKol lima lais . The fi rst of these wa s within Mysoreterritory proper

, and to the ea st of his doma in l ay the

Ganga s, and Kongu to th e south .

These chiefta incies were the bone of content ionbetween the Chola s and the Chera s . When the period

under tr ea tment begins, the Chola s are supreme underKa rikal , who a s cended the th rone, probably a fter

defea ting the Chera and Pandya in a ba ttle at Vennil

(Koilvenni a s it i s now ca l l ed) in the Tanj ore distr ict .He wa s a remarkabl e sovereign who

,in many ways,

contributed to th e permanent welfa re of his subj ects,and h a s consequent ly been hand ed down to pos terity

a s a bene ficent and wise mona rch . He con structed

th e embankments for the Kavery, and his chief portPuhar wa s the great emporium of the ea st coa st .His reign wa s long and, taken a long with those of his

two predecessors and the succes sor next fol lowing him,

constitutes th e period of th e first Chola asc endancyin the south . l n the reign of his successor a grea tca ta st rophe befel l Puhar, and the city and port wereboth destroyed . This wa s a ha rd blow to the a scendancy of the Chola s . But Ka rikal ha d

,a fter defea ting

his contempora ry Chera , given one of his daughtersin ma rriage to the son of hi s vanqui shed riva l . This

a l l iance stood th e Chola s in good stead . Karikal’

successor began his reign with a victory,which his

h ei r - apparent won for him, aga inst the Chera and

Pandya comb ined , at Kariyar, probably in the Sa lem

dist rict . When Puhar wa s destroyed there wa s a civil

wa r , owing perhaps to the untimely dea th of the young

Chola prince ; and the Chera ruler for the time being,

6 4 ANCIENT INDIA

he had to fight with the contemporary Bandyan,designated the victor, a t Ta laialanganam . With this

mishap to the ru ler the Chera a scendancy pa sses away .

The P andyan s of Madura take their turn now, and

continued to hold the po s ition of hegemony up to thet ime tha t th e P a l lavas ris e into importance . This, inbrief and in very genera l terms , was the pol it ica lh is tory of South India a t the beg inning and during

the ea rly centur ies of the Chri stian Era .

Pa ssing on from the politica l to th e industria l con

d it ion of India ,we have a lready described th e principa l

s ea - ports , bo th on the western and ea st ern seaboard .

a s h as been pointed out,there were so many

thriving ports and,i f foreign merchants sought these

for trade at considera ble risk of pira tes and, if th ere

wa s so much enterpris e in sea - going among the in

hab itants of the country , the conc lusion is irresis t ib letha t the country h ad a prosperous industry, and so,on

' examina tion , it appears certa inly to ha ve been .

Apa rt from the compla ints of Petronius tha t fa shion

able Roma n lad ies exposed their cha rms much too

immodestly by c loth-ing themselves in th e ‘ webs ofwoven wind ’

, as he ca l l ed the musl in s imported fromInd ia , Pliny says tha t Ind ia dra ined the Roman Empire

annua l ly to th e extent of sesterces , equa lto sending in return goods which sold at a

hundred t imes their va lue in India .

9 He a l so rema rksin another pla ce , ‘ this is th e price we pay for our

luxuries and our women .

Tha t the industria l a rts h ad r eceived a ttention and

cu ltivation in early times in Ind ia i s in evidence tothe satisfa ction of the mos t s ceptica l mind . The earlyTami l s divided a rt s into s ix groups : p loughing (mean

l Mommen gives th e tota l £ G,OO0,000 for Ara bia

for India .

3 Ma la ba r Manua l , vol . i, pp . 250- 1.

SOUTH INDIAN COMMERCE 65

ing th ereby a gricu l ture) , handic rafts , pa inting , com

merce and trade , the lea rned a rts , and la stly the finea rts . O f these agricul ture and commerce were re

garded a s of th e first importance . F l ourishing trade

presuppos es a volume of industry, the principa l of

which wa s weaving then , a s it a lso h a s been unti lrecentl v . Cotton , silk and wool seem to have beenthe ma teria l s tha t were wrought into clo ths . Amongthe wool lens we find mention of manufactures fromth e wool o f ra ts , which wa s regarded a s particularlywa rm . There a re thirty va riet ies of s ilks mentioned,

each w i th a di s tinctive appel la tion of it s own , a s di stin

guish ed from the imported silks of China which had

a sepa ra te name . The chara cter of the cotton stuffstha t were manufa ctur ed is indicated by the compa risons inst ituted between them and, sloughs of serpents

or ‘ vapour from milk ’

; and the genera l description ofthese a s

‘ those fine textures the thread of whichcou ld not be fol lowed even by the eye .

The chief export s from the country, a s the author of

the P er z'

p lus s a y s . were these : The produce of the soill ike pepper, grea t quantitie s of best p ea rl a re l ikewisepurcha s ed here , i vory , si lk in the web, Spikenard fromthe Ganges , bete l from the countri es further to th eea st, transpa rent ston es of a l l sorts , diamonds, rubies

and tortois e shell from the gold en Chersonese or fromth e i s lands off the coa st of Limurike .

’ This is a l l

from the port of Muziri s on th e west coa st . He goes

on to say :‘ There is a grea t resort of shipping to

thi s port for pepper and betel ; the merchants bringout a la rg e quantity of spice, and their other imports

are topa ze s , stibium , cora l , fl int, gla ss, bra ss , and l ead ,

a sma l l quantity of wine a s profi table a s a t Baruga z a ,

C innaba r, fine c lo th , a rs enic and whea t, not for sa l e

but for the us e of th e crew' Tha t Pliny ’s compla in t

about the dra in wa s neither imagina ry nor hypers ensit ive i s in evidence in a passage descriptive of Muz iris

66 ANCIENT INDIA

in on e of the ancient c la ss ics of Tami l l itera ture "‘

q éiri to which come th e well - r igg ed ships of theYavana s , bring ing gold and taking away spices inexchange .

Regard ing the trade of the ea s t coa st, here follows

a descripti on of Puhar as a port Horses were broughtfrom distant land s beyond the sea s, pepper wa s broughtin ships ; go ld and preciou s stones came from the

northern mountains ; sanda l and aghil came from themounta ins towa rds the west ; pearl from the southerns eas and cora l from the ea stern sea s . The produce ofthe region wa tered by th e Ganges ; a l l tha t i s grownon the banks of the Kavery ; a rticl es of food from Ilam

(Ceylon) and the manufa ctures of Kal aham (Burma)’2

were brought there for sal e . The product s of pa rticu larimportance received in the port of Tondi are aghil

(a kind of black aromatic wood) . fin e s i lk stuff (fromCh ina) , candy, sanda l, scents, and camphor . Al l of

these a rticl es and sa lt were carri ed into the interiorby means of wagons drawn by teams of oxen

,slowly

trudging a long through town and vi l lage, effecting exchanges with commodit ies for export . Tol ls were pa i don th e way, and the j ourn ey from the coa st up thepla teau and back aga in occupied m any months . A

brisk and thriving commerce with the correspondingvolume of interna l trade argues peac e, and the periodto which the above des cript ion wi ll apply must havebeen a period of genera l pea ce in the Peninsula .

They did not forget in those days to ma inta in a regul a rcustoms establishment, the offi cia l s of which piled upthe gra in and stored up the things tha t cou ld not

immediately be measured and appra i sed , l eavmg themin the dockyards carefully sea led wi th the tig er s ignet

of the king .

1 Ahandnfi ru,149.

2 P a ttz‘

nappalai, 127 fl . and The Tami-ls 1300 years ago, p. 27.

3 P a ttmappd lai, 134—6 .

SOCIAL CONDIT ION 67

The Tamils built their own sh ips ; and in the o thercra fts of the skil led arti san th ey Se em to have a tta inedsome proficiency, though th ey ava i le ] themselves of experts from d i stant places . In th e build ing of the roya lpa la ce a t Puhar . skil led a rtisans from Mag adh a ,

mechanics from Maradam (Maha ra t ta) , sm iths from Avanti

(Ma lva) . ca rpenters from Y ava na, worked 1 togeth er w ith

the a rtisans of the Tamil land . There i s mention of

a temple of the most beautiful workmanship,in the sam e

city, bu il t by the Gurj ja ra sg In th e bui lding of fort s

and in the providing Of them with weapons and missiles,bo th for offence and defence , the Tamils had atta inedt o something l ike perf ect ion . Twenty - four such weapons

a re mentioned among th e defences of Madura .

Pa s sing on from th e industr ia l to the litera rv,socia l

and rel igious cond ition of th e south , which we have

so fa r been con s idering, we have again to do withthe three kingdom s . each with a capita l ci ty and a

premier port . The Chola s ha d their capita l a t Uraiyi‘

with Puhar for an a lternative capita l and chief port ;th e P andyas had their capita l at Madura , with theport and premier viceroya l ty at Korka i ; the Chera s

h a d their capita l at Van j i, with the principa l port

and viceroya l ty at Tond i . The Chola s h ad their premier viceroy

,who wa s genera l ly the heir apparent ,

or a t lea st a prince of th e blood, at Kanchi . Thesetown s and ports, therefore , bulk very largely in thel itera ture and l iterary tra dit ions of the period . The

road from Kanchi to Trichinopa l li appears to havepa ssed through Tirukkoilur. F rom Trichinopoly (i . e .Ura iyur) to Madura i t l ay a long the more a rid pa rts

of the Tanj ore district to Kodumbai in the sta te of

P udukkfltta , and thence to Nedungul am ; from which

p lace the road broke into three , and led up to Madura

1 Manimékha lai, Canto xix, 11. 107 and ff.

2 Ibid xviii. 1. 145 .

68 ANCIENT INDIA

in three branches . F rom this la st town a road keptclose to the banks of the river Vaigaiup to the P a lnis

and from there it went up the hil l s and down aga in

a long the banks of the Periyar to the town of Vanj i,s itua ted n ear its mouth . There wer e a lso other roads

bes ides one, at l ea st, from Vanli to the modern Karoor,and thence on to Tirukkoilur . These roads were not

sa fe in a l l pa rts a l ik e, there being certa in portions of

them that passed through desert regions , inhabited bywild tribes, who were a cause of terror to the wayfarers , pa rticular ly those who h ad something to lose,notwi thstanding th e fact tha t robbery was punished

with nothing short of impa l ement . Journeys were noneth e less frequent for purposes of pilgrimage, or insearch of pa tronage for learning, or for th e profit s of

commerce .

The ru lers in those days h eld before them high idea ls

of government . Their absolute authority wa s l imited

by the ‘ five grea t a ssemblies ’, a s they were ca l led, ofministers

,pries ts , genera l s , hera lds (spies) , and amba s

s adors . There appears to have been a gen era l permitfor a lea rned Brahmin to speak his mind in any durba r ;and these often gave out th eir opinions most fea rlessly .

This privilege wa s simila rly accorded a l so to men oflearning . I give a few instances in il lustra tion : a

Brahmin pi lgrim from the Chola country happenedto be present at the Chera court, when the Chera kinggave orders to his ministers to set his army in motionto avenge an insul t tha t some northern princ es , he wa sto ld

,h ad given him . The minister’s remonstrance and

the reluctance of the genera l were overru l ed . ThisBrahmin got up and pointed out, in a speech . tha t he

had warred for the fifty years of his rul e in order to safeguard his earthly interests

,but h ad done very li ttl e to

provide for himse lf in th e l ife to come . Of course

the expedition wa s countermanded, and the k ing beganto make provision for the futur e . A young Pandya

RESPECT F OR LEARNING 69

k ing of th e next genera tion showed himself too enthusia s tic for war, and i t fel l to the lot of one of the poetsat court to wean him of thi s war craze . In a poem of

8 50 l ines he conveyed the hint to the king if languagecan be conceived to be the art of concea l ing thought

here i s an instance pa r excel lence. The next instancet akes us to the court of the Ma layaman of Tirukkoil t

who negl ected his wife . A number of poets of thefirst rank int erceded and res tored him to her . Thenext ca se tha t I wil l mention here i s tha t of a po et

who enj oyed the pa tronage of succes sive Chola ru lers .He found tha t a t the end of a civi l war the victoriousChola wa s about to put to dea th his vanqui shed cousin .

Th e poet pointed out tha t the vi ctory tarnish ed the

good name of the Cho la s , qui te a s much as a defea t ;and tha t h e did not know whether to rejoice for thevictorious Chola or weep for the vanquished one .

The interces sion was certa inly effective . These illustration s show in addition the respect that l ea rningcommanded . I sha l l permit myself one more illustrat ion to show this respect . The warl ike Pandya referredto a l ready, came to the throne young . He h ad imme

dia te ly to go to war aga ins t a combinat ion of his twoneighbours , and his court wa s natura l ly anxious a s to theresu l t . The young prince in a poem , ful l of poetica lgra ce, a ssured them tha t he would return victorious,and tha t , if he should fa il , the poets of his court ,includ ing N ang adi Ma rudau, might cea s e to a ttend .

The idea l of justice set before them in those days

w a s something una tta inabl e . They strove their utmost

to a tta in to th e subl imity of their idea l ; and a king

wa s judged good or b ad upon the degree of successhe a ch i eved in thi s particula r branch of his duti es .‘ Oh the king ! he i s to blame if the ra in s fa i l ; h e i s

‘ to blame if women go astray . Wh a t is there in a

king 's es ta te,except perpetua l anxiety , tha t people

shou ld envy the posi tion of a king for ! L ea rning went

70 ANCIENT INDIA

in search of patronage . There must have been a veryconsiderable output of l iterature . It was doubtles s t ocheck th e growth of the weed of l earning tha t a body

of censors ca l led the éangam was instituted . It is anumber of works , which received the imprima tur of

this learned body , tha t h a s been the source of a l l thisinforma tion rega rding thi s period . This i s not theplace to enter into the question of th e origin of Tamil

l it era ture ; or of i ts independence or otherwise ; or ofi t s connexion with the l itera ture of Sanskri t . But I

m ay remark, in pa ssing, tha t Tamil l i terature (as di st inctfrom langua ge ,) cannot l ay cla im to that independencethat its votari es demand for it with more zea l than

a rgument . L earn ing wa s somewha t widespread and

much sought a fter . omen h ad their sha re of l earning ,a s the number of women poets ind ica tes . Nor wa s

this l ea rning confined to the Brahmin ; a l though he wa sthe so le custodia n of the ‘ north ern lore ’

In matters r el igiou s there wa s a happy confusion .

Ja ins,Buddhists, Brahmins, éaiva s , Va ishnavas, and

people of other persua s ions, both ma j or and minor, a l ll ived together and a t pea ce with one another .

‘ Th erewere Splendid tem ples in the city dedica ted to theworship of the celestia l tree Ka lpaka ,

the ce lestia l e le

phant Airava ta , Va jrayudh a (th e thunderbolt o f Indra ) ,Ba ladeva ,

Surya , Chandra , Siva , Sub rahm aniya . Satavahana , of Nig ranth a , Kama (god of love) , and Yama

(god of dea th) . There were seven viha ra s reputed tohave been bui lt by Indra ,

the king of the gods in whichdwelt no l ess than 300 monks (Buddhistic) . The temple

of Yama wa s out s ide the wa ll s of the town, in the

buria l ground in the city of Puhar, the capita l of the

Chola s . ’ 1 The three riva l systems of the Brahmins,and those of the Ja in s and the Buddhists flourishedtogether

,each w ith its own cl ient el e unhampered by

1 P a ttinappd lai, etc .

72 ANCIENT INDIA

I have ga thered my fa cts from a va st body of Tamilliterature only recently made ava ilable to the student .

I now proceed to consider the sources of this in formation,which are the clas s ica l writers ; Indian litera ture,Tamil and Sanskrit : and the Ceylonese chronicl e . Of

th e first group, Strabo wrote in the reigns of Augustus

an d Tiberius,Pliny publ ished his geography in A . D . 77

the P erip lus of the Erythra ea n Sea wa s written in thefirst century A . D . ; Ptolemy wrote his geography aboutA . D . 1 50 ; the P eutingerian Ta bles were compos ed inA . D . 222 . Th ere were other writers who wrote la ter,but we are not concerned with them direct ly . I woulddraw attention to three points

,taken from th e works

of c la ss ica l writ ers .Pliny rema rks : At the present day voyages are ma deto India every year, and companies of a rchers a re

carried on board ,because the Indian sea s are infes t ed

by pirates ’

. La ter on he says : ‘ It (Muziri s) i s not a

desirabl e pla ce of ca l l , p ira t es being in the neighbourhood, who occupy a pla ce ca l l ed Nitria s ; and besides , i ti s not wel l suppli ed with wa res for trafiic This

wa s before A . D . 7 7 . Ptolemy regarded thi s port Muz irisa s an emporium , and pla c es the country of Aioi southof Bakara i . The P ea tl ngeria n Ta bles sta te clea rly tha ttwo Roman cohort s were ma inta ined in the same townfor the protection of Roman commerce .Mr . Sewel l, who h a s made an elaborate study ofthe Roman coins found in India ,

cons id ers tha t thecoin finds l ead to the fo l lowing conclus ions ‘ :

1 . There wa s ha rdly any commerce between Romeand India during the Consulate .

2 . With Augustus began an intercourse which, en

abl ing the Romans to obta in orienta l luxuries duringthe early days of the empire

,cu lmina ted about th e

time of Nero, who died A . D . 08 .

C ONCLU SIONS 73

3 . F rom this time forward th e trade decl ined ti l lth e. da te of Ca ra ca lla ,

A . D . 21 7 .

4 . F rom the date of Ca ra ca l la it a lmost entire lyc eased .

5 . It r evived aga in, though slightly, under theB y zantine emperors .He a l so infers tha t the trade under the early em

perors wa s in luxuries ; under th e la ter ones in industria lproduct s , and under th e Byzantines the commerce wa swith the south - west coa st only

,and not w i th the inte

rior . He differs from those who find an explana t ionof thi s fluctua tion in the pol i ti ca l and socia l condit ion

of Ind ia i tself, an d the facil i t i es or th eir absence fornavi ga ting the sea s ; and considers tha t the cause i s tobe sough t for in th e pol itica l and socia l condi tion of

Rome .

F rom an examination of the second cla ss of mysources of informa tion a lone

,we find tha t there wa s

a period when South India wa s under grea t rulers ,who gave th e country peace an d thus provided theind ispensabl e se curi ty for commerce . Thi s period can

be shown to correspond to tha t of th e Roman empirefrom Augustu s to Ca ra ca l la . After thi s period, we

find the country in a condi tion of poli tica l flux . These

be ing s o we m ay sti l l find on e, at l east , of the mostpotent causes of th i s commercia l decl ine in theinterna l condi t ion of India i tself . Pl iny and Ptol emy

do not mention the Roman cohorts a t Muziris whichthe P euting eria n Ta bles do . The first exp loi t of the

Red Chera i s the destruction of the Kadam bu tree

on the sea coa st . Another compl iment tha t the poets

n ever m i s s an opportunity of bestowing upon thispatron i s that the Chera fleet sa i l ed on the wa ters

of tha t l ittora l wi th a sense of dominion and security .

The Kadambu mentioned above i s expla ined a s a tree

of extraordina ry power which could not be cut downby ordinary m an . I rather th ink from th e context

74 ANCIENT INDIA

tha t i t h a s reference to a pira tica l r endezvous . If this

view be correct,the advent of the sa id Chera brought

a long with it s ecurity . This would be in conformitywith Ptolemy’s reference to Aay, who wa s one of th e

s even chiefta ins known to l itera ture a s‘ the la st seven

pa trons ’. F rom the body of works known to Tamilschola rs a s Sangam works their contemporaneitycou ld ea si ly be establish ed . I have examined this quest ion els ewhere in the chapter on The Augus ta n Age

of Tamil L itera ture and find the name Aay a distinctivename of an individua l , and not tha t of a family .

Then Aay mu st have been the contempora ry of, or a

l it tl e older than, Ptolemy , and the age of Ptol emywould practica l ly be the ag e of the Red Chera ,

the Chera a scendancy . Thi s conclu sion only confirmswha t h a s been arrived at independent ly of this cla ss

of evidence . Grajabahu of Cey lon , who visited the Red

Chera a lmost at the end of his reign, ru led according

to the Ceylonese chronic le from A . D . 1 13 to 135 .

A l l owing for the difference b etween the Ceylonesedate of the N irvana of the Buddha and tha t arr iveda t by modern schola rs , a s Dr . F l eet

,namely , sixty

years,the date for G a jabahu would be A . D. 1 7 3 to 193 .

The Chera a scendancy then wou ld cover the la tter twoth irds of the second century A . D . Here h a s to bebrought in the Pa is-achi work B riha t Ka tha . Among thetemples mentioned a s having been found a t Puharwa s one ded ica ted to Satavah ana . This personage wa sthe rul er in whose court flourished the ministerG unadya , who wa s the author of this stupendous workwhich stands a t the root of a l l romantic li tera turein India , whether in Sanskrit or any vernacular . Itwa s a trans la tion of this work tha t set th e

fa shion inTamil for the composition of th e romantic epics . The

age of the origina l i s sti l l ma t ter und er investiga t ion .

The la test authori ty on the ques tion i s the Dutchscholar Speyer, who would place it in the third century

CONCLUSIONS 7 5

A . D . a t the ea rl i est a da te c learly impo s s ible a ccordingto our l ine of inquirv . I sha l l not s ay more abouti t h ere n ow ; but only remark tha t one of the works ,clearly ba sed upon this . h a s to be referred to a periodanterior t o the a stronomer , Varah amihira A . D . 533 .

Thi s work, Maoiinz élrha la refers to the asteri sm underwhich the Buddha wa s born a s the fourteenth ; which ,

a ccording to the modern com puta tion , fol lowinga rahamihira , ought to be the seventeenth . The Ceylon

Chronicle a l so deserves to be investiga ted more careful ly .

So far inve stiga tion s from different points of view onlya ppea r t o confi rm its ch ronologv . exc ept for th e correct ion made above .

The da te of the dea th of Ca raca l la corresponds cl oselyto the d i sa ppea rance of the Satavah ana s of th e Dekhan .

A cco rd ing to the latest opinion the power of the

Kushana s a l so vanished about th e same period . In

South India l ikewise th e Pandy a a scendanc y pa sses into

da rkness . The century follow ing is one of the da rks pots in Ind ian history, unt il the ris e of the Gupta s

in the north ,of th e Chalukya s in th e Dekhan , and of

the Pa l lava s in the south . More resea rch into Tamill itera ture and the C ey lon Mahavam s

a would y i e ld

resu l ts worth the trouble , fa i l ing coins and other

auxil ia ries . There m ay be a lso something to be

g a ined by a ca refu l s tudv of the trad i tions tha t grew

up la ter on .

CHAPTER V

THE MYSORE STATE—A RETROSPECT

THE State of Mysore over which His Highness Sri

Krishna Ra j Wadeyar Bahadur, presides, l iesbetween 1 1

and 15°

2' north la t itude and between

42’and 78

36' ea st longitude . It occupie s just

the apex of the triangle which is known a s the p la teau

of the Dekhan . Mysor e itself i s a somewha t irregu la rquadrila tera l resting upon the shoulders of the ea sternand the western gha ts , where they make their junctionin the cluster of hills round about the Ni lgiri s .Ra i sed from two to three thousand feet above th e s ee.

it h a s a sa lubrious clima te, and fa l l s into two d ivi sions,

ea ch with di st inctive physica l fea tures . The one i sthe Ma lnad (hill country ) extending betw een the western ghats and a l ine drawn from Shikarpur to

P eriyapatna and onward even to Biligirirang an hill s ;then the ma idan (pla in) a l l ea st of it up to th e Ma dra sfrontier . The quadri la tera l mea sures 290 miles ea st towest and 230 miles north to south, occupying an areaof squa re miles, of which an a rea of thirteensquare miles h as been a ss igned to form the Civil andMil itary Sta tion of Banga lore, which i s directly und erthe British admini stra tion . The popula tion of the

State , excluding tha t of the Civi l and Milita ry Sta tion ,wa s returned in the la st census (1901) a s

ma l es and fema les ), averaging 185to the square mile . More than five mil lions or 92 63per cent of the tota l are Hindus ; Musa lmans number

or 49 2 per cent ; and Christ ians or

THE BEG INNING or MYSORE H ISTO RY 77

0 6 per cen t . A s many a s a re returned a s

animistic’

and the Ja ins number O f th e

tota l popu la tion only five per cent a re l itera te . Of them a l es only nine per cent are l itera te .

The Sta te, a s it i s a t present , h a s been in existence a s a singl e pol itica l entitv only from A . D . 1800

onwards ; but the territory comprised therein h a s had

a his torv of it s own long anterior to thi s period .

Th ere a re tradit ions loca l and genera l , connecting thisa rea w i th the grea t epics of th e Rd nz-dya na and theMa habhara ta . A s we come down the st ream of time ,Ja in tradit ions record tha t the g rea t Mauryan em

peror , Chandragupta ,retired from the world and spent

the evening of l ife in contempla tion a t Sra vana Belgola .

His more famou s grandson , Asoka , if the Ma hdvams’

is to be bel i eved,sent missionaries to Mahish am anda la .

This name for the territory h a s not been foundei ther in the inscriptions of Asoka or tha t of Samudra

gupta . There is no doubt tha t both Asoka , and a fterhim th e Satavahana s and fina l ly Samudragupta ,

a l l of them some hist orica l connexion w i th the coun

try,but it i s not referred to by the name Mahisha

manda la .

1 Be this a s i t m a y , we have ce rta in reference s

in T amil l itera ture to chiefs who have to be loca ted

in M y sore and i t h a s to b e a ssumed tha t , s o fa r a s

can be known a t present, the history of the l l vsore

coun try begins with the Christian era a t lea st .

A t this per iod the Ganga s occupy the southern por

tion of My sore w ith their capita l s . first a t Ko la r and

la ter on at Ta lakad . Among those who met th e Chera

king, Senguttuvan ,in hi s northern expedi tion were

the Ganga s, and th ey vi s i ted him when he wa s in

camp at th e foot of the N ilgiri s . F rom this timeonwards the province is divided into three dis tinct parts ,

I am g lad to find mys el f supported by Dr . F leet in this position

vid e p . 425 cl seq . ,1 . R . A . S .

, p . 19 10 .

‘78 ANCIENT INDIA

each with a history of its own,rough ly correspond

ing to the three Briti sh d ivis ions of A sh tagram ,

Nandidroog and Nagar . These ancient divi s ions were

G angavadi Nol ambavadi and Banava se

Of these thr ee, the first wa s under theGanga s up to the end of the first mil lennium a fter

Christ ; th e second wa s a t first d ivided among theBanas or Mahava lis , the Vaidumbas , and pa rt perhaps

among the Chola s and the P a l lava s , t i l l at la s t the

P a l lava s conquered them and made the whole an

annexe to their dominions . The territory of Banava s ema inta ined i tself from th e beginning of the Christian

era , pos sib lv ea rlier,to its absorption by th e ea rly

Chalukya s , about th e time tha t Nolamb avadiwa s con

quered by the P a l l ava s .

Up to A . D . 600, then , the three pa rts of th e

Mysore province each h ad an independent his tory and

wa s struggling to ma inta in its indep endence . Then

two of th em lost i t, while the third wa s more iortnna te than either of i ts neighbours . It is in the history

of the third tha t we have to look for the ea rly history

of Mysore, though it was not known by tha t name .

About A . D . 000, when th e Chalukya s,north of the

Krishna ,who were in occupa tion practica l ly of the Whole

of the Dekhan , and the P a l lava ma sters of the southwere fighting for a scendency in Ind ia south of th e

Vindhya s , the province of Mysore, si tua ted a t a con

venient angle between th e two great powers , wa s

a llowed to develop on her own l ines for a short t ime .

The Pa l lavas and Chalukya s h ad to ma inta in an

inc essant struggle a long the Tungabhadra - Krishna

1 Th e figures attach ed to each name seem to indica te eith er th e revenue

paid or th e va lue of th e produce, as is cus tomary even now in

certain loca lities . l\-Ir . Rice con siders it to be th e former. Dr . F leet

takes th em to stand for th e number of town ships in th e division, in

Spite of apparent exaggeration . This does not fi nd support in exist

ing practice, which cl earl y indicates th at it is eith er revenue, or

income, sometimes the quan tity of s eed required .

80 ANCIENT INDIA

Rash trakfita, Krishna III , having been in tempora ryoccupa tion of Kanchi , completely sha ttered the

remnant of the P a l lava s , whi le b efore his tim e

the Ganga s had been reduced to subj ect ion by hispredecessors . South of the Mysore frontier there arose

a new Power which h ad been for some time forming

a Sta te of it s own ou t of the d i sintegra t ing P a l lava

dom inions . The grea t Cho la P a rantaka overthrew theGanga - Pa l l ava s , then the P andya s an d the Kéra la s ,and made for hims elf, in touch with a l l three a like, theChola kingdom which wa s destined to a far grea ter

future . The net resu l t of a l l th i s a ct ivity wa s tha tthe Rashtrakfita frontier was pushed ba ck pa st thepla teau of Mysore . It wa s t ime then for the risingCholas to mea sure their strength with tha t of the

Rashtrakfi ta s , when th ese la tter were overthrown bythe Chalukya s in A . D . 972 . This event faci l itatedmatters considerably for the Cholas , a s their pr evious

a ttempts in this d irection h ad been foiled by the suc

ces sful res istance of the Ganga feuda tor ies of theRash trakfita s . Rajaditya ,

the heir - appa rent to the Cholaempire, fel l at Takkolam about the midd l e of thecentury

, and the Chola advance h ad been put backby this event for ha lf a century .

The overthrow of the Rash trakuta s in A . I ‘ . 972 wa s

fol lowed by a ces sa t ion of a ctivity on their southernfrontier

, and the Gan ga s were l eft t o develop themselves as best they might . This was th e opportunityfor the Chola s, who by now h ad occupied the Kongu

country beyond . Before the Chalukya s cou ld considerthemselves secure in the north of Mysore

,the Cho la s

pushed their a rms northward over the pa sses and

overthrew the Ganga s , occupying Ta lakad in the west

and Kolar in the ea st . Then began , between the twoPowers

,the Chola from the south and Chalukya from

the north, one of the most pers istent and well -ma tchedstruggles for the possession of wha t is now the Sta te

F IRST mv sonn DYNASTY 81

of Mv sore . During the first quarter of the tenthcen turv . the southern Power under the grea t Itaja rajaand his son Rajendra h ad occupied the country correspondin g to the ma idan pa rt a lmos t. and the Chalukya swere l eft in possession only of wha t wa s Ba nava s e

and the extreme northern pa rt of Nol am bavadi

A long a frontier stretching fr om Y eda tore inthe west to Henjéru and Chita ldroog in the ea st, th etwo Powers contended for ma stery and th e contesth ad become verv ea rnest . when Ah avama l la Soinésvara

a sc ended th e thron e of the Ka rnataka . Ahavam a l la’

re ign and that of hi s son Vikramaditya occupied there st of the century and th e first quarter of the next .

During th is period the Chola empire enj oyed a suc

ces s ion of grea t rul ers ending with Kulottung a Chola ,

‘ who abolished toll s’

. It wa s in the course of thisstrugg l e tha t thi s pa rt of the tabl e - land h ad thechance of being brought under one rul e, and th e fir s tindependent dyna s tv of Mysore came then into being .

Thi s wa s th e dyna stv of Hoy sa la s . sometime s wrong l y

designated Bel lala s , which having been chiefta ins of

a p ettv dis t rict in Ha s san , advanced to become one

of th e grea t South Indian Powers . The fi rst ru le rs ofthis dvna s ty d i s ting u i shed themselves a ga inst th e

Cho la s on beha l f of th e C lialukya s , and obta ined forthis service a grea tly extended viceroya l tv which

whi l e y et Vishnuvardh ana wa s rul ing , embra ced the

whole of the present province of Mysore . Before he

died,h e l eft the Hovs a la kingdom w ith its frontier

advanced in th e north up to the Krishna . His son

and grandson were engaged in consol ida ting this king

dom and putting it upon a footing of peace a nd pros

perity .The n ext ru lers were in a position to lea d

uptheir force s to bea r their sha re in th e break - up of

the grea t Chola empire in th e south . The (‘

halukya

empire h a d gone pa st rec lama tion and the Ka l ach i'

u surpers had had a b ad time of i t in ma inta in ing

82 ANCIENT INDIA

themselves aga inst the Yadava s of Deva giri, the Kakatiya s of Waranga l , and the Hoysa la s themselves .

When this grea t empire h ad been divided among thethree

,the turn for the Chola s came . The Kakatiya s

occupied Kanchi for a while, the P andya s ma rched

upon Trichinopoly and were in occupa tion of Srirangam .

In thi s condi tion, the Chola s found th e Hovs a las

ready enough friends . The Hoysa la Na ra s imha and

his son STimé svara drove out the P andya s indeed, but

took their pla ce and not only occupied Srirangam

but divided themse lves a l so into two branches , oneruling the empire above the Gha ts and the o ther that

below.

It i s now that th e Hoysa la empir e rea ched the highwa ter -mark of i ts pro speri ty . Then came the greatinva sion of th e Dekhan under Mal ik Kaffi r, fol lowedwithin a quarter of a c entury by a m ore systema ticconquest by Muhammad bin Togh lak . F irs t the

Yadavas , then the Kakatiya s , a nd la s t of a l l the

Hoysa la s were overthrown by the former, who advancedfa rther south and occupied Madura and pla ces round

about. W ith th e re turn of Mal ik Kaffir, th e Hindu

powers had some resp ite which they made use of forreconstruction , perhaps not entire lv successfu l, which

a fresh advance of the Muhammadans under Muham

m ad bin Togh lak for a time kept ba ck . It required a

man of genius to ga ther together the sepa ra te and

isolated efforts of petty chiefta ins, and then arose th egrea t Vijianagar empire , thanks to the guidance of

Vidyaranya .

The Hoys a la s who h ad, sinc e the burning down of

their capita l at Ha l ebid by Mal ik Kafi'

ir, been at

Tondanfi r, ea sily succumbed to the ris ing Power and

the Sta te of Mysore was among the earli est a cqu isi

tions of Vijayanaga r . The varying fortunes of thisempire

,it wi l l be out of place to trac e here . During

al l the waxing and waning of thi s grea t Hindu State

THE RISE OF THE WODEYARS 83

on the Tunga bh adra , Mysore enj oyed the geographica ladvantages of her situa tion and h ad been divided intothree chief viceroya l ties—tha t of Channapa tna and

Srira ngapa tna in the south , and Bedni'

rr in the north .

In the intrigues a t th e court of Vija y ana gg a r ,some

of the My s ore Na iks played thei r ing lorious pa rts , til lthe grea t ca ta s trophe tha t overwhelmed the g rea tempire threw them a l l in to confus ion for a while .

hen m a tters quieted down a fter the ba tt l e of Tal ikota , th e whole en ipire wa s nomina l ly under therule r a t Penukonda ,

but the viceroys at Madura a nd

Srirang apatna rega rded themselves a s pra ctica lly independent. Jagadeva ry a rayu lu or Ranapedda ja gadévaravulu h a d been d isgra c ed

, an d his posses sions werefa l l ing into th e h ands of th e vicerov a t Sriran g a

pa tn a .

In this sta te of a ffa irs in South India genera lly ,

there a rose among the number of chiefta in s , who werethe a ctua l rulers of the territor y under th e Seringapa tam viceroy , a \Vodeya r of remarkable abil ity . This

wa s Ra ja \Vodeya r of Mysore belonging , a s he cla imed,to the Yadava fami ly of Guzerat . His first anc estorcame into Mysore from the ‘ banks of the Godavari ’

two centuri es before A . D. 1600, and the family h adsinc e been in the enj oyment of a comparative ly sma l lbit of territory in and around the ta luk of Mysore .

It wa s given to Ba j a VVodeyar to enla rge his pettyprincipa l i ty into a compact kingdom , and this cou ld bedone on ly by occupy ing th e viceroya l ty of Tirum a laraya

of Seringapa tam .

Ra ja \Vodeyar took advantage of the d ifferencesbetween Venkatapati Raya a t head - qua rters a t Pennkonda and hi s nephew Tirum a laraya of Seringapa tam ,

and enl arged hi s terr itory by first a tta cking tha t of the

Ch ennapa tna viceroy and then of hi s suzera in,the

vic eroy at Seringapa tam . When ma tters were ripe

and he found himself strong enough, he brought on

84 ANCIENT INDIA

a quarrel with the viceroy,which eventua l ly wa s taken

to be cause enough to go to war . He who h ad takenmeasures ca refully for the forthcoming eventua lityproved the s tronger of the comba tants . Tirum a laraya

h ad to fl ee for l ife,

and wa s eventua l ly k il led and

Seringapa tam fell to Ra ja VVodeyar . He , however,de emed i t prudent to get his possession ra tified byan imperia l grant in A .D . 1612 . Thus came into beingthe Sta te of Mysore properly soca ll ed .

Unde r Ra j a Wodeyar and hi s immedia te successors,

the State occupied onl y the di s trict s of the samenam e

, and i t wa s not ti l l the throne pa s s ed into a

col la tera l branch under a nephew ,Kan tiravanara s araja

Wodeyar, tha t anything l ike a systema ti c conques t ofthe Ch ennapa tn a vi ceroya lty wa s a ttemp ted and whenhe la id down th e responsibil i ty of roya l ty he h ad

extend ed the boundarie s of the Sta te very considerably .

Next followed Dodda Deva Ra ja Wodeyar , who pursuedthe po l icy or his predecessors and extended his terri torythrough th e Tumkur and Chita ldroog d istricts so thatwhen his neph ew , Chikkadéva Ra j a Wodeyar , came toth e throne in the middl e of th e seven teenth century

about the same time a s the Emperor Aurangzeb rul ed,

he h ad only to purcha se Banga lore from Ekojee inorder to complete the sta te of Mysore , and to occupythe ma idan part, l eav ing the Ma ln ad sti l l under the

most able am ong the Na iks of Ikkéri (nea r Bednfir) .

The making of My sore wa s now com plete, an d Chikka

deva h ad to org anize the territories . In this grea twork

,he wa s ably supported, first by his Ja in tutor ,

Vish a laksh ana Pundit of Ye landfir, and then by Tiruma laIyanga r, a fr iend and fel low pupi l . When he died in

A . D. 1 704, a few y ears before his imperia l contem

porary,he left to his deaf-mute son a wel l - ordered

Sta te, including not only the ma idan parts of Mysore,but a l so the bordering distri cts below th e gha ts , with

a fu l l trea sury, and a capabl e and fa i thfu l mini ster

THE DALAVAY S 85

regent in the person of his l ife - long fri end Tiruma laIyangar

This sta te of a ffa irs gave an opportuni ty for thedi sorderly elements to a ssert themselves

,which under

the strong ru l e of Kantirava Na ra s a , and before himof Raj a VVodeya r , h ad been kept well in hand . Throughthe grea t abili ty and management of the Brahminminister, the soca l led Mooka Ara su ’

(the dumb - king)pa ssed away a fter a pea cefu l reign leaving behind him

a son . Under th is s on , the Sta te wa s exposed to two

grea t dangers from outs ide . The IkkeriNa iks had beenweakened, and eventua lly reduc ed to nu l l i ty

,through

the double a tta ck from the Bij apur Sultans on theon e snde and. the hdysore VVodeyars on the other . (Ph e

remova l of this barrier exposed th e ris ing sta te ofMy sore to th e inva sions of the Mus a lm an s of theDekhan a nd the Mahra tta s . When Dodda KrishnaRa ja wa s ru ling Mysore , the Da lavays came intonot ice a s a di s tinct fa ctor in polit i cs . Th ey renderedservice to the Sta te by first taking Devan aha l li and

Chikkaba l lapur and then Savandroog , nea r Banga lo re ,and by successfu l l y withstanding the Mahra ttas .

Krishna I pa s s ed away he left behind him no properheir, and th e u sua l struggles at king -making began .

The first nominee did not prove a very apt tool , and

the k ing - makers di scovered tha t the y had mistaken

their m an . He wa s sent away to Kabba ldroog toperi sh th ere, and in his stead a baby , Krishna Ra ja ,

wa s pla ced upon the throne . The rea l power in the

State a ctua l ly pa s sed out of the hands of the Maharajainto the hands of th e three grea t functiona ries of

Sta te—the Da lavay,the Pradhan and the Sarvadhikari.

Two brothers of the famous Da l avay fami ly and a

cou s in divid ed the three pla ces among themselves , and

the administra t ion was ca rried on smoothly for somet ime

,when the Mahara ja began to cha fe under the

yoke thu s gradua l ly made heavier a s he felt . In th is

86 ANCIENT INDIA

state or affa irs in Mysore,there wa s coming into notice

a young Musa lman in the Mysore army, who h ad

a ttra cted his Genera l’s a ttention in the siege of Devanha l l i by th e Mysore forces under Nan jara ja ,

aga instthe Nawab of Sira . The young m an wa s soon advancedto the pos ition of a squa dron commander , and foundscope for render ing more useful service to his masterin th e operat ions round Trichinopoly during the

Karnatic wars of the eighteen th century . Da l avav

Devaraja having grown too old, an exchange of officestook pla ce between the brothers, and Nanja ra j assumedcommand a t Trichinopoly , where for di s t ingui shed service Ha idar h ad been rewa rded with the F oujdari ofDindi gul . \Vhen Nanjara j returned to Mysore , ma tterswere growing ripe for a revolution . Deva ra j havingret ired from publ ic l ife, the Mahara j a wa s getting tiredof the yoke of Nan ja ra ja who was becoming very highhanded, and an a ttempt wa s made by the pa la ce partyto get rid of th e troubl esom e minister . Haidar

wa s ca lled in and for the while Nan ja ra ja wa s com

pel led to r etire on pension . A l l tha t he wa s doing,

and more, wa s entrusted to Ha idar , who got rid ofKande Rao, whom he h ad made use of a s an apt toolin a l l his previous transa ct ion s . Th e power over th earmy and the financia l control given to h im to stopthe inroads of t roubl esome foes like the Nawab ofSira and the Mahratta s, made him the a rbiter of thesitua tion ,

and he then became the ru ler of the Sta te,though he sti l l preserved the monarchy of theWodeyars by nomina ting one from among the youngcous ins of the Roya l family, when Krishna Ra j a IIpassed away . The circumstances of the selection are

thus described by \Vilks : ‘ He ordered a l l th e children

to be col lected from the different branches of thehouse , who , according to ancient precedent

,wer e

entitled to furni sh a successor to the throne . Thec eremonia l observed on this occasion , however childi sh ,

88 ANC IENT INDIA

dynasty of the Wodeya rs under Krishna Ra ja Wodeya r .

Al l this brings us to the ninet eenth century whichbegins with th e Mysore Sta te a s i t i s at present .

T he young Mahara j a ’s administra tion was to be con

ducted by the Regent P r‘

irniah . Sir Barry Close wa s

then Bri tish Resident , with Sir Arthur Well esley a s

Commander of the forces . Pfirniah ca rried on the ad

ministra tion til l A . D . 1812,when the Maha ra ja a ssumed

the responsibi l it ies of hi s high office . P firniah thenretired to Seringapa tam ,

to bring a busy life to a closethere, so long the scene of his a ctivity .

The young Mahara ja ,thus freed from the influence

of the only m an who wa s l ikely, during those troubloust imes , to ste er into a sa f e ha rbour the sh ip of Sta te,wa s , but with d ifficu l ty , able to hold his own aga instthe disorderly el ements then abounding in the country .

His generosity wa s proverbia l and i s remembered even

to thi s day . Disorders broke out simu ltaneous lv insevera l parts of the Sta te and in th e neighbouringBritish districts . It wa s thought tha t the Mahara ja

wa s too ready to l is ten to advisers who were by nomeans competent to give him wise counsel . Hisprincely g enerosity wa s used a s a h and l e to depose

him . Some debts , which the Ma ha ra ja h ad contra cted,

were pa id off by the British Governm ent , and theMaha ra j a wa s told tha t , a s this sta te of things cou ldnot proceed any further, he wou ld have to lead a

retired l ife with a pen s ion su it ed t o hi s rank and dignity .

Needless to s ay the Maha ra ja protested . The Governor - Genera l wa s , however , determined to act upon thefourth and fifth artic les of the subsidia ry tr ea ty , and

accordingly forma l notice wa s given to the Ra j ah .

Thus commenced in A . D . 1831 the fifty yea rs ofBritish administra tion of Mysore .

FAMILY TREES

[N B—Dotted h ires indicate succes sion not in rcg uf‘

a r linejYadu (1399 to

HiriBeta d Ch ama raiI (1493 to Ch amara ja .

Timma raj a Worie y a r to

HiriCh am a ra j a'

ra s a II (1478 to

Bet-ad Chamara jIIII (15 13 to

Timm a ra j (155 2 to Krishnara j . Bol e Ch am a ra j a IV (187 1 to

Retad W'

odey a r

(15 76 to R a j fidhiRaj-

1 . Betad Ch am a raj a V. Mupp'in D

évara j .

(1578 to

ara sa Ra j a . Retad \Vodeya r . Nan j ta j . Ch am a ra j . Imm adiRa j a

Ch ama raJa Wodeya r VI (1637(16 17 to 1678)

Raja \Vode y .rr Kan t-1ram Na -ras a

Dod Devamj Chikka Dev a ra j endra . Kempa Déva vy a . Ma riDeva

(1650 to

Chikka Dey a ra j (1072 to Ka ntira va Na ra s a .

Ka ntirava Na ra s a (1704 to

Dod Krish n a Ra'

j (17 13 to

Ch ama ra j a VII Chikka Krish na raj a

(173 1 to (173 1 to

Na nj a ra j a (1707 to Ch am a ra ja VI I I (1770 to

Ch amara j a Ix (1775 to

Krish na Ra ja III (1800 to

Ch am a rfij éndra X (l 868 to

H . H, S-riKrish na Ra ja P rin ce, Kan

-tirava Na ra sa

WodeyarRa ja Wodeyar

(Th e P r e s en t R u le r ) . (T h e Y uv a r a j ) .

CHAPTER VI

THE CHOLA EMP IRE IN SOUTH INDIA

PART I—HISTORY

1 . The Ancient Chola s : The name Chola i s given to a

people,a s well a s to a dyna sty of ru l ers , not only in

ordina ry pa rlance but a l so in lit era ture , and reachesto th e highest antiqui ty tha t l i tera ture or u sage can

take us . Who the people were, and wh ere they camefrom

,i t seems wel l - nigh imposs ibl e to determin e at

present . Tha t they we re in the country tha t theyoccupied in hi storica l times very much earl ier thanthe beginning of history for South India ,

does not

admit of any doubt wha tsoever . The Chola s , a s ru lers,find mention in the Ma hd bhdm ta and the Epic and

Puranic l itera ture genera l ly . The chronology of th ese,however

,i s yet ma tter for inv estiga tion . The first

undoubted historica l mention 1 of thes e Chola s i s inthe second and thirteenth rock edicts of the greatMauryan emperor Asoka , who refers to th ese fr iendl yPowers a long with the grea t Potentates tha t madethemselves heir to the empire of A lexander the Great .

Pa ssing down the stream of time , from the days of

the grea t Maurya , whose fame spread through the whol eof As ia

,and even ea stern Europe and A fr ica ,

theChola s are spoken of a s a source of trouble to theCeylonese rul ers set over aga in st them in the ne igh

bouring i s land . In the century immedia te ly preceding

V. A . Smith’s Asoka (2nd pp . 156 and 174 .

92 ANC IENT INDIA

that when these rulers began to th ink of their pedigreethey found tha t th ey cou ld ea s i ly graft th emse lveson the heroes of the Ma habhara ta either directly orindirectly . Taking leave of these heroes a s beingbeyond the pa le of history, ther e come into view two

o r three personages who mu st be regarded as quitehistorica l . The first grea t Chola among them who

d emands our attention is the Chola Ka rikala . There

are a number of his predecessors mentioned in the'Sangam works ; but in our present sta te of knowledge

o f these it would be ha zard ous to a t t empt arrangingthem on any scheme, either genea logica l or success iona l .

Karikal a’

s grandfa ther would appea r to be Vérpah a

radakkai P erunarkil li.‘ He was a contemporary of

Kudakko Nedum ééra ladan , th e Chera king, and they

b oth fought and fel l in ba ttl e on th e same field . Poetswho celebrated th i s s ad ca ta strophe were contempora

r ies of Karikala as wel l . Ka rikala’

s fa ther is spokenof in these works a s U ruvappah arér I layOn or I lanjétchenni . The latter part of thi s l ong name means a

p rince . It would appea r therefrom that h e never succeeded to the throne . The fa ther died a prince and

the grandfa ther fel l in bat tle, and so the grandson wasl eft, when qu ite a young boy, heir to the throne ofa kingdom not in the enjoyment of peace . Nor werecauses wanting for civil d is sens ions . Young Ka rikalafound h imself a fugit ive a t Ka rur a fter the di sa strousba ttl e in which his grandfa ther fel l a long with hisChera enemy . It wa s from here that he was fetchedto a scend the throne by the Sta te e lephant from Ka luma lam (Shiya li) . He met with a serious fire accidentfrom which he escaped with d ifficu lty

,though he was

ma imed for the re s t of his l ife . It is from this earlya ccident that he got the ra ther pecul ia r name of

1 Purananar zz . Reference in pp . 8 and 9. Pandit Swaminatha

Eyer’s edition .

KAR IKALA 93

‘ bla ckleg ’

. A s a young m an he ha d to sit a s judgein a cau se, the part ies to which fea red tha t the youngm an might misjudge . He appeared a s an ol d m an to

them ,and the award h e gave wa s a s sound . a s tha t of

a j udge of the most ma ture experience . He h ad forhis uncle a chief by name Pida rth a l aiyan . He h admarried among the Nan g fir Ve l family . He h ad to fighta g rea t ba tt l e a t Vennil (probably Koilvenni in th e

Tanjore d i s trict) ,1 both the Chera and th e Pandyahaving combined aga inst him . His Pandya enemy is

not specifica lly ment ioned b y name, though the Chera

wa s a lmos t certa in ly the " Seraman P erum sera ladh an ’

This Chera fe lt the defea t so keen ly tha t , l ike the Ita l ianCha rl es A lbert , he ex iled himsel f and ended his da ysby starva tion . Notwithstand ing the s ad fa t e of th isgrea t Chera ,

the war se ems to have ended in a trea ty

which wa s sea l ed by a marriage . The heir presumpt ive

,or heir appa rent, to the Chera throne marr ied,

either then or la ter, th e Chola princess who is ca l led

N a rch chonaifif Pea ce h ad b een se cured on tha t side

and a long with it on th e side of the P andya s a s wel l .

He appears to have been among those tha t were a

source of troubl e to th e Cey l onese ; for it wa s he tha t

bui l t the city of Kaverippa ttinam , to wh i ch b e tran s

ferred th e head -

quarters tha t h a d hitherto been at

U ra i y ur nea r Trichinopoly . The construction of thi s ,

city and the transfe renc e of th e capita l to it, perhaps

after the d efinitiv e trea ty with hi s immedia te neighbour s .

would a rgue secur ity on th e one side and want

of sa fety on th e other . Thi s i s exa ctl y wha t is re

flected in the Ma hmud /71 .571 , Ga jabahu I of Ceylon h ea rd

from an old woman who wa s bewa il ing th e l os s of her

on ly son ,tha t twelve thousand Ceylonese were carried)

1 P druna ra r ruppad ai, 11. 143 - 8 and other references under Karikal a .

q . v . a bove, note

9 Sil appadikd ram , p . 10 and Can to xxix .

94 ANC IENT INDIA

away by the T amilians , in one of their recent inva

s ion s, to work in the‘ town of Kavery

Havings ecured his frontier on the west and south , b e transferred his capita l to th e coa st , both for purpos es of

t he flourishing commerce of those days and for the

d efence of the s ea frontier . He is given cred it by

th e poets of the pe riod with ha ving ca rried his a rmsivictorious ly a s fa r north a s the Hima layas, on whichhe is sa id to have erected the tiger emblem of hisfamily . His northern exped ition is specifi ca ll y ment ioned

in the Silappa dhikd ra m2and

,wha t i s even more, he

is said by th e same a u thority to have been on diploma tic terms with the rulers of Mag adha , Va j ra (Bunda l

khand) and Avanti , the second of these being a subduedenemy and the third a positive fr iend . These specifica ssertions of a poet

,only one genera tion removed from

him,cannot be rega rded a s mere figm ents of th e ima

g in ation . Kaverippa ttinam in the days of Karikalaseems to have been a great emporium of trade bothinland and over s ea . The poem P a ttinapp d lai is a mere

d escription of this c ity in th e days of Ka rikala . Heis besides uniformly cred ited with having ma de theembankments for the Kavery .

3 The Chola kingdomprea ched the height of i ts glory under him in the days

anterior to Raj araja the Grea t . He wa s none the less a s

a patron of letters . Pa ttinapp d la ia l r eady referred to wa scomposed in his honour for which the author received

th e rewa rd of a lakh and s ixty thousand go ld piec es .This lucky author l ived on to celebra t e anoth er patron,Tondaman Il andirayan

4 of Kanchi of a la ter generat i on .

Other poets there were who flourished in hi s time

and enjoyed his pa tronage a s wel l . Among these must

1 Uph am’s Mahdoams

a , vol . i, pp . 228 - 9 , ch . 35 .

9 Page 139 .

3 Epigraphist’s report, 1906, s ec . 14 . Large Leyden g rant Arch .

Survey of S . I . ,vol . iv, etc .

4 Perumband fl appadai. Pandit Swaminath a Iyer’s Pa ttupd ttu .

96 ANCIENT INDIA

fortunes of the family . During the period of the Cheraa scendency thus ushered in , the Chola s were able to

ma inta in an independent exi stence, though with reduced

terri tory and shorn of much of their g lory . The riseof the Pandya s , a lmost simu ltaneous ly with the P a l lava s ,destroyed wha t wa s st il l l eft of their grea tness and theChola s of this period pa ss into da rknes s . During th eperiod of decadence and decay of the Chola powerand the advance of th e Chera ,

the viceroya lty of Kanchiwa s cut off from the Chola kingdom by the wedge of

a Chera viceroya l ty in the Sa l em d i strict . 1 Wha t ha dhappened to the Tondaman of Kanchi , whether h efound ed a sepa ra t e familv of his own and whethertha t family had any connexion wha tsoever with the

P a l lava s of hi story, a re problems on which more l ighth a s to be thrown by further res ea rch before any answer

can be ventured . During the three centuri es of Pa l lava

a scendency the Cho l a s are heard of only in a genera l

way,and no particula r deta i l s are forthcoming . But

there is one Chola who may have to be referred to theea rly part of this, if not to a period somewha t anterioreven . This Chola i s known by th e name c h cheng an .

He is credi ted with having defea ted th e Chera Kauaikkalirumporaifi whom he threw into prison . He is besidessa id to have won a bloody ba ttle a t Ka lum a lam (Shiya li ),though his enemies a re not specifi ca ll y mentioned . The

a iva s cla imed him among th e Adiyars , whi le theVa i shnava s cla im him equa lly among their benefa ctors .

He was a grea t temple bui lder , and among thesetemples are mentioned both Siva and Vishnu shrines .He is definitely sa id to have bui l t and dedica tedseventy temples to éiva in a Va i shnava work .

Pa ssing on into the Ag e of the P a l l ava s , theChola s find mention among those defeated both by

1 P adw ruppa ttu,s ec . 5 . Silappadhikdm m , Canto xxiv . l a s t lines .

9 Pura ndnfi ru 74, Ka la va l t 40,P erta t/irumol i6 .

THE EARL IER CHOLAS 97

the P a l lavas themselves and their heredita ry enem ie sthe Chalukya s . The wife of the Pandya king whomTirugnana s ambandar converted wa s a Chola princess .

Beyond these few references Chola history during thi s

period i s an absolute blank .

The Ea rli er Chola s : The making of th e empirenow beg ins . A l l the tim e th e P a l la y a s were in the a

cenden t the Chola s h a d not pa ssed out of ex is tence,

a s h a s been pointed out a lready . They were a Power

ma inta ining a preca rious indep endence , hemmed in

by the P a l lava s on the on e side and the P andya s on

th e other . There a ppea rs to have been a branch ofthem ru l ing in th e Ceded di s tric ts ,‘ in the days whenthe Chinese traveller Yuwan Chwang wa s in Ind ia .

“h en th e P a l lava s began to decl ine in power in thesouth

,the pol itica l cond ition of peninsular India wa s

som ewha t as fol lows . The Dekhan portion wa s dividedinto two pa rts , the western under the Rashtrakita swith their capita l a t Man y akéta ; the ea st ern underthe Chaluky a s with their ca pi ta l at Ix‘ a jam andri. Th e

sou thern frontier of these wa s the Penma r, or perhaps

a l ine somewha t farther south . The P a l l ava territor yproper wa s d ivided among three connec ted branches

of the P a l la va family . The wes ternmo s t pa rt of i t

wa s under the Ganga s, who now beg in to pla y

a decisive pa rt in th e history of South India . Next

la st of th em wa s th e t err i tory of the Bana s ca l led

Ganga - Bana s , an d further ea st nea r the coa st wa s the

dominion of the P a l lava s themselves . It wa s thefounder of th e that g a y e the coup de

gmice to the tot tering P a l lava Power ; but the new

dy na s ty h ad presently to turn its a tten tion to th e

n orth ,where the Gurj ara s were rising fa st to an

1 Epigraphist‘

s Report, 1906 , s ee . 5 .

9 Bomba y Ga z etteer , vol . i, pt . ii, pp . 389—90 .

P eriya tirumol iI II,viii. 10 .

98 ANCIENT INDIA

imperia l position . The P a l lava s were, therefore, l eftunmolested for a time by them . It wa s under GovindaIV 1

and his son Krishna III 2 tha t the Rashtrakutaswere abl e to turn their a ttention to the south . Th e

former was , however, kept ful ly engaged a s a resul tof his intervention in a disputed succession to theEastern Chalukya throne . The a ccession of hi s sonto power wa s coeva l with the rise of a usurper Perumanadi Butnga in the Ganga kingdom . The Rashtrakuta s seem to have had a hand in this usurpa tion 3

a s in the d i sputed succession in Vengi . Govinda’

diploma tic efforts bore fru it in his son Krishna’s reign .

Krishna wa s abl e to advance southwa rds and wa s

for some time in occupa tion of Kanchi and Tanj ore .

Simul taneousl y with this southward m ove of the

Rash trakuta s wa s the ma rch northwa rds of the Pandyas .

A generation ea rlier tha n Krishna the Pandya Va raguna4 advanced north to ext end hi s power into P a l lay aterritory

,and wa s bea ten back by a supreme effort

on the part of the th ree connected dyna sties,of the

Ganga ,P a l lava , and Ban a . The ba tt le a t Tirup

param bium nea r Kumbh akonam sea l ed the doom ofthe Pandya ag a ins t a chieving an a scendency

, and the

occa s ion wa s tak en advantage of by the Chola s . Thelatter then begin to ca rve out for themselves fromth eir own patrimony a s i t were , a sm a l l kingdomwhich grew into a migh ty empire in the hands of

their more powerful and enterpris ing successors . TheChola s beginning with Vijayalaya up to Raj araja th e

Grea t , can therefore be ca l led the mak ers of the Cholaempire .

Vijayalaya : The Pandya Varaguna a l ready referred

to in the previous paragraph came to the throne in

l Bombay Ga z etteer I , pt. ii, p . 417 .

2 Epigraphia Indica vol . iii, 284- 285 .

3 Epigrapht’

a Indica vol . iv . 281 .

4 Epigraphist’s Report for 1906, secs . 8—10.

100 ANCIENT INDIA

the forwa rd policy of his fa ther and conquered fina l lythe P a l lava Aparajita victor over the Pandya Va raguna , and brought himself into touch with theRash trakutas on his northern frontier . If the Kongu

deéa rdj d kka l is worthy of any credi t, he wa s a l so theconqueror of Kongu . The history of his successors

seems only to confirm this so far . His wa s a ls o a

long reign of twenty - seven years and brings u s to the

reign of his son P arantaka I .

P arantaka I, P arakés arivarm an , Viranarayana , etc . ,

A . D . (907 P a rentaka succeeded to a kingdom of

c onsiderable extent , and h is frontiers touched thePandya country in the south and s outh - west , Kera lain the west, the Bana and Vaidumba country in the

north - west , and the eastern Cha lukya and Rash tra

kuta countries in the north . He first a tta cked and

overthrew the Pandya Raja simh a in ba ttl e before

A . D . 910 having , perhaps pr eviou sl y, entered into

a marriage a l liance with the Keral a s on his westernflank . This secured him sa fety on the southern side .

His next move appears to have been the subjuga tion

of the Bana s . He wa s enabled to fo l low in thi spolicy unmolested, a s the Rash trakuta s ‘ were fu l lyoccupied with their own aggressions on their neighbours . Govinda IV of this d yna sty wa s engaged on

a fruitle ss , nay, suic ida l intervent ion in a disputedsuccession to the ea stern Chalukya throne . When

P arentaka had repea ted ly overthrown two Bana s insuccession he conferred their pa trimony upon his a l ly

the Ganga -Bana P rithvipati Has tim a l la .

2 His nextconquest wa s tha t of th e Vaidumba s , and the acqu i

sition of th eir territory of the Vadug a y a li (the roadto the Andhra or Telugu country) . He ensured pea ceto his va st conquests in such a way that his reign

1 BombayGa z etteer , vol . i, pt. ii, pp . 416—7 .

‘2 Sou th Ind . Ina , vol . ii, no . 76 .

PARANTAKA 101

marks the beginning of the religious a ctivities of theperiod . The Kalamukha ‘

and P asupata éaiva s beginto find favour , and the earl i est Va i shnava Acharya s

commence their apostol ic work . P aren taka himselfappea rs to have been a éaiva 3

and did his pious dutyto the grea t shrine a t Chidamba ram by renewing the

gold pla tin g of the grea t ha l l there . In his thirtyseventh ‘ year or som ewha t ea rlier he felt himself

strong enough to venture on a success ful inva sion of

Cey l on . After a long reign of a t l ea st forty years duringwhich h e extended and consolida ted his pat rimony, and

secured his fronti ers from hostil e a t tack both by con

quest and diploma cy, Pa rantaka pa ss ed away . He left

b ehind him five sons, among whom three app ear to

have ruled . His elde st son Rajakesarivarman Rajaditya

succeeded P arantaka . The approa ch of th e Chola stowa rds their southern frontier put the Rashtrakutas

on the a lert, and their hand i s cl early discernible in

the usurpa t ion of the Ganga kingdom by P erumanadi

Butuga,5a son - in - law of An h avarsha and a brother

in - law of Krishna III . This threw tha t frontier intoconfusion and insecurity, and Rajaditya promptly

marched forth to set ma tters right . A bloody battl e

at Takkolam wa s th e resu l t . Rajaditya was kil led on

the fi eld of ba tt l e by Batuga ,who managed to moun t

the el ephant of the Chola and kil l him . This eventtook place in A . D . 949 Krishna III took advantage

of hi s victory to the fu l l , marched into the Chola

country and wa s in occupa tion of Kanchi for a whil e ;

and, wha t wa s even more of a ca lamity to the Chola s,

1 Epigraphis t’s Repor t for 1909, sec . 37 .

2 Vide th e Ch apters on Ram a nuja. and Tirum angai Al vfir .

3 Leyden g rant and Ka lin ga ttuppa ra n i.

4 Re ference under note 2 above .

5 Bomba y Ga z etteer ,vol . i, pt. ii, pp . 304 and 418 .

5 for 1909, pp . 443—5 .

102 ANC IENT INDIA

h e la id siege to Tanjore .

1 Gandaradittan, the second

son of Parantaka ,succeeded his el der brother and did

his bes t to bea t back the enemy and prevent hisgetting a permanent hold upon the Chola kingdom,

not a ltogether without success . The Rashtrakuta

power had hard ly twenty more years to run ,and there

were a lready the premoni tory symptoms of the coming

storm . Anyhow the Cho la s had some litt le respite

given them to recover l ost ground . G andaradittan

h a s l eft behind him memoria l s of hi s ru le in th e

town that bears his name, and the fifth Tira viéaipp a

in which he ca l ls himsel f ru ler of Tanjore. His

devoted and pious widow bu i l t a temple at Konéri

rajapuram,

2an d erected a sta tu e of her la t e husband

which is to be seen in the temple even now . Heleft behind him a son ,

proba b ly a baby, and was

succeeded by his broth er A rin jaya , or a s he i s sometimesca l led , Arjuna . The other two sons of P arantaka wereprince Uttamasili and one Arikulakésa rin , who h eldhigh command both under his fa ther Parantaka I and

under his elder brother Rajakes arivarm an Arinjaya .

This last may have been the person r eferred to by thename Madiraikonda Rajakésa rivarman . Th e a ttributeMadiraikonda m ay be due to e ither a pa rti cu larachievement of his own or borrowed from his fa ther

’s .Arinjaya wa s succeeded by hi s son Parantaka II,Sundarachola . In this reign there appears to havebeen trouble on the Pandya s ide, and this ended un

favourably for th e rebels through the exertions of

the Cho la , ably supported by the efforts of his genera lSiriyavélan . The Pandya king h ad to find ‘ shelterin the desert This seems to be the a chievement

1 South Ind . Ina , vol . iii, 7 .

2 Epigraph/i303 Report, 1909 , sec . 41 .

3 Epigraphis t’

s Report, s ecs . 38 - 9 .

‘ Ibid . s ec . 40.

104 ANCIENT INDIA

own right in A . D . 985 . Except for the P andya s inthe southern corner and the Kera la s beyond the ghats ,he was ma ster of the Tamil country south of the

P ennar . The P andya s were l ikely to give troubl e ;th e Kerala s might stir ; but the grea test vigi lance

was requ ired on the north - west wh ere the Chalukyaswere fa st setting their newly a cquired territory In

order to bring th e loya l Ganga kingdom into a l legianceto them selves . In the ea st ern Chalukya dominionsma tters were not more sa tisfa ctory either . There wa s

about this t ime an int erregnum, which m ay have

be en the result of a civil wa r . These two regions wereripe for intervent ion by a powerfu l ruler incl ined tomake his influence fel t . No prudent rul er of any

idea s of la sting ambition cou ld think of advancing so

far out without setting his flank and rea r in sa fety .

F or the first ten years Raj a raja I seems to have

devoted himself to this work entire ly . It i s to histwelfth yea r tha t we must refer for his first conquest and that i s a victory over the Ch era fleet inthe Roads of Kanda lur ’

In th e cours e of two yea rshe had conquered G angappadi, Nul ambappadi, Tadig aiva l i, and Vengainadu . Of these the first two con

stituted the bulk of Mysore which , for th e nextcentury and more , wa s the bone of contention between the Chola s and th e Chal ukya s . The la st wa sthe territory of the Ea stern Chal ukyas and the interregnum wa s taken advantage of by th e Chola to impose his dom inion on them . Th i s seem s to have

been successfu l ly done by Raj araja, who gave the

second ruler after the interregnum by name Vimaladitya his daughter Kundavvai in marr ia ge . The

Eastern Chalukya s for the rest of the period of the

Chola a scendency were loya l to the supremacy of theCholas . Tadig ai

- va l i wa s between the two former .He h ad a l so put down the rebel P andya s by the

fourteenth year . By the sixteenth year Rajaraja had

RAJARAJA 105

added to his conquest s Kol lam (Quilon in Travancore)and Ka ling am (Or issa ) . By the twentieth yea r he h ada sser t ed his authority over Ilam (or Ceylon) . Theconquest of the Ganga and Nolamba territories werenot a cqu iesced in by the Chalukya s a s wa s a lreadypointed out ; and now began tha t duel which la stedon to the yea r A . D. 1117 . It wa s between the years

twenty and twenty - four of Rajaraja tha t he i s sa id t ohave invaded Rattappadi seven and a ha l f lac country ;and he c la ims having de fea ted the Chalukya Satya s

ra y a . This twenty - six th year is the yea r in whichRaja raj a got the bu lk of his in s criptions inc ised inthe Tanj ore Temple, a reco rd of gifts and offeringsmade by himself, his queens, his sis ter the P a l l avalady Kundavvaiya r, and others . His l is t of conquest scomes to an end with the mention of his a cqui s itionof

‘ the twelve thousand ancient i s lands of the s ea’

in his twenty - ninth yea r . Thi s yea r appears to havebeen his la st and wou ld take us on to the yea r A . D .

1012 . Rajaraja’

s conquests came to a c los e pra cti ca l lyin A . D . 1005 . He h ad set tled the bounda ry of th eChola empire on th e northern and north - western side .

A somewha t irregula r l ine drawn from Yeda tore Nadto the Tung abhadra a long the l ine of s epa ra tion

between the Ma lh ad and Ma idan di s tricts of Mysore,

and then continued a long the river to where i t meetsthe Krishna , and then on to the s ea , this l ine would

ma rk off the Chola country proper . A long the coa st ,however , the Chola power extended through the dis

tricts of the Ma dra s Presidency to Vizagapa tam ,

a lthough Ka ling am fa rther north i s a l so among th e

conquests of Rajaraja . His son Ra jendra wa s evi

den tly crowned whi l e yet the fath er wa s a l ive in A . D .

1011 - 2 . Raj araja wa s known a s Arumoli Deva whenheirapparent under Madhuran taka . He a ssumed in thethird year of hi s reign the ti tle Mummudichola and

towa rds the c los e of his reign, the ti tl e Jayaimgonda,

106 ANCIENT INDIA

H e i s a l so known a s Rajasraya . He wa s , a l l thingsc onsidered, the grea test of th ese grea t Chola s , not onlyb ecause of his grea t conquests , but a l so in the more

humane field of construct ive administra tion .

Rajendra ,the G angaigondachola , otherwise Mudi

g onda , Niga rili and U ttamachola , wa s qu it e a worthys on of a grea t fa th er. As a prince he seconded withenergy the efforts of hi s father, and that this wa s soi s borne out by h is early records, which sta te tha t he‘ conquered with his grea t and wa rl ike army Idaitturainadu , Vanavasi whose wa rriors (were protect ed by)

wa l l s of continuous forests,Kol lippakkai. whose wa l l s

were surrounded by su l l i (trees) , Mannaikkadagam (a

town in the Nelamanga la Ta luk , of the Banga loreDis trict , perhaps represented by Budiha lu ) , of un

a pproa chable s trength ’

. A l l th ese a re pla ces a longth e frontier between th e Cho la s and the Chalukya sand a re situa t e a l ong th e bounda ry mark ed out aboveHis next exploit wa s the conquest of Ilam . He tookfrom the king of thi s island ‘ the crown of the king .

th e exceed ingl y beautifu l crown of the queen , thecrown of Sundara and th e pea rl neckla ce of Indra ,

which the king of the sou th (the Pandya ) h ad previous ly given up to tha t (king of Ilam) ; th e whole ofIlamanda lam

. This , together with the crown,‘ the

g arland of the sun’

, and the family treasures of the‘king of Kera la entitl ed him to the surname Mudi

gondachola which h e a ssumed before the sixth year

of his reign . These records l ay cla im to the conquest

of many ancient i s lands . This is probably a mereecho of his fa ther ’s a chievements . By hi s ninth year

he added the‘ impregnabl e Sandim attivu where Pa ra

surama h ad lodged a gold crown worthy of L akshmi

the goddess ; defea ted the Chalukya Jayasimh a at

Muyangi and conquered Rattappadi seven and a ha lf

l ac country ; and the principa l grea t mounta ins (which

c onta ined) the nine trea sures (of Records of

108 ANC IENT INDIA

(of Benga l)—t’

o ca rry the wa ter of the Ganges for hismaster . This i s pla in ly an imitation of the supposedachievement of Senguttuvan Sera of th e Silappadhi4

karam ; but none the less does i t seem to be truetha t he brought the Ganges wat er to purify the grea t

tank which he constructed at G ang aikondasolapuram ,

and which he named with pa rdonable egot ism ‘ thepil lar of Victory

”. This aga in is an imita tion of th e

d eed ascribed to an anci ent Chola who let the wa t er

of the Ganges into that of the Kav ery . The Cholagenera l then captured the king of Or issa with hisyounger brother , before Ra jendra returned to hi scapita l . On a subsequent occa sion he cros sed the s ea

and captur ed Kadaram ,having taken on the way the

N icoba rs and other pla ces . This oversea a ch ievem ent

of Ra j endra i s found gra phi ca ll y described in in script ion s of his nineteenth year, and i s bel ieved to be thesource of th e Kanarese drama Ba ja sekh eravilas a . Thisn inete enth yea r i s probably the la st of hi s conqueringyears . A l lowing the fu l l est for the possible exaggera

tion of the panegyrist, there i s stil l enough left toregard Ra jendra a s one of the grea test of Indianconquerors . The rema ining twelve yea rs of his reignhe must have devoted to improving the effi ciency ofthe administra t ion, which h ad been la id out and

handed on by a l ine of ru l ers, who take high rank

among the world ’s ru l ers . Devotee of the war-

god a s

he seems to have been, he cou ld not have neg lectedthe a rts of peace , if he appl ied the grea t accum u

la tion of wea l th , not only to outdo his fa ther’s mag

nificence in the bu i ld ing of a capita l and temple at

G angaikondasolapuram ; but a l so in the bu ilding of a

magnificent tank, the bund on one side of which ran

sixteen mile s in l ength, and which wa s intended to

irriga te a ha l f from each of two dis tricts . It wa s an

act of modern and civi l ized vanda li sm tha t pu lleddown the bund and temple wa l l s to build the lower

RAJADHIRAJA 109

anicu t on the Koleroon . Perhaps it wa s a lreadyfa l ling , or h ad fa l len into d i srepa i r very badly ; a l l

the same there i s not much l eft,i t is sa id, of this

magnificent piece of work , a s Pha raoh ’s Ga z etteer

of the ea rly nineteenth century ca l l s i t . Ra jendra ’sla st known y ea r i s th e thirty - first and th is wou ldtake u s to the y ear A . D . 1042 - 3 . He h ad , a ccord ingto the cus tom of the fami ly , a s socia ted w ith him s elfone of hi s sons from the year A . D . 1018 . This sonwa s Ra jadhiraja though he wa s not the eldest

among those honoured with titles by him on his

acc ess ion were an uncle (paterna l ) and an elderbrother by name A lavandan .

Ra jadhiraja , Ja y amgondachola : Ra jadhiraja ru ledfrom 10412, the thirty - firs t y ea r of Ra j endra I to th e

year A . D . 1052, th e y ea r of the ba tt le of Koppam

where he f ell . He and his brother Ra j endra a re

rega rded a s brothers of Ra jendra I by Mr . Rice, whodoes not assign , however, any rea son in support of

the view. F rom the sta tement ma de a s to the break

of succession by th e dea th of Ra jendra (by mistakefor Ra jadhiraja ) in the ba tt l e of Koppam , it would

appear tha t these two brothers were th e sons of th eirpredeces sor

,for otherwi se the success ion need not be

considered a s having cea sed in the regula r l ine . The

two brothers succeeded Ra j endra I one a fter th e other .

R ajadhiraja h ad an uncl e (a younger brother of his

fa ther) , and an elder brother a s ha s been a lread y sta ted .

The fa ct tha t he wa s crowned by Ita jéndra I In 1018 ,

whi le y et th e la tter wa s a l ive , would confirm the view

tha t he wa s th e son of his predecessor . Of this rul er

a western Chalukya inscripti on of A . D. 1071 ,a t A nn i

gere 1 in the Darwa r d istrict sta te s tha t ‘ the wicked

Chola who h ad abandoned the rel igious Observances

of hi s family , penet ra ted into the Beluvola country

1 Bomba y Ga z etteer , vol . i, pt . ii, p . 441 .

110 ANCIENT INDIA

and burnt the Ja in temples which Ganga P erum anadi,the lord of G ang amanda la , whil e governing Be luvola ,had bui l t in Annigerenad ;

and tha t ‘ the Cholaeventua l ly yi elded his head to Sbmésvara in ba tt le .and thus los ing his l ife broke the succ ession of hi sfamily .

’ This quota tion shows tha t the Chola con

quest of Gang avadi wa s no mere idl e boa st ; thatthe Ganga s who h ad become the feudatories of thewestern Chalukya s did not a cqu iesce in the conquest ;and that a t one time,at lea st , the Cholas ca rried fireand sword through the southern pa rt of the Ratt acountry . Ra jadhiraja wherever he wa s engaged before,h ad to concentrate a l l his energies in keeping the

frontiers qu iet a s soon a s he became independent rulerafter A . D . 1042 . There se ems to have been a tendencyto throw off th e yoke on the par t of a l l the subordinatea l l i es of th e Chola . He began by conferring uponhis uncle , elder brother an d four of h is younger brothersthe dignities of rul ers over the Chera s, th e Chalukya s ,th e Pa liava s , the Gang a s, th e P andya s and the people

of L ankh a . These were so many provinces whichcarried a long with them the responsibi l ities of L ordsor Wa rdens of the Ma rches . A s to th e

L ord ofKanouj

it is on ly a title, probably taken from thevi ctory over a king of Ceylon who wa s reputed tohave come from Kanouj . This done, h e ma rched uponhi s enemies in succession taking the ea sies t firs t and

meting out exemplary pun ishment to the tra i tors . Hea ttacked the three a l l ied P andya s . The first of them

Manabh aran a ,wa s decapita ted ; the second , Vira - Kera la ,

wa s trampl ed by an elephant ; and the th i rd, SundaraPandya , wa s expelled to Mu l laiyur . He d estroyed oneof the kings of Vened (Travancore) , and wearing thegar land of va nj t (symbolica l of going to war with a

play upon the wor ,d the name of the old capi ta l) putto flight a Chera king and won a nava l victory in

the ‘ Roads of Kanda lur .

112 ANCIENT INDIA

Rajadhiraja wa s succeeded by his younger brotherRa jendra , who wa s present a t, and played a prominentpart in

,the ba tt le of Koppam where his brother fell .

The earliest of his ins criptions, tha t of his third

year , mentions his a chievement a t the ba ttle wherehe wa s ‘ crowned ’

,and so his re ign cou ld not have

begun much ea rl i er . This does not debar his havingbeen a ssocia ted with his brother in his career of

conquest . An inscription at H egg adedévanakote in theMysore district couples Saka 984 with his twelfthyear, and this wou ld give Saka 972 or A . D . 1050 for

the commencement of his reign, a lthough the ba ttl e

of Keppam h a s been ca lcula ted to have taken place

on May 23 , A . D . 1053 . Ra jendra then ru l ed from

1050 to at lea st A . D . 1062 . His chief a chievementi s the restora tion of the fortunes of the Cholas in theba ttle of Koppam which proves to be th e turn inthe tide of the Chola conquest . Perhaps a lreadytrouble wa s br ewing at home and there might havebeen others who wou ld have contested the suc

cession . His o ther achievements are a reconquest

of Ceylon, but certa in discrepancies of the names

of the conquered Ceylon ru lers wou ld l ead oneto suppose that th e achievements of Ra jendra mightha ve been on ly wha t he h ad done on beha lf of hisbrother . Tha t he wa s in Cey lon i s borne out byinscrip tions of his reign being found there . Raj endrai s c red i ted with having erected a pil la r of vic tory a t

Kol lapura in (Kolhapur) . His daughter, Madhuran taki,

wa s ma rried to the ea stern C halukya Prince Ra jendra ,

the son a lready of th e daughter of the G ang aikondaChola , by nam e Amm angadevi. This prince wa s to

become la ter on the Chol a emperor Kulottunga

Ra j endra wa s succeeded by his son Ra jamah éndra ofwhom nothing more is known than tha t b e d ispensed

j us tice even better than Manu, the ancient Chola who

rode his car over his own son, in just ice to a cow

succ e s sion on USURP \T ION 113

which los t its ca l f through the negl igence. of the prince .

He is sa id to have made some ben efa ctions to thet emp le a t Srirangam . There i s ava i labl e an in script ionof the second year of his reign . It wa s in successionto thi s ru ler tha t we have another grea t Chola , Whoseconnexion wi th h is predecessors is not so clear and

whose a cces sion a t the time seems to be rega rded an

act of usurpa tion . To unders tand the na ture of thecompl ica tions thu s introduced , we have to go ba ck

upon a generation or two of South Indian hi story .

Ah avam a l la and his immedia te pred ecessors have h ad

one single obj ect before them constantly ; namely, th ekeeping ba ck of the advancing tide of Chola aggression .

In this Ah avam a l la was in the ma in successful . Th e

ti t l e fih avam a l la,th e grea t in wa r, wa s well - deserved

by him and he ca rried on successfu l ly the wars withthe Chola s bequea thed to him by his predecessors . ‘

It wa s a l so h e who either founded (or enlarged) theChaluky a capita l Ka lyani in th e N izam

’s dominions,

and b e sh ifted to i t the head - qua rters of the empirefrom Yata giri a l so in the N i zam

s dominions (thirty

miles,south of Ma lkh ed i

2 In this a ttempt at holdingthe southern frontier aga inst the Cho la s , he wa s ably

seconded by his sons, Samésva ra and Vikramaditya ,

the viceroys respect ively of Banavas e and G angavadi.

When Ah avam a l l a died in A . D . (March he,

was succeeded na tura l ly enough by hi s eldest son ,

Somésvara Bhuvan aikam a l la ; but unfortuna tely for

the empi re,hi s younger brother Vikramaditya wa s

certa in ly the more capable of bearing th e burdens of

1 Sa tayaérya and Jaya sim h a were respectively, riva l s of Raj arfij a

and his son Ra jendra . Bomba y Ga z etear , vol . i, pa rt ii, 433 .

2 F l eet 450 . Ibid . Epi. Car . VII . Sh . 20 a . Ja y a simh a Deva r

Nija Vijaya Kataka Sam anvitam Lil a Vil as adind Etagiril a Nelevidinol ,

3 Epi. Car . vol . vii, Sk. 136, Shimoga , pt. i.

114 ANCIENT INDIA

empire . The other sons of Ah avama l la , Jaya simha

and Vishnuvardhana Vijayaditya ,were more incl ined

to support Vikramaditya ra ther than SDmésvara .

During Ah avam a l la’

s l ifetime these young princes were

a lready given important viceroya l tie s and were made

to regard themse lves ‘ Pilla rs of Empire’

a s their

respective titles would show . somé svara , Vikrama

ditya and Jaya simh a appea r to have been sons of the

s ame mother, the Ganga princes s1

a s the Vik raman

k adéva Ch aritam appea rs to warrant and a s in s crip

t ions 2 of Somé sva ra II himse lf wou ld l ead us to believe ;while Vijayaditya wa s possibly their ha lf- brother .

W hile invest ing Lakshm ana a s governor of Banava se

zin return for va luabl e services rendered to th e empire ,ISomésvara says : ‘ junior to me is Vikram a , to him is‘

S inghi junior ; to me , Vikram a , and t o Singhi you are

junior and a l l the rest are junior to you’.

But from the t itl es of ea ch of these princes Mr . Ricewould infer tha t Vikramaditya wa s th e son of a

Ganga princ ess , Jaya simh a of a P a l la va -Nolamba

princess and Vij ayaditya of an eas tern Chalukyaprincess . This is not a nec essa ry inference

,the tit les

of these princes being expla ined b v the mere facts

of th eir conferment upon the princes by the rul ingemperor . Such investitures have been the fa shion

among the Chola emperors, their contemporaries .Ra jadhiraja , Ra jendra Virarajén dra in succession madei t a point to h old investitures of the sort and a

number of tit les importing authority over foreign states

h a s been bestowed on Chola princes of the b lood .

Ah avam a l la SSmésva ra left behind him four sons,the

eldest succeeding him, while the s econd h ad cherished

imperia l ambition for somet ime at l ea st.

l Dr . F leet thinks sh e wa s a P a l l ava P rinces s,K . D . 440 , note 3 .

9 Vol . vii, Sk . 136 , Epi. C a r .

3 Vida the inscriptions of th ese in vol . iii, pt. i, South Ind . Ins .

1 16 A NC IENT INDIA

The Cho la emperor Virarajéndra had the fol lowingamong his titles

,which h e probably a ssumed a s a re

sul t of his a chievements aga inst the western Oh‘

lukya s , namely, Saka labhuvanasraya , Srimédhiniva l labha ,

and Mah arajadhiraja . He a ssumed a l so another Ra jaéraya , which before him h ad been borne by Rajaraja , theGrea t . Two others, by the form er of which a lone hewas spoken of by the western Chaluk ya s,1 were ViraChola and Karikala . In one of Ra jendra ’s inscriptionswe find a brother of h is, by name Vira Chola , onwhom he conferred the t itl e Karikala , and i f thesetwo persons, Vira rajéndra the emperor and Vira Cholathe prince, cou ld be identifi ed a s the Mysore in scription wou ld justify

, Virarajéndra wa s a brother of thetwo brothers Ra jadhiraja and Ra jendra the heroe s of

Koppam . This a long with ‘ the twenty - third y ear of

(my) father who wa s plea sed to conquer theea stern country , the Ganga and Kadaram

of theG ang aikondasolapuram inscripti on of th e fifth year of

Vira rajéndra , wou ld solve another puzzle of Cholagenea logy . This quotation refers to the grea t con

queror G angaikonda Chola , Rajendra th e son and

successor of Raj araj a the Great . His conquests of

territories on the banks of the Ganges and th e Ira

waddy have now happi ly been pla ced beyond a doubt,

thanks to the resea rches of Messrs . Venkyya and

Kanaka sabhai Pil lai,g by the identifi ca tion of Nacca

varam with th e i l icob ars and P appalam which according to the Ma hdvaméa of Ceylon is a port of Ra

manna , i . e . the Tala ing country portion of Burma .

Thus then the known fa cts so far c lea rly point toVirarajéndra a s th e y ounger brother succeed ing the

elder, a l though according to the Ka lingattuparani and

l Epi. Ca r . vol . vii. Sk . 136 .

9 Article in the Madra s Rericw,Novem ber, 1903 .

CHOLAS n o (‘

HALUKY A S l l i

a few inscrip tions ‘ we have to a ccommoda te a Raj amahendra between the vic tor at Koppam and hi ss uccessor brother Vira rajendra . E ither it is tha t Raj amahendra d ied a Y-

ura raj a without independentlyre ig ning or he wa s s et a side ; but th e la tter conclusiond oes no t app e a r to be wa rranted, a s this Vira raj6ndra had an elder bro the r in the person o f A l

a va nila n

a lia s Raj a raja . and , a s w i l l a ppea r, Vira rajéndra him

s elf wa s a s socia ted with his broth er Ra jendra in hisexped itions into the Ch a lukva territorv . Rajamahéndra ,

the son of Raj endra , then died soon a fter his fa therand

ira rajéndra a scended the throne .

F or three genera tions th e Chola s and th e Chainkya s were contending for m a s ter) in Peninsula r Ind ia .

The Rash trak i

ita Kri shna III ably seconded bv hisfeuda tories the Ganga s h ad brought the ri s ing Cholapower low indeed . A s thes e Rash trak fi ta s th emselveswere s ubve rted , th e opportun ity fo r the Cholas a rrivedand the fa ther and s on

,Raja raj a a nd Rajendra , took

th e tide a t the flood . th e fa ther conquered

and organiz ed th e vounger, the son went on advanc

ing the Chola a rms in to the Mv sore countrv ,took pos

s ession of ea ste rn and southern Mysore and advanced

the Chola frontier to Yeda torenad in the west

and Kol lippakkaion the Banava se frontier in the north

west . L atta l fir, Kol lippakkai and Hen jéru (P enjéru i

were the ga te s of th e Chalukya empi re from the

s outh . This wa s rega rded a s of so much impo rtanc etha t th e ward en of thi s fronti er wa s a ma rked o fficia l,often a rela tive of th e Chalukya emperors . In A . D.

1060 a Ratta ,named Sing aua Deva , wa s ruler of this

pa rt of th e country . He h a s been desc ri bed a s‘

dwel l er at his l otus feet (of entit led

to the five big drums , Mahamanda l esva ra , (lord of)

l ila ngudi Ins . of‘

Rdj a raiia. 11, page 191 : South . Ind . In s . ,vol .

iii. pt . ii.

118 ANCIENT INDIA

Latta lur,ornament of the Yaduvam sa ,

ch i ef of

Kol lippakkai, determined champion over the chief ofP enjéru (Henjéru,) an elephant to the lotus - ga rden of

th e Chola and L a la feudatories, the door of th e southernr egion

‘ the Kalakuta poison to hos ti le kings, hi s

father - in - law’s l ion

,the Meru of the Batta s— with

these and a l l titles th e Maham anda lesvara Sin gana

Deva , wa s rul ing the k ingdom (composed of) the

Uch changi thirty, the Sul enga l s eventy, the Manda lithousand

,the four Chola vi llages, with the stones

and trea sures, the thousand forc e and others, puttingdown the evil and upholding a l l .

Having done this grea t work Ra jendra la id downthis earthly authority and position, and then th e

troubles rose up a l l over aga in , a s a succ ession is theoccasion for enemies . The rulers who fol lowed nexth ad to fight the wars over aga in ; but then these wereonly in the farthest fronti ers . C eylon, Madura and

Ma laba r were ea si ly brought ba ck to a sense ofa l legiance , but not so this Tungabhadra front ier, whereit wa s not a question of a l l egiance but of ma stery .

The wars were,th erefore , prolonged and continued

a lmost from y ear to yea r . Inva sions and counter invasions were the order of th e day . The Chol a s h ad takenocca sion once to plant a pilla r of Victory at Kollapuram (Kolhapur) .

The grea t ba ttl e a t Koppam in 1033 did not settle thematter fina l ly . Each party cla imed the victory thoughthe advantage certa inly lay with the Chola s . The Chalukya s continued to appoint governors of G ang avadi

(with headquarters fi rst a t Ba lgamve and then at

Ha l ebidu) , a lthough the Chola s h ad the t erritorycerta inly under them . \Vhen , therefore, Virarajéndracame to the throne about A . D. 1062- 3 h e h ad to be

1 (See Shika rpur 323, Epi. Ca r . VII Kol lippakke , the door of

the south . )

120 ANCIENT INDIA

ma lla had one of his sons Som esvara Bhuvanaika

ma lla, governing in the Bellary District and anothergoverning practica l ly the whol e of the Mysore Province, with, of course, deputies to h elp him . L ateron Vishnuvardhana Vijayaditya wa s governor of Nolam

bavadi (eastern Mysore) with the titl e Vengi

mandalésvara1and h ead - qua rt ers at Kampili (Kampli)

and Jaya simha, ru ler of Banavas e a lone . Thus i t i s

clear tha t in a war with the Chola a l l th ese princes

woul d figure, and so it is s ta t ed in th e Chola inscr ipt ion .

Since the firs t achievement of Vira rajendra i s aga inst

prince Vikrama ,it i s clea r tha t a fter the ba ttle of

Koppam the Chalukya s were slowly working theirway up to G angavadi. Vira rajéndra na tura lly had

to push back Vikramaditya during the yea rs A . D .

1055—1060. This a chievem ent would fa ll wi thin theperiod of the reign of Ra jendra , a s , a ccording to Prof .

Kielhorn’

s astronomica l ca lcu la tions , Vira rajéndra a s

cended the throne in A . D . 1062—3 . This, togetherwith lfia j

ihéndra’

s2s on of Ra jendra) having fought

aga inst th e Chalukya Ah ava ina l la ,would indica te that

Virarajéndra did not come to the throne by any act of

usurpation on his part .

Virarajéndra appa rently h ad two obj ects in viewnow : (1 ) the keeping ba ck of this Chalukya aggressionwhich was a lways poss ible, and which wa s qu ite a rea ldanger at the time ; and, (2) his a ctive interference,with a View to a chieve this

,in the affa irs of th e Vengi

kingdom of his brother - in - law, who died a bout this

t ime . The Telugu country sa fe on his side, the Chalukya advance in the south wou ld be imposs ible . These

objects of the Chola na tura lly l ed to grea t act ivity on

1 Not because h e wa s son of an eastern Ch filukya P rincess but

he had ch arge of the Vengi frontier ; and wars with Vengi were his

province .

Q South 1nd . Ins . ,vol . iii

, pt . , ii, p . 191 , Epi. Indica ., vol . vi,

pp. 20- 4 .

KDDAL SANC AMAM 121

thes e very frontiers . Hence the appointment of a

frontier wa rden , a ro y a l p rince , w ith his h ead - qua rtersa t Kampl i at the sa l i ent angle b e tween the Chola and

the Vengi coun try . The second exploit of Vira ra

j éndra , therefore , i s a successfu l inva sion of the Circarsto prevent Vikramaditya ga in ing a h o ld upon the

c ountry . How Vik ramaditva’

s intervention wa s broughtabout is not deta i led in any of the inscriptions whichs tate tha t :

‘ He (th e Chola Emperor) a tta cked and

d estroyed the irresi s t ibl e,grea t and powerfu l a rmy

which he (Vikka lan ) h ad aga in di spa tched into Venga inadir

This mus t h a ve been broug ht about somewha t

in this wise . The ea s tern Chaluky a Ra ja raja ,th e

son - in~law of the G ang aikonda Chola ,d ied and h ad a t

lea s t a son Rajendra better known a s Kulottunga and

a daug hter Kundavvai; but we see tha t, the Vengi

country pa sses into th e po ssession of Vijayaditya ,an

uncle of KulOttunga ,through the good offices of Vira ra

jendra . This d i sputed succes s i on ought to h ave broughtVikramaditya upon the scene . But Vira rajéndra wa s

nevertheles s victorious at la st , and pla ced his nomineeVijayadity a of the ea stern Chalukya family , (not of thewestern Ch aluky a family a s wa s hitherto supposed) , U pon

th e throne , a ft er a ba ttle at Vijaya vadi(Bezwada ) .

The next grea t a chievem en t wa s his grea t vic tory

a t KSda l Sang am am o ve r th e entire body of the Cha

lukya fo rces . This place i s a t the junction of theKrishna and the Tung abh adra , just th e region where

from the Chalukya s would hope to ba r the northwa rd

and north - ea stward progress of the Chola .

‘ Th e enemyful l of hatred ,

met and fought aga ins t (him) a third

t ime,hoping tha t his (former) defea ts would be revenged ,

(The King) defea ted countless Sam anta s , together wi th

these (two) sons of Ahavama l la , who were ca l led

Vikka lan and Singanan a t Kada l Sangamam on theturbid river . Having sent the brave vangua rd in

advance , and having himself remained clos e behind

122 ANCIENT INDIA

with th e kings a l li ed to him, (he) agita ted bv means

of a single mus t elephant tha t army (of the enemy) ,which wa s arrayed (for ba ttle) , (and which) r esembledthe northern ocean . In front of the banner- top he cut

to pieces Singanan,the King of wa rlik e Kosa lai, a long

with the furious e l ephants of (his) vangua rd . WhileKaéavadanda - nayaka , Kétara san ,

Marayan of grea ts trength, the strong Pottarayan (and) Irachchayan werefighting (he) started, saying :

“ F o llow Muvendi, (who

wears ) a garland of gold ! and cut to pieces many Samanta s

, who were deprived of weapons of wa r . Then Madu

vanan who was in command fled ; Vikka l an fled withd isheve l led ha ir ; Singanan fled,

his pride and courageforsaking (him ) . Anna lan and a l l others descended

from the ma le el ephants on which they wer e fighting inbattle, and fled ; Ahavam a l l a too,

to whom they werea l lied, fl ed before them . The king stopped his fa stfurious e lephant, put on the garland of victory , seizedhis wives . his family trea sur es , conches , pa ra sol s,trumpets, drums, canopies , white chamaras , the boarbanner, th e ornamenta l arch, the fema l e elephant (ca l l edPushpaka and a herd of war - elephants, a long with a

troop of prancing horses,and amidst (genera l) applause

put on the crown of victory, (set wi th) j ewels of red

splendour . " This wa s th e ba tt le of Kfidal Sangam am

and I have quoted the inscript ion in fu l l to give an idea

of how ba ttl es were fought in those times . While theChalukya records mention in genera l the prowessof th e Chalukyas, they do not g ive us circumstantia ldeta il s of any pa rticula r ba ttle a ga inst Virarajendra

in person . Bilhana’

s Vikram ankadeva Ch aritam no

doubt depict s prince Vikram aditya as conducting expeditions towards the south and credits h im with the

occupa tion both of Kanchi and of G angaikondasola

puram . This i s not during th e reign of Vira rajendra

1No . 20, South 1nd . In s ,vol . iii, pt. i.

1 24 ANC IENT INDIA

his younger brother Vikram aditya ,of whom the la tter

wa s the more d istinguish ed in the recent transact ions .

It wa s then tha t he appea red somewha t b elated at

the Chola camp , and negotiated successfu l l y for Chola

help in the event of h is a ttempt to ga in the thronea s aga inst Somésvara . The trea ty wa s sea led, of

course , by the marriage of the Cha lukya prince withthe daughter of the reigning Chola . Though some of

the Cho la inscript ions give a lud icrous cha racter to

this pa rticula r tra nsa ct ion, tha t th is wa s th e rea l

import i s amply clea r from these inscriptions themse lves , while the Vtkmmd nka déva Cha ritam givesnatura l ly enough a glossed vers ion of i t in favour of

th e hero prince Vikram a . This done Vira rajéndram arched into th e Vengi country . Having moved (hiscamp ) h e decla red : (KVe ) sha l l not return withoutrega ining the country of Venga i , which (we h ad

formerly , subdued . Y ou (who are) strong , come and

d efend (it) if (you) are able Tha t a rmy which wa schosen for this exped ition, drove into the jungle tha tbig army, which resist ed it s enemy on the grea t r ive rc lose to Vis ayavadi (Bezwa da ) , and which had for itschiefs, Jananath an , the Dandanayaka Rajamayyan ,

whose mu s t elephants trumpeted in herds and Mapparasan . His el ephants drank the wa ter of the Godaveri . He crossed over Ka l ingan and beyond i t dispa tched for ba ttle hi s invincible a rmy a s far a s thefurther end of Sakka ragottom (Chakra - kOtta ) . Here - conquered th e good country of Venga i and be

stowed i t on Vijayadittyan , whose broad hand heldweapons of wa r and who h ad taken refuge at hisl otus - feet . ’

This la st affa ir, a s ha s been expla ined a l ready,i s the outcome of a d isputed succession in the Venga icountry . After the dea th of the ea stern Chalukya

Rajaraja (A . D . 1060 Kulottunga (Ra jendra ) oughtto have succeeded , but th is succession appears to have

VENC I SU CC‘

E SSION 125

been di sputed . The Ka ling a Hitpp auraml records tha t thewife of G a ngaikonda Cho la took up the dea r c h i ldwhen i t wa s born , and from the signs upon its feetpred icted his upl ifting both the famili es in fame .

Thi s wa s nothing more,probably, than the pious

grandmotherly wish for the advancem ent of her grandson . It i s very probable tha t th e Child wa s broughtup in the grandfa ther

s house , With a l l th e paraphar

na l ia of empire surrounding the young prince . Thusi t wa s made possible for his uncle Vijayaditya tomake a successfu l a ttempt to plac e himself on th e

throne of Venga i , a s we find inscriptions of KulCittunga ’s ea rly yea rs only in th e southern end of

his pa terna l dominions , i . e . the territory roundabou t Madra s . In his difficulty Vijayaditya probably sought the strong arm of Vira rajéndra , to

whom a friend ly Vengi wa s of paramount importance . Thi s wou ld, inter 3 3 , be detrimenta l to th ein terests of the Chalukya s of Ka l vani . Hence a l l th e

warl ike transa c ti ons between the riva l powers,in

r ega rd to Vengi in which neither wa s di rectly

int erested . Returning from thi s victorious exped itionto Gangaikonda s

ol apuram , Virarajén dra a s sum ed thepa ramoun t t it le of Rajadhiraja or , a s o ther ins cript ions s ay, Rajadhira jan l

l ajaraja ,

a s wa s th e custom of

the family .

Inscripti ons of the s ixth yea r of Vira ra jéndra and

a l so those of his seventh yea r , add ano ther engagement between th e contend ing powers a t K fida l sun

gamam , for th e third time, when Vira ra jéndra‘ burnt

Kampili before Sfmiés vara cou ld un tie the n eckla cewhich he h ad put on, and set up a pi llar of victory a t

Karadikka l .’ Thi s Som esva ra is correctly i de n tifi ed bv

Dr . Hul tz sch with Sdm ésva ra Bhuvanaikama l la ,the

son of Ah avam a l l a and th e elder brother of Vikram a

ditya and Jaya simha , who wa s , according to Dr . F lee t,sometime governor of th e Be luvola , Purig ere , e tc .

126 ANCIENT INDIA

country earl i er ; but on a third occa s ion ,he burnt the

c ity of Kampili, before‘ Som esvara cou ld untie the

neck la ce which he had put on and set up a pil larof victory at Karadikka l .

’ 1 The untying of the neck

lace refers to the untying of the necklace of Yuvara jato a ssume th e higher one of the reigning sovereign,rather than , a s Dr . Hul tz s ch considers , to th e incident h aving taken p la ce in the l ifetime of SCm é svaraI . In an in scription at Shika rpur? Somes vara IIa ssumed the roya l insignia on the fourteenth day

a ft er the death of his father, a s i s the Hindu customeven now ; and the inscription 83 of vol . III of

South India n In scrip tion s impl ies tha t Virarajéndraa cted promptly a fter th e dea th of Ah avam a l la , for th e

Shika rpur inscription says tha t the Chola king thought

of taking advanta ge of the change of ru lers and excla iming I ‘A n ew reign ; a kingdom fi t only for a

hero ; now i s th e time to invade i t ; I Will surroundGutti and besieg e it ’ The inscription states further

down that Vira Chola turned his ba ck a fter a cava lryskirmish between the vanguards . If this interpretationi s correct these events must have taken pla ce in A . D .

1068 . Be fore th e next yea r, Virarajéndra added to hi slaure ls by th e over - s ea conquest of Kadaram in theTa la ing country of Burmah .

A l l this t ime of a ctive wa rfa re, we have evidence

of Virarajéndra’

s transa cting business of a civi l chara ct er. Wh enever he wa s at G ang aikondasol apuram ,

his capita l , his secretaries were busy bringing papersand d ispa tches which h e dispo sed of promptlv . It i sa pity tha t there a re no inscriptions to give us a hinta s to h ow h e arranged for this civil business while hewas engaged in war . F rom the few inscript ions of

his time, which we have , he shows himse lf to have been

1 This re fers to th e promptness with which the victory wa s gained .

2 Sk . 136 , Epi. Ca r vol . vii.

128 ANCIENT INDIA

under Vijayaditya . Ku lottunga a l l thi s period h ad

been governing,either in his own name or a s i t

appears more likely, a s a viceroy of the emperor,

the territory in th e midd le, including in it th e regionembra cing Tiruvorriyur, Tiruval ang adu in th e Kar

vetinagar Z eminda ri and Kolar .

l Vikram aditya tooka mea sure of the situation at a glance, and set aboutputting his neighbourhood in good att itude for hiscrowning a ct. Prince Ra jendra Chola wa s l ikely to

strike in for the Chola empire, and i t wa s of immense

importanc e to secure the Chola succession to hisbrother - ih - law, who ha d a lready been a ssoc ia ted withhi s fa ther Virarajéndra . This he did, an d we have

the ru ler Adhirajarajéndra in success ion to his fa ther .

We have inscriptions of his third yea r , whil e Virarajendra ’s da tes run into the yea r, A . D . 1070. So

Adhirajaraja would have rul ed independently for onlypart of a year . Accord ing to the Vikramd nka Deva

Cha r l tam, Vik ram aditya insta ll ed his brother - ih - l aw,

and th e Ka l l ng a ttupp a ra ni and Vikkirama Sola nu ld

mention a king between Vira rajéndra and Kulottunga .

This apa rt, an inscription of th e third year of Virarajendra mentions tha t th e magistra te Rajarajam i

ivenda

ve lan and the Sénapa thi Raja raja P aranriparaksh a s an

a lia s Vira sol a I lan gd , met at Kanchipuram and held an

inquiry into the administra tion of a grant made inthe eighth yea r of Virarajendrdéava . This same Senapa thi Raj araj a P aranriparaksh a san a l ia s Vira sola Il ango

figures in the same capa city under Ku ldttunga in an

inscript ion of his second year (i . e . 1072) a t Tiruvor

riyar . Thus then i t i s cl ea r tha t A dhirajaraja suc

ceeded his fa ther but h ad only a short reign,for in the

same year Ra j endra Chola a lia s Kulottunga a l so

1 This I in fer from th e fact th at th e ea rliest inscription s of Ku lot

tunga are found in this region ; but this m ay not have been the

case .

IIULCTTUNGA 129

a scend ed the throne of the Chola empire . Thisunsettled the a rrangements of Vikram aditya , who had

to bide his t ime, and i t i s probabl e, a s the Vit ra

man-ka dera Clia rita-m sta tes , tha t he wa s on the bestof term s , in the meanwhile , with his bro ther SomesVa l

L eaving Vikram adity a a s ide , we h a ve to considerthe position of the other young prince whos e namebulk s ou t so la rge ly in th e South Ind ian pol itics of

the time, namely ,Rajakes a rivarm an Ra jendra Chola

a l ia s Kulottun ga C hola . It ha s a lrea dy been pointed out

tha t he wa s the g randson of the G ang aikonda Chola ,

and tha t i t wa s probab le tha t he wa s brought up inhi s grand fa ther

’s house, whether he wa s actua l l v

a dop ted by him or not . The re wa s , in fact, no rea s onfor the adop tion a s the grandfa ther appea rs to have

had a num ber of sons , who were (at lea st one of

them wa s ) a s sociated a s l i eutenants of the grea t

c onquering Chola . One wou ld na tura l ly expect th is

Ra jendra to succeed hi s fa ther , when he died in 1061—2or th e next yea r . In a l l the transactions about the

appointment of Vija yaditya VII a s VICe rov of Vengi ,we do not hea r of th e name of Kulottunga , and thi swou ld suggest tha t this young ambitious prince did

not rega rd i t a s a m a tter of much moment to him

whether h e wa s viceroy of Vengi or not. His

ambition wa s imperia l and not vicereg a l , in thi s

resemb l ing his great contemporary Vikram aditya ,who

for many y ea rs h a d pra ctica l ly the wh ol e of thesouthern ha lf of h is fa ther

s and brother ’s empire

under his control . There is yet another rea son for

this indifference , but thi s seem s to be th e m a in rea son ,

though i t appea rs to have escaped th e no tice of the

expert ed i tors of thes e inscriptions . Dr . Hu ltz s ch and

Mr. Venkayya . The earli er inscrip tions of Kuldttun ga

sta te tha t, a s Yuva ra ja ,b e a ccompl i shed two grea t

fea ts : (1) the capture of elephants at . Vairag aram

130 ANCIENT INDIA

and (2) the capture of the fortress of Chakrakdttam .

His inscriptions take us on to hi s forty - ninth year as

emperor, and so he must have a scended the throne,a compara tively young m an . Then he may have been

Yuvaraja to his father, th e ea stern Chalukya Raja raja I,or his grandfa ther and uncles . If he had b een at

Vengi a l l the while, Vijayaditya’

s succession cou l dnot have been possible, a ltogether setting a side hi snephew ; but granting tha t he wa s a t Vengi, where

wa s this Vairagaram and wha t is the a chievement ofcatching elephants ? If aga in he wa s even ou sted by

Vijayaditya his uncle, the fa ct of his access ion to the

eastern Chalukya dominions, specifica l ly sta t ed by thePitapuram pillar inscriptions and the copper - pla tegrants, i s not borne out by any of his inscriptions

a l l of which are da ted a s from A . D . 1070, the year ofhis accession to the Chola throne . There appears tobe on ly one explana tion for a l l this . Vairagaram i sWa iragarh in the Centra l Provinces,1 north - ea st of

A janta , and i t i s here tha t a s th e Chola Yuvaraja,on the occasion of th e inva sion of Virarajéndra , or

hi s grandfa ther, Raj endra I , b e distingu ished himself .His early inscriptions affirm tha t ‘

(He) gently ra isedwithout wearying (her) in th e lea st the lotus - l ike goddess

of the ea rth residing in the region of the rising sun .

(g /g aa g wanewg g am amflailg ég m a mwww w itl ‘Pe-

vwa air g etrw

g oséreufdé g erflfig aiefirgg eir, n awflfi éfii

’a ig wafi G nfg ai

rw u m

g ab s teilluJ/mim s uflcofi n élgfg §65T g m m rfiy eb Q aivq /n Q 6This land of the ris ing sun cannot well be the

country of Vengi, and if the conquest of pa rt of

Burmah by Rajendra I i s a ccepted, a s i t must now

I I am gl ad to find Pundit Hira L a l s upport m e in this sugges

tion to which I wa s l ed by Mr . Venkayya’

s ob jection to my previous

identification of Vairi‘

igaram with a. place of simil ar name in Burmah

vide Epigraphia Indica x. 26—7 .

9 Note a l so : o va-n ann opmg n uu nn i pa p -9s,“ an ’pflu flg W M” ,

South Ind. Ina , No. 76, vol . iii, pt. 2, p . 169, 1- 4 .

132 ANC IENT INDIA

interim . If he had rema ined anywhere in the Cho la

empire, Virarajéndra would have taken st eps to keep

h im out of ever - aspiring to the throne . Nor does hefigure among the western Chalukya rela t ions with

Vi-ra rajendra . It appea rs, therefore, tha t he wa s

hiding his t ime a s did Vikram aditya for nine years to

work his way up to the empire .

Inscriptions of the second yea r of Ku ldttunga lend

s upport to this view, a s No . 64 . vol . i i i of the South

India n In scrip tions impl ies‘ tha t h e fe lt himself

a lready a t that time as a member of the Cho la familyto which his mother and grandmother bel onged,

n ot a s an ea s tern Chalukya ,becaus e it mentions a s

h is cres t the tiger and not the boa r . ’ In inscriptions

of his first four yea rs he s tv l es himself Rajakes a riva rman

Ra j endra Chola Deva , whi le tha t in h is fifth year

a scribes to him the tit le Ku lottunga . In add i tion tothe achievements a l ready referred to wh ile yet a princeonly

,the inscriptions of his fifth year add that h e

vanquished the king of Kun ta la , that b e crownedhimself a s king of the country on the banks of th e

Kavery, and tha t he decapita ted an unnam ed Pandyak ing .

‘ Having made the wheel of his (auth ority) to

go a s far as the Golden Circle (i. e . Mount Meru) , onthe earth , which was surrounded by the moa t of the

sea ,tha t wa s (aga in) surrounded by (his) fam e , (the

k ing) newly wedded, in the time when (he wa s sti ll)heir - appa rent (ilango) , the bri l l iant goddess of victory

a t éakkarakkottam by deeds of va lour , and seized a herd

of elephants a t Vayirag aram . (He) unshea th ed (his)sword, showed the strength of (his ) arm and spurred

(his) war - steed , so tha t the King of Konda la (Kunta la) ,whose spear had a sha rp poin t, l ost hi s wea l th .

Having establi shed his fame , having put on (a ga r land

of victory over) the northern region, and having

stopped the prostitution of the goddess with the sweet

and excellent lotus - flower (i.e . Lakshmi) , of the

VIKRAMXDITYA’

S USURPATION 133

southe rn region , and the lonel iness of the godde ssof the good country whose ga rment is th e Ponni

(Raverv ) . (he) put on b y right (of inheritance) the pureroya l crown of j ewel s, while th e kings of the ol d

ea rth l bore his two feet (on their heads) a s a la rgecrown .

’ This would be th e vear A . D . ] O7 5 and theKunta la s here referred to must be the genera l s of

Sdm ésvara II , pa rticu la rly hi s brothers, Vikram adityaan d Jaya simh a , the la tter having be en a t the t imevicero y of Banava se. Thi s merel y refers to an a ttemptat intervention on the part of Vikram aditya , a s a

resu lt of th e misfortune to his brother-in - law and theconsequent change of ru l e . But before th e eleventhy ea r of Kulottunga

s reign, h e ha d to intervene withgr ea ter v igour in th e affa irs of the Mysore country .

But how th i s wa s ca l led for h a s to be expla ined befor e

proceeding furth er .

Soniesva ra Bhuvanaikam a l la ru led over the Chalukyaempire from A . D . 1068 to A . D . 1076 when his reigncame to an end . The only epigraphica l information

ava i lable is tha t Som és va ra , having got intox ica t ed

w i th pride a fter a few yea rs of ru l e, neglected th e

government badly , and his virtuous broth er Vikrama

dity a overthrew him in the interest of good government and established himself instead . Turning to the

Vikra ma nka der a Cha ritam aga in for deta i l s , we h ave

the fo l lowing which I extra ct from Dr . F leet .“

Bil h ana tell s u s , tha t, for a t ime , the two broth er s

lived in fr iendl y fa shion at Ka lyana ; the younger dulyhonou ring th e elder a s the ch ief. of his h ouse and hi sking . Somesva ra ,

however,fel l in to evi l courses , and

even tried to do harm to hi s brother . Thereupon Vik

ram aditya l eft Ka l vana taking with him a l l his fol

lowers an d a l so his younger brother, Jaya simha III,

1 South Ind . In s , p . 142 ,vol . iii, pt . ii.

2 Bombay Ga z etteer , pt . ii, vol . i, pp . 44 4- 5 .

134 ANC IENT INDIA

who, he considered, cou ld not be sa fely left with theking . Som ésvara sent forces in pursu it , to bring the

brothers back . But he wa s unsuccessful and at la stdesisted from the a ttempt . Vikram aditya went on to

the Tungabh adra on the bank of which river he restedhis army for somet ime, with the intent ion of fightingthe Chola king . It appea rs , however, tha t, for someunexpla ined rea son ,

he d eferred this proj ect in favour

of making a triumpha l progress through the southern

and western pa rts of th e k ingdom ; for, the na rra tivegoes on to s a y , tha t h aving spen t sometime in theBanava s e prov ince, h e ma rched through the Ma layacountry

,that Jayakesin the lord of Konkan ,

i. e . the

first Jayakesin in th e family of th e Kadamba s of Goa ,came to him and brought presents , and that th e lord

of A l upa made submiss ion an d received favours inreturn . It a l so implies tha t he vis ited Kera la , and

infl icted some reverses on th e k ing of tha t country .

He then seems to h ave taken some definite a ctionaga inst the Chola s . But it wa s s topped by the Cholaking

,Ra jakes a rivarm an o th erwis e ca l led Vira rajendra

Deva I, making overtu res of friendship , and offeringhim a daughter in m a rriage, on the cond ition tha t heretired to the Tungabhadra . Vikram aditya a ccepted theproposa l s and th e ma rr iage was du ly c elebra t ed .

Shortly a fterwa rds , however, the news r ea ched him

that hi s fa ther - in - law wa s dead, and th a t the Cholakingdom wa s in a s ta te of anarchy . He then pro

ceeded a t onc e to Kanchi the C hola cap ita l ; put downthe rebel l ion there, and go ing to G ang akunda , secured

the throne for hi s brother - in - law , proba bly Pa rakesari

varm an otherwis e ca l l ed Adhirajarajéndra . He thenma rched ba ck to the Tung abh adra . But he hea rd

a lmos t immedia te ly, tha t h is broth er - in - law h ad l ost

his life in a fresh rebel l ion , and tha t Rajiga th e lordof

Ve iigi,— i. e . the ea s tern Chaluk y a king Ku lfittung a

Chola Deva. I, whose origina l appel lat ion wa s Raj endra

136 ANCIENT INDIA

see ing they had to reckon with a ne ighbour l ikeKu lottunga . In th i s enterprise , Vikram aditya h ad thesupport of the viceroy s of first rank among hi sbrother’s officers

, and this cou ld not have been oh

tain ed if th ere h ad been no counterba lancing virtues

in him . Séuna Chandra II of the Yadava family , thepremier viceroy of the north - west

,Jayakésin Kadamba

of Goa ; Achugi II of the Sinda family of Ye l burg a ;Ereyanga Hoysa la of Gangavadi, the son of Vinayaditya

th e right trusty l ieutenant of Sfimésvara Ah avam a l la

and Irukkapala ,the brother of th e governor of Nolamba

vadi a l l these h earti ly helped Vikram aditya and werethe main pil lars of his empire for the fo l lowing ha lfcentury and more . Thus then Vikram aditya a l lowed

Kulottunga to boa st of a victory while he had to be

busy at head - qua rters to complete his usurpa t ion . Thisdone

,there began the ba ttle roya l between the contend

ing na tions or ra ther rulers .

The next war, undertaken a ga inst the Chola , a lsoappears to h ave gone a ga inst the Chalukya s . Inscrip

tions of the fourteenth and fi fteenth years of Ku lottunga lay cla im to having turned ba ck an inva sion ofVik ram aditya from Nanga l i (about six miles ea s t ofMu lbaga l) via Mana lur (other in scriptions have itA la tti) to the Tung ab hadra ; and to having captured

Gangam anda lam and Singan am . Having secured hisfronti er in the north he turned his a ttent ion to thesouth aga inst the P andya s , and subdued the southwestern portion oi the Peninsula inc luding in hisconquests the Gulf of Mannar, the Podiyil mounta in

(in the Tinnevel ly d istrict) , Cape Comorin Kottaru ,

the Sahya (the western gha ts) and Kudam a lainadu

(i. e . Ma laba r) . About thi s t ime he a ppears to haveeffected conquests in the Ma laba r country, Vilifiam

and Sala i having been occupied a ccord ing to the

Ka linga ttup a ra n-i and the Vikkirama éola nn la . Tha t

th i s i s not a mere high - fa lutin a ssert ion of a t riumph

THE F IRST mm 137

without succe ss is amply borne out by the utterabsence of purely Ch alukva inscriptions bey ond theShimoga and th e Chita ldroog districts , th e capita l s of

the soca l led vi ceroys of G an ga vadi having been bey ondth e G angavadiitse lf (namel y . Be l ag amve first and Be larnext) ; and the appointment of pa rticu la r governorsto hold the so uthern frontier a ga inst the Chola innorthern M y sore .

L akshm an a becoming lord of th e Grea t Banavasenad, Vikram anol am ba becom ing the lord of Nolam ba

Sindavadi. G angam anda lika (probabl y Iv

dayadity a ) be

coming lord of th e territory from Alam para ,Bhuva

naikam a l la ,in view of their being a s a l ong ba r to the

south, gave them these countrie s A lthough thisarrangement wa s actua lly made in th e reign of Som

esvara I I,there wa s no ma teria l a l tera tion of frontier

t i ll about th e early decades of the fol lowing century .

These a chievements of Kulottung a must have taken

pla ce a bout A . D . 1085 .

It Vikram aditya moved south , about A . D . 1080 , thenth e opportuni ty would have been taken advantage of

by the P andy a s of th e south , and Kulottunga h ad

not only taken steps ‘ to fix the l imi ts of the southerncountry ,

but al so had settled some of hi s officers on

th e roads through Kaftaru to hold th e country in

check,‘ while a l l the heroes in the western hil l

country (Kudama lainadu) a scended voluntari ly to h eaven,

(he) wa s plea s ed to bestow on the chiefs of his a rm v,

who were mounted on hor s e s , s ettlemen ts on every road ,

including (tha t wh ich pa s sed ) through Kottern , inorder tha t th e enemies might be sca ttered , and took

h is sea t on th e throne acqui red in wa rfa re .

Thi s war mus t have taken p la ce soon after Vikram a

ditya a scended the throne in A . D . 1076 and both the

Epi. Ca r vol . vii, p . 202 of th e trans l a tion .

9 Vide No . 73 , South Ind . In s vol . iii, pt. II ; th e officer in

ch a rge of Kotté tu was a. m an of the Ch ol a country .

1 38 ANCIENT INDIA

emperors h ad learnt by A . D. 1080 (or thereabouts) thatit was impossible to decide once for a l l on this frontier ,and ma tters w ere l eft to sett l e themselves by effiux of

time . During the rest of his reign th e Chalukya

emperor devoted him s elf to pea ce . His reign h ad a

span of ha lf a century and, during this long period , Bilhana notices an inva sion and even occupation ofKanchi and two inva sions across the Na rbudh a . Theoccupa tion of Kanchi wa s nothing more than the at

tempted inva sion of the Chola empire which ended infa i lure . The other two inva sions were a ct ive inter

ven tion s in the afiairs of Malva and Ch édi or Dhara

a nd Dalia la , a s , a fter th e death of Bhoja of Dhara

a nd Karna of Dah a la ,there wa s constant war . His

inva sion of Benga l and Kama rupa (or Assam) are notl ikely with the Chola s constantly on th e a lert , unlessthese happen to be mere cont ingents of a rmies sent toh elp a friend ly Power .Jaya simh a , who h ad a cted with him and h ad beenr ewa rded with the viceroya lty of Ban ava s e, a positionwhich Vikram a himself occupied under hi s fa ther,revolted and evident ly the revolt h ad been put down ;but nothing further wa s heard either of Jayasimh a or

of his other brother Vish nuvardh ana Vijayaditya . \Viththis change Vik ram aditya effected an important m odifica tion of domestic pol icy , which produced consequencestha t could hardly have been foreseen by him . He

g ave important v icero ya l t ies to chi efta ins with greatloca l infiuence ‘ , sometimes scions of old famil ies, and

these became founders of the gr ea t feudatory dyna st ies

tha t p layed such important pa rts la ter on . We see

thi s change taking pla ce during th e pea cefu l regime ofthe grea t Chalukya Vikram aditya . His empire extended

from the Narbudda southwards to the Tung abh adra ;

1 His sons were given on l y viceroya l ties , etc . , near h eadquarters ,e . g . Jaya ka rna , Bombay Ga z etteer, p . 45 5 , vol . i, pt. ii.

140 ANCIENT INDIA

pos itions , often referred t o a s Rajadh anis , or a l terna tive capita l s which , to judge from their loca tion,

wou ld be for adminis tra tive convenience,more than to

sa tisfy th e vanity of the ru ler for th e tim e being . Thes ecities were Ka lyana

,the cap ita l ; Banava se and Ba l agamve,

the head-

quar ters of the southern viceroya lty : Nadaviyappaiyana bidu, in the north - ea st of Bijapur on the fron

tier of the N izam ’s Dominions ; Etagiri, the modernY etagiri, thirty miles south of Mal khed ; Vijay apura ,

the modern Bij apur ; Manneyakere ,a lso in the Nizam 's

Dominions,and Vikramapura or AraSIabidu . Most of

these were head - qua rters of viceroya l ties, whil e Etagiriwa s th e ol d capita l of the dyna sty . Even Tiruvikram apura (named a fter either th e emperor or VishnuKama lavilasin ) wa s a capita l under Semesvara , withthe name Araéiabidu (the pa la c e of the queen) , b ecause one of a num ber of the lady vic eroys ‘ , duringthe rule of the Chalukya s , ha d her hea d- quarters there .

Among the viceroys of Vikramaditya we find th e

names of a number of ch iefs , who b ecame la ter on thefounders of the grea t feuda tory famili es

,though for the

whil e their cha rges o ften changed . This ha s beenstated a l ready . Without fo l lowing the deta i ls of thechange of viceroys , th e provinces were : (1) th e Yadavaterritory of Devagiri or, a s it wa s known beforethi s, Senna De§a with cap ita l s a t Sinna r and th en at

Devagiri, includ ing in i t a l l the terri tory in the northwest of the empire ; (2) the Silaba ra s of northern and

southern Konkan , the country a long the coa st bel ow

1 Akkadevi th e aunt of Somésva ra I,wa s governing KiSukad seventy in

A .D 1022 .

Th e queens of Somés va ra I , and some of h is succes sors h ad sm a l l

territories to a dminister, sometim es directly, often by Deputy.

Vikram aditya h ad six queens . Of wh om we h ave records of fourat l east, in governm ent of sma l l dis tricts or a dminis tra tion of revenues .

One of th em wa s governing th e capita l Ka l y ana and another h ad a.

district a l lotted to h er for pin-money . (An g a bog h a ) .

F l eet, Bombay Ga z etteer , vol . i, pt . ii.

RISE OF THE HOYSALAS 141

Bombay ; (3 ) the Silab ara s of Kolhapur ; (4) nextcome the Kadamba s of Goa : (5 ) to th e ea st of thesetheir cousins the Kadam b a s of Hanga l in Dharwar ;(6) ea st of these come the Sinda s of Ye lburga ; (7 )then the G ut-t-a s of Gut-ta ] in D ha rwa r ; (H) next theRatta s of Saunda tti ; (9) Ban ava se ,

often under theKadamba s of Hanga l

, a fter Jaya sim h a’

s rebe l l ion ;(10) Nolam bavadi, under the Pandy a chiefs ofU ch ch an g idurg ; (11) G angavadiunder the Hoy sa la Ere

y a-ng a and his son s Be l lala and Vish nuva rdh ana ; (12)Taida-wadi round Bijapur . B esides these , there werethe viceroy a l ties in the head - qua rters territory , namel y ,

round G obbur , Kamma ravadi a nd Sitaba ldi in theN izam

s Dominions and the n eighbouring pa rts of th eCen tra l Prov inces ; these thre e having been underBash trakuta (the fi rst two) and the Haih a y a chiefs,respectively .

Except for th e rebell ion of prince Jaya simha ,vic e

roy of Banava s e a nd the two inva s ions a cross the

Na rbadh a before the y ea rs A .D . 1088 - 9 , and between tha tyea r and A .D . 1098,

there wa s p ea ce throughout theempire . But the monotony of it wa s broken by an

inva sion . probably of th e ea s tern Chalukya dominions .Th ere are in scriptions referring th emselves to Vik

ramaditya’

s reign a t Draksharam a and a t oth er p lacesbey ond his dominions , a l though Bilh a na says tha t hewa s for s ometime in occupa tion of Kanchi . But

towa rds the end of hi s reign , the danger to the empire a l ready showed it self in the a dvancing power

of a My sore chief . It h a s more th an onc e been noti cedbefore tha t th e southern provinces of the empirecons tituted the premie r vicero y a l ty , and i t is here tha tthe grea test genera l sh ip wa s ca l l ed for th . The Hoysa la s were making th emse lve s ma sters in rea lity of theG ang avadi of which they had been nomina lvi ceroys for two genera tions . Vinayaditya first. then

Eréyang a his son , and then the la tter’

s son Vishnu

142 ANCIENT INDIA

vardhana , through the loya l exertions of Ganga Ba ja ,a dispossessed s cion apparent ly of the Ganga family,now turned out the Cho la s and took Ta lakad, the

head - qua rters of the Cho la viceroya lty on or beforeA .D . 1117 . This enhanced the r eputation , and not lessthe resources of the Hoyéa la ,

who wa s advancinghis power northwa rds by a ttacking Nolambavadi and

Banavas e . This movement appears to have beensynchronous with tha t of th e Kadamba s of Goa and the

Silab a ra s of Konkan . Th e empire wa s saved thisd ismemberment by th e wa tchfu l a ct ivity and en ergyof the Sinda Chiefta in

,Achugi II, who defea ted the

Hoys a la forces under Ganga Ra j a , (which h ad ma rchedup to the Krishnavéni (th e Krishna river ), in a night

a ttack at Kannegala and cha sed them to Belur . He

then turned in the other direction and chased theothers a cross the western gha ts and took Goa .

Notwithstanding this, Vikramaditya continued to

ru le til l th e yea r A .D . 1126,or possibly A .D . 1127 .

He appears to h ave been a l ibera l patron of letters

and religion . In his court flourished the Kasmirianpoet Bilhana , who evidently wandered through the

country in sea rch of a patron , a s did Vijfianesvara the

author of the Mith ksham system of Hindu L aw . Inreligion he disp layed the usua l l ibera l i sm of Indianmonarchs . F rom inscription 124 of Shikarpur, we find

tha t as viceroy he got a Jinal aya constructed at

Ba l ligave . His father, be it remembered ,di ed a Sa iva .

F rom the found ing of Tiruvikramapura and the con

struction of pa la ces, temples, etc . , nea r the temple ofVishnu Kam a lavila sin , a s Bil hana records, b e probably

wa s a Va i shnava . Nevertheless a Domba l inscription

of A .D . 1095 , r ecords grants made to the Vihara s ofBuddha and A rya Taradévi at tha t town . Tha t Bud

dhism h ad its fol lowing is borne out by inscription

170 of Shika rpur,“7

tha t the grea t minister, th e

9 Epi. Ca r , vol . vii.

144 ANCIENT INDIA

before the domesday survey,he s eems to have under

taken a re - survey of some part s, at l ea st, of hisdominions . This fa ct is referred to in two inscriptionsin th e Tanjore dis trict , and the unit of mea sure wa sthe Sripada (th e roya l foot) of Kulottunga . But thatsuch surveys used to be , and h ad been, a ccura t elyca rried out much earlier is a ttested by the referencesto the book (qég asmi in th e Tamil and Kadith a in theKanarese countries . ‘

One a chievement of Kulottunga which deserved a

whole work to cel ebra te it in th e est ima ti on of hiscontempora ries

,and perhaps himse lf , i s the conquest of

Ka ling am for him by his genera l Karunakara Tondaman of Vanda i, or Vanda lur . The work r eferred toi s the Tamil poem known a s the Ka linga ttnpp a ra nt

of Jayamkondan , who wa s the Kavichakravarti a t

the court of Kulottunga a s Bilh ana wa s the Vidyapa ti a t Ka lyana . Th is conquest of Ka lingam i s a lso

among the a chiev ements of Vikram a Chola . So far

a s Kulottunga i s concerned th ere are clearly twoinva sions of Ka lingam referred to . The Tiruvida

m a rudt‘

ir inscription of his twenty - s ixth year refers to aninva s ion of Ka ling am , but strangely enough his laterinscriptions , which narra te a ccura tely his oth er achievements, omit it . This would warrant the inferencetha t it wa s not the a chievement which invited the

c la ssic of Jayamkondan . The next reference to a

conquest of Ka lingam i s in the in script ions of hisforty - second and forty - fifth years . This grea t conquesttherefore ought to have taken pla ce in or before A . D .

while the first one wa s before A . D . 1095 - 6 .

Ka lingam figures among places con quered by Raj a rajathe Grea t and his son Ra j endra . After the dea thin A . D . 1078 of Raj a raj a of Trika linga ,

his son Ananta

varma n Choda Ganga wa s on the throne til l A . D . 1146 .

1 See Govt. Epigrap hist’s Report for 1900, s ee . 25 , p. 11 .

CONQUEST or KAL INGAM 145

A ccord ing to the T eki pla tes 1 of Rajaraja ChodaGanga , y cieroy of Vengi and the eldest son of Ku lottunga , i s sued in A . D . 1084

,the boundary of the Vengi

wa s Manner-u in the Nellore d i strict in th e south and

Mahendragiri in Ganj am in the north . This wouldshow tha t south Ka lingam wa s a lready under the Chola s .

\Vhile therefore the firs t inva sion might poss ibly havebeen to drive out some intruder into th is remotefronti er which wa s ea sy of accompli shment, the nexton e must have been of a formidable cha racter . Thisproba bly wa s the occa s ion when Vikramadity a pene

tra ted into Vengi (which would a ccount for inscriptions

of his reign at Draksharama ) , a ccord ing to Bil liana ,

a fter long yea rs of pea ce . He mus t h ave been com

pe l led to retire . We have seen a lready tha t Virara

j éndra ma rched into Ka lingam , and i f Mr . Venk y va'

identifica tion of the Raj e'

ndra Chola the father of

Rajy a sunda ri, w ife of the Ka l inga Raj araj a and mother

of Anan tavarm an Choda Ganga . with Raj endra CholaII be correct. then it is poss ible tha t Kuldttung a

undertook the grand inva sion of northern Ka lingam

or Sapta Ka l ing am , the king of which a ccording tothe Ka linga ttup pa ra ni fa i led to appear wi th his tribute .

This appea rs to receive support from th e fa ct tha t th eKa l inga t

‘hoda Ganga'

s increa se of power took pla ce

during th e y ea rs A . D. 1087 to A . D . 1 118 - 19 . In theVizag apa tam pla tes of the l a tter y ear he a s sumes

tit l es and a magnifi cent genea l og y , which are not

found in th e pla tes of the ea rl ier yea r . He further

boa sts in th e lat ter of having restored ‘th e fa l len

lord of U tka la (Orissa ) in the ea stern region ,

the waning lord of Vengi’

in the western .

l Epigrap hia Indica , vol . vi, p. 334 , et s eq .

2 Vide Gov . Epigraphis t'

s Report for 1905 , p . 53 . It m ay be noticed

h ere that there wa s som e direct rel a tion of a friend ly ch a ra cter

between th e Ch o l a s a nd th e ru lers a t Kanouj at th e time,Mada na

pal e. a nd his son Gavindach andra . Vide Epigra phist’s Reportfor 19013,

146 ANC IENT INDIA

If this be the correct Vi ew of the event,then the

composi tion of the K a linga ttupp a ra ni will h ave to bebrought down to somewhere nea r A . D . 1112

,ra ther

than to a period of about fi fteen years earlier, a da te

hitherto fixed for it. Th e credit of this exped i tion,

a ccording to thi s work , i s entirely due to Ka runakaraTondaman of Vanda i but th e inscriptionsof Vikrama Chola lay cla im to some very credi tableperformance on the pa rt of the prince . It is veryprobable tha t the prince did hea r his sha re in theglorious a chievement of the conquest of north ernK a lingam .

Before bringing the reign of Kulottunga to a close,

there is one more event of importance to be d iscussed

w hich took place during the la st yea r of his reign .

I t i s the conquest of G ang appadi, for the Chalukya s!ostensibly, by th e Hoys a la chi ef, Bitta Deva, helped by

his genera l Ganga Ra ja . This i s recorded in deta ilonly in inscriptions of A . D . 1116 and A . D . 1117, and theconquest could not have taken pla ce very much earl ier .Ganga Ra ja c la ims to have driven the Chola army

acros s the Ka veri , and having ous t ed Ad iyaman and

Nara simha Brahma . The genera l then occupied Ta lakad,the Chola capita l on the Kaveri . This wa s th e crowning

a ch ievement of a series of enterprises by the Mysor echiefs to shake off th e yoke of the Cho la s imposed

upon them over a century since, by another RajendraChola . Thenceforwa rd, the Chalukya boundary nomina l ly a t l ea st extend ed to Kongu, Nanga l i and Kayaturin the south . So fa r a s we know at present, Ku lottunga

’s forty - ninth yea r is the la test, and this would

bring his reign to an end in A . D . 11 18,just six y ea rs

before tha t of his riva l contempora ry which took place

in A . D . 1126 .

s ee . 58, Ins . at Ga ngaikonda Sol apuram,containing the G ah adwal

genea logy.

148 ANCIENT INDIA

new ones are the grea t men for the supervis ion

Of ward s (Kudumbu) , (2) the great men for the supervision of the fields ; (3) the great men numbering two

hundred ; (4) the great men for the supervision of the

village ; (5 ) the grea t men for supervis ing U dasina s

(a scetics) . These committees , together with the lea rned

Brahmans (Bhatta r) and other di st ingu ished men of

the vi l lage, const ituted th e vil lage a ssembly . We sometimes come a cros s the Grama Ken (chief Of the village) .There appear to have been individua l s in charge ofparticu la r wards of the vi l lage . The following is an

extract from an inscription at P erumbur nea r Madu

rantakam Of A . D . 1081 . The above (grant) wa s ordered

by Batta i Govindbhattar of Irayur (in charge of) Srimadhurantakach eri, Kunraku li Sem ayajiar of U ruppattfi r .

(in cha rge of Sri Pa rantakach ch eri; KattugaiNara ~

yana - kram avitta r of Nambur (in charge of) Sri Irumudiéola chcheri; Sri Krish na bh attar of Aranipuram (incha rge Of) Sri Sim h lantakach chéri; N arayana bh attar- 8a rvakratuvajapéyaya jiar Of Pippirai (in cha rge of)Srivira solach chéri, etc .

With reference to the re - survey undertak en in A .D.

1086, I have h a d to differ from th e la te Mr . Sriniva saRagh ava Aiyang ar a s to the interpreta tion of ‘ ca loulated

and‘ s ettled produce ’

l a na i/s a u cer an d gem /pammo

mg r!1 That these meant the ta x a s a ssessed and

tha t a s settl ed a fter experience,if not experiment

tha t such revisions and reductions of land revenuewere known in those days are in evidence in the following extra ct . ‘

TO (the god) Mahadeva Of (thetemple of) Ra j endra Sclisva ra , which Ara iyan Madhurantakan a lia s Ku lottung a -Sola - Kera l araj an ,

the lord

l Th ese were interpreted a s gros s produce and. th e governm ent

demand by the a ccompl ish ed author of The F orty yea r s ' P rogres s ,but h e wa s so good a s to admit in a. kind letter th a t it wa s pos sibl e‘ he wa s a l l wrong

,a s h e took th e in forma tion from Dr . Burnel l

P a lceography and did not consul t the in s criptions first h and .

RESETTLEMENT 149

of Mulanj r‘

ir in Mannin adn , a dis trict of Sol amanda lam

had caused to be bui l t a t Kottara a h a s Munimudi

Sol ana l l fir , in Nanjinadu (a sub - d ivis ion) of Uttama

Solava lanadu, a distri ct of Raja raj a Pandinadu,sha l l

be pa id . for the expenses requ ired by this god,from

the thirt ieth yea r (of m y reign) forty - five and a ha lf,

three - twentieths , and on e - fortieth , Mada i , by the

vi llage of Andfi vkkudi in the same Nada . Accord ingto (the s e t tl ement of) pa yments (tha t h ad taken placein the seventh yea r a fter the a ccession of Raj endraStvla D eva ) , (this) tax wa s pa id instead of the (origina l)land tax of s eventy - nine Kasu and three- hundred and

twenty - four ka lam of paddy . The previous name of

thi s village having been cancel led and the name ofRaj endra S

ana lh‘

ir (having been substituted) , l et i t beentered in the revenue regist er (vari) a s a tax freeDevadana from the thirtie th y ea r (of my reign) includ ing

rents,interna l revenue

, an d sm a l l rights such a s Urk

ka lanju, Kumarakachanam , the fi shing rent, the tax on

l ooms , the rent on th e goldsmiths, Madaikr‘

ili, Dasavandam, and The government shewedi tself otherwise interested in rura l prosperity by th eestabli shment of an agricu l tura l settl ement of twen tyfour familie s a t Tiruvalang adu .

2 The Tiruvanaikkaval

inscription of the year A .D . 11 17 sta te s tha t ‘

as these

four and three - quart ers (ve l i) of land had been l y ing

fu l l of holes and sand a s uncu ltivated dry land , untilthe forty - seventh year of this k ing, we (the a ssembly)a greed to se l l the lan d to Munayan Arumolidévan a lia s

Vil lavaraiyan for purcha se money of 4, 516 q

16 good kasu

current at the time .

About this time land wa s sel l in gin the Udaivfirpaliam Ta luka ,

not very far off, at twentykasu per vel i 3 ‘ Having dug and recla imed the four and

thre e quarter (vel i) of land ,he h a s to supply for these four

1 South Ind . In a,vol . iii, pt. 11, p . 102.

9 No . 65 ,vol . iii, pt. ii, South Ind . Ins .

3 Sou th Ind ; Ins ,vol . iii

, pt. ii, p . 152 .

150 ANCIENT INDIA

and three - quarters (vé li) of land to the temple trea surytwenty - three ka lam ,

two tuni and one kurup i of paddyby the m arakka l ca l led a fter Rajakés ari viz . five ka lam forea ch vé lia t the rate of dry land , etc .

’ l Such are thefew glimpses we get into the revenue arrangements ofthose days . The standa rd coin now appea rs to bethe mada i , sometimes ca l led m adhurantakan madai.This wa s equa l to two kasu and to five and a ha l fka lams of paddy

,the price of which va ried sharply ac

cord ing to loca l ity and to time . Th e tax m adaikkfi li,

a s a m inor tax, perhaps refers to the seigniorage uponcoining . The standard dry mea sure wa s the marakkal ,

either rajakés ari a s above or arumolidévan , both of

the days of Rajaraja ; and the Ekanath mea sure for gheeor arumolidevanu lakku . There i s mention a l so ofcana ls and roads, as in other Chola inscriptions, and

of the us e of the rod of sixteen spans for mea suringland . More than a l l , thi s Kulottung a

s fame stoodhigh a s the ‘ Sungandavirta Chola

(the Chola whoabolished toll s ) . Tha t he wa s rega rded with so muchgra t itude for this act shews tha t th e tax wa s oppres sive,and tha t the ruler wise and statesman - l ike . Thi s one

act gave him a place in the popu la r esteem a long with

the ‘ good Chola s of yore ’

Kulottung a’

s ag e wa s a lso one of grea t rel igious

and l iterary reviva l . In his reign flourished the

Va ishnava reformer Ram anuja , who h ad to betakehimself to Mysore to avoid the di splea sure of Kulottunga . Jayamkondan wa s his Kavich akravarti and

possibly the commenta tor of the Silapp a dhikamm,

Adiyarkkuna l lar did not l ive much later, a s he quotestwice from Jayamkondan , once a cknowledging the

authority by name and another time by th e simplemention Kavichakravarti. This woul d have been far

from clear, if made much after Jayamkondan’

s t ime as

1 South Ind. Ina , vol . iii, pt . ii, p . 17 1 .

152 ANCIENT INDIA

We now come to the decl ine of the Chola Power .

With the death of Kulottunga the period of the

grea t Chola s comes pra ctica lly to a close . As a lreadysta ted, he himself h ad to acquiesce in the loss of theGangavadi country His successors, even the most

capable of them , cou ld ba rely maintan their positioninta ct for just a century and no more . A l l the timethe Chalukya empire wa s a s much on the decl ine ; and

it i s only when the new powers, tha t rose out of thea shes of this empire, began th eir aggressions that theposit ion of th e Cho la s became seriously endangered .

Vikrama chola ,Aka lanka , Tyag a samudra : Ku lottung a

was succeeded by his fourth son Vikram a ,who wa s

viceroy a t Vengi on beha lf of his fa ther . He seems tohave been a wa rlike prince , and eng aged ea rly inthe wars of th is fa ther . He distingu ished himself first

aga inst ‘

Telunga Bhima’

of Kola nu (Bhima Nayaka

of E llore) . He is a l so sa id to h ave burnt the countryof Ka linga and this must have r eference to somea chievement of his during his fa ther’s inva sions of

Ka lingam .

l He wa s then appointed viceroy of Vengiin succession to h is two elder brothers who precededhim in the viceroya l ty . It wa s from this h igh

position tha t he proceeded to the empire a lmost at

the end of his fa ther ’s re ign , in A . D . 1118 . Thelatest known da te of his reign so fa r is his seventeen th year . His reign seems to have been otherwi s e

uneventfu l . He continued th e po l icy of his fath er

a nd ma inta in ed court on the same enlightened l ines .He is credited w i th h aving a ccepted th e dedica tion

of the Ka liizga ttupp a ra h i? by the author Jaymgondan ,

who in the work ce lebra ted the exp loits of Ka runakara Tondaman on the one s ide, and the grea tness of

his ma ster on the oth er . He is bel ieved to have

1 Epigraphist’

s Report for 1906, sec . 1 8 .

2 Ku lottanga Cholanu ld .

KULoTTUNG A II 153

been a Va i shnava , and it seems to be this mona rchwho i s mentioned by Kamban a s Tyag am avinodan .

It wa s perhaps in his reign tha t Ramanuja ,the

Va ishnava apostle , returned to his na tive country , a fterhaving gone into a l ong period of exil e .

Ku lottunga II Raijakes a rivarm an , Tribh avanacha-kra

vartin : Vikram a’

s son Ku lottung a II succeeded his

fa ther . His initia l da te h a s not yet been a sc erta ined withcer ta inty , though his la test regna l year i s the fourteen th yea r . He is the Kumara Kulottunga of

litera ture . He h as been celebra ted by his tutor and

court poet, Ottakkfittan , in more than one poem

of his . It i s in thi s author'

s K-u lotm'

ng a ch-ola n Uld

and Ta kica yd gupp a rmgif tha t the fa ct i s mentioned , with

some l ittle ela tion , tha t th e Vishnu sh rine at Chidamb a ram wa s removed and the image thrown into the

sea . It wa s t his image tha t wa s taken over by Rama

nuja a nd establ ished at Tirupa t i . After a reign of

fourteen yea rs he wa s succeeded by his son Raj a raja

II . The la test known regna l year of his is fifteen .

He wa s succeeded by Rajadhiraja II . Yea r thirteen i shi s la test known yea r . The period between A . D . 1118

and 11 78 i s occupied by the reigns of these four ruler s .

Their period wa s one of considerable lit erary a ctivity .

Sékkilar , Kamban , Ottakkattan ,P uga lendi and possibly

Adivarkkuna l lar are names tha t any age might wel l

be proud of . It was in the reign of the la st of thes e

tha t a civi l wa r began in the Pandya dominions and

involved in i t the Chola s and the Ceylon es e . There

were two riva l s for the crown of the Pandya s a t

Madura . P arakramabahu th e Grea t , king of Ceylon ,

e spou sed the cause of Pa rakrama Pandya ; while his

r iva l Ku la s ékh ara h ad the sympa thy of the Chola for

th e time being . Some, at l ea st , of the Chola feuda

t ories r ega rded the presence of the Ceylonese a s a

1 Kamba Rdmdyanam, I'

uddha hhdnd am , l ll arutlmppa ql a lam,58 .

154 ANCIENT INDIA

menace to be got rid of a t any cost , and on e of them,

P a l lavaraiyar son of Edirili Sola Sam bhuvarayar, dis

tinguis hed himself in thi s affa 1r . Lankh apura Danda

natha ,the Ceylonese genera l , captured and plundered

Ramesva ram , and took Tondi and Pasa and ma rched

upon Ma dura . Meanwhile th eir protege P arakrama

Pandya wa s murder ed by his riva l , who drove hisson a fugitive for shelter . The approa ch of theCeylonese wa s opposed by Kula sekh ara , who wa s

defea ted and driven into th e Chola country for pro

tection . The Ceylon genera l having fetched Vira

Pandya , the son of the ir a lly , pla ced him on thethrone, and advanced upon the Chola country i tself .

It wa s then tha t the Chola genera l, by a supremeeffort, managed to compel the Ceylon army to retrea t .

This war wa s con t inued la ter on in the reign in beha lfof Vikram a Pandya

,th e s on of the former Chola a l ly

Kula s ékh ara . The Chola army advanced th is t imeright up to Madura , put Vira Pandya and hi s childr ento death, and took possession of Madura . Havingerected a p i l la r of victory there

,they gave the kingdom

over to their a l ly and returned . It i s this a chievement tha t wa s the cause of the a ssumption of thetitle ‘ the conqueror of Madura and Ilam

’ by Rajadhiraja II and his son Kulottunga III la t er on .

Kulottunga chola III , P arakés ari, Tribhuvanachola

Vira ra jendra , and Konérinmaikondan , A . D . 1 178 to

1216 : Kulottunga III a l ready di stinguished himself inthe war of the Pandya succession in the reign of hisfa ther ; but he h ad aga in to intervene in the a ffa i rs

of the Pandya kingdom . Before the nineteenth yea r

of his reign he had to overthrow the son of ViraPandya who wa s abl e to restore himself by oust ing theChola protege Vikrama Pandya . This time the Chola

not only defea ted him a t Nettut , but a l so put to dea th

1 Epigraphist’s Report for 1899, secs . 23—39 .

156 ANCIENT INDIA

a host of the feuda tories of a l l degrees of Vikra

maditya . IVh at was wanted for the a ctua l dism em

berment of the empire wa s a civi l war, or interna ldissentions ending in a usurpa tion . This wa s j ustthe course tha t events took in this pa rt of India

a t the t ime . Muhammad of Ghazni h ad come and gone,and the Ra j pu ts were giving th e ful l est play to theirpetty j ea lousies . Simila r fee l ings a ctua ted th e princi

pa l Sirdars of the empire in th e Dekh an , exceptfor a family or two of loya l ists . The weakne ss and

ineptitude of th e successors of Vikram aditya led tothe Ka lach firya usurpa tion, and the contest la ter onbetween this dyna sty and the loy a l ist genera l Bamma

(Brahma ) . These changes re lieved the Y adava s and

Hoys a la s of their feel ings of loya lty, and they beganto settle their frontiers by wa r . A s the Hoys a la s , und erone of their grea t rul ers, were thus fu l ly occupied inca rving out for themselves an empire of their own , theChola frontier on it s most vu lnerabl e side wa s sa fefrom aggressive movements t i ll la te in the re ign ofKulottunga III . The dea th of Vira Bell a la II took placejust a few yea rs ea rl ier than tha t of hi s Chola con

temporary . His successor N ara simha II fel t his Kri shnafronti er s o sa fe tha t h e cou ld turn his a t tention toth e south where ma tters were d eveloping fa st for hisintervention . It wa s in th e reign of Ku lottunga IIItha t the Tamil G ramma r Namu

il wa s written by its

Ja in author Bhava Na ndin .

Tribhuvanach ch akrava rtin Raja raja III, Ra jakes a riy arman , succeeded to the throne of the Chola s in theyear A . D . 1216 . His la test known year i s the twentyeight-h yea r and in a l l probabil ity his reign came to

an end in A . D . 1213 - 4 . At the outset of hi s re ign

there seems to have be en a contest, a l though there i s

n othing known a s to its particu la r chara cter . The fa ct,

1 l t‘

pigraphia Indica ,vol . vi, p . 281 . South Ind . Ina , vol . iii,No . 62 .

HCY SALA INTERVENTION 15 7

however, tha t Na ra s imha Hoysa la fel t it necessary toadvance a s far a s Trichinopo ly

,and even furth er

tha t he felt ju stified in a ssuming th e t it le of benefac

tor of th e Chola wou ld warrant th e inference tha t there

was a c ivil di s turbance of some sort. It wou ld seema s though the P andya s were m oving into th e Cholakingdom in revenge for the humilia tion to which theyh ad been subj ec ted so la tely by Ku lottunga III .

Na ra simha II promptly ma rched forth in support ofhi s a l ly , the more readi ly a s the P andya s , at lea st thesect ion hosti le to the Chola s, found ready supportamong the Kongus . He rea ched the h eart of th eCho la empir e, compelled the P andy a s to retrea t and

even cowed the reca l citrant ba rons of the empireinto submiss ion , and then returned to his dominions .Thes e transacti ons have to be asc ribed to a period before

A . D . 1223 - 4 . The next time he intervened wa s about

th e y ea r A . D . 1232 . Thi s time he came having hea rdtha t Raj a raja wa s a prisoner in the hands of the

Kadava chief Kapperunjingadeva , a s he styl ed him self

la ter on . This P a l l ava ch ief came into promin ence

during the Pandya inva sion and a s wa s only too proba

ble, a s a consequence thereo f. His head - quarters were

at Sendamanga lam in th e South A rcot di s trict . l

Na ra simha moved down a s quickl y a s before and

r estored the Chola to his own . Two of his genera l swere ordered to continue opera tions t i l l th e dis turb

ances in the coun trv should be put an end to , and a s

wa s to be expected they ca rried ou t his orders so

w ell tha t th e re s tored Chola continued to ru l e um

di sturbed t il l about th e rea r A D . 1242—3 . But the

storm wa s ga thering a l l th e s ame . The Te lugu Chola

Tikka ,otherwise G andagopa la ,

wa s inclined to move

down from his capi ta l a t Nellore . Marava rm an Sun

da ra Pandya wa s advancing from the south , and

l Epigrapha'

, Indica . vol ii, p . 163 .

158 ANCIENT INDIA

Kopperunjinga wa s ready to take advanta ge of i t a l l

in the interior . The confus ion wa s worse confoundedby a riva l in the person of Rajendra Choladeva III .

Kopperunjinga a ssumes roya l titl es, Sundara Pandya

crowns him s lf at Mudikondasolapuram , and Vira Somesvara of Mysore prides himself upon h aving restoredthe Chola . The la st of these, for somet ime had a

capita l at Kannanur near Srirangam , and the Pand

ya s and the Hoysa la s fight in thi s vi cinity . Thefeudatory Kopperunjing a bea t s back the northerninvader, and establi shes him self independently in thenorthern pa rts of the Chola em pire .

‘ It w ere longto te l l

, and s ad to tra c e ea ch step from ruin to disgrace .

’ The empi re tha t the grea t Chola s bui lt at

so grea t an expense of labour and skil l thus pa ssedingloriousl y out of exi stence through the inept itude ofa ruler or perhaps two

,who wh i le occupying the

position cou ld not command the resources , ei ther of

ability in themselves or the saga city to find an d us e

it in others . This i s qu i te the way with ea rth lyempires and the Chola empire cou ld not be an ex

ception ; but th b must be sa id to the credit of i t sfounders and ma inta iners tha t they did their workwel l and wisely so far a s they cou ld—nay so far a s

m an cou ld .

PART II—THE CHOLA ADM INISTRATIONl

(A . D . 900 to 1300)

HAVING a ttempted, in the pr evious part to give a

connected account of th e Chola empire , let me nowproceed to bring togeth er wha t l i tt le i s known of

their system of administra tion .

To fo l l ow in th e wake of Sir Wil liam L ee—Warner,

I sha l l begin with th e unit of adminis tra tion of theCholas , which wa s the Vil lage - community

,composed

either of. a single vil lage , or oftener of a group ofvil lages . This union wa s ca l led in Tamil ‘ kurram ’

PEDIGREE‘

OF THE CHOLAS

1 , Vij ayal aya . (Pa rakés a riva rm an , thirty- four yea rs . )

2 . Aditya I .

3 . P a rantaka . (A . D. 907 to circa

P rince

Ariku l akés a ri.

5 . G andaradittan 6 . Arin j aya .

956—7 , Madhuraikonda -a n_d Rajakés ari.

9. Maduran taka 7 . P a rantaka II

Pa rakésari P a rakés a ri, Sund ara Ch ol a

U ttama ch ol a and destroyer of Vira P a ndya .

969—70 and 16 yea rs .

Kundavvaiya r, 10 . R aj arfij a I

m . Pa l lava raiya r (A . D . 985 to circa A .D .

Vandyadévar

a,th e Gangaikonda Ch ol a

2to circa A .D. 1042

13 . Ra jendra 15 . Vira rfij énd ra Amm angadévi,m . Raja raja I

(1050 to 1062 (1062—3 or 1063—4 , 1022 to 1061—2

to A . D . circa or on e yea r l a ter .

16 . Adh iraj a rh j éndra . A daugh ter,m .

Vikram aditya VI .

Madhurantaki, m . 17 . Ra jendra Ch ol a'

,oth erwis e

Kulottung a (A . D . 1070 to

Mumm adiCh ol a ,V'i'

IGh ocl a , 18 . Vikram a Ch ol a

viceroy of Vengi, viceroy of Vengi, (A . D . 11 18 to cir ca

A . D. 107 7 . 1078 to 1088- 9 .

19 . Kn lottung a Ch ol a II

(1123 circa to

has of commencement of ea ch ruler are th os e of th e

nomica l ly verified ones of Prof . Kielhorn while

armin a l da tes a re b a sed upon th e l a st regna l yea rs

availa b l e from epigraphica l sources . Th e n am es

3mona rch s th at ru l ed a re numb ered .

20 . Raja raj a II

(1146 circa to

21 . Raj adhiraj a II

(A . D. 1 17 1 to

22 . Kulo‘ttunga Ch ola II

(A . D. 1178 to

23» Raj a rfija III

(1216 circa to

24 . Ra jendra Chol a III

(A .D . 1245 to

25 . Tribhuvana VI ra DriveA n 1 22 1 - 9 .

RURAL ADM INI STRATION 15 9

(or sub - divi s ion ) . Ea ch one of these sub - di v is ionsh ad an a s sembly of its own ca l led the m ah as abh a .

This a ssem bly , though subj ect to supervision bv th e

div is iona l Officers or intendants (Adhikarin s ) , exerci sedan a lmost sovereign authori ty in a l l the departments

Of rura l a dministra t ion . To i l lustra te this rura l ad

ministra t ion , I sha l l take a s a Spec imen the Vi l lageof Ukka l nea r Mamandur on the road between Conj eeveram and The fourteen pub l i shed in

scription s from this p la ce give us a better insight intothe rura l a dministra tion than any other equa l num ber Icould choose . I extra ct therefore, from the recordsthe fol lowing a ccount Of th e powers and duti es of thea ssemb ly

Ukka l 1 wa s in P agfi r nadu sub - division Of the Ka liyurkottam in the Tonda—Or the Jayamgonda Chola—mandalam . A ccording to other records Ukka l belonged to it sOwn sub - divi s ion Of the same kettam (Sans - kOshtaka ) .

NO . 1 . The a ssembly rece ived 200 ka lanju Of goldfrom Tiruvikram a Bha tta a lia s Brahm adhiraja r , one

among the commissioners O f U ttaraniéruch aturvedi

m ang a lain (U tta rama l lur) for feeding twelve Brahmans

before th e god Of P uvanimanikkavinnaga r received his

noon - day Offerings .’

NO . 2 . Sta tes tha t the a ssembly received 550 ku l i Ofland mea sured by ‘ the gradua ted rod

, made over to

them by Narayana Raja sim h a , a na tive of the Cholacountry, to supply the god with four na l i Of r ice

da i ly .

‘ Having received th e revenue of thi s land and

having exempted it from taxes for a s long a s the

moon and sun exist , we , the a s sembly , engraved this

on stone .

NO . 3 . Records tha t a certa in Perran A dittan Ofthe Chola country purcha sed two pieces Of land , thefirst from a private person and the second from the

l Sou th Ind . In a,vol . iii, pt. 1.

160 ANCIENT INDIA

vil lage assembly, and made over both pieces to the

vil lagers for ma inta ining a flower -garden .

‘ The sam eperson had purcha sed from u s , the a ssembly, for a

flower - garden 501 ku l i of land mea sured by the g radua ted rod to the west of the irriga t ion channe l, etc .

‘ Having received in fu l l th e purchase—money and therevenue Of th e land and having exempted theflower - garden and (the land a ssigned) for the ma intenance Of the ga rden from taxes for as long a s th e

moon and the sun exist,we

,the a s sembly, engraved

this on stone .

’ ‘ Having been present in the a ssemblyand having heard th is order, I, the arbitra tor, Ayir

attunurruvan a lia s Brahm agunakh ara Vidhyas th ana

Manga laditya Sam an ja sapriyan ,the son Of Nalayiravan

Wrote this . ’

NO . 4 . Kannan Atari Of the Chola country an d

a servant of Raja raj a ,who got a well sunk and a

cistern constructed by the roadside in the name Of his

roya l ma ster, made a ssignments Of paddy for the up

keep Of this charity . In order to supply th is paddy,we

,th e a ssembly , of this v illage having received from

him the rev enue and th e purcha s e -money,and having

exempted th e land from taxes, etc .

No. 5 . We have received, kadi Of paddy from

Sadayan . We , th e a ssembly , sha l l clo se (the sluice of)the tank (to col l ect wa ter for irriga tion ) and sha l lcause 500 kad i Of paddy to be supplied every year

a s interest on those kadi Of paddy . The greatmen elected for th e yea r (the Perum akka l ) sha l l cause

the paddy to be suppl ied .

No . 6 . We, the grea t a ssembly of Siva ch fi lamani

ch aturvédim ang a lam , includ ing the grea t men elected

for (the management of) cha rit ies dur ing thi s yea rin our Vil lage and the commissioners (in cha rge

Of the tem pl e) Of Sattan in our vil lage . ’ They m ake

a grant to the temple of Mahasasta .

‘ The commis

sioners Of the temple Of Sattan sha l l protect thi s

162 ANC IENT INDIA

two are completed between the s ixteenth and thetwenty - third y ea r of my reign, sha l l become the

property of the vil lages and sha l l be liable to be soldby the inhabitants of those vil lage s to the exclusion

Of the (defaul t ing) landholders . A lso (the land of)those who have not pa id the taxes due from vil lagesfor three years (of which) , two are completed , fromthe twenty- fourth yea r of my reign sha l l be l iable tobe sold by the inhabitants of those vi l lages to theexclusion Of the (defaulting) landholders .

According l y, having been written by the roya l secretary,Rajakésa rina lh

ir Ki lavan, and having been approved of

by the chief secreta ry Mummudichola Brahmamarayan ,

and Mummudichola P r

xs an (Bhoj a) , this order wa s

engrossed from d ictat ion on th e 143rd day of thetwenty- fourth (yea r of my

No. 10 . We have sol d and executed a deed of sa le

for (i) ku l i mea sured by th e rod Of s ixteenspans beginning (to mea sure from th e west Of theland which wa s the common property of the assembly

(i i) five levers to the ea st of this land , etc . Havingreceived in ful l th e purcha se -money and the revenue Of

the land , we, th e grea t a ssembly, sold i t free of taxes

and executed a deed Of sa le . Having been presentin the assembly and having hea rd the order

,I,the

a ccountant and arbitra tor of this vil lage, Porriku li

Ka lidevan a lia s Irandayirattunurruvan wrote th is .’

No. 11 . the great a ssembly, includ ing the menelected for the yea r, and the grea t men elected forthe supervision of th e tanks , a ssigned a t the reques t

of Chakrapani Nambi . ‘ Ha l f a mea sure Of

land in the fresh cl earing (Puduttiruttam on the westOf the Vi l lage of Sediambakkam .

NO . 12 . We, the a s semb lv of Sivach iTlamanichatur

Védimanga lam , (ordered as fol lows) -‘ TO the god

of Puvanimanikka vish nug rih am in our vi llage sha l lbelong as a divine gift (devabhoga ) , th e vil la ge ca lled

P OWER S OF THE AS SEMBLY 163

Sodiamb akkam , etc . “b sha l l not be entit led tolevy any kind Of tax from this village . (th e grea tm en) elected for the y ea r. we , (the great m en) electedfor the supervision of the tanks . an d we . (the grea t

men) e lected for the supervision Of the ga rdens , sha l lnot be entitled to c la im at the ord er of the a ssembly

forced la bour (vet-ti) , vedi l i , val akkanam,from the in

habitant s of this vi llage . If a crime or sin becomespublic , th e god (temple authorities) a lone sha l l punishthis Vil lage .

NO . 18 . A cu ltiva tor named Sena i granted one pa tti

(San s . nivartana Sq . h a s ta s or hands ) from theproceed s Of which wa te r and fire - pans had to be sup

pl ied to a mantapa frequent-ed b y Brahmans . Th egrea t men who manage th e a ffa irs of thi s vil l age in

ea ch y ea r sha l l supervise thi s cha rity

This serie s of extra cts , from inscription s ranging intime through three centuries . s ay from A . D . 800 to

1100,sh ow s clearly how rura l tract s were governed

during those centuries . The vi l lage a ssembly were theso le g overnment of th e vil lage (or village - unions) in a l l

i t s depa rtment s . They were the absolute proprietors ofthe v i l la ge lands . \Vhen fresh cl earings were mad e th e

a ssembly became proprie tor of the n ewly a cquired lands .

t en lands were thrown out Of cul tiva t ion , the Sabhatook over the lands to give them to others , who woul d

pa y the s tipula ted taxes p er ku l i . It wa s the bus ines s

Of th e a s s embl y to see tha t the ac tua l cul tivator wa snot molested in the pos sessi on of hi s holding . F a i l ingin their duty ,

‘ the g rea t men Of the year' la id them

selves Open to be fined by the genera l a ssembl y . The

a ssembly received deposits of money and grants of l andfor charitable purposes , and administered the trusts

b y a board of commissioners, spec ia l ly appointed for

the purpose from yea r to year . They Often soldcommon vil lage land s for these purposes, and receivedin return the purcha se -money and an additiona l sum ,

164 ANCIENT INDIA

from the int erest of which the a ssembly had to pay

the sta te dues upon the a l iena ted lands, made taxfree by themselves . They received a l l the taxes, and

made independent grants of vi l lages tax - free for purposes of charity, and could wa ive a l l customa ry cla imson landholders . They could take over the landsof vi l lagers for defaul t of payment of taxes , the col

l ection of which, however, appea rs to have been made

with grea t elastici ty . This is not a l l ; they cou ld eventransfer jurisdiction over Vi llages to other corpora tions,such a s temple - author ities . Where they did not fee lthemselves competent to interfere they sought ins truction from head - qua rt ers

,a s in No . 9 quoted above,

where the lands concerned were thos e made over too ther proprietors . This record i s a copy of a circu la ro rd er issued by Raja raja th e Grea t . It wa s dra fted

by the roya l secreta ry on the verba l instruct ions ofthe emperor him se lf, and a ppro ved of by the chiefsecreta ry (Olainayakam ) , Srikishn a rama a lia s Mum

m udichola B ra hm amarayan , and P erundaram Trayiravan

P a l lavaiyan a lia s Mummudicoh la Posan (Bhoja ) , and

then despa tched to th e m ahas abh a s . These s abha s

had trea suries of their own, a s would a ppea r fromthe inscriptions of Raj a raja at Tanjore which refer

to up- country trea suries .

The gr ea t a ssembly of the village,or karram wa s

d ivided into severa l commit tees . There were certa inlythree—the great men elected for the yea r (a committee

of the a ssembly for genera l management) , the grea tmen elected for the supervision of the tanks (another

committee to adm inister the tank—fund and see them

in good condition) , and those el ec ted for the supervi

s ion of ga rdens . There were besides the great men

in charge of the temp l es , charit ies , etc . The work

of this a ssembly wa s subj ect to supervis ion by theimperia l divi siona l officers (adhikarin s ) , often a ssoci

a ted with the divi s iona l commanders of the forces

166 ANCIENT INDIA

on the loom, vélikkaSu,

the tax on coll ecting rents

(tanda l) , the sonsh ip of the right - hand and the lefthand and the other interna l revenue, which wa s being

collected at the ra te of twenty - five kasu per

ka lam (of paddy) h ad been entered in the register,and made over to this temple exclusive ly from theyear which wa s opposite to (i.e . fo llowed a fter) thes eventh year of the reign of the Emperor Sri Virara jéndradéva . Accordingly Kukkan fir a

dévdana’

this god in Tflynadu sub - divis ion of P erumban appadi

h a s to pay thirty - eigh t and a qua rter kasu or at

the ra te of four ka lam of paddy by the Standa rdmea sure (Rajakés ari) per kasu, 153 ka lams of paddy ;an d Mandiram in the same nadu h a s to pay twenty - sixand a quarter kaSu or 1 53 ka lam s of paddy ; a ltogethers i xty - nve kasu or 260 ka lams of paddy were a l lottedto this temp l e for expenses not previous ly provided forand shou ld b e given from the third yea r (of the king

’sreign) . A large committe e then a s sembled and madea llotments from thi s revenue for va rious heads of

temple expendi ture . This is the kind of supervis ionto which the a ssembly of a subdivis ion wa s subj ect .

Otherwise in a l l ma tters of fi sca l administra tion the

vil lage a ssemblies were pra ctica l ly supreme .

In a record of the t ime of Aditya II Kar ikala ,i t i s

stated tha t the village of Sirriyarrur h ad been granted

a s a dévadh ana and a s a b rahm adéya in the twenty - firs t

year of Tondamanarm r - Tunj ina - Udaiyar to the Sabha

of Puduppakkam in the same nadu and kt‘

nttam , on

cond ition tha t the donee made over a certa in quantity

of the produce of the vil lage and a fixed sum of

money in gold every yea r to th e temple of Mahadeva

at Tirumalpéru . The next yea r the boundaries of th e

vil lage were fixed and a document was drawn up.

But th e vi l lage wa s not entered in the a ccounts a s

a dévadhana and b rahmadéya . The mistake wa s recti

fied in the fourth y ear of P arantaka the next ruler

JUST ICE 167

and the sabh a were mak ing over the stipu la tedproduce and gold to the temp le . In the thi rty - sixthyear of th e same ru ler an addi tiona l i tem wa s m adepayable from the vil lage to the temple an d enteredin the a ccounts . The vi l lage a ssemb ly were mis ap

propria ting th is item and th e temple authori tie s m adea compla int to the king while he wa s a t Conj eeva ram . The king sen t for the pa rties and sa ti s fy inghimself a fter inqui ry , fined th e a ssem bly and restoredthe gran t to the temple .

Justic e : In the administrati on of justic e the vil lagea ssembly exercised equa l power , if not even more .

XVe have a few inscriptions in which such exercise ofpower i s clea r ly on record . The norma l pun i shmentfor cau sing dea th wa s

, of course,death

,a s shown

by some of th e Chola inscriptions in My sore territ ory ; 1 but the puni shment depended u sua l ly upon themerits of the ca se . In three instances on record,

dea th wa s caused without intent ion on the part of

the cu lprit and owing to pure a ccident . The Governorand the a ssembly which he convened for th e purpose

in one instanc e, and the latter a lone in the others

sat in judgement and pa ssed sentence tha t a s deathwa s cau sed unintentiona l l y , th e extreme pena lty ofthe law shou ld not be meted out to th e cu lprit ;a l l the same the a ccused shou ld not go soot - free .

He wa s ,therefore, ord ered to burn a perpe tua l lamp

in th e vi llage temp le for which he made over to the

vil lage a ssembly sixteen cows . Thi s fine of sixteen

cows,which wou ld have been of the va lue of a qua rter

of a year’s ma in tenanc e of an ord inary family , must

have been rath er heavy b ut wou ld certa in ly h ave

a cted a s a powerfu l deterrent aga inst c rimes caused

by negl igence . In a l l three ca s es on record dea th

wa s due to shoo ting a ccidents .

2 A merchant h ad a

1 Ha ggadede‘

vanakd te 18, Epigrap hica Ca rnd taka ,vol . iv .

2 Sec . 26,Govt. Epigraphis t’

s Report for 1900.

168 ANCIENT INDIA

concubine on whom another a ttempted an outrage .The lat ter wa s stabbed to dea th by the merchant .

He could not be prosecu ted for murder and pa id a

fine like the others aga inst whom the charge wa s

neglect . ‘ It i s not out of p la ce here to rema rktha t the jury system which is beli eved to be the specia lbirthrigh t of Engl ishm en and spoken of genera l ly a s

unknown in India,i s found to have been in fu l l swing.

In the first instance above given , the governor, i t wa s ,tha t took cognizance of the ca se first ; but he did notfind himself competent to proceed without the a ss embly ;wherea s in the la t ter ca ses the a ssembly proceed ed

without even a reference to the governor .

Such were th e powers of the vi l lage a ssemblies inthose days . Considering the extent of the country and

the want of rapid communica tion, and considering tha tthe a ssemblies took grea t interest in the di scha rge of

their manifold functions, (a s the many references to

the a s s embly having ‘ met withou t a va cancy ’ wou ldshow) , there i s no ga insaying the fa ct tha t th e ad

ministra tion wa s efificient and well - suited to the times .

The Assembly for each rura l unit wa s constituted a s

fo l l owsThe constitution of the a ssembly : F rom certa ininscriptions of the time of the Chola King Pa ran

taka ? we are enabled to form an idea of the rura l ad

ministrat ion in those days not only , but even of

ea rlier times . The particula r records referred to are of

the na ture of instruct ions la id down by P arantaka and

exp la in how the system tha t h ad come down froman cient times wa s worked . The obj ect of these regulations being tha t the ‘ wicked men might perish

,whil e

good men m ight prosper ’

, we hav e to take it tha t they

are of the na ture of suppl ementary regula tions .

l Epigraphis t’s Report for 1907 , See . 42, this a ls o contains seven

oth er in stances of accidents .

2 Epigraphis t’s Report for 1899 , Secs . 68—73 .

1 70 ANCIENT INDIA

Only such a s are conversant with bu sines s

and conduct themselves a ccording to sa cred

rules sha l l b e chosen ;Thos e who have a cquired their wea lth byhonest means, whose mind s are pure and who

have not been on any of thes e committ ees forthe la st three years sha l l a lso be chosen .

DISQUAL IF ICATIONS.

1 . Those who have been on any of these committees but have not submitted their accounts and theirrela t ions Specified below .

(1 ) The sons of the elder and younger sisters ofmothers .

(2) The sons of their pa terna l aunts and ma ter

n a l uncle s .

(3 ) The brothers of their mothers .

(4) The brothers of their fa thers .

(5) Their brothers .

(6) Their fa thers - in - law .

(7 ) The brothers of thei r wives .

(8 ) The hu sbands of their sisters .

(9) The sons of their sis ters .

(10) The sons - in - l aw .

(11) Their fa thers .

(12) Their sons .

2 . Those aga inst whom il l ic it sexual intercourse or

the first four of the five grea t s ins a re recorded, namely,kil ling a Brahman , drink ing intoxicating l iquors , theft,committin g adu l tery wi th the wife of a spiritua l teacher,and a ssocia ting with any one gui lty of those crimes .

A l l the various rela tions of these a s specified in

s ection 1 .

3 . Those tha t were excluded , perhaps per sona l ly :

(1) Those who have been outca st for a ssociat ion

(wi th low peopl e) ti l l they should have performed the expia tory ceremonies .

MODE OF ELECT ION 171

(2) Those who are foolha rdy

(3 ) Those who h ad stol en or plundered the property of others .

4 . Those who we re exc luded for li fe :

(1 ) Those who h a d taken forbidden dishe s and

become pure by e.xpia tion .

(2) Thos e who h ad committed sins and havebecome pure by expia tion .

(3 ) Those tha t h ad become vil lage pests and

s imila rl y pure .

(4) Those gui lty of sexua l intercourse and purified l ikew i se .

Al l these were exclud ed in the election,and the

other qua l ified ca ndida te s h ad their names entered inth e pot- ti ckets s ent with a covering ticket sta ting th e

actua l number from ea ch wa rd . A ful l meeting of thevil lage a s s embly , includ ing th e y oung and O ld , wa s thenca l l ed for th e purpose . A l l the tem ple pri ests

,in the

village on the day, were to a ttend without excepti on

and be sea ted a long with the a ss emb ly, in the villa geha l l . In the midst of th e temple prie s ts one of them ,

the O ldes t , s tood up and lifted an empty pot to be

seen by a l l those present . Any young boy who knows

nothing about the m atter hands over one of thepa ck ets received from the wa rds . The contents of the

pa cke t a re th rown into the empty pot and well shaken .

F rom th i s pa cket one t icket is taken by the boy a nd

handed over to the standing pries t , th e a rbi tra tor . Thela tter receives it on the pa lm of his hand with his

five fingers Open . He then rea ds out the nam e on theticket . This ticket i s r ead aga in by a l l th e priests in

the ha l l . The name thus read is then pu t down a nd

a ccepted . Similarly, one m an wa s chosen for ea ch of

the wa rd s .

Of the thir ty person s thus chosen , those who h ad

previously been on the ga rden supervision (committee) ,a nd those who a re advanced in learning and those

ANC IENT INDIA

who are advanced in age sha l l be chosen for the committee of annua l supervi s ion . Of the res t twelve sha l l

be taken for the ga rde n supervision a nd the rema in ingsix sh a l l form the tank supervi s ion (comm it te e) . The

las t two committees sha l l be chosen a fter an ora l

expression of opinion . The grea t m en who a re members O f these three committees sha l l hold Office for fu l lthree hundred and sixty days and then retire . If any

one who is on the committees is found guil ty of any

offence,he sha l l be removed (at once) . F or appointing

the committees a fter these ha ve reti red,th e members

of the committee for the supervis ion Of ju stice inthe twelve hamlets (o f U tta ram a l lur) sha l l convene

a meeting wi th the help of the a rbitra tor . The selection shal l be by drawing pot - tickets a ccording to thisorder which la ys down the rules

F or the Pancha - vara - variyam and the (committee)for the “ supervision of gol d ”

, names sha l l be writ tenfor the pot - tickets in the thirty wa rds , and thirty mensha l l be chosen a s above . F rom these thirty tick etstwelve men sha l l be chosen . Six out of these twelve

(men) sha l l form the gold supervis ion (comm it tee) and

the rema ining Six constitute the pancha - vara - variyam .

When drawing pot- t ickets for the appointment of these

two committees next yea r, the wards tha t h ad a l readybeen represented (during the yea r in qu es tion) or the

committees Sha l l be excluded and the a ppo intments madefrom the rem a ining wa rds by a n ora l exp res sion ofop inion . Those “ who have ridden on a s ses and thosewho have committed forgery sha l l not have (their

names) written on th e pot - tickets and put in the pot .’

Arbitra tors and those who h ave earned their wea l th

by hon est means sha l l write the a ccounts (of the vil

lage) . One who wa s writing the a ccounts sha l l not beappointed to tha t office aga in until he submits his

a ccounts (for the period during which he wa s in office

to the grea t men of the big committee (in cha rge) of

174 ANCIENT INDIA

country proper which,a s far a s could be ma de out,

wa s divided into eight such d ivis ions , namely (1) Aru

molidéva va lanadu , (2) K sh atriyaéikh am ani va l anadu,

(3) Uyyakondan va l anadu, (4) Rajendra simh a va l anadu,

(5) Kera lantaka va lan adu, (6) Ra jasraya va lanadu , (7)Pandyaku laSani va l anadu , (8) Nittavinodh a va lanadu .

A number of these divisions went to make a province

(manda lam) which h ad or igina lly been an independent

k ingdom gradua lly absorbed into the rising Empire of

the Chola s . Ea ch province wa s under a vic eroy , who

was either a sc ion of the di spos ses sed roya l fami li es or

a prince of th e blood . At any ra te from the days ofR ajadhiraja it became the fa shion to confer viceroya lties upon near kinsmen such a s un cles, brothers,sons

,etc . Thi s m ay have been on a ccount of the

genera l revolt of the frontier provinces . \Ve find,how

ever, s evera l P a l l ava s in positions of influenc e and trust .The wh ol e empire of the Chola s (except th e Vengicountry which occupied a l l a long th e position of a

dependent a l ly wa s divided into six provinces,each

of which h ad , a t lea st, two a l terna ti ve names : (1) i tsorigina l name a s an independent kingdom and (2) a newname derived genera l ly from the tit les of the emperorwho conquered or from those of the viceroy whoseru l e over th e province wa s specia l ly d i s tinguished .

These provinces were : (1 ) the Tondam auda l am or

Jayam gondacholamanda lam (the P a l lava country ,em

bra cing th e coa st di stricts b etween the r ivers,the

Southern Peuna r and th e North P enna r , if not theKrishna . (2 ) the Cholam anda lam i t sel f (the Districtsof Tan j ore and Trich in opoly) . (3 ) Raja rajam anda lam

comprising a pa rt a t l ea st Of th e Pandy a and the

Kera la country , (Parts of Madura and the Travan corecountry) . (4) The Kongu country or Adhiraja rajamanda lam , ear l i er Srila - Kei'a lam anda lam (d is tricts of

Sa l em and Coimbatore) . (5 ) G angaikondacholam anda

l am (Dis tricts of M y sore and Banga lore) ,—th e western

THE ADMIN I STRATION 175

part of the Ganga country of Mysore . (6) The Nikh arilichOl am anda l am embra c ing the east ern part of theGanga country of Mysore, the Bana kingdom to thesouth - ea s t and the Vaitum ba country to the north - ea st

(District of Kola r in Mysore, a part of North Arcot andSa l em and th e Mah arajavady pa rt of the Cuddapahdistrict ) .Cha racter of the Administ ra tion : Tha t the adminis

tration of the Cho la s wa s highly systema tized ea rly i s

amply proved by the fragments of the ir reco rds tha t

have come down to us on stones and copper . But thewonder is wha t cou ld ha ve h appened to the records in

the a rchives of the Government . Much earlier thanth e days of Rajaraja

l or even Pa rantaka , the Cho laadministra tion had been reduc ed to some sort of system

and the t itl e of the Chief Secreta ry ‘ Olainayakam’

shows tha t there were roya l records on pa lmyra leaves

(of which the ep igraphica l records were mere Copies)kept at head - quarters . Bes ides these, as the in s crip~

t ions at Karuvur and other pla ces Show , there werereg isters kept of the ro y a l orders by each of the Maha

s abh as . Regret a s we m ay the disappea rance of

these records,we hav e . thanks to the untirin g ih

dustry of the epigraphica l d epa rtment, enough of ma teria l before us to ga in an idea of the genera l cha ra ct er

of the Chola administra tion .

we learn tha t the lands under cul t ivation werecareful ly surve y ed and holdings registered a t l ea st a

century befo re the famous Dom esday reco rd of W i l l iamthe Conqueror. The insc riptions of Ra

tja ri’

ija re ferringocca siona ll y to

the book’ show tha t th e surve y wa s

1CO I rect to of a ve li of land which wou ld

1 Th e m achinery of th e administra tion wa s th e s ame even be fore .

An inscription of th e eigh th yea r of U ttam a Chol a gives detail s which

wou ld m ake it clear th at th e administra tive machinery was a s complete

b efore Raja rfija , a s a fter. Vida Epigraph is t’s Report for 1910, see . 18 .

176 ANCIENT INDIA

(a vel i being six and two - third acres) . The unit of

l inea r mea sure wa s the ‘ roya l foot ’ Sripath a of Kulottunga ) , during the la ter period, from which wa s derived

the unit mea sure of a rea . We find a lso gradua ted rods of

sixteen and eighteen spans used in land mea sure ea rl i er .

Mea sured lands were enter ed either in kul i or in vel iin the Chola country proper ; whi l e the standardmea sure of other port ions of the empire va r ied a l i ttl efrom tha t of this pa rt . The roya l dues, were takenei ther in kind or in gold or in both . Thes e were fixedper kul i and th e exp ressions ‘ ca l cu la ted ’

(Kanikkadan )and

‘ settl ed ’

(Nich aiyitta ) produce occur in somerecords which probabl y meant the revenu e a s entered

aga inst th e particula r holding by previou s su rvey ca leula tion and tha t found ed on a ctua l y ie ld (dur ing revis ion) .

approximately be equ iva l ent to of a square inch

1 Here I b eg l ea ve m ost respectfu l ly to differ from Dewan Bah adurSriniva s a ra gava Aiyanga r , who su rmises th at th ese terms meant re

spectivel y the gros s outturn and th e Governm en t sh a re . He refers to an

in s cription of Ku lottunga , and finds tha t in s om e cas es th e revenue

exceeds th e outturn and in oth ers it comes up to nea r two - thirds of

th e outturn . Th e former ha explains away a s due to e rrors of writing .

A g l ance down th e list given on the next pag e of his work s hows,a s do

a numb er of R a j a ra j a’

s ins criptions in th e Tanjore templ e , th a t th e

Government dem and cam e up to 100 ka l ams of paddy a vel i. Kulot

tung a made a re - s urvey of th e l and s in A . D . 1086 (Epig ra phist’s report

for 1900, s ection 25 , pa g e 10) and th e record quoted is on ly a readjustm ent . Ku lottung a h ad th e reputa tion of h aving abolish ed th e tol l s (Sung an davirtach ola ) . Many of th e figures quoted in th e p a ss age , a s ca l cu

l ated produce, work up to a hundred ka l am s a vél i a nd in s eve ra l the reh ad been b rough t a bout a reduction . In oth ers th ere was an enh an cement, which wou ld na tura l ly fol l ow a t e - survey wh ich wa s , a s seems

probab le , undertaken to b ring ab out an adju stm ent, a s s ome l andsmigh t pos sib ly h a ve b een over- a s s es s ed in consequen ce o f th e vil la gea s sem b lies receiving often th e cos t a s we l l a s th e capita liz ed va lue ofthe revenue of l ands m ade tax - free by th emse l ves . One resu l t of thismigh t h a ve been to enh a n ce undu l y the revenue payab l e by the tax

paying l ands a s th e a s s em b lies wou l d have ha d to p ay th e s ame amountto Government, a s wou ld ap nea r from th e l a rg e number of extra cts

quoted a bove (vide P rog res s of Madra s P residency , appen dix, s ee . I . D.

a nd E ., pp . 17 to 20) vide ante povl of this i. Ch apter.

178 ANCIENT INDIA

‘ Being gra ciously sea ted in the roya l ba thing ha l lwithin the pa lace at G angaikonda Sol apuram (theKing ) granted with l iba

tion of wa t er, the vil lage ofP akkar in Vengala nadu (a di s trict) of Adhiraja rajamanda lam , (and) wa s plea sed to ord er tha t thi s vi l lage,excluding th e tax - paying lands in th e possession ofthe ryots , should become tax - fre e temple land from

(the y ea r) wh i ch wa s opposite to the third yea r (of

his reign) including revenue , ta xes , sma l l tol l s , eluvai,ug avai, the three fines ca l led m an rupadu, dandam ,

kurram , everywhere wh ere the iguana runs, th e tortoi se crawl s , an an t- hil l r ises and sprouts grow,

thegra ss for the ca lves and th e lands en j oy ed in ful l bythe great vi llage ; tha t {thi s vil lage) shou ld pay to

(the God ) Mahadeva of Tiruvanilai (temple) a t KaruVur in the same nadu, the revenue h itherto pa id bythis vil l age , name l y ka l anju a nd one and onetwentie ths m anjadi of gold ; and ka lam

, l tfini

of paddy and tha t this vil lage shou ld be entered inthe revenue register (vari) a s taxfree temple land fromthis year forward .

‘ Acco rd ingly the Roya l Secretary Vanavan P a l lava

ra iyan , the lord of Tal i Tiruppanang adu and the lordof Nerivayil in P a niyur nadu, a di stric t of Ksh a triyaSikh amani, va l anadu, having written tha t the king hadbeen plea sed to order (thus) , and the Ch i ef Secreta ry Ach ch udan Raja rajan a lia s Tondaman

,th e citizen

U ttam achol an a lia s Raj araj a B ra hmadhira jan , Ara iyanRaja rajan a lia s Virarajéndra Jayamurinadalvan , and

Vira rajénd ra Manga lappéraraiyan having unanimous lv

approved (of this document) Virabh adran Til laividan

gan a l ia s Vil lavan Raja rajan ordered : “ L et it beentered in our register in a ccordance with intima tion

In a ccordance w ith thi s order there wa sa meeting of a number of members

, but here therecord of their del ibera t ions is unfortuna tely obli t era ted .

‘ Our revenue o fficers having entered (this) in the

RESOURCES or THE EMPIRE 179

revenue regi ster in accordance with the roya l order,let i t be eng raved upon copper and on stone { tha tthi s vil lage wa s g iven ) a s tax - free templ e land to

the God Mahadéva of Tiruvanilai temp l e for theexpenses of burnt- offerings, obla tions and Worship .

Resources of the empire : This extra c t wil l g ive

a fa r better idea of th e adm in i stra tive machinery of the

Chola s than page s of description . I sha l l now proceedto a considera tion of the res ources of the empi re and

how they were spent . Quoted under i s a pa rt of aninscription of Tribhuvana ch akrava rtin Kinorinmai

kondan, which enumera tes in th e ful les t ava ilable

deta i l the numerous fi sca l items of the Chola rul e .

detra cts , however, from the ful l interes t of th e

inscription is tha t a t this d istance of time we cannot

understand the exa ct na ture of any ; nor even the

genera l charac ter of a few of these . The record i s

a gift of land free of taxes- 1 ‘ These Seventy - seven

s ix - twent ieths . and on e hundred and sixtieth s (vé li) ofland, which mav be mom or l ess , we, gave : including

the trees over ground, th e wel l s unde r ground, in the

land and a l l othe r benefi t s (praptis ) of wha tever kind,

having firs t exc luded th e fa rmer own ers and the h ere

ditary propri etors , and h aving purcha sed (it) as tax

free property (Kani) for the 106 Bha tta s of this vil lage

and for the two sha res (of th e image) of Samantanarayanavinnaga r Emberuman , from th e ra iny s ea son

of the thirty- fifth (y ea r of our reign) a s a meritorious

gift (dharmadhana ) with l iba tions of wa ter, with theright to bestow mortgage or s el l (it) as a tax- freegrant of land to la st a s l ong a s the moon and th e

(This grant) includes a l l kinds (va rga s) of taxes ,

(kadama i) and rights (kudimai) , namely, the righ t tocul tiva te kar (a k ind of paddy) , m a ruvu (a fragran t

1 No . 22, x01. ii, I t . i,South Ind . Inscriptions .

180 ANC IENT INDIA

plan t, origanum majoranum ) , s ingle flowers (oruppfi)flowers for the ma rket (kadaipfi) , l ime trees, d ry

crops, red wa ter- l ilies , a reca - pa lms, betel - vines, sa ffron,ging er, plantains , a nd a l l other crops (payir) ; a l l

kinds of revenue (aya ) including tax in money (hasukkadamai ) , odukkuppadi, urainali, the sha re of the vi l lagewa tchman Who i s pla ced over the vettis (paths) , theshare of the kar nam who mea sures (paddy, theunrip e fruit in kartigai (month) , the tax on looms (ta r iira i) , the tax on oil—mill s (sekkirai) , the tax: on tra de

(sett-irai) ,l tattoli, the tax on goldsmiths (tattarpattam) ,

the dues 0 11 a nima l s and ta nks , the tax on wa tercours es (olukkunir pattam) , to l l s (va l l ayain ) , inava ri

(appea rs to be a tax on ca ste) ; the tax on weights

(idaiva ri) , the fine for rotten drugs thetax on bazaars (angadipattam) and the sa lt tax (uppa

yam) ; [what fo llows is different from either of theabove groups ; and the bea ring of the items is notknown ; I set them down here in the hope that someone who has the means m ay explain the terms cor

rectly : panjupili (Lig a nd ), Sandhivig rahappéru (swagoSia

n a Qn ix) , ilanjinaipéru vasa lvinyogam (wfl e éiaflsufiéPa a rb ‘

, padaiyilarmuraimai(Liam .

uliaurrigpmp mw‘

, kfirrilakkai(fi aflwém s ), kadaikkfittilakki

(5 mm é aL L Laevé sw5 tanda lilakkaig amm a llwéans ),vidaippér

(aflm Q u ii naadhappadi araikkalvasi(ca/m 1!

ata rre'

xievirfi fisivaéi(w t-

fla mfi »

, vilaittundammirani (if /f irming kaverikkulai (e m it/flig h t devakudimai

(Gg mcg raswn ) , nattuppadi (W tiCDfifU flfi l, anaikkt‘

(cata ract-

c h it), kudiraippandi Thus in aocordance with this order (ola i) it sha l l be engraved on

stone and copper .’

This i s a long l is t of taxes and would stand com

parison with the list of seignioria l dues of Europe

1 E ither on profits .

9 Probab ly corresponding to th e Nirganti, the ofiicia l who controls

tank s luiccs for irrigation.

182 ANCIENT INDIA

véliby the Adava l lan mea sure (equa l to the Rajakésa ri

or Arumolidévan,th e s ta nda rd mea su re of the days of

Raja raj a ) kept in possession of the temple autho ritiesfor sa fe custody . The Adava l lan mea sure of paddy is

found by the la te Mr . Sriniva saragh ava Aiya ng a r tohave weighed 192 tola s whil e its modern counterpartweighs 240 tola s . This wou'd give th e revenue per ve l i

of six a cres and two - thirds ku‘

i) a t eighty modernka lams of paddy (a ka lam is abou t three maunds)and th e gro s s outturn a t 300 ka lams , a very highyie ld

,perhap s not impossible a s the lands in question

are tho se tha t pay the highe st revenue s itua te in the

most fertile pa rts of th e Tanj ore and Trichinopoly

di st ricts . Al l lands had not to pa y the same revenuewhich va ried from fi fty to eighty modern ka lams of

paddy, or from four to nine ka la nj u of go l d . Th e vi llag e a ssembl ies m ust have col lec ted the roya l dues w i thsome ela stic ity a s th e order of Raj a raja quoted abovewould sh ow .

The unspent pa rt of thi s revenu e wa s kep t in up

country trea suries aga ins t demands from head - quar

ters . A t a ce rta in stage these revenue demands mighthave become so hea v y tha t it m us t have beendeemed necessa r y to abol i sh some a t lea st of thesedue

One s uch a ct of clea r - s igh ted s ta tesma nsh ip,i t is ,

tha t got Kulattnng a , th e firs t,the popul a r sobriquet

of énng a nda virtach t

il a (the Chola who a bo lished the

toll s) , which i s handed down to us in a suburb oftha t n ame in Ta nj ore town . In ca se of floods and

1 Th e vil la ge as semb aes often remitted ta xes on certain pieces

of l an d receiving its cos t and the capita liz ed va l ue of th e revenues

due . How they spent this money is not on record so fa r ; but th a t

the revenues migh t h a ve been spread over th e oth er l and s is probab le.

Perh a ps th ey a ppl ied the money for g enera l improvemen ts and m aking

fresh clea ring s . In the l a tter ca s e th ey beg an with a nomina l revenue

upon th e l ands in que stion g radua l ly raising it th rough a term of

yea rs to th e norma l proportion . South Ind . In s ,vol . i 65 .

STA NDARDS or MEASURE 183

o ther ca lamities remiss i ons of taxes wou ld appear tohave been expected ; but in one in s tance on recordin Vikram a Cho la

s re ign remis s ions were not grantedin ca se of flood s, and some of th e vi l lag e land s h a dto be put up to publ ic sa le b y the vi l la gers , a fa ct referred to above . This would not seem to be enough towa rra n t the inference that ‘ remission s were unknown ’

in those da y s .

Standa rds of mea sure ,etc : It h a s been a l ready s ta ted

tha t th e rova l dues were pa id e ither in k ind or

in go ld, or part ly in th e one and pa rtly in th e o ther .

Some of the minor taxes we re p a id in Theunit of land wa s a vé liof kuli s (six a nd two

thi rd s a cres ) : of g ra in a k a lam (about three maunds) ;of gold a ka lanju (ab m t one - s ixth ounce Troy ) . Theunit of currencv wa s th e g old 1.17511 ( seven - twent iethsof a ka lanju or about twen tv - ei gh t grs . Tro y ) . Thiscoin a ppea rs to ha ve pa s sed for its meta l l ic va lubecaus e the grea t Raja raja got a l l g if ts to the tem p leca reful lv weighed and appra is ed . Al l go ld ornamen tsamong these a re en tered with t‘ieir weight s a l one butno va lue i s given ,

while j ewel s set wi th bril l iants, etc . ,

are ente red with thei r weight s (by th e standa rd Adva l lankasulika l lu) and their va lue in kasu . We can s a fe l v

infer tha t the kasu pa ss ed for it s weight in gold ,

a l though its va lue in gra in a nd ca tt le might va ry .

Each kasu wa s equiva len t to two ka lams of pa ddv inthe da vs of Raja raj a and his son , thoug h i t exchanged

for so much a s four ka lams about fi fty y ea rs after ;One buffa lo , two cows, and six shee p exchanged for

two kasu in the former pe riod . The to ta l amo unt of

re venue rea l ized b y the temple author it ie s wa s probab lyturned into ca sh , a l though it i s po s sibl e tha t th ev

kept a portion in gra in a lon e . Much of the ca s h in

the trea surv . howe ver , wa s l en t out to villa g e a s s emb l ies or even to ind iv idua l s on the gua ra n tee ofthe ass emblies . Occa sio na l lv when th ev len t out to

184 ANCIENT INDIA

town s folk , the loan was given on the j o int responsi

bility of th e rela tives of the person or even the wholetrade conc erned . An interest of twelve and a ha l f per

cent was uniformly charged wh ether in gra in or in kasu .

Severa l of thes e loans were given for providing the

t emple with the da i l y and periodica l requ irements ;but often loans were made for pure ly agricu ltura lpurposes . In the former ca se the debtors h ad to pay

interest in ghee,oil

,cam phor , or any other commod ity

agreed upon beforeh and,wh i l e in the la tter the inter

est wa s pa id eith er ih ca sh or in kind .

Expendi ture : The ma in hea ds of expendi ture ofthe roya l revenues were t he c iv il administra tion, thema intenance of a rmies , the bui lding and beautifying of

temples and c ities , and the ca rrying out of usefulpubl ic works on a sca l e beyond the ca pabil i ti es of

loca l revenues and administra tions . The cost of civiladministra tion wa s met from th e rura l revenu es, the

highe r offi cers a s wel l a s th e lower ones being re

wa rded by gift s of land or by a s s ignment s of revenue .

Deducting this cost from the tota l revenue , the re

sidue rea ched th e roya l trea sury , to be spent on the

other items .The Chola s appea r to have had a regular a rmy

d ivided in to s ections according to the k ind of armsthey ca rried, and according a s they were mountedor otherwise . We find reference to the ‘ chosen bodyof archers ’, the chosen foot—soldi ers of the body - guardthe ‘ chos en ’

,h orsemen and the ‘ chosen ’ infantry of

th e‘ right hand I have not come across auv

reference to the infantry of the ‘ l eft hani’ f’ Some

of the princes a re referred to a s‘anaichevagan

(perh aps commander of an el ephant crops) ;‘ Ma la i

yana i Orraichch évagan’

(the unequa l led elephant m an) .

1 In fa n try recruited from th e a rtis an c la ss .

2 Th e ag ricul tu ra l c la ss is excl uded from military service in th e

codes of l aw.

ANC IENT INDIA

names 1 of most of the ma in channe l s of irriga tiona t present wa tering the Kavery Delta occur in the

inscript ions of this dyna sty of rulers . The fol lowingtwo instances shoul d suffi ce to give u s an idea of theimportance a tta ched to artifi cia l i rriga tion works in

thos e days . Driving a cross the town of Tan j ore a longthe road to Triva di

,the fi rs t river we pa ss over is

n ow known a s Vada varu (northern r iver) . This riveris ca l led in the inscriptions Virachola Vadavaru .

(There is another Viracholan river branching fromt he Ka very a few m il es below th e bridge at Kumbhakonam . ) This wa s evidentl v cut out from th e Ven g ar

by Virach'

ila to fe ed a b ig irriga tion tank in thenow pos ta l town of Vaduvur in the Mannargudi

ta luq , wh ich h a s no other feeder channel and whichwa ters a large a rea ,

el s e unfit for cu lt iva ti on . The

other ins tance i s the la rg e a rtificia l r eservoir a t

G anga ikondasa lapuram in the VVodia rpa liam ta luq ofth e Trichinopoly district . I take the fo l lowing fromPha raoh

s Ga z etteer of Sou th India? “ ‘ It m ay a lso be

m entioned tha t in W'

odiarpa l l iam ta luq there is an

e mbankm ent six teen miles long running north and

south provided with severa l substantia l sluic es and

o f g rea t strength , wh ich in former t imes must have

formed one of the la rges t reservoirs in India . Thetank h a s been ru ined and usele ss for many y ears and its

bed i s now a lmost wholly overgrown with high and

thick jungle . It i s sa id tradi tiona l ly tha t its ruin wa swilful and the act of an invading army . Nea r then orthern extremity of the bund there i s a vi l lage now

1 The P eruva l avdy Ch annel , in th e dis trict of Trichinopol y, Th e

A ra sa l z‘

ir, Th e Nattar, The Kaduvayfiru and th e Pandavayuru s h oul d

s uffi ce . Of the l a s t two, th e firs t is a branch of th e Vettar and

the next from the Venn a r (vide any irrigation m ap of th e R avery

Del ta ) .2pp . 338 - 9 of Mr. Kanaka sa bbaiPil lai

s‘ Th e conquest of Benga l

and Burma by th e Tamil s’

, Mad ra s Review for August 1002, pp . 247 ,

e t seq .

IRRIGATION TANK 187

s urrounded b y a jungl e, ca l l ed Ganga ikondapuram ;

immedia te lv in its vicinit y is a pag o da of a ver yla rge size , and costl y wo rkman sh ip ; and cl ose bys urrounded and overg rown w i th j ungle a re s omerema ins of ancient bu i ld ings now resemb l i n g the

m ounds or “ hea ps wh ich ind ica ted th e s ite of

anci en t Baby lon , but in which th e v il lage eld erspoin t out the va rious pa rts of a n extensive and m ag

nificen t pa la ce . \Vhen thi s pa lace w a s in exi s tenceGanga ikonda puram wa s the wea l th y a nd flou ri shingca p i ta l of a sma l l mona rchy ,l and the grea t t a nk Spreadferti l i ty a nd indus tr y ox'e r miles and m i l es of wha t is now

t ra ckles s fo res t. Spe aking of the no b l e templ e of

G a nga ikondapuram it must not be omi tted tha t whenthe lower Coleroon A n icut wa s bu il t, th e s tructurew a s disma ntled of a la rge pa r t of th e s p lend id g ranites cul ptures which a dorned it, and the enclo s ing wa l lwa s a lmo s t who l l y des tro y ed in orde r to obta in

ma teria l for the work .

Thi s magnificent re l ic of lo s t

grea tne s s a nd a forgot ten empire wa s th e work of th e

g rea t 5 0 11 of a s til l grea ter fa the r Wh u bui l t the

temple a t, and fo rt ified th e city of, Tanj o re . Thetemple a t Ganga ikondapuram mea sure s 3 72 feet b y 53 4

f eet . The lingam made of a s ingl e block of pol ished

g rani te i s thirty fee t now un fortuna tel y spl i t in twa inby a s troke of l ightning . Th e m a in tower of th e

Tanjore temple i s about 2t fee t high and the sing l e

block of granite which form s the mina ret is twenty

five and a ha l f feet squa re ,9 ca l cula ted to weigh about

e ighty tons . It wa s ra i sed to its present position

b v an i nc line , which rested on the g round four mile s

a way from t he temple . These structures a re believed

t ) be th e outcome of a b solu te power c omm andin

Y e s ! Sma l l indeed a s it did embra ce wh a t is now th e Mad ra s

P residency and a pa rt of My sore . (For th e extent of th e Lhol a empire

s ee a n te p .

2 Sewel l’

s List of A n tiqu ities , vol . i. p . 2 27 .

188 ANCIENT INDIA

unlimited labour .‘ There i s a tradit ion current, how

ever, of Karikalachola (it m ay be either th e first or th e

second of the name, it does not ma t ter for our purpose)tha t he pa id th e labourers on the Kavery embankment

in deprec ia ted co in (coins of l ea ther it i s sa id) , in consequence of which there wa s a du st- storm which over

whelmed the capita l and ma de h im flee for his l ife .

Th i s story h a s i ts va lue a longside of the inference

tha t, a s these temples were years in build ing and of

very great cos t, they must have been the resul t of

forced unpa id labour . The labour might have beenforc ed or not, provided it h ad been paid . The bui lders

of thes e structures ru led over wha t is now the Madras

Pres idency and ha l f of Mysore . Their administra t ionwa s not very expensive

, and a s grea t conquerors theymust have brought from their wa rs much of the

a ccumula ted trea sure of other powerful and prosperouskingdoms . 2

Whether the labour wa s pa id for or not (there are

ins tances of slavery in the thirteenth c entury wh enfive men and wom en were sol d for 100 Kasu s

) , we

owe to these Chola s not only the grand structures,the temples , and pa la ce s (indirectly useful , at lea st,as providing ma teria l for anicuts) , but a l so the greatpart of the network of i rriga tion cha nnel s in the

Tanjore district and a part of Trichinopoly .

We have ampl e evidence of the country’s having beentraversed by grand trunk roa l s . That a rmies cou l d

ma rch to Kattaru nea r Cape Comorin a t the one end,

and th e banks of the Mahanadi . if not the Ganges,a t the other of th e peninsu la , and tha t trade wa s

carried on larg ely by means of‘ ves se l s ’

and ‘ vehic les‘

1 P rogress of Ma dra s P residency, pp . 14 and 15 .

9 Raj a raj a'

s ins criptions of gifts to th e Tanjore temple refer to

the captured Chera Trea s ure .

3 Epigraphist‘

s Report for 1905 , see . 20 ; date of record, A . D. 1239 -40.

4 g'ilappadhika ram and P a ttinappa lai.

190 ANC IENT INDIA

of an average Brahman family (a templ e priest h assevera l perqui s ites over and above h is sa la ry) ; and

the 100 ka lams of the wa tchman ,those of the Sudra

family . If, with Adam Smith , we can bel ieve over

a long period of time the va lue of corn doe s not varvhowever much its price m ay, and a ssume tha t theserepresent the va lue of an equa l quantity of gra in to

day,the average income of a family per month wou ld

have been sixte en rupees and two - thirds, and eigh t rupees

and one - third for a Brahman a nd a Sudra ,respectivel y,

on1 the supposition oi

the average price of paddy at

one runee four anna s per modern ka lam . \Ve cannotform any defini te conc lusion on the slender evidencewe have ; but i f this rep resents at a l l the standard ofl ife of those days We have a l l tha t i s pos sibl e for u s to

know a t present .

Religion : The Chola s were éaiva s by religion ;but there i s no evidenc e of the Va ishnava s or of th e

Jains'2 having been persecu ted a s such , before th e

days of Ku lottunga , who appea rs to have dr iven out

Ramanuja from Srirangam . Raja ra j a and hi s son

patroni zed th e Saivitic d evotiona l works by providing

for their recita l in temples on s ta ted occa sions . “r

find references to gifts to Va ishnava temples, and to

provision made for the r ecita l of po rt i ons of the

Nd ldyirap ra bha ndam . The grea t temple bu i lder, KOCl lchengan, appea rs to have been a bu i lder of both

cla sses of temples . 3 Appa r, Sundarar , and Sam banda r

1 Mr. Srinivas araghava Aiyanga r‘

s figure s per h ead a re Rs . 3- 12—0and Rs . 1—12—0 per month . Th e Governm ent of India

’s Rs . 20 a year

per h ead .

2 Th e Jains h ad to pay a ta x but th e oth er Hindus a l so h a d to

pay, s uch a s th e righ t- h a nd and left- h a nd ca stes . There is a n ina va ri

which ,if it m ea n s a nything , ough t to h ave been a tax on ca ste .

3 Mr . F ergus son writes of th e Ta njore temple : One of the pecu

l ia rities of th e Ta njore templ e is tha t a l l the sculptures in the g0pu

ras belong to the religion of Vishnu,whil e everything in th e courtya rd

belongs to t-h at of Siva , an ins tance of th e extreme tolerance th a t

RELIG ION AND L ITERATURE 191’

a re referred to in some of the inscri pt ions of Rajaraj a ,

and somewha t la ter we find re ference to th e works ofKula sekhara and Tirum ang aia lva r , two of th e twelveVa ish nava A lvars . The god at the temple of U kka l

i s referred to by the name TiruvovmolidEva . Dr .

H ul tz s ch i s of opinion th a t Namm alvar,the au thor of

the Tiruvoymoii, must have l ived‘ centuries before

A . D . There i s an insc ription of Ra jendra ,of

the ba t t le of Koppa m fame, wh ich makes provision

for th e ena cting of the Rajaké s a rinatakam everv year .

Popu la r trad ition makes Ku lottung a and some a t lea stof hi s succ essors grea t pa trons of l it era tu re . Thi s

dy na sty of the Chola s encouraged Tamil l i t e ra ture, but

for the da te of composition of the grea t bodv of extant

works we have to look much earl i er .

prevail ed in th e age a t which it was erected before th e s e religion s.

b ecam e an tagonis tic .

CHAPTER VII

R l RAMJNUJxl C’HARYA ,HIS LIF E AND

T o the re ligious h istory of India , the contributions

tha t th e southern ha l f h as h ad to make have beenmany . The south genera l ly enj o y ed more peaceful

development,and wa s long out of the convu l s ions tha t

threw the north into con fusion ,a nd a l l the interna l

revo lutions and externa l a t tacks sent out th e pu lse of

the impact a lmost spent out to the south . This h a sb een of grea t advantage , and i t i s precisely in the

dark ages of the north tha t often intercepted thebrighter epochs

,tha t the south sent out its l ight to

rel ieve the da rkness .This genera l chara cter of the his tory of the north

of Ind ia from the firs t centuries of th e Chri st ian era

onwa rds makes a continuous hi s tory impossible oncertain l ines ; whi le in the s outh , dur ing this period

there h a s been a con t inui ty of der e lopm rnt am idst

a l l the din and clang of wa r and dyna stic revo lutions .O ur concern here i s about the Va i shnava movement

and th is h a s h ad a continuous hi story a lmost fromthe beginning of the Christian era .

There h a s been cons iderable nus - impres s ion thatthe Va ishnava movement origina ted in Ramanuja , and

tha t a l l those who cla im to be Va ishnava s (not including the d i s cipl es of Madhva who a re Va ishnava in

a narrower sense) , both in the north and the south, cantrace their particula r form of Vedanta no ea rli er than

194 ANCIENT INDIA

There ha s been a succession of devotees ca l led in

Va i shnava parlance A lvars in contrad is tinction to a

similar éaiva group ca l led Adiyars . These two cla sseshad considerable s imila ri ty wi th cha ra cteri s tic distinctions . They both la id stress on th e doctrine of Bhaktia s a means to the a tta inment of sa lvation, the onethrough Vi shnu and the other th rough éiva . The

Va i shnava tradition names twelve of the Alvars whil eth e Saiva sa ints number sixty - three . The Tamil worksof the former includ ing a centum upon Ramanujahimself, cons titute the P rabh andam while thoseof the Sa iva s cons titu te a va st er col lection of Tim?

rams , etc .

The twelve Alvars a re in the traditiona l order

(1 ) P oygai A lva r .

I (2) Bhuta ttu A lvar .

L (3 ) P éy A lvar .

II (4) Tiruma lisai A lva-r .

III (5 ) Nammalvar .

l (6 ) Ma dh urakavi A lvar .

IV (7 ) Kula s ekh aralvar .

(8) P eriva lvar .

(9 ) Andal .

Tonda radippodiA lvar .

VI (11) Tiruppanalvar .

HIQ) Tirum ang ai A lvar .The a ctua l da tes a scribed by the hagiologists tothese Alvars wi l l not bea r scrutiny, but the order inwh ich they a re m entioned i s substantia lly correct . Inorder of importance , Namm alvar stands first, and i t ishis work tha t h a s the distinctive appellation Tiruvoymo l i the word of the mouth ’

. They were a l l regard

ed by the gene ra tions th a t succeeded them a s mani

fes ta tion s of d ivine wisdom to redeem the world fromthe perilous pl ights to which i t h ad brought i tself .The next group tha t fo l lowed, a s the hagiologi stswou ld h ave us believe , in unbroken succession

,is known

PARENTAGE AND EARLY L IF E 195

a s A charya s (or preceptors ) not so nea r to the divine ,but sti l l much ra i sed above the ord inary m an of theworld . Thi s orthodox succession of a postl es inc ludesix names before Ramanuja ,

of which th e two m ostimporta nt a re Nathamuni and his grandson A l avandar .

The grea t- grandson of thi s la t ter through one of his

grand - da ughters wa s Itam anuja .

\Vhile A l ava ndar w a s s til l in occupa tion of the

apostol ic sea t of th e Va i shnava s a t Srirangam, one of

his grandsons requested permission of him to go and

devote himsel f to the service of God on the Tirupa ti

Hil l . The permis s ion wa s gra ciously a ccorded, an d th e

v oung m an went and settl ed there wi th his venerablefa ther and two younger s isters . Wh il e there

young men w i sh ing to enter l ife a s house - holders h appened to go to the holy place and sought ea ch the

hand of one of th e si s ters . Of these two iis fi riKesavaBha tta r of Sri P erumb fldr

ir wedded the elder, wh i l e

Kam a lanayana Bh a tta r of Ma l a laim anga lam acceptedthe younger of the girl s . Of the first pa i r in courseof time wa s born a boy (in A . D . whom thema te rn a l u nc le n amed L akshma na (otherwise Raman uja or in Tami l , I laya P erum al ) .

Of the childhood of Ramanuja , a s of oth ers in simi

l a r posi tion s of l ife, very l it tle i s known . There

appea rs to have been nothing extraordinary in his

ca reer , except tha t he appea rs to have lost his fa ther

whi le young . He rec eived the kind of education ord i

na rily given to boys of his cla ss and age a l ong wi th

his cous in (mother’s s is ter

s son ) , G ovinda Bhattar , a s

he wa s ca l led . The two young men h ad advancedsuffi c iently to seek a tea cher in the Vedanta to in struct

them . They went to a tea cher of reputation holdingh is cla sses in Con jeeva ram , and th is change ma rks

th e turning point in the career of the young m en .

Under Y adavaprakasa , then , the two cousin s Ramanuja

and Govinda Bha ttar were both studying the Vedanta,

196 ANCIENT INDIA

a ss iduously . The former made such progres s, and his

grea t - grandfa ther at Srirangam hea rd such good re

ports of his remarka bl e advance, that he travelled

a l l the way incognito to see the young m an . This he

did in the Deva Raj a shrine at Con j eevaram . Grati

fi ed with the look of the young m an ,he went ba ck

hoping tha t he might soon transfer the mantl e of office

to the youth of grea t promise tha t he h ad just seen . He

did not wish to speak to Ram anuja l es t it shou ld at

tra c t a ttention and disturb Ram anuja’

s stud ies in any

way. Ram anuja went on with his studi es yet a while ,when he began to feel tha t at t imes Y adavaprakasa

interpreta tions of Vedic pa ssages were not quit e up to

his sa tisfa ction . On one occa sion , he even went the

l ength of offering an explana tion of his own , which

s truck those present, a s more sa tisfactory than that of his

ma s ter . This l ed to grave d ifferences between ma ster

and d isciple . Ma tters advanced a step further when,a t the invita tion of the ruler of the pla ce , Yadavaprakasa

fa i led in an a ttempt at exorcising . The prince wa s

possess ed and the spiri t decl ined to move at Yadava’s

bidding . It wou ld, however, go away if it were

Ram anuja’

s pleasure tha t i t should . Ramanuja was

pl ea s ed to give the order and the ghos t was ra ised .

This made Y adava more j ea lous of his pupil and the

crisis wa s rea ched when interpr et ing another Upanishad . Yadava a ga in rend ered th e pa s sage in a some

wha t absurdly disresp ectful manner . Ram anuja showedpositive d isapprova l of wha t he cons idered a purposeful

d i stortion of the texts . Y adavaprakasa a sked Ramanuja to leave his academy . Indeed he was advised toget rid of Ramanuja a ltogether .

At the instiga t ion of some of his dis cip les Yadavaorganized a pi lgrimage to Bena res, and Ramanuja and

his cousin were among the pa rty . The latter, having

been more doci le , stood in high favour with the ma ster

and was in the secret s of the plot to a ssa ssinate

198 ANCIENT INDIA

the group,cons ist ing of his d isciples, came there with

the rema ins of the depa rted grea t one for its fina ld i sposa l . Ramanuja wa s tak en c lose to the body totake a first and fina l l ook a t the great ma ster, when10 ! he s aw thre e out of the five fingers of the right

hand fo lded . Struck with th is , he inquired whetherthe defect wa s noticed in life a nd the answer came tha tthe defect wa s not physica l and was not noticed in life .

On further inquiry Ram anuja wa s told tha t the masterhad three of his ch erished obj ects unfulfi l led, namely,an ea si ly read and understood commenta ry upon th eBra hma sfi tm ; the giving of the names of Pa rasara and

Sh adagOpa to sui table persons who would make thesenames l ive among the people . Ramanuja promised

t o see these fulfi l led and the fingers stra ightened .

Ramanuja wa ited for the funera l ceremonies to he

completed and returned to Kanch i to resume his

duti es of devotion to G od .

Having pa ssed days in his usua l round of s ervi ce ,Ramanuja felt tha t time wa s pa ssing without any

a ttempt on his part to perform wha t h e had promisedto do. Not knowing exactly wha t to do, he appea ledto the elderly priest of the god Devara ja and wishedhim to a scerta in the divine wil l regarding his own

future . Tirukkachchinambi, a s the prie s t wa s ca ll ed,gave out the wil l of God, in th e matter, in the fol lowingl ika

Srimau param - tatvam aham , matam me bhedah

prapattirnirapaya betuhu,

Navasyakich a smriti hiantyakalé mokshaha, maha

pnrnah a iha aryava ryah a .

‘ I am the supreme, my conviction i s di st inction,devot ion is the unfa il ing cause of sa lva tion

,conscious

vol ition not essent ia l, relea se in the end ; a t present

Periyanam bi i s the venerable preceptor .’

In these six phrases Ramanuja wa s given the direction for his future work, whether the actua l d i rection

RAMANUJA’

S IN ITIATION 199

came from within himse l f or from without, or fromthose about him . He wa s to pin his fa i th to God and

work out th e qua l ified nionis tic s y stem of Indian phi lo

Soph y , accepting P eriy anambifor hi s initiaton . He wa s

to tea ch the doctrines of d evotion to G od , whose se l f- imposed duty it is to give sa lva tion even without the con

scions vo lit ion of the person wishing it. Ramanuja fel tthe ca l l and, with the permission of De va ra j a , accorded

through his priest . h e sta rted towa rds Srirangam .

He h a l ted at Madhurantakam to pa y his homage ofworship to th e god Rama in the temple there, si tua ted

on the tank bund . \Vhile in th e act. he s aw Periya

nambi, who was on his wav to Kanchi . They bothinquired of each oth er th e purpose of his j ourney, and

found tha t ea ch h ad in a w av come to the end of it .

Ramanuja found the guru (preceptor) he sought, while

P erivanambi’

s obj ect wa s to ta ke R -

riiianuja to Sriran

g a in . In fact he had been s ent on tha t specia l mi s son

hv the disciples of fi r s t degree of th e late ma ster A la

vandar . At Ramanuja'

s impo rt-unate entrea ty Nambiini tia ted him into th e my s teries of the hidden lore of

th e Vedan ta of those t imes . in presence of the god Rania

in the temple . B oth Nambi and Ranianuja returned

to Kanchi ; ma ster and di sciple together l ived there

for s ometime . But their sepa ra tion came soon and

gave a quicker turn to th e whole ca reer of Ramanuja .

Nambi and Rain anuja took up lodgings toge ther

and the two fami lie s l ived amicab lv tog ether forsome time . Ram anuja ,

howev er , does not appea r to

have been very happy in the choice of his wife . He did

not find in her tha t readv sympa thy and compliance

to his own w i sh e s h e expected of her . On one occa s ionhe h ad invited Tiruka ch chinam bi to hi s house . The

two sat down ,and convers ed together for a wh il e .

\Vhen the former went away Itain anuja’

s wife qui ckly

wa shed the sea t occupied by him , the temple priesthaving been of a s lightly inferior sta tus in point of

200 ANCIENT INDIA

ca ste . Ramanuja fel t aggrieved and overlook ed this

offence with an admonition . A ga in one morning whilehe wa s sti l l by the accustomed well preparing for themorning service a t the temple, a poor m an a sked him

for food . He dir ected him home with instructions to

demand food of Ram anuja’

s wife with the husband’

s permiss ion . Sh e sa id there wa s none ava ilable . The man

returned tel l ing Ramanuja how he fa red . Ramanuja’

inquiry on returning home proved tha t there wa s somefood which might h ave been given to th e person .

Aga in he excused her . But the third offence proved

to be the la st straw, and wa s the most serious ofa l l in Ram anuja

s estima tion . Ram anuja’

s wife and

Periya nambi’

s both of them went to the same wel lto fetch wa ter . It would appear tha t through the

la t ter’s ca reles sness some wa t er from her vesse l droppedinto tha t of the other . Thi s na tura l ly led to somea ltercat ion in which th e re la tive cla im s of the two

families were ra ther too free ly d iscus sed by Ram anuja’

W ife . The other lady reported the ma tter to her husband, who ra ther than offend the good m an quietlybroke up his establ ishment and retu rned to Srirangam .

Ram anuja soon found out the cause of Nambi’

unceremonious depa rture , and r esolved tha t th e timeh ad come for sepa ra ting from his wife . He tookadvantage of an invita tion from his father - in - l aw to

send his wife away , and without further dela y a ssumedthe brown robes of a sannya s i (he who ha s renouncedth e world) . This step a t once added to the risingreputation of Ramanuja , and d i sciples began to ga therround him . It wa s now tha t d i sc iples first a ppearround Y atiraja (king of hermits ) a s he came to beca l led . It wa s probably now a lso that the questiona s sumed importance whether a sannya si shou ld be ofthe Ekadandi or Tridandi (sing l e rod or tripl e rod, as

the symbol of offi ce) . The Va ishnava version says

tha t Y adavaprakasa , his la te ma ster , became a convert

2 02 ANCIENT INDIA

he wou ld glad ly suffer hell h ims elf, if by so doing

he wa s ins trumen ta l in ministering to th e a t ta inmentof s a lva tion to the suffering mil l ions of human i ty .

The ma ster apprecia ted the spiri t of the d isc ipl e’

st ransgression , and sa id tha t the pa rticu la r da rsana

(section of Vedanta ) might hereafter be known a s

Rdmdnuj a da/rsana .

At this period Ramanuja h ad to intervene in th ea ffa irs of hi s cousin and companion at school , Govinda

Bha tta r . Thi s young m an had continued his j ou rneya long wi th Yadavaprakasa to the Ganges . It would

a ppea r tha t while h e ba thed in th e holy wa ters of

th e river , a pha llic emblem struck to the pa lm of

his hand . Hence the name U l l ang ai Gonarfidanayan ar . F rom tha t time forwa rd he became a staunch

saw. and resid ed a t Kal aha s ti not far from hisma terna l uncl e a t Tirupa ti . At Ram anuja

s requestt he uncl e m e t th e nephew,

and brought him back to

a l legiance to the Va i shnava persua s ion under the new

sa cerdota l designa tion of Embar . Ram anuja’

s n ameh ad begun to a ttra c t a ttention , and be felt that heshould s t i l l a cquire other qua l ifica tions before be

coming every wa y the head of a dar sana .

He began his studies in Tiruvoymoli first underTiruvara ngapperum al Araiyar and then under Tirumalaiyandan . While with the la tt er

,he h ad occa s ion

to show his specia l a cutenes s of intel lec t in suggesting specia l interpretations of important texts

,which

-on further dis cussion were found to have been in ful l

a greement with the views of Alavandar . This new

a cqu i si ti on completed his round of qua lifica tions and

he became in fa ct a successor of Alavandar in everys ense of the term .

f lamanuja’

s fame had spread so wide and he cameto be known so wel l tha t hi s l itt le cousin at Tirupa ti

(son of his ma terna l uncle) evinced a precocious desire

to a tta ch himself to Ramanuja . The fa ther sent

RAMANUJA’

S F IRST DISPUTATION 903

the b oy in ch a rge of a nephew of h is own , and

the two a rrived a t Sriranga ni, where Ram anuja'

s l ifeh ad been saved b y the unlooked for interven tion of

a good woman . Ramanuja , a s a sann ya s i h ad to

g o round at mid - da y from house to house for food .

On e of the hous e - holders h ad instruc ted his wi fe to

poison the food and serve it to him . The womanfel t compell ed to obev the husband , but, on giving the

handfu l to Ram anuja ,could not bea r the feeling that

the good m an would die of the food . She ,therefo re

ip ros trated herself before him while getting ba ck intothe house . It is recognized a s a rul e of prac tice tha twh e n a s anny a si goes out for a l in s (biks ha ) . tha t no on e

s hou ld make th e usua l sa luta tion . This s trang e con

duc t on the pa rt of the lady struck Ram anuja and he

s uspected fou l p l ay . On examina tion th e po i s o n wa s

d is covered , a nd ever a fter it wa s a rranged tha t thee ld er of the two new a rriva l s shou ld undertake thefood supply of Ram anuja . In spite of this a ttemp t

a t a s sa s s ina tion , a l l h ad so fa r gone smooth ly ; b ut

the l ife of Ram anuja becomes stormy herea fter . His

fame h ad Spread fa r and the few prominen t conver

s ions a t tra cted a ttentio n . \Vheth er h e wished it or

no, he h ad to make h is position good a g a in s t a l l

com ers and had to a s sume the role of a controversia l i st.

A t this time ther e a rrived a t Srirangam an Adva i ta

s a nnya s i , b y name Yeg fiam arti, in the course of a

controversia l tour through Ind ia . Then there began b e

tween the two a grea t d i sputa tion r eg a rding th e rela

t ive superioritv of th e ir respecti ve creeds . F or sixteen

da ys they went on with no dec isive resu l t e i ther wa y .

a nd Ramanuja wa s somewha t anx iou s about his ownpos ition , when it struck him tha t he might derive

some help from A l avandar’

s works . He referred to

th e la t ter’s Mava vadakanda n am (a refuta tion of the

id ea l i s tic theory) . Thus armed h e overcame his a d

ver sary on the seventeenth day and ,a s a resul t ,

204 ANCIENT INDIA

enl isted his riva l among his fol lowers under the

Va ishnava designation of Arulalapperumal Emberu

manar .Sometime after Ramanuja fel t tha t he might con

venien tl y pay the long~wish ed~for vis it to his uncle,

who sent word through his nephew tha t he verym uch wished to see him . Ramanuja then set forwa rdfor Tirupa ti , one of the three

‘ holy of holi es'

of the

Sri Va ishnava s . He stayed a yea r receiving in struc

t ion in the Ramayana from his ma terna l uncl e there,who a t th e end of the period made ove r to him histwo sons . His prepa ra tions were now complete and

a s he wa s growing old,he s et a bout fu lfi l ling his

undertaking to A lavandar . The first of his three

promises wa s th e writing out of such a commentaryfor the Bra hma s -

cum a s wou ld embody the views of

the qua l ified monistic school of thought . It wa s

absolutely es sentia l for a due performance of this

work th a t he shou ld a cqua in t himself with the previous commenta tors , pa r ti cula rly of the Bodha

tya nw

c ritti. This na tura l ly wa s not ea sy of acqui sit ion forone of his intent ions exp l ici t and impl ied . He h ad

to go abou t much be fore h e found a ccess to a l ibra ryin th e north, conta ining the work, where he wa s

a llowed just to read i t th rough . He felt tha t it wa s

not enough when a qui ck d isciple among his fol lowerscame to his rescue by saying tha t he h a d completely

ma stered th e work and could give references when

ever want ed . This wa s one among his first discipl es,who lived to render ye t g rea ter services to his m a s ter.

With the help of Kfira tta l van - for such wa s the

name of this stout- hea rted and quick -minded d isciple

Ram -anuja wrote out the three works, the essence of

th e Vedanta a resume of the Vedan

ta (VErc 'z ta. Sa ng ra ham) , the l ight of the Vedanta

(Védd nta dip a-m) . He a l so wrote , or ra ther ga ve out, the

commentaries on th e Brdhmd s fttm and Bha ga va /gita .

‘2-06 ANC IENT INDIA

returned to Srirangam and set about a rranging ma tters

for getting through th e rema in ing items of work he

had undertak en .

Ram anuja’

s foremost d isciple Kara ttalvan wa s for

long chi ldl ess . One night h e h ad to go to b ed without food

,having h ad to fa st th e whole day for lack

of provi sions . The bel l in th e grea t temple pea led,

ind ica ting that the nigh t- worship wa s going on . The

devoted wife thought to herse l f tha t it wa s ha rd lyfa ir tha t god Ranganatha should a cc ept r egula r worshipwhen the sta unchest of his devotees l ay sta rving

Soon a fter the temple p ries ts brought a supply of food

from the temple and knocked a t th e door of Kura ttalvan . Th e wife opened th e door a nd delighted withthe a rriva l of food , woke up the re s tles s hu sband andfed him . As the d irect outcome of this d ivine favou r,she soon became mo ther of two sons to one of whomat the instance of Ram anuja ,

th e name Pa rasa ra wa s

given . This boy h a d grown up to man ’s sta te whenRam anuja wa s looking out for some one through whomhe might fulfi l the second obj e ct . This young man

P araéara Bha tta wa s commissioned to write a commentary on the Sa ha s ra ndma, (th e thousand name sof Vishnu) . This work of P arasa ra Bhat ta fulfi l ledthe second of the desidera ta of A lavandar .

There then rema ined the means of p erpetuat ing thename of Namm alvar, the author of the Tiruvoymoli.

Ramanuja wa s perh aps thinking of a commenta ryhimself . It would appear he was cont emplating withina closed room a pa rticula r verse of the work a ttempt

ing to rea lize i ts fu l l s ignificance when his cou s inlooked th rough a ch ink in the door . The young man

Pi l lan by name, forthwi th put the question whetherth e ma ster wa s pondering the verse referring to the

god a t Tirurnalirun jOIai. Ramanuja wa s struck withth e a cutenes s of the young man , and commiss ionedhim to write out the 6000 commentary on

RSMKNUJA AND Br'r

r i DEVA‘207

Tiruvoymoli, giving him th e name Tirukkuruh aippiranPillan , the first pa rt of which being one of the manysurnames of Nammal var . This brought the third of

A lavandar'

s desidera ta to fulfi lment . Ramanuja couldnow feel his mis sion a t a n end and Se ttl e down toa l i fe of qu ie t teaching . This way y ea rs rol led by .

He wa s not, however , a l together unmolested . A

change of ru ler, or a change in his surround ingsbrought a bout a change in the spirit of com ple teto l erance tha t a s a rul e cha rac terised the a dminis

tra tion . Be the caus e wha t it may,th e Chola ru l er

for the time being , often given th e name Kulottung a ,

took it into his head to demand a ssent to the doctrine

‘ éiy at pa ra ta ram nast i ’. ‘ There is no Beingsuperior to Siva

This seems to have been a imedpa rticula rly a ga ins t the Ram anuja propagand i sts . perhaps becaus e ot

a few prominen t conversions .

Thischa l lenge wa s open ly thrown out, and na tura l ly enougheverybody po inted to Ram an nja a s the person whos e

a ssent ought to he obta ined . Ramanuja wa s summonedt o appea r in the roya l pres ence .

Ramanuja’

s fri ends fea red danger, and to avo id i tKfirattalvan undertook to persona te Ramanuja . A ssum

ing the robes of the sannya s i , Kfira ttfi lvan went a longwith th e venerabl e P e riy anambi to the Ch o la Court,wh ile Ramanuja a s suming the dress of a h ous e - holder

and a t th e head of a sma l l body of adherents betookh im sel f to the king dom of the Hoys a la Bitti DGy a .

Travel l ing a long the b anks of the Ka veri, Ramanuja

settled down a t Saligram where he l ived fo r a period

of twe lve yea rs , while Bitti l l flva wa s jus t ca rvingout for himself a kingdom here, a longr the sou th ern

m a rch es of the Chal uky a k ingdom of Vikramadity a

and the Chola frontier in the northw e st .

A daughter of the king wa s possessed and a fterfa i l ing in a l l other a t tempts at exorcism Rainanuja

aid was ca l led in . Sure enough the ghost wa s ra ised ,

i208 ANCIENT INDIA

a nd Bitt i Deva agreed to become the di s cipl e of

R amanuja . This cou ld not,however

,be without over

-c oming the Ja ins in controversy, a s the king wa s repu ted

to ha ve been a Ja in . Ramanuja h ad the best of i tin the di sputat ion and the bulk of the Ja ins ei therembra ced the Ram anuja da rsana or were ordered tob e ground down in oil mil ls . This la tter threa t, how

e ver, was not carried into effect through th e intervention

o f Ramanuja . Ramanuja returned to Sal igram .

It was while here tha t Ramanuja’

s stock of namam

( the white earth which serves for the Va i shnava ca ste

m ark on the forehead) ran out of stock and Ram anuja

wa s much concerned . He dreamt overni ght tha t there

wa s a hi l l of tha t ma teria l , not far from Tondaufir,w here he made the a cqua intance with Bitti Deva .

F ol lowing th e clue he obta ined , in his dream , and

through the good offices of Vita la D eva (Bitt i Deva )Ramanuja got the spot marked or t in hi s dream dugup ; when 10 ! there appeared benea th a sma ll shrine .

He then got i t consecra ted a s Tirunarayanapuram

(Me lukote of th e maps) . Thinking of a sui tableimage for this shrine , he dream t of the image of

Ram aprya , which wa s a t Delhi in posses sion of thedaughter of th e ruler at the time . He h ad to undertake a j ourney to northern Ind ia a ga in . Having gotpossession of the image s em ewh at mira cul ously

returned with it . A s the princess proved inconso la bl e

without her p et image , the king (whoever he wa s )s en t a pa rty of men to bring ba ck Ramanuja who

found . sh elter in a Panchama vi l lage . It is out of

gra t itude for this prot ection tha t he orda ined the ad

mission of the la tter into the t emple on the car festiva l . The consecra tion of the ima ge and the completion

o f the temple are pla ced in 1021 éaka or A .D., 1099

which appears to anteda te th e event much . He had tomake good hi s position h ere aga in a s aga inst every

b ody e lse , and held a successful d isputa ti on a ga inst

2 10 ANCIENT INDIA

the centum in honour of Ramanuja on the model ofthe decade of Madhurakavi on Nammalvar . Amudan

of Arang am ,the author of the centum,

it would

a ppear, wa s the Smarta manager of the t emple at

Srirangam , and ha d been not over a ccommoda ting toth e Va i shnava apostle or his d i s cip les . When hiso ld mother wa s drawing near her end

,the son duti

ful ly inqu i red if she desired anything he might dofor her . Sh e wished tha t either Ram anuja himself,or one of his nominees , might be invited to a cceptfood from him on the occa sion of her funera l ceremonies . Amudan h ad no a lt erna tive but to make therequest of Ram anuja , who advised tha t his indomitable di sciple Karattalvan might be a sked . The latter

a ccepted the invita t ion and demanded for sa t is fa ct ion

the keys of the temple, which Amudan surrenderedand became henceforwa rd the d iscip l e of Karattalvan .

This Am udan in his new- born zea l compos ed thecentum , and begged ha rd that it might be a ccepted .

Ram anuja a ccepted the dedi cation , and permitt ed itsinclusion in the prab andha 4000 at the ea rn est pleadings of his first disciples . Having made provis ion for

the regu la r annua l recita l of this 4000, Raman uja got

images of the A lvars and Andal set up in Srirangam

and other important pla ces, where a l so s imi lar annua lce lebra tions were orda ined .

He then pa id a v i si t to A lvar Tirunagari and,on

his return , heard tha t his ma terna l uncl e at Tirupati

wa s no more . He then repa ir ed thither and got the

funera l ceremonies duly performed by the elder ofthe two cous ins of his , th e younger of whom he hadl ong rega rded a s his son in apostoli c succ ession . Itwa s whil e he wa s yet here tha t he heard tha t th eG ovindara ja temple a t Chidamba ram h ad been overthrown and the image ca st into the s ea . He causedthe imag e to be brought over, and housed it in thetemple at the foot of the sacred hi ll where aga in he

MISSION A T AN END £211

caused to be set up the images of the A l y ars and

A ndal a s elsewhere . He then returned to Srirangam

by wa y of Kanchi and Madhurantakam . After th ishe went to Tirumalirunjolai and Srivi l l iputtur tocomplete his round of pil grimag e to the sacredshrines of Vishnu in the south . Having thus estab

lish ed his influence throughout South Ind ia , and

having organized and popu la rized the tea chings of

Visish tadvaita - vedanta he cou ld now think th at hi smis sion wa s a t an end . He a rranged for the con

tinuance of his tea ching b y nomina ting seventy - fourfrom among the worthiest of his fol lowers . Of thisnumber four h ad specia l cus tody of the Bhd shya ,

one among whom h ad the Pm bha nda t eaching a l so .

This one wa s no other than his cousin - son Pi l l'

who became the a ctua l successor of Ramanuja .

“b i le he wa s prepa ring to depa rt from thi s world,

he found the most indomitable among his compaui ons anticipa te him in this a s wel l . Having got hi s

funera l rite s du l y performed,Ram anuja felt that he

h ad a rr ived at th e end of his mis s ion , when aga in , a t

the importuna te entrea ty of hi s d isciples , he h ad topermit three of h is own images to be consecra t ed and

s et up in Srirangam ,Sriperum b fith r

ir , and Tirunara

yanapuram . This example h a s been fol lowed la ter on,

and now every Vishnu temple in the south ha s , a s a

necessa ry a djunct to it , a l i ttle shrine for Ram anuja

C onso ling his sorrowing disciples and companions,

Ram z‘

m uja felt the ca l l and s o pa ssed awa y qu ietly ,

having completed the one hundred and twenti eth

yea r of his a g e .

The above , in brief, i s an out l ine of the life of Ramanuja ,

a ccord ing to the most authoritat ive trad ition . This

trad it ion h a s a tendenc y to ga ther volume , a s timepa s ses , and there have been a s many varieties of this

b iography a s th ere have been those interested in hagi

o l ogists . But thi s a ccount re l i es pa rticu la rly on two

212 ANCIENT INDIA

c ontemporary works,which have specia l cla ims for our

acceptance Neither of them is a professed biography,and both of them were written for the acceptance ofcontemporaries . On e of them h ad been read before

Ramanuja and obta ined his imprimatur . Thi s i s th ework of Amudan of Arang am . It consi sts of one

hundred stanza s in Tamil, inc luded in the P ra ba ndha

of the Tamil part of th e Va ishnava l ore . The other is

the work of a d isciple a l so, by name Vaduhanambi (or

in Sanskrit Andhrapurna ) , probably because he was a

Telugu m an . This is ca l led Ya tirdj a Vaibha vam and

consists of 114 sloka s . This work describes in a wayquite free from exaggera tion a l l tha t Ramanuja did . It

strikes one as being pa rticula rly reliable . The name

of th e author occurs among th e seventy - four successors of first degree of R am anuja , and his obligation

to the ma ster i s indica ted in the sloka which is now

quoted :‘

Karnschid Ka smin s chid arthe pratiniyatataya san

niyojyantarangan ,ta tra kshirarth a kritye pratiniyata

maho das amapyatyanarh am , Kurvan s timan yatindrassvapatavinata tatdasanudas am m am apyatyantabhaktam

svahitamiva sada gopayan sopi jiyat.

Having ordered his most trusted d i scipl es to a cceptparticular offices , Ram anuja

who protected his worthl ess servant, servant of his servants , entrusted withthe service of providing mi lk , m ay he prosper .

It now rema ins to examine from ava i labl e historical ma teria l wha t truth there is in the above a ccount,and how far certa in impressions tha t preva i l regarding Ramanuja and his t ea chings find j ustifica tionfrom his l ife and times . Having a l ready recoun ted

the incidents in the life of Ramanuja ,we sha l l

now proceed to examine critica l ly, whether the mainincidents of his life are wha t hi s disciples c la im them

to have been, and whether recent research, so far as

it bears upon thes e, l ends any support to these as a

214 ANCIENT INDIA

reference at a l l in the Ya tidha rma. Samuehchayam to

his conversion . This is a work which undertakes to

examine what the dut ie s of a sannyasi are a ccordingto the best authority ; and the author seems to hold

tha t there i s good authori ty for both c la sses of san

nva sins—those with the sa cred thread and tuft of ha iron the head (the Va i shnava) , and those without these

adjunct s (the Sa iva) . Except a reference to the ‘ P ra

bhanda s in the invoca tory verse and to the invocation

itself being addressed to Vishnu a s Dattatréya ,the work

is non - committing in this pa rticu la r . But the work,Rdmdnuj a , Nd r f

ra ndhddht'

of Amudan of Arangam , on eof his own convert s, refers often to success in disputa tion

aga inst grea t controversia l ist s ; but does not mentionnames though th e references are such, a s wou ld wa rrant

the inference tha t they were in pa rticula r YadavaprakaSa

and the sannyasin Yeg nam urti(stanza s 58, 64, and

But in two works of Vedanta Deéika coming just three

gen era tions a fter, or s ay about a century, we have direct

references to the purpose . The first ha lf of verse thirteen of Ya tirfij a Sapta ti refer s to

’ ‘

Svabha lat uddhrita

Y adavaprakaSa’

, or he tha t h ad uprooted with his own

s trength YadavaprakaSa . This need not neces sari lymean conversion , but tha t such wa s a ctua l ly the cas e isclea rly sta ted in one of his other works

, Sa ta dhfishani.

1 I am ob liged for this reference to th e l a te l am ented Ta rka tirth a

Punditara tnam Ka sturirangach a r of Mysore .

ais fiifisaamq ws eefis uiaanafirdz s tint: s‘

aras z'

i: a risqurmsflgffir arqiaare‘

ieeaeumarmadame

q rgasq fsig rrs umffifiaa Ha fiz : I HEQafEC

BiHlfflfi -fifl I

mafs nu Gigifia aura s: qrafi fi fs aa ic—I l azs nfaazda

afasfitarmrfq umarfaaiatauiaia. l

nai‘

gfi—ufi fewuaq 64

TIRUPATI CONTROVERSY 215

Vedanta Deéika fo l lowed Ramanuja at an interva lof three genera tions only , and we m ay take him a s

sufficient authori ty for the fa ct . a s he takes Yadava ’sopin ions and serious ly controverts them in other part sof hi s works .2 . A s to Yeg i

iamur ti’

s conversion we a re not in a

position to say anything, a s nothing more is known of

him than the fa ct of his having been a sannya s in

Ekadandi) .

3 . The question about T irupa t i i s of fa r grea ter importance , the more so a s there h a s recently beena l ively controversy about the same subj ect in thecolumns of the j ourna l s and papers , consequent on Mr .Venkyya

s refer ence in his officia l report to the templebeing a Sa iva one . It will be seen tha t the Vai shnavaa ccount sa ys tha t the god on the hi l l h ad just lenthi s chara cteristic weapons , the di sc and the conch ,to the Tondam an Chakrava rti . This evidentl y refersto the conquest of Ka lingam by Karunakara Tondamanabout A . D . 1111 . Messrs . M . Na rayan a s ami Iyer , B .A .

BL . an d T . A . G opina tha Rau, M .A . , have both writtenconcerning thi s in the Sen Tamil . The former inclinesto the Va i shnava view and the la tter to th e Saiva . Thequestion , therefore

,needs to be examined with ca re .

The following fact s concerning the point appear to be

agreed upon . The authors of the Tevara m have not a t

a l l cel ebra ted the shrine ; the Va ishnava A lvars have .

The Tamil epic Silapp a d/cikd ra m h a s exp l ici t ly giventhe temple a Va i shnava cha racter , and there is no

possibi l i ty of m i stake here . On thi s account , therefore ,

use qfwwaafi fl arfi a

m qma‘

fog a‘

fitqfq Willi?!

31131 53130 fanfaqfn : uria luraanws rfe ga mma game

fi aae n

sWW—aieeqafiuaug q 65

216 ANCIENT INDIA

Mr . Gopin ath a Rau wou ld place the Silappadhikaramafter PoygaiAlvar . Whether he put s it a l so after Rama

nuja i s not quite cl ea r , though he shows a wish to

bring it to the middle of th e twelfth century . Thi s gentlem an holds tha t the origina l god wa s Subrahmanya

a s the pla ce is ca l l ed I langoil , and the god i s referred

to once or twice a s Kumara , though not without other

adjuncts . The latter is qui te decis ive a ccording to him .

So it would be,if the premises were quite a s they

are represented to be . One fundamenta l d efect herei s the taking out of words without reference to theircontext . Mr . Gopin ath a Rau refers to the god beingknown a s Balajee among the northerners . This m ay

be so, but Balajee i s not exclusively appl ied to Suhrab

manya ,if appl ied to him a t a l l . There are numbers

of persons known a s Balajee, but th e word stands forBalakrishna . Thi s is equa lly sound . There i s something more . The early A l vars , Poyg ai A lvar , Bhutat

tar and Bev A lvar delight in referring to G od in one ofhis aspects a s a child,

either a s Rama or Krishna ,

preferably the la tter . One ha s only to look through

th e writings of these to be convinced of this . Whythey do s o i s beside the point . It is this Balakrishna—h e i s not so named in the work—tha t ha sgiv en rise to the name Bal ajee

‘, s ince Krishna ,

Vitoba , is ver y popula r in the Mahrata country . Any

how this interpreta t ion of Balajee i s in keeping wi ththe writings of those Alvers who ha d bestowed theirbes t thoughts upon God ’s manifesta tion at Ti rupati .Pey Alvar lends th e grea test support to this conten

ti on a s to the nature of the dei ty . He refers to the

God a s @m@@ m fi g eér ma tré l ar'

aremreai m95mx'

iamfla'

s 5 66r®p g57ré®§ l1 5731 Charmin) g mmgfimmad G as/r u m

1 One a t l eas t of th e expl anations for this designa tion is th at,wh en th e

northerners firs t h ad a look of th e image, th ey were so s truck with th e

softl y beau tiful look th a t th ey excl aimed in surprise Bin-a (Damsel ) .

This wa s th e a ccount given by th e peop l e in th e l oca l ity.

218 ANCIENT INDIA

cousin’

s convers ion mus t have mad e the Sa iva s a l iveto the danger of this Va i shnava neighbourhood . So

on the old grounds of the dua l form of the imagethey revived their cla im s, pa r ticula r ly as the ru l ingsovereign wa s l ike ly to lean to the Sa iva side . Na tura l lyenough Remanuja appea l ed to a tria l by ordea l of some

sort . Ever a fter, there appea rs to have been no d isputea s to the character of the deity . This must have taken

place sometime after A . D . 1111- 2, the probable date

of the conquest of Ka lingam .

4 . The next i tem of. importance in the l ife of Ramanuja i s the Chola persecution . The Chola ruler at thetime wa s Ku lettung a, the Chalukya - Chola (A . D . 1070

to Most of the Chola s were Sa iva s, but theywere tol erant of other rel igions a s well , whil e someof them even went the length of endowing Vishnu

temples . This Kulettung a wa s not particularly na rrow

minded, a s he made a grant even to the Bauddha

settlement at Negapa tam . But a s the Va ishnavaaccount itself s ta tes he wa s persuaded by others into

compe l ling a l l to a ssent to the doctrine of the supremacy of Siva . This i s not a t a l l improbable, con sid

ering tha t this was the period of great Sa iva activi tyand the ruler was th e specia l pa tron of Sekkilar.

The genera l body of Va ishnava s were not i l l - trea ted,but Ramanuja

s active work a t Srirangam a ttra ctedattention and ended in the bl ind ing of Kurattelvar and

the ol d preceptor of Ram anuja himself . This m us t

have taken pla ce about the nineties of the eleventhcentury . Ramanuja wa s compel led to leave the country .

His immigra tion into the Mysore country brings u s tothe next important incident in his l ife .5 and 6 . He moved up the Kavery and settl ed at

Sal igram, from which place h e wa s invited to the head

quarters of Vita la Deva Raya or Bitt i D eva . This la ttercould not have been the rul ing sovereign at the time, a s

his brother l ived to the end of the century and a few

It l NUJA IN MYSORE 219'

yea rs la ter . During the la st years of the century he wa ss t i l l a c tive in th e G an g

avadifrontier, and i t wa s whi lehere tha t he must have met Ra-mamuj a . H is elde rbrother ‘

h ad for his god Tsa which probab ly meanttha t he wa s a éaiva . Bitti D eva wa s converted and

helped Ramanuja in the restora tion of the t emple ofNarayana at Me lukote . I have el sewhere l shown tha tthe persecut ion of the Ja ins a scribed to Vishnuva rdhana i s ha rd ly supported by fa cts . The consecra tion of

the t emple a t Melukote i s pla ced in the yea r A . D . 1099 ,

twelve yea rs a fter Ram anuja’

s a rriva l at Sal igram . Thi s

m ay have be en the ca se , a s Ramanuja wou ld ha ve takenca re not to provoke the hosti l ity of the ru ler of his new

domici le . Vishnuvardhana thenceforward supported thecause of Ramanuja and encoura ged Vish navaism . He

went on bu i ld ing temples and endowing them , not

without supporting th e other temples and creeds a s well,though not perhaps to the same extent . This a ct ivitycu lmina ted in the bui ld ing and consecra tion of thetemple at B e lur in (or about) A . D . There i s

nothing improbable in the date, a s it wa s in thi s yea rtha t he could cla im to have become ma ster of the

G ang avadi. So Rain anuja must have lived in Mysore

for near ly a quarter of a centurv . It wa s the dea th ofthe Cho la Kulottun ga in A . D . 1 118 tha t enabled him

to return . But then there i s an inconsistency with

resp ect t o da te s . As the Gurup a rmnp am i sta tes, i t

a ppea rs tha t the Chola d ied soon a fter the blinding of

the two friends of R a manuja ; but in ac tua l fact the

dea th of the persecutin g Chola cam e m any years a fter,if the da te A . D . 1099 be tak en a s correct for th e

Me lukote incident,which appears too ear ly to be true .

It wou ld be too much to expect this kind of accura cy insuch an a ccount and in one of its profes sed chara ct er .

l Ch apter IX . Vishnuvardh ana,fol lowing .

9 Ha s san volume of th e Epig raphia. Ca rnd laka Ins . Be l ur 5 S and 7 1 .

220 ANCIENT INDIA

7 . The next incident of importance i s the convers ion

of Amudan of Arangam , the manager of the temple at

Srirangam, a non -Vaishnava . F or thi s we have evidence

of the convert himself . He is the author of the

Rdmdnuj a Ns rm ndd di and in v erses thr ee, four and

s even of the work he makes it c lear tha t he was a convert

by favour of Bam anuja and Kfirattalvar . In verses

e ight and twenty- one, he c lear ly describes Ramanuja’

rela tion to the A lvars and Nadh amuni and A lavandar

(Y amunaitturaivar) , in spite of opinions to the contraryby schola rs who implicitly believe in the opinion ofDr . Ca ldwell . Not only thi s . The centum (in fact 108)of his stanzas gives in a sma l l span ,mostly a l lusively but

none the less clearly, the ma in a chi evements of Rama

muja , and thus becomes the contemporary authority

for most of th e facts of Ram anuja’

s l ife a s deta iled above .

The modera tion of tone and sobriety of language

c ommend its authority the more, for otherwise Rama

nuja would not have been persuaded to include it

among the Pm bha ndam 4000.

8 . L a st ly comes the construction and consecra tion

of the Govinda shrine a t the foot of the Tirupa ti hil l .

This a ffords the best clue to the da te of Ramanuja . The

Gurup am mp am igiv es thi s a s the la st act of a busy life

under circumstances which , thanks to the researches ofBrahma Sri R . R aghava Iyenga r, Court Pand it of

Ramnad and Editor of the Sen Tamil,the organ of the

Madura Tamil éang am , prove to be qu ite historica l .“The story, it wil l be remembered, i s tha t the GovindaRa ja temple at Chidamba ram having been removed fromthe premises of the grea t éiva temple , Ramanuja and

h is d isciples got the idol enshrined in a new temple

a t Tirupa ti . In a number of historica l works rela ting

to the period, pa rticu la r ly in the Ku lottunga Chola ) :

Hld of Ottakfittan ,

‘ this achievement i s a scribed to Ku lot

1 Sen Tamil , vol . III, part. v, pp . 166- 7 .

CHAPTER VIII

THE MAKING OF MYSORE

MYSORE ,the modern Sta te, i s a product of the nine

teenth century . The country a ctua lly included in the

term got united under one rul er, only under the vigorous

ru le of the Musa lman usur per , Ha idar‘A l l . Through

much of its history before , the State wa s pa rcel led out

into a number of Sta tes of varying extent and im

p ortance . It will,therefore , be profitabl e to inquire

whether , at any t ime before the la st qua rter of theeighteenth century, the whole Sta te wa s brought under

on e rule .

Adjus ting our time- telescope, if we look through it, a s

far a s we can se e at a l l , into the dim vi sta s of the ea rlyc entur ies of the Christian era , we are able to see butl it t le . The sources of informa tion ava i lable are themost meagre of hints from early Tamil l itera ture . We

h ave references lead ing to th e loca tion in Mysore territory of some petty chiefta ins , among whom may bementioned one whom the Tamil ians ca l l Erumaiyfiran

(the chief of the Buffa lo country) among the seven pettychiefs . Pa ss ing from this time, we come unto theperiod of the Ganga s, a ra ce of rul ers whose doma in inthe south of Mysore embraced the southern portions ofthe modern Ash tagram and Nandidrug divis ions . This

d yna sty was at times powerfu l enough to make its influenc e felt in South Indian pol it ic s , but a t no time of itsh istory did i t make good i t s cla im to having pass edbeyond the lead of another power, genera l ly the s over

eigns of the Dekhan . Before pass ing on further,i t wi l l

THE ANDHRA s or THE DEKHAN 223

b e wel l to look ba ck upon th e d i spos ition of the Powers

north and south in order to better understand the roletha t Mysore pla y ed in the history of South India .

To begin aga in at the beginning of history so far a s i s

known at present , we find tha t Ind ia throughout b istori

ca l times is divis ible for purposes of history into threegeographica l part s : Hindustan . th e Dekhan and the

F arther South . \Vhen th e Andhra succes sors of theMauryan dyna sty wer e overthrown , a dyna sty of ru lers ,the Andh rabhritya s of the Purana s, fa stened themselves

upon the Dekhan . It is this dy na sty (100 B .C .

—A .D . 300)that, from the s econd l ine of defence of peninsula r India ,

withstood successfu l ly and bea t ba ck the incurs ions of

the foreigners—th e Scythians of Centra l As ia, who had

establ ished themselves in the north - west of Ind ia . Theterritories of thes e Satavah an a s (vulgo Salivah ana ) , or

Andhrabhritya s . embra ced the whole of the Dekhan extend ing from coast to coast . They had to ma inta in

two capita l s , one in the south - ea st and another in

the north -west, and occa siona l l v two rulers , the fa ther

a nd son , or brother and brother , hold ing each his Court .This division of authority betrays the need for pro

tection aga ins t two powerfu l n eighbours , a lways on the

a lert to take advantage of any opportunity that might

offer its elf for cutting off a sl ice of territorv. The

northwest capita l wa s at Pa itan (P lithana of the

G reeks) on th e upper wa ters of the Godavery, and

the south - ea st on e a t Dh anakataka (Dh arnikfit) in the‘Guntur ta luq, the Amarava ti of Buddhist fame . Thismust have been the p eriod when the three crowned

ru lers of the F arther South la id c la im to having defeated the Aryan Army

, and to having planted theirrespective, emb l em s on the Hima laya s (which may be an

ea stern figure of speech for ext ensive conquest s in the

n orthern Dekhan) . There is a hiatus now and we lo sethe thr ead . The Andh rabh ritya Power breaks up ,

haps because of the simultaneous a ttacks of the Guzera t

224 ANCIENT INDIA

and Malva Ksh étrapa s , a fter about three centuries ofexistence

,and then other Powers a re forming . The

Gupta s a ssume imperia l responsibilit ies, and from thecentra l Ind ian ba stion beat ba ck the Kshetrapa s on the

one side and the Huna s on the other, thus giving timeto the Dekhan Sta te s to settl e down to the norma lcond it ion from the amorphous sta te to which they hadbeen reduced after the fa l l of the Satavahana s . The P a llava s are erecting themselves in the north of the Tamilcountry, with their head - qua r ters moving south til l th eyreach the ancient Chola town of Kanchi , th e head - quarters of the Tondaman Ba j a s . Befor e thi s, we hea r ofthem at Ama rava ti , Pa lakka and other places furthernorth . Perhaps these P a l lava s were feuda tory wardens

of the ma rches of the Satavahana s in the south, and

when the la tter Power brok e up the P a l lava s made themselves

, a s wa s often the ca s e, paramount . When, therefore

,we come to th e period of Samudragupta. (circa

A . D. 400) the grea t Gupta Emperor of the north,we

find Vishnugopa of Kanchi, a lready an important rul er,

whose dominion l ay beyond the sphere of influence ofthe Gupta emperor . Simu ltaneously with this Power

rises tha t of the Chalukya s of Vatapi (Badami in theBijapur ta luq) . These were , or must have been aga in

the wa rdens of the marches in the south - west underthe A ndh rabh ritya s . So tha t when Yuwan Chwang

(Hiuen Ths ang ) t ravell ed through the country in A . D .

640, we find India marked out into three clearly definedpol iti ca l divisions . Siladitya or Ha rsh ava rdh an a of

Kanouj wa s , in succession to the Gupta s, ru l ing overHindustan to the frontiers of Assam Pulikesin II of

the Maharashtra at Badami, with his younger brother

Kub ja Vish nuvardh ana a t Ra jamahendri (Jananath apura) ; and Nara simhavarman P a l lava or Mah am a l la at

Kanchi . This d ivis ion cont inues under a l l the vic is

situdes of families and dyna st ies t i l l the overthrow of

Vijayanagar . The Chalukya s were succeeded by the

226 ANCIENT INDIA

agains t the later Chalukya s in a va in a ttempt at hold

ing out for a whil e longer, the Ganga s absorbed the

Nol ambavadi the modern Tumkur and Chita ldrug distr icts , under their rul er Mara simh a II . The

Rashtrakfita s were overthrown in A . D . 972, and the

Chalukya s had to establish themselves in their stead,when the southern Chola took his opportunity to pushhis arms northwards . By A . D. 1000 the Chola h ad

ga ined a footing in Mysore, and the G angavadi hadbeen made Chola . Since this conquest Mysore h adbecome the ba tt le ground of the contending nations,the Kannada Chalukya s and the Tamil Chola s . Thewa rs were long and t iresome and the resul ts changing

and doubtfu l . At one time w e hear of the Cholasbeing beat en back to the Pa lar ; again they press backthe enemy . In A . D . 1052, an epoch -making ba ttl e wasfought at Koppam on the Perar (Tungabh adra) . The

elder Chola brother Rajadhiraja lo ses his head ; buthis younger brother Rajendra r etr ieves the honour of

the Chola s and vic tory res ts with them . Ah avama l l a

Semésva ra of the Chalukya s h a s to content himselfwith the Tungabh adra for the frontier . With thedea th of these mighty ru lers, the a ffa i rs of theirempires get into confusion and the opportunity for

Mysore a rrives . Here begins, then, the carving out ofa kingdom of Mysore and the carvers were skilfulartists indeed . Ah avama l la . d ied leaving behind a

number of sons. The eldest son SOmésvara succeeded,

as wa s na tura l , but the second Vikram adity a foundi t convenient to rebe l , after having ca reful ly gaugedthe temper of the Mahamanda l ésvaras (or viceroys ofprovinces) . Vikramaditya , the hero of Bilhana ’

s Vikram ankadéva Charitam, sta rt ed on a progres s throughhis brother

s dominions, under the pret ext of going to

stop the a dvance Of the then Chola ru l er Virarajendra,a brother Of the two who d ist ingui shed themselves in thebatt l e of Koppam , and he himself wa s victor over the

F IRST FOUNDER OF MYSORE KINGDOM 227

Kuntal a s (western Chalukyas) at Kfida l Sangamam .

Somehow or other, these two enemies enter into an

agreement, the terms of which are not forthcoming,which was s ea led by the ma rriage of princ e Chalukyawith the daughter of the reigning Chola . This musthave been brought about in the interests of both .

Vikram aditya found a va luable a lly for his proj ect,

which now definit ely h ad formed itse lf in his mind,of overthrowing his brother Samésvara . Virarajéndrafound tha t Vikrama

s a ll iance woul d be of grea t valueto him , as his po sition wa s threa tened by his sist er’s

son Kulottunga Chola , who wa s certa inl y heir to, at

lea st, hi s paterna l dominions Of the Vengi country

(eastern Chalukya dominions) . After the trea ty onthe banks of the Tung abh adra , Virarajéndra marchesinto the ea stern Chalukya dominions , and on e of hisinscript ions cla ims tha t h e appo in ted Vijayaditya , the

pa terna l uncl e of Kulottunga , a s the Chola vi ceroy

of the newly conquered territories . Kulottunga Cholaand Semesvara natural ly combined aga inst the a l l i es

but the resul t proves favourable ul timately to Vikramaditya and his fa ther - in - law . But Virarajéndra dies

and his son i s insta ll ed by Vikramaditya , on ly to losehi s head a long with the crown . Kulflttunga in sta l shimsel f ruler of th e eastern Chalukya and th e Choladominions . KulOttung a

s reign l a sts very nearly ha l f

a century (A . D . 1070 to whil e hi s riva l contem

porary comes to the throne a few yea rs later . He

a l so ha s as l ong a reign (A . D . 1076 to Amongthe Mahamanda lesvaras Of thi s Vikramaditya , we see

one name, Vish nuvardhana Hoysa la, and the seque lwil l c lea rl y show to us tha t he lai d the foundations

of the kingdom Of Mysore for the first time in

history .

In the far off recesses of the western gha ts, there

is a place c a l led Angadi (ma rt) in the Mudegere ta luq

of the Kadur di strict . Its situation, where the road

228 ANCIENT INDIA

over the gha ts from Manga lore meets two otherslea ding to Sakléspur in the south -west and Be lur inthe south - ea st, must have been the cause of the name .

This place h a s the honour of having been the cra dle ofthi s dyna sty of ru lers of Mysore . The name Angadi

wa s given to it under the ru le of Vij ayanagar, the earliest

epigraphica l u s e Of this n ame being in an inscriptionof Ach yuta Raya . Before this time, the place borethe name Saéakapura ,

or Sosevur (rabbit town) , and theinscript ions in the vi l lag e temple ca l l the goddess

Vas an tika Devi, the Va santamm a Of modern t imes .

It was here tha t the Hoys a la s h ad their origin, and

s evera l inscriptions a ccount for the name by an a chieve

ment of Sa la ,the eponymous ancestor of the Hoys a las .

O nce upon a time there happened to be a Ja in Muni

(a scetic) in the Vasan tika temple absorbed in contem

plation . A tiger sprang upon the sa int , who noticed

it too la te to save himsel f. In sheer helplessness hecried out :

‘ strike Sa la’

(Poy Sa la ) , a ddressing thehumbl e but va liant lay-worshipper who wa s at the t ime

before the goddess . With no m ore formida ble weaponthan a stick, Sa la killed the tiger and got the name

Hoys ala for himself and his posterity . This, with the

usua l varia tion Of deta i l , i s the origin of the dyna sty as

given by the inscriptions . But one point in connexionwith this deserves to be noticed . This l egend

,which

m ay be ba sed on some a ctua l fea t of one of the dyna sty,appears in the records of the la ter Hoys a la s only,while those of the ea rl ier ones show them to have beenquite commonpla ce morta l s struggl ing out of ob scurityin the most ord inary way . This View is borne out bythe story recorded in one of the Ma ckenzie manuscripts,which sa ys tha t an a ctua l t iger wa s committing ravages

in tha t part Of the country . One of the ancestors of the

Hoys a la s having ki l l ed i t, wa s voted a‘ pana ’ per head

of popu la tion, which provided the sinews of war, for

organ izing a sma ll force and forming a sma l l Sta te for

230 ANCIENT INDIA

g iven . Another record of his shows him as helping the rul er of Banavas i (Nagar division) , aga ins t his

enemies whoever they were . Here, then, i s the first

h istorical Hoysala struggling out of obscurity, but

his achievements are aga inst chiefs of his own l evel .

His resources cou ld not have been very grea t, if he

was in danger of losing his l ife, a s he is sai d to

have been, in hi s wars aga inst the petty chief Ra

jéndra Chola Prithvi Kongalva , who c la ims a victoryover him at Manné in the record of A . D. 1026 .

Curious ly enough an inscription (Mg . 19) of the

seven th yea r of this very Kama Hoys a la at U ggihalli,

a place situated near Angadi, refers to him a s‘ Kama

Hoysa l a ca l led Ra jama l la P erumanadi’

(Rajam al la

P erumanadiYenipa Kama Hoysa la ) . This Mr . Ricecons iders a clearly Ganga title and s o it i s ; but hethinks that this could not be given to the Hoysala

unles s he were the son Of a Ganga pr ince . Could itnot be tha t he wa s a Ganga feudatory and bore his

over - l ord’s title, just a s the Kongalvas about the samer egion gave themselves Chola t i t les ? (e . g . Rajendra

Chola Prithvi Kong alva) . The successor of Nripa

kama i s his son Vin ayaditya ; but s trange to say

the former’s name is omitted in inscript ions of la teryears, which give elabora te genea logies . This omission

was perhaps due to the agnomen ‘ ba se ’ having hadsome historica l ba sis . Whether thi s was so or not,i t is Tribhuvana Hoys a la Vinayaditya who broughtthe dynasty into some prominence . He h ad hi s h eadqua rters at Saéakapura , but his successor, hi s grandsonBellal a, rules from Be lur a s hi s capita l . Vinayaditya

t ime is coeva l with the dea th gra pple between theChola s and the Chalukya s . Among the Mahamandalés

varas of SOmésva ra Ahavama l la , the name Vinayadityai s a ssociated with the G angavadi 96000 ; but th isvery province wa s divided by the Chola s into threegovernorship s . under a viceroy at Ta lakad, Mudikonda

RETROSPECT 231

Cholam anda lam , Vikram a Cholam anda lam and Nik

h arili Cholam anda l am running from west to northea st a long southern Mysore . Thus it i s c lea r tha tthe Cho la s were in a ctua l posses s ion of the territo ry ,whil e th e Chalukya a ss erted his right to the same bythe appointment Of a viceroy

,with head - qua rters far

beyond the province itself . It is from this struggletha t the Hoysa la s emerge more important than everbefore, but wha t pa rt the Hoys a la a ctua l ly played i snot c lea r from the inscriptions

,though there i s no

room for doubt tha t they rendered yeoman ’s serviceto their l i ege lords, the Chalukya s .

To go ba ck to genera l South Indian hi story for a

whi le , Rajendra , the G angaikonda Chola , d ied inA . D . 1042, and wa s succ eeded by his son Rajadhiraj a (A . D. 1018 to 1052) a l ready a s socia ted with himfrom A . D . 1018 . Na tura l and undisputed though thesuccession wa s , there wa s a genera l a tt empt , in the

frontier provinces,to throw Off the yoke so recently

imposed upon th em . Rajadhiraja h ad to strike first

at Cey lon , then at Travancore and aga in at Mysore,in order to bring these new provin c es ba ck into

a l legiance . This he did with grea t success , abl y

seconded a s he wa s by his younger brother Rajén

dra . About the middle of his r eign, the Chalukya

dominions pa s sed on to Ahavam a l la SOmésvara (A . D .

1044 t o Rajadhiraj a’

s inscriptions cla im severa lvic tories for him in the Mysore country and thecla im seems to be ba sed on fact . At la st the tim e

h ad come for a deci sive ba ttl e to settle once for a l l ,

who wa s to be the ma ster Of the provinc e under

d i spute . At Koppam on the Perar (Tungabh adra )

th e batt l e wa s fought in A . D . 1052 . Rajadhiraja

wa s defea ted and fel l fighting . His younger brotherRaj endra came up with reinforcements, and, having

retr iev ed the honour Of the Cho la s and th e fortunes

of the day, was then crowned on the field of ba tt le .

232 ANC IENT INDIA

One of Ah avamal la’

s inscriptions s ta tes tha t the Chola

l ost his h ead,having sa crilegiousl y burnt the Ja in

temples,which th e Perum anadi (a Ganga chief or

perhaps the Chalukya) had bui l t in the Beluvola

300, s i tua ted in the Bella ry dis trict . In th e cours e

of the series of wars, which culminated in the epochmaking ba tt l e of KOppam ,

the Hoysa la mu s t have h ad

opportunit ies of making himself more powerful thanhis fa ther ; nay,

even of c reating himsel f one of thos ewardens of the ma rches, who have a t a l l times proved

king - makers . Vinayaditya i s credited by the inscript ions of hi s successors with having ruled over the

country bounded by Konkana , Alvakheda, Baya lunadu,Ta lakad, and Savima le . This wou ld mean the countryenclosed by the Kamara s , Ta lakad on the Cauvery in

the south of Mysore, and th e regions about the riverKri shna or Tungabh adra . This must be

the extent of

territory under his successor Vishnuvardh ana , whichhas been given to him , a s Dr . F leet thinks . Al l throughhis time an d a lmost to the end of the century, he is

a ssocia ted with his son Ereyanga (the red - bodied) , as

Yuva Ra ja or heir appa ren t .

Before taking up the successor of Vinayaditya in the

Hoysa la l ineage , it i s necessa ry aga in to consider theirsurround ings . In A . D. 1062 or 1063 Raj endra Chola ,

the second of the name, died and was succeeded by hisyounger brother Virarajendra , while at the same time

Raja raja the ea stern Chalukya a l so died . His son,Raj endra Chola , better known by his la ter titl e Kulottunga Chola , succeeded though not at Ra jamahendri .This la tter prince was the son of Ammangadevi, sisterof the three Chola emperors ending with Virarajendraand daughter of th e G ang aikonda Chola . Ku lottunga

appears to have a spired to the throne of the Chola s ,and this fa ct introduced a di sturbing el ement in wha twoul d otherwise have been a quiet succes sion . Whil e

Virarajendra was doing a l l he cou ld to make his position

234 ANCIENT INDIA

During a l l these transact ions, both dipl oma tic and

wa rlike,between the Chola s and the Chalukya s, the

Mahamanda les vara s of G angavadi and Nol ambavadi

mus t have had their sha re . While, on the one hand,the inscriptions of Virarajendra cla im for him the creditof having granted to Vikram aditya,

the ‘

Youvvarajya’

or the position of heir appa rent, Hoysa la inscriptions ofabout A . D . 1 100 cla im for Eréyanga and h is fa ther-inlaw,

the Nolamba Chief’s brother, th e credi t of having

rendered va luable service in the same cause . Ere

yanga caused Thribhuvanam a l la’

s (Vikramaditya’

s ) elderbrother to sheathe his sword, while his father-ih - l aw,

Irukkapala ,defea ted Bhuvanaikam a l la and gave the

kingdom to Vikram aditya , whose right hand Eréyanga

i s described to have been . This makes it clear that,in spite of Bilh ana

s Vikramankadeva Charitam , Vikra

maditya wa s helped in his machina tions aga inst hisbrother by the Mysore chiefs . Whi le these chiefsproved his strength then, they were la ter on to contribute mightily a l so to the overthrow of his empire .Ereyanga wa s rul ing the G angavadi that i sthe littl e Of it that wa s not under the Chola s . As

a trusty l ieutenan t Of the Chalukya , he took part inthe di stant expedit ions to the north ; for Ereyanga

lays cla im to a victory at Dhara in Malva ,the king

dom of the P ram ara s . He must have died before hi s

fa ther, leaving behind three sons by his wife Ech a ladévi

who might, or might not, have been the Mahadevi, th edaughter of the Nolam ba a bove referred to.

Vinayaditya wa s succeeded by his e ldest grandsonBel la la I in A . D. 1101 . This rul er h ad his capita l

a t B elur with which the Hoysa la s were a ssocia ted,though Dvara s amudra wa s an a lterna tive capita l . Hisprovince is given the same bounda ries a s tha t of hisgrandfa th er, and he is sa id to have pa id a Visi t to

SOSevur . In A . D . 1 103 he made a regrant of Sinda

g ere to Mariane Dhandan ayaka a s the wages for the

BITTI DEVA 235

‘ wet nursing ’

of his three daughters, whom Bel la lamarried in the same pa vil ion at Be lur . In A . D . 1104,

h e led an exped it ion aga inst the Chan galva s , whosedoma in l ay in the Holé Na ra sipur ta luq . In the samey ear , with h is younger brother Xish nu,

h e conducteda succes sfu l expedit ion into the neighbouring Pandyadominions Of Nolambavadi, and h ad to repul se an

inva der Jag addeva , probably the Santa ra prince of

Humcha in Naga r ta luq , who h ad penetra ted a s far a s

Dvara s amudra (Ha lEbid L It i s a significant fact tha tan inscript ion of Bel la la

s time is dated in Chaluky aVikram akala (Kp .

Be l la l a I wa s succeeded by his younger brotherB itti Deva , bet t er known by his la ter t itl e Vishnuvardh ana . He is the rea l founder Of Hoy sa la gr ea tness ,and many even of the t it les of his successors and

predecessors (in inscriptions ) are borrowed from his .The fi rs t mention of hi s name is found in a record ofA . D. 1 100 a ssocia ted with his brother Bel la l a . Therecord s of the la tter do not go further than the yea rA . D . 1106 . a t which da te or soon after Bitti Deva musthave a scended the throne . But a l l in scriptions a greein a scribing his rea l explo its t o , at l east, ten yearsl ater . Hence i t i s possible tha t B ella la continued to

rul e even a fter 1106 . Despi te a l l the c la ims putfo rward by his predecessors , h e h a s to undertake theconquests on the one side Of No lambavadi and on

the other Of G angavadi, which two conquest s con

s titute his c la ims to the tit le of one of th e grea te st

of Vikram aditya’

s Mah am anda lésva ras . The elabora te

a ccounts of the conquest Of G ang avadi, and th e grea tcredit cla imed for it show the firmnes s Of the hold

the Chola s ha d upon the country . Th e conquest is

c la imed sepa ra te ly by a number of Vishnuva rdh ana’

genera l s among whom prominence must be g iven to

G angara ja a dispos sessed sc ion Of the Ganga dyna s ty .

O ther genera l s who d is tingui shed themselves in the

236 ANCIENT INDIA

taking Of Ta lakad were Ketayya Dandanayaka and

Pnp isa . After thi s conques t , Bitti D eva a ssumes thet it les Vira Ganga and Ta lakadugonda . Kulottunga

Chola seems to have a cquiesced in the conquest , a fterh is genera l s Adiyama

, Damoda ra and Nara simhavarm a

were overthrown ; for we see Vishnuvardhana making

a progres s through Gangavadi, in the course of which ,

a t Vijayadityam anga l a (the m odern B etmanga la) , hisniece

,th e daughter of hi s younger brother Udayaditya ,

d ied . About the same time, or soon a fter , he invaded

Nolambavadi, and at Dumme on the border between

Shimoga and Chita ldroog won a victory Over thePandya ru l er of th e country, who h ad his capita lat Uchch angidoorga . This conquest wa s only tempora ry, and his grandson h ad to do it over aga in .

The yea r A . D . 1117 marks an epoch in th e advanceof the Hoysa la power . Vish nuva rdh ana by this yea rh ad become ma ster Of G angavadi and h ad madehimself fel t in Nolambavadi. I now give the historyof his conquests, a s they are recorded in many of hisinscriptions , chiefly the one a t B elur, which wa s in

scribed ou the occa s ion of the dedication Of th e temple,after he h ad adopted the t ea chings of Ramanuja , the

Va ishna va reformer, and a ssumed the Va ishnava tit leOf Vishnuva rdhan a .

‘ F irst taking into his a rms thefortune of the Poys a la kingdom,

whi ch h e h ad in

h erited,h e brought a l l points of th e compa ss under

h is command, and wa s capturing Ta lakad , became thefirst ru l er to the Ganga kingdom . He made theearth tremble with th e tramp of his Kamboj a horse,wa s lord of G andagiri, sp l it the grea t rock Pandy a ,

burst the hearts Of the Tu lu kings,destroyed the

army of Ja gaddéva , devoured th e fierce elephantSOmé svara ,

d isplayed his va lour before Manikyadevi of

the Chakrakuta throne, brought down the pride of

Adiyam a , overthr ew the tree Narasimha Va rma , Spl it

the skul l of king Kala , destroyed the s erpent Ch engiri,

238 ANCIENT INDIA

Ch akrakuta throne . Adiyam a and Nara simha Varmawere Chola feuda tori es in the south of Mysore . Kala

wa s a ru ler of the Nil agiris ; Ch engiri might havebeen Tiruch engode in the Sa l em distr ict (rather thanGingee a s Mr . Rice surmises) , formerly pa rt of theKongu kingdom . Irungola was a Tamil ch ief Of

Niduga l in the Pavagada ta luq, and Tereyur was aga in

a pla ce of some consequence in the north- east ofTumkur . Nanga l i is the fronti er town between Mysore

and North A rcot in th e Mulbaga l ta luq . Thus thisnarra tion wou ld entit l e Bitti Deva to the conquest ofsouthern and south - ea stern Mysore . Tha t b e effectedthe conquest of G ang avadi fina l ly is borne out bythe specific ment ion Of h is ru le over the two capita ls,Ta lakad and Kola r . In A . D . 11 18, he is sa id to have

been in residence at Ta lakad . This completes hisconquests . The boundaries given to hi s domin ions inthe north appea r to be more questionabl e . Savim ale,

somewhere in the upper rea ch es of the Krishna , istoo nea r his l iege lord ’s head - qua rters, and he h ad

to effect the conqu ests of other chiefs before he cou ldextend his dominions so far . This no doubt he did,but not a s yet.

The year 1 121 finds him aga in at his head - quarters

a t Dvara s amudra , and it wa s in this yea r tha t a certa inKétam a l la , probably a merchant, bui lt a temple, dedi

cated to Siva under the name Vishnuvardhana -Hoya sa

lesvara , the grea t temple at Ha l ebid. A record at Viru

paksh apura in the Channaray apa tna ta luq of A .D . 1121

shows that ‘ Ma léparol Ganda—Srimat Tribhuvanam al la ,

Ta lakad -Kongu - Nanga l i -Nolamb avadi, U ch changi- Bana

va se -Hanunga lam Gonda Bhujaba la Vira Ganga Hoysa l a

D eva ’ made a grant with his Pa tta Mahadevi (queenconsort) and the Pancha P radh ana s (five mini sters ) toth e god Jayangondésva ra . These t itle s of Bitti Devawould show clea rl y h is object, but s evera l Of thesewere mere a ttempts at a cquis i t ion a s yet . The five

VISENUVARDEANA’

S TOLERANCE 239

m inisters ought to have been , a l though Mr . Rice pa ssesover them with a ‘ whoever they wer e ’

,the heir - appa rent ,

the commander - in - chief, th e priest , the senior SandhiVigrahim (minister for foreign affa i rs) and the chiefsecreta ry . Santa la Devi wa s the queen - consort . Iti s rema rkable tha t with these, most of whom wereJa ins, the king ma de a grant for a Siva templeJayangondesva ra , the name of which indica tes tha ti t wa s of Chola founda tion , Ja y amkonda having beenone of the tit les of Rajadhiraja .

In A . D . 1123 ,he i s aga in on the banks Of the Kavery,

while hi s north ern boundary i s described a s the Perddoreor Krishna . Here he hea rs of th e dea th of hi s youngerbrother Udayaditya and makes a grant . It was in thesame year tha t he made a grant of the vil lage Gramato th e east of Ha ssan to his Jaina wife who divided

it among 220 Brahmins . It is even now one of themost flour i shing of Brahmin vi l lag es . The same year

Santa la D evi bui l t the G andhavarana Ba sti in Sravana

Belugoa l . In A . D . 1125 , he is a ga in at Ta lakad and

makes a grant to the grea t Ja in tea cher and con trover

sia list Sri Pala , who cla imed the title s‘ Sha d Tarka

Sh anmukh a’

‘ Vadhiba Simha ’

and‘ Tarkika Chakra

varti’ The king is at Yadh avapura iMelukote) in

A . D . 1 128, and from his roya l r esidence ther e he

makes a grant to Marha la irth a , appa rently a pa rt

of the Sa iva shrine on the Chamundi hil l . By thistime the emperor Vikram adity a h a d died and was suc

ceeded by his s on Sem es y a ra Bh fi lokania l la . Ku lottunga Chola h ad d ied a few y ea rs ea rlier, but wa s

succeeded b y h is son Vikram a Chola . Th e Hoysa la

a ggre s sion southwards appears to have been checked soca reful ly . tha t Vish nuvardhana

s a tten tion wa s entirel y

devoted to conquest in the north . In a record Of

A .D. 1129 ,th e boundari es of the Hoysa la territories

are thus defined— ea st, Nanga l i gha t ; south , Kongu,

Cheram and Anama le ; west, Ba rakanur gha t (north

240 ANCIENT INDIA

west of Shimoga ) ; and north, Savimal e . He is sa idto have terr ified SOm ésvara . L ong before thi s , Vishnu

vardhan a’

s a ctivity, after the conquest of G angavadi

and the a ttack on Nolambavadi, seems to have a ttract

e d the a ttention Of the emperor Vikram aditya . He,ther efore

,sent a number of Mahamanda lesvaras , among

whom figure the Kadamba s of G oa . But the mosttrusted chiefs appear to have been of the Sindachiefta in s of Y elba rga , one of whom ,

Achugi II,cla imed l ike Ereyanga to have rendered grea t services toVikramaditya in h is usurpa tion . Though Bitti D eva

’sgenera l Ganga Ra j a cla ims to have defea ted these loya l

ists , the fa ct tha t the form er sti l l recognized, even

nomina l ly, the l iege lord ship of the emperor, wou ld

wa rrant the conclusion tha t h e received a check inhis onward career towa rd s independence . On Vikra

maditya’

s dea th , however , he resumes his activity

in th e nor th and this is wha t terrified Semesvara . At

this t ime he wa s helped by his son Kumara Bellala ,

and h ad a number Of daughters , the elde st of whom

wa s Ha riyale. The fact that she wa s Ja in wou ld l ead

on e to rega rd her and her brother and sis ters a s thechi ldren of Santa la Davi ; but th is is not a necessaryinference , cons idering th e re ligious cond ition of the

Hoysa la s and of these t imes .In A . D . 1130, then , we find the Hoysa l a power practica l l y supreme over Kongu, Nanga l i, Ta lakad, G angavadi,(though very much less so here) Banava se, Hanunga l

and Hu ligere . Of these provinces and cities,except

the two la st, the rest comprise the modern Mysoreprovince . Hanunga l i s the modern Hanga l in Dha rwar,and P ulig ere is L akshmeswar about the same loca l ity .

But tha t among his enemies a re sti l l found the Kongalva

and Ch engalva pet ty chiefs i s s ignifi cant of the fa cttha t he h ad not as y et a tta ined to unques tioningobedience to his authority with in th e province . This

expla ins why he i s found constantly moving about in his

242 ANCIENT INDIA

wi shed that the Jina in the new temple shou ld be ca l ledVij aya P ars vanatha . It i s thi s Ja in Ba sadi tha t is stil l

an Obj ect of sight to travell ers . It is situa ted a couple

of furlongs from the grea t Hoysa lesvara temple . F romthis period onward, Vishnuvardh ana wa s chiefly sugag

ed in the north aga inst the ch iefs on the frontier forthe acqui s it ion Of Banava se and Nolambavadi for himsel f ; for in spite of the Mysore record s the in scriptions Of

SOm ésvara III show a series of Manda lesva ra s in charge

of Banava se , and a certa in Vira Pandya i s sa id to have

been rul ing from Uch ch angidurg a over the Nolambavadi

It i s only in the year A . D . 1137 tha t Vishnu

vardh ana i s shown by those re cords to be the Mahaman

da lesvara in cha rge of G angavadi, Nol amb avadi, and

Banava se (i . e . the modern State of Mysore) . A l l theinterim must have been a period of struggle . Eversince he wa s bea ten back by th e loya l Sinda chiefta in ,

Achugi II, on beha lf Of Vikramaditya ,he must

have a cquie sced in the merely subord ina te rOle of the

Mahamanda le svara of G angavadi, which m ay a ctua l lyhave been more than the province itsel f . A t no time

however,cou l d he have extended his boundaries

permanently further north than Bankapur in Dharwar,for he wa s hemmed in by th e powerfu l and loy a l

Sinda s on the ea st an d the Kadamba s on the west .Thus Krishnaveni for t he northern bounda ry of

Vish nuva rdh ana must have been a b out a s rea l as

Rameswaram in the south . This year A . D . 1137, or the

yea r a fter, marks another stage in the advance of th eHoysa l a power . Here i s a record of the year 1137 ,

which sets down his conquests, wh i le another Jain

r ecord of th e same da te recognizes c lear ly th e sub

ord inate pos ition of Vish nuvardh ana a s a feuda tory,however powerfu l he be, of Som esva ra III

, Bh fi loka

ma l la . The fi rst part of the record is gone and themean ing of the firs t few sentences i s not clea r . Itreads : On his deserting his queens

,forsak ing hi s king

VISENUVARDEANA’

S CONQUESTS 243

dom . and dy ing in the country near Ch engiri, he took

possess ion of the company Of Nara singa’

s wives, put

down Angara , trampled on Sing a lika and , turning in thed irect ion of the G anges , s lew the kings of the northerncountrie s—the son Of King Ereyang a . Having succeededin this expedi tion to th e north , his elephant trampl eddown the a rmy of th e Pandy a king, a shamed of soea sy a v ictory . ha y ing defea ted Chola and Gaul a interr ible grea t wa rs . And pursuing Pandy a he seizedNolam bavadi, capturing Uchch angi in a moment

tossing it up a s if playing a t ba l l—Kanchi-Gonda .

Vikrama -Gang a . A fter that . ma rching to the Tel ingacountry , he captured Indra . together with his

e lephants . th e wea lth ga ined by his v ictories and theinherited wea lth of his family . A fter tha t , destroy in g

root and branch Mas-

a h a ,who was a torment to the

coun try ,he wrote down the Banava se in hi s

Kadith a (account- book) . “h en the King Vishnu wa s

playing a s if a t tirika l , a kind of pitch and toss , w ith

the grea t Sahy a moun ta in s , Nilagiri and of wha ta ccount a re the o thers ; and wha t wonder is it tha the took P anung a l in ha lf a second wi th the fl ip of hisfinger kil l ing only with a glance ano ther who

wa s taking Kiéukad . h e pursued a fter Jayakesi and

g a ined pos s e s s i on of the P a laSige and the

500 . Turning and turning he entered hil l - forts going

fa rther and farther awa y a s far a s the o cea n a tta cking them aga i n and aga in , he sought out the bravest

in the north and s lew them—Vishnuva rdh ana D eva .

Wha tever coun trie s a re cons idered famous . wha tever

hi l l - forts a re specia ll y described ,wha tever kings are

worth y of being reckoned , h e subdued and added to

his fame throughout the world as fa r a s the l imi ts of

the four oceans—the g lory of the Kshat riy a race , thebrave king Vishnu .

When tha t grea t Ksha t riya , enti t led to the fivegrea t drums, Mah am anda lesva ra (with numerous oth er

244 ANCIENT INDIA

titl es) , a Bha irava of the la st de luge to the Chola ra c e,a roya l lion to the e lephant Chera , a subma rine fireto the ocean the Pandya ra c e, a wild fire to the sprouts

of the creeper the fame of the P a l l ava, a sardfil a to thel ion Na ra simhavarma , his unshaken fame a lamp intowhich Kalapal a and other kings fa l l like winged white

ants , the twang of whose bow, putting to fl ight the

Anga , Vanga , Ka l inga and Simh a la Kings, Kanchipura ,resounding with his orders a s with the sharp soun dsof drums (named) , the wives of h ost ile kings employedin his house a s fema l e servants, squeez ing in his

hands the southern Madhurapura , having destroyed

Jananathapura by his Genera], Kanchi - Gonda -Vikrama

G anga, Vira Vishnu - va rdh ana D eva , protect ing under

h is sole umbrella the G ang a vadi Nolambavadi

and Banavas e wa s rul ing the Kingdom

in pea ce and wisdom .

T his long rec i ta l of his deeds shows where Vishnuvard

hana h ad to be most a ctive, and Wh a t a l ong struggl eit must h ave cost him before he could h ave united thethree s epa rate provinces into one united whole . Thefirst por tion of th is quotat ion appears quite h istorica l,while by the time the composer of the record rea ched

the second portion he seems to have worked himsel f upto a high pitch of hyperbole . His activitie s were a l l

requir ed in the north aga inst the more powerfu l Maha

m anda lesvaras Jayakési II , th e Kadamba rul er of

G oa and Hanga l, aga inst the Nolambas of Uch changi,

a s Vira Pandya is sa id to be rul ing from th e same

hill - fort his heredita ry province of Nolambavadi thirtytwo thousand in A .D . 1139 , and the Sinda chiefta ins

of Ye lburga, pa rticu la rly Achagi II . Thus it would

appear impossible tha t he ever reached, much lessconquered, either Kanchi , or Madhura , or Jananathapura

(Ra j amahendri not Mahaba l ipuram , or Malingi nearTa lakad) . The conquests of Anga ,Vanga , and Ka l inga

are much more remote from the actua l . By the year

246 ANCIENT INDIA

been able to assume the tit le s of roya lty, though h e

was in undoubted enj oyment of the substance of it.

Vishnuvardhana wa s succeeded by his son Vijaya Naras imha , who was born in the year 1133, and crowned at

h is birth,probably because his fa ther lost a l l his other

sons , or, at any ra te, the son who wa s a lready old

enough to help him in th e great work of bui ld ing up

a kingdom .

While through the constant endeavours , often suc

ces sful though occa siona l ly foil ed, of Vishnuvardh ana ,

Mysore wa s rising into a kingdom, the empire ofwhich it formed an integra l part for centuries wa sfast moving towa rds d is integra tion . It is , therefore,necessary , be fore taking up the ta le of Na ra simha

conques ts , of his a ttempts at the conservati on of hisinheritance

,to glance at the history of the Chalukya

empire and the caus es which led to i t s di sintegra tion .

Vikramaditya’

s long reign of fifty- two years wa s one of

pea ce essentia l ly , except for an inva sion of the Choladominions and for the check he h ad to a dminister tothe rising ambiti on of his Hoys a la feuda tory, aboutthe end of his reign . L ike his predecessors , the earlyChalukya P uliké sin II and the éatvah ana Gotamiputragatakarni, he h ad often to carry on war across theNa rbudda , but even th i s he does not appear to havehad to do very often . His empire extended in diagona ll ines from Broa ch to E rode and from Manga lore toSitaba ldi. This va s t terri tory wa s pa rcell ed out intoa number of vic eroya l ties ; among the vic eroys m ay

be mentioned in order from the north -west—TheSéuna s or Yadava s with ca pita l s a t Sinna r (nea rNa sik) and la ter a t Deogiri; the Silab a ra s of Northernand Southern Konkan and of Kolha pur ; next comethe Kadamba s of G oa and Hanga l ; ea st of these a re

th e Sinda s of Ye lburg a , the Gutta s of Gutta l inDha rwar and Ba tta s of Sa unda tti In Belgaum ; thencome the dominions under the headquarters

,namely,

BIJJALA 247

a l l the Ni zam‘

s Dominions except the most easterlypar t, the Kh amam ct d ivis ion and la s tl y the viceroya l tywith head - qua rters a t Sita ba ldi. Thi s leaves ou t Baneva se, Nolambavadi and G an gavadi more or les s underth e Hoys a la s , a l though to the end of Vishnuvardh ana

l ife o ther viceroys continued to be appointed for thetwo former . This va st empire pa ss ed on to his sonSomesva ra Bhulokama l la in A . D . 1128 ,

thanks to theloya l exertions of the Sinda chiefta ins aga inst the

southern viceroys . Som es vara died in 1138 and theempire pa ssed aga in to his son ,

Perma Jagadékama l la ,

who ruled til l A .D. 1150 . In this re ign comes into noticea y oung m an of promise , whose fa ther wa s governor ofTardawadi the d istri ct round Bijapur, an a lterna tive capita l of the Chalukya s . This wa s Bijja l a .

He wa s governor of the same province a s his fa ther,but la ter on he becomes sufficient ly important to beappointed viceroy of Nol ambavadi and Banava se, governing these provinces by deputies

,himself keeping at

head - quarters, l ike the Sa iyid brothers under the Moghulemperor Muhammad Shah . This change in the posit ion of Bij ja la i s noticeable under Jagadékama l la, but

when the lat ter wa s succeeded by hi s brother Ta i la III ,h e keeps growing in power, ti l l in 1156 h e becomes

virtua l ly rul er, though Ta ila continues nomina l ly emperort il l A . D . 1163 . There i s on ly one explana tion for th is .

He is seen named in grants a s th e commander-in - chief

of a l l the forces, an offi cer never heard of before .

There wa s probably a rising of a l l the more powerfulviceroys or an anticipa tion of s uch a r ising, which wouldna tura l ly requi re a m a s terh and to dea l with the situa tion .

Tha t m a sterh and not being found on the throne, a wirepul ler woul d na tura l ly enough come in . If Bijja la d idthis, nothing el se i s needed to expla in hi s own appoint

ment to the provinces rnost under di s pute .

About this time on the ea stern front ier another enter

prising ruler was ri sing ou the horizon of history . Since

248 ANCIENT INDIA

the accession of Vikram a Chola ,the ea stern Chal ukya

dominions happened to be neg lected somehow, and an

enterprising Chief between the two Chalukya empires had

his opportunity . Just within the frontier i s the hamlet

of Anamkonda ,the ancestra l capita l of Beta , the founder

of the family of th e Kakatiya s , who wa s to becomefamous a s the Kakatiya s of Wa ranga l , which his sonProla founded and whither he h ad sh ifted the capita l .

This Prola C la ims to have defea ted Tail appa sometimein his reign

, and i t i s very l ikely tha t this eventoccurred about A .D . 1 155 . This externa l shock , com

bined with the interna l lo ss of hold on the Ma hamanda

lesvara s , must have thrown Tailappa into th e a rmsof Bijja la , who for the whi le proved the saviour. Thissaviour u surped first th e power and then the position

and parapherna l ia of the empire . Bijja la , however,wa s not a l lowed to effect his usurpa t ion undi sputed .

The Sinda s were loya l a s usua l in spite of a closefamily a l liance with Bijja l a , and the Pa ndya s wereequa lly so . Bijja la and h l S sons continued in theempire from 1163 to 1183 , when a genera l of Bijja la ,

by name Kama Deva or Ravana ,h ad a son Bomma or

Brahma . This la tter restored the son of Ta ila III

under the im peria l t it le of Somésvara IV in 1183, using

for the purpose the army under his fa ther , who appearsto have been to the Ka lachfi rya ru l er much wha t Bijja lahimself wa s to Tail appa . Somé svara ru led til l A . D.

1189, and his rul e wa s confined to the southern and

south - western pa rt of hi s dominions . A combination of

some of his chiefs aga in st him and his loya l feuda toriesthe Sinda s made him retire to the north - west frontier

of his dominions , and nothing more wa s hea rd of him .

In the scramble for territory tha t fol lowed, not in an

orderly Congress of Vienna but by appea l to arms, two

Powers stood out heirs to the empire, the Yadava s ofDeogiriand the Hoys a la s of Dvara samudra ,

the Kakaiya s of Waranga l taking their humble sha re of the

250 ANCIENT INDIA

the pa rt of the Sinda s and the Pandya s of Nol amba

vad i tha t led to the fina l conquest and a bsorption

by Bel lala of Nolambava di and Banava s e . By th e

yea r 1165,he h ad a son Kumara Bellala and con

tinued to rule t il l 1173 , when he is described a s

a roya l swan sporting in the lake of the Andhrawomen, a sun to the lotus faces of the Simha la (Ceylonese) women, a golden zone to the wa i st of th eKa rnataka women, an ornament s tamped with muskof the Lata (Guj a rati ) women , the saffron pa ste on thegoblets (the brea sts) of the Cho la women, a moon to

the wa ter li lies (the eyes) of Gaul a women (a part of

Benga l ) , the wave on the of the beauty of theBengala women, a bee to the lotuses , the fac es of theMalava s .

In add it ion to the queens Chenga la Devi,Echa la Devi (mother of Bel lal a ) and Gujja la Devi,he is described a s ma inta ining a ha r em of 384

women of good birth . It i s no wonder then tha t he

d ied at the early age of forty in th e yea r 1173 unlikehis fa th er and others of his fami ly, who had beentra ined in a hardier school of d is c ipl ine than theinner apa rtments of a roya l pa la ce .

Na rasimha wa s succeeded by his son Vira Bellala ,

whose reign wa s a compa ra tively long and vigorouson e of forty - seven years , A .D . 1173 to 1220 . Vira Bella la

II is the a ctua l maker of Mysore, a lthough hi s grandfa ther d eserves credit not only for having la id the

founda tion but a l so for having ca rried his proj ect much

fa rther than tha t . Circumstances , however, combinedto put off th e rea l iza tion of his idea s to the time of hisgrandson,who wa s qui te worthy of such a noble mis sion .

Bij ja la in the ful l flush of his power h ad crea ted opposition to himself in the south,which wa s the opportunityfor the Hoysa la . Bijja la continued to ru l e til l 1167 ,whenhe abdica ted in fa vour of his eldest son, who and histhree brothers ruled the empire ti l l 1183 , in succession ,when Bamma r estored the Chalukya ,

Somesvara IV .

VIRA EEDEALA 251

Vira Bellala i s found a ssocia ted with his father’sgenera l Tantrapala Hemmadi in the conquest of

the ma le chiefs, Kongalva , Chang -Silva and others , whowere brought into subj ection in A . D. 1 168 . they ear 1174 the references to Chaluky a suprema cy com

plete ly di sappea r , probably , because it th en appea redto th e Hoys a la s tha t there wa s no chance of th e

Chalukya s rega ining their power , a s they well mighthave done , under the Ka lach fi rya Bijja la and his s ons .This fa ct notwiths tand ing, i t i s remarkable tha t ViraBellala did not a ssume th e ti tl es a nd designa tions ofroya lty . He even recognized th e over - l ordship (inA . D. 11 78) of Sankama , th e third son of Bij ja la . Itwa s either in this y ea r, or a l it tle befor e it , tha t hebesieged and took possession of U chchangiDroog, the

capita l of the Pandya s . He appea rs, however, to have

restored Vijaya Pandya on h is submissi on to theHoysa la authority . This event must have happenedwhen the loya l Sinda s and the Pandya s were hardpres sed in the north . Aga in st these the Ka lach t

usurpers and the powerful southern feudatory Hoysa la

must have come to an understanding as betweenthemselves . This wou ld a ccount for the inva s ions of

the Hoy sa la dominions by Bamma or Brahma , who

restored Somésva ra IV, the la s t Chalukya , to his an

cestra l throne in A . D. 1183 . This la st Chalukya h ad

to lietake himself to the south - west of his dom inionsunder th e increa s ing pressure put upon him by th epowerful Yadava s under Bil lam a his own feuda tory

on the north - west, and the ris ing power of lVaranga l

under Prola and his son P ra tapa Rudra Deva I . The

Yadava exten sion from the north - west and the Hoy sa la

extensi on from the south bring them face to fa ce on

th e banks of the Ma lprabh a and the Krishna . In th isneighbourhood a ba ttle wa s fought a t Soratflr nea r

Gadag , where Bhillama Yadh ava wa s fina lly def ea ted ,

and th e fort of Lokkundi in Dharwa r occupied by

252 ANCIENT INDIA

Vira Bellala in A . D . 1190. The fortified places b e

rapidly took th is yea r or before it were—Virata ’

c ity (Hanga l ) , Kurugc‘

idu,the Ma tanga Hill, Dora

vad i, Gutti, Guttavola lu , Udda re ,B a lad i, Bandanike,

Ba l la re, Sorati’

ir,Eremberege (Yelburg a) , Ha lawe .

Mana ve, and Lokkigundi it self (a l l in the region between the present Mysore frontier and the Krishna ) .

Before this in 1189 Som 5sva ra IV wa s defeated probably by the Yadava s and no more is h ea rd of him .

The time wa s now rip e for Be l lala to a ssum e forma l

independence of a ny suzera in , for there wa s none , exceptthe Yadava Jaitugi who ha d been defea ted with hisfa ther . The Sindas having be en overcome a l ready therewa s no one between the two . Hence, the Ma lprabha ,

and a fter its junction the Krishna , became the partingl ine between the Hoys a l a s in the south and the Yadava sof Deogiri in the north , and this divi sion continuedtil l both were overthrown in succes sion by Mal ik Kafiirin A . D . 1310 . Vira Bel la la in A . D . 1191—2

, a ssumed thefol lowing paramount epi thets and ti tl es— ‘ Samasta

Bhuvanasraya , Sri P rith viva l labh a ,Maharajadhiraja ,

P arames vara and Pa rama Bh atta raka’

, and the styleof

P ra tapach akravartin Bhujaba la P ratapa Chakrava rtin , Hoys a la Chakrava rtin ,

Bhuja ba la P ra tapa Chakravartin

, and Yadava Chakrava rtin, and started an era

in his name . This complet es the independence of theHoysa la s , a lthough the cla im to the whole of Kunta la

appea rs mere extravagance . By A . D . 1191—2 Mysorea s an independent Sta te h ad been made, and the restof the Hoysa la story belongs to another chapter of SouthInd ian history .

We have thus seen the stages by which a pettychi ef a nd hi s descendants in the south - west corner of

the Kadi‘

ir di stri ct worked their way up to the establishm ent of a powerful Sta te, which ma de its influencefel t in the history of South Ind ia . In this work the

chiefs di splayed not only m i lita ry abi lity , but a l so great

CHAPTER IX

VISHNUVARDHANA

IN the ‘ Making of Mysore’ I have dwelt somewhat

fu l ly upon th e a spect of this great ruler of Mysore

as an empire- builder . I have, however, hardly touched

upon the grea t change tha t came over him in the course

of his roya l ca reer, which l ed to hi s conversion from

Ja inism to Vaishnavaism . I propose in thi s chapter todea l with this side of his cha racter, and thus describethe rel igious cond ition of Mysore in his days .

Before proceeding to dea l with thi s question , one ortwo common heresies rega rding the particular form of

worsh ip fo l lowed b y the d isciples of Ramanuja have tobe d i spos ed of . It wa s Bishop Ca ldwell who gavecurrency to the idea tha t Ramanuja was the founder

of Vishnu worship and tha t the A l vars were his dis

ciples . Ca ldwel l could be pa rdoned read i ly, if the la teprofessor SeshagiriSa striar of the Presidency col lege,with much of the resu lt s of research tha t Ca ldwel lh ad not before him, cou ld hold the same Opinion and

identify the Va l labh a Deva of the days of Periyalvarwith AtiVira Rama P and yan, A . D. 1563, and bringother Alvars la ter in point of time . Profes sor Jul ien

Vinson of Paris , fol lowing in the wake of these, with

much more rea sonable excu s e in hi s favour than the lateProfes sor, bel ieves tha t Vaish navism began about the fifteen th or the sixte en th centuries . The Chola in scriptions publ ished by Dr . Hultz sch in hi s la test volume

(Vol . III . P . efiective ly dispose of Ca ldwel l ’s

EvIDENCEs or VISHNU WORSHIP 255

contention and a fofrtiom

of those tha t fol low in his foots teps . Mr . Venkayya , in hi s report to the Governmentla st yea r refers to one inscription in the Triplicane temple of the t ime of the P a l lavas , thereby provingthe ex is tence of the temple in P a l lava times . If furtherproofs were wanted in thi s ma tt er one ha s but to lookfor them . The Silappadhik ziram , a Tamil Kavya ofthe second century of the Chri stian Era (the mostunfavourable est ima t e of i t s ant iqui ty p lacing it inthe seventh century r efers to the Vishnu temples a t Sr irangam . Triuppati and Tirumalirunajolai.Coming up from them , P a ramesvara Varm an P a l lava

(rega rded by Dr . Hu ltz s ch a s the second of th e name)bu i lt th e temple P a rames vara Vinnaga ram (U la ga l an

dh a P ermal Koil ) in Conj evaram . The period of th ePa l lava a scendenc y in Southern Ind ia must have been

the period of great Hindu acti vity in re ligion, a s

a ga inst the riva l fa i ths of the Jina and the Buddha .

This wa s exact ly th e period of the great templebui lders, and severa l temples ded ica ted a l ike to Siva. and

Vishnu in South Ind ia owe the ir existence to this

dynas ty . Simha Vishnu or Nara simha Va rm an , otherwis e Maham a l la . wa s the builder of th e rock—cut tem plesa t Mah aba l ipuram (the S even Pagoda s ) and he wa s theriva l contemporary of P u likesin 11 , wh ose court Ywan

Chwang (Hiuen Th sang ) visited in his trave l s through

India . Kochengan , a Chola who must have preceded

the Pa l l ava s . bui lt temple s to Vi shnu and Siva in clos e

proximi ty often , s o tha t from the seven th cen tury onwa rd

Sa iva ism an d Vaish navaism deve loped side b y s ide

and were. a l ike pa tronized b y th e roy a ltie s of tho s e

day s .

Th roug h a l l thi s time , however , My sore rem a inedgenera ll y Ja in . The G anga ru lers a ppea r to have beenJa ins, a l though the Kongu chroni cle sta te s tha t the

grea t Rang anath a temple a t Srirangapa tam wa s bui l t

in the days of th e la ter Ganga rul ers . There are records .

256 ANCIENT INDIA

however,of the existence of Siva and Vishnu temples,

endowed by individua l sovereigns of the Ganga dyna s ty .

In the days of Vishnuvardh an a a templ e manager of

the Siva temp le a t Maddur (a lia s Sivapura ) cla imed

a plot of land on the strength of a copper - p la te g rant of

Siva Mara II . (Ciro. A . D . There a re s im i la rreferences to Vishnu temples . This Sivama ra

s father,Sri Purusha Mutta ra s a ,

i s referred to a s a worshipper

at th e feet of Narayana . Thus then we see Vaishnavaism a s a religion wa s in exi s tence long before the daysof Ramanuja , however much he m ay have reformed,a l tered or added to it .The advance of the Chola Power in South India

marks the advance a l so of the Sa iva religion , a s most ofthe sovereigns were of the Sa iva persua sion and richlyendowed the temples, which either they themselves bu i ltor which were a l ready in exi stenc e, a l though occa siona lgrants were made a nd existing grants confirmed to theVa ishnava temples . About A . D . 1000, therefore, there

wa s fresh vigour in rel igious d evelopment, pa rtly becausethe struggle aga inst the Ja ins h ad becom e somewha t

keener, and pa rtlv because th e work of the sa ints,

Sa iva and Va ishnava ,h ad borne frui t in the increa sed

a ttention to re ligion . It wa s while thi s religious

ferment wa s beginn ing to operat e tha t the Cholaconquest of Mysore began . Thi s conquest, whichgradua l ly gave the G angavadi and the greatpart of Nol ambavadi to the Cho la s, broughtthe Sa ivi sm of the Cho la s and the Ja inism of theChalukya s fa ce to face in th e Mysore country . Nol

am bavadi h ad been lo st pra ctica l ly to the Chalukya sbefore the days of Ahavam a l la Somésva ra

,so tha t

the continua l wars in this part of the frontier had

a l so a rel igiou s el ement in it . When Vishunvardhana ,therefore

,came to tak e pa rt in the pol itics of Mysore,

the country wa s in the unsettl ed sta te of rel ig iousdeba te . Ja inism wa s genera l ly in the a sc endant

,while

258 ANC IENT INDIA

of that earth n ea r Me lukote . Thither he went and

on his way h e found Bitti Deva (Vita la Devaraya) in

camp at Tondan t‘

ir . This la tter h ad a daughter, who

was possessed by evil spirits, and a l l Ja in incanta tionshaving fa iled to l ay the ghost, Bam anuja broughta bout a successful exorcism ,

which convinced BittiD eva of his superiority . He became a Va i shnava and

a fter successfu l d i spu ta tion in Bitt i Deva’s presence

Ramanuja h a d a whole body of Ja in a sceti cs and

laymen ground in an oil mill, which is even nowpointed out at Moti Ta lab (Tondanur) .The Ja in a ccount sta tes tha t the king wa s influ

enced by Bamanuja through one of hi s queens tobecome a Va i shnava . He res isted the tempta tion for

a long time ; but when ,owing to the loss of a finger

.of his right hand in war,the Ja in a scet ics decl in ed

ito dine with him, he forthwith became a Va i shnava .

Of thes e two versions the la tter must be stamped

a s fa l se ent irely , because Vishnuva rdhana wa s an

eminently sensib le man , t rea ted his Ja in wife, minis

ters and subj ects with great considera tion . His wife,the first at l ea st, who a f t er hi s convers ion wa s a Ja in

to the day of her dea th, and her Ba sadi, the

Sava ti Ghandavarana Ba sti at Sravana Belgo la , i sevidence of her religion . His daughter Haria l e was

a Ja in . More than this, his right - hand m an in thework of founding a kingdom, the grea t Genera l

G angara ja in whose memory was bui l t the Droha

gharatta Jinalaya at Ha lebid, was a l so a Ja in of

eminence ; for the inscriptions s ay tha t , by restoringJa in temples in the kingdom , he made it resemble

Kopana or Koppa l in the N izam’s Dominions . It could

not, therefore, be tha t he became a Va ishnava by any

underhand dea l ing, nor could he have h ad any parti

onla r dis l ike of Ja inism a s such .

The other version simply brings in a miracle to

expla in an ordina ry event in the life of a great man .

THE OIL MILL INCIDENT 259

In those days it wa s the custom for eminent d ivines,

Ja in , Hindu or Buddhist , to di scourse upon religioustopics under the presidency of the great la ymenkings or rulers of provinces . We have numbers ofreferences to it in the Shimoga in scriptions . Veryprobably Ramanuja held such a d i s course , and groun ddown In the mil l of his logic th e a rguments of h isriva l s . The oi l mil l a ffa ir cou ld have been no morethan this, for even if Ramanuj a shou ld have been sominded . Bitti D eva cou ld ha rd ly have permitted i t,if not out of clemency, at lea s t out of po li cy . Withhis wife

, and his genera l s , and counci l lors a l l Ja ins,i t

wou ld have been the height of folly in him to have

done so . It is, therefore , nothing more nor less than

a boa stfu l a s sertion of triumphan t succe ss on the pa rt

of the Va i shnava s of a succeeding genera tion . Nor

were they—the only sinners in this pa rticula r .We read in an inscript ion of about A . D . 1128 at Sra

vana Belgola tha t the Ja in Aka lanka achieved a s imilarfea t . The Bauddh s of Kanchi to get rid of the Ja ins ,cha l lenged their grea t tea cher Aka lanka ,

from Sudhapura or Sode in North Kana ra , to a d i sputa tion under

Him a sita la A . D . 85 5 . Having onc e before d efeated

th e Buddhists on beha l f of the Vira Sa iva s, he wentforth confidently and having, after days of argumentat ion h ad the better of the deba te, Hima sita la

ordered th em to be ground in oil mill s . Aka lanka ,

true to his chara cter, a s the prec eptor of the Ajivaka sinterceded, and got them banished to Ceylon and other

d istant islands . Strangely enough a fter this genera l

destruction of the Buddhis ts by the Ja ins , we hea r of

Buddhist s a s governors of provinces even ; to wit

Buddhamitra ,governor of Ponpa rrI near Ram an ad in

the re ign of Ku lottunga II .

The oil mill incident wa s an a ccepted embel li shment

in handing down the a ccounts of these di sputa t ions, ofwhic h there must have been a number going on at

260 ANC IENT INDIA

different places simultaneous ly . Tha t i t is impossibl e

that e ither Vishnuvardh ana or his succes sors cou ldhave sanctioned any such thing, i s borne out by a

number of incidents in their history . It wa s fromthe roya l res idence at Me lkote tha t Vishnuvardhana

makes a grant to the Sa iva t emple, at Chamun d

Hill . He does receive the ‘ holy food ’ presented bythe Ja ins after the consecra t ion of the Jinalaya at

Ha lebid, and directs the image to be named Vijaya

P arévanatha in honour of his vic tory . He honours

Sri Pala Trividya Deva (the Ja in controvers ia l i st) and

even appoints him tut or to his childr en . It wa sa bout this time that the Vira Sa iva (the soca l led

L ingaya t) sect comes into prominence, so tha t in thecourse of th e century Ja inism was subj ected to thesimu ltaneous a ttacks of the Va ishnava s from the south

and the Vira Sa iva s from the north . The manner inwhich the Hoyasa l s

—ru l ers and ministers a l ike—dea ltwith these riva l s ects is a supreme instance of theirre ligious po l icy from which more modern rulers mightl ea rn lessons of wi sdom . Here is the historica l aocount of the founda tion of the temple at HariharThe grea t minister, the setter up of the Chola , ViraNa ra s imha D eva Polalvadandanatha caused to be madea t emple for the god Ha rihara , shining with one

hundred and fifteen golden Ka lasas .

’ The obj ect ofbui lding the shrine wa s to reconc ile the opposing sect s

of the Sa iva s and the Va i shnava s . ‘ Some saying tha t

bes ide Ha ri there i s no god on ea rth, and some

saying that bes ides Ha ra there is no god in th e

ea rth, in order to remove the doubts of mankind, wasa ssum ed with glory in Kfida lfir the one fo rm of Ha riha ra . May he with afiection preserve us . The cel e

bra ted Siva acquired the form of Vishnu,Vishnu

a cqui red the grea t and famous form of Siva ,in ord er

tha t thi s saying of the Veda might be fu lly estab

lish ed, in Kuda l there s tood forth in a s ingle form,

262 ANCIENT INDIA

disciples of Ramanuja took delight in ca l l ing him,

was far from being a secta rian . No attempt was

made at any uniformity of rel ig ious belief, and thepol icy of the rul ers wa s the most l ibera l tha t coul d beimagined . If other sta tes and rul ers h ad ma inta inedthis neutra l ity in re lig ion the world over, the worldwould have been saved many bloody wars . Had

Vishnuvardhana and his successors adopted any oth erpolicy in rel igion, they wou ld have shown a fa tuity

which might have ru ined them . Tha t they delibera tely adopted this pol i cy of religious neutra l ity speaks

much for their sta tesmanship .

CHAPTER X

BIJJALA

IT ha s been pointed out in the chapter on the makingof Mvs ore tha t the kingdom cou ld be r egarded a s

such only a fter A . D . 1 193 . a lmost in the middle ofthe reign of Yrs - Bellala . Vishnuvardhana had madeit in a way : but it requ ired the energy and enterpris eof his grandson before hi s ru le could be regarded a s

complete . The credi t of consol idation belongs to ViraBel lala , who succe eded his fa ther on the twenty - secondJul y A . D. 1173 .

The Karnataka , or the Chalukya Empire,stretched

out southwa rds from the Satpura mounta ins to the

end of the Dekhan pla teau, an d had been div id ed into

a number of governorsh ips , ea ch under a Mahaman

da lesy ara , with more or less of other authority vested

in him, a ccording to the cha rac ter of t he offi cia l and

th e degree of favour enj oyed by him at court . Of

these potenta te s those round about the head - quarters

of the emperor were more under imperia l authority,and were usua ll y loya l , a s a virtue , perhaps, of neces

sitv . \Vh eth er this wa s a ctua l ly so or not,we h ave

references to a southern trea sury of the empire and

by inference other trea suries l ikewi s e . Each of theselarger divisions appea rs to h ave h ad a common fisc and

inc luded a number of provinces . An a ttempt had

evidently been ma de to bring the fronti er viceroy s

under the di rec t control of th e hea d - qua rters officers

by the appointment of a boa rd of control , who s e ch ie ffunctions appea r to have been financia l, thus bring ing

264 ANC IENT INDIA

the sinews of war beyond the absolut e di sposa l of theviceroys . This , we see, was the practice under th e

usurper Bij ja la , and it l ets us thus into the s ecret of

his eleva tion to the empire .Bij ja la

s fa ther, P 6rmmadi, wa s governor of Tarda

vad i di strict round Bijapur under Somesvara III

Bhulokama l la (A . D . His son wa s Bij ja la , who

m ay have succeeded to hi s fa ther’s esta te of gov

e rnor of the Tardavadi Whether he did so or

not,he is heard of about the end of the reign of

the emperor Jagadekam a l la 11 (1138—49) with noofficia l ti t l es ; but

his servant ’ Vijaya Pandya wa s

ru ling the Nolambavadi As inscriptions of

Vira Pandya are met with up to A. D . 1148, the

inscriptions referred to above mu st be about theend of Jagadekam a l l a

s re ign . It i s in his reign that

Bijja la rises into importance, and wha t is more he is

found bu sy on the very frontier which was fa st pa ssing out of the emperor

’s hands . The Hoysa la s had

ma de themselves ma sters of the Gangavadi (which isnot inc luded in the Southern for sometime ; but their cla ims to the provinces of Banava s e

a nd Nolam bavadiwere very strong ly contested by the

Muh am anda lésva ra s thems elves and by the emperor .

It wa s aga inst thes e two sets of r iva l s tha t ViraBel lala h ad to m ake good his cla im .

Of these Nol am bavadi ha d sure ly fa llen under the

Chola power . The fact that Chalukya inscriptions of

an ea rl ier period are abs ent , and the Chola inscriptions

a re found in the province shows the Chola hold uponthe province . The P andya s of Nol am b avadi were a s

forward a s the Hoysa la s to render service aga inst the

Chola s and ha d ea rned th e gra titude of Vikramaditya

—no l ess th an the ir compeers and rela tiv es,the

Hoys a la s . Thenceforwa rd the dyna sty of viceroys,the

P andya s of Uchch angi ru led from their hil l - fort the

province so recently recovered from the Chola s . When

266 ANCIENT INDIA

the eyes of the emperor, and tha t is himself by send

ing out five commiss ioners to control ostens ib ly thefinances of the southe rn trea sury . By so doing hekeeps the most turbulent of these viceroys wel l in hand .

U nfortunate ly for the empire there a rises the n ew

power of the Kakatiyas of Waranga l, and Bijja la’

act ivity , so successful in the south, i s wanted in th e

north - ea st , the more so, a s the new power under Prolainfl icted a defea t upon the empire in A . D. 1155 .

Bijja la’

s name h a s been handed down to us with the

st igma of cruelty and pers ecution a tta ched to it ; first,becau se of his usurpa tion, and next because of his pers ecution of the s o- ca ll ed Lingayets and their founders .Both these charges aga inst him have to be ca refull y

examined in the dry- l i ght of history before the verdicti s pronounced by the historian . Bijja la does not

appea r to have used any cruelty in his a scent to

power, though no doubt he made a very skilful us e of

the a dvantage of hi s position and the adverse circum

stances of the empire . He wa s not a lone in this .

Every viceroy tried to take advantage of th e troublesinto wh ich the empire wa s t hrown , while Bijja laought to be given credi t for having early observed thetrend of affa i rs and for having ma de a succes sful a ttemptto stop the flowing t ide of d i sruption . Expos ed a s

it wa s to simu ltaneous a tta cks of the powerful Chola s

in the south and the Chalukya s in th e ea st , the

empire was preserved from d i smemberm ent through

the genius of Vikram aditya . If it did not break up

immedia te ly a fter his death , it wa s becau se the enemy’s

powers were otherwis e engaged, and the Mahaman

da lés vara s of Vikram aditya remembered with gra titudehis services to them . Nevertheless

,the tendencies were

there and, with ea ch a dvance of the viceroys,other

powers were rising on the horizon . The Hoys a la

a ctivity in the south and the Kakatiya exertions inthe ea st were kept under control by Bijja la taking

BIJJALA’

s CHARACTER 267

advantage of the countera cting forces . This na tura l lyled him on to the pinna cl e of power

, and it wa s onlywhen he found tha t there wa s no possibil i ty of keepingup the phantom of an emperor tha t he a ssumedimperia l s ta t e . In one sense

,therefore

, h e might beregarded a s the benefa ctor of the empire

,not emperor

of course, in keeping it ha lf a century longer than itsappointed time . To him a l so probably bel ongs the

credi t of organizing the imperia l resources and of

bringing the viceroys under control by pla cing themunder financia l control from head - qua rters . F or it isin his re ign that we see the five Ka ranam s beings ent out to keep a wa tch over the doings of thevic eroys of Banava se and probably of other troublesome provinces a s wel l .

In the rel igious a spect Of the ques tion aga in Bijja lah ad been brought to the notice Of pos terity only by

the religious l itera ture of the Vira - Sa iva s , mostlycomposed centuries after the time they trea t of . Inthese he i s held up na tura l ly enough to execra tion .

But inscript ions of hi s t ime in th e Sh imoga d istrict

pa rticula rly a t Ba lag amvé—throw a curious l ight upon

the m uch - abused man and the ruler . On the one

hand th e inscriptions point to a far grea ter controlover the viceroys , a s grants have to be made with

permission from head - qua rters or a t l ea st obta in sanction when made . On the other hand , the lands and

other grants made to Sa iva ,Va i shnava and Ja in

shrines a re a l l placed under the control of the lead ingmen of a l l persua sions . The place wa s sa cred a l ike

to a l l three of these . In A . D . 1162, while Bijja la

had made himself supreme , his viceroy wa s Kasyapa ,

with whom no one can be compared ‘ in taking sole

cha rge of a country ruined by the administra tion of

others and bringing it into prosperi ty \Vith the per

mi ssion of tha t grea t one , Barmmara s a wa s governing

the Banavas enad .

268 ANC IENT INDIA

‘ The roy a l in sp ectors were the five Karanam s

Sridh ara Il

ayaka , Achana Naya ka , Chattimayya Na

yaka, Ma l liyana Nayaka and Tikkamayya Nayaka z

thes e shone like the five sens es to king Bijja laDeva - a l l benevolent to others, powerful as th e ocean,in minister ia l skil l unma tched, bold as fierce lions

a ble in detect ing frauds, superior to a l l opposi tion,

their grea t fam e like the sound of the turya (a

musi ca l instrument) , strengthened with a l l manner of

s elf- a cqu i red merit . devoted to the fa ith of theIsvara,—these Karanam s were grea t . ’ Barmmarasa

great mini ster wa s Ravideva .

Whi le a l l these, united in the enj oyment of

pea ce and wisdom, were one day discoursing on

Dharmma , Bijja la Mahara ja having com e there,in

order to subdue the southern region, encampedin Balagamvé, Kasappya Nayaka rising and standing in front of his Mahara ja , folding his lotus handss a id,

“ D6va , a petition and spoke as fol lows :“ The southern Kedara is the means of the ab so

lution of sin, the very presence of Siva manifestedto a l l the citizens, vis ibly d ispla ying a l l the gloryof the Krita Yuga . Besides this

,i ts matha i s l ike

the ancient Kamatha (tortoise) a support of a l l theworld .

‘ Descended in the l ine Of the gurus of tha t Ma tha,the discipl e of G autamacharya , is Vama Sakti Mumsvaracharya .

' ‘ Therefo re were the D eva to perform intha t Matha some. work of merit , it wil l endure as

long as the sun and moon .

On his saying thu s , the King Bijj a la taking it tomind—for the d ecora tion of the G od Dakshina Kedsresvara , for gifts of food to the a scet ics, for gifts of

learning, for repa i rs to the temple, and for sa ti sfying

the good and the beloved,—in his s ixth y ear, etc . , at

the time Of the sun'

s ecl ipse , wa sh ing the feet of

G autamacharya'

s d isc ip le Vama Sakti Pandita D eva ,

270 ANCIENT INDIA

the border land is not between the Ja ins and theSa iva s but between the Va i shnava s an d the la tter .

In this s truggl e aga in the ru lers showed a commend

able spirit not merely of to lera tion , but a l so of an

a ttempt a t reconcil iat ion , the d irect outcome of which

policy is the Ha riha ra temple at Ha riha r .

Thus in religion an d equa l ly so in administrat ion,Bij ja la and his sons , who fol lowed in succes sion, pursued

a concil ia tory policy which kept the turbu lent viceroys

under contro l and their administra tion, strong and

popula r . Ahavama l la , the la st of them , cha rged his

viceroys of trea suri es thus : ‘ Govern the countrywhich is the trea sury of the sou th l ike a fa ther . ’ One

Kes ava Nayaka ruled so well under hi s Government ,tha t none wa s conceited, none con spicuous in spl endour ,none in opposition , none clamouring for influence ,none creat ing a d i sturbance

,none who wa s in suffer

ing,no enemies fi ll ed with anger, and none who re

ceiving t i tles had his head turned by the songs ofpoets ! Though a usurper Bij ja la wa s able to retirein favour of h is sons and l et them succeed pea ceful ly,a cont ingency very often not met with in ru lers even

Of the most undoubted succes sion . His a ssa ssinationwhich a ppears to have been a fa ct mu st have beenbrought about by some priva te misunderstanding and,

if such scanda l could be bel ieved in , h ad been brought

a bout by a l ia son with the minister Bas ava’

s si ster

who is credi ted with an imma cu la te conception,by

the Basava and Channa Ba sa va Purana s , the outcomeof which wa s th e Y ounger Ba sava or Channa Ba sava .

This would a l so a ccount for the ma in plank of reform

of the L ingay'

a ts— the re -ma rriag e of widows .During a l l this period of u surpa tion in the empire,the Hoysa la act ivity appea rs to have be en careful lychecked ; and through much of thi s period

, Na ra simha,

ably seconded a s he was by his fa ther’s viceroys and

hi s son Kumara Bella la , h ad to be content with the

BELLALA II’

s ACCES SION 271

Gangavadi Any act ivity , noticeabl e at a l l,wa s

a ga inst the petty chiefs , the Kongalva s and otherhil l - chiefs of the western frontier . When Vira - Bel la lacame to the thron e in A D 1173, he h ad to beginto work on the l ines of grandfa ther Vishnuvardhana ,

whil e the empire h ad pa ssed to R-ayamurari

Sovi -Deva .

CHAPTER XI

MYSORE’

UNDER THE WODEY/IRS

THIS chapter is an hi storica l outl ine of the origin andgrowth of the Sta te of Mysore under the presentdyna sty up to the t ime of Ha ida r ‘

A li. This period ofthe history 1 of Mysore is ha rdly touched at a l l in

any history except in tha t by Co lonel Wilks, who

wa s not in poss ess ion of the historica l ma t eria l now

ava i lable to th e student of history . The errors heh as fa l len into are ra th er serious but qui te excusable

in one who wrote so ea rly in the century a s he did,and who obta ined a l l the informa tion then possible .

The publ ica tion of the volumes of inscriptions inMysor e by Mr . Rice i s l ikely to throw a flood ofl ight upon Mysore history and tha t of some othercontemporary kingdoms . This an d the la te ly published works of Minister Tiruma la Iyenga r are the ma in

authorities on which th is paper rests for it s information . The history of Mysore in Kannada pro se com

piled a t the direction of h is la te Highness,though

not of much va lu e a s an historica l composition,i s

s ti l l of us e a s supplying fu l ler informa tion on what

is otherwise found to be the truth . It is not a s an

1 I refer to two works—The P a la ce History and Wilks ’History .

Th e P a l a ce His tory is a Ca na res e compila tion from th e Vamédva li

a nd oth er MS record s in th e pa l ace . It wa s compil ed at th e in stance

Of His la te l amented High nes s Sri Ch anna ra j end ra Wodéyar. It is

b a s ed on traditions of a more or l es s re lia b le ch a racter .

The Historica l Sketches of South India by Wilks is referred to in

th e ch apter a s Wil ks’History .

274 ANC IENT INDIA

About this time, Sriranga Raya l died without i ssue,and Rama Raja a lso followed l eaving Tirum a l Raya , hisson, a minor ; so tha t the whole empir e devolved upon

VenkatapatiRaya . Tiruma l Raya l ived with his uncle,l eaving at Srirangapatna a s vice - reg ent Rema ti Revati,or Timati Venkata the genera l of Rama Ra ja . Theviceroys, awa re of the weakness of the centra l authority

,bore the yoke ra ther lightly and wa ited for

an opportunity to shake it off,when an incident hap

pened to a ccelera te the natura l t endencies to disruption . This in cident is reported by !Tiruma la A iyan

gar, who l ived in the la tter ha l f of the seventeenthand the earl ier ha l f of the eighteenth centuries

occupying a l l a long a command ing pos it ion in the

courts of successive rul ers of Mysore a s fo l lows : ‘ TheMadura Na ik revolted and Venkatapati Raya senthis nephew (probably now a ma j o r) to put down therevolt . Instead of doing this, his pla in duty, Tiruma laRaya r eceived bribes from the rebel l ious sa trap and

march ed with a l l his a rmy to Srirangapatna , therebybringing on himself a deserved retribution and showing to onlookers the hol lowness of th e empire .

It wa s under these circumstances tha t there a rose a

part icularly clever ru l er in Mysore, who turned them

a l l to his advantage and la id the founda tion of thepresent Mysore Sta te .

We sha l l now proceed to inquire who this person

age was and wha t his position . There seems to havebeen in us e in the terr itory of Mysore (and even out

s ide it) ever s ince the dawn of history the designa tion

of Wodeya rs signifying a certa in f euda l sta tus . Whatthe amount of the land was , the po sses sion of whichgave this honorific tit le to the poss essor, is very hardto determine now . There have been Wodeyars whosepossessions va ried from a vil lage or two to thirty

l C hikka Deva R aj a Vij a yam,2nd Canto ; Chikl a Der

a Raj a Vaméd »

va li, pp 14 6 .

ORIGIN or THE FAMILY 275

or forty . The \Vodeyar of Karoogaha l lyl owns himself

ma ster of only one vil lage ; and Ra ja Wodeyar of

Mysore about the same time wa s l ord of twenty - threevil lages .

’ But the term \Vodeyar is a l so la rge ly usedin another sense being merely equ iva lent to

‘ l ord ’

This is the term used in addres sing prie st s amongthe Lingayets . It m ay be a combina tion of bothwhen applied to the members of the ru l ing family .

But Yadu Raya i s sa id t o have been requested by

his wife to a ssume this ti t le as a ma rk of gra titudeto a Lingayet priest who helped him in taking poss ession of Mysore from th e usurper Da lawfiy Maranayaka .

Wha tever may be the va lue of thi s story , the tit les eems to have reta in ed both the above meanings a s

applied to the My sore family .

This family traces its descent from a certa in Y adu

Raya who i s bel ieved to have re igned from 1399 to

1423 . He is sa id to have come to th is province from

Dwaraka . The obj ect of his j ourney to Mysore withhis brother Krishna i s differently given by different

authorit i e s ; s ome giving the worship of god Narayana of Me lukote a s the obj ect , and others tha t ofthe goddes s Chamundi of the Mysore Hi l l . Whateve rthe motive of these brothers , they appea r to havebeen fugit ive princes of the la t el y overthrown H oysa la

fami ly which had its capita l a t Dwar z‘

s va ti (the modern

Ha l ebi d) , or of tha t of th e Kaka tiy a s of Waranga l wh ichcla imed to belong to the Chandra Y amsa as well . ‘

But VVilk s mentions them as Yadava fugit ives fromthe court of Vijayanaga r, which seem s very l ikely .

They came to Mysore where circumstances favoured

1 Chikka Deva Raj a Vamédva li, p . 16 .

9 Thirty- th ree vil l ages according toWilks (vide vol . i, p . 21 , footnote) .

3 P a la ce History, p . 16 .

This view s eems to receive support from th e author of copper plate

NO . 64 of Srirangapa tna .

Vide page 23 tran s l ation .

Epig raphia Cam d taka ,vol . i, part 1 .

276 ANCIENT INDIA

their founding a family . Here again a ccounts differ,but the one given in the P a la ce History looks moreprobabl e than that of W i lks . A certa in Chama Ra j aWodeyar of Mysore d ied leaving behind him hiswidow and an only daughter . The Da laway Maranayaka a s sumed the regency which he t ried eventua l lyto convert into roya l ty . The widow and her daughterseem to have been help les s in hi s hands . 1 Perhaps,he wou ld have married the daughter and thu s given

an appearance of l ega l ity to his usurpa tion ; but his

unpopu la rity and the di s content among his officers

came to a head in a conspira cy aga in st him . The

pa lace party seems to ha ve had the sympa thy of the

p eop le and the conspira cy aga inst the usurper had

g a ined in s trength , when Yadu Raya wa s ready to playhis part by heading the conspira cy . Success a ttending

th e conspiracy, Yadu won the hand of the Wodeyar’s

da ughter , and he succeeded to her father’s estate as

was agr eed to before . It wa s a‘

jungam’ priest that

nego tia ted the trea ty , and hence the ti tl e Wodeyar

a ttached to the princes of the family a s mentioned

above .

This i s the historica l founder of the family, and herul ed over Mysore town and a few vi l lages about i t.What the a ctua l extent of this sma l l State wa s we

have no means of a scerta ining now. He settled uponhis brother an estate , which he took from one of hisfa ther -in - law’s rela tives, and di ed in 1423 .

His son Hiri Betad Chama Raja Wodeyar succeeded

him in 1423 . Nothing is known of this personageexcept his name . He wa s in turn succeeded by hisson Timma Ra ja Wodeyar in the year 1458 . His sonHiri Chama Ra ja Wodeyar a scended the throne of

the l ittl e kingdom , i f we m ay ca l l i t a kingdom at a l l,

in the yea r 1478 . This ru ler’s son was Ectad Chama

1 P a la ce History, p . 9, et seq .

278 ANC IENT INDIA

by defea ting other Wodeyar s who la id cla im to itl ikewi se during a vis it to Nanjanagfidu. He fol lowed

up thi s v ictory by the conquest of Ummatur and

Sinduval l i .1 During his time, Mysore territory musthave been very sma l l in extent, as he had to getpermiss ion from other independent Wodeyars to pass

through their territory to Nanjanag fidu .

This ru l er was succ eeded by his youngest brotherBole

‘2 Chama Raj a or Chama Ra j a ‘ the ba ld ’

. This wa s

no doubt the Wi sh of the fa ther, but why his elderbrother Krishna Raja wa s pa ssed over is not quitec lear . Can it be tha t he died before 1571 ? ThisChama Ra ja then ru led for five y ears 1571—6, and is

credited by Wilks with having evaded the tribute due

to the viceroy at Srirang apa tna .

3 It i s now not tenyea rs after the batt le of Ta l ikota which took place in1565 . The viceroy is sa id to have besieged the fortof Mysore , and it i s recorded tha t hi s Da laway

4 Revati

Rema ti , or Tim ati Venka ta , wa s defeated and forcedto cede Kottaga la . This shows the want of efficiencyin the vicerega l government .About this time, a ls o, Akba r had made himself

a lmost ma ster of Hindustan, and was turning hisa ttention to the southern side of the Vindhya s . Thisnew element of disturban ce, and the res istance which

it provoked in the Musa lman Powers of th e Dekhan,gave to the further south compara tive peace, even theBijapur and Golconda princes having had to dividetheir a ttention . It wa s only the imbecil ity of the Vijayanaga r rulers that gave these petty Wodeyars an

Opportunity for rising to grea tness. Rama Raja ,the

1Wilks’History,vol . i, p . 22 P a lace His tory,p . 19 .

9 HiriCh ama Ra ja ofWilks and Doc! Chama Ra ja of Srirang apatna ,157 . Page 36, transl a tion (Epi.3 Vol . i,pp . 12- 13 .

4 Chikka Deva Raj a Vams’

va li, p . 45 , et seq . Srirangapatna 64 andoth ers .

BETAD WODEY AR. 279

viceroy , wa s dead leaving behind him the minorTiruma l Rava mentioned above

,whose trea son cost

him his vicero y a l ty .

Bole Chama Raj a left a t his dea th four sons,

Rajadhi Ra ja , Ectad Chama Ra ja , Muppim Deva Raj aand Chama Ra j a l Here there is a di s agreementamong the authorities which appears ha rd to reconcile .

There is a confus ion in Wi lks'

His tory between BetadW

odeva r , Timm a Ra ja’

s s on ,and Betad Chama Ra1a

Bole Chama Ra ja’s son . Wilks makes Ra j a

\Vodeyar , the son of Timm a Ra j a , in opposition to a l l

the other authoritie s . He i s evidently wrong , a s thereis an inscription

9 da ted 1614 (Ra]a Wodeyar died inwhich represent s him a s th e son of Dodda

Chama Ra j a W’

odeyar of Mysore . But before going toRa j a -

odeyar , we have to di spose of a Betad ChamaRa ja \Vodeyar , who ru led for two vears (1576

The P a la ce His tory makes h im the eldest son of

Chama Ra ja ‘ the ba ld ’

. But the inscription s and

other works referred to, make him the young er brother

of Ra ja W'

odeyar . Wilks,

3on the other hand ,

makesthe succ essor of Bale Chama Ra ja , a Betad \Vodeyar,his nephew . He seems to be in th e right

,because the

inscriptions and the works of Tiruma la Aiyang ar . abovereferred to , make no mention of thi s rul er . Besides ,s ince bo th the cousins bore nea rly th e same name

there is room for confusion , and the short dura tion

of th e ru le of Beta d \V0deya r ha s a suspicious air of

forced abd ica tion ra ther than of voluntary ret irement .

The idea of a y ounger brother supersed ing the elder

to get over financ ia l emba rra ssmen t, or of the compu l

sory retir ement of the la tter by the e lders of th e land ,seems not to be v ery common in th e tradi tions of

Indian rulers . The father Timma Ra ja having rul ed ,

1 Vid e Genea l ogica l ta b le No . 8 .

9 Srirangapatna , p . 36 . Trans l ation (Epi. C a n ) .3 Wilks 'History, vol . i, p . 21 .

280 ANCIENT INDIA

Betad W’

odeyar natura l ly wished to su cceed him ,but

his uncle came in the way with th e authori ty of thetestament above mentioned . At his uncl e ’s dea th ,

he succeeded in the absence of a previous a rrangemen t

,and wa s probably persuaded to retire in favour

of his cous in Ra j a Wodeyar on the ground of thes ettlement of Hem an al li upon his fath er, Mysorefa l l ing to the lot of Chama Raj a the ba l d .

’1 Accord

ing to Wilks,there i s nothing strange in Betad

Wodeya r’

s quiet re tirement, or in hi s acc epting theoffice of Da laway und er Ra ja Wodeyar . There isnothing worthy of mention in thi s reign of two

yea rs .9

In 1578, there came to the throne of Mysore a

ru l er, at once capable and polit ic, who la i d the founda tions of it s grea tness and consol ida ted,

to a certa in

extent, the disintegra ting viceroya lty of Srirangapatna ;

this wa s Ra ja Wodeyar who , for rea sons given above ,m ay be considered the eldest son of Bole ChamaRa ja of Mysore . The minor ity of Tirum a l Raya of

Srirangapatna gave ample scope to the aggrandizement of the Wodeyars genera ll y,

3and Ra ja Wodeyar

benefi ted most of a l l . A glance at the l ists of hisconquests shows tha t th ere were many powerfulWodeyars a long with him under the nomina l suzera inty

of the viceroy a t Srirang apatna . These Wodeyars

can be roughly divided into two cla s ses with respectto Ra ja Wodeyar . Many of th em were connected

with him by ma rriages or o therwi se ; whi le there wereothers who , having suffered at his hands , kept a looffrom him and in trigued a t the viceroy ’s court . Tothe former cla ss be longed the Wodeyars of Ka la l e,Bilugula , Bil ikere, Hura ,

Hu l lanah a l li, Mugur, etc .To the la tter c la ss belonged the Wodeyars of Amma

1 Vide Genea logica l tab l es iand iv.

2 P a lace History , pp . 474- 8 .

3 Ibid .,pp .

~22—3 . Wilks ’ History, p . 28 .

282 ANCIENT INDIA

Srirangapatna , who tried to bring about the death of

Raja Wodeyar . Wa r was thought of, but s tratagemswere voted be tter by his vassa l counci l lors . A genera lmuster of th e vicerega l a rmy wa s ordered under pre

tence of a review for the Dus sarah ,and Raja Wodeyar

was invit ed to pay a fr iend ly vis it . Raja Wodeyar,in his turn, and on the advice of his brothers, Betad

Chama Ra ja and Deva Ra ja , a s sembled his army,having been previous ly informed by his spies of the

rea l stat e of fee l ing at Srirangapatna . He thoughtit better, however, to leave the a rmy under Betad

Chama Ra ja and pa id h is vi si t to the viceroy withhis brother Deva Ra ja and a fa ithfu l body of fol lowers .1

The viceroy received him with apparent cordiality,having previous ly a rranged an ambuscade to tak e Raja

Wodeyar prisoner while going out for a ride . But,

lucki ly for Ra j a Wodeyar , a petty incident thwartedthe proj ect . As soon as Tirum a l Raya turned hisback on Ra ja Wodeyar

s quarters a ft er hi s vis it, the

Wodeyar’

s a ttendants began , a s usua l on a l l publicoccasions, to repeat hi s tit l es, among them Birudan

tembara Ganda ’ so fru itfu l of quarrel s in Mysore history .

Tirumal Raya sent word tha t th is one of a l l thet it les might be given up by both pa rties , a s neitherof them coul d l ay cla im to it a s a heredita ry t itl e .

Thi s wa s resented . Ra ja Wodeyar with his fa ithfulreta iners marched through the a rmy of the viceroywhich wa s described a s fol lows : The contingents of

Ballapur, Kolata la , Banga lore, Magadi, Punganoor and

o ther Mora s a countrie s were twenty el ephants, twothousand horse, twenty thousand foot ; of Ta lakad,Yelandur, Amm a ch avadi, Tirukanambi and other interior nads (sta tes) , ten elephants, five hundred horse,ten thousand foot ; of Ka la le , Belur , Keladi, and otherMalnads (hil l - sta tes) , twenty elephants , two thousand

I Chikka Deva Raj a Vamsd va li, p . 33 , et seq .

SRIRANGAPATNA ACQUIRED 283

horse, twenty thousand foot ; of Chintanaka l , Chikkanayakanah a l li, Banava ra , Ba savapa tna , Sira and otherBedar Dads (hunter sta tes) , five e lephants, five hundred horse, ten thou sand foot .

’ Rana Jaga Deva Raya lKereyoor Timma Na ika and other ‘

Ravuta Payaka s

(cava l ry and infantry officers) supplied contingent of

fifteen elephants, four thousand horse , twenty - fourthousand foot . the res erve force of thirty el e

phants , three thousand horse, thirty thousand foot, thetota l runs up to a hundred el ephants , twelve thousandhorse and one hundred and fourteen thousand foot . l

This i s rea l ly Napo leonic indeed for an army tha twa s defea ted b y Ra ja W

odeyar ! It i s not probabletha t th ese were the a ctua l numbers in the field ;but the above computa tion shows the miscel laneou scomposition of the army, and wha t l ittl e commoninterest they cou l d have had in fighting for theviceroy . The viceroy r eso lved after due del ibera tion

to lay s iege to the fort of Kesaregonte and not, a s

origina l ly proposed , to Mysore . The first seems to havebeen, at the time, unfit for standing a s iege . Itwas s i tua ted between Srirangapatna and Mysore .

Betad Chama Ra ja Wodeyar held out ti l l a relievingforce approached from Mysore

, and the miscel laneous

vicerega l a rmy was then put to fl ight ea s ily . Tirum a l

Raya, the viceroy, wa s a l rea dy meditating flight fromSrirangapatna , when some of the Wodey ars who h ad

formerly counsel led the a dvance of the army , nowp ersuaded him to stand a s iege, and encamped with

th eir forces on the northern s ide of the fort . These

were aga in defea ted by Nara sa Raja , the eldes t son ofRa ja Wodeyar, and Tiruma l Raya now fled to Ta lakad

1 Chikka Deva Raj a Vams’

atva li, pp . 26—83 .

In th e States depending on Bijapur and Golconda were m ain tained

horse .

F ootnote 2 at p . 58, vol . iofWilks'His tory.

284 AN CIENT INDIA

leaving his family behind .

1 This event is genera l ly

regarded a s having taken place in 1610 . But it i srecorded tha t Ra j a Wodeyar receiv ed Srirangapa tn a

a s a grant from Venkatapati Raya in Itwou ld thus appear tha t Raj a Wodeya r obta ined the

sanction of Venka tapati Raya for keeping possessionof wha t he actua l ly conquered . On the flight of

Tirum a l Raya , the treatment a ccorded by Ra ja Wode

yar to the wife of the ex - viceroy is variously rela ted .

According to Tirum ala 3 Aiyangar, Ra ja Wodeyar point

ed out to her the des irabil i ty of accompanying herhusband and provided her with an escort to go to

Ta lakad, and this authori ty ca l l s her Sriranganayaki.

But the Pa la ce His tory (pp . 31 gives a difierent

version which appea rs to be nea rer to the truth .

The lady is named Alamelum anga , and she went toMalangi a fter h er husband . Ra ja Wodeyar, at the

instance of the priest of Rang anayaki, the goddess ,sent for some j ewels belonging to the goddess in the

possession of the viceroy’s wife at the time, with a

threa t that the j ewel s would be taken from her by

force if she did not surrender them at once . She

refused to surrender them a l l on the score tha t theywere her own , though she very oft en l ent them for

the decora tion of th e goddess . Having sa id this,and

being a fra id of her own sa fety, she drowned herse lfin a we l l a t Malangi . But the popu lar tradi tion istha t Ra ja Wodeya r hounded her to death for thesake of her j ewel s and perhaps of h er person too .

She i s sa id to have pronounced a curse at her dea thwhich m ay be rendered a s fol lows : May Malangi beno more than a tank ; m ay Ta lakad be buried under

sand ; may the Ra j a of Mysore have no i s sue left .’

1 Wilks ’Historv vol . i, p . 26 .

‘2 Tirumakudlu Nara sipura 62 (A .D. 1622, actua l date Saka year 1534,

th e year of cycle paridh fivi) .3 Chikka Deva Raj a Vamsdva li, pp . 31—2 .

286 ANCIENT INDIA

been carefu l to take th e actua l administra t ion of theconquered terr itories into his own hands and to appointhis own officers . He is a l so reputed to have celebrated the Dus s arah festiva l on a grand sca le and

made the rul e tha t, in future, the dea th even of the

closest relat ives of the roya l family shou ld not interfere with the festivities . This question h ad to bed iscussed by experts in his reign on account of thedea th of his eldest son Na ra sa Ra ja . The appoint

ment of a Da l away,discont inued ever s ince the usur

pation of Maranayaka , wa s now revived owing, as

Ra j a Wodeyar is made to say, to the vast add it ionsto his estat es . The firs t appointment was unsatisfac

tory,a s indeed many of them were throughout . The

first Da l away under the present dyna sty was Ra ja

Wodeya r’

s nephew, Ka rika la Ma l larajayya of Ka la le,of the same family a s the Da laway brothers , whobrought about the downfa l l of the rul ing dynasty

and the ri se of Ha idar ‘A li. Ma l la rajayya resignedshort ly after hi s appointment and was succeeded by

Betad Wodeyar .

l Thi s Betad Wodeyar must have

been the same a s Ra j a Wodeyar’

s cous in who wa ssuperseded by him . This act of trust on the part of

the latter fla ttered the feel ings of the former who

h ad qu iet ly abdi ca ted the roya l pos ition . Previous tothe appointment of a Da l away, Ra ja \Vodeyar

s army

appears to have been uniformly led by his brother

Es tad Chama Ra ja Wodeya r ; and, therefore, he couldnot have been the new Da laway . Ra ja Wodeyar,by this t ime, h ad lost a l l th e four of his grown

up sons and his youngest brother Chama Raja .

He settled t he succession, therefore , in consu lta tionwith his two surviving younger brothers

, Betad

Chama Ra ja and Deva Raj a , on Chama Ra j a Wodeyar,

his grandson by Nara sa Raja . He is sa i d by some

1 P a lace History, p . 45.

OHAMA RAJA WODEYAR 287

authorities to have left to the infant Immadi Ra j a the

Jagir of West Dannayakanakote,l but ImmadiRa ja i s

genera l l y regarded a posthumous son . The sons ofBetad Chama Ra ja and Deva Ra ja received the Jagirs ,Rangas amudra and Nul lur Vij ayapura and Arikere and

Yelandurumang a la respectively2 Having made these

sett lements, he reti red with his brothers to Melkotewhere he di ed in 1617 .

Raja Wodeyar a ccordingly wa s succeeded by his grandson, Chama Ra ja Wodeyar ,who rul ed from 1617 to 1687 .

It h a s been mentioned that, under Ra ja Wodeyar, theoflice of Da laway wa s revived to meet th e exigenciesof increa sed territory and administra tion . This office

combined in its el f the offices of Prime Minister and

Comm ander - ih - Chief . At the accession of ChamaRa ja Wodeyar, Betad Wodeyar held this importantoffice and exerci sed h is authority not s o much a s theDa laway,

but a s guardian to the young Ra j a . TheRa ja and the Da laway very soon fell out on a sma l lma tter , the one having been a s tena c ious of hi s

authori ty a s the other of hi s dign i ty . Beted

i t wou ld appea r, d i smissed a few servan ts nea r theperson of the Ra ja who were found to be abusing the

trust . Th i s wa s resented and consequentl y an a ttempt

wa s m ade by Betad ,“b deyar

s son , to p0 1son the Raj a .

Es tad \V0deyar fled for his l ife which wa s granted him

at the cost of his eyes . The office of Da laway a lwa y s

appea rs to have been unfortuna te in Mysore, for the

officers were ready to misbeh ave, Whenever the ruler was

not s trong enough to keep them under control . Therewere four Da laways in thi s reign, the la s t of whom wa s

Vikram a Raya , th e na tura l son of Beta d Chama Raja ,

brother of Ra j a \Vodevar . Chama Ra ja W'

cdeyar

C hiklca Deva Raj a . Vamédva li, p . 67 , et seq .

2 Wilks ’ History, vol . i, p . 29 . P a la ce History, p . 49, makes Ra ja

Wodeyar prophesy th e birth of a ma le child to h is pregnant wife .

288 ANCIENT INDIA

entrus ted the whole administra tion to the Da laways in

order to have time enough to d ischa rg e his domesticdut ies .

1 So l ong a s the Da laway s were men unconnectedwith the rul ing family, they va lued their posit ion too

much to intrigue , as wa s the ca se with the second

and the third Da laways of this r eign .

2 These Da laways , however , made a number of conquests and

annexa tions and extended Chama Ra ja ’s inheritancein a l l d irections . It is dur ing this reign tha t theviceroya lty of Jag adeva Baya l wa s reduced to nothing by the capture of Channapa tna and Nagamanga la,and by th e siege of Hoskote .

3 It is evident thatChama Ra ja persevered in carrying on the adminis

tration a ccording to th e l ines la id down by his grand

father by keeping down the Wodeyars , by conci l iatingthe ryots and by not increa sing the rents . ‘ He is sa idto have col lect ed a grea t dea l of war ma ter ia l and tohave established a depot at Srirangapatna .

5 He is

a l so cred it ed with having written a commenta ry on

the Ramayana and the Mahabharata . He died with

out i s sue in 1637 , and wa s succeeded by his boy uncle,Imm adiRa ja Wodeyar . Da laway Vikrama Raya lordedi t over the new rul e r , whom he found to be not the

nom ina l one tha t he wou l d have him, and so he h adhim poisoned in the yea r 1638 .

Who wa s to be the next rul er ? At the time of Ra ja

Wodeyar’

s dea th his brother’s chi ldren were providedwith j agirs a s became their dignity . Though nothingis recorded about Deva Ra ja ,

Reta d Chama Ra ja is sai d

to have been living in ret irement a t Ranga samudra not

without exercis ing a wholesome influence at court . Now

l In one of th e in scriptions Vikrama Rays. is referred as th e na tural

son of Ra ja Wodeya r .

‘4 Nanj angfidu 9 , p . 96 , Tran s l ation Epi. Ca r .

3 P a l ace History, p . 5 1 . Wilks ’History , vol . i, p . 29 .

Chtlcka Deva R aj a Vamédva li, p . 60, et seq .

5 P a lace History, p . 61 .

290 ANC IENT INDIA

for his trea son aga inst the former ruler . The P a la ce

History sta tes that the Da laway wa s punished a fter

due inquiry and confession by himself ; but Wilks ap

pears to be right in saying tha t he was despa tched bythe hand of the a ssa ssin .

1 F or the Da laway wa s notonly a na tura l son of Betad Chama Ra ja? but a lso thefirst officer in the Sta te . A s such, he must have been

too powe rfu l and perha ps too popu la r to be punished

l ike an ordinary servant . This seems to have taught

Kantirava Nara sa a good l es son , and we see him through

out his reign making vigorous and ra ther successfu l

a ttempts to curb the power of the Da laways , s o tha t wesee the offi ce changing hands a l it t le too often . This

r uler is cred ited by Wilks with having cel ebra ted the

Dus sarah fe st iva l on a grand sca l e and for the firsttime . Whatever the sca l e of the ce lebra tion , he was

not the first to celebra te the fest iva l, Ra ja Wodey ar

having done it many times during his l ife .3 Kantirava

N ara s a , finding i t inconven ient to ha ve a number of

d ifferent coins in circu lat ion , a ss erted his sovereignty

over other Wodeyars by establi shing a mint and coiningin hi s own name .

‘ This is th e first s tep at unifying

the l oose cong lomera te of the petty chiefta incies heinherited, and his coins s eem to have had currency in

other part s of South India a s well . He is a l so givencredi t for having made an elabora te survey of the lands

under theWodeyars , and, having found the purse - proudryots too troublesome, he took away a l l tha t they h adover and above wha t wa s nece ssary for their bareliving and occupation .

5 This had the desired effect,

and not only cowed the refractory Wodeyars and

1 Wil ks’History, vol . i, p . 3 1 .

2 P a lace History, p. 59 . Na nj a a g i‘

id 9, dated 1643 ,makes him th e son

of Raja Wodeya r.

Vida ante p . 286.

P a la ce History, p . 34 Wilks ' His tory, vol . i, p . 32.

5 Wilks ’History, vol . i, p . 3 2 P a la ce His tory,p . 90 .

xANTiRAVA AND HIS DALAwfir s 291

other landlords, but enriched Kantirava Nara sa beyonda l l expecta tion . This act of publ ic plunder wa s not

questioned in those days , a s the peopl e h ad no othermeans of a sserting their rights than that of taking armsaga inst the ru l er . This la tter mea sure must clearlyh ave been to their own ru in , for, in the pla ce of ones trong ma ster, however unjust ifiable hi s mea sur es , theywould have h ad m anv more plunderers w i thout the.

advan tag e of protect ion which the former offered .

The next step Kan tirava Nara s a took wa s to ke ep theDa laways in check . There were in a l l ten Da lawaysin thi s re ign . a l l of whom ,

ext eptin g on e , held theoffi ce but. for a brief space of time . Under a strongru l er , the Da lawavs h ad on lv to play a subord ina tepart , a nd ,

wh enever th ev a ttempted to make th emselvessomething more, th ev ea rned their di smissa l . Thisoffi ce , the first in importa nce in th e Sta te , had a lwavs

been given to a person intimately connected w ith th e

ruler e ither in blood or by a ss ocia tion . “i

h en ever

the cho ice fel l on re la t ives , the appointment did notprove happy , a s they a ttempted to a s sume a l l power

a nd to turn the a ttention of the sovereign solely to

the enj oyment of home l ife . “r

h enever the appoint

ment fel l to th e lot of some one outside the circle of

r ela tions , the choice proved happier, because they h ad

not th e same influence in the pa lace a s the others

had, and s o cou ld be eas i ly dea lt with bv the ru le r .

Kan tirava K a ra sa appears t o have made a discoverv

of thi s fa ct, and, therefore, devia ted from the principle

of choice inaugura ted bv Ra ja “b deya r whose Da laway s were near connexions in blood . Perhaps Ra ja

Wodey ar cou ld not a s vet have trusted others outsidehis familv , but Kan tirava wa s much too strong for

fea r of tha t kind . So, after the fa l l of his ha lf - brother,

Da laway Vikram a Raya ,h e appo inted Thimm appa

Nayaka and six others in succession who were,if

a t a l l connected, very distant relatives . Thus we see

292 ANCIENT INDIA

that Kantirava Nara sa a lways kept a l l rea l power inhis own hands, and so did his two successors . Hencethe vigour of the administra tion during the threereig ns .

This rul er seems bes id es to have pa id much a t ten

t ion to publ ic works . He rebui l t the forts of Srirangapatna and Mysore when they got damagedduring the s iege by Ra nadhoola Khan . The deta il sg iven of these forts are not of much importance .

With the money h e obta ined, a s above mentioned,he

provided the forts with a l l tha t wa s needfu l to protect

them from a ssaul t, and appea rs to have mounted a

large number of guns over th e ramparts . He i ssa id to have constructed severa l tanks, and a lso the

cana l which runs over the bridge on the southern

arm of the Kavery bringing fresh wa ter into th e fort .He a l so made rich endowments to the temples inthe province, parti cu larly to those of Srirang anatha

and of god Nara simha at Srirangapatna . He se ems

to h ave commanded a rmies in person , rather thantrust them into the hand s of the Da laways . He isknown to have been very remarkable for h is strength

and courage , and his firs t exploit wa s the defea t

of a rema rkable prize - figh ter at Trich inopoly . Hav

ing gone there incognito, h e returned , a fter ki l ling

the m an , wi thout wa i ting to receive the prize . Thisgave ris e to one or two unsuccessfu l conspira ciesaga in st his l ife which m ay be passed over here . But

the most important mil i tary a ct of the reign was the

defence of Srirangapa tna aga inst Ranadhoola Khan,

the genera l of Bijapur .

1 The siege wa s brought abouta s fo llows : Kantirava Nara s a inci ted Kenge Hanuma

of Ba savapa tna and other W’

odeyars of Ikkeri aga insttheir l iege lord , Veerabh adra Naj aka . The di sturb

ance wa s promptly quel led by the Ikkeri Navaka .

1 Wilks ’History,vol . i,p. 31 .

294 ANC IENT INDIA

access ion 1638—9 . Though Kantirava Na ra sa agr eed

to this trea ty in his helplessness , he does not seem

to have thought seriously of fu lfi l l ing his promise .

Ranadhoola Khan, on the other hand, l eaving Kenge

Hanuma a s the Bijapur agent, returned to Bijapur,his head - qua rters . Veerabh a dra Nayaka of Ikkeri

ava il ed hims elf of this opportunity to avenge his

wrongs on Ranadhoola Khan , and sent an emba s sy toBij apur to expose to the Padi shah the ho llowness ofthe agreement

,and the unre l iabl e chara cter of the

agent . Ranadhoola Khan wa s su spected ,and a roya l

commission wa s sent to inquire into th e a ffa irs ofKenge H anum a , of which Nagam ang la Ch anniah wa s

a member . Kenge Hanum a fa l t ered and Kantirava

Nara sa grew defiant . To add to this , Ch anniah was

murdered by Kenge Hanum a , a s he was the only

member of the commission conversant W ith the deta ils

of th e administra tion .

‘ Ranadhoola Khan wa s , inconsequence, superseded by Khan Khan . This genera land his successor

,Musta fa Khan, wer e sent in succes

sion to take possess ion of Srirang apatna , the fort ofwhich h ad been complete ly rebu il t since the first inva

sion, but they far ed no better th an th eir predecessor .A plundering ra id und ertaken by Hem a ji Pundit ofBija pur and ‘

Abdu’l lah Khan, a genera l , effected nothing

of importance except the temporary occupation ofTuruvekere . Having thus fa r been on the defens ive,Kantirava Nara sa coul d now take th e offensive . Inhis aggressive ma rch ea stward ,

b e defea ted the Bijapurforces and took possession of i ts la te conquests .

Having defea ted the VanangamndiMuda liar of Kongu,

h e took Samha l l i , Bomba l li, and Sa tyamanga l a, havingprevious ly worsted the Madura Nayaka , his liege lord .

On the west, he defea ted Nanj a Ra ja VVodevar of

Coorg,and a fter hunting him from pla ce to place,

1 P a la ce His tory, pp . 7 7 . 79 .

Dop p A DEVA RAJA 295

took possession of P eriapatam , his capita l , and sixother d istrict s (Gh adis ) .

l In the north,he extended

his conquests to the frontiers of Ikkeri, Chita ldroogand Si ra . After such an eventful re ign he died in 1659leaving no ma l e issue to succeed him .

The descendants of Muppim Deva Ra ja ,the third

brother of Ra ja “iodeya r, came in for their share of

rul e now . This Deva Ra ja had four chi ldren,one of

Whom succe eded Kan tirava Ka ra sa . But, a s to whichof these four sons succeeded ,

th ere i s cons iderabledifference of opin ion among the authoritie s . TheP a la ce His tory (p . 91) makes the successor the thirdson, “lilks

$2th e fourth

, and Tiruma la Aiyang ar, a con

tempora ry , the first. In a l l the inscript ions of tin

ruler’

s and his succ es sor’s time,the la tter is recorded

a s the nephew of the former . Tiruma la Aiyangar himself makes Dod Deva Ra ja succeed nomin a l lv only ,while Kempa Deviah , his third brother, wa s ca rrying

on the administra tion in fa ct .

3 The truth appea rs tobe, that Kempa Deviah , th e th ird son , wa s the suc

cessor rul ing for a short t ime in the name of hi sel dest brother who mus t have been old, and then inhis own name

, on condit ion th a t the sa id brother’

sson should succeed him . “Elk s and the P a la ce His

tory a l ike seem to have gone wrong in certa in pa r~

ticu lars about this ru ler,and the mistake i s accounted

for by a l l th e four brothers bea ring the same nam eDeva Ra ja , with a qua l i fying epithet . B esides thefact tha t Chikka Deva Ra ja and his father were in

prison at Tirukanam by i s not borne out b y any other

authoritv . It i s,howeve r , mentioned tha t Chikka

C liikka . Deva Raja Vams’

d r a l i, pp . CS, et seq ; Wilks'History,

vol . i,

pp . 33 - 5 : P a la ce His tory, pp . 67 . 69 .

‘2Wilks ‘

History,vol . i, pp . 35 - 6 .

3 Chikka Deva Raj a Vams'

dm l i, pp . 19 , et seq .

,and C lzilvlra Dor a Ra ja

Vij ayam , iv Canto, Sta n z a s 170 ,wt s eq . Srira n g apa tna 14 , 64 and

others . Vida Genea logica l ta b l e No . iii.

2 96 ANCIENT INDIA

Deva Raj a was sent away a s a youth with his twowives to Gundlu,

r emote from Court, to keep himfrom profiigate ways into which he wa s fa l l ing .

fa ther, on the oth er hand,l ived with his younger

broth er at Srirang apatn a and then retired to a villagewhere he d ied soon a fter . Besides, Chikka Deva Ra ja

i s recorded to have offered his s ervices a ga ins t theconfederacy of ru l ers besieging E rode, and wa s wel l

nigh entrusted with the comm and of th e army . Be

sides this, Chikka Deva Ra j a wa s a mere youth, beingonly twelve years old ,

when his uncle,a grown - up

m an, succeeded to the throne .

9 Thus, then ,Kantirava

Narasa was succeeded by his cousin Kempa Deviah ,

who became Dod Deva Ra ja IVodeyar of Mysore . At

the accession of this ruler to fu l l sovereignty, he was

the l ega l successor, his next e lder bro ther havingd ied . Chikka Deva Ra j a ,

then a youth , wa s recognized heir- apparen t a nd ea ch of th em ,

the ruler and

the heir, wa s gua rdian to his younger brother .The two remarkab le, events of thi s reign were, theinva s ion of the coun try by Chokka ling a Nayaka of

Madura , and the s iege of Srirang apa tna by éivappaNayaka of Ikkéri, who h ad but la tely overthrown hisma ster and establi sh ed h ims elf in h is pla ce . In bothth ese events Srirang a R aya l , the fugitive ruler of

Vijayanagar, wa s put forth a s th e leader . Chokka linga

Nayaka , having made hims elf independent ruler of

Madura , wanted to make the most of the imperia lfugitive then with him

,and a dvanced in the la tter’s

name to Erode, on th e sou th - ea st frontier of Mysore,

assi s ted by Ana ntoji of Ta n j ore , Vedoji of Bijapur,Golconda , Gingee , a nd Ivyappah Nayaka (a jagirda r) .Perplexed by the mag nitude of the invading army,Dodda Deva Raj a wished to try diploma cy, whenChikka Deva Ra ja offered his services to lead the

1 Chiklta Deva Raj a Vij ayam , Canto v .

2 P a l ace History, p . 100 .

298 ANCIENT INDIA

devoted a grea t dea l of a tt ention to works of charity .

He is sa id to have establi shed a number of ag rah a ras

(vil lages for Brahmins) and bui l t way- s ide chou ltries,at short interva l s of distance throughout his dominions .

He constructed severa l tanks, on e of those a t Mysor eamong them . His devotion to the goddess Chamundi led

to the construction of the st eps up the h il l, and to theBa s avanandi (a gigantic bul l in stone) ha lf way up .

His princ ipa l i tem s of expendi ture of the money

ga ined in wars are naively sa id by the historian 9

to have been three : provid ing (1) ornaments to hisqueens ; (2) endowments to his Brahmin friends ; and

(3) rewards to servants for meritorious services .

After a rei gn of thirteen yea rs, he d ied in 1672 ina progr ess through his dominions at Chikkanaikanah a l li.

He was succeeded by his nephew, Chikka Deva Raja

Wodeyar, a s h ad been previously agreed upon . Thereigns of Dodda Deva Ra ja an d his successor are coeva lwith that of Aurangzeb in Hindustan, and when it isborne in mind tha t Chikka Deva ’s reign coincided int ime with the ri s e of Siva j i and the d iffi cul ties of theMoghu l emperor in the sou th , it wi l l not be d ifficul tto understand how thi s ru l er consol ida ted his Sta te in

compa ra tive pea ce . The Musa lman power of Bijapurwa s the most aggressiv e and troublesome neighbourof Mysore . Bijapur expeditions into Mysore havebeen fo r one rea son or oth er frequent , and th is Powervery often interfered in the a ffa irs of the Wodeyars .

But now, this and the other Musa lman Powers ofSouth India h ad to turn thei r at tent ion , and to devoteit a l l aga inst the advance of Moghu l a rms in the south,and the rise of a more dangerous enemy from amongsttheir own servants, the Mah aratta s .

3 Even the line

1 P a lace History, pp . 94,et seq .

Wilks' History , vol . i, pp . 35 -6 .

2 Chikka Deva Raj a Vij a yam,end of th e v canto.

3 Wilks’History, vol . , p . 56 .

CHIKKA DEVA RAJA 299

of conquests of Sha j i and hi s son Siva j i went roundthe Mysore territory and did not go pa st Banga lore ,thus l eaving Mysore a t the angl e between their

northern and southern possessions . At thi s time itwa s that Ch ikka Deva Ra ja came to the throne ofSrirangapatna , and worked unostenta t ious ly and cleverlyat the unificat ion of the petty Sta tes which he h adinherited .

During the firs t twenty y ea rs of his reign . hegradua lly consol ida ted the conquests of hi s predecessorsand, after reconquering those pla ces which h ad beentaken back, b e extended his conquests principa l ly intwo d irect ions . To the south - ea st b e extended h isconquest s a s fa r a s Trichinopoly

,whil e to the north

west he push ed his frontiers far into the territories

of hi s neighbours . Thus he added a large pa rt ofTumkur and Kadu r dis tricts and a portion of Chita ldroog to hi s own dominion s . The powerful gaud ofMagadi wa s gradua l ly giving way before the onsetsof more powerful neighbours , and by the acqu isit ion

of Banga lore in 1687—8, by purcha se from Ekoji. theha lf brother of Siva j i , Chikka Deva Ra ja \Vodevar

reduced him to an ins ignificant position , ti l l la ter on

he wa s completely overthrown during Dodda Kri shnaRa ja W

odeyar'

s reign . His conquests before 1679

are deta i l ed as fo llows In th e ea st , having conquered

th e Pandy a king Chokka in ba ttl e, he captured Tripura

(Trichinopo ly) and the wea l thy Anandhapuri. In the

west he subdued the Keladi kings , who came aga insthim wi th the Yavan a s , and ga ined Saka lespura and

Araka lgudu . In th e north , ha ving conquered Rana

dhoola Khan, he took Keta s amudra together wi th

Kanhikere, Handa lageri, Gu lur, Tumkur and Hon

n ava l li. \ ictorious in ba tt le over Mushtika who came

wi th Morasa s and Kira ta s . he se ized Ja takanadurg a

1 Srirangapatna. 157 , p . 35 , Trans la tion (Epi.

300 ANC INET INDIA

and changed its name to Chikka Deva Raya Durga .

The Va rab a at Srimu shna , which had been brokenin the Yavana inva s ion ,

he brought to Srirangapatna

out of devotion to Vishnu . He took Maddagiri, Mida

ges i, Bijjavara and Chennarayadurg a , having conqueredThimm appa Gauda and Ram appa Gauda .

By 1686 ’

Vishnu,incarna te a s Chikka Deva ,

did subdue in

P anchavati, Dadoji, Jaita jiand oth ers in the form of

Mah aratta s . Sambhu lost his va lour, Kutub Shah fa i ledin his purpose, Ikkéri Ba sava wa s di sgra ced,

wa s deserted by a l l when the mighty Chikka Deva

Ra ja , having cut off a l l the limbs and s l it the nos es

of Jaitaji and Jesvata ,s et forth for war .

’ ChikkaDeva Ra ja ,

however,i s more remembered for the ad

minis tra tive reforms he introduced into th e governmentof his Sta te . His first minis ter wa s the Ja in VishaL ak s hana Pandit of Yelandur, who exercised grea tinfluence over the Raj a . He wa s his companion, or

his tutor,when

, a s a prince, he was sent to Grundlunea r Tirukanambi in order to keep the Ra ja fromevi l way s . When the prince succeeded his uncle

appointed the Pundi t to be his ch ief minister and,

under his guidance,he began to reform every depart

ment of the administra tion . It h as been a l ready

mentioned tha t, in Kantirava’

s reign , there wa s a greatvariety in the currency of the rea lm , and tha t thiswa s put an end to by the introdu ction of the Kantirava

coins a s th e sole currency . There wa s a l so a greatdea l of variety in the deta i l s of a l l the depa rtmentsof the a dm inistra tion . Th i s wa s a l l done awa y with,and uniformity wa s introduced by Chikka Deva Ra ja .

The firs t reform was a revision of taxes which costthe life of the Ja in Pundi t, th e responsibl e author of

the revision . This affront to the dignity of the ruler

1 t e m ap at th e commencement of Wil ks ’History, vol . i,m ap .

2 Srirangapatna 14, p . 11, Trans lation (Epi.

302 ANC IENT INDIA

the embassy to the imperia l Court during the closingyea rs of the century, when the Great Moghu l, in h isd i fficulti es

,condescended to rece ive ‘

a Vakil from theZ emindar of Mysor e ’

. This arrangement sti l l sur

vives in the publ ic offices,which are popula rly known

a s the ‘

Eighteen Cutcheries ’

. Chikka Deva Ra ja

Wodeyar kept down the Wodeyars with an iron hand,and reduc ed them to complete dependence on thecentra l authority . This wa s done by means of one

of his department s, which combined the posta l and

the spy system, and which informed him of a l l that

took pla ce even a t grea t d istances from Court .1 He

is sa id to have introduced a kind of mil i tia poli cesystem , each b obl i, or sub - divi s ion of a gb adi

,ma in

ta ining a certa in number of men in its service, whowere to be pol icemen in ord ina ry t imes and sold iers

in t imes of wa r .it In one word,then

,Chikka Deva

introdu ced ord er and system where confusi on h ad

reigned . One other ma tter shou ld be mentioned here .

Having introduc ed uniformity in mea sures, weights,etc .

,b e next in troduced the sys tem of paying his

officia l s ha l f th eir sa la ry in money and the otherha lf in kind . The convenience of this a rrangement in those days wa s beyond a doubt . A fter a l l

these reforms, the tota l revenue derived by ChikkaDeva Ra ja Wodeya r from his territories is sa id to

have been seven hundred and twenty thousand pagoda s . The method of the coll ection of thi s amount wassomewha t pecu liar . It wa s a rranged to bring in twothousand pagoda s every day to the roya l trea sury at

Srirang apatna , and unl ess this da i ly in sta lment camein Chikka Deva Ra ja re fused to take breakfa st . Thus

he ensured the col lection of the revenue, but how thi s

da i ly amoun t wa s ra i s ed and wha t wa s the a ctua l

1 Wilks ’History, vol . i, p . 31 .

9 P a la ce History, pp . 134- 7 .

DOMESTIC ARRANGEMENT S 303

amount pa id by the ryots, it i s not po ssible now todetermine . This revenue , at thr ee rupees a pagoda ,

wou ld amount to twentv - on e lakhs and s ixty thousand rupees , the present revenue of th e Sta te (in 1898 )being one crore and seventy lakhs approxima tely .

Ther e are not da ta enough ava ilable to institute any

rea l comparison between the revenues of the Sta tenow and those of two centuries a go .

Chikka Deva Ra j a d ivided the whole cla ss ofW

odeyars into two sect ions of thirteen and eighteenfamilies . The firs t of these sections in cluded theroya l family it self, which wa s known to have preservedits blood free from any admixture . This cla ss wa sp rohibited from giving awa v their girl s to membersof the other cla ss , though permitted to take the girlsof the la tter for junior wives . T he second section

wa s cha rged with having contra cted ma rria ge a l l ianceswith people of lower cla sses , and thus they weretrea ted a s being in ferio r to th e other . 9 This cla s sifi

ca t ion wa s rea l ly due to the fact tha t the second cla ssof comprised th e recently conqueredW

odeyars . Their poverty and ca s te dis tinctions m av

a l so have ca l l ed for thi s c la ssifica tion . Nowada y s , how

ever,no such d i st inc tion is kept up, and a l l cla sses of

arasus are rega rded a s one .

During the reign of Chikka Deva Ra j a , th e Da l awavs do not seem to have made them se lves prominent .He wa s gu ided b y the counsels of a few friends , whowere unconnected w ith the roya l family , a l though

they held high offi ces . These minis te rs sometimes

advised conj ointly but very often singly . The chief

of these , a fter the murder o f th e Ja in pundi t Visha

L aksh ana of Y elandur, wa s Tiruma la Aiyanga r , the

companion of th e Ra j a from his boyhood . H e i s

1 P a la ce His tory, pp, 124- 5 .

Wil ks'

History,vol . i

, p . 63 .

9 P a lace History,9 . 127 .

304 ANC IENT INDIA

the author of the Kannada works a lready, referred to

but h e unfortuna tely breaks off his na rra tive when he

comes to the reign of Chikka Deva Ra j a , thus leavinghis works incomplete .

Chikka Deva Ra j a Wodeyar , in hi s la ter days, wa s

a staunch fol lower of th e princip les of Bam anuja .

The Vij ayana ga r viceroys of Srirang apatna were a l l

of them Va i shnava s , and Ra j a W’

odeyar seems to havebeen of th e same creed, either out of pol icy or of

fa ith, but i t canno t, a l s o , be sa id that a l l his successors were cons is tently such . Ch ama Ra j a and Dodda

Deva Ra j a do n ot appea r to ha ve been very zea lous

about the se ct . Kantirava Kara sa devoted himselfhea rt and sou l to Vishnu . Chikka Deva Ra j a ,

probablythrough the influence of Tirum a l Aiyan g ar, became

a Va ishnava,perhaps a fter adop ting the principles

of his first minister th e Ja in Pundi t 1 for some time .In his zea l for the Va ishnava s , he is sa id to have

commanded a l l the Wodeya rs to becom e _Vaishnava s

too . This order wa s w i thdrawn on the strong repre

s entation of a number of W’orl eyars

g. His devot ion to

Vishnu led to the construction of a temple at Mysore.

ded ica ted to the g od Sweta Va rab a (white boa r) of

Srim ush na . The idol seems to have been roughlyhand led by the Muhammadans in one of their incur ss i ons into the fa r south . and wa s in consequencebrought by Chikka Deva to Mysore .

Thus having consolida ted his dominions and introduced a settled form of adm inis tra tion

,he bequea thed

his kingdom to his dumb son , Kantirava Na ra sa ,in

1704, just three yea rs befo re the dea th of the great

Moghul Aurangzeb . F rom the dea th of Chikka DevaRa ja da tes the decl ine of prosperity of the W

odeyars ,

1 Wilks ‘ History,vol . i, p . 124 .

‘2 Pa la ce History, p . 132 .

3 ride ante p . 300 (quota tion ) .

306 ANCIENT INDIA

time i tsel f wa s rich in producing usurpers and king

makers . This i s seen in Delhi,Poona and Mysore .

The la st Dalaway of Kantirava Nara s a wa s Veerajiahof Ka la l e . The el der of the two sons of thi s Da l away

wa s Deva Ra ja who , in his turn, became Da l away and

reta ined the office a lmost ti l l the u surpa t ion of Ha ida r‘

A li. Thi s Da laway, whose s ister wa s one of the

wives of the Ra ja ,soon contrived to fi l l up important

offices with his own people, and,

by pampering theking with a l l conceivable luxurie s , managed to conc entrat e a l l r ea l power in the Sta te in hi s own hands .The rise of thi s person into prominence ult imately

brought about the downfa l l of the dyna sty, thoughfor the time being i t made the a dministra t ion some

what vigorous . The most important events of thisreign

,other than the above, are two inva sions of the

province end ing in the s iege of Srirangapatna and thefina l overthrow of the Gaud of Magadi . The first of

these two inva sions wa s undertaken by a confederacy

of newly crea ted Nawabs . The Mysore territory wa ssurrounded by the dominions of Nawa b Sa ‘

adatu’

of the Karnatic Paengh at and Am eenkh an of the

Karanatic Balagha t . Besides these , there were theNawabs of Kurpa , Kurnool , and Savandi. There wa sa l s o a Maha ratta neighbour Siddoji G horepara of

Gooti. Srirang apatn a wa s la id Siege to by a l l thesesix together, and Krishn a Ra ja bought them a l l off

by the payment of seventy - two lakhs of rupees tobe equa l ly d ivided among them , and twenty - eightlakhs in addit ion given to the negot ia tor of the peace,

adatu’

l lah Khan , though th e P a la ce His tory cla ims

a victory to Mysore in thi s ca se a s in the next .But the elabora t e copperpla te grants which dwe l l at

great l ength on the oth er virtues of Krishna Raj amake no mention of any such victory, and a victory

I Wilks ’ History, vol . i, pp . 141—2 .

DCDDA KRI SHNA RAJA 307

is the la st thing to be silently pa ss ed over by the pane

gyris t.

1 Besides this , the vic tories of the other sovereign s a re ca reful ly mentioned in the same grants , oneof which makes ment ion of the vic tories of Da laway DevaRa j a .

“ The author of one of the grants referred tois Tiruma la Aiyangar, who mu s t , a t l ea st, have l ivedup to 1 729 ,

wher ea s the da tes of these two inva sions,

a s given by the P a la ce His tory, are 1 725 for theconfedera te inva sion, and 1727 for the Maha ra ttainva sion . So in both these th e Mysorean s must have

h ad the worst of it.

s The second expedit ion wa s

undertaken by B aj i Rao at th e head of the Mahara tta s , and th e Peshwa wa s l ikewise bought off byKrishna Ra ja . To redeem these fa i lures Da lawayDeva Ra j a succeeded in taking possession of theimpregnabl e rock of Savandroog , th e stronghold of

the Gaud of Magad i . The Gaud himself wa s takenprisoner and a l lowed to die in the sta te prison of

Srirangapatn a .

‘ In spite of this , however, the weakness of the Mysore Sta te to defend itself aga instforeign invaders wa s proved beyond a doubt by the

two inva sions mentioned above, and this discovery

led to a grea t dea l of foreign comp li ca tions , whichfa cil ita ted the upwa rd course, first of the Da l awaybrothers and second ly of Ha ida r ‘A li

. Having reigned

for eighteen years Dodda Kri shna Ra ja died without

an heir in 173 1 . Da laway Deva Ra j a , with the con

sent of the widow of Kri shna Ra j a , who , however, was

not his sister, pla ced a certa in Chama Ra j a ,connected

but remotely with the rul ing family, on the throneThe legitima te l ine of rulers thus came to an end here,and Chama Ra j a h ad no more cla im to the thronethan what he derived from the nomina tion of the

1 Srirangapatna 64 and 100.

2 Tirum akud lu Nara sipur 63 , pp . 79 - 80 (Tran s la tion) .3 Srirangapatna 64, p . 24 (Trans lation Epi.

4 Wilks ’History, vol . i. , pp . 140—3 .

ANC IENT INDIA

widow and the Da laway . This personage wa s not

long in Showing himsel f to be very far from being thedocil e instrument of the Da laway tha t he h ad agreedto become, when he wa s nomina ted ru ler . He wa s ,herefore

,made the v ict im of an intrigue and s ent to

Kabba ladroog with hi s family . This time the Da laway

wa s carefu l to place an infant three yea rs ol d on thethrone to avoid the recurrence of the difficu lti es . This

nomina tion wa s in perfect keeping with the proj ectsof king -makers genera l ly, the rea l ru l ers of Mysorenow being Da laway Deva Ra ja and Sarvadhikari

Nanja Ra ja , the Da laway’

s uncle . On the retirement

of thi s la tter officer, the appointment wa s conferredupon Ka ra Ch firi Nanja Baj iah (the brother of theDa laway) , who, later on , became the father -ih - law of

the infant ruler Imm adiKri shna Ra j a Wodeyar . The

administra tion was carried on by these two brothers

with the nomina l Pradhan Venkatapati of Canniambadi, with considerable vigour ti l l , owing to the ad

vanced ag e of Deva Raj a , the brothers exchanged

offic es . This change led to a m isunderstanding be

tween the brothers,which eventua l ly proved fata l to

their power, and thus paved the way for th e rise of

Ha idar ‘Ali'

, who became the de fa cto ru ler in A . D .

1761 . Thus wa s brought to an end the rul e of the

Wodeyars in Mysore, ti l l i t wa s revived under the

aegis of the British power after the fa l l of Srirang apa tna in A . D . 1799 . The power of the Wodeyars thuspa ssed through a l l the stages of decay tha t the Moghulru le underwent, but it h ad the good fortune to berevived which wa s denied to the other .

We have now tra ced the gradua l growth of thesma l l principa l ity of Ra ja Wodeyar unt il it b ecame acompa ct and powerfu l State under Chikka Deva Ra ja .

We have a l so made a rapid survey of the decl ine offortune of the ruling family, unti l the State passed

out of its hands into those of a foreigner .

Krish na=

R a ja N ripat‘

GENEALCG ICAE TABLE 811

Krishna Eh

Rajad iRa j a . Betad Cham araja. Deva -r Gh anrana j a .

Ch ikk a Dev t a

=Kantirava Mah'ipati

Devondam.

Iiizishn a rgrj z DevaJa-mmah and eigh t oth ers

nam es‘

eigh t tanks“

3 12 ANCIENT INDIA

—I_>ALACE HISTORY .

Yadu Raja (1399 to

Here Betad Ch ama ra j a.Wodeyar (1423 to Ch ama raj a Wodeyar.

Timmaraja Wodeyar (1458 to

Here Ch ama -ra ja.Wodeya r (1478 to

Batad Ch ama ra j a. (15 13 to

lTi'mmara ja (1552 to Krish na. Raja . Bol e Ch amara j a

(1571 to

Raja. Muppin Devara j . Ch amara j’

Ch amara j a Wodeya r.

(1576 to (15 78 to

r 2nd . Dodda. Devara jaI (1659 to

Ra j a Wodeya r . Kantira v a

Na ras a

(1638 to

IChikka

Nara sa Estad Nanj ra j a Cham a adi Deva ra jaRaja . Wodeyar Ra ja . Ra ja (1672 to

(1617 toKantirava N arus a to

Ch ama Ra ja D.od Krish na Ra ja (17 13 to(1617 to Both of th ese adopted Chama Ra j a (1731 to

byth e widow of Dod Krishna Ra ja . Chikka Krish na Ra ja (1734 to

CHAPTER XII

THE VALUE OF L ITERATURE IN THE

CONSTRUCTION OF INDIAN HISTORY

IT i s a notorious fact tha t Indian l itera ture h a s fewprofessed histories, and the inference seems wa rrantedtha t the historica l facul ty received no development inthe country . History , as we understand it, i s entirelya product of the nineteenth century even in Europe .Works which constitute good materia l for hi story havebeen many, wha tever their shortcomings from thepoint of view of the modern historian . It is in thesense of professed h istories, which may be subjected

to critici sm and used a s ma teria l, that histories are

wanting~in India .

So the problem of constru cting the history of India ,

a s a whole,or of any pa rt of it, i s subject to this

a dditiona l defect . Defective it may be and much

more so than in European countries . Stil l there is

ample materia l yet left, despite much vanda l i sm whichm ay yi eld good results i f exploited systemat ica l ly . Historica l materia l in India a s elsewhere, m ay be grouped

into three cla sses

1 . Archaeologica l (including a rchitecture) .

2. Epigraphica l (including numisma tics) .

3 . L i teratur e .

Of these the first goes ba ck to the ea rl iest times

reached in this country by historica l research . What

can be ga thered from th is source i s, however, scanty,though reaching to the ea rl iest antiqu ity . The second

SOUTH INDIAN L ITERATURE 315

does not go beyond the period of the Asoka Ins cript ions . F or periods anterior to thi s

,we a re thrown

upon l itera ture only, both Vedic and Buddhistic .

With respect to South India a l s o archaeologica l evidence mav take us fa rther ba ck , but the epigra phica ldoes not go ba ck bey ond the beginning of the Chri stianEra except for a few A soka and s atavah ana records .

l itera ture w il l take us beyond this l imitmay wel l be regarded doubtfu l a s we. are at present,but ca refu l resea rch in this dire ction m ay take us

pa st this limit and may yield us resu l ts beyond our

expectati ons . I h ave not set my self to inqu ire herewhether it i s so,

nor whether a l l litera ry evidence h a sbeen brought to bea r on h istorica l resea rch . I sha l l

only try to Show tha t th e inquiry will not be inva in if i t i s made .

This inquiry n ecessa ri l y leads us to the question

of languages . F or any work of research concerningIndia , San skrit i s indispensa ble . This i s clear fromwha t we know of the pre - Buddhistic period of Ind ianhistory . “h en we come to dea l with South India ,Tamil becomes equa l l y essentia l . Of the other Dra

vid ian languag es , Telugu doe s not take it s ava i lable

l i tera ture much anterior to th e eleventh century A . D

and th is l i tera ture s eems to be modelled upon San

skrit entirely . Kanares e h a s certa inly a more ancient

l i tera ture . A work of th e ninth century undoubtedly

i s the Kavirajam arg a of Nripatung a . If a work of

poetry like thi s h ad been written in the ninth

century, we might presume tha t there wa s an amount

of anterior l i tera ture to requ ire thi s . Ma laya lam

seems to have grown out of Tamil in the ea rly

centurie s of th e Christian Era . But Tamil which ,a ccording to some , i s the mothe r of these three , goes

back to a far grea ter antiqu i ty . It h a s a wea l th of

l itera tur e for pa rt icular periods which is worth s tudy

on sc ient ifi c l in es . This body of litera ture, independent

316 ANCIENT INDIA

of Sanskrit and yet so closely interwoven with i t,des erves wel l of those who wish to be among theeduca ted of their country ’s sons . It m ay not be a l l

who can afford to study it,but those who can ought

not to neglect t o do so . How i s thi s va st l itera ture,both Sanskrit and Dravid ian , to be exploited to any

purpose, and wha t is l ikely to be the util ity of such

exploi ta t ion for history

I began with the sta tement tha t his tory dependsupon a rchmology,

epigraphy and l itera ture for its m a

teria l s . The work on the firs t two h a s been consideredto belong to the province of Government

,for i t i s

beyond th e resources of private work, though priva t e

agency m ay do much it’

fa cil ities are provided . Work

upon the third i s so far l eft entirely to the pa trioticl overs of l i terature . It i s not l i tera ture a s l it era ture

tha t is my concern here, but l itera ture so fa r a s it

can be of use for the making of history .

That l itera ture can provide for history needs no proof

now . The study of the l i tera ture of Pal i , the vernacul ar of Northern India in the c entur ies before Chris t

opened to us a fresh vista into the doma in of the history Of ancient Ind ia . W il l the Dravidian languagessimila rly Open another vista ? It i s this qu esti on Isha l l a ttempt to answer here, confining my observations to Tamil li terature, the oldest and the most voluminous of these sou thern tongues, a s they are at

present . Tha t a systema tic study of this l itera turewill yield resu lts of grea t va lue even where one l ea stexp ects it, I can i l lustra te from the fol lowing incident

in the l ife of Ramanuja , the Va ishnava apost le .

Tradition states, and the Gurup a rampa rais record,th a t Ramanuja cons tructed the temple at the town of

Tirupa ti , and ensh rined the im age of Govindara ja there .

This image was believed to have been th e image of

Govindara ja at Chidamba ram, pul l ed out of th e. temple

and ca st into the s ea by a certa in Chola king, ca l led

3 18 ANCIENT INDIA

Th e statement here i s tha t Vishnu was recumbent on

a throne, with the three thousand Brahmans chantinghis pra ise in the Chitrakuta of Thil lai city, surrounded

by cool and shady gardens, smil ing with flowers and

tender shoots .

Next comes wha t Tirumangai A lvar says about the

Same I

m u r’

nQ u na’

rQ Cépj g flh wcwfiiq é/ G amm a/5g ]

u se r—wayw ard u e'

vevewi (Ia /rein : mfiég

Gl a rbC-Du aefiwewfl mam /Ea ch Carp/5,5 fl atten;

Q g éfigfir -

65TQ I Ga idl airafi’a r.

9 6 a m a mg z/L film /3,5 ” g ym /5g

6 ® Q HS IT e mail Q TQA-avrd u a'

rafi afleziTG’wei)

u fi g wré/ewa Gwam rrO filament;

fi g éfi j a a n t—Lb115717 15 17657 mewp UJ /remi ts rrebnb

vignwfre’

u 6 1655757 5 651 mm rfixa rrw

Gear/757 Game-67 Q amfi cérp Q anta ra

Q g é fifia

The first extract simply ind ica tes tha t a Pa l lava kingmade some costly dedica tions to the temple . Thesecond tha t Vishnu wa s in a lying posture on his serpent couch . The third tha t the three thousand of

Thil lai worshipped a ccording to orthodox rights th e

G od of Gods .Thu s, then , in the days of the two Alvars and Man ik

kavaéagar, the Vishnu shrine occupied the pos ition tha ti t does now. L et us proceed then to a la ter period

the period of the later Chola s . The Chola decl ine m aybe da ted as commencing with the dea th Of KulottungaChola I . He wa s succ eeded by his son Vikram achola ;

and he by his son Kulottunga 11, who was succeededby Raja Raja II . The poet ca l l ed Ottakkfittan ,

are reasons for bel ieving , wa s a contemporary of a l l thethree . Among the works a scribed to him are three

ulas, as they are ca l led, pieces of conventiona l compo

KULOTTUNG A II, UPROOTS G OVINDA IMAGE 3 19

sit iou cel ebra ting a pa tron a s he pa sses in triumphthrough the streets of his capita l , appea l ing to his vanityby elabora te descriptions of the effects produced upon

the lady folk of the city . I take the fol lowing ex tra ct sfrom the Kid dtt-zu z g a chd lw/m ld and Rdj rt rfij a n-u ld rega rd

ing the Vishnu shrine a t Chidambaram :

LIQ JGD‘H C50®§IGZDL JU Q u a

re qy rgrq /t g a g /Lb

g i/Q isv'fi armiesg é? wnfiQ u

p a g ra a m q Q m sytevuflswr GOT/3,5 5?

a a fia fl a'

s g mLflrLQ LJ

figmsir gflair weiTfifi—Q Q IGQ lm éGa f sifim é a s tm Gs fl s icwéa

fi g CE’Q J n flw

(6mm ; COj L LyLUJ LgadT—QQL QQ u fl d a fi

rzb g ufl

rfoflu q p rbdlrm

g g mu fisvrg'

Epst’

rsofli’

) a n sbasa fr’d) Hig g ai

é rs u flia’dirso?

figwa sfir 3 1m g nug sir

These two passages indica te in no uncerta in terms that,in ca rrying out the renova tion of the temple

,Ku lottunga

found the opportunity to get rid of the Vi shnu imagewhich wa s obnoxious to his p iety . Tha t the Vishnu

shrine wa s wha t wa s pa rticularly offensive to thisp iou s devote e is clea r from the express ion (god ra figb

s m a ge'

v croébg aflsg , which means‘ submerging in th e

s ea,the form er hou se

. This very idea of the author

and the same act of his zea l ous pa tron find expres

sion in another work, the Ta kka ydg app a ra ni

(main/firm Q m ég 5 65.555 m eb Ch i/rub 6 0 423726075

[q ashuflairfisuté Q éfia }

mairg ve'

s fi g s/45m ; Ga rraiarm eb Q u /jpp umasg

@w@m @1 a fig a

It i s cl ea r then tha t Ku lottunga II, the grandson of

the firs t of tha t name , perpetra ted th i s act of pioushost il ity to the G ovinda ra ja shrine, which l ed to thees tabl i shment by Ramanuja of the sh rine at Tirupati

town .

320 ANCIENT INDIA

Last of a l l i s a Sanskri t extract which lets us know

how the Govindara ja temple came to be again Where

it i s at present . It is a quota tion from the Pmp anndm

ritram of a certa in An antarya , a descendent of Andrapurna who was a cont empora ry of Ramanuja . It i s al ife of Ramanuja at the end of which the author ofthe l ife gives his own genea logy . In the course of

thi s pedigree occurs the following pa ssage :

afitrqiaumsq : asc nrqrz asazq

5mm {13 2i35501 gunfmcumvl : u

Euqfafisfiarmil sir—{firfinfa I

nuararccaarara Irs trarfiqataar u

affirm-

s nan-

antieé ma faaiHI : I

maéarq fawirwas} afaafiraas u

fwfiafi faaafig fa fq afivfisa Haiti 1

aeqfasrfqiewes an is? 3151115 : 11

{rmrqusiiia Hg lfi l lfi martia l :

gfiarafq fi fi a fiat ma fagfi q : u

a swab; summits n‘rfaz

faaaiaa‘

rfeia rsfr imamqsraifiqfafsa : 1

M W 3 61811e trims?! u

F ree ly rend ered, it means tha t Ram araya,who came

a fter Krishnaraya , once went to Chandragiri takingwith him his Guru Tatarya . Mahacharya (Dodda

yacharya a s he is popu la rly ca l led) of the Vad'

fi lagfitra

at the height of fame for l ea rning, was then in residence at Ghatikach a l lam (Sholing ar) . He wished to

restore the temple of Govindaraja at Chidambaram

(Chitrakfita), which h ad been uprooted by the CholaKrimikanta . Overcoming in argument the invinc ible

322 ANCIENT INDIA

the fol lowing l ines of the Sa tagopm andddi, a scribed

to Kamban,who, th ere a re good reasons for bel ieving,

l ived in the twelfth century A . D .

gunner /r g wiég é g p ég airié g g GDg fl e’

v ’fiu a fl é g m

Goa/(ma m 61576036 16716; Q at a ri/rag g a} Airbase” ? Q g /rfi swifi’umii

narrow/r Q wriCDs rrrczimor a ma ss mnmsxni

dwa rf s; Q u e/u rns) ©5 667®up (Bering /57 5W m am/a gri/G’u

In this, as is evident, Kamban compa res the thou

sand of Nammalvar to a thousand mil ch - cows , both to

the renounced and the worldly ; and th e Tiruvaéagam

to cows which give no milk . We are not conc ernedwith the judgement here, but on ly with the fact of

th e ca se, a l though it must be sa id in pa ss ing thatthis prince of poets in Tamil is far from being a

fanatica l secta rian ; for he says in the Ramayana :

cgi/ zrm fi a g raves a rfég mn‘lwfi a czir a m q m fl ag

wfl ail GUN/feig n}

u rrasQ Q areziT Frommmn

‘hu u rfiQ a G’u /rév

As i t i s impossible to a tta in sa lva tion for thos e who

d ispute in ignorance tha t Hara i s th e grea ter or the

world mea sur ing Hari, etc .’

Regarding the two A lvars the da tes are no morefixed than for Manikkavasagar . They are both of them

a nter ior to the middle of the eleventh century A .D . ,

inscript ions of which date refer to the works of theseA l vars a s having been held in high esteem . One of

the decades of Tirumangaialvar refers t o the occupa tion

of Kanchi by a king cal led Vairameghan

w673T66r62165T Q cy so‘armm uJ /iGa /rair mam ré g f a

Q iailJ G’wa aiT

fi EdTQ l Gigréd T q a gbg gbég {M'

Q UJLLm q u arries /$57

The first being, tha t i s in Attabhuyagaram in Kanchitha t wa s surrounded by the forces and fame ofVairam égh an of long ga r land and high crown

,entitl ed

to the respectful submission of the F a llava, th e rul er

o f the Tonda s (peop l e of Tondam anda lam ) .

DATE S OF THE REF ERENCES 323

The on ly da te so far known for Vairamégh a Dantidurgaof the Rash trakfita dyna sty is A . D . 7 54 . The latterha lf of the eighth century A . D . may,

therefore,be tak en

a s the ag e of Tirumang aialvar .

‘ The ea rli er quota tionswould then refer us t o the e ighth and ninth centuriesA .D . a t the late st for the existence of the Govindarajatemple a t Chidambaram .

The next ba tch of references leads to the inferencetha t i t wa s Ku lottung a II, the son of Vikram achol a

and the fa ther of Rajaraja II A . D . (circa ) 1133 to 11 50,

who uprooted the shrine in his pious work of renovat ion of the grea t Sa iva temple . This i s c lear from thequota tions themselves which are from the works of

a contempora ry author .L a st ly , the Sanskrit quota tion refers the reconstruc

tion to Doddayach arya through the good offices of aRam a raja who ru led a fter Krishnaraya . It wa s inthis connexion tha t thi s acharya came in contactwith Appaiya Dik shita , the grea t South Indian scho la r

and phi los opher . In his commentary on VedantaDesika

s Ydda vd bhyudaya , this scholar says tha t hetook up the work of a commentary on thi s kavya at

the instance of Pinna Thimma , grandson of Ramaraja .

The Ram araja referred to i s clea r ly the one tha t f el l

at Ta l ikota . There i s nothing very improbable in

Appaiya Dikshita’

s having been contemporaneous with

Doddayacharya or Ramaraja on the one hand , and

with Pinna Timmaraya on the other . B es ide s the

writer of the P rap a nnamritam it self was a d isc iple of

Kumaratatarya , popularly Kotikanyakadanam Tata

char , whos e patron wa s Vankatapatiraya , who ruled

ti l l A . D . 1614 . It must therefor e be sometime before

A . D . 1565 that the t empl e was restored .

We are thus able to obta in an account of the vici s

situdes of thi s templ e for about five centurie s at l ea st .

1 Vide Ch apter X IX .

324 ANCIENT INDIA

I have taken this as a simple il lus tra tion of wh a t h istorical informa tion can be ga ined even from appa rent l yunconnected l i terature . The facts here are a l l the

more re l iable, even including the la st, a s they are mereincidenta l references . It wi l l now appear tha t therecan be no history without chronology, and th e a t

tempts to fix the dates of works and authors , whichto many appear absurd , is of the essence of h istor ica l

research .

What is wanted, therefor e, now for h i storical research.

i s a systemat ic and organized study of l itera ture, both ;

verna cular and Sanskrit , in a way th a t wil l fa cil ita tework both l iterary and his torica l . Thi s work cannot

be done by one m an a l l through for h is own requ irements . He wil l requ ire the co llabora tion of a number

of others . A stud ent engaged in historica l research!

h a s to keep himself in close touch with the arch aeolo

gica l , epigraphica l and l i tera ry work tha t may begoing on, and mus t be something of an a rcha eologistand epigraphist himse lf ; but tha t any one should be

a l l the three by himself is beyond human poss ibi l ity inmost cases . This is very often recognized , and the twobranches are held to be dis t inct . In poin t of l it eratur e a l so—I am concerned with l itera ture only a s an

auxiliary to h i story—the collect ion of ma nuscript s and

documents, and the bringing out of good and cri ti cal

editions of works ought to b e rega rded as qu it e a dis

tinct branch . Most editions of the classic s publ i shedin India ti l l quit e recent ly, both in Sanskrit and

the vernacu lars, were uncr it i ca l edit ions . It i s theBombay Sanskrit Series, that set the fa shion for Sanskrit .

Our esteemed countryman, Mahamahcpadyaya Swami

nathaiyar, has given us a number of remarkably wel l

edited texts of important Tamil works . The ady ah

tage of this kind of editing i s qu ite apparen t . The

various readings are given for the reader to choose

from ; the varie ty of comments are a l so noted . “7hen

326 ANC IENT INDIA

to distingu i sh the genuine from the spurious part of

it . Associa t ions and private organiza ti ons m ay well

pay some a ttention to thi s l ine of work . The Govern

ment have organized their archaeologica l department

for work in archa eology and ep igraphy . They are

a l so devoting some a t tent ion to the col l ection and'

cata l oguing of manuscript s . As socia tions, l ike th e

South Ind ian , may well supplement the work of

Government by di recting some of it s energies both

materia l and menta l to critica l work upon these ma

teria l s . The ini tia t ive m ay be taken by the A ssocia

t ion but the resu l t depends enti r ely upon the support

and encouragement it receives a t the hand s of th e

more intell igent and enl ightened of our countrymen .

The South Ind ian A ssocia tion at Madra s ought totake in this pa rticular the p lace of the As ia tic Societies el sewhere ; and if those of u s who are in a pos ition to do something for our country make up our

minds to contribute towards the fulfi lment of thi slaudabl e ambit ion ,

it wi l l not be long before th e

South Ind ian A ssoc ia tion wi l l achieve i t .It i s a l l eg ed, often with truth , that the hi storian

reads hi s thoughts and feelings into th e writ ings of thepast . This no doubt i s a defect tha t he h a s to guardhimself aga inst . If the record of the pa st is placed

in his hands in an a ccura te form he ought to have

no excuse for making such m istakes . The d efect arise sfrom an insuffic iency of information which would enabl ehim to form a complete idea of the men and of

the period he i s dea l ing with . Thi s is a point tha tthe la te Professor Ma i tland seems to have l a id grea tstress on in the cours e of his lectures . It i s in regard

to oa ths and the influence tha t they exercised on

truthfulness tha t the Professor took occa sion to makethe remark . This defect ive apprecia tion is cons ider

ably in evidence among a cla ss of scholars engagedin r esearch work . It i s traceable to th e importing of

ILLU STRATION FROM THE DEIHATEATHA 327

our own idea s and the circumstances about us toperiods of which we have either no

, or have no meansof having, ful l informa tion . To il lustrate the positionI go back to the B riha tka thd . The work wa s written

in Paisachiand appea rs to have been held in high est eemby success ive writers of note in Sanskrit l iteratur e,at least from the days of Dandi to the age of theh asmirian Soma déva . We have four d ifferent versionsof i t a s our only source of knowledge of the work

The Ka thd sa rithsdga ra of Somadéva ,i s professedly a

transla tion B r z’

ha tka thdma ny'

a ri i s a col lection of storiesfrom th e Briha tka z‘hd ; a third version or col lectionwa s obta ined from Nepa l ; and lastly a Tamil transla tion of i t, which is of an antiquity prior to tha t ofthe now known Sangam works . Profes sor Speyer

Dutch s cholar, who h a s made a criti ca l s tudy of theKa thd sa rithsdg am h a s , on the strength of the supernatura l powers a scribed to Nagarjuna in the work, referredthe Briha z‘ka t/z /i to a period between the thi rd and

the fifth century A . D . This is because the Professor

thinks tha t p eopl e wou ld hard ly have believed insupernatura l power un l es s a cons iderable interva l hadelapsed . The inference would certa inly be warranted,i f a l l peop le we re ra t iona l and sceptica l to an equa ldegree a t a l l periods of h istory . A l l the world over

and in regard to a l l rel igions , mira cle s play an im

portant part at a pa rti cu lar stage of development ; andpeople are not wanting in the enl ighten ed twentieth

century who have fu l l fa ith in occul ti sm and spiritua li sm . This it i s tha t makes severa l Indian works seemridiculous ly a bsurd to European schola rs . If they could

apprecia te the influence a bel ief in t ransmigra t ionexerts upon the minds of simple people , and how

c lose ly interwoven i t i s in a l l the vary ing bel ief of the

people in India , they would see tha t wha t strikes

them a s absurd i s qu ite obvious ly believabl e even by

contemporaries . Th a t thi s h a s , a s a ma tter of cours e,

328 ANCIENT INDIA

be en the ca se cou l d be proved , if Tamil litera tureand li t erary tradition were ca l led into requi sit ion .

There are severa l works in Tamil ca l l ed m ahakavya s .

The translat ion of th e Briha tka thd’

, a sirukappyam or a

minor kavya ca l l ed Udaya na n ka dai or P ermig a dai or

even simply ka da i, i s bel ieved to be the work whichgave the authority for the u s e of the word kavya .

Thi s work is a scribed to the period of the middleSangam,

tha t is, anterior to the third Sangam , theworks of which we have in some number . I have

put forward my a rguments for referr ing the thirdSangam to the earl ier centur ie s of the Christian era ;

hence this work ought to be referable to a period

coeva l with the beginning of the era of Christ . Ifonly this cou ld be established beyond a doubt, thehi story of Vikramaditya and Kanishka , about which

there is yet considerable divergence of schola rly opinion ,would b ecome set tled to a degree not dreamt of byany y et ; because, Somadéva , the transla tor of theBrih atkatha

,says in so many clea r words tha t he

makes no change in the matter of the origina l beyondthe mere change of language and the neces sary abbrevia tica. It’ wou ld be hyper - crit ici sm to dispute the

a ssertion of the author without e stabl ishing a clearmotive a s an essentia l prerequ i s ite . This h as not

a lways been conceded to him .

There i s work to be done, therefore , in the co- ordina tion of the study of the two languages , Sanskrit and

Tamil , in the interest of both . In the absence of theori gina l , if the Sanskrit transla ti on could be col la t edand compared with the Tamil , the resu l t wou ld go fartowards solving one of th e most importan t p roblemsof ancient Indian History ; n amely, the origin of the

Samva t era which h a s h ad to be a ccounted for in so

many fancifu l ways by grea t schola rs . There are re

terences in both the Ifa thd sa r z'

thsdgwm and the Bri

ha tka thama nj a ri to a Vikramaditya -Vish amasila , who

CHAPTER XIII

THE THIRD TAMIL SANGAM

IN a learned a rticle on the age Of Manikkavaéagar inthe A sia tic Qua rter ly Review for April, 1902, Mr .L . C . Innes arrives at the conclusion that , if the

Sangam existed at a l l,i t must have come into exi stence

about A . D . 1100 ‘ just prior to or coincident with thet ime of Kambar the author Of the Tamil Ramayanam .

The Epic of the Anklet or Silapp a dikaram, an admittedly Sangam work , was written by Ilangovadig al , a

younger brother Of Senguttuvan Sera , at whose courtres ided a lso another Sangam Poet Sitta lai Sattanar ,

otherwise Kal avanih an Settau ,the author of the

companion work the Jewel Belt or Maniméka lai.

Tiruval luvar’

s Kiwa l aga in is quoted by thes e two

authors and acknowledged to be a Sangam work a l so .

There is another group Of Sangam poets , the authors

of the Ten P oems or the P a ttupp dttu , of which two byRudirangannanar ce lebra te respect ive ly Chola Karikalaand Tondaiman Ilandiraiyan . F rom the Silapp a dikaram we learn tha t the Chola king at the time Of its

compositionwa s Karikala,with his capita l atPuhar ,Kal i

or Ura iyur being a l so an important city ; th e Pandyaking NedumSeliyan with his ca pita l Madura and theCeylon king Gra jabahu . There were according to thesame work two n orthern kings at th e Court Of Sen

guttuvan ,Kanaka and Vijaya . Of these personages

the Ma hdvaméa Of Ceylon mentions two G ajabahus ,one about and the other about A . D . 1142 .

One of these two kings is sa id to have invaded the

GAJABAHU’

S INVAS ION 331

Chola country in revenge for a past conquest or

occupat ion Of Cey lon by the Cholas . This conquestMr . Innes th inks imposs ible for the Chola s, so longas th e P andyas were powerful , for stra tegic and

geogra phica l reasons . He thinks it would have beenimprudent on the part of the Chola s, and, therefore,unlikely tha t they should expose their flank unde

fended aga in st their sworn enemies . The inva s ion Of

Ceylon by the Cholas cannot have taken pla ce before

the reign of KulOttunga Chola I , who a sc ended thethrone in A . D . 1070 and in whose reign the P andya s

were overthrown . Even a part Of the P andva countrywas co lonized a long th e road to Kottaru near CapeComorin . Had it not been so they wou ld have had

to pass through the Pandya country . These two rea sons

cannot stand , a s we know in fa ct tha t Ceylon was

invaded many times before the t ime Of Kulottunga ,

whose fa ther - in - law Raj endra ’s inscriptions are foundin the country . Raj endra Chola

,who ru led from A . D.

1001 to 1042, captured a fter a s ea - figh t Kadaram and

other places in the Ramnad Z emindari,l and even hisfa ther Raja raja (A . D . 984 to 1016) h ad a fleet with

which he defeat ed the Sera s at Kandulur . An inva

s ion Of Ceylon would have been a nava l inva sion and

the Pandyas woul d have been a lways on th e flank .

The Chola s were engaged in wars in the distant

Kaling am , on the banks of th e Tungabh adra and

even on the Ma laba r Coast , before the P andyas weresubjugated by Kulottung a I . So there is no difficu ltyin the way of our a ccept ing the account of the

Mahavaméa about the occupation Of Ceylon in the first

century B . C . or so . If th e chronicle cannot be relied

on for the period ea r lier. than the middle Of the fifthcentury A . D. i t m ay be sound to infer tha t theear l ier G aj abahu

s da te m ay be somewha t la ter than

I Now proved to be in Burma .

332 ANCIENT INDIA

it actual ly is sta ted to be, and that the Tami l

occupation Of Ceylon m ay have taken p lace later than

the first century B. C ., s ay about the first century

A . D. It thus appears qui t e po ss ible tha t the firstGajabahu might as well have inva ded the Chola

country as the second . About the year A . D. 1142

the Chola rul er must have been Rajaraj a II, and

from the publ i shed inscript ions of him and of his

predeces sor nothing can be tra ced a s to an inva sion of

the Chola country by the Ceylonese . Rajaraja II’

successor Kulottunga III cla ims to have conqueredthe Cey lonese

,Madura ,

etc . ; but KulOttunga III ruled

from A . D . 1178 to probabl y A . D . 1216 .

The next p ersonage Of importance who figures in

the Silappa dikdram i s a Karikala Chola . Mr . Innesis Of Opinion tha t th is need not be the earl iest Chola

of the name tha t we know of . This i s very true .

Whether we have to tak e him to be the earl iest orthe late st mu st be settl ed on good grounds . So far

a s we know the his tory Of the Chola s , we know fourCholas of thi s name . The first i s Ka rikala Of the poems

Silapp adikaram,P a ttin appalai and Poruna rdrrup

p adai; the next in chronologica l order is AdityaII, Karikala, the elder brother of Rajaraj a the Great,(A . D. 984 to the third i s not a Chola sovereign,

but only a viceroy and younger brother Of Raj endra,who i s the fa ther -in - l aw of Ku lOttunga I ; and la stl yKulOttunga I himself . Ka rikala , the contemporary of

Senguttuvan , of the Sangam fame, must be one of

these four . As I understand the a r t icl e, Mr . Innescons ider him to be the la st . The Srivaishnava sa intRamanuja at Srirangam gave offence to a Sa iva rul erKarikala and in consequ ence h ad to flee the country .

He went into the Myso re country and convert ed the

the Ja in king Bitti D eva a lia s Vishnuvardh ana ofDvara

samudra to the Va ishnava fa i th . Subsequent to th i s,

he founded the templ e a t Melukote, which event is

3 34 ANCIENT INDIA

The Pandya king a t the t ime of the events narra te din the Silapp a dika

ram i s NedumSeliyan who was

succeeded by IlamSeliyan , the viceroy, probably , ofKorka i,another Pandya capita l . At about A . D . 1175 we come

upon a l ine of Pandya rul ers with the a lternat ing t itl e s

Of Kul a sekhara and Sundara . With the ri se of theserulers the P andya s a l so ri se into prominence, but ti l l

then the P andya s were in no condition for an a cademyat Madura . Ever since the days of Raj araj a I thePandya country h ad been so much ha ra ssed by theChola s tha t they h ad to ma inta in a perpe tua l struggl e .

This cu lmina ted in the complete subjuga t ion Of thecountry by KulOttunga , who marched through thePandya country and planted colonies in agr icu l tura l

part s a long the roa d to KOttaru in the Travancorecountry near Cape Comorin . This wou ld hardly be

the time for the Sangam which a dmit tedl y flourishedin the Pandya country .

The Sangam , therefore, ought to have exi sted at a

t ime when th e Chola country wa s ru led by Kar ikalaand his successor P erunarkil li a t Puhar and U ra iyur ;when the Pandya country was rul ed by Nedunée liyan

of Mud'

z l raikkanj i and Nedima lvadai fame at Maduraand Korka i ; when Seng uttuvan Sera wa s rul ing at,

Vanj i ; when G ajabahu wa s ru ling in Ceylon . As far

a s i s known a t present the ea rl ier G a j abahu’

s tim ewould answer better than the reign of G a jabahu

II .If it could be proved beyond doubt tha t the a lphabetwas not known in South India before th e third century

A . D ., we may have to bring G a jabahu I up to withinliving m emory of the time Of the author of the Ma ha

Oaméa written about the middle Of the fif th century A . D.

Kambar might not have l ived even so ea r ly a s A . D .

886 . It i s cl ea r from his reference to R amanuja tha the must have fol lowed the latter . The popu lar a ccount

which wou ld bring together Kamba r, Ottakkfittar, Pu

ga l endi, etc ., and pla ce them in the court of KulOttunga

KAMBAR NOT KNOWN To THE SANGAM 335

may be correct in so far a s these authors are concerned ,

but none Of these had anything to do with the Sangam .

Kamba r, we a re told , went from pla ce to place to ga inthe approva l Of the l earned for his Ramaya i zam, but

he is not sa id , l ike Tiruva l luvar , to have gone to the

Sangam ,whose imprima tur would a t once have stamped

his work with authority . Kambar therefore could not

have been a contempora ry Of the Sangam , and thereis nothing aga inst his having been to the Sangam

p rorimus s ecl 107t interva l lo (next but at -a longinterva l) .

CHAPTER XIV

THE A UGUSTAN A GE OF TAMIL

LITERATURE

DREARY as the prospect may wel l appea r to the earnes t student Of Tami l l iterary history, as in fa ct doesea rly South Ind ian history in genera l, there ha s , Ofla te, been brought to l ight a cons iderable body OfTam i l l it erature which throws a flood of l ight uponth e much - doubted, though Often deba ted , per iod whenliterary activity in Tamil reached it s high wa termark .

Schola rs are much d ivided in Opinion as to the Sangamhaving ever existed at a l l , except in the act ive imagi

nat ion Of lat er poets and the idle tongue Of tradition .

This is not strange, considering how much truth is

genera l ly overgrown and interwoven wi th fabl e and

l egend . Whether wantonly or oth erwis e,the truth

i s very Often hidden a lmost beyond recognition in

la ter litera ture ; and early scholars in modern Indianresearch have unwittingly contributed their own quota

to the very same end. Much h as , therefore, even

to be unl earnt befor e making an attempt to lea rnsomething about this di stant past of the oldest of theDravidian languages of South India . Even in the

traditions handed down to us , much distorted though

they are,there are certa in cardina l fact s and chara c

t ers standing c lea rly marked out from the rubbish

outgrowths . It will not, therefore , be without interest

to a ttempt to p lace these facts in the l ight in wh ich

they appear on an unbia sed and impa rtia l inqui ry .

338 ANCIENT INDIA

is first Of a l l necessary to Show that i t i s probable

tha t Tiruval luvar wa s a contemporary of U gra

Bandyan . Apart from the verse in pra i se of th eKa fra l a scribed to him

,it i s a wel l - known fa c t tha t

Tiruva l luvar h ad a sister by name, or ra ther t it l e,Avvaiy

ar . This po etess sings Of thi s same P andyan

and his two friends the Chola Ki l li , who performed

the Ra'

j a sag a , and the Ch eram an Mavankd, a l thoughthe names Of thes e personages a re not mentioned a s

such in the poem 367 of the P ura ndm z r u . But poem

twenty - one of the same collection by Iyur Mul angilar

specifies his vi ctory over Vengaimarban and thetaking of the ‘ grea t fortress of the forest (Kanap

It a l s o refers to th e fame of this Bandyan

a s transcend ing the skil l Of poets . This U gra

Bandyan i s credited with having caused the co llection

A l l a na'

wu to be made . Certa in mythica l a ch ievements a re a scribed to one U g ravarm a P andyan inthe Ma dura Stha lap wra na an d the Halasya or Tiru

vilayada l , which a chievements a re a l lud ed to in the

Ep ic of the Ank let.

L eaving a side Ugra - Bandyan for a while,the

grea test of Avvaiyar’

s pa trons—in fa ct, a lmost th e

pa trons—were Ad iyaman Neduman Anj i and his son,Pohuttelini. Their terr itories were in the modernMysore province and in the Sa l em di s trict

,with the

capita l at Tag adfir,“ identified with Dha rmapur i in

the la tter d istrict, though there wa s another Tagadur

of some consequ ence in later hi story in the Mysore

di stri ct , not far from Nanjanag fidu nea r Mysore town .

There wa s an Adiyaman about the same region who,

1 Silappadhikamm , Canto xi,11. 26 - 31 .

2 Mr . Kanakas a bh ai Pil l ai identifies this p lace with Dh a rm apu ri,

Sa lem district. Vide Epigra phia Indica , VI , NO . 34 and an te, XXII,

pp . 66 a nd 143 . Mr . F . J . Rich ards , M .A ., I .C .S in form s m e th a t a

hil l overh anging the town Atur goes by th e n am e Avvaima l ai, th e

hil l of Avvai.

AVVA I, ANJI, PARANAR 3 39

a s the Chola viceroy, wa s driven a cross the Kaveriwhen Ta lakadu wa s captured by the famousGanga Raja ,

the genera l Of Vishnuvardh ana HoySala

before A . D . 1117 . Of the many poems in the P i a-a ndnum coll ect ion a scr ibed to Avvaiyar ,

the grea tma j ority celebra te Anj i

,on e of the la s t ‘ seven

pa trons Of letters ‘

, a s pa tronage went in thos e days .Severa l of these mention the hero and his son byname . Poem ninety - one gives the h ero ’s name and

refers to the gift to Avvaiyar Of th e b lack gooseberrysupposed to confer immorta l ity on the lucky ea terthereof . The same incident i s referred to,

with thename Of Avvaiyar put in it, in the poem Sim

p rind jr rupp a dai‘

of Na l lur Na ttattanar included in theTen Tamil Idyl ls , another Sangam collection . Thepoem h a s for i ts spec ia l Obj ec t the celebra tion of

Erumanattu Na l liyakkOn , a petty chief over Vel loreAmur and o ther pla ces near about, a s th e mostl ibera l among the l ibera l pa trons of those days ,namely, the Chera ,

the Chola ,and the Pandya , and

the seven la st pa trons . Poem ninety - nine of theP m -

a ndnm -

u is of importance , as giving us anotherclue to a d ifferent synchronism of the utmost con

s equence . This po em celebra tes Anji’

s conquest of

Tirukkovilur, and sta tes that th e hero’s fame tran

scended the capacity of the poets of an Older g enera tion ,

and yet the poet Parana r ‘ sings to- day Of th e g lory

of your conquest of TirukkOvil t‘

This mention of P aranar i s Of very grea t importance to literarv history . He was a poet among

the Sangam members and is credit ed with a la rgenumber Of the P urananuru co l l ection . But P aranar

‘ fame should have been grea ter , h ad he rea l l y en

j oyed the pa tronage Of Senguttuvan Sera , whom hecelebra ted in the fifth d ivi sion of another Sangam

1 11. pp . 99—103 .

340 ANCIENT INDIA

coll ection, the Ten Tens The pa rentage

a scribed to Senguttuvan there a grees word for word

a lmost with tha t given by the author of the Epic

of the Ankl et, a brother of the king, and i s ev en

fu ller Of part icu la rs . The la st verse,1 the F adig am,

written either by a friendly contempora ry or disciple

or some one el se in a simi la r posi t ion, exp l icit lygives us the names Of the hero and the author, and

thus l eaves u s in l i ttl e doubt a s to the correctnes sof the connexion . It is on these two a ccounts that

the commentator of the la t ter work rel ies for hi sful ler a ccount of the Chera ’

s h is tory . F rom the reference to the Sirapan made above, it i s cl ea r th a t

Avvaiyar enjoyed the pa tronage Of Adiyaman Nedu

m an Anj i . Poem ninety- nine of P nra nannru refers to

P aran'

ar a s having celebra ted the same pa t ron . The

last verse of the fifth divis ion of the Ten. Ten s connects

unmistakably Senguttuvan with P aranar . Thus thenit is c lear that Senguttuvan Sera , Ad iyaman Anj i ,Avvaiyar and P aranar must have l ived, if not a o

tua l ly at the same time, at l ea st in the same genera

t ion . Senguttuvan was a remarkably grea t rul er, and

thanks to the efforts of our modern Nachchinarkiniyar’

Mah amahOpadhyaya Pandit Saminath a Iyer of th e

Madra s Presidency College, we have two grea t workscompos ed a t his court and in his time, which shed

a flood Of l ight on contemporary history and which

wou ld go a long way in s ettl ing many a knotty pointin the l itera ry history of South India . These are th e

Epic of the Anklet (Silappa dhikdram) and the Jewel

Bel t (Ma nimekha lai) . The first is the work of I lango,

the younger brother Of Senguttuvan , who, a fterrenoun cing c ivil l ife, re sided a t Kunavayil nea r Karfir

1 Vide p . 10, footnote on p . 11,and canto xxix . Pandit Saminath a

Iyer’e edition recently published , pp. 78- 6 . Sil app adhikdram.

9 Silappadhikdmm, can to xi, 20

342 “ ANC IENT INDIA

of Pa rambu Hil l . Kapilar i s credited with havingcomposed the. kuiinj i section Of the Aingurunuru, thes eventh Of the Ten Tens , the Kurinj ipp d-ttn Of th e Ten

I dy l ls (a l l Sangam Works) and the Inna (tha t which i sbad and therefore to be avoided ), F or ty . When Pari f el l

a victim to th e treachery of the three Powers, who made

a fut i l e a ttack on him jointly, Kapilar a s his ch ieffriend took his two girl s with him to be given awayin ma rriage to some person worthy Of them , and thus

do his la st duty to his departed friend . Poems 200, 201

and 202 of the a nanw n refer to the incident 1 of

Pari ’s giving a car to the creeper mn l lai and to

Kapilar’

s Offering the gir ls to.VichchikkOn and Pulikadi

mal 2 IrungOvé l Of Ma lainadu . Both Of them refused

to marry the g i rls, and some insu lt offered a s to thesocia l standing of hi s pa tron ’s family the poet resentsin poem 202. Poem 201 refers to Irung6vél, sa id tohave been a descendant in the forty - ninth genera tionfrom th e ruler of ‘

Tuvarai’3 who wa s born from a.

sa crificia l fire . The t itl e Pulikadimal h a s considerables imilarity in its origin to a story which i s given a s

expla ining the origin of the HoySala s in ins criptions .

of a la ter time . The following poem res ents Irungové l

s refusa l to marry the girl s, and refers to the destruction of Arayam city , the head - qua rters Of this family

consequence of an insul t offered to the poet Ka l athal aiyar by an ancestor of IrungOvél

s . The poet furtherbegs

,with biting Sa rca sm, to be pa rdoned for having

introduced th e girls as the daughters of Bari, inst eadof a s the descendants Of Evvi, a chief in the Pandyacountry .

Vida Sig upa’

2 He th at kil led a tiger .

3 Tuvarai may be either Dwaraka in G uz erat or Dwaravati or

Dwara samudra of th e Hoysalas .

4 Anoth er poet who celebrates Karikal a , and his Ch era con

temporary,Perums

era l adh an . (Poem 65 , P ur andn zz f u . )

KAPILAR’

S CONTEMP ORARIES 343

Kapila r himself is connected with the Chera Mantharam Sera l Irumporaiand i s spoken Of with grea t regarda s a poet by another poet , Porundhil Il angiranar . Poem126 by Ma rokkattu Nappaéa laivar refers to his pra iseof Ma laiyam an Tirumudikkari, who wa s in possess ionof Mu llfir Hill . It incidenta l ly refers to th e nava ls trength Of the Sera , l ikening the futi lity of theauthor

s a ttempt a t celebra ting Kari, a fter Kapilar haddone so, to the endeavour to sa il a ship in the faceof the Chera fleet. Poem 174 by the same author

refers incidenta l l y to N ul l fir Hil l , ce lebra ted by Kapilar,and d irectly to Soliyavenadhi Tirukkannan (otherwiseTirukkil li) , who rendered yeoman

’s s ervice to P eruvira rki l l i whil e in hid in g a t Mu l l fir . The poem fur ther

credi t s the Ma layam an So liy avén adhi Tirukkannan

with having res tored the Chola to his position . Another

p erson tha t Kapil ar celebra tes i s Tirumudikkari, ru lerof Ma l ainadu

, with his capita l at Tirukkovilur and

with th e hi l l N ul lur . Poems 122 and 123 refer to h i shaving been sought in a l l iance b v the three powers .B eginning with a cons idera tion Of what l i tt le i sknown Of these three personages, Avvaiyar, Paranarand Kapila r , we have been introduced to a numberOf poets and potenta tes l iving within a genera tion of

one another . Before proceed ing to a considerat ion

Of the ch ief ru lers of the age and their geographica l

loca ti on , l et u s turn a s ide to gl ean what we can of

contemporary history from the two epics of the ag e

of Senguttuvan , who wa s by fa r the most impor

tant cha ra c ter Of the period and about whom we

coul d ga ther an amount of informa tion from the a bove

works .Th e Epic of the A nkl et i s th e s tory of Keva lan

(Gopa la , and his wi fe Kannahi) , bo th of th e mercanti lecommunity of Puhar (Kaverippam ba ttinam ), and ha s ,

for its mora l , th e t riumph Of th e wife ’s cha stity and

the vindica tion of the husband’

s innocence . The story

344 ANCIENT INDIA

i s a s fol lows in brief out l ine : Kova lam,the son of

Masattuvan of Puhar, wa s ea rly m a rr ied to Kannahi,

the beautiful daughter of Manaygan of the same pla ceand community . The ma rriage wa s celebra ted withgreat pomp and becoming circumstance, a s the two

pa rties were of high socia l stand ing . A fter a whi le, themother -in - law set her daughter - in—law up independentlyin a different hous e in the same city, provided w ith a l l

tha t the young coupl e might need for conducting a

successful and virtuous l ife, a s householder and housewife . Sometime a fter, Kova lan took a fancy for a

highly a ccomplished and exceedingly lovable profes

siona l dancing -woman , whose skil l in her art wa s

unsurpa ssed, nay even unsurpa ssable . The l over and

mistress led a happy l ife and had a daughter, the

only offspring of their affection . Disconsola te a s

Kanuahi wa s, she never lost her affection for thehusband who had thus given her up, and wa s quitea s fa i thful to him a s she wou ld have been un der

ordinary circumstances . At the conclusion of the

annua l fest iva l to the god Indra , the usua l ba thingin the s ea brought the festivities to a c lose . This was

a day of enj oyment for a l l and the whole elegantsociety of Puhar turned out to th e bea ch to spendthe day in music, dancing, and other such amus ements . The happy lovers s inging to the accompani

of the yal , a Tamil musica l instrument now

gone out of us e, by turns, suspected, from the tenor

Of the songs, each the other of having changed hisor

' her a ffection . Stung by this imagined bad fa ithon the part of his sweetheart Madhavi

,Kova lam went

home to his house, instead of to hers a s usua l, and

fel t quite a shamed of himself for his trea tment of

the Wife, who redoubled her a ttentions to him sinceshe had seen tha t something a i l ed her lord . Overcome

with remors e, Kova lan confessed to his wife his

pos it ion with r espect toMadhavi and communica ted to

346 ANCIENT INDIA

brought, having kill ed the thief . He a ctua l ly meant

that he required th e man and th e j ewel to be brought,in order to kil l the m an ,

if gui l ty . The plot of the

goldsmith, th e rea l culprit, succeeded so well that

the king wa s deluded and the innocent hero wa s

murdered, a fter tran sa ct ing a pa thetic scene muchl ike th e one in Shakespea re’s Richard III . News of

thi s ca lam ity reach ed Kanuahi who, in grea t anger,forgot her u sua l modesty , and bent upon establ ishing her husband ’s innocence and th e power of hercha sti ty

,wa lked boldly forth

,qu i t e , unlike h er

ordinary self, with the oth er ankle t in her hand

and rang the bel l of just ice in the grea t ga te of thepa lace . This a larm ,

qui te unhea rd of in the reign of

the then P andyan rul er, made the ha l l - porter suspecttha t someth ing serious ly wrong h a d taken place .

The unu sua l a ppa r ition of a young injured womanw ith an ankle t in on e of her h ands , with anger and

grief on her countenance, wa s immediate ly announced

to the k ing . Admitted without de lay into the roya l

presence, Kanuah i proved tha t the anklet for whichh er hu sband suffered death wa s hers an d not th equeen ’s , demonstra t ing tha t the j ewe l in di spute wa sfi l l ed with rubies . The queen affirm ed hers wa s fi ll edwith pearl s . Kannahi invoked a curse tha t Madurashou ld be consum ed by fi re for this rem issness of

her king, who, ra ther than survive the di sgrace heh ad brought upon a l ine of i l lustriou s rul ers, diedimmedia tely . The queen fol lowed her consort, and

Kanuahi left the city by the western ga te towa rdsthe hill - country, where sh e wa s to j o in her husbandin a fortnight, a s promised by the goddess of

Madura . This union of the wife and the husband

wa s seen by the hil l - tribes , who du ly reported the

ma tter to their king , then in camp on the hi l ls with

his queen and retinue . At the request of the good

queen,the king built a temple and consecrated it to

MANIMEKHALAI 347

the chas te lady (Pa ttini Devi) who had undergone sorecent an apotheosi s .

This is , in the merest outl ine, the story of the firstepic, and the second is a sequel to th is . Informa tionof a l l the proceed ings a t Madura was given at Puharby a Brahman friend of Kova lan ,

who,having ba thed

a t Kumari (Cape Comorin , nea r which wa s once a

r iver) , wa s ba i ting a t Madura on his homewa rdj ourn ey . The mother and mother- in - law of Kannahi

d i ed of grief . The fa ther and fa ther - in - law renouncedl ife an d became Buddhistic monks . Madhavi, dis cons ola te at Kova lan

s sudden d isappea rance,sent him an

importunate appea l to return , while h e wa s yet onh is outwa rd j ourney to Madura . F inding i t of noava i l , she h ad been overcome with grief, and when

news of Kova lan’

s dea th reached her,she gave up life

and a l l i t s p lea sures to become a lay disciple of a

Buddhisti c monk ; while her daughter just bloominginto a woman of ra re beauty and womanly gra ce,entered the Buddhi s tic cl oister . Jewel - Bel t (Manimé

kha la i) wa s h er name . Her renuncia tion forms the

subj ect of the ep ic ca l l ed by her name . The heir

appa rent of Puhar i s very deeply in love with h er,but sh e i s taken ca re of by a goddes s, who p laysthe guardian angel , much l ike the Ariel of Shakes

pea re . To save her from the loving prince’s a rdour ,she is removed to an is land by the goddess while

a s leep ; and there she i s initia ted into the Buddhi stmysteries . Having understood her pa s t l ife, she

returns to Puhar with a begging - bowl of extraordinaryvirtue . The prince st il l prosecuting his hopeless love ,fa ll s a victim to the jea lousy of an angel , whosewife’s di sgui s e the heroine a ssumed to keep out her

importuna t e lover, her own husband in a previous

l ife . Consol ing the queen and the king in th eir

s orrow for the los s of their son , she l eaves Puhar (a t

the mouth of the Kaveri ) and proceeds to Vanj i (not

348 ANCIENT INDIA

far from Kranganfir a t the mouth of the Periyar),where she learns a l l tha t the tea chers of d ifferentreligious systems have to teach her . Not sa ti sfied

with their phi lo sophy of re ligion, she is directed to

Kanchi by her grandfa ther, who h ad betaken himself

to Vanj i in anticipa tion of Puhar being overwhelmedby the sea . Manimekh a lai proceeds to Kanchi and

rel ieves the place from famine by the use of h er

begging - bowl . L ea rning the true phi losophy of the

Buddha from a sa intly monk, she stopped there .

This is the merest outl ine of the two poems, forming a

single epic,which is of a dramatic - epic character

with something of the na rra tive in it . Conta ining,a s they do, a grea t dea l of the superna tura l, there

i s yet much tha t must be regarded a s historica l .

In one word,the setting is poetica l, but the back

ground is historica l .The Epic of the Ank let ha s much to say aboutthe ‘ thre e great kings of the south

and it s com

panion concerns itself with three likewise ; but the

place of the P andyan i s taken by the ruler of

Kanchi. To begin with the Chola kings celebratedby the poets, two names stand out ; those of Kar ikala and Kil li, ca l led indifferently Nedumudikkil li,Velvérkilli, Mavankilli, etc . Of these two, Dr .

Hu ltz s ch h as the following in his South IndianInscript ions 1 ' ‘ It wil l be obs erved tha t ea ch of the

four documents, which record the names and

a chievements of these anci ent Chola kings , enumeratesthem in a d ifferent order . One of the four kings,Kokkil li can ha rd ly be cons idered a his torica l person,

a s he is credited with having entered a subterraneous

cave and there to have contra cted a ma rriage with a

s erpent princess, and a s the Vikktrama, Sata n Ulc

places him before the two mythica l kings, Sibi and

Vol . ii, pa rt iii, pp . 377 -8.

3 50 ANCIENT INDIA

from A . D. 135 . With due respect to Mr . Coom ara s ami’

saga city, I am not prepa red to a ccept thi s view,

unless the identity of the two G ajabahus i s not

only supported by the m ere identity of name but

proved by interna l rea sons, and unti l the chronology

of the ea rl y history of Ceylon has been subj ected

to a critica l examinat ion .

A careful examina tion of the first book of the Ep icof the Anklet shows tha t during the early pa rt of th e

l ife of the hero, the king of Puhar wa s KarikalaChola . Apa rt from the fa ct tha t the commenta torinva riably interpret s a l l references to the rul ing king

a s applying to Karikala (and this in i tself i s much,a s the commenta tor wa s one who was thoroughl y

qua l ified for the ta sk and can , a s such, be expectedto embody nothing but correct tradi tion in his comm en taries ) , there are a number of direct referencesto h im , either by name or by the fact tha t thee rection of the tiger - emblem on the Hima laya s wasa ttributed to him . The la st four lines of canto i blesses

the ru ler ‘ who erected the t iger - emblem on the cresto f the Hima laya s . ’ There i s direct mention of Ka rikala

s name and of his rewa rding the poet of the P é tai

[P a tttnappd la t]l in one of the manuscripts consu lt ed

by the editor ; further down, l ines 158—60 of cantovi

,mention as c l early a s one coul d wish Karikala a s

ru ling at th e time , and the commenta tor expla in s it

a s such by giving the pa ssage the necessa ry expans ion,

not to mention the a l lusive but undoubted referenceto the same personage in l ines 95 - 8 of canto v . Of

the thre e kings pra i sed in canto xvii, there is reference

to Karikala’s Hima layan exploi t in the l a st s tanzain pa ge 400, and thi s i s the las t Chola ru lerreferred to. Canto xxi , l in es 11 et seq ,

clearly s ta t e

Pages 44- 5—Pandit Saminath a Iyer

s edition of Silappadhikdmm.

There is nothing in the lines to lead one to rega rd them a s l a ter

interpol ations .

KAR IKKLA’

S EARLY HISTORY 351

tha t Karikala’

s daughter h ad married the then Cheraking

,whom she j o ined when he lost ‘ h is l ife in the

s ea . These wou ld undoubted ly point to Kar ikala as

having ru led a t Kaverippum battinam t ill Kova lan ’

depa rture for Madura . The s upernatua l a chievements

a re clearly nothing more than the fanciful way in

which thes e Buddhistic authors a ttempt to expla in

even the most ord inary occurrenc es . The most cursoryexamina tion wi l l d iscover tha t i t i s s o , and the fa ith

of these authors in the doctrine of ka rma comes in

for much tha t would otherwise be inexp l icable in thes tory .

To return to Ka rikala . He wa s the son of U ruvap

paha rer - I lanje'

tch enni and had married among th e

Nan g fir'

é l clas s . It i s sa id tha t he a s sumed theform of an old judge in orde r to sa tisfy the scruples

of the pa rties , who were a fra id tha t, being a youth ,

he cou ld not bring ma ture experience to bear upon

the question com ing up for decision . His name i s

a ctua l ly a ccounte i for a s having been due to an accident

b y fire ? while y et a baby . He is the hero of the

two poem s in the Ten Tamil Idyl l s ,P oruna rcir f

p a dai of Muda tham a Kanniyar and the P a tttnapp d lai

of Budirang annanar, for which latter the auth or

received th e Sixteen lakhs of gold p ieces mentioned

above . He defeated the Chera by name P erumsera l

adhan and a Pandyan whose name is not men

tioned, in the ba tt le of Vennil .3 This Che ra wounded

in th e ba ck in ba ttl e died of d i sgra ce .

4 Rudiran

g annanar cel ebra te s another hero, the Tondaman

1 The text h a s it th at wh en h e was drown ed s h e ca l l ed out for

him . The waves sh owed him to h er wh en sh e joined him and both

dis appeared , much l ike Kunnahi’

s union with h er husband .

2 Th e 8rd s tan z a from th e P a l amoli quoted a t th e end of th e

P e runa rd rg'uppa d ai.

3 Lin es 143—8 . P or un ara r ruppa cl at. Vennil is Kovil Venni in th e

Tan jore district.

4 P u r a ndna yu , poems 05 -6 .

352 ANCIENT INDIA

I landirayan of Kanchi whom tradition tra ces to theChola Kill i by a Naga princess , a s s ta ted by Dr .Hultz sch , in the quota tion above . This Kill i, o ther

wise Nedumudi Ki l l i , i s the il l - fa ted successor ofKarikala ,

in whose reign a ca ta strophe befel l Puharand brought the Chola fortunes very low indeed .

While luckily there are but a few Karik'

la s among

South Indian ru lers, there are a number of Killis ,l

among whom it is a ma tt er of grea t d ifficul ty indeedto fa sten upon the individua l here mentioned . P ortu

natel y for us , there a re certa in di st inguishing fea tures

which g ive u s the clue . One of the exploi ts of

Seng uttuvan Sera i s the vic tory a t Nerivayil , a vi l lagenear U raiyUr (Trichinopoly) , where he defea ted the

nine Ki l l i s of the Cho la family and thus r estoredhis cou sin (brotherin - law ) to power . F rom the

Epic of the Anklet and the Jewel - Bel t we lea rn h ewa s the la st ru ler in Puhar and it wa s in his re igntha t the anci ent Chola capita l wa s overwhelmed bythe s ea . It is this Ki l l i , whatever his d i s t ingui shingepithet, tha t i s the fa ther of the Tondaman referred

to by Dr . Hultz sch . While in the P erumbéna r fruppa dai,

the commenta tor Na ch chinarkiniya r (who must havel ived in the thirteenth century A . D. or thereabouts) ?

makes the Tondaman the son of a Naga princes swith whom the Chola l ived in a cave , which is genera l ly,taken to mean th e nether-world . The Jewel -Bel tgives the fo llowing much l es s romantic version of

the s tory, which agrees in a l l d eta i l s except thecave, so far a s i t goes , while a ccounting for the

destruction of Puhar . Without relega ting them

actua ll y to Hades, we find reference to Naga rulers inInd ia and Ceylon, b etween whom a war once tookpla ce for the possession of some Budha - rel ic

, according,

1 Twel ve in P u g andna yu , and nine in Silapp adhikdram.

2 Mr. Anavaradh a Vinayagam Pil l ai a l lots him to the ninth

century A . D . (Christian Col lege Ma ga z ine xvn ) , 1900.

3 54 ANC IENT INDIA

for the a ssociat ion of Kill i with Uraiyfir at the endof the Epic of the Anklet, in the course of which

the catastrophe to Puhar must have happened . The

rule r at Kanchi during the period, a ccording to the

Jewel -Belt, wa s an I lam Kill i, the bro ther of Ka lar

Ki lli .This la st rul er of Puhar is referred to in the Jewel

Bel t with th e fol lowing adjuncts indi fferently, namely,Vadivérkilli, Velvérkilli, Mavankil li, and Nedumudikil li.

With the help of his younger brother, Ilang t’

) (perhaps

I lamkil li of Kanchi) , who wa s probably the heir- apparent as the term wou ld ind ica te, he defea ted theChera s and the P andyas on the banks of the river

Kari .l The three poems concerning this personage inthe Puranannrn refer to his having been bes ieged at

Uraiyi‘

ir and Am'

fir by Na lamkil li. After the destruotion of Puha r he must have been reduced to the woefu lplight from which Seng uttuvan Sera , it i s clea r, re

lieved him by his victory at Nerivayil2 over the mne

Chola princes who forgot their a l legiance to the Kil l i .Thi s i s borne out by the enmity between Nedumudi

kill i and Na lamkilli ind i ca ted in poems 44, 45, and 47

of Purananiz rn . There are bes ides a number more of

th roughout th ese epics , which interpreted l iteral ly woul d be quiteas absurd ; and these a re easily accounted for by the auth or

beliet

in the doctrines of Ka rma and re - birth s , the main pil l ars of th e

Buddhistic faith , as a l so to a modified extent of the Brahmanic . It

is this that makes th em attempt to account for actua l ph enomena

by causes supernatura l . This , modern European critics fail to bea r

in mind, and h ence a l l appears g rotesquely legendary and ab surdly

fabulous . These remarks find th eir ful l application in th e Jewel - Bel t,though there is h ardly a ny Indian work of a quasi- religious or eth ica l

Ch a racter in criticising which one cou l d a fford to forget them .

1 Pandit Saminath a Iyer's edition of Ma nime

kha lai, page 741, canto

xix, l ines 124, 130.

9 Nériviyil in l ater history belonged to the K sh a triya Sikhamani

Va lanédu, i. e., the region round Uraiyur, and th e roya l secreta ry of

Viraraj éndra a s th e owner of this vil l age a s a l so of TiliTiruppan

angadu . South India n Inscrip tions,vol iii.

éENGUTTUVAN tam 355

Kil l is . ea ch with a d i st inguishing epithet which wouldsupport the existence of the nine Ki l l is (Ki l l i being a

generic name of the Chola s l ike éenni, etc . ) The authorof these poems, Kovi l Ki la i, ce lebra tes another Ki ll iwho d ied a t Kulamurram . None of these Kill i s IS

associa ted with Pub an In fa ct neither in the Purana nuyu nor in the Sirup d nd jr -

rupp a dai do we find theci ty of Puhar a ssocia ted with these Cho la s .L eaving a side the Chola s, we fin d the Whol e time,

during which the incidents na rra ted in the two epics,took place, taken up by Senguttuvan Sera

,whose capi

ta l wa s at Vanj i (Ka rur) at the mouth of the Per iyar

on th e west coa st . His exploits are r ecorded in somed eta i l in these works and the others referred to a lreadyHis fa ther and uncl e are cel ebra ted in the two preceding sections of the Ten Tens . His chief a chievements

were a nava l vi ctory over the ‘

Kadambu,

two invasions of the north with victories on the banks of theGanges over Kanaka and Vij aya , sons of Balakumara

and the victories a t Nérivayil and Viya l fir (there is

a Viya lar connected with Nannan , an ancestor of

\ 1chchikkon , whom Kapil ar celebra tes in poem 200

of the P ru-

ctndn fi r z t) . L ike h is fa ther, éenguttuvana l so cla ims to have cut out the bow- emblem on theHima laya s .

Coming to the Pandyas of Madura,we have two

names in the Epic of the A nklet, namely , Nedum Che

l iyan, victor over th e Aryan a rmy ; and Il am Ch eliyan ,

who wa s viceroy at Korka i when Nedum Che liyan

died at Madura . Before d i scussing thes e names we haveto d i spo se of one other P andyan of impor tance in l i ter

ary history .

When Tiruva l luvar submitt ed the Ku fra l

to the S’

langam critics,the king was Ugra -P andyan ,

vic tor over the ‘ big forest fort (Kanappéreyil ) underth e ch ief Vengaimarb an .

’ The Tirucilaiydda l Pmfi nama scribes to him some a ch ievements which are of a

l egendary character, though some might have been

356 ANC IENT INDIA

possible . These are the very a chievements 1 a scribed.

to a Pandya ru ler by the Ma lainadu (hil l - country) Brahman from Mangadu (A l angadu or A l avay) , th en at

Ura iyur in the course of a p ilgrimage to the shrines of

Vishnu, who directed Kova lan to Madura from U ra iyur .

This pra i se would l ose a l l po int unless it referred to theru l ing P andyan when the Brahman pilgrim soj ourned at

Madura, on his visit to Tirum alirunjolai. The authorof the epic clear ly designa tes him the P andyan NedamCheliyan

‘ victor over the Aryan forces’

,wha tever these

forces might have been . There are a number of references throughout the work to the erecting of the fish

emblem on the Hima laya s . It i s the boa st of Ka rikalaChola , U gra - Pandyan , and Nedumsera ladh an (fa ther of

éenguttuvan) tha t they cut out their respect ive emblemson the Hima laya s . These achievements are cl ea rlya scribed to the reigning P andyan in the commencingand the conclud ing l ines of canto xvi i . Thus then theUgra - P andyan

9of the Purana s and t radit ion could not

have been any other than the il l - sta rred P andyan N e~

dum Cheliyan of the Epic of the Anklet. Avvaiyar’

reference to P aranar r eferred to above wou ld agreequ it e well with th is identifica t ion, a s in accordancewith tha t reference, P aranar shou ld have been theea rlier of the two.

The successor of the P andyan , apparent ly his son ,

P andyan Ilam Cheliyan , otherwise Verriver - Ch e liyan ,

wa s in Korka i when his father died , and succeeded to

his fa ther’s esta t e in the course of the story . We are

l Canto xi, l ines 23—31 . Th ere are besides references to h is achieve

ments in connexion with the rul ing Pandyanin many pl aces th rough

out th e work .

9 Stan z a 4,bottom of page 400 . Mr . Kanaka sabh ai Pil l ai in his

interesting papers on The Tamils 1800 Yea rs Ago, m akes Ug ra-Pandyan

the contempora ry of the succes sor of th e Kil li, the g randson of Karikal a .

This woul d bring Tiruva l l uvar’s Kura l too l ate for quotation by th e

friendly authors of th e two epics , as th e Ka ra} received th e sangam .

approva l under Ugra-Pandyan . Madra s Review, vol. 11,No.

358 ANCIENT INDIA

Thus we see that dur ing the course of the story,the rulers of Puhar were Kar ikala and his grandsonKokkini 1, of Madura Nedum Cheliyan ,

identifi ed

With Ugra - Pandyan , and Ilam Ch eliyan fol lowed laterby Nedum Ch eliyan ,

victor over the Tamil a rmy a t

Ta layalanganam ; the Chera ruler a l l the time at Karur

(Vanj i) wa s Senguttuvan Sera ,the brother of the author

of the epic and the pa tron of th e author of the Jewel

Bel t, the fa ther and the unc le of thi s personage havingbeen the heroes of the second and third sections of theTen Tens . Chera (prince) of the

‘ el ephant - look musthave been his son and viceroy of the newly - conquered

territories .These were the sovereigns of th e three kingdomswho flourished in the genera tion of the l i terary c el ebrities headed by the names chosen at the comm encement , namely, Avvaivar, Pa rah ar and Kapil ar . These

were the three sta rs of the first magnitude in thel itera ry firmament, a s tho se in the poli t ica l , of SouthIndia . Other poets there were and pa trons l ikewise .

Of the latter, mention h a s a lready b een m ade of Pariof P arambunadu and Pa rambu Hill ; Kari of Tiruk-kovilr1 r in Ma lainadu and Mul lur Hill ; Irungovél of

Arayam in the western hil l - country of the Tuvarai"

family with the specia l d i stinction of having kil l ed a

tiger to save a sa int absorbed in contempla tion ;P éhan of Na llur in Ma l ainadu (hil l - country) ; and Adi

yaman Anji of Tagadi‘

ir and Horse - hil l , overthrown

a ccording to the eighth s ection of the Ten Tens bythe Perum Sera l who overthrew Tagadur . These are

a l l mention ed by name a s wel l a s by dist inguishingachievements, most of them in a somewha t fabulous

I Mr . Kanaka sabh ai Pil l ai places a Na l amkil li between these two.

{Madra s Review, vol . 11, No.

Tuvaraimight h ave been either Dvaraka in Gu z erat or Dvari‘

orHal ebid in Mysore ; but th e l atter does not appear til l much l ater,and the name Tuvarai in Cl as sica l works is a lways taken to mean

Dvaraka .

THE AGE OF THE sANGAM 859"

ga rb in the Sii'upcind rr upp a dai of Na l lur Na ttattanar .

Bes ides thes e , we have a lrea dy mentioned the princeChera of the elephant look rul er of Tondi and masterof Koll i Hil l . To come to the poets

,in add ition

th e three a l ready ref erred to , we must mention h ereonly a few of the mor e impOI tant , such a s Tiruva l luva r,I langovadiga l , Sith tha lai Sa ttanar, Rudirang annana r

Muda thamakkanniyar, Mangudi Marudanar , Narkirar

and others , whose works are held even to - day in highesteem bv the Tamil world a s ma sterpieces in theirrespective depa rtments . Some of th e rulers werethemselves poets of some merit, and Avvaiyar wa s not

th e on ly poetess . The two young daughters of Bari

could Compose verses and the el egia cs a scribed tothem is proof of their abil ity in this d i rection . Thereis besides a poem in Pm andnfim a scr ibed to the wife

of Bh fi ta Bandyan, who performed sa ti on the funera l

pyr e of her husband . These names ra i se a strong presumption in favour of the View tha t , a s the age of

Senguttuvan , inc luding in it a genera tion either way,

wa s one of grea t l itera ry activi ty, i t might have beenthe time when the Sangam activity wa s at i ts height .1

This wa s the a ge when the creed of the Buddha wa s ~

in the a scendant, which , l ike a l l oth er reform move

ments of a la t er t ime, gave a powerfu l impetus to

the development of the verna cu la rs of the country .

A lthough the Sangam is not mentioned as such inthese ea r ly works , we find the cu l t iva t ion of Tamil

specia l ly a s socia t ed with Ma dura , which i s often re

ferred to a s‘ T amil Kuda l despit e the fa ct tha t a

1 It wil l b e cla ir tron th e a bove th a t th e auth or of th e Ka r a t

cou ld not h ave b een much ea rlie r th an th e friendly auth ors of the

epics . Stil l they quote with g rea t res pect from th e Ku f a l . This

cou ld on ly be if th e Ku r a l were authorita tive ly approved of a fter

being read out before th e Sangam , Sithth a l aiSittan being one of th e

august body. I l a ngo, h owever, wa s not among this body, a l though

h e quotes from th e Ku y a l likewis e .

‘2 Sirupd n a nd P u ra n ama ru , a nd Ka linga ttuppa rani, of a l ater age .

5360 ANC IENT INDIA

l arge number of poets mentioned above flouri shed in

other courts . In the tradit iona l l i sts of Sangam cele ‘

brities we find mention of the names of most of theauthors referred to above . It is not im probabl e,therefore

,tha t a board of censors l ike th e Sangam

exi s ted about this a g e at Madura .

Without pausing to examine wha t o th er l i tera ry men

can be grouped a l ong with those spoken of a lready,we m ay pass on to the cons idera t ion of the more

important quest ion of the probabl e ag e of thi s grea tl i terary a ctivity in South India . The two chief epics,the Epic of the Anklet and the Jewel -Bel t, wereBuddhisti c

,the latter more so than the former ; and

the other works of the a ge show considerable Buddhistic influence and fol low in thi s order with rega rd to

( da tes of composition . The Ka ra t i s the ear liest of“the ma j or works, a s there are quota tions from thiswork in the companion epics

,which even a cknowledge

th e quota t ions . The two epics mu st have been composed about the same period . The Jewel -Bel t precede sthe Ep ic. The Aha nd nu fru miscel lany is a scribed to

Ugra -Bandyan, before whom the Ka r a t,

received the

Sangam imprima tur . The Knnda la lce‘

si i s anotherBuddhistic work and, so far a s we know it at presentof a controversia l chara cter

,much l ike the Jewel - Bel t

in plan . This wa s fol lowed by the Nila késitteru ttu,

which a ttempts a refuta tion of the Kunda la kes'

i and“

must, ther efore, be of a la ter age . If thi s genera lc ours e of l iterary activity is correctl y indica ted byth e edi tor of the Sen Tamil, whose a ccount i s reliedon here, and if we can fix the probab le period of thi s

l iterary activity, this Wi l l prove the sheet anchor int he l iterary chronology of South India .

In the midst of the confused tangle of mere names andn ames of similar sound and meaning

,we have

,fortu

n ate ly just a few distinct cha racter s and cha ra cterist icsthat make the a ttempt not a l together hopeless

,provided

362 ANCIENT INDIA

that name . So then, we are driven to the necessityof looking for this Karikala far earl i er than A . D . 900.

It has been shown above tha t the works themselves

point to an age when the religion of the Buddha was

in the ascendant a s the probable period when the

works under considera t ion at lea st the grea t est of

them were composed . Buddhism was overthrown

about the s eventh century A . D . when Hiuen Th s ang

wa s t ravel l ing through India , and when Tirujfi'

ana s am

bhanda flourished . About A . D . 862, a ba tt le wa s fought

between Varaguna P andyan1and the western Ganga

king Sivamara, at Sri P arambi (Tirupparambiyam

near Kumbhakonam ) . This woul d not ha ve b eenpossible had the Chola s been a t a l l powerfu l . Nor

do the works of the age under r eview mention theGanga s a s so powerfu l . We are at this period (A . D.

7 50 to 850) pa s s ing out of the P a l lava a scendency inSouth India which must have begun about A . D. 500, i f

not earl ier with Vish nugopa of Kanchi, th e contem

porary of Samudragupta . There i s no reference in the

works under notic e to such premi er position of the Pa l la

va s or even the Tondam an rajas—the only Tondaman of’

the period figur ing a s a minor chief , and Kanchi wa s

a Chola viceroya lty . In the Rayakotta’ p la tes, a

P a l lava king, by name Skandasishya , who must ha vebeen ea rli er than Vish nugopa Cla ims descent fromAéva ttaman through a Naga princess . Perhaps by thist ime the origin of I landirayan had been so far forgottena s to mak e thi s cred ible . These consid erat ionslead us to a ssume an ea rl ier period for Ka rikala .

This personage i s a ssoc ia ted with Puhar even in

tradit ion, and the Jewel - Bel t tell s us in unmistakablelanguage tha t Puhar wa s submerged in Killi

’s reign .

Al l the poems in the Purandnnru about Kil l i, a number

1 Annua l Report for Epigra phy, 1905-06, part II, p . 25 , and

Epigraphic Indica ,vol . viii, pp . 295 and 819 .

9 No. 8, Epigraphia Indica , vol . v .

THE GAJABAHU UNDER REFERENCE 863

of them with distingui shing epithets,connect them

with U ra iyur , and none of them is connected withPuhar . U raiy i

ir figure s a s a considerable town in theEpic of the A nklet. Even the Sirupanarruppadaidoes not mention Puhar . This i s a very importantcircumstance a s wil l a ppea r present ly .

t en Seiiguttuvan performed an elabora te sacrificeon the occa s ion of the consecration of the templeto Pa ttini D evi , the heroine of the A nklet, therewa s pres ent , among others , G a jabahu of Lankasurrounded by s ea [a s opposed to Mavil ang ai of

Erumanattu Na l liyakkon .] This Ga jabahu of Ceylon,Ilam Cheliyan of Madura , and Kil l i of U ra iyur, bui l tt emples to the same dei ty

, fol lowmg the lead of the

Chera . The question now is whether this Gra jabahu i s

the fi rst or the s econd of the name . The first G ajabahu

rul ed a s mona rch of a l l Ceylon from A . D . 113—35 ;the se cond a s one of three from A . D . 1142—64 a s in

the l ist appended to Miss Duff’s Chronology of India .

Dr . Hul tz s ch’

s cha l l enge to the Hon’

b le Mr . Coom a ra

samy is to establi sh by interna l evidence that the

Ga jab ahu mentioned wa s the first and not the second

of the name . A s to the other part of his objecti on,it must have become clea r from the above tha t for themyth about Kill i, la t er writers a lone are r esponsible ;and enough d irect evidence h a s been adduced to show

that Karika la wa s ru l ing at Puhar when Kova lan beg an

life a s a m a rri ed man , and tha t hi s daughter wa s the

wife of the Chera king then reigning . To return to

G ajabahu ; let us for the sake of argument take him

to be the s econd of the name . We know something

of the his tory of South Ind ia in the midd l e of thetwelfth century and the geographica l di stribution of the

Powers . The Chola rulers ought to have been either

Vikram a or Kulottung a ; th e ru lers of Ma dura either

Vira Pandyan or Vikrama P andyan ; the sovereigns

of the Chera country were Vira Kera la Y arman and

f 364 ANCIENT INDIA

Vira Ravi Va rman ; of the Mysore country, Vishnu

vardh ana and his son,Naras imha . There wer e no

separa te rulers at Kanchi, except in the sense tha t i t

wa s an a lternat ive capita l of the Chola s . There wa s

an Adiyaman, no doubt, a bout this period (somewha t

earlier), but he wa s the Chola viceroy at Ta lakad (not

connected with Tagadi‘

ir) , who was driven a cross theKaveri by Ganga Ra ja ,

th e famous genera l of Vi shnu

v ardhana . Ther e were no Kongu ru lers such a s are

ment ioned in the Epic of the Anklet. Ga jabahu

himself wa s in no pl ight to come to Vanj i 1 (Ka rur)a t the mouth of the Perar, not far from the modern

Kranganur (Kodunga lur) . G a jabahu wa s fighting his

own ba tt les nea rer home with hi s two neighbours ,Manabh arana and P arakram abahu

,and i t wa s a l l he

cou ld do to keep himse lf from being permanently

overwhelmed .

The first Gra jabahu invaded the Cho la country to

bring back the inhabi tants of Ceylon , ca rri ed off bythe Chola army on a previous inva sion of the island

during his fa ther’s re ign ; they were then in bondage

a t‘ the city of Kaveri in the country of Sol i

’. He

brought ba ck bes ides the rel ics and the begging - bowl

of the Buddha ,

‘ which a foretime h ad been ca rrie d

away by the Dhamila s'

. The Raj a ra tnc’

tka ri whil e

a scribing the same a chievements to him, sta tes tha tthe Ceylonese went of their own a ccord ‘

to s erve at

the river Kaveri . ’ 9 He is there sa id to have brought

a number of the Tamils and settl ed them in Ceylon .

In the Raj dca li, however, there i s an even more

e labora te version . The ru ler i s there ca l l ed Rajabahu,

1 Vanj i itsel f was not th e ca pita l of th e Chera a t th e time .

Th e capita l of Kera l a wa s th en Quilon , and during th e period of

th e Chola a scendency (A . D . 900

9 Vol . 11, pages 57—8 . This mention of th e river instead of"

the town would show that wh en the Rdj a ra tndka riwa s compil ed the! existence of th e town wa s pas sing into ob l ivion .

366 ANC IENT INDIA

translator of the works h a s to say about them so carefu l ly has the text been handed down tha t the disere

pancies found to exist between the mor e ancient and

modern copies are very s light inde ed . The Rdj ava li

i s a work of d ifferent hands and compi l ed from loca l

h istories ; it i s used a s a corolla ry or addit ion to thetwo preceding works, continuing the na rrat ive throughthe struggles between the Portugues e and their riva l s,the Dutch .

Al l tradit ion, therefore, and the histo rica l c i rcum

stances a ttend ing the stori es of thes e epics point tothe first Gajabahu, as the Ceylon ru l er who was

present at the celebra tion of the sa crifice by Senguttuvan Sera and if the Rdj a

va li cou ld be rel i ed on ,

the conclusion wou ld be forc ed upon us . A s it i s,however

,there is but l i tt le ground to connect thes e

ev ents with the second G a jabahu, a s some scholarswould have it .

As to the date of the first G a jabahu the chroniclegives A . D . 1123—85 a s the period of 11 18 reign . “7h at

ever be the rea l worth of th is actua l date,we have

l itt l e rea son to rega rd tha t of his successor namesake

as inaccura te . It h a s been pointed out tha t themidd le of th e twelfth century cou ld not possib ly bethe time when the poets flourished . Ther e is the

Ka linga ttnpp a ra ni, the da te of compos ition of whichcou ld not have be en much la ter than A . D . 1 1 11

tain ly not la ter than A . D . 1118 . Sunda ram firtiNayanar,

whom the lat e Mr . Sundaram Pilla i pla c ed in the eighthcentury A .D . refers to Pari ,‘ the pa tron of Kapil ar,

and the genera l tenor of the epic points to Buddhist ict imes

,which the twelfth century wa s not . T aking

1 Th e reference is to th e compl aint which th e devotee m akes

in respect to th e l ack of liberality in peopl e in his days , a lth ough

one sh oul d Ch oose to des cribe a miser a s a patron libera l as‘ Pari

much a s Bacon compl ains of lea rned men turning F aus tina into

Lucretia .

AUGU STAN AGE, SECOND AND THIRD CENTURY A . D. 367

the Buddha N irvana , at 487 B . C . ,instead of 543 B . C . ,

a s accepted by most author ities now,the dates for

G ajabahu I go up to A . D. 162- 91 . Until it is provedtha t the ea rlier da te s of the Ma hdvaméa are unreli

ablel (except for thi s error) , these da tes wil l have tostand, and the period of the grea tes t l itera ry a ct ivityin Tamil must thus be put down a s the second and

third centur ies of the Christ ian era at the la test . Thi swould be qu ite consis tent with the power of the Tamil sin the centuries preceding the Christian era ,

when they

severa l t imes invaded Ceylon and imposed themselves onth e Ceylonese a s usurpers

, about the middl e of the firstcentury B . C . These fa cts coupl ed with the emperorAsoka ’s reference to these Tamil powers

, a long withthe five Hel leni st ic potenta tes, wa rrants great pro

bability with respect to the high sta te of Civi l iza tion

of the Tamils .

Besides the ment ion of G ajabahu ,we find mention

of a number of other rul ers in the course of theEpic of the Anklet

, who were some of them friendlyand others host il e . The friend ly kings were the‘ hundred karna s ’, who provided Senguttuvan with

a fl eet of ships with which to cross the Ganges , whenhe invaded the northern country to puni sh Kanakaand Vijaya , sons of Balakumara who spoke dispa ra

ging ly of the Tamil ru l ers . These brothers were

helped by Utta ra , Vichitra , Rudra, Bha irava,

Chitra , Singa ,Dh an uttara and Svéta .

2 Mr . Kanakasabhaitakes the ‘ hundred ka rna s ’ a s equa l to Satakarnin of the Ma tsyap z trd na . But aga inst this , therei s the obj ection tha t the Tami l poet mentions ‘ the

hundred persons, the karna s’

;3and in one pla ce the

1 P ro f . Rh ys Davids finds th e ch ronicl e borne out in important;

detail s by th e in s cription s among th e find s of th e Sanchi TOpe, ctc .

(Buddhist India , pp . 299—300) page 1 et se q . , J . R . A . S .,1908 Indian

R eview,May,

1908 : th e Da te of the Buddha by Mr . G opa la Iyer .

9 S . A . , canto xxvi, 11. 180—5 .

3 S. A .,canto xxvi, l . 149.

368 ANCIENT INDIA

author even speaks of ‘ the ka rna s’ without th e

hundred .

Besides, a s would appear from Dr . Bhandarkar’

Dekhan,the name Satakarnin wa s tha t of a dyna sty

and not of only one ruler . The name Satakarni a loneappea rs in the early part of the l ist and the date i s

40 to A .D. 16 (see 166, Bombay Ga z etteer , vol .

i, part II) . The word itself cou ld be taken to mean‘ keen - ea red ’

(rather than hundred - ea red) , figurat ive ly .

It is hard to understand how a contempora ry cou ld

have rendered i t with the number a tta ched not to theears but to men . Besides

,these were ru l ing in

southern India , a l though Magadha was included in,

their dominions . So then, even if the‘ hundred ka rna s

meant Satakarnin ,the particu lar sovereign might have

been Ya jfia Sri who ru led from A . D . 154—74 in theMaharashtra , and A . D . 172 to 202 in Telingana . If thi s

b e so,we have a l so a Vij aya , mentioned in a l l the

purana s, who wa s in Teling an a from A . D. 202—8but as aga ins t this, there i s the obj ection tha t Sen

guttuvan crossed the Ganges and fought with Vijayaand his brother on the north ern bank of the Ganges .This, notwithstand ing, tha t Senguttuvan must haveflourished about this time, could be inferred from thefact tha t Senguttuvan

s fa ther, P andyan Nedum Che liyan and Ka rikala a l l C la im victory over the Aryanforces . It i s very l ikely tha t the Tamil forces helpedin the overthrow of the foreigners by GotamiputraSatakarni

2and the d irect mention of gifts to Ka rikala

1 S. A ., canto xxvn, p . 177 .

2 This is th e m ore likely, as th e Saka Nah apana and his successor,

Rish abadata , rul ed over th e Mah arash tra,with Junnar for th eir capita l ,

and th eir territory extended up to Ma l ab a r . This dyna sty, togeth er with

th at of Ch ashtana in Mal va , was overth rown by Gotamiputra, Sataka rni

and his son, Pulimayi, among wh os e. ppsses sions we find‘ th e region s

of the Ma l aya and the Sah ya .

’Th ese Andh rabh ritya s came from Dh a

nakataka nea r Guntur, a nd driving back th e usurpers , recovered th eir

ancestral dominions . (Introduction to Litera ry Remains of Dr . Bhau

Dhaj i,page 25, and Dr . Bh andarkar’s Dekhan, secs . iv, v, vi.)

370 ANCIENT INDIA

ea st of the Z aminda ri of Sivaganga and south of the

old Chola town of Tondi, the south of this l ine woul dbe the Pandya, and north of i t the Chola sphere of

influence . It must not be understood tha t the territo ry a l lotted to each power wa s a lways directl y under

it. The frontier regions were a lways of doubtfu l a l le

giance, as cou ld be seen from the care with whichrule rs in those days fortified and strengthened frontiertowns . So far a s the Chola s were concerned , they

had a lways prominent ly before them the s tra tegica l

a dvantages of Ura iyur on the west and Kanchi on thenorth, a lthough their chief c ity wa s Puhar on the s eacoa st . Karfir wa s the meeting pla ce of the threepowers and i t s neighbourhood was th e scene of many

a hard - fought ba ttl e . This centra l regi on, parti cularlythe hil ly portion, wa s therefore fi ll ed with petty chief

taincies owning a l l egiance, so long a s it could be en

forc ed,to one or other of these powers , and constituting

a group of frontier ‘ buffer - s ta tes ’

. Thus there wa s

Irungovél north of the Mysore distri ct and on thefrontiers of Coorg . Next to him was the Adiyamanin the southern - ha lf of the Mysore district and par t

of Sa lem with his head - quarters a t Tagadur . He hel onged to the Chera family . South of th is must havebeen the territory of Peb an with Na l lur for his headquarters, the country round th e Pa lnis between the

two la st was probably P a rambunadu of Pari . Nextfol lows the Kongu country, which we might put down

as including a pa rt of the Co imbatore and Sa l em dis

tricts . In a l ine ea st of thi s i s the hil l - country of

Kar i with its head -

quraters , Tirukkovi lur . South of

this is the Chola country proper, and north th e province or kingdom, a ccording to circumstances

Kanchi. South of the Palghat gap and in the Pandyacountry wa s the ch iefta incy of A’

ay round Podiyil

Hil l in the Western Ghauts . On the opposi te side

round Korka i were the territorie s of Evvi. During

SOUTH INDIA AGAINST THE DEKHAN 371

the l a tt er par t of the re ign of Senguttuvan therewa s a Chera , probably only a viceroy holding a tractof country extending from the Kol li Ma l ’a i s 1 to Tond ion th e coa st, with the Chola and the Pandya countrieson e ith er side . Thi s wa s th e prince Ch é l ‘a; of the ‘ elephant - look ’

(pro ba bly b e h ad sma l l de ep - set eyes) .

The above appea rs to have been the geographica ld ivis ion of the country . This ka l eidoscopic arrangem ent vanished and another pa ttern presented i t selfwith every turn tha t affa irs took .

If w e ca l l the a ge under considerat ion the a ge of

th e Ch era a scendency, a s Sefiguttuva n Sera appearsto have been at one time in his l if e th e a rbiter of

the destinies of th i s part of the country,we pass on

g radua l ly from this into a struggl e, the Ch era suprema cy being shaken by the Bandyan . Here we losethe thread ti l l we come to about A . D . 400, when theP a l l ava s ri se into importance . The Pa l l ava a scendencybegins w i th Vishnugopa of Kanchi, th e contempora ry

of Samudrag upta , and reaches it s grand climacteric under

Nara sim hava rm an ,the destroye r of Badami (Vatapi) ,

the Chalukya capita l about A . D . 640 . Over a c enturyhence we find th e Ganga s and P andya s fighting nea r

Kumbh akonam . This rd le th e P andya s play severa l

t imes in history . Their pos iti on at the farthest end

of the peninsu la gives them sa fety . It i s only when thefrontier powers fa l l

,tha t we see the P an dya s a sserting

themselves . Throughout his tory the South Indian

powers h ad to Oppose the incursion of the Dekhan

powers, and from th e period of the rise of th e P a l lava s

we can have a clea r idea of the genera l posit ion of the

South Indian powers . Va rguna Bandyan succeeded in

cha sing the Ganga s ba ck into their territory . In

another century a new dyna s ty of the Chola s rise into

1 This wa s the tra ct taken from O’ri by his enemy Kari and given

to th e Chera .

372 ANCIENT INDIA

eminence and achieve an a scendency, ma tched only bytha t of the later empire of Vijayanaga r in it s best days .

The decl ine of the Cho la s aga in brings into pro

minence, the Pandya in the south and th e Hoysa l a s in

the north . Both a like of these powers are overwhe lmedin tha t grea t wave of Musl im inva sion under Ma l ik

Kafur . The Muhammadan i s bea ten back by th e h eroicefforts of a number of chiefs and this movement cul

minates in the establ ishment of the Vijayanagar empirein th e middle of the fourteenth century . Th e fa l l ofthis empire brings the history of Hindu ru l e in SouthIndia practica l ly to a close, and the Mahratta Empireb elongs to a difierent chapter of Indian his tory .

374 ANC IENT INDIA

beginning of the twelfth centuries) because‘ Ma -ai

mékha lai i s no t referred to in the work’

Before proceeding to examine these conclusions in

the light of recent research, we might draw att ention

to another author ity in the same line whose con

clusion s are no less important . Dr . Reinhold Rost’

a rt ic le in the Encyclop cedia Britannica l though seventeen years old now , wa s not deemed worthy of

revision in is suing the supplementa ry vo lumes to thesame monumenta l work . It i s, the refore, to be presumed tha t those concerned are of opin ion tha t theconclusions arrived at in the art icl e sti l l hold good .

These are it s ma in conclusions in the depa rtment of

l iterary history‘

But pra ct ica l ly the earli est extant records of theTamil langua g e do not a scend higher than themiddl e of the eighth century of the Chris tian era ,

the grants in possession of the Israel it es at Cochinbeing a ssigned by the la te Dr . Burnel l to abou t

A . D . 7 50, a period when Ma lava lam did not exist yet

a s a separa te language . There is every probabil itytha t about the same time a number of Tamil workssprang up, which are mentioned by a writer of theeleventh century as r epresent ing ol d l itera ture .

’ The

a rtic le further mentions tha t th e ea rl ier of thesemight have been Sa iva books , the more important of

the others being ‘decided ly Ja in ’

. Admitt ing tra cesof northern influence, Tamil works are bel i eved to

show a spirit of independenc e of Sanskrit influence .

Th e Tolkdpp tyam, the o ldest Tamil grammar, is

a s cribed on the authority of Dr . Burne ll to th ee ighth century, the Vira ébliyam to the e leventh

, and"

the Na rm z‘

t l which superseded both, to the fifteenthcentury.

‘ The period of preva lence of the Ja ina s inthe Pandya kingdom, from the ninth or tenth to the

1 Vol . xxv .

CURRENT NoTIoNs ON TAMIL L ITERATURE 375

th irteenth cen tury, i s justly termed the Augustan Ageof Tamil l itera ture . To its ea rly doings is a scribedthe NdIa d'

zyd r , which is supposed to have precededthe Ifur a l .

ntdma ni and the Dir aka ram are a l soboth a s cri bed to this ea rly Ja in period . Kam ban

/naya iz -am (about A . D . 1100) i s the only other Tamilepic which comes up to the Clu

n fama ni in poetica lbeauty The most bril l iant of the poetica l productionswhich a ppeared in th e period of the Sa iva reviva l

(thirteenth a nd fou rteenth centuries) are two col le c

t i ons of hymns addressed to Siva ,the one ca l led

Tiruvaéa kam by Manikkavasag ar , and a la ter and

la rger work ca l l ed Tevaram by Sam ban da r, and twoother devotees Sunda ra r and Appa r ‘ The Nd ldyira

p ra ba ndha m is a co l lect ion of Va i shnava hymnscontemporaneou s with the former . After a period of

l i terary torpor,which la s ted nea r ly two centuries ,

king Va l labha D eva , better known by his a s sumedname of Ati

ira Rama P andyan (se cond ha l f of

the sixteenth century) ,endeavoured t o revive th e love

of poetry, by compositions of his own , th e mostcelebra ted of which is Na tda dam . Ati Vira Raman

wa s fo l lowed by a number of imitators , etc .

Thi s,in brief . i s the subs tanc e of the pa rt of Dr .

Reinhold Rost ’s a r ticl e dea l ing with the h istory of

Tamil l itera ture . “r

e sha l l now proceed to examine theconclusions of these savants , with due deference to thehigh positi ons of the au thors and with a l l grati tudefor their h aving led the way in thi s l ine of inqui ry .

The resea rch es and a stronomica l ca l cula tions of

Professor Kie lhorn l have a s signed A . D. 1 562- 3 a s

th e da te of the a cces si on of Ati Vira Rama P an

dyan . If th en he ma rks an era in Tami l l itera ture

(he does m a rk the end of the period of decadence,and the reviva l under him and his fol lowers m ay

1 Epigraphia In dira ,vol . vii, p . 17 .

3 76 ANCIENT INDIA

be ca l l ed the cla ss ica l period—a period when poet ica lcompos itions were made by ru le of thumb) , i t mus t

have begun at the earl iest about A . D . 1600 . In thisthere i s no cause for di ssent . Going back from thisdate through the two centuries of decadence or l i tera ry torpor, we arrive at A . D . 1300 . This torpor i sto be a ccounted for by the disturbed sta te of thecountry owing to the overthrow of Hindu kingdoms

by two waves of Mussa lman inva sion . According to

Dr . Rost th en , A . D . 1300 wou ld mark the la tter en d

of the Sa iva reviva l . And to this period , ext endingo ver perhaps a century or more, are a scribed theworks of the Tevaram hymners

,the Alvars and even

Manikkavasagar . Professor Vinson would pla ce th eMa aimekha lai a l so in this period . Ma -nime

kha la -

zf,a s

admitted by the Professor himself, i s a Buddhisticwork, and we shou ld ra ther feel incl ined not to includei t in the Sa iva reviva l, if there h ad been such at the

period . But of Ma nimékha lai la ter on . With respectto the others

,Manikkavasag a r h a s not yet lent himself

to any definite period . Mr . L. C . Innes 1 pla ced himin the ninth century

,Pundi t Vedanayagam Pil laig in

the third c entury, and Mr . Tirum a l aikkolundu to a

period di fferent from either . But of the Te'

hymn ers , Sambanda r and Appar were contempora ries ;and Sambandar pa id a vis it to Siruttondar , an oth erof the sixty - three Sa iva sa ints . This la tter played an

important part in the burning of Vatapiby th e P a l lava s,which event h a s been a scribed to Nara simh avarm an

P a l lava in the middle of the seventh century A . D .

Therefore i t is a s good a s certa in now tha t Sam bandarand Appar l ived in the seventh century A . D . As to

Sundarar, he wa s a contemporary of Cheraman ,the

1 Imperia l a nd A sia tic Quarter ly Review,April , 1902 .

2 Christia n Col lege Ma ga z ine, 1904 .

3 Epig rap hia Indica , vol . iii, pp . 277 et s eq .,a nd oth er references in

, ofMis s Duff’s Chronology of India .

378 ANC IENT INDIA

This i s the period of commenta rie s and commenta tors

ra th er than Of writers . The reviva l which these works

and thei r authors mark i s a Hindu a s Opposed a

Sa iva r eviva l . And i ts period i s the seventh to th e

tenth century . It is in the fo llowing centurie s—underthe grea t Chola a scendency—that the anta gonism be

tween the two sects (Sa ivas and Va ishnava s) was gett ingpronounced . There wer e even in this peri od Ja ins

and Buddhists, the former more th an the la tt er, and

these were not prevented from composing or writ ing

works . This literary period i s, therefore, coeva l withthe period of the P a l lava suprema cy in South India ,

and there is ample interna l evidence in the works insupport of th i s conclu sion .

As to the da te of Kamb an’

s Ramayanam being A . D .

1100, this conclusion appears to b e ba s ed on th e old

bel ief tha t it wa s publ ished whi l e a Raj endra Cholawa s rul ing . This ru l er was identified with KulottungaCho la I (A . D . 1063 F or thi s sta tement of

contemporanei ty there i s no au thori ty , and so fara s th e known circumstances Of the author’s history go,

the da te 807 Saka (or A . D . 885) does not appear tobe fa r bes ide the ma rk . Here , i t m av be Observed in

pas sing , tha t in rega rd to such inquiries it h a s hi thertobeen the fa shion to di sca rd a l l loca l and trad it iona levidence and a ccept nothing tha t h a s no epigraphica l

ba si s . It ought to be remembered in th is connexion ,tha t a l l tradition i s not necessari ly fa l se . If tradi t ioni s interpreted with ca re and other evidence du lybrought to bea r upon i t, th e resu l t wi l l be fa r fromdi sappointing, and so i t i s with respect to Kamban .

This is not to be understood to mean tha t a l l trad it ion i s of equa l va lue and i s qu i t e credib l e . Kamban ,

I have pointed out el sewhere,‘ cou ld have h a d no roya l

1 Christian Col l ege Ma ga z ine ,1902 . This line of argument for Kamban

is not wa rranted by l a ter research . His date is probab l y th e middl e of

the twel fth century A . D .

AUGUSTAN AGE BEF ORE SEVENTH CENTURY A . D . 379

pa tron , for he celebra tes none , whi l e he had a pa tronin a l esser morta l Sadaiappa Muda liar . He wa s a

contempora ry Of Nath amuniwho l ived five genera tionsbefore Ramanuja in point of l ineage . The time occu

pied by these five genera tions , if we a ccept th e yea r A . D .

885 , would be one hundred and twenty years and thisi s not improbable . Therefore Kamban m ay sa fely be

referred to the ninth century A . D . One cha ra cteristi cfea ture of this period deserves to be noticed here . Iti s tha t the metre adopted by poets during th is - period

i s wha t i s ca ll ed Viruttam (Sans -Vritta ) . Al l theaccepted Sangam or ea rl ier works are either in Ahava l

or Venha metre . This would lead u s to pla ce theChintamani at the commencement of this period,

because i t is a ma sterp iece in this l ine of compos itionand wa s , by tradi t ion, the model for Kam b an

s Ramaya

nam . \Ve have a lso rea son to regard this a s the

period of grea t a ctivity among th e Ja ins . One rea sonchiefly insi sted on by Pand i t Vedanayagam for pla cingManikkaVaSaga r in th e third century i s the transition

we could notice in his works from the ea rli er metre

to the la ter , a s s ta ted above .

Befor e the seventh century A . D .,then

,we sha l l have

to look for th e ea r ly peri od of Tamil l itera ture—to beca l l ed a ppropria tely the Augustan Age —the age , tha t

is, of grea t pa trons . This i s a lso the period of Sangam

a ct ivity . This is the perio d which ha s given us a l l

the most important works extant in Tamil—Silappadhikaram,

Ma nimekha lai, P a ttuppattu , P a dir ruppa ttu

and a number of others . Th e Tolkappiyam i s genera ll y

th e grammar on which these works are ba sed . I

have set forth in fu l l (in Chapter xiv) , the a rgu

ments in favour of rega rding the early centuries

of the Chri s tian era—or more preci sely the second and

the first ha lf Of the third centuries—a s the Augus tan

1 An Article in the Christian Col lege Maga z ine, 1904 .

3 80 ANC IENT INDIA

Ag e . There i s interna l and externa l evidence in sup

port of this conc lusion in the works mentioned above

and others of the time . Whether thi s a ctua l conclu

s ion,which I have a rrived at (which is mor e or l ess

in agreement with those of Mr . Kanaka s abh aiPi lla iand the Hon

b le Mr . Kumara swami of Cey lon) , bethe correct one or not

,th e day i s long pa st when th e

works—the Silapp a dhikdr am , Manime‘

kha lai and theKura l , can be a scribed to th e period between theninth and twelfth centuries A . D . Silapp a dhikaram wa s

composed by I langO, the Chera a sceti c prince theyounger bro ther of Senguttuvan ,

the reigning king ;Ma nime

kha lai by his friend the corn -merchant Sattan

of Madura held in h igh este em at the court of Sen

guttuvan a t Vanji or Ka rur (known a t different t imes

and c ircumstances , Kodung a lur, Mah audiyarpattanam ,

Van jikulam , etc ) ; the Kur a l of Tiruva l luva r i squoted by th e two authors , an d a s such , i t mu st ha ve

b een wel l known a t the t ime . This king Senguttuvanh ad a contempora ry rul er , by name G a jabahu ,

OfC eylon

,who was an honoured guest at his cour t .

Which of the Ga jabahus of the Ceylonese Chronicle

i s this personage to be identified with ? Tha t theChronicle is no t a history in th e modern s ense of theterm does not admit of doubt . Dr . F leet l i s of Opiniontha t th e very names in the Chronicl e are not correct

a nd much less, therefore, the da tes . Professor RhysDavids, on the contrary, finds the Chroni c le borne outin important deta i l s by inscriptions in the SanchiTope .

2 F or our pr esent purpose, we find,in the whol e

l is t of k ings in the Ma havaméa,only two rul er s of

the name of Ga jabahu, one in th e el even th century

A . D .,and the ear lier in the second century A . D. The

rea sons for identify ing this G a jabahu,the friend of

l Footnote, p . 16 , Journa l of the Roya l A sia tic Society, 1904 .

2 Buddhistic India, pp . 299, 300 et seq .

382 AN CIENT INDIA

a uthor of the Ma hd vams’

a,be he Sthavira Mahanaman

the first of the name (A . D . or the second (A . D .

ment ions a Gajabahu anterior to him . Wha tever

may be the a ctua l da te of G ajabahu he must haveflourished before the sixth c entury and perhaps much

e a rl ier . This is borne out by the fact tha t the P a l lavas

were ga ining the a scendency in Southern Ind ia aboutthis time and the éangam works do not show any trac eof thi s a scendency . (6) The Chola capita l wa s Kaver i

pfimb attinam , with th e a l t ernat ive Ura iyur, and th erei s nothing of Tanj ore or G angaikonda éol apuram , thecapita l s during the Chola A scendency Period (A . D. 900

1300 nea rly) . (7) There a re abundant a l lusions and

r eferences, which can be expla ined only on the a s sumption of the Satavahana ru lers of the Dekhan and their

war s with the Kshetrapa s . The gatavahana powercame to an end abou t the midd le of the third century A . D .

9 These would warrant our rega rding the

A ugustan Age—an age of grea t Buddhistic influenceto be coeva l w ith the ear ly centurie s of the Christian

Era ,th a t i s

,A. D . 100—300 at the la test .

One word more about Ma nimékha lai. Professor Vinson 0 pines tha t this work mus t have been of a later

period than Vira éoliyam, because the la tter work makesno mention of i t . It wou l d be equa l l y sound to s ay

tha t the Silapp a dhikaram must have been composed

a fter the days of Nach chinarkiniyar, as the great com

mentator h as not commented on the work . Thi sopinion of the l ea rned Profes sor woul d have been

received with respect h a d it not been tha t there i s

ample evidence of the two—Silapp ad hikaram and

Ma nimékha lai—being companion works . The oommenta tor of th e former expla ins the connexion between

the two and gives a l l the references in pag e ten of

l F ootnote, p . 16, Journa l of the Roya l A sia tic Society, 19042 Dr . Bhandarkar

’s Ea rly His tory of the Dekhan .

sIL APPADHIxA’

RAM AND MANIMEKHA LA I 383

Pund i t Swaminath a Iyer’

s ed it ion . F urther, the intro

ductory pa ssage to the work states c lea rly tha t thecorn merchant Sattan i t wa s , tha t induced the a sceticto take up the work , and the c losing pa ssage refersto it s having been read out to him . A l l this apa rt,Silapp a cl hikaram a lone would be a defective composition a ccording to the rules of epic composition but

for the supplementary Ill a nimékha la i. The first h a sreference only to the firs t three of the four obj ect sof l ife

,and the second dea l s with the fourth . If these

were not enough , th e same Chera and the Cholaru l ers figure in both the works, and a l l traditiona l

and other a ccounts agree in a scribing the la t ter to

Sattan , the corn -merchant of Madura , who, a s thecri tic p a r excel lence of the Sangam used to plant hissti l e into his head every time h e ha d ‘ the misfortune ’

to detect an error in works submitted to the Sangam .

The fa ct tha t one author of the eleven th or twelfthcentury does not mention a work of a number ofcenturies earl ier is, a t the best, very unreliable a s

evidence of relat ive chronology . There i s a verse inpra ise of Man imékha lai, ascribed t o Am bikh apathi the

son of poet Kamban ; and Sivaprakasa Swami, a Sa ivaof much la ter times, refers to th e sam e work in glowingterms . Buddh amitra might not have known the work

or much ra ther, might not have seen occa sion to

mention i t or refer to it .

It is hi gh time tha t these t ime- honoured theorie s

were given up and the ques ti on be approa ched with the

d i s engagement demanded by historica l r esea rch . Thefa ct tha t we have not a s yet com e a cros s inscriptions

of a period ea rl i er than the fifth century of the

Christian era ,l ea ds to the inference in certa in

qua rters, tha t the a lphabets were not known in SouthIndia befor e the third century A . D . Most of the in

s cription s we know of, a re inscriptions found in temples,an d the grea t maj ority of temples were buil t and ol d

384 ANC IENT INDIA

ones were endowed a fter the overthrow of the Bud

dhistic a scendency in the South . L i tera ture til l recent ly,wa s handed down mostly by word of mouth, thoughthe stil e and the pa lmyra l ea f were often ca l l ed into

requi s it ion a s a va luabl e auxilia ry . It wil l be some

time before the literarv history of the Tami l language

a tta ins definitenes s but there is good rea son to hopetha t the trend of it wil l be a long the l ines indica ted

a bove .

386 ANCIENT INDIA

the pyre of her husband . The former i s a stone erected

in memory of a man who di splayed va lour, eith er on

the field of ba ttle or by some other a ct of persona lcourage . The erection of memoria l s tones in honour

of a fa llen hero i s as old a s the days of the Kura l , i . e.a t l ea st a s ear ly a s the initia l centurie s of the Christianera , and there are innumerable examples sca ttered

through the Mysore Province . There are, nevertheles s,others record ing ca ses of self- immola tion, which were

the re su lt of a vow, and in the volumes of the Epi

grap hia Ca rnata ka brought out by Mr . Rice, a numberof inscript ions on thes e memoria l s tones have beenbrought to l ight . Most of them record a cts performedin pursuance of vows ra ther of a civi l than of a rel i gious

n ature .

Tha t religion did indeed sanction self - immolat ioni s borne out by the bel ief tha t such acts a lwa ys forced

open the ga tes of heaven to receive th e performers,

in spite of the cynica l proverb tha t ‘no one ought

to pul l out his tongue to die on an ekadasi day,

’ 1and

of the popu lar notion tha t the sui cide cannot go to

heaven, except by spending the rest of his a l l ottedearthly span a s a wandering devi l, hovering about h i s

usua l habi ta t . Notwithstanding these beli efs , we havenumerous instances of Ja ins performing the act of

sa l lékh ana , i . e . death brought on by sta rva t ion . The

Chalukya emperor Ahavama l l a Somésvara , when a tta ck

ed with a ma l ignant fever , went to Svarga (heaven) byplunging into the Tungabhadra a fter a regu lar con

fes sion of fa ith in Siva . In the sa l l ékh ana ceremony,

men and women a l ike took pa rt and devoted themselves

to contempla tion of th e divinity for days without foodor wa ter, and we have numbers of instances in the

Sravana Belagola Records . I now give a number of

l Th e el eventh day a fter fu l l or new moon, regarded a s a particularly

good day on which to die .

EXAMPLES OF MEN 387

instanc es of m en putting an end to themse lves withouta ny direc t motive of re ligion

, a l though fa ith , such a s

it wa s , did under l i e most of the a cts .Two ins cr ipt ions found in the Arka lgud Taluq inthe Ha ssan d is tri ct record instances of friends having

thrown themselves into the fire out of sorrow for theirlate ma sters , the Ganga kings Nitimargg a and SatyaVakya , respectively . A third ca se to the point is givenin an in script ion in Kadur, da ted about A . D . 1180 . Th e

g overnor of As andinad d ied ,or

, a s th e inscription ha sit,

‘ la id s iege to Indra ’s Amaravati’

. On th is Bammayya Nayaka , the slave of Sankam a le,

‘ showed theway to Svarga ’

. The next instance , Masanayya’

younger broth er Boppanna ,

‘ making good hi s wordfor th e occa sion ’

, went to heaven on th e dea th ofTailappa , the rul er of Banavas e, etc in A . D . 1030 .

\Vh a t the occa s ion wa s and why he took this vow i snot vouchsa fed to u s to know . Perhaps , it wa s a vowtha t the minis ter’s brother took to show his a tta chmentto his sovereign . Such vows, once ma de , were ap

par en tly not merely expected to be ca rried out ; but

s ometimes the vota ry wa s a sked to mak e good his

word, a s in the fo l lowing instance . In th e fifth yea r

of Tribhuvanania l la Vira Somesvara , i . e . A . D . 1185

his senior queen L a chcha la Devi went to heaven .

B6ka , an officer of the king , h ad previous ly taken a

vow :‘ I wil l die with the D evi.

’ ‘

On his ma ster

ca l ling him , say ing,“

you a re the brave m an who with

resolution have spoken of taking off your head,

” withno l ight courage , Edka gave his hea d, while the world

a pplauded,say ing He did so at the very instant The

word spoken with ful l reso lve i s not to be broken .

The next instance I have to exhibi t, records a vow

taken even wi thout a persona l motive, a s in the

preceding ca ses . A certa in Tuluva, Chandiya, took a

vow‘

not to l et h is finger - na il s grow ’

, if the Banavase F ort shoul d b e disposed of in a manner he did

388 ANCIENT INDIA

not approve of . It so happened tha t Bal lavara sa

and Satyasraya D eva j ointly ma de a grant of the fort

and a temple endowment in the twe lve - thousandcountry . Upon this the Tuluva , Chandiya ,

‘ cuttingoff the finger which he h ad given at the Permalu

temple and cl imbing the Bh érundesvara Pil la r leaped

upon the point of a spea r and gained the world of

gods f

Here i s anoth er vow made from an entirely differentmotive . Votive offerings of the nature of tha t fol lowingare made nowadays a l so

,but by the person who i s

the d irect recipient of th e favour sought . This case

i s,however, pecu l iar from the fa ct that the vow wa s

taken, not by the party d i rectly concerned, but by a

fr iend . In A . D. 1 123 whi le Vikramaditya VI was

emperor,and his governor of Banavas e wa s Ramayya ,

the Mah aéamanta (grea t lord) Boppara sa and hi s wifeSiriya D evi, surrounded by a l l the subjects

,were in

the temple at the rice - fiel ds , the cowherd, Marana’

son DskiNayaka , made a vow, saying :‘ If the king

obta in a son, I will g ive my head to swing on th epol e for the God of Kondasabhavi Thi s i snothing more, so far a s the deta i l s of th e deed are

concerned , than the hook - swinging of modern times,

but, as h a s been pointed out above, the vow is takenby an a ttendant and not by the princ ipa l par ty .

All thes e instances show clearly tha t, when th erewa s enough atta chment to persons, or even to i dea s

the peop le of Ind ia did not d i splay much respect forl ife, but showed themse lves ready to ofier ‘ even the

most pr ec ious thing on earth, a s though it were a

careles s trifle .’

Th e suprem e instance of such throwing

away of the most pr ec ious thing wa s the sui c ide,. purely

from persona l afiection , of the genera l of Vira Bel lala,Kuvara Lakshm ana (or Kumara Lakshma) with hi swife Suggala Devi and the army which was a ttached

to him (at l ea st of a sel ect part of it) . Enva ra Lakshma

CHAPTER XVII

THE A GNIKULA THE F IRE -RACE

IN one of his interesting contributions entit led Some

P roblems of Ancien t Indian His tory, published in the

Journa l of the Roya l A sia tic Society,1905 , p . 1 ff. ,

Dr . Hoern le regards the P aramara Rajputs a s the only

family tha t la id cla im to belong to th e Agnikul a or

F ire - ra ce before the time of the poet Chand (loc . ci t . ,p . a nd , so far, the evidence a l l seems to point to

any such cla im not being found ea rl ier than the midd l e

of the el eventh century . Tha t, however , does not

preclude an ea rl i er existence of th e legend . It wou l dbe int eresting

,therefore

,if the legend cou ld be tra ced

to an ea rl ier period th an tha t of the P aramara s of

Malva . In the early c la ssi ca l l itera ture of the Tamils,there is a referen ce to this same l eg end , and th ere

appears to h ave been in th a t part of India a familyof ancient chiefs who cla imed descent from the sa cri

ficia l fire .

There have been in the Tam i l land a certa in number

of chiefs , whose names have been handed down to

posteri ty a s the La st Seven Pa trons of L etters,the

patron p a r excel lence among them ha ving been Par i

of Paramb unadu . This chief h ad a l ife- long friendin the person of a highly esteemed Brahman , Kapilar,

who was a poet sui generis in a pa rti cula r depa rtment

of the poetica l art.

‘ The three crowned kings of thesouth ,

’—th e Chera , the Chola , and the Pandya ,

—growingjea l ous of the power and prosperity of Pari a s a pa tron

of poets, la id siege conj ointly to his hil l - fort , Mu l lfi r .

Pari having fa l len a vi ctim to this combina tion ,i t fe l l

IRUNGovEL or ARAYAM 391

to the lot of hi s Brahman friend to get hi s daughterssuitably married , to bring about a cceptab le ma rriage sbeing one of the s ix specia l duties of Brahmans inth e socia l system . He , therefore, took the girl s oversucces sively to two ch iefs , Vichchikkon and Pul i KadiMal Irungovel of A rayam . Th i s la tter Chief i s addres sedby the poet in these terms : Having come out of thesacrificia l fire - pi t of the Rish i—h aving ru led over the

camp of Dvarapati, whose high wa l l s looked a s thoughthey were bui lt of copper— having com e a fter forty - ninegenera tions of pa trons never d isgusted with g ivingthou art the pa tron among pa tron s .

’ l The a l lus ionto the coming out of the sa crificia l fi r e of the sagecannot but refer to the same in cident a s the othervers ions discussed by Dr . Hoern le . The ch ief thusaddressed wa s a pettv chief of a pla ce ca l l ed A r ayam ,

composed of the sma l ler and the larger cities of th at

name , in the western hil l - coun try, somewhere in theregions of the IVestern Ghat s in Mys ore .

The more important qu estion ,exa ctl y relevant to

the discussion, i s : Wha t is the time of this authorand his hero ? This ha s , so fa r, reference to timesanterior to epigraph ica l records , and h a s therefore to

be considered on l itera ry da ta a lone . Thi s poet,Kapilar, i s connected with a number of ch ie fs and k ings,and i s one of a ga laxy of poets of high fame in c la ss ica l

Tamil l i tera tur e . According to the Tira vilaiyada l

Pa ranam , Kapilar wa s born in Tiruvadavfir, and wa s

a Brahman by birth . Th e trad i tion that he wa s one

of the seven chi ldren of the Brahman Bh ag avan ,

through the non - ca ste woman Adi, i s not wel l supported

by reliabl e l itera ry evidence . l -l ut i f th is trad ition

be true (there a re some incons i s tent elements in it) ,he must h ave been the brother of Tiruva l luva r , the

author of the Kum l , and of the poetess Avvaiyar . This

P n ra n d’

n a ru,200, 201 . Pandit Swaminatha Ivcr

s Edition .

392 ANC IENT INDIA

rela tionship, however, i s nowhere in evidence in contem

porary l i tera ture .

So far a s they are ava i lable at present, his works ,a l l of them being a

‘ Paradi se of Da inty Devices'

Tamil l i t era ture, are :

1 . The seventh of the P a dirruppa ttn, the Ten - Tens,

in pra i se of the Cheraman Selvakkadungovaliyadan .

2 . Kurifij ipp attu of P attuppattu, the Ten - Idy l ls , to

tea ch Brah a s ta , the Aryan king, Tamil .

3 . Aingurnnarn ,Ku rir‘

ij i Section ,the whole anthology

having be en collected and brought out by Kuda lurKi lar for the Chera

‘ Prince of the E lephant - eye ’

(Yanaikkatchey) .

4 . Inna,

‘ tha t which i s evi l and a s such to be

avoided,’

5 . Twenty stanza s in Na rrinai, 29 in Kurnnthogai,16 in A ha naniirn , and 31 in Purananurn .

Kapil ar appears, from his works , and from the h ighesteem in which he wa s held by his contemporaries,poets and potenta tes, and from the grea t approva l

with which he i s quoted by gramma rians and oommen

tators a l ike,to have been a s pecia l i st in composing

poems rela t ing to Ka rinj i, i. e . the hill - country , th i sbeing the scene of th e inward feelings evoked, such

a s l ove, and the outwa rd a ct ion induced by inwa rdfee lings . As to deta i l s of his l ife, we have but l i tt leinforma tion . Of course, he sang in pra i se of the

Cheraman Selvakkadungo, and received a largerewa rd . Otherwise, he appea rs to have been th e

l ife - l ong guest and intima te friend of his pa tron,Pari

of P arambunadu . It wa s a ft er the dea th of th isch ief tha t the poet went about with his daughters toobta in for them el igible hu sbands, and tha t th e a l lu

s ive reference to the Agnikula descent wa s made for

Irungovél .

This Pari of P a ram bunadu wa s one of the Seven

Pa tron s , bes ides the Three Kings, who flourished about

394 ANCIENT INDIA

which the Maharaj a s of Travancore a re nowaday s

s ty led .

Kapilar i s genera l ly a ss ocia ted with Para p a r ; and

the two togeth er a re usua l ly spoken of by the elder

commentators Kap ila - Pa rana r. Th a t th i s is due to

con temporaneou sness, is proved by the fa ct tha t Kapil ar

wa s an elder contempora ry of ‘ the Chera of th e

El ephant - l ook ’ in whose reign the A ingnrunnrn col l ec

tion, of which Kapilar composed th e third pa rt, wa s

made by Kuda lur Kila r, a Sangam cel ebrity . F urther,both these poets

,Kapilar and Pa rah a r , interceded

with P éhan on beha l f of his W ife when he deserte dher in favour of a sweethea rt . Thus , then, Kapilar and

P aranar were contempora ries, and the la t ter celebra ted

Seng uttuvan Sera in the third sect ion of th e Ten - Tens .

This, therefore, takes the Agnikula tradit ion to th e

a ge of Senguttuvan , who wa s the grandson of Ka r ikala - Chola . This Karikala i s placed in the L eydenGra nt and in the Ka ling a ttupp a ra ni fa r anterior toP a rantaka I ; and the Silapp a dhi/cdrani i tsel f makes

Senguttuvan the contempora ry of a G a jabahu ofCeylon

,whose da t e is h eld to be A . D. 113—135 .

The name of Pari h ad become proverbia l for l iber

a l ity in the days of Sunda ramurti- Nayanar . This la tt er

mus t have l ived centur ies before Raja raja the Grea t,a s some of his gran ts make dona t ions to the image of

the Nayanar . It wa s Rajaraja’

s contemporary , Nambi

Andar Nambi , who elabora ted the Tirn ttonda ttogai

of Sunda ra . On these and o ther considera t ions,Sundaramurti h a s been a l lotted to the eighth century of theChristian era

,and therefore Kapil a r and oth ers have

to be looked for at a re spectable distance anterior tothis . F or, between the da t e of Sunda ra and the fifthcentury A . D . , the P a l lava s of Kanchi occupied th e

premier posit ion in South India, and there i s absolutely

no reference to this in the body of the l itera tur e towhich the works under cons ideration belong .

TRADITION TRACEABLE To F IRST CENTURY A . D . 395

The Chera capita l , a s given in a l l these works,i s

Vanj i , on the west coast, a t the mouth of the Periyar ;while the Chola capita l wa s Uraiyi

ir . In the later

period , from the days of Ku lasekha ralvar ,the Chera

capita l certa inly wa s Qui l on . This change is sa id tohave taken pla ce , a ccord ing to tradi tion

, a fter thedays of Ch eraman - P erumal , who wa s a contemporaryof Sunda ra . Besides this , the language of the who l eof the south wa s Tami l ; Ma layalam h ad not yetbecome differentia ted from i t . These considera tions ,aga in , wou l d lead us to refer Kapilar and the ga laxyto a period anterior to the seventh century , accordingto even the most unfavourable es tima te . But, inpo int of fa ct , the t ime referred to i s much earl ierthan this . The contemporaneousness of G ajabahurefers th e period of Ka pilar to the second century A . D .

and thi s , so far , h as not been shown to be incorrect .

There wa s a t any ra te a king G a jabahu previous tothe days of Mahanaman , the author of the earl i er

pa rt of the Ma hdvaméa .

Thus , then , the tra dition of a ra ce of rulers whose

eponymous ancestor wa s born from the sa crificia l fire

of a Rishi i s fa r older than the period for which Dr .

Hoern le ha s found authori ty . This does not necessita tethe affi l ia tion of the on e dynasty to the o ther . It

only shows th a t the legend i s very much older, and

might have been l a id hold of by rul ing families at

great di s tances, and otherwi s e unconnec ted , for theembel lishment of th eir genea logies , just a s in the

ca se of the heroic G reek s of yore .

CHAPTER. XVIII

THE A GE OF NAMMAL VAR

UNDER the unpretentious head ing Some P oints in

the A rchaeologica l Rep ort for 1 902 - 3 ,Mr . Pichaimuttu,

B . A . , L .

’l‘ di scu sses in the pages of the Chris tian

C ol lege Ma g a z ine for F ebruary , 1904, the date of

Nammalvar, one of the twelve Va i shnava sa ints of

Southern India and a rrives a t the conc lu sion tha t‘ i t

i s l ikely he l ived in the ninth century A . D .

G 0pinatha Rao, M . A .,arrives at t he same conclusion

by another l ine of a rgument . This conclus ion , i fc orrect

,would be another mil e - stone in Tamil l itera ry

hist ory, and it will be excused if I venture in the

s ame field and offer a few of my own observa tions on

the same subj ect, having h ad occa s ion to study some

p arts at lea st of th e l i tera ture bearing on thi s question .

Before, however, proc e eding to s ta te my own vi ewson the question, it wi l l be wel l to pa s s in review thea rguments adduced in favour of the conclus ions a l rea dya rrived at by those tha t have pr eceded me in thi s

q ues tion .

Mr . Pich aimuttu a rrives a t his conclusion from the

fol lowing cons idera tions 2‘ The works of Nammalvar are ca l led Drdvida Veda .

Madurakavi had them publ i sh ed and establi shed their

s a credness before a council of 300 men under the

presidency of the roya l poet, Kamba Nattalvar , during

the Sanga days of the Pandya kings .’ ‘ It is popula rly

s upposed tha t Kambanadan visi ted the Pandya capita l

of Madura . It i s l ikely that, in one of hi s vi sit s , he

398 ANC IENT INDIA

of Nathamuni, the latest of the Alvars , Tiruman

gaimannan had bui l t a shrine and arranged for therecita l of the TirucBymoliin Srirangam . This a rrangement having been a l lowed to fa l l into d esuetude,Nath amunihad to revive it and for this very purpo s ehe had to make the pilgrimage to A lvar Tirunagari.I sha l l show other reasons for rega rding the view as

being untenable and will take up the other ca se for

c onsidera tion .

Nammalvar’

s works are not merely ca lled, by the“

courtesy of posterity, the Drdvida Veda , but are

professedly the rendering of the Veda s in Tamil .The Tiruvfiymoli being the substance of the

Sama Veda , the Tiruvirnttam 100,the Tiruva éiriyam

7 and P eriya tiruvandddi 100 are respectively therendering, in brief, of the Big , Yajus and Ath arva

Veda .

According to traditi on no doubt Madurakavipubl i shed

th e Tirnvbymoli and m ay have got it s sacredness

acknowledged in the Sangam Ass embly—but certa inlynot under th e presiden cy of Kamban, for Kambannever did pres ide, nor ever could have, over the

Sangam , a s wil l presently be shown .

Kamban, th e author of the Ramdyanam, often refers

in the cours e of his work to a patron, not a roya lsovereign

, but a pla in Muda liar by name Sadayappah

of Vennainal l fir . It is highly improbabl e that, if everhe h ad a royal patron, he would not have mentioned

his name, while he systema tica l ly refers to Sadayappah

at regular interva l s . Aga in so far a s I know the story,

he is sa id to have betaken h imse lf to the Chera cour t

and not to the Pandya , but the deta il s of th e story

stamp it a s untrue in the ma in . Even according to

trad ition the Sangam is sa id to have gone out of

exi s t ence with Kim Pandya or Sunda ra Pandya or

Nedumaran the contemporary and discip le of Tirugnana

Sambanda (seventh century

VAISHNAVA REVIVAL 399

If Kamban wa s ever in a posi t ion to preside overthe Safig am ,

how wa s i t tha t h e had to wander fromp lace to pla ce seeking approva l for his Rdmdyanam ?He had to get the approva l of the Brahmans ofChidambaram and of the a s sembl y of d ivine s at Sri

rangam . Over this a ssembly pres ided Nath amuni, and

i t wa s to plea se him and his confreres that he h adto compose and recite th e Sha da gdp a ra ndd di 100 inpra i se of Nammalvar . In the fa ce of th is work

,it i s

pas s ing s trange tha t the two gentlemen should haveso thoroughly mi staken the rela tion of Kamban to

Nammalvar .

F urther Mr . Pich aimuttu sta tes tha t there was a

Va ishnava reviva l between the eighth and the eleventh

centuries A . D. It m ay be so, but what is ther e toconnect the A lvars w i th this reviva l ? It is, to say the

l ea st, mis leading to sta te tha t the preva i ling rel ig ionbefore that t ime wa s Sa iva . If it do es nothing else

this begs the quest ion . We have abundant reference toVa i shnava s and their temples much anterior t o this

not only in l itera ture but a l so in inscript ions . Not to

mention others Koch eng an Chola buil t t emples to

Vishnu and Siva a l ik e ; and this could not have beenmerely for theoret ica l impa rtia l ity without a pra ctica l

demand . Paramesvara Va rman F a llava and his grandfather bu il t temple s to Vishnu at Kanchi and Maha

balipuram . Tha t the Pandya and Ila kings were

Buddhis t before the day s of Manikkavasagar provesnothing in this connex ion, a s in fact Kun Pandya wa s

a Buddhi st . The fa ct is tha t from very ea r ly times

the votaries of these different relig ions l ived together,and i t d id not make much difference genera l ly whatthe part icu la r persua sion of the ru ler for the time

being was .

To return to Nammalvar . I have a l ready pointed

out that Nammalvar’

s works h ad l ong been publ ished

and ha d acqui red wide celebrity, but cou l d not be

400 ANCIENT INDIA

obta ined in th e days of Nath amuni except at the Alva r’

birthplace . In those days this ce l ebrity could not have

been a tta ined in a short period of t ime . Nathamuni

wa s , a ccording to trad ition, the contemporary of

Kamban whose work Sha da gip a randddi deifies the

Al var . This c i rcumstance aga in suggests considerable

lapse of t ime . Ramanuja , the famous reformer of the

Va i shnava s, came in the fi fth genera tion from Natha

muni,not in officia l succession only but a l so in actual

desc ent ; and Ram anuja’

s l ife, A . D . 1017—1137 , i s’

co eva l

with the Chola a scendency in Southern India . Therefore

,we must a ssign Nath am uni at lea st to a century

earl ier, and this brings u s quite cl ose to the tra dit iona l

Saka 807 (A . D . 885) for Kamban’

s Rdmdyanam. No

sound argument aga ins t this da te for Kamban has ,

s o far a s I know, been brought forward except th es ta tement tha t the Chola ru l er at the t ime wa s a

Rajendra (ident ified with Kulottunga I) .1 The name

Rajendra i s so common among the ru lers of th e Choladyna sty that we cannot at a l l be positive a s to whichp ersonage it actua l ly refers to without extraneous support . Even for thi s mere sta tement there i s no very

good authority . If then Nathamuni l ived about A . D .

900 we must go ba ck for Tirum an gaiA lvar a century ortwo, so a s to a llow time for his a rrangements a t Sri

rangam for the worship of Namm alvar to fa l l intodesuetude . We must go back aga in from thi s time forNammalvar, if a l ready he h ad become a sa in t worthyof being worshipped in a public p la ce of worship of thedigni ty of The Temple ’

of the Va i shnava s (Sriran

gam) .

Reserving a ful ler examina tion of TirumangaiA lvar’s

his tory for a future occa s ion , it i s quite in place to re

mark here tha t hi s and Kulasékharalvar’s works were

considered of sufficient sanctity to warrant provi sion

1 Vide ante note on p. 378 .

CHAPTER XIX

TIRUMANGAI AL I/AR AND H IS DATE

PARADOXICAL a s it may seem, it is nevertheless thefact tha t , a lthough a gr ea t dea l h a s been writtenconcerning the Va ishnava sa ints and devotees , theirhistory ha s yet to be written . There h a s , unfortuna tely,been too grea t a tendency in the writers, grea t and

sma ll, to refer them to periods, more a s i t suitedtheir preconceived notions a s to the recent origin of

Vaishnavaism in g enera l , than on any d i s pas s iona teexamina tion of such evidence, imperfect in its na ture

of course, a s i s ava i lable . It wou ld not be going overqu ite a bea ten track to bring together here suchhistorica l informa tion a s h a s been brought to l ight

sett ing as ide th e extreme Sa iva arguments of Tiru

ma laikkolundu Pil la i and his school on th e one s i de,and the ardent Va i shnava view of A . Govinda Cha rlu

and his school on the other . This is not becaus e I

do not apprecia te their learning, but because the one

school wou ld deem nothing imposs ible of belief , whil ethe other wou ld see nothing tha t could not be made

to lend i t self to giving the most anci ent of these

s a ints a date somewhere about the end of the fi rst

m i l lennium a fter Christ . G 0pinath a Rao belongs to a

differ ent schoo l , and in hi s recent ambitious a ttem pt

(in the Ma dra s Review for 1905) at a history of

Vaishnavaism in South India , he h as come to certa in

conclusions, which wou l d certa inly have commanded

finvZ Rs AND KCHKRYA S 403

a s sent, but for a too transpa rent tendency to establ ishc erta in conclusions .W i thou t pretending to s ay the la st word on the

s ubj ect, I sha l l merely put forward certa in fa ct s and

a rguments I have been able to ga ther in my studies,

and the note s tha t I have made from the writings ofsome of my friends

,who have been pursuing s imila r

research, an d leave it to my readers to draw the irown conclus ions , while not depriving myself of thepleasure of making such inferences a s appear to mewa rranted . I m ay a t th e outset acknowledge myobliga tion s to my friend Pand it Raghavaiyangar,

Assis tant Ed itor of the Sea Tamil , who ha s withrema rkable courtesy pla ced some of h is notes at my

di sposa l, and h a s been of grea t help to me in looking

up r eferences to l it erature .

The Va i shnava s, l ike their confréres of other sects,

tra ce their hiera rchy of gurus (preceptors in re l igion)from G od himsel f . Putt ing the transluna ry pa rt on

one side , and coming down to terra firma , their li stconsi st s of names divided into two broad cla sses, entitl ed,in Va i shnava pa r lance, the A lvars and Acharya s . There

are twelve among th e former , and a la rge number

among the la tter , which is being added to by ea chsepara te s ect or unit a t the deceas e of the exi s ting

guru for the t ime being . Without going into th e

deta il s of the hagio logy of these sa ints and preceptors,we a re enabled to col lec t the A lvars, from the traditiona l accounts a lone, into three groups—the ancient

the midd l e, and the la st .The l is t of the twe lve A lvars, with their trad i tiona l

da tes of birth , i s a s fol l ows :

PoygaiAlvar

Bhutattart.AncaenPéy Alvar

404 ANC IENT INDIA

(Nammalvar 3102 B . C

Madhurakavi 3 102

Middle. Kula s'

ekhara 3075

(Periy AIVEI

' 3056

Andal 3005

Tondaradippodi 2814

La st Tiruppan Alvar 2760

Tirum angaiAlvar 2706

Disrega rd ing th ese appa rent ly definite da tes,in

which, however , most Tamil works , particu la rly those

of a religious chara cter, are pecu l iarly weak, i t i s sti l l

p ossible to regard thi s tradi tiona l order a s fa i rl y in

chronologica l sequence . Even the Va ishnava hagio logi st shave very l itt l e t o s ay about the first group . Theirinformat ion about the second is meagre, whil e of th ethird they have something to say tha t m a y be hi storica l

The name a t th e head of the paper is the verv la st ,and there are certa in facts concerning him

,which

cannot l ightly be pa ssed over by any one who trie s toexamine the chronology of the A lvars .

Tirumang ai Alvar is the author of th e larg estnumber stanza s , of th e verses of the

Va i shnava Pra bha 'ndam) , Nammalvar coming next

with a number a lmost a s grea t . He belonged to theKa l la r ca ste and wa s born at Kuraya l fir in A liNadu in

the Shiyal i ta luk of the Tanjore distr ict . There hepursued,

when he grew up to man’s estate, th e

p rof ession of hi s fa ther, which wa s of a duplexcharacter—the government of a sma l l d i strict under

the reigning Chola and the playing the knight of thehighwa y, in both of which capa citi es he a ppears to

have achieved grea t d ist inction . The critica l stage ofhi s l ife wa s rea ched when he fel l in love with the

found l ing daught er of a Va i shnava physician , who wou ld

not ma rry him unles s he reformed and became a

Va i shnava . He went to Tirunaraiyfir, nea r Kumbha

406 ANCIENT INDIA

of Tirumangaimannan,namely, his works in th e

P ra bhanda and the build ings he undertook in th e

temple a t Srirangam . It i s certa inly very unfortuna tetha t tradit ion h a s not preserved the name of th e Chola

ru ler whose va ssa l the Alvar wa s . This omiss ion is

s ignificant of th e fact tha t he wa s not contemporaneous

with any grea t Chola ru ler , a l though even these latter

a re never named Spec ifica l ly enough under simi la rc ircumstances . Th a t he wa s the la te st of th e sa int s is

amply borne out bv the fa ct tha t he celebra te s most ,i f not a l l , of the now well - known t emples to Vishnu inInd ia ,

while others cel ebrate only a few . The destruo

tion of the rich Buddhi st sanctuary a t Negapa tam

and the frequent references he makes to the Buddhist s

themselves in his works refer u s to times anterior tothe centuries of Chola a scendency, which i s aga in

ind irect ly borne out by the robber chiefta in havingbeen succes sfu l in hi s defiance of h is Chola suzera in .

Tha t Negapa tam wa s th e h ead - qua rters of a Buddhi st

sect i s borne out by th e references to the pla ce insuch Tami l c la ssics a s the P ermianbdnd fr rupp a dai.

This fa ct is attested even to - dav by a pla ce not far

off being known a s Buddankottam , a l though it i s now

a Brahman vi llage . These fa cts , in conjunction withreferences to the P a l l ava s in the P eriya tirumoli, wou ldrefer the Alvar to the age of the P a l lava a scendency

previous to the r is e of tha t Chola power which

wielded imperia l sway over Sou th Ind ia from thet enth to the fourteenth century a fter Chr is t .

The P a l lava a scendency wa s coeva l w ith tha t of th eear ly Western Chalukya period and vanished not l ong

a fter the rise of the Rashtrakutas , who overthrewtheir enemies , the Western Chalukya s . Before a dducingpositive evidenc e tha t tends towards th i s conclusion ,

we have to examine critica l ly th e Opinions offered byothers a s to the age of the A lvar . Bishop Ca ldwel l

and those tha t fo l lowed him cou ld be excused,if

REVIEW OF EVIDENCE 407

they he ld tha t these were d i s ciples of Ramanuja,a s nowadays G 0pinatha Rao i s wil l ing to bel ievetha t Tirumangai Alva-r and other later Alvars wer e

contempora ries, if not a ctua l ly d isc iples, of Alavandar,Ramanuja

s great - grandfa ther . In support of thisview he quotes a stanza from a work ca l l ed Koiloluhu,

which is a history of th e Srirangam temple . In thes tanza a street, ca l led a fter Tirum angai Alvar . comesnext to a s treet ca ll ed a fter a Rajamah éndra . Thisla tter i s identified with the son and successor of theRaj endra who fought th e ba ttl e of Koppam in A . D. 1053 .

Hence h e infers tha t Tirumangai A lvar must havel ived in the la tter ha l f of the eleventh century .

That Ram anuja h ad read and h ad derived muchwisdom from the works of this la st of the Alvars i sin evidence

,s o a s to sa tis fy the most fa s t id ious student

of history , in the cen tum known a s the Rdiridnuj a

n a rra nld l zddhi, a work composed during the lifetime

of Ramanuja by a convert an d pupi l of hi s own dis ciple

Kfirattalvar . This connexion between Amudan , the

author of the centum , and Karattalvar i s borne out

by stanza s even of the centum and th e old Gurup a ram

pa ra i of Pinba l agya Jiya r, stanza s 8—21 . The former

a cknow ledges Ramanuja’

s indebtedness to a l l the twelve

A lvars and th e two ea rly Acharya s, Nathamuni and

hi s grandson Sl avandar . Thi s inconvenient pi ece of

evidence h a s been a ccorded no pla ce in the a rray of

evidence and authoritie s pa s sed in review by G 0pi

natha Rao.

To pa ss on to the posi t ive evidence ava i lable, theVa i shnavas a lways rega rded the A lva-rs higher in

spiri tua l esta te than the Acharya s , not merely a s

such, but a l so a s being more ancient , and they mus thave h ad some rea son for making thi s distinction . If

Tirumangai A lvin and others of that class had been

1 Madra s Review,F eb rua ry and May,1905 .

—History of the Srivaishn ava movemen t.

408 ANCIENT INDIA

d is ciples of A lavandar, why ca l l this la tter only an

Acharya and his d iscipl es A lvars , the idol s of theAlvars being pla ced in templ es and worsh ipped , whilethose of most of the Acharya s are not . L eaving thi sa side a s the outcome of a most un rea sonabl e pa rtia l ityon the pa rt of the Va ishnava s, we have other evid enceto fa l l back upon . Inscriptions of Raj araj a II , aboutthe midd l e of th e twelfth century, conta in the unu sua lname Arattamukkidasan— th e first part of which isa specia l t itle of Tirumangai Al var . Next , princeChola Kera la , about the midd le of th e eleventh centurymade provision for the rec ita l of Tiruned z cnrl dn rla l z am ,

one of the works of Tirum angai Alvar , which wou ld

be extraord inary i f he h ad been living at the timeand working to a ccumu la te merit and ea rn his t itl eto sa intl in ess

,especia l ly a s his life wa s , during th e

g rea ter part of it, fa r from sa intly .

Tha t Tirum angai Al var wa s not a d i sciple of Alavandar is a l so made proba bl e by a stanza in pra i s e of

his work by Tirukkottiyi‘

ir Nambi , from whom Ramamuj a h ad to l ea rn , which goes to show tha t thi sAlvar’s works h a d been regula rly stud ied and handeddown from preceptor to di scip le for some time at

l ea s t . Aga in , the conquering Chola brothers, Rajadhiraj a who fe l l at the ba ttl e of Koppam , and his youngerbrother Rajendra who succ eeded him,

h ad an e lder

brother by name A lavandan . If thi s name wa s givento him because of the Acharya ,

the la tter must havebeen a nterior to him by a cons iderable interva l , a s even

now the name is specia l ly Va i shnava .

This would make Alavandar’

s grandfa ther Nathamuni much prior to the ag e a scribed to him byG 0 pinatha Rao. He lays much s tres s upon the fact

tha t Nathamuniwa s a ccustomed to g oing to Ganga ikonda Cholapuram , founded by G angaikon da Chola ,

1 Epigraphist's Report for 1900, p . 10 .

410 ANCIENT INDIA

much for the Srirangam templ e . Even a ccording to

G 0pinatha Rao,the only Chola tha t is referred to

e labora tely by the A lvar is the ancient Cho la c h

chengan in the decad regarding Tirun araiyfir . This, incombina tion with references t o the éang am in the bodyof the work

,brings him later than the ag e of either .

But another decad in pra i s e of th e P a ram ésvara

Vinnagar a t Kanchi g ives in grea t deta i l the a chi eve

ments of a P a l lava ruler , whom Dr . Hu ltz sch considersto be identica l with P a ram éévaravarm an II from th e

name of the shrine . This i s not a necessa ry inference , a s any other P a l l ava paramount sovereign mighthave had the tit l e F a l lava P aram ésva ra , and the

founda tion , when contra cted ,might have become Pa ra

m ésvara Vinnag aram ,e . g . Vidya Vinita P a l lava Pa ra

mésva ram . And notwith standing the deta il s given inthe decad,

it does not find support from what is known

of P aram ésvaravarm an II . This P a l lava sovereign ,wha tever his name , won vic torie s over hi s enemies at

Mannai, Nenme li, and Ka rfi r . At Karur he foughtaga inst the Pandya and at Nenm eliaga ins t th e Vil l avan

(Chera ) , but th e enemy a t Manua i i s not specified .

If these names could be identified with places where

U daya Chandra won v ictories for his ma ster Nandi

varm an P a l lavam a l la or Nandipottaraja , then the A lvarmust have l ived a fter Nandivarm an ,

or,at the earl iest,

dur ing his reign .

Among these victories we find mention of a defeatof the P andya s at Mannaikkudi and the taking of

Kalidurga.

l Mannaikkudim ay be the A lvar’s Mannai,

and Kalidurga the A lvar’s ‘

Kunrail’

. Ka rur a s such

does not find mention in the inscriptions . It m ay be

tha t this name refers to an incident in which U dayaChandra played no part . Then comes Ne lvé li, where

1 Vida S . Ind . In s , vol . ii, pt. iii, No. 74 . F l eet, Bombay Ga z etteer,vol . i, pt. ii, pp . 326 - 7 .

VA IRAMEGHA , OVERLORD 411

Udaya Chandra won a vic tory ; but the Alvar speaks ofN enm e li

, and the war wa s between the P a l l ava and

the Chera (Vil lavan ) . It i s probabl e tha t these sepa ra te

incidents refer to d ifferent P a l l ava princ es who worshipped Vishnu a t the P aram ééva ra Vinnag aram shrine .

“ih a tever be the rea l na ture of these references,

whether they refer to one P a l lava Nandiva rm an or tos evera l , such a s Simha Vishnu

, Pa ram ésvarava rm an and

Nandivarm an (in fa ct, a l l the Va i shnava P a l l ava s ) , it i scl ea r tha t we have to look for the da te of the Alvarwhile the Ba l lava s were sti l l in power and the Cho lash ad not come in to prominence .

There is one reference . however, which shou ld giveu s a na rrow enough l imit for hi s time . In thela st stanza of the deca d, immed ia tely pr eced ing tha tjust cons idered in ce lebra ting the shrine of A shtabhujka ram in Kanchi, he makes wha t , in his ca s e, appears

a s a somewha t pecul ia r reference to a certa in Vairameghan ,

‘ bowed down to by the ru l er of the people

of th e Tonda country whose a rm y (or strength)surrounded Kanchi’ In a l l references made to rul ers ,he h a s specified peopl e who h a d made specia l dona tions

to Vishnu ,whether with resp ect to Chidamba ram ,

Tripl icane or Tirunaraiyr‘

ir . In this ca se a lone i s the

reference made in a secula r fa shion . Besides thi s,the language ind ica ting th e conn exion wa rrants the

inference tha t the reference i s made to a l ivingperson . In the commenta ry of Periya Achan Pilla i,Vairame

gh an i s expla ined by the term chakrava rt i

(emperor ) . Thus i t i s c lear that , at th e t ime referred

to,there wa s a P a l la va ru l er who wa s under the

prote ct ion of an imperia l personage, whose name (or

ra ther ti tl e ) wa s Vairam ég han . This aga in wa rrantsthe inference of th e decline of the P a l lava power .

Among the inscripti ons so far brought out, w

have not often come across the name, but to the Rash

trakuta Dantidurg a II of th e genea logica l table of the

4 12 ANCIENT INDIA

family, in F leet’s Ka nna da Dyna s ties , i s a scr ibed this

t itle in the Kadaba Pla tes publ ished by Mr . Rice .

This was the personage who overthrew the na tura l

enemies of the P al l ava s , namely, the West ern Chalukya sof Badami, and in their stead establ ished the Rash

trakuta power . Accord ing to the E l lora inscrip tion

referred to by Dr . F l e et ,2 Dantidurga compl eted thea cqui s it ion of sovereignty by subjuga ting the rul erof Sandhubh fipa ,

the lord of Kanchi, the ru l ers of

Ka linga and Kesa la,the lord of the Sriéaila country

(Karnul country) , the Sosh a s . This Dantidurg a was

depos ed by his uncl e Krishna I , about A . D . 755 .

The king of Kanchi (during the period includingA .D. 754, the only known da te for Dantidurga Vaira

megha ) wa s Nandiva rm an who ru led for fifty yearsfrom about A . D . He i s reg arded

a s a u surperand is so far the la st grea t P a l lava ru ler known inSouth Ind ian history . It i s highly probable tha t whenat last the Chalukya power wa s overthrown , the P a l lava sadvanced in the d irection of Karnul . The Rashtrakutar ecords

,therefore

,together with the sta tement of th e

A lvar, would l ead u s to beli eve tha t Dantidurga bea tback the enemy and wa s in occupation of Kanchi.Nandivarman wa s a Va ishnava , and TirumangaiA lvar

’spra i se of him i s admissibl e a s tha t of a brother devotee,but any reference by him to an enemy would be farfrom compl imenta ry . Hence, it can only have been

mad e in the manner in which i t is, and under ci rcu ms tances when he cou ld not get out of an unplea santreminiscence such a s the above . The inference, th erefore

,seems to be wa rranted tha t the A lvar flourished

in thi s period exactly , and i t woul d certa inly be inkeeping with the most cherished tradition of the Va i sh

1Epigrap hia Carnd ta ka , C h . 61 , vol . xi,Tumkur.

2 Bombay Ga z etteer , vol . i, pt . ii, p . 389 , and No. 4, vol . ix

, Epigraphia

Indica .

3 Sen Tamil . vol . i, p . 80.

4 14 ANC IENT INDIA

the Adiyar would have given to the word . The storyfurther goes on to sta te tha t Sambanda wa s sati sfi edand not only a cqui es c ed in the tit l es of the Al var, but

even made h im a present of the trident he used to

ca rry . It is of no use to enter into the detai l s of thestory, a s

,so far, it h a s merely l ed to annoyance , but

one pa rticula r, however, cannot be pa ss ed over here ;and tha t i s

,tha t the Alvar, who genera l ly give s h im

self one of the tit les in the conc luding stanza of ea chdecad, breaks out at the en d of this one into a ra ther

provoking and a ssertive enumera t ion of a l l of th em .

It would appear, therefore, a fter a l l h a s been sa id ,tha t tradition combined with the resu lt s of hi storica l

resea rch, so far a s i t bea rs upon the subj ect, wou ld

a llo t Tirum angaiA lvar to the ea rl ier ha lf of the eighth

century after Christ ; and thus po ss ibly he was a

y ounger contempora ry of Tirugnana Sambanda , and

p erhaps an elder of Sundaramfi rtiNayanar .

P a g e 18 .—Kos am bi: Mr. Vincent A . Smith writes in reg ard

to th e connexion b etween the Gupta s and Kos ambi.‘ I do not know of a ny reason for connecting th e

Gupta s with Kos am bi. Ch andragupta I , who estab lished

th e Gupta Era , reigned from A . D . 319—20 to about 336

(not 326 a s in the Early History of India ), and his

dominion s do not extend b eyond Al lahabad . It wa s

his g randson Chan d ra gupta II (388 Or 390) who annexed

Surashtra .

P a g es 49 a nd 131 .- Chakrakottam and Ru ler of Dhara . Cha

kra gottam or Chakrakottam wa s hitherto regarded a s

a fortres s of strength in the territory of Dhara : but

RaiBahadur Hira La l holds that th e former is in th e

Ea ster State and its connexion with Dharav aras a is

a ccounted for a s referring to Dha ravarsha of the Naga

vam sifamily (vide Epig rap hia Indica ,Vol . IX, pp . 178 - 9

and Vol . X, iii, pp . 25

P a g e 245 —Vishn uva rdhana ’

s death is put down to the yea r

A . D . 1141 on the authority of Mr . Rice, but th ere a re

in s criptions which imp ly that h e lived about ten to fi fteen

y ears later. Pending a ful ler examination of the ques

tion this date is giv en tentative ly (vide Qu a rter ly

Jou rna l of the Mythic Society, Vol . II, ii, p .

P a g es 15 3, 378 a nd 400—Kamban had b een regarded a s a

poet of th e tenth century A . D . on the strength of

certain stories connected with his life . It is more

likely that he b elong ed to the thirteenth century for

th e fol lowing rea sons am ong others He re fers

to a Chola King Tya g amavinGdhan (who seem s to be

Vik ram a Chola ) . (2) His Contemporaneity and hostility

to Ottakkfittan s eem s p rovab le . (3) There is one story

which connects him with Pratapa Rudra of Wa ranga l .

ERRATA

P a ge, line

8 1 .—F or Bundl ekh a nd rea d Bunda lkh and

9 26 ,—Omit It was prob a b l y extended and rea d with the previous

19 29. For His fa th er read his s on [senten ce

23 19 .—F or Hieun Th s a ng r ead Hiuen Th eang (Yuwan Chwang

29 4 ,—F or Mal va Dekh an read Mal va -Dekh an

32 23 .—F or idea liz ed picture

’read a n idea l iz ed picture

34 18.—For ‘ Sambah ava

r ead Sam bh a va

7 . and prob ab ly under his fa th er read and under his s on

44 34 . Omit a

4G 21 .—~F or fa th ers A . D . r ea d fa th ers , A . D . 1044

33 .—F or A . D . 105 2 read A . D . 1053

54 19 .—Omit th e before Sophytes .

56 17 and 24 .—F or Yuet- chi rea d Yueh - chi

57 head line—F or ‘ PoliticA l’rea d P olitica l

60 4 .—F or th at rea d th e

Gil 3 .—For -wa r ,cra z e rea d wa r- cra z e

95 hea d line—F or ‘.I l anirayan read I l andira yan

109 10 .—F or A . D . 1052 rea d A . D . 1053

114 26 .—F or Ra jendra Viraraj éndra read Rajendra and Vira ra

- E‘or K asavadanda read Késa vadanda [j éndra128 27 .

—For " Viraraj éndradéava’rea d Vira raj éndradeva

130 26 .—F O7‘ Ifl

ZGUq é/r read fi a ws e’

152 16 .—F or ‘ this fa ther ’

read ‘ his fa th er177 8 .

—For pers ona l ities rea d persona lties

179 1 1 .—F or Konorinmaikondan read

‘ Konérinmaikondan

182 16 .—F or ka lan ju read ka lanju

211 36 .—Omit the words ‘ thos e and ‘ in

F OT Tea d fi‘br- g wmzr

223 33 .—For ‘ frespective , em bl emson

.read respective emb l em s on

226 16 .- F or A . D . 1052 r ead A .

D. 1053

26 .- F or P ramara s read Paramaras

36.~ For regrant

’read re-

g ran t’

23 9 4 .- For Vigrahim -read Vig rah in

20 .—F or ‘

fBelugoa l read Bel ugola26.—For Marba l a irth a rea d Marba la Tirth a

(REF ERENCE S TO PAGE S)

day, 61 ; contempora ry of P tol e

my, 14 ; one of th e seven pa

trons , 370, 393 .

Abdul ldh Khan ,294 .

Agniku la (th e Fire-R ace), rise of

the, 390.

Achamz a Ndyahe ,Karanam ,

fichdrya s, th e Vais hn ava ,195 (see

a lso dlva rs) .Achugi II of Gul burg a , 51 ; Vice

roy of Vikramaditya , 136 ; op

poses Ganga Ra j a, 142, 240,242,

Achyuta Rag a , 228 .

fidava l la‘

n , a measure,182 .

Adhirdj a rdj a ,insta l led , 233 .

Adhirdj ardj a ,Ma nd a lam, 174 .

Adhirdj ardj e‘

ndra Cho l a ,a ccession

of,128.

Adhira‘

j a ra'

j éndra P ara ke'

sa rivar

man, enth ronement of, 134 .

Adhyayano‘

tsavam,209 .

Edi, kapil ar not a son of, 391 .

Adigaimdns , famil y of, 15 5 .

Z dinagar, battle of,107 .

Edittade’vandr, Puran, a lia s Rajarajendra Mavendavél an , 165 .

Eddy/a Chola I,Ba'

j a keaariva rman ,

99 ; overth rows a Pa l l ava Chief

tain and th e Kongu country,35 .

Aditya Chola II,Karikd la ,

332, 361.

Adiyama , 236, 238 .

A diyamdn, Chol a Viceroy at Ta l a

kad, 360 ousted by Ganga Ra ja ,

Adiyamdn Nedumdn Ann of Taga

dur, a patron , 62 , 370,

Adiya‘

rkkuna l ldr , 150.

Adigars or Saiva devotees , 194

da te of the, 377 .

Agnimitra , releas e demanded of

Maurya Sach iva , 12 (note)Viceroy at Malva , 13.

Agustia , advent of,

south, 5 .

Ahandn zi g u col lection , 338, 392

ascribed to Ug ra Pandyan , 360 .

dha vama l la Séme'

sva ra , see S6més

va ra I .

Ainguruna g-u, 342, 392, 394 .

Aioi, situa tion of, 72 .

Aj dta s'

a tru, 6, 8.

zij ivaka s , 259 .

Aka l a nka ,259 .

Akba r th e G rea t, 278 .

Akkddevi, Governess of Kiéukad,

140 (note) .

Alame‘

luma nga ,284.

Alauddin Khilj i, inva sion of, 37 .

z l l ava nda'

ri,b roth er of Rajadhira ja ,109 , 408 .

fil a va nddr , g reat-

grand father of

Ramanuj a , 195 , 257 his time,

151 ; visits Raménuja, 196

into th e

420 ANCIENT INDIA

death of, 197 ; th e th ree- foldedfingers , 198 succeeded byRama

nuja , 201 ; ful filmen t of th e

objects of, 204, 206- 7 ; ca l l ed

a l so Yamun aitturaivar, 220 not

contempora ry with Tirumang ai

Mannan,407 .

Alexander of Epirus , 12 .

Alexander th e G reat, 9 invasion

of, 54 .

Alupa ,rul er of

, submits to Vik ra

maditya , 134 .

Alvar s (orVaishn ava Saints ) . th e

twelve, 194 insta l la tion of th eir

im ages in templ es , 210 referemees to God in th e a spect of

a child,2 16 th eir time and rel a

tion to Ramanuj a , 220, 377 Dr

Rost’s dates , 376 dis tinctions

between , and Acharya s , 397 , 403,407 .

Alvar Tirunaga ri, birth - pl ace of

Nammal var, 397 .

Ambhikdpathi, in praise of Mani

m ékh al ai, 383 .

Ameen Khan,306 .

Ammangadevi.,daugh ter of Gangai

konda Ch ol a , 112, 1 15 , 232.

Amdgha var sha , 101 .

Ama dan of Arangam , Sma rth a

convert to Vaishn avaism , 210,

407 ; auth or of Ra‘

mdnuj a

n ayyandddi, 212, 220.

Amer, 32 ; siege by Na l am Kil l i

Anamkonda , 248.

Anandhdpm t, 299.

Anantdrya , 320.

Anantava rman Chod a Ganga , 131,

Anantayt of Tanjore, 296.

find a l , wors hip of, 210- 11 .

Anddr Nambi, 394 .

fl ndhra bhr z'

tya s , 42- 3 , 368 (see a l so

Sdtdvdhana s)findhrapzz rrta , 320 .

Andhra s,accession of the ,to power,

13 ; decadence of th e, 15 - 16

counteract th e advan ce of th e

Saka s , 16, 57 ; composition of

the Brih a tka th a under th e,17

overth rown by th e Saka s , 18 ;th eir period , 31 ; socia l features

of th e ru le of th e, 34 ; of th e

Dekh an , 223 .

Artya , 8 .

Angadi, th e cradl e of the Mysore

dyna sty,228 .

Anga ra , sub jugation of,243 .

Anj i, 32 celebra ted in th e P a ra na“

fnaru , 3 39 .

Anna lan ,122 .

An tigonus of Asia , 5 5 .

Anngonus Gona ta s of Macedonia ,

A ntiochus of Syria , 12 th e G reat,

Aornos , fort of, 9 .

Ap a rdyrta , Ganga-P a l lava , 99

- 100 .

App aiya Dikshita , commentator

on Vedanta Dés'

ika , 323 .

App ar , 190, 375 - 6 .

Appraméya , a Chol a Viceroy,

Ar aiya r. Madura rtta kan ,148 .

Ara ka l gadu , gain of, 299 .

Ara rpya ka s , 3 .

Ara ttamukkiDd s an ,name of Tiru

m angaifil var,401 , 408.

Archa ology, Indian, 314 .

Arcot,Nawab ship of, 37 .

Arctic Circle, th e origina l hom e

of the Aryans , 4 .

A rga lic, 60 .

Arha ts, 11 .

A rikere, 287 .

Arikula késa rin , 102 .

nj aya , or Arjuna Chol a , Ra jakes ariva rma n

, 102 .

Ariéil Kilar , an advocate of Kan

nahi, 341 .

Arj una ,minister of Harsh a , 26.

422 ANCIENT INDIA

Ba sa var aj a ,Da la'vdy,305 .

Ba ya lunddu ,249 .

Bednar , Viceroya l ty of, 83 ; Na

yaka ,297 .

Bel l of Justice, 346 .

Bella la ,Viceroy of Gangavidi, 141 .

Bel l a la I Vira , 230, 234, 237 ,

388 - 9 .

Bella la II, Vira , successor of

N ara simh a Hoys a l a ,249 - 50 ;

conquests of,25 1 titl es of, 252

con solida tion of Mysore by,263

riva l s of, 264 dea th of, 156 .

Bel l a l a s sometimes wrong l y ap

plied to Hoysa l a s , 81 .

Beluvola ,109, 232.

Benga l , inva sion of,by Vikrama

ditya , 138 .

la, founder of th e Kakatiyas ,

Bela d Chamaraj a ,son of Bol e

Ch amaraj a ,279, 282 , 286, 289 ;

his rule,277 ; siege of Kes are

gonte,283 .

Betad Cha‘

ma raj a Wodeydr , Hiri,276 .

Betad Wodeydr , succes sor of Bel eCh am a raj a ,

279 - 80 ; succes sor of

Ma l l araj ayya ,286- 7 .

Bez wada , Battle of, 50 .

Bhaga vdn , Bra hman,391 .

Bhagava t Gila and the reviva l of

Brahmanism , 58 commented

upon by Ramanuja , 204 .

Bhairava , a l ly of Kanaka and

Vijaya , 367 .

Bha kti, the doctrine of, in Mahiya

nism and Hinduism , 58 ; taught

by the Alvs’

irs a nd Adiyars , 194 .

Bhandarkar ,Dr . ,

on Panini, 5 ;

on éatakarni, 368 .

Bhoj a ,49

,138 .

Bhara ta (of the Ramayana ) inil lustration of Sati, 385 .

ra tam of Vil l iputtfirar’s,P rof.

Vinson’s date for the , 373 .

shyam , 3ankara , written at

Benares , 26 (note) .

Bha l ldra ka ,founder of th e Va l

l ab bidyna sty,21 .

Bhava Nandin,the Grammarian ,

Bhe’

rundésvan Pil lar , 388 .

Bhuj a ba la ,252 .

Bhula P andyan’s wife

,a writer in

th e Purandnuf u, 359 ; and an

in stance of Sa ti, 385 .

Bij apur ,kingdom of, 37 .

Bij j a la ,usurper of th e Chal ukya

empire, 52, 247 , 249 - 5 1 rise

of,264 persecution of th e Lin

g ayets ,266,269 ch a ra cter,267

at Bel agarnve , 268 ; administra

tion and end of,270 .

Bilhana , auth or of Vikramdn ka

va Cha ritam , 122 ,133 Vidya

patiof Vikram a , 142 .

Bil lama , 25 1 .

Bimbisa ra , 6, 8 .

Bindu sa ra ,10

Birudantemba ra Ga nda , 277 , 282 .

Bitta Deva Hoysa la , conquest of

G angavadi, 146 .

BittiDeva,see Vishnuvardhana .

dhdyana , 204 .

Bdka ,an ofiicer of Vira Somesvara ,

Bokhimayya , 249 .

Bol e Chrima Raj a , son of Betad

Chama ra j a ,277 ; succeeds Tim

m a R a ja , 278 sons of, 279 .

Bombe l li, ca pture of, 294 .

Bappa , G ang ara j a’s s on

, 241 .

Boppanna , b roth er of Masanayya ,

Boppara sa ,Mah asimanta , 388 .

Briha sta , 392.

Bra hmddhirdj a , 159 .

Brahmana s , commentaries on the

Veda , 3 ; th eir date, 4 .

Bra hmanism, given up by As oka ,

11, reviva l of,under Pushya

mitra , 13 ; reviva l of, under

Samudragupta , 20 ; under th e

Fa l l ave s, 23 .

Bra hman s , position of th e,in

Ancient India , 7 1 .

Brahma sutra s commented upon by

Rimanuj a , 198, 204- 5 .

Brihad ra tha,l ast of theMauryans ,

Briha tka tha‘

. of Gunadya ,2

(note) , 17 , 33 , 327 . P ais z‘

34 ,74 .

Brih a tka thdmanj a ri, 327 - 8 .

British India ,31 ; foundation of,38 .

Buddhan Kdttam ,406 .

Buddha , th e , a nd Buddhism, 6

birth , 7 .

Buddhamitra , author of Vira

Soliyam , 127 , 259, 373 and

Manime‘

kha l ai, 383 .

Buddhism , founded by the Buddh a ,

6 ; under Asoka , 10- 11 accepted

by Kanishka , 15 under th e

Gupta s , 20 a ccepted by Ha rsh a,

26 ; under th e P a l l ava s , 35

suprema cy of, (Mah ayanist

school ) , 58 ; under Vikrama

ditya , 142 in South India ,369

overth row of, 362, 384 .

Budd hists , deities of th e, 32 ;

patroniz ed by the a h ra s , 34 .

Burma h,conquest in, by Ra jendra

I , 130.

Burnel l,Dr . , on th e ea rliest date

of th e Tamil l anguage ,374 .

Butuga P erumdna fli, a Ganga

feudatory, 36 , 44 .

Ca ldwel l , Bishop ,on Tamil Litera

ture before th e twel fth century,

151 ; on Ramanuja's relation to

th e divers , 220,254, 377 ; on

Ramanuja’s fol lowing , 406 ; h is

date .

Cara ca l la , trade under, 73 ; date

of dea th of, 75 .

Cey lon Chronicle, 7 5 , 380.

Cey lones e and th e war for the

P andyan th rone, 36 .

Chakragdttam , 49 , (see a l so Sa k

ka ra gdttam ) .Cha krapaniNambi, 162 .

C ha krava rtiTondaman,215 , 333 .

C ha kra va r tiVaishn ava , 261 .

Chd l ukgan Empire ,division s of

th e, 139 ; extent of th e

,146 ;

additions to th e,5 1 disorg aniz a

tion and decline of th e , 52 ,

81, 152 ; Henjeru , a gate of

1 17 .

Chd lukya period of South Indian

History, 3 1 .

Chd lukya s , the, rise of, 33 ; occu

pation of th e Dekh an, 17 , 23 ;

occupation of Vengi, 22 ; and

th e P a l l avas , 43 ; at wa r

With th e Chol a s , 36 ,46 , 80, 1 1 1

absorption of Banava se, 78 ; at

wa r with th e Rashtrakdta s , 44 ,79 ,

103 ; own pa rt of th e Dek

h an,97 ; defeated by Vira l -a

jendra ,123 ; overth row of th e

dyna sty of, 27 ; of Va tz‘

ipi, 224 ;

of Ka lyani, 225 .

Chdmaraj a ,son of Bol e Ch amara ja ;

279, 286 ; th e nominee of Da l a

vey Deva ra ja ,307 .

Cha‘

maraj a Wodeya’

r , 276 ; son of

Nara s a Ra ja ,286 succeeds Ra ja

Wodeyar , 287 ; rule of, 288 ‘

rel igion of, 304 .

Chdmaraj a Dodd a , 279 .

Chdmaraj a Hiri, 276 .

Chamber lain ,40 .

C hampa , 8 .

Chdn akya , th e diplom atist, 9 .

Chand , 390 .

Chand a Maha se'

na , 8 (note) .

Chanda P aj j dta of U jjain , 8.

Chand aiya Tuluva , 387 .

Chandra gupta Maurya and th e

Nanda s , 9 ; trea ty with Sel eucus

Nicator, 10 ; m a rriage and th e

founding of th e Gupta era , 19 ;

prob l em of empire, 40 ; empire

under, 55 ; at Sravan a Bel agol a ,77 .

Cha nd ra gupta Vikramdditya ,20- 1 .

Changa‘

lva s,the, 235 , 249, 251 .

Channa Ba sa va , birth of, 270.

Channapa tn a , Viceroya l ty of, 83 ;

capture of, 288.

Channia h of Nag amang a l a ,293 - 4 .

Cha shtan a ,th e dynasty of, 368

(note) .

Cha ttimayya Ndya ha ,268.

Chedi, 7 .

Chenga'

lvas , 240.

Chengiri, 236, 238 .

Chera , 31 , 33 ,42 ; extent of th e

territory, 61 ; a s cenda ncy under

Seng uttu va n , 63 , 37 1 ; a s cend

ancy ques tioned ,18 .

Cherama‘

n P er amd l , 376, 395 .

Cherson ese, 65 .

C hevur , b attl e of, 103 .

Chid amba ram , Govinda ra j a templ e

at,15 3, 210, 220 .

Chikkade‘

va raj a Wodeydr , 84, 295

6 ; reign of, 299 ; reforms of,

300 ; domestic a rrangem en ts of.

303 ; religion and death of, 304 .

Chintdma ni, one of th e fi ve Maha

kavyas , date of th e . 373 , 375 ;

model for Kamban’s Bdmd

yan am , 379 .

Chitra , a l l y of Kan aka a nd Vijaya ,

Chokka ,a Pandyan king , 299 .

Chokka linga Ndya ka of Madura,

in va sion of Mys ore by, 296 .

Chola empire, rise of th e,

35,44 ; extent of th e , 6 1 ; a s

cendancy of th e, under Ka rikala ,

62 ; makers of th e , 98 ; admin .

is tration and consolidation of

ANCIENT INDIA

Dadoj i, 300 .

Da ha la , 5 1 .

Daiva rds h tra (or

Dakkana La tam , conques t of, 107 .

Dakshindp a th a , 6 , 10- 11 , 59 .

Da lavdys come into notice, 85 ;

reviva l of th e appointment of,

286 : powers of th e , curbed by

Kantirava , 29 1 ; rise of th e ,

Damddara ,236 .

Mah arashtra ) ,

th e, 147 the s ettl ement of th e,

149 ; system of administration

and its ch ara cter, 158, 175 ;

divisions of th e, 173 ; resources

of th e 179 ; coin s in th e , 183 ;

decl ine of th e, 52, 152, 158, 3 72 .

Chola -Kera l a , Viceroy of Kongu ,

15 1,401 , 408 .

Chol amand a l am,174 .

Chol a period , the, of South Indian

His tory, 3 1 .

Cho l a s , the, at wa r with Rish tra

ketas , 36, 80 ; at wa r with th e

Chal ukya s , 46, 48 ; conquest of

Nol am bavadi, 78 ; a l liance with

the Hoys a la s , 82 ; and Gang a

vfidi, 15 2 ,225 ; retreat of th e

Chronology of India , 363 .

Close, Sir Ba rry,resident in

Mysore, 88 .

Coin s under th e Ch ol a s , 183 .

Commerce of South India , 65 ;

with Rome, 72.

Conj eeva r am records of Vij aya

l aya’s reign , 99 .

Cooma ra swami, th e Hon’bl e Mr .

P . ,on th e da te of Ka rikal a , 349 ;

versus Dr . Hul tz sch , 363 .

Corn elius Nepos on th e externa l

rel ation s of Hindus tan ,59 .

426 ANCIENT INDIA

Erdeidapal la (or Kindesh ), 22.

Eremberege (or Yelb a rga),252.

Ereganga Hoysa la , 136, 141, 232,234, 240, 243, 265 .

Erode, conquest of, 297 .

Erumaiyara'

n,222 .

E rumdndttu Na l liyakkdn, h e r o

of Sirupanarruppadai, 339 ; ru l er

of Mfivil angai, 363, 393 .

Etagiri, a Ch alukya Rajadh fini,140.

Eudamos succeeds Philip to the

Viceroya l ty of th e Punj ab, 55 .

Eukra tides, 56.

Eumenes, 55 .

Evvi, Chieftaincy of, 32, 61, 342,370 .

F a Hian, the Chinese travel ler,

20 on free h ospita l s, 22.

F estiva l s, in ancient South India ,

F ish emblem,erection of the, on

th e Hima l ayas , 356 .

F leet,Dr . , on Somésvara II, 125 ;’s quotation from Vikramdn

kadéva Cha ritam , 133, 232 ;

on the auth enticity of the Ceylon

Chronicle, 380, 412 .

Gaj a bdhu 1, King of Ceylon, 63,

74, 93, 330- 2, 334, 364, 394 ;

present a t the consecration of

Pa ttiniDevi’s temple, 363 ; con

temporary of Senguttuvan, 349 ,

380 ; a rguments re identification

of, 381 ; accounts and date of,

365 -6, 382.

Gaj a bdhu II , date of, 381 .

Gambhi'

ra Raj a Virupanna,ambass ador, 285 .

Ga napa ti, defeat of, by Ra jadhi

ra ja,111.

Ga ndagiri, 236 .

Gandagopa la , 157 .

Gandappaiyan ,dea th of, 111 .

Ga ndarddittan Chola , 102.

Gandardina haran , defeated by

Raj adhiraj a , 111 .

Gdndhdra , 7, 15 , 20 .

Gangddha ran ,dea th of, 111 .

Gangaikonda Chola , 45-6, 49 , 50 .

Gangaikonda Cholamanda lam, 174 .

Gangai Kondapuram, ruins of,187 .

Gangaikond a Sol apa ram,49 ; occu

pation of, 122 purifica tion of

the tank a nd construction of a

temple at, 108, 408.

Gangamand a lam, capture of,136 .

Gangama nda lika (Udaya d it y alord of Al ampa ra, 137 .

Ganga P a l lava s, overth row of, byParantaka , 80.

Gangappddi, conquest of, 104, 110.

Gangardj a , 5 1 , h elps the Hoysal as ,

142 Genera l of Bitta Deva , 146,241 and Jain temples , 261 ;capture of Ta l akad, 339 .

Ganga s , the , th e dyna sty of, 35 ,

44- 5 ; in Mysore, 77 ; own pa rt

of the F a l l ava territory, 97 , 225 .

Ganga vddi(or A shtagram) , 47, 5 1,78-9 th e, Viceroya l ty, 141

conquest of, by Bitta Deva , 146l ost to the Chol a s, 152 con

quest of, by Rajaraja,

divisions of, 230 Hoys a la con

quest of, 235 .

Gaud of Magadi, overth row of,306- 7 .

Gautamdchdrya , 268- 9 .

Gautama Sa hya Muni, 6.

Ghanagiri,273 .

Gha tikdcha l am , 320.

Goldstiicker,Dr .,on Panini, 4 .

Gol konda ,kingdom of, 37 .

Gopina tha Rao, Mr . T. A . , on th e

contemporaries of Alava n d a r ,

151 on the Tirupati temple,215 on the ch ronology of S

p adhikdmm , 216 on th e date

of Nammalv z‘

nr, 396 ; on th e con

temporaneity of certain Elvars ,407 ; conclusions of, not accept

ab le, 403 .

Gdta miputra s'

dta kam i,

Govinda IV,97 , 100 .

Govinda, Bha ttar, Sattai, of Irai

yar, 148.

Govinda Bha tta r, cou sin and cla s s

ma te of Ramanuj a , 195 , conver

sion to éaivism and reclamation,

Govinda C handra , retreat of, 107 .

Govindachar lu, Mr . on th e

date of El vars , etc 402 .

Govinda raj a , restoration of th e

shrine of, 210, 220, 316.

Govinda Yogi, the Sannya sin name

of Yadavaprakasa , 201 .

Grahavarman of Magh ada,24.

Gnima (or township), 139 .

Greece, comparison between Indian

History and that of, 33 .

Grierson ,Dr . the exponent of the

Ch ris tia n Ramanuja theory,

Guj j a ld Devi, 250 .

Ga lar , 299.

Gupta s , the, prominent in th e

north ,17 ; dynas ty of, and era ,

19 ; Brahmanism and Buddhism

under, 20 rel igion of, 21

empire of, attacked by the

Buns , 23 ; free hospita l s under,

22 ; conques t of th e Dekhan

by, 43 ris e of, 56, 224 .

i a ras , the , 67 , 97 .

Guruparampa rai, the, of th e

Vaishnavas , 219- 20, 257 , 316,

332, 397 .

Guttas , the, of Gutta l , 141, 246.

Guttavola lu, 252 .

Gum,siege of. 126, 252.

Hadana ,old capita l of Mysore,277

Haidar Ali, rise of, 86, 286 , 306

308 formation ofMys ore unde r222

Ha ladi, 252.

Ha lawe, 252.

Ha lebid,capita l of th e Hoys a l a s

Ha nda l crgeri, 299 .

Hanga l , siege of, 245 .

Ha nmndn , messenger of Ram a ,

Ednunga l , 240.

Hariale, daugh ter of Vishnu

va rdh ana , 240, 258.

Ha rihar , origin of the templ e a t,

Harpa los , 60.

Harsha,103 .

Harsha Cha rita of Ben a , 123 .

Ha rsha vardhana, Siladitya , 24,

43 ; son of P rabh fikara,24 ;

empire building by, 25 ; religion ,

death and succession,26 ; of

Kanouj , 224.

Ha ssan, ces sion of, 297 .

Ha stima l la , Ganga Bana Prithvi

pati, 100 .

Hayagriva , image of, presented to

Ramanuja , 205 .

Hemddri, comm entator, 325 .

Hamaj iPandit, 294 .

HemmadiRaj a , 261 .

Henj e‘

ru (or Penjeru) , a gate of

th e Chalukya empire,

Himd sita l a versus Aka l anka , 259.

Hinduis m, Paurénic, 35 ; modem ,

Hindustan,one of the divisions of

India ,23 , 20 brought under

the rule of Ha rshava rdh ana, 25

overth row of, 26 .

Hira. La l Pundit, 130.

His tory of India ,materia l s for th e

study of th e, 314 ; langu ages

needed therefor, 315 ; defects to

be gua rded against, 826 .

Hiuen -Thsang , Chinese travel l er,

23 , 43 ; administration of th e

empire in th e time of, 25 ; ih

fluence of, on Ha rsh a , 26 ;

ceded districts under th e earlier

Ch ol as in th e time of, 97 ;

politica l divisions of India in

th e time of, 224 ; visited the

Court of Pul ikesin II,255 ;

Buddhism overth rown wh en,

visited, 362 .

Hiung -nu, fa l l on the Yueh - chi.

Hoern le, Dr . ,on th e Agnikul as ,

390, 395 .

Honnava l li, 299 .

Hoskote, siege of, 288 .

Hoysa la Chakravartm,252 (see

Bella la II) .Hoysa la s , the , 36- 7 , 5 1- 3 ; rise ,

81 ; versus th e Ka la ch firya , 82 ;

em pire of, S2 ; ma sters of

G angaviidi, 141 advance north

wa rd , 142 attempt a t independ

ence, 15 5 ; versus th e P andyas ,

157 origin of, 228.

Hu ligere, 240.

Hu l tz sch, Dr .,on Soniésvara 11

125 - 6 ; on th e ea rlier ins crip

tion s of Kulottunga , 129 ; on

th e identification of a Ra jendraChola , 131 ; on the date of

Nammalvar, 151, 191 , 401 ; on

th e situation of Kandahar, 185 ;versus Ca l dwell , 254 ; on the

identification of a G a jabfihu,

363 ; on the Karikal a of P attin

a'ppaiai, 381 ; on th e Kill i of

Silappadhikdrmn, 348 on Para

mésvaravarman, 410.

Bun s , the, and th e Gupta empire,

21, 23 beaten back, 24 .

Hunas, the , 224 .

ANCIENT INDIA

Id aittura/inddu ,conquest of, 106 .

Id a/va t, attacked by Varagun a , 99 .

Ikke‘

ri,capture of

,293 .

Ikke’

riBa sava , 300.

IkkeriNdiks , 84- 5 .

IkkeriNaya ka ,294 .

11a Kings, rel igion of th e, 397 , 399 .

Ilam, (Ceylon) , 66 ; sub jug ation

and conquest, 106 .

Il am C heliyan ,ruler of Madura ,

I l am Cheliyan ,successor of U gra

P andyan , 35 5 - 6 .

Il am Cheliyan ,Viceroy of Korkai,

I lam Kil li, rul er at Kanchi, 354 .

Ilam Kirandr , Porundhil , 343,

I l andiraiyan , Tondamdn ,of Ka n

chi, 94 - 6 ; 330, 333 ; celeb ra ted

by Rudirangannanar, 352 ; origin

forgotten , 362.

Il ango(or Il angovadiga l ),a Sang am

poet and auth or of Silappadhikaram

,217 , 330, 340, 359, 380 .

I l anj e‘

tchenni (or U ruvappah a rér

I l ayon ), fa ther of Karikala , 92,

349, 35 1 .

Immadi Krishna Raj a Wodeya‘ r,308 .

Imma diRaj a , 287-8 .

India , of th e Aryan invasions , 1 ;

pol itica l divisions in th e sixth

century 15 . c 7 first rel iab le

date in th e history of,10 forma

tion of States, 23 ; natura l divi

sions , 29 ; a contingent of, in

G reece, 6 .

Indo-Erg ane, see Aryans .

Indra ra tha , defeat of, 107 .

Inn a?forty,of Kapil ar, 342, 392 .

Innes, Mr . L . C ., on the date of

th e third Sangam, sec s ; on

430 ANCIENT INDIA

Ka ddram, capture of, 107, 126,

185 ; te- conquest of, 131 ; battl e

of, 331 .

Kaildsandtha temple of El lora, 35 .

d atiga , The, 36- 7, 52- 3, 82 ; at

tempt at independence, 155

founder of the dynasty of, 248.

Kd la , 236, 238.

Ka lachzirya usurpation,81, 156.

Kalakam (Burma), 66 .

Kd la‘

mnkha , a sect of the saiva s,269 .

Kd lapd la , 244.

Ka tarkil li, broth er of Il amkil li,

Ka tdtha laiydr, 95, 229, 342.

Ka lavar, battle of, 229 .

Ka lha na , historian of Ka smir,409 .

Kd liddsa , 12, 14 - age of, 325 .

Ka lidévan Pdrg'ikuti, 162.

lidnrga , capture of, 410.

Kaliga Hoysa la , 229 .

Ka tikdna l , 353 .

Ka linga Chadd Ganga , 145 .

Ka lingam added to the empire, 11

enemy of Push yamitra , 13 ; sub

jugation of, 5 1 acquired byKulfittunga , 52 ; conquest of,

105 , 144, 381 burning of, byVikrama Chola , 152.

Ka linga ttupparani, 50, 116, 125 ,

128,131

,136, 144- 5, 152, 349,

381, 394 ; date of, 146, 866 ; on

Killiand Karikal a , 361 .

Ea tnma lam, battle of, 96 .

Ka lavli,349.Ka lydn a (Ka ly ani) , Chilukya

capita l , 113, 139-40 .

madéva , 248 .

Kama Hoysa la ,230.

Kama lanayana Bha tta , 195 .

ma rfipa (Assam), 19, 25 , 51

invaded by Vikramaditya , 188 .

Kamban, author of the Tamil

Ramayana , 153 , 322 ; date of,

330, 384, 378 ; patron of, 379 ;

contemporary with Nath amuni,

357, 400 ; not the President of

th e Council that approved

Madurakavi’s publication , 398 ;

gets his Ramayana approved ,

Kambandtta tva/r, 396.

Kambhoj a , 7 .

Kambhoj a (horses) , 236Kampli (Kampili) , 47 ; h ead - quar

ters of Vijays ditya ,120 ; burnt

by Viraraj éndra ,125.

Kanaikka'

lirumporaiChera , 96.

Kana ka and senguptuvan,

Kanaka sa bhai Pil lai, Mr . , 116 ;

identifies Ta gadur with Dh ar

mapuri, 367 , 380.

If narese, va lue of, for research

work, 315 .

Kanchi, Pal lava capital , 16 , 19,

22- 3, 33 ; occupation of, by Vik

ramfiditya , 122.

Kdnda lvz r, Roads of, victory of

Rajaraj a I at, 104, 110 ; destruo

tion of th e Chéra fleet at, 185 .

Kanddrddittan Madhurdntaka ,

Kandé Rao, tool of Haidar, 86 .

Kanhikere, 299.

Kanishka ,15 ; th e constantine of

Mah ayanism , 57 history of,

Karna of Dah a l a , 138 .

Karooga ha l ly Wodcydr , 275 .

Karundkara Tondamdn , 51 , 144,

146 , 152, 215 , 333, 381 .

Karar , Pal l ava victories at,410.

Kasis , 8.

Kasyapa ,viceroy of Bij j a l a ,

267 -8.

Ka taka , 34.

Ka thdsaritsdgara of S 5m a d 6 v a ,

327 - 8 .

Kautilya (Chanakya) , 9 .

Kdvana ,see Kdmadeva .

Kavéra ,

Kaverippa ttinam ,construction of

93 ; an emporium , 94 ; destruo

tion of, 95 .

Kavira'

j amdrga , 315 .

Kela di, sub jugation of th e, kings ,

Kempa Devia h , 295—6 .

Henge Hannma seeks th e aid of

the Padish a of Bijapur, 292 ex

posure of, 294 .

Kéra lds , The, and Pa rantaka, 30,

100 defea t of, at Ulagai, 1 1 , 16,23, 41 , 45 , 5 2, 123.

Kern , P rof , on Nfigarjuna , 58 .

Kesaregon te‘

, siege of, 283 .

sova Bha tta r , fa ther of Rama

nuja , 195 .

tama l la , 238 .

tara san,122 .

Kétasamudra . 299.

tayya Dandandyaka ,236 .

Kévudan , genera l of Rajadhiraj a ,

Khdnkhdn ,supersedes Ranadhoo

l akhan, 294 .

Kiel horn, P rof. , 119 ;’

s date for

the acces sion of Ativira Rama

P andyan , 375 .

Kila‘

r,Kad a hz r , 392, 394 .

Kannada Dyna sties of , Dr . F l eet,

Kannahi, wife of,

Peb an , 341

h eroine of Silappadika‘

344 ; propitiation by I l am

Cheliyan of the manes of, 357 .

Kannan Z n'

trdn , 160.

Kannegd la , battle of, 51 , 142 .

Kanthia. Da lavdy,

Kaniirava Na ra sa II, succes sor of

Chikka Deva Ra ja , 304 - 5 .

Kantirava Naras a Raj a Wodeyar ,84, 285 ; begins his ru le, 289 ;

introduces his own coinage, 290

keeps th e Dal avfiys in ch eck,

291 ; defends Mysore and Serin

gapatam ,293 ; invades Bijapur,

294 ; dea th of, 295 ; Revenue

under, 301 religion of, 304.

Kdnvdyana , family of rulers,13,

15 th eir age, 14 .

d a‘

lika , a Saive sect, 269.

Kapila r ,a Sangem celebrity, 229

an advocate of Kannahi, 341 ;

works of, 342 , 392 ; contempo

rarie s of, 343 ; connected with

Mantharamééra lirumporai, 357 ;a sta r of the first magnitude in

th e literary fi rmament, 358, 390.

Ka ra dikka l , a pil lar of victory a t,

Karaca‘

la,th e Ka ling a ruler of

Oris sa, 12, 57 inva sion ofMega

dh a , 15 .

Kiri of Tirukkévilar, 32, 313,

Ka rikd la, a title of Virarfijéndra ,

116 sung by Ka latta laiyar,342 of th e Leyden Grant, 394

of the Silappadikdram, 348- 75 ,

of P attinappal ai, 381 date and

identification of the, of t h e

epics , 362.

Ka rikd la Chola , 42 ; Chol a supre

macy under, 62 ruler of Puh ar,

63 , 358 ; the first great Chol a ,92

, 185 , 188, 325 , 330, 332 ;

erects th e tiger emb lem, 356 ;

rel a tion to Kfikkil li, 361 .

Karikd la Ma l la raj ayya , 286 .

Kdriya‘

r,battle of

, 95 .

Kil liChola , sung by Avvaiyar, 338

sung in th e S'

ilappadhikaram ,

348 I l andiraya n traced to,352

marriage of—with a Naga prin

cess , 353 .

Kird ta s , 299 .

Kirtiva rman,23 .

Kiénkad, 243 .

c hchenga n Chola , 90, 255 , 399,

Kodumbai, 67 .

Koilolugn ,407

432 ANCIENT INDIA

Koinos ,mutiny under, 54 .

Kekhilti, 333 ; of the Silappadhikdram, 358 rel ation to Kari

kala , 361.

ld lapura ,237 .

Ka l li, 333 .

Kolkoi(Korkai), 34,60, 67 .Kol l am (Quil on) , conquest of, 105era , 376 .

Kol l dpuram (Kol h apur) , a pil l ar ofvictory at, 47 ; 112, 116 .

Kol lipdhhai, 47 , conquest of 106 ;

advance of the Chola frontier to,

1 17 .

Kongd lva s , 229 ,240, 249, 25 1 .

Kongu ,earliest conquest of th e

Chola s, 115 , 240.

Kongudéardj dkka l , 100.

Kongnmanda lam , 44—5 .

Kongun a'

dn, 370.

K6nérimnaikond an , Tribhnv a n a

chakra varti, 179.

d a n a ,241 .

Kophen , Th e , river , 9 .

Koppam,battl e of

,46 , 109, 111 - 2

118- 9 , 127 , 226 , 231 .

d perunj inga ,157 - 8 .

K6 sa lana'

du, conquest of, 107 .

Kosa la s , 3 , 8 .

Kosambi, 7 , 18 .

Kdttdru (Cape Comorin) , 51 , 136 .

Keva lan ,h ero of Silappadhikdram

K5 0 a lfi 7',237 .

vil Kita r , author of a poem in

Pnrandnaru , 355 .

Kranganore, a Kera la capita l , 16 ,

Krimihanta Chola ,3 17 , 320.

Krishna , b rother of Yadu Raya ,

Krishna I ,Mys ore a fter. 85 Rash

trakfi ta ,deposes Dantidurga ,

Krishna III , 36 , 44 , 80, 97 , 101,

117 , 225 .

Krishna Bha tta S'

of Aran !

puram ,148 .

Krishna Raj a ,son of Betad Chama

Ra ja , 277 ; pas sed over , 278 .

Krishna Raj a ,Dodd a , 85 .

Krishna Raj a 11 , 86.

Krishna Raj a Wodeydr , Dodda ,

299 , 305 , 307 .

Krishn a Raj a Wodeydr III , res

toration of Mysore to, 88 .

Krishna Bay/a , 320, 323 .

Kshetrapa s , The, 14 ,16 ,

18, 22, 33 ,

42,224 , 382 .

Kad a l Sangamam, ba ttles of

121 , 123 , 127 , 227 , 233 .

Kudama l ainddu , sub jugation of,

Kukkanrz r,166 .

Ku la sehha ra , th e el eph ant, 297 .

Ku la se‘

kha ra'

lvdr , 15 1 , 191, 317 ,

395 recital of th e works of,

Kula se'

khara P andya ,riva l of

Parakrama Pandya ,153 - 4 , 334 .

Ka la vdnigan S'

itta n , see S'

itta lai

8dttana r .

Ku lo‘

ttunga Chol a , 49- 50 , 52, 81 ,

227 , 233 , 236 - 7 , 239 .

Ku l5ttunga Chol a I , an eas tern

Ch a lukya prince, 112, 115 ; succession of, disputed , 121, 124 ;

governor of th e middl e country,

128 ; coloniz ation under, 143,

189 ; conquest of Ka lingam ,

144 - 5 ; queen s of and military

settl ements under, 147 ; age of,

a period of literary reviva l , 150

ca l l ed th e Sungandavirta Chol a ,

182 ; persecutor of th e Vaish

n avas , 190, 207 , 218, 221 ; patron

of Tamil literature, 191 ; tim e

of,221

,318, 331- 2 not Ka rikal a

of the Hima l ayan fame,361 ;

Ra jendra Chol a identified with ,

378 a lia s Rajakésarivarman Ra

jendra Chol a Yuva raja ,129 -30 ;

434 ANCIENT INDIA

Maduraikhdnj i, 357 .

Madhura Kavi,210

,220 ; dis cipl e

of Nammalvar, 396 ; teach er of

Nath amuni, 397 .

Maduramand a lam , conquest of,

Ma dura Ndyaka ,revol t of, 274 ,294 .

Madura Stha lapurdn arn , 338 .

Ma duva n a n ,122 .

Macris of Pa ta l ene , 54 .

Magadha ,kin gdom of

, a nd its ca

pita l , 6 , 8 Alexander’s inva sion

of, 9 Karavél a

’s inva sion of, 15

occupied by th e Andh ras , 16

s ecured by Ch andragupta ,19 .

Ma ga s of Cyrene , 12 .

Ma hdban ,fort of, 9 .

Ma hd bhdra ta , th e, period,2.

Mahdcharya , 320, 323 .

Ma hddevi, 234 .

Ma hafi’

y, P rofi, 12.

Ma hdkdn tdrd , 5 , 29 .

Ma hdka vya s , P rof . Vin son’s period

for th e , 373 .

Ma hamad Bin Tagla k, inva sion of

Mahamad Gha z ni, India a fter, 156 .

Ma hdma l la ,see Nara simha Var

Ma hdnadiDel ta ,an acquisition of

As oka ,11 .

Ma hdndman ,author of M a h fi

vam s’

a , 381 , 395 .

Ma hdrdj a‘

dhirdj a , titl e of Virara

j éndra Chola , 116 ; title of Bel

l a l a II , 252 .

Ma hdvamsa of Ceylon , 59 - 60, 63,

75 , 116, 330- 1 , 349, 367 , 380,

Mahdvira Vardhamdna , founder ofth e Jina religion ,

Ma hdydn/ism , a school of B u d

dhism ,

Ma he’

ndra F a l lava , 23 .

Ma hipd la (of Sangukkattam) , at

tack on, by Ra jendra , 107 .

Ma hishama nda la or Mysore, 77 .

Maild la Devi, daughter of Vikra

maditya , 143 .

Maitland, P rof , on the defective

appreciation of th e historian ,

Ma lapak-u la Kd la ,229 .

Md lavika‘

gnimitra , a drama ,12 .

Ma layd la rn langua ge, va lue of th e,

for res ea rch work , 315 ; making

of th e, 381 .

Ma l ayama'

n of Tirukkoil dr, 61,

lik Kafur , inva sion of, 3 7 , 53 ,

82, 252, 372 .

Ma lta , 8 .

Ma l lind tha , commenta tor, 325 .

Ma l liyana Ndya ha ,268.

Ma l loi, the, 54.

Ma lva , 13 ,14 .

Mama l lapuram, cave temples at,

nd bharan a decapitated byRajadhiraj a ,

110 ; and Ga jab éhu, 364 .

Mdndyga ri, fath er of Kanu ahi, 344 .

Ma nd a lam province) , 139 .

Ma nd a lapurusha ,P rof. Vin son

date for, 373 .

Man da li, territory of Sing an a Deva ,118.

Mandiram in Tfi ynadu , 166 .

Manga lisa ,23 .

MdngudiMarudau , a Sangam poet,

69 , 357 , 359.

Mdnikkavd s’

a gar ,221 age of, 317 ,

321,330 ; da te of

, according to

Dr . Rost, Mr . Innes , etc . , 376,379, 397 .

Mdnikya de‘

vi,236 238.

Manimékha laip fSitta lai8attanar,330, 340 story of the

, 347 d ate

of, 360, 380 ; Prof . Vinson ’s

period for,'373, 382 a neces s ary

sequel to Silappadhika‘

ram, 383.

Manj iga Hoysa la , 229 .

INDEX 435

Manuai (or Mannaikucl i), Pa l lava

victories and Pandya de fea t a t,

Ma nnaikka dag a m , conques t of

Ma n n é,b attle of, 230 .

Ma nneya kere, a R a j a dh z'

m i (capita l ), 140 .

Mdn l ha ram Sé ra l irmnporai 343 ,

Ma nu, th e ancient Ch ol a who

pa ss ed his ca r over his s on, 9 1 ,

Manuve,252 .

Mdnya ke‘

ol d capita l of th e

R a sh trakfi l a s , 79 , 97 ; atta cked ,

Mara—d am (Mah ra tta ) . 67 .

Md r'ana , fa th er of Dékinfiya ka ,

Md ra n a‘

ya ka Da la vdy,th e usurper ,

27 5 - 6 .

Mdrasimha , 103 , 225 -6 .

raTyan , 122 .

Ma ria n e Dand ana ya ka , 234 .

ana ,expedition ag ains t, 241 ,

Mdéana yya . 387 .

Mdsdttuvan , fa th er of Kava l an

Maspero, 40 .

Md stikka l (Mahas atika l ) , 385 .

Ma ta nga hil l , 252 .

Ma tsyapurdna , 367 .

Ma tsya , the , 7 .

Maurya dyna sty,9 - 12 .

Ma uryan empire (or the first

empire), ris e , 55 ; fa l l , 57 .

Mdvankd , C herama'

n, ce l eb ra ted

by Avvaiya r, 333 .

Mdvilangai, country of Emma

nattu Na l l iyakkbn, 32, 363 .

Mdyavdd a Kandan am of El avan

dfir, 203 .

ghaduta of Kilidesa ,325 .

ghava rna of Ceylon , 20 .

Menander (Milinda ) , ru l er ofKabu l ,12 , 14 , 16 , 5 7 .

3 10 /c Celer a nd th e Indians ,5 9 .

Mihiragul a , th e Hun king of

Sag a la , 21, 24 .

Milita ry system , th e Chol a , 184 .

fil l thl la , 8 .

Mithrida tes I , 14, 56 .

Mommsen on Indian trade, 64 .

Mrmumen ts auxilia ry to his tory ,

Mooka A ra su , th e dea f-mute son

f Chikka Deva , 85 .

Mo, a s‘

a s,299 .

Mousikanos , 54 .

Mud a thdma Ka nniyd r , 349 , 35 1 ,359 .

Mud a ttirumdran P andya , 337 .

Mudigondd Chola , Rdj e‘

ndra , 106 .

Mudigond a Chola Mand a lam , 230 .

Mudikond a s'

orapumm , 158 .

uraikkdnj i, 334 .

Mu lan /ur , 149 .

Mu l l a r , siege of, 390 .

M z tmmudiChol a , titl e of s a raja,

Mumm udi Chola Bra hma rdya n ,

162, 164 .

MummudiChola Na l lar , 149 .

Munj a . 103 .

Muppa ra san , 124 .

Mushtika , 299 .

Mu s sa lmdn incursions , 37 .

Mu ssa lmdn -Mahra tta period ,31 .

Mustaphahhan , 294 .

Musugundan , 91 .

Manéndi, 122 .

Muya ngi, ba ttle of, 106 .

Mu z iris (Muyirikkfidu ) , 60, 65 - 6 .

Mysore, l l , 35 , 37 division s of,

47 , 78 ; inva sion of, by Vikram i

ditya , 50 los t to Kuléttunga ,

5 2 ; retrospect of, 76 making of,

84 ; viceroya l ties of, 83 ; Ch ol a

con quest of, 256 siege of, by

436 ANCIENT INDIA

Ranadhool akhan, 292 ; invasion

of, by Chokka linga Na yaka ,296 .

Mythic Society of Banga lore , 39 .

Nachchindrkin/iyar, comm enta tor,

352, 382 Pandit Swamin a th a

iyar ca l led modern , 340 .

Nadaviyappaiyana vz‘

du , a Ch s‘

kya Rajadhsni, 140.

Nddu division, 139.

Nagamanga la , 288.

n a‘

rj una , 58, 327 .

n avaramma Hoysa la , 229 .

Nahapana Kshétrapa , 42, 368

(note) .

Nazidadain of Va l l abh a Deva , 375 .

Nakkavaram or Nicob ars , 116.

Nd ladiydr,Dr. Rost’s da te for th e,

Na lam Kil li, siege of Uraiyar by ,

Nd ldyira P ra bandham ,a rra nge

ment for the recita l of, in

temples , 190, 194, 211 Dr ,

Rost’s date for the composition

of, 375 .

Nd ldyira van , 160.

Na l li, one of the seven pa trons ,

Nd luhaviperumd l , 413 .

Ndmanaikkdnam, conquest of 107 .

Nammd lvdr, time and surnames

of, 15 1 , 191, 321 date of, 396 .

Nambidnddr Nambi,377 .

Nanda , overth rown by Ch andra.

gupta , 55 .

Nanda s , the,9 .

Nandikka lambakam, 23 .

Nandivarman Pa l lavama l la (Na n

dipottaraj a ), 410- 12 .

Nanga lipura ,237 -8, 240 .

Nanj a Raj ah Da lavdy, 86 , 305 .

Nanj a Raj a h Sarvddhika ri. 308 .

Nanj a 'Raj iah,Kara Chari, 308 .

Nanj a Rdj a Wodeyar , defeat of,

of Coorg , 294.

Nannan ,an ancestor ofVich chikon ,

35 5 .

Nann zz l , date of (Tamil Gram

m a r), 156, 374 .

Nappa s‘

a l a z'

yir , Mirdkkattu , 343 .

ra z ba n, defeat of, 1 11 .

N a ra s a Raj a , 283, 286 .

Na ra simha. Brahma .ous ted by

G ang a Ra ja , 146 .

Na ra simha

N arasimha Deva , 301.

Na ra simha Hoysa la 1 , 37 , 82, 111 ,249 ,

Na ra simha Hoysa la II, succes sor

of Vira Bel l a la. II , 156-7 .

Na ra simha Varma Pa l lava com es

to power, 23 builds th e cave

templ e at Mama l lapuram , 26,

255 ; a ttacks and destroys Bede

mi, 43, 288, 244, 376 ;

riva l of Pulikesin II, 255 ; Pa l

l ava a scendancy under, 371 .

Na ra sia-

nha , Vij aya , birth of, 241 .

Nara singa , 242.

ya qz a bha tta r , S a. r v a k r a t u

Vijapéyayajiyar, 148 .

Ndrdya a a-Krama Vitta r ,Kittuga-i,

Ndrdya z mRaj a Simha , 159 .

Na rayana swamiAiyar ,Mr . ,on th e

Tirupatitemple , 215 .

rche hoa ai, a Chola princes s

wh o m a rried a Oh éra P rince, 93 .

Na rkirar . a sangam poet, 357,

t ha fmuni, 195 ; revives Tiruvoy

moli recital , 377 a contempo

rary of Kamban, 379 lea rning of

th e Tiruvdymoli, 397 approves

of Kamba Bama‘

yanam, 3 99 ;date of, 400, 408-9.

Na tta ttan a'

r , Na l lur , 339 , 359, 393 .

Navy, the Chola , 185 .

438 ANCIENT INDIA

P ardkra fina bd hu, the Grea t, of

Ceylon ,153 and Ga ja bfihu, 364 .

P ard krama P andya , 153 - 4 .

P a rama Bha tta'

m ka , title of Be l

l a l a II , 252.

Parama‘

ra s,the, 103 , 234 , 390 .

P aramésvara , titl e of Bel l a l a II ,

P a rame‘

svaravarman P a l lava ,255 ,

399, 410- 11 .

P ara h a r , 95 ; on th e conquest of

Tirukkoilur, 349 ; and Adiyam an

Anji,340 ; an advocate for

Kanuahi, 341 time of—fi rel ative

to Avvaiya r, 356 ; a s ta r of th e

first magnitude, 358 ; an a sso

ciate of Kapilar, 394 .

P arantaka Chola I , 36, 44 ; vic

tories of, 80 ; da te of, a guide

to th at of Vij ayal aya , 99 ; P a ra

kés arivarman ,etc . ,

100, 147 ;

rura l adminis tration under, 166,

P a ran ta ka Chola 11, Sundara

Chol a , 102 .

P a rd s’

ara , Ramanuj a asked to per

petuate th e name of, 198 name

of, perpetua ted, 206 .

P a ra s fwrdma ,106 .

P am} of Parambanadu , 62 ; patron

of Kapilar, one of th e

la s t seven patrons , 358, 370, 381 ,

390, 393 .

P aropanisadae, 54 .3'

P a r thians , the, 14 - 7 , 5 1 .

P a‘

a , capture of,154 .

P a‘

upa ta , a s ect of Saivas , 269 .

P a‘

ta liputra , 8, 15 .

Pa tanj a li, age of, the Gramma

rian , 13 .

P a tna , 8 .

P a tri, 34 .

P a tron s of Litera ture,the la st

seven See Ka daiva l la ld fr .

Pa ttinappd lai, 94, 325 , 332, 349,

850,881.

Pa tte'

. De‘

vi, cons ecration of a

temple to, 63, 71, 347 , 363, 365 .

P a ttiP erumala , 237 .

P a ttuppd tlu , 330 , 392 .

P a vanandi, P rof . Vinson’s da te for,

P éhan of Na l lur, one of the pa

trons , 32, 61 , 341 , 358, 370, 393 .

P eithon ,Viceroy of Sindh , 54

—5 .

P erdicca s,55 .

P ev‘id tvdr , 254 .

P eriap a tna , capture of,151 , 295 .

P ericles and empire~buil ding , 40.

P erip lu s , 65 , 72 .

P eriya richa‘

n Pil lai,411 .

Periyanambi, a dis cipl e of Alavandar and emissary to Rfimanuj a ,

197 ; ch os en preceptor of Rama

unja , 199 ; separa tion from the

dis ciple , 200 ; in th e court of

Ku lottunga , 207 ; death ,

l—eriya Ttrumoti, 406 .

Periya ttr z tvanddd/i, 398 .

P ermmadi, Governor of Tirdavadi,

P er rdnddittan , 159 .

P eruntdm di Ba tuga , 44, 98, 101,225 , 232, 301 .

P eruma’

na diGang a , 110, 1 19 .

P em mbd qz a r g'uppa dat, 95 , 333,

P erumkunrar Kttdr , an advoca t

of Kannahi’s cause ,

P erums‘

era l , 358.

P eruméera ta‘

dhan , Ch era enemy of

Karikala ,93 , 351 sung by Ka l a

th a l aiyfir, 342 .

Perunarkil li, Vérpa harada kkai

grandfa th er of Karikal a , 92,

P erunchoyyuchcholan, 91 .

P erunde‘

vandr , commentator o

Vira éotiyam, 127 .

I'erungada 1}, see Udayan ankadai.

P etroniu s ,on the Rom an dres s , 64.

Peutingerian Tables , 72—3 .

P éy Z lva‘

r on the aspect of th e

Tirupatideity, 216 .

P hilip, viceroy of the Punj a b, 9 ,54 .

P ichaimuttu , Mr ., on th e date of

Nammalve‘

i r, 396 .

Pid a rtha la tya n , uncle of Ka rikala ,

Ptl l dn , see Tirukkuruha lpptra‘

Pil l aya’

nd a , 241 .

Pinba lagya Jiyar , author of Guru .

pa rampa‘

r ai, 407 .

P inn a Timma , 323 .

P isis tra tus , Indwn , 5 16 .

P la taea , Indian contingent at, 6 .

P liny on th e trade of India with

Borne, 64, 72 .

P ohuttelini. patron of Avva l , 338 .

Pon paryl (Ponpetti), 127 , 25 9.

P or ts of India , 60- 1 .

Poruna ra'

yyuppa dai, 349, 35 1 .

Para s and Al exander,‘J a ss assina

tion of, 10, 54 .

Pé s an ,MummudiChol a , 162.

Pota li, Potana ,7 .

P 6 tta rayan , 122 .

P ra bha‘

ka ra Va rdha na , 24 .

Pra bandham,23 (see Nd la

pra bandham) .

Pra dhan, an office, 85 , 86 .

P ra krit dia lects , 34 .

Prap anna‘

mr l tam,320, 323 .

P ra taipa Chakravartin , title of

Bel la la II , 252.

Pratapa Rud ra De'

va I , 25 1 .

P ra tapa Rudra , 11 .

P ra‘

tishta'

na (P aitan), 34 .

P rithvz'

pa tl I Ganga , fa l l of,

P rithvi Va l la bha , Sri, title of

Bel l a la II , 252.

P ré l a , founder of Wa ranga l , 248,

25 1, 266 .

P seudostomos (a limukh am) , 60 .

P tolemey 11 of Egypt, 12.

Ptolemey Philadelphus, 55 .

Public works under the Chola s ,

Puga le‘

ndt, 15 3 , 3 34.

P uhar (Kaverippumbattinam ) , 34 ,66 - 7 , 70, 333 , 344 , 352

P ultka l lima‘

l , 229 .

Pu likesin II , 23 , 25 - 7 , 43 , 224,

246,25 5 .

Pu lima‘

(note) .P a ndita Chola , 131 .

P un l sa , 236 .

P urag éry or F ort of Mysore, 277 .

Pura ndna yu , 338- 9 , 342, 359, 3 85 ,

(Pu lcma vit) , 42, 368

Puranas , ch ronology of the, 300 ;

Ma laya ,Vis hnu d} d a

, 31 .

P arn l ah,Regent of Mysore, 88 .

Pushpa ka , a fem a le eleph ant, 122 .

P ushyamitra , Sénfipa thi, 12, 13 ,

Pushyamitra Sunga ,th e Mauryan

genera l wh o Overth rew th e

empire, 57

Pythagoras in India, 4 .

l tagha va tenga r , Bra hma 5 7 1, on

th e sh rine a t lower Tirupati, 220,403

Rahu l a bhadra , 58.

j a ba‘

hu, 364.

Raj a dha‘

e a lterna tive capita l s ) ,140 .

Raj a‘

dhira j a Jayamgo'nda Chola ,

son of Rajendra Gangaikonda

Ch ol a , 46, 109 - 10, 114, 174, 181 ,

239, 408 .

Ba j a‘

dhlraj a , succes sor of Raj arajaII , 153 .

Raiddhirdj a , son of Bale Chama

ra ja,279 .

Raj a‘

j an Raj ara'

j a,Virarajendra , 125 .

title of

iaditya Chola Raiakésa riva r

man , 36 , 44, 80, 101, 225 .

Raj agriha ,capital of Magadh a , 6 ;

fortified, 8.

Ra j a h , headman of th e Vij jianclan , 7 .

B aiakésa rt,a measure, 150, 182.

Raj ake'

sa rt Na l lur Kilava n, 162 .

R a‘

j a késa ri t a kam, 189, 191 .

Raj a ke‘

s a riva rman i am‘

ia , 37 7 .

Raj a ke‘

sa riva rman Ra'

ndra Cho

la ,129, 132 .

Rdj ama he’

Ch al ukya s , 97 .

Raj ama‘

héndra Ché la , succes sor of

Rajendra II, 112, 117 ; a street

ca l led a fter him , 407, 409 .

B a‘

j ama l la Peruma‘

n adi, 230 .

j ama yya Dandandya ka , 124.

Raj a raj a Abhaya Ku la s ékhara

and Saiva reviva l, 37 7 .

Raj ara‘

j a Bra hmadhiraj an, 178.

ia raia Chalukya , 48, 121, 124 ,

130, 232 .

R aj a fr a

j a Choda Ganga , 145 .

j a ra‘

j a the Grea t, 45 , 46 ;

occupa tion of Mysore, 81 ; a

m aker of th e Chola empire, 94,

98, 103 ; conquests of, 104, 1 15 ,1 17, 144, title of, 105 ; admin

istra tions , 147 , 164, 183 ,

190, 33 1—2, 334, 394 .

jaraya II, successor of Kulot

tunga II , 15 3- 4, 318, 323, 332.

j a III, Rajakésariva rm an ,

Raj araj a , ruler of Ka linga , 131 ;

rul er of Trika ling a , 144 .

Rdj a raj a deva , Sri, 161 .

Raj am'

j amam la lam, 174.

ia rdj amivenda Ve'

n,128, 165 .

Raj am‘

j an Achchudan , Chief Secretary, 178 .

j a rdj an Amiyan , 178.

Raj a ra‘

j an UlaT, 319.

Rd j ara‘

ian Vil lavan, 178.

capital of th e

ANCIENT INDIA

j a rdj a P andina‘

du ,149 .

ia rdj a Paranm'

pard k s h a s a n ,

128, 165 .

i a ratna‘

kari, 364 .

i a se‘

khamvila sa , 46, 108 .

j a simha P andya ,overth row of,

j a éraya , titl e of Rajara ja , 106 .

Raj a s zz ya ,a sacrifice, 13 .

Rdj a‘

va l l , 361 , 366 .

Raj a Wodeyar, 83—4, 85 , 276, 277parentage, 279 ; rul e ,

233, 280 ;

invited by the Viceroy of Sriran

gapatna , 284 ; g rant of Sriran

g apatna , 284 ; cursed by Tim

ma l a raya’s wife,285 ; a dminis tra

tion,286 ; adoption ofKantirava

nara sa raja , 239 ; and th e Da l a

vays ,291 revenue, 301 religion ,

Raj énd'ra fath er-in - l aw of Ku lat

tunga I , 332, 361 .

j endra Chalukya ,m a rria ge of,

with Madhurintaki, 112, 1 15 .

Raj endra Chola , father - in - l aw of

the Ka linga rul er . Rajaraja ,131 .

Rdiéndra Cho la and th e pub l ica

tion of Kamba Bama‘

yanam , 378 .

Raj e‘

ndra Cho la I , occupation of a

part of Mysore, 81 ; distinction

of Kulcttung a under, 130- 1 con

quest of Ka lingam ,144 ; sub ju

g ation of the Mysore Chiefs , 146 ;capture of Kadaram ,

j endra Chola II , th e G angai

konda Chol a , 45—7 ; a ccession

of,105 ; conquests of, 106, 116 ;

chief achievements of, 112 ; in

vestitures under,114 ; a lliance

with the Chalukya s , 115 ; ad

vance upon the Mysore country,

117 successors of, 118 ; ins crip

tions of, 127 ; identified with

th e father-in- l aw of Ka l inga

Rajaraja , 145 ; death of, 231

442 ANCIENT

Rhodes,Mr . Cecil , 40.

Rice, Mr . L .,on Raj adhiraj a, and

his brother Rajendra,109 ; on

th e sons of Ah avama l l a,114

230, 239 ; on Jaina ima ges , 269 ;

author of th e volumes of inscrip

tions in Mysore, 272 .

Richards , Mr . F . J. ,on th e Avvai

ma l ai, 338.

Risha bada ta , 368 (note ) .Roman s , the, 14 .

Rost,Dr . Reinol d , 374 .

Roxa na , 54 .

Roya l A sia tic Society, Journa l of

th e, 390 .

Rudira‘

nga n n ana‘

r,a éang am poet,

95 , 330, 333 , 35 1 , 359 .

Rudra , a l ly of Kanaka a nd Vijaya ,

Rudradaman , g reates t of th e Saka

rul es,18 .

Rapa bha ttayya Dandanaya ka ,143 .

Rapakrit a l ia s Samudra gupta ,

Saada tu l la h Nawa b , 306 .

Sachiva ,Maurya ,12.

garl a gdpada‘

sar , surname of Nam

mal va r, 151 perpetuation of th e

n ame of,ordered by Al avandar,

composition of,

322, 399 , 400 .

Sa rl ayappa Muda liar , th e patron

of Kamban , 379 , 398 .

Saddha rma -pund a rika , founder of

th e Madhyamika School , 58 .

Saga la , th e ancient ca pita l of Ms

dra - desa ,24 .

Saha srana‘

mam,commented upon

by Parasara Bhatta , 206 .

Sa hya (Western Gh a ts ) , sub juga

tion of, 136 .

gaiéundgas , 6 , 8, 9 .

S'aiva Religion,Dr . Rost

’s date for

th e reviva l of th e, 3 76 .

aka era , not supers eded by the

Chil ukya Vikrama era,143 .

Sa ha labhuvand tra ya , title of Vira

rij éndra Ché l a , 116 .

Sakle‘

spura , g ain of, 299 .

Saka s , the, of Saka stan ,14 , 17 on

th e righ t bank of the Indus , 16

of the Pun ja b , 1 5 overth row

th e Andh ra s , 18 overth rown by

Ch andra gupta , 19 ; of th e Gan

dhara , 21 driven out by th e

Yueh - ch i, 56—8 .

Sd kéta'

, 8,12 .

Sla khra ko‘

l tam , Capture of, 107 ,

124, 130, 131 ; Kulottunga’s

victory at, 132 ces sion of

Sa la , 228 .

Sid la t, occupation of, 136 .

Sa ligram , 207 .

Sa l l e‘

khana , of th e Jains , 386 .

Samanj a sap'riyan B 7

a h magun d

k a r a Vidhya‘

stha‘

na Manga ld

ditya , 160 .

Samanta kutam, 353 .

ma nta s , the, de feat of, 121 .

Sama sta Bhuvanaéra ya ,a lia s Vira

Be l la l a , 252 .

Sama ta ta (th e Del ta ), 19 .

Samha l li, ca pture of, 294 .

Sambandar , author of the Te‘

am , 190, 375 ; visits sirutton

dan, 376 .

Sambhava , 34 .

Sambhu , 300 .

Sambu s , kingdom of,54 .

Samudragup ta , th e Napolean of

India,19, 23 ; invades th e Dek

h an , 22 - 3 dominions under, 41 ,

234 ; contempora ry of Vishnu

gopa , 362, 371 .

Sandhubhupa , sub jugation of th e

ru ler of,412.

ndima ttiva ,conques tgof, 106 .

gangam , the Tamil , institution

of, 70 ; da te of the third, 328,

330 ; existence of, discussed,

337 ; poets , 359 ; a ge of, out of

exis tence, 381 .

Sankama 25 1 .

ankama le, 389 .

Sa nka ra‘

charya , Sri, ag e, 26 .

n khya Systems , l earned by Pyth gora s . 4 .

Sa n ta la‘

Devi, 239—4 1 .

Sa nta‘

ra, 6 .

Sa nskrit, reviva l of, 14 , 20 cla s sic

period of, 37 ; us efulnes s of re

s ea rch work in , 3 15 .

Sa rva‘

dhika‘

ri, omce of,85 - 6 .

gasanka of Benga l a nd Ra jya var

dh ana ,24 .

Sa s sanian P er sian s , 17 .

sata ka rn i Gotamip utra ,42

gd ta vd hana s , the, 223 - 4 .

ta vd hana versus Ks h etrapa s .

ta va ha na s , the , 31, 33-4 ; con

nexions with Mysore , 77 templ e

of, 7 4 of th e Dekh an , 75 .

Sa ti in South India , 7 1 ; origin

and instances of, 385 .

Sa tiyaputra ,1 1 , 4 1 .

Sa tyamanga l a , capture of, 294 .

Sa tyd s’

raya Chd lukya defeated byRaja raja , 105 .

Sa tyd sraya Deva ,388 .

Sa tyavdkya Ganga ,387 .

Sava ndroog , capture of, 307 .

Scindia Ma hadaj i, 40 .

S'ékkil a

r , author of Periyapum

nam ,15 1 , 153, 218 .

Seleucidan, empire of th e , attack

ed, 56 .

Seleucus Nika tor , treaty of, with

Ch andragupta ,10, 55 ; des cend

ants of,14.

gelva kka dunn d liyddan Che‘

n , 392 .

Senai a cul tiva tor, 163 .

Sén a‘

pa thiBha tta‘

ra ka , see Bha tta

ra ka .

pa thi Pushyamitra , see Push

yamitra .

Sendamanga lam, 157 .

ndan,P rof. Vinson's date for,

Senga lam, Senguttuvan’

s victoryat, 357 .

Senguttuvan Se'

ra , 42 ; Ch era

a scendancy under, 63- 4, 95 and

the Ganga s , 77 ; a chievements

of, 108, 330, 332, 334 ; g rand

son of Ka rikal a ,349 age of,th e

period of Sang am activity, 337 ;

and P a rap ar , 339 ; victories of,

354 - 5 ; Ch era ru ler of th e S'

padhika’

ram,358 ; consecration

of PattiniDévi’s templ e by, 363 ;

G a j abahu I,the contemporary

of, 366 and the Satakarn as ,867divisions a nd chieftaincies in th e

time of, 369 .

Senni or Kulcttunga I, 147 .

Sen Tamil , 397 .

Seshagiri Sa stria r, P rof .,25 4.

Seun a Cha ndra II , 136 .

Seuna Dééa viceroya l ty, 140, 246 .

Shad Ta rka Shamnukha , 239 .

Sha j i, 299 .

, a mythica l king , 91, 34s .

Siddoyt Ghorepara , 306 .

izaid tya of Kanouj , 224.

Sild ha ra s , the ,of th e northern and

southern Konkan ,140, 142 move

ments of, 142 of Kolh apur , 141 .

Suappadh z'

mm ,Epic of th e An k

let, 42, 94, 150, 255 , 325 , 330,

332, 834, 840, 394 a light house,

185 ; on th e Tirupati Temple,21 5 ; and Ugravarma. Pandyan ,

338 ; on th e parentage of Sen

guttuvan, 340 plot of the, 843

date of the, 360, 380 ; Prof. Vinson

’s period for the. 313 ; not

444 ANC IENT IN-DIA

commented upon Nach chinar

kiniyar, 382 ; incomplete with

out Ma nime‘

kha lat, 383 .

Simha Vishnu, 255 , 411 .

Sindagere, 234 .

Sindas ,the , of Yel lurga , 141 , 146 .

Sin dhu, battle of th e, 13 .

Sinduvayt, conques t of,by Tim

maraja , 278.

Singa , a ll y of Kanaka,367 .

Singa lika trampled, 243 .

Sing ap a Deva ,Mah imanda lésva ra

of Latta l fi r, 117 .

Singa/

ztam, capture of, 121 - 2,

Sim , capture of, 293 .

Siriya‘

,wife of Boppara sa ,

Siriya Véldn ,102 .

Sim pa’

fl uppadai, 339, 341, 5 5 5 ,

359, 363, 393 .

Siruttonda r visited by Sambanda ,

Sita ba ldi, head - quarters of a vice

royal ty oi Vikramaditya , 247 .

Sitha laichd ttana‘ r , author of Ma n t

mékha lat, 330, 341 , 359, 380 ;

and th e composition of Stlappadhikdram, 383.

Siva , temples dedicated to, 23 ;

worship of, 32 .

Sivaohfi ldmwztiehaturvedim a n g a

lam ,160, 162.

Sivan, 298 .

Sivamara , 241 ; I I,256 ; ver sus

Varagun a. Pandyan , 362.

Sivappa Nag/aha of Ikkeri,296

Sivapraka‘

éa swami in p r a is e of

Mah imékha lai, 383 .

Skandagup ta , 21 .

Shandaéishya P a l lava , 862 .

Slog/lax, admiral of Darius Hys ‘

teepee, 6 .

Smith Vincent, 13 .

Sola -Ke'

ra l amand a lam, 174 .

Sjolamanda tam, 149 .

Sotapuram, endowment of a tem

pl e a t, 147 .

Solicountry, 91 .

SoliRa tta ,365 .

Soliyavena‘

dhi Tirukka nnan, 343 .

Somade'

va, 327

Somaydj ta r Kun grakn ln'

, 148 .

mésvam I , Z ha vama l la , 46 - 8

a scends th e th rone of the

Karna tic, 81 ; victor over Ra jadhiraj a , 110 feuda tories of,111th e one ob j ect of, 113 ; versu s

ViraraJéndra ,119, 121 death of,

113, 226,230 - 1 , 233 , 256, 270 ; an

example of Sati, 386 .

Séme'

sva ra ,l l , Bhuvanaikama l l a ,

47 viceroy at Banavase,

113, 115 governor in the

Be l l a ry district, 120, 123 , 125

a cces sion of,126 ; overth row of,

133 , 135 ces sion by, of countries

to Lakshmana , 137 , 226, 233 de

fea ted by Irukkapala ,234 .

Sdmé sva ra III ,Bh1Z l dkama l la , suc

ces sor of Jayakarn a , 143,239 ,

240 suz erain of Vishnuvardh

ana , 242, 245 , 249, 264, 267 .

SGme‘

svara IV, th e l a st Ch al ukya ,

248, 250—2.

Somésva ra Hoysa la , 82.

Somé sva ra Tribhuvanama l la , 387 .

Sophytes , 54 .

Sora tfir , 251-2.

Soseva'r, 234 .

South India ,History of, 29 period

in th e history of, 31 history of,

capab l e of furth er working into,38 .

Sou th Indian Association, 326 .

Speyer , Profi ,on the date of BrikotKa tha, 74 .

Sravana Belgola , 77 ; records , 386 .

Srava sti,8 .

SriBhd shya ,R§m8nuja’s comment

a ry on th e Brahmasutra , 205 .

446 ANCIENT INDIA

Tamra lipti, 34.

Tantrapa‘

la Hammadi, 251 .

Tapra bane,is land of, 60.

rtina’

th , th e Tibetan Historian,

Ta rdawadi, viceroyal ty, 141 .

Tarbiha Chakra var ti, 239.

td Char, Kétikanyakadhanam,

tdrya Guru, 320.

Taxation under th e Chol as , 180 .

Taxila , 7, 10.

Tekip la te, 145 .

Telugu,va lue of, for research work,

Telugu Bhima defeated by Vikrama

Chol a, 152 .

Ten -id yl ls, s ee P a ttuppdtlu .

Ten -tens, see Pa din uppa ttu .

Tere‘

yur, 237—8.

ttarund-ira l of Kul a sékh aral var,

15 1 .

Tévaram,194 , 215, 375 Dr. Rost

da te for the, 376 ; of th e recita l

of, 377 .

Thanésva ra , supremacy of,23 .

Thibaut, Dr 4 .

Thimmappa Gauda defea ted by

Chikka Deva , 300.

Thimmappa Ndyaka , succes sor of

Vikrama Raya , 291 .

Tribhuvanama l la Vikramaditya ,s ee Vikramaditya .

Tripura , capture of,299.

Tikka , the Telugu chief .Tikka

liva l lam as semb ly, 165 .

Tikkamayya Na‘

ya ka , 268 .

Tilak, Mr . B . G on th e Aryan

home, 4 .

Tima ti Venkata , see Béma ti,

Reva ti.

Ttmma Nd yaka , Kereyoor, 283 .

Timmara‘

j a Hiri, flight of, 273 .

Timmaraj a Wod eyar, s o n o f

Hiri Betad Ch amara j a , 276- 7,

Tipu Sulta n, son and succes sor of

Haidar, 87 .

Tiruciwhz’

n amba la Kova/i, 221,

Tirug'fm

na Sambanda r , 97 ; date

of, 362, 381 ; contemporary of

Sundara Pandya ,398 ; disputa tion

with Tirumangaial var, 413 .

Tirukkachehinambi and Rama

nuj a ,198- 9 .

Tirukkil lt’

celebrated by Nappiéa l

aiyar, 343 .

Tirukkottyfi r Nambi, preceptor of

Rimanuj a in Mantrirtham ,201,

Tirukko‘

vilur, 32, 67, 69, 99, 339 .

Tirukhurukaipptrdm Pil ldn , com

mentator of Tiruvéynwli, 207 ;succes sor of Raminuj a , 211 .

Tirumd laiya‘

n, teacher of Ti

ruvoymo lito Raminuja , 202.Tiruma l-iyangar , fel low-

pupil of

Chikka Deva , 84, 272, 274, 279,

284 , 295 , 303, 305 , 307 .

Tiruma laikkolundu Pil lai,Mr . ,on

th e date ofManikkaveéaga r, 376

on the date of the Vaish nava

saints , 402 .

Tiruma la d a of Seringapatam,

83 kil l ed by Ra ja Wodeya r, 84

son of Kamara ja , 274, 279 con

sequence of the minority of, 280riva l of his uncle Venkatapa

tiraya , 281 ; plots against Ra jaWodeyar, 282 ; a t the siege of

Kesaregcnte, 283 fl igh t of, 284succeeded by Ra ja Wodeyar, 285 .

Tirumangaia‘

lvdr , 151, 191, 318 ;

age of, 322, 400, 413 ; in stitutes

the recita l of Tiruvdymoli,398 ;

life story of, 404 works of, 406

not a contemporary of Al avandar, 408 disputa tion with Tiru

gfiana Sambandar, 413 rel ation

to SundaramurtiNayanar, 414.

TirumudtKa‘

ri,Ma layamim,843.

Tirunaratyt‘

tr , 404 .

Ttruna‘

yanapuram,erection of a

templ e a t, 208, 219 .

Tirunedunda'

nda ham ,408 .

Tirupa ti, templ e at, Vaish nava

or Saiva , 205 , 215 ;

tion of a G ovinda temple a t,

Tiruppa rambiyam .

44 , 79 , 99 ,362 .

Tiru ttonda r , 312 .

Tiru ttond a ttogai, 394 .

Tiruva‘

langa‘

d u, a gricul tura l settl e

ment at, 149 pla tes , 103, 107 .

Tiruva l lam records , 165 .

Tiruva l luva r , 380, 35 1, 355 , 359 ,

380, 391 .

Tiruva ludinduda‘

sa r or Nammd l

var, 15 1 .

Tiruva ndddi,

Tiruva rangapperumd 2

201 - 2 .

Tiruva'

sa gam of Man ikkavasag ar,

322, 375 .

Tiruva‘

siriyam , 398 .

Tiruvikrama Bha tta , 159 .

Tiruvikramd pura ,140, 142.

Tiruvilaya‘

da lpura’

nam , 338, 355 ,

Firuviruttam , 398 .

Tir uvis'

atpp a , 102.

Tiruvoymo lt , 15 1 , 191, 321 recita l s

of, 377 , 405 ; lea rning of, by

Nath amuni, 397 .

TiruvdymoliDeva from a name of

Nammal va r , 15 1 ,

Tolka‘

ppiyan ,Dr. Burnel l

’s da te for

the, 374 .

Tortol a , 44—5 .

Tond amdn , chie f Secreta ry ,178 .

Tondamdn ,Ka runaka ra , 5 1 (s ee

a l so Ka rna sdka ra ) .

Tond ama‘

rrur Tunjina

min 166 .

To ndamanda lam, earliest conque s t

of th e Chol as, 115 , 174 .

0 0 1188 028.

battl e of, 35 ,

A r a g a r ,

Tondamir , 82 .

Tondi., capture of, 34, 154 .

Tora -mana , 21 .

Tra dition ,rel a tion of, to his tory,

Tu lu ,249 .

T umkur , captu re oi, 299 .

Turuvekere, occupa tion of, 294 .

Tuva rai, 342 (note ) .Tya

gama‘

vinddan,153 .

Tya‘

ga va l li, Queen of Kulcttunga ,

Tyndis (or Tondi), 60, 67 .

Uchchangi, territory of Sing an a

Deva ,118.

Uchchangid rug, 236 ; siege of,25 1 .

Udaya chandra ,victories of, 4 l o ;

General of Nandipottara ja , 410 .

Uda ydditya , 236,239.

Udayana ,succes sor of Ajata satru,8.

Uda yanankadai, tran s l a t io n of

Briha tka tha’

, 328 .

Udda re, 252 .

Ugra P eruva ludi, P andya , patron

of th e Sangam , 337 ; causes th e

col lection of Ahana'

n zZ ru , 338 .

Ugra P andyan , 355 ; erects th e

fi sh - em bl em, 356 ; Ahana

a scribed to, 360 . f

Ugra Va rma P andya , 338.

Uj j ain , 7 .

Uk k a l records of Vij ayalaya’

reign , 99 ; of Chola administra

tion,15 9 .

Uluyat, defea t of the Kera l as at,

Ul langai Gon a rndana'

yana‘

r, Sa i

va name of Govinda Bh atta r,202 .

Umma ttur, conques t of, by Tim

ma raja,278 .

Up anishad s , 3 .

Ur Town ship, 189.

448 ANCIENT

Uraiyur, capital of th e Chol as , 67 ,

333 siege of, by Na l amkil li,

Uruvappa ha re’

r Ilanj e‘

tchenni, 35 1 .

Uttama Chola ,Pa rakésariva rman .

103 Rajendra , 106 .

Uttamas l li, 102 .

Uttara ,a l ly of Kanaka and Vijaya ,

Utta rame'

rucha lurvédimanga l am

U tta rama l lur) , 159 .

Vadhiba Simha or Sri File ,239 .

Va dugava lt acquired by P aran

taka ,100 .

Va duhan ambi, au thor of Y atiraja

vaibh avam ,212 .

Vaidumba s , the,own Nolambavadi,

78 overth row of, by Paran

taka ,100 .

Vaikkarai, 34 .

Vaird garam ,49 capture of th e

eleph ants a t, 129, 132 .

Vairame‘

gha , Rd s htra kata D a n ti

durga ,occupation of Kanchiby,

27,79, 322 b reak -up of th e

Pa l l ava power a fter, 35 , 411 .

Vaisa li, capita l of Magadha , 6 ; the

Licch avvis of, 8 .

Vaishna vatsm ,origin of, 192 pre

va lence of, before Ramanuja ,

254 ; verses Jainism,260 ; verses

Saivism,399 .

Vaij ian clan ,the, 7, 8.

Vaj rana‘

du (Bunda l kh and) , 42 .

Va l labhadeva 254 (see Ative'

Rdma Pandia a l so) .

Va l l a bhidyna sty, 21 .

Va l la bhipa tan , 34 .

ma SakttMunisvara‘

cha rya , 268.

Yamsa ,th e countryof theVatsas ,7 .

Vananga‘

mudiMuda liar, 294 .

Vanavdsi, conquest of, 106 .

Vdnga‘

l adeaam, conquest of, 107 .

Vanyt, th e Chera capita l , 68.

Va ra gun a P andya , 35 , 44 ; vers es

th e Ga nga s , 79 ,98, 371 defea ted

by Aparajita , 100, 321 ver ses

Sivamara , 362.

Va ra'

ha mihira , 75 .

Vas avad a tta , 8 (note) .

Va sudeva , l a st of th e Kushan a s , 15 .

Vasumt'

tra P rince, 13 .

pi(Badami) , burning of, 376 .

Veda , composition of th e hymns of

th e, 3 .

Vedandyagam P il l ai, Pundit, on

th e da te of Minikkavasaga r ,326 .

Vedanga s, sixfold clas sification of

the , 3 ; treated of. in the Brahm ana s and Upanish ads , 4 .

Veddnta Désika ,213, 323.

nta Dip am, 204 .

Veddnta Sa'

ram,204 .

Veddn ta Sangra ham,204.

Vedoj t of Bijapur, 296 .

Veera bhadr a. Ndyaka , 294 .

Veeraj ta h Da lavdy of K a l a l e

305 - 6 .

Vel lore , an ancient chie ftaincy, 32 .

V5} Pdri, s ee Pari.

Vémbil , stormed by Va raguna ,99 .

Vend d , 110.

Vengai (or Vengi) , conques t of, by

Virarajendra , 124 .

Veng atmanda lam , 45 .

Vengaimanda lésva ra , 47 .

ngaimd‘

rba n, defeat of, by UgraPandyan, 338.

Vengainddu , conquest of, by Rajarija , 104 .

Vengi occupied by the Ch alukyas ,22 ; bounda ry of, in 1084, 145 .

Vengimand a lésva ra , a titl e of

Vijayaditya , 120.

Venka tapa ti, P rad han , 308.

Venka tapatid a of P enukonda ,83 ; viceroy of Ta njore, 273

practical ly the ruler of th e Em

450 ANCIENT INDIA

Vikramcinkade‘

va Cha ritam, 114,

122, 124, 128, 133, 226, 234 .

Vikramanol amba, lord of Nol am

bavadi, 187 .

Vikrama P andu of Ceylon , 111 .

Vikrama P andya , 154, 363 .

Vikramdpuram (or Ara siabidu) , aRa jadhani

Vikrama Raya ,Da l a va'

y, 287 - 9.

Vilj fiam, occupation of, by Vikra

maditya , 136 .

Vilivdya kam II , or Gotamiputra

Sataka rni, 16 .

Vil lage a s sembly under th e Chol as ,

148 ; powers and duties of the ,

159 ; con stitution , 168 ; elec

tion of m emb ers to th e, 169 .

Vil lava raiyan a lia s Munayan Aru

molidévan , 149.

Vima la’

d/itya , son -ih - l aw of Raja

raja ,45 ; married to Kundav

vaiya r, 104 ,115 .

Vinaydditya , lieutenant of Ah ava

mal la ,136, 141, 253 .

Vinaydditya Hoysa la ,Thfl bhw

vanama l la , 111 , 230, 232.

Vinson ,P rof. Ju lian ,

on Vaishna

vaiem ,254 ; on th e his tory of

Tamil l iterature, 373 .

Vim Bel la la ,see Bel lala .

Vira bhadran Til laividanga‘n , 178.

Vim Chola ,a title of Virarfijendra ,

Vim Ganga Vishnuvardhana , 236 .

Vi'ra. Kera la , 110, 155 .

Virakera la Vurma n , 363 .

Virakka l , 385 .

Vim Nara simhadeva P ola lvadan

danilka , 260.

Vim P andya , 103, 15 4, 242, 244,

249, 264, 361 , 363 .

Viraraj endra versus Vikramaditya

in th e war between th e Cholas

and th e Chalukyas , 47 investi

tures under, 114 conquests and

titles of, 116 ; beats back Vikra

maditya, 119 ; not a usurper,

120 ; north ern invasion of, 121 ,

242 , 245 ; at Kflda l Sangamam ,

123 ; conques t of Vengi by,

124 ; burning of Kampili, 125 ;

Civil Administration and con

quest oiKadaram , 125 ; patron

of Vira séliyam , 127 a s sis ts

Vij ayaditya in usurping , 13 1 ;

treaty with Vikramaditya, 135 ,

226, 233 ; inva sion of Ka ling am ,

145 ; acces sion to power, 232 ;

g rants Yauarajyam to Vikram a

ditya ,234 .

Vira rd'

ndra Deva i akésa ri

varman , 134, 166 .

Vir a rdya’

ndra Jayamurind dd lvdn

Vira ra’

j éndra. Mango] a pp e”

aiya'n , 178.

Vim RaviVa rman , Ch era , rul es in

th e middle of th e 12th century,

Vira sa‘

laméghan of Ceylon, 111 .

Vira éola 128 , 165 .

Virasoliyam of Buddh amitra , Pro

fes sor Vin sons ’ date for, 37 , 127

Dr Burnel l’s date for

, 374, 382 .

Vira sémésvara , 11 1, 158.

Wird la , 252.

Virupa‘

kshapura record , 238 .

Visha lakshana , Pundit, Jain tutor

of Chikkadeva,84

, 300, 303 .

Visha ya division , 139.

Vis hnu, templ es to, 23 ; worshipof, 32.

Vis hmtgcipa of Kanchi, 22- 3 , 224 ;

contempora ry of Samudragupta ,

362 ; Pa l lava as cendancy dates

from, 371 .

Vishaugupta , 4.

Vishnukama ldvild sin , 140, 142.

Vishnuvardhana Hoysa la , 45 , 5 1 ,

81 , 141 , 224 ; persecution of th e

Jain s under, 219, 227 , 232 ; ex

pedition again st Nolambavadi,

235 conquests of, 236 titl es of

238 ; conversion to Vaishn a vaism ,

titl e of, 207, 219 , 25 7 , 332 ; to

Banava si, 249 ; Mys ore a t th e

time of, 25 6 erection of temple

by, 261 ; not a secta rian,262 ;

b egin s th e con sol ida tion of

Mysore , 263 , 364 ; dea th of, 245 .

Vishn uva rdh a na Vij a yddiiya , 114 ,

120,138 .

Vita la Deva , see BittiDeva .

Viya l zir , 35 7 .

Viz agapa tam P l a tes , 145 .

Wang -Hiuen - t’se, a Ch ines e am

ba s s ador,26 .

Wa ra nga l , overth row of, 5 3 .

Wel les l ey, Sir A rthur , Comm ander

of the British force s in Mysore ,

Wilks , Col . , on the s election of a

mon a rch by Ha ida r for Mysore,

86 ; his torica l sketch es of,272 ;

on Yadu Ra ja ,275 on th e parti

tion of th e es ta te, 277 ; on BetedXVodeyar, 279 ; on th e dea th of

Vikram a R aya ,290 ; on th e

succes s or of Kan tirava ,295 .

TVodeya r s , rise of th e , 83 , 27 5 ;

significa nce of th e term,274 ;

decline of th e prosperity of th e

Wu sung , the,defea t of, by Yueh

chi,56 .

Ya da vdbhyuda yam , 323 .

Yadava chakra va r ti, a title of Vii-a

Bel l a la ,252 .

Yadava Nikandu ,213 .

Yd da vapra kd s‘

a,th e advaita guru

of Ramfinuj a ,195 difierences of,

with th e dis ciple, 196 ; plots of,

F INIS

Norm—I am ob liged tomy friend

Mr . V. G 0 pa l a sam 1 Iyenga r, B . A . ,

of th e Mysore Governm ent G enera l

and Revenue Secreta ria t for th is

index in th e. preparation of which

h e b es towed con siderabl e time and

l abour .

against the discipl e , 197 conver

sion of, by th e dis ciple ,

examina tion into the truth of

the s tory, 2 13 .

dda va'

pur a , 239 .

ada va s,the, 36 , 52, 82 , 15 5 .

Yadu Rd ya , founde r of th e Wode

ya r famil y, 275 - 6 .

agrfi a Sm

, 368 .

Yagfi amarti, th e first disputant

with Ramanuj a , 203 ; the tru th

of his conversion examined,215 .

Ya gfi a s’

ena Sd ta kar rti, 57 .

d a 'ikka tchey, 392, 394 .

Ya éddha rman ,rul er of Ma lva , 2 1 .

Ya tidha rma Samuchcha yam, work

of Govinda Yogi, 201 , 213 .

Ya tirdj a , Surnam e of Ramanuj a ,200 .

Ya tfira‘

j a Vaib havam , 212.

Ya vana , the, invasion , 16 , 6—67 .

Yed a lorena‘

d , a Ch ola frontier,45 ,

Ye landaruma nga l a , 287 .

Yueh - chi, the ,15 , 56 .

Y u w a n - c h w a n 9 , s ee Bru en

l hsang .

PRINTED AT THE

K. PRESS, manna s

OXF ORD,

December 4 , 1911 .

VINCENT A . SMITH, E sq , M .A .,

ETC ., (retired)

Author of‘Ea r ly His tory of India .

Your vo lume looks wel l and wil l b e u sefu l to me

if I l ive to bring out a new ed it ion of the Ea rly

His tory, a s I hope to do .

CAMBERLY,

December 4 , 1 911 .

DR . G . A . GRIERSON, PH .D . , I .C . S. (retired)

of the Linguis tic Survey of India .

I can s ee clearly tha t Ancien t India i s a mostint eresting book, and tha t I sha l l profi t much fromi ts perusa l . I trust tha t i t i s only a prel imina ry toother works on a la rger sca l e, such a s the Ea rly History of Southern India which a s Mr . Vincen t Smith

says,i s so much wanted by a l l students of the subj ect .

MADRAS,

October 2 7,1 911 .

J. H . STONE Esq ,M .A .

Ma dra s .

It wa s an excel l ent idea to col lect your essays in

the handsome volume which conta ins much of grea tinterest .

MADRA SSep tember 29, 1 91 1 .

SIR S. SUBRAMANYA IYER, LL .D . ,

Ma dra s .

It i s scarcely necessa ry for me to a dd tha t yourl it era ry work wil l bring honour to your A lma Ma ter .

MYLAPORE,

November 1 0, 1911 .

HON’

DLE MR . V . KRISHNASWAMI IYER ,

I congra tu la te you on the volum e of histori ca l essays

you h a ve is sued .

MALLESVARAM,

November 1 , 1911 .

R . NARASIMHACHAR ,E SQ . , M .A

Stuffed with usefu l and sugges tive informa tionelucida t ing severa l im portant points in South IndianHis torv .

HALLE,GERMANY,

December 13 , 1 91 1 .

F ROM Dr . E . HULTZ SCH , PH .D . ,

La te Ep ig rap his t to Ma dra s Government.

Many thanks for the copy of your interesting volum e

on A ncient India in which you have trea ted in a

ma sterly manner severa l problems of South Ind ian

History which have interes ted me for many yea rs . L et

me congra tula te you on the vivid manner in which

you have arranged and represented the disj ecta membra

of his torica l informa t ion . It i s no sma l l gra tifica tion

to me to observe that you have so car efully exami

ned and uti l ized every it em wh ich is brought to notice

in my epigraphica l publica tions . I sha l l often consu l tyour vo lume, the va lue of which is enhanced by the

ful l index .

INDIA OF F l CE , WHITEHALL , S.W .

December 20, 1 911 .

F ROM SIR W . LEE-WARNER,

I ha ve to thank you for Ancient India into which I

have d ipped but which I hope to study more ca refu l ly ,

It is k ind of you to remember me and I am a lways glad

to se e Mysore wel l represented in the field of letters a s

in other fields of knowl edge and enterprise . Wishing

you a l l the best compliments of the season etc .

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