Ponniyin Selvan Varalaatru Peravai

History of the Andhras

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Introduction


year A.D. 953, to the accession of the great Rajaraja I in A.D. 985,
Chola history is obscure. During this period of 33 years there were
five princes who must have occupied the throne. The irregular order
of the succession suggests that there must have been internal feuds
among the different members of the royal family. We have seen above
that the eldest son of Parantaka I, prince Rajaditya, lost his life in
the battle of Takkolam before the death of his father. Therefore,
this prince could not have reigned over the Chola dominions, though it
is stated in the Leyden plates that he became king after Parantaka I.
It is significant that the Tiruvalangadu grant does not make him a ruler.
Parantaka I was perhaps succeeded by his second son Rajakesarivarman
Gandaraditya. Some inscriptions of a "Madiraikonda Rajakesarivarman"
have been ascribed to Gandaraditya[1]. One of these which is dated in
his 8th year (No. 112) mentions Alvar Arikulakesarideva. The epithet
Alvar is taken to be one of respect. It may also indicate that he was
dead at the time. Another is dated in the 17th year of this king. No
event of any importance seems to have taken place in his reign. A
part of the Chola dominions must have been under the Rashtrakutas.
The Chola power was, for the time being, eclipsed. Hence the paucity
of inscriptions during his reign. Some religious hymns extant in
Tamil under the authorship of Gandaraditya are attributed to him.
These show that he must have been a king with a religious bent of
mind. Gandaraditya's queen was Udaiyapirattiyar alias Madevadigalar
sembiyan Madeviyar who bore him a son called Madhurantaka
Uttama-Chola. At the time of Gandaraditya's death, Uttama-Chola must
have been a young boy, as he was set aside in the order of succession
till three kings after Gandaraditya had ruled and died. His mother
survived her husband for a long time. She seems to have been a pious
lady, as she figures in several inscriptions, making donations to
various temples.
If Arikulakesari, Arikesari, Arinjaya or Arindama, died before the 8th
year of Gandaraditya as inferred already, the next king must have been
a son of Arikulakesari who, as the Anbil plates say, was prince
Sundara-Chola born of a Vaidumba princess. He succeeded to the Chola
throne under the name of Parantaka II., and bore the titles
Rajakesarivarman[2] and Rajendra. In his stone inscriptions
Sundara-Chola assumes the epithet "Pandiyanaichuram-irakkina", i.e.,
who caused the Pandya king to enter the forest. The large Leyden
grant records that he fought a sanguinary battle at Cheur, but it does
not mention the name of the enemy. It also says that his son Aditya
II., while yet a boy, played sportively with Vira-Pandya, as a lion's
cub with an infuriated elephant. Therefore, it may be presumed that
Aditya-Karikala was the chosen heir-apparent and that Sundara-Chola's
adversary mentioned above was the Pandya king Vira-Pandya. It is also
worthy of note that after Parantaka I, Sundara-Chola was the next
king that fought with the Pandyas. In an inscription of the reign of
Rajaraja I, on eof the generals of Sundara-Chola named Parantakan
Siriyavelar alias Tirukkarrali Pichchan of Kodumbalur is said to have
died in a battle-field in Ceylon in the 9th year of
Ponmaligai-tunjina-devar[3], i.e., Parantaka II., the father of
Rajaraja I. This campaign in which the general of Sundara-Chola lost
his life must have occurred during the reign of the Singhalese king
Mahinda IV., in whose reign, as stated in the Mahavamsa (Chapter LIV),
there was a fight with Vallabha[4], (i.e., the Chola king), in which
it is stated, that Mahinda's general defeated the Chola army. The
date ascribed by Wijesinha to Mahinda IV does not fit in with the time
of Parantaka II., but if we deduct the error of 23 years which,
according to Dr. Hultzsch has crept into this part of the chronology
of the Mahavamsa, Mahinda's reign would fall into the same period as
that of Sundara-Chola.[5] It is interesting to note that thegeneral
Siriyavelar or Siruvela was a member of the royal family being the son
of the daughter of king Parantaka I who was perhaps identical with the
Chola princess Anupama, the queen of Smarabhirama of the Irungola race
(No. 121). The Anbil plates[6] which are dated in the 4th year of
this king's reign, mention a Brahman minister of his named
Aniruddha-Brahmadhiraja.
As stated already, Sundara-Chola is referred to in later Chola
inscriptions as pon-maligaitunjina devar, i.e., the king who died in
the golden palace. He was a very powerful ruler, much loved by his
subjects. The Tiruvalangadugrants says that his subjects believed him
to be Manu come to the earth to establish his laws which had become
lax under the influence of the Kali age. His queen was
Vanavanmahadevi[7] who committed sati at the death of her husband.
Her daughter Kundavai, who had married a Pallava chief named
Vandyadevar set up an image of her in the temple at Tanjore.
If Gandaraditya ruled for at least 17 years – that being the latest
regnal year obtained from inscriptions from him – and Parantaka I died
in 947 A.D., not taking into account the date of a doubtful
inscription which gives the 46th year of his reign, the accession of
Sundara-Chola Parantaka II will fall in or about 964 A.D. which
coincides with the accession of Udaya III of Ceylon, as given in
Wijesinha's translation of the Mahavamsa. Sundara-Chola's latest year
of reign as given in his inscriptions is the 5th. But from a later
inscription of the time of Rajaraja I we learn that in the 9th year of
Sundara-Chola Parantaka II a deadly battle was fought in Ceylon,
perhaps with Udaya III, in which a general of Sundara-Chola, by name
Siriyavelan died. Perhaps, Sundara-Chola died soon after and we may
for the sake of a tentative chronology give him a reign of 10 years.
This brings us to A.D. 974.
Between him and Uttama-Chola, the son of Gandaraditya, must be
accommodated Parakesarivarman Aditya II Karikala, a son of
Sundara-Chola and elder brother of Rajaraja I, and Parthivendravarman,
Parthivendradivarman, Parthivendradhipativarman, Parthivendra
Adityavarman, Parakesari Vendiradivarman or the Paramamaharaja
Rajamarayar. Both these kings claim the epithet, `who took the head
of Pandya or Vira-Pandya – evidently the same Pandya king who was at
war with Sundara-Chola Parantaka II – and the title Parakesarivarman.
Inscriptions of the former are very few and found only in the south,
the lates