________________
•
THE MOHOOR CHIEFTAIN.
129
the Mauryas. He further thinks that this conquest of the South by the Mauryas took place during the time of Bindusāra. He imagines that the term “Mohoor in the text refers to some chieftain of Māhoor and not necessarily to 'Palayan Maran.” “ All the passages of Māmūlanār”, finally he says, “ referring to these incidents refer to them as past occurrences and not as contemporary events.” Mr. S..K. Ayyangar has however adduced no satisfactory argument to show why the passage should necessarily refer to the incidents that took place in the time of Bindusāra. From the text it is clear that "A $$$ TT 60) is the only expression that can possibly express remoteness, but it need not necessarily indicate such high antiquity as is claimed for by the Professor. After all, the word Orol merely means ' at that time. It is difficult to conceive if the poets, even supposing the incidents were contemporaneous, could have described them in any other language. It is a well-known fact that Seran Senguttuvan Identification
of Palayan won a great victory over the chief of Māhoor, with the
Möhoor This Möhoor was known as Palayan. This chieftain of Palayan was a great warrior who was very much feared by the neighbouring kings. We have next to see if this Palayan was the same as the Möhoor chief referred to by Māmūlanār, and
1 Dr. Krishnagwami has un- Eighteen Hundred Years Ago, wittingly adopted the wrong pp. 47 and 50. reading of Kanakasabhai Pillai. Patirruppastu, 44 and 49. The text merely reads AB 1160p : Patirruppattu 5 and war" and not as “ L120 LOWJON Slappadikāram, 27th Canto, II. won per "-Vide The Kamils 124 and 126,
Māmülanār.