Indian Antiquary Vol 21

SR No.: 032513
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Richard Carnac Temple
Publisher: Swati Publications
Publication Year: 1984
Total Pages: 430
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 17 MB

Page 301

OOTOBER, 1892.)
TAMIL HISTORICAL TEXTS.
283
inaccessible jungles. The whole of the Pandya country as far as Cape Comorin and Kottara was annexed to the Chola empire. Then the pearl fisheries in the Gulf of Manaar and the wild elephants on the Western Ghâţs became the property of Kulottunga before the close of the 20th year of his reign. It was, I believe, after this important event that he proclaimed himself "emperor of the three worlde;" for in the inscription No. 1 his name is given as "Udaiyar sri-Kulôttunga-Choladeva," whereas in No. 2 it is "Tribhuvanachakravartiga! éri-Kulottunga-Chladeva." Within six years afterwards the Kalingamandalam was conquered; but from the 36th to the 42nd year the empire seems to have enjoyed peace, no mention being made of any wars in subsequent inscriptions. Three of Kulottunga's queens are named in the inscription No. 3, viz. Dinachintamani, Elisaivallabhi and Tyagavallt; but only the last two are mentioned in the text, which forms the subject of this paper.
No era or astronomical day is given in the inscriptions to enable us to ascertain the period of the king's reign; but from the leading events mentioned in them, it is certain that he is identical with the Kulottunga-Chola of the Kalingattu Parani. The poem speaks of his early exploits at Chakkarakkottam (canto x. stanza 23), the anarchy. in the Chola country (x. 26), his Bccession to the Chola kingdom (x. 32), the defeat of the five Pandya princes (xi. 69), the battles on the banks of the Tungabhadrâ (iv. 7) and at Manalûr (xiii. 93), the conquest of the Kalingamagdalam (xii. 68), and the queen Tyagavalli (x. 55). All these particulars occur in the inscription also. I have in my article on the Kalingattu Para identified the Kulottunga-Chola of that poem with the first Eastern Chalukya king of the same name. And as it appears from inscriptions in the Telugu country that he bore the name of Rajendra-Chola before be acceded to the Chola kingdom, there is no doubt that he is also that "Rajiga, the lord of Vengi," who, according to the Vikramdikadévacharitat took possession of the throne of Kañchi on the death of the Chola king. From the Chellar grant we learn that Kulottunga's third son, Vira-Chadêva, was installed as viceroy of Véngi in A.D. 1078, and that before him, Kalóttonga's second Bon, Rajaraja II., held charge of Vêngi for one year, and his uncle, Vijayaditya, for fifteen years, It follows therefore, that Kulottunga succeeded to the crown of Vêngi in A.D. 1063.5 But there is no record to show when he ascended the Chola throne. From Tami) inscriptions I find that a Chola king named Vira-Rajendradeva, alias KO-Parakesarivarman, claims to have “bestowed the vengimandalam on Vijayaditys who had bowed at his feet, conquered Kadaram for another king who had besought his assistance, forced som svara to give up the Kennaradesam and drove him out of that country, and reduced Irattapadi for Vikramditya who had sought refuge at his feet." The king's alluded to appear to be Vijayaditya VII., viceroy of Vengt (A.D. 1063 - 1077), the Western Chalakyn som bvara II. (A.D. 1069. 1076), and Vikramaditya VI. (A.D. 1076—1127). That Vijayaditya was in danger of being deprived of his power by the Cholas, is also evident from one of the Ganga grants, in which it is stated that, "when Vijayaditya, beginning to grow old, left the country of Vengi, as if he were the sun leaving the sky, and was about to sink in the great Ocean of the Cholas," Rajaraja of Kalinganagara (A.D. 1071-1078) "caused him to enjoy prosperity for a long time in the western region." The above records seem to indicate that Vira-Rajendra, alias Kô-Parakesarivarman, was the immediate predecessor of Kulottunga on the Chola throne, was contemporary with the Western Cbalakya Sômêávara II., and helped his younger brother, Vikramaditya in wresting from him a portion of the Chalakya dominions; also that Kulottunga did not take possession of the Chola kingdom till about A.D. 1071. This is confirmed by the Vikramánkadevacharita, which states that "the lord of Vêngi" seized the Chồla sovereignty some time after the death of Somêsvars I. which occurred in A.D. 1069, and before Sôméévara II. was taken prisoner by Vikramaditya VI. in A.D. 1076. If Kulottunga had reokoned his regnal years from the day of his accession to the throne of Vengt, the date of the following inscription, which is in the 42nd year of his reign, would fall in A.D. 1106. ante, Vol. XIX. p. 888.
• Dr. Bühler's edition, chap. vi. verse 26. Dr. Haltssch's South-Indian Inscriptions, Vol. I. pp. 49-82. .See Dr. Fleet's article on the Eastern Chalukya Chronology, ante, Vol. XX. p. 276.