________________
186 EPIGRAPHIA INDICA.
(VOL. XXI. PE
Though Rājarāja II had no sons at the time he selected Edirili-Perumal to succeed him, it is clear from the inscription that he did not die without leaving an heir-apparent to the throne. Since it is said that the princes were one and two years old respectively at the time of Rājarāja's demise, when Edirili-Perumāļ was crowned king as Rājādhirāja, they must have been 17 and 18 years old respectively and therefore fit to assume the reins of government in A.D. 1178, which was the last year of the reign of Rājādhirāja II and the year of accession of his successor Kulõttunga-Chöļa III. It is, therefore, likely that Kulõttunga-Chola III was one of the two sons of Rājarāja II and that during the former's minority, Rājādhirāja II was brought in to rule the Chõļa country. The fact that the inscriptions of Rājarāja II and those of Kulottunga-Chola III commence with the identical eulogistical expressions Pu-maruviya' and 'Puual-vāyttu," etc., also lends support to this view.
After crowning Edirili-Perumal under the title Rājadhirāja, the next service of Pallavarāyar to the Chola kingdom was in connection with the war of the Pandya succession waged by the two rival claimants Parākrama-Pāņdya and Kulasēkhara-Pāņdya for the throne of Madura. The inseription states that the forces of Ceylon entered the Pandya country in large numbers and forced its king Kulaśēkhara to leave his territory, whereupon this king is said to have sought the shelter of the Chēļa king, entreating him to get back his kingdom. Pallavarāyar undertook to lead the Chāļa army into the Pāņdya country, to restore Kulasēkhara to the throne, to decapitate the Singhalese commanders and nail their heads on the gates of Madura so as to inspire terror in the enemy's camp. Kulasēkhara is stated to have stayed in the Chola country for some time before he started with the necessary forces to win back bis kingdom. Pallavarāyar carried out all his undertakings and as a result of his invasion the Singhalese forces were driven out of India and Kulasēkhara was installed on the throne of his forefathers.
Only three other records of Rājādhirāja II refer to this war, viz., one from Arpäkkam? in the Chingleput district, dated in the 5th year; another from Tiruvälangadu' near Madras, dated in the 12th year; and the third from Tirumayānam in the Tanjore district, dated also in the 12th year,
. * Copper-plate No. 23 of 1916-17 which belongs to Rājaraja II as the ruler of the Véngi country couples the Saka year 1091 (=A.D. 1169) with the 23rd regnal year. We know that Rajaraja II was not alive in A.D. 1169 and that the Chöļa country was then ruled by Rajadhiraja II. The period of regenoy was probably denoted here as a continuation of Rajaraja's reign. Incidentally, however, we see from the record that the Chola hold on the Vēngi country was not lost even after the death of Rajaraja II, whose very rule over this part of the country was doubted (A. R. for 1917, para. 26).
2A. R. No. 173 of 1908; also A. R. for 1909, para. 50.
A. R. No. 164 of 1907. For similar commencement with the introduction of predecessors, see A. R. for 1913, para. 33, and A. R. for 1924, p. 102.
This war is detailed at length in chapters 76 and 77 of the Singhalese chronicle Mahavamsa and its authenticity is borne out by inscriptional evidence. "The chronicle is one-sided in its version, inasmuch as it assigns victory to the Singhalese general, but from Tamil lithic records we find that the Singhalese general was not only routed but that the heads of this general and of his subordinates were cut off and nailed to the gates of Madura by the Choļa general. The help that the Pandya king Kulasēkhara received from Rajadhirāja II is mentioned at considerable length in the Mahavamsa, which fact is also corroborated by the present record.
Such gruesome acts are not uncommon in the warfare of the Tamils (see 8. 1. I., Vol. III, pp. 37 and 68).
. In this connection it may be noted that Kulasēkhara sought help from his uncle, the Kongu king Kulottunga-Chola, who also seems to have taken an active part in the restitution of his nephew to the Pandya throne (A. R. No. 336 of 1928). The Mahavamsa also corroborates the help received by Kulasekhara from the king of Kongu. The chronicle states that 'Kulasēkhara gathered together the forces of Tirinavela and those also of his mother's brethren which were at Ten-Kongu and Vada-Kongu' (Wijesinha's translation p. 245).
No. 20 of 1899 of the Madras Epigraphical collection and 8. 1. 1. (Texte), Vol. VI, p. 188 ff. .No. 466 of 1905 of the same collection. No. 261 of 1925 of the same collection,
