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No. 25.)
CHARALA PLATES OF VIRARAJENDRADEVA: SAKA 991.
245
in the Puttur Division of the Chittoor District. The locality where these two inscriptions were discovered, namely the Chittoor District, has perhaps to account for the useful quotation of both the regnal as well as the Saka years in them, for such double citations are somewhat rare in inscriptions of this period in the southern districts.
Several Sanskrit and Tamil birudas of the king are also enumerated in this portion of the record (11. 155-8), some belonging to himn by his own right as a scion of the Chola family, such as Ravikulatilaka, Cholakulasekhara, etc., while others were acquired by him as a result of his victory over the Chalukyas, such as Sakalabhuvanäsraya, Ahavamallakulakäla, eto. The title Ahavamallanaiaimmade-een-kanda' is of particular interest, as it claims for him victory over Abavamalla, as many as five times. Pāndyakulantaka refers to his victory over the Pandyas.
These and other achievements of the king are further elaborated in the short historical introduction commencing with the words Viramēy tunaiyagavum ', etc., which follows thereafter (11. 160-68). It is herein claimed that Räjakēsarivarman. Viraräjëndra took the head of the Tennan (Pandya), levied tribute from the Chöra king, subdued Singala-dekam (Ceylon), saw the back of Abavamalla five times in battle, fulfilled the vow of his elder brothers by recovering Vērgai-nādu which, however, he gave to king Vijayāditya (Vijayāditya VII) who had submitted to him, gave Kadäranı back after conquest to the (Kadāra ?) king who fell at his feet soliciting his help, drove away Sõmē vara (Sõmēsvara II) from his Kannada-dēgam, and gave Irattapāļi-seven-and-a-halflakh country to Vikramaditya (VI). Incidentally, Virarājēndra is also stated to have defeated the Chāļukya king at Mudakkäru, apparently on an earlier occasion, and to have thus cooled his anger.
From a study of the elaborate details contained in the variant historical introductions prefacing his lithic records, it is seen that the reign of Virarājēndra, though it occupied a short span of only seven years, was crowded with campaigns conducted in as many as four war-fronts, on the west against Abavamalla to whom he bad a score to pay in revenge for the death of his elder brothers in battle, on the east against Abavamalla's feudatory, the Eastern Chāļukya Vijayaditya, on the south against the Pandyas, the Chēras and Ceylon, while on the north he is said to have invaded Kalingam and carried his raid as far as Chakkarakkottam, in extension of his Vēngi campaigns. Vīrarājēndra began his military career even as a prince and appears to have taken part in the wars against the Western Chāļukyas undertaken by his predecessors Rajadhirāja I, Rājēndradēva and Rajamahendra, and what they had failed to accomplish themselves, he claims to have brought to a successful finish. Soon after the death of Rājēndradēva, he is said to bave returned to Gangapuri (Gangaikondakola puram) direct from the battlefield for his coronation and to have again started out on that very day to proxecute the war against Ahavamalla. In all, he credits himself with having routed Ahavamalla in five pitched battles. These facts have been reviewed in a thorough manner by Dr. Hultzneh," but the sequence of events in this Chola-Chalukya conflict as worked out by him seenus to require slight revision.
Before examining this question, however, a few relevant facts bearing upon this period inay be quoted here for purposes of easy reference.
(1) Rājēndradiva's rule extended from 28th May 1052 A.D. to A.D. 1063, his highest
regnal year so far known being 12.
1 There is only one instance (No. 230 of 1928-29) in which he is styled a 'Parakösarivarman'.
* Kalingam and Chakkarakkottam were in close political connection with the Vengt kingdom at this period, and the political changes in Vengt had their repercussions in the other two northern territories.
.8. 1. 1., Vol. III, p. 194.
• Ante, Vol. IX, p. 218 and No. 144 of 1808. His 12th year, if correct, will have commenced in June 1063, and he did not probably live long in that regnal year; but the details given in this record (No. 144 of 1998). work for February, A. T). 1063, which, however, fell in his 11th year.
