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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[NOVEMBER, 1890.
The name of the father of Kulôttunga is not mentioned; but it is simply stated that he belonged to the lunar race. The royal families which claimed descent from the lunar race, and whose territories lay adjacent to the Chôla country, were only the Chalukyas and the Pandyas. Kulôttunga himself, - so says the poem, defeated five Pândyan princes, and was engaged in battle on the banks of the Tungabhadra (evidently against the Western Chalukyas of Kalyana); but no mention is made of any hostile acts in the Vengi mandala; and it should be inferred, therefore, that it formed a part of the Chôla empire during Kulôttanga's reign; especially because it appears that the kings of North Kalinga and Kadakam (Cuttack), whose territories lay to the north of Vengi, were also feudatory to the Chôla at this time. It appears therefore, most probable that Kalôttunga's father belonged to the Eastern Chalukya family, who reigned at Vengi. This supposition is confirmed by inscriptions found in the Telugu country, wherein it is stated that Kulôttunga I., the son of Rajaraja, first ascended the throne of Vengi, and was subsequently anointed to the Chôla kingdom, and that his mother was the daughter of the Chôla king Rajendra.3
No date is given in the poem. But I find from inscriptions in the Tamil country, executed during the reign of Kulôttunga, that, whereas the expedition to Kalinga is not alluded to in the grants recorded up to the twentieth year of his reign, in those made in the twentysixth year, the re-conquest of the Kalinga mandala is mentioned. It follows, therefore, that the expedition must have taken place between the twentieth and twenty-sixth years of his reign. It has been ascertained from the inscriptions of the Eastern Chalukya dynasty, that Kulôttunga reigned from about A. D. 1064 to 1113, and that he was anointed to the Chôla kingdom not long after his accession to the sovereignty of Vengî. The date of the expedition should, therefore, be between A. D. 1084 and 1090; the twentieth and twenty-sixth years of his reign. And the poem should be taken as having been composed soon after the expedition and during his reign; for, the opening canto in which the poet invokes the gods for the long life and prosperity of Kulôttunga, clearly indicates that he was still alive and in power, when the poem was written. Consequently the poem must have been written certainly not later than A. D. 1113, in which year Kulôttunga was succeeded on the throne by his son.
It is interesting to note that this poem was composed almost about the same time as was the Vikramánkadévacharita, which was written by Bilhana in honor of his patron, the Western Chalukya king Vikramaditya VI. Dr. Bühler has shewn in his learned introduction to the printed edition of the Charita, that it must have been written about A. D. 1085. The events that took place in the Chôla country, as narrated in that poem, quite correspond with, and explain, what is stated in the Kalingattu-Parani. Bilhana states that, in his time, the Tungabbadra was the boundary of the Chôla and Chalukya dominions. The Chôla capital was at Gangakunda. Vikramaditya had married a daughter of the Chôla king, and some time after his marriage, he learnt that his father-in law had died, and that there was anarchy in the Chôla kingdom. He therefore hastened to Kanchi, put down the rebels there, and thence proceeded to Gangakunda, and having subdued all enemies, he installed his father-in-law's son on the throne and returned to the banks of the Tungabhadra. Shortly after his return, his brother-in-law lost his life through the enmity of his subjects, and Rajiga, the lord of Vengi, took possession of the Chôla kingdom. The Kalingattu-Parani states that there was anarchy in the Chola dominions, previous to the accession of Kulôttunga, but does not allude to the intervention of Vikramaditya, or to the deposition of his brother-in-law. This omission is obviously owing to the desire of the poet to avoid mention of any circumstances, which might detract from the glory of the Chôla family.
The most important portion of the poem is Canto 8, which gives the pedigree of the Cholas. It agrees in many respects, with the accounts given in the inscriptions that have been
* See the grants of Rajaraja I. and Kulôttanga-Chôla II., published by Mr. Fleet in this Journal, Vol. XIV. pp. 48-55.
* See the Chellûr grant edited by Dr. Hultasch (South-Indian Inscriptions, Vol. I. p. 49).
