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JUXE, 1893.)
TAMIL HISTORICAL TEXTS.
141
TAMIL HISTORICAL TEXTS. BY V. KANAKASABHAI PILLAI, B.A., B.L.
No. 4. — THE VIKRAMA-CHOLAN-ULA. CIX years ago, during one of my official tours, I halted at Tanjore, and visited the O Sarasvati-Mahal, or the “ Palace of the Goddess of Wisdom" in that town. This building forms a part of the residence of the late Rájás of Tanjore, and is so called because it contains a vast library of miscellaneous works composed in Sanskrit, Marathi, Tanul, and English, printed and in manuscript, collected by successive Rajâs. The volumes I found neatly arranged and labelled, and catalogues of the books available for the visitor, whose curiosity might tempt him to see what treasures of the ancient lore of the country lie buried there. I did not examine the catalogues of Sanskrit books, because I knew that Dr. Burnell, who was employed as a Judge for several years at Tanjore, bad examined the whole library, and had described everything of that kind that was valuable. But I carefully went through the lists of Tamil works, and found two manoscripts, bearing respectively the titles Vikrama-CholanUla and Kulottungs-Cholan-UIA, which seemed to be of some historical value. They were written on palmyra leaves, about a foot long and one and a half inch broad. The leaves were written on both sides and in clear characters ; but they were fast decaying, the edges breaking under the slightest touch, -tiny insects, more diligent than the antiquarian, having already gone through every leaf of the manuscript and read, marked and digested" a great portion of it. A Tamil Pandit, who accompanied me, and who was an ardent admirer of the ancient masters of Tamil poetry, was in raptures over the two poems, especially their latter parts, in which the author describes in very lascivious strains the amorous demeanour of the women of the palace at the sight of the king; but to me the introductory portions, wherein the ancestry of the Chola princes is given, was of absorbing interest. It struck me at the time that the poems would furnish & clue to the tangled genealogy of the Cholas, which at present cannot be unravelled with the side of information afforded by inscriptions alone. I had them copied at once. Some months afterwards, the late Tyagaraja Chettiyar, Tamil Pandit of the Government College, Kumbhakôņam, who had copies of these poems with him, having kindly lent me his manuscripts for my use, I compared them with the copies taken at the SarasvatiMahal, and found little or no difference, except a few blunders made by copyists.
I give below the text and translation of the first 182 lines of the Vikrama-Cholan.Ula. The rest of the poem is of no value to the student of history, and is besides of too licentious at character to be rendered into English. As denoted by the title, the work belongs to the class of metrical compositions known in Tamil as “ ula." This name is derived from the root ulá, which means to stroll' or 'to go in state.' Poems of this class usually begin with an account of the ancestors of the hero, then depict his personal appearance when he sets out from his mansion, followed by his vassals and servants, and conclude with a very elaborate description of the enamoured behaviour of the women of his court, young and old, the eagerness with which they await bis appearance, their joy and confusion when his eyes meet their gaze, their sorrow and sadness when he passes out of their sight. The poem is one of the best of its kind in the Tamil language. For elegance of expression and richness of imagery it may be compared to Moore's Lalla Rookh. It is composed in the Nérisai-kali-venpá metre. The name of the author is not known.
The poem begins with the genealogy of the Cholas, which is traced through Brahma, the Sun, and other mythological personages to the king, who is said to have built high banks on both sides of the bed of the river Kaviri. The name of this king is mentioned in the Kalingattu-Parani as Karikala-Chola. His successors are described as follows:
1. The king, who set at liberty the Chóra prince, on hearing the poem Kalavali sung by the poet Poygai. This is Sengat-Chola; see my translation of the Kalavali, ante, Vol. XVIII. p. 258.
