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MAT, 1911.)
KOYILOLUGU
131
KOYILOLUGU. BY K. V. SUBRAHMANYA AIYAR, B.A., OOTACAMUND. This book is a record of gifts made, and repairs and additions affected, to the temple of Srt. Ranganatha at the island of Srirangam, from the earliest times and is written in Tamil prose. It contains much valuable information regarding the ancient dynasties of Southern India as it gives almost a continuous thread of South Indian chronology from the 13th to the 16th century A.D. It also mentions several important facts relating to earlier poriods,
The existence of the book was not unknown to scholars interested in unearthing the ancient history of the Dekhan, Mr. R. Sewell remarks :-" The priests of the (Srirangam) temple have in their possession a document which ooght to be of real value, the mahatmyas of temples being almost invariably an absurd jumble of mythological fables. This is a chronicle called the Valoga which is said to give a list of all the priests of the temple, with details of temple management from the earliest times.'" Purther notices of it are made by Professor Haltzsch in the Epigraphia Indica, Vol. VII, and by Rai Bahadur Venkaysa in his Annual Report on Epigraphy for 1899, p. 15, paragraph 43. Except a few other stray references to it as in the revised Gazetteer of the Trichinopoly District, the contents of the book have not been thoroughly examined.
Inscriptions on stone and copper appear to have been the main sources from which the book had been compiled, and as such, the facts recorded in it have not to be discarded as worthless for historical purposes. The anthorities, in whose bands the palm-leaf manu scripts were originally entrusted, seem to have drawn very largely from the accounts given in the Guruparamparáprabhava, the biography of the Vaisbộava saints, before presenting the whole in the shape of a book, As a review of a work of this kind, in the light of the facts so far elicited, will not be entirely an unprofitable task, I propose to do it in this paper.
Early Period. God Ranganatha was worshipped for a time by Brahma, from whom Iksh vâku took it to Ayôdbya. It was then graciously given away by Råma to Vibhishapa, and the latter removed the deity to Srirangam, an island formed by the two branches of the Kaveri river. Here Dharmavarman, one of the ancestors of Kiļi-Chóls erected the central shrine (tiruvunndligas") and other necessary structures for the god. Long time after this, when Kiļi was the Chola sovereign, the temple was covered almost to the very top with sand caused by a flood in the Kávêri, the two branches of which had become one and a thick jungle covered the island. Kiļi restored the temple and its adjuncts to their original state. After Kiļi, R&jamahendra paved the interior of the temple with stone, with view to close up the springs which were till then in existence there. To him is ascribed the constraction of several structures. A street was also called after his name. Some time hence, a certain Nanda-Chola who was ruling with his capital at Nicholapuris obtained a female child called Kanakavalli that came floating on a lotus leaf in the Kivêrf. He is reported to have made rich donations to the temple for feeding Brāhmaṇas and for the sacred offerings to the god.
Several years after, there appeared a shower of sand caused by the sinful deeds of Chola king. By this event, Uraiyûr was destroyed and the capital was removed to Gangaikondan. After
1 Lista of Indian Antiquities, Vol. I, p. 268. 1 This word is made up of tiru, w and naligai which together mean the sacred control (or interior) shrine.
Nichalk part is another name for Uraiyur in the Trichinopoly district.
• The foll name of the city is Gangaikenda-Cholapuram. It was probably founded by Rajendra-Chols I, who also appears to have orooted the big templo there. In the historical introduction of this king, he is called
Pervadesamum Gangaiyum Kiddramunkonda.' The tomple of Gangaikopdaclovara is built on the style of the Bajarkjørers at Tanjore, but is bigger in size. Though it presents an older appearange owing. perhape, to its neglected condition, the inscriptions engraved on the walls of it do not take us to a date earlier than the time of BAjándra-Chola I. It is deplorable that except the temple and a few hute, there is not a trace of the city at present at Gangaikonda-Cholapuram. Exorvation at the site is sure to yield good results. Gangaikond p in the Tinnevelly district is certainly not identical with the place referred to in the Keyilolugw, though that might have also come into existence of the same time.
