________________
138
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[MAT, 1911.
has been surmised from the fact that he issued a grant from that city. Inscriptions of his reign are found from the distant Nellore to the extreme south, and point unmistakably to the vastness of his empire. Sundara-Pandya's conquest of the Hoysala king Virasômeávara and the capture of bis new capital, Kaņgapur, must have left him in possession of the Koigu country and what surrounded Trichinopoly. The victory over the Cholas and Viragondagopala should have brought almost the rest of the Tamil districts under his sway. The subjugation of the Gajapati king of Cuttack in Orissa and the Kakatiya sovereign, Ganapati, should have secured the Telagu country for the invincible conqueror. His performance of the anointment of the victors at Vikramasingapura, i.e. Nellore, is of the greatest significance in history, as it shows that not only the southern portion of the Presidency but the north as well acknowledged his supreme power. Jața varman Sundara-Pandya I. may thus be regarded as the greatest Pandya sovereign, as his dominions reached the utmost limit of expansion. In this connection we may note the remark made by the Muhammadan historian that. Ma'bar (the name by which the Pandya country was known to the Muhammadans) extends from Qulam, i.e. Quilon, to Nilawâr (Nellore), nearly 300 pharasangs along the sea.coast; and in the language of the country, the king is called Dewar which signifies that he is the lord of the Empire,'21 Jațvarman SundaraPaņdya I. seems to have issued coins bearing several legends. Some at least of those with the inscription Sundara-Pandya are his. Dr. Holtzsch has adduced grounds to show that coins bearing the legend Ellan dalaiyanana2 belong to him. Mr. Tracy bas secured a coin which contains the characteristic emblem of the Pandyas, viz., the double fish on the obverse side, while the reverse beurs the legend Ködandardma. There are reasons to suppose that this coin is one of Jatavarman Sundara-Pandya I's. In his historical introduction, the king calls bimself a second Rama in plundering the island of Lanka. There are also stone epigraphs of the same sovereign which provide for festivals called Ködandardman-sandi, and these declare that the festivals were so named after the king himself. Nothing could be more convincing than the two grounds here set forth for the identity of the Kodandarama of the coins with Jaļa varman Sundara-Pandya I. A great conqueror as he was, there is nothing fabulous in the estimate of his munificent gifts to the Srirangam temple.
The next royal personage referred to in the book is Kalóttunga. There were three kings of this name and it is not possible to say which of them is alluded to here.
Muhammadans advance on Srirangam. On page 44, Kóyilolugu registers the fact that in Saka 1149 expired Akshaya-samvatsara, the Muhammadang tulukkar) took hold of Tondai-mandalam and advanced southward passing Samayavaram (on their way). Consternation prevailed when the news of this reached the temple authorities at Srirangam. Sriranganatharaja, who was then in charge of the affairs of the temple, is said to have ordered that the 12,000 images in the Tiruvolakkam should not be disturbed. To save them and the temple treasure from the destruction and plunder of the invading iconoclasts, a stone structure covering the particular spot was ordered to be erected. Some of the important deities and part of the treasure of the sacred place were sent away to the south. As apprehended, the Muhammadans entered the Ranganatha temple, mutilated and destroyed such of the images that they came by.
The same event is referred to on page 61 where Saka 1249 coupled with the cyclic year Akshaya is assigned to it instead of 1149. It may be noted that the cyclic year Akshaya regularly corresponds to Saka 1249 but not to Saka 1149. The latter is, therefore, an evident mistake.
11 Sir W. H. Elliot's History of India, p. 82.
The legend of Eulandalaiyanan in Nos. 133 and 137 of Sir Walter Elliot's colleotion has been misread Jamarakoldhala but appears to bave boen subsequently corrected.
