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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[AUGUST, 1911.
thus obtained for Jatila is A. D. 769-70. The period of his reign and the date of his accession to the throne are facts yet to be determined. It is much to be regretted that the plates do not inform us for how long the Kaļabhra inter-regnum, or the reigns of the kings mentioned, lasted. But as Maduraikkañchi states that Talaiyalanganatta-seruvenra Nedoñjeliyan was a lineal descendant of Palyâgasklai Madukudumi-Peruvaludi, and as Kadungôn was the first sovereign that succeeded to the Pandya throne after the inter-regnum caused by the Kalabhras, which took place immediately at the end of the reign of Palyágasilai Mudukudumi-Peruvaludi, we are naturally inclined to seek for his name in the genealogy, which is happily farnished in the Velvikudi graut. Here the name Seliyan occurs but once, and as the grandson of Kadungôn. It looks as if he is identical with the victor at Talaiyalanganan. Against the possibility of Nêduñjejiyan's identity with any other king of the line, it may be pointed out (1) that none of them bears the name Seliyan; and, (2) that the Sinnamanûr plates, which also give the genealogy of the Påņdyas, but only from the immediate successor of Seliyan, mention the battle of Talaigalanganam, as they should, among the feats of the Pâņdya kings, who preceded the first member noticed therein. It will thus be seen that it is impoasible to bring down Neduõjeliyan, and the correctness of the identity of this king with the grandson of Kadungôn is more or less assured.
As had already been pointed out, the minister of Jafilavarman, mentioned in the two inscriptions referred to above, was Madharakevi. He was living in the third year of the king, when the Vélvikudi grant was issued, but was dead at the time of the consecration of the Adaimalai cave temple of Narasimha which took place in A. D. 769-70. We may tentatively presume that this date does not represent the time of the king's accession but rather the closing years. In the interval between the reigns of Nedoñjeliyan now identified with Seliyan and Jaţila alias Neduñjadaiyan Parântaka, there were according to the Veļvikudi grant three sovereigns. Sapposing A. D. 770 as the last year of Jatila and giving the usual 30 years for each reign and working backwards, we get roughly A. D. 620 for Sêliyan's accession to the throne. Until more reliable dates are forthcoming, we can keep the beginning of the 7th oentury A. D. for Nedunjeliyan and the poem before ns. The correctness of the identity of Noduõjeliyan with Seliyan and of the date thus arrived at for him, is vouchsafed by the fact that the Vélvikudi grant attributes to his son Arikesari Maravarman, the conquest in the battle of Nevéli,16 This event should, therefore, have occurred in the period A. D, 650-680. The Pandya contemporary of the Saiva saint Jñanasambanda was a certain Neda-Maran, also oalled Kün or SundaraPandya. He is said to have won lasting fame in the battlo of Nelvôli where he defeated & northern king who invaded his dominions. As we know that Jñanasambanda lived in the middle of the 7th century, A. D., the conquest of Nelvoli attributed to Nedumaran should necessarily fall in the same poriod as that found for Neduñjeliyap's son who was known by the same name and who is also reported to have fought the same battle. The inevitable conclusion is that these two kings are not different. It will thus be seen that this fact lends support to placing Neduñjeliyan in the period A. D. 620-650.
With these introductory remarks as regards the date of the poem and the king celebrated in it, I now append a translation of such of the passages occurring in the poem which throw light on the state of the country, the social life of the people and the political institutions of Nequñjeliyan's time as it would prove a useful gaide for a correct understanding of the degree of civilization attained by the Pandyas in that early period.
The king submitted himself to the counsel of truthful men, and ruled the country so efficiently as to be praised by fature generations. At the dawn of day, which was indicated in his capital by the sounds raised by the cocks, the beautifully feathered peacocks, the elephants, the caged tigers and bears, the Brühmaņs chanted the hymns of the Vedas; the musicians sung
16 Nedumarap defeated the Army of Vilvéli at Nelvéli, Vilvēli is probably another name for Vilvala (nagara) which Dr. Hultssoh bas identified with Villivalam near Conjiveram. If this identification should prove cornot, it may be said that the Pandya king's opponent in the battle of Nolteli w probably the Pallars sovereiga Nara ofbevarman I in whose dominione Villivalam was situated.
