Indian Antiquary Vol 41

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 151

JUNE, 1912.)
KARIKALA AND HIS TIMES
147
instrumental in permanently settling the Western Chalakyas in southern India. The defeat of the Chêra and the Pandya on the plains of Veņņil, and the confederacy of nine potentates and the Pallavas in some unnamed places should have left Karikala as the undisputed lord of the Dekkan. The Chêra king defeated by him was Sēraman Peruñchêral Åthan. He received a wound on his back and is said to have sought a voluntary death rather than being a monument of disgrace to his family. That even the people of the Telugu districts acknowledged his sway is gathered from the fact that Karikáls figures among the early ancestors of the Telugu Choda chiefs and the Cholas. Inscriptions of the Cholas are found in the Cuddapah and Bellary districts.
It the date we have now arrived at for Karikala prove correct, it will be seen that Kanakasabhai Pillai was wrong in identifying him with Killi who died at Kurappalli. His identification was based on taking Perumavalavan as a surname both of Karikala and Ki]ļi. Perum draļavay means the great Chôļa and as such it might be applied to any monarch of the Chola line. To show the incorrectness of the identification, we have only to point out that Karappalli-tuñjina-Kilļi was a contemporary of the Pandya kings Nedunjeliyan and Ugra-Peruvaludi, who died at Madura and appear to have lived nearly a century later.13 It is also worthy of note that none of the poets who were contemporaries of Karikala figures among the contemporaries of Kurappalli-tuñjina-Killi, Ugra-Peruvaludi or Nedurjeliyan.
A word about Karikala's paretage, which deserves to be mentioned here. He was the son of Iļañjêchenni called also Iłañjenni or Ilaiyôn. This name means "the young Cho!\" or "the young prince." He was perhaps the heir apparent to the Choļa throne and hence was known by that appellation. It may be noted that Ilaichenni or Ilaiyon is something similar to I!angi, yuvardja or Iļavarasu. There is nothing to warrant our presuming that Iļañjétchenn was a king of the Choļa dominions. He seems to have distinguished himself in the wars under taken by the reigning king who, we might suppose, was his elder brother. The title Uruvappahresu, which we find prefixed to his name, shows that he resembled a lion in prowess. Sometimes the name Iļañjèţchenni is connected with Neydalunganal which perhaps denotes that the tract of country over which he was the lord, bordered on the sea and it was, most probably, near the mouth of the Kivêrî river. He married a daughter of Alnndûr-vel. Alundür is perhaps identical with Têr- or Tiruv-Alundûr near Mayaveram. He is credited with having defeated in battle the Chêra king of his day and taken from him a place called Pamalur?4. Kudakko-Neduñjêral Äthan might be the person Vanquished by him as we know that he was his contemporary.
From what has been said above, it will be evident that the accession of Karikala to the Chôla throne is not quite regular, as he had no claims to it, if the reigning king had any issue. There are also grounds for inferring that on the death of Karikala's predecessor, there were several claimants to the Chola throne and Karikala succeeded in getting it through the aid of his uncle Irambilar Talaiyar. The story that an elephant from Tirukkalumalam put a garland on Karikala's neck, carried him on its back and placed him on the Chôļa throne when he was stationed at Karuvûr perhaps tells the same fact. It is worthy of note that this story is quite similar to another recorded about Mûrti-Nayanâr, one of the Saiva devotees who was raised to the rank of a Pandya king, when the Pandya country had no sovereign. If the interpretation of the name Karikála is scorched leg', it is not unlikely that in the endeavour to get the kingdom, Karikala happened to meet with an accident in which one of his legs was scorched'. Karikala married the daughter of a Vélir chief of Nangar. A village of this name is celebrated in the Vaishnava work Naliyiraprabandham, Inscriptions state that it was
11 The poets KaláttalaiyAr and Vonni-Kuyattiyar refer to this king iu Purangūra, stauzas 35 and 53. 13 Vide ante Vol. XL. pp. 224 ff. "Date of Maduraikkinchi and its hero." 1. Puram, stapzas 10 and 203.
15 Another way of interpreting the namo is' he (who is) death to the elophants (of his onemics).' In this case the name shows hour powerful he was. If Kalikala is the name, it means the destroyer (of tho or la) of the Kali lage).'