Indian Antiquary Vol 45

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

Page 93

MAY, 1916)
THE HISTORY OF THE NAIK KINGDOM OF MADURA
85
events which epigraphy conclusively proves. What was the nature of the relation between Aryanatha and Tirumala ? Was he a friend of his or an enemy? Did he take part in the civil war between him and his brother, Venkatádri ? If so, which side did he join ? and whom did he support? How far is the statement of the Madura chronicles that Aryanåtha was the master of the situation after the Talikoita disaster true? How faz is it consistent with the well-known and well-proved fact that Tirumala was in reality the master of both the emperor and the Empire? It is impossibie, with the materials that are thus far available, to answer these questions. The whole subject is enshrouded in a mystery which neither the chronicles nor epigraphical evidences are able to clear. It is this obsourity that seems to warrant the belief that the story, mentioned above, is an invention of an admirer of the great Mudaliar, who gave vent to his own imagination at the expense of the truth. But while it may be acknowledged that something of this story is a fiction, it must be also acknowledged that it is based on a substratum of truth. The very existence of the different versions goes to prove this. Both agree in depicting the great general as the acknowledged leader of the Empire, as the great man of the day, as the centre of the imperial hopes. Both agree that it was his singular moderation or cautious prudence that prevented him from the dignity of royalty; and both agree that he became an imperial officer, though one considors his jurisdiction identical with the whole Empire and the other confines it to the southern dominions alone.
The probable position and movements of Aryanatha after Talikotta. The display of so much modesty and philosophy in an age of adventure and ambition seems hardly credible to the critical historian; but it should be remembered that such a self-denial or philosophy was not impossible in the case of a man like Aryanatha, who was a staunch worshipper of orthodoxy, and whose character, after all, seems to have suited him more to be a capable lieutenant than master. At the same time his moderation might have been the result of policy. In the civil war between Tirumala and Venkatâdri, in the triumph of the former, in the helpless position of the Raya, and in the other features of the then imperial politics, he perhaps felt it prudent to retire, to grant himself to a lesser rank, but a sphere of greater control. His retirement to Madura, then, might have been the product of political foresight, the outcome of an instinctive fear that the emperor was in future & phantom. Or perhaps, he entered into & tacit understanding with Tirumala that they were not to interfere with each other, that the one was free to pursue his career in the north and the other, in the south. Or he might have been disgusted with the conduct of Tirumala, and retired for ever to the south, taking leave of the imperial politics, for ever. In any case he attached himself to Krishṇappa and continued to be his chief friend and counsellor, his minister and Daļavái. Fixing his residence in the rich and fertile village of blavandân, twelveli miles to the northwest of Madura, he made it by his labours, one of the most thriving and prosperous places in the kingdom. He fortified 15
11 The Life of Aryandtha Mudaliar. It says that he came thither in 1566 (Akshaya). See the other Mirtanjiya MSS. in the appendix I.
15 Solavandan ( corruption of Chol&ntake) is historically an important place. Inscriptions show that its old name was Ojantaka Chaturvedimangalam. The Cholas evidently once came as far as this, but were defeated by the Pandyans. The numerous inscriptions of Pandya rulers in the Perumal templo at lavandan and in the MolanAtha shrine at Tenk sbi seem to show that the village was a favourite with those monaroha." (Madura Gazetteer, p. 297). Slavandan's importance was due to its commanding situation on the road between Madura and Dindigul, and its being a halting place for the Rmékvaram pilgrims in those days. Later on Mangamma! established here choultry which existe oven now. Solavandan is a very fertile and populous place on the Vaigai with a population of 13,000.