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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
VI.- Inscriptions of Kulottunga-Chola I No. 64 to 65 Inscriptions at Tiruvorriyur & Tiruvalangadu No. 66 to 68 Inscriptions at Kolar, Somangalam & Conjeeveram No. 69 to 70 Inscriptions at Tirukkalukkunram & Srirangam No. 71 to 72 Inscriptions at Kilappaluvur & Tiruvidaimarudur No. 73 to 74 Inscriptions at Cholapuram & Conjeeveram No. 75 to 76 Inscriptions at Tirukkalukkunram & Jambukesvara temple No. 77 to 78 Inscriptions at Kavantandalam & Perumber The copper-plate grants allot to the Eastern Chalukya king Rajaraja I. a reign of 41 years,[1] while the Pithapuram inscription of Mallapadeva gives him 40 years.[2] Accordingly, his death and the accession of his son Kulottunga I. would prima facie fall in A.D. 1061-62 or 1062-63. This date is not borne out by the Telugu inscriptions of Kulottunga I. which contain both a Saka date and a regnal year, and according to which the accession took place in Saka-Samvat 991-92 = A.D. 1069-71.[3] And Professor Kielhornâs calculations of the dates of Tamil and Kanarese inscriptions prove that his reign commenced between the 14th March and the 8th October A.D. 1070.[4] The original name of the king was Rajendra-Choda,[5] and in the Tamil inscriptions of his 2nd, 3rd and 4th years (Nos. 64 to 67 and 77 below) he is actually called Rajakesarivarman, alias Rajendra-Choladeva (II.). The account of Kulottungaâs birth and youth in the Kalingattu-Parani[6] seems to imply that he was adopted by Gangaikonda-Chola (i.e., Rajendra-Chola I.), who apparently had no son of his own, and that he was nominated the heir-apparent of his grandfather. If the Kalingattu-Parani (xiii. Verse 62) calls Kulottungaâs father Pandita-Chola, this can hardly refer to his real father, the Eastern Chalukya king, but must mean his adoptive father, Rajendra-Chola I. That the latter had the surname Pandita-Chola may be concluded from two of his Tanjore inscriptions,[7] which mention a regiment entitled Pandita-Sola-terinda-villigal, i.e., âthe chosen archers of Pandita-Chola.â While still heir-apparent,[8] Kulottunga I. distinguished himself by capturing elephants at Vayiragaram and by defeating the king of Dhara at Sakkarakottam.[9] According
to the copper-plate grants his first charge was the country of Vengi,[10]
which had been ruled over by his father and paternal grandfather.
Instead of âthe Vengi country,â Kulottungaâs Tamil
inscriptions use the expression âthe region of the rising of the
sun,â[11]
and the Pithapuram pillar inscriptions employ the term Andhra-mandala
or Andhra-vishaya,[12] i.e.,
the Telugu
country. Kulottunga is
stated to have entrusted this province to viceroys, first to his
uncle Vijayaditya VII., then to his second son Rajaraja II., next to
his third son Vira-Choda,[13]
who assumed office on the
23rd August A.D. 1078,[14]
and finally to Choda of Velanandu.[15]
Vijayaditya VII.
Is said to have governed Vengi for 15 years
and Rajaraja II. for 1 year. If we deduct the sum of these two reigns from A.D. 1078, the
year of Vira-Chodaâs appointment, the result is A.D. 1062 as the
date of Vijayadityaâs accession.
This year coincides with the end of the reign of the Eastern
Chalukya king Rajaraja I., but is 8 years prior to Kulottungaâs
coronation. This discrepancy may be explained in the following manner.
The Chola king Virarajendra I. claims to have conquered the
country of Vengi and to have bestowed it on Vijayaditya.[16]
This expedition may have taken place just after the death of
Rajaraja I. who was succeeded in A.D. 1062 by his brother
Vijayaditya VII. It looks as if the rightful heir Kulottunga I. had
been ousted by the latter with the assistance of Virarajendra I.[17]
This would explain the
fact noted before, that Kulottunga came to the throne 8 years after
his fatherâs death. As
noted by Dr. Fleet,[18]
Vijayaditya VII. Had later on to apply to Rajaraja of Kalinganagara
(A.D. 1071 to 1078) for assistance against the Choda who threatened
to absorb his dominions. This
Chola enemy was no doubt Kulottunga I. who, after Vijayadityaâs
death, repaced him by Rajaraja II. and soon after by Vira-Choda. The
localities in which the inscriptions of Kulottungaâs 2nd
year[19]
(A.D. 1071-72) are found show that he was then in possession of
Tiruvorriyur, Tiruvalangadu and Kolar.
An inscription of his 3rd year (No. 67 below) is
found at Somangalam (near Manimangalam), and one of his 4th
year (No. 77 below) at Kavantandalam (between Conjeeveram and
Uttaramallur). The
Chellur plates of Vira-Choda state that Kulottunga I. conquered the
Kerala, Pandya and Kuntala countries and was anointed to the Choda
kingdom under the name Kulottungadeva.[20]
Instead of âthe Choda kingdomâ the Pithapuram inscription of
Mallapadeva uses the expression âthe five Dravidas.â[21]
The first inscription in which he is called
Kulottunga-Choladeva is one of the 5th year of his reign,
i.e., A.D. 1074-75, at Conjeeveram (No. 68 below).
It states that he defeated the king of Kuntala, that he
crowned himself as king of the Chola country, and that he
decapitated an unnamed Pandya king.
In speaking of âthe prostitution of the Lakshmi of the
Southern region.â And âthe loneliness fo the goddess of the
country on the banks of the Kaveri,â the inscription suggests
that, before Kulottungaâs arrival in the South, the Chola country
had lapsed into a state of anarchy and lost its ruler.
A similar account of the condition of the Chola country is
given in the Kalingattu-Parani, which states besides that
Kulottunga defeated Virudaraja[22]
and that âthe king of kingsâ had met with his death. A third account of the same events is furnished by Bilhana in
his Vikramankadevacharila.[23]
During the reign of his elder brother Somesvara II. (A.D.
1069 to 1076), Vikramaditya VI. Married the daughter of the Chola
king. Shortly after
âthe news reached him that his father-in-law was dead and that the
Chola kingdom was in a state of anarchy.â
He immediately started for Kanchi and Gangakundapura[24]
and put his wifeâs brother on the Chola throne. A few days after his return from this expedition, âhe
learnt that his brother-in-law had lost his life in a fresh
rebellion and that Rajiga, the lord of Vengi, had taken possession
of the throne of Kanchi.â Rajiga
found an ally in Somesvara II., but Vikramaditya VI. Put Rajiga to
flight, took Somesvara II. prisoner and ascended the throne himself
in A.D. 1076. Dr. Fleet
was the first to recognize that Rajiga is a familiar form of
Rajendra-Choda, the original name of Kulottunga I.[25]
The Chola king whose daughter became the wife of Vikramaditya
VI. Is identical with Virarajendra I., one of whose inscriptions
proves that he entered into friendly relations with Vikramaditya VI.[26]
The son and successor of Virarajendra I. and the brother-in-law of
Vikramaditya VI. Was Parakesarivarman, alias Adhirajendra.[27]
He is probably the âking of kings,â whose death,
according to the Kalingattu-Parani, preceded Kulottungaâs
arrival in the Chola country. Finally,
the Virudaraja of the Kalingattu-Parani, and the king of
Kuntala whom Kulottunga claims to have defeated, is Vikramaditya VI.
The war between these two kings must fall before A.D.
1074-75, the date of No. 68 below. An
inscription of the 11th year = A.D.
1080-81 (No. 78 below) adds that Kulottunga I. drove Vikkalan
(i.e., Vikramaditya VI.) from Nangili (in the Kolar district)
by way of Manalur to the Tungabhadra river, and that he conquered
the Ganga-mandalam and Singanam.
A later inscription (No. 73 below) substitutes Alatti for
Manalur and âthe country of Konkanaâ[28] for
Singanam. Neither
Manalur[29]
nor Alatti can be identified. Singanam
seems to refer to the dominions of Jayasimha III., Vikramadityaâs
younger brother to whom he had given the office of viceroy of
Banavasi.[30]
Other inscriptions assert that Vikkalan and Singanan had to take
refuge before Kulottunga in the western ocean.[31]
It may have been in the course of the war against the two
brothers that Kulottunga âcaptured a thousand elephants at Navilai
which was guarded by the Gandanayakasâ (read Dandanayakas
?).[32]
For, Navilai is probably the capital of Navale-nadu, a
district of Mysore, which is mentioned in inscriptions at
Kattemanuganahalli and Belaturu.[33]
In the Vikramankaderacharita we of course look in vain
for an account of reverses experienced by Vikramaditya VI., but are
told that he âhad once more to extinguish the Cholaâ before
entering his capital of Kalyana,[34]
and that after a long period of peace he again put the Chola to
flight and took Kanchi.[35] No.
69, of the 14th year, adds that Kulottunga I. put âthe
five Pandyasâ to flight and subdued the western portion of their
country, including the Gulf of Mannar, the Podiyil mountain, Cape
Comorin and Kottaru. He
limited the boundary of the Pandya country and placed garrisons in
the strategically important places of the newly acquired territory, e.g.,
at Kottaru. Along with
the Pandya country he conquered Kudamalai-nadu, i.e., the
western hill-country (Malabar), whose warriors, the ancestors of the
Nairs of the present day, perished to the last man in defending
their independence. Of
special places occupied on the western coast, the Kalingattu-Parani
(xi. Verse 71) mentions Vilinam[36]
and Salai, and the Vikkirama-Solan-ula states that at Salai
Kulottunga I. twice destroyed the ships (of the Chera king).[37]
The defeat of âthe five Pandyasâ and the burning of
Kottaru are referred to also in an inscription at Chidambaram[38]
and in the Kalingattu-Parani.[39] Before
the 26th year of his reign (No. 72 below), i.e.,
A.D. 1095-96, Kulottunga conquered the country of Kalinga.
This expedition s described in detail in the Kalingattu-Parani.
It would fall into the reign of Anantavarman, alias
Chodaganga, of Kalinganagara (A.D. 1078 to about 1142).[40]
Rajakesarivarman, alias Rajendra-Choladeva II. or
Kulottunga-Choladeva I., had various other names.
The Chellur and Pithapuram plates mention his surname
Rajanarayana,[41]
from which the designation of a temple at Bhimavaram was derived.[42]
Hence certain coins with the legend Cholanarayana have
perhaps to be assigned to him.[43]
The Kalingattu-Parani calls him Kulottunga-Chola,
Karikala-Chola, Virudarajabhayamkara,[44]
Abhaya and Jayadhara.[45]
The last name is applied to him in two inscriptions at
Chidabaram and Tiruvorriyur.[46]
An inscription at Pallavaram[47]
belongs to the 39th year of
Sungandavirtta-Kulottunga-Soladeva, i.e.,
âKulottunga-Choladeva who abolished tolls,â and three later
inscriptions[48]
mention the name of the same king.
As the Vikkirama-Solan-ula states that Kulottunga I.
abolished tolls,[49]
it has to be assumed that Sungandavirtta was another of his
surnames. A list of
those which appear in his inscriptions in the Telugu country I have
given elsewhere.[50]
From his Chola predecessors he inherited the titleUdaiyar,
âthe lord.â Later on he assumed the titles Chakravartin,
âthe emperor,â and Tribhuvanachakravartin, âthe emperor
of the three worlds,â which occur first in inscriptions of the 14th
and 20th years (Nos. 69 and 71 below), respectively. Kulottungaâs
capital was Gangapuri or Gangakundapura,[51]
i.e., Gangaikonda-cholapuram, which had been founded by his
grandfather Rajendra-Chola I. alias Gangaikonda-Chola,[52]
and which had been the residence of the latter and of Virarajendra
I.[53]
The city second in importance was Kanchi.[54]
An inscription of the 30th year of Kulottungaâs
reign (No. 73 below) is dated from his palace at Kanchipuram. The
copper-plate grants state that Kulottunga I. married Madhurantaki,
the daughter of Rajendradeva of the solar race,[55]
and had by her seven sons.[56]
The eldest Vikrama-Choda,[57]
was crowned (most probably) on the 18th July A.D. 1108.[58]
The second, Rajaraja II., was viceroy of Vengi from 1077 to
1078 and was succeeded by the third brother, Vira-Choda. Kulottungaâs
queen Madurantaki is not mentioned by name in his inscriptions.
But she is probably intended by âthe mistress of the whole
worldâ or âthe mistress of the whole earth,â to whom many of
his inscriptions refer. An inscriptio of the 26th year (No. 72 below)
gives the names of three additional queens : - Dinachintamani,
Elisai â Vallabhi and Tyagavalli.
In the 30th year (No. 73 below) Dinachintamani
seems to have been dead and Tygavalli to have taken her place.
The Kalingattu-Parani (x. verse 55) states that
Tyagavalli exercised equal authority with the king himself. Kulottunga
I. is stated to have reigned for 49 years in the Chellur plates of
his grandson,[59] and for 50 years in the
Pithapuram inscription of Mallapadeva.[60]
This would carry us to A.D. 1118-19 or 1119-20.
Hence he must have appointed his son Vikrama-Chola co-regent
during his life-time (in A.D. 1108).
The latest epigraphical date of Kulottunga I. is the 49th
year of his reign in two inscriptions at Gangaikondacholapuram (No.
80 of 1892) and Achcharapakkam (No. 256 of 1901).
[1]
Ind. Ant. Vol. XIV. P. 55 ; above, Vol. I. p. 59 ;
and Ep. Ind. Vol. V. No. 10, verse 4. [2]
Ep. Ind. Vol. IV. No. 33, verse 21. [3]
Ibid. Vol. VI. P. 220 f. [4]
Ibid. Vol. IV. P. 266. [5]
Above, Vol. I. No. 39, verse 8 ; Ep. Ind. Vol. IV.
P. 227 ; and Vol. V. No. 10, verse 7, and p. 105. [6]
Canto x. verses 5 to 7 and 18. [7]
Above, Vol. II. Nos. 12 and 13. [8]
See the translations of Nos. 68 and 69 below. [9]
See the translation of No. 64 below, and Kalingattu-Paani,
x. verse 23. Rajendra-Chola
I., Virarajendra I and Vikramaditya VI. Also claim to have taken
Chakrakotta. See
above, p. 70 and note 1. [10]
Above, Vol. I. No. 39, verse 9, and Epp. Ind. Vol.
V. No. 10, verse 8. [11]
See the translation of No. 64 below. [12]
Ep. Ind. Vol. IV. No. 4, verse 27, and No. 33,
verses 18 and 22. [13]
Above, Vol. I. p. 51, and Ep. Ind. Vol. IV. P. 49. [14]
Ind. Ant. Vol. XIX. P. 426. [15]
Ep. Ind. Vol. IV. P. 50. [16]
Page 65 above. The identification of this Vijayaditya with the Western
Chalukya prince Vishnuvardhana-Vijayaditya has to be given up. [17]
I suspect besides that Virarajendra I. is identical with
the Dramila enemy of Rajaraja of Kalinganagara and with
Rajendra-Chola, the father of Rajasundari ; Ind. Ant.
Vol. XVIII. P. 169, text line 85, and pp. 164 and 175. [18]
Ind. Ant. Vol. XX. P. 276. [19]
Nos. 64 to 66. [20]
Above, Vol. I. No. 29, verse 10 f. [21]
Ep. Ind. Vol. IV. P. 228. [22]
Canto iv. Verse 6, and canto x. verse 25. [23]
Professor Biihlerâs Introduction, pp. 34 to 37. [24]
I.e., Gangaikondacholapuram.
Compare above, pp. 33 and 64 f. [25]
Ind. Ant. Vol. XX. Pp. 276 and 282. [26]
Above, p. 65 and note 1. In an inscription of the 6th
year of Virarajendra I at Tiruvallam (No. 16 of 1890) he is
stated to have deprived Somesvara [II.] to his necklace : (I. 6)
; compare also Ind. Ant. Vol. XXI. P. 283. [27]
Above, page 114 f. [28]
The conquest of Konkana is a tributed to Kulottunga I. in
the Vikkirama-Solan-ula ; Ind. Ant. Vol. XXII. P.
142. [29]
The encounters at Manalur and on the Tungabhadra are
alluded to in the Kalingattu-Parani, xiii. Verse 93, and
iv verse 7. [30]
Professor Biihlerâs Introduction to the Vikramankadevacharita,
p. 38, and Dr. Fleetâs Dyn. Kan. Distr. P. 453. [31] See above, Vol. II. p.
391, note 7, and Vol. III. p. 119. [32]
Kalingattu-Parani, xi. Verse 74. [33]
Ep. Ind. [34]
Professor Buhlerâs Introduction, p. 38. [35]
Ibid. p. 44. [36]
According to the late Professor P. Sundaram Pillai,
Vilinam is about 10 miles to the south of Trivandram ; Ind.
Ant. Vol. XXIV.
P. 254. [37]
Ind. Ant. Vol. XXII. P. 142.
The same exploit is attributed to Rajaraja I. and
Rajadhiraja ; above, Vol. II. p. 241, and Vol. III. p. 52. [38]
Ep. Ind. Vol. V. Appendix, p. 51, No. 358, and p.
52, No. 363. [39]
Canto xi. Verse 69, and canto iii. verse 21. [40]
Ep. Ind. Vol. V. Appendix, p. 51, No. 358, and p. 52, No. 363. [41]
Above, Vol. I. No. 39, verse 12,
and Ep. Ind. Vol. V. No. 10, verse 11. [42]
Ep. Ind. Vol. IV. P. 230. [43]
Ind. Ant. Vol. XXV. P. 321. [44]
Canto vi. Verse 14, and x. verse 25, where the context
suggests that Virudaraja was a biruda of Vikramaditya VI. [45]
Canto xi. Verse 68, and passim. [46]
Ep. Ind. Vol. V. p. 105 f. [47]
No. 312 of 1901 ; above, Vol. II. p. 111, note 3, and p.
112, note 7. [48]
No. 5 of 1899, No. 125 of 1896, and No. 84 of 1897. [49]
Ind. Ant. Vol. XXII. P. 142. [50]
Ep. Ind. Vol. VI. P. 220 f. [51]
See the Kalingattu-Parani, xiii. Verse 92, and the
Vikramankadevacharita, vi. Verse 21. [52]
Ind. Ant. Vol. XXI. P. 323. [53]
Above, pp. 33 and 64 f. [54]
Ind. Ant. Vol. XIX. P. 333 and Vikramankadevacharita,
Introduction, pp. 35 and 44. [55]
This was probably the Chola king Parakesarivarman, alias
Rajendradeva (p. 58 above), whose reign commenced
(approximately) on the 28th May A.D. 1052 (Ep. Ind.
Vol. VI. P. 24). [56]
Above, Vol. I. No. 39, verse 12 f., and Ep. Ind.
Vol. V. No. 10, verse 11 f. [57]
Ind. Ant. Vol. XIV. P. 55. [58]
Ep. Ind. Vol. IV. P. 266. [59]
Ind. Ant. Vol. XIV. P. 55. [60]
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