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South
Indian Inscriptions |
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Part
- II
Miscellaneous
Inscriptions From the Tamil Country
VII.-
Inscriptions of Vikrama Chola
No.
79 Inscriptions of Tirumalavadi
No.
80 Inscriptions in the Arulala-Perumal temple at Conjeeveram
The
following is a list of the inscriptions of Vikrama-Chola, the son
and successor of Kulottunga I., which have been copied so far.
I.
Tamil inscriptions opening with the words poomaalai midainthu.
-
4th
year : Tanjore, above, Vol. II. No. 68.
-
4th
year : Manimangalam, No. 33 above.
-
4th
year : Tiruvidaimarudur, No. 138 of 1895.
-
5th
year : Tiruvengadu, No. 121 of 1896.
-
5th
year : Tiruvarur, No. 164 of 1894.
-
7th
year : Tiruvidaimarudur, No. 139 of 1895.
-
8th
year : Tiruvotttur, No. 88 of 1900.
-
11th
year : Alangudi, No. 165 of 1894.
-
15th
year : Tirumalavadi, No. 79 below.
II.
Tamil inscriptions opening with the words poomaadhu punara.
-
5th
year : Tiruvidaimarudur, No. 130 of 1895.
-
6th
year : Madurantakam, No. 128 of 1896.
-
6th
year : Achcharapakkam, No. 257 of 1901.
-
7th
year : Tiruvottur, No. 87 of 1900.
-
7th
year : Achcharapakkam, No. 258 of 1901.
-
9th
year : Conjeeveram, No. 80 below.
-
9th
year : Pallavaram, No. 314 of 1901.
-
Date
lost : Pallavaram, No. 324 of 1901.
-
[9]th
year : Madurantakam, No. 263 of 1901.
-
14th
year : Pallavaram, No. 318 of 1901.
-
15th
year : Uttaramallur, No. 68 of 1898.
-
[1]xth
year : Tillasthanam, No. 30 of 1895.
III.
A Tamil inscription without introduction.
11th
year : Koviladi, No. 276 of 1901.
IV.
Two Telugu inscriptions
-
Saka-Samvat
1049 : Chebrolu.
-
Saka-Samvat
1054 : Nidubrolu.
V.
A Sanskrit inscription at Sevilimedu : 16th year.
The
Chellur plates of Kulottunga-Choda II.
and the Pithapuram inscription of Mallapadeva
stae that Vikrama-Choda was the son and successor of the Eastern
Chalukya king Kulottunga-Cholda I. or Rajendra-Choda (II).
The Pithapuram inscription adds that he bore the surname
Tyagasamudra, that he went to govern the Choda country, and that
after his departure the country of Vengi became devoid of a ruler.
On the strength of these statements I have identified
Vikrama-Choda with the hero fo the Vikkirama-Solan-Ula, in which his surname Tyagasamudra occurs, and with the Chola
king Parakesarivarman, alias Vikrama-Choladeva, whose
inscriptions inform us that he originally resided in the Vengai
country and that he left it to ascend the Chola throne.
The newly discovered Teki plates show that Vikrama-Choda was
not, as was hitherto believed,
the eldest son of Kulottunga I., but a younger brother of Vira-Choda,
the third son of Kulottunga I.
As the two copper-plate grants which mention Madurantaka do not contain the name
of Vikrama-Choda, it remains doubtful whether his mother was
Madurantaki or another of the queens of Kulottunga I.
and, if the former should be the case, whether he came next
to Vira-Choda in seniority or was another of the four younger sons
of Madhurantaki.
The
Tamil inscriptions of Vikrama-Chola state that he left the North for
the South and was crowned as Chola king.
Professor Kielhornâs calculations of the dates of his
inscriptions in the Tamil and Telugu countries show that his
coronation took place on (Approximately) the 29th June
A.D. 1118.
Guided by his Tamil inscriptions, we can distinguish three
periods in the career of Vikrama-Chola.
The first of these was his expedition into the Kalinga
country, which is mentioned in the first place in his Tamil
inscriptions. On this
occasion he defeated the Telinga or Telunga Bhima of Kulam,
who was apparently one of the Nayakas of Ellore.
The Kalinga war is also referred to in the inscriptions
beginning with poomaadhu punara
and in the Vikkirama-Solan-Ula. An unpublished poem in honour
of Kulottunga II., states that Akalankan (i.e., Vikrama-Chola),
the son of Sungandavirtton (i.e., Kulottunga
I.), âaccepted (from the author) the great poem (parani)
about Kalinga.â This
is a distinct reference to the historical poem Kalingattu-Parani,
which describes the conquest of Kalinga by Kulottunga I.
As Vikrama-Chodaâs inscriptions place the Kalinga war not
only before his coronation in A.D. 1118, but before his stay in
Vengi, it must have taken place before the end of the reign of his
father Kulottunga I.
and is perhaps identical with that expedition into Kalinga, which is
ascribed to Kulottunga I. himself in his inscriptions and in the Kalingattu-Parani.
This expedition seems to have taken place before the 26th
year of the reign of Kulottunga I., i.e., A.D. 1095-96.
The
second period in Vikrama-Cholaâs career is marked in his
inscriptions by the statement that hestayed for some time in the
Vengai-mandalam and conquered the Northern region. The Pithapuram inscription of Mallapadeva alludes to the same
event in stating that he ruled over Vengi before he went to govern
the Choda country. Dr.
Fleet has already concluded from this that he must have held the
office of viceroy of vengi in succession of his brother Vira-Choda.
On the strength of the new materials which are now available, it may
be added that the period of his viceroyalty probably extended to the
date of his coronation in A.D. 1118, and that it cannot have
commenced before A.D. 1092-93, the latest known date of his elder
brother Vira-Choda.
The statement of the Pithapuram inscription of Mallapadeva that,
after the departure of Vikrama-Choda to the Chola country the
country of Vengi became devoid of a ruler suggests that his absence
resulted in political troubles.
The Pithapuram inscription of Prithvisvara reports that
Kulottunga I. bestowed the Vengi sixteen-thousand on âhis adopted
sonâ Choda of Velanandu.
An inscription of this chief at Draksharama shows that in A.D.
1120-21 he was a vassal of the Western Chalukya king Vikramaditya
VI.
Who took advantage of Vikrama-Cholaâs absence in the Chola country
as co-regent of his father and of the subsequent death of Kulottunga
I. for conquering the Vengi to Choda of Velanandu, but that the
latter became a dependent of Vikramaditya VI. Who took advantage of
Vikrama-Cholaâs absence in the Chola country as co-regent of his
father and of the Vikramaditya VI. At Draksharama range from A.D.
1120-21
to 1123-24.
Shortly after, Vikrama-Chola must have re-conquered his
northern dominions. For,
two inscriptions of his reign at Chebrolu and Nidubrolu are dated in
A.D. 1127 and 1135.
The
third important point in Vikrama-Cholaâs life is the date of his
coronation as Chola king or, apparently, as co-regent of his father
Kulottunga I., which according to Professor Kielhorn took place on
(Approximately) the 29th June A.D. 1118.
In the Pithapuram inscription of Mallapadeva this event is
referred to by the statement that âhe went to protect the
Choda-mandala.â
The Tanjore inscription of his 4th year uses in
this connection a passage which is taken over from the inscriptions
of Kulottunga I.
Other inscriptions say that he went from the Northern to the
Southern region, adopted the crest of the tiger, and put on the
hereditary crown.
In the introductory remarks to the inscriptions of Kulottunga
I. I stated that his reign must have ended about A.D. 1119.
Hence he appears to have died shortly after the date of
Vikrama-Cholaâs coronation.
The
Chellur plates of Kulottunga II. assign only 15 years to the reign
of Vikrama-Chola.
But an inscription at Sevilimedu belongs to his 16th
year,
and one of the 17th year at Nidubrolu, as calculated by
Professor Kielhorn, is dated on the 18th April A.D. 1135.
The Chellur plates of Vikrama-Cholaâs successor
Kulottunga-Choda II. are dated at an equinox in Saka-Samvat 1056,
which would prima facie correspond to A.D. 1133 or 1134 ; but
Professor Kielhorn has shown that Saka-Samvat 1056 is an error of
the composer of the inscription for Saka-Samvat 1065, and that the
date corresponds to the 24th March A.D. 1143.
Parakesarivarman,
alias Vikrama-Choladeva, had the surname Tyagasamudra, âthe
ocean of liberality,â which occurs in the Pithapuram inscription
of Mallapadeva
and in the Vikkirama-Solan-Ula.
The Sevilimedu inscription of the 16th April A.D.
1134 contains the synonymous
surname Tyagavarakara and another viz. Akalanka, âthe
spotless one.â The latter is employed
for Vikrama-Chola in the Kulottunga-Solan-Ula.
As Mr. Venkayya
informs me, it also occurs twice in the Kalingattu-Parani
(ix. Verses 7 and 16), where it is doubtful whether Kulottunga I. or
Vikrama-Chola is meant by it. In
a Telugu inscription at Chebrolu, Vikrama-Chola assumes the same birudas
which had been borne by his father.
He also inherited from the latter the title Tribhuvanachakravartin,
whch is prefixed to his name in all his Telugu and Tamil
inscriptions, with theexception of an inscription of the 5th
year (No. 130 of 1895), where he is called Udaiyar, and of
two inscriptions of the 7th and 14th years
(Nos. 258 and 318 of 1901), where he is styled Chakravartin.
Of
the inscriptions opening with poomadhu punara those of the 5th
to 9th years
mention as Vikrama-Cholaâs queen Mukkokkilanadigal, and those of
the 9th to 15th years
Tribhuvanamulududaiyal. Hence
Mukkokkilanadigal must have died in the course of the 9th
year, i.e., A.D. 1126-27.
The inscriptions beginning with poomaalai midainthu
corroborate this fact. For,
those of the 4th to 8th years
mention as his chief queen Mukkokkilanadi and as his favourite
Tyagapataka, surnamed Tribhuvanamulududaiyal, and five of them (Nos.
3 â 7) state besides that Mukkokkilanadigal shared his throne.
In those of the 11th and 15th years
she is not named any more, but Tyagapataka, surnamed
Tribhuvanamulududaiyal, is mentioned in the first place, next to her
Dharanimulududaiyal, and at the end Tribhuvanamulududaiyal (i.e.,
Tyagapataka) is stated to have shared his throne.
This shows that she succeeded the defunct Mukkokkilanadigal
as chief queen, while for herself a fresh substitute was appointed
in Dharanimulududaiyal.
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