From top right clockwise Karikal chola ,Chera.
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It is often stated that the Caste system is found only in Sanatana Dharma and Sanskrit Texts. Caste is a division of social responsibility, arrived at after a careful observation of the functioning of the society. This was misinterpreted to mean that Caste awas by Birth and was used to dominate other groups by a single group .This was later utilised by the invaders as a tool to divide and rule India.Tamil is ancient language belonging to Dravidian Language groups. Dravida means , ‘South “indicating peple living in South(that is south of Vidhya Mountains)This again was used to float a now discredited Aryan Invasion Theory. There was and still a misinformation campaign that Tamil and Tamils were against Sanatana Dharma and Sanskrit. This is incorrect andI have written quite a number of articles disproving this attempt at dividing India. Ancient Tamil Grammar work, Tholkaapiyam speaks of Vedas and many Sangam Classical period literature speak of Vedic way of Life. And Tamils had seven distinct type of Castes, including the Four enumerated in Vedic Texts.I am proving quotes from Later Tamil Lexico ,’Choodamani Nikandu’ belonging to the Period of Krishna Devaraya(1471- 1521).This book was written by Mandala Purusha, a Jain Monk.
ஓதல், ஓதுவித்தல், வேட்டல், வேட்பித்தல், ஈதல், ஏற்றல் (வேட்டல் – யாகம்செய்தல்) Brahmin Duties Reciting Vedas;Imparting Vedas:Performance of Yagnyas;Assisting others to perform Yangnyas;Accepting Gifts from others; Philanthropy;
Duties of Kshatria.ஓதல்( learning Vedas), வேட்டல்(Acquisition of Wealth), ஈதல்( Philanthropy), உலகோம்பல்( Protection of the World), படைக்கலம்பயிலல்(Training in the use of Arms, போர்செய்தீட்டல்( Planning for War).
Duties of Vaisya.ஓதல்( Learning Vedas), வேட்டல்(Acquisition of Wealth), வேளாண்மை(Agriculture), வாணிகம்( Business/Enterprise), பசுக்காத்தல்( *Protecting Cows),
Duties of Sudras.
பசுக்காத்தல்(* Protecting Cows, Wealth), பொருளீட்டல்( Acquisition of Wealth), பயிரிடல்( Trilling), புராணாதிகளையோதல்(Studying Puranas and Ithihasas), ஈதல்(Philanthropy ), அந்தணா
முதலியோர்க்கு அநுகூலமாகிய தொழில் செய்தல்( Engage in Works that would help others including Brahmins)
* Protecting Cows indicates protection of weak people, including Cows(Among animals)
Twelve Castes Among Tamils.
The Link for the book. <a href=””>Ancient Indian History and Civilization by Surendranath Jain
‘ 1. Maruta makkal or tribes of ploughmen (ulavar) inhabiting fertile, well-
watered tracts (panai) and living in villages called ur,
2. Kuravar makkal (or hill people who are foresters, make charms, and tell
fortunes and may come out of the forest to work in the panai,
3. Mullai makkal (or pastoralists, also called ayar (cowmen), kovalar
(shepherds), and idaiyar (cowherd or shepherd),
4. Neytal makkal ( or fishing people living in large coastal villages called
pattinam or small ones called pakkam, and
5. Palai makkal or people of the dry plains called eyinar. maravar, and veIar
who are hunters of both the dry plains and the forest.’
It appears that there were four castes, then further divisions took place.
It became seven and then twelve.
Twelve Castes Among Ancient Tamils
I have been writing on Sanatana Dharma,Hinduism and Tamil and their presence throughout the world in ancient times.During this journey I have been able to find evidences of these in almost all parts of the world, from Australia to Americas through the Far East, East, Middle east, West and Caribbean, not to forget Africa.I have found traces of practices,customs,religious thoughts and also straight presence of Vedic Sanatan Dharma,Tamils.Based on the researched information, i have been able to propose that the the ancient world had Sanatan Dharma/Tamil presence. Based on evidence found in Sanskrit Puranas, Ithihasas, Tamil Classics, and cross referencing them with archeological finds of the lands I had referred to and with the legends and practices of the peoples there,the existence of Aryavartha( what is present in the North of Vindhyas now) and the South of Vindhyas(called Dravida)
The timeline of both is mind boggling. While Aryavartha is traced to about 7000 ago( based on the rough estimate of Rig Veda date of around 5000 years ago),that of Tamil is traced to about 20,000 years ago( based on the archeological date of the sunken city of Poompuhar, Tamil Nadu,India).Even this does not seem to be correct. A site of advanced Tamil Civilization near Chennai,Tamil Nadu, India is dated around a Million years. This advanced civilization quotes Vedas, Sanskrit! Nataraja ,Jwalapuram ,Cuddappah,Andhra Pradesh( or is is Telengana now?) is dated areound 74,000 years based on Mount Toba Ash dispersal.So, it is eveident that these two civilizations, cultures are quite ancient.Another interesting point is tthat most academicians and people take Himalayas to be most ancien,whilw writing History.But the Deccan Plateau and the western and eastern Ghats of India are among the most ancient in the world, if not the most ancient.Hi,malayas can be dated to somewhere around 40 Lakhs years ago, the western Ghats and Eastern Ghats of India are dated to 21000 Million years ago, as eveidenced in the Formation of Sila Thorana of Tirumala Hills,India.Not to be outdone,Thiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu is dated around 2.94 Billion years !
So this leads us to an interesting question. Which is Older?The Aryavarta or the Dravidia? I gave up after tracing their antiquity to a Million years .Fact is both are ancient..I am unable to assert with evidence which is earlier.As I research, I write. As on date, available evidence points to Dravida being the earlier one , considering that the First Human Being Manu is from Dravida Desa( This is not the only evidence. Kindly read my other articles )
The presence of Siva concept much before the Vedic period,details of Siva concept in Tamil being more elaborate,aborigines of Australia performing Trinetra Dance of Siva, the physical resemblance of ancient Australian people, the evidence of Naan Madol in northeast of Australia, presence of Tamils in Micronesia and more evidence point out that the Tamils lived in those areas in ancient times,
The name Nan Madol means “spaces between” and is a reference to the canals that crisscross the ruins. The original name was Soun Nan-leng (Reef of Heaven), according to Gene Ashby in his book Pohnpei, An Island Argosy. It is often called the “Venice of the Pacific”.
Today Nan Madol forms an archaeological district covering more than 18 km² and includes the stone architecture built up on a coral reef flat along the shore of Temwen Island, several other artificial islets, and the adjacent Pohnpei main island coastline. The site core with its stone walls encloses an area approximately 1.5 km long by 0.5 km wide containing nearly 100 artificial islets—stone and coral fill platforms—bordered by tidal canals.
https://ramanisblog.in/2016/11/18/then-madurai-tamil-sangam-era-in-micronesia-north-of-australia/
Now, consider the following.
The origins of the Dravidians are a “very complex subject of research and debate”. They may have been indigenous to the Indian subcontinent, but origins in, or influence from, West-Asia have also been proposed. Their origins are often viewed as being connected with the Indus Valley Civilisation, hence people and language spread east- and southwards after the demise of the Indus Valley Civilisation in the early second millennium BCE, some propose not long before the arrival of Indo-Aryan speakers,with whom they intensively interacted. The Dravidian peoples are of a mixed genetic origin and formed initially due to the mixture of indigenous South Asian Hunter Gatherers and Neolithic West Asian farmers from Iran, with all[/almost all Dravidian groups later additionally acquiring admixture from Steppe Yamnaya pastoralists.[From these interactions and migrations arose eventually the so-called “Hindus synthesis”, after 500 BCE.
The third century BCE onwards saw the development of large kingdoms in South India. Medieval South Indian guilds and trading organisations like the “Ayyavole of Karnataka and Manigramam” played an important role in the Southeast Asia trade, and the cultural Indianisation of the region.
Dravidian visual art is dominated by stylised temple architecture in major centres, and the production of images on stone and bronze sculptures. The sculpture dating from the Chola period has become notable as a symbol of Hinduism.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dravidian_peoples#Etymology
The Yamnaya culture, also known as the Yamnaya Horizon,[ Yamna culture, Pit Grave culture or Ochre Grave culture, was a late Copper Age to early Bronze Age archaeological culture of the region between the Southern Bug, Dniester, and Ural rivers (the Pontic steppe), dating to 3300–2600 BC.[3] Its name derives from its characteristic burial tradition: Ямная (romanization: yamnaya) is a Russian adjective that means ‘related to pits (yama)’, and these people used to bury their dead in tumuli (kurgans) containing simple pit chambers. “Yamna” is the name that is derived from the same word in Ukrainian (ямна, romanization: yamna).
The people of the Yamnaya culture were likely the result of a genetic admixture between the descendants of Eastern European Hunter-Gatherers and people related to hunter-gatherers from the Caucasus. People with this ancestral component are known as Western Steppe Herders. Their material culture was very similar to the Afanasevo culture, and the populations of both cultures are genetically indistinguishable.[1] They lived primarily as nomads, with a chiefdom system and wheeled carts that allowed them to manage large herds. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamnaya_culture
The practice of Burying people in a large Jar is the ancient custom Of Tamils,Mudu Makkal Thaazhi).
The Puranas of ancient India provide the Timeline and Kings’ list of India. Misinformation that the Dravidas are a separate entity, has been going on for quite some decades,the idea being first planted by the British, developed by Mughuls and later eagerly embraced and promoted by the Secularists of India.
The Dravidian parties of Tamil Nadu for their personal gains have been promoting this quite vigourusly since the days of the Justice Party in Madras Presidency. The DK,DMK and the AIADMK are but another form of the Justice Party,which was a tool in the hands of the Britishers.
The Nehruvian era wanted the label of Liberals,meaning denying a Nation it’s history and culture and promoted Western canards.
Not realising the danger,they too contributed to this idea by trying to impose Hindi and thus increased the divide between North and South.
I have,for the past eleven years,been researching the History of India from Indian and classical sources from the west.
I found that there is no iota of Truth in the Concept of Aryan Invasion and that the Tamil Kings and diaspora were divorced from Sanatana Dharm.
I have published quite a few articles proving that Tamils and Tamil kings were a part of Sanatan Dharm and Tamil kings were patrons of Sanatan Dharma.
And there were intermarriages between the Dynasties located in the north and the South.
Not only that.
The great Chera, Chola and Pandya Dynasties declare themselves to be descendants of Suryavansha , Ikshvaku Dynasty to which Lord Rama belonged and Chandravansh. The cholas recorded in the Copperplates of Thiruvalangadu that they descended from Ikshvaku Dynasty.And Cholas declare elsewhere that they belong to Kasyapa Gotra.
I have written on this.
I have been tracing the dynasties of India.
There were two Dynasties, Suryavansh and Chandravansh, Solar and Lunar dynasties.
Other Dynasties of India have sprung from these two.This includes the Yadava Dynasty,to which Lord Krishna belongs.
One finds that the Tamil Kings have descended from Turvasu ,second son of Yayati.The land alloted to them was what is now Bay of Bengal. This also tallies with Lemuria,the Land of Tamils.
His son Puru founded the Chandravansh,Lunar Dynasty.
Based on this one may conclude that Tamil Kings belong to Chandravansh, Lunar Dynasty.There is yet another angle. Manu,the first Human being, had a Daughter,Ila. She married Chandra and founded the Lunar Dynasty, Chandravansh.
As her brother Ikshvaku founded the Suryavansh,Solar Dynasty,Cholas might have claimed that they belong to Solar Dynasty, Suryavansh.
And note that these kings mentioned as having been the forefathers of Tamil Kings were the disciples of Sage Agastya.There is also the information that Agastya brought seventy two two families from Dwaraka before it sank,to South India. And they were the Velirs of Tamil Nadu,kings who were aligned to Cholas.
The Chandravansha was founded in Treta Yuga.
‘Kulya (Prince of Andhra and whose descendants were Pallavas and Tondai Kings), Chola (Founder of Chola Kingdom and Dynasty), Pandya (Founder of Pandya Kingdom and Dynasty), Kerala (Whose descendants were Cheras) – Because of these kings Dravida Country (Tamil and Sanskrit are the two eyes of this country) was developed. https://en.everybodywiki.com/Turvasu,_Druhyu_and_Anu_Dynasties
In the nineteenth chapter of book nine of the Bhagavata Purana, Puru is described as having four brothers; Yadu, Turvasu, Druhyu and Anu. He exchanges his youth for old age of his father Yayati when Yayati gets cursed by Shukracharya. In return Yayati makes him his descendant though he was youngest of all. His son and successor is named as his son was Práchinvat; his son was Pravíra; his son was Manasyu.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Puru
‘
According to the Shatapatha Brahmana, Pururavas was the son of Budha (himself often described as the son of Soma) and the gender-switching deity Ila (born as the daughter of Manu). Pururavas’s great-grandson was Yayati, who had five sons named Yadu, Turvasu, Druhyu,Anu, and Puru. These seem to be the names of five Indo-Aryan tribes as described in the Vedas.
According to the Mahabharata, the dynasty’s progenitor Ila ruled from Prayag, and had a son Shashabindu who ruled in the country of Bahli. Ila’s descendants were also known as the Ailas or Chandravansha
The effort to divide North and South continues even today. Though evidence from Sanskrit Ithihasas,Ramayana Mahabharata,Eighteen Puranas present a country called Bharatvarsha,though the Kings as is their wont were fighting against each others.
I have provided evidence from Sanskrit and Tamil literature to prove that Tamil and Sanatan Dharma were intricately connected,Tamil kings participated in Damayanthi,Sita, Draupadi Swayamvara;Vedas mention spices ,Elephant tusk, honey and kings from the South;Krishna married a Pandyan princess,had a daughter; Balarama visited South to have darshan of Lord Muruga, Madurai Meenakshi’s father took part in Mahabharata war;Perunchotru Udiyan Cheralaathan,A Chera King fed the Armies that took part in Mahabharata battle…
Cholas claim they are the descendants from Suryavansha.King Sibi, Ancestor of Rama ruled from his second capital from what is now in Northwest Pakistan.Cholas declare they belong to Kasyapa gotra.
I have written extensively on this.
In this article I am providing information from Thiruvalangadu Copper plates Inscription where. Cholas provide their lineage from Ikshvaku Dynasty.
These Copper plates belong to the reign of Rajendra Chola,son of Rajaraja Chola who built the Thanjavur Big Temple.
Rajendra chola was a great king,had a large powerful Navy and conquered Malaysia and Far East He also built the temple in Gangaikonda cholapuram.
I am providing excerpts from Thiruvalangadu Copper plates .
‘The Sanskrit and Tamil portions of the Tiruvalangadu grant were written at different periods, as has been already pointed out by Mr. Venkayya,— the latter at the time to which the inscription refers itself and the former about at least a decade later. A detached inscription written in continuation of the Sanskrit portion on sheet Xa and continued on Xb, is stated by Mr. Venkayya to be a later addition.[5] It registers a grant made to the shrine of the goddess at Tiruvalangadu, perhaps contemporaneously with the grant of Palaiyanur to the temple of Mahadeva (Siva) of that place, but put into writing long after. The characters of the detached record are paleographically at least one or even two centuries later than the characters of the Palaiynaur grant and it is difficult to explain why a gift made to the shrine of the goddess in the 6th year of Rajendra-Chola I. must have been kept without being reduced to writing for such a long period. In this connexion it deserves to be noted that separate shrines of goddesses in Siva temples are, generally, of much later origin than the original Siva temples themselves and that in the stone inscriptions registered on the walls of the Tiruvalangadu temple the shrine of the goddess is referred to for the first time only in a record of the 10th year of Tribhuvana-chakravartin Rajadhiraja II., i.e., in A.D. 1173 – clearly 155 years after the date of the subjoined copper-plate grant
The tradition of the place Tiruvalangadu intimately connects it with Ammai or Karaikkal-Ammai, a great devotee of Siva who, under the orders of that god, put on a dreary emaciated appearance and worshipped his dancing form at Tiruvalangadu. The name Ammai-Nachchiyar which occurs in the detached inscription on plate XVI as a name of the goddess of the temple does not so appear in the stone records of Tiruvalangadu. No. 469 of the Madras Epigraphical Collection for 1905 calls her Periya-Nachchiyar; in another record her name occurs as Vandarkulal Nachchiyar (No. 497 of 1905), which is still current in its Sanskrit form Bhramaralakamba. The god himself is named Ammaiyappa in v. 129. He was perhaps so named on account of his being kind as a father to his devotee Ammai or Karaikkal-Ammai. Both the names Palaiyanur (or Palanai) and Tiruvalangadu occur in the Devaram hymns. In the hymn sung by Sundaramurti-Nayanar the goddess is referred to as Vandarkulali-Umainangai and the god himself as Palaiyanur-Amma. It is not impossible that in the names Ammaiyappan and Ammai-Nachchiyar, Amma is synonymous with the god Tiruvalangadu. The story of Karaikkal-Ammai is not referred to in the Devaram so called. But the eleventh Tirumurai of the sacred collection which describes the god, at Tiruvalangadu was the composition of Karaikkal-Ammai herself and the place of honour is given to it as muthathirupathigam.
The prasasti of the Chola family conveyed by the Sanskrit portion of the grant (vv. 1 to 137) consists of 271 lines and is mostly Puranic[6]. In verse 4 are introduced the sun and Manu, the latter of whom was produced from the Sun by concentration of mind. His son was Ikshvaku (v. 5) ; his son Vikukshi (v. 6) ; his son Puranjaya (v. 7) surnamed Kakutstha (v. 8) ; his son Kakshivat (v. 9) and his son Aryaman (v. 10). In this family was born Analapratapa (v. 11); in his family was born Vena; and his son born from the right arm was Prithu (vv. 12 and 13). In his familywas born Dhundhumara, so called on account of his having killed the demon Dhundhu (v. 14). In (his) family was born Yuvanasva (v. 15) ; his son was Mandhatri who ruled the earth as far as the Lokaloka mountain (v. 16) ; his son was muchukunda who, by killing the demon Kalayavana, pleased the god Mukunda, i.e., Vishnu (v. 17). In (his) family was born king Valabha[7] who founded the city of Valabhi (v. 18) ; his son was Prithulaksha who set the mountain Mandara whirling in the ocean for securing nectar (v. 19) ; his son was Parthivachudamani (v. 20). In (his) family was born Dirghabahu (v. 21) and then came Chandrajit[8] (v. 22); his son was Sankriti who became the emperior at the close of the Krita age (v. 23). In that family was born Panchapa (v. 24)[9] ; in his family was born Satyavrata who conquered Kasiraja, the king of Varanasi (i.e., Benares) (v. 25) and acquired the title Rudrajit (v. 26) by conquering Rudra in battle. In that family was born Sibi; an ornament of his family was king Marutta[10] who was an immediate predecessor of the Pandavas (vv. 27 and 28). In his family was born Dushyanta; his son was Bharata and his son was Chola after whose name the Solar race on this earth became known as Chola (v. 29) and who ruled the Chola country which was abundantly rich (v. 30). Cholavarman’s son was Rajakesarivarman and Rajakesarin’s son was Parakesarin (vv. 30 and 31). These two names were used as titles alternately by the Chola kings in the order of their coronation (v. 32). Parakesarin’s son was Chitraratha; his son was Chitrasva and his son, Chitradhanvan (v. 33). It is stated that this last king Chitradhanvan brought into his dominions the river Kaverakanyaka, i.e., Kaveri, just as Bhagiratha brought into the earth Ganga, the river of the gods (v. 35). In that family was born Suraguru entitled Mrityujit (v. 36). In his family was born Chitraratha who bore the title Vyaghraketu after his banner on which was the figure of a tiger. He also bore as an ornament on his head the flowers of the dhataki (v. 37).[11] His son was Narendrapati who became king at the end of the Treta age. His son was king Vasu entitled Uparichara on account of his having received a celestial car from Indra by which he moved about in all directions (v. 39). In his family was born Visvajit at the close of the dvapara age (v. 40). Thus verses 4 to 40 supply names of kings who ruled in the Krita, Treta and the Dvapara ages and as such can hardly be of any interest to the student of history, excepting perhaps the euponymous name Chola and the titles Rajakesarivarman and Parakesarin of the Treta age.
Coming to the rulers of the Kali age, the first king mentioned is Perunatkilli who was born in this same family and was highly learned (v. 41). In his race[12] was born Kalikala who renovated the town Kanchi with gold and established his fame by constructing flood-embankments for the river Kaveri. The poet explains the name Kalikala as ‘the god of Death (Kala)’ either to the Kali age or to the elephants (kari) of his enemies (v. 42). Evidently here, the tradition recorded in Tamil literature that the name Karikala ‘the burnt-leg’ was derived from an accident which happened to the king while yet he was a boy, was either not known or was purposely ignored by the eulogist. In that family was born Kochchengannan whose former birth as a spider and deep devotion to Siva are described in verse 43. The story of Kochchengannan is found in the Periyapuranam under the name Kochchengatchola-Nayanar. He is there stated to have been the son of Subhadeva and Kamalavati and to have constructed many Siva temples in the Chola country. The classic Tamil poem Kalavali, which is devoted to the history of his life, describes his defeat of the Chera king at Kalumalam.
In the family of Kochchengannan was born Vijayalaya who took possession of Tanchapuri (i.e., Tanjore) and there consecrated the goddess Nisumbhasudani (vv. 44 – 46). With Vijayalaya commences a regular genealogy of the Cholas whose capital was Tanjore. The earlier Cholas of literature whose traditional capital was Uraiyur and who preceded Vijayalaya must have been in a decadent condition serving in some subordinate capacity under the powerful Pallavas. A Telugu branch of them ruling perhaps independently over a small tract of country. His son Adityavarman conquered the Pallava king Aparajita in battle and took possession of his country (vv. 47 – 49). This was the Tondaimandalam which Aditya is known to have subdued.[13] His son Parantaka was a devotee of Siva. He drove the Pandya king into the sea and carried his conquests even into Simhala (Ceylon) (vv. 50-52). This explains the titles Madirai-konda and Maduraiyum-Ilamum-konda often found added to the name of Parantaka in inscriptions. This Parantaka is further stated to have built the golden hall called dabhrasabha (at Chidambaram) and thereby excelled Kubera, thefriend of Siva (v. 53). The larger Leyden plates, on the other hand, state that he only covered it with gold. His son Rajaditya defeated king Krishnaraja in battle and went to heaven (v. 54). The reference here is evidently to the battle of Takkolam[14] in which the Rashtrakuta king Krishna III. and his Ganga feudatory Butuga jointly defeated and killed Rajaditya who was fighting from the back of an elephant as stated in the Leyden grant. The summary way in which Rajaditya has been disposed of by the author of the Tiruvalangadu plates shows that probably he did not succeed to the throne, although the Leyden plates explicitly state that after the death of Parantaka, Rajaditya “ruled” the kingdom.[15] Rajaditya’s brother, Gandaraditya next became king (v. 54). The Leyden plates say of him that he produced a son called Madhurantaka and founded a town after his own name on the northern bank of the river Kaveri.[16] The next king mentioned is Arindama (v. 55) whose exact relationship to Gandaraditya is not specified. But it is known from the Leyden plates and from other inscriptions that Arindama (Arinjaya, Arinjiga or Arikulakesari) was the third son of Parantaka. His rule was evidently neither famous nor long. From the Melpadi inscription published at page 26f of this volume, we learn that Rajaraja I. erected the Siva temple called Arinjisvara (the modern Cholesvara) as a pallippadai (tomb-shrine) to his grandfather Arinjaya who was also known as Arrur-tunjinadeva. Arrur where Arinjaya appears to have died must be distinct from Tondaiman-Arrur where Aditya I. is stated to have died (Madras Epigraphical Report for 1907, page 71, paragraphs 29 and 30). Then came Sundara-Chola or Sundara-Chola Parantaka (II.) who was very famous. Five verses (56 to 60) are devoted to his praise. Of Sundara-Chola the Leyden plates state that at a place called Chevura he fought a great battle and caused rivers of blood to flow. This Sundara-Chola’s son was Arunmolivarma (vv. 61-63). After the death of Sundara-Chola (v. 64) his wife Vanavan-Mahadevi is stated to have abandoned her people and followed her husband to heaven (vv. 65 and 66). His son Aditya next ruled the earth, killed the Pandya king in battle and placed his head high up as a pillar of victory in his capital (vv. 67 and 68). This Pandya king is stated in the Leyden plates to be Vira-Pandya. We also learn from the same plates that Aditya II. had the other name Karikala. Immediately after the death of Aditya, Arunmolivarman (called Rajaraja in the Leyden grant) was requested by his subjects to succeed to the throne but he desired it not while his paternal uncle still coveted his dominions (v. 69). This statement which indicates a probable dispute about the succession to the throne immediately after Aditya-Karikala (II.) is not referred to in the Leyden plates. These latter state that Madhurantaka, the son of Gandaraditya, succeeded straightway after the death of Aditya. Perhaps we have to give credence to the information furnished in the Tiruvalangadu plates and accept that while by right the succession was Rajaraja’s, he voluntarily permitted his uncle Madhurantaka to rule the kingdom, on the understanding that he would himself he chosen for the office of the heir-apparent (v. 70). Madhurantaka ruled the kingdom virtuously as a pious devotee of Siva (v. 71). After Madurantaka, Arunmolivarman was installed in the administration of the kingdom amidst the rejoicings of his people (v. 72). His digvijaya or the conquest of the quarters and the tulabhara i.e., ‘weighing oneself against gold’ are mentioned in verses 74 and 75. The conquest of the quarters began with the south (v. 76). Rajaraja conquered first the Pandya (king) Amarabhujangawhile his commandant (dandanatha) captured the impregnable fortress of Vilinda whose moat was the sea (vv. 78 and 79) The latter officer also crossed the ocean by ships and destroyed the lord of Lanka (Ceylon) (v. 80). Arunmolivarman’s ocean-like army next defeated Satyasrya who fled away to avoid misery. “Being produced to Tail (oil) this (slipping away) was but natural in him” (v. 81) saysthe poet , thereby indicating that Satyasraya who was defeated by Rajaraja was the son of Tail II. He also killed the faultless Andhra king Bhima for the mere reasons that the latter had killed by a powerful club a certain Rajaraja, his namesakeke, who was an expert in war (v. 82). This statement makes it clear that Rajaraja unnecessarily interfered in the politics of the Andhra country, by killing a king called Bhima. This Bhima and the Rajaraja killed by him have not been identified. Rajaraja next conquered the [Kerala] country which was the creation of Rama (i.e., Parasurama) and also subdued in battle successively the Ganga, Kalinga, Vanga, Magadha, Aratta, Odda, Saurashtraka, Chalukya, and other kings (v. 81). This list of Rajaraja’s conquests, though by no means impossible, is yet exaggerated when it includes names like those of Magadha and Saurashtraka. According to the Leyden plates Rajaraja I was known by the title Rajasraya. Rajaraja’s son was Madhurantaka (v. 85) who backed up by a powerful army turned his attention to the conquest of the quarters (digvijaya) (v. 89). This king called Uttama-Chola (II.) started to the south as usual[17] with a desire to conquer the Pandya king (v. 90). The commander of his forces (dandanatha) so struck the Pandya that the latter ran away from the land of Agastya and sought refuge in the Malaya hill (v. 91). After taking possession of many a pure lustrous pearl of the Pandya king (v. 92), Madhurantaka placed there his own son Chola-Pandya for the protection of the Pandya country and started westward (v. 93). For the first time in its history, Kerala, which was impregnable and unconquered, was entirely annihilated (vv. 94 to 97). The king after this returned to his capital and started afresh for the conquest of the north (v. 98), having again appointed his son Chola-Pandya[18] to protect the western country (v. 99). Rajendra-Chola entered Kanchi (i.e., Conjeeveram) in his march against Jayasimha of the Tail family, the lord of the Chalukyas[19] (vv. 99-100). He thoroughly routed him and his forces, thereby causing the ladies of the Ratta kingdom to shed tears[20] (vv. 101-107). Rajendra-Chola returned again to his capital (v. 108). With the idea of bringing the river Ganga into his own country through the strength of his arm he ordered his commander[21] to subdue the kings occupying the banks of that river (vv. 109-110). From v. 113 it is inferred that Rajendra-Chola also held the title Vikrama-Chola. The first king conquered was Indraratha of the Lunar race (v. 114); next, Ranasura was robbed of his prosperity and then Dharmapala. The commander of the Chola army reached the Ganga and got the most sacred water of that river carried to his master Madhurantaka (vv. 116-117). Meantime Rajendra Chola himself reached the river Godavari to meet his able General who had just brought the water of the Ganges, after having defeated Mahipala on the way (vv. 118-119). Here, Rajendra-Chola is stated to have killed the wicked king of Odda and to have accepted as tribute from the surviving claimant, many rutting elephants[22] (v. 120). His next campaign was against Kataha (v. 123). He then constructed in his capital the tank called Cholagangam which was composed of the waters of the Ganga river, and established it there as a memorial pillar of his victory (v. 124). The conquests of Rajendra-Chola are mostly recorded in the historical introductions to his Tamil inscriptions dated from and after the 13th year of his reign.[23] It may here be noted that the Tamil introduction given in lines 131 to 142 below is naturally the shorter one, since it belongs to the 6th year of the king’s reign ; and since it does not include a list of all conquests mentioned above, it has been suggested that the Sanskrit portion of the grant which includes the conquests of the later years must be a subsequent addition.https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/ads?client=ca-pub-2137364728838345&output=html&h=250&slotname=6325448717&adk=3007479896&adf=2600224992&w=300&lmt=1506580324&psa=0&guci=2.2.0.0.2.2.0.0&format=300×250&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.whatisindia.com%2Finscriptions%2Fsouth_indian_inscriptions%2Fvolume_3%2Fno_205_aditya_ii_karikala.html&flash=0&wgl=1&adsid=ChAI8NSu-QUQsO-A1JmQnLMFEjsAndZOYA_9oqlvxFUxRA7cqQ_JTAgegP2QAo85US6p–swMq3bOrafAvM3Dq3TLD0ve8aIvXgOhxP_rA&dt=1596777723454&bpp=7&bdt=685&idt=172&shv=r20200803&cbv=r20190131&ptt=9&saldr=aa&abxe=1&cookie=ID%3Dcbbe4a7b732d7dbf%3AT%3D1596776454%3AS%3DALNI_MZiYFGbzM4uc1J7Xmn2ePgskSeUyQ&prev_fmts=728×90&correlator=1165038271063&frm=20&pv=1&ga_vid=1596251553.1596776457&ga_sid=1596777724&ga_hid=257832054&ga_fc=0&iag=0&icsg=2239146&dssz=18&mdo=0&mso=0&u_tz=330&u_his=3&u_java=0&u_h=813&u_w=375&u_ah=813&u_aw=375&u_cd=24&u_nplug=0&u_nmime=0&adx=668&ady=3374&biw=980&bih=1782&scr_x=0&scr_y=708&eid=42530558%2C42530560%2C21066125%2C21066819%2C21066973&oid=3&pvsid=373936515875853&pem=13&ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&rx=0&eae=0&fc=896&brdim=0%2C0%2C0%2C0%2C375%2C0%2C375%2C682%2C979%2C1782&vis=1&rsz=d%7Cd%7CEebr%7Cn&abl=XS&pfx=0&fu=8192&bc=31&jar=2020-08-07-02&ifi=2&uci=a!2&btvi=1&fsb=1&xpc=mEIJOnzsbP&p=https%3A//www.whatisindia.com&dtd=184
Being encamped at Mudigondasolapuram, king Madurantaka deputed his minister Janatha, the son of rama, in the 6th year of his reign, to grant the village of Palaiyura to the temple of Siva [at Tiruvalangadu] (v. 125). This Jananatha is stated to have been a minister of Madhurantaka and a crest jewel of the Chalukyas (v. 127). The village Puranagrama, (i.e., Palaiyura quoted above), which was granted to the god Siva named Ammaiyappa, was the ornament of the province of Jayangonda-Chola-mandalam and was situated in the district Paschatyagiri[24] (vv. 128-129). It was also called Tiruvalangadu and was bounded on three sides by Simhalantaka-chaturvedimangalama and on the fourth by Nityavinoda-chaturvedimangalam (vv. 130-131). The srimukha or the royal order conveying the grant was written by Uttamasola-Tamiladaraiyan. Tirukkalatti Pichchan made the request (vijnapti) on behalf of the temple and Araneri, son of Mayana, a native of Mangalavayil and of the fourth caste, did the business of taking round the female elephant (karinibhramana), etc., under orders of Jananatha (vv. 132-135). The learned poet Narayana, son of Sankara and a devotee of Vishnu, composed the grant (v. 136). Tirukkalatti Pichchan and Araneri, sons of Mayana, do not appear in the Tamil portion of the grant described below. Jananatha of the Sanskrit portion is identical with Narakkan Marayan Janathan alias Rajendrasola-Brahmadhirajan who together with three other officers of the king issued the order to execute the grant of Palaiyanur to the Siva temple of Tiruvalangadu. Uttamasola-Tamiladaraiyan is identical with Narayanan-karrali alias Uttamasola-Tamiladaraiyan mentioned in 1. 276 of the Tamil portion.
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