Part 1 : Karikal Chola who built Kallanai (Grand Anicut) was a contemporary of Adi Shankara
Karikāla wrested Kanchi from Trilochana
Pallava
Trilochana or Trinetra Pallava was
the ruler of the Telugu districts to the south of the rivers Krishna and
Tungabhadra with his capital at Dharaṇikota which is presently known as
Amaravati. He was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. It is said that like Shiva,
he possessed a Third eye which gave him the name Mukkanti – the
three-eyed. He was against the growing popularity of Jainism and Buddhism at
his time that he worked towards shunning them and developing Vedic practices. Several local
records called Kaifiyat-s
from different places of Andhra about this king and his services to the people
were documented by N. Venkataramanayya in his book ‘Trilochana
Pallava and Karikāla Chola’ published in 1929.
Trilochana Pallava was also known as Mukkanti-
Kāduvetti for having cleared the forests to create habitats, particularly
from the region between Pennar in the South and Nallamalai in the North. The
Kaifiyat-s of Sara (Kurnool), Chaudeswari-Nandavaram (Cudappah), Bandar
(Krishna), Mandredu, Karasāla, Mottupalli and Perāla (all these places in
Guntur) refer to his work in clearing the forests to make towns and villages,
digging ponds and canals, and building temples. These activities indicate the
antiquated period when most regions of the Deccan were forested and
uninhabitable. According to several Kaifiyat-s, Trilochana was ruling from Dharaṇikota
and had control over Cudappah, Karnool, Nellore, Krishna and Guntur which
extended up to Kanchi. His supremacy in this region was challenged by Karikāl
Chola.
His defeat in the hands of Karikāla
is mentioned in the Kaifiyat of the Palli community in Andhra. The Kaifiyat of
Anantavaram (Guntur) refers to Karikāla as the successor of Trilochana Pallava.
The Kaifiyat of Chittivale refers to the Chola invasion under Karikāla. The
whole region between Pennar in the North and Thirumalai in the South was
forested during Karikāla’s regime. Karikāla cleared the forests and made habitats,
dug up tanks and embankments. One may tend to dismiss such actions of Karikāla found in Nava Choda Charitra of Telugu
Chola-s as overstatement of the Chola pride, but the same appearing in several
local Kaifiyat-s cannot be ignored as deliberate imagination. It must also be
noted that the Sangam text ‘Pattinap pālai’ refers to Karikaala clearing
the forests to create habitats (lines – 283-84)
காடு கொன்று நாடாக்கிக்
குளம் தொட்டு வளம் பெருக்கி
Some scholars earlier said that Pattinap pālai is in
praise of some other Chola king, not Karikāla, but Kalingatthu Bharani states
in no uncertain terms that Karikaal Chola gifted sixteen hundred thousand gold
(coins) to the poet who composed Pattinap Pālai about him (verse 198)
தத்து நீர்வரால் குருமி வென்றதுந்
தழுவு செந்தமிழ்ப் பரிசில் வாணர்பொன்
பத்தொ டாறுநூ றாயி ரம்பெறப்
பண்டு பட்டினப் பாலை கொண்டதும்
After winning the kings of the other two Tamil
dynasties and several local Tamil chieftains, Karikāl Chola turned his
attention to North. He brought Kanchi under the Chola domain and appointed Iḷam
Thirayan, his cousin as its ruler. Since Karikāl Chola is remembered in
Tiruvālangādu plates as one who remodeled Kanchi with gold, it is not possible
to assume Iḷam Thirayan as the Chola King Rājasena mentioned in Shankara Vijaya
Vilāsa.
The absence of reference to Varadaraja Swami temple in
the Sangam verse on Iḷam Thirayan also speaks of an early time after the
capture of Kanchi when the city was not re-designed. Sometime after the
composition of that verse Adi Shankara arrived at Kanchi. On hearing about his
arrival, Karikāl Chola paid a visit to him and as a staunch Vedic person, Karikāla
carried out every request made by Adi Shankara.
Only after he built the Kāmākshi
temple as per the advice of Adi Shankara, he must have made his northern
expedition.
Karikāla’s northern expedition
It has been a practice among the Tamil kings to reach
the Himalayas and engrave their emblem on top of the peak as a mark of
supremacy over others. Generally, this was done after a king brought the other
two Tamil domains under his control. The Pandyan king, Konnavil Kon
Nedumāran was perhaps the earliest Tamil ruler to do so after he
established his rule over the other two Tamil regions. He perhaps belonged to
Southern Madurai which was not even part of Bharat. His feat of going to the
Himalayas is mentioned in a series of verses from an ancient composition quoted
by Nakkīrar in his commentary to Irayanār Agapporul.
Among the Chera kings, Senguttuvan (செங்குட்டுவன்) repeated that feat. Before him, Imaya Varamban
Nedum Cheralaathan (இமய
வரம்பன் நெடும் சேரலாதன்)
had gone to the Himalayan peak to stamp his emblem. (Padhigam of 2nd
Patthu of Paripādal). This king was said to be the husband of Karikāl Chola’s
granddaughter.
After winning and renovating Kanchi on the advice of
Adi Shankara, Karikāla must have undertaken his northern journey. This can be
said with certainty because he visited the temple of bangled Kāmākshi Devi to
get the weapon, Cheṇḍu for chiseling the emblem on the mountain.
While passing through Andhra, he conquered many places
and established Chola rule. The conquests of Karikāla
of the regions of Andhra mentioned in the Kaifiyat-s must have happened when he
passed through those places towards North. Kaifiyat of Pottapi (Cudappah) says
that Karikāla cleared the forests of Karigiri Hill and created many towns which
were clubbed together as Pottapi nādu.
From the Kaifiyat of Nyāyakallu (Bellary) we learn
that Karikāl Chola built 101 temples for Shiva and created Agrahara-s. There is
even a story of Karikāla’s son having killed a Brahmin. Kaifiyat of Divvur
mentions Karikāl Chola as the king of that region. Several such Kaifiyat-s
refer to Karikāla clearing the forests or making new habitats or renewing old
habitats or building temples or renovating old temples or building tanks and
dams.
All these works in Andhra region are un-reported in
Tamil sources but are nevertheless reliable because Karikāla had crossed these
regions to reach North India. As far as Tamil sources are concerned, Vikrama
Cholan Ula refers to Senni having engraved the tiger emblem on the
Himalayas (line- 25)
தெள்ளருவிச்
சென்னிப் புலியே திருத்திக் கிரி திரித்து
Rajaraja Cholan Ula also says the same (lines- 33-34)
கல் மலை மார்பும் கடவுள் வட மேருப்
பொன் மலை மார்பும் புலி பொறித்தோன்
Kaliṅgatthu Bharani also mentions about Karikaal Chola engraving his
emblem on the Himalayas using the weapon, Cheṇḍu (verse 178).
செண்டு கொண்டு கரிகாலன் ஒருகாலின் இமயச்
சிமய மால்வரை திரிட்தருளி மீள
In Silappadhikaram, there are references to
three countries of the North visited by Karikāl Chola where he received some
special gifts. Those gifts were exhibited in Pūmpukār during the Indra
Festival, reports Silappadhikaram.
The king of Vajra desa offered him a pearl
canopy (முத்துப் பந்தர்). The Magadha king gave him a Vidya Mandapa (வித்தியா மண்டபம்). The king of Avanti gifted him a Torana (தோரண வாயில்). A special feature about these gifts is that they were
made by artisans whose ancestors learnt the art of making them from none other
than Mayan who taught them the techniques of making them in return for
the help those ancestors rendered to him. (Si: ch 5- lines 105 to 107). This
could be a reference to the Mahabharata period when Mayan, rescued by Arjuna
and Krishna from Khāndava vana fire offered to build Maya-Sabha. The artisans
who helped them had retained the knowledge of the techniques they learned from
Mayan and passed on to their descendants.
That knowledge was alive until Karikāla-s time that he was gifted artifacts that retained the stamp of Mayan. Of the three gifts mentioned, only Torana appears familiar to us as they are still found in Buddhist shrines.
Torana of Sanchi Stupa in Madhya Pradesh
Avanti in Madhya Pradesh seems to be well known for
Torana art. Something like the Torana of Sanchi was given to Karikāla. This
Torana design and art belonged to the pre-common era.
The three places visited by Karikāla were part of the
16 Janapada-s. Of these, the location of Vajra is unknown. Among the
Janapada-s, a country by name Vajji appears. Vajji-s or Vraji-s are mentioned
by Paṇini and Kautilya but the location is not exactly known. In
Silappadhikaram, it is mentioned as Vajra surrounded by water. Some scholars place
it in Bengal and some on the banks of Son River. But considering the route
taken by Karikāl Chola, this writer suggests that
Vajra was the country of Vajra, the great grandson of
Krishna. It was Indraprastha of the old and New Delhi of the current
times. Its location on the banks of river Yamuna fulfils the description of Silappadhikaram.
If we place Vajra in Bengal or in Son or near Nepal as
some claimed that it is related to Liccāvi-s, it is found away from the
expected path taken by Karikāl Chola. The probable route is shown in the map.
Karikāla-s route of northern expedition
From Pūmpukār, Karikāla went to Kanchi where he
worshiped Kāmākshi Devi and acquired the Cheṇḍu. From there he passed through
the regions once held by Trilochana Pallava. Since there is no evidence of
winning Dharaṇikota, he could have skipped that region and gone further north. Both
Magadha and Avanti appearing in his itinerary, he could be expected to have
passed through one of them at a time and crossed the other in the return
journey (the red line represents the probable onward journey for
illustrative purpose). In both onward and return journeys he could have crossed
Vajra Desa if it was the same as Indraprastha. From Indraprastha, he had gone
to Amarnath peak to engrave his symbol. On the return journey, he could have
passed through Indraprastha and went to Magadha from where he turned southward.
This journey could have been through land and not
through the sea though there is a Purananuru verse praising him for having a naval
fleet (66th verse). The numerous Kiyafat-s showing his presence in
the entire Andhra region and his visit to the three important countries of the
North show that he had taken a land-bound route.
(to be continued)
