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There is literary evidence that the Cholas were the descendants of Rama. There are hymns in the Tamil Sangam texts that refer to Rama as the ancestor of the Chola clan. However, in tune with the practice of not mentioning the name of the king but indicating the name by the special deed done by them, the poets have often written about just two ancient kings as ancestors of the Cholas by mentioning the feats done by them. One saved a pigeon by offering his own flesh, whose identity can be easily found out as Sibi. Another was a valiant king who destroyed the hanging walls of the enemy. Until now no one had been able to identify either the city of hanging walls or the ancestral king who destroyed it. Analysis shows that it was Rama!
Let us begin with the hanging walls. Which city had the hanging walls? How could the walls be hanging? In the stories that have been handed down to us so far, there are two cities that are said to have had walls hanging from the sky.
Hanging cities
One was the city of Amaravati, the capital of Indra. It was said to be in the sky. The Chola genealogy says that Muchukunda who came in the Chola lineage was a friend of Indra, thereby giving the impression that Indra was not a mythical figure. Muchukunda’s name appears after Mandhata of the Ikshvaku lineage. Up to Mandhata, the Ikshvaku lineage and the Chola lineage have the same names. After Mandhata a diversion is seen with the name Muchukunda appearing as the son of Mandhata but not ascending the Ikshvaku throne. His name gets related to the Chola lineage in the Chola inscriptions.
Muchukunda once helped Indra to protect the city of Amaravati when he went to fight with the Asuras. This information given in Silappadhikaram further states that pleased with Muchukunda’s help in protecting Amaravati in his absence, Indra gifted him a deity by name “Naalangaadi Bhootha”. This deity was installed at the centre of the marketplace in Poompukar by Muchukunda. The worship of this deity continued till Silappadhikaram times (2000 years ago). Muchukunda’s name is also associated with the seven temples of Shiva known as Sapta Vidanga Sthalas in Thanjavur, giving further evidence of the existence of Muchukunda and his presence in south Tamilnadu long ago. What is of importance is that Amaravati was said to be in the sky.
Similarly, another city said to be in the sky was Lanka ruled by Ravana. Ravana told Sita that Lanka was situated on a mountain (Va- Ra: 3-47-29). On the hilltop, the city looked like a ‘hanging city’ through the clouds. Lanka was a walled city. As the clouds surround the mountain, those looking at it from below can only see the clouds on top of the mountain. The walls of the city partially concealed by the clouds gave an appearance as though the walls were hanging from the sky. Thus, the city of Lanka was praised as a city in the sky.
Ravana also said that his city was like Indra’s city of Amaravati (Va-Ra: 3-48-10) by which it is known that Amaravati must also have been a city situated on a hill. People called Devas might have lived there. It should be pointed out here that the region encompassing Thailand, Burma and Vietnam was named as Indra Dweepa. This region, in close proximity to Bharat, gives ample scope for movement and interaction between these two places.
Indra’s charioteer Matali gave his chariot to Rama and charioteered him in the war with Ravana, proving that Indra lived during Rama’s times. Matali sought an alliance for his daughter from human beings, indicating that Indra and the so-called Devas were also human beings, but........ (continue to read in Vijayvaani.com)
