Karikāl Chola's conquest of Kanchi and the expedition to the Himalayas

Part 1 : Karikal Chola who built Kallanai (Grand Anicut) was a contemporary of Adi Shankara

Part 2: History of Karikāl Chola and Iḷam Thirayan and the route to Kanchi gleaned from Sangam texts

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 2^nd 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 (66^th 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) 

History of Karikāl Chola and Iḷam Thirayan and the route to Kanchi gleaned from Sangam texts

 Previous part: Karikal Chola who built Kallanai (Grand Anicut) was a contemporary of Adi Shankara

Karikāla’s history before Iḷam Thirayan

In the history of Chola-s we find more than one king ruling the Chola country. The chief king was ruling from the main capital, which was Pūmpukār in the pre common era. Uraiyūr was also a capital but occupied by the son or a sibling of the chief king. For example, Nalam Kiḷḷi, also known as Set Senni (சேட் சென்னி) was praised as ‘Uṛanthaiyon’ உறந்தையோன்) – the one who belonged to Uraiyūr in the 63^rd verse of Purananuru. But he was praised for having a naval fleet in the 382^nd verse of Purananuru which would have been possible if he was in control of Pūmpukār.

His son was ‘Kuḷamuṛṛatthu thunjiya Kiḷḷi Vaḷavan’ (குளமுற்றத்துத் துஞ்சிய கிள்ளி வளவன்). He also belonged to Uraiyūr as per the 39^th verse of Purananuru. He had more verses in praise of him than even Karikāl Chola. Both he and his father Nalam Kiḷḷi were praised by Kovūr kizhār (கோவூர் கிழார்), giving the impression that both the father and the son were ruling simultaneously with their base in Pūmpukār and Uraiyūr respectively.

At the same time, two brothers of Nalam Kiḷḷi were also given rulership of some part of the Chola country because there are verses in praise of them too. One of them was ‘Māvaḷatthān’ (மாவளத்தான்) praised in the 43^rd verse of Purananuru. Another brother was Uruva pahrēr Iḷamsēt Senni, the father of Karikāl Chola.

Uruva pahrēr Iḷamsēt Senni died when Karikāl chola was still in his mother’s womb. The history of young Karikāl chola picked up from the Sangam age texts show that the Chola country went into the hands of enemies for a brief time. Karikāl Chola had grown in the custody of his maternal uncle, Irumbidar Thalaiyār (இரும்பிடர் தலையார்). His enemies found him out and imprisoned him. An attempt was made to kill him in the prison by setting fire to the prison but Karikāla managed escape. However, his leg suffered burn injuries, due to which he came to be known as Karikāla – the one with burned leg. However, Tiruvālangādu copper plates give a different justification for his name as Kali-kāla – the one who was Yama to Kali.

Soon Karikāla gained the country and scored a major victory in a place called ‘Veṇṇi Paṛanthalai’ (வெண்ணிப் பறந்தலை) in which he defeated the Pandya king, the Chera king and eleven minor chieftains. In yet another war in a place called ‘Vāgai Paṛanthalai’ (வாகைப் பறந்தலை) he defeated nine kings.

With all these, his name appears associated with a place called ‘Idaiyāṛu’ (இடையாறு) and not Pūmpukār! ‘இடையாற்றன்ன நல்லிசை வெறுக்கை’ says 141^st verse of Agananuru.

At the same time, ‘Kuḷamuṛṛatthu thunjiya Kiḷḷi Vaḷavan’ the son of his elder paternal uncle, Nalam Kiḷḷi also was ruling from Pūmpukār. This is made out from the fact that both (Karikāla and Kiḷḷi Vaḷavan) were praised by the poet Nakkīrar. Sometime later Karikāla became the Chief king in Pūmpukār. This could be possible if the direct heir of Kiḷḷi Vaḷavan no longer existed or Karikāla was a preferred Chief than the son(s) of Kiḷḷi Vaḷavan.

Around this time, another Chola King also existed whose son was Iḷam Thirayan.

Iḷam Thirayan’s life history

The story of Iḷam Thirayan is found in two chapters of the text, ‘Manimekalai’. He was the hero of the Sangam poem, ‘Perum Pānāṛṛu Padai’ (பெரும் பாணாற்றுப் படை) which identifies him located in Kanchi. He caused a text in his name – ‘Iḷam Thirayam’ (இளம் திரையம்) to be inaugurated in the Sangam Assembly. This is told by Nakkīrar in his commentary to ‘Irayanār Agapporuḷ’ as an example for naming a book after the one who caused the poet to write it. One will be surprised to know about another book mentioned in these lines. It was ‘Sātavāhanam’ that was caused by a Sātavāhana king to be composed in Tamil and inaugurated in the Sangam Assembly. Both these books have not survived.

The birth of Iḷam Thirayan is told in the 25^th and 29^th chapters of Manimekalai. There was Chola king by name, ‘Nedumudi Kiḷḷi’ (நெடுமுடிக் கிள்ளி) ruling from Pūmpukār. Pīlivaḷai (பீலிவளை) was the daughter of Vaḷaivaṇan, (வளைவணன்) the Nāga king. The Chola king met Pīlivaḷai and fell in love with her. They spent time together for a few weeks after which she left. She was pregnant when she left and gave birth to a male child. Wishing to get back to her parents, she decided to send the child to its father, the Chola king. She met a merchant (Kambaḷa Chetti – கம்பளச் செட்டி) who was on his way back to Pūmpukār in a ship. She entrusted the child to him, gave the details about the child’s identity as the son of the Chola king and asked him to hand over the child to the king.

Unfortunately, a sea storm struck the ship. The ship sank and the child was lost. The merchant who happened to be a distant ancestor of Kovalan (the husband of Kannagi) managed to swim towards Pūmpukār and delivered the news about the child to the king. The shocked King immediately went about searching for the child. As a result, he ignored his kingly duties. In his anxiety to find out the whereabouts of the child, he did not conduct the Indra festival. This invited a curse from the deity that Pūmpukār would suffer inundation.

Only this much of the story is found in Manimekalai. However, there is an oral tradition that the child was recovered by the Chola king, wrapped by a creeper called Ātoṇdai (ஆதொண்டை). The child was recovered on the shores of Kanchi, and this made the king give him the Kanchi region for him to rule. Since he was protected by the waves of the sea, he was named Thirayan and the protection by Atoṇdai lent the name Toṇdai Maṇḍalam to the regions of Kanchi.

What relationship Nedumudi Kiḷḷi had with Karikāla is not known, but he must have been a paternal uncle of Karikāla when Karikāla was positioned in Idaiyāṛu. Upon the exit of Nedumudi Kiḷḷi, Karikāla must have taken position in Pūmpukār.  It was he who built the walls of Kanchi and invited people to reside there. At that time Kanchi was within the dominion of Trilochana Pallava – an early Pallava who had his base in Dharaṇikota (today’s Amaravathy) according to several sources. Subsequently Adi Shankara arrived at Kanchi and Karikāla served him. This seemed to have happened sometime after Iḷam Thirayan was made the chief of Kanchi because the locations given in Perum Pānāṛṛu Padai reveal that the division of Kanchi had not yet taken place when that text was composed.

Kanchi in Iḷam Thirayan’s period

The text Perum Pānāṛṛu Padai composed in praise of Iḷam Thirayan narrates the route taken by the poet to reach the palace of Iḷam Thirayan. Some of them are identifiable as they continue to exist today. After passing through habitats of various kinds of people the poet reached the seashore where he saw a Lighthouse. In six lines, the Lighthouse is described as a building on top (of something not mentioned) which was difficult to access. A ladder was kept leaning on it. Only trained people could climb to the top. A huge lamp was burning all through the night to guide the ships.

After reaching the Lighthouse, the groves on the seashore were mentioned. Upon crossing the groves, the poet reached a Highway that passed through many small habitats and villages and a Vishnu temple in a place called ‘Tiruvehka’ (திருவெஃகா). The route from the Lighthouse and Tiruvehka is a crucial hint on the topography because even today there is a Highway passing through Tiruvehka from the Lighthouse.

Today two Lighthouses exist – an old one and a new one. The old Lighthouse exists on a huge rock and is regarded as the oldest in India. There is a temple on top of it. The Light was burning on top of the temple.

                             Old Lighthouse

The structure of the old Lighthouse as it exists today was re-modelled by the Pallava-s in 640 CE, but    we are talking about the Lighthouse of the pre-Common Era. In the Pallava-made structure, the top portion was built on the Mandapa of a Durga temple. Presently it is known as Olakkanneshvara temple. In the Sangam age a ladder was used to reach the top, but the Pallava-s replaced it by cutting steps on the rock to reach the top.

        Location of the Old Lighthouse                       (Olakkanneshvara temple)

Today this old Lighthouse is UNESCO heritage site. An article by UNESCO states that this structure is one of the oldest models that inspired the Pallava-s to construct Shore temples (https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/249/ ). A new Lighthouse is built close to it.

                         New Lighthouse

After crossing the backwaters, the Highway starts. It goes to Tiruvehka (also known as ‘Sonna vannam seitha Perumal’ temple சொன்ன வண்ணம் செய்த பெருமாள்) but only after crossing Varadaraja Swamy temple! While passing through this route, no one can miss the Varadaraja temple which is on the way. After crossing the Varadaraja temple, Tiruvehka can be reached in one and a half kilometers.

  Route from the Lighthouse to Tiruvehka exists today as described in Sangam text.

The Sangam text refers to Tiruvehka but not Varadaraja temple. This makes a strange reading because today Varadaraja temple is more popular than Tiruvehka temple by size and the number of devotees visiting it. Why did the Sangam poet not make a mention of it? Was it because it was not popular then and was very small and insignificant?

In this context it is worth mentioning the observation of Mr. K.V. Raman in his book ‘Sri Varadaraja Swami temple Kanchi: A study of its history, art and architecture’ (1975) that Varadaraja Swami was not sung by many Alwars, more notably by those born in Kanchipuram. He says,

“It is rather strange that Alwārs like Poigai who was born in Kanchi and Tirumalisai (Alwar) who spent considerable time in the city (and particularly at Tiruvehka) have not referred to the temple at Attiyūr (Varadaraja temple). Nor has it ben sung by Tirumangai Alwār who has composed hymns on even at the smaller temples at Kanchi like Uragam, Pādagam, Tiruvehka besides the Parameswara Viṇṇagaram.”

Varadaraja Swami is identified as one residing in Attiyūr where Atthi refers to hasti, the elephant. As per the temple legend the deity appeared as ‘Hasti-giri’ an elephant-like mount. In one of the verses on Vishnu at Parameswara Viṇṇagaram, Tirumaṅgai Alwār refers to ‘kacchi mēya kaḷiṛu’ (கச்சி மேய களிறு)– the elephant in Kanchi - which is treated by scholars as referring to Varadaraja Swami. Apart from this reference, only Bhūthathālwār talks about Varadaraja swami as Attiyūrān who flies on the bird (அத்தியூரான் புள்ளை ஊர்வான்). Other than this, there are references to only the walls of Kanchi in a couple of verses which indicate that such verses were composed after Kanchi was re-modelled by Karikāla.

The absence of mention about the Varadaraja Swami temple on the way to Tiruvehka in the Sangam text conveys just one meaning – that the temple was not yet built. Sometime after the verse was composed, the re-building of Kanchi must have happened. Iḷam Thirayan cannot be credited with re-building the city, for, there is a specific mention about Karikāla in the Tiruvālangādu plates as one who re-modeled the city. Only Karikāla based at Pūmpukār was the Chief and Iḷam Thirayan was a subordinate king to him. It can be said that Karikāla had a greater say in the affairs of Kanchi though technically it was under the tutelage of Iḷam Thirayan, because it was Karikāla who snatched Kanchi from Trilochana Pallava and brought it under the Chola control.

(to be continued) 

Karikāl Chola who built Kallaṇai (Grand Anicut) was a contemporary of Adi Shankara

 The quest for establishing the date of Adi Shankara brings up an interesting information that a Chola king by name ‘Rājasena’ helped Adi Shankara in setting up three temples and in re-modelling Kanchipuram into two parts – as Shiva Kanchi and Vishnu Kanchi.  Even today these names exist with an additional identity as Big Kanchi for Shiva Kanchi and Small Kanchi for Vishnu Kanchi. Shiva temples are concentrated in Shiva Kanchi while Vishnu Kanchi is dominated by Vishnu temples, but the king’s name ending with ‘Sena’ is not heard of in the Chola genealogy.

The life history of Adi Shankara given in a text named, ‘Shankara Vijaya Vilāsa’ talks about the service of this Chola king in developing these towns and temples at the behest of Adi Shankara from verses 6 to 61 in chapter 25. Rājasena as the name of a Chola king doesn’t appear in any Tamil sources but this name appears with a variation in the Bhashya (commentary) to Chandogya Upanishad by Adi Shankara where he refers to ‘Rājavarman’ - a king who brings rewards equal to kingship. Rājasena being his contemporary, it makes us wonder whether Adi Shankara mentioned Rājasena as Rājavarman.

Checking the authenticity of this text, this book is indeed the lesser known among the many hagiographies of Adi Shankara. Only four manuscripts of this book were found in different parts of Bharat. The earliest to appear in print was published by Vāvillu Rāmasāmi Sāstri in 1876 at Madras. All the four manuscripts were compared and found to have less variations. The text is in the form of a narration of Adi Shankara’s life history by one Cidvilāsa Yati (who learned it from his Guru) to his disciple, Vijnānakanda. It is not possible to find out the date of this composition, but scholars are of the opinion that it follows Brihat Shankara Vijaya by Citsukha, the first disciple of Adi Shankara. There are however others who deny the very existence of Citsukha!

This text cannot be ignored because it talks about six kings from different parts of Bharat as contemporaneous to Adi Shankara of whom the Chola King at Kanchi appears traceable with Kanchi having more than 2000 years of history, recorded in literature (Tamil Sangam texts) and inscriptions. The other kings were Bhadrasena of Rudrākhya nagar near Prayāg, Vіrasena near the bank of Thungabhadra and Shringeri Mutt, Bhojasingh of Cidambar, Ratnasingh of Badarī and Rāmarāja of Anantasayana.

The information pertaining to Rājasena, the Chola king is related to developing Kanchi on the advice of Adi Shankara. Though I could get the exact date of Adi Shankara’s birth based on the Panchanga features given by many hagiographies, I wanted to find out the identity of this Chola king independently so that it would become a cross reference in support of the date of Adi Shankara which I will be sharing in another article.

About Rājasena in the text

The text says that Adi Shankara came to Kanchi from Shringeri after giving consent for setting up a Mutt in Shringeri. On coming to Kanchi, he worshiped Ekāmbranātha, Kāmākshi and Varadarāja. This shows that temples for these deities existed during his time.

Sometime during his stay, the Chola king, Rājasena came to meet him. Adi Shankara told him to develop Kanchi by making it two-told with Shiva and Vishnu, instead of the threefold division of Shiva, Shakti and Vishnu. Taking his advice, the king modelled the city as Shiva Kanchi and Vishnu Kanchi and built temples for Ekāmbranātha, Kāmākshi and Varadarāja. The building of these temples by Rājasena implies that these deities worshiped by Adi Shankara when he came to Kanchi were not housed in proper temples. Only Rājasena constructed these temples.

It is also written that when Adi Shankara came, Kāmākshi Devi was in Ugra form. She was residing in a bila (hole / cave) and often tormented the people. Adi Shankara pacified her by establishing a Sri Yanta. Adi Shankara asked the Chola king to make a golden image of Goddess Kāmākshi and install it in front of the hole. He also got the king to build a mutt for him. The King was asked by Sureshwara, the disciple of Adi Shankara to make a Sarvajna-pitha, (the throne of omniscience) made of gold and decorated with precious stones and adorned with steps. The king obliged and made the throne on which Adi Shankara ascended.

With only these details about this Chola king, we must find out who he was.

Rājasena was pre-Pallava.

In the opinion of many, Adi Shankara lived in the 7^th or 8^th century CE. The three main temples of Kanchi (Ekāmbranātha, Kāmākshi and Varadarāja) were already well developed by those centuries. Kanchi was under the control of the Pallava-s until the 9^th century when Aditya-I, the son of Vijayālaya defeated the Pallava-s. Placing Rājasena and Adi Shankara at or after the 9^th century in post-Vijayālaya period is not appropriate, because Kanchi was well developed by then.  

The only other time the Chola-s were in control of Kanchi was some time before the 3^rd century CE. As per the Pallava chronicles given in Velurpālayam plates, Kumāravishnu captured Kanchi from the Chola-s. (Verse 8)

Earlier, his father, Skandasishya snatched the Ghatika of Kanchi from Satyasena! (verse 7). The name Satyasena in the inscription shows that having ‘Sena’ as suffix was not uncommon among the Chola kings. A search for the Chola suffixes shows that their names in Tamil mostly ended with Kiḷḷi and Senni as well. But ‘sena’ being a Sanskrit word, it could have been in use in the Sanskrit names of the Chola kings. Most Chola kings had a titular name in Sanskrit while they also had a Tamil name by which they were commonly known. For example, Rājarāja was the titular name in Sanskrit for Arulmozhivarman in Tamil.

Among the Chola suffixes, Senni sounds closer to Sena. As per Sendhan Divākara Nighantu (Tamil Thesaurus, Verse 14) the following are the titles of the Chola kings. The list begins with Senni.

“Senni, Vaḷavan, Kiḷḷi, Sembiyan, Ponni-thuṛaivan, Pulikkodi-puravalan, Nēriyan, Ārththārkōn, Nēriṛai, Abhayan, Nēri veṛpan, Kōzhi vēndhan, Sūriyan, Punal Nādan, Kōchōzhan peyarē”

“சென்னி, வளவன், கிள்ளி, செம்பியன்,

பொன்னித் துறைவன், புலிக்கொடிப் புரவலன்,

நேரியன், ஆர்த்தார்க்கோன், நேரிறை, அபயன்,

நேரிவெற்பன், கோழி வேந்தன்,

சூரியன், புனனாடன், கோச்சோழன் பெயரே”

Senni seems to be a variation of Senāni, the Sanskrit word for Chief or Commander of the army or leader of the army. Senāni might have become Sena in the Sanskrit title and Senni in the Tamil title. Karikāla was known as ‘Senni Karikāla’ in Kulottunga Cholan Ula penned by Ottakūththar.

There is a likelihood that his Sanskrit title could have had Sena as suffix. In fact, no one knows the original name of Karikāl Chola. The name Karikāla was not his original name as revealed by Tiruvalangadu plates which state that he was Kāla for Kali. Therefore, he was Karikāla or Kalikāla. Senni Karikāla was his titular name.  Karikāla’s father was also a Senni – Uruva pahrēr Iḷamsēt Senni (உருவப்பஃறேர் இளம்சேட் சென்னி). He was the younger brother of one Sēt Senni (சேட் சென்னி) who was also addressed as Nalam Kiḷḷi (நலங்கிள்ளி) who ruled from Pūmpukār as per Purananuru verse 225. So, Senni looks like a variation of Sena. With this title seen in early Chola names, there is scope to say that Rājasena was a pre common era king of the Chola kingdom who had a hold over Kanchi too.

Golden walled Kanchi

Even as early as 78 CE when the Śālivāhana Śaka started, the Chola-s were in control of Kanchi, for, we read about Iḷam Kiḷḷi (இளம்கிள்ளி) ruling Kanchi when Manimekalai went over there. Perum Kiḷḷi (பெரும் கிள்ளி) was ruling from Uraiyūr during Kannagi’s period, as per Silappadhikaram.

We also read in Manimekalai that Kanchi was a walled city with the walls plated with gold and the city itself known as golden. In the 28^th chapter of Manimekalai, Māsātthuvān, the father of Kovalan was found to be telling his granddaughter, Manimekalai that Kanchi had golden walls. (பொன் எயில் காஞ்சி நாடு – line 156). Once again it is said in the same chapter, ‘golden city’ (பொன் நகர்- line 168) and ‘the ancient walled city with golden flag’ (பொற்கொடி மூதூர் புரிசை-   line 170). The city was a ‘popular ancient city’ (மல்லல் மூதூர் – line 237).

The city already well made with golden walls in the 1^st century CE (as known from the text Manimekalai) is proof of its development in the pre-common era. There is epigraphic evidence on who made it golden! It was Karikāl Chola!

The 42^nd verse of the Tiruvalangadu copper plates states,

“In this (king’s) family was born he, the leader of all the lords of the earth, the foremost of the great on account of his virtues, the king who renovated (the town of) Kanchi with gold, who had established his glorious fame by constructing embankments of the Kaveri and whom (people) called Kalikāla because (he) was (the god of) death to the elephants (kari) (of his enemies) as also to the Kali (-age).”

The exact verse in Sanskrit stating that Karikāla modernized Kanchi with gold is as follows:

“Kānchīm yashva navīcakāra kanakais: sōbhudamushyān vaye”

There is no way to claim that someone before Karikāla could have made the changes in Kanchi because only one king appears in the genealogy before Karikāla in Kali Yuga, and he was Perunar Kiḷḷi (பெருநற்கிள்ளி). Tiruvalangadu inscriptions offer unique information on Yuga-s in minor scale which can be called Dharma Yuga. It says that after the end of Dwapara Yuga, Perunar Kiḷḷi ruled the Chola domains, followed by Karikāla. This doesn’t mean that there were not many kings before Karikāla. There is evidence of several Kiḷḷi-s during and before Karikāla in the Sangam text of Purananuru, but only Karikāla and Perunar Kiḷḷi seemed to have stood out as exceptions, when compared with others.

The reference to the end of Dwapara Yuga before Perunar Kiḷḷi shows that they referred to the ushering in of the Kali Dharma Yuga with the beginning of Nanda dynasty as told in Srimad Bhagavatam (12-2-32). The year was 575 BCE, calculated on the basis of the Kali year of 2526 given in a similar verse in Brihat Samhita (13-3). Following the beginning of Kali Dharma Yuga in 575 BCE Perunar Kiḷḷi, Karikāla and Koccheṇganān were mentioned in the Tiruvalangadu inscription before Vijayālaya.

The Laden plates recognize Karikāla as one of the earliest kings coming after the much olden Vyāghrakētu (verse11) thereby making him a notable early king. This inscription doesn’t mention Perunar Kiḷḷi.

The Anbil plates of Sundara Chola also place Karikāla after the first Chola who lent his name to the dynasty, thereby according Karikāla an important place in the lineage of the early period. The Anbil Plates specifically state that it was a family of “kings beginning with Senni, Kiḷḷi and (kings) likewise beginning with Karikāla.”

The Anbil Plates further mention the names of the descendants of Karikāla as Koccheṇganān, Nallaṭikkon, Vaḷabha and Srikāntha coming before Vijayālaya. None of them was linked with Kanchi, except Karikāla. Karikāla seems to be the only Chola King to have made the golden wall around the city that is found mentioned in Manimekalai of the latter part of the 1^st century CE.

Karikāl Chola is associated with building the wall around Kanchi in Sekkilār’s Periya Puranam. Verse 85 of Tirukkuṛipputh thoṇdar Purāṇam states this. The verse is reproduced below:

என்று முள்ளவிந் நகர்கலி யுகத்தி

     லிலங்கு வேற் கரி காற்பெரு வளத்தோன்

வன்றி றற்புலி யிமயமால் வரைமேல்

     வைக்க வேகுவோன் றனக்கிதன் வளமை

சென்று வேடன்முன் கண்டுரை செய்யத்

     திருந்து காதநான் குட்பட வகுத்துக்

குன்று போலுமா மதில்புடை போக்கிக்

     குடியி ருத்தின கொள்கையின் விளங்கும்.

It says that Karikāl Chola who engraved his tiger emblem on the Himalayas was a king of the Kali yuga who created mountain like walls around the city of Kanchi for a circumference of 4 Khādam (yojana) and brought people to settle there. It also says that he was asked to do this by a ‘hunter’ (வேடன்) who went before him! The reference to a hunter leading the way and showing the spot was common in olden days when a king was on an expedition or moving through forested areas. A group of people used to visit the route taken by the king to clear the path. In this case, a hunter who was familiar with the region helped the royal team to identify habitable regions of Kanchi.

The initial demarcation of the city of Kanchi was done by Karikāl Chola by building a wall around Kanchi, as per the verse of Periya Puranam. Further re-modeling with gold was done on the advice of Adi Shankara. The specific title of Senni to Karikāla raises a doubt on whether he was Rājasena of Adi Shankara period.  

Karikāla’s connection with Kanchi.

Karikāla is remembered in Silappadhikaram for quite a few things of historical importance. He visited the ‘Kāmakkottam’ - the original and olden name for Kanchi owing to Kāmākshi, the presiding deity. There is a reference to Kanchi as Kāmakoṣṇī in Srimad Bhagavatam, visited by Balarāma, the brother of Krishna (kāma-koṣṇīṁ purīṁ kāñcīṁ - 10-79-14). Kāmakoṣṇī changed into Kāmakoṭi. The seat of Goddess is referred to as ‘Kāmakoshṭha’ in Shilpa texts such as Mānasāra and in Saiva- āgama-s. The Goddess is referred to as ‘Kāmakoṭikā’ in Lalitā Sahasranama, as ‘Kāmeswari Kāmakoṭinilayā’ in Lalitā Trishatī and ‘Kāmakoṭi Mahāpadma pītasthā’ in Lalitā Ashtotthara. What is Kāmakoṭi in Sanskrit is known as Kāmakkottam in Tamil.

Of the seven Moksha-Puri-s, Kanchi is one, the others being Ayodhya, Haridwar, Vāraṇāsī, Ujjain, Mathura and Dwaraka. This classification must have come up only after Krishna’s time going by the two places (Mathura and Dwaraka) identified with Krishna’s birth and life. Kanchi was already recognized as an important religious center by appearing in the pilgrimage plan of Balarama. It is noteworthy that Kanchi was known as Kāmakoṣṇī even at that time, which can be attributed to the presence of Kāmākshi Devi only. Koṣṇī or Koṣṭha is Tamilised into Kottam – a word for temple often appearing in Silappadhikaram and Manimekalai. 

Karikāla went to Kāmakkottam of the bangled Kāmākshi to get a weapon called ‘Chendu’ from Sāsta in that temple for the purpose of engraving (his symbol) on the golden Himalayas. This is written by Adiyārkku Nallār, the olden commentator of Silappadhikaram, by quoting an ancient Tamil verse whose authorship is not known.

கச்சி வளைக் கச்சி காமக்கோட்டம் காவல்

மெச்சி இனிது இருக்கும் மெய்ச் சாத்தன் – கைச் செண்டு

கம்பக் களிற்றுக் கரிகால் பெருவளத்தான்

செம்பொற் கிரி திரித்த செண்டு.

Kachchi vaḷik kachchi Kāmakkottam kāval

Mechchi inithu irukkum meych chāththan – kaich cheṇdu

Kambak kaḷṛṛiuk Karikāl peruvaḷaththān

sempon giri thiriththa cheṇdu.

Thre is a shrine of Sāsta even today in the first Prākāra of the Kāmākshi temple of Kanchipuram, thereby establishing the fact that the same temple of Kāmākshi with Sāsta existed in Karikāla’s time.

    Sāsta with Purna and Pushkala in Kāmākshi temple of Kanchi

The ‘Cheṇḍu’ is held by Sāsta in His hand. It is also noteworthy that Adi Shankara offers salutations to Sāsta in his composition, Sivapādādikeṣānta stotra. This reinforces Adi Shankara’s association with Kāmākshi temple of Kanchi, says VA Devasenapati in his book, ‘Kamakottam and Nayanmars’.

A definite town planning is seen in the position of both Shiva and Vishnu temples in Kanchi. Kāmākshi temple occupies the center while the entrances and Gopuram-s of all the other temples including the Varadaraja temple are facing the Kāmākshi temple. It is as though the entire city is centered around Kāmākshi Devi. All the deities of the other temples go round the Kāmākshi temple during Brahmotsava. This is followed in the case of Vishnu deities of Kanchi too which cannot happen unless it was an ancient practice sanctioned right from the time of building those temples in alignment with the Kāmākshi temple.

Another notable feature is the absence of separate shrine of Devi (Shakti or Ambāl) in any of the Shiva temples of Kanchi while the Shiva temples outside Kanchi have separate shrines for Shakti. Kāmākshi is the overpowering deity of Kanchi who makes her presence in the Shiva temples of Kanchi without a separate shrine for her individually in those temples.

A special feature of Kāmākshi Devi is her bangle. The bangles of Kāmākshi as mentioned in ‘Kachchi vaḷik kachchi’ (கச்சி வளைக் கச்சி) are something special as they are found as impressions in the body of Shiva according to Kanchi Puranam and Mūkapancashatī. The description of Kāmākshi Devi with bangles during the visit of Karikāla to the Kāmākshi temple to acquire Cheṇḍu could have happened after the temple was established from being a ‘bila’ or a hole into a full-fledged temple with the vigraha of Kāmākshi consecrated. It must be recalled that as per Shankara Vijaya Vilāsa, the golden image of Goddess Kāmākshi was made by the Chola king Rājasena on the advice of Adi Shankara. The Golden vigraha was taken to Thanjavur during Muslim invasion.

The city of Kanchi was renovated with gold by Karikāl Chola according to Tiruvālangādu copper plates. The city had golden walls as per Manimekalai of the 1^st century CE. This gives scope to link Karikāl Chola with the making of Golden vigraha for Kāmākshi Devi.

The arrangement of the temples in a specific fashion could not have been conceived by a king. Certainly, a religious leader of tall order must have been behind the planning of Kanchi into Vishnu and Shiva Kanchi with Kāmākshi as the central deity. Adi Shankara is identified as one who got the remodeling of the town with the help of Rājasena, who appears to be Karikāla.

At the same time, we do find another name “Iḷam Thirayan” (இளம் திரையன்) as the king of Kanchi in the Sangam Age text called “Perum Pānāṛṛu Padai”. Both Karikāla and Iḷam Thirayan seem to be contemporaries because both had been praised by the same poet, Kadiyalūr Urutthiram Kannanār (கடியலூர் உருத்திரங்கண்ணனார்). Since Iḷam Thirayan was also known as “Tondamān” Iḷam Thirayan, Kanchi was known as Toṇdai nādu or Toṇdai Maṇḍalam. The poet praised Iḷam Thirayan positioned at Kanchi whereas his poem (Pattina-p-Pālai பட்டினப்பாலை) on Karikāl Chola was about Pūmpukār. This raises a question on linking Karikāl Chola with Kanchi as Rājasena. Couldn’t Iḷam Thirayan be Rājasena?

(to be continued)