|
The Indian Analyst
|
|
South Indian Inscriptions |
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA SRIRANGAM INSCRIPTION OF KAKATIYA PRATAPARUDRA ; SAKA “Pañcha-Pāṇḍya ” referred to in our inscription must be taken to refer to the Pāṇḍya ruler in general and not to any co-regency of five equal rulers.[13] Neither the Pāṇḍya nor other records indicate the division of the kingdom into five separate units, though some later inscriptions by convention refer to the Pāṇḍya as the ‘ Five Pāṇḍya ’.[1] This is evidently due to the fact that the Pāṇḍyas are generally known as Pañchavar and are traditionally connected with the five Pāṇḍava brothers of the Mahābhārata. The words pañchavar aivar, i.e., Five Pāṇḍyas occur first in the praśasti of Kulōttuṅga-Chōḷa I[2] where he is given the credit of destroying the jungle which the “ Five Pañchavas ” had entered as refuge. The late Mr. Swamikannu Pillai[3] advocated the theory of simultaneous rule of the ‘ Five Pāṇḍyas ’, but this has been refuted by Robert Sewell[4] who came to the conclusion that “ we must hold the evidence to be overwhelmingly in favour of a single monarchy, and that the theory of co-regency of five kings may be altogether set aside”. Considering the history of the Pāṇḍyas, the position taken up by Sewell is acceptable. The identification of Vīradhāvaḷam[5] where Sundara-Pāṇḍya is said to have been re-instated is a disputed point. The Arab historian Abulfeda who lived about the time of our inscription tells us that the capital of the price of Ma’bar who was a great importer of horses was called Biyyardāwal;[6] but this was known as Bīrdhūl to Muhammadan historians of whom Amir Khusru states that it was the capital of Bīr-Pāṇḍi while Madura was the residence of his brother Sundara-Pāṇḍi.[7] Scholars have indentified this place variously with Jayaṅgoṇḍaśōlapuram[8] in the Trichinopoly Dist., Vṛiddhāchalam[9] and Marakāṇam[10] in the South Arcot District. That Vīradhāvaḷam was an important city is known from a number of inscription found in the Pāṇḍya country.[11] An inscription from Alagarkōyil definitely locates this city in Uraiyūr-kūrram, a sub-division of Tenkarai Rājagambhīravaḷanāḍu.[12] This city has therefore to be looked for in the neighbourhood of Uraiyūr, a suburb of the present town of Trichinopoly. An inscription from Uyyakkoṇḍān-Tirumalai[13] situated within four miles of Uraiyūr suggests the identification of this town with Vīradhāvalam, for it records an endowment of land included in the dēvandāna of god Vilumiya-Nāyanār, to two images consecrated in the garden-land attached to the royal palace at Vīradhāvaḷam. The construction of the temple here on a small eminence is peculiar.[14] The central shrine is built within a fortified area over a spacious closed maṇḍapa surrounded by numerous shrines and halls. The village Tiruvadikuṇḍram where the Chēra king was defeated may be identified with the village of the same name in the Gingee taluk of the South Arcot District.
_______________________________________________
[1] Rudra of the Indulūri family is said to have defeated ‘ the five Pāṇḍyas ’ as also Annayadēva, the Brahman
commander of Pratāparudra, belonging to the same family (J. A. H. R. S., Vol. VII, p. 51 and Proceedings of the
Seventh All India Oriental Conference, Baroda, pp. 588-89). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| > |
|
>
|
