Karunakara Tondaiman

Karunakara Tondaiman alias Karunakara Pallavaraiyan alias Karunakaran was the Pallavan king, the prime minister and the vaunted general of Ko Rajakesarivarman Abaya Kulottunga Chola.[1][2] He had sacked Lanka and Kalinga to show his loyalty to his king.[3][4] He is the much celebrated, larger than life hero of Jayamkondar's poem and war-song Kalinkkattuparani.[5][6] After the period of Kulottunga Chola I, he continued to serve as the prime minister of the former's son Vikrama Chola as well.[7]

Personal life

Tondaiman was born as a Pallavan prince and became the prime minister and a vassal of Kulottunga Chola I. Jayamkondar stated him as a Pallava king.[8] He is married to one Alagiyamanavalini Mangai Ālvār. Another notable member of his family is his brother, Pallavaraiyan who also accompanies him to Kalinga. His brother is the flag bearer and it is he who hoists the flag at the pillar of victory in Kalinga.[9]

Lankan War

The Sri Lankan vassal of the Chola kingdom during the reign of Kulottunga Chola I had betrayed the Chola sovereign and had pledged allegiance to the Sinhala king in order to become the sole ruler of the Chola province in Ceylon. When this was brought to the attention of Kulottunga Chola I, the furious king had termed the traitor - Siva Drohin figuratively meaning traitor of the (Saivite) Cholas.[10] Karunakara Tondaiman took this opportunity to show his loyalty and went on to plunder Lanka. The Karunakara Pillaiyar temple in the Jaffna peninsula was built after him. The Tondaiman aaru (river) in Ceylon was also named after him.[11][12]

Kalinga War

The Kalinga kingdom was then ruled by the Chalukya emperor Anantavarman Chodaganga. When Kulottunga Chola I held his court at Kanchi, it was brought to his attention that Anantavarman had failed to pay tribute on two occasions to the Chola sovereign. This was taken as a sign of slight for not recognizing the Chola superiority and the King dispatched Karunakara Tondaiman to bring the Chalukya to his knees. Kulottunga Chola I stayed back at Kanchi, directing the war while ordering Karunakara Tondaiman to capture Anantavarman alive. Vikrama Chola, a young prince then, had tagged along to learn the ropes of war as Karunakara Tondaiman went on to create history in the process.[13]

According to tradition and the Vaishnava point of view, the god on the hill (Tirupati) had parted with his conch and the Sudarshana chakra to Karunākara Perumāl, the conqueror of Kalinga and the true hero of the Kalingathuparani.[14] Karunakara Tondaiman defeated the Kalinga armies of Anantavarman and planted a pillar of victory in Kalinga (modern day Orissa). Anantavarman fled, never to be found again.[15] The war is described by Jayamkondar, the poet-laureate of Kulottunga Chola I in graphic detail in the poem Kalinkkattuparani. Here is an excerpt:

Having thus laid waste the whole of the sea-coast kingdom of Kalinga, and planting there a pillar of victory,
Karunakara Tondaiman, the lord of Vandaiyar, returns and lies at the feet of his master all the spoils of war[16]

Vandaiyar, now identified with Vandalur is an area in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.[17]

Notes

  1. ↑ The Imperial and asiatic quarterly review and oriental and colonial record, p. 328.
  2. ↑ History of the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi, 610-1210 A.D., p. 446.
  3. ↑ C.Sivaratnam: The Tamils in early Ceylon, p. 116
  4. ↑ History of the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi, 610-1210 A.D., p. 455.
  5. ↑ History of medieval Andhradesa, p. 25
  6. ↑ History of the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi, 610-1210 A.D.
  7. ↑ The Cholas: mathematics reconstructs the chronology, p. 171
  8. ↑ http://www.whatisindia.com/inscriptions/south_indian_inscriptions/volume_2/no_21_north_wall_lower_tier.html
  9. ↑ Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta Sastri: The Cōḷas, p. 334.
  10. ↑ The Tyāgarāja cult in Tamilnāḍu: a study in conflict and accommodation, p. 322: The close link between Saivism and politics can be seen when the Ceylonese general is described as a Sivadrohin
  11. ↑ Tamil culture, Volume 4, p. 242.
  12. ↑ The Tamils in early Ceylon, p. 116.
  13. ↑ A comprehensive history of India, Volume 4, Part 1, By Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta Sastri, Indian History Congress.
  14. ↑ Ancient India: collected essays on the literary and political history of Southern India, p. 215
  15. ↑ Sri Varadarajaswami Temple, Kanchi: A Study of Its History, Art and Architecture, p. 13.
  16. ↑ Studies in Tamil Literature and History, p. 258
  17. ↑ Ancient India: collected essays on the literary and political history of Southern India, p. 146

References

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