Battle of Kandalur Salai
The battle of Kandalur salai, also spelled Kanthaloor salai, was a decisive military assault carried out the Cholas under Rajaraja I against the "salai" at Kandalur in south Kerala. The exact location of Kandalur, somewhere south Kerala, is a subject of scholarly debate. The phrase "Kandalur salai kalamaruttaruli" is again used to refer to the same feat in the reigns of three later Chola rulers — Rajendra, Rajadhiraja and Kulottunga.
The battle is sometimes assumed to be identical with the "conquest of Vizhinjam by a general of Rajaraja I|Rajaraja ", which occurred prior to the "burning of Lanka", as described in the Tiruvalangadu Plates.
Assessment of the phrase
Different interpretations
Early scholars expressed differing views regarding the character of the Kandalur salai, variously identifying it as a Brahmin feeding house, a royal hall, or a naval base. Consequently, the meaning of the phrase "Kandalur salai kalamaruttaruli" was also interpreted in different ways.- E. Hultzsch
- * "Destroyed ships at Kandalur" or
- * "Cut the vessel in the hall at Kandalur" or
- * "Built a jewell-like hall at Kandalur"
- T. A. Gopinatha Rao -
- * "Transferred the kalam at Kandalur Feeding House "
- * "Discontinued the kalam at Kandalur Feeding House "
- Desikavinayakam Pillai - "Regulated of the kalam at Kandalur Feeding House "
- K. A. Nilakanta Sastri - "Destroyed ships at Kandalur"
- Elamkulam P. N. Kunjan Pillai - "Discontinued/Destroyed the Brahmin feeding at Kandalur"
- M. G. S. Narayanan/Kesavan Veluthat - "Destroyed the Brahmin ghatika at Kandalur". Narayanan identified the Tamil term "kalam" with Sanskrit "ghatika" or "ghataka". The salai, or the ghatika, was a distinctive medieval institution — a multipurpose training centre for celibate, arms-bearing Brahmins, providing instruction in both material and spiritual fields. This included military training to prepare them for service under a chieftain or king, as well as Vedic and sastraic studies. The "salais" were considered prized possessions, as they are said to have been sacked by many medieval rulers of southern India.
- Chengam hero stone inscription - "Destroyed ships at Kandalur"
Location of Kandalur Salai
The exact location of Kandalur remains a subject of scholarly debate. It is possible that the original Kandalur salai was situated near the Ay headquarters at Vizhinjam, and that the deity was later relocated to Trivandrum following the Chola raids of the tenth and eleventh centuries.- Original location:— A village approximately 20 km east of Vizhinjam, with a Shiva temple known as "Kandalur Salai".
- Shifted location:— Within the city of Trivandrum.
Raid by Rajaraja I (c. 988 CE)
The capture of the Kandalur salai on the Malabar Coast was the first military success of emperor Rajaraja's reign. This victory was commemorated in the well-known phrase "Kandalur salai kalamarutta", which precedes Rajaraja's name in several of his inscriptions from the 4th regnal year onwards.- The Kandalur salai belonged to the Ay ruler, a vassal of the Pandya king at Madurai, in the mid-860s. It is possible that, at the time of the Chola raid, the salai was under the control of the medieval Chera ruler of Kerala, Bhaskara Ravi. If so, the battle may be viewed as part of Rajaraja's early campaigns against the Cheras, the Pandyas, and the rulers of Sri Lanka.
- However, some historians argue that the Kandalur salai, which is claimed in later Chola inscriptions to have belonged to the Cheras of Kerala, may in fact have been held by the Pandyas when it was attacked by Rajaraja I.