Karikala
Karikala, often referred to as Karikala the Great, was a Tamil Emperor of the Early Cholas of the Chola dynasty who ruled ancient Tamilakam from Uraiyur. He is credited with the construction of the flood banks of the river Kaveri and conquest of Tamilakam, Andhra and Sri Lanka. He is recognised as the greatest of the Early Cholas. In Thiruvalangadu plates of Rajendra Chola I, Medieval Tamil Cholas listed Karikala Chola as one of their ancestors. Several Telugu dynasties also claimed descendant from Karikala.
Early life
Karikala was the son of Ilamcetcenni. The name Karikalan has been held to mean "the man with the charred leg" and perpetuates the memory of a fire accident in the early years of his life. Some scholars also hold the view kari and kalan are Tamil words meaning "slayer of elephants". Poruṇarāṟṟuppaṭai describes the back-formed origin legend of this incident as follows:Old Sangam Age inscriptions and also sthala puranam of great ancient Saiva shrine at Parasalur, near Mayiladuthurai says that in order to escape the murder plot hatched by conspirators Karikal Valavan stayed there in disguise of a vedic and agama sastra lecturer for eight years.Paṭṭiṉappālai, written in praise of Karikala also describes this incident, but without mention of the fable of the burnt limb:
Military conquests
Battle of Venni
According to the Poruṇarāṟṟuppaṭai, Karikala Chola fought a great Battle of Venni in which both Pandyan and Cheran king Uthiyan Cheralathan suffered a defeat. Although we know very little about the circumstances leading to this battle, there can be no doubt that it marked the turning point in Karikala's career, for in this battle he broke the back of the powerful confederacy formed against him. Besides the two crowned kings of the Pandya and Chera countries, eleven minor chieftains took the opposing side in the campaign and shared defeat at the hands of Karikala. The Chera king, who was wounded on his back in the battle, committed suicide by starvation. Venni was the watershed in the career of Karikala which established him firmly on his throne and secured for him some sort of hegemony among the three crowned monarchs. Venni is also known as Vennipparandalai and now it is known as Kovilvenni and is situated near Needamangalam, 25 km away from Thanjavur.Battle of Vahaipparandalai
The Battle of Vahaipparandalai was a significant military engagement during the Sangam period in South India, fought by the Chola king Karikala. In this battle,Karikala Chola defeated confederacy of nine enemy chieftains, forcing them to submit. This victory, along with his earlier triumph at the Battle of Venni, solidified Karikala's dominance over the Tamil region and established him as a powerful ruler.Paranar, a contemporary of Karikala, in his poem from Agananuru mentions this incident without giving any information on the cause of the conflict.Further Wars and Conquest of Ceylon
According to legends Karikala was one of the few Chola kings who won the whole of Ceylon. The Grand anicut was built after his conquest over the Sinhalese kingdom and he used Sinhalese war prisoners for the hard task of moving stones from the mountains to the river bed of the Kaveri. The Pattinappalai also describes the destruction caused by Karikala's armies in the territories of his enemies and adds that as the result of these conflicts, the "Northerners and Westerners were depressed… and his flushed look of anger caused the Pandya’s strength to give way…".Conquest of Tondainadu and Andhra from Pallavas
Based on numerous village records and Telugu Chola inscriptions found in Andhra, Karikala seems to have battled against a Pallava king named Trilochana Pallava or Mukhanti Pallava or Mukhanti Kaduvetti and captured Tondainadu, leaving the southern Telugu country to the Pallava king. The Pallava king who had Kanchi as his capital moved the capital to Kalahasti after losing Kanchi in the battle. The inscriptions also says that Karikala ordered Trilochana Pallava to come and assist him in building the flood banks along the Kaveri river. But the Pallava king who was ruling from Kalahasti declined to obey which made Karikala to declare war against him. Karikala won the battle and captured the Telugu country. During that time period, southern Andhra was covered with big forests which is not fit for cultivation. So, Karikala destroyed the forests and planted many villages. One of the villages is Pottapi, which was the most important village and hence the whole locality acquired in course of time the name Pottapi Nadu. Unlike Trilochana Pallava, Karikala Chola donated lands not only to Brahmins but also to the cultivators.Grand Anicut
Sometime between the reign of Sinhalese monarch Vankanasika Tissa, Karikala, with a large army, invaded the island and took away 12,000 Sinhalese men to work as slaves to build the Kaveri Dam.Later Chola kings attributed the building of dikes along the banks of the Kaveri to Karikala. The raising of the banks of the river Kaveri by Karikala is also mentioned by the Malepadu plates of the Telugu Chola sovereign of Renadu, Erigal-Mutturaju Punyakumara, who claims descent from Karikala: karuna – saroruha vihita – vilochana – pallava – trilochana pramukha kilapritvisvara karita kaveri tira.
The Grand Anicut, also known as the Kallanai was built by Karikala and is considered one of the oldest water-diversion or water-regulator structures in the world which is still in use. The Kallanai is a massive dam of unhewn stone, 329 metres long and 20 metres wide, across the main stream of the Kaveri. A later Chola record from Tiruvaduturai refers to this event that is raising the banks of the Kaveri by Parakesari Karikala Chola.
Perur Patteeswarar Temple
After his victory over the Northern kingdoms of Vatsa, Magadha and Avantika, Karikala returned to Tamil land and worshipped Lord Shiva at the Perur Pateeswarar Temple located at the banks of river Noyyal in present-day Coimbatore. Karikala was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. He is said to have done the Kumbhabhishekham of the temple through a hundred golden vessels. A famous text named Perur Puranam was composed by Kachiyappa Munivar in Tamil on the origin of the temple.Karikala Cholan Manimandapam
Karikala Cholan Manimandapam was built in honour of the king who built the Grand Anicut. The hall designed as per Chola architecture style was built at a cost of 21 million. It features a bronze statue of the king.Family and Legacy of Karikala
There is very little information available about Karikala's personal life. The author of Pattinappalai, Uruttirangannanar, briefly mentions that Karikala enjoyed the company of women and children.The later annotator Naccinarkkiniyar, perhaps drawing from a reliable tradition, adds that Karikala married a Velir woman from Nangur, a place known in the poems of Tirumangai Alvar for the valor of its warriors.Karikala also had a daughter named Adimandi, who is the subject of several poems. After losing her husband, a Cera prince named Attan Atti, who drowned in the Kaveri river, Adimandi is said to have used her chastity to bring him back to life.
Religious Beliefs and Death of Karikala
Karikala's devotion to the Vedic religion and the deep sorrow surrounding his death are powerfully expressed in the following lines by the poet Karungulal Adanar."He who stormed his enemies’ forts dauntlessly; who feasted his minstrels and their families and treated them to endless draughts of toddy; who, in the assembly of Brahmans noted for knowledge of dharma and purity of life, guided by priests learned in their duties and attended by his noble and virtuous queen, performed the vedic sacrifice in which the tall sacrificial post stood on a bird¬ like platform, within the sacrificial court surrounded by a high wall with round bastions; he, the great and wise king alas! is no more! Poor indeed is this world which has lost him. Like the branches of the v eng at tree, which stand bare, when their bright foliage has been cut down by shepherds eager to feed their cattle in the fierce summer, are his fair queens, who have cast off their jewels."
Dating Karikala
According to Nilakanta Sastri Karikala reigned in 190 CE.However, V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar states that the Karikala mentioned in Silappadikaram and the Karikala in Sangam literature are two different kings and the Karikala mentioned in Silappadikaram has nothing to do with Trilocana Pallava and nothing prevents another Karikala having flourished in Puhar a few centuries later.
The copper-plate charters and stone inscription of the 10th and 11th centuries also mention two different Karikala thus unable to determine his exact reign.
Descendants
Based on the literature, epigraphic evidence, and copper plate inscriptions, below are the various dynasties who claimed descent from Karikala Chola, and few used the title Lord of Uraiyur, which was the capital of Early Cholas.- Imperial Cholas, ruled south India, Sri Lanka and South East Asia during 848–1279 CE.
- Durjaya, a legendary Andhra chieftain. Several ruling dynasties of medieval Andhra and Telangana, such as the Kakatiyas, Velanati Chodas, Malyalas, Viryalas, Haihayas, Konakandravadis, Ivani Kandravadis, Kondapadumatis, Natavadis, Parichchedis, Kotas, and Chagis, claimed descent from him.
- Kakatiya dynasty, ruled Andhra and Telangana during 1163–1323 CE.
- Nidugal Cholas, ruled parts of Karnataka, ruled during 12th to 14th century.
- Renati Chodas, ruled Rayalaseema, ruled from 5th century CE to 8th century CE.
- Pottapi Chodas, ruled Rayalaseema, ruled from 8th to 9th century CE.
- Konidena Chodas, ruled Kammanadu, from 950 to 1300 A.D.
- Nannuru Chodas ruled the region of Pakanadu.
- Nellore Chodas ruled south Andhra from 1100 to 1350 A.D.
- Kunduru Chodas, ruled Telangana region during 1080–1260 A.D.
- Eruva Cholas ruled Rajahmundry region during 1120–1330 A.D.