The story of Karikala is mixed with legend and anecdotal information gleaned from Sangam literature. The only sources available are the numerous mentions in Sangam poetry. The period covered by the extant literature of the Sangam is not easy to determine with any measure of certainty.
No authentic records of Karikala's reign have been found so far. However many rulers and petty chiefs who came after him claimed him as their ancestor and decorated themselves as belonging to the Chola race of Karikala and of the Kashyapagotra.[5][6] The following lines are taken from the Malepadu plates of Telugu Chola king Punyakumara,
The above lines are translated as:"In the family of Karikala, who was the Mandara tree on the Mandara mountain, viz., the solar race; who was the worker of many wonders like controlling the daughter of Kaveri" [7]
). His political opponents arrested and imprisoned him. The prison was set on fire that night. Karikala escaped the fire and, with the help of his uncle Irum-pitar-thalaiyan, defeated his enemies. Karikala’s leg was scorched in the fire and from thence Karikala became his name.
Old Sangam Age inscriptions and also sthala puranam of great ancient Saiva shrine at Parasalur, near Mayavaram 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:
Like the Tiger cub with its sharp claws and its curved stripes growing (strong) within the cage, his strength came to maturity (like wood in grain) while he was in the bondage of his enemies. As the large-trunked elephant pulls down the banks of the pit, and joins its mate, even so after deep and careful consideration, he drew his sword, effected his escape by overpowering the strong guard and attained his glorious heritage in due course.
According to the Poruṇarāṟṟuppaṭai, Karikala Chola fought a great
Pandyan and Cheran king Uthiyan Cheralathan[9] suffered a defeat.[10] 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.[11] 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.[12][13] 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 Thanjavur.[14]
Further wars and conquests
After the
Agananuru mentions this incident without giving any information on the cause of the conflict.[14] According to legends Karikala was one of the few Chola kings who won the whole of Ceylon[citation needed] (Lanka). The Grand anicut was built after his conquest over the Singalese kingdom and he used Singalese war prisoners for the hard task of moving stones from the mountains to the river bed of the Kaveri.[citation needed
] 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…".
Northern Expedition and Conquests
After subduing the south Karikala went on an expedition to the north and engraved his tiger emblem in the Himalayas. The king of the great
Avanti gave him a friendly present of a tall and beautiful arch on the gateway. Though all these were made of gold and gems, their technique was not known to human artists even of exceptional skill; they were long ago given to the ancestors of these three monarchs by the divine Maya in return for some valuable service rendered to him.[15]
Grand Anicut
Kallanai built by Karikala Chola on river Kaveri
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.[16]
Later Chola kings attributed the building of dikes along the banks of the
-Mutturaju Punyakumara, who claims descent from Karikala: karuna – saroruha vihita – vilochana – pallava – trilochana pramukha kilapritvisvara karita kaveri tira (he who caused the banks of the Kaveri to be constructed by all the subordinate kings led by the Pallava Trilochana whose third eye was blinded by his lotus foot).
The
Chola record from Tiruvaduturai refers to this event that is raising the banks of the Kaveri by Parakesari Karikala Chola.[1][2]
Perur Patteeswarar Temple
Perur Patteeswarar Temple
After his victory over the Northern kingdoms of Vatsa, Magadha and Avantika, Karikala returned back to
Noyyal in present day Coimbatore. Karikala was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. He is said to have done the Kumbhabhishekham (sanctification ritual) of the temple through hundred golden vessels. A famous text named Perur Puranam was composed by Kachiyappa Munivar in Tamil on the origin of the temple.[23]
Karikala Cholan Manimandapam
Karikala Cholan Manimandapam
Karikala Cholan Manimandapam (memorial hall) 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.[24][25]
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.
Legacy
In Malepadu plates (7th century CE) of Renati Chola king Punyakumara,
Ganapati-deva's Garavapadu charter traces the family's ancestry to Durjaya, a descendant of Karikala Chola who arrived at a town called Kakati during a hunting expedition, and set up his camp there.[29]Many other Telugu
dynasties also claimed descendant from Karikala Chola.
^Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. Indian Antiquary, Volume 38. pp. 7–8.
^Andhra Pradesh (India), Bh Sivasankaranarayana. Andhra Pradesh district gazetteers, Volume 16. Printed by the Director of Print. and Stationery at the Govt. Secretariat Press; [copies can be had from: Govt. Publication Bureau, Andhra Pradesh], 1977 - Andhra Pradesh (India). p. 19.
^Hultzsch, Eugene (1911–1912). "Epigraphia Indica". Epigraphia Indica. 11: 339 – via Archaeological Survey of India, Government of India.
