NO. 46. — 1895.] ANCIENT TAMIL LITERATURE. 



31 



with Karikala took place at Vennil, * where Seralatan was 

 defeated and was obliged to flee to the "North,"! and he 

 seems to have remained there for some time smarting under 

 the defeat. The poet KalattalaiyarJ addressed an ode to him 

 on this occasion, advising his return to his kingdom : — 



The earth no longer hears the sound of the drum ; the yal§ has 

 forgotten its music ; large pans are no longer filled with milk, nor is 

 ghee •[[ made any more. The bees do not collect honey and the soil 

 remains untilled. All gaiety has forsaken the broad streets of the 

 cities. Like the sun who sets behind the hills when the moon rises, 

 our king, covered with wounds inflicted by one who is his equal, has 

 gone to the North with his sword. How sad are these days when I 

 think of the past." 



* Battle of Vennil. In the poem " Porunarattuppadai" the victory at 

 Vennil is mentioned. (See Journal, R. A. S., C. B., vol. XIII., p. 200.) The 

 defeat of the Chera king is also alluded to in " Pattinappalai " thus : Kuda- 

 var kumpa, meaning that he made the inhabitants of the Chera kingdom 

 " tremble with fear." He seems to have also either in the same battle or 

 afterwards defeated the great Pandiya king Neduncheliyan, who after- 

 wards caused Kovalan's death (see " Chilappatikaram"). I think I may as 

 well say why I have come to this conclusion. In "Pattinappalai" it is stated 

 that Karikala defeated the Pandiya who uttered the Vanjinam. The com- 

 mentator Nachchinarkkiniyar refers to this Vanjinakkd?iji (equivalent to a 

 form of declaration of war), which is No. 72 in Purananuru, recited by 

 Neduncheliyan. Nachchinarkkiniyar lived prior to the eighth century. (See 

 p. 21, supra. In Chilappatikaram, canto IV., Anti malaich-chirappuch-chey 

 katai, occur these two lines with reference to the Pandiya of the time : — 



Ilaiyarayinum Pakaiyarasu kadiyun 



Cheruman-dennar. 



That this refers to the same Neduncheliyan who recited the Ode No. 72 in 

 Purananuru is, I think, clear, as the word " Ilaiyar " in both places has 

 special reference to the king's early years when he conquered his enemies. 



fVadakku, 41 North," where, it is not stated; but an eminent Tamil 

 scholar whom I consulted says it may be Tiruppati, which has Vadamalai 

 as one of its names ; or it may be the Granges. Since writing this I find 

 Vadatisaip-peyartal, "going to the North," is explained (Chilappatikaram, 

 pp. 361, 362) as Kankaiadappotal, "going to the Ganges to bathe in." 



J Purananuru, Odes 65, 66. 



§ Yal, a musical instrument which for several hundred years has not been 

 in existence. See remarks of Adiyarkkunallar in Uraichirappup-payirum. 

 p. 5, in Chilappatikaram. 



Ghee, clarified butter. The statement here will be understood when it 

 is known that no religious ceremony of any importance can take place 

 without ghee, nor is rice eaten without it. 



