86 



JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XIII. 



a temple (Koddam)* believing that Pattini would bless him and his 

 land, celebrated on the full moon day of Adi (July- August) her 

 "worship, and caused processions in every street of his city, and thus 

 brought on rain, and made his land more fruitful than ever. 



Hearing this, the Chola King, Perunadkilli, in the same manner 

 built a temple and made daily sacrifices to Pattini. 



The second reference occurs in Vanchi-k-kandam in the 

 chapter Varantaru Kdtai, which, translated, runs thus : — 



Having listened joyfully to the words of the Brahmans, and having 

 built a temple for Pattini, who destroyed by fire the capital of the 

 song-renowned land of the Pandiyas, having directed that daily 

 festivals should be celebrated in her honour, and having begged 

 Tevikai to offer flowers and incense, the lord of the world, 

 Chenkuttuvan, stood worshipping, and in his presence worshipped other 

 princes, including the Northern Kongas, the Malwa princes, and G-aja 

 Bahu, king of sea-surrounded Ilankai (Ceylon). 



The following points are worthy of note in this work. 

 Unlike the generality of books in Tamil, this poem does not 

 begin with an invocation to the deity, but begins thus : — 



Let us praise the moon, let us praise the moon, for resembling the 

 shade-giving white umbrella of Chola, he (the moon — masculine 

 in Tamil) protects the world. 



Let us praise the sun, let us praise the sun, for resembling the 

 Tikiri of the lord of the Kaveri country, he goes round Mount Meru. 



Let us praise the rain, let us praise the rain, for, like Ch61a, it 

 confers prosperity continuously on earth. 



Let us praise the City Pukar, let us praise the City of Flowers, 

 for in this ocean-bound earth with Chola's family it excels everything 

 else. 



As I have said before, the poem is divided into three parts, 

 each part containing ten chapters. 



In chapter I., Mankala Vdlttuppddal, it states that the 

 guests at the wedding of the hero and heroine were invited 

 in a way now rare even amongst princes in India. Maidens 

 were sent out on elephants to invite the guests, and the 

 commentator says that it was then the usual mode of invi- 

 tation. Another custom, now unusual, is mentioned at the 

 conclusion of the marriage. The assembled women, after 

 blessing the bride and bridegroom, prayed that their king 



° It will be interesting to ascertain where this temple was built. 



