1837-] Historical Sketch of the Kingdom of Pandija. 



185 



was invaded by Kirata "Raja, sovereign of Chedl, but it can scarcely 

 be supposed, that by this is intended the country usually identified 

 with Chedi, or Chandail, in central Hindustan. The appellation, 

 Kirata, assigned to the Raja, indicates a mountaineer, the wild inha- 

 bitant of thickets and fastnesses, subsisting by plunder and the chase ; 

 and in the Tiruvaleyadal, the invader is designated with more 

 consistency, as the Setu Raya, the prince of Marawa, the district 

 lying east of Madura along the sea-coast, and which would, there- 

 fore, appear to have been an independent principality in ancient as 

 well as modern times. The minister, Sundara Sumantra, had been 

 provided with funds to levy a force to oppose the invaders, but he 

 appropriated the money to the worship of Sundareswara, and the 

 invaders had nearly reached Madura before any troops were collected 

 to resist them. In this predicament the minister had recourse to the 

 god, and a miraculous host, representing the contingents of the fifty- 

 six kingdoms of India, was immediately created for the defence of the 

 kingdom. Against such combatants no chance of success remained 

 for the invaders, but Kirata, or the Marawa Raja, was removed even 

 without their aid. He was killed by a lion sent by Siva,* and, upon 

 his death, his followers fled in confusion to their native haunts. The 

 result of this invasion was, therefore, only an accession of honour and 

 devotion to Sundareswara and Minakshi Devi. 



In the reign of this prince another marvel is recorded, which merits 

 notice only so far as it accords with the general traditions of the origin 

 of Conjeveram. Ka.nta.ra Khata Chola is said to have cleared the 

 woods which covered that part of the peninsula ; built the city of 

 Kanchi on the site ; and erected the pavilion and temple of Ekamba- 

 reswara and Kamakshi-Devi, the forms in which Siva and Durga 

 were worshipped at that city until very recent periods. In recom- 

 pense of this prince's devotion, Siva conferred upon him aerial locomo- 

 tion with the speed of thought, and thus enabled him to transport 

 himself every morning to Madura, to pay his homage at the supreme 

 shrine of Sundareswara — a rather indifferent compliment to his own 

 tutelary divinity. 



Kula Bhushana left two sons, Rajendra and Rajasinha, of whom 

 the first succeeded to the throne. The Chola prince of Kanchi, Kan- 

 tara Khata, or, as he is named in the Madura Purana, Kandavetti, 

 proposed an alliance with Rajendra, by giving him his daughter in 

 marriage, to which the Pandya prince assented, and sent his brother, 

 Rajasinha, to conclude the negociation with the Chola prince. The 

 ambassador, however, prevailed upon that monarch to wed his daughter 



* The scene of this event is laid by the Tiruvaleyadal, in the forest Tirupuvanam, 

 at a place dedicated to Siva, as Purana-lingam, ten miles south of Madura. 



