Page:The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago.djvu/106

Rh whose name is well known to all the students of Tamil literature as that of the king in whose court Kural, the immortal work of Tiru-Valluvar was published in te presence of 48 poets. This king had the title of Kanapper-thantha-Ugrapperuvaluthi which meant that he conquered and annexed the fortified town of Kanapper which was then considered an impregnable fort. An ode addressed to the monarch praising his capture of the fort is as follows :-

"Hail monarch of fame eternal! Victorious king! Whom bards have praised for thy prowess in capturing the great fortress of Kanapper whose high walls seem to reach the sky, whose battlements gleam like the stars, the ditch surrounding which fort is as deep and fathomless as the sea, the thorny jungle beyond which is so dense that no ray of sunshine ever enters it; for the loss of which fort Venkai-marpan mourns daily as it is now hard to regain as the water poured on red-hot iron. May thy foes perish and be forgotten. May thy lance be victorious for ever!“

Nothing further is known of this king, and it appears most probable that his reign did not extend to more than a few years. He wa succeeded by the prince Nan-Maran or the “ Good Pandya.” Two of the stanzas addressed to this king by the poets of his court are as follow :_

“0 Mara! who wearest the garlands of flowers! like the matchless eye which shines in the forehead, adorned with the crescent, of that god, whose throat is black and who gave victory to the mighty immortals by destroying the three castles of the Asuras, using a mountain for his bow, a snake for the bow-string and a matchless arrow, thou art supreme amongst kings. Although a monarch’s power may seem to depend upon his ferocious battle elephants, fleet warsteeds, tall bannered chariots, and fearless soldiers, it has its real foundation on justice. Therefore be not partial to thy subjects nor deal unjustly with strangers; be valiant a the fierce sun, benevolent as the mild moon and gracious as the clouds which shower rain so that there may be no poverty in thy land. Long mayst thou live for many years as countless as the sands which strong winds heap up