Page:The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago.djvu/120

Rh Yanaik-kad-Chey was succeeded by Perunj-Cheral-Irumporai. The poet Mochu-kiranar appears to have been a favourite of this king. One day the poet, finding a couch furnished with cushions and covered with fresh flowers in a part of the palace, laid himself down on it and fell sound asleep. The king who happened to pass by that spot seeing that the poet was tired and perspiring, fanned him with his own hands. The poet awoke and was startled to find that the king was fanning him. Learning then that the couch was intended as a stand for the war-drum, he uttered the following stanza :–

“I laid myself down to sleep on this couch which is covered with flowers soft as the froth on fresh oil, not knowing that it was intended for the royal war-drum, which is beautiful to behold with its black barrel adorned with the long feathers of the peacock and strings of beads wound with golden flowers of the ulinjchai. Thou should have cut me in two with thy sword for my insolence But thou hast kept thy sword in its sheath and as if this action was not enough to spread thy fame throughout the Tamil land, thou hast with thy strong arms fanned me to cool any sleepy brows. Is it because thou knowest that the blissful abodes in the next world are open only to those, the fame of whose good deeds filled this world, that thou mighty monarch hast acted thus ?“

One of his feudatory chiefs named Elini having revolted he had to proceed with a large army and besiege Thakadûr the fort of the rebel chief. Elini was the descendant of an ancient line of chiefs who called themselves Athikaman. Their capital Thakadûr is believed to be the modern Dharmapuri in the Salem District. Elini repaired and strengthened the fortifications of the town and was determined to gain his independence or die in the attempt. But the Chera king completely invested the town and cut off all means of communication and supplies from outside. The thorny jungle which surrounded the town was cleared by the Chera soldiers, the moat was filled up and the gates burst open by elephants. The Chera army then rushed into the fort, and in the melee that ensued, Elini and his lieutenants performed prodigies of valour, but were over-powered by numbers and fell fighting to