Page:The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago.djvu/85

 CHAPTER V

Of the personal history of the Kings who ruled the Chera, Chola, and Pandiya dominions, only fragmentary notices appear in the ancient poems which have survived to this day. The same King is sometimes mentioned in these poems under different titles; and different Kings of one dynasty appear to have borne the same name. To collect these detached notices and weave a connected history out of them is not an easy task: and as I attempt this for the first time, it is quite possible that further researches may show that some of my statements are not correct. I shall confine myself in the following account to the history of the Tamil Kings, whose reigns cover the period from A. D. 50 to A. D. 150. I take this opportunity to translate many of the relics of ancient Tamil poetry, of historical interest, which will give the reader a more correct and vivid idea of the customs, manners and beliefs of the people, than what any description of them in my own words can possibly convey.

As mentioned by me already, the allusion in the Chilappathikaram to the fact that Chenkudduva Chera alias Imaya Varmman was contemporary with Gajabahu of Ceylon and the Karnas of Magadha, forms an important landmark in the history of Tamil literature. It is stated in the same poem that Chenkudduvan was over 50 years of age when he invited Gajabahu to attend the consecration of a temple to Kannaki at his capital Vanji. Gajabahu was King of Ceylon from A. D. 113 to A. D. 125. Supposing that Gajabahu visited the Chera capital in the last year of his reign, Chenkudduvan who was then 50 years of age should have been born about A. D. 75. His mother was the daughter of Karikal Chola. The date of birth of the latter should therefore be fixed at least 40 years, earlier than that of his grandson Chenkudduvan. It may be safely assumed that Karikal Chola was born about A.D. 35. It is said that Karikal ascended the throne when he was quite a youth and that he ruled the Chola Kingdom for an