INNAMALAI UNIVERSITY HISTORICAL SERIES No.

HOYSALAS
IN THE

TAMIL COUNTRY

by

K. R. VENKATARAMAN

WITH COURAGEAND FAITH

PUBLISHED BY

THE ANNAMALAI UNIVERSITY

ANNAMALAINAGAR

1950
B
K
. ANNANUR
POYSALESVARAM
-
1.
S.
A.
C
)(opyright
ANNAMALAI UNIVERSITY HISTORICAL SERIES No. 7

HOYSALAS IN THE TAMIL COUNTRY

( 12TH - 14TH CENTURIES )

By

K. R. VENKATARAMAN

WITH COURAGEAND FAITH

PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY

ANNAMALAINAGAR

1950
 Printed at

The Trichinopoly United Printers Ltd. ,

Tiruchirapalli ,

EXCH
 DS457
V4

PREFACE

This small work is an amplification of two lectures

that I delivered in the Annamalai University in
November 1943. I am very grateful to the Vice-
Chancellor and the Syndicate for publishing it in the
Historical series of the University and to Professor
R. Sathianathaier for his Foreword.

I have to express my thanks to the Trichinopoly

United Printers Limited for the neat execution of
the book, and to the Archaeological Survey of India
for permission to produce the photograph of the
Poysalesvaram at Kannanur.

In spite of the care bestowed upon proof reading

some errors and misprints have crept in, for which
I crave the indulgence of the reader.

Madras
K. R. Venkataraman
10th March 1950 }
332
:
 FOREWORD

Puravrittajyoti K. R. Venkataraman, well known

for his sound knowledge of the antiquities of South
India, elucidates and evaluates in the following pages
the role of the Hoysalas in the annals, political and
cultural, of the Tamil country. The gap between
Kulottunga III Chola and the founders of Vijayanagar
was bridged by the Hoysalas, who, like the torch-
players in the stadium, transmitted the precious fire.
Their rule in the Tamil country shews that dynastic
imperialism could be more constructive than
destructive, like the earlier and shorter Rashtrakuta
interregnum in the history of the Cholas. The author
has done justice to the glories of Kannanur, and his
critical and suggestive monograph will be cherished
by all students of South Indian History.

Annamalai University, R. Sathianathaier,

Annamalainagar,
18th February 1950 } Professor ofHistory & Politics.
 ABBREVIATIONS

A. R. E. ..
Annual Reports of Epigraphy, Madras.
E. C. ..
Epigraphia Carnatica.
E. I. ..
Epigraphia India.
M. A. R. ..

Mysore Archaeological Reports.

M. U. J. ..
Madras University Journal
P. S. I. ..
Pudukkottai State Inscriptions.
T. D. Insc. ..
Tirupati Devastanam Inscriptions .

Note-The numbers given in the foot-notes are those of the

Annual Reports of Epigraphy (Madras) unless otherwise
stated.
 TRANSLITERATION

The accepted International scheme of translitera-

tion of Indian sounds has been followed :

c stands for - , but ch has been retained in

words much too current in modern use .

t stands for - d for - ; ! for - and

n for - ; n for-ङ् ; ที for ; for

ś for ; and ș for - .

•
 CONTENTS

PAGES

CHAPTER I .. 1-40

Introductory : Hoysalas- their origin and early

Rulers ( 1 ) .

Bittiga Vişnuvardhana (2-5) : occupation of

Gangāvādi (2) , advance into the Kongu
country (2) ; into Miļādu (3-4) ; the extent
of his conquests (5) .

Narasimha I (5-6).

Ballāla II (6-9) : success in the North (6) ;

events in the South (6-8) ; alliance with the
Cōlās (8-9) .

Narahimha II (9-15) : invasion of Magadhai (9);

defeat of Kō-Peruñjinga and restoration of
Rāja Rāja III (10-12) ; invasion of the
Pandya country (12-13) , conquest of Kāñci
and clashes with the Telugu Codas (13-14) ;
Hoysala dominance in the South ( 14-15).

Vīra Sōmēśvara (15-24) : extent of his Tamil

possessions (15) ; Kādava wars (15-16) ;
unsuccessful campaign against the Telugu
Cōdas (16) ; foundation of Kannanur (16-17) ;
Cõļa kingdom a Hoysala protectorate ( 17-18);
Pandya country, another protectorate
(18-19) ; conflict with Rājēndra Cola III
(19-21) ; invasion of Jat. Sundara Pandya I
and Śōmēśvara's death (21-23) ; estimate of
his reign (24).
 X

PAGES

VīraRāmanātha ( 24-28) ; partition of the Hoysala

Kingdom -Rāmanātha, Ruler of the Tamil
provinces (24) ; a provincial capital at
Kundani (25) ; alliance with Rājēndra, and
the death of the latter (25) ; effort of Hoysala
interference in the affairs ofthe Cola kingdom
(26-27) ; Rāmanātha driven north by the
Pandyas (27-21) .
Vīravisvanātha (28 ) .
Viraballāļa III ( 29-39) ; reconquest of Kongu ,
Magadhai and Tondaimandalam (29-30); civil
war in Madura -

Mālik Kafur's invasion

(30-31 ) ; Ravivarman Kulasēkara (31-32) ;
Tughlaq conquest of the south (32-33) ;
Madura sultanate (33) ; movement for the
liberation of the Hindu states (33-37) ;
Ballāļa's leadership of the Hindu States-war
with the Madura Sultanate (37-39) ; his
death (39).
Viraballāla IV (39-40) : Hoysala state merged
in Vijayanagar (40) .

CHAPTER II .. 40-86

Nature of Hoysala Rule (40-43) .

Ministers (43-46) ; Dandanāyakas (43-44) ; Nāyaks
(44) ; Nādālvārs and Araiyars (45) ; officers
of the royal house-hold (45) ; Olai or rāyasam
(45-46) ; accountants (46).
The Army (46-47); skill in strategy (46).
Kannanūr (47-48) .
Code ofwarfore (48-51).
Administration of Justice (51-54) ; inquiries into
Temple disputes- Kamarasavalli (52) and
Tirumayyam (52-53).
 xi

PAGES
Local Government (54-56) : the ur, the sabha,
the nagaram and nādu ; agarams (54-55).
Revenue Taxation etc. (56-58) : tenures (56) ;
taxes (56-57) ; irrigation works (57-58).
Trading corporations ( 58-63) ; nagaram (58) :
Nānādēśīya -tiśaiy- āyirattu-ainnūrruvar and other
corporations (58-61) ; Kaņņanūr an
entrepot (61 ) ; horse-trade (61-62) ; coins
(62-63) .
Religion (63-78) : Vaisnavism-Hoysala contri-
bution to its spread (64-65) ; Vadakalais (65) ;
Tenkalais (65-66) ; endowments to temples-
Srirangam (66-69) ; Tirupati (69-70) ; Kāñci
(70-71) ; Alagarkōil and other places (71).
Saivism (72-78)-its spread (71-72) ; mathams
(72-74); endowments to temples-the
Poysalēśvaram (74), Tiruvānaikkōvil temples
(74-76), other places (76-78).
Temple Architecture (78-83).
Envoi (83-86).
APPENDIX ..

INDEX ..
 ERRATA

PAGE LINE

3 24 For descendent, read descendant

5 24 For Narsimha I, read Narasimha I

5 F. Note 3 For H. I. S. I. read Rangachari Inscriptions
of the Madras Presidency .
6 19 For Suņas read Seunas
15 23 Insert and before captured
27 19 For resistence, read resistance

35 14 For dispossessad, read dispossessed

57 14 For conequent, read consequent
63 1 Insert to before two
68 4
Insert and before a number
 HOYSALAS
IN THE

TAMIL COUNTRY
(12тн- 14тн CENTURIES)

The origin of the Hoysalas is shrouded in mystery.

Their legendary founder Sāļa is reported to have
exhibited his coolness and valour in killing a tiger,
which was about to pounce upon him while engaged
in receiving instructions from his guru, a Jaina monk.
The scene of this occurrence was Sosāvir or Śaśāka-
pura in the modern Mudgere Taluk of the Kadur
District in Mysore. Claiming to be Yadavas, the
Hoysalas were at first hill chiefs, as one of their
oldest titles Malaparolganda or ' Champion among the
Malapas or hill chiefs ' would indicate. Bēlûr or
Vēlāpura was their first capital, and they later
established themselves at Evårasamudra, the modern
Halēbīd, and prided themselves in the appellation
“ Dvārāvatīpuravarādīśvara ' . The earliest chiefs of
this line, mentioned in epigraphical records, are
Vinayāditya I, Nṛpakāma and Vinayāditya II . Their
rule extended practically over the 11th Century.
Ereyanga, the next chief, assisted his Cāļukya over-
lord Vikramāditya VI in his wars against Kulõttunga
Côla I. The next was Ballāļa I, but it was his
successor Bittiga, known as Visnuvardhana after his
conversion to the Vaisnava faith, that brought
1

greatness to the Hoysaļa line.

 2

Bittiga Vişnuvardhana. His contemporary on

the Côla throne, Kulõttunga I, led two expeditions
against the Kalingas in the North, and had to recon-
quer practically the Pandya and Cera provinces of
the Empire. His southern wars, which brought victory
to his arms, were by no means conclusive, and he was
not able to restore the imperial administration in the
South, and had to rest content with leaving a number
of nilappadais or military garrisons to keep the
southern provinces under check. The preoccupations
of Kulõttunga, that were so frequent and serious as
to shake the prestige and cohesion ofthe Cōla Empire,
gave to the intrepid Hoysala Bittiga Visnuvardhana
his chance of establishing the greatness of his house.
His inheritance was confined to the country round
Bēlür, but within six years ofhis coming to the throne,
he succeeded in bringing under his rule practically
the whole of Gangavādi, which was an important
Cōla province administered by a Cola Viceroy. When
Bittiga's general, Gangarāja appeared before Talkád
and demanded the Adigaiman viceroy of the Colas to
surrender, the latter haughtily replied that the Hoy-
salas might fight and take it if they could¹. Gangarājā
defeated not only the Adigaiman, but also his ally
Narasimhavarman. The Cola army retreated from
Gangāvādi.
The Cola retreat through the Talamale passes
brought the Hoysalas in their wake, and Visnuvar-
dhana's army entered the Kongu country, conquered
the Nilgiris, and advanced as far as the Anamalais.

1. E. C. III . Malavalli 31. (S. 1039)

2. E. C. VỊ . Mudgere 22, and Kadūr 102 and E. C. IV.
Chamrajnagar 83,
 3

While we may allow Vişnuvardhana's claims to

style himself Talakādugonda, we cannot so easily
admit his assumption of the title of Kāñcigonda.
An Āduturai inscription', dated in the fourth year
of Parākrama Pandya, refers to some events that had
happened in the fourth year of Vikrama Cola, among
which was a raid by the men of the Periyavadugan,
who attempted to carry away to Dvarasamudra the
images of the Gods and of the Nayanmårs in the
temple of that village, but their attempt was
frustrated by the Pallis of the village, who drove
away the marauders, and reconsecrated the idols.
Periyavadugan from Dvarasamudra was evidently
the contemporary Hoysala ruler Vişnuvardhana.
Āduturai is situated on the southern bank of the
North Vellar just on the frontier of the olp
territorial division of Milādu, which Visnuvardhana
was evidently raiding. One of the Cola feudatories
opposed to Vişnuvardhana was Narasimhavarman,
whom Rice identifies as a Pallava Chief. A Tirukōyilūr
record , dated in the reign of Rajendra Cola II,
mentions a Narasimhavarman, who was crowned ruler
of Milādu 2,000. It is very probable that Narasimha-
varman,who opposed Vişnuvardhana,was a descendent
of the Narasimhavarman of the Tirukōyilūr record,
and that he was a chief of Miladu, while attacking
whose territory the Hoysalas attempted to carry
away idols from the Aduturai temple.
1. 350 of 1913 .
2 123 of 1900 , also 119 of 1900 .
 A record from Bēlūr¹ refers to the destruction
of Cengiri, identified with Señji or modern Gingee.
Another record from the same place, dated 1136 A.D. ,
gives a few details of Cengiri and its ruler
Narasinga Dēva, who after his defeat deserted his
kingdom and queens, and died, while Vişnuvardhana
took the queens under his protection. This adds
strength to the conclusion that Narasimhavarman,
who along with the Adigaiman chief opposed
Vişnuvardhana, was a ruler of Miladu. During this
raid Vişnuvardhana might have passed through Kāñci;
and if he had, it was only a military march, and we
have no evidence so far of his conquest of that city.
Nor shall we be justified in concluding, as has been
3

generally done, that the raid into the Aduturai

temple signified Visnuvardhana's penetration into
the Côla country and his further progress as for as
Rāmēśvaram. As we have stated above, Aduturai is
just on the southern frontier of Milādu, and in the
absence of more direct evidence, we shall not be
justified in positing a Hoysala triumphal progress
through the heart of the Cola country right down to
Rāmēśvaram .

Fleet dismisses as ' undoubtedly fictitious or

hyperbolical ' the other claims of Visnuvardhana,
among which is a statement that he squeezed
Madura in the palm of his hand.

1. E. C. V. Bēlūr. 58
2. E. C. V. Bēlūr. 17
3. A. R. E. 1913. II. 46-7
4. E. C. VI . Chickmagalür. 160
 5

One of the two inscriptions at Mudigondan¹

(in the Kollegal taluk of the Coimbatore district),
which are dated in the reign of Visnuvardhana,
gives a list of his conquests.

Vişnuvardhana's net gains included Talakād,

Nilgiri, Nangili, Kōlāla or Kōlar, Tereyūr and
Koyattur, now a village in the Chittoor district, and
parts of the Kongu country. The absence of records
dated after the 45th year of Kulōttunga's reign in
the present Mysore State and its immediate environs,
testifies to its occupation by the Hoysalas. Cola
inscriptions re-appear however during Vikrama
Cola's reign in the Kõlar district-in Sugatur and
other places, testifying either to a partial recovery of
Côla power or the retention of these places by the
Cõlas in the teeth of Gangarāja's military triumphs.
Though Visnuvardhana declared himself a

Samanta of the Cāļukya empire, his conquests won

him such prestige and reputation for independence
that might well have been a warning to contemporary
South Indian kingdoms of the rise of a new power,
young and virile, and out to enter upon a career of
aggrandisement .
Narsimha I. Narasimha I, also known as Pratāpa
Narasimha, held most of the Cola territories
conquered by Visnuvardhana. An inscription from
3
Hosur dated in Kali 4266 (Tamil-Pramādhi),
1. 2 and 12 of 1910 .
2. 175 of II E. C. X. Ad. 61 ; 467 of II and E. C. X. Sp 61 .
3. H-I. S. I. Salem 109.
 6

corresponding to A. D. 1166, records a dedication to

God Nārāyana by a certain Kēśava Nāyakan
praying that Narasimha's son, Śri Vellāļa Dēva,
may secure the throne. Cokkimāya, a general of
Narasimha, was the administrator of the Gangāvādi
province.
Ballāļa II. Kulõttunga Cola III had to be
fighting the Pandyas throughout practically the whole
of his reign. The Velanāndu Chiefs and the Telugu
Cõlas broke away from Cāļukya-Cola suzerainty.
The Western Calukya empire after the disasters in
the wars with the Kakatiyas was in a state of
dismemberment consequent on the usurpation of
Bijjala. The Deccan and the Karnatic were in the
vortex of an intense political turmoil. The shrewd
Ballāļa made the best of the situation and pushed on
his victorious arms towards the north, triumphed over
the Western Calukyas and the Kalacūryas, drove
the ambitious Suņas and assumed the title of the
Emperor of the South"
This title was no more than a mere boast. The
Adigaiman chief of Tagadur once more became a Cola
feudatory. Parts of the modern districts of Salem
and Chittoor and east Mysore still acknowledged Cola
supremacy as evidenced by the presence of
Kulottunga's inscriptions at Hemavati, Avani,
Yedurür, Tagadūr and Tadavur. That Ballāļa had
practically no control over the South Kongu country
is clear from the alliance of the chief of Karür with

1. EC. VIII Sorab . 140.

2. 117 of 99 ; 460 of 11 ; 473 of 11 ; 563 of 02 ; 461 of 13 .
 7

the Pandyas. The two houses were united by

matrimonial alliances. We have it on the authority
of the Mahāvamśa that Kulaśēkhara Pandya
reinforced his army with fresh forces from the Kongu
country. A record from Nerūr.¹ near Karūr, records
that the Kongu chief Kōnērinmaikoņdān Kulõttunga
Côļā marched to Madura to help his marumaganār
(nephew) Kulaśēkhara to secure the throne in the
Pandyan Civil War between A. D. 1169 and 1177.3
This conduct of the Kongu chief must have irritated
the Colas, and it is no wonder that Kulõttunga III
waged a fierce war against the Kongus , entered
Karür, wore the Vijayamudi or the great crown of
victory, and assumed the title of Sōlakerala, a fact
recorded in his praśasti engraved in two inscriptions
from the Pudukkottai State.3

Ballāļa's chance of distinguishing himself in the

politics of the Tamil country came towards the
close of Kulõttunga's reign. Māravarman Sundara
Pandya I, who was as astute as he was brave, was
then on the Madura throne. He made a daring
attempt to secure for his house its lost prestige and
independence, and boldly marched against the Cola
empire, defeated Kulõttunga, and advancing towards
the imperial capital Mudigondān, performed the
Vīrābhiṣēkam or ' the anointment of heroes. ' While
there, he sent for Kulõttunga, and restoring to him
his crown and kingdom, assumed the proud title of

1. 336 of 28.
2. K. A. N. Sastri : Colas II p. 107.
3 P. S. 1. 163 at Seranür and 166 at Kudumiyāmalai.
 8

Śōnādu valangi aruliya (he who was pleased to

restore the Cola kingdom). That this magnanimity
of the Pandya king was not based on any altruistic
motive is clear from a Mysore inscription' (dated
September 12,1217) which records that Ballāļa's son
prince Vīra Narasimha, marched against Srirangam
in the South. Another Mysore inscription describes
Ballāļa himself as Cōlarājya pratisthācārya 'the
establisher of the Cola kingdom' and Pandyagajakēsari
' the lion to the Pandya elephant ', and his son
6

Narasimha as Cola Kulaikaraksa-or the sole

protector of the Colā line. ' Whether the Hoysala
fought any action against Sundara Pandya, there is
no means of deciding. It may be presumed, however,
that he secured the restitution of the Cola throne by
diplomacy backed by an effective show of force by
marching as far south as Śrīrangam. Ballāļa must
have realised that a victorious Pandya ruling over the
Cola empire would prove a more formidable and
dangerous neighbour than the Cola himself, whose
prestige for greatness and invincibility had received
a rude shaking. He effectively maintained the
balance of power in the South, gave the Cola empire
a fresh lease oflife and checked for the time being
the aggression of the Pandyas .
We shall not be wrong in assuming that Ballāļa
was connected with the Cola imperial house by ties of
matrimony. An inscription at Avani in Mysore'

1. E. C. VI . Cm . 56.
2. E. C. IV . NI . 29 .
3. 460 of 11 - E. C. X Mb 44 A. R. E. 1912 11 30 .
 9

dated in the 12th year of Kulottunga III,

corresponding to Śāka 1111-12 or 1189-90 A. D.
mentions that Vallāļa dēva, who was then ruling the
earth, had a queen by name Cōlamahādēvī, evidently
a Cõļa princess .

Prof. Sastri is of opinion that this friendly

relation between the Hoysala Ballāļa II and
Kulõttunga Cola III was perhaps the result of
diplomatic mediation undertaken by the Adigaiman
chief Rāja Rāja Dēva and his son Vidugālalagiya
Perumā!.

Ballāļa II was practically an independent

sovereign. Under him the Hoysala power became the
arbiter of the destinies of the Tamil empires, a
position which gave it not only the prerogative to
influence war and peace in the south of India, but
opportunities of political expansion .

Narasimha II. In the time of Narasimha II,

the successor of Ballala II, Hoysala power completely
dominated the politics of the southern States.

Narasimha came to the throne full of glory

acquired by his reinstatement of Rāja Rāja III on the
Cõļa throne in 1217. Between 1222 and 1224 A. D.
he pounced upon the semi-independent principality
of Magara, otherwise called Magadhai, forming large
parts of the modern districts of Salem and
South Arcot.

1. Colas ll. pp. 166-7 .

2
 10

A Davengere inscription¹ tells us that he

defeated the Bāņōdara, meaning the Baņas. Later
Tamil inscriptions of the Banas in the Pudukkottai
State and the districts ofRamnad and Madura claim
for them the titles of Magadhai Perumal or ' lords of
Māgadhai ' and Vīra Māgadhan, and this leaves us in
no doubt that the chiefs of Magara, whom Narasimha
conquered, were Bāņas . From Magadhai to the
territory of the Kādava in South Arcot was an easy
march, and Narasimha's campaign there seems to
have been ruthless. A Tiruvadatturai record, dated
in the 10th year of Rāja Rāja III (1226 A. D.), states
that the Hoysala king destroyed the country and
carried away the temple images, which necessitated
a reconsecration of the temple.

While Narasimha was campaigning in the

northern districts of the Tamil Country, events were
moving rather rapidly in the South. Māravarman
Sundara Pandya I invaded the Cola country, and
performed a Vijayābhiṣēkam at Mudikoņdān after a
triumphal entry into that city. The hapless Rāja
Rāja abandoned the capital and sought to reach his
ally, the ruler of Kuntala. On the way the Kādava
chief Kō -Peruñjinga defeated him at Tellāru and
imprisoned him at Śēndamangalam. This coup de
main, accomplished by an erstwhile subordinate,
threatened the Cola power with complete extinction,
and introduced a new factor into the already

1. E. C. XI . Davengere. 25. Also Mysore and Coorg from

the Inscriptions .
2. 228 of 29 .
 11

complicated politics of South India, in the rise of the

Kādava power to the position of a soverign State-
an event in which Narasimha would not acquiesce.
He swore that ' this trumpet shall not be blown
unless I shall have maintained my reputation of
being the establisher of the Cola Kingdom', started
from Dvārasamudra and uprooted on his way the
Magara kingdom. The reference to the Magara
kingdom in this context, which is taken from a unique
historical inscription at Tiruvēndipuram,¹ leads us
to infer that there was a second conquest of
Magadhai, a conclusion which is borne out by
2
Hultzch. The Tiruvēndipuram inscription and the
historical romance, Gadyakarnamṛtā of Kālakalabha,
give us a fairly exhaustive account of the events that
followed. We are told how Peruñjinga after
imprisoning the emperor, devastated the Cola country
and desecrated the temples including the Vişnusthanas,
an act which appeared particularly heinous to
Narasimha who was a staunch Vaisnava. Narasimha
encamped at Paccur, to the north of the Coleroon
not far from Srirangam, and despatched two of
his trusted generals, Dandinagōpa Jagadobbaganda
Appana Dandanāyaka and Samudra Gopayya
Dandanāyaka with orders to carry destruction into
the country of Kō-Peruñjinga and instal the Cola
emperor in his capital, The Hoysala generals sacked
Ellēri and Kalliyūrmulai held by Peruñjinga, and
Toludagaiyūr held by Śõlakón, a lieutenant of the
latter, killed a Simhalese prince Parākramabāhu, and
after worshipping at Chidambaram, devastated a

1. 142 of 02 . 2. E. I. V-II .
 12

number of places including Tondaimānallur, Tiruvadi

and Tiruvakkarai on the Gadilam, and marching to
the coast burnt the port towns, destroyed the crops,
and finally prepared to invest the Kādava capital
Sēndamangalam, when Kō- Peruñjinga negotiated
terms, which Narasimha accepted. The Cola emperor
was released and accompanied back with honour to
his capital. This record is dated A. D. 1231-2, and
these events occurred about 1230-31 .

Narasimha continued to be in residence at Pāccūr

until at least A. D. 1233. A Śrīrangam inscription,¹
dated in April 1232, records an endowment to the
Śrī Ranganātha temple by a priest of Narasimha,
and a Channagiri inscription of 1233 mentions that
he was in residence at Pāñcāļa, evidently a mislection
for Pāccur in the Cola country.
While his Dandanāyakas were engaged with the
Kādava, Narasimha himself was not idle. He
continued the war against the Pandyas. A decisive
battle was fought at Mahēndramangalam situated
on the Kāvēri. Not only was the Pandya invasion
into the Cola country stemmed for the moment, but
Hoysala forces penetrated far into the Pandya
country. The statement in some records³ dated
before A. D. 1230, that Narasimha ' confined the
Pandya power into narrow limits ' and that he
established a pillar of Victory at Rāmēśwaram were
1. 69 of 30
2. E. C. VII Channagiri 52 .
3. E. C. XI Davengere 25 ( 1224-A. D.) ; E. C. V. Belur 151
(1227-A. D. ), E. C. VI. Kadur 12-a. (1223 -A . D. )
 13

mostly exaggerated statements meant only to convey

his earlier diplomatic success in preventing Māravar-
man Sundara Pandya I from annexing the Cola
empire. Later inscriptions mentioning Hoysala
penetration into the Pandyan kingdom denote real
military successes won by Narasimha's son, prince
Sōmēśvara and his generals. A record dated A. D.
1237 mentions Sōmēśvara as living in the Pandya-
mandalam, ' which he had acquired by his strength
and valour' . A Tiruvānaikkōvil record, recently
published, mentions Bhogaya and Mallaya, two of
Narasimha's dandanāyakas who were sent against
the Pandya, and who in A. D. 1237 made a gift of
villages to Brahmins in the presence of God
Ramanātha at Rāmēśvaram.

His generals were stationed in several places in

the Cola country from where they harassed the
Kādava Kō - Peruñjinga and his allies. We hear of
the presence of several Hoysala generals at Tirumala-
vādi³ in A. D. 1235. Prince Sõmēśvara was at
Mangalam, near Sēndamangalam in A. D. 1236.4

One of Narasimha's claims was that he conquered

Kāñci. A number of records dating from A. D. 1216
attest to the presence of Hoysala generals and officers
in that city. There is evidence of Narasimha
ruling from that city in A. D. 1230,5 and of his
6
bherundas or troops being stationed there. His

1. E. C. Krishnarajpet 63 . 4. E. C. V, Ab. 123.

2. 14 of 38 . 5. Е. С. X. ΙΙ Τρ . 42 .
3. 39 of 20 . 6. E. C. V. Ch . 211 b .
 14

occupation of Kanci brought him into conflict

with Gandagopala, a Telugu Coda chief, who though
an ally of Raja Rāja III , was jealous of Narasimha's
triumphs, and was eager to capture Kāñcī
from where he could attack the Kādavas. A
prominent achievement of Gandagopala was the
capture of Kāñci in A. D. 1231 , which he ruled ' after
1
making it his own '.¹ This led to further clashes ,
and a recently published inscription from Jambai
(South Arcot district) records that ' in the month of
Cittirai of the 23rd year of Rāja Rāja, corresponding
to A. D. 1239, Nāyanār Gandagōpālar was pleased to
go out to fight and having stabbed Vallāla Dēva
proceeded to Śambai '. This Vallala was obviously
Narasimha, since the dynasty itself came to be called
' Ballala '. This record not only gives us the manner
and year of Narasimha's death, but also explains why
Sōmēśvara led an expedition against Tikka Ganda-
gõpala in August, 1240.4

For a second time the Hoysalas prevented the

extinction of the Cola monarchy, and maintained the
balance of power in the South. The political settle-
ment of the South by Narasimha was cemented by
dynastic marriages. His son Vira Sōmēśvara is
referred to as māmādi or uncle by the successors of

1. 446 of 19.
2. 439 of 38 .
3. 435 of 38 (records a gift to the temple at Jambai in the
22nd year of Rāja Rāja III (1238. A.D.) by a son of
a Hoysala dandanāyaka.)
4. E. C. VI. Kadur. 100.
 (

15

both Maravarman Sundara Pandya I and Rāja

Rāja III . Narasimha succeeded in securing real
dominance in the South, and the power of his arms
was felt as far south as Rāmēśvaram .

Vīra Sōmēśvara-From about A. D. 1233, Vira

Sōmēśvara shared with his father the responsibilities
of the government of the Hoysala dominions, and
records were inscribed in his regnal years. In the
Tamil districts adjoining the Kannada country,
Sōmēśvara's records are to be found at Tingalūr¹ and
Mudigondān (Coimbatore district), Adhamkōttai
(Salem district), and Damalcheruvu (North Arcot).
Northern Kongu, the country of the Adigaimān and
large parts of Magadhai were included in his
dominions .

Sōmēśvara continued the fight against Kō-

Peruñjinga. In the course of a campaign against the
Kādava chief in 1236, he encamped at Mangalam in
the present Vriddhāchalam taluk. Hostilities continued
until at least A. D. 1253, the tenth regnal year
of Kō- Peruñjinga, when according to a Vriddhā-
chalam records he defeated at Perambalūr the danda-
nāyakas Kēśava and Harihara, captured their equip-
ment and women. That the Hoysala generals were at
Vriddhāchalam and its vicinity is clear from another
records in the same temple which is dated in the reign
of Kō- Peruñjinga dēva and records a gift of cows by
Harihara Dandanāyaka and others. An undated

1. 602 of 05 . 4. 179 of 21 .
2. 4 of 10, 6 of 10, and 7 of 10. 5. 73 of 18 .
3. 203 of 10, 204 of 10, 205 of 10. 6. H. I. S. I: SA. 1093 .
 16

1
inscription from Ākkür, (Mayavaram taluk),
mentions Kō- Peruñjinga's victories. The wars with
the Kādavas must have been waged with great
severity and with changing fortunes. The extent of
the penetration by the Hoysalas may be gauged from
a Tiruveņkādu inscription, which says that in the
course of Kō - Peruñjinga's war with the Kannadiyar,
fortresses were put up on the north bank of the river
Kāvēri, which resulted in the cessation of daily
worship in temples.

Sōmēśvara's campaign against the Telugu Coda

Tikka Gandagōpāla does not appear to have met
with any great success. Kāñci seems to have
passed into the hands of Tikka, who held it for some
time as a feudatory of Rāja Rāja III , and later of the
Kākatīya ruler Ganapati.3
The main interest of Sōmēśvara's, reign consists
in his relations with the two great Tamil kingdoms,
the Colas and the Pandyas. About 1233, even during
the lifetime of his father, he erected for his gratifica-
tion ' a capital city by name Vikramapura in the
midst of the Cola country ' that he had conquered by
the prowess of his arms'.4 (Sva-bhujabala- vinirjita-
cōlamandale- sva-manō-vinōdāya nirmitām Vikrama- -

pura-nāmadhēyam, mahā-rājadhānām). Vikramapura

is the modern Kannanur, now a suburb of Samaya-
puram, about nine miles to the north of Trichinopoly.

1. 229 of 25 .
2. 514 of 18 .
3. K. A. N. Sastri : Cõlas II pp. 203-5.
4. E. C. IX. Bangalore 6-Bangalore Museum CopperPlate,
 17

The date of its foundation is some times said to be

1237. A Tiruvānaikkōvil record of Sōmēśvara dated
in his second regnal year, A. D. 1235, mentions the
building of the Poysalīśvaram temple in this city and
its consecration and endowments for the daily
worship. It is therefore reasonable to assign to the
founding of the city a date earlier than 1235. In the
course of South Indian history, Trichinopoly and its
environs have often proved to be the key to the
South ; and Sōmēśvara with his unerring statecraft
established his southern capital at Kannanur, from
where he could dominate the politics of the South.

The Cola monarch at the time was the weak

Rāja Rāja III, who owed his crown to Hoysala
protection and generosity. While Rāja Rāja III was
on the throne, the Cola kingdom was practically a
protectorate of Sōmēśvara. Between A. D. 1233 and
1246, weget a large number of records from Śrīrangam,
Tiruvānaikkōvil, Tirumalavādi, and Kāmarasavalli,
all situated in the modern Trichinopoly district,
dated in Sömēśvara's regnal years. Inscriptions from
Mannārgudi and Vēdāranyam¹, which though dated
in the regnal years of Raja Rāja III, show what real
control Hoysala dandanayakas exercised within the
Cola country. Parts of the modern Pudukkottai
State, nominally under Cola rule, were administered
by Hoysala officers. Pēraiyūr² and Mēlattanaiyam³
in Pudukkottai State, important military stations

1. 97 of 97 and 501 of 04 . 3. P. S. I. 199.

2. P. S. I. 193 .
3
 18

from the time of Rajendra Cola I, were under the

control of Hoysala generals, probably garrisoned by
Hoysaļa soldiers.
Somēśvara inflicted a crushing defeat on the
powerful Māravarman Sundara Pandya I at
Mahendramangalam, and the tide of Pandyan
conquest was rolled back to the south of the Kāvērī.
Pudukkottai records throw light on the subsequent
course of this Pandya campaign of Sōmēśvara. A
record from Kõttaiyūr,¹ not far from Tirumayyam in
the State, a Cola military station of great importance,
dated in the 21st year of Sundara Pandya ( 1236-7),
refers to oppressive taxes and imposts levied by the
Kannadiyar occupation . Two Tirumayyam records
speak of the conquest of Kananādu by Dandanāyaka
Ravi Deva. Kānanādu included parts of Puduk-
kõttai and Ramnad district. These are clear indica-
tions of Somēśvara's advance in the South as far as
the medieval defensive line between the Côla and
Pandyan territories, which extended from Tirupattūr
in the west to Arantāngi in the east with padaip-
parrus and cantonments to the north and south of
this line. Māravarman Sundara Pandya I must have
been kept to the south of this line.

The next Pandya king, Māravarman Sundara II

was a protēgē of Sōmēśvara, and it is no wonder that
other important military outposts, such as Peruma-
nādus in the Pudukkottai State, came to be held by

1. P. S. I. 310. 3. P. S. 1. 518 ,
2. P. S. I. 340 and 341 .
 19

Hoysala generals. Under Sundara Pandya II the

Pandya country became another Hoysala protectorate.
In a record¹ dated in his own regnal year, Sōmēśvara
assigned the village of Tirukkōttiyūr to the God of
Alagarkōvil, and Sundara Pandya obligingly enough
issued an order confirming this grant. At Attur³
in the Tinnevelly district there is an epigraph
recording a royal order by Somēśvara. An inscrip-
tion from Tinnevelly records the gift of a village to
Brahmins under the name of Poysala Vīra Sōmēśvara
Caturvēdimańaglam. Two other Tinnevelly records,5
though dated in the regnal years of Sundara
Pandya II, refer to endowments by Hoysaļa generals
and officers. The Tirumayyam inscriptions already
referred to record an award by a grand tribunal set
up and presided over by a Hoysala dandanāyaka,
which indicates how much real sovereignty the
dandanayakas wielded in territories supposed to be
ruled by the Pandya king.

The close of the 13th century marks a distinct

change in the political alignment of the South Indian
States. Rājēndra Cola III, even when he was
co-regent with Rāja Rāja III, made great efforts to
restore Cola power. He won some victories over
Māravarman Sundara Pandya II and assumed the
vainglorious biruda iruvar Pandyar mudittalai
-

kondarulina. He had the support of the Telugu

Codas, and about the year 1250 A. D., had succeeded

1. 292 of 30 . 4. 156 of 94 .
2. 291 , 293 and 294 of 30. 5. 15 of 12 and 138 of 94 .
3. 433 of 30 .
 20

in so rehabilitating part of the ancient prestige of the

Cõlas that he styled himself Manukulamedutta
nerimudi sūdiyaruliyavan, the restorer of the race
of Manu who wore the righteous crown as of right. "
This resulted in the Hoysala Vīra Sōmēśvara offering
protection to the Pandya king. In some Mysore
records Sōmēśvara calls himself Pandya-kula-sam-
rakşaņa dakşadakṣiņabhuja or ' he whose right arm is
skilled in protecting the Pandya line '. This change
of front on the part of Somēśvara brought about a
sharp conflict between Rājēndra and himself. It is
to be noted that so far no records of Sōmēśvara have
been discovered at Kannanur, or Śrirangam or
Tiruvānaikkóvil or anywhere near his southern capital
between his 9th and 20th years, (between about 1242
and 1253 A. D.). There is however, a record of his at
Śivāyam³ near Kulitalai, but it is dated in the 4th
year of Rājēndra III, and mentions an inquiry into
the affairs of the temple on the Ratnagiri hill by a
committee presided over by Somaya Dandanāyaka
and other officers of Sōmēśvara. This may mean
that Hoysala authority continued to be felt in that
part of Trichinopoly district. On the other hand,
there are epigraphs of Rajendra at Srirangam and
Tiruvānaikkōvil recording his royal orders dated
between his 3rd and 7th regnal years. In his praśasti
recorded in a grant from Lepaka
(Cuddappah
1 185 of 08 (yr. 4) .
2. E. C. V. p . XXV .
3. 49 of 13 .
4. Cf. 114 of 37 (yr . 3) ; 115, 116 and 117 of 37 (yr. 5) ;
64 of 92 (yr . 7 ) .
5. 420 of 11 and 64 of 92 .
 21

district), and in another from Srirangam he describes

himself as ' death to the Karnāta king ', and claims
6
that Vira Sōmēśvara, the wrestler on hillforts
(giridurga malla), placed on his leg the anklet of
heroes ' . In A. D. 1252 , when Rājēndra was at
Śrīrangam and recorded this praśasti, Sōmēśvara
seems to have been at Dvārasamudra.¹ From about
1253, Sōmēśvara gradually recovered his possessions
in the Cola country, and we get his records until his
27th regnal year almost all over the present Trichino-
poly district, while those of Rājēndra are conspicuously
absent in that area after his 8th year. A Mysore
record of this period states that Sōmēśvara uprooted
Rājēndra Côļa in battle and reinstated him when he
begged for protection. Hoysala rule again extended
over the modern Pudukkottai State, and Sōmēśvara's
3
records are to be found at Sembāttur, Alattür and
Tirumaņañjēri in the State.

The rivalry between the Hoysalas and the Colas

was only temporary. The accession in 1251 A. D. of
Jațāvarman Sundara Pandya I marks a new era in
the history of Pandya revival He was one of the
ablest sovereigns of his age, and carried the Pandya
flag beyond the Krsņā river. Against this common
danger the Hoysala-Cola differences were made up,
and not withstanding the combined front that they
put up by rallying all their forces, they soon felt the

1. He is said to have marched to Halagere and then gone

to Dvārasamudra. E. C. Kadur 101 .
2. E. C. V Arsikere 123 .
3. P. S. I. 667, 666 and 1056.
 22

weight of Jatāvarman Sundara's arms. The probable

course of the war between Jatāvarman Sundara and
Sömēśvara may be constructed with the help of
incriptions. We hear of Jațāvarman Sundara at
Tirumalavādi¹ in records dated in his 2nd and 3rd
years (1253 A. D.). These probably signify his first
entry into the heart of the Cola country. His
Tiruppūndurutti record, which gives a long praśasti
with historical details, is dated in his 7th year
( 1258 A. D.) and narrates his attack on the Hoysalas
in the region of the Kaveri, where he besieged them
in a fortress, inflicting on them heavy losses and
killing many commanders including the brave
Singaņa, and finally stopped fighting when they began
to retreat. Another Tirumalavādi record, dated in
the 23rd year of the Hoysala king (1256 A. D.), men-
tions Singana Dandanāyaka. Sōmēśvara's records
occur near the banks of the Kaveri in the years 1255,
1256, and 1258, but not in 1257. The engagement
described in the praśasti may perhaps be assigned to
1257 A.D. Sōmēśvara does not seem to have retreated
to the Mysore plateau as claimed in Rajendra's praśasti.
The Trichinopoly district and especially places on the
Kāvēri have a number of inscriptions dating from the
25th year (1258 A D.) of Sōmēśvara until his 29th year
(1262 A. D.). We again hear of Jatāvarman Sundara
3
at Tirumalavādi in 1264 A. D. , and an undated
1. 89 and 90 of 95.
2. 166 of 94. S. I. I. V 459 .
3. 71 of 95. Reading the regnal year as 11, Kielhorn has
pointed out that the date of this inscription-Thurs-
day, Aśvini, Ba 6 Karkataka, corresponds to 19th
July, 1261 , but that the week day should be Tuesday.
The text published in S. I. I. V. clearly gives 14 as
the regnal year, which is the correct figure. The date
of the record is 17th July, 1264.
 23

Śrīrangam epigraph¹ records that Sundara " had des-

patched to the other world the ' Moon of the Karnāta
country " - obviously meaning Sōmēśvara. An
inscription in the Muktīśvara temple at Samaya-
puram (Kannanur), dated in the 12th year of
Jațāvarman Sundara Pandya (1263 A. D.), and one
from Tiruppārkadal³ in North Arcot district, dated
1264-5 A. D. , record royal orders issued by him from
the Hoysala capital Kannanur. The conclusion
seems to be obvious that Jatāvarman Sundara again
attacked Śōmēśvara in 1263, killed him in battle,
and occupied Kannanur. But Kannanur was not yet
lost to the Hoysalas, and their southern territories
were not yet liquidated, and Vira Rāmanātha,
Sōmēśvara's son, continued to rule in the South .

Jaţāvarman Vira Pandya, a co-regent of Jata-

varman Sundara Pandya I, conquered Kongus and
temporarily wrested it from the Hoysalas.

1. 60 of 92. (1263-4 A.D. ? )

2. 242 of 30 .
3. 702 of 04.
4. Following A. Krishnamurthy ( Hoysalas-unpublished),
Dr. Venkataramanayya assigns 1257 A. D. to
Sōmēśvara's death (The early Muslim Expansion in
South India, p. 7). Hayavadana Rao (Mysore Gazetteer
Vol . II . p. 1389) assigns 1254 A. D. 1233 A. D. has
to be fixed as his first regnal year, since it alone helps
us to work out the correct equivalents in English
years and months of the astronomical details found
in his dated records. The latest record of Sōmēśvara,
that we know of, belongs to his 29th year, which
takes us to 1262 .
5. K. A. N. Sastri. Pandyan Kingdom. p. 177.
 24

In his eventful career in the South Sōmēśvara

brought to bear upon his political transactions a high
order of diplomacy and unrivalled statecraft. The
changes in his diplomacy often mark a revolution
but in all the vicissitudes of his policy he had one
aim steadily in view, and that was to make Hoysala
power the centre round which the State systems of
the South must revolve. To borrow Kautilya's
figurative description, he was the central nave, while
the Pandya and the Cola were the spokes radiating
towards the circumference of a mandala of states.
Under him Hoysala power reached the zenith of its
glory and influence in the Tamil nādu.
Vīra Rāmanātha-Sōmēśvara's sons Narasimha III
and Vira Ramanātha divided the kingdom probably
as a matter of administrative convenience. While
Narasimha administered the home provinces,
Rāmanātha was in charge of the Tamil provinces
including part of the east Mysore country comprising
the modern Kōlār district. His Tamil provinces
included most of modern Salem district, the western
half of North Arcot and Chittoor, the whole of
Trichinopoly excluding Karur, the Tanjore, Pāpanā-
sam and Mannārgudi taluks of Tanjore district
and the eastern part of Pudukkottai State. This
area constitutes the provenance of Ramanātha's
records. The Pandyas had conquered Kongu, where
no inscriptions of Ramanatha are to be found.
Rāmanātha had the surname Rājakkalnāyan,
which was subsequently assumed by Māravarman
Vikrama Pandya (acc. 1283).
1. 92 of 10,
 25

Ramanātha frequently marched into the Hoysaļa

home provinces trying to wrest from his brother
additional territory, but these events do not concern
our present investigation. Under Rāmanātha
Kannanur or Vikramapura rose into considerable
importance as a commercial and strategic centre.
He established above the ghats in the north a
provincial capital at Kundani, generally identified
with the village of Kundani in the Hosür taluk.
It is also known as Devasamudram Kundani or
simply Dēvarkundani.

Rāmanātha was closely allied with Rājendra

Cola ; and the alliance was a necessity in the face of
the common danger of the aggression of Jatāvaiman
Sundara Pandya ; and they had to get on together
as best they could without offending their Pandya
neighbour. Ramanātha appears to have been the
senior partner in this alliance. Hoysala officers figure
in Rājēndra's inscriptions. Two inscriptions from
Tiruchchātturai¹ (Tanjore district) attest to the joint
rule of these two sovereigns ; one quotes the 10th
year of Ramanātha, but registers a sale effected in
the 20th year of Rajendra, while the other reverses
the order and is dated in the 15th year of Ramanātha,
but cites the 25th year of Rājēndra.

The death of Rājēndra marks the extinction of

of the Cola empire, the mightiest empire of the
Tamils, and one of the greatest empires known to
history.

1. 207 and 208 of 1931 ,

4
 26

We may pause for a moment to consider what

exactly Hoysala interference with the affairs of the
Cõlas meant to their kingdom. The Cola monarchy was
in the last stages ofdissolution,and the empire was rent
into a number of independent states¹ owning no allegi-
ance to the centre. The central authority was rather
weak even in the reign of Kulõttunga I, and after his
time there was a steady growth in the number of feuda-
tories who were maintaining considerable forces for
offensive and defensive action. The popular assemblies
in the villages, cities and nādus , hitherto under the
direct purview of the Central Government, now looked
to the local chiefs for support. The powerful feudatories
entered into mutual political compacts. Before them
was the example of the Hoysala state. Visnuvardhana
called himself a mahamandalēśvara,-a provincial
Viceroy, and was referred to as Cāļukya-mani-
mandalīka- cūdāmani-or- the crest jewel among the
Cāļukya feudatories ', and humbly subscribed himself
tatpadapadmopajīvin, ' a bee on the lotus feet of his
paramount sovereign '. But Ballāļa II gave up all
pretensions to subordination. He gloried in the
imperial titles, Samastabhuvanāśraya, Śrīprthvival-
labha, Mahārājādhirāja, Paramēśvara Paramabhat-
tāraka, Pratāpacakravartin, Bhujabalacakravartin,
Bhujabalapratāpacakravartin, Hoysaļa Cakravartin and
Yadava Cakravartin. The Hoysalas brought about
the dismemberment of their paramount power, the
Cāļukya empire, and then fought with the Seunas for
1. Κ. Α. Ν. Sastri. Colas II pp. 54-60 ; 69-72 ; 82-84 ;
108-114 ; 134-138 ; 155-171 ; 176-178 ; 186-190 ;
192-195 .
 27

the division of the spoils. Here was an example which

the Tamil States copied with alacrity. The Pandya
nibbled at the Cola empire from the south. The wily
Kādava Peruñjinga appropriated the coastal area
north of the Kāvēri. The Telugu Codas, the Yadava-
rāyas, the Sambuvarāyas, the Cédirāyas and numer-
ous others of Baņa, Nulamba and Ganga extraction
carved out for themselves large and small slices of ter-
ritories. And what kind of independence did the Cola
kings exercise as the result of their alliance with the
Hoysalas ? Rāja Rāja III was ruler only in name.
Rājēndra asserted himself for a time, but the fear of
the Pandya threw him once more into Hoysala
protection ; and for the rest of his reign, he was more
or less their dependent. The Cola kingdom, nomi-
nally ruled by Rāja Rāja III and Rājēndra III, was
a Hoysala protectorate. When Jaţāvarman Sundara
Pandya I, and after him Māravarman Kulaśēkhara
broke the back of Hoysala resistence, the Cola empire
disappeared completely ; and South India was again
left for a few decades a unitary Tamil kingdom ruled
by the Pandyas whom Muslims and Chinese alike
acknowledged as the sole rulers of the South, then
known to the Muslim world as Ma'bar.

The story of Ramanatha's rule in the South

is easily told. Jațāvarman Vira Pandya, who shared
the Pandya throne with Jaţāvarman Sundara
Pandya, led an expedition into the Cola country, the
conquest of which Māravarman Kulaśēkhara
completed by 1279. A Tinnevelly record¹ of
1. 29 of 27.
 28

Māravarman Kulaśēkhara refers to his victory over the

Hoysalas. Another inscription¹ mentions that
Māravarman Kulaśēkhara was in his camp at
Kannanur in the 15th year of his reign (1272-3 A.D.) .
The latest inscription of Ramanātha at Kannanūr
is dated 1271 A.D. There is an inscription of his
belonging to that year near Lālgudi. One at
Tirumaņañjēri (Pudukkottai State) is dated
1272 A. D. There are however Ramanātha's
inscriptions later than 1272 at Tirumalavādi,
(Trichinopoly district), Nallūr and Śūlamangalam
(Tanjore district) and at Paruttipalli and Tara-
mangalam (Salem district). One at Punganūr
(Chittoor district) is a record of his 38th year
(1292-3 A. D.). About the year 1279 Rāmanātha
lost his southern provinces and was driven north of
the ghats .

Vīra Viśvanātha-Ramanātha's son Vīra Viśva-

nātha ruled for about five years the nothern strip of
his father's Tamil dominions, which was all that was
left to him. We meet with his records at Tirupattūr
(North Arcot district) and at Devar-Kundani and
Kambayanallūrs (Salem).
1. 328 of 23 .
2. 33 of 91 .
3. 150 of 29 .
4. P. S. I. 668 .
5. 93 of 95 ; 23 of 20 ; 46 of 20 ; 47 of 20 ; 292 of 11 ;
150 of 15 ; 152 of 15 ; 26 and 29 of 00.
6. 210 of 32 .
7. 250 of 09 .
8. 204 and 205 of 11 ; 9 and 10 of 00 .
 29

Vira Ballala III. On Viśvanātha's death in

about 1298 A. D. , Vīra Ballāla, who had been crowned
in the Karnatic country in 1292 A. D., became sole
ruler.

Madhava Dandanāyaka, son of Mahāpradāni

Perumal Dandanāyaka, scored much success against
Jațāvarman Vira Pandya, who as co-regent must
have been administering the Kongu country at that
time. There are records dated 1287 A. D. and later
extolling the bravery of Immadi Rāhuttarāyan
Mādhava Dandanāyaka and registering his grants
to temples and other orders remitting taxes. In some of
them Madhava is described as 'Death to the Kongus' ,
'conqueror of the Nilagiri' and ' founder of Danda-
nāyakankōttai ' . The presence of Vira Ballāļa's
records in parts of Salem, and all over the Nilgiris and
Coimbatore as far South as Manur in the Palni taluk
of Madura is an indication of the restoration of
Hoysala rule in Kongu. Māgadhai and Tondai-
mandalam were later added. His records are found
in the North Arcot district also. Tirupati
inscriptions of Tiruvēńkațanātha Yadavarāya¹ and
his son Śrīranganātha record grants to the temples at
Tirumalai and Tirupati by Madhava Dandanāyaka's
son Śingaya or Singaņa. A village endowed to the
temple and a charity were named after Singaņa ;
while a tax was collected in the name of Ballāļa.

Ballāļa was frequently at Kāñci between 1299

and 1335 A. D. presiding over the temple ceremonies

1. Tirupati Devastanam Epigraphical Reports-Yadavarayas .

 30

and awarding honours to scholars of merit.¹ Kāñci,

which was then an easy prey to invaders and adven-
turers, was not continuously under Ballāļa's direct
rule. One fact however is clear that Ballāļa's
authority was recognized in the country round about
Kāñci ; and the local chiefs acknowledged his over-
lordship.

Ballāļa's penetration into the Kongu country on

one side and into Tondaimandalam on the other was
an important strategic move ; his object was to make
a sort of pincer movement into the Pandyan kingdom.
He was only waiting for his opportunity, which at
last came when, after the assasination of Māravarman
Kulaśēkhara, there was a civil war in Madura, and
Vīra Pandya and Sundara Pandya fought for the
throne. Ballala's army was already in Kongu on the
Pandyan borders when his capital was unexpectedly
sacked by Malik Kafür, who on his way to Ma'bar
entered the Kannada country. Ballāļa, who knew that
hostility towards Malik Kâfür would mean the ruin
of his kingdom, surrendered, and was accepted as a
zimmi or feudal subordinate of the Sultanate of Delhi.
When Malik Na'ib moved south, Ballāļa as a fief of
the Sultan, had to swallow his pride and personally
guide the Delhi army into Ma'bar. All along the way
Vira Pandya, who cleverly avoided an open engage-
ment, managed to harass the Muslim soldiery and
caused no little annoyance to Malik Na'ib by the
nibbling tactics which he successfully practised.
Malik Na'ib plundered the rich temples of Srirangam
1. 397, 401 , 572-574 and 585 of 19.
 31

and Chidambaram, and advanced into Madura, but

found that Sundara Pandya had retreated with his
family and treasure. In the face of this formidable
danger the Pandyan Princes realised their folly and
united their forces for a combined attack. Vikrama
Pandya, who assumed command over the army,
attacked the Muslims from an unexpected quarter
and forced Malik Na'ib to return to Delhi.

Since Malik Na'ib's return in 1311 , the political

situation in Madura had again deterioratated. Vira
Pandya and Sundara Pandya resumed their old feud,
and the country was once more on the throes of a
civil war. Sundara, who was no match to his able
opponent, fled to Ala-ud-Din's court for protection.
When he returned to Ma'bar leading a band of Muslim
soldiers, who were sent to help him, he found that
misfortune had befallen his brother Vira Pandya, and
that the country had been captured by Ravi Varman
Kulaśēkhara, a Kerala Chief, who after annexing the
Pandyan dominions, had advanced to Kāñcī and
crowned himself there. Sundara had to fight his way
to Madura and succeeded in establishing some sort of
authority in parts of Ma'bar.¹
Vira Pandya solicited Ballāļa's help and created
a diversion in the Venād by stirring up another
Kēraļa feudatory, Udaiya Mārtānda Varman, to revolt.
A Vīragal epigraph tells us that Singeya, son of
Someya Dandanāyaka, a brother-in-law of Ballāļa,
fought in Vira Pandya's army and was killed in
1. 571 and 642 of 02 .

2. M. A. R- 1913. paragraph 86,

 32

action while opposing Ravi Varman. Ballāļa, who

was camping at Tiruvanņāmalai, engaged the enemy
1
near Kannanur about the year 1318.¹

Tiruvaņņāmalai was his base of action in the

east. Inscriptions published so far, tell us that he
was at Tiruvanņāmalai in 1318-9 ; 1328-31 and
1340-43 .

Ballāļa's attempt to capture Kannanūr from

Tiruvanņāmalai was frustrated by subsequent Muslim
invasions. It is beyond the scope of this work to go
at any length into the history of these invasions.
Khusrou Khan's incursion left no impress in the
South but that of Ulugh Khan brought the South
under the rule of the Tughlaqs .

An inscription at Rangiyam³ (Pudukkottai

State), dated in 732 A. H. (1332 A. D.) refers to Adi
Sūrattān, whose identity is still in doubt. But
another from Panaiyūr¹ (in the same State) is dated in
the ninth regnal year of Muhammadi Sūrattān (Sultān
Muhammad). These two records establish without
doubt that since 1323 A. D. the kingdom of Madura
had been under the rule of the Delhi Sultan. This
direct rule of Delhi continued until 1334-5 A. D.,
when Sayyid Jalal, one of the Imperial officers at

1. E. C. XII Ck . 4 .
2. For a discussion on this subject, see Dr. Venkata-
ramanayya's The Early Muslim Expansion in South
India pp. 122-5.
3. P. S. I. 669 .
4. P. S. I. 670.
 33

Madura, treacherously slew the provincial governor

and declared himself Sultan of Ma'bar under the title
of Jalal-ud-Din Ahasan Shah .

Meanwhile events were moving fast in other parts

of South India. There arose a wide spread move-
ment for the liberation of the Hindu States, which
had its origin in the east coast of the Andhra country,
and was sponsored by Prōlaya Nāyaka and his
successor Kāpaya Nayaka. From the east coast, the
rebellion spread towards the west and south, and
Nūniz graphically tells us of the liberation of Kampili
in the south western Telugu country. The movemeut
found a ready echo in the Tamil country.

Ballala, a Zimmi of Delhi, was bound by ties of

loyalty to the Sultan. Could he cast off his fealty to
Delhi and join the movement ? At a time when he
was hard-pressed and eager to preserve his existence,
he surrendered to the Sultan. His alliance with
' Ala-ud-Din is an instance of what Kautilya would
characterise as an asamāna or hīna alliance. There
was nothing repulsive to Hindu feelings even in those
days for a Hindu sovereign to enter into such an
alliance with a foreigner. Such alliances have been
only too common in the past. We have Kāmandaka's
authority for a ruler to ally himself with an anārya
(Sandhihkāryāpyanāryēņa). In this particular alliance
Ballāla meanly betrayed Bahā-ud-din Garshāp, a
scion of the Tughlaq house, who had rebelled against
the Sultan, and taken shelter under him at
Dvārasamudra.
5
 34

One consideration must have weighed with Ballāļa.

His fealty was to the Khilji line, and it was open to
him to revoke his submission when a change of dynasty
had come about at Delhi. Before his very eyes ,
Jalālud-Din Ahasan had turned rebel ; and Telingana
and Kampili had also revolted ; and the Sultan did
not or could not take effective steps to punish them
and bring them back under imperial rule. Evidently
Delhi was unable to exercise effective control over
the distant South. The shrewd Ballāla could be
depended upon to profit by these examples. Before
him loomed the unpleasant prospect of the Muslim
provinces in the Deccan also revolting and setting
themselves up as independent Muslim States, sand-
wiching the Hindu States in between and finally
absorbing them. Prudence and statecraft alike
dictated that he should throw in his lot with the
other Hindu States, which had exhibited extra-
ordinary vigour in the blow that they had dealt to
Muslim preponderance, and direct his attention to
dissolving first the new Muslim state of Ma'bar, and
then those of the Deccan,

The very nature of Muslim rule in the South in

the 14th century called for united action by the
Hindus. Alā-ud- Din had no territorial ambition in
the South . His instruction to Malik-Na'ib , as
reported by Khusrau and Isamy, was that he should
lead an expedition to Ma'bar and Dvārasamudra and
proclaim the Muslim faith in the South. His desire
was to make the rich South Indian kingdoms
disgorge all their hoarded wealth. A contemporary
 35

writer¹ observes that war or peace with Sultan

Ala-ud-Din made little difference, the former
involved death, and the latter the loss of
everything that one possessed. But Sultan
Muhammad Tughlaq aspired for territorial gains and
real conquest. He proclaimed himself Sultan of the
whole country from Peshawar to Cape Comorin.
Ma'bar was included among the provinces of the
empire. He believed that the destruction of Hindu
freedom was indispensable for the stable establish-
ment of his rule. The iqta's or districts into which
the country was divided, were distributed among
the Muslim amirs. The Hindu nobles and land-
owners were either plundered or dispossessad of
their lands, and the agriculturists were deprived of
the fruits of their labour. Ferishta observes
that the Muslim population grew so rapidly in
the Deccan as to create consternation among
the Hindus. In the far South, however, Muslim
ascendency was confined to the towns where the
garrisons were stationed. But plunder and rapine
were the order of the day. Comtemporary inscrip-
tions and literature in the Tamil districts speak of
the ravages of the tulukkavāņam or tulukkar kalakam
or galabai (Muslim occupation), of the damage to
cultivation and the consequent depopulation of
villages, of people subjected to torture, of the
smashing of idols and the destruction of temples and
religious institutions, and of the deprivation of

1. Quoted by Dr. Venkataramanyya : The Early Muslim

expansion in South India-Р . 22 .
2. Briggs : 1 p. 427.
 36

agrahāras and other pious donations of kings. The

celebrated temples were sacked and all their wealth
carried away. Things were much the same in the
Telugu country. Ibn Battuta has left an account of
the treatment that Sultan Ghaiyās-ud-Din of Madura
meted out to his Hindu subjects. It is sordid reading
from beginning to end, unrelieved by any consideration
of even ordinary humanity, not to speak of royal
nobility. Writing of the massacre in cold blood of
innocent men, women and children, Battūţa remarks: 1
" this is a shameful practice, and I have not seen any
other sovereign adopt it ; it was because of this that
God hastened the end of Ghaiyās-ud-Din."
This state of affairs , unfortunate to the people
and the conquerors alike, stirred Hindu sentiment in
the South to its very depths. The Telingana Nāyaks
looked upon their insurrections as a sort of
religious crusade. At that time both the Saiva and
Vaisnava sects had become organized and militant.
They were popular movements, and had permeated
to the lower strata of society welding the masses and
the priestly classes together. The mathas had done
this work of popularising religion very successfully ;
and every village had a matha attached to its temple,
the priests of which considerably influenced not only
the spiritual life of the people, but also their social
and civic outlook . Prōlaya Nayak declared that
he had the mandate of God Viśvēśvara, and his
brother chiefs felt that it was their supreme duty to
save their temples and their gods from desecration.
1. K. A. N. Sastri : Foreign Notices of South India. p. 279.
 37

Ballāla could not keep out of this movement, which

in the eyes of his co-religionists was calculated to
bring about the revival of what they considered the
dharma of the land. When once he cast his lot with
the other chiefs, his unique position and prestige
easily made him leader.

About this time Ēkāmranātha, a Śambuvarāya

feudatory, expelled the Muslims from Tondaiman-
dalam. This feat of arms won for him the title
Venrumankondan-or ' he who captured the earth by
conquest. ' This and other victories gave to Ballāļa
such an ascendency in the Tamil districts that in
1338 A. D. he assumed the titles of the emperor of
the south,' and ' he who planted the pillar of victory
at Rāmēśvaram ' (Sētumūlajayastambha). His presence
with his general Dati Ballappa Dandanayāka at
Tiruvanņāmalai early in 1341 is evidence of important
military activity ; and Muslim historians tell us of
his incursions at that time along the Coromandal
coast, which the Madura Sultān was unable to
oppose. Ballāļa continued to stay at Tiruvanņāmalai
until September 1342 directing operations.
The second ruler of the line of the Madura
Sultāns, Alā-ud-Din Udaiji, was shot down by an
unknown person. Dr. Venkataramanayya surmises¹
that the unknown assailant must have been either
Ballāļa, or what is more likely, one of the Pandyan
Princes, who still exercised some sort of local sway in
obscure parts of the country. During the reign of

1. M. U. J. Vol . XI. p. 48.

 38

Ghaiyās-ud-Din Damghani, Ballāļa pounced upon

Ma'bar routing the Muslim army that lay on his way.
The story of this campaign and its tragic sequel are
better narrated in the words of Ibn Battuta.
" The infidel sovereign camped near Kubban
(Kannanur Koppam) one of the largest and strongest
places held by the Mussalmans. He besieged it for
six months, at the end of which the garrison had
provisions for only fourteen days. Balāļ dev proposed
to the besieged to offer them safe conduct if they
would retire leaving him to occupy the town : but
they replied : ' we must inform our Sultan of this '.”
He then offered them a truce for fourteen days, and
they wrote to the Sultan describing their situation to
him. Battuta then tells us that the Muslims at
Madura made up their minds not to surrender, and
three thousand picked horsemen with the Sultan
himself in the centre came to the succour of the
harassed garrison at Kannanur ; and he concludes
the narration thus :-" in this order, the Mussalmans
set out at the seista hour towards the infidel camp
and attacked it, when the soldiers were off their
guard, having sent away their horses to graze. The
infidels, thinking that robbers were attacking their
camp, went out in disorder to combat the assailants.
Meanwhile Sultan Ghaiyās-ud-Din arrived, and the
Hindus suffered the worst of all defeats. Their
sovereign tried to mount a horse though he was aged
eighty. Nāşir-ud-Din, nephew and successor of the
Sultan, overtook the old man and was about to kill

1. K. A. N. Sastri . op. cit pp. 280-1 .

 39

him , for he did not know who he was. But one of

his slaves said : " He is the Hindu Sovereign " ; he
then made him prisoner and led him to his uncle,
who treated him with apparent consideration till he
extorted from him his riches, his elephants and
horses, and promised to release him. When he had
yielded up all his wealth to him, he had him killed
and flayed. His skin was stuffed with straw and
hung up on the wall of Madura where I saw it in the
same position ". These incidents are said to have
happened near Chira Chirapalli, the modern
Trichinopoly.

Success was in Ballāļa's grasp, but it slipped out.

by a mere accident. Accidents such as this have
played a large part in history. Ballāļa had, however,
done his work. A pan-Hindu movement uniting the
Tamil, Telugu and Kanarese countries had been
inaugurated. Vira Śavana and Vira Kampaņa
completed the work of conquest begun by Ballāļa
and brought Ma'bar under Vijayanagar rule. The
fusion of the different elements in the South under a
common hegemony, which was the ambition of the
Hōysalas, was accomplished by the emperors of
Vijayanagar.

There is no evidence to support the suggestion¹

that Virūpākṣa Ballāļa IV, the son of Ballāla III,
continued the struggle with the Madura Sultan for
the next two or three years. All that we know about

1. Dr. S. K. Ayyangar : South India and Her Muhammadan

Invaders. p. 179,
 40

Ballāļa IV was that he was crowned in Dvārasamudra

in S. 1265 ( 1343 A.D.), and in the same year Harihara I
of Vijayanagar ousted him from the throne. The
Hoysala State was merged in the rising empire of
Vijayanagar.
II

Nature of Hoysala Rule- In our investigation of

the nature of Hoysala rule and their influence upon
the life and culture of the country, we shall confine
ourselves to the Tamil districts, and to the period
during which part of the Tamil nadu was under their
rule. The duration of Hoysala rule differed in
different parts : at Kannanur, it was about half a
century, though in parts of the Kongu country and
the Tamil districts of Gangāvādi, and Magadhai, it
may have been about a century and a half.

In large areas which were nominally under Cola

or Pandya rule Hoysala Dandanāyakas exercised
real authority, and the defacto sovereignty seems to
have been vested in the Hoysalas. A Tiruvannā-
malai inscription,¹ for instance, dated in the fifth year
of Rājendra Cola III, records a gift of a village in
Pangala nādu to the temple of Śrī Aruņācalēśvara by
Mahāpradāni mandalika Yamarāja Śingana Danda-
nāyaka. The dandanāyaka declared the gift
dēvadānairaiyili or tax free village in the enjoyment
of the temple, and conferred on the temple authorities
the right to appropriate all the taxes in that village.

1. 498 of 02 .
 41

A Vēdāranyam inscription' of the 26th year of Rāja

Rāja III tells us that some lands, which were tax free
within the village, i. e., which were exempted from
taxes due to the village assembly but not from royal
dues, later came to be assessed, but at the request of
the village officers, Kampaya Dandanāyaka assigned
some of the lands to the temple for the daily worship
of the goddess in the Kailasanātha temple and made
them taxfree.

Four inscriptions at Alagarkōvil relate to a gift

of the village of Tirukkōtțiyūr (Tiruppattür taluk of
the Ramnad district) to God Kallalagar by Vira
Sómēśvara. The Hoysala king recorded his gift in a
grant dated in his 10th regnal year ( 1243-44 A. D.).
Another record bears the regnal year of Māravarman
Sundara Pandya II, (8th year, 988th day, correspond-
ing to 1249 A. D.), and mentions that the Pandya
King, at the request of his uncle Sōmēśvara, remitted
the taxes on the village of Tirukkōttiyūr to provide
for offerings and other expenses of the services called
Pośaļa Vīra Sōmidevan sandi instituted in the temple
in the latter's name. The other two of this group
record the communication of these orders to the
Śrī Vaisnavas . Here Vīra Sömēśvara freely exercised
the right of assigning a village in the Pandyan
kingdom as tiruvidaiyāțțam lands to a temple in another
village in the same kingdom, while the ruler obligingly
enough supplements the grant by remitting the taxes
and endowing the same for the expenses of offerings

1. 97 of 97 . 2. 291-294 of 30.
6
 42

and daily worship. Two inscriptions from Tiruccat-

turai¹ (Tanjore district) are dated in the regnal years
of both Hoysala Vīra Rāmanātha and Rājēndra Cola .
A record from Śivāyam (Trichinopoly district), dated
in the 4th year of Rajendra Cola III , relates to an
inquiry into the affairs of the temple of Tirumāņikka-
udaiyār by a Hoysala minister Mandalika Muṛāri
Aliya Sōmaya Dandanāyaka assisted by Sevaya
Dandanayāka and Sōmanātha Vittaya, an officer in
Sōmēśvara's palace establishment, the māhēśvaras,
the sthānikas and merchants of the place. In two
inscriptions from Tirumayyam³ in the Pudukkottai
State the nominal sovereignty of Māravarman
Sundara Pandya II is conceded by dating the records
in his 7th regnal year, but there is a clear statement
that the country of Kanādu in which the town was
included was under the direct rule of Sōmēśvara's
generals (innādu udaiya svastiśrīmān Pratāpa Cakra-
varti Poysaļa Vīra Sōmēśvara dēvar dandanāyakarkalil),
one of whom summoned a tribunal to inquire into the
reasons for the discontinuance of worship in the Śiva
and Vişnu temples, and made an award after exami-
ning all the documents relative to the cause under
inquiry . His award was immediately given effect to
and inscribed on the walls of both the temples for
future guidance. These instances will suffice to show
that even within the territories of the Cola and the
Pandyan kingdoms, the Hoysala king exercised a
certain measure of foreign jurisdiction, the internal
government of the territory being shared both by
1. 207-208 of 31 . 3. P. S. I. 340-341 .
2. 49 of 13 .
 43

what we may call the extra-territorial sovereignty of

the Hoysala king and the territorial sovereignty of
the Côla or Pandya ruler. The right of the Hoysala
king over large parts of these kingdoms was obviously
not in the nature of dominium, but of jus in re aliena.
Ministers-According to ancient Hindu treatises
on Politics, seven elements constituted the State .
First came the king, and next to him the amātya or
minister. The Hoysala kings had a council consisting
of the more important ministers, who were their
close advisers and were often entrusted with
the highest executive and judicial authority. Hoysala
records bear testimony to the very intimate relation
that existed between the king and some of the
ministers, who were highly trustworthy and com-
manded the royal confidence. Visnuvardhana had
an inner cabinet of five ministers - pañcapradhānar.
Mahāpradhāni Polālva dēva, the chief minister of
Narasimha II, who bore the surname of Tolagada
kamba or ' unshaken pillar '-unshaken in his loyalty
as in his prowess, was also known as Vaisnava-
cakravartin, or chief among Vaisnavas, and was
famous alike as minister, warrior, and poet-a rare
combination indeed. A family of Brahmin ministers
distinguished themselves for three generations in the
service of Hoysala kings from Narasimha II to
Ballāļa III. They were Perumāļa Dandanāyaka, his
son Madhava Dandanāyaka and two grandsons
Kētaya and Singaya or Singana. They bore the
surnames of Immadi Rāhuttarāya and Sitagara ganda,
enjoyed extensive grants in the Kannada and Tamil
districts ; and made liberal endowments to temples,
 44

After the dissolution of the Hoysala dynasty, they

set up a chiefship in Dannāyakankōttai in the
Gõbichetțipālayam taluk of the Coimbatore district.
The following Mahāpradhānis figure in the Tamil
records of the next three rulers -

Sankaradēva,
Śingana who bore the surnames of Yāmarājan,
Nirambayanāthan-or ' lord of the Nirambayar or
people of the Kongu country, and Mūvar Irayarkan-
dan- or ' the punisher of three kings', Bhīmaņa, Aniya
(Aliya) Gaddaya, Bhujabala Kēśava, Pakkadikkāra
Somaya, Viraya, Āriya Pillai and Dati Singaya.
Many of these pradhāns were governors of provinces,
when they bore the designation mandalikas or
sāmantas .

A Dandanāyaka had both civil and military

responsibilities . The designation may be construed
as 'lord of the administration'(Danda = administration)
and 'leader of the forces'. Gopaya, Appaņa, Singana
and Ravi dēva were among the famous generals who
distinguished themselves in the campaigns in the
south. Others such as Aliya Sōmaya, Sevaya,
Gõpaya, Vallaya, Appana, Mādappa, and Singanā
were able administrators, exercising executive and
judicial authority.

Officers under the dandanāyakas were designated

nāyaks, and were placed in administrative charge of
small districts. Hoysala administrative officers
adopted the Cola and Pandya designations of

1. P. S. I. 667 and 193 and 179 of 21 .

 45

Nādātvār, Tennavaraiyar or Tennavadaraiyar¹

(administrative officers in the Pandya country were
given this title), Pallavaraiyara and Gańgādiarayar.3
An officer at Kambayanallur (Salem district) was
designated Viranulamban ; 4 either because of his
Nulamba extraction or because he was in charge of a
district in the Nulamba country. A record from
Tirumaņañjēri mentions the Ettukudi araiyars or
the araiyars belonging to eight clans of the adjoining
village of Nelveli in the Tanjore district. The
araiyars of this clan were allied with those ofAlumbil
in the neighbourhood, from whom the present ruling
house of Tondaimāns of Pudukkottai trace their
descent. Nadāļvars were also generals in enjoyment
of lands which were tax free in consideration of their
6
public services .

The officers of the royal household in the Tamil

capital of Kannanur bore the designations given to
the same class of officers in Cola and Pandya royal
households. A Sulamangalam record refers to the
agapparivāram ' or the personal entourage of Vira
Rāmanātha. There is also mention of mudalis 8-
officers attached either to the king or the great
dandanāyakas.

While a good number of Hoysala records in the

Tamil country refer to the royal order as ōlai, some

1. 269 of 26 ; 566 of 93 ; 5. P. S. 1. 668 .

158 and 159 of 09 . 6. 280 of 23 .
2. 222 of 28 . 7. 560 of 21 .
3. 10 of 00. 8. cf. 29 of 00.
4. 9 of 00 .
 46

others call it rājasam or rāyasam. This is one of the

terms that got into the vocabulary of the Tamil
records of this period. The royal orders were often
inscribed both on stone and on copper plates .
There are two other designations, Śrīkarana¹
(chief accountant) and Sēna bōva (accountant.)
The Army. It is not clear whether the Hoysalas
recruited soldiers from the Tamil martial races, such
as the Kallars, the Maravars, and the Kaikkōļārs.
A certain Dēsaya Nayaka is mentioned as the general
of the Valangai forces. The veterans were designated
3
garudas or bhērundas. They were men who could be
trusted to lay down their lives for the king, and
corresponded to the storm troops or shock brigades
of modern armies. An inscription from Śivapuri
(Tanjore district) indicates that in the Hoysaļa army,
at any rate in the early years of their Tamil
campaigns, there were numerous mercenaries who,
while not actually engaged in warfare, carried out the
biddings of ruffians, who paid them to commit acts of
violence and harass the local population.

One thing that stands out in the Hoysala

campaigns in the south is their outstanding skill in
strategy. Mudigondan, Kollegāl, Adhamkōttai,
Hosûr and Vinnamangalam were important places on
the defensive line to the north of the Tamil country
running from the plateau of Mysore to Kāñci and the
sea. Kõttaiyūr, Peraiyūr, and Tirumayyam were
1. cf. 15 of 12 . 3. cf. 349 of 19 .
2. cf. 30 of 37. 4. 279 of 27 .
 47

likewise of importance in the defensive line offortresses

from Tiruppattūr to Arantāngi between Pandimanda-
lam and Colamandalam and Kongumandalam.
The selection of Kannanur as the southern capital
was dictated by considerations of strategy, and when
this town was lost, Tiruvannamalai was chosen as the
capital for the same reason. Mannārgudi formed a
convenient base for operations against the Kadavas
and Pandyas. There is a tradition, that the Hoysalas
built a fort at Mannārgudi, and that the present
hamlet of Mēlavāśal was called after its western gate .

Kannanūr. We may make a passing reference

to Kannanûr, the Hoysala capital in the south.
Situated to the north of the Coleroon, it is irrigated
by the Periyavalavan channel, and marks the
boundary between the fertile deltaic districts and the
rich area of dry lands stretching as far as north Vellār
and the Penņār valleys. Its proximity to the famous
temples of Śrīrangam, which the Hoysalas held in
great reverence for its association with Śrī
Rāmānuja, and Tiruvānaikkōvil was another conside-
ration in its favour. Its situation was of strategic
importance, and from it one could control not only
the Cola country, but direct operations against the
Kādava country of Milādu and Tondaimandalam in
the east and north, Pandimandalam in the south
and the Kongu country in the west. In thedays ofthe
early Colas, the Irukkuvēļ rulers had a fort here, from
which they controlled parts of Malanādu. Sōmēśvara
named the town Vikramapura. The fort must have

1. Inscriptions of Madras Presidency.

 48

been of formidable dimensions. There is still a bund,

a mile long with traces of a moat visible. Part
of the surrounding ramparts is on the road to
Mannachanallur. Stones of this extensive fort and the
temple within it were freely used in the 19th century
to build the bridges over the Coleroon and the
Kāvēri. In the local Śellāyī temple there are still some
detached inscribed stones, on which one could read
Hoysaļa birudas. The Poysaļēśvaram is now practically
in ruins except for the central shrine and the front
mantapams , and so is the fine tank in front of it.
Stones from this temple were used to build a mosque.
The fort must have extended much beyond the
Mahākāļikudi temple to the south of the channel,
since the temple of Kali or Durgā, a goddess specially
set up as a guardian deity of forts, must have been
built within the fort area. There are some vestiges
of Jain bastis or monasteries. In the prākāra of the
Māriyammankōvil, which was built early in the 18th
century by Vijayaranga Cokkanātha Nayak, the
platforms of the cloister have been built over stones
which bear the simha lāñcanam of the Jains. This
' city of victory ' first fell into the hands of Maravar-
man Kulaśēkhara and then into those of the Muslims,
from whom it was wrested by the Vijayanagar general,
Kampaņa Udayār. It continued to be an important
strategic town till the 18th century, when it was the
scene of some important engagements in the Carnatic
wars .

Code of Warfare. While we are on the subject of

the army it will not be out of place to examine
whether the Hoysala campaigns followed the estab
 49

lished Hindu canons of warfare. Some inscriptions

attribute to the Hoysalas acts which are prima facie
outrageous or, at any rate, unchivalrous. The treatment
accorded to combatants and non-combatants has
differed in different times. In the dim past of
antiquity the parties fought with a desire to extirpate
the foe. In the Ramayana and the Mahābhārata,
however, we have a crystallised code of Rājadharma,
which laid down humane rules of warfare.
Unlimited violence was forbidden ; extirpation of
the foe and the utter ruination of his country were
considered adharma. “ Nasannipātahkartavyah
sāmānye vijaye sati " , says the Mahābhārata. 1
“ Ekasyanāparādhēna lōkānhantum tvamarhasi " -
' slay not the unoffending people for the gilt of one
3
man ', says Rāma to Laksmana. 2 Kautilya does
not countenance incendiarism as a means of destroy-
ing the enemy. The old scholastics in their treatises
on Polity have provided for the following exceptions.
They permitted a king to seize provisions for his
army from the enemy's country, when he is
encamped there, by appropriating the crops, or
to destroy the lands or crops so that they may not
be of use to the enemy. Taking of booty in the
course of campaigns was permitted ; the booty
might include chariots, horses, elephants, umbrellas,
riches, grains, cows, women, stores and rare treasures. 4
The famous Tiruvēndipuram record tells us that

1. Śāntiparva 103-13 . 4. Manu VII, 96-97.

2. Aranyakanda 65-6 . 5. 142 of 02 ,

3. Artha śāstra p. 406.

7
 50

Gõpaya and Appana, who were sent out to release

the imprisoned Rāja Rāja Cola III, stormed and
sacked forts, burned the crops, destroyed the port-
towns and captured the wealth and women of the
enemy. Destruction of the port towns was a
necessary precaution against reinforcements coming
from Ceylon to the aid of the Kādava rebel ; the
devastation of the country was probably to isolate the
enemy at Sendamangalam, and make it difficult for
him to procure supplies and ultimately compel him
to sue for peace.

In 1226 A.D. the soldiers of Hoysala Narasimha II

entered the temple of Tiruvadatturai and tried to
carry away to Dvārasamudra the images of the gods
1
and goddesses and the Nāyanmārs. This was a
deliberate act of plunder. There are precedents for
such acts. When Pallava Narasimhavarma sacked
Vātāpi, the Cāļukya capital, his famous general,
who is known to the Tamil world as Siruttondan,
carried away idols of Ganapati, and installed them at
Tiruccengättangudi and Pugalur, where they are
worshipped to this day as Vātāpi Ganapati. The
Höttür inscriptions of Rāja Rāja I and the historical
introduction in the praśasti of Māravarman Sundara
Pandya I afford further instances of the removal of
images. Medieval States in South India were
equally guilty with modern states in Europe in the
matter of violating international codes and subjecting
symbols of religion and works of art to the risks
of war.

1. 228 of 29 ,
 51

A Kōttaiyūr record speaks of the impoverish-

ment of the village caused by the oppressive levies of
the Kannadiyar. The temple treasury has often
served as the reserve bank on which villagers might
draw in times of difficulty. The record laments that
even the temple treasury had been drained, and there
was nothing for these poor people to do but to
2

emigrate. Tiruppattur, not very far away from

Kōttaiyūr, experienced still greater troubles. Hoysaļa
occupation threw the place into such utter disorder,
that lawless mobs broke into the temple treasury and
stole away the money deposited in it, and in the
course of their nefarious act they even slaughtered
the priests. When conditions became settled, the
village assembly confiscated the lands belonging to
the miscreant . Hoysalas levied contributions from
the villages to maintain their garrisons. Here is an
echo from the past of the conditions now prevailing
in countries occupied by the occupation armies of
the victors.

Administration of Justice. In the Cola and

Pandya times, local assemblies tried ordinary cases
with or without the co-operation of the administrators
of the nadu ; only extraordinary cases were taken to
the King's court. There are some interesting cases
on record, which were tried by the Hoysaļa kings or
their ministers. At Kamarasavalli³ (Udayārpāļaiyam
taluk) Sōmēśvara inquired into a dispute between the

1. P. S. I. 310.
2. 170 of 30 .
3. 94 of 14,
 52

temple trustees and a local resident regarding

the ownership of the village of Vannam, also called
Madhurāntakanallur, and decided in favour of the
temple.

A dispute between the Saivaite and Vaisnavaite

1
priests of Tirumayyam (Pudukkottai State)
deserves more than a passing mention. It was
adjudicated by a special tribunal composed of the
nādu, representing the towns and villages of the
district , the samayamantris or royal priests, ordinary
priests ofboth the sects belonging to Tirumayyam and
the important temples of the neighbouring districts,
and the araiyars or local administrators, and
presided over by the Hoysala general Appaņa
Dandanāyaka. The share of the produce of the
temple lands was in dispute, and daily worship in
both the temples had been suspended. The tribunal
carefully scrutinised the old records and accounts,
and made the following award. The net produce
of the temple lands, after payment of all revenue
dues, was divided between the Siva and Visņu temples
in the ratio of 2 : 3 , the dēvadāna and tiruvidaiyāttam
lands were so redistributed that no plot belonging to
one temple should be surrounded by the lands of the
other. It was ordered that a partition wall, the
position and dimensions of which were specified,
should be put up between the two shrines, each party
contributing its share of the expenses in proportion

1. P. S. I. 340-341 . Extract from the author's

A Manual of Pudukkottai State, Vol. II, Part I,
pp. 648-9.
 53

to the taxes that it paid. The tank on the eastern

side of the Visņu shrine was allotted to it, with the
proviso that the water should be baled out, and that
any Saivaite or Vaisnavaite image found thrown into
it during the dispute, was to be installed in the
proper temple, and all the other valuable finds were
to be divided between the parties in proportion to the
taxes that each paid. The well inside the entrance
of the Śiva temple was declared to be its property,
and a similar appropriation of anything found when
baling out the water was ordered. The house sites
adjoining the temples, and the lands and gardens
that they held in common were apportioned between
the Saivaites and Vaisnavaits, and all the lands that
had been forfeited to the community in consequence
of their owners' default in payment of taxes were
assigned to both the templs, with the stipulation
that they should enjoy the produce in equal shares.
Provision was made for the separate remuneration
of drummers in the two temples. An interesting
feature of the award was the direction that old
inscriptions relating to prior grants superseded by
the new award, including one in an unknown script
and language, were to be obliterated, and that all
other inscriptions relating to one temple but found
in the other were to be copied and reinscribed in the
proper temple. Violation o this order was made
punishable with a heavy cash fine payable to the
king.

Corresponding to the common law in England,

were the smritis in India ; and jurists interpreted
these smritis, much of which were not codified.
 54

While a local administator or judge would give

judgment in accordance with some established
custom or known precedents, the king who is con-
sidered as the source and fountain of justice, could
dispense what we may term ' natural justice '. This
prerogative the king could delegate to his supreme
judges . Decisions in the royal courts in India were
rather analogous to those of the Court of Chancery
in England and perhaps also to the old Praetorial
courts in Rome. A decision of the kind, we have
just described, reads like the application of the
English Chancery law or the Jus Praetorium in
ancient Rome. The decision is characterised by
equity neither opposed to nor superseding the
common law of the smriti or the sampradāya, but
rationalising it. The relief that the parties got is an
illustration of the well-known maxim that aequitas
is aequalitas .
Local Government : The Hoysalas fostered the
local administrative bodies such as the ur, the sabhā,
the nagaram and the nādu ; and did not carry out any
change worth mentioning either in their constitution
or their functions. From an examination of Hoysala
records in the Tamil country so far published, one
cannot escape the impression that during these
centuries the sabhās were more prosperous than
the ūrs. Where a village had both an ür
and a sabhā, joint sessions of the two assemblies
were common, but the ūr was often overshadowed
by the sabhā. The creation of agarams for Brahmins
designated caturvēdimań jalams, where learned Brah-
mins were invited to dwell, was considered an act of
 55

piety ; and inscriptions tell us of agarams or caturvēdi-

mangalams founded by and named after Hoysala
monarchs and their dandanāyakas. One of these was
founded near Tiruvānaikōvil', and was named Posala
Vīra Narasimha Caturvēdimangalam ; and another in
the Tinnevelly district named Śrī Posala Vīra
Sōmīśvara Caturvēdimangalam . At least four such
garams were named after Perumala and his descen-
dants, who later became the chiefs of Dannāyakan-
kōttai, Rāhuttarāyanallūrs near Erode, Madhava-
caturvēdimangalam near Sangrāmanallūr, Śitagara-
gandanallūrs near Avanāśi, and Ŝingananallūr
(Pongalūr near Tirupati).
As was usual in Cola and Pandya times the local
assemblies endowed charities in their own name and
managed them, tried offenders, imposed penalties on
8
them, and co-operated with the king's officers in the
9
administration of justice. We shall revert to the
nagarams later.

Here and there in the Tamil inscriptions of the

Hoysaļas we find the expression mahājans' used in
the place of the Tamil expression perumakkal, the
elders of the village or the nadu. Perhaps the
mahājans included the entire adult population of the
village or the nādu who were qualified to vote. The

1. 118 of 37 . 6. T D. Records 102.

2. 156 of 94 . 7. Cf. 582 of 08, 141 of 10.
3. 583 of 05 . 8. 170 of 36 .
4. 158 of 09 . 9. P. S. I. 340 and 341 .
5. 189 of 09. 10. Cf. 158 of 09.
 56

members of the nagaram or theassembly of merchants

or artizan guilds were designated in Kannada
epigraphs nakharas.

Revenue, Taxation, Etc.: References in Hoysala

Tamil records to service eleemosynary tenures,-Dēva-
danam, Tirunāmattukāni, Tiruvidaiyātțam, Brahma-
dēyam and Mādappuram endowments, Kārāņmai and
Mīyātci rights and communal ownership to lands,
and cesses and octroi duties-show that their revenue
administration and system of taxation in the Tamil
provinces did not differ from those of the Colās and
Pandyas. Occasionally the king felt the need to
revise the taxes fixed by the local assemblies. At
Uttattūr¹ (Trichinopoly district) Vīra Rāmanātha
revised the rates of ādiraippattam or the tax on sheep
and cattle, and fixed a uniform annual rate for all
the eight subdivisions of the Urrattur nādu, at 10
kāśu for every sheep, 30 kāśu for every cow and 100
for every buffalo. Cattle belonging to temples
were exempted. The weavers of Nattamāngudi
near Lālgudi and of Kandarādittam 3 were unable
to pay the taxes on looms at the rates fixed, and
unable to withstand the pressure of the tax collectors,
threatened to emigrate. On a report made by Ravi
dēva Dandanāyaka, Vīra Rāmanātha issued a royal
order reducing the tax on looms to 8 kāśu per month .
4

An inscription from Tiruvāśi, north of Srirangam,

records that Sōmēśvara looked into the revenue

1. 527 of 12. 3. 203 of 29 .

2. 152 of 29 , 4. 34 of 91 .
 57

accounts and fixed the amount of paddy to be paid

into the Kottāram or palace granary after allotting
the shares to holders of Brahmadēyam lands and to
the nattārs . The record closes with the king's order
that no wet land should be left uncultivated .
A Tiruvānaikkōvil record¹ gives details of income in
paddy from different kinds of lands endowed as
dēvadānam, which show how perfectly the revenue
accounts were kept. A new tax called Vallāļavari
2
was levied during the reign of Ballala III.

A record from Tiruvānaikkōvil 3 mentions an

instance of heavy floods in the Kāvērī,-obviously
the Coleroon is meant here,-causing extensive
breaches to the bunds and conequent flooding
and silting up of the wet lands in the villages
of Kannanur, Narasingamangalam, Sengāvūr and
Ottanūr. The breaches were repaired in the
25th year of Sōmēśvara (1258), and the lands
were reclaimed . There are references to other
irrigation repairs, for example to the madhurāntaka-
pērēri at Alambākkam, and to the famous
Pallava well at Tiruvellarai, which had suffered
damage from neglect and floods. The proceeds
of the sale of fish were allotted as an endow-

1. 124 of 37 .
2. T. D. Inscription of Tiruvēńkațanātha. G. T. 11 .
3. 122 of 37 .
4. 713 of 09 .
5. 542 of 15 .
 58

ment for the proper maintenance of an irrigation

tank at Vinnamangalam (North Arcot district).
Trading Corporations . Among the nagarams or
merchant guilds, mentioned in Hoysala records, is
a guild of vaiśya vāņiya nagarattar, who undertook
to contribute to the temple at Dannāyakankōttai
a fixed annual amount out of the proceeds of certain
commodities such as textiles, yarn, pepper, arecanut,
salt, grains and horses. Sāhala Bhatta, a member
of the community of Paradēśi Sāvāsi merchants, 3
made an endowment to the Sri Ranganātha temple
in the reign of Vira Ramanatha. The Sāvāsis
are sometimes identified with the Saha-a class
of merchants at Deogiri or Daulatabad mentioned
4

in Ibn Battuta's memoirs. These were called Śo -po

by Fa-Hien. 5 The most important corporation of
merchant guilds in this period was the famous guild
of the Nānādēśi- tiśaiāyirattuaiññārruvar. They had
their origin at Aihole or Ayyāvale in the North
Kanara country, and were for long known as the
500 Svāmis of Aihole.' They obtained charters from
the rulers of all the royal dynasties of the Deccan and
South India from about the 6th or 7th century to
about the 15th century. They gradually spread all
over the south, and eventually controlled the entire

1. 23 of 99 .
2. 442 of 06 .
3. 70 of 37 .

4. K. A. N. Sastri : Foreign Notices of South India, p. 227.

5. ibid p. 71 .
 59

internal and external trade of South India. They

claim to have been honoured by 500 vīraśasanas or
edicts describing their valour, maintained a regular
army divided into several battalions,-mummudidandas
or munai vīras, erivīras etc. They called themselves
the protectors of the Vira Balañja dharma, or code
of mercantile laws and usuages, and exercised the
right of conferring special privileges on certain cities
and.towns, the nagarams of which were affiliated to
them. The towns that came under their protection
were named after one or other of their surnames .
Dvārasamudra, Bēlūr and Arsikere were some of
their important centres. Arsikere was called the
southern Ayyavale.¹ Members of this corporation
hailed from 18 towns (padinenbhūmi or padinen-
vişayam) and 79 districts, and from thousand direc-
tions in different countries (nānādēśīya tiśaiāyiram).
To a Mudigondan record we owe the interesting
information that there were 18 towns under their
protection situated to the north of the Kāvēri, and
18 others to the south of it ; and Mudigondan
(Coimbatore district) belonged to the latter group.
One of their edicts, which related to agricultural
corporations, was called the Citramēli śāsanam, and
citramēli nādus or agricultural districts were formed
and fostered by the central corporation. They
took under their protection manigramams and
other nagarams, and brought under their purview

1. E. C. V. Arsikere 77 .
2. 3 of 10.
 60

almost the entire production of grains and raw

materials and their transport, and also the
entire import and export trade. The Nānādēśis
were men of honour, as they claimed to be in
their elaborate birudas, and spent a large share of
their profits in works of charity distributed without
distinction of religion or sect. Christian churches in
the West Coast, Jaina, Saiva and Vaisnava temples,
monasteries and feeding houses benefited by their
philanthropy. The temples within the Hoysala
kingdom, that received endowments from this
Corporation, included the Maņalīśvara temple
and Nārāyaņa Perumal temple at Mudigondan
also called Dēśi-uyyakkonda- cōlapattinam, after the
designation Nānādēśi. According to an Adhamkōttai
record, dated in the 15th year of Sōmēśvara
(1247-8 Α. D.), the members of this corpo-
ration remitted certain dues from all the temples in
the Tagadainādu and the Puramalainādu to secure
merit for the king and Somaya. The temple at
Kambayanallūr³ (Salem district) is called in the
inscriptions Dēśināthēśvara temple, probably because
it was built and endowed by the Nanādēsis. The
Visņu temple at Paruttipalli, which was endowed
by the Citramēļināttār, was given the name of
Citramēlivinņagaram . Contemporary Cola and

1. 3, 11 , and 17 of 10.
2. 205 of 10 ; also 94 of 14 .
3. 9 of 00 .
4. 150 and 152 of 15.
 61

Pandya records mention towns associated with this

corporation, and their endowments, but the scope of
this paper does not allow a detailed examination of
these records. 1

Śivāyam or Śivapādaśēkharam-to give its correct

name, -at the foot of the Ratnagiri in the Kuļitalai
taluk, was a nagaram, the merchants of which made
gifts to the temple on the hill, 2 and were once
co-opted with the king's officers in checking the
accounts of the temple.
By reason of its situation and its importance as
a Hoysala capital Kannanur was an entrepot and
rivalled Dvārasamudra. We hear of horse dealers
from Malamandalam (Malabar) 3 visiting Kannanūr.
One ofthem made an endowment to the Srirangam
temple in the reign of Ramanātha. A Mysore
record, dated 1255 A.D., mentions a famous Malayāļa
merchant at Sōmēśvara's court . His daughter
Candavve received from the king the title of Gana-
kumāri. This merchant of the Mysore record was
perhaps one of those who visited the southern capital
of the Hoysalas and made gifts to the Srirangam
temple.
Marco Polo and the Mussalman chroniclers inclu-
ding Wassaf, Ibn-e-Rusta (c. 900 A. D.), Sulaiman

1. The matter has been discussed in the author's paper

' More about the Aiññūrrvar ' (Oriental Conference;
Tirupati session), and a revised and enlarged
account on the subject is under preparation.
2. 44 of 13 . 4. E. C. V. Arsikere 108 ,
3. 67 and 74 of 92 .
 62

(C. 850 A. D.) and Abu Zaid (C. 950 A. D.) have
described at length the extensive trade in Arab
horses that were carried on under the rule of the
Colas and Pandyas and other South Indian dynasties.
The horses must have been in demand in the canton-
ments which maintained strong forces of cavalry.
Hoysala records' make frequent references to
merchants of Brahmin descent, who carried on trade
in horses, elephants and pearls, and in the words of
one of these records, ' transported goods from the
east to the west and from the north to the south
and vice-versa. ' Other records refer to Brahmin
merchants who were members of the Aiññūrrūvar
corporation.

A study of Hoysala coins, most of which were

minted and circulated in the Kannada country, is
beyond the purview of our present investigation.
Tamil records of the Hoysalas frequently mention the
kāśu A record from Kancia of the 25th year of
Kulõttunga III registers a gift of ten Bhujabala
mādai to the Aruļāļa Perumal temple by a merchant
of Pulal in the Hoysala country. The madai was
more popularly known as pon, and was a gold coin

1. E. C. V. Arsikere 22 .
The social system during this period does not seem to
have been very rigid. Brahmins also served in the
army. The Dandanāyakas of Dannāyakankōttai were
Brahmins, and even Brahmin scholars and priests
were honoured with the military rank and title of
Brahmādirāya.
2. 360 of 19 .
 63

equal two gold kāśus. There were also copper kāśus

of lower value. There seems to have been a mint
at Kannanūr¹, since we meet with an endowment to
the Srirangam temple by a member of the mint
establishment in the 7th year (1261 A. D.) of Vira
Rāmanātha.

Religion. From an Akkür (Māyavaram taluk)

record we learn that the idol of Rāja Rāja
Vinnagaram, otherwise called Naduvirkōil, was usually
taken in procession during the Vaikāśi festival to the
tank Anandapuskarani of the Siva temple. The
authorities of the latter objected to the procession
being taken out in the 14th year of Raja Raja III
(1230 A. D.) The kuttapperumakkal of the village
felt that this was not good either for the king or for
the village, and granted land free of taxs for the
construction of a new road to the Kaveri along which
the Visņu image could be taken to the river bank.
We have referred above to the Saiva and Vaisnava
dispute at Tirumayyam. The assembly of Mahēśvaras
atTirukkadaiyūr threatened the members of their
sabhā, who mixed freely with Vaisnavas, with forfeiture
of their property. These instances are typical of the
poison that had begun to vitiate the religious
atmosphere of South India at that time. Barring the
instances of a Cola monarch, who according to
tradition persecuted Śrī Rāmānuja, and the attempt to
remove the image of Govindaraja from the Chidam

1, 257 of 25. 2. 74 of 37 ; A. R. E. 37.

 64

baram temple, there was practically no other instance

ofroyal persecution of any kind either by the Colas
or the Pandyas or the Hoysaļas. It has been said with
acertain amount of pardonable pride that Ballāļa II
and his generals were the supporters of the four
creeds-Māhēśvara, Bauddha, Vaisnava and Arhat.
Candramauli, a famous Hindu minister, who made
liberal grants to the Visnu temple at Kāñchi, had
a Jaina wife, Accāmbike, who, for her part, endowed
Jaina bastis. Devoted Vaisnava rulers built new
temples to Śiva and endowed many old ones.
Vaisnavaism. It may be said that the Hoysalas.
more than any other ruling house, made a distinct
contribution to the spread of the Vaisnava move-
ment in South India. The first great service of the
Hoysalas was to give a safe asylum in their dominion
to Sri Ramanuja, who lived there for about twelve
years, converted Bittiga into Vaisnavism and helped
in the establishment of a number of temples, feeding
houses, and other charitable works of public utility.
Mention may be made of the astagrāma or the eight
Vişnu shrines on both banks of the Kāvēri, including
the temple at Seringapatam, the Sampatkumāra
temple at Melkõte and the Vijayanārāyaņa temple
at Belür. The great tank, Tirumalasāgara, at
Tonnūr still stands as a monument to Śrī Rāmānuja's
ministration to the people of the Hoysala country.
Families of eminent Tamil scholars settled in the
Hoysala country to spread the tenets of the
Vaisnava cult and to supervise the monasteries and
other religious institutions Among them were the
 65

Bhattars, the Hebbars, the Nallancakravartis, the

Tātācāryas, far-famed for their scholarship, and the
Kadāmbiyans, in which family was later born Sri
Adi Vanśatagōpa Jiyar, the founder of the Ahōbila
Matham.

In the pontifical line of the Bhāsya or the

Samskrit or the northern school of Vaisnavas, later
known popularly as the Vadakalais, Kurukēśa of the
Tātācārya family and Visnucitta lived in Srirangam,
but Varadācārya or Nadādūr Ammal made
Kāñci the centre of this school of Vaisnavas. His
presence at Kāñci was responsible for Hoysala
kings and their officers making endowments to Śrī
Varadarāja Perumal. Appillar, was the next ācārya,
and his famous successor was Venkatanātha, better
known as Vēdānta Dēśika, who even during his life
time won the well- merited birudas-kavitārkika simha
or 'lion among poets and dialecticians ' and Śarva-
tantrasvatantra or ' the master of all knowledge '. It
was during the term of Vedānta Dēśika's office that
Ballāļa III camped at Kāñci, and honoured great
scholars.

The early acāryas of the Prabandha or the

southern school were later called the Tenkalais .
Embār, a cousin of Śrī Rāmānuja, and Mudaliyāndān,
one of his nephews, and Kidāmbi Accān supervised
the construction of temples in the Hoysala country,
and conferred certain privileges on the Vaisnavas of
the village of Saligrama. The Hoysala country gave
to Srirangam, the then spiritual capital of the
9
 66

Vaisnava world, the scholar Madhava Sūri or

Ranganātha Muni, popularly called Nañjīyar,¹ whose
work the Nine thousand, embodying the esoteric
doctrines of the Prabandha school, formed the basis
for the later redactions, the Twenty four thousand of
Periya Accân Pillai, and the Thirty six thousand or the
Idu ofhis successor Krsnapāda. Pillailōkācārya, who
bravely perished in his attempt to remove the image of
Alagiya Manavāļa of Srirangam to a place of safety
during the Mussalman raid of 1327 A. D., lived in
Srirangam when the town was under Hoysala rule.
During this raid Vedanta Dēśika escaped with the
rare manuscript of Śrutaprakāśika, a commentary on
Śrī Rāmānuja's Śrī Bhāsya, which was one of the
most authoritative scriptures of this sect, and took
shelter at Satyamangalam, which was then under
Hoysaļa rule.

Hoysala endowments to the great Vaisnava

temples of the South deserve some attention. When
Narasimha II camped near Śrīrangam, Śrī Rāma
Bhatta, son of a great Vaisnava teacher of Kuruhā-
pura, proficienti n mantric lore, and priest in charge of
the Tirukkuļalūdina pillai or Venugopala temple at
Haļēbid consecrated by the Hoysala queen Umādēvi,
visited Śrīrangam, and endowed lands to thetemple,

1. A. Srinivāsa Rāghavan has conclusively established the

identity of Ranganatha Muni with Madhava Sūri,
who after his conversion to the Vaisnava faith, came
to be known as Nañjiyar. (Preface to his edition of
Śri Sūkta with Nañjiyar's commentary.)
2. 69 of 37.
 67

and, it is believed, was also instrumental in

consecrating a shrine to Venugopala in the Srirangam
temple. The image of Sri Venugopala in the fifth
prākāra of the temple with the surrounding sculptures
and figurines, is unmistakably a product of Hoysala
art.¹ High up on the gopuram in the middle of the
East Cittirai street, formerly called the Kaliyugarāman
tiruvīdi is engraved the gandabhērunda, a Hoysala
emblem. The latticed window of the gõpuram and
some other features are typical of Hoysala archi-
tecture. This gõpuram was begun in the time
of Narasimha, and was completed by Jatā-
varman Vira Pandya during his occupation of
Srirangam. Vīra Pandya's surname Kaliyugarāman 2

is also engraved on the gõpuram. The Kõviloļugu

ascribes to Vira Narasimha the erection of the
platform and mantapam in front of the shrine to god
Narasimha. During the reign of Somēśvara, his
queen Devala Devi made a gift for a sandi in her
name, and his aunt Somala Devi a gift of 1,00,000
kāśu for the maintenance offlower gardens. Kamalā
Devi queen of Vira Ramanātha, her sister Cikka
Somaļā and her daughters, and Ponnambala Dēvi,
sister of Vira Rāmanātha, figure among the donors in
the next reign. Rāmanātha's pradhāni, Mandalika

1. ARE. 37. Report .

2. 98 of 37 ; A. R. B. 1921-11 . 21 .
3. 54 of 92 .
4. 72 of 37 .
5. 62, 64, 65 of 37 .
6. 57 of 92 .
:
 68

Yamarājan Kampaya Dandanāyaka, lavished gifts on

this temple ; the shrines to Paravāsudēva in Āļinādān
west prakāra, Sudarśana and Laksmi Nārāyana,
a
number of manțapams and porches are
attributed to him. His name is inscribed on the
pillars of the western porch of the thousand pillared
mantapam. His elder brother Kariyamāņikka Danda-
nāyaka¹ also made his contribution to the pious
endowments of Kampaya. An endowment of
outstanding importance was the establishment of a
hospital within the temple by Mahapradhani Singana
Dandanāyaka. The physician in charge was Garuda-
vahana Pandita, the minister's private physician, and
the village of Mummudicōlamangalam near Lālgudi
was granted for the maintenance of this charity.
This ārōgyaśālai was damaged during the Muslim
raid, and the grandson of Garudavāhana Pandita
repaired it in 1493 A.D., and installed an image of
Danvantari which is worshipped even to-day.
Jatāvarman Sundara Pandya, who captured
Srirangam, covered part of the temple vimānams
with gold, and otherwise enriched the temple
coffers. The pious stream of Hoysala gifts grew
in volume with the contributions of others who
came to Srirangam either as conquerors as
Jaţāvarman Sundara Pandya did, or as pilgrims
or merchants. We have already referred to gifts by

1. Kõviloļugu pp. 16-17 ; and 114 of 38 .

2. 80 of 37 .
3. 81 of 37 .
 69

merchants, and shall mention one interesting gift

before we take leave of this holy shrine. A certain
Sokka Villi Bhatta, who bore the proud title of
Šakala vidyā cakravarti, and was the recipient of a
head-gear inlaid with rubies and a pair of chowris
with golden handles from Vīra Pandya, visited
Srirangam in the 15th year of Vira Ramanātha, and
offered all these precious gifts at the feet of God
1
Ranganatha.

Next to Srirangam, comes Tirupati in the pious

estimation of the Vaisnavas. Śrī Rāmānuja paid
frequent visits to Tirupati, built a temple in the town
at the foot of the hills, and thoroughly reorganised the
conduct of worship and festivals in all the temples.
He gave to Tirupati its present Vaisnava chracter ;
and in this great work, if tradition may be relied, he
had the help of the Hoysala Vişnuvardhana and his
successor Ballāļa II. We have authenticated records
of the connection of the Hoysalas with Tirupati
during the rule of Ballala III. Ballala's famous
minister, Mahāpradhäni Singaya Dandanāyaka,
instituted a festival in the month of Adi, and food
offerings at a sandi called Śitagaragandan' after one of
his surnames, and established a matham called the
Śitagaragandan matha for the daily feeding of thirty-
two Vaisnavas together with a water-shed and flower
gardens on the hill. The village of Pongalür which
was renamed Singananallur was given as a sarva-
mānyam. It was stipulated that any money that

1. 52 of 92 .
 70

was left after meeting the expenses of these charities

should be devoted to other charitable purposes as the
stānattar of Tirumalai might decide. Perhaps the
greatest of Ballāļa's services to the Tirupati temple
was the immunity that he succeeded in giving it from
the depradations of the Muslims in the first half of
the 14th century.

We then come to Kāñci. Numerous records 2

between 1217 and 1240 A. D. relate to gifts ofvillages,
cattle and gold, flower gardens and lamps made to
Arulāļa or Varadarāja Perumal by Hoysala danda-
nāyakas including such eminent officers as Dandina
Göpa Gopaya, Kēśava, Mallaya, Pōlālvi Mādaya and
Vallaya.
During one of his visits to Kāñci, Ballāļa III
presented to the god a throne called Vīra Vallāļan
under a canopy called Ariyanaivallan placed in the
abhiṣēkamanțapam. The king was seated with
his consorts, and in the presence of the processional
image of Śrī Varadarāja,conferred gifts on deserving
scholars and temple servants. Among the recipients
of honours was Kadambi Cettu Narasinga Bhattar,
who received certain special privileges and a house.
An investiture of some importance to the Vaisnava
community was the conferment of the title of
Brahmatantra Svatantra Jiyar (or ' the saint who

1. T. D. Insc. 99-102 .
2. cf. 366, 369, 397, 404, 408, 611, 612, 615, 617 of 19 ;
39 of 20 .
3. 572-574 of 19 .
 71

was proficient in Vedāntic lore ') on Vaisnavadāsa.

The king directed that a matha should be established
for him with lands for its maintenance ; and ordered
that for his propagation of Rāmānujadarśana or the
teachings of Rāmānuja, this Jiyar and his disciples
must be held in honour by Vaisnava devotees of all
communities. Brahmatantra svatantra, a worthy
comtemporary of Vedanta Dēśika, was one of his
successors, but he lived mostly in Tirupati.
Ālagarkōvil in the south is another shrine of
established sanctity ; and reference has already been
made to Sōmēśvara's gift of the village of Tirukkōtți-
yur for the conduct of worship in this temple.
Two dandanāyakas of Narasimha II-Gōpaya and
Appaņa, made endowments to the shrine at Tiruvēndi-
puram¹ which to the Vadakalai sect has the
additional sanctity of its association with Vedanta
Dēśika. Hoysala charities to smaller Vişnu temples
included the renovation of the Varadarāja temple
at Alambakkam and gifts to the temples at Mēlür 3
(Trichinopoly district) and Madhavacaturvēdi-
mangalam now called Tiruppattur (North Arcot
district.)

Saivism. Three streams of Śaiva philosophy and

rituals flowed into the Tamil country before the 10th
century ; one was the school of pure devotion and
self surrender to the Lord's grace of the Nāyanmār ;

1. E. I. VII , p. 161 . 3. 407 of 24.

2. 713 of 09.
 72

the second was the āgama school largely infiuenced

by the Pratyabhijña school of Kashmir, and the third
that of the followers of the Lakulisa Samaya-the
Pāśupatas and Kālamukhas who rose to prominence at
Tiruvorriyūr even during the Pallava period, and at
Alambakkam, Kodumbālūr and other places in the
south. The Pāśupata sects established mathams all
over the land from Cedi and Malwa in the north to the
Tamil country in the south. The mystic Meykaņdār
wrote his treatise Śiva Ñānabōdam on the philosophy
of Saivism, which was based to some extent on the
Pratyabhijña system.He was followed by Arunandi,
who wrote the Śiva-ñānaśittiyār. These two

form the chief scriptures of Śaivite metaphysics .

Nambi Andar Nambi, a contemporary of Rāja Rāja I
and Rājēndra I arranged the Saiva canon. All these
together formed the Tirujñānam comprising the
hymns sung in temples, and the theological canons
expounded by Saiva teachers.

Every temple had a matham where

these scriptures were taught. The monks of
these mathams were often associated with the
trustees in the management of temples, and were
collectively known as māhēśvaras. Hoysala records
mention some of these temple mathams, the Śangama
dēvar matham¹ attached to the Sangamēśvara temple
near Tiruvānaikkōvil, the Kākkunāyakan matham at
Tirupparāitturai, one at Vīrasōmīśvara Caturvēdi

1. 5 of 38. 2. 582 of 08 .
 78

mangalam¹ in Murappunādu (Tinnevelly district) and

the Elunūrruvantirumatham of Sivapādaśēkharam
or Sivāyam.

Side by side with these temple mathams

flourished also ths Kalamukha mathams, which had
such a large circle of disciples from all over the
country as to merit the designation Lakṣādyāyi
applied to them. One of these Laksādyāyi mathams
was the Golaki matham founded by Sadbhava Sambu
in the Dahala country. A great ācārya in this
santhānam or lineage was Viśvēśvara Sivācārya, the
spiritual preceptor of the Kākatīya ruler Ganapati.
He gave to this order an elaborate but wonderfully
efficient organisation, and its branches sprang up all
over the Tamil country. Tiruvānaikkōvil, was one
of its important centres in the south. A record from
the Pudukkottai State refers to the sojourn of
Viśvēśvarācārya at Tiruvānaikōvil, and the grant
of the village of Kumāramangalam in the State to
the Laksādhyāyi Gōlaki Bhiksā matham at
Tiruvānaikkōvil. This inscription (dated 1240 A.D.)3
though not dated in the regnal years of either
Somēśvara or Vira Rāmanātha, is a record of this
period ; and Kumāramangalam was for many years
included in the Hoysala territory during the reigns of
these two sovereigns. Tatpurusa Sivācārya-a

1. 435 of 06 . 3. P. S. I. 196 .
2. 179 of 14 .
10
 74

disciple of Swami Devar, who bore the surname

Śaiva Siddhānta Vyākyāta or ' exponent of the Saiva
canons ' got a matham built at Tiruvānaikkōvil by
Vīra Rāmānātha in 1258-9, to which the king
attached tax-free lands. Gautama Rāvalar,2 a

disciple's disciple of Svāmi Devar, bought from the

temple authorities house-sites for building this
matham .

The respect and consideration for Kālamukha

mathams was traditional with the Hoysaļas. Bali-
gami in their home province was a great Kālamukha
centre. Under Hoysala and Calukya patronage the
Kālamukhas had spread all over Karnataka and
established a matham at Haļēbīd presided over by
a line of great scholars including Iśāna Śambhu,
Devendra Pandita and Kalyāņa Sakti Pandita.
Among the Saiva temples in the South associated
with the Hoysalas preference obviously goes to the
Poysalēśvaram at Kannanūr which Sōmēśvara built
to secure merit for his mother, queen Kalāla Devi.3
Naturally royal endowments poured in to enrich this
temple, and the royal donors included Sōmēśvara ,
Ramanātha, Sõmāļa Dēvi and even Rājēndra Cõļa III
and Jațāvarman Sundara Pandya 1 .
The Jambunātha-Akhilāņdēśvarī temple at
Tiruvānaikkōvil received extensive and valuable

1. 21 of 91. The term Svāmi Devar was not the name

of a person but only a designation, rather a form of
address expressive of veneration .
2. 125 of 37 .
3. 18 and 20 of 91 .
 75

endowments from the Hoysalas. Somēśvara built

four shrines to the north of the temple, wherein he
consecrated the lingams¹ Ballālīśvara, Padmātīśvara,
Narasimhēśvara, and Sōmālīśvara, respectively named
after his grandfather, grandmother, father and aunt
(Somaļā Dēvī), and the dānattār of Kannanur, Tiru-
vānaikkōvil and Trichinopoly temples were entrusted
with the management of these shrines and the endow-
ments that they enjoyed. Sōmēśvara completed a
massive gõpuram with seven storeys, which is now the
eastern most one of this temple. It was probably begun
by Māravarman Sundara Pandya I (acc. 1216), but
towards its construction, Sōmēśvara made a liberal
grant; and his record calls the gõpuram , Vīrasōmēśvaran
tirunilaiyēļugõpuram. It is a magnificient structure
in the Pandya style with sculptures of gods and
goddesses that are among the finest specimens of
Tamil art. It is a pity that this monument has not
received at the hands of students of Indian art the
attention that it deserves . The example of the two
royal builders was emulated by officers, citizens
and merchants . A certain Kalavakkür Tyāga
Perumal built and endowed a shrine named Tyāga-
vinōdīśvaram ; 3 Nānasambandar of Karuppūr
built a
shrine for Nataraja 4 (Eduttaruliya
Śrīpādamudaiyar) and Nilakantha Nayakar of
Palapalli the shrine of Pasupatīśvaram in a gōsāla

1. 18 of 91 ; also 119 of 37 .
2. 19 of 91 .
3. 118 of 39 .
4. 25 and 26 of 38 .
 76

now enclosed by the tirumadil of Rājarājēśvaram. The

lingam in the Pasupatīśvaram¹ is a mukha-
lingam with four faces sculptured on it, representing
four aspects of Śiva, Tatpurusa in the east, Aghora
in the south, Vāmadēva in the west, and Sadyōjāta
in the north, while Iśāna, the fifth aspect, which is
formless, is to be conceived on the top.
2
The shrine of Viśvēśvaradēva, probably
named after Viśvēśvara Sivācārya, was an addition
to the Sangamēśvara temple in Viranarasimha-
caturvēdimangalam . The temple to the west of the
Rāmatīrtham tank is referred to in the inscriptions as
Prasannīśvaram 3 or Rājākkalnāyanar (the latter
name is believed to be a surname of Ramanatha).
At Poraśaikkudi, not far from Tiruvanaikkōvil, was
built a tomb with a shrine (Pallippadai) for Sōmalā
Devi. Royal gifts to the shrines at Tiruvānaikkōvil
were chiefly to secure merit for the queens, Kalālā
Dēvi, Sömalā Devi, and Kamalā Dēvi. Sōmēśvara
ordered the celebration of a festival in his name
in māsi, while Somaļā Devi ' gave a large sum of
gold for the purchase of ornaments and jewels for
the gods and goddesses.

1. 4 of 38 .
2. 12 of 38 .
3. 92 of 10.
4. 124 of 37 .
5. 26 of 91 , 120, 122 and 123 of 37 .
6. 121 of 37.
7. 22 of 91 .
 77

Other Hoysala endowments relate to the Muktiś-

varam at Kannanur, and the Siva temples at Peru
Marudur, three miles to the east of Kannanûr,
Tirumalavādi, Mannārgudi, Tirugōkarņam, Sembāttür
and Tirumaņañjēri. Tirumaļavādi¹ has been
considered holy on account of the northward deflec-
tion of the course of the Kāvēri river near the
temple (punalvāyil śrīkōvil). Hoysala kings and
their dandanāyakas liberally provided for the daily
bath of the lingam with water carried from the holy
stream, for flower gardens and daily worship, while
Vallaya Dandanāyaka added a small shrine to the
temple. In the Jayankondar temple at Mannār-
gudi, Vīra Ramanātha instituted a sandi in his
name. Mahāpradhāni Śingana set up an image of
the goddess at Sembāttur, and Sokkanatha Danda-
nāyaka at Tirumaņañjēri (Pudukkottai State).
Sōmala Dēvi made a gift to the Tirugōkarņam
temple at Pudukkottai. One of the gopurams at
Tiruvaņņāmalai goes by the name of Vallala gopuram;
and that it is a Hoysala monument is confirmed by
a record of the 5th year of Rajendra III stating
that the tirumadil was erected by Singana Danda-
nāyaka.6

1. 70, 72, 73, 76, 93 , 97, 98 of 95 ; 20, 21 , 23 , 41 , 42,

45, 46, 47, 48, and 53 of 20.
2. 85 of 97 .
3. P. S. I. 667 .
4. P. S. I. 1056 .
5. P. S. I. 183
6. 498 of 02 .
 78

The Paramīśvaram Udaiyār temple at Ādham-

kõttai (Mahendramangalam) was built by an officer
of Mahāpradhāni Paramaviśvāsi Madhava Danda-
nayaka in the reign of Narasimha II. We have
finally to record three gifts made by the family of
mahāpradhānis, who later became the chiefs of
Dannāyakankottai ; to the temple at Avanāśi¹ a
sandi called Immadi Rāhuttarāyar sandi ; to that at
Aragal the village of Nattamangalam enjoyed by
the family as a jīvitam from the king ; and to that
at Dannāyakankōttai³ the proceeds of taxes on
weavers and ferry boats.

Temple Architecture : The Hoysalas seem to

have engaged the services mostly of Tamil architects
and sculptors in the temples that they built in the
Tamil country. Their most famous temple is the
Poyśaļīśvaram at Kannanûr. The garbhagrham,
ardhamanțapam and mahāmantapam of this temple
stand on a plinth five feet above the ground level.
The plinth rests on a lotus base and is adorned with
a vyāla frieze and kandam . Above it is the lotus base
of the structure proper The kumudam or the deep
convex string-course all round is fluted on the sides
of the niches but not on the corners. The pilaster,
which stands on a cubical base with nagapadams on the
top corners, is octagonal and supports an octagonal
palagai or abacus, above which is the idal with

1. 189 of 09 .
2. 414 of 13-
3. 440 of 06,
 79

puṣpabodikais terminating in buds. The kūdu is

circular : and above it is a frieze of vyālas with
projecting makhara heads at the corners. The brick
vimānam has three square tiers with pañcarams or
miniature shrines surmounted by a circular śikharam
or dome resting on a grīvam or drum, also circular,
and crowned with a stūpi or finial. Between the
ardhamanțapam and the garbhagrham are kumbha-
pañcarams, broad flat pilasters, rising from vase-
shaped bases and terminating in complicated
ornamental designs. These adorn the recesses between
the projection on the walls into which the niches are
cut. The mahāmantapam has four central pillars
supporting a sort of domed ceiling ; the pillars are
complicated structures called aniyōttikkāl, massive
monolithic pillars with decorated bases and highly
ornamented tops shaped as lions, makharas , or shaft-
like projections. The porch of the mahāmantapam
is approached by a flight of steps on the north and
south, and its pillars are also aniyōttikkāls. In front
is a small pillared porch for the nandi. The doorway
of the mahamantapam is massive but delicately
ornamented. To the north of the mahāmantapam is
another small ardhamanțapam leading to the sanctum
of the Amman or Devi . The dvārapālakas are huge
figures and are two-armed. The lingam in the
sanctum, which is a fine specimen delicately chiselled,
is a Dhārā lingam, and exhibits sixteen facets .
There was a cloister all round the prākāram , but
it is now completely in ruins. A record of S. 1294
 80

(1372-3 A. D. ) ¹ and the Kōviloļugu tell us that the

sculptures were demolished by the Muslims, who
used the stones in the prakāram to put up fortifica-
tions for their garrisons and to build a mosque,
and that Kampaņa restored worship in the temple.
This temple is of considerable interest to
students of South Indian temple architecture,
though it has not attracted the attention
that it deserves . The temple has more of the
features of the contemporary ' late Cola ' or ' Pandya
style. ' than of the ' Hoysala style'. The garbhagrham
of a Hoysala shrine is generally star-shaped, but
here it is roughly a square. In the place of the
sukhanāsi, we have here the narrow ardhamantapam,
and in the place of the navaranga, the mahā-
mantapam of the Dravida order. Similarly the very
narrow ardhamantapam of the Amman temple may
be said to correspond to the sukhanāsi ; and as is
common in Hoysala structure, the mahāmanțapam,
which stands for the navaranga, is common to both
the shrines. The mahāmantapam here is rather
highly ornamented unlike in Cola and Pandya
contemporary structures, where they are plain.
The pillars are highly decorated, and, as in the
important Hoysala structures in Mysore, not two
pillars of this hall are alike. The latticed windows
on the walls remind one of similar Hoysala decora-
tion. The two armed dvārapālakas have not the

1. 162 of 37 .
2. р. 104.
 81

simplicity and naturalness of Cola specimens, nor

do they exhibit the exuberance of ornamentation
usual in Hoysala sculptures. They are but indifferent
though massive-looking specimens. The outer walls,
which in Hoysala structures are filled with panels
of delicate carving, are here quite plain except for
such conventional carvings as beads so common in
Cola and Pandya structures. A striking feature
of this temple is the prominence of the vimānam
which is a marked feature of some famous late
Cola temples, such as the Airāvatēśvaram at Dārā-
suram or the Kampaharēśvaram at Tribhuvanam.
A vimānam of a respectable height with super-
structure arranged in tiers is also a Hoysaļa feature.
The porch in front of the navaranga is the Hoysala
archetype of the Vijayanagar mukhamantapam. The
monument on the whole combines all the character-
istic features of the contemporary early ' Pandya ' or
' late Cola ' style with some casual features of the
Hoysala style '. It lacks alike the purity of
conception, simplicity of execution, and directness
of appeal that have made Pallava and early Cola
art the wonder of discerning art connoisseurs, and
the exuberance, one would almost say exaggeration
of details, the profuse ornamentation and the
delicacy of craftsmanship of Hoysala art ; but
nevertheless as a stage marking the development
of the Dravida vimānam it has its own appeal, and
does not fail to impress one with its elegance of
finish ; not one feature of its plan and ornamenta-
tion offends against good taste.
11
 80

(1372-3 A. D. ) ¹ and the Koviloļugu tell us that the

sculptures were demolished by the Muslims, who
used the stones in the prakāram to put up fortifica-
tions for their garrisons and to build a mosque,
and that Kampaņa restored worship in the temple.
This temple is of considerable interest to
students of South Indian temple architecture,
though it has
not attracted the attention
that it deserves . The temple has more of the
features of the contemporary ' late Cola ' or ' Pandya
style.' than of the ' Hoysala style'. The garbhagrham
of a Hoysala shrine is generally star-shaped, but
here it is roughly a square. In the place of the
sukhanāsi, we have here the narrow ardhamanțapam,
and in the place of the navaranga, the mahā-
mantapam of the Dravida order. Similarly the very
narrow ardhamantapam of the Amman temple may
be said to correspond to the sukhanāsi ; and as is
common in Hoysala structure, the mahāmanțapam,
which stands for the navaranga, is common to both
the shrines. The mahāmantapam here is rather
highly ornamented unlike in Cola and Pandya
contemporary structures, where they are plain.
The pillars are highly decorated, and, as in the
important Hoysala structures in Mysore, not two
pillars of this hall are alike. The latticed windows
on the walls remind one of similar Hoysala decora-
tion. The two armed dvārapālakas have not the

1. 162 of 37 .
:
2. р. 104.
 81

simplicity and naturalness of Cola specimens, nor

do they exhibit the exuberance of ornamentation
usual in Hoysala sculptures. They are but indifferent
though massive-looking specimens. The outer walls,
which in Hoysaļa structures are filled with panels
of delicate carving, are here quite plain except for
such conventional carvings as beads so common in
Cola and Pandya structures. A striking feature
of this temple is the prominence of the vimānam
which is a marked feature of some famous late
Cōla temples, such as the Airāvatēśvaram at Dārā-
suram or the Kampaharēśvaram at Tribhuvanam .
A vimānam of a respectable height with super-
structure arranged in tiers is also a Hoysaļa feature.
The porch in front of the navaranga is the Hoysala
archetype of the Vijayanagar mukhamantapam. The
monument on the whole combines all the character-
istic features of the contemporary early ' Pandya ' or
' late Cola ' style with some casual features of the
Hoysala style ' . It lacks alike the purity of
conception, simplicity of execution, and directness
of appeal that have made Pallava and early Cola
art the wonder of discerning art connoisseurs, and
the exuberance, one would almost say exaggeration
of details, the profuse ornamentation and the
delicacy of craftsmanship of Hoysala art ; but
nevertheless as a stage marking the development
of the Dravida vimānam it has its own appeal, and
does not fail to impress one with its elegance of
finish ; not one feature of its plan and ornamenta-
tion offends against good taste.
11
 82

The Prasannīśvaram, now called the Kariya-

mālīśvaram, at Tiruvānaikkōvil reproduces some of
the features of the Poysalīśvaram ; the sanctum of
the vimānam rests on a high plinth, and is crowned
by a lofty superstructure. The dvārapālakas are
tall two-armed figures. In plan also it resembles the
Pōyśaļīśvaram, but in its general appeal it is far
less striking.

A study of the architectural features of the

Põysalīsvaram raises a few interesting problems.
There are at least three temples in the Pudukkottai
State, which have the main features of the
Pōyśaļīśvaram. The vimānam of the Siva temple at
Perumānādu , about five miles to the west of
Pudukkottai, stands on a raised plinth and has a
lofty spire with pañcarams. The ruined temple at
Madattukkōvil near Virālimalai has the same
characteristics, but the spire has now fallen down,
and on its walls are panels carved with lines in all
possible forms of convolution, very pleasing in their
effect, and miniature sculptures charmingly executed.
The central shrine of the famous Kudumiyāmalai
temple was renewed about this period by the officers
of Māravarman Sundara Pandya I, who altered the
plan of the older shrine and rebuilt it on a high
plinth. In all these shrines as in the Pōyśaļīśvaram,
the kumbhapañcaram occurs . According to Prof.
Dubreuil the occurrence of this motif is an indica-
tion that the monument is of the 14th century or
later. Here we have the Pōyśaļīśvaram, the Prasan-
nīśvaram and the other temples in the Pudukkottai
 83

State ; all belonging to the first half of the 13th

century but yet displaying the kumbapañcaram
motif.

The massive complicated pillars, which in Tamil

architecture we call the aniyotțikkal, were believed
by Prof. Dubreuil to have been introduced into
Tamil architecture by the Vijayanagar emperors.
Here at Kannanur they occur in a 13th century
Hoysala temple. They occur also in a few late
Côla temples such as the Kampaharēśvaram.
From all these considerations we may safely conclude
that the kumbhapañcaram motif and the aniyotțikkāl
in its multiple manipulation of shape and variety of
decoration came into vogue in the Tamil country
about the time the later Colas (from Kulottunga III),
the Hoysalas at Kannanūr and the early Rulers of
the Second Pandyan empire dominated the culture
and politics of the land.

Envoi : The Hoysalas, originally dependents of

the Imperial Cāļukyas, burst open their narrow
shell of vassalage, and together with the Seuņas,
their brother Yadavās of Devagiri, brought about
the dissolution of the Cāļukya empire. This raised
for them the problem of acquiring and keeping a
strong frontier in the north, to secure which they
were frequently at war with the Seuņas and Kākatīyas,
who like them had newly risen to power. In the
south under pretext of keeping the balance of power
between the Cōla empire, already in the last stages of
disruption, and the Pandyan kingdom, which in its
 84

new-found strength was aspiring for imperial grandeur,

the Hoysalas entered into South Indian politics, and
succeeded in converting what remained of the Cola
State, into a protectorate, and imposed their authority
on the Pandya State also whenever it had the misfor-
tune to be ruled by a weak ruler. In Jatāvarman
Sundara Pandya and Māravarman Kulaśēkhara, two
out standing heroes of this age, the Hoysalas found
their match, and these two Pandya conquerors rolled
back the tide of Hoysala advance, and pushed it far
beyond the Kāverī valley into the highlands to the
north. The Hoysala-Pandya struggle would have
continued, but a new and unexpected factor inter-
vened ; -the Muslims broke up the Deccan States,
established themselves at Devagiri and Warangal and
dealt a staggering blow at the Hoysala state. The
Hoysaļas bowed before the onslaught, while the tall
Pandya State was uprooted. Once the danger of
direct intervention and attacks from Delhi was over,
the Hoysalas raised up their head and placing them-
selves at the head of the smaller disaffected Hindu
States, set forth to reconquer the South from the
Mussalmans, Ballāla III hit the Madura Sultanate
hard, and very nearly succeeded in demolishing it.
The political combination of States necessary for
restoring Hindu rule in the South had been brought
into existence, and Vijayanagar stepped into the
place of the Hoysala, and accomplished what the
latter had begun but failed to accomplish.
The Hoysala penetration into the South had one
far-reaching result. It put an end to Tamil isolation.
 85

Kannadiyar of all castes settled in the Tamil districts,

and Kannadiya commanders, who were in charge of
garrisons or administered districts, established
themselves as lords of small nādus guiding the
local assemblies. They had entered into the very
life of the Tamil people. Śrī Rāmanuja's religious
system became the common heritage of the
Tamils and the Kannadigas and spread forth north ;
in fact through Rāmānanda his message spread
north and leavened the Bhakti movement all over
North India. Śaiva mathams in the Tamil country
were presided over by ācāryas from Kannada Dēśa
and Telingana and even from countries farther
north. The Ainnūrruvar and their subordinate
trading corporations were responsible for the spirit of
enterprise and adventure, which was shared in common
by all classes of people in the Deccan and the south.
As never before in the history of the south, Kannada
Dēśa, Tamil Nadu and Telingana were united by
social, commercial and religious ties. In the field of
art there was an interchange and fusion of motifs and
ideals. During this period Śārangadhara, who flour-
ished in the Yadava Court of Devagiri, wrote his
Sangītaratnākara, which marks the beginning of the
Karnataka system of music, which later influenced
the whole of South India. The hymns of the Tamil
Saints, which the Vaisnavite ācāryas made part of
their scripture, came to be studied in the Kannada
and Telingana countries as well, where Tamil colonists
settled to propagate the teachings of the Alvārs,
 86

A grant from T. Narsipur¹ dated 1290 A.D. recording

that Perumala Nayaka endowed a College in the
Kannada country, where in addition to the Vedas,
Kannada, Tamil and Marathi were taught, is an
indication of this new spirit. This spirit of South
Indian unity under the impulse of a common religion
and culture owes much to Hoysala imperialism . The
study of Hoysala expansion affords us, if one may
use a term which has almost become a cliche, a blue
print of what South India was to become in the
succeeding generations under the Vijayanagar
Empire, one of the grandest Pan-Hindu empires
known to history.

1. E. CHỊ. T. Narsipur. 27 ,
 APPENDIX

Śiruttondan (Page 50). When the manuscript of

these lectures was prepared, it was believed that
Śiruttondan was a commander of the Pallava army
under Narasimhavarman II, but it is now known that
he led the Pallava army into the heart of the Caluk-
yan Kingdom during the reign of Paraméśvara-
varman I.

(See Sastri : The Tamil Kingdoms of Southern

India (1948) p. 17, and his forthcoming publications-
History of India, Vol. I and History of South India.)

Eleemosynary Tenures etc. (Pages 41 , 52 and 56).

Dēvadānam is a gift of land to the temple by the king
or local assembly, or by rich men. A temple might
however own lands in absolute ownership like any
other land owner. Such lands, which are known as
tirunāmattukkāņi, might have been purchased from
previous owners or be village common lands set apart
for the temple by the assembly. Dēvadānam lands
held by Vişnu temples are described by the special
term tiruvidaiyāttam .
Brahmadēyam is a gift to Brahmins, and madap-
puram to monasteries.
Kārāņmai and Mīyātci are tenancy and free-hold
rights.
Manigramam (Page 59) is a corporation of
merchants of different castes. (Cf. Śreni). The old
form of the word is Vanikagrāmum or a grāma (guild)
of merchants .
Citramēli is a corporation of Vellāļa nātțăr and
others engaged in tillage. Mēli in Tamil means
' ploughshare '.
 INDEX
4

A B

Abu Zaid 62
Accambikē 64 Baha-ud-din Garshap 33
Adhamkōttai 15, 46, 60- Baligāmi 74
Paramiśvaram Udaiyār Ballāļa I 1
temple 78 Ballāļa II 6-9, 26, 64, 69
Adigaiman (Chief of Tagadur Ballāļa III 29-40, 43, 57, 65,
and Cola viceroy) 2, 6, 9, 15 69, 70, 84
Adiraippattam 56 Ballāļa IV (See Virupākşa
Adi Vansațagōpa Jiyar 65 Ballāļa IV)
Āduturai 3, 4 Bēlūr 1 , 2, 4, 59-
Agama School 72 Vijayanārāyana temple 64
Agapparivāram 45 Bhāsya School of Vaisnavas 65
Agaram 54, 55 Bhattar 65
Aihole ( Ayyāvale) 58, 59 Bherundas 13, 46
Akkür 16 -Raja Raja Vin- Bhimaņa 44
nagaram temple 63 Bhujabala Kēśava 44
Alagar Kōvil 19, 41- Bhujabala Mādai 62
Kallalagar temple 41, 71 Bhogaya Dandanāyaka 13
Alambakkam 57, 72-temple 71 Bijjala 6
Alā-ud-Din 31 , 33, 34, 35 Bittiga Vişnuvardhana 1-5,
Ala-ud-Din Udaiji 37 26, 43, 64, 69
Alattür 21 Brahmadēyam 56, 57, 87
Aliya Sōmaya 44 Brahmādirāya 62
Alumbil 45 Brahmatantra Svatantra Jiyar
Alvārs 85 (title of Vaisnavadāsa) 70
Amātya 43
Anamalai 2
Aniya Gaddaya 44 C
Appana Dandanāyaka 50, 71
Appillār 65
Aragal 78 Candavve 61
Arantāngi 18, 47 Candramauli 64
Āriya Pillai 44 Caturvēdimangalam 55
Arsikere 59 Cedirāyas 27
Aştagrāma 64 Channagiri 12
Attür 19 Chidambaram 11, 31-
Avanāśi 55, 78 Govindarāja image 63
Avani 6, 8 Cikka Sōmalā 67
Ayyangar S. K. 39 Citramēli 59, 87
Ayyāvale-See Aihole Cokkimāya 6
 89

Cōlakulaikaraksa (title of F

Narasimha II) 8
Cõļamahādēvi, queen of Fa-Hien 58
Ballāļa II 9
Ferishța 35
Cõlarājya pratiṣṭhācārya Fleet-(quoted) 4
(title of Ballāļa II) 8
Coimbatore 29
G

D
Gadyakarņāmṛtā 11
Damalcheruvu 15 Ganapati (Kakatiya king) 16,73
Dandanāyakankōttai Gandagōpāla (Telugu Coda
(Dannāyakankōţţai) 29, 44, chief) 14, 16
55, 58, 62n, 78 Gangādiaraiyar 45
Dandina Gopa Gõpaya 70 Gangarāja 2, 5
Dandinagōpa Jagadobhaganda Garudas 46
Appana Dandanāyaka 11 Garudavāhana Pandita 68
Gautama Devar 74
Dannāyakankōttai (See
Dandanāyakankōttai) Ghaiyās-ud-Din 36, 38
Dārāsuram-Airāvatēśvaram 81 Gingee 4
Dati Ballappa Dandanāyaka 37 Giridurgamalla (title of
Dati Singaya 44 Vira Sōmēśvara) 21
Gōlaki matham 73
Davengere 10
Delhi 31 , 32, 34, 84 Gōpaya Dandanāyaka 44, 50, 71
Delhi Sultanate 30
H
Deogiri (Daulatabad) 58, 84, 85
Dēsaya Nayaka 46
Devadānairaiyīļi 40 Halagere 21 n
Dēvadānam 52, 56, 57, 87 Haļēbid (see Dvarasamudra)
Dēvagiri-See Deogiri Halēbid-Vēņugōpāla temple 66
Dēvala Dēvi 67 Harihara I 40
Dëvēndra Pandita 74 Harihara Dandanāyaka 15
Dubreuil- Prof 82, 83 Hayavadana Rao (quoted) 23n
Hebbar 65
Dvārasamudra (Halēbid)
1, 11 , 21 , 33, 34, 50, 59, 61, 74 Hēmāvati 6
Dvārāvalīpuravarādīśvara Hosûr 5, 46
Höttür 50
(appellation ofthe Hoysalas) 1
Hultzch-(quoted) 11
E
I
Ēkāmranātha 37
Ellēri 11 Ibn-Battuta 36, 38, 58
Embār 65 Ibn-e-Rusta 61
Ereyanga 1 Immadi Rāhuttarāya (surname
Eriviras 59 of the Dannāyankōttai
Erode 55 Dandanāyakas) 43
Irukkuvēl rulers 47
Ettukudi araiyar 45
12
 90

Iruvar Pandyar mudittalai Kāñci-Arulala ( Varadarāja)

kondarulina (title of Mara- Perumal temple 62, 64, 65,
varman Sundara Pandya II) 19 70, 71
Işāmy 34 Kāñcīgonda (appellation of
Isāna Sambhu 74 Vişnuvardhana) 3
Kandarādittam 56
J Kannanūr (Vikramapura)
16, 17, 20, 23, 25, 28, 32, 38,
40, 45, 47-48, 57, 61 , 63, 75-
Jambai 14 Muktīśvaram 23, 77
Jalal-ud- Din Ahasan Shah
Poysalisvaram 17, 48, 74, 75,
(Sayyid Jalal) 32, 33, 34 78-83
Jațāvarman Sundara Pandya I Other temples 48
21-23, 25, 27, 68, 74, 84 Kāpaya Nāyaka 33
Jațāvarman Vira Pandya Kārānmai 56, 87
23, 27 , 67 Kariyamāņikka Dandanāyaka 68
Jivitam 78
Karnataka System of music 85
Karūr 7
K Kautilya 24, 33, 49
Kavitārkikasimha ( biruda of
Kadāmbi Cețțu Naraśinga Vēdānta Dēśika) 65
Bhattar 70 Kēsava 70
Kadāmbiyan 65 Kēśava Nāyakan 6
Kaikkōļar 46 Kētaya Dandanāyaka 43
Kālacūryas 6 Khusrou Khān 32, 34
Kalāla Dēvi 74, 76 Kidāmbi Accān 65
Kālamukhas 72, 73, 74 Kiēlhorn-(guoted) 22n
Kaļavakkūr Tyāga Perumāl 75 Kodumbāļūr 72
Kaliyugarāman (surname of Kōlār 5
Jat. Vira Pandya) 67 Kollegāl 46
Kallar 46 Kō -Peruñjinga 10, 11 , 12-16, 27
Kalliyūrmulai 11 Kõttaiyūr 18, 46, 51
Kalyāna Sakti Pandit 74 Kottāram 57
Kamalā Dēvi 67 Kōviloļugu 80
Kāmandaka 33 Koyattür 5
Kāmarasavalli 17, 51 Krsnapāda 66
Kambayanallür 45- Kudumiyāmalai- Śiva temple 82
Dēśināthēśvara temple 60 Kulasēkhara Pandya 7
Kampana Udayār (See also Kulõttunga Cola I 1 , 2, 5, 25
Vira Kampana) 48 Kulõttunga Cola III 6, 7, 9 , 83
Kampaya Dandanāyaka 41 Kulõttunga Cola, Konerin-
Kampaya Dandanāyaka maikoņdān, (Kongu chief) 7
(Mandalika Yamarājān) 68. Kundani (Dēvarkundani) 25, 28
Kampili 34 Kuntala 10
Kānanādu (Kānādu) 18, 42 Kumāramangalam 73
Kāñci 4 , 13-14, 16, 29-30, Kurukēśa 65
46, 62, 65, 70 Kūttapperumakkal 63
 91

L Māravarman Sundara Pandya I

8, 10, 13, 15, 18, 50, 75, 82
Lakṣādyāyi mathams 73 Māravarman Sundara
Lālgudi 28 Pandya II 18, 19, 41 , 42
Lēpaka 20 Māravarman Vikrama
M Pandya 24
Marco Polo 61
Mādai 62
Mēlattanaiyam 17
Mādappa 44
Madappuram 56, 87 Mēlkōte- Sampatkumara
temple 64
Madattukkōvil-Śiva temple 82 Mēlūr-temple 71
Mādhava caturvēdimangalam
Meykandar 72
(another name for Tirup- Milādu 3
pattūr) 55, 71
Madhava Dandanāyaka- Mīyātci 56, 87
Mudalis 45
(Mahāpradhāni Parama-
viśvāsi) 29, 43, 78 Mudaliyāndān 65
Mādhava Sūri (See Nañjīyar) Mudigondān 5, 8, 10, 15, 46, 49-
Madhurāntakapērēri 57 temples 60
Madura 4 , 7, 31 , 32, 33, 36 , Muhammad Tughlaq 35
Muhammad- Sultan
37, 38 , 39
(Muhammadi Sūrattān) 32
Māgadhai (Magara) 9-11 ,
15, 29, 40 Mummudi Cōlamarigalam 68
Mummudidandas 59
Magadhai Perumal (Bāņa Muna virās 59
title) 10
Mahābhārata , the 49 Murappunādu 73
Mahājan 55 Mūvar Irayarkandan
Mahāvamsa 7 (Surname of Sankaradēva) 44
Mysore 46
Mahendramangalam (Adham-
kõttai ) 12, 78 N
Māhēśvaras 42, 63, 72
Malamandalam (Malabar) 61 Nādāļvār 45
Malaparolganda (appellation Nādu (assembly) 26, 54, 55
of the Hoysalas) 1 Nagaram (assembly)
Malikkāfur (Malik Na'ib) 54, 55, 56, 58, 59 , 61
30, 31 , 34 Nallāncakravarti 65
Mallaya Dandanāyaka 13, 70 Nallūr 28
Mandalikas 44 Nambi Andar Nambi 72
Manigrāmam 59 , 87 Nanadeśi- tiśaiāyirattū
Mannachanallür 48 ainnuryuvar 58-62, 85
Mannārgudi 17, 47- Siva temple 77 Nanasambandar of Karuppür 75
Manukulamedutta nerimudi Nañjiyar (Mādhava Süri or
śūdiyaruliyavan ( title of Ranganātha Sūri) 66
Rājēndra III ) 20 Narasimha I ( Pratāpa
Mānūr 29 Narasimha ) 5-6
Maravar 46 Narasimha II (Vira Narasimha)
Māravarman Kulaśēkhara 8-15, 43, 50, 66, 67, 71 , 78
27, 28, 30, 48, 84 Narasimha III 24
 92

Narasimhavarman (Cola | Periya Accān Pillai 66

fuudatory) 2, 3, 4 Perumāļa Nayaka 86
Narasimhavarman(Pallava)50, 87 Perumal Dandanāyaka
Narasinga Dēva-identified (Mahapradani) 29, 43, 55
with Narasimhavarman 4
Perumānādu 18-Śiva temple 82
Narasingamangalam 57 Peru Marudūr-Śiva temple 77
Nangili 5 Peshawar 35
Narsipur-T. 86 Pillailōkācārya 66
Nasir- ud-Din 38
Polālvadēva (Mahāpradhāni ) 43
Nattamāngudi 56, 78 Põlālvi Mādaya 70
Nāyanmar 3, 50, 71 Pongalūr (Singanallür) 55, 69
Nelvēli 45
Ponnambala Dēvi 67
Nerūr 7
Poraśakkudi 76
Nilakantha Nāyakan 75 Pōśala Vira Narasimha
Nilappadai 2 Caturvēdimangalam 55
Nilgiris 2, 5, 29 Pōsala Vira Sōmidēvan sandi 41
Nine thousand 66
Poysola Vira Somēśvara
Nirambayanāthan (surname Caturvēdimangalam 19, 55
(of Sankaradeva) 44 Pradhan 44
Nṛpakāma 1 Prabhanda School
Nulambas 27
of Vaisnavas 65-66
Pratyabhijña School of
0 Kashmir 72
Prōlaya Nayaka 33: 36
Õlai 45 Pudukkottai 18, 82
Ottanür 57 Pugalūr 50
Punganūr 28
P Puramalainādu 60

Pāccür 11 , 12
Padaipparru 18 R
Pakkadikkāra Sōmaya 44
Pallavaraiyar 45
Panaiyūr 32 Rāhuttarāyanallūr 55
Pañcapradhānar 43 Rājakkaļnāyan (surname of
Pāņdyagajakēsari (title of Rāmanātha) 24
Ballāļa II 8 Rāja Rāja Cola I 50, 72
Pāndyakulasamrakşaņa Rāja Rāja Cola III 9, 10, 15,
dakṣa- daksiņabhujā (title of 16, 17, 19, 27, 41 , 50
Vira Sōmēśvara) 20 Rāja Rāja Dēva (Adigai-
Paradēśi Sāvāsi merchants 58 mãn Chief) 9
Parākramabāhu 11
Rājasam (rāyasam) 46
Parākrama Pandya 3 Rājēndra Cola I 18, 72
Paruttipalli 28- Rājēndra Cola II 3
temple (Ciramēlivinnagaram) 60 Rajendra Cola III 19, 20, 23
Pāśupatas 72 25, 27, 40, 42, 74, 77
Pēraiyūr 17, 46 Rāmānanda 85
 93

Rāmanātha 23, 24-28, 42, 45, Sēndamangalam 12, 50

56, 58, 63, 67, 69, 73, 74, Sengāvūr 57
76,77 Seringapatam temple 64
Rāmānuja 63, 64, 65, 69, 85 Seuņas 26, 83
Rāmāyana-the ; 49 Sēvaya Dandanāyaka 42, 44
Rāmēśvaram 4, 12, 13, 15, 37 Singaya (Singana) Danda-
Ranganātha Sūri (See nāyaka Mahāpradhāni
Nañjiyar) 23, 29, 31 , 40, 43, 68, 69, 77
Rangiyam 32 Siruttondan 50, 87
Ratnagiri 20 Sitagara ganda (surname of
Ravi Dēva Dandanāyaka Dannāyakankōttai
18, 44, 56
Ravi Varma Kulaśēkhara 31 , 32
dandanāyakas) 43
Sitagaragandanallür 55
Sitagaragandan matha 69
S Śiva Ñāna bodam 72
Śiva Nanaśittiyār 72
Sabhā (assembly) 54 Sivapuri 46
Sāhala Bhatta 58 Sivāyam 20, 42, 61-
Śaiva Siddhānta Vyakyāta Eļunūryuvantirumatham 73
(surname of a Svāmi Tirumānikkaudaiyār temple 42
Dēvar) 74 Smritis 53
Sakala Vidyā Cakravarti 69 Sokkanātha Dandanāyaka 77
Sāļa 1 Sokka villi Bhatta 69
Salem 6, 29 Solakēraļa (tittle of
Saligrama 65 Kulõttunga III) 7
Samantas 44 Śōlakōn 11
Samayamantri 52 Sōmaļā Dēvi 67, 74, 75, 76, 77
Samayapuram (See Kannanūr) Sōmanātha Vittaya 42
Sambuvarāyas 27 Sōmēsvara 13, 14, 15-24,
Samudra Gōpayya Danda- 41 , 42, 47. 56, 57, 60, 61 ,
nāyaka 11 67, 71 , 73 , 74, 75
Sangama dēvar matham 72 Somaya Dandanāyaka
Sangīturatnākara 85 (Mandalikamurāri Aliya)
Sangrāmanallür 55 20, 31 , 42 , 60
Sankaradēva 44
Sarangadara 85
Śōnādu valangi aruliya
Sarvatantrasvatantra (biruda (title of Māravarman
of Vēdānta Dēśika) 65
Sundara Pandya I) 8
Śaśākapura (See Sosāvir) So-po 58
Sastri-K. A. N. (quoted)
Sosāvir (Śaśakapura) 1
Śri Bhaşya 66
9, 26n, 36n, 38n, 58n, 87 Śri Karana 46
Satyamangalam 66 Srinivasa Raghavan A.
Sayyid Jalal (See Jalalud-Din (quoted) 66n
Ahasan Shah) Śrī Rāma Bhatta 66
Sembāttür 21-Siva temple 77 Srirangam 8, 12, 17, 20, 21 , 23,
Sēnabōva 46 31 , 65, 66, 67, 68, 69-
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Ranganatha temple 12, 47, 58, Tirumayyam 18, 19, 42, 46,
61 63, 67, 68 , 69 52-53,63
Śriranganātha Yadavarāya 29 Tirupparāitturai 72
Śri Vaisnavas 41 Tirupati 29, 69, 70-
Śrutaprakaśika 66 Tirumalai temple 29, 70
Stānattār 70 Tirupattür 18, 28, 47, 51
Sthānikas (of temples) 42 Tiruppūndurutti 22
Sugatür 5 Tiruvadatturai 10, 50
Tiruvadi 12
Sulaiman 61
Sūlamangalam 28, 45 Tiruvānaikkōvil 13, 17, 20, 55,
Sundara Pandya 30, 31 57 , 73-77
Svāmi Dēvar 74 Jambukēśvara - Akhilāņdēśvarī
temple 47, 74
T Tyāgavinodīśvaram 75
Paśupatīśvaram 75-76
Tadāvūr 6 Prasannīśvaram or Kariamālīś-
Tagadai nādu 60 varam 76 , 82
Tagadur 6 Rājarājēśvaram 76
Talakād 2 , 5 Sangamēśvara temple 72, 76
Talakādugonda (appellation Visvēśvaradēva shrine 76
of Vişnuvardhana) 3 Tiruvanņāmalai 32, 37, 40, 47 -
Talamale passes 2 Arunacalēśvara temple 40, 77
Tāramangalam 28 Tiruvāśi 56
Tātācārya family 65 Tiruvellarai 57
Tatpuruşa Śivā Cārya 73 Tiruvēndipuram 11, 49
Telingāna 34 Tiruveņkādu 16
Telingāna Nāyaks 36 Tiruvēńkațanātha Yadava-
Tellāru 10 rāya 29
Telugu Cōdas 6, 19, 27 Tiruvidaīyāttam 52, 56, 87
Tennavaraiyār ( Tennavada- Tiruvorriyūr 72
raiyar) 45 Tondaiman 45
Tenkalais 65 Tondaimānallūr 12
Tereyūr 5 Tolagadakamba (surname of
Tingalūr 15 Põlalvadēva) 43
Tinnevelly 19 , 27 Toļudagaiyūr 11
Tiruchchātturai 25, 42 Tonnūr-Tirumalasāgara 64
Tiruccengättangudi 50 Tribhuvanam - Kampaha-
Tirugōkarnam-Siva temple 77 rēśvaram 81 , 83
Tirujñānam 72 Trichinopoly 17, 39, 75
Tirukkadaiyūr 63 Twentyfour thousand 66
Tirukkōțțiyūr 19, 41 , 71
Tirukōyilūr 3
Tirumalavādi 13, 17, 22, 28- U
Śiva temple 77
Tirumaņañjēri 21 , 28, 45- Udaiya Mārtānda Varman 31
Śiva temple 77 Ulugh Khân 32
Tirunāmattukkāņi 56, 87 Umādēvi 66
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Ür (assembly) 54 Vīra Balañja dharma 59

Urrattür Nādu 56 Vira Ballala (See Ballala III)
Uttattür 56 Vīrābhiṣekham 7
Vira Kampaņa 39, 80
V
Vīra Māgadhan (Bāna title) 10
Vira Narasimha (See
Vadakalais 65, 71 Narasimha II)
Vaisnava Cakravartin Viranarasimha Caturvedi-
(surname of Polālvadēva) 43 mangalam 76
Vaisnavadāsa 70 Vīranulamban 45
Valangai forces 46 Vira Pandya 30, 31 , 69
Vallāļavari 57 Vira Rāmanātha (See
Vallaya Dandanāyaka 44, 70, 77 Ramanātha)
Vannam (Madurāntaka- Vira Savana 39
nallūr) 52 Vīra Sōmēśvara (See Sōmēśvara)
Varadācārya ( Nadāttūr Vira Sōmiśvara Caturvēdi-
Ammāl) 65 mangalam 72
Vaiśyavāņiya nagarattar 58 Vīra Vallalan (throne of
Vātāpi 50 Ballala III) 70
Vēdāranyam 17, 41- Vīra Viśvanātha 28
Kailāsanātha temple 41 Viraya 44
Vēlanāndu chiefs 6 Virūpākṣa Ballāļa IV 39, 40
Venkatanātha (See Vedanta Vişnucitta 65
Dēśika) Vişnuvardhana (See
Venkataramanaiya, N Bittiga Vişnuvardhana)
(quoted) 23n, 32n , 35n, 37 Viśvēśvara 36
Venyumankondān (title of Viśvēśvara Śivācārya 73
Ekāmranātha) 37
Vēdānta Dēśika ( Venkata- W
nātha) 65, 66, 71
Vidugālalagiya Perumal 9 Warangal 84
Wassaf 61
Vijayābhiṣekam 10
Vijayamudi 7 Y
Vijayaranga Cokkanātha
Nāyaka 48 Yadavarāyas 27, 29n
Vikrama Cola 3, 5 Yadavas of Dēvagiri 83, 85
Vikramaditya VI (Cāļukya) 1 Yamarājan (surname of
Vikrama Pandya 31 Sankaradēva 44
Vikramapura (See Kannanur) Yedurür 6
Vinayāditya Il Z
Vinayāditya II 1
Vinnamangalam 46, 58 Zimmi 30, 33