South India and her Muhammadan Invaders c11.25

c11.25

In the course of the Ceylon war of Parākrama Bāhu, Laṅkāpura the general marched in pursuit of Kulaśēkhara from Madura along the road from Madura to Tiruppattūr and followed up the march along the same high road from Tiruppattūr to Poṇ-Amarāvati. Here is a clear lead where to look for the high road from Madura to Trichinopoly. We have already spoken of the invasion of the Chola country by Māravarman Sundara Pāṇḍya I. His inscriptions, and perhaps even restorations of various temples along the high road are traceable from Tiruppattūr by way of Kaṇḍavarāyaṉpaṭṭi to Vēlankuḍi and thence to Poṇ-Amarāvati. At Tiruppattūr I was informed that an old road branching off from a point a few furlongs from Tiruppattūr along the Tiruppattūr-Tirumeyyam road took one to Kaṇḍavarāyaṉpaṭṭi, from which an old broad avenue road takes one to Tirukkaḷākkuḍi (written Tirukkoḷakkuḍi in inscriptions) and thence to Pūlānkurichi (Pūvālankurichi) on the Poṇ-Amarāvati way. The road continued southwards from Tiruppattūr to Tirukkoshṭiyūr, and from there through Madagupaṭṭi to Śivaganga. From Śivaganga there is the road proceeding to Mēlūr, and from there to Aḷagarmalai, from which Madura could be reached. For our present purpose the high road from Madura came down to Tiruppattūr and the same high road apparently carried one to Pon-Amarāvati;¹ that is the point that has to be made.