South India and her Muhammadan Invaders c8.23

c8.23

Leaving Jagad Vijaya at Paṭṭanallūr, Laṅkāpura marched forward to Tirukkānappēr. About this time Kulaśēkhara applied to the Chola king actually for assistance and obtained from him an army commanded by Pallava Rāyar, and other chiefs. He sent the army including the auxiliaries to the ports of Toṇḍi and Pāśa, possibly by sea. When Laṅkāpura heard of this he ordered his colleague to keep watch in Madura while he himself marched further from Tirukkānappēr upon the frontier fortress of Kiḷānilaya (Kiḷānilai in the Tiruppattur Taluk and on the utmost northern border of Madura). The battle here seems to have taken the form of a running fight all along the road from Kiḷānilai to the two ports of Vaḍa Maṇamēkkuḍi and Maṇamekkuḍi (Maṇamēlkuḍi at the mouth of the Veḷḷār, and the town and suburb north of it). Having defeated the Tamil chiefs, Laṅkāpura burnt down these two ports and another Manjakkuḍi. As a punishment for this interference of the Cholas, he burnt the Chola country, for a distance of seven leagues. He then marched across the road to the village called Vēlankuḍi¹ that belonged to the chief Niga-ladha Rāyar, who had gone over to Kulaśēkhara. This chief had succeeded in enlisting the co-operation of various other chieftains and the armies had swollen in size by various contingents including those of Tinnevelly. Kulaśēkhara took his stand in Pon-Amarāvati. Laṅkāpura marched from Vēlankuḍi. Having been defeated again at Pon-Amarāvati, Kulaśēkhara fled from the place. Laṅkāpura then felt that he had rid the Pāṇḍya country of the enemies of Vīra Pāṇḍya and returned to his headquarters. He then ordered the use of the Ceylon coin *Kahapana* bearing the superscription of Parākrama throughout the Pāṇḍya country of his ally. Sending forward, the men, horses and elephants captured in war, he himself returned to Ceylon, handing over the Pāṇḍya kingdom to Vīra Pāṇḍya. Parākrama Bāhu received him as became a victorious general, and in memory of this great victory founded the village of Pāṇḍu Vijayaka, the lands of which he distributed in charity among the Brahmans. Thus ended the great Ceylon war.