History of the Pallavas of Kanchi c14.58

c14.58

Two important events are known regarding Aparājita. The first of these is the campaign against the Pāṇḍyas in which the Pallava king was allied with the Ganga king Prithivīpathi. According to the Udayēndiram plates¹ which enumerate the military exploits of the West Ganga Prithivīpathi I, he is described as ‘having defeated by force the Pāṇḍya lord Varaguṇa at the head of a great battle of Śrīpurambiya and having thus made his friend’s title Aparājita (the unconquered) significant, this hero entered heaven by sacrificing his own life.’ We may identify Varaguṇa with the Pāṇḍya king of that name, Varaguṇa II, for whom we have a date for accession to the throne, namely, A.D. 862-863. The place of the battle Śrīpurambiyam has been identified by Dr. Hultzsch² with Tirupurambiyam near Kumbhakonam. ‘How the Western Ganga king Prithivīpathi I whose dominions lay at least partly in the Mysore State and whose capital was Kolar, came to fight against the Pāṇḍya king Varaguṇa at Tirupurambiyam was hitherto inexplicable. From the two Ambur inscriptions³ of the Ganga-Pallava king Nripatungavikramavarman we know that Prithivīpathi was his feudatory. It may, therefore, be presumed that Aparājita for whom the Western Ganga king fought was a Ganga-Pallava. If this be true Aparājita was perhaps the successor and presumably his son.’⁴ The battle of Śrīpurambiyam may be dated with approximate accuracy about the year A.D. 880.