The Colas c11.10

c11.10

so ‘Karikāla-Cōḻa with the garland of *ār* pleasing to the eyes’ fought a great battle at Veṇṇi in which the Pāṇḍya and the Cēra both suffered a crushing defeat.¹⁷ Veṇṇi has been identified with Kōvil Veṇṇi, a village fifteen miles to the east of Tanjore. Though we know very little of the circumstances that led to this battle, there can be no doubt that it marked the turning point in Karikāla’s career; for in this battle he seems to have broken the back of a widespread confederacy formed against him. Besides the two crowned kings of the Pāṇḍya and Cēra countries, eleven minor chieftains took their side in the campaign and shared the defeat at the hands of Karikāla.¹⁸ Much sympathy was felt for the Cēra king, who was wounded at his back, the last disgrace that could befall a soldier on the battlefield, and who expiated his cowardice by committing suicide;¹⁹ this is how one of Karikāla's own friends, the poet Veṇṇikkuyattiyār, possibly a resident of Veṇṇi and an eye-witness to the battle, addresses the monarch:²⁰