The Colas c11.12

c11.12

If Veṇṇi was the first great battle of Karikāla’s reign which established him firmly on his throne and secured for him some sort of hegemony among the ‘three crowned monarchs’ of the Tamil land, there was no lack of other opportunities for the exercise of his arms. He defeated a confederacy of nine minor chieftains in a battle at Vākaipparandalai: Paraṇar, a contemporary both of Karikāla and his father, mentions this fact,²² but tells us nothing of the cause of the battle or of the enemies of Karikāla. The poet of the *Paṭṭinappālai* describes fully the destruction carried by the forces of Karikāla into the territories of his enemies and the awe inspired by his deeds of valour,²³ and adds that as a result of his campaigns, ‘the numerous