The Colas c11.53

c11.53

Another renowned Cōḷa king of the time was Kōpperuñjōḻan who also ruled from Uṟaiyūr. Himself a poet,⁶⁵ he was an intimate friend of two poets—Āndaiyār of (Irum) Piśir and Pottiyār. Āndai (owl) sounds more like a nickname than a name proper;⁶⁶ but the poet is not known by any other name. He was a native of the Pāṇḍya country and gave some good counsel⁶⁷ to the king of that country, Aṟivuḍai Nambi. Pottiyār was a native of the Cōḷa country and resided at Uṟaiyūr. The intimate friendship between these and Kōpperuñjōḻan became a classic example in later literature⁶⁸ like that between Damon and Pythias. Āndai was a jolly good fellow and his poems ring with the true enjoyment of life. Asked once why, though old, his hair had not turned grey, he gave the answer:⁶⁹