The Colas c18.53

c18.53

The Karandai (Tanjore) plates (v. 48) state that the king of Kāmbhoja solicited the friendship of Rājēndra by sending him for the protection of his royalty (*atmalakṣmīm*) the victorious war-chariot with which he had overcome in battles the hostile armies of his own enemies. This is clearly another reference to the overseas contacts of the Cōḷa empire at this time. Kambuja (Kāmbhoja) is the name of the kingdom of Angkor in Indo-China ruled at the time by the illustrious king Sūryavarman I (1002-50). This fact now known for the first time furnishes proof that the friendly relations between Kambuja and the Cōḷa kingdom, already well attested for the reign of Kulottunga I, began much earlier than Kulottunga's reign.