The Colas c18.8

c18.8

The conquest of the whole of Īḻa-maṇḍalam (Ceylon) is the next achievement mentioned. As some of the inscriptions of the fifth year¹⁹ do not include this conquest, while others²⁰ do so, we may be sure that the war against Ceylon was undertaken in the fifth year, a.d. 1017-18. The *Mahāvaṁsa* places the completion of the Cōḷa conquest of Ceylon in the 36th year of Mahinda V which falls also in a.d. 1017 according to the latest scheme of Ceylonese chronology established by Geiger.²¹ About twelve years before this date, Rājarāja, taking advantage of the confusion in the island kingdom which arose from a military revolt against Mahinda V, had brought it under his power with the exception of its remoter parts which were still held by the Sinhalese. As a result of his expedition Rājēndra claims to have captured the crown of the kings of Ceylon²² the exceedingly beautiful crowns of their queens, the fine crown and the garland of Indra which the Pāṇḍya had previously deposited with them (the kings of Ceylon), and the whole Īḻa-maṇḍalam on the transparent sea. The Karandai (Tanjore) plates (vv. 58-9) say that Rājēndra conquered the king of Ceylon with a fierce army and seized his territory, his crown, his queen and her crown, his daughter, all his wealth, his transports, and the spotless garland of Indra and crown of the Pāṇḍya left in his charge; after having lost the battle, and being shorn of his queen, son and other belongings, the king of Ceylon, out of fear, came and sought the two feet of Rājēndra as shelter. The *Mahāvaṁsa* does not mince matters and gives a straight account which confirms the claims made by Rājēndra in his inscriptions :²³