The Colas c19.49

c19.49

Kūḍal-Śangamam must be located at the junction of the Tungabhadrā and Kṛṣṇā rivers.¹²⁴ The first battle at this place, the one with which we are now concerned, took place after the Cāḷukyas were driven across the Gaṅgapāḍi up to the banks of the Tungabhadrā, and after the failure of an expedition sent into Vēṅgī by the Cāḷukyas. On a later occasion, when the Cāḷukya failed to meet Vīrarājēndra at the same place as previously arranged, the Cōḷa planted a pillar of victory on the banks of the Tungabhadrā before he retired.¹²⁵ The Śangamam meant by the inscriptions must, therefore, be some confluence of rivers on the course of the Tungabhadrā. The choice lies between Kūḍali at the junction of the Tungā and Bhadrā in Mysore, or that of the Tungabhadrā and the Kṛṣṇā. While the name Kūḍali points to the former as the site of Kūḍal-Śangamam, the Vēṅgī interlude seems to make the latter more probable; a satisfactory identification of Kāndai or Karandai, where the Cōḷa awaited the Cāḷukya for about a month on the second occasion, may decide the choice more definitely.¹²⁶