The Colas c19.63

c19.63

The second engagement at Kūḍal-Saṅgamam, which Āhavamalla failed to keep, and the resumption of the Vēṅgī country, which followed, are briefly alluded to in the shorter *praśastis* of the fifth year of Vīrarājēndra I.¹⁵⁹ These imply that, by the reconquest of Vēṅgī, Vīrarājēndra fulfilled some vow made by his elder brother;¹⁶⁰ though we cannot be sure of it, this perhaps means that the Cōḷa control over Vēṅgī had been lost some time during the reign of Rājēndradēva II and that he had died without being able to recover it; if this view is correct, the Western Cāḷukya occupation of Vēṅgī must have been more complete and lasted longer than has so far been believed, and Sōmēśvara I must have recompensed himself for the defeat at Koppam by substantial success in another direction. The Kanyākumārī inscription¹⁶¹ also states that Vēṅgī and Kaliṅga, though part of the hereditary dominion of the Cōḷas, had been neglected by his brother and allowed to fall under the occupation of hostile kings, and that Vīrarājēndra regained them for the empire.