The Colas c24.13

c24.13

To begin with the Pāṇḍyan side of the story.²³ The expeditionary force sent by the Cōḷa was rolled back and a pitched battle fought in which the Cōḷas suffered heavy loss in men, horse and elephants; the enemy country was irrigated with the blood of fallen foes and sowed with *kavaḍi*, the whole body of women in the enemy's harem including the chief queen of the Cōḷa monarch were taken captive, and made to carry the water-jar and other auspicious objects before the Pāṇḍyan ruler on the occasion of his triumphal entry into the Cōḷa capital, Muḍikoṇḍa-śōḻapuram, where a *vijayābhiṣēka* (the anointment of victors) was performed.²⁴ The *Gadyakarṇā-* *mṛta* takes up the story at this point and connects it with the events recorded in the Tiruvēndipuram inscription. It says:²⁵