The Colas c34.12

c34.12

The *Kalingattupparaṇi* composed by the poet laureate Jayangoṇḍār towards the close of the reign of Kulōttunga I is the earliest and best of the *paraṇis* accessible to us. It is a splendid little masterpiece. The line between history and fictitious convention is very clearly seen throughout the poem; and the poet's mastery of a choice diction, and the sustained harmony between the metres employed and the incidents portrayed, are unique in the whole range of Tamil literature. The *paraṇi* is the war poem *par excellence* and depicts not only the pomp and circumstance of war, but all the gruesome details of the field. It may be noted in passing that the Kalinga war of Kulōttunga seems to have been the theme of several literary efforts; to judge from the stray verses on the subject preserved by the commentaries on the *Vīraśōḻiyam* and the *Daṇḍiyalaṅgāram*, a good part of the results of these efforts has been lost irretrievably. The survival of the *Kalingattup-* *paraṇi* in its entirety is perhaps due to its supreme merit; for there are several instances in the history of Indian literatures of one good book killing many inferior ones. Jayangoṇḍār had many imitators but no rival among the poets of later times.