The Colas c34.16

c34.16

From amidst a mass of legend centring round the name of the great poet, some facts seem to stand out prominently. His father was Āditya a resident of Mūvalūr (Tanjore dt., Mayavaram tq.) in Tiruvaḷundūr-nāḍu, and he seems to have been an *uvaccan* by caste.²³ Early in life, he attracted the attention of Śaḍaiyappavaḷḷal *alias* Śararāman, the Trigarta chieftain of Puduvai; the Trigarta is mentioned in the *Vik-ramaśōḻan-ulā*²⁴ and in some undated inscriptions from Mūva-lūr and Tirukkōḍikāval in which he is also described as Cēdirāya of the Gaṅgā race.²⁵ Kamban was also patronised by the contemporary Cōḷa king and was granted by him a fief called Kambanāḍu and the title *Kavic-cakravarti*. He undertook the composition of the *Rāmāyaṇa*, or rather *Rāmā-vatāra* as he seems to have called it, out of an unbounded love for the theme, and he carried the story only up to the return of Rāma to Ayōdhyā and his coronation as king, the *uttara kāṇḍam* being reputed to be the work either of Oṭṭak-kūttan or a lesser celebrity by name Vāṇidāsan or Vāṇiyan Tādan.