The Colas c9.12

c9.12

The stone inscriptions often contain astronomical data which, being less enigmatic than those from the Pāṇḍyan inscriptions of a later age, have yielded, in the hands of Kielhorn and others, results of great value to Cōḷa chronology. It is, however, easy to exaggerate the significance of such data. 'The fact that a date has been recorded accurately does not prove the authenticity of a record, any more than an incorrect date proves that the record in which it is put forward is spurious.'²¹ Relatively few inscriptions quote any definite era like the Śaka or Kaliyuga,²² but in several instances the details furnished are so full and accurate that, together with the historical introductions characteristic of particular monarchs and the regnal years cited, they have led to the attainment of chronological results of precision and value. These results show that whenever possible the Cōḷa monarchs followed the practice of choosing their successors and associating them in the administration of the country in their own life-time. This must have been done with the double object of avoiding disputed successions and providing opportunities for proper training, sufficiently early in life, for the future sovereigns of the country.