The Colas c9.2

c9.2

On the history of the Cōḷas, as on many other subjects of early Indian history, we had, till about 1900, little information of an authentic character. When, in the early years of the last century, Col. Mackenzie made his great effort to survey all and collect as many as possible of the antiquarian remains of the Madras Presidency, his agents in the Tanjore district failed to discover anything more remarkable on the ancient Cōḷas than the *Cōḷavaṁśacaritram*. This is a late *Sthalapurāṇa* which is legendary and full of miracles. Tradition knew nothing of the real history of the older rulers of the land and could not tell if the Cōḷa dynasty numbered eighty-four kings or sixteen. Epigraphy has made remarkable progress in South India during the last fifty years. Hultzsch, Venkayya and Krishna Sastri have brought out scholarly editions of many of the inscriptions. Of the Śaṅgam literature, which is doubtless the earliest group of Tamil writings extant, considerable portions have been recovered and published. Now it is both possible and necessary to attempt a comprehensive study which shall bring together the results so far attained, and so to approach a definitive history of the Cōḷas.