A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c12.13

c12.13

But this synchronism is found not in any of the Śangam anthologies, but in the *Śilappadikāram* which presents with great literary charm the popular legend of Kōvalan and Kaṇṇagi, and relates the institution of the Kaṇṇagi cult in South India and Ceylon. In its present form this work cannot be placed earlier than the fifth century; but considering the quasi-religious nature of the story and the institution of the cult, it is not unlikely that the legend preserved the memory of a historically correct synchronism.