A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c12.41

c12.41

Passing over the many contemporaries of Neḍuñjeḷiyan—Pāṇḍya and Chola princes and the poets who mention them and their achievements—we must now notice a rather protracted civil war in the Chola kingdom mentioned by Kōvūr Kiḷār and other poets. This war was between Nalaṅgiḷḷi (also called Śeṭcenni) and Neḍuṅgiḷḷi. The latter shut himself up at Āvūr which was being besieged by Māvaḷattān, the younger brother of Nalaṅgiḷḷi. In one poem Kōvūr Kiḷār says that if he claimed to be virtuous, Neḍuṅgiḷḷi should open the gates of the fort, or if he claimed to be brave he should come into the open and fight. He did neither, but caused untold misery to the people of his beleaguered city by shutting himself up in a cowardly manner. Another poem dealing with the siege of Uraiyūr by Nalaṅgiḷḷi himself, once more Neḍuṅgiḷḷi being the besieged, is more considerate and impartial; it is addressed to both princes and exhorts them to stop the destructive war, as whoever loses would be a Chola, and a war to the finish must necessarily end in the defeat of one party. A third poem relates to a somewhat piquant situation. A poet, Iḷandattan by name, who went into Uraiyūr from Nalaṅgiḷḷi, was suspected by Neḍuṅgiḷḷi of spying. As he was about to be killed, Kōvūr Kiḷār interceded with his song on the harmless and upright nature of poets and thus saved him. Another poem hints at internal dissensions in the royal family at Uraiyūr, which induced Nalaṅgiḷḷi's soldiers to rush to war in utter disregard of omens. Civil war seems, indeed, to have been the bane of the Chola kingdom in this age; Śeṅguṭṭuvan, as we have seen, was called upon to intervene in another war at an earlier time.