Studies in Cola History and Administration c6.31.1

c6.31.1

which is translated by Mr. Aiyangar thus: "He stands so as to adorn the carved post of the chariot; whoever he may be, may his garland not fade for a long time." A more literal rendering would be: "Who verily is it that stands so as to adorn the carved post of the chariot? May his garland flourish!" Far from being ignorant of the identity of the boy-king, the poet is sure that there is only one answer to his question. Further if amidst the many uncertainties of the literature of the Śaṅgam, there is one fact established beyond all doubt, it is that the hero of Talaiyālaṅkāṉam was a little boy whose youth tempted the cupidity of his neighbours.* And this raises a strong presumption of the identity of the persons to whom *Puram* 76 and 77 refer; and what can be more natural than that an admiring poet should, as he does in *Puram* 77, exaggerate the youth of his hero in celebrating his victory and sing of him as a tender child who, despite his youth, worked wonders on the field of battle? The next instance adduced is *Puram* 74, which is said to have been composed in a Cōḻa prison, by a Cēra king amazed at his own pusillanimity in seeking water of his jailors to quench his thirst. The colophon says that the prisoner did not drink the water he got, and describes his act in the words: "uṇṇāṉ sollittuṉjiya pāṭṭu" which might mean that without drinking the water, he uttered the lines and died. This is the meaning accepted by Mr.