Studies in Cola History and Administration c7.167

c7.167

being the father of Pili-vaḷai, he was the ruler of the Nāga country (Nākanāḍu). There has been a great amount of speculation on the Nāgas in recent years; no connection between them and the Bāṇas has ever been suggested; nor indeed does it seem likely. The attempt to derive Vaḷai from Bali is indeed hopeless; the suggested identification of the Andhrapatha with Pākarāṣṭra is quite plausible; * but, in itself, this does not go far to support the identification of the Nāga king of the Maṇimēkalai with an imaginary Bāṇa king.