Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v1.c12.2712

v1.c12.2712

1. Kulasekhara.—A Cholian king of South India. He besieged the Paṇḍyan king, Parakkama of Madhurā, and the latter sent for help to Parakkamabāhu I. of Ceylon. Parakkamabāhu sent an expeditionary force to South India under Laṅkāpura, but in the meantime the Paṇḍyan king had been slain and his capital taken. The Sinhalese force, however, landed and carried on a prolonged campaign against Kulasekhara and his allies, who seem to have been numerous and powerful. Kulasekhara was defeated, and the Paṇḍyan king’s son, Vira Paṇḍu, was installed in Madhurā. The Chola prisoners taken in the war were brought to Ceylon and employed in the reconstruction of the Mahā Thūpa in Anurādhapura.¹