Ilandiraiyan

Ilandiraiyan (fl. c. 190 CE[1]) was a ruler of Kanchipuram and a contemporary of the Early Chola king, Karikala.[2][3] Some consider him the founder of the Pallava dynasty.[4] Ilandiraiyan is referred to in the literature of the Sangam period and is the hero of some of the poems in the Pathupattu. He was a poet himself and four of his songs are extant even today.[3] He is also known as Tondaiman Ilandiraiyan as Kanchipuram is located in the region known as Tondaimandalam.[4]

Life

According to P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar, Ilandiraiyan ascended the throne of Kanchi during the reign of the Chola king Karikal and was probably, a feudatory of the latter. Ilandiraiyan is believed to have been a weak, minor chieftain who had little power and waged no battles.

In poetry

Uruttiragannanar who wrote the Paṭṭiṉappālai, gives a vivid description of Ilandiraiyan's kingdom and capital city of Kanchi in his poem Perumpāṇāṟṟuppaṭai. He advises "poets seeking rewards" to go to the court of Tondaiman Ilandiraiyan, "the great patron of bards".[5] The Perumpāṇāṟṟuppaṭai contains 500 lines in the akaval metre eulogising Ilandiraiyan as well as providing a mythical origin for the Tondaiman clan.[1]

Ilandiraiyan was also a poet himself with four of his songs still extant. One of them is on the importance of personal character and its benefits on good rule.[3] Ode 185 of the Puṟanāṉūṟu is attributed to Tondaiman Ilandiraiyan.

Notes

  1. 1 2 Zvelebil 1974, p. 23.
  2. ↑ Iyengar 1929, p. 397.
  3. 1 2 3 Sastri 1961, p. 126.
  4. 1 2 Ramaswamy 2007, p. 80.
  5. ↑ Iyengar 1929, p. 388.

References

  • Iyengar, P. T. Srinivasa (1995) [1929]. "Chapter XXI: Ilandiraiyan". History of the Tamils : from the earliest times to 600 A.D. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. pp. 388–405. ISBN 978-8120601451. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  • Ramaswamy, Vijaya (2007). Historical dictionary of the Tamils. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810864450. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  • Sastri, Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta (1961). A History of South India: From Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.
  • Zvelebil, Kamil Veith (1974). A history of Indian Literature: Tamil Literature. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN 9783447015820. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
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