the following are the verses of Tiruvalangadu copper plates which gives Rjc's ganges conquest details... pls have a look. especially the last two verses...
(V. 109.) This light of the Solar race, laughing at Bhagiratha who had brought down the Ganga (to the earth from heaven) by the power of (his) austerities, wished to sanctify his own country with the waters of the Ganga (i.e., the river Ganges) carried thither through the strength of (his) arm.
(V. 110.) Accordingly (he) ordered the commander of the army who had powerful battalions (under his control), who was the resort of heroism (and) the foremost of diplomats, to subdue the enemy kings occupying (the country on) the banks of that (river).
(V. 111). Before him, as from the slopes of the Himalayas, marched a very large army like the tremendous volume of the waters of the Ganga with wavy rows of moving horses, causing all the quarters to resound with its confused clamour.
(V. 112.) The van of his army crossed the rivers by way of bridges formed by herds of elephants. The rest of the army (crossed the same) on foot, (because) the waters in the meantime had dried up being used by elephants, horses and men.
(V. 113.) The soldiers of Vikrama-Chola having reached the points of the compass (first) by the dust raised by crowds of elephants, horses and foot-men, quickly entered (next) the country of hostile kings.
(V. 114.) That general of the ornament of the Solar race first conquered Indraratha (and) captured the country of that jewel of the Lunar race to meet him (on the battlefield) with very powerful elephants, horses and innumerable foot-soldiers.
(V. 115.) The white parasol of that king, the jewel of the Lunar race, fell (to the ground) its (supporting) staff and top being cut (asunder) in battle by sharp arrows, as if the disc of the moon (fell), distressed by the defeat (of her descendant).
(V. 116.) Then having robbed Ranasura of his prosperity he entered the extensive dominions of Dharmapala. (And) conquering him too, this General of the king of Sibis (i.e., of Rajendra-Chola) reached the celestial river (Ganga).
(V. 117.) The dandanayaka then immediately got the most sacred waters of that (river) carried to his master Madhurantaka by the subjugated chiefs on the banks of that (Ganga river).
(V. 118.) (Meantime) Rajendra-Chola (himself) with a desire to conquer (enemy kings) reached the river Godavari and by the scented cosmetics on his body (washed away) during a playful bath in the waters (of that river) caused her (i.e., the Godavari river) to be suspected (of enjoyment with a stranger) by the lord of rivers (i.e., the ocean).[3]
(V. 119.) The powerful General had (just then) got the waters of the Ganga carried to his master (Rajendra-Chola), after having defeated Mahipala and having taken possession of his fame, splendour and precious gems.
(V. 120.) The heroic king killed in battle (the lord of) Odda who was carrying on the orders of the king of the Kali (-age),[4] together with (his) younger brother and (his) army and then forcibly took possession of (his) rutting elephants.
(V. 121.) There, the king with his own hand (and) from the (back of the) elephant mounted by himself, killed a mad elephant that ran at him with its trunk raised.
(V. 122.) He (then) entered his own (capital) town, which by its prosperity despised all the merits of the abode of the gods, his lotus feet (all along) being worshipped by the kings of high birth who had been subdued (by him).
(V. 123.) Having conquered Kataha with (the help of) his valiant forces that had crossed the ocean, (and) having made all kings bow down (before him) this (king) (Rajendra-Chola) protected the whole earth for a long time.
(V. 124.) (This) lord constructed in his own dominions as a pillar of victory (a tank) known by repute as Cholagangam which was composed of the waters of the Ganges.
the verse 123 says about kataram conquest the next verse says about errection of cholagangam ( the pillar of victory by water ).
by these verses the words of the scholars are confusing by distinguishing ganges and kadaram conquests are separate one.
do any scholar has notified and dealt with these statements?
could any of our learned members, pls clarify about this?
To me it seems that Rajendra went to Odhisa and West Bengal where Ganga flows, from there he turned west towards Godavari and later returned to south. v115 - Lunar dynasty referred in this verse would be of Odhisa only. Lunar dynasty of Kosala was probably not contemporary of Rajendra, I will check on this on my next study of the Somvamshis of Kosala. The name Dharmpala I have heard before somewhere, other names like Indraratha, I will try to get information on that. v120 - This Odda might be Odra which was situated west of Kalinga, probably, Odra is an ancient kingdom, I will check its location and let you know.
in South India should have participated in the conquest which means there was no other activity but only invasion, capture and killing of people all through ! Is it possible or the usual exaggerated disinformation ?
In a book deals with the history of Kosalas says,there is a notification in the records of Rajathiraja says that he was receiving tribute from the kousalas (i.e) kosalas. do any one remember about this inscription or copper plate?
It happened to notice that, except Rjc, no other king in the whole history of Barathavarsha claimedas " Gangai Kondan " ( Ganga Vijayee ).even though a no. of southern kings records says that his Northern border was Ganga .
Northern kings also never claimed such Title.
In this tiruvalangadu copper plates, a notification about Baghiratha, a king who brought the Ganges to the Earth... all the scholars who speaks about him, says that the Ganga, after reached the Earth, divided into seven streams.
The Central stream named as Bagirathi ( present name as Ganges flows through india and Bangladesh and reaches bay of bengal ) fulfilled the purpose of its arrival to the earth.
three Eastern streams are
Hladini - flows through tibet, assam, bangladesh reaches bay of bengal
pavani- flows through Indradwipa andSwarnadwipa.
nalini - flows through saimi mandala ( the Siam )
The western streams are
Sita - flows throgh no. countries and reaches western sea.
chaksu - flows throgh no. of countries and reaches western sea
sindhu - flows through no. countries and reaches " sindhu sagara " the arabian sea.
I think Rjc could claim as " Gangai Kondan" after winning the countries situated along these all the seven streams of Ganges. (asit is notified in the Copper plate )
as it has been explained by the scholars the countries mentioned in Rjc's Meikeerthi ( prasasthi ), from dandabkukthi to Manakkavaram ( mentioned in Kadaram expedition ) falls in the regions of the central stream and eastern streams of Ganges.
do anyone haveIdea or locations about the western streams?or do those countries appear in Meikeerthi?
Hi Shakti, 'Gangai Kondan' is not a standard title to be claimed by the kings, its not like doing ashvamedha which is a standard yagna. So I feel it would be wrong to compare on this line. Please give the name of the book in which it is mentioned. Splitting of Ganga into seven streams is a mythical account however if you want to prove then it can be proved by counting various streams of Ganga and you will find more than seven, but all small streams. Just saying Gangai Kondan, does not mean that the every region falling on this stream has to be conquered, however it can be true as well. The deciding factor would be if the conquered regions fall along with the main stream. Gangai Kondan may be victory in West Bengal or conquering the Himalayas from where it starts. We can put forward theories, but if we can also provide substantial proofs then the theory will have a value otherwise it can be taken just as an imagination. One things, I am not sure if Sindhu can be taken as a tributary river of Ganga, Indus has its own origin and flow quite separate from Ganga. I will try to find more on these seven streams and will let you know.
Pls check with the book " D.C.sircar's , The studies in the geography of ancient and medieval India ". In this book he explained the seven streams of Ganga with it's puranic notifications from vayu, matsya, brammanda etc. Along with the notifications of Alberuni.
i want to know the worshipping way in swamimalai. whether first u have to worship lord murugan then come down to lord shiva or how it should be. whether any separate way of making worship s there.
I had a chat with Mr.Hegde of Srigokarna Mahabaleshwara Temple (09449258114) He said the Gangama river has seven streams. This Gokarna and Gangama river were ports. The Arabian Sea coincides with this Ganga River, and exports were made during chola period. The stone for building Big Temple might have been lifted from here/ or somewhere near shipped to Mannar galf and then to Kaveri in boats.
The Gangapadi already under the cholas from the time of Rrc, notified in his meikeerthi. At kolar Erayiram Pallavaraya and at kudamalai kshatriya sighamani kongalwa ( alias Rajendra kongalwa) were the protectors of those regions.
The gokarna in the meantime of Rjc was in the possession of kadambas, who over thrown the southern silaharas and captured Goa ( the sandimatheevu) with gokarna.
The Gangapadi already under the cholas from the time of Rrc, notified in his meikeerthi. At kolar Erayiram Pallavaraya and at kudamalai kshatriya sighamani kongalwa ( alias Rajendra kongalwa) were the protectors of those regions.
The gokarna in the meantime of Rjc was in the possession of kadambas, who over thrown the southern silaharas and captured Goa ( the sandimatheevu) with gokarna.
5. Sita @ Syr Darya 6. Chakshu @ Amu Darya 7. Sindhu @ Indus
The countries Notified in Meikeerthi of Rjc ... From Dandabukthi @ the border regions of present ORISSA and West bengal To some countries in the Kadaram Regions are situated around Thailand and Burma... seems to be notifies the Eastern Streams regions.
Pls have a look at the attached file and share your views...
Many time i get confused with various statements in Anbil, Thiruvaalangadu, Velanjeri copper plates / Kanyakumari inscriptios and the diff in sanskrit and tamil versions ofa same plate.Now the Indhalur plates.
I had the opportunity of visiting Kurukshetra some years back where there is a big tank [pushkarani]. Legend has it that
Pandavas, afterthe Mahabharata war, Pandavas performed the
"Utharakiriya" in this pond for their kins and ancestors including the
enemies [Gauravas]who were their blood relations to prevent
the effects of "sisuhaththi dosham". Like,in ancient times, during the wars when the sun set, the warring factions declared
ceasefire for the day! Among other dharmas, they also had the
inclination to perform the karma when people died in wars irrespective of whether they were friends or foes. Maybe that was the order of the day that was why Rajendra too performed this after the northern invasion and, brought the holywaters of Ganges and purified
Gangaikonda choleswaram besdes performing the obsequies of his ancestors. Gangesflows right from the Himalayan region "Gangotri"
and joins Bay ofBengal through Hoogly river at Calcutta. So Bengal could be related.
Even today in Hindu dharma/karma, the holy ganga water plays an
importantrole like we store the sealed ganga water in our pooja
to use itwhen somebody dies on the belief that the departed soul
attains "moksha". Perhaps it was a long cherished dream of Rajendra
to do it for his forefathers and eventually he lead the expedition himself !
Through his naval expedition Rajendra should have reached Himalayas
through the sea route to avoid the innumerable kingdoms in Madhya Pradesh to reach the Ganges. Himalayan route, after all, is an unknown territory forany south indian king's invasion.
Bangla Desh [East Pakistan] is also part of Bengal and Rajendra
could have reached "Maasuni Desam" [may be the present "Nagaland"]
which is also partof the Himalayan region. He would have taken the Nagapattinam-Calcutta sea route to reach Bengal [Bangladesh] as one account says during his time the chola naval forces were using mechanical vessels !
The journal " chola invasion on Bengal " by A.C. Banerji's main objective is refusing the " Ganges crossing by elephant bridge".
According to meikeerthi line " Thodu kadar sangam Otta Mahipalanai venjamar valagaththu anjuviththaruli " of Rjc , the war between 4 rulers of bengal and Rjc commenced at the river mouth, Seems to be the port of tamralipti. Possibly the navy of Rjc took part.
It shows that army never enter into deep Bengal to cross Ganges. Mahipala's Capital was " Munghir " in Bihar.
According to the maximum height of Asian elephants of 11.5 feet, is there any possible depth range in ganges river course, fordable by elephant bridge?
> > According to the maximum height of Asian elephants of 11.5 feet, is there any possible depth range in ganges river course, fordable by elephant bridge? >
didnt pulikesi do the same on the kollidam?
> Anyone have analysed ? > > > > Thanking You > > Sakthi sree >
V. 29) ......... He caused the splendour of the lord of the
Pallavas, who had opposed the rise of his power, to be obscured by the dust of his army, and to vanish behind the walls of K&fichtpura.
'67
(V. 30) When straightway he strove to conquer the Chdjas, the Kftv6ri, who has the darting corps for her tremulous eyes, had her current obstructed by the causeway formed by his elephants > whose rutting-juice was dripping down, and avoided the contact with the ocean.
http://www.poetryinstone.in “*Here the language of stone surpasses the language of man*” – Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore
The ganges near the banks may not be so deep like how the seashore descends alongside Bay of Bengal and one potential threat in the Ganga waters is crocodiles !
Before analyzing about the Ganges river crossing, I feel, its Better to Confirm the Route of Rjc as notified in Meikeerthi. then only we can say where he crossed the Ganges...
here i would like to share the Details of the scholars and my Findings related to their words...
I feel that, without a clear route details we can not say where the army crossed...
at First,
I give the details of Madhura mandalam, which is the next country notified in melkeerthi after sakkarakkottam which is being accepted by the scholars as Present Bastar region in Chattisgarh state of India... ( I will Give these details Later )
The meikeerthi line " Mudhir Pada Vallai Madura Mandalamum " .
This line is explained by sri. Krishnaswamy ayyangar as " Madura mandalam with the Fort of Mudiri-pada " ( Ancient India, page 107 )...
By sri. K.A.Nilakanda Sashthiriyar, as " Madura Mandalam Destroyed in a Trice " and give a foot note as " Hultzsch has : ' whose Forts Banners touched the clouds ' which has no support from the Text " ( the Cholas - page 207 and 238 ) and locates it near sakkarakkottam.
Mr.Hultzsch locates at " Northern mathura, in U.P, India "...
Our's Virarajendra @ Hari sir, locates " northern Mathura in U.P, India ".
Our's Kalinga Balu sir, Locates " Kalinjar, in U.P. India ( in connection with Ghazni Mahmud ) "
I felt that there are some confusing statements about this place happens due to the no. of Tamil meanings for a single word.
Now I try to analyze it Myself with the possible meanings of the Line,
" Mudhir --- means -- Some thing Old "
" Pada - do not give any right meaning with out connection to the next word "
" Vallai -- there are no.of meanings given by Dictionaries while considering with the description of a country, Only Two meanings are relative.
now considering the meanings of Three words, the meanings of " vallai " gives two accounts,
1.The Madhura Mandalam had an Old fort ( the word " Pada " seems to be non-operative by considering with, the word mudhir which clearly means old, Ripe... etc )
check the Meaning of the word " Mudhir " in the following link.. ( DDSA web dictionaries )
now the line with the 2nd Meaning " Great forest "
Here I consider the writing procedure in tamil, as the poet has avoided a letter to make this line in a format of verse
" Mudhir pada ( l ) vallai madhuramandalam ( முதிர் பட(ல்) வல்லை மதுர மண்டலம் ) ".
This is because of, ல் ( l ) must be played in a silent manner, when வ ( va ), is the next letter... seems to be a writting or composing procedure in tamil.... such silent wordings are usual in tamil literatures...
Now we get a direct meaning of the word " pada(l) means Fence ( வேலி )...
Now the whole line gives a meaning as " the Madhura Mandalam which was protected by a Great Forest, for a long time "
here, I got a struck with a detail when I read about " MAHABAN " ( which is an Arab people's notification of " MAHAVANA " which means " great Forest " ) in connection with Northern Madhura,
from an account of Ghazni Mahmud ( 998 to 1030 - Ruling years, The Life and Times of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna by Mr. Muhammad Nazim )
here pls have a look at the attached document " Mathura war " to understand the nature of Mahavana ( from the book " The Kitab - i - Yamini by Al - Utbi and Translators )...
in this account the author Al - Utbi ( a secretory of Ghazni Mahmud ) , says Mahrah or the country of Kaljand ( for Mathura ) and do not give the name " Mahaban ", but the later historians like Al - Gardizi, Unsuri gives its name...
from the Explanation of Al -utbi we could understand the size of " Mahavana ", as it could hide a large army in it....
Its location is 6 miles south - east to Mathura ( by Muhammad Nazim and Many others )
Mathura was situated on the Eastern Bank of Yamuna in the time of Rjc, as recorded by Al-Beruni and explained by Alexander cunningham
( At present , mathura situated on the West of Yamuna )...
For its time reference, scholars says " Mahavana is the Playing spot of Krishna, the Mahabharatha fame "
Now Its assumable that,
Madhura Mandalam is " Madhura in U.P, which was protected by a Great Forest " ,
by means of its suffix as Mandalam, scholars assumes that , it belongs to the " Masuni Desam " ( I will give this details Later )
here Its acceptable that Rjc's army must penetrate the Mahavana to reach Mathura, from South,
so that we can conclude that, it may be the Right destination...
Am I Right?
Expects the views of all, to proceed the next destinations as per my Analysis ...
Like any river, Yamuna too had banks on either side and
your analysis might be true that Mathura existed on both sides of River Yamuna ! Legend has it that Sri Krishna played with his friends in the forests and also killed several
asuras in these forests! This could be the place of RJC as
analysed by you. Great work !
veegopalji
The beautiful Yamuna, India's most sacred river flows through the transcendental land of Vrindavana. Yamunotri, which is north of Haridwar in the Himalayas Mountains, is where the holy Yamuna River begins. It is about 234 km north of Haridwar. Technically the source of the Yamuna is Saptarishi Kund, a glacial lake. To get thunotri the Yamuna flows south until it reaches Delhi. It then flows to Brajnd eventually merges with the Ganges and the underground Saraswati at Prayag (Allahabad).
The main reason it is so sacred is because it flows through Vrindavana and Mathura, and was thus intimately connected to Lord Krishna's pastimes.
The Yamuna River and the Ganges are considered the most sacred rivers in India. "As far as sanctity is concerned, the River Yamuna is more directly connected with Lord Krishna than the Ganges. The Lord sanctified the River Yamuna from the beginning of His transcendental pastimes in the world. While His father Vasudeva was crossing the Yamuna with baby Lord Krishna for a safe place at Gokula on the other bank of the river from Mathura, the Lord fell down in the river, and by the dust of His lotus feet the river at once became sanctified." (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.19.6)
A bath in this river is said to be one hundred times more purifying than a bath in the Ganges. The reason being that even though the Ganges was once touched by the feet of Lord Vishnu, it was the Yamuna where Lord Krishna Himself played and swam with His cowherd boyfriends; He also sported in its waters with the beautiful gopi damsels of Vraja.
The traditional bathing place of most pilgrims is at Kesi ghata, where Lord Krishna bathed after killing the Kesi demon. The Yamuna has been flowing here at Kesi ghata since ancient times. One who takes bath in the river Yamuna is freed from all past sins and contamination of this material world. That person will also gradually become a pure devotee and achieve liberation by returning to the spiritual world to personally associate with Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
"According to the Varaha Purana, as quoted by Srila Jiva Gosvami, there is no difference between the water of the Ganges and the Yamuna, but when the water of the Ganges is sanctified one hundred times, it is called the Yamuna. Similarly, it is said in the scriptures that one thousand names of Vishnu are equal to one name of Rama, and three names of Lord Rama are equal to one name of Krishan." (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.19.6 purport)
"Simply by bathing in the Yamuna, anyone can diminish the reactions of his sinful activities." (Krishna Book, Chap 38)
"By taking bath in the Yamuna River people are liberated and become Krishna conscious." (Caitanya Caritamrita Antya 4.98 purport)
"There are many devotees in Vrindavana who regularly bathe in the Yamuna, and this cleanses all the contamination of the material world." (Srimad Bhagavatam 5.8.31)
"One should not give up the process of austerity. If possible, one should bathe in the water of the Yamuna. This is an item of austerity. Therefore, our Krishna consciousness movement has established a center in Vrindavana so that one may bathe in the Yamuna, chant the Hare Krishna mantra and then become perfect and return back to Godhead." (Srimad Bhagavatam 6.5.28 purport)
"The Yamuna River washed Krishna's lotus feet when the Lord appeared in Vrindavana five thousand years ago. Lord Krishna sported daily with His boys and girlfriends in the Yamuna River and consequently that river is also caranamrita." (Srimad Bhagavatam 11.6.19)
Thiruvalangadu copper plates states also men crossed by foot... this one gives a view that the river flow is considerably low as it is crossable by walk...
the purpose of elephant bridge, to transport the Caravans pulled by the Bulls...
while comparing both men and bull, it could be assumed that the depth of water flow may be more than 3ft and less than 5ft.
Then, the Elephant bridging seems to be the Bridge must be a Ground Level Bridge and May not be a Bridge above or Below the Ground level...
here the Ground level is the depth of water from the Bank of the river.
the connecting element used for bridging the elephants may be Wooden Planks. ( i.e ) the wooden plank must be placed on the elephant's back from the bank...
It is assumable that, as it was a Ground level bridging, both the banks must be with in a the depth range of Elephant's height range of 6.6 ft to 11.5 ft.
for the equal height range of bridging, whole depth range of the river must be with in the same height range of elephants ( 6.6 to 11.5 )
Such course of water flow only appears in a channel type river course...
yours mathura of U.P, was fully surrounded by 12 forests,
The twelve Vanas of Mathura- mandala or Braja-mandala are Madhuvana, Talavana, Kumndavana, Vrindavana, Khadiravana, Kamyakavana, Bahula-vana on the western side of the Jamuna; Mahavana, Vilva-vana, Loha- vana, Bhanditra-vana and bhadra vana on the eastern side of jamuna...
from the book of
Encyclopaedia of ancient Indian geography
by subodh kapoor...
In the history of Bharatha varsha, only three Mathuras appears no.of. times... 1. madhurai - tamilnadu, india 2.mathura - U.P., india 3. uttara madra - in the northwest division( uttarapatha ) ( I can not find exact location
Rjc's mathura - mandala differs, by no.of countries in Ganges-yamuna doab, governor of this mandala was at Mathura. my locating is both political and etymological based sir...
i will give those details later in the details of Masuni Desam.
Constructing Elephant Bridges is an old Indian Game.Kalidasa mentions this in his Raguvamsa.Ragu crossed the River Kapisa using the Elephant Bridge to defeatthe Kalinga King !!!http://www.studentorg.umd.edu/desi/article59.htm Had googled, its very nice to see elephants swimming in the Indian Ocean. Regards,S.KarthikVandemataram
Thiruvalangadu copper plates also states men crossed by foot... this one gives a view that the river flow is considerably low as it is crossable by walk...
the purpose of elephant bridge, to transport the Caravans pulled by the Bulls...
while comparing both men and bull, it could be assumed that the depth of water flow may be more than 3ft and less than 5ft.
Then, the Elephant bridging seems to be the Bridge must be a Ground Level Bridge and May not be a Bridge above or Below the Ground level...
here, the Ground level is the depth of water from the Bank of the river.
the connecting element used for bridging the elephants may be Wooden Planks. ( i.e ) the wooden plank must be placed on the elephant's back from the bank...
It is assumable that, as it was a Ground level bridging, both the banks must be with in a the depth range of Elephant's height range from 6.6 ft to 11.5 ft.
for the equal height range of bridging, whole depth range of the river must be with in the same height range of elephants ( 6.6 to 11.5 )
Such course of water flow only appears in a channel type river course...
While bridge construction, a condition also appears, that is, the opposite bank must be free from enemies...