uraga and AlavAy

[Venkatraman Iyer]

>there is ample evidence that Kalidasa was intimately familiar with
>the traditions regarding the Pandyas. At least in this he seems to
>have been better informed than the modern scholar Venkayya.

 This is true. What the modern scholar, V. Venkayya did has
a powerful influence among India specialists, usually unaware of any
Dravidian language. Venkayya's myth of uragapura of Pandyas
= Uraiyur (part of modern Tiruchy) is propagated by E. Hultzsch
onwards. A more recent example can be seen in a book by an authority
of ancient Indian geography:
B. C. Law, Mountains and Rivers of India, Geological Survey of India,
Calcutta, 1968, p.209,
  "In ancient times the KAvErI, noted for pearl fishery, flowed
   down into the sea through the southern portion of the ancient
   kingdom of coLa. Uragapura, the ancient capital of CoLa,
   modern uRaiyUr, was situated on the southern bank of KAvErI."

Scholars may be aware that B. C. Law has three major errors:
a) KAviri flows in the middle of Chola kingdom (NOT in its
southern bounds).
b) Vaiyai/Vaigai's meeting place of the sea is the well known
pearl harvesting site. It is in the Pandya country. Greek, Arab,
Tamil, Sanskrit sources say this. [NOT the Kaveri].
c) Uragapura is the Haalaasya (Madurai), capital of the Pandyas
who collected taxes for pearl fishery and adorned themselves
and Meenakshi with pearls.


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