Kashmir, Tamilnadu, Panini, Abhinavagupta, etc.-2

[Sudalaimuthu Palaniappan]

Recently Dr. N. Ganesan has established that potiyil is potalaka and said the
following:

"Dandin calls Potiyil as the Southern mountain(dakSiNAdri)."

"dakSiNApathe potalako nAma parvatah" (GanDavyUha, p. 158, ch. 29, line 20)


Moreover, the Pandiyan kingdom was well-known to Classical Sanskrit authors.
In his book, "Indian Acculturation: Agastya and Skanda" G. S. Ghurye gives the
following: "In the Ramayana we have a much more explicit and expanded
reference to Agastya's association with the extreme south-east and the
Pandyas. It occurs when Sugriva, organising his campaign of search for Sita,
describes various parts of the country, and assigns them for search to his
lieutenants. (Ram. IV, 41.13-20). After mentioning the country of the Cholas,
the Pandyas and Keralas, Sugriva fixes his emphasis on the Malaya mountain,
otherwise known as Ayomukha, i.e., 'Iron-faced'. He fixes up the Kaveri river
there and also the Tamraparni not far away and says: "You will see at the top
of the mountain Agastya the greatest of sages sitting composed shining like
like the sun." There "you will ask Agastya's permission and then can cross the
Tamraparni and proceeding further you will see the Pandyakavata, the gate of
the Pandyas. At that point you will notice the Mahendra mountain which was
cast by Agastya in the ocean. Beyond that there is the island which is cursed
Ravana's abode." The Tamraparni, Pandya Kavata and Mt. Mahendra are mentioned
in Kautilya's Arthasastra (II, II, 29) as sources of pearls." (p.21) (Ghurye
also identifies potiyil with potalaka.)

In the following CT poem, the Pandiyan king is praised as wearing the pearls
from his see and sandal from his mountain.

tan2 kaTal piRanta muttin2 Aram um
mun2ai tiRai koTukkum tuppin2 tan2 malai
teRal aru marapin2 kaTavuL pENi
kuRavar tanta cAntin2 Aram um
iru pEr Aram um ezil peRa aNiyum
tiru vIz mArpin2 ten2n2avan2....       (akanAn2URu 13-1-6)

Ghurye also says the following: "Kalidasa speaks of the south as the quarter
of the earth which is presided over or occupied by Agastya (Raghuvamsa,IV,
44)...He was the ooficiating priest for a Pandya king in the performance of
great Vedic sacrifices like the horse-sacrifice. The Pandya king was a
contemporary of the Ikshvaku king Aja, Rama's grandfather, and was present at
the choice-marriage of the Vidarbha princess Indumati. The Pandya king, having
obtained a special weapon from Lord Siva had become so powerful that the
overlord of Lanka (Ravana), when he left his kingdom in search of his
adventurous campaign against Indra, thought it prudent to effect a peace-
treaty with him so that his dominions in India, not very far from that of the
Pandya king's domain should be unmolested. The capital of the Pandya king was
the town known as Uraga, which, as the great commentator Mallinatha tells us,
was situated on the coast of Kanyakubja, i.e. what has been known popularly as
Kanyakumari or Cape Comorin. Both the Kaveri and the Tamraparni rivers are
mentioned as having been in his dominion (Raghu, IV, 45-50; VI, 59-62). A long
necklace worn by the king around his neck is specially mentioned." (p.31)

The myths of Agastya being Pandiya's priest, the Pandyan king wearing the
necklace of Indra/Harihaya  and Ravana seeking peace with a Pandiyan king  are
mentioned in inscriptions such as the taLavAypuram plates of parAntaka
VIranArAyanan2 and the larger cin2n2aman2ur plates of rAjasimhan2. What is
surprising is Kalidasa's knowledge of these myths which are specific to
Pandiyas and not pan-Indian.

Regards
S. Palaniappan