CHAPTER VII.
The Cheras.
Of the Chera kings of this period Athan I. was the earliest sovereign, contemporary with Karikal-Chola. He was wounded on the back while fighting at the head of his army against Karikal at Vennil[1] as related by me already in the life of Karikal. The Chera king unable to bear the disgrace of having received a wound on the back while fighting, determined to put an end to his life by starvation. It is said that some of his favourite companions also voluntarily died with him unwilling to part from him even in death [2]
His successor on the throne was Athan II., surnamed Chelvak-kadunk-ko-vâli-Athan. He gained the friendship of Karikal by marrying his daughter Sônai.[3] Being the son-in-law of the most powerful of the Tamil kings of this period, his reign appears to have been peaceful and prosperous. The poet Kapilar who was a Brahmin by birth enjoyed the special regard of this monarch. While in a pleasant mood the Chera king took hold of the hands of the poet and observed that they were remarkably soft. Kapilar who was an adroit flatterer complimented the king on the strength of his hands and gracefully acknowledged that the hands of the poets of his court cannot but be soft. The stanza sung by him on the occasion is as follows:-
“Thou warrior king, whose broad shoulders cause pangs of love to fair ladies, and terror to thy foes! to drive the fierce war elephant with a goad adorned with gold and to urge the animal to burst open the gates of thy enemies’ forts which are secured with iron bars: to hold up the reins of thy noble steed and clear the deep moats, the banks of which have been levelled by the soldiers: to draw with all thy might the string of thy bow and discharge arrows taken from the quiver hung on thy back when riding in the chariots, to do all these acts of strength, thy arms are long and sinewy and thy hands are broad and powerful. But the hands of
