Blazer jalan kecil Pallava

Di antara yang dari kepala Pallava yang paling penting keturunan selama ke-13 abad ialah kopperunjingadeva 1 dan 2. Mereka penting karena dominasi mereka melawan semua kemungkinan periode yang menyaksikan erosi terus-menerus kain sosial yang lazim sejak waktu kuno dan era menilai permulaan akhir kekaisaran baik dan sangat kuat dinasti kuno India yang sudah menguasai Asia selama lebih dari 12 abad. Pada umur kali, yang adalah yang terakhir sejumlah empat umur setiap di antaranya yang terdiri lakhs tahun-tahun menurut kepercayaan India, kebaikan manusiawi mencapai air surut yang paling rendah, sebagai seperti itu kira-kira saja sembarang satu dengan cukup sumber penghasilan esensial bisa memaksakan ahli mereka atas lain-lainnya dan menyatakan sendiri sebagai pengasa. Yang terlambat kedua belas dan ke-13 abad-abad menekankan kejahatan berlebihan ketuaan ini kali lebih banyak lagi daripada abad-abad bahwa preceeded dan adalah pertanda apa yang seharusnya datang.

Pada awal ke-13 abad A.D, kekaisaran Chola, yang sudah menguasai benua selama keempat abad sebelumnya sudah menjadi begitu dialirkan sumber penghasilan bahwa mereka adalah dengan sederhana tak ada kekuasaan mereka dulu biasa. Apa pernah adalah kekaisaran baik sekarang sudah dikurangi sampai sehelai selimut kapas sulaman kain perca collectorates dan magistracies tersebar luas dengan korupsi dan kekacauan. Negara bagian dan dinasti bermusuhan dengan lambat sudah mulai membuat langkah bahwa mereka tidak akan berani berharap sedikit tahun yang lalu. Kopperunjingadevar, seorang pemimpin pallava keturunan yang melayani sebagai feaudatory ke cholas dan yang punya hubungan keluarga dengan mereka secara perkawinan adalah yang pertama untuk mempergunakan situasi untuk memperkuat posisinya. Masalah dihadap oleh cholas diperhebat oleh fakta bahwa selama periode hingar-bingar ini chola takhta disibukkan oleh seorang pengasa yang tidak mampu dan korup dan oleh tak ada alat hampir sama ke yang termasyhur cholas abad-abad sebelumnya. Situasi mencapai titik didih waktu yang selatan pandyan negara bagian menyatakan kemerdekaan di 1222 A.D dan juga sibuk suatu chola provinsi. King’s ketidakmampuan untuk memeriksa agresi ini begitu dimarahkan kopperunjingan dan dengan benar bahwa dia melancarkan serangan di chola modal dan memenjarakan raja dan menterinya.

Kopperunjinga deva seandainya tidak menjadi seorang prajurit dan jenderal luar biasa diketahui untuk kesalehan dan lindungan aktifnya ke kesusasteraan khususnya kepada orang Tamil. Persembahannya membicarakan kemurahan hati luar biasa ke berbagai candi sepanjang pinggir sungai kaveri. Di 1231 A.D, dia terbuat untuk godess durga tempat keramat luar biasa di chidambaram. Tetapi, Kopperunjingan,for semua ambisi dan keberanian luar biasanya pendek di dua things.Time dan sumber penghasilan. Juga, dia menemukan jati dirinya di situasi di mana bidang kewenangannya dilingkungi di samping provinsi yang adalah tempat kediaman musuh bermusuhan dan thereby mesti berkelahi banyak lebih sukar daripada sumber penghasilannya sebetulnya cakap of.From persembahannya mungkin menunjukkan bahwa dia adalah seorang hakim bagus sekali situasi dan seorang penyiasat cemerlang. Pengalaman dengan cholas mempertunjukkan bagaimana baik dia bisa menangani musuh lipat ganda di waktu. Namun, mempertimbangkan kekuatan musuhnya yang menurut angka yang belaka, dia sudah akan menjadi orangnya untuk mengakui bahwa dia sudah menggigit dari lebih dari dia bisa mengunyah. Tetapi menjadi seorang prajurit gigih dan tak kompromistis dengan latar belakang militer cemerlang dia dengan sederhana tidak akan menjadi tenang untuk keadaan sedang dan mencari diplomatik pertempuran musuh. Dengan begitu sudah memilih militer pemecahan, dia membuat satu percobaan terakhir untuk mencengkam pimpinan dan melancarkan kampanye melawan pengasa utara Karnataka yang adalah musuh utamanya dan di pertempuran sialan membunuh tentara dan wilayah mereka dan mengangkat rampasan sangat besar di emas dan sumber penghasilan lain. Beberapa persembahannya memberi rekening grafis perlakuannya tawanan perang. Rampasan perang nanti digunakan untuk membuat yang timur gopuram (menara) candi baik di Chidambaram dan melakukan pemugaran candi lain. Untuk satu kali sudah mungkin kelihatannya bisa ada pemunculan kembali gemilang dan kreatif pallava periode ke-6, ke-7 dan ke-8 abad A.D.

Kopperunjingadeva belonged to that lineage of pallavas who descended from Bhimavarman who ruled combodia and vietnam. He was the brother of Simhavishnu varma who dispatched naval expeditions and occupied combodia, vietnam and malaya in late sixth century A.D. The Pallava kings took many titles during their reign and one of the most well known title was ‘kaadavarkon’, or ‘kaaduvetti’. Kaadavar occurs as a title of illustrious Rajasimha pallava of 8th century A.D. Kopperunjingan, following the tradition of his ancestors styled himself with the same title.

Kopperunjingan who was a devotee of Lord Nataraja at Chidambaram temple which was now in his territory, is credited with funding the temple renovation. Though his territory was in making during most part of his career, kopperunjingan also concentrated on a lot of development activities like founding villages, colleges, laying roads,libraries,gardens and other public utilities. Kopperunjingan’s inscriptions give us a picture of society during the period and the rapid transition it was undergoing. Though we may safely conclude that not all inscriptions available to us contain reliable information due to forgery , duplication and attempts to manipulate evidence and facts by the succeeding dynasties. One of the inscriptions referring to periodic audit of all temple transactions point to his efficient administration. Another inscription speaks of the temple deity being taken out on public procession during a certain festival, which is indicative of incorporation of new practices resulting out of demographic evolution and cultural shifts in the region. Yet another one, which speaks of a subordinate of his depositing money to burn a perpetual lamp in the ancient temple at vriddhachalam for " The victory and well being of kopperunjingadevar who is off to the battlefield" certainly points to troubled times. Kopperunjingan’s exceptionally brilliant military genius is brought to light in inscriptions at vriddhachalam that record his successes in war against kings of Pandya,Karnataka,Andhra and Chedi kingdoms and the subsequent performance of tularohana (measuring in gold against one’s own weight) ceremony at Chidambaram with war booty and constructing the southern tower of that temple. There are also records that speak of great munificence to temples at vriddhachalam, vennainallur, jambukeswaram(in trichy) and ekambaranatha at kanchipuram his capital city.

Kopperunjinga devar's military career reveal his zeal to the cause of freedom under law and his willingness and ability to go against all odds to defend the same. A duty bound mind never loses confidence and is hardly dispirited by setbacks. Kopperunjingan personified this saying as much as any great military warriors of history.

Kopperunjingan was also known as periya devar and alagiya(handsome) pallavar. He was succeeded by his son kopperunjingan2. Like his father this kopperunjingan was a great warrior. He continued the policy of wars against neighbours started by his father and was actually more successful as he could obtain the submission of enemies even more easily. He was a pious soldier who used his war booty to construct the east and west towers at ancient Chidambaram temple. He has left a lot of inscriptions, a few more than his father. These inscriptions relate to the construction of tanks, creation of parks and streamlining of administration and temple rituals. Kopperunjingan2 fortified sendamangalam near trichy and used it as his second capital where he is celebrated as a "great patron of tamil literature". The last chola prince Rajendran, is supposed to have come to throne greatly because of kopperunjingan’s help against his father. The chola was a devotee at Chidambaram temple which was now in kaadava(kopperunjingan's) territory. Though a much more assertive and vigorous person than his father, he had unfortunately inherited a situation that was made worse by his father and was now in an enviable position of having to do too much with too less. The warlike rajendran eager to restore chola glory, started a campaign against the pandyan kingdom in south and was successful to a certain extent that he managed to defeat and kill two of the five pandyan kings and make the rest "mortally afraid of him".

But the resources had become too scarce for any more aggressive ventures. Also the fact that he had a formidable and capable kopperunjingan with whom he partnered, possibly resulted in a bit of confusion as to who would take up the saddle. Throughout the decade of 1260 Rajendra assisted kopperunjingan in his campaigns. The year 1279 happened to be the last year for both the dynasties. At the end of that year both of them vanished which may or may not be in campaigns. Eventhough one is surprised and seeks clarification for this sudden disappearance, we must know that it is an exercise in pure futility to saddle up the perceptions and analyses of this age to the incidents that took place several centuries ago. Definitely, the men who took the stage then were men of their age. Eventhough they dominated only for a short period of time the kaadava father-son pair, not to mention the gallant last chola prince, could achieve a few of their preset objectives.

The huge temple-fort at Sendamangalam, now in ruins with vestiges of rampart walls, moat, palace buildings and bathing pools spread all over the place, is a silent testimony this day, of the glory of this small but important Kaadava principality which flourished in the 13th century A.D and its great wars for the sake of virtue and truthfulness.

-K.Sethumadhavan
Gurgaon
India