Vol. 10, No. 1Asian ProfileFebruary 1982
Sons of the Sun: The Solar Genealogy of a
Chola King
GEORGE W. SPENCER
Associate Professor of History
Northern IllinoisUniversity
For traditional Hindu society, the reality of upward social mobility posed an ideological dilemma.’ In any hierarchical society in which ascribed social roles are alleged to be divinely ordained, the fact of social change must be explained and, moreover, accounted for in a manner which sustains, rather than discredits, the static social model. In recent years it has become apparent to historians and anthropologists that in the Hindu social order genealogical fabrication has long been an essential part of this rationalizing process, an activity as relevant to the ritual legitimation of medieval kings as to the social-uplift campaigns of depressed communities in our own time.2
Although genealogical myths naturally ‘differ in detail, their import is consistent: Group X, of apparently modest social origin or even presently degraded ritual status, is in reality descended from prestigious Group Y, and is therefore fully entitled to the high status which it now claims. Thus the rationale for a status claim is expressed in the idiom of kinship, and an edited version of the past is invoked to sustain that claim. Often the claim is coupled with an anecdotal explanation of how the family or caste happened to descend to its present, humble position as the result of an error or “accident” which must now be rectified if the social order is to be set aright. In the case of princely houses which have already managed to rise to a position of power from obscure tribal or peasant origins, a similar explanation may be invoked to demonstrate that the apparently humble origins are misleading, on the grounds that the rulers are in reality descended from gods and heroes. Brahmans commonly have been employed for the purpose of “discovering” such ancestral connections. Invoking ancestral claims serves to reconcile the reality of social change—or at least social aspiration—with a body of traditional social theory which denies the possibility of fundamental change in the social order. In this way, the mythic reconstruction of the social past provides a mechanism by which to legitimize upward social mobility while simultaneously explaining it away by denying that any change in social norms has occurred.
Recently, while analyzing the conquest rhetoric in the stone and copper-plate inscriptions of the eleventh century south Indian king Rajendra Chola I, I was struck by the remarkable richness and complexity of the genealogical materials contained in the prefaces of so many Chola records. The introductory eulogies appropriate materials from a wide variety of literary sources both pan-Indian and regional, including the Epics, Puranas, and ancient Tamil literature, in order to celebrate a royal ancestry of fabulous origin. It also struck me as curious that so little scholarly attention has been devoted to detailed analysis of the content and mythic structure of such materials, for they convey a wealth of information about the world-view of the royal courts whose poets and genealogists generated them. Royal genealogies are rich in mythology, both familiar and obscure; metaphors both exoteric and esoteric; and symbolic oppositions, such as the contrast between heroic and ascetic powers. They embody important values, attitudes, and modes of thought. Above all, they convey an impression of royal style, the princely version of what sociologist Erving Goffman has called the “presentation of self,” the idealized image which each person has of him- or herself and seeks to project to others. The ancestral myths project precisely such an “official” image of the king as the king wished to be perceived, as a descendant of gods, a larger-than-life figure whose actions are endowed with cosmic significance.
In assessing such materials, we must be careful not to impose our modem ideas on them and to assume that their creators inhabited a mental world similar to our own. For modem scholars, the unfolding of history is a process of linear change in which it is possible to determine how and why the present has developed out of past events, and the unspoken rules governing the use of evidence admit only of secular explanations. Such a conceptual system would have been unintelligible to the kings and poets of the Chola age, who took cyclical conceptions of change for granted and for whom there was no clear dividing-line between myth and history, or between divine and human realms. A Chola mythical genealogy was more than a political charter; it was also a codification of reality, a means of expressing the meaning of kingship in action. So even though it may appear to us merely as a cynical fabrication, a royal genealogy was undoubtedly a device for imparting significance to experienced reality. Mere fabrication implies imposture, which in turn conveys the suggestion that the kings and poets held a “realistic” view of kingship which was different from the supposedly contrived and propagandistic view presented in our sources. But it is more plausible to argue that they really apprehended kingship only within the framework of the values and symbols embodied in the code-language of these formulations. Therefore a basic premise of the following discussion is that a mythical genealogy was not merely a statement about the nature of kingship, but was also a means of experiencing it.
The Tiruvalangadu Copper Plate Charter
The following paragraphs are devoted to an analysis of a particularly noteworthy example of such a genealogical record, namely the Tiruvalangadu copper plates of Rajendra Chola I, which were first brought to scholarly attention early in the present century and were published in South Indian Inscriptions in l920.5 The aim is to determine what the genealogical information in this remarkable document will yield for our understanding of conceptions of royal authority and political legitimacy in the eleventh century, and about the political institutions to which these conceptions were relevant.
This ponderous record consists of thirty-one inscribed copper plates strung together on an ornamental copper ring. (See Fig. 1). It is dated in the sixth regnal year of Rajendra, corresponding to about 1018 A.D., although the introductory portion was certainly composed after that date. The record can be divided into two sections, the first of which is about half as long as the second. The first or introductory part consists of ten plates composed in Sanskrit and inscribed in Grantha script. It is a poem of 272 lines, comprising 130 verses, celebrating the illustrious pedigree and personal accomplishments of Rajendra. The longer second part consists of twenty-one plates bearing 524 lines. It is written in the Tamil language and describes, in great detail but more prosaic language, the granting of a village—or rather, its revenues—to a Shiva temple at Tiruvalangadu, in present-day North Arcot district, a community which is also mentioned as a sacred place in the Devaram hymns of the Tamil Shaivite saints. Since we are interested only in the royal genealogy preserved in the introduction, the details of the grant need not concern us. The eulogy includes details of conquests attributed to Rajendra that were not undertaken until the mid-1020s—as we know from other evidence—and therefore must have been composed roughly a decade later than the events described in the Tamil portion, even though both parts mention the sixth year of Rajendra. So it is apparent that this record, or at least its introductory portion, was not inscribed on copper until several years subsequent to the grant which it commemorates. The author of that elegant Sanskrit eulogy, evidently not encumbered with excessive modesty, identifies himself as “the learned poet Narayana, son of Shankara [a devotee of the enemy of [ demon] Mura,” i.e., a worshipper of the god Vishnu. As we shall see, he borrows heavily from the prestigious king-lists preserved in the Vishnu Purana in recounting Rajendra’s ancestry.
Figure 1 — Rajendra’s Genealogy: Negative Facsimile of the First Plate
Before discussing the content and structure of the genealogy contained in Narayana’s eulogy, I should make some preliminary observations. First, these plates do not constitute our sole source for Chola genealogies. Similar pedigrees are contained in other copper plate records— the Anbil, Kanyakumari, and Leyden plates, among others—and these constitute variant versions of the genealogy discussed here. No two of these records are identical, although all share certain common features, beginning with the basic fact that all characterize the Cholas as a Solar, rather than a Lunar, dynasty. The genealogy recorded in one charter may constitute only a kind of digest version of a longer genealogy. The version contained in the Tiruvalangadu record is a particularly elaborate one. Such discrepancies suggest that even though these eulogies emanated from the court and were subject to a degree of official standardization, there was still scope for the poets to indulge in stylistic embellishment to demonstrate their virtuosity, as well as to engage in what might be called “creative appropriation” of information, viz. mythology and king-lists, from other literary sources. Variations also reflected the actual kin connections of the reigning king, since those had some bearing on the treatment accorded his immediate predecessors in his records. As we shall see, Rajendra’s collaterals were given less attention in the king’s eulogy than were his patrilineal ancestors. But discrepancies and con tradictions between one version of the “official” ancestry and another should occasion no surprise, since it is common to all mythological systems that important stories should be told in several different versions. According to Edmund Leach, the redundancy of such mythologies is reassuring to believers, since each alternative version of the story reinforces the basic meaning of all the others.7
The second observation is that the “mythical” genealogy is by no means wholly fictitious. In fact, it exhibits a cogent structure which leads the reader, although not always in steady progression, from the most mythic and celestial figures to the most mundane and historic. The last few generations, consisting of the so-called imperial Cholas descended from king Vijayalaya, are all of unquestionable historicity. No capricious deities intrude here; only the deeds attributed to those illustrious kings exhibit fantastic characteristics, due to the conventional hyperbole in which the poet indulges. The internal logic of this record will become clearer as we proceed.
Rajendra’s Mythical and Quasi-Historic Ancestors
The genealogical details in the Tiruvalangadu record are preceded by three introductory verses which invoke the blessing of the goddess Parvati (v. 1), salute the Sun (v. 2), and express regret at the inadequacy of an alphabet containing only fifty letters to describe the unlimited virtues of the kings of the Solar race (v. 3). This last verse nicely expresses one of many binary oppositions embedded in the eulogy, namely a contrast between that which is limited and im perfect, i.e., a written description, and that which is unlimited and therefore incapable of exhaustive description: the royal virtues.
Then begins the lengthy solar genealogy of the Chola kings. (For its overall structure, see Fig. 2). The first few generations appear to have been appropriated from the genealogy of Ikshvaku as described in the Vishnu Purana, for although the poet Narayana has invented many descriptive details, the names and the order in which they are presented are identical with the puranic version. Thus we learn that the Sun produced Manu, the “first of kings,” through con centration of mind [ thinking, reflection] 8 This is cleverly expressed in a play on words:
The eye of the three worlds was the Sun from whom sprang the sprouts of all families of kings. From the Sun was born by concentration [ Manu, the first of kings, whose name thus corresponded to his origin. (v.4).
Next came Ikshvaku, who was born, according to the version preserved in the Vishnu Pujuna, from the nostril of Manu as he happened to sneeze. But in Rajendra’s genealogy, the poet merely says:
Great Ikshvaku was born as his son in great battles the enemies of gods were greatly afraid of him. (v. 5).
Like the Puranas, the Chola genealogies continually refer to the incessant and never-to-be- resolved conflict between Devas and Asuras, the gods and demons, forces of good and evil. This rivalry is the fundamental dialectic of the mythic universe of the Puranas.
Mythical genealogy, primarily puranic
Mythical genealogy; a potpourri of names, decreasingly puranic
Quasi-historic genealogy, drawn from Tamil myth and tradition
Historic genealogy
Introduction of Sun as progenitor of the families of kings and of Manu as first king (v. 4)
Three kings descended from Manu, in the same sequence as given in the Vishnu Furana (vv. 5-8)
Fourteen more kings to the end of the Krita Age, eight of whom appear in the Vishnu Furana, but in scattered passages and often obscurely (vv. 9.23)
Sixteen kings of the Treta Age,including the eponymous Chola and the personified titles Rajakesarivarman and Parakesarin. Only six of these names appear in the Vishnu Purana (vv. 24-38)
Two kings of the Dvapara Age, one mentioned in the Vishnu Purana (vv. 39-40)
Three kings prior to Vijayalaya:Perunatkilli, Kalikala, and Kochchenganan, none puranic (vv. 41-43)
Ten Chola kings of the imperial line, from Vijayalaya to Rajaraja I, father of Rajendra (vv. 44-84)
RAJENDRA I
Rulers of the Kritayuga, a golden age
Rulers of the Tretayuga, an age of declining virtue
Rulers of the Dvaparayuga, an age of Confusion
Rulers of the Kaliyuga, the present degenerateage
Figure 2— Structure of the Solar Genealogy of Rajendra Chola I, as Described in the Tiruvalangadu Plates
Ikshvaku’s son was Vikukshi, “whose lotus feet were resplendent with the radiance produced by the diadems of many crowds of bowing kings.” (v. 6).
To him was born as son the king named Puranjaya [ a reference to his capture of the city of the Asurasj, whose abundant prowess and heroism were renowned and the expansive white parasol of whose expanding fame, having spread throughout the entire universe, had capacity to spare.(v. 7).
In other words, the king’s white parasol, symbol of royal dominion, was greater than the whole universe!
Up to this point, the poet has borrowed heavily from the Vishnu Purana. But beginning with the next generation cited—that of Kakshivat, who is not even mentioned in that text but is re nowned as a Vedic hymn-singer (rishi)10-the poet becomes more innovative, borrowing names, seemingly at random, from a variety of sources. In short, the poet now proceeds to improvise variations on his grand theme.
After Narayana refers to Kakshivat “whose fame was sung by the celestial singers” (v. 9), Aryyarnan “Whose greatness was preeminently extolled” (v. 10), and Analapratapa “whose generosity was renowned in the world” (v. 11), he devotes a passage to the well-known puranic kings Vena and Prithu, whose personalities epitomize the contrast between impious and pious rule. They too are appropriated to the Chola genealogy:
The fun-moon In swelling the ocean of his (I.e., Analapratapa’sJ family was Vena, the foremost of kings. His son was king Prithu, whose prosperity was great, who was the chief of rulers, and who like heroism incarnate for defeating evil in the world, emerged clad in armor, wearing a diadem of gems and wearing a bow of un paralleled strength with string drawn and arrow set, from Vena’s right arm, which had been churned for that purpose by chiefs of ascetics. (v. 12).
According to the Vishnu Purana, Vena was an evil king who attempted to halt offerings to Vishnu and gifts to Brahmans on the grounds that the king alone is entitled to such honors. The seers begged him to be allowed to resume their worship, but to no avail, so the angry seers fell upon the king with blades of grass and “slew him, who had first been destroyed by his impiety towards God.” But since no society can prosper without a king, they perforce created a new one by rubbing the right arm of Vena, and his son Prithu (“Wide Ranger”) emerged. The new king removed the grievances which his father had inificted on the people and was much praised for his piety.’
The genealogy continues in Narayana’s version:
In this family was born a king, who having killed the enormously strong demon Dhundhu, bore the name Dhundhumara (“Killer of Dhundhu” This king also having become the sole resort of virtues, ruled the entire earth. (v. 14).
According to the Vishnu Furana, Dhundhumara is an appellation of Kuvalashva of the sixth generation after Prithu; but here his name appears immediately after Prithu’s. Next the poet refers to Yuvanashva,’ “who had no second in austerity, fame, truth, and other excellent qualities” (v. 15); and Mandhatri, “master of courage, wisdom, love, prosperity and learn ing.” (v. 16).
Begotten (of Mandhatri) was his son, king Muchukunda, who kept himself awake in the duty of protecting the camp of the army of gods which was assailed by the forces of powerful demons; who was deep in a sleep granted as a boon through the grace of the lord of gods [ indra and whose eyes, opening in anger, im mediately consumed the crafty demon Kalyavana and thus pleased Mukunda [ Vishnu). (v. 17).
The story of Muchukunda’s rude awakening is told in several Puranas. In the Vishnu Purana it appears in the fifth book, amid the exploits of Krishna. The latter lured Kalyavana into a cavern, where Muchukunda, granted a long rest by the gods as reward for his services against the demons, slept.