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Dr. Radhakumud Mookerji informs us that towards the end of the tenth century and the early part of the eleventh one, Southern India witnessed a remarkable outburst of naval activity under the strong government of a succession of Cola kings. Rajaraja the Great conquered Ceylon (Ilam) by means of his powerful navy, and his operation extended to the countless islands, like the Laccadives and Maldives, in the ocean. His inscriptions record his achievement of a great naval victory over Sangrama Vijayottunga Varman, the king of Kadaram, whom he caught by dispatching his army in many ships across the stormy Bay of Bengal. In addition to Kadaram he also took the flourishing sea-ports of Takkolam and Matama or Martaban, and annexed the whole kingdom of Sri Vishaya (or Vijaya) and Nakkavaram or the Nicobar and Andaman Islands. This has heen confirmed by 174. cf. ibid.,p.97(4ff.) - kam disi kalya satrulokasyasvasanartha samanta sabhaya pradana para hamadapayat | tadiyasaragrahanodyatam catma sainikalo ke nyavarayat| 175. ibid., p.97(6ff.) -- 37121onifaf dattva samgara samaptapranebhyo bandhave 927: TUT/982745 tilodaka nivapanjalim --- 1 176. ibid., p.97(8ff.) karmanyaptajanam - 1 --- 177. HIMSA,pp.174-176. -- adisya cayurtha prahara ksatamarpana maratiyodhana mausadha-

686 178 Prof. K.A.Nilakanta Sastri. In the opinion of Dr. Motichandra, 179 the naval expedition by Prince Samaraketu of Rangasala, the capital of the Sinhala country, reflects the contemporary naval expedition of the Cola king. It is possible that such expeditions were also mounted by the Paramara kings like Siyaka II, Vakpatiraja Munja and especially by Bhoja whose victory over Konkana must have helped him to annex, or obtain in political bargain, some. of the islands along the western coast. It is probable that Bhoja had concluded a naval treaty with the king of Ceylon, after annexing the islands of Maldives and Laccadives, as a counter move against his Cola rival in the South India%; the latter's rivalry with the Ceylon kingdom is a wellknown fact of history. Thus, the Cola kings enjoyed supremacy over eastern islands in the Bay of Bengal, and these of the Greater India such as Java, Sumatra and others, while the Paramara kings confined his supremacy to the islands along the western and south-western coast; this is in view of the fact that in Dhanapala's Tilakamanjari of Dhanapala, Meghavahana, the king of Ayodhya, appointed Prince Samaraketu of Simhala as the principal companion of his heir-apparent 178. C,pp.168-250. 179. Sarthavaha, (Hindi) ,p.220. 180. Epigraphies Indica, Vol.XIX,pp.69-75.

687 Prince Harivahana, thus removing a powerful naval ally of the king of Kanci who was the rival of the North Indian empire, the end result being the treaty between these two powerful empires. Dr. Motichandra has noticed that the eye-witness account of naval vessels, as given by Bhoja in 181 his Yuktikalpataru. It is possible that Dhanapala was also taken with one of the expeditionary naval campaigns by Munja or Bhoja, during which the poet might have witnessed a naval fight. A few details in the description of the naval expedition as given by Dhanapala are worth noting. Ships were 182 made of tightly fastened wooden planks. Special care was taken to plug the joints and the holes in the ship by 183 means of paste prepared from flour. The naval fleet 184 consisted of thousands of vessels. Before commencing the voyage, things of daily use, such as Ghee, edible oil, blankets, medicines, etc., were carefully stuffed and stored in the ships. War-chariots, horses and elephants 185 186 were considered useless for the naval expedition. Fresh banners of variegated colours were tied to the flagpost of 187 the ships. After ceremonial obeisance to the Ocean, the 187. Sarthavaha, (Hindi) , p.231. 182. Tilakamanjari,p.131(5) 183. ibid,p.132 (8) 184. ibid.,p.149 (23)-- 185. (Contd. on next {271755 drdhakastha gumpha nisthura navah | sthamita nihsesa sandhirandhrama dasapuramdhridattapistapacaya .. | anekanau sahasrasamksobhitambudhah page.) 1

688 prince boarded the ship and took his seat on the Mattavaranaka at the head of the vessel, the feudatories and the commanders borded their respective vessels which surrounded the royal ship. A flourish of the conches signalized the commencement of the voyage of the fleet. The voyage was marked by war-music of the naval band consisting of musical instruments like Jhallari, Pataha, Panava, and etc., accompanied by the loud 'Jaya Jaya' exclamation of the bards and recital of auspicious verses of the panegyrics; the melodious singing, in high pitch, of the Mantras by the Brahmuns who showered rice grains and flowers as a token of 188 blessings enthused the atmosphere. The voyage was broken for the following reasons: when a long distance was covered; the dignitaries were getting sick sick due to cold sea-winds; the sailors were too tired } to q quickly weild the oars%3B the sailor-chiefs in the observation posts were too exhausted to keep awake and watchful; the wind was blowing against the direction of the (Ft. nts. continued from p.687 ;-) 185. ibid., p.131(3ff.) ... dehasthitisadhana sarpistela kambalau sadha 鈥�prayah- vinyastah samasto'pi dvipa ntara 鈥�durayo dravyanam kalapah | 186. ibid.,p.131 (6ff.) - nivartate nagarase mukha mavi lodapi rathasvavaranadi- nautantra ya trayanupayuktah senapari-cchadah | 187. ibid. p. 132 (9) dhvajagrabaddhabhinava varnamsuka pata kaya ... 1 188. ibid.,pp.132-133.

689 voyage and the vessels could not proceed further inspite of the efforts of the sailors; and when it was not possible to reach land again in a short duration of time. 189 The break of the voyage was utilized for waiting for the following x ships, giving medical treatment and rest to wounded soldiers, reimbursing the supplies and equipments for feeding the forces, repairing the vessels, and for storing adequate amount 190 of drinking water and fire-wood. All equipments, such as tents and their accessories, for pitching a naval camp, were carried in the vessels. The inmates of royal harem ans courtezans accompanied the expedition along with necessary servants and labourers. Among the naval soldiers, Dhanapala has specifically mentioned 192 the wrestlers. Various ways and means were adopted in order to ward off the acquatic creatures, and insects, and etc., Thus, boiling oil was poured on to the water%3B palms were clapped to produce loud noise; huge fishes etc., were avoided by working the oars swiftly%; frog-jewels were tied in order to avoid being stung by acquatic insects; collyrium of << 189. Tilakamanjari,p.138(1-8). 190. ibid., p.138(8-14). 191. ibid., pp.140-141. 192. f. ibid,,p.141(18) - zzzau...

690 crocodile fat was applied to the eyes to enable one to 193 see in the darkness and into the waters. During the naval expedition against the restive feudatories of the islands in the Southern Ocean, Prince Samaraketu started from Rangasala, the capital of Simhala 194 country, in the direction of the Suvela mountain and seems to have dealt with the feudatories administering the Maldives and Laccadives, and Then he appears to have returned to Lafkapuri. 195 * ( * 8 ( * ***. 193. Tilakamanjari,pp.145-146. 194. ibid.,p. 132 (15ff.) suvela giri darsaniya se naya saha pracalitaniya ibid.,p.132(15ff.)-53712 valokayanvelavana calan--- 1 195. ibid.,p.136 (19ff.) -- ladakapuriparisaroddesana saharsamaksimanah katiciddina - vyatistham--- 1