Kizhan Adikal Ravi Neeli alias Iravi Nîli

The existence of this queen is scientifically confirmed and is known either from religious literature such as Periyapuranam, semi-biographical poems of the later Chola period as well as temple, copper plate and cave inscriptions.

Description

Kizhan Adikal Ravi Neeli alias Iravi Nîli was a Chera princess.

Please note: It is possible, that Kizhan Adikal Ravi Neeli was the same person than Ko Kizhan Adikal or his sister. If they were sisters, king Parantaka I married two distinct Chera Perumal princesses (the mothers of his two sons, Rajaditya and Arinjaya Chola).

No. 38.―Tirunandikkarai inscription of Vijayaragadeva.

The subjoined mutilated inscription,¹ whose state of preservation is bad comes from the Śiva temple at Tirunandikkarai.² It registers a gift of gold to the temple of Tirunandikkarai-Bhaṭāra, by Kil̤ān̤aḍigaḷ, the queen of Vijayarāgadēva and the daughter of Kulaśēkharadēva. King Vijayarāgadēva is not quite new to history. One of the stone inscriptions of the Chōḷa king Parāntaka I, found at Tiruvor̤r̤iyūr near Madras, is dated in the 29th year of reign (=A. D. 936) and registers a gift of gold by princess Nīlī, who is described as the daughter of the Kēraḷa king Vijayarāgadeva.³ And the Kōṭṭayam plates of Sthāṇu Ravi make mention of Vijayarāgadēva as the then kōyiladhikāri,⁴ which designation I have elsewhere pointed out to have been borne by princess in the Kēraḷa country.⁵ It is not unlikely that all three documents noticed here refer ot one person and it may be added that paleographical considerations do not at al militate against this view. With the information obtained from these records we are in a position to say that Vijayarāgadēva was the successor of Sthāṇu Ravi on the Chēra throne, that he reigned in about the first quarter of the 10th cuntury A. D., that his wife was the daughter of a certain Kulaśēkhara and was called Kil̤ān̤aḍigaḷ and that he had a daughter named Nīli, who made gifts ot the Śiva temple at Tiruvor̤r̤iyūr in A.D. 936. It is not known if there intervened any king between this Vijayarāgadēva and Indukōdaivarman, to whom I have elsewhere assigned the date A. D. 955 to 978.

The term māḍakkōyil is perhaps used in this inscription to denote the structural monument of the Śiva temple of the place, as distinguished from the rock-cut cave, also dedicated to the same god. The word ‘taḷiyāḷvan̤‘ may be rendered into ‘manager of a temple’. It is a compound of taḷi ‘a temple’ und ‘āḷvān̤‘ ‘a ruler’; of these, the former word taḷi is derived from the Sanskrit sthalī.

Text.

1 𑌸𑌪𑌸𑌿𑌤 ஸ்ரீ [ǁ*] திருநந்திக்கரைப் பெருமக்களுக் தளியாள்வாதுங்
கணக்க ருங் கூடி மாடக்கொயி [ல்] க்கல் . . . . . . . . .
2 குலசெகரதெவர் மகளார் விசையராகதெவர் தெவியார் கிழானடிகள் திருநந்திக்கரை 𑌭ட்டாரகர்க்கு திருநந்தாவிளக் கெரிவதாக . . . . . .
3 பதின் கழஞ்சு பொன் கொடுத்தார் [ǁ*] இப்பொன் முப்பதின் கழை ஞ்சும் பெருமக்களும் தளியாள்வா நும் கணக்கரும் . . . . . ங்கலத்து நல்லூர் . . . . . . . . . , . . . . .

Hail! Prosperity! The greatmen of Tirunandikkarai, the manager of the temple (taḷiyāḷvan̤), and the accountants having assembled together in the māḍakkōyil, . . . . . . . . Kil̤ān̤aḍigaḷ, the daughter of Kulaśēkharadēva and the queen of Vijayarāgadēva, gave, . . . . [thirty] kal̤añju of gold for maintaining a perpetual lamp in the temple of Tirunandikkarai-Bhaṭāra. The greatmen, the manager of the temple, and the accountants . . . . . these thirty kal̤añju of gold . . . . . . . Nallūr in . . . . . Mangalam . . . . . .

¹

Please note: Blue highlighting shows the father’s name Vijayarāgadēva (line 2 the first blue word) and the mother’s name Kil̤ān̤aḍigaḷ (line 2 the second blue word).

The selected word Shri (ஸ்ரீ) cannot be displayed with the character set. In the original, it is displayed as follows:

Genealogical relationship

The following illustration provides an overview of the family relationships:

Genealogy Kizhan Adikal Ravi Neeli alias Iravi Nîli

Informations

Preamble: no preamble of the Chola ruler available

Title: no ruler title available

Year of birth: no date available

Place of birth: no location available

Year of death: no date available

Place of death: no location available

Reign: no information about her reign

Seat of government: no location available

Predecessor: no name available

Successor: no name available

Father: Vijayarāgadēva²

Mother: Kil̤ān̤aḍigaḷ³

Husbands: Parantaka Chola I. (Vira-Narayana)

Children: no information about her children

Era: Chola period

Time period: Medieval Cholas

Pictures

no picture available