Kopperuncholan was one of the Early Cholas mentioned in Sangam Literature. We have no definite details about this Chola or his reign. The only information we have is from the fragmentary poems of Sangam in the Purananuru. Areas under direct control of the Chola Empire, 1030 CE. The Chola Empire rose to power in the 9th century in the Tamil speaking districts of Southern India. ... The Early Cholas of the pre and post Sangam period (100 C.E. – 200 C.E.) were only the three main kingdoms of the ancient Tamil country. ... The lists of legendary early Chola Kings are recorded in Tamil literature and in the inscriptions left by the later Chola kings. ... Ilamcetcenni was a Chola king during the Sangam age in South India. ... Karikala Chola was the greatest among the Chola kings of the Sangam age in South India. ... Killivalavan was one of the Early Cholas mentioned in Sangam Literature, and of a period close to that of Nedunkilli and Nalankilli. ... Kocengannan was one of the Early Cholas mentioned in Sangam Literature. ... Vijayalaya was the Chola king of South India who captured Thanjavur during c. ... Aditya I (870-906) was an Indian ruler. ... Gandaraditya Chola succeeded his father Parantaka I and became the Chola king c. ... Arinjaya Chola succeeded Gandaraditya Chola c. ... Parantak Chola II (957 c. ... Uttama Chola ascended the Chola throne c. ... Rajaraja Chola I ascended the Chola throne in July 985 C.E. Raja Raja the Great, as he is known in history reigned for 29 years, and conquered the whole of southern India and the Chola empire expanded as far as Sri Lanka in the south, and Kalinga (Orissa) in... Rajendra Chola I was the son of Rajaraja Chola I, the great Chola king of South India. ... Rajadhiraja Chola I (1018-1054) was the king of the Cholas empire in southern India and the eldest son of king Rajendra Chola I. Although not supreme king untill his fathers death in 1044 he was associated in kingship since 1018 He maintained Cholas authority over most of Lanka, despite... Athirajendra Chola ( 1070 C.E.) reigned for a very short period of few months as the Chola king succeeding his brother Virarajendra Chola. ... The Chalukya Chola dynasty ruled the Chola Empire from 1070 C.E. until the demise of the empire in the second half of the 13th century. ... Kulothunga Chola was the offspring of two rival dynasties - the Cholas of Thanjavoor and the Chalukyas of Vengi when he came to the throne in 1070 A.D. The Cholas and the Chalukyas had always existed in constant warfare, spaced by periods of uneasy peace, for decades, due to differences... Detail of a Statue of Rajaraja I at the Brihadisvara Temple The period of the imperial Cholas (c. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Cholas. ... Temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram Gangaikonda Cholapuram is a village in the inland Perambalur district of Tamil Nadu, India. ... Thanjavur, formerly known as Tanjore, is a city in Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. ... The Early Cholas of the pre and post Sangam period (100 C.E. – 200 C.E.) were only the three main kingdoms of the ancient Tamil country. ... Sangam Literature is the collective name for the Tamil literature created over 1800 years ago. ... Pura Nanooru or Pura Nanuru is an ancient Tamil Sangam collection of poems, dating from 900 BCE to 220 CE. It is one of the oldest Tamil anthologies. ...

Sources

The only source available to us on Kopperuncholan is the mentions in Sangam poetry. The period covered by the extant literature of the Sangam is unfortunately not easy to determine with any measure of certainty. Except the longer epics Cilappatikaram and Manimekalai, which by common consent belong to the age later than the Sangam age, the poems have reached us in the forms of systematic anthologies. Each individual poem has generally attached to it a colophon on the authorship and subject matter of the poem, the name of the king or chieftain to whom the poem relates and the occasion which called forth the eulogy are also found. Sangam Literature is the collective name for the Tamil literature created over 1800 years ago. ... Cilappatikaram (The Anklet) also spelled as Cilappadhikaram or Silappadhigaram, is one of the five great epics of ancient Tamil Literature. ... Manimekalai is one of the masterpieces of Tamil literature and belongs to The Five Great Epics of Tamil Literature. ...

It is from these colophons and rarely from the texts of the poems themselves, that we gather the names of many kings and chieftains and the poets and poetesses patronised by them. The task of reducing these names to an ordered scheme in which the different generations of contemporaries can be marked off one another has not been easy. To add to the confusions, some historians have even denounced these colophons as later additions and untrustworthy as historical documents.

Any attempt at extracting a systematic chronology and data from these poems should be aware of the casual nature of these poems and the wide difference between the purposes of the anthologist who collected these poems and the historian’s attempts are arriving at a continuous history.

Friendship with Poets

Kopperuncholan is the subject of a number of poems in Purananuru. Himself a poet, he is credited with a few poems in the Kuruntokai collection (Kuruntokai – 20, 53, 129, 147). He was an intimate friend of two poets: Andayar and Pottiyar. Andayar was the native of the Pandya country and gave some good advice to the Chola king. Pottiyar was a native of the Chola country. Kopperuncholan’s friendship with these two poets became a classic example in later literature like that between Damon and Pythias. The Pandyan kingdom was an ancient state at the tip of South India, founded around the 6th century BCE. It was part of the Dravidian cultural area, which also comprised other kingdoms such as that of the Pallava, the Chera, the Chola, the Chalukya and the Vijayanagara. ... In Greek mythology, the legend of Damon and Pythias (or Phintias) symbolizes trust and loyalty in a true friendship. ...

Andayar’s poems reflect the happy and joyful nature of the poet. Aske donce why though old, his hair had not turned gray, he gave this answer:

My years are many, yet my locks not grey:

You ask the reason why, 'tis simply this

I have a worthy wife, and children too;

My servants move obedient to my will;

My king does me no evil, aye protects;

To crown the whole, around me dwell good men

And true, of chastened souls with knowledge filled.

(Purananuru –191)

Kopperuncholan’s Suicide

There is are a number of poems in Purnanuru in sequence describing the sad end of this king.

It seems Kopperuncholan and his two sons had a serious quarrel. A beautiful poem (Purananuru – 213) appeals to the Parental instincts of the king to solve these differences. However Kopperuncholas was unable to settle the differences with his sons and sought to end his life himself (Purananuru – 214). In the next poem (Purananuru – 215) Kopperuncholan expressed his desire to see Andayar before his end came and was quite confident that his friend would not fail him. Andayar came and resolved to join his friend in his desire to quit this world. Pottiyar tried to dissuade them with his concern for the fate of the Chola country. Two further poems (Purananuru – 218, 219) commemorate the suicide of Andayar and Sopperuncholan. Andayar and Kopperuncholan starved themselves to death.

See also

• Sangam Literature
• Early Cholas
• Legendary Early Chola Kings

Sangam Literature is the collective name for the Tamil literature created over 1800 years ago. ... The Early Cholas of the pre and post Sangam period (100 C.E. – 200 C.E.) were only the three main kingdoms of the ancient Tamil country. ... The lists of legendary early Chola Kings are recorded in Tamil literature and in the inscriptions left by the later Chola kings. ...

References

• Mudaliar, A.S, Abithana Chintamani (1931), Reprinted 1984 Asian Educational Services, New Delhi.
• Nilakanta Sastri, K.A. (1935). The CōĻas, University of Madras, Madras (Reprinted 1984).
• Nilakanta Sastri, K.A. (1955). A History of South India, OUP, New Delhi (Reprinted 2002).
• Project Madurai – Purananuru eText - http://www.tamilnation.org/literature/ettuthokai/pm0057.pdf