Who killed Aditya Karikalan?
April 15, 2010 21:13 IST
https://www.thehindu.com/books/Who-killed-Aditya-Karikalan/article16366706.ece
Who killed Raja Raja I's brother Aditya Karikalan? The needle of
suspicion pointed to Uthama Chola, according to K.A. Nilakanta Sastri.
There were some who felt Raja Raja had a hand in the murder.
Kudavayil Balasubramanian has published a paper, on the basis of the
Udayargudi inscriptions, in which he points out that neither Uthama
Chola nor Raja Raja had a hand in the murder. The killing of Aditya
Karikalan was an act of revenge against him by the Pandyas, for his
cutting off the head of the Pandya King and keeping it on public
display.
The plot
The assassination plot against Aditya Karikalan was masterminded by
three brothers, whose names are mentioned in the Udayargudi
inscriptions. The three plotters would not have dared to remain in the
Chola territory after committing the murder, argues Balasubramanian.
That is why there are no inscriptions that mention what punishment was
handed down to them.
But the Udayargudi inscription clearly states that the lands of even
their distant relatives were confiscated by the government. This
confiscation took place long before Raja Raja's time, ruling out the
suggestion that Uthama Chola had deliberately spared the plotters. The
Udayargudi inscription says that in Raja Raja's second regnal year, a
portion of the confiscated land was sold to Vyazha Gajamallan, and two
officials were sent down to supervise the terms of the sale.
The averment that Raja Raja was kind to the plotters because they were
Brahmins, is absurd, according to Balasubramanian. Brahmins were not
just advisors to kings, but even fought in armies, and would be killed
by the enemy forces.
Inscriptions say that Raja Raja killed many Brahmins who were in the
Chalukya army. So had Raja Raja or Uthama Chola been able to capture
the assassins, they would not have shown them any lenience on account
of their caste.