Kalingattuparani (Tamil: கலிங்கத்துப்பரணி) is a 12th-century Tamil poem and a war song by Jayamkondar, celebrating the victory of Kulottunga Chola I over the Kalinga king, Anantavarman Chodaganga in the Chola-Kalinga war.^[1][2] Parani is a type of literature that is written on a king (or a general) who kills a thousand elephants in a war. It is customary to name the poem on the one who was defeated.

Premise

Kalingattuparani depicts the Chola invasion of Kalinga under the command of Karunakara Tondaiman^[3] where a thousand elephants are slain.^[4] It gives a vivid and a graphic description of battle scenes. It is hailed as one of the master-pieces of Tamil literature with its majestic style and diction.^[5]

Plot

The warriors who return from the war found the doors of their household closed and they ask the women to open them. Meanwhile goblins who witnessed the battle narrates the story to the goddess Kali who resides in the forest. The poem contains thirteen parts

Structure

Jayamkondar, the court poet, touches on various sections such as lineage of the king, his birth, his family, the training in warfare that he received as a child, his accession to the throne, his exploits and his subsequent move to the city of Kanchi.

The author then proceeds to explain the training that Kulothunga received in warfare and his heroics in Vayiragaram and Chakrakottam while he was still young. Next he proceeds to talk about his queens and how one day the king wanted to move his capital to Kanchi. Finally, he touches on the circumstances which led to the Kalinga war.

English translation

An English rendering of Kalingattuparani is done by E.S. Muthuswamy.^[6]

In popular media

In the 2010 tamil movie Raavanan, four stanzas from the 12 part have been used.

References