Continuously certain topics creep up in our discussions - things like Aditya murder and Nandhini's parentage. I don't think all new members are reading Facts and Fiction document in the files section. Hence I am reproducing the following paras from the document on ravidasan: (I will try to write about aditya's murder separately)
RAVIDASAN PANCHAVAN BRAHMADHIRAJAN To my knowledge, it was from Thiruvalangadu copper plates that we first came to know about the murder of crown prince Aditya Karikala. Infact, these copper plates are quite sentimental in expressing this untimely death of aditya karikala it had an effect on kalki who very specifically recalls the sentences in the copper plates: "Due to his wish to see heavens early, the sun set early and the entire world was surrounded by the darkness called kali"
The word sun in this phrase, represents Aditya. The exteme melancholy that comes out of this poetic phrase fittingly portrays the mood of chola regime at that time.
In the chola temple of Udaiyarkudi (covered in their Mudhal yatirai by PS Group), we come across a startling inscription that talks about the punishments given to those involved in crown prince Aditya's murder. I do not know who first discovered this inscription but it should have sent a wave of shock among the historians of those times. But, unfortunately, we have not discovered till date any other inscription related to this murder and we have to depend on this one vague udaiyargudi inscription. The inscription talks about "Throgigalana Ravidasanagia Pachavan Brahmadhirajan, his brothers soman sambavan etc etc" . Though the inscription is very vague in many respects, it still gives us room to deduce many things. - Pachavan Brahmadhirajan title, attributed to this guy called ravidasan, almost certainly indicates that he was holding a very high post in chola regime at the time of this punishment. Hence Kalki's theory that he was a pandiya abhathudhavi is questionable. - Brahmadhirajan is a title generally given to Brahmins in chola govt posts. We notice this with many other titles given to other superiors in chola regime.(Kalki will humerously note, in the words of vanathi: Is aniruddha a brahmadhi raja or a brahma rakshas?) Hence we can safely assume that Ravidasan and co were indeed Brahmins. - The term "Throgigalana" tells us as Pavithra has rightly pointed out in her travelogue account - that they are definitely people of chola regime and not outsiders. Infact the term throgigal may mean much more it means "Betrayers" in tamil which makes us think that they might have even been close associates of aditya or somebody else very close to chola government. - This group of conspirators seem to be brothers as implied in the inscription; this fact has not been brought out by Kalki, for some reason. - A point of bigger debade is the punishment given to this group (as indicated in the inscription): They are banished to go on exile outside the chola territory. Such a petty punishment to those who have committed capital crime! - Some have given the explanation that they were Brahmins and hence cannot be hanged. This is not such a bad explanation but invites questions. Is there any other evidence to show with certainity that in chola times, Brahmins were not given capital punishments? - Infact the punishments of chola times are confusing at times. Even for heinous crimes such as rape and murder, we find people just punished with a Nandha vilakku (Lamp that never goes down) or some saava moova peeradu (Sheep donations). Thus, it is difficult to understand the Justice Book of chola times and we are not sure wheter it varied across the castes etc. - Back to Ravidasan punishment, we can actually view it from another angle: May be ravidasan and co were just instruments at the hands of a main conspirator who was much more powerful than them! That is why Rajaraja reserves the capital punishment for him and orders exile to these people who were just instruments. - "Exile" implies another thing: They have to leave all their lands etc and could carry only jewellary. Nobody would have bought lands from them after knowing that they were conspirators. Thus they were made beggars in one stroke. - "Outside chola valanadu" where did they really go? Must be to Pandiya or chera territory or somewhere else? - Not just Ravidasan and his brothers but the entire family set up, their wives, children, those families of wifes the whole gang is banished. This calls for certain analysis. Why their wives and children and those families of wives should be punished? It would have been much easier to jail just ravidasan & co and spare the rest. What does this mean? This could only mean either the participation of the whole group in this crime or in order to increase the magnitude of his punishment, rajaraja ordered thus. Ofcourse, after knowing that their husbands were conspirators, woman could not have lived peacefully in chola territory they would have followed their husbands anyway. - I'm not sure what is the evidence behind the assumption that Karikala was murdered in Kadambur palace. May be in thiruvalangadu copper plates? Not sure. My question is what is the relevance in placing the "throgigal" inscription in Udaiyargyudi? We can assume safely that the Ravidasan and co belonged to this village. If it were so, what is the relation between this group and Kadambur Sambuvaraiyars?