Many of you are raising questions reg. one thing or other as I go along with my series.
Examples are recent debades on Vallam (Srikanthan) , Ravidasan as a brahmin (Pavitra) , Vandhiyathevan's imprisonment (Muhil) etc.
I'm sorry to say that I've not answered all of them - because : * Either I intend to cover them in detail - later or * I don't have enough info on them - at the moment.
But, remember one thing : Our primary sources of historical evidences are 1. Copper plates (Leyden grants, Thiruvalangadu cheppadugal, Anbil Cheppedugal etc.) 2. Inscriptions on the walls of various ancient temples - detailing either grants or Prasashtis (Mei keerthis - in tamil) 3. Literature (Moovar Ula, Kalingathu parani etc)
Please note that all of the above sources speak mainly about the kings and their conquests and relatively much less about anybody less than the king himself. Even while calling themselves Mei Keerthis (True glory) - many do not detail the defeats of kings at all ! Thus, it will be really surprising if we find specific details about persons other than the king itself ! On this ground, at this moment I reject all claims made earlier about Ravidasa as well as about V.Devan's imprisonment - unless they are substantiated with material evidence. My 2000 pages odd masterpiece - The Cholas - by K.A.N talks about neither of these stories.
Ram - Difficulties in VDevan - Kundavai marriage need not imply imprisonment - after all ! Moreover it sounds like a very light statment made by Kalki on the passing... I don't attach any historic value to it.