About nine hundred and eighty years ago from today (written in 1950), King Rajakesari Varman Parantaka Sundara Chozha shone as an unrivaled emperor in the southern lands. He had ascended the throne twelve years before the time in which our story takes place. For the past hundred years, the power of the Chozhas had grown steadily, and the Chozha empire was expanding in all four directions. Yet, at the time Sundara Chozha came to the throne, enemies had grown strong both in the south and in the north.

The ruler who preceded Sundara Chozha was Kandaradithar, renowned as ‘Sivagnana Kandaradithar’ for his devotion to Lord Shiva. He did not show much interest in expanding the kingdom. After Kandaradithar, his brother Arinjaya ascended the throne, but ruled for only a year. After Arinjaya passed away at Aattrur in the land of Thondai, his son Parantaka Sundara Chozha ascended the throne of Thanjavur.

All the noble qualities required of a great emperor resided in Sundara Chozha Chakravarthi. A valiant warrior, Sundara Chozha led a campaign to the south at the very beginning of his reign. At a place called Sevur, a great battle was fought between the Chozha army and the Pandya forces. At that time, King Mahindan of Lanka sent a large army to aid Veerapandiyan, the ruler of Madurai. The mighty and valorous Chozha army crushed both the Pandya forces and the Lankan troops at Sevur. Defeated, stripped of his army, his crown, and his allies, Veerapandiyan managed to save only his life, fleeing from the battlefield and hiding for a time in a mountain cave in the midst of a desert land.

In the battle of Sevur, the Lankan army was almost entirely annihilated. The few surviving soldiers, having lost their glory and valor on the battlefield, escaped with their lives and fled back to Lanka. For some time, it had become customary for the kings of Lanka to intervene in the wars between the Pandyas and the Chozhas by sending aid to the Pandyas. Sundara Chozha Chakravarthi wished to put an end to this practice once and for all. Therefore, he decided to send a Chozha army to Lanka to teach the Lankan kings a lesson.

Under the command of Paranthakan, known as the ‘Chinna Velan’ (the Young Velan), from the Kodumbalur chieftain family, a great army was dispatched to Lanka. Unfortunately, the Chozha army could not reach Lanka in a single expedition, as there were not enough ships for the crossing. The first contingent, acting without adequate forethought, boldly set out ahead. Under the command of Sena, the general of King Mahinda, the Sinhalese army unexpectedly surrounded a part of the Chola forces. A terrible and fierce battle ensued. In that battle, Paranthakan, the Chola commander, known as Chinna Velan, upheld his valorous fame and then gave up his life! In the inscriptions of history, he became renowned as “Eelathu Patta Paranthakan Chinna Velan” — Paranthakan Chinna Velan, who fell in Lanka.

When this news reached Veerapandiyan,