Did not the sea swallow up the city of Poompuhar, that famed port of the Kaveri delta? After its destruction, the honor of being the principal harbor of the fertile Chola land gradually passed to Nagapattinam. The Chola country, blessed by the bounty of the Ponni river, was a land rich in natural wealth, and many foreign merchants longed to establish trade with it. Great wooden ships, laden with goods, would arrive and anchor at its docks. Pearls, rubies, diamonds, and fragrant spices were unloaded from the vessels, and along with these treasures, Arabian horses were brought ashore for sale.

In the days of Sri Sundara Moorthi Nayanar, Nagapattinam was a splendid city of many-towered mansions. The poet Nambi Aaroorar, who beheld that city, sang:

“O you who dwell in the sea-girt Nagai Karonam, Where long streets are adorned with delightful, gem-studded towers!”

At the temple of Kayarogana Peruman, who resided in the sea-washed Nagai Karonam, Sri Sundara Moorthi Nayanar asked for many boons. Do you know what he requested? In other towns, he had asked for gold, gems, garments, and ornaments; but in Nagapattinam, he asked for and received a noble steed of the highest breed.

“The Lord himself went to Nagai Karonam that day, And received gold, gem-studded ornaments, nine kinds of jewels, Garments, sandalwood, and a noble horse—”

So says the Periyapuranam, which tells us that, having received these gifts, he returned to Thiruvarur. It seems that, upon seeing the Arabian horses unloaded at the Nagapattinam harbor, the saint too was seized by the desire to mount and ride a horse!

While the Puranas sing the praises of Nagapattinam, the city is also described in ancient inscriptions and copper plates. The Aanaimangalam copper plates describe Nagapattinam as:

“A city filled with many temples, choultries, water tanks, groves, and mansions with lofty towers, its streets teeming with life.”

Those very Anaimangalam copper plates speak also of the famed Chudamani Vihara, the Buddhist monastery that shone with renown in Nagapattinam in those days, and recount its history.

The peninsula that we now refer to as Malaya was, in those times, widely known as the land of Sri Vijaya. In that country, a principal city was Kadaram. Making that great city their capital, the mighty Sri Vijaya empire, which spread in all four directions, was ruled for a long time by the Sailendra dynasty. Among that line, a king named Maharathuvajan Chudamanivarman became especially illustrious. Of this monarch, the Anaimangalam copper plates extol: “He was an expert in royal stratagems; in wisdom, he rivaled Brihaspati, the preceptor of the gods; to learned lotuses, he was as the sun; to supplicants, he was a wish-fulfilling tree.”

The copper plates further declare that the son of such a great emperor, Mara Vijayothunga Varman, in order that his father’s sacred name might endure forever, “built the Chudamani Vihara in Nagapattinam, a monastery that rivaled Mount Meru itself.”

Readers may wonder why Mara Vijayothungan, king of Kadaram, would come to Nagapattinam to build a Buddhist monastery. Sri Vijaya was one of the neighboring countries that maintained long-standing trade relations with the fertile Chola land. Many subjects of that country had come to Nagapattinam and settled there permanently. Many others came and went frequently. The king of Kadaram and his people were followers of the Buddhist faith. To provide them with a suitable place to worship the Buddha, that monarch built the Chudamani Vihara in Nagapattinam. Perhaps, too, the thought that the homeland of Buddhism was India lingered in his mind.

The kings of Tamil Nadu, in every age, have upheld religious harmony; thus, they gave permission for the construction of the Chudamani Vihara in Nagapattinam. Did they merely grant permission? From time to time, they also endowed that Buddhist temple with gifts and tax-free lands. (In a period after the events of this story, Rajaraja Chola donated the village of Anaimangalam and several surrounding villages as tax-free lands to the Nagapattinam Chudamani Vihara; this land grant was later confirmed and inscribed on copper plates by his son, the illustrious Rajendra Chola. These are the plates known as the Anaimangalam copper plates.)

There are, in total, twenty-one copper plate leaves. Each measures fourteen inches in length and five inches in width, all bound together by a large copper ring.

These copper plates, in recent times, crossed the seas by ship and reached Europe, to Holland… They are kept in the museum of the city called Leiden in that country. Therefore, some historians refer to these copper plates as the "Leiden Charter."

From the time of Vijayalaya Chola, the Chola kings were immersed in devotion to Shiva. Aditya Chola, Parantaka Chola, and Kandaraditya were all deeply attached to Shaivism. They commissioned the construction and renovation of many Shiva temples. However, they did not despise other religions. The subjects living in their kingdom, regardless of their faith, were treated with impartiality, and their religions were protected without bias. Sundara Chola Chakravartin went several steps further than his forefathers. He granted special privileges to Buddhist monasteries. Because of this, all the Buddhists living in the Chola empire at that time were filled with great enthusiasm. In Lanka, Arulmozhi Varman made arrangements to restore the ruined Buddhist viharas, which further increased their fervor.

With all this being the case, what was the reason for the confusion that occurred today at the renowned Choodamani Vihara? Why were the monks running here and there in agitation, unable to remain calm? What was the cause of the commotion and the clamor in the entrance hall of the Choodamani Vihara?—Well, let us follow Sendhan Amudhan and see for ourselves.

We have already said that Sendhan Amudhan and the other two had rowed their boat through the canal and reached the inner part of the Choodamani Vihara. Finding no one there, Sendhan Amudhan wandered about, searching for the way, and finally reached the entrance of the vihara. There stood the Chaitya, the temple of Lord Buddha, where the public came to worship. Many devotees