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Shlokas 1 to 16: Preparations for the march on the Sam buvarāya territory.

Slökis 17 to 35: Prince Kampaņa starts on the campaign. He is accompanied by the Cola, Kēraļa and Pandya kinys.

Shlokas 35 to 46: The orderly march of the Karnāta forces.

Shlokas 47 to 50: Prince Kampaņa at first struck camp at Mulbāgal and then arrived in Virinchipuram for the fight.

Shlokas 51 to 66: The siege of Padaivīdu the stronghold of the Sambuvarāyās. The defeat of the Tamil forces.

Shlokas 67 to 83: The batlte on Rājagambīrānmalai. The defeat and destruction of the Sambuvarāya by Kampanil.

1. When the divine sun, the sustainer of lotuses, and the unequalled lamp of universe, rose the next day, the prince woke up from his sleep, and after duly performing the morning rites of worship, ordered his generals to get the army ready for marching.

2. See previous shloka.

3. Then, like the noise of the ocean, churned with the mountain of Mandhara, the sound of war-drums beaten by drum-sticks arose at the beginning of the march.

4. The sound grew louder and louder, and filled the skies as if it emanated from Candisa’s damaru (drum) beaten at the time of the Great Deluge.

5. It raised echoes from the caverns in the moun tains as if to scare the fear-ridden enemies who might otherwise take shelter in them.

6. As the uproar entered the bowels of earth, Sēsa closed his eyes (which were also his ears), and he became both blind and deaf by a single act.

7. The army at once got ready with each of its units, viz., elephants, horses and foot soldiers, suitably covered and dressed; elephants with carpets on their backs, horses fully caparisoned and men protected in their mailed coats.

8. There mustered hundreds of formidable war elephants with ichor streaming forth from their exten sive temples.

9. Horses with foaming mouths, and swift as wind, were seen bounding like waves in the army-ocean.

10. There gathered in no time, hosts of footmen from different countries, armed with swords, daggers, lances and bows.

11. Wearing suitable ornaments, kings renowned for the might of their arm, waited near the outer gate awaiting the arrival of their overlord (Kampaņa).

12. The space of the sky was completely filled with uplifted umbrellas, resembling white lotuses in the river of the army, and also looking like the play mirrors of the Goddess of Victory.

13. Should the stirring period of the march be compared to the advent of the autumnal season, the fly whisks waving by the side of kings appeared like swans hovering about

14. The rays of the sun never left their natural redness, as the colour of the sparking gems set in royal crowns, beautiful as a cluster of flowers, was ceaselessly mingling with them.

15. As the passage of the sky was completely blocked by the flags flying aloft, Aruna experienced much difficulty in conducting the chariot of the sun across.

16. Fed by the neighing of the horses, intensified by the loud trumpeting of the elephants and extended by the sound of the instruments of war-music (war drums) the din that arose was something inconceivable.28

17. The king who had himself knowledge of the appropriate hour, however, awaited with his retinue, the formal fixing of the auspicious moment by his loyal priests.

18. His throbbing right hand foretold the auspi cious event of the forthcoming embrace by the Goddess of Valour, before everybody else.

19. Brāhmins chanting the Atharva Vēda, aug mented the chances of his victory with their (hearty) blessings, just as the sacrificial fire is made to glow by oblations sanctified by hymns.

20. The king now came out of his palace and had a good look at his tall agile horse saddled in readiness near the outer gate.

21. Like an ally of Garuda, like the next of kin of the mind, and like a friend of Vāvu. the agile animal looked like Speed itself in its aggregate.

22. As if the horse felt that the space of the earth was inadequate for the demonstration of his great speed which was faster than even that of the mind, he seemed extending it by constantly beating with his hoofs.

23. Excelling the horse of Indra in speed, he appeared to be attacking his own image reflected in the crystal walls (which he was facing).

24. With neigh attended with white foam, he seemed to mock at Hanūmān who took great pride in having merely crossed the saltish ocean.

25. With the bit in his mouth looking like a serpent, and with the wing-like cover (on his back) sparkling with the colour of tender foliage, he seemed to imitate Garuda even in his bodily form.

26. The wind, blowing from the end of his waving tail which attended on him, was like a disciple taking secret.lessons in speed.

27. By raising his head up, and letting it down again, frequently, to keep his swiftness in bounds, he appeared to be offering salutations to the Goddess of Victory standing in front of him.

28. With the heaps of dust raised by his hoofs, the regions of the sky were rendered like floor; and this served to give the lie direct to the claims of the sun’s horses that they trod on airy tract.

29. The king mounted the horse, the personifica tion of strength, and (in his elation) felt as if the entire kingdom of the earth had already passed into his hands.

30. With numberless troops pouring in from all directions, the king, with his view unconcealed, crossed the outer gate.

31. With crowns on their bent heads, with their hands folded (in reverence), the monarchs of earth saluted him, as he emerged, seated on the back of his horse.

32. With shouts of joy on seeing him, the Cola, Kērala and Pāndya monarchs assumed the role of staff bearers, and chose to walk in front of him.

33. Like a row of clouds raining drops of water on a mountain, the respectable matrons of the town, showered the customary parched grain on him.

34. As he marched in state, king Kampaņa caused a quiver in the hearts of his rivals, and turned to the direction of the quarter which had the Malāya mountains for its boundary.

35. Leading such a huge army, the great hero looked like the eastern wind dragging behind it a string of heavy clouds.

36. The load of the earth having become lightened by heaps of dust rising up, Ādisēșa managed to bear the weight of the royal army.

37. The dust that rose up acted simultaneously as an eclipse of both the sun of prowess and the moon of fame of the enemy (and thus effected a double eclipse at the same time).

38. The aggregate of dust caused the illusion of a huge dung heap capable of manuring the creepers of (Kampaņa’s) fame that had begun to sprout out in all the quarters.

39. Under the pretext of being hidden away by the dust, the sun (in fact) fled to some unknown quarter, afraid that he might be pierced through by warriors transformed into gods in the approaching conflict. (Warriors who go to vīra-swarga after a heroic end may pierce the sun in their journey to that destination).

40. As if apprehending early extinction, grains of dust entered the pores of glands of lordly elephants through which ichor was coming out.

41. The collection of dust plunged into the great oceans having been subjected, as it were, to unbearable heat when trying to absorb the rays of the sun.

42. Water particles sprayed from the trunks of female elephants gave the shape of a fine hail to the cloud of dust raised by the marching army.

43. Particles of dust fanned out by big war elephants flapping their ears were kept back by the rain of spray from the trunks of elephants

44. The army which looked like the grand con fluence of all the seven oceans at the time of Mahā pralaya (the Great Deluge) began its orderly march with a great uproar.

45. Caught up in the temples of great elephants overflowing with ichor, dust no longer rose, though the ground was continuously being broken by the toe-like hoofs of horses.

46. The cool breeze, cool by reason of its contact with fine drops of water from the waves of the Tunga bhadra, proved quite welcome for the onward march of the army.

47. King Kampaņa reached Muluvāyipattanam after crossing the Karnāta country within five or six days (i.e. after a march of five or six days).

48. In that city he was biding his time; and when the appropriate hour arrived he started to launch his attack against the Sambuvarāya ruler.

49. The dust raised by his army made both the Pālār and the fame of the Sambuvarāya monarch look dirty.

50. King Kampaņa struck camp with his army near Virinchinagara (Virinchipuram) where the branches of the trees were being shaken by the wind proceeding from the (waves) ripples of the Pālār.

51. Having come in all rcadiness, king Kampaņa started to lay siege to the town of the Lord of the Tamils, like the dewy season blocking up the course of the sun with intermittent snow.

52. The arrayed forces of both the Karnāta and the Tamil kings attacked each other, like two oceans brought against each other by stormy winds at the time of the Great Deluge.

53. The fight began to rage, foot-soldiers falling on foot-soldiers elephant-herds attacking elephant herds, troops of horses colliding with troops of horses

54. Unable to bear the lion-like roars emanating from warriors on both sides, the elephants of the quarters, with their trumpeting completely silenced, almost lost their consciousness.

55. Sparks generated in large numbers by the clash of the weapons of the warriors on either side bore a close likeness to a collection of glow-worms in the darkness of the dust.

56. Even like the fancied side-glances of the amourous Goddess of fight, the sharp-pointed arrows let fly against one another by bow-men fell to the ground.

57. The blood-stained sword-blades waving in the hands of heroic warriors appeared like the lolling tongue of Yama eager to make a meal of them.

58. In the countless rivers of blood which began to flow on all sides, the faces of soldiers cut off by the bhalla arrow looked like lotuses.

59. The arms of kings severed by swords resembled the trunks of elephants but were mistaken for snakes by the eagles that snatched them away.

60. The blood flowing from human trunks was very much liked by the Rākṣasis who deftly seated themselves on the trunks of elephants as if on tops of places.

61. Brave fighters sent to (everlasting) sleep by enemy arrows on the protrusion of their elephants, soon woke up on the pot-like breasts of divine damsels.

62. Then the army of the Tamil king routed by the mighty forces of Kampaņa took to flight.

63. Some men fleeing in great disorder let fall their weapons in great terror and swore they would never fight again.

64. Others, feigning death, dropped down; but fearing the presence of jackals, they at once rose up and started running pell-mell, affording no small mirth to the Karnāta forces.

65. Yet others, mistaking a mirage for water (river) made futile attempts to cross it with a boat improvised out of the shields which they had forgotten to abandon (in their flight).

66. There were still others who in their flight mistook their own shadows for the pursuing enemy in the extremity of their fright and began to prostrate before them, biting their fingers.

67. King Kampaņa, then converted the Tamil king’s town into an encampment for his own forces, and from there began to lay seige to the hill fortress named Rājagambhira (Rājagambirammalai) in which the enemy had sought asylum.

68. The sound of his war-drums raised echoes from every cave of the hill and it looked as if the hill itself had begun to yell out in fright.

69. With flags flying in the direction of high winds, the hill (fort) gave the impression that it was greeting king (Kampaņa) and welcoming him with its arms (the flags) to come to its top.

70. Again, fierce fighting commenced between the two sides, and the weapons falling down and shooting up, lit up both earth and sky by their resplendance.

71. Heads severed by arrows resembled palmyra fruits as they fell down from the ramparts and caused an illusion of balls belonging to the Deity of War (for playing with).

72. Like messengers (tax-collectors) sent by the stronghold itself claiming the tolls for the entry (of the Karnāta troops) the stones let down from catapults fell just in front of the king.

73. The hill, with the houses lit up by the fire from the missiles of bow-men, looked like holding lamps in readiness for the happy ceremony of hārati to mark the auspicious victory of the king.

74. The ascent of the hill was accomplished by heroic men by means of rows of lances planted as ladders and climbing up to the tops of sāla trees.

75. With all means (and chances) of (escape) coming out completely blocked, the stronghold was subjected to such great distress that the embryos of women, big with children, slipped out at the very sight of the fierce troops jumping in, and people immersed in the river of blood of the slain prayed for their lives.

76. See previous shloka.

77. The Sambuvarāya monarch, with drawn sword, came out of his palace in great anger, even as a snake with its lolling tongue might come out of a mole hill.

78. Though many a soldier of valour eagerly came forward to fight saying, “let me do it”, king Kampana preferred to face the Sambuvarāya himself.

79. With the forepart of their bodies bent and eyes fixed, the two kings, sword in hand, stood still for a moment like a picture on a piece of painting.

80. The gods were thankful for the total absence of winking in their eyes, as they were looking on with fixed gaze, the flight (of the two heroes), their bodies divided at the waist.

81. Kampana’s sword, reflecting as it did, the image of the Sambuvarāya monarch, looked like a pregnant daughter about to give birth to a husband for the celestial nymphs.

82. Then escaping deftly a sword thrust, king Kampaņa despatched the Sambuvarāya (monarch) as a guest to Indra’s city.

83. Having thus reduced (killed) the Sambuva rāya in the field of battle, king Kampaņa received the decree of his father that he should rule (the territory thus conquered). With the fame of his victory duly established in Kānci, he inaugurated a just and prosperous rule over Tundiramandalam destroying all confusion in castes and religious orders.