An interesting scene from ps2 and some casual history reading made me notice this
+ bonus tidbit!
The major conflict in ponniyin selvan is the succession crisis- 2 heirs with equally strong claims.
However, it isn't an isolated incident. The madhuranthakan-adithya karikalan-arulmozhivarman musical chairs with the Chola throne is a direct- if delayed- fallout from a previous, more shocking crisis.
In this scene, Vanthiyadevan and Alwarkaddiyan Nambi are pursuing Pandyan Assassins through the crowd, before they attack Prince Arunmozhi.
They manage to catch hold of few, who give them tantalizing clues.
And if that's not enough - even point out the source of attack!
Pretty dumb move, right?
Leaking your plan to the enemy before it's been executed?
Some context will clear it up- he's not leaking their plan.
He's gloating.
Reminding them of their past downfall to shame them.
The eldest son of Parantaka I, crown prince Rajaditya died in 949 in circumstances equally if not more dramatic than his grandnephew aditha Karikalan.
In the Battle of Thakkolam, rajaditya was seated atop an elephant when an arrow from the Rashtrakuta forces killed him on spot. This must've certainly killed morale in the Chola camp leading to their defeat. Rajaditya's commander, a chera nobleman called Vellan kumaran survived and became an ascetic 'chaturanana pandita'.
Rashtrakutas also occupied Thanjavur for a short period due to this, leading to internal instability. Parantaka I lived a fairly long life and died 6 years after his firstborn son. He was first succeeded by Gandaraditha (2nd son) and then by Arinjaya (3rd son) - both of whom must've been in their 50/60s leading to short tenures. Son no.4 Uttamasili was beheaded by Veera Pandyan.
After son no.2 the primogeniture (succession based on birth order) doesn't matter as everyone wants a chance.
The age reversal among the sons of these 2 emperors causes more confusion- Sundara(Arinjaya's son) is older than Gandaraditha's son.
Bonus tidbit :
in this YT video, author of the controversial 'sangathara' novel, kalachakram narasimhan answers a question saying that while Nandini herself is fictional, representing the chola-pandya dynamics, the character maybe inspired by nandipurathu Valli, a noblewoman and daughter of commander vellan kumaran, who apparently was in love in Prince Rajaditya.
Curious, I read the novel, but that's for another day😌🌚
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