Mahodayapuresacaritam Mahakavya

It has often been observed that India possessed no history. Yet the seeds of
history can be seen even in the earliest Indian literature. The vedas, the puranas,
the epics, the Buddhist works, the Prasastis, the inscriptions, coins, monuments,
secular literature, astronomical works and the accounts of foreign travelers are the
main sources of early Indian History. Besides, there are a large number of historical
Kavyas in various forms in Sanskrit literature. A vast majority of them, on a close
observation, do not supply sufficient or accurate historical material one comes
across the same stereotyped conventional descriptions. Nevertheless, one must
admit that some of them provide valuable historical information and research
material. A general survey of much important historical and biographical works,
with special reference to Keralas contribution to this branch of learning, is made in
this paper.
What was said about the history of ancient India, is true of ancient Kerala as
well. One rarely comes across any authentic historical account from the ancient
writers of Kerala. Instead of historical narratives, one generally finds mythological
accounts interspersed with historical gleanings. However, there are a few poems of
some historical importance. But they were most probably written after the 10 th C.
AD.
Mahodayapuresacaritam
A historical poem entitled Mahodayapuresacaritam is traditionally attributed
to Tolan who was a court poet of the Kerala king Kulasekharavarman (900 AD), who
distinguished himself as a dramatist. According to some scholars he was a protege
of Bhaskara Ravivarman or Ceraman Perumal. Though the name Tolan seems to be
a tadbhava of Atula, he is not to be identified with the author of the Musikavamsa,
which must have been written in the beginning of the 12th C AD. According to
another view his name was Nilakantha and that he was a native of Cochin and he
belonged to the Airanikkulam4 Village. This Tolan is credited with the authorship of
the poem called Mahodayapuracaritam. Kulasekhara is the hero of the Kavya. The
work begins with a description of Mahodayapuresa, or Tiruvancikkulam, the modern
cranganore. The poem is said to be a Mahakavya in simple style. The work is nonextent, only two verses have been handed down to us through tradition. Nothing
else is known about this interesting work on the lord of the city of Mahodaya, the
ancient capital of Kerala.