The Bhikṣuṇī Maṇimēkhalai

84 - The Historical Materials
kingdom in charge of an illegitimate son of his by name Kākandan, as
the latter’s illegitimacy gave him immunity from attack by
Paraśurāma. Hence the name Kākandi for the Cōḻa capital. The
description of this territory as Kaḍalkoṇḍa Kākandi Nāḍu would
indicate that it at one time bore the name Kākandi Nāḍu which later
got submerged in the sea. It is possible that the name Kākandi was
given to it after conquest by the Cōḻas whenever that conquest
actually took place, possibly under Karikāla.
But the point that requires to be cleared up is why should the Cēras
and the Pāṇḍyas go so far out of their way, in an invasion even if it be
against the territory of Kāñcī in the far north. No explanation is given
to us in the works. But the Śangam age is the period when this had
become a sort of debatable frontier between the Āndhras and the
Tamils. The Āndhra Sātavāhanas had at one time extended their
territory southwards and the fact that their ship coins of potin have
been found almost as far south as Cuddalore would show that their
aggression had not always been futile. It must have been therefore a
peculiarly dangerous frontier for the Tamils and as such liable to easy
attack. But beyond this, we have no definite facts to explain why these
two southern kings attacked the Cōḻa kingdom on their extreme
northern frontier in Maṇimēkhalai itself. [50]
The Malayamān chief Kāri, however, is said to have fought
single-handed against the Āryas 51 and turned them back. This must, in
point of time, have been anterior to the transaction under reference in
the Maṇimēkhalai, as then the Malayamān chief was still in
possession of his territory unmolested.
51 Naṟṟiṇai 170.