Madhurāvijayam of Gaṅgādevī /12

Pis we find him questioning even the veracity of the
Madhurāvijayam in regard to the final fate of the
Sambuvarāya rule. The Madhurāvijayam describes
the total extermination of the Sambuvarāya rule in
Tonḍaimanḍalam while Sri Gopinatha REFACE
 
vii
 
is we find him questioning even the veracity of the
Madhurāvijayam in regard to the final fate of the
Sambuvarāya rule. The Madhurāvijayam describes
the total extermination of the Sambuvarāya rule in
Tonḍaimanḍalam while Sri Gopinatha Rao doubts if
ao doubts if
Gangā Dēvi's reference to the killing of the Sambuva-

rāya might not be to "heighten the poetic effect of the

narrative." Sri Gopinatha Rao has also mixed up

chronological and genealogical factors of Sambuvarāya

history, depending on literary evidence, and made the

Sambuvarāya a "tributary" of Kampaņa. This ques-

tion has been examined thoroughly in the introduction
and it will be seen that new light has been thrown on

and it will be seen that new light has been thrown on
Sambuvarāya-Vijayanagar relationship. It has also

been shown that the destruction of the Sambuvaraya
āya
rule and of the Madhurai Sultanate by Kampana were
not two isolated events but two aspects of a grand and

not two isolated events but two aspects of a grand and
vital scheme, viz., "Madhurāvijayam" or the conquest

of Madhurai.
 

 
This edition can be justified on other grounds as

well. For the first time a succinct history of the

Sambuvarāyas is supplied. The Sambuvarayas were
no doubt an insignificant line of feudatory chiefs but
the times during which they ruled were great in the

no doubt an insignificant line of feudatory chiefs but
the times during which they ruled were great in the
history of South India. With the Hoysala power reduc-

ed to nullity, with the Kaākatiīya fame dimmed for ever,

with the Paāndyas no longer sovereigns of Madhurai,

South India, especially the Tamil country, afforded

splendid opportunities for adventurous marauders. The

catastrophe which overtook the Tamil country was the

direct result of the relentless campaigns of Alauddin's

general, Malik Kafur. The feudatory chiefs of the