Talk:Ellalan

Manuneedhi Chozhan

Manuneedhi Chozhan was a king in India, not in Sri Lanka. This article, originally titled as Manuneedhi Chozhan, was moved to Ellara or Ellalan. Now the discussions are centered whether the name should be Elara or Ellalan. Let that go on. But I request that the name Manuneedhi Chozhan be de-linked with this article so that I or someone else could write a fresh article about the Indian King who ruled from the present day Thanjavur District.--Uksharma3 (talk) 05:43, 25 October 2016 (UTC)

Uksharma3, please start from this version. Thanks.--Kanags (talk) 07:34, 25 October 2016 (UTC)

When I search for Manu Needhi Cholan in the search box, it takes me to the Ellalan page. My point is the present link to the word "Manu Needhi Cholan" leading to Ellalan page should be removed.--Uksharma3 (talk) 07:50, 25 October 2016 (UTC)

When you continue on from that version and save, the link will be removed automatically.--Kanags (talk) 07:57, 25 October 2016 (UTC)

Problems of equating Manuneedhi Cholan with Elara

This Wikipedia page, without providing adequate scholarly resources, definitively equates Manuneedhi Chozhan with King Elara, a figure mentioned in the 5th-century Sri Lankan chronicle, the Mahavamsa. This mixed-up misleading readers who may lack an academic background in Indo-Lanka historiography.

I am placing tags on several doubtful sentences below. I invite any user willing to counter-argue these points to provide valid academic sources to justify their edits.

Manuneedhi Chozhan (Manuneethi Cholan): A legendary Chola King associated with Tiruvarur in Tamil Nadu, India. References to him are primarily found in ancient South Indian texts such as the Silappatikaram and the Periya Puranam.
Elara (or Ellāḷaṉ): According to the Mahavamsa (Chapter XXI, 13-14), Elara was a person of noble descent who arrived from the Chola country and seized the Anuradhapura Kingdom of Sri Lanka after overpowering King Asela.

• Issue 1: The photo in the infobox states it is the "Statue of Ellāḷaṉ in the premises of Madras High Court in Chennai."
  

Fact: This is commonly identified as the statue of Manuneedhi Chozhan. It was erected to symbolize the principle of the judiciary: to punish criminals irrespective of caste, creed, or social status.
Argument: It has not been comprehensively proven by any scholar that Manuneedhi Chozhan is the same individual as the Sri Lankan King Elara. Although popular culture sometimes draws parallels to Elara, this statue itself commemorates the Chola King of Tiruvarur mentioned in the Periya Puranam. Therefore, the caption should be changed to: "Statue of Manuneedhi Cholan in the premises of Madras High Court in Chennai."

• Issue 2: Regarding the identification of Ellalan’s children: Veedhividangan and Princess Shardha.
  

Fact: The provided reference from The Hindu newspaper states that Manuneedhi Cholan’s son was named Veedhividangan. According to the legend, the King ordered his son to be punished in the same manner as the calf he accidentally killed.
Argument: According to traditional South Indian legends, Veedhividangan is the son of Manuneedhi Cholan. The current reference is not an academic source and provides no evidence that Manuneedhi Cholan is the same person as King Elara. It would be more appropriate to cite the primary sources to identify specifically which text each name originates from. Also, any mention of the name "Veedhividangan" must be strictly tied to South Indian sources (Silapathikaram/Periya Puranam) and not used as a factual detail of Elara’s biography in Sri Lankan history

• Issue 3: Under the section "Birth and early life," it is mentioned that Ellalan's name is found in early South Indian sources.
  

//He has been mentioned in the Silappatikaram and Periya Puranam. His name has since then been used as a metaphor for fairness and justice in Tamil literature. His capital was Thiruvarur.//

Fact: This is a significant error. The name mentioned in both the Silappatikaram and Periya Puranam is Manuneedhi Chozhan, not Ellalan.
Argument: It is not proven that Manuneedhi Chozhan and Ellalan are the same historical figure. Therefore, the information currently in the article is factually incorrect and misleads readers.

• Issue 4: The chaos at The Legend of Manu Needhi Cholan section

Both the Silappatikaram and Periya Puranam describe Manuneedhi Chozhan executing his son to uphold justice. The Sri Lankan chronicle Mahavamsa elaborates on a similar incident when describing the justice of King Elara.

In the Mahavamsa, the King (Elara) executes his son.
In the Periya Puranam, the King (Manuneedhi) attempts to execute his son (Veedhividangan), but divine intervention restores the lives of both the son and the calf.

In this section, the Mahavamsa account and the Periya Puranam account have been merged together considering that they are a single historical event finally making an original research (Unpublished Synthesis).

Fact: There is again no academically proven evidence or derived theory that equates Manuneedhi Cholan with Elara. While the "Justice Bell" stories are similar, and a connection likely exists, the Wikipedia article ignores this lack of factual certainty and merges the two stories as if they were the same incident.
Argument: This section needs to be rearranged to describe the legends according to their respective chronicles (e.g., "According to the Mahavamsa of Sri Lanka" and "According to South Indian Tamil epics such as the Silappatikaram"). L Manju (talk) 07:31, 18 March 2026 (UTC)