Thanjai Kallar Ulagam

A Chola King, “Ezhaaran” who lived in Thiruvarur was an ardent upholder of justice follower of the Manu's Dharmasastras. Hence he was affectionately called “Manu Needi Cholan”.To render justice to people who felt they were wronged, he caused a huge bell to be hung in front of his place. When someone desired to seek his help, all that he had to do was to pull the rope, making the bell sound and attract the attention of the ruler. Once, to his surprise, he noticed a cow seeking Justice through this process. The culprit was his own son who had run the chariot over the calf of the complainant- cow. It was the king's duty to render Justice to the animal too and he ordered the prince to lie on the road and had his chariot driven personally, to crush the latter. There were showers of praise for his daring act.

SAMA NEEDHI KANDA CHOLAN

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Manu Needhi Cholan or Manuneedhi Cholan was a legendary Chola king believed to have killed his own son to provide justice to a Cow, following Manu Needhi or Manu's law. Legend has it that the king hung a giant bell in front of his courtroom for anyone needing justice to ring. One day, he came out on hearing the ringing of the bell by a Cow. On enquiry he found that the Calf of that Cow was killed under the wheels of his chariot. In order to provide justice to the cow, he killed his own son under the chariot as a punishment to himself i.e. make himself suffer as much as the cow. His name has since then been used as a metaphor for fairness and justice in Tamil literature.His capital was Thiruvarur.

Manu Needhi was also called as DharmaRajan. In the 'MahaVamsa', a historical poem of the Kings of Sri Lanka, tells of a Chola King who had identities similar to ManuNeedhi. MahaVamsa states that a King called Elara, a Chola King invaded the island in around 235 BC. It also adds that, he ruled 'with even justice toward friend and foe, on occasions of disputes at law,[1] and elaborates how he even ordered the execution of his son the basis of a heinous religious crime. The same chronicle relates that the king had a bell with a rope attached at the head of his bed, so that all who sought redress might ring it.In particular he is presented as a tireless defender of the native faith and of pointedly treating native Sinhala nobles with the same dignity as his Tamil associates. As such Elara is often held as the archetype of the Dharmaraja, or 'just king' of Buddhist tradition, all the more remarkable for not being a native son of the kingdom he governed.

From this Chronicle, The King's ordering of execution of his own son, and having a bell of justice can be related to Manu needhi's actions of killing his son for showing justice to the Cow and the bell which cow rang, as found in the first paragraph.