Musikavamsamahakavy of Atulakavi

Poet Atula's Musikavamsa is an Epic Poem, Mahakavya, dealing with the History of the Musike dynasty that ruled over the kingdom of Ezhimala known by an alternate name of Kolathunadu. Some of the rulers of the Ezhimala kingdom have come for prominent mention in the Samgham literature of the early centuries of the Christian era. The composer of the Mahakavya does not appear to have drawn any material from the old Tamil literature but has given a mythological origin to the founder of the new dynasty and tried to give it a North Indian connection. Eminent historians have not ruled out such a possibility and, it is hoped that the availability of the text along with an authentic translation will be of great use to historians in throwing more light on subject. This poem should be considered as the earliest among Historical Kavyas since the poet is a contemporary of the ruler with the name of the Srikantha who flourished in the early decades of the 11th century A.D.