Pandyan Kingdom
The
Pandyan kingdom பாண்டியர் was an ancient
Tamil state in
South India of unknown antiquity. Pandyas were one of the three ancient Tamil kingdoms (
Chola and
Chera being the other two) who ruled the Tamil country from pre-historic times until end of the 15th century. They ruled initially from
Korkai, a sea port on the southern most tip of the Indian peninsula, and in later times moved to
Madurai. Pandyas are mentioned in
Sangam Literature (c.
100 -
200 CE) as well as by Greek and Roman sources during this period.
The early Pandyan dynasty of the Sangam literature went into obscurity during the invasion of the
Kalabhras. The dynasty revived under
Kadungon in the early 6th century, pushed the Kalabhras out of the Tamil country and ruled from
Madurai. They again went into decline with the rise of the Cholas in the 9th century and were in constant conflict with them. Pandyas allied themselves with the Sinhalese and the Kerals in harassing the Chola empire until they found an opportunity for reviving their fortunes during the late 13th century.
Pandyas entered their golden age under
Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan (c.
1251) who expanded their empire in to Telugu country and invaded
Sri Lanka to conquer the northern half of the island. They also had extensive trade links with the Southeast Asian maritime empires of
Srivijaya and their successors. During their history Pandyas were repeatedly in conflict with the
Pallavas, Cholas,
Hoysalas and finally the Muslim invaders from the
Delhi Sultanate. The Pandyan Kingdom finally became extinct after the establishment of the
Madurai Sultanate in the 16th century.
The Pandyas excelled in both trade and literature. They controlled the
pearl fisheries along the south Indian coast, between
Sri Lanka and India, which produced one of the finest pearls known in the ancient world. Tradition holds that the legendary
Sangams were held in Madurai under their patronage. Some of the Sangam poets were Pandya kings.
Sangam Literature
Various Pandya kings find mention in a number of poems in the
Sangam Literature. Among them Nedunjeliyan, 'the victor of Talaiyalanganam', yet another Nedunjeliyan 'the conqueror of the Aryan army' and Mudukudimi Peruvaludi 'of several sacrifices' deserve special mention. Besides several short poems found in the
Akananuru and the
Purananuru collections, there are two major works -
Mathuraikkanci and the
Netunalvatai (in the collection of
Pattupattu) give a glimpse into the society and commercial activities in the Pandyan kingdom during the Sangam age.
It is difficult to estimate the exact date of these Sangam age Pandyas. The period covered by the extant literature of the
Sangam is unfortunately not easy to determine with any measure of certainty. Except the longer epics
Cilappatikaram and
Manimekalai, which by common consent belong to the age later than the Sangam age, the poems have reached us in the forms of systematic anthologies. Each individual poem has generally attached to it a colophon on the authorship and subject matter of the poem, the name of the king or chieftain to whom the poem relates and the occasion which called forth the eulogy are also found.
It is from these colophons and rarely from the texts of the poems themselves, that we gather the names of many kings and chieftains and the poets and poetesses patronised by them. The task of reducing these names to an ordered scheme in which the different generations of contemporaries can be marked off one another has not been easy. To add to the confusions, some historians have even denounced these colophons as later additions and untrustworthy as historical documents.
Any attempt at extracting a systematic chronology and data from these poems should be aware of the casual nature of these poems and the wide difference between the purposes of the anthologist who collected these poems and the historian's attempts are arriving at a continuous history.
Epigraphy
The earliest Pandya to be found in epigraph, is
Nedunjeliyan figuring in the
Minakshipuram record assigned from the second to the first centuries BCE. The record documents a gift of rock-cut beds, to a
Jain ascetic. Punch marked coins in the Pandya country dating from around the same time have also been found.
Pandyas are also mentioned in the
Pillars of Ashoka (inscribed
273 -
232 BCE).
Asoka in his inscriptions refers to the peoples of south India as the
Cholas,
Cheras,
Pandyas and
Satiyaputras. These kingdoms, although not part of the Mauryan Empire, were in friendly terms with Asoka.
Foreign Sources
The
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (c.
60 -
100 CE) describes the riches of a 'Pandian Kingdom':
...Nelcynda is distant from Muziris by river and sea about five hundred stadia, and is of another Kingdom, the Pandian. This place also is situated on a river, about one hundred and twenty stadia from the sea.... Chinese biographer Yu Huan in his text
Weilue mentions a
The Kingdom of Panyue - '...The kingdom of Panyue is also called
Hanyuewang. It is several thousand li to the southeast of Tianzhu (Northern India)...The inhabitants are small; they are the same height as the Chinese...'
The
Roman emperor Julian received an embassy from a Pandya about
361. A Roman trading centre was located on the Pandyan coast (Alagankulam - at the mouth of the
Vaigai river, southeast of
Madurai).
Pandyas also had trade contacts with
Ptolemaic Egypt and, through Egypt, with
Rome by the first century, and with
China by the 3rd century. The 1st century
Greek historian
Nicolaus of Damascus met, at
Damascus, the
ambassador sent by an Indian King "named Pandion or, according to others, Porus" to
Caesar Augustus around
13 CE.
Although there are many instances of the Pandya kingdom being referred in ancient literature and texts, we currently have no way of determining a cogent genealogy of these ancient kings. In order to maintain verifiability of this article, the names of these early Pandya Kings have been omitted. We have a connected history of the Pandyas from the fall of
Kalabhras during the middle of the 6th century.
The following lists of the Pandya kings are based on the authoritative
A History of South India from the Early Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar by K.A.N. Sastri, OUP, New Delhi (Reprinted 1998).
First Empire
After the close of the Sangam age, the first Pandyan empire was established by
Kadungon in the 6th century defeating the
Kalabhras. The following is a chronological list of the Pandya emperors is based on an inscription found on the
Vaigai riverbeds.
*
Kadungon 560 -
590* Maravarman
Avani Culamani 590 -
620*
Cezhiyan Cendan 620 -
640* Arikesari Maravarman
Nindraseer Nedumaaran 640 -
674*
Kochadaiyan Ranadhiran 675 -
730* Arikesari Parankusa
Maravarman Rajasinga 730 -
765*
Parantaka Nedunjadaiyan 765 -
790*
Rasasingan II 790 -
800 *
Varagunan I 800 -
830 *
Sirmara Srivallabha 830 -
862*
Varaguna II 862 -
880*
Parantaka Viranarayana 862 -
905*
Rajasimha III 905 -
920After the defeat of the Kalabhras, the Pandya kingdom grew from strength to strength and witnessed a steady increase in its power and territory. With the
Cholas in obscurity, the Tamil country was divided between the
Pallavas and the Pandyas, the river Kaveri being the frontier between them.
After
Vijayalaya Chola conquered
Thanjavur defeating the Muttarayar chieftains around
850. the Pndyas went into a period of decline. They were constantly harassing their Chola overlords occupying their territories.
Parantaka Chola I invaded the Pandya territories and defeated
Rajasinha II. However Pandyas reversed this defeat to gain back most of their lost territories.
Under the Cholas
The Chola domination of the Tamil country began in earnest during the reign of
Parantaka Chola II. Chola armies led by
Aditya Karikala, son of Parantaka Chola II defeated Vira Pandya in battle. The Pandyas were assisted by the Sinhalese forces of
Mahinda IVPandyas were driven out of their territories and had to seek refuge in the island of Sri Lanka. This was the start of the long exile of the Pandyas. They were replaced by a series of Chola viceroys with the title
Chola Pandyas who ruled from Madurai from c. 1020.
The following list gives the names of the Pandya kings who were active during the 10th and the first half of 11th century. It is difficult to give their date of accession and duration of their rule. Nevertheless their presence in the southern country require recognition.
*
Sundara Pandya I *
Vira Pandya I *
Vira Pandya II *
Amarabhujanga Tivrakopa *
Jatavarman Sundara Chola Pandya *
Maravarman Vikrama Chola Pandya *
Maravarman Parakrama Chola Pandya *
Jatavarman Chola Pandya *
Srivallabha Manakulachala (
1101 -
1124)
*
Maaravaramban Seervallaban (
1132 -
1161)
*
Parakrama Pandiyan (
1161 -
1162)
*
Kulasekara Pandyan III*
Vira Pandyan III*
Jatavarman Srivallaban (
1175 -
1180)
*
Jatavarman Kulasekara Devan (
1180 -
1216)
Pandya Revival
The 13th century is the greatest period in the history of the Pandyan Empire. Their power reached its zenith under
Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan in the middle of the 13th century. The foundation for such a great empire was laid by Maravarman Sundara Pandya early in the 13th century.
*
Maravarman Sundara Pandya (
1216 -
1238)
*
Sundaravaramban Kulasekaran II (
1238 -
1240)
*
Maaravaramban Sundara Pandiyan II (
1241 -
1251)
*
Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan (
1251 -
1268)
*
Maaravaramban Kulasekara Pandyan I (
1268 -
1311)
*
Sundara Pandyan IV (
1309 -
1327)
*
Vira Pandyan IV (
1309 -
1345)
After being overshadowed by the
Pallavas and
Cholas for centuries, Pandyan glory was briefly revived by the much celebrated
Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan in
1251 and the Pandya power extended from the Telugu countries on banks of the
Godavari river to the northern half of
Sri Lanka. On the death of
Maaravaramban Kulasekara Pandyan I in
1308, a conflict stemming from succession disputes arose amongst his sons. Sundara Pandya and Vira Pandya fought each other for the throne. Soon Madurai fell into the hands of the invading armies of the Delhi Sultanate. Pandyas and their descendants where confined to a small region around
Thirunelveli for a few more years and after the 17th century C.E. we hear no more of them.
After Madurai fell into the hands of the invading armies of the Delhi Sultanate, the Pandyas got the help of Vijayanagar Kings to restore Madurai fromDelhi Sultanate. With the help of Vijayanagar Kings theMuslim invaders were driven away but the Nayaks of Vijayanagar crowned themselves as the King of Madurai anddissolved the Pandyan army by unknown means. The Tamil Kings - Chera, Chola and Pandyas were from a common descent called Mallas / Mala/Malan. Over a period of time the Nayaks removed the lands of the descendants of Pandyas and Cholas and replaced them with supporters of Nayak rule. This prompted the descendants of Cholas and Pandyas to leave Tamilnadu and settle elsewere like Kerala, Ceylon, Malaysia. Many of the remaining descendants were killed in several clashes. The restwere renamed from Mallas to Pallas through Pallu literature and were made agricultural laborers and then were ex-communicated from society and then were made Untouchables.
* Carswell, John. 1991. "The Port of Mantai, Sri Lanka."
RAI, pp. 197-203.
* Hill, John E. 2004.
The Peoples of the West from the Weilue 魏略
by Yu Huan 魚豢
: A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE. Draft annotated English translation. [
1]
* Nagaswamy, R. Tamil Coins - a study (1981)
* Ray, Himanshu Prabha, ed. 1996.
Tradition and Archaeology: Early Maritime Contacts in the Indian Ocean. Proceedings of the International Seminar Techno-Archaeological Perspectives of Seafaring in the Indian Ocean 4th cent. B.C. " 15th cent. A.D. New Delhi, February 28 " March 4, 1994. New Delhi, and Jean-François SALLES, Lyon. First published 1996. Reprinted 1998. Manohar Publishers & Distributors, New Delhi.
* Reddy, P. Krishna Mohan. 2001. "Maritime Trade of Early South India: New Archaeological Evidences from Motupalli, Andhra Pradesh."
East and West Vol. 51 " Nos. 1-2 (June 2001), pp. 143-156.
* Shaffer, Lynda Norene. 1996.
Maritime Southeast Asia to 1500. Armonk, New York, M.E. Sharpe, Inc.
* Tamil Work - R. Deva Asirvatam, "Moovendar Yaar?". 799 Park Road, Chennai, India.
* Tamil Work - R. Deva Asirvatam, "Pallar Alla Mallar Aam Mannar". 12/180, Puddukottai Road, Yagappa Nagar, Tanjavur, India.
* Tamil Work - R. Deva Asirvatam, "Tamil Moovendar descendants - Devendrar Veelchi". 12/180, Puddukottai Road, Yagappa Nagar, Tanjavur, India.
* Tamil Work - R. Deva Asirvatam, "Tamil Moovendar descendants - Devendrar become Untouchables". 12/180, Puddukottai Road, Yagappa Nagar, Tanjavur, India.
*
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