Pandyan Kingdom

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Extent of the Pandya Territories c. 1250 C.E.

The Pandyan kingdom 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 entered their golden age under Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan (c. 1251) who expanded their empire into Telugu country and invaded Sri Lanka to conquer the northern half of the island. Their territory included present-day Kerela. They also had extensive trade links with the Southeast Asian maritime empires of Srivijaya and their successors. 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 Sangam were held in Madurai under their patronage. Some of the Sangam poets were Pandya kings. 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 Cheras in harassing the Chola empire until they found an opportunity for reviving their fortunes during the late 13th century. During their history Pandyas were repeatedly in conflict with the Pallavas, Cholas, Hoysalas and finally the Muslim invaders from the Delhi Sultanate. Nonetheless, they also gave peace and stability to the Southern plains of India for many centuries. In the end, they could not compete with Muslim Delhi Sultanate as it pushed South, and lost power in the 16th century. Within a century, the British East India Company had started its operations and by the end of the eighteenth century this part of India was part of British India.

Sources

Sangam Literature

Pandyas are mentioned in Sangam Literature (c. 100 - 200 C.E.) as well as by Greek and Roman sources during this period 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 patronized 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 their casual nature and of the wide difference between the purposes of the anthologist who collected them and of an historian’s trying to construct 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 B.C.E. 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.

One of the famous pillars of Ashoka - at Vaishali.

Pandyas are also mentioned in the Pillars of Ashoka (inscribed 273 - 232 B.C.E.). Asoka in his inscriptions refers to the peoples of south India as the Cholas, Cheras, Pandyas and Satiyaputras as recipients of his Buddhist prozelitism. These kingdoms, although not part of the Mauryan Empire, were in friendly terms with Asoka:

"The conquest by Dharma has been won here, on the borders, and even six hundred yojanas (5,400–9,600 km) away, where the Greek king Antiochos rules, beyond there where the four kings named Ptolemy, Antigonos, Magas and Alexander rule, likewise in the south among the Cholas, the Pandyas, and as far as Tamraparni (Sri Lanka)." (Edicts of Ashoka, 13th Rock Edict, S. Dhammika).

Foreign Sources

The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (c. 60 - 100 C.E.) 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 Weilüe 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 C.E. Marco Polo visited Madurai in 1295. Ibn Battuta visited in 1333C.E. There was significant sea-trade between the Pandyan Kingdom, the ancient Mediterranean world as well as China. Texts even refer to the Pandyan kings having Roman guards.

List of Pandyan Kings

Although there are many instances of the Pandya kingdom being referred in ancient literature and texts, there is no way to determine a cogent genealogy of these ancient kings. The names of the earliest rulers cannot be confirmed but historians have constructed 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 work of Sasti (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 - 920

After 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 Pandyas 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.

• 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)

The Madurai Meenakshi temple, a Shiva Temple, was originally built by the Pandyan kings in the 12th century

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)
• ekaran 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)

Culture

The Pandyas sponsored Hindu learning, Tamil literature and scholarship and were patrons of the famous Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, where royal weddings took place although the earliest kings are believed to have supported Jainism. Madurai was known as the Athens of the East because of its reputation for scholarship and learning. Several kings wrote poetry themselves. Madurai was one of the most important centers of South Indian Hinduism and of scholarship, and is still considered to be the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu. By the end of this period, the kingdom included the whole of the South of India from its southern tip to Nellore in the North.

End of Pandyas

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 were confined to a small region around Thirunelveli for a few more years and after the 17th century C.E. no more is heard of them. After Madurai fell into the hands of the invading armies of the Delhi Sultanate, the Pandyas saught the help of Vijayanagar Empire. Vijayanagar Empire replaced the Delhi Sultanate in Madurai and appointed Nayaks governers to rule from Madurai.There are many historic reasons for the closer relations with the Pandiyan kingdom of Madurai and Paravas community. The Paravas were the chiefs of the coastal region and they ruled their areas as subordinates of the Pandyas of the Sangam age

The Paravas head quarter was Korkai harbour during the regime of Pandiyan Kingdom and they all spread into 22 fishing hamlets namely Rajackal Mangalam, Kovalam, Kanyakumari, Kumari muttam, Kootapuli, Perumanal, Idinthakarai, Kuthenkuly, Uvari, Periathalai, Pudukarai, Manapad, Alanthalai, Thiruchendur, Virapandianpatnam, Thalambuli, Punnaikayal, Palayakayal, Tuticorin, Vaippar, Chethupar, Vembar & Mookur in the pearl fishery coast of Gulf of Mannar and adjacent Comerin coast.Tuticorin the port city of the Pandiyan kingdom, has always been a stronghold of the Paravas.They had a succession of kings among them, distinguished by the title Adiarasen Some of these chiefs seem to have resided at Uttara Kosmangay near Ramnad. The story of this city itself is clear evidence to this fact. Later, the leaders were called by names Thalaivan, Pattankattiyars, and Adappannars. Kumarimuttom can be considered as the western boundary for the community as the people are inhabitants of also Muttom and Pillaithoppu.

Legacy

While the Pandyans fought local rivals to maintain their kingdom and did at times extend their territory, they do not appear to have had imperial ambitions as such and did not compete with the larger imperial dynasties in India. Eventually, however, they could not withstand the imperial ambitions of the Delhi Sultanate. Although they had long enjoyed trade with the wider world, and were by no mean isolated from global interests, they had maintained political independence. However, in a world of expanding Empires – initially the Muslim drive South from their stronghold in Delhi in the North followed by the British and other Europeans, especially the French with whom they competed, the Pandyan kingdom could not survive. Muslim conquest was followed by in incorporation within the Vijayanagar Empire, then into the British Empire and eventually by the emergence of India as an independent state in 1947, within which the ancient kingdom of the Pandyan’s is now largely within the State of Tamil Nadu. There is little doubt that the patronization of the Hindu scholarship of South India suffered as a result of this political change, which is regrettable although a revival started in the mid-nineteenth century as in the face of official indifference to their cultural legacy, people rediscovered pride in this as they also began to aspire to become free from colonial rule.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Hill, John E. The Peoples of the West from the Weilüe by Yu Huan : A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 C.E. Draft annotated English translation, 2004 The Peoples of the West Retrieved November 7, 2007.
• Ray, Himanshu Prabha, (ed). 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. New Delhi: Manohar Publishers & Distributors, New Delhi, 1998 ISBN 9788173041457
• Reddy, P. Krishna Mohan. 1. "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., 2001
• Sastri, K. A. N. A History of South India from the Early Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1998 ISBN 0195606868
• Shaffer, Lynda Norene. Maritime Southeast Asia to 1500. Armonk, New York: M.E. Sharpe, Inc, 1996 ISBN 9781563241437

External links

• Inscriptions of India - Complete listing of historical inscriptions from Indian temples and monuments Retrieved November 7, 2007.

• Pandyan Kingdom at Glorious India Retrieved November 7, 2007.

• The Pandyans - J.R.Sinnatamby, Journal of Tamil Studies, 1973 Retrieved November 7, 2007.

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