Pandya dynasty: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Ancient Tamil dynasty of south India}}

{{Use Indian English|date=September 2013}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}

{{Infobox Former Country

| common_name = Pandya Nadu

| era = [[Medieval era]]

| year_end = 1618

| flag_p1 =

| border_p1 = no

| s5 = Jaffna kingdom

| image_s6 = Sambuvaraya

| capital = *[[Korkai]] (port, early historic)<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2015-06-05 |title=Classical Indo-Roman Trade |url=https://www.epw.in/journal/2013/26-27/special-articles/classical-indo-roman-trade.html |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |language=en |volume=48 |issue=26–27}}</ref>

* [[Madurai]] (till 1335 CE)<ref name="Fall"/>

* [[Tenkasi]] (till 1618 CE)<ref name="Fall"/>

| religion = {{ublist

}}

| government_type = Monarchy

| today = [[India]]<br>[[Sri Lanka]]

| demonym = Pandiyar

| flag_width = 160px

}}

{{TNhistory}}

{{HistoryOfSouthAsia}}

 

 

 

 

 

 

==Etymology and origin legends==

 

According to the ancient [[Tamil mythology|Tamil legends]], the three brothers ''Cheran'', ''Cholan'' and ''Pandyan'' ruled in common at the southern city of [[Korkai]]. While Pandya remained at home, his two brothers Cheran and Cholan after a separation founded their own kingdoms in north and west.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Caldwell |first=Bishop R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zjTneAGmatsC |title=History of Tinnevelly |date=1989 |publisher=Asian Educational Services |isbn=9788120601611 |pages=12 |language=en}}</ref> Epic poem ''[[Silappatikaram]]'' mentions that the emblem of the Pandyas was that of a ''fish''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nākacāmi |first=Irāmaccantiran̲ |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wtYBAAAAMAAJ |title=Studies in Ancient Tamil Law and Society |date=1978 |publisher=Institute of Epigraphy, State Department of Archaeology, Government of Tamilnadu |pages=52 |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Mangulam inscription (south India).jpg|thumb|Mangulam inscription (3rd and 2nd centuries BCE)|alt=]]

 

 

{{cquote|The conquest by [[dharma]] has been won here, on the borders, and even six hundred [[yojana]]s (5,400–9,600 km) away, where the Greek king [[Antiochus II Theos|Antiochos]] rules, beyond there where the four kings named [[Ptolemy II Philadelphus|Ptolemy]], [[Antigonus II Gonatas|Antigonos]], [[Magas of Cyrene|Magas]] and [[Alexander II of Epirus|Alexander]] rule, likewise in the south among the [[Cholas]], the Pandyas, and as far as [[Tamraparni]] river.<ref>[http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/ashoka.html S. Dhammika, ''The Edicts of King Ashoka: An English Rendering''] Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy (1994) {{ISBN|955-24-0104-6}}</ref>

}}

 

 

 

Silver [[punch-marked coins]] with the fish symbol of the Pandyas dating from around the same time have also been found.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Champakalakshmi |first=Radha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IGTaAAAAMAAJ&q=silver+pandya |title=Trade, ideology, and urbanization: South India 300 BC to AD 1300 |date=1996 |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=123 |isbn=978-0-19-563870-7 |language=en}}</ref>

The early historic Pandyas are celebrated in the earliest available [[Sangam literature|Tamil poetry]].<ref name=":3" /> The poems refers to about twelve Pandya rulers.<ref name=":17">Subbarayalu, Y. 2014. 'Early Tamil Polity', in ''A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations'', ed. Noburu Karashima, pp. 47–48. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.</ref> According to tradition, the legendary [[Tamil Sangams|Sangams ("the Academies")]] were held in [[Madurai]] under the patronage of the Pandyas. Several Tamil literary works, such as Iraiyanar Agapporul, mention the legend of three separate Sangams and ascribe their patronage to the Pandyas.<ref name="husaini_agapporul">{{Cite book |last=Husaini |first=Abdul Qadir |title=The History of the Pandya Country |page=5}}</ref>

 

 

Pandya rulers from early historic south India<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FjxuAAAAMAAJ&q=A+History+of+South+India+from+the+Early+Times+to+the+Fall+of+Vijayanagar+nilakanta+sastri|title=A history of South India from prehistoric times to the fall of Vijayanagar|last=Sastri|first=Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta|date=1976|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=22–25|isbn=978-0-19-560686-7|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":17" />

* [[Koon Pandya]]

* [[Nedunjeliyan I]] ("Aariyap Padai Kadantha")

* Neenmugan

* [[Tammuzh]]

 

 

 

Besides the poems, king Peruvaludi is also mentioned in later copper-plate grant (8th–9th century CE).<ref name=":20" /> In the work ''[[Mathuraikkanci]]'', the author Mankudi Maruthanar, refers to his patron, [[Nedunjeliyan II|Talaihalanganum Nedunjeliyan]], as the Lord of [[Korkai]] and the Warlord of the Southern [[Parathavar|Parathavar People]].<ref name=":20" /> It contains a full-length description of [[Madurai]] and the Pandya country under the rule of Nedunjeliyan. In the famous battle of Talaiyalanganam (in east Tanjore), the Pandya is said to have defeated his enemies (which included the Chera and the Chola).<ref name=":20" /> He is also praised for his victory of Mizhalai and Mutturu, two "vel" centres along the ocean (in Pudukkottai).<ref name=":20" /> The ''[[Nedunalvadai|Netunalvatai]]'' (in the collection of ''[[Pattupattu]]'') by Nakkirar contains a description of king Nedunjeliyan's palace.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xx7ICQAAQBAJ&q=pandyan+purananuru+poem&pg=PA55|title=Warfare in Pre-British India – 1500BCE to 1740CE|last=Roy|first=Kaushik|date=2015-06-03|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317586920|pages=55|language=en}}</ref>

=== Foreign sources ===

{{South Asia in 150 BCE}}

* [[Pliny the Elder]] refers to the Pandya ruler of Madurai in general terms (first century CE).<ref name=":17" />

* The country of the Pandyas was described as ''Pandya Mediterranea'' and ''Modura Regia Pandionis'' by [[Ptolemy]] ({{circa|140&nbsp;CE}}<ref name=":17" />).<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rj5WAAAAYAAJ&q=Ptolemy+pandi+mandala|title=The Cyclopaedia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia|last=Balfur|first=Edward|date=1968|publisher=Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt|pages=105|language=en}}</ref>

* The [[Roman emperor]] [[Julian the Apostate|Julian]] received an embassy from a Pandya about 361 CE.<ref name=":3" />

 

== History ==

[[Maurya Empire|Maurya]]n emperor [[Ashoka|Asoka]] (3rd century BCE) seems to have been on friendly terms with the people of south India and Sri Lanka (the [[Chola dynasty|Cholas]], the Pandyas, the [[Satiyaputras|Satiya Putras]], the [[Chera dynasty|Kerala Putras]] and the [[Tamraparni]]s). There are no indications that Asoka tried to conquer the extreme south India (the Tamilakam – the Abode of the Tamils).{{sfn|Romila Thapar|2003|p=184}}

 

 

 

The Pandya seems to be the most prominent of the three "ventar" rulers. There are even references to a Pandya queen from 3rd century BCE representing a confederacy of the Tamil countries.<ref name=":162" /> [[Madurai]], in south Tamil Nadu, was the most important cultural centre in south India as the core of the Tamil speakers.<ref name=":19" /> Megalithic relics such as menhirs, dolmens, urn burials, stone circles and rock-cut chambers/passages can be found in south India. Burial goods include iron objects, ivory ornaments, Black-and-Red Ware and even some [[Roman Empire|Roman Imperial]] coins.{{sfn|Romila Thapar|2003|p=230}} The so-called "velir" hill chieftains are assumed to be associated with these megalithic burials.{{sfn|Romila Thapar|2003|p=231}}

[[File:FourArmedVishnuPandyaDynasty8-9thCentury.jpg|thumb|Enthroned god [[Vishnu]], Pandya dynasty, second half of the 8th–early 9th century CE ([[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], New York City)|298x298px]]

[[File:The Hindu Saint Manikkavacakar LACMA AC1997.16.1 (1 of 12).jpg|thumb|[[Manikkavacakar|Manikkavachakar]], Shaiva poet-saint and minister of Pandya king [[Varagunavarman II|Varaguna II]] (dated to early 12th century) Los Angeles County Museum of Art|374x374px]]

 

 

 

 

{| class="wikitable"

|+'''Pandya kings (6th–10th century CE)'''

By {{circa|897&nbsp;CE}}, Chola king [[Aditya I]] was the master of the old Pallava, Ganga and Kongu countries. It is a possibility that Aditya I conquered the Kongu country from the Pandya king Parantaka Viranarayana (r. 880–900 CE).<ref name=":24" /> [[Parantaka I]], successor to Aditya, invaded the Pandya territories in 910 CE and captured Madurai from king Maravarman Rajasimha II (hence the title "Madurai Konda").<ref name=":24" /> Rajasimha II received help from the Sri Lankan king Kassapa V, still got defeated by [[Parantaka I]] in the battle of Vellur, and fled to Sri Lanka. Rajasimha then found refuge in the Chera country, leaving even his royal insignia in Sri Lanka, the home of his mother.<ref name=":24" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Wijetunga Mudalige Karunaratna Wijetunga|title=Sri Lanka and the Choḷas|publisher=Sarvodaya Vishva Lekha Publishers, 2003|page=82}}</ref>

 

 

 

 

Pandya kings (10th century–first half of 11th century CE):

|1216–1238 CE

|-

|1238–1240 CE

|-

 

==== Jatavarman Sundara I ====

 

Jatavarman Sundara I subdued Rajendra II around 1258–1260 CE and made him pay tribute.<ref name=":0" /> The rule of the Cholas ended {{circa|1279}} with Rajendra III.<ref name=":302" /> The Pandya attacked the Hoysalas in the Kaveri and captured the fort of Kannanur Koppam.<ref name=":9" /> Hoysala king [[Vira Someshwara|Somesvara]] was forced to fall back into the Mysore Plateau.<ref name=":9" /> The Hoysala king, pressed by enemies from north and south, "assigned" the southern half of his kingdom to his younger son Ramanatha (r. 1254–1292<ref name=":302" />). [[Vira Someshwara|Somesvara]] was eventually killed by the Pandya in 1262 CE.<ref name=":9" /> Ramanatha managed to recover Kannanur and hold against the Pandya power.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk4_ICH_g1EC&q=maravarman&pg=PA459|title=Ancient Indian History and Civilization|last=Sen|first=Sailendra Nath|date=1999|publisher=New Age International|isbn=9788122411980|pages=439|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rB7jAAAAMAAJ&q=Jatavarman+sundara+pandyan+%22rajendra+III%22|title=Proceedings – Indian History Congress|last=Congress|first=Indian History|date=1957|pages=186|language=en}}</ref> Jatavarman Sundara I also came into conflict with the [[Kadava dynasty|Kadava]] ruler [[Kopperunchinga II|Kopperunjinga II]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/delhisultanate00bhar|quote=jatavarman kadava.|title=The History and Culture of the Indian People: The struggle for empire|last1=Majumdar|first1=Ramesh Chandra|last2=Bhavan|first2=Bharatiya Vidya|date=1966|publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan|pages=[https://archive.org/details/delhisultanate00bhar/page/257 257]|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":9" /> It seems that Bana (Magadai) and Kongu countries came under the Pandya rule during the wars against the Hoysalas and the Kadavas.<ref name=":9" /> Jatavarman Sundara I also fought the Kakatiya ruler Ganapati (1199–1262<ref name=":302" />).<ref name=":2" /> [[Sri Lanka]] was invaded by Jatavarman Sundara I in 1258<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HBQ1AQAAIAAJ&q=Jatavarman+sundara+pandyan+|title=The collapse of the Rajarata civilization in Ceylon and the drift to the south-west: a symposium|last=Intirapālā|first=Kārttikēcu|date=1971|publisher=Ceylon Studies Seminar, University of Ceylon|pages=96|language=en}}</ref> and on his behalf by his younger brother [[Jatavarman Vira Pandyan II|Jatavarman Vira II]] between 1262 and 1264 CE.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7yULAQAAIAAJ&q=pandya+power+telugu|title=Andhra Pradesh District Gazetteers: Prakasam|last=(India)|first=Andhra Pradesh|date=2000|publisher=Director of Print. and Stationery at the Government Secretariat Press; [copies can be from: Government Publication Bureau, Andhra Pradesh]|language=en}}</ref> The island was again invaded and defeated by Jatavarman Vira II in 1270 CE.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aLYoDAAAQBAJ&q=chandrabhanu|title=The Hutchinson Dictionary of Ancient and Medieval Warfare|last1=Connolly|first1=Peter|last2=Gillingham|first2=John|last3=Lazenby|first3=John|date=2016-05-13|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781135936747|pages=100|language=en}}</ref>

 

==== Maravarman Kulasekara I ====

 

====Decline of Pandyas====

 

 

The family quarrels and the sultanate invasions shattered the Pandya empire beyond revival<ref name=":3" /> and coinage discoveries made imply that the Pandyas were left with the old South Arcot region.<ref name=":12" /> In 1323, the [[Jaffna Kingdom|Jaffna kingdom]] declared its independence from the crumbling Pandya influence.<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":11" />

 

=== Tenkasi Pandyas (14th–16th centuries) ===

 

{| class="wikitable"

!King

While the previous sultanate raids were content with plunder, the [[Tughlaq dynasty|Tughluqs]] under Ulugh Khan (later [[Muhammad bin Tughluq]]<ref name="Fall"/>) annexed the former Pandya dominions to the sultanate as the province of Ma'bar. Most of south India came under the sultanate rule and was divided into five provinces – Devagiri, Tiling, [[Kampili]], [[Halebidu|Dorasamudra]] and Ma'bar.<ref name=":12">Nilakanta Sastri, p. 213</ref> [[Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan|Jalal ud-Din Hasan Khan]] was appointed governor of the newly created southernmost Ma'bar province.<ref name=":13">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uCYdAAAAMAAJ&q=Vira+Someshwara+pandya|title=Karnataka, History, Administration & Culture|last=Muthanna|first=I. M.|date=1962|pages=89|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":14">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w6zkx_Ck3FwC&pg=PA171|title=South India and Her Muhammadan Invaders|last=Aiyangar|first=Krishnaswami S.|publisher=Asian Educational Services, 1991 – India, South|year=1991|isbn=9788120605367|pages=67–68,110–111,167,171–174}}</ref> In {{circa|1334}}, Jalal ud-Din Hasan Khan declared his independence and created [[Madurai Sultanate|Madurai sultanate]].<ref name="Fall"/> The Pandyas shifted their capital to Tenkasi and continued to rule a small area until the end of the 16th century as [[Tenkasi Pandyas]].<ref name="Fall"/>

 

 

==Economy==

[[File:Silk route.jpg|thumb|221x221px|Ancient [[Silk Road]] trade routes]]

[[File:Tirunelveli Nellaiappar Temple 1.jpg|221x221px|thumb| The [[Gopuram|gopura]] of [[Nellaiappar Temple]] ]]

 

 

=== Pandya coinage ===

{{See also|Pandya coinage}}

[[File:Coin Pandya Bull Obv 2.jpg|thumb|upright|left|One of the early coins of the Pandyas showing their emblem of the Two Fishes]]

 

 

== Religion ==

[[File:Mariage_of_Shiva_and_Parvati_(Meenakshi)_witnessed_by_Vishnu,_Meenakshi_Temple,_Madurai_(2)_(36857653813).jpg|alt=Vishnu gives away his sister, the bride Parvati during her wedding to Shiva|right|thumb|226x226px|God [[Vishnu]], goddess [[Meenakshi]] and god [[Shiva]] ([[Meenakshi Amman Temple|Meenakshi Temple]], Madurai)]]

 

 

 

It is known that the early Pandya rulers followed [[Jainism]] while at some point they converted to Hinduism. They supported the Bhakti movement from both [[Vaishnavism]] and [[Shaivism]] of [[Hinduism]].<ref name=":32">{{Cite news|title=Pandya dynasty|language=en|work=Encyclopedia Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pandya-dynasty|access-date=2017-09-21}}</ref>

==Architecture==

{{further|Pandyan art and architecture}}{{Wide image|File:Kallazhagar (23).jpg|340px|[[Alagar Koyil]], [[Tamil Nadu]]|5=right|dir=right}}[[File:Meenakshi_Amman_West_Tower.jpg|thumb|335x335px|[[Meenakshi Amman Temple|Meenakshi Temple]], Madurai]]

 

The Tamil country is home to the 'South Indian' or 'Dravidian' style of medieval temple architecture.<ref name=":16" />

* [[gopuram|Gopura]]: the great entrance buildings<ref>{{Cite book|last=Allen|first=Margaret Prosser|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vyXxEX5PQH8C&q=gopuram+pandya+temple&pg=PA337|title=Ornament in Indian Architecture|date=1991|publisher=University of Delaware Press|isbn=9780874133998|pages=350|language=en}}</ref>

 

* Gopuras are extremely large and elaborately decorated (capped by a barrel vault).<ref name=":16" />

* Successively built walls and gopuras.<ref name=":16" />

 

* [[Kallalagar temple]], [[Alagar Koyil]]<ref name=":16" />

* [[Meenakshi Amman Temple|Meenakshi Temple]], [[Madurai]]<ref name=":16" />

 

== In popular culture ==

* {{cite book|author=N. Subrahmanian|title=History of Tamilnad (To A. D. 1336)|url=http://www.dli.ernet.in/handle/2015/462306|year=1962|publisher=Koodal|location=Madurai|oclc=43502446|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20161123181101/http://www.dli.ernet.in/handle/2015/462306|archive-date=23 November 2016}}

* {{cite book|last=Venkata Subramanian|first=T. K.|title=Environment and Urbanisation in Early Tamilakam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NN4fAAAAIAAJ|page=55|date=1988|publisher=Tamil University|isbn=978-81-7090-110-5|work=Issue 92 of Tamil_p Palkalaik Kal_aka ve?iyi?u}}

* {{cite journal|author=K.K.R. Nair|title=Venad: Its Early History|journal=Journal of Kerala Studies|volume=14|issue=1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EgSSAAAAIAAJ|year=1987|publisher=University of Kerala|issn=0377-0443|pages=1–34}}

* {{cite book|author=Kishori Saran Lal|author-link=K. S. Lal|title=History of the Khaljis (1290–1320)|year=1950|publisher=The Indian Press|location=Allahabad|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2XXqAQAACAAJ|oclc=685167335}}