Pandya Dynasty

The Pandya Dynasty is one of the oldest dynasties in South India. The first mention of the Pandyas was made by Megasthenes. He described it as a pearl-producing kingdom. The Ashoka Edicts also mention this kingdom, and the early Pandya kingdom was located at the southern tip of the peninsula. It included the present-day districts of Madurai, Ramnadu, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari.

The most famous of the Pandya kings was Nedunchezhiyan. Nedunchezhiyan defeated an allied army consisting of the Cheras, Cholas and five Kurunila Mannas. He was victorious in the battle of Thalaiyalankanam near Thiruvallur. With this victory, he came to be known as the Pandyan in Thalaiyalankanam.

Madurai was the capital of the Pandyas. The main ports here were Korkai and Kayal. The Pandya kings made great gains through trade with the Roman Empire. It was these trade relations that prompted them to send envoys to the Roman Emperor Augustus.

The power of the Pandyas declined in the post-Sanga period, and the Pallavas established dominance in South India. However, in the 7th century AD, the Pandya power was restored under the leadership of a king named Katungon. The Pandya kingdom included the present Madurai-Tirunelveli districts. Madurai was the capital of the Pandya kings.

The Pandyas, who rose to power in the 7th century, maintained their power until the 14th century. Their history in between is one of ups and downs. The Pandyas, who established political dominance in the areas from Travancore to the borders of Andhra, were at some point subjected to the domination of other powers, especially the Cholas. It was only when the power of the Cholas waned that the Pandyan kingdom became independent from their domination.

The Pandyas were freed from Chola control during the reign of Maravarman Sundara Pandyan (1216–38). He defeated the Chola king Rajadhiraja III and destroyed the cities of Thanjavur and Urayur by burning them. Maravarman, the most capable of the Pandyan kings, defeated his opponents one by one. He performed many yagnas. He was generous and gave gifts to the Shiva temple in Chidambaram and the Vishnu temple in Srirangam.

Another important ruler of the Pandya kingdom, Maravarman Kulasekara (1263-1310), continued his efforts to expand the borders of the kingdom. It was during his reign that the Venetian traveler Marco Polo visited the Pandya kingdom. Towards the end of Maravarman Kulasekara's reign, a power struggle began between his sons Sundara Pandya and Veera Pandya. It was also during this period that Malik Kafur, the commander of Alauddin Khilji's army, invaded the Pandya kingdom. Ravi Varma Kulasekara, who ruled Venad, took advantage of this opportunity to invade the Pandya kingdom and occupy areas up to Kanchi. Following this, he crowned himself as the emperor of South India. Alauddin Khilji's armies dealt a final blow to the Pandyas. Even Madurai fell into their hands. The Pandyas could not escape this blow. Later, the rulers of Vijayanagara incorporated the Pandyas' territories into their empire, and the Pandya kingdom disappeared.