The Pandya dynasty (), also referred to as the Pandyas of Madurai, was an ancient Tamil dynasty of South India, and among the four great kingdoms of Tamilakam, the other three being the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Cheras. Existing since at least the 4th to 3rd centuries BCE, the dynasty passed through two periods of imperial dominance, the 6th to 10th centuries CE, and under the 'Later Pandyas' (13th to 14th centuries CE). In the second half of the 13th century under Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I and Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I, the Pandyas ruled extensive territories including regions of present-day South India and northern Sri Lanka through vassal states subject to Madurai. The Pandya dynasty is considered to be one of the longest ruling dynasties in the world, in power continuously from roughly 400 BCE to 1618 CE, although its territorial and administrative extent varied significantly.
The rulers of the three Tamil dynasties were referred to as the "three crowned rulers (the mu-ventar) of the Tamil Region" in the southern part of India. The origin and the timeline of the Pandya dynasty are difficult to establish. The early Pandya chieftains ruled their country (Pandya Nadu) from the ancient period, which included the inland city of Madurai and the southern port of Korkai. The Pandyas are celebrated in the earliest available Tamil poetry (Sangam literature). Graeco-Roman accounts (as early as the 4th century BCE), the edicts of Maurya emperor Ashoka, coins with legends in Tamil-Brahmi script, and Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions suggest the continuity of the Pandya dynasty from the 3rd century BCE to the early centuries CE. The early historic Pandyas faded into obscurity upon the rise of the Kalabhra dynasty in south India.
From the 6th century to the 9th century CE, the Chalukyas of Badami or Rashtrakutas of the Deccan, the Pallavas of Kanchi, and Pandyas of Madurai dominated the politics of south India. The Pandyas often ruled or invaded the fertile estuary of Kaveri (the Chola country), the ancient Chera country (Kongu and central Kerala) and Venadu (southern Kerala), the Pallava country, and Sri Lanka. The Pandyas fell into decline with the rise of the Cholas of Thanjavur in the 9th century and were in constant conflict with the latter. The Pandyas allied themselves with the Sinhalese and the Cheras against the Chola Empire until it found an opportunity to revive its frontiers during the late 13th century.
The Pandyas entered their golden age under Maravarman I and Jatavarman Sundara Pandya I (13th century). Some early efforts by Maravarman I to expand into the Chola country were effectively checked by the Hoysalas. Jatavarman I () successfully expanded the kingdom into the Telugu country (as far north as Nellore), south Kerala, and conquered northern Sri Lanka. The city of Kanchi became a secondary capital of the Pandyas. The Hoysalas, in general, were confined to the Mysore Plateau and even king Somesvara was killed in a battle with Pandyas. Maravarman Kulasekhara I (1268) defeated an alliance of the Hoysalas and the Cholas (1279) and invaded Sri Lanka. The venerable Tooth Relic of the Buddha was carried away by the Pandyas. During this period, the rule of the kingdom was shared among several royals, one of them enjoying primacy over the rest. An internal crisis in the Pandya kingdom coincided with the Khalji invasion of south India in 1310–11. The ensuing political crisis saw more sultanate raids and plunder, the loss of south Kerala (1312), and north Sri Lanka (1323) and the establishment of the Madurai Sultanate (1334). The Pandyas of Ucchangi (9th–13th century) in the Tungabhadra valley were related to the Pandyas of Madurai.
According to tradition, the legendary Sangams ("the Academies") were held in Madurai under the patronage of the Pandyas, and some of the Pandyan rulers claimed to be poets themselves. Pandya Nadu was home to several renowned temples, including the Meenakshi Temple in Madurai. It is known that the early Pandya rulers originally followed Jainism, while at some point they converted to Hinduism. The revival of the Pandya power by Kadungon (late 6th century CE) coincided with the prominence of the Shaivite Nayanars and the Vaishnavite Alvars.
Etymology and origin legends The etymology of Pandya is still a matter of considerable speculation among scholars. One theory is that the word pandya is derived from the ancient Tamil word "pandu" meaning "old". The theory suggests that in early historic Tamil lexicon the word pandya means old country in contrast with Chola meaning new country, Chera meaning hill country and Pallava meaning branch. Another theory is that the word Pandya is derived from the Sanskrit word Pandu to mean white or pale, in reference to king Pandu and the Pandavas.Maloney, Clarence Thomas, THE EFFECT OF EARLY COASTAL SEA TRAFFIC ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF CIVILIZATION IN SOUTH INDIA. University of Pennsylvania, period, 1968 Anthropology, p.35 Apart from these derivations mentioned, several other theories do appear in historical studies.
Tamil legends narrate an origin myth for the three crowned kings, described by K. A. Nilakanta Sastri as a legend similar to that of Romulus and Remus. According to the myth, 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. The epic poem Silappatikaram mentions that the emblem of the Pandyas was that of a fish. Indian traditions such as the Great Epics and the Puranas often associate southern India with Sage Agastya (who had his ashrama in the south). Agastya appears prominently in medieval Tamil literature also.Karashima, Noburu. 2014. 'Beginnings of South Indian History', in A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations, ed. Noburu Karashima, pp. 25–26. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Ceylonese folklores attribute Alli Rani (meaning "the queen Alli") as one of the early historic rulers of the Pandyas. She is attributed as an "amazonian queen" whose servants were men and administrative officials and army were women. She is thought of ruling the whole western and northern coast of Sri Lanka from her capital Kudiramalai, where remains of what is thought of as her fort are found. She is sometimes seen as an incarnation of the Pandya associated gods, Meenakshi and Kannagi.
Chandravamsha The medieval Pandya kings claimed to belong to the Chandravamsha or the Lunar Race. They claimed Pururavas and Nahusha as their ancestors. Pururavas is listed as one of their ancestors in the Velvikudi Inscription of Nedunjadaiyan Varaguna-varman I (Jatila Parantaka Nedunjadaiyan).
Sources of Pandya history The Greek ambassador to Chandragupta Maurya, Megasthenes mentions the Queen of the Pandyas as 'Pandaia' and locates them in the south of India extending into the ocean. It consisted of 365 villages which met the needs of the royal palace each day of the year. He described the queen Pandaie as daughter of Heracles (by some authors as Shiva or Krishna). Madurai, capital of Pandyas is mentioned in Kautilya's Arthashastra (4th century BCE) as 'Mathura of the south'.
Archaeological sources
Pandyas are also mentioned in the inscriptions of Maurya emperor Asoka (3rd century BCE). In his inscriptions (2nd and 13th Major Rock EdictKarashima, Noburu. 2014. 'Beginnings of South Indian History', in A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations, ed. Noburu Karashima, pp. 26–27. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.), Asoka refers to the peoples of south India—the Cholas, the Cheras, Pandyas and Satiyaputras.Kulke and Rothermund, p104Keay, p119 These polities, possibly not part of the Maurya empire, were on friendly terms with Asoka:
The earliest Pandya to be found in epigraph is Nedunjeliyan, figuring in the Tamil-Brahmi Mangulam inscription (near Madurai) assigned to 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE. The record documents a gift of rock-cut beds, to a Jain ascetic. It is assumed that the people found in the Mangulam inscription, Nedunjeliyan, Kadalan, and Izhanchadikan predate rulers such as Talaiyanganam Nedunjelyan and Palyaga-salai Mudukudimi Peruvaludi.Subbarayalu, Y. 2014. 'Early Tamil Polity', in A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations, ed. Noburu Karashima, pp. 48–49. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Kharavela, the Kalinga king who ruled during c. 1st century BCE, in his Hathigumpha inscription, claims to have destroyed an old confederacy of Tamil countries ("the tamira–desa–sanghata") which had lasted 132 years, and to have acquired a large number of pearls from the Pandyas.
Silver punch-marked coins with the fish symbol of the Pandyas dating from around the same time have also been found.
Archaeological excavations at Korkai and other coastal sites in the Pandya region have yielded Roman coins, pottery, and port remains, which support literary references to long-distance trade, including pearls.
Early Tamil literature The early historic Pandyas are celebrated in the earliest available Tamil poetry. The poems refers to about twelve Pandya rulers.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. According to tradition, the legendary 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.
Pandya rulers from early historic south India: Mudattirumaran Koon Pandya Nedunjeliyan I ("Aariyap Padai Kadantha") Puda-Pandya Palyagasalai Mudukudumi Peruvaludi Nedunjeliyan II("Talaiyaalanganathu Seruvendra") Nan Maran Nedunj Cheliyan III Maran Valudi Kadalan Valuthi Musiri Mutriya Cheliyan Ukkirap Peruvaludi Bootha Pāndiyan Arivudainampi
Pandya rulers—such as Nedunjeliyan, the Victor of Talaiyalanganam, and Mudukudimi Peruvaludi, the Patron of several sacrificial fires ("the Palyaga-salai")—find mention in several poems (such as Mathuraikkanci).Subbarayalu, Y. 2014. 'Early Tamil Polity', in A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations, ed. Noburu Karashima, pp. 52–53. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Besides several short poems found in the Akananuru and the Purananuru collections, there are two major works—Mathuraikkanci and Netunalvatai—which give a glimpse into the society and commercial activities in the Pandya country during the early historic period. The Purananuru and Agananuru collections contain poems sung in praise of various Pandya rulers and also poems that were claimed to be composed by the rulers themselves.
Besides the poems, king Peruvaludi is also mentioned in later copper-plate grant (8th–9th century CE). In the work Mathuraikkanci, the author Mankudi Maruthanar, refers to his patron, Talaihalanganum Nedunjeliyan, as the Lord of Korkai and the Warlord of the Southern Parathavar People. 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). He is also praised for his victory of Mizhalai and Mutturu, two "vel" centres along the ocean (in Pudukkottai). The Netunalvatai (in the collection of Pattupattu) by Nakkirar contains a description of king Nedunjeliyan's palace.
Foreign sources
The Buddhist text Mahavamsa (composed in the 5th century CE) mentions a Pandya king in the context of Prince Vijaya's (543–505 BCE) arrival in Sri Lanka with his 700 followers.