Chola Chera Pandya Timeline

[Kayleen Dauteuil]

ThePandyan dynasty (.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-smallfont-size:85%.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-smallfont-size:100%Tamil: [paːɳɖijɐr]), 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.[8] 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). 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.[9][10] Pandya dynasty is the longest ruling dynasty in the world.[11][12]

The rulers of the three Tamil dynasties were referred to as the "three crowned rulers (the mu-ventar) of the Tamil country".[8][13] The origin and the timeline of the Pandya dynasty are difficult to establish.[10] 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.[14][15] The Pandyas are celebrated in the earliest available Tamil poetry (Sangam literature).[10] Graeco-Roman accounts (as early as the 4th century BCE[10]), 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.[16][17][14] The early historic Pandyas faded into obscurity upon the rise of the Kalabhra dynasty in south India.[18]

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.[19] 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.[20]

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. The revival of the Pandya power by Kadungon (late 6th century CE) coincided with the prominence of the Shaivite nayanars and the Vaishnavite alvars.[25] It is known that the Pandya rulers followed Jainism for a short period of time.[10][26]

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".[27] 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 in Sanskrit.[28] 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.[29] Apart from these derivations mentioned, several other theories do appear in historical studies.[30]

According to the ancient 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.[31] Epic poem Silappatikaram mentions that the emblem of the Pandyas was that of a fish.[32]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.[33]

Folklores attributes 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.[34] 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.[35] She is sometimes seen as an incarnation of the Pandya associated gods, Meenakshi and Kannagi.[36]

The medieval Pandya kings were claimed to have belonged to the Chandra-vamsa or the Lunar Race.[37] They claimed Pururavas and Nahusha as ancestors.[38] Pururavas is listed as one of the ancestors in the Velvikudi Inscription of Nedunjadaiyan Varaguna-varman I (Jatila Parantaka Nedunjadaiyan).[39]

The Greek ambassador to Chandragupta Maurya, Megasthenes mentions Queens of Pandyas as 'Pandaia' and locates them in the south of India extending into ocean. It consisted of 365 villages which met the needs of the royal palace each day of the year. He described the queen as daughter of Heracles (by some author as Shiva or Krishna).[40] Madurai, capital of Pandyas is mentioned in Kautilya's Arthashastra (4th century BCE) as 'Mathura of the south'.[11]

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.[45] 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 predates rulers such as Talaiyanganam Nedunjelyan and Palyaga-salai Mudukudimi Peruvaludi.[46][41]

The early historic Pandyas are celebrated in the earliest available Tamil poetry.[10] The poems refers to about twelve Pandya rulers.[16] 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.[48]

...Nelcynda is distant from Muziris by river and sea about five hundred stadia, and is of another kingdom, the Pandian. This place [Nelcynda] also is situated on a river, about one hundred and twenty stadia from the [Arabian] sea.... [60]

...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 darkest man is here the most highly esteemed and [considered] better than the others who are not so dark. Let me add that in very truth these people portray and depict their gods and their idols black and their devils white as snow. For they say that god and all the saints are black and the devils are all white. That is why they portray them as I have described.[71]

The famous inscription of king Kharavela at Hathigumpha (mid-first century BCE[15]) mentions the defeat of a confederacy of the "Tramira" countries which had been a threat to Kalinga. It also remembers the precious pearls brought to the capital as booty from the "Pandya" realm.[75] The Pandya chiefdom was famous for its pearl fisheries and silk industry.[15] Korkai and Alagankulam are believed to have been the exchange centres of the Pandyas. Korkai, a port at the mouth of the river Tambraparni, was linked to the famous pearl fisheries and Alagankulam was also developed as a port.[76]

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.[15] Madurai, in south Tamil Nadu, was the most important cultural centre in south India as the core of the Tamil speakers.[77] 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 Imperial coins.[78] The so-called "velir" hill chieftains are assumed to be associated with these megalithic burials.[73]

Greek and Latin accounts (early centuries CE), coins with legends in Tamil-Brahmi script, and Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions suggest the continuity of the Pandya dynasty from the 3rd century BCE to early centuries CE.[16] The early Pandyas, along with the Cheras and the Cholas, were eventually displaced by the Kalabhra dynasty.[18]

From the 6th century to the 9th century CE, the Chalukyas of Badami, the Pallavas of Kanchi, and the Pandyas of Madurai dominated the politics of south India. The Badami Chalukyas were eventually replaced by the Rashtrakutas in the Deccan.[81] The Pandyas took on the growing Pallava ambitions in south India, and from time to time they also joined in alliances with the kingdoms of the Deccan Plateau (such as with the Gangas of Talakad in late 8th century CE).[77] In the middle of the 9th century, the Pandyas had managed to advance as far as Kumbakonam (north-east of Tanjore on the Kollidam river).[77]

The second half of the 12th century witnessed a major internal crisis in the Pandya country (between princes Parakrama Pandya and Kulasekhara Pandya). The neighbouring kingdoms of Sri Lanka, under Parakramabahu I, Venadu Chera/Kerala, under the Kulasekharas,[87] and the Cholas, under Rajadhiraja II and Kulottunga III, joined in and took sides with any of the two princes or their kins.[88][87]

The Pandya empire included extensive territories, at times including large portions of south India and Sri Lanka. The rule of the empire was shared among several royals, one of them enjoying primacy over the rest. The Pandya king at Madurai thus controlled these vast regions through the collateral family branches subject to Madurai.[10][90]

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