View source for Pandya dynasty

{{Short description|Ancient Tamil dynasty of south India}}
{{pp-protected|small=yes}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{other uses|Pandiyan (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox Former Country
| conventional_long_name = Pandyan dynasty
| common_name            = Pandya Nadu
| native_name            = <!--Please do not complete this field using Indic scripts as there is consensus against using them here (see [[WP:INDICSCRIPTS]])-->
| image_flag             = 
| flag_border            = no
| flag_caption           = 
| era                    = [[Post-classical history|Medieval era]]
| year_start             = 400 BCE
| year_end               = 1618 CE
| flag_p1                = 
| border_p1              = no
| p2                     = 
| s1                     = Tenkasi Pandyas
| s2                     = Madurai Nayak dynasty
| flag_s1                = 
| flag_s2                = 
| s3                     = Vijayanagara Empire
| flag_s3                = 
| border_s3              = no
| flag_s4                = 
| s4                     = 
| border_s4              = No
| flag_s5                = 
| s5                     = Jaffna kingdom
| image_s6               = Sambuvaraya
| image_map              = File:Map of Pandya dynasty at its apex.png
| map_width              = 350
| image_map_caption      = Pandyan Empire at greatest extent<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schwartzberg |first1=Joseph E. |title=A Historical Atlas of South Asia |date=1978 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |page=146, map XIV.2 (b) |isbn=0226742210 |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=183 |archive-date=24 February 2021 |access-date=18 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224144259/https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=183 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| official_languages     = {{ubl|[[Tamil language|Tamil]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Upinder Singh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC&pg=PA46 |title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century |publisher=Pearson Education India |year=2008 |isbn=978-81-317-1120-0 |page=46 |quote=Kings of the Chola and Pandya dynasties also issued Tamil and bilingual Tamil inscriptions.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=C. Sivaramamurti |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WKgQAQAAMAAJ |title=L'Art en Inde |publisher=H. N. Abrams |year=1977 |isbn=978-0-8109-0630-3 |page=60 |quote=Thus the state language was whether the inscriptions were from the north or the south and whether the dynasty was Gupta, Vakatak[a], Vardhana, Maukhari, Pratihara, Paramara, Chandella, Pala, Sena, Gahadavala, Haihaya, Ganga, Pallava, Chola, Pandya, Chalukya, Rashtrakuta, or Vijayanagar[a]. Inscriptions were sometimes written in regional languages, but they invariably had a preface in Sanskrit.}}</ref>}}
| 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]] (1422&ndash;1618 CE)<ref name="Fall"/>
| religion               = {{ublist
|[[Jainism]]
|[[Hinduism]]<ref name="Thapar">{{Cite encyclopedia|last=Thapar|first=Romila|title=India – Society and Culture (8th–13th century)|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/India|access-date=2021-01-22|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|language=en}}</ref>
|[[Buddhism]]
}}
| government_type        = [[Monarchy]]
| leader1                = [[Nedunjeliyan I]] (first documented)
| year_leader1           = Around 270 BCE
| leader2                = [[Kadungon]] (Pandya revival)
| year_leader3           = 1613–1618 CE
| leader3                = [[Tenkasi Pandyas|Varagunarama]]
| year_leader2           = 560–590 CE
| today                  = [[India]]<br>[[Sri Lanka]]
| demonym                = Pandiyar
| flag_width             = 
| map_caption            = Greatest extent of the Pandya Empire, 13th Century<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schwartzberg |first1=Joseph E. |title=A Historical atlas of South Asia |date=1978 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |page=38, map V.2(d)|isbn=0226742210 |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=075}}</ref>
}}
{{TNhistory}}
{{HistoryOfSouthAsia}}

The '''Pandya dynasty''' ({{IPA|ta|paːɳɖijɐr|lang}}), also referred to as the '''Pandyas of Madurai''', was an [[Tamil Dynasties|ancient Tamil dynasty of South India]], and among the four great kingdoms of [[Tamilakam]], the other three being the [[Pallavas]], the [[Chola dynasty|Cholas]] and the [[Chera dynasty|Cheras]].<ref name=":4">{{cite book |last=Subbarayalu |first=Y. |year=2014 |chapter=Early Tamil Polity |title=A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations |editor-first=Noburu |editor-last=Karashima |pages=53–54 |location=New Delhi |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref> 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]].<ref name=":302">{{cite book |last=Karashima |first=Noburu |year=2014 |chapter=The Fall of the Old States |title=A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations |editor-first=Noburu |editor-last=Karashima |pages=172–73 |location=New Delhi |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref><ref name=":3" />  The Pandya dynasty is the longest ruling dynasty in the world.<ref name="Harman">{{cite book |last=Harman |first=William. P |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F_siW9T3ev4C&pg=PA36 |title=The sacred marriage of a Hindu goddess |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1992 |isbn=978-81-208-0810-2 |pages=30–6}}</ref><ref name="NayaksBook">{{cite book |author=Sathayanatha Iyer |title=History of the Nayaks of Madura |year=1924 |page=58}}</ref>

The rulers of the three Tamil dynasties were referred to as the "[[Three Crowned Kings|three crowned rulers]] (the mu-ventar) of [[Tamilakam|the Tamil Region]]"<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BbqbAAAAQBAJ&q=pandya+dynasty+tamilakam&pg=PA57|title=Britannica Guide to India|date=2009-03-01|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.|isbn=978-1-59339-847-7|pages=57|language=en}}</ref> in the southern part of [[India]]. The origin and the timeline of the Pandya dynasty are difficult to establish.<ref name=":3">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Pandya dynasty {{!}} Indian dynasty |language=en |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pandya-dynasty |access-date=2017-09-21}}</ref> The [[Early Pandyan Kingdom|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]].<ref name=":26">{{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?0=ip_login_no_cache=3b49b785309ca821ff5e0a285f43e078 |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |language=en |volume=48 |issue=26–27}}</ref><ref name=":162">{{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|pages=7–8}}</ref> The Pandyas are celebrated in the earliest available Tamil poetry ([[Sangam literature]]).<ref name=":3" /> [[Classical antiquity|Graeco-Roman]] accounts (as early as the 4th century BCE<ref name=":3" />), the edicts of [[Maurya dynasty|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.<ref name=":17" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite book|last=Vincent|first=William|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lldBAAAAcAAJ&q=Ptolemy+pandion&pg=PA401|title=The Periplus of the Erythrean Sea|date=1805|publisher=Cadell and Davies|pages=403|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":26" /> The early historic Pandyas faded into obscurity upon the rise of the [[Kalabhras|Kalabhra dynasty]] in south India.{{sfn|Romila Thapar|2003|p=327}}

From the 6th century to the 9th century CE, the [[Chalukyas of Badami]] or [[Rashtrakuta dynasty|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 dynasty|Chera country]] (Kongu and central [[Kerala]]) and [[Venad]]u (southern Kerala), the [[Pallava dynasty|Pallava country]], and [[Sri Lanka]].{{sfn|Noboru Karashima|2014|pp=85–87}} 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 people|Sinhalese]] and the [[Chera Perumals of Makotai|Cheras]] against the [[Chola Empire]] until it found an opportunity to revive its frontiers during the late 13th century.<ref name=":252">{{cite book |last=Sastri |first=K. A. Nilakanta |year=1958 |edition=2nd |title=A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar |location=Madras |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=170–172}}</ref>

The Pandyas entered their golden age under [[Maravarman Sundara Pandyan|Maravarman I]] and [[Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan|Jatavarman Sundara Pandya I]] (13th century).<ref name=":302" /><ref name=":3" /> Some early efforts by [[Maravarman Sundara Pandyan|Maravarman I]] to expand into the [[Chola dynasty|Chola country]] were effectively checked by the [[Hoysalas]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sastri|first=K. A. Nilakanta|title=A History of South India: From Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar|publisher=Oxford University Press|edition=1958|pages=203–205|chapter=The Age of the Four Kingdoms}}</ref> [[Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan|Jatavarman I]] ({{circa|1251}}) successfully expanded the kingdom into the Telugu country (as far north as [[Nellore]]), south Kerala, and conquered northern [[Sri Lanka]].<ref name=":302" /><ref name=":3" /> The city of [[Kanchipuram|Kanchi]] became a secondary capital of the Pandyas.The Hoysalas, in general, were confined to the Mysore Plateau and even king [[Vira Someshwara|Somesvara]] was killed in a battle with Pandyas.<ref name=":25">{{Cite book|last=Sastri|first=K. A. Nilakanta|title=A History of South India: From Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1958|isbn=|edition=2nd|location=|pages=207–08|chapter=The Age of the Four Kingdoms}}</ref> [[Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I|Maravarman Kulasekhara I]] (1268) defeated an alliance of the Hoysalas and the Cholas (1279) and invaded [[Sri Lanka]]. The venerable [[Relic of the tooth of the Buddha|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.<ref name=":25"/> An internal crisis in the Pandya kingdom coincided with the [[Khalji dynasty|Khalji]] [[Malik Kafur's invasion of the Pandya kingdom|invasion]] of south India in 1310–11.<ref name=":3" /> 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|Madurai sultanate]] (1334<ref name="Fall">{{cite book |last=Karashima |first=Noburu |year=2014 |chapter=The Fall of the Old States |title=A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations |editor-first=Noburu |editor-last=Karashima |pages=173–74 |location=New Delhi |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref>).<ref name=":10">{{cite book |title=Sri Lanka and South-East Asia: Political, Religious and Cultural Relations from A.D. c. 1000 to c. 1500 |year=1978 |first=W. M. |last=Sirisena |page=57}}</ref><ref name=":11">{{cite book |title=Politics of Tamil Nationalism in Sri Lanka |publisher=South Asian Publishers |year=1996 |first=Ambalavanar |last=Sivarajah |page=22}}</ref> The Pandyas of Ucchangi (9th–13th century) in the [[Tungabhadra]] valley were related to the Pandyas of Madurai.<ref name=":3" />

According to tradition, the legendary [[Tamil Sangams|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 follower of [[Jainism]] while at some point they converted to Hinduism.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{cite book |first1=M. S. Ramaswami |last1=Ayyangar |first2=B. Seshagiri |last2=Rao | title=Studies in South Indian Jainism | year=1922 | location=Madras |publisher=Premier Press | url=https://archive.org/details/studiesinsouthin00ramarich/page/n74/mode/1up |quote=That after the fifth century A.D. Jainism became so very influential and powerful as to even become the state-creed of some of the Pandyan kings.}}</ref> The revival of the Pandya power by [[Kadungon]] (late 6th century CE) coincided with the prominence of the Shaivite [[nayanars]] and the Vaishnavite [[alvars]].<ref name=":15">{{Cite book |last=A. Soundaram |title=History of People and Their Environs |publisher=Bharathi Puthakalayam |year=2011 |isbn=978-93-80325-91-0 |editor-last=Ganeshram |editor-first=S. |pages=68–69 |chapter=The Characteristic Features of Early Medieval Tamil Society |editor-last2=Bhavani |editor-first2=C. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=crxUQR_qBXYC&pg=PA68}}</ref> 

==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".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Avari |first=Burjor |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WTaTDAAAQBAJ |title=India: The Ancient Past: A History of the Indian Subcontinent from {{circa|7000&nbsp;BCE}} to CE 1200 |date=2016-07-01 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781317236733 |pages=249 |language=en}}</ref> The theory suggests that in [[Sangam period|early historic]] Tamil lexicon the word pandya means ''old country'' in contrast with [[Chola]] meaning ''new country'', [[Chera Dynasty|Chera]] meaning ''hill country'' and [[Pallava]] meaning ''branch'' in [[Sanskrit]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Madras |first=University of |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G-87AQAAIAAJ&q=pandyan+longest+rule |title=Journal: Humanities |date=1973 |language=en}}</ref> 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 [[Pandava]]s.<ref>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</ref>  Apart from these derivations mentioned, several other theories do appear in historical studies.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Oppert |first=Gustav saloman |title=On the Original Inhabitants of Bharatavarsa or India |year=1888 |isbn=9925082196 |pages=104|publisher=BoD – Books on Demand }}</ref>

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>
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.<ref>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.</ref>

Folklores attribute [[Alli Raani|Alli Rani]] (meaning "the queen Alli") as one of the [[Sangam period|early historic]] rulers of the Pandyas. She is attributed as an [[Amazons|"amazonian]] queen" whose servants were men and administrative officials and army were women.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Vijaya |last=Ramaswamy |title=Historical Dictionary of the Tamils |date=2017-08-25 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=9781538106860 |pages=50 |language=en}}</ref> 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 [[Arippu fort|her fort]] are found.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Raghavan |first=M. D. |title=Tamil culture in Ceylon: a general introduction |date=1971 |publisher=Kalai Nilayam |pages=59–60 |language=en}}</ref> She is sometimes seen as an incarnation of the Pandya associated gods, [[Meenakshi]] and [[Kannaki Amman|Kannagi]].<ref name=":22">{{Cite book |last=Shulman |first=David Dean |title=Tamil Temple Myths: Sacrifice and Divine Marriage in the South Indian Saiva Tradition |date=2014-07-14 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=9781400856923 |pages=124 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Chandra-vamsa ===
The medieval Pandya kings were claimed to have belonged to the Chandra-vamsa or the [[Lunar dynasty|Lunar Race]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=James Henry Nelson |title=The Madura Country: A Manual |publisher=Asian Educational Services, 1989 |page=44}}</ref> They claimed [[Pururavas]] and [[Nahusha]] as ancestors.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Irā Nākacāmi, Irāmaccantiran̲ Nākacāmi |title=Art and Culture of Tamil Nadu |publisher=Sundeep Prakashan, 1980 |page=2}}</ref> Pururavas is listed as one of the ancestors in the [[Velvikudi inscription|Velvikudi Inscription]] of Nedunjadaiyan Varaguna-varman I (Jatila Parantaka Nedunjadaiyan).<ref>{{Cite book |last=H. K. Sastri |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0VwmsGA7ZuoC |title=Epigraphia Indica |publisher=Archaeological Survey of India |year=1983 |volume=17 |page=305 |chapter=Velvikudi Grant of Nedunjadaiyan |author-link=H. Krishna Sastri}}</ref>

==Sources of Pandya history==
The Greek ambassador to [[Chandragupta Maurya]], [[Megasthenes]] mentions Queens of 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 author as [[Shiva]] or [[Krishna]]).<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-01-28|title=Three Crowned Kings of Tamilakam|url=http://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/three-crowned-kings-tamilakam/|access-date=2021-04-10|website=National Geographic Society|language=en}}</ref> [[Madurai]], capital of Pandyas is mentioned in Kautilya's [[Arthashastra]] (4th century BCE) as '[[Mathura]] of the south'.<ref name="Harman"/>

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

Pandyas are also mentioned in the inscriptions of [[Maurya dynasty|Maurya]] emperor [[Ashoka|Asoka]] (3rd century BCE). In his inscriptions (2nd and 13th Major Rock Edict<ref name=":21">Karashima, 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.</ref>), [[Ashoka|Asoka]] refers to the peoples of south India – the [[Cholas]], the [[Chera]]s, [[Pandyas]] and [[Satiyaputras]].<ref>Kulke and Rothermund, p104</ref><ref name="Keay, p119">Keay, p119</ref> These polities, possibly not part of the Maurya empire, were on friendly terms with Asoka:

{{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.<br> (Major Rock Edict No.13), Ven. S. Dhammika translation<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>
}}
{{blockquote| Everywhere within the conquered province of King [[Priyadasi|Piyadasi]] (Ashoka), the beloved of the gods, as well as in the parts occupied by the faithful, such as [[Chola dynasty|Chola]], '''Pandya''', [[Satiyaputra]], and [[Keralaputra]], even as far as [[Tambapanni]] (Ceylon) and within the dominions the [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] (of which [[Antiochus II Theos|Antiochus]] generals are the rulers ) everywhere the heaven-beloved Raja Piyadasi’s double system of medical aid is established- both medical aid for men and medical aid for animals.<br> (Major Rock Edict No.2), [[James Prinsep]] translation<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/dli.ministry.25520/page/117/mode/1up|title=Complete Works of Alexander Cunningham: Inscriptions of Asoka Vol I|last=Cunningham|page=117|first=Alexander|date=1969|publisher=Indological Book House, Varanasi}}</ref>}}
The earliest Pandya to be found in [[Epigraphy|epigraph]] is [[Nedunjeliyan I|Nedunjeliyan]], figuring in the [[Tamil-Brahmi]] [[Mangulam]] inscription (near Madurai) assigned to 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Umamaheshwari |first=R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TRxJDwAAQBAJ&q=Mangulam+inscription+jain&pg=PA43 |title=Reading History with the Tamil Jainas: A Study on Identity, Memory and Marginalisation |date=2018-01-25 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-81-322-3756-3 |language=en}}</ref> 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 [[Nedunjeliyan II|Talaiyanganam Nedunjelyan]] and Palyaga-salai Mudukudimi Peruvaludi.<ref name=":18">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.</ref><ref name=":21" />

[[Kharavela]], the [[Kalinga (historical region)|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.<ref name="Keay, p119" />

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>

=== Early Tamil literature ===
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>

[[File:Andal Temple.jpg|thumb|[[Srivilliputhur Andal temple]] built by Pandyas primarily, is the official [[emblem of Tamil Nadu]].<ref>Rao, A.V.Shankaranarayana (2012). Temples of Tamil Nadu. Vasan Publications. pp. 195–99. ISBN 978-81-8468-112-3.</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" />
* Mudattirumaran
* [[Koon Pandya]]
* [[Nedunjeliyan I]] ("Aariyap Padai Kadantha")
* Puda-Pandya
* Palyagasalai Mudukudumi Peruvaludi<ref name=":18" />
* [[Nedunjeliyan II]]("Talaiyaalanganathu Seruvendra")<ref name=":18" />
* Nan Maran
* Nedunj Cheliyan III 
* Maran Valudi
* Kadalan Valuthi
* Musiri Mutriya Cheliyan
* Ukkirap Peruvaludi
* Bootha Pāndiyan
* Arivudainampi

Pandya rulers – such as [[Nedunjeliyan II|Nedunjeliyan]], the Victor of Talaiyalanganam, and Mudukudimi Peruvaludi, the Patron of Several Sacrificial Halls ("the Palyaga-salai") – find mention in several poems (such as ''[[Mathuraikkanci]]'').<ref name=":18" /><ref name=":20">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.</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Venkataramaiah |first1=K. M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2pAMAQAAMAAJ&q=Maduraikkanci |title=A handbook of Tamil Nadu |last2=Linguistics |first2=International School of Dravidian |date=1996 |publisher=International School of Dravidian Linguistics |isbn=9788185692203 |pages=548 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Karuṇāniti |first1=Kalaiñar Mu |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5b94AAAAIAAJ&q=Netunalvatai+pandya |title=Gleanings from Sangam verses: English version of Sangat Thamizh |last2=Araṅkacāmi |first2=Pal̲ani |last3=Kal̲akam |first3=Tañcai Tamil̲p Palkalaik |date=1997 |publisher=Tamil University |pages=245 |isbn=9788170902485 |language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":8" />

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}}
The Buddhist text [[Mahāvaṃsa|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.
* According to the Mahavamsa, emissaries laden with precious gifts were sent from Sri Lanka to the city of Madhura in southern India. Their mission was to secure a bride for Prince Vijaya. The Pandya King of Madurai agreed to the proposal. He not only sent his own daughter to marry Prince Vijaya but also requested other families to offer their daughters to marry the prince's ministers and retainers. So, along with the Princess and hundreds of [[Maiden|maidens]], craftsmen and a thousand families from the eighteen [[Guild|guilds]] were also sent to Sri Lanka.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Geiger |first=Wilhelm |url=http://archive.org/details/mahavamsagreatch00geigrich |title=Mahavamsa : the great chronicle of Ceylon |last2=Bode |first2=Mabel Haynes |date=1912 |location=London |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref>
*Greek and Latin sources (early centuries CE) refer to the ancient Tamil country, same as the Tamilakam, as "Lymyrike" or "Damirice" (or Dymirice/Dimirixe or Damirice) and its ruling families.<ref name=":17" />
* Pandyas are also mentioned by Greek author [[Megasthenes]] (4th century BCE) where he writes about the south Indian kingdom being ruled by women.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zjTneAGmatsC&q=t&pg=PA12|title=History of Tinnevelly|last=Caldwell|first=Bishop R.|date=2004|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=9788120601611|pages=16|language=en}}</ref> He described the Pandya country in ''[[Indica (Megasthenes)|Indika]]'' as "occupying the portion of India which lies southward and extends to the sea". According to his account, the kingdom had 365 villages, each of which was expected to meet the needs of the royal household for one day in the year. He described the Pandya queen at the time, ''Pandaia'' as the daughter of [[Heracles|Herakles]].<ref name="India By John Keay">India By John Keay</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zjTneAGmatsC&q=megasthenes&pg=PA12|title=History of Tinnevelly|last=Caldwell|first=Bishop R.|date=2004|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=9788120601611|pages=15|language=en}}</ref>
* [[Pliny the Elder]] refers to the Pandya ruler of Madurai in general terms (first century CE).<ref name=":17" />
* The author of the ''[[Periplus of the Erythraean Sea]]'' (first century CE) describes the riches of a "Pandian kingdom"<ref name=":17" /><ref name=":6" />{{quote|...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....<ref>''Periplus'' 54. {{langx|el|"Ἡ δὲ Νέλκυνδα σταδίους μὲν ἀπὸ Μουζιρέως ἀπέχει σχεδὸν πεντακοσίους, ὁμοίως διά τε ποταμοῦ (καὶ πεζῇ) καὶ διὰ θαλάσσης, βασιλείας δέ ἐστιν ἑτέρας, τῆς Πανδίονος· κεῖται δὲ καὶ αὐτὴ παρὰ ποταμὸν, ὡσεὶ ἀπὸ σταδίων ἑκατὸν εἴκοσι τῆς θαλάσσης."}}</ref>}}
* 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>
* [[Strabo]] states that an Indian king called Pandion sent [[Augustus Caesar]] "presents and gifts of honour".<ref name=":7">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=te1sqTzTxD8C&pg=PA72 |title=The First Spring: The Golden Age of India |first=Abraham |last=Eraly |publisher=Penguin |year=2011 |isbn=9780670084784 |access-date=12 July 2013}}</ref><ref name=":162" /> The 1st-century [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] historian [[Nicolaus of Damascus]] met, at [[Antioch]], the ambassador sent by a king from India "named Pandion or, according to others, Porus" to [[Caesar Augustus]] {{circa|13&nbsp;CE}} (Strabo XV.4 and 73).<ref>Strabo, ''Geography'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0239%3Abook%3D15%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D73 Book XV, Chapter I, section 73]. Perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 12 July 2013.</ref><ref>Keay, p121</ref>
* The [[Roman emperor]] [[Julian the Apostate|Julian]] received an embassy from a Pandya about 361 CE.<ref name=":3" />
* Chinese historian [[Yu Huan]] in his 3rd-century CE text, the ''Weilüe'', mentions the Panyue kingdom:{{quote|...the kingdom of Panyue is also called ''Hanyuewang''. It is several thousand li to the southeast of [[Tianzhu (India)|Tianzhu]] (northern India)&nbsp;...The inhabitants are small; they are the same height as the Chinese&nbsp;...}}
*Scholar John E. Hill identified Panyue as the Pandya kingdom.<ref name="weilue">Hill, John</ref>{{cn|date=July 2024}} However, others have identified it with an ancient state located in modern [[Burma]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CZQMAQAAMAAJ|title=Between winds and clouds: the making of Yunnan (second century BCE to twentieth century CE)|first=Bin |last=Yang|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=2009|isbn=978-0-231-14254-0}}</ref> or [[Assam]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dbjLO5l1PCkC&pg=PA12|title=A History of Sino-Indian Relations|first=Yukteshwar |last=Kumar|publisher=APH|year=2005|isbn=978-81-7648-798-6|page=12}}</ref>
* The Chinese traveler [[Xuanzang]] mentions a kingdom further south from [[Kanchipuram]], a kingdom named ''Malakutta'', identified with [[Madurai]] described by his Buddhist friends at [[Kanchipuram]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8XXGhAL1WKcC&q=Hiuen+Tsang+malakotta&pg=PA453|title=The Early History of India|last=Smith|first=Vincent A.|date=1999|publisher=Atlantic |isbn=9788171566181|pages=453|language=en}}</ref>
* In the later part of the 13th century (in 1288 and 1293 CE) [[Venetian Republic|Venetian]] traveller [[Marco Polo]] visited the Pandya kingdom and left a vivid description of the land and its people.<ref>Rubiés, Joan-Pau. [https://books.google.com/books?id=adpkHQ9SCq0C&pg=PA5 ''Travel and ethnology in the Renaissance: South India through European eyes'']</ref><ref>More, J. B. Prashant. [https://books.google.com/books?id=11FYACaVySoC&pg=PA9 ''Muslim identity, print culture, and the Dravidian factor in Tamil Nadu''].</ref>{{quote|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 as 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.<ref>Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta Sastri (1972). [https://books.google.com/books?id=O8jnnQEACAAJ ''The Pāṇḍyan Kingdom From the Earliest Times to the Sixteenth Century'']</ref>}}

== History ==

=== Early historic Pandyas ===
{{Main|Early Pandyan Kingdom}}
[[File:A_sunrise_over_Vaigai_River_in_Madurai_Tamil_Nadu_India.jpg|alt=|thumb|221x221px|[[Vaigai River]] in Madurai]]

[[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 three chiefly lines of early historic south India – the Cheras, Pandyas and Cholas – were known as the mu-vendar ("the three vendars"). They were traditionally based at their original headquarters in the interior [[Tamil Nadu]] ([[Karur]], [[Madurai]] and [[Uraiyur]] respectively).<ref name=":162" /> The powerful chiefdoms of the three ventar dominated the political and economic life of early historic south India.{{sfn|Romila Thapar|2003|p=231}} The frequent conflicts between the Chera, the Chola and the Pandya are well documented in ancient (the [[Sangam literature|Sangam]]) Tamil poetry.{{sfn|Romila Thapar|2003|p=242}} The Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas also controlled the ports of [[Muziris|Muziris (Muchiri)]], [[Korkai]] and Kaveri respectively (for the trade with the [[Classical antiquity|Graeco-Roman]] world).<ref name=":162" /> The gradual shift from chiefdoms to kingdoms seems to have occurred in the following period.{{sfn|Romila Thapar|2003|p=231}}[[File:Temple between hill symbols and elephant coin of the Pandyas Sri Lanka 1st century CE.jpg|thumb|Pandya coin with temple between hills and elephant (Sri Lanka ca. 1st century CE) ([[British Museum]])|223x223px]]The famous inscription of king [[Kharavela]] at Hathigumpha (mid-first century BCE<ref name=":162" />) 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.{{sfn|Romila Thapar|2003|p=211-212}} The Pandya chiefdom was famous for its pearl fisheries and silk industry.<ref name=":162" /> [[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.{{sfn|Romila Thapar|2003|p=229}}

Several coins attributed to early historic Pandyas are found were Severalin the region.{{sfn|Romila Thapar|2003|p=242}} Inscriptions, datable to c. 2nd century BCE, recording royal grants – both from royals and wealthy commoners – were also discovered from the Pandya country.<ref name=":19">Thapar, Romila. ''Southern Indian kingdoms'' "India". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. https://www.britannica.com/place/India/The-Shunga-kingdom#ref46870</ref>

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}}

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.<ref name=":17" /> The early Pandyas, along with the Cheras and the Cholas, were eventually displaced by the [[Kalabhra dynasty]].{{sfn|Romila Thapar|2003|p=327}}

=== Medieval Pandyas ===
==== Pandya revival (7th–10th centuries CE) ====
[[File:S-TN-71 Vettuvan Koil Tuticorin.jpg|thumb|221x221px|[[Vettuvan Koil]], Kalugumalai, Tuticorin. Pandya kingdom, 8th century CE|alt=]]
[[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]]
The Pandya kingdom was revived by king Kadungon c. 560–590 CE{{sfn|Noburu Karashima|2014|pp=370}} towards the end of the 6th-century CE.<ref name=":3" />{{sfn|Romila Thapar|2003|p=331}} In the [[Velvikudi inscription]], a later copper-plate, Kadungon appears as the "destroyer" of the "anti-Brahmanical" [[Kalabhra dynasty|Kalabhra]] kings.{{sfn|Noboru Karashima|2014|p=85-87}} [[Simhavishnu]] – the [[Pallava dynasty|Pallava]] king and Pandya [[Kadungon]] had united the Tamil regions, removed Kalabhras and others. Simhavishnu consolidated his kingdom from south of the [[Krishna River|Krishna]] river and up to the Kaveri river by c. 575 CE. To the south of Kaveri, the Pandyas came to power. Cholas became subordinates of Pallavas and they were already ruling Telugu region of [[Rayalaseema]]. The Kalabhra rule which had dominated the political scene of the Tamil country for few centuries was defeated and ended by the [[Chalukya dynasty|Chalukyas]], [[Pandya dynasty|Pandyas]], and [[Pallava dynasty|Pallavas]].<ref name="Singh2008p485" /> This is attested by the numerous inscriptions dated from the 6th century and thereafter, as well as the [[Chinese language|Chinese]] language memoirs of the [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] pilgrim [[Xuanzang]] who visited the Tamil region about 640 CE along with other parts of the Indian subcontinent.<ref>{{cite book|first=Kenneth|last=Pletcher|title=The History of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VsujRFvaHI8C&pg=PA97|year=2010|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-1-61530-122-5|page=97}}</ref> Xuanzang describes a peaceful cosmopolitan region where some 100 monasteries with 10,000 monks were studying [[Mahayana]] Buddhism, [[Kanchipuram]] was hosting learned debates with hundreds of heretic Deva (Hindu) temples but no Buddhist institutions. Xuangzang makes no mention of the Kalabhras.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Hermann|last1=Kulke|first2=Dietmar|last2=Rothermund|title=A History of India|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=V0GEtXp-GsUC |year=1998|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-15482-6|pages=114–115}}</ref><ref name="SchalkVeluppillai2002">{{cite book|first1=Peter|last1=Schalk|first2=A.|last2=Veluppillai|first3=Irāmaccantiran̲|last3=Nākacāmi|title=Buddhism among Tamils in pre-colonial Tamilakam and Īlam: Prologue. The Pre-Pallava and the Pallava period|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q2QEAAAAYAAJ|year=2002|publisher=Almqvist & Wiksell|isbn=978-91-554-5357-2|pages=287–290, 400–403}}</ref> Historian [[Noboru Karashima]]  state that kadumkon contemporary to pallava simhavishu that drove out kalabhras in tamil region 575 CE. Dated kadumkon ruled 560 - 590 CE.[[Noboru Karashima]] — c. 560&ndash;590 CE{{sfn|Noburu Karashima|2014|pp=370}} With the decline of the Kalabhra dynasty, the Pandyas grew steadily in power and territory. With the [[Cholas]] in obscurity in [[Uraiyur]], the Tamil country was divided between the [[Pallavas|Pallavas of Kanchi]] and the Pandyas of Madurai.

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 [[Rashtrakuta dynasty|Rashtrakutas]] in the Deccan.{{sfn|Noboru Karashima|2014|p=84-85}} 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 [[Western Ganga dynasty|Gangas of Talakad]] in late 8th century CE).<ref name=":19" /> 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).<ref name=":19" />

Sendan, c. 620&ndash;650 CE{{sfn|Noburu Karashima|2014|pp=370}} the third king of the Pandyas of Madurai, is known for expanding his kingdom to the [[Chera dynasty|Chera country]] (western Tamil Nadu and central [[Kerala]]). Arikesari Maravarman, c. 640&ndash;670 CE{{sfn|N. Subrahmanian|1962|pp=116-117}} the fourth Pandya ruler, is known for his battles against the [[Pallava dynasty|Pallavas of Kanchi]]. Pallava king Narasimhavarman I (r. 630–668 CE), the famous conqueror of [[Badami]], claimed to have defeated the Pandyas. [[Chalukya dynasty|Chalukya]] King Paramesvaravarman I "Vikramaditya" (r. 670–700 CE) is known to have fought battles with the Pallavas, the Gangas, and probably with the Pandyas too, on the Kaveri basin.{{sfn|Noboru Karashima|2014|p=85-87}}

Kirtivarman II (r. 744/5–55 CE), the last Chalukya king, managed to lose to his southern countries as a result of his battles with the Pandyas. Pandya kings Maravarman Rajasimha I (r. 710–65 CE)<ref name="tamilvu">{{cite web |url=http://www.tamilvu.org/courses/degree/a031/a0312/html/a0312442.htm |title=4.2.4 கோச்சடையன் ரணதீரனும், அவரது மகனும் (கி.பி. 670–765) |publisher=தமிழ் இணையப் பல்கலைக்கழகம் |access-date=July 16, 2025 |language=ta}}</ref>and Nedunjadaiyan/Varagunavarman I (r. 765–815 CE) threatened Pallava king Nandivarman II Pallavamalla (r. 731–96 CE) who had managed to defeat the Gangas in {{circa|760&nbsp;CE}}. Varagunavarman I invaded the Pallava country and conquered the Kongu country (western Tamil Nadu) and [[Venad]]u (south Kerala). King Srimara Srivallabha (r. 815–62 CE) sailed to Sri Lanka, subjugated and overpowered King Sena I, and sacked his capital [[Anuradhapura]] (the Panya invasion of Sri Lanka followed a period of vassalage).{{sfn|Noboru Karashima|2014|p=85-87}} However, Srimara Srivallabha was soon overpowered by Pallava king Nripatunga (r. 859–99 CE). Sena II, the king of Sri Lanka, [[Anuradhapura invasion of Pandya|invaded the Pandya country, sacked Madurai]] and chose [[Varagunavarman II]] (r. c. 862–880 CE<ref name=":2322">Sastri, K. A. Nilakanta. (1958, second ed.) ''A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar.'' Madras, Oxford University Press. 165.</ref>) as the new king soon after.{{sfn|Noboru Karashima|2014|p=85-87}} It is proposed that the start of the [[Malayalam calendar|Kollam Era]], the Kerala calendar, in 825 CE marked the liberation of Venadu from Pandya control.{{sfn|Noboru Karashima|2014|p=89}}

During the rule of Dantivarman (r. 796–847 CE), the Pallava territory was reduced by the encroachment from the Pandyas from the south (and Rashtrakutas and the [[Telugu Cholas|Telugu-Cholas]] from north). Pallava king Nandivarman III (r. 846–69 CE) was able to defeat the Pandyas and Telugu-Cholas (and even the Rashtrakutas) with the help of the Gangas and the emerging Cholas.{{sfn|Noboru Karashima|2014|p=85-87}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+'''Pandya kings (6th–10th century CE)'''
!Pandya ruler
!Reign
!Ref.
|-
|[[Kadungon]]
|c. 560–590 CE
|{{sfn|Noburu Karashima|2014|pp=370}}
|-
|Maravarman [[Avani Sulamani|Avanisulamani]]
|c. 590–620 CE
|{{sfn|Noburu Karashima|2014|pp=370}}
|-
|[[Jayantavarman|Seliyan Sendan (Jayantavarman)]]
|c. 620–650 CE
|{{sfn|Noburu Karashima|2014|pp=370}}
|-
|[[Arikesari Maravarman|Arikesari Maravarman (Parankusan)]]
|c. 640–670 CE
|{{sfn|N. Subrahmanian|1962|pp=116-117}}
|-
|[[Kochadaiyan Ranadhiran|Ko Chadaiyan Ranadhira]]
|c. 670–710 CE
|<ref name="tamilvu"/>
|-
|[[Maravarman Rajasimha I]]
|c. 710–765 CE
|<ref name="tamilvu"/>
|-
|Jatila Parantaka Nedunjadaiyan
(Varaguna-varman I)
|c. 765–815 CE
|{{sfn|Noboru Karashima|2014|p=85-87}}<ref name=":2322"/>
|-
|[[Srimara Srivallabha|Maravarman Srimara Srivallabha]]
|c. 815–862 CE
|{{sfn|Noboru Karashima|2014|p=85-87}}
|-
|[[Varagunavarman II|Varaguna-varman II]]
|c. 862–880 CE
|<ref name=":2322"/>
|-
|Parantaka Viranarayana
|c. 880–900/905 CE
|<ref name=":2322"/>
|-
|[[Maravarman Rajasimha II]]
|c. 900–920 CE
|<ref name=":2322"/>
|}
[[File:Jaina_abode_Kalugumalai.JPG|thumb|871x871px|[[Kalugumalai Jain Beds|Kalugumalai Jain beds]], Pandya kingdom, king Jatila Parantaka Nedunjadaiyan (8th century CE)|alt=|center]]

====Under Chola influence (10th–13th centuries)====
{{see also|Pandyan Civil War (1169-1177)}}
[[File:South_India_in_12th_century_AD.jpg|thumb|271x271px|Pandya country in the [[Chola dynasty|Chola Empire]] (12th century)]]
While the Pandyas and the Rashtrakutas were busy engaging the Pallavas, with the Gangas and the Simhalas (Sri Lanka) also in the mix, the Cholas emerged from the Kaveri delta and took on the chieftains of [[Thanjavur]]{{sfn|Noboru Karashima|2014|p=121-123}} (the [[Muthuraja|Mutharaiyar]] chieftain had transferred their loyalty from the Pallava to the Pandya<ref name=":24">Sastri, K. A. Nilakanta. (1958, second ed.) ''A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar.'' Madras, Oxford University Press. 167–68.</ref>). The [[Chola dynasty|Chola]] king [[Vijayalaya Chola|Vijayalaya]] conquered [[Thanjavur]] by defeating the [[Muthuraja|Mutharaiyar]] chieftain around {{circa|850&nbsp;CE}}.<ref name=":24" /> The Pandya control north of the Kaveri river was severely weakened by this move (and straightened the position of the Pallava ruler Nripatunga).<ref name=":24" /> Pandya ruler [[Varagunavarman II|Varaguna-varman II]] (r. c. 862–880 CE<ref name=":2322"/>) responded by marching into the Chola country and facing a formidable alliance of Pallava prince Aparajita, the Chola king Aditya I and the Ganga king Prithvipati I. The Pandya king suffered a crushing defeat ({{circa|880&nbsp;CE}}) in a battle fought near Kumbakonam.<ref name=":24" />

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>

The Cholas were defeated by a Rashtrakuta-lead confederacy in the [[battle of Takkolam]] in 949 CE.<ref name=":252" /> By mid-950s, the Chola kingdom had shrunk to the size of a small principality (its vassals in the extreme south had proclaimed their independence).<ref name=":252" /> It is a possibility that Pandya ruler Vira Pandya defeated Chola king Gandaraditya and claimed independence.<ref name=":252" /> Chola ruler [[Parantaka Chola II|Sundara Parantaka II]] (r. 957–73) responded by defeating Vira Pandya I in two battles (and Chola prince [[Aditya II]] killed Vira Pandya on the second occasion). The Pandyas were assisted by the Sri Lanka forces of King Mahinda IV.<ref name=":252" />

Chola emperor [[Rajaraja I]] (r. 985–1014 CE) is known to have attacked the Pandyas.<ref name=":19" /> He fought against an alliance of the Pandya, [[Chera dynasty|Chera]] and Sri Lankan kings, and defeated the Cheras and "deprived" the Pandyas of their ancient capital Madurai.{{sfn|Noboru Karashima|2014|p=122-124}} Emperor [[Rajendra Chola I|Rajendra I]] continued to occupy the Pandya kingdom, and even appointed a series of Chola viceroys with the title "Chola Pandya" to rule from Madurai (over Pandya and Western Chera/Kerala countries). The very beginning of Chola emperor [[Kulottunga I|Kulottunga]]'s rule (r. from 1070 CE) was marked by the loss of Sri Lanka and a rebellion in the Pandya country.{{sfn|Noboru Karashima|2014|p=122-124}}

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]], [[Venad|Venadu Chera/Kerala]], under the Kulasekharas,{{sfn|Noboru Karashima|2014|p=122-124}} and the Cholas, under [[Rajadhiraja Chola II|Rajadhiraja II]] and [[Kulothunga Chola III|Kulottunga III]], joined in and took sides with any of the two princes or their kins.<ref>Sastri, K. A. Nilakanta. (1958, second ed.) ''A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar.'' Madras, Oxford University Press. 187-90.</ref>{{sfn|Noboru Karashima|2014|p=122-124}}

Pandya kings (10th century–first half of 11th century CE):
* Sundara Pandya I
* Vira Pandya I (Veerapandyan)
* Vira Pandya II
* Amarabhujanga Tivrakopa
* Srivallabha Manakulachala (1101–1124 CE)
* Maravarman Srivallabha (1132–1161 CE)
* [[Parakrama Pandyan I|Parakrama I]] (1161–1162 CE)
* Kulasekara III
* Vira Pandya III
* Jatavarman Srivallabha (1175–1180 CE)
* [[Jatavarman Kulasekaran I|Jatavarman Kulasekara I]] (1190–1216 CE)<ref name="sen2">{{Cite book|title=A Textbook of Medieval Indian History|last=Sen|first=Sailendra|publisher=Primus Books|year=2013|isbn=978-9-38060-734-4|pages=45–46}}</ref>

=== Imperial Pandyas (13th–14th centuries) ===
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]].<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2">Sastri, K. A. Nilakanta. (1958, second ed.) ''A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar.'' Madras, Oxford University Press. 208-11.</ref>

[[File:An aerial view of Madurai city from atop of Meenakshi Amman temple.jpg|thumb|800px|center|An aerial view of [[Madurai]] city from [[Meenakshi Temple]] |alt=aerial image of a temple campus]]

{| class="wikitable"
|+'''Pandya kings (13th–14th centuries CE)'''
!Pandya ruler
!Reign
|-
|[[Maravarman Sundara Pandyan|Maravarman Sundara I]]
|1216–1238 CE
|-
|[[Sadayavarman Kulasekaran II]]
|1238–1240 CE
|-
|[[Maravarman Sundara Pandyan II|Maravarman Sundara II]]
|1238–1251 CE
|-
|[[Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan|Jatavarman Sundara I]]
|1251–1268 CE
|-
|[[Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I|Maravarman Kulasekara I]]
|1268–1310 CE
|-
|Sundara Pandya IV
|1309–1327 CE
|-
|Vira Pandya IV
|1309–1345 CE
|}

==== Maravarman Sundara I ====
The foundation for the Pandya supremacy in south India was laid by [[Maravarman Sundara Pandyan|Maravarman Sundara I]] early in the 13th century.<ref name=":27">{{Cite book|last=Sen|first=Sailendra Nath|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk4_ICH_g1EC&q=maravarman&pg=PA459|title=Ancient Indian History and Civilization|date=1999|publisher=New Age International|isbn=9788122411980|pages=458|language=en}}</ref> He succeeded his older brother Jatavarman Kulasekhara in 1216.<ref name=":9">Sastri, K. A. Nilakanta. (1958, second ed.) ''A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar.'' Madras, Oxford University Press. 203-07.</ref> He invaded the Chola country, sacked [[Uraiyur]] and [[Thanjavur]], and drove the Chola king [[Kulothunga Chola III|Kulothunga III]] into exile.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XNxiN5tzKOgC&q=kulottunga+hoysala+pandya&pg=PA411|title=Ancient India|last=Majumdar|first=Ramesh Chandra|author-link=R. C. Majumdar|date=1977|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=9788120804364|pages=411|language=en}}</ref> The Chola king subsequently made a formal submission to Maravarman Sundara I and acknowledged his overlordship.<ref name=":9" /> Attempts by the next Chola king [[Rajaraja Chola III|Rajaraja III]] (1216 – 46 CE<ref name=":302" />) for self-rule (to stop the Pandya invasion into the Chola country<ref name=":302" />), with the help of the [[Hoysala Empire|Hoysalas]] king Narasimha II (r. 1220 – 1238 CE), resulted in a battle between the Pandya and Hoysala forces at Mahendramangalam on the [[Kaveri|Kaveri Valley]]. Maravarman Sundara I was defeated and Rajaraja III was restored in the Chola country.<ref name=":9" /> Sometime later Chola prince [[Rajendra Chola III|Rajendra III]] attacked the Pandyas and defeated two Pandya royals including [[Maravarman Sundara Pandyan II|Maravarman Sundara II]].<ref name=":9" /> Hoysala king [[Vira Someshwara|Somesvara]] (r. 1233 – 1267 CE<ref name=":302" />) then came to the aid of the Pandyas, defeated Rajendra III and then made peace with the Cholas.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":0" />

==== Jatavarman Sundara I ====
[[File:Double fish Pandyan relief, Koneswaram.jpg|thumb|221x221px|[[Jatavarman Vira Pandyan II|Jatavarman Vira II]]'s fish insignia at [[Koneswaram temple]] in [[Trincomalee]] (Eastern Province)<ref name="Indrapala 2007 324">{{cite book|last=Indrapala|first=Karthigesu|title=The evolution of an ethnic identity: The Tamils in Sri Lanka C. 300 BCE to C. 1200 CE|publisher=Vijitha Yapa|year=2007|isbn=978-955-1266-72-1|location=Colombo|page=324}}</ref> ]] [[Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I|Jatavarman Sundara I]] ascended the Pandya throne in 1251 CE.<ref name=":302" /> He led his army to the Chola country (even as far as [[Nellore]]), to [[Sri Lanka]] and to south [[Kerala]].<ref name=":302" /> He was also successful in confining the Hoysala control to the Mysore Plateau (the ancient Chola country was now overrun by the Pandyas<ref name=":302" />).<ref name=":9" /> [[Kanchipuram|Kanchi]] functioned as the second major city in the kingdom.<ref name=":9" /> In his conquests, Jatavarman Sundara I assisted joined number of Pandya royals such as Jatavarman Vira Pandya.<ref name=":9" />

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 name=":9" /><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> 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 ====
Sundara Pandya I (died in 1268) was succeeded by [[Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I|Maravarman Kulasekara I]].<ref name=":2" /> Around 1279 the combined force of Hoysala king Ramanatha and [[Rajendra Chola III|Rajendra III]] was defeated by Maravarman Kulasekara I.<ref name=":2" /> Maravarman Kulasekara I, now virtually unchallenged, ruled over the Chola country and southern Tamil speaking portions of Hoysala kingdom. He also invaded Sri Lanka, ruled by Bhuvanaikabahu I, who "carried away to the Pandya country the venerable Tooth Relic", and the wealth of the island.<ref name=":2" /> Sri Lanka remained under Pandya control until c. 1308–1309 CE.<ref name=":2" />

====Decline of Pandyas====
After the death of [[Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I|Maravarman Kulasekhara I]] (1310), his sons Vira Pandya IV and Sundara Pandya IV fought a war of succession for control of the empire. It seems that Maravarman Kulasekhara wanted Vira Pandya to succeed him (who in turn was defeated by Sundara Pandya after a short period).<ref>{{cite book|title=Muslim Identity, Print Culture, and the Dravidian Factor in Tamil Nadu|author=J. B. Prashant More|publisher=Orient Blackswan, 2004|page=10}}</ref> Unfortunately, the Pandya civil war coincided with the [[Khalji dynasty|Khalji]] [[Malik Kafur's invasion of the Pandya kingdom|raids]] in south India.<ref>{{cite book|title=Sri Varadarajaswami Temple, Kanchi: A Study of Its History, Art and Architecture|author=K.V. Raman|publisher=Abhinav Publications, 2003|page=24}}</ref> Taking advantage of the political situation, the neighbouring [[Hoysala]] king [[Veera Ballala III|Ballala III]] invaded the Pandya territory. However, Ballala had to retreat to his capital, when Alauddin Khalji's general [[Malik Kafur]] [[Siege of Dwarasamudra|invaded his kingdom]] at the same time.{{sfn|Banarsi Prasad Saksena|1992|p=412}} After subjugating Ballala III, the Khalji forces marched to the Pandya territory in March 1311.{{sfn|Banarsi Prasad Saksena|1992|p=414}} The Pandya brothers fled their headquarters, and the Khaljis pursued them unsuccessfully.{{sfn|Banarsi Prasad Saksena|1992|pp=416–417}}{{sfn|Kishori Saran Lal|1950|pp=208–213}} By late April 1311, the Khaljis gave up their plans to pursue the Pandya princes, and returned to Delhi with the plunder.{{sfn|Kishori Saran Lal|1950|p=212}}{{sfn|Peter Jackson|2003|p=207}} By 1312 the Pandya control over south [[Kerala]] was also lost.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{cite book|title=History of the Punjab: A.D. 1000-1526. Editor: Fauja Singh|author=Fauja Singh|publisher=Abhinav Publications |date=1972|page=152|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5U1XAAAAMAAJ&q=Balban+.+This+may+or+may+not+be+true+,+but+it+is+a+fact+that+it+was+in+the+Punjab+that}}</ref>

After the departure of the Khaljis, Vira and Sundara Pandya resumed their conflict. Sundara Pandya was defeated and sought help from the Khaljis. With their help, he regained control of the [[South Arcot]] region by 1314.{{sfn|Peter Jackson|2003|p=207}} Subsequently, there were two more expeditions from the sultanate in 1314 led by [[Khusro Khan]] and in 1323 by [[Muhammad bin Tughluq|Jauna Khan]] under the Punjab-born sultan [[Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq]].{{sfn|Peter Jackson|2003|p=207}}

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) ===
The Pandya kings from Sadaavarman Parakrama Pandya to his successors who ruled with [[Tenkasi]] as their [[Capital city|capital]].<ref name="tamilvu2">{{cite web|title=4.5 பிற்காலப் பாண்டியர் (கி.பி. 1371 - 1650.)|url=http://www.tamilvu.org/courses/diploma/a031/a0314/html/a0314445.htm|access-date=27 November 2012|publisher=தமிழ் இணையப் பல்கலைக்கழகம்}}</ref> With the invasion of the [[Sultan]]ates, [[Vijayanagara]]s, and [[Madurai Nayak dynasty|Nayakars]] from the fourteenth century onwards, the Pandyas lost their traditional capital of [[Madurai]] and shifted to cities like Tenkasi and [[Tirunelveli]].<ref name="Fall"/> Tenkasi was the last capital of the Pandyas.<ref name="tamilvu.org2">{{Cite web|title=:: TVU ::|url=http://www.tamilvu.org/slet/lA100/lA100pd1.jsp?bookid=222&pno=323|access-date=2020-04-09|website=www.tamilvu.org}}</ref> All the Pandyas from Sadaavarman Parakrama Pandya and his next generations were crowned in the Adheenam Mutt<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Vanamamalai|first1=N.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sDnaAAAAMAAJ&q=tenkasi+capital|title=Interpretation of Tamil Folk Creations|last2=Vān̲amāmalai|first2=Nā|date=1981|publisher=Dravidian Linguistics Association|language=en|access-date=2020-04-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310194052/https://books.google.co.in/books?id=sDnaAAAAMAAJ&q=tenkasi+capital&dq=tenkasi+capital&hl=en&ei=Ph68TtCqNoLZrQfHo-zUAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result|archive-date=2016-03-10|url-status=live}}</ref> in [[Kasi Viswanathar temple, Tenkasi|Kasi Viswanathar temple]].<ref>{{citation|year=1964|title=தென்காசி காசிவிசுவநாதசுவாமி கோயில் வரலாறு கோயில் வெளியீடு}}</ref> During the same period, some Pandyas ruled with Tirunelveli as their capital. [[Kayatharu]], [[Vadakkuvalliyur]], and Ukkirankottai are some of their major cities. Inscriptions on them are found in Tenkasi's Kasi Viswanathar temple, [[Brahmadesam, Tindivanam taluk|Brahmadesam]], [[Tirunelveli]], [[Cheranmadevi]], [[Ambasamudram]], [[Kalakkad]] and [[Pudukkottai]]. The last Pandyan king to be known in the history of the Pandyas was Kolakonda, who was also among the Tenkasi Pandyas.

Although the [[Vijayanagara Empire]] and the [[Madurai Nayak dynasty|Nayaks]] ruled Madurai after the 14th century, they were occasionally opposed by the Pandyas. Sometimes they have ruled Madurai. Prominent among them were Saadavarman Vikrama Pandya (1401–1422 AD) and his son, Arikesari Parakrama Pandya.<ref name="NayaksBook"/> They had built 32 forts around Madurai. Later, when Vishwanatha Nayakkar became the Madurai Mandalasuvaran, he feared Pandya's resurgence in Madurai. He divided Madurai into 72 districts, including 16 districts of those closest to the Pandyas.<ref name="தமிழ்வாணன்2">{{cite book|author=தமிழ்வாணன்|title=கட்டபொம்மன் கொள்ளைக்காரன்|publisher=மணிமேகலை பிரசுரம்|year=1983|location=சென்னை|pages=18–19}}</ref> He gave them positions and made them separate from the Pandyas. This made Pandyas lose Madurai forever.<ref name="NayaksBook" />
{| class="wikitable"
!King
!Period
|-
|Sadaavarman Parakrama Pandya
|1422–1463 AD
|-
|Kulasekara Pandiyan III
|1429–1473 AD
|-
|Aksharan Perumal Parakrama Pandya
|1473–1506 AD
|-
|Kulasekara Pandya
|1479–1499 AD
|-
|Sadaverman Sewallapa Pandya
|1534–1543 AD
|-
|Parakrama Kulasekaran
|1543–1552 AD
|-
|Nelveli Maran
|1552–1564 AD
|-
|Sadaavarman Adeevirama Pandya
|1564–1604 AD
|-
|Varathuranga Pandya
|1588–1612 AD
|-
|Varagunarama Pandya
|1613–1618 AD
|-
|Kollankondan
|(N.A.)
|}

==== Legacy ====
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"/>

[[Bukka Raya I]] of [[Vijayanagara Empire|Vijayanagara empire]] conquered the city of Madurai in {{circa|1370}},<ref name="Fall"/> imprisoned the sultan, released and restored Arcot's prince Sambuva Raya to the throne. Bukka Raya I appointed his son Veera Kumara Kampana as the viceroy of the Tamil region. Meanwhile, the Madurai sultanate was replaced by the Nayak governors of [[Vijayanagara]] in 1378.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A Comprehensive History of India: Comprehensive history of medieval India|last1=Puri|first1=B. N.|last2=Das|first2=M. N.|date=2003-12-01|publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd|isbn=9788120725089|pages=90–91|language=en}}</ref> In 1529 the Nayak governors declared independence and established [[Madurai Nayak dynasty]].<ref name=":3" />

==Economy==
=== Early history ===
[[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]] ]]
The Pandya country, located at the extreme southwestern tip of [[South Asia]], served as an important meeting point throughout the history of India. The location was economically and geopolitically significant as a key point connecting the shipping between [[Southeast Asia]] and the [[Middle East]]. [[Classical antiquity|Graeco-Roman]] merchants frequented the [[ancient Tamil country]], present day [[Southern India|south India]] and [[Sri Lanka]], securing contacts with the [[Tamil people|Tamil]] chiefdoms of the Pandya, [[Chola Empire|Chola]] and [[Chera Empire|Chera]] families.<ref name=":26" /> The western sailors also established several trading settlements on the harbours of the ancient Tamil region.<ref name=":26" /> The trade with South Asia by the [[Greco-Roman world]] flourished since the time of the [[Ptolemaic dynasty]]<ref name="Lindsay1">Lindsay (2006) p. 101</ref> a few decades before the start of the [[Common Era]] and remained long after the fall of the [[Western Roman Empire]].<ref name="Curtin1">Curtin 1984: 100</ref><ref name="The cyclopædia of India and Eastern and Southern Asia">The cyclopædia of India and Eastern and Southern Asia By Edward Balfour</ref> The contacts between south India and the Middle East continued even after the [[Byzantium]]'s loss of the ports of [[Egypt]] and the [[Red Sea]]<ref name="Holl1">Holl 2003: 9</ref> in the 7th century CE.

The early historic Pandya country was famous for its supply of pearls. The ancient port of [[Korkai]], in present-day [[Thoothukudi district|Thoothukudi]], was the centre of the pearl trade. Written records from [[Classical antiquity|Graeco-Roman]] and Egyptian voyagers give details about the pearl fisheries off the [[Gulf of Mannar]]. Greek historian [[Megasthenes]] reported about the pearl fisheries, indicating that the Pandyas derived great wealth from the pearl trade.<ref>Kulke and Rothermund, p99, p107</ref> Convicts were according to the ''[[Periplus of the Erythraean Sea]]'' used as pearl divers in [[Korkai]].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Subrahmanian|first1=N.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PXXsAAAAIAAJ&q=korkai+convicts|title=Tamil social history|last2=Hikosaka|first2=Shu|last3=Samuel|first3=G. John|last4=Thiagarajan|first4=P.|location= Madras|date=1997|publisher=Institute of Asian Studies|isbn=9788187892069|language=en}}</ref> The ''Periplus'' even mentions that "pearls inferior to the Indian sort are exported in great quantity from the marts of Apologas and Omana".{{sfn|Venkata Subramanian|1988|p=55}} The pearls from the Pandya country were also in demand in the kingdoms of north India.<ref>{{cite book|last=Iyengar|first=P.T. Srinivasa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ERq-OCn2cloC&q=musiri+pandyas&pg=PA189|title=History of the Tamils: From the Earliest Times to 600 AD|publisher=Asian Educational Services|year=2001|page=22|isbn=9788120601451|access-date=2007-07-15}}</ref> Literary references of the pearl fishing mention how the fishermen, who dive into the sea, avoid attacks from sharks, bring up the right-whorled chank and blow on the sounding shell.<ref>{{cite book|last=Caldwell|first=Robert|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ERq-OCn2cloC&q=musiri+pandyas&pg=PA189|title=A Political and General History of the District of Tinnevelly|year=1881|page=20|publisher=Asian Educational Services |isbn=9788120601451|access-date=2005-07-15}}</ref>

=== Pandya coinage ===
{{See also|Pandya coinage}}
[[File:Pandya coin, South Asia - Rev pair of fish, Obv bull.jpg|thumb|upright|left|One of the early coins of the Pandyas showing their emblem of the Two Fishes]]
The early coins of [[Tamilakam]] bore the symbols of the [[Three Crowned Kings]], the tiger, the fish and the bow, representing the symbols of the Cholas, Pandyas and Cheras.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PMVWAAAAMAAJ&q=pandya+fish+coin|title=Early Indian indigenous coins|last=Sircar|first=Dineshchandra|date=1970|publisher=University of Calcutta|pages=98|language=en}}</ref> Coins of Pandyas bear the legend of different Pandya ruler in different times. The Pandyas had issued silver [[Punch-marked coins|punch-marked]] and die-struck copper coins in the early period.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9VFmAAAAMAAJ&q=pandya+silver+coin|title=The Journal of the Numismatic Society of India|date=2005|publisher=Numismatic Society of India|pages=67|language=en}}</ref> A few gold coins were attributed to the Pandya rulers of this period. These coins bore the image of fish, singly or in pairs, which were their emblem.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PMVWAAAAMAAJ&q=pandya+gold+coin|title=Early Indian indigenous coins|last=Sircar|first=Dineshchandra|date=1970|publisher=University of Calcutta|pages=96|language=en}}</ref>

Some of the coins had the names Sundara, Sundara Pandya or merely the letter 'Su' were etched. Some of the coins bore a boar with the legend of 'Vira-Pandya.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yyix9TSozmAC&q=pandya+coin+sundara&pg=PA49|title=Dravidian kingdoms and list of Pandiyan coins|last=Savariroyan|first=Pandit D.|date=2004|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=9788120617520|pages=48–49|language=en}}</ref> It had been said that those coins were issued by the Pandyas and the feudatories of the Cholas but could not be attributed to any particular king. The coins of Pandyas were square. Those coins were etched with an elephant on one side and the other side remained blank. The inscription on the silver and gold coins during the Pandyas were in [[Tamil-Brahmi]] and the copper coins bore the Tamil legends.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JFAaAAAAYAAJ&q=pandya+coin+script|title=Numismatic Studies, Vol|last1=Shastri|first1=Ajay Mitra|last2=Kumar|first2=Manmohan S.|date=1996-01-01|publisher=Harman Publishing House|isbn=9788185151922|pages=46|language=en}}</ref> The coins of the Pandyas, which bore the fish symbols, were termed as 'Kodandaraman' and 'Kanchi' Valangum Perumal'.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VjsfAAAAMAAJ&q=Kodandaraman|title=Tamil Coins: A Study|last1=Nākacāmi|first1=Irāmaccantiran̲|last2=Nagaswamy|first2=R.|date=1981|publisher=Institute of Epigraphy, Tamilnadu State Department of Archaeology|pages=102|language=en}}</ref> Apart from these, 'Ellamthalaiyanam' was seen on coins which had the standing king on one side and the fish on the other. 'Samarakolahalam' and 'Bhuvanekaviram' were found on the cois having a [[Garuda]], 'Konerirayan' on coins having a bull and 'Kaliyugaraman' on coins that depict a pair of feet.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lNx31XT747wC&q=pandya+Konerirayan&pg=PA164|title=South Indian Coins|last=Desikachari|first=T.|date=1991|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=9788120601550|pages=164|language=en}}</ref>

== Religion ==
[[File:Kazhugumalai_Jain_beds_(8).jpg|right|thumb|226x226px|Kazhugumalai Jain beds]]
[[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)]]

Early Pandya rulers are traditionally associated with patronage of [[Jainism]].<ref>K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India (1955), p. 115.</ref><ref name="MarcoHenry1875">{{cite book | author1=Marco Polo | author2=Sir Henry Yule | title=The Book of Sir Marco Polo, the Venetian, Concerning the Kingdoms and Marvels of the East: Newly Tr. and Ed., with Notes, Maps, and Other Illustrations | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rRsRAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA317 | access-date=16 August 2013 | year=1875 | publisher=J. Murray | pages=317–| isbn=9780404115425 }}</ref> In literary and inscriptional records, several Pandya kings are described as having supported Jain monks and institutions.<ref>R. Sathianathaier, History of the Pandya Country (1929), pp. 54–56.</ref> According to tradition, a Pandya ruler known as [[Koon Pandiyan|Koon Pandya]] was later converted to Shivism. Based on such accounts, historians believe that the early Pandyas were originally adherents of Jainism and only later converted to Saivism and lending royal support to the Bhakti movement.<ref>A.L. Basham, The Wonder That Was India, Vol. II (1989), p. 312.</ref><ref>{{citation |title=Jainism - Its relevance to psychiatric practice; with special reference to the practice of Sallekhana |pmc=5270277 | pmid=28197009 | doi=10.4103/0019-5545.196702 |volume=58 |year=2016 |journal=Indian J Psychiatry |pages=471–474 |author=Somasundaram O, Tejus Murthy AG, Raghavan DV|issue=4 |doi-access=free }}</ref><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><ref name="James2003">{{cite book | author=James Hastings | title=Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics Part 9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jIPS0d7UTT8C&pg=PA23 | access-date=2013-02-25 | year=2003 | publisher=Kessinger Publishing | isbn=978-0-7661-3680-9 | page=23}}</ref> 

The Pandya period (c. 13th century CE) was characterised by several elite forms of [[Hinduism]], a popular bhakti religion and an even more widespread local form of Hinduism. The distinctions between the three were not differentiated. The worship of the gods [[Vishnu]] and [[Shiva]] was generally supported by the elite and [[Shiva]] was generally later supported by the elite.<ref name="Thapar" /> The bhakti movement emphasized the mutual intense emotional attachment between the god and the devotee.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bhakti {{!}} Hinduism|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/bhakti|access-date=2021-01-22|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref>

The Pandya country was home to several renowned temples including the [[Meenakshi Temple]] in [[Madurai]].<ref name=":152">{{cite book|author=A. Soundaram|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=crxUQR_qBXYC&pg=PA68|title=History of People and Their Environs|publisher=Bharathi Puthakalayam|year=2011|isbn=978-93-80325-91-0|editor1=S. Ganeshram|pages=68–69|chapter=The Characteristic Features of Early Medieval Tamil Society|editor2=C. Bhavani}}</ref> As some of the largest employers and landowners of the Pandya country, the temples played an important part in the Tamil economy and society.<ref name=":23">{{Cite web|title=Hinduism - Hinduism under Islam (11th–19th century)|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hinduism|access-date=2021-01-22|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> They generally also served as banks, schools, dispensaries, and poorhouses (thus performing valuable social functions). The large walled temple complexes of the Pandya country also contained several administrative offices and bazaars.<ref name=":23" />

==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 early temple architecture phase in Tamil Nadu opens with the rock-cut cave temples.<ref name=":16">{{Cite web|title=South Asian arts|url=https://www.britannica.com/art/South-Asian-arts|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Desai|first=Pandurang Bhimarao|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H821AAAAIAAJ&q=vimana|title=Studies in Indian history and culture: volume presented to Dr P. B. Desai ... on the occasion of his completing sixty years|date=1971|publisher=Prof. P. B. Desai Felicitation Committee, Karnatak University; [for copies write to the printer: K. E. B's Print. Press]|pages=125|language=en}}</ref>

The Tamil country is home to the 'South Indian' or 'Dravidian' style of medieval temple architecture.<ref name=":16" />
* Typical temple consists of a hall and a square sanctum (the gabhagrha)
* The foundation block, or socle, is known as the adhisthana.
* Walls of the sanctum are generally divided by pilasters.
* Superstructure: 'kutina' type (stepped stories in pyramidal form with decorative bands/parapets or the hdras)
* The parapet is composed of miniature shrines (called the kutas and salas) connected by wall elements (the harantaras).
* On top, a necking that supports a solid dome, or cupola (crowned by a pot and finial)—the sikhara.
* [[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>

The major Pandya contributions to Dravidian architecture come after the [[Pallava dynasty|Pallava]] (7th–9th centuries) and the [[Chola dynasty|Chola]] periods (9th–12th centuries).<ref name=":16" />
* Gopuras are extremely large and elaborately decorated (capped by a barrel vault).<ref name=":16" />
* Successively built walls and gopuras.<ref name=":16" />

Finest Pandyan architectures:

[[Jambukeswarar Temple, Thiruvanaikaval|Jambukeswarar Temple]], [[Tiruchirapalli]]<ref name=":16" />
* [[Kallalagar temple]], [[Alagar Koyil]]<ref name=":16" />
* [[Meenakshi Amman Temple|Meenakshi Temple]], [[Madurai]]<ref name=":16" />
*
* [[Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram]]<ref name=":16" />

== In popular culture ==
The Pandyas are a secondary subject of the Tamil films [[Aayirathil Oruvan (2010 film)|''Aayirathil Oruvan'']] (2010), ''[[Ponniyin Selvan: I]]'' (2022), ''[[Ponniyin Selvan: II]]'' (2023), and ''[[Yaathisai]]'' (2023).

==See also==
{{cmn|
* [[Tamilakam]]
* [[Economy of ancient Tamil country]]
* [[History of Kerala]]
* [[History of Tamil Nadu]]
* [[Indian maritime history]]
* [[Indo-Roman relations]]
* [[Indo-Roman trade relations]]
* [[Industry in ancient Tamil country]]
* [[Karungalakudi]]
* [[List of Tamil monarchs]]
* [[Pandyan Civil War (1169–1177)]]
* [[Tammuzh]]
}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book|last=Balambal|first=V.|title=Studies in the History of the Sangam Age|date=1998|publisher=Kalinga Publications|isbn=978-81-85163-87-1}}
* Carswell, John. 1991. "The Port of Mantai, Sri Lanka." ''RAI'', pp.&nbsp;197–203.
* {{cite book|last=Curtin|first=Philip D.|title=Cross-Cultural Trade in World History|year=1984|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-26931-5}}
* Hill, John E. 2004. ''The Peoples of the West from the Weilüe'' 魏略 ''by Yu Huan'' 魚豢'': A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE.'' [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html Draft annotated English translation.]
* {{cite book|last=Holl|first=Augustin|title=Ethnoarchaeology of Shuwa-Arab Settlements|year=2003|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=978-0-7391-0407-1}}
* {{cite book|last=Husaini|first=A.Q.|title=History of The Pandya Country|year=1972}}
* {{cite book|first=John|last=Keay|orig-year=2001|year=2000|title=India: A history|publisher=Grove Press|location=India|isbn=0-8021-3797-0}}
* {{cite book|last1=Kulke|first1=Hermann|author2=Dietmar Rothermund|title=A History of India|edition=4|year=2004}}
* {{cite book|last=Lindsay|first=W S|title=History of Merchant Shipping and Ancient Commerce|publisher=Adamant Media Corporation|year=2006|isbn=0-543-94253-8}}
* {{cite book|first=R|last=Nagasamy|year=1981|title=Tamil Coins – A study|publisher=Institute of Epigraphy, Tamil Nadu State Dept. of Archaeology}}
* {{cite book|last=Purushottam|first=Vi. Pi.|title=Cankakala Mannar Kalanilai Varalaru|year=1989}}
* Ray, Himanshu Prabha, ed. 1996. ''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. BC – 15th cent. AD New Delhi, 28 February – 4 March 1994. New Delhi, and Jean-François SALLES, Lyon. First published 1996. Reprinted 1998. Manohar Publishers & Distributors, New Delhi.
* Reddy, P. Krishna Mohan. 2001. "Maritime Trade of Early South India: New Archaeological Evidences from Motupalli, Andhra Pradesh." ''East and West'' Vol. 51 – Nos. 1–2 (June 2001), pp.&nbsp;143–156.
* {{cite book|first=Rama Sankar|last=Tripathi|year=1967|title=History of Ancient India|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publications|location=India|isbn=81-208-0018-4}}
* {{cite book|first=K. A. Nilakanta|last=Sastri|title=The Pandyan Kingdom: From the Earliest Times to the Sixteenth Century}}
* {{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}} Issue 92 of Tamil_p Palkalaik Kal_aka ve?iyi?u
* {{cite book|author=Banarsi Prasad Saksena|author-link=Banarsi Prasad Saksena|chapter=The Khaljis: Alauddin Khalji|editor=Mohammad Habib and Khaliq Ahmad Nizami|title=A Comprehensive History of India: The Delhi Sultanate (A.D. 1206–1526)|volume=5|edition=Second|year=1992|publisher=The Indian History Congress / People's Publishing House|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_9cmAQAAMAAJ|oclc=31870180}}
* {{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}}
* {{cite book|editor=Noboru Karashima|title=A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fpdVoAEACAAJ|year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-809977-2}}
* {{cite book|author=Romila Thapar|title=The Penguin History of Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gyiqZKDlSBMC|year=2003|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-302989-2}}
* {{cite book|author=Peter Jackson|author-link=Peter Jackson (historian)|title=The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lt2tqOpVRKgC&pg=PA174|year=2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-54329-3}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* {{commons category-inline|Pandyan Dynasty}}

{{Pandya dynasty}}
{{Tribes and kingdoms of the Mahabharata}}
{{Middle kingdoms of India}}
{{Jaffna kingdom}}

[[Category:Pandyan dynasty| ]]
[[Category:1st-millennium BC establishments in India]]
[[Category:Former monarchies of India]]
[[Category:History of Tiruchirappalli]]
[[Category:Pandyan Empire]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1345]]
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[[Category:Tamil history]]
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