Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan
Encyclopedia
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
between 1250–1268 CE. Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I is remembered for his patronage of the arts and Dravidian architecture, paying attention to the refurbishment and decoration of Kovils in the Tamil continent. He oversaw the massive economic growth of the Pandyan kingdom. On the eve of his death in 1268, the second Pandyan empire's power and territorial extent had risen to its zenith.
Accession
Sundara Pandyan I acceded to the Pandyan throne in the year 1251 CE. During the middle part of the 13th century, Pandya kingdom was ruled by many princes of the royal line. This practice of shared rule with one prince asserting primacy was common in the Pandyan Kingdom. The other princes of the Pandyan royal family with whom Sundara Pandyan I shared his rule were Maravarman Vikkiraman IIMaravarman Vikkiraman II
Maravarman Vikkiraman II was a Pandyan king, who ruled regions of South India between 1250–1251 CE.- Shared Rule :Maravarman Vikkiraman II was one of many Pandyan princes who ruled Pandyan kingdom in the middle part of the 13th Century. This practice of shared rule with one prince asserting...
and his brother Jatavarman Veera Pandyan I.
Historical background
By the middle of the 13th century, the Chola dynasty which had dominated Southern India over the past three centuries was in its last throes. The last king of the Later Cholas, Rajendra Chola IIIRajendra Chola III
Rajendra Chola III was the son of Rajaraja Chola III who came to the Chola throne in 1246 CE. Although his father Rajaraja III was still alive, Rajendra began to take effective control over the administration...
reigned over a crumbling empire beset with rebellion and increasing external influence from Hoysalas and Kadava
Kadava
Kadava was the name of a Tamil ruling dynasty who ruled parts of the Tamil country during the thirteenth and the fourteenth century CE. Kadavas were related to the Pallava dynasty and ruled from Kudalur near Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu.The Kadava kingdom was at the height of their power briefly...
s. Previous rulers of the Pandyan kingdom like Maravarman Sundara Pandyan I had succeeded in overthrowing Chola hegemony. The Hoysala dominance over the Tamil Kingdoms had also waned by the time Sundara Pandyan I took power in 1251 AD.
Wars against Cheras and Cholas
Sundara Pandyan I first invaded and ravaged the CheraChera dynasty
Chera Dynasty in South India is one of the most ancient ruling dynasties in India. Together with the Cholas and the Pandyas, they formed the three principle warring Iron Age Tamil kingdoms in southern India...
country ruled by Viraravi Udaya Marthandavarman. The Chera army was destroyed and their king killed in battle. Next he turned his attention to Cholas. Rajendra Chola III
Rajendra Chola III
Rajendra Chola III was the son of Rajaraja Chola III who came to the Chola throne in 1246 CE. Although his father Rajaraja III was still alive, Rajendra began to take effective control over the administration...
was forced to submit and accept Pandyan suzerainty.
Wars against Hoysalas
He invaded Hoysala dominions along the river kaveri and captured the fortress of Kannanur Koppam. Several Hoysala generals including Singana were killed and great amount of loot was captured along with many horses,elephants and women. This invasion was stopped after SomeshwaraVira Someshwara
Vira Someshwara was a king of the Hoysala Empire. The preoccupation of Vira Narasimha II in the affairs of Tamil country resulted in neglect of northern territories and Vira Someshwara had to face Seuna incursion south of the Tungabhadra river....
withdrew into his kingdom. A later attempt by Someshwara
Vira Someshwara
Vira Someshwara was a king of the Hoysala Empire. The preoccupation of Vira Narasimha II in the affairs of Tamil country resulted in neglect of northern territories and Vira Someshwara had to face Seuna incursion south of the Tungabhadra river....
to invade Pandyan kingdom in 1262 ended in his defeat and death. The captured Kannada territories were entrusted to the governorship of Jatavarman Veera Pandyan I
Wars against Kadavas
Sundara Pandyan besieged the city fortress of SendamangalamSendamangalam
Sendamangalam is a panchayat town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of Sendamangalam Block in Namakkal District.-Geography:...
and defeated the Kadava
Kadava
Kadava was the name of a Tamil ruling dynasty who ruled parts of the Tamil country during the thirteenth and the fourteenth century CE. Kadavas were related to the Pallava dynasty and ruled from Kudalur near Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu.The Kadava kingdom was at the height of their power briefly...
king Kopperunchingan II. However he restored Kopperunchingan to his throne and gave him his country back. He also conquered Magadai and Kongu countries during his campaigns against Kadavas and Hoysalas
Invasion of Sri Lanka
Responding to an appeal for help from a minister in Sri LankaSri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan intervened in 1258 and made Chandrabhanu
Chandrabhanu
Chandrabhanu or Chandrabhanu Sridhamaraja was the King of the Malay state of Tambralinga in present day Thailand. A Savakan, he was known to have ruled from during the period of 1230 until 1263. He was also known for building a well-known Buddhist stupa in southern Thailand. He spent more than 30...
of Tambralinga
Tambralinga
Tambralinga was an ancient kingdom located on the Malay Peninsula that at one time came under the influence of Srivijaya. The name had been forgotten until scholars recognized Tambralinga as Nagara Sri Dharmaraja. Early records are scarce while estimations range from the seventh to fourteenth...
, a Savakan usurper of the Jaffna kingdom
Jaffna Kingdom
The Jaffna kingdom , also known as Kingdom of Aryacakravarti, of modern northern Sri Lanka was a historic monarchy that came into existence around the town of Jaffna on the Jaffna peninsula after the invasion of Magha, who is said to have been from Kalinga, in India...
submit to Pandyan rule and annually offer precious jewels and elephants in tribute. A second attempt by Chandrabhanu to invade the south of the island from the north prompted the Prince Jatavarman Veera Pandyan I, brother and leuitenant of Sundara Pandyan I to intervene again in 1262-1264 on Sundara Pandyan I's behalf. Chandrabhanu was killed in this conquest and the other king of the island was subjugated. Veera Pandyan I proceeded to plant the Pandyan bull victory flag at Koneswaram temple
Koneswaram temple
Koneswaram temple of Trincomalee is an Hindu temple in Trincomalee, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka venerated by Saivites throughout the continent...
, Konamalai. Chandrabhanu's son Savakanmaindan
Savakanmaindan
Savakanmaindan was a monarch of the kingdoms of Tambralinga and Jaffna. He was the son of the Savakan king Chandrabhanu of Tambralinga who usurped the Tamil throne in 1255...
was installed and submitted to Pandyan rule on the northern Tamil throne before he too was defeated upon Sundara Pandyan I's son Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I's, invasion in the late 1270s. Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I had succeeded his father as Lord Emperor of Pandyan following the latter's demise in 1268 and invaded to puinish the Jaffna monarch for stopping the annual tributes he owed Pandyan. The minister in charge of his invasion, Kulasekara Cinkaiariyan
Kulasekara Cinkaiariyan
Kulasekara Cinkaiariyan is considered to be the first of the Aryacakravarti dynasty kings to establish his rule over the Jaffna Kingdom in modern Sri Lanka...
, an Aryachakravarthi, was installed as the new king of the island's north. The Aryacakravarti dynasty line of Jaffna rule thus began.
Expedition to the North
After subduing the Kadava Kopperunchingan II, Sundara Pandyan led an expedition to the North. Pandyan forces killed the Telugu ruler Vijaya-Gandagopala and captured KanchipuramKanchipuram
Kanchipuram, or Kanchi, is a temple city and a municipality in Kanchipuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a temple town and the headquarters of Kanchipuram district...
in 1258 CE. This bought them in conflict with the Kakatiyas under Ganapati II. Sundara Pandiyan I defeated a Telugu army at Mudugur in the current Nellore district and performed a virabisheka to commemorate the end of his camapaign. However Ganapathi II later defeated Kopperunchingan II who was by then a Pandyan ally and recaptured territories up to Kanchipuram
Kanchipuram
Kanchipuram, or Kanchi, is a temple city and a municipality in Kanchipuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a temple town and the headquarters of Kanchipuram district...
. The Kadava Pallava Kopperinjungan II was followed by very weak successors and Sundara Pandyan annexed Kanchi, Nellore and Visayavadai (modern Vijayawada) regions to the Pandyan Kingdom.
Patronage of temples
Sundara Pandyan used the vast treasure he got out of his wars to beautify the Siva temple in ChidambaramChidambaram Temple
Thillai Natarajah Temple, Chidambaram is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva located in the town of Chidambaram, East-Central Tamil Nadu, South India. The temple is known as the foremost of all temples to Saivites and has influenced worship, architecture, sculpture and performance art for over two...
and the Vishnu temple in Srirangam. For gold plating the roofs of these two temples he was given the title of "pon veindha perumal".He also gave many grants to temples in Trichy, Thanjavur and Kanchipuram
Kanchipuram
Kanchipuram, or Kanchi, is a temple city and a municipality in Kanchipuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a temple town and the headquarters of Kanchipuram district...
. He built a temple at Aragalur
Aragalur
Aragalur is a village in Salem district, Tamil Nadu, India. It is about 6 km from Thalaivasal and 70 km from Salem.-Etymology:...
(Magadai Mandalam
Magadai
Magadai or Magadai Mandalam was a Tamil dynasty that flourished during the 13th and 14th centuries near the modern-day Aragalur. Aragalurudaiya Ponparappinan Rajarajadevan, alias Magadesan, was the Bana chief who ruled this region around 1197...
) for the merit of Kulasekara around 1259. He acknowledged the contributors of other dynasties to Tamil Nadu by building a gate at the Sri Ranganathaswami Temple at Srirangam in which he engraved the names of all the four great empires of Tamil Nadu namely the Cholas, Pallavas, Pandyas and the Cheras. He also built the East tower of the Madurai Meenakshi Temple
Meenakshi Amman Temple
Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple or Meenakshi Amman Temple or Tiru-alavai is a historic Hindu temple located in the south side of river Vaigai in the temple city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India...
. He gold plated and placed the gold gilded Kalasam atop the gopurum of the Ananda Nilayam
Ananda Nilayam
The glittering gold plated gopuram of the Sanctum Sanctorum of the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple is called Ananda Nilayam...
vimana of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple
Tirumala Venkateswara Temple
Tirumala Venkateswara Temple ), is a Hindu temple in the hill town of Tirumala, near Tirupati in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, South India. It is around from Chennai, from Hyderabad, and from Bangalore....
. In 1263 CE, he renovated the gopuram of Koneswaram temple
Koneswaram temple
Koneswaram temple of Trincomalee is an Hindu temple in Trincomalee, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka venerated by Saivites throughout the continent...
and his son Veera Pandyan implanted the Pandyan victory flag and insignia of a "Double Fish" emblem at Konamalai.
Titles
Having vanquished his neighbours Sundara Pandyan took the titles like "Emmandalamum Kondaruliya Pandiya", "Tribhuvana Chakravarthy", "Ponveintha Perumal",and "Hemachadana Raja". His MeikeerthiMeikeerthi
A Meikeerthi is the first section of Tamil inscriptions of grant issued by ancient Tamil kings of South India. Meikeerthis of various stone and metal inscriptions serve as important archaeological sources for determining Tamil History.-Description:...
praises him as "the conqueror of Kongu Nadu and Eelam; the conqueror of the Ganges and Kaveri; Vanquisher of Hoysala; Subjugator of Kadava
Kadava
Kadava was the name of a Tamil ruling dynasty who ruled parts of the Tamil country during the thirteenth and the fourteenth century CE. Kadavas were related to the Pallava dynasty and ruled from Kudalur near Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu.The Kadava kingdom was at the height of their power briefly...
Kopperunchingan I; The one who paid victory tribute and bravery tribute at Chidambaram; The ruler of three worlds "
.