{"id":339835,"date":"2025-06-09T16:13:19","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T10:43:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=339835"},"modified":"2025-06-15T18:28:24","modified_gmt":"2025-06-15T12:58:24","slug":"pandyan-dynasty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/pandyan-dynasty\/","title":{"rendered":"Pandyan Dynasty"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>News:<\/strong> An 800-year-old Shiva temple of the <strong>later Pandya period<\/strong> has been unearthed at Udampatti, a village in Melur taluk, Madurai district, Tamil Nadu.<\/p>\n<h2>About Pandyan Dynasty<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_339837\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-339837\" style=\"width: 375px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-339837\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Source-The-Hindu.png?resize=375%2C331&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"375\" height=\"331\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Source-The-Hindu.png?resize=300%2C265&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Source-The-Hindu.png?resize=768%2C679&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Source-The-Hindu.png?w=846&amp;ssl=1 846w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 375px) 100vw, 375px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-339837\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source &#8211; The Hindu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li>It was one of the <strong>three main lineages (Muvendars) from the southern part of the country (along with Cheras and Cholas)<\/strong>, developed during the <strong>Sangam Age<\/strong>.\n<ul>\n<li>The term <strong>Muvendar<\/strong> refers to a Tamil word meaning <strong>three chiefs<\/strong>, used for the heads of three ruling families, the <strong>Cholas, Cheras, and Pandyas<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Origin (Early Pandyan Dynasty)<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The Pandyas established their dynastic rule in southern Tamil Nadu by the <strong>end of the sixth century CE after Kalabhras.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Decline:<\/strong> <strong>Chola king Parantaka I<\/strong> defeated the Pandya King <strong>Rajasimha II<\/strong> and that led to the decline of the Pandya empire.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>The Re-Rise of Pandyas (Later Pandyan Dynasty)<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>After the decline of the Cholas, the Pandya kingdom became the leading Tamil dynasty in the <strong>thirteenth century.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Illustrious rulers:<\/strong> The illustrious ruler of the second Pandya kingdom was <strong>Sadaiyavarman Sundarapandyan (1251-1268),<\/strong> who not only brought the entire Tamil Nadu under his rule but also exercised his authority up to Nellore in Andhra.\n<ul>\n<li>After Sundarapandyan, <strong>Maravarman Kulasekharan<\/strong> ruled successfully for a period of <strong>40 years,<\/strong> giving the country peace and prosperity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Decline:<\/strong> It was <strong>Malik Kafur\u2019s invasion<\/strong> that finally led to the division and downfall of the Pandya empire.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Administration<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The territory of Pandyas is called <strong>Pandymandalam<\/strong>, <strong>Thenmandalam or Pandynadu<\/strong>, which lay in the rocky, hilly regions and mountain ranges <strong>except<\/strong> the areas fed by the rivers <strong>Vaigai and Tamiraparni.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Capital<\/strong>: Pandya kings preferred <strong>Madurai<\/strong> as their capital.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Political division<\/strong>: Pandy Mandalam or Pandy Nadu consisted of many <strong>valanadus<\/strong>, which, in turn, were divided into many <strong>nadus and kurrams<\/strong> (meaning <strong>group of villages<\/strong>).<\/li>\n<li>Kings and local chiefs created <strong>Brahmin settlements called Mangalam or Chaturvedimangalam<\/strong> with irrigation facilities.\n<ul>\n<li>These settlements were <strong>given royal names and names of the deities.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Royal officials were called by different names:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>prime minister<\/strong> was called <strong>Uttaramantri<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The <strong>royal secretariat<\/strong> was known as <strong>Eluttu Mandapam<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The titles of <strong>military commanders<\/strong> were Palli Velan, Parantakan Pallivelan, Maran Adittan and Tennavan Tamizhavel.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Port<\/strong>: The <strong>busiest port town<\/strong> under the Pandyas was <strong>Kayalpattinam<\/strong> (now in <strong>Thoothukudi<\/strong> district).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Social and Political Aspects<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Royal palaces<\/strong> were called <strong>Tirumaligai and Manaparanan Tirumaligai<\/strong> during the Pandya reign and the <strong>royal couches<\/strong> they used were named after the local chiefs, which attested to the legitimacy of the overlordship of the kings<\/li>\n<li><strong>The political division of land was as follows:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The land assigned to <strong>Brahmins<\/strong> was <strong>Salabogam<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The land assigned to <strong>Ironsmiths<\/strong> was called <strong>Tattarkani<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The land assigned to <strong>Carpenters<\/strong> was known as <strong>Taccu-maniyam<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The land donated to the <strong>Brahmin group for imparting education<\/strong> was called <strong>Bhattavriutti<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"811\">\n<h2>About findings:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>inscriptions<\/strong> on the <strong>culvert of the Shiva temple<\/strong> are significant as they reveal that the temple had been <strong>financially independent<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;\">Dating:<\/strong><span style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;\"> It can be dated to <\/span><strong style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;\">1217-1218 CE<\/strong><span style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;\">, during the reign of <\/span><strong style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;\">Maravarman Sundara Pandya.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The inscriptions say the name of the <strong style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;\">village was Attur<\/strong><span style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;\"> and the temple was called <\/span><strong style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;\">Thennavanisvaram<\/strong><span style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;\">.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><strong style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;\">Thennavan<\/strong><span style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;\"> is actually a <\/span><strong style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;\">title used by the Pandyas.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>These inscriptions reveal the ancient name of <strong style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;\">Udampatti<\/strong><span style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;\">, which was then called Attur, and also the <\/span><strong style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;\">socio-economic dynamics<\/strong><span style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;\"> that were at play during the later Pandya period.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>News: An 800-year-old Shiva temple of the later Pandya period has been unearthed at Udampatti, a village in Melur taluk, Madurai district, Tamil Nadu. About Pandyan Dynasty It was one of the three main lineages (Muvendars) from the southern part of the country (along with Cheras and Cholas), developed during the Sangam Age. The term&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/pandyan-dynasty\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Pandyan Dynasty<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10393,"featured_media":339837,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1566,11212,12039],"tags":[11872],"class_list":["post-339835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-factly-articles","category-history-and-art-culture-in-news","category-knolls","tag-9pm-daily-factly","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Source-The-Hindu.png?fit=846%2C748&ssl=1","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10393"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=339835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339835\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/339837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=339835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=339835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=339835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}