Tag: history

The Cheras drew upon Sanskritic traditions. The first literary works in Malayalam, dated to about the twelfth century, are directly indebted to Sanskrit. Interestingly enough, a fourteenth-century text, the Lilatilakam, dealing with grammar and poetics, was composed in Manipravalam literally, diamonds and corals referring to the two languages, Sanskrit, and the regional language.

The Cheras drew upon Sanskritic traditions. The first literary works in Malayalam, dated to about the twelfth century, are directly indebted to Sanskrit.

The rulers of Chera kingdom of Mahodayapuram introduced the Malayalam language and script in their inscriptions. In fact, this is one of the earliest examples of the use of a regional language in official records in the subcontinent.

The famous and important ruler of Cheras was Senguttuvan, who is the hero of a famous Tamil Epic Silapathikaram. Senguttuvan is best known for sending the first embassy to China from South India.

After Vijayalaya Chola conquered Thanjavur by defeating the Muttarayar chieftains who were part of Pandya family tree around 850, the Pandyas went into a period of decline. 
They were constantly harassing their Chola overlords by occupying their territories. Parantaka I invaded the Pandya territories and defeated Rajasimha III. However, the Pandyas did not wholly submit to the Cholas despite the loss of power, territory and prestige. They tried to forge various alliances with the Cheras and the Kings of Lanka and tried to engage the Cholas in war to free themselves from Chola supremacy. But right from the times of Parantaka I to the early 12th century up to the times of Kulottunga Chola I the Pandyas could not overpower the Cholas who right from 880-1215 remained the most powerful empire spread over South India, Deccan and the Eastern and Western Coast of India during this period.

After the death of the king Maravarman Kulashekhara, his sons Vira and Sundara fought a war of succession for control of the kingdom. Malik Kafur marched to the Pandya territory in March 1311. His army raided a number of places in the kingdom, massacring people and destroying temples. The Pandya brothers fled their headquarters, and Kafur pursued them unsuccessfully, hoping to make one of them a tributary to the Delhi Sultan Alauddin Khalji. Nevertheless, the invaders obtained a large number of treasures, elephants and horses. After Kafur's departure, Vira and Sundara resumed their conflict. Sundara Pandya was defeated and sought help from the Delhi Sultanate. With their help, he regained control of the South Arcot region by 1314. 
Subsequently, this there were two other expeditions from the Khalji Sultanate in 1314 led by Khusro Khan and in 1323 by Ulugh Khan under Sultan Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq. These invasions shattered the Pandyan empire beyond revival. While the previous invasions were content with plunder, Ulugh Khan annexed the former Pandyan dominions to the Delhi Sultanate.

Kayalpatnam (aka Kayalpattinam), or Korkai is a town in the Tuticorin district of Tamil Nadu, India. Kayal is referred to in Marco Polo's travel diaries dating to 1250 AD. Kayal was an ancient port dating to the 1st centuries of the Christian era and was contemporaneous to the existence of Kollam, another Pandyan port.

There were three separate invasions in a span of 15 years. The first was led by Malik Kafur, under orders from the Sultan Alauddin Khilji, in 1311 CE where he sacked the city of Madurai. The second invasion of Madurai was led by Khusrau Khan and the third, by Ulugh Khan; both under Ghiyasuddin Tughluq.

It is known that the Pandya rulers initially followed Jainism for a short period of time in history. After the decline of the Kalabhra rule, Hinduism was once again revived and Buddhism and Jainism began to decline. The Pandyan kings had patronized Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Jainism.