Historical Sources from Pandiya Empire
History of the
second Pandya Empire can be written with the help of the relevant
source materials. Plenty of sources are available in this regard.
Velvikkudi plates, Seevaramangalam plates. Thalavaipuramplates and
chinnamanur plates peak about the war victories and administration
of the Pandya rulers. Inscriptions, Coins, monuments and the writings
of foreign travelers speak about the pandiya rulers and their achievements.
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| Inscriptions | |
Inscription excavated from
Chidambaram tells about the personal courage of the Pandya kings
in the battle fields and details about the places captured by the
Pandya rulers. Inscriptions of Pudukottai throw much light on the
judicial and revenue administration of the second Pandyas, Pudukkottai
inscriptions also tell about Kulasekara Pandya’s policies
towards land survey and taxation. Thiruvandipuram inscriptions explain
about the warfare of Maravarman Sundara Pandya. Srirangam inscriptions
tell about the victories of Pandya kings. Thirunelvei inscriptions
give the names and the titles of the Pandya kings. |
Inscriptions of the Cholas, Telugucholas, Kadavaraya, Sambuvarayar and Kakathiyas speak about the glory of the Pandya rule. More in formations are given about Mara Sundara Pandya I, in the inscriptions of Gudiyanmalai Rangamali, Thenkasi and Tiruvateswaram. Particularly Tirunelveli inscriptions speak about Maravarman Kulasekaran I victory over cheras and cholas. They also speak about the wealth that Maravarman had taken from cheras and cholas and used for the construction of the prakara of Thirunelveli Temple.
The informations of Maravarman can he obtained from the inscriptions of Achirupakkam. Chidambaram, Tirukkovilur.
Numismatics
The second Pandya Kings issued coins
with names and titles of the rulers. Coins bearing the name as Sonadukondan
belong to the period of Maravarman Sundara Pandya I. Sir Walter Elliot
writes about the Chola coins. Through these numismatic sources we come
to know about the economic condition of the Pandya period. Few gold coins
tell about the rulers of Pandya Kingdom. These coins have a fish or a
pair of fishes, the symbol of Pandya kingdom on one side. Names of the
Pandya kings are engraved on the other side of the coins. Many coins hear
the name Sundra Pandya. These coins talk about the conquests and defeats
of the Pandyas.
Monuments: The cave temples found in Tirumalaipuram, Tiruparankundram,
Anaimalai, Kundrakudi and Kalugumalai are the best monuments of the Pandyas
period. The Meenakshi temple in Madurai and the Aranganathar temple in
Srirangam are also the wonderful monuments, which show the architectural
and the sculptural talent of the Pandyas.
Foreign Sources
Foreign writers like Wassaf and Morcopolo
write interesting information about the rule of Pandya kings. The political
and economic conditions of Pandyas are described by these writers.
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