History of Pandyas, Cholas and Pallavas

Southern parts of India have had many great dynasties which are ancient. The region in and around Tamil Nadu has references of empires from even 4th century BCE, as mentioned by Greek authors.

The Pandya dynasty is the first of the three major rulings of areas in Tamil Nadu, the other two being the Cholas and the Pallavas.

 

 

The Pandya dynasty’s origin dates are unknown but they were well spread to even be received by the Roman emperor Julian in 361 BCE. The dynasty was revived under Kadungon in the early 7th century CE and continued to be ruled from Madura (now Madurai) till the 16th century. The people shifted from being Jains to being Shaivas.

The rule was extensive and included territories of the Chera, the Chola country and also Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Their rule was at its pinnacle from 12th to the 14th century under the “Five Pandyas”. The dynasty gradually weakened due to Muslim invasions and family feuds that led to the loss of the region of the Cheras (Kerala) and all territories passed to other hands by the mid-16th century.

The Chola dynasty antedates the early Sangam poems in 200 CE. Its origin is from the Kaveri River valley, with Uraiyur (Tiruchichirappalli) as its oldest capital. Their kings had alternate titles of Parakesharivarman and Rajakesharivarman, and their chronology is quite difficult to grasp. Vijayalaya reigned during 850-870 and he brought the Pallavas under their control. It was Parantaka I (reign 870-907) who was responsible for destroying Madurai, the capital of the Pandyas. He even defeated the Sinhalese invaders and united the empires of Chola and Pandyas between 926-942.

 

 

Rajaraja I (reign 985-1014) occupied the Gangavali territory (of today’s Karnataka), the Chera country and northern Sri Lanka. The battles with the Pandyas, Cheras and Chalukyas began again under the rule of Rajadhiraja and continued under Virarajendra’s reign but his death enabled the Chalukyas to take over control. 

 

These regions under Chalukya’s rule questioned their rights to freedom. They believed their rightful king to be from the Pandyas from about 1166. Sri Lanka was able to gain independence by then. From 1216, the Hoysala kings obtained the lands and continued to rule. They intervened in the upheaval that led to the Pandya conquest of the Chola country in 1257. The Chola dynasty finally ended in 1279.

 

 

The Pallava dynasty which lasted from the early 4th century to late 9th century CE had its territories across the Deccan, Andhra and to Kanchi (Kanchipuram in modern Tamil Nadu). Their origin is unknown and the first mentions of this dynasty are in the Prakrit records. It mentions King Vishnugopal to be defeated and liberated by Samudra Gupta, the emperor of Magadha, about the middle of the 4th century. Another later Pallava king, Simhavarman, is mentioned in the Sanskrit Lokavibhaga as reigning from 436 CE.

 

 

The Pallavas practised Buddhism, Jainism and Brahminical faith. They were patrons of music, painting and literature. Even today one can see their great architecture in the Shore Temple and Varaha Caves.

The latter was also designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984. Mahendravarman I (reign 600-630 CE) is seen as the greatest contributor of the Pallava dynasty with ornate monuments in Mamallapuram.

The Pallavas were in constant battles with the Chalukyas. When the Chalukya dynasty was defeated by the Cholas, the Pallava dominions passed to Chola kings in 880 and ended the Pallava dynasty.