Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I

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 II 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 two centuries was declining. The last king of the Later Cholas, Rajendra Chola III reigned over a crumbling empire beset with rebellion and increasing external influence from Hoysalas and Kadavas. 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 the throne in 1251. ==Military Conquests==

The Koyilolugu, a record of gifts made to the Ranganatha temple at Srirangam, gives us a glimpse into the extensive military expeditions and the wealth of the treasury of Jatavarman Sundara Pandya. Here he styles himself : Wars against Cheras and Cholas Sundara Pandyan I launched his initial campaign against the Chera, then under the rule of Viraravi Udaya Marthandavarman. The Pandyan forces decisively defeated the Chera army, culminating in the death of the Chera monarch on the battlefield. Following this victory, Sundara Pandyan redirected his military focus towards the Cholas. In the ensuing conflict, Rajendra Chola III was vanquished and compelled to acknowledge Pandyan overlordship, marking a significant shift in the balance of power in Tamilagam. Wars against Hoysalas Sundara Pandyan extended his military campaign into the Hoysala dominions along the banks of the river Kaveri, where he successfully seized their southern capital, Kannanur Koppam near Srirangam. The incursion resulted in the death of several prominent Hoysala generals, including Singana, and yielded substantial spoils—horses, elephants, and a considerable cache of gold and treasure. The advance was eventually halted when King Someshwara retreated into his core territories. However, Someshwara's subsequent counteroffensive in 1262 aimed at reclaiming Pandyan lands, ended in failure and his own death, further consolidating Pandyan supremacy in the region. Jatavarman Veera Pandyan I became the governor of the captured territories. The region remained under Pandyan rule till Veera Ballala III recaptured the territory towards the end of the 13th century. Wars against Kadavas Sundara Pandyan besieged the city fortress of Sendamangalam and fought with the Kadava king Kopperunchinga 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 the Kadavas and Hoysalas. Invasion of Sri Lanka Responding to an appeal for help from a minister in Sri Lanka, Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan intervened in 1258 and made Chandrabhanu of Tambralinga, a Savakan usurper of the Jaffna kingdom 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 lieutenant 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, Konamalai. Chandrabhanu's son Savakanmaindan 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 punish the Jaffna monarch for stopping the annual tributes he owed to his Pandyan overlords. The minister in charge of his invasion, Kulasekara Cinkaiariyan, an Aryachakravarthi, was installed as the new king of the island's north. The Aryacakravarti dynasty line of Jaffna rule thus began. ==Patronage of temples==

Sundara Pandyan used the wealth he gained from his victories to fund the restoration of the Shiva temple in Chidambaram and the Vishnu temple in Srirangam. For gilding the roofs of these two temples he was given the title of "pon veindha perumal"(). He also issued grants to temples in Trichy, Thanjavur and Kanchipuram. He built a temple at Aragalur (Magadai Mandalam) 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. He gilded the gopuram, and placed the gilded Kalasam atop the Ananda Nilayam vimana of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple. In 1263 CE, he renovated the gopuram of Koneswaram temple 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 Meikeerthi praises him as "the conqueror of Kongu Nadu and Eelam; the conqueror of the Ganges and Kaveri; Vanquisher of Hoysala; Subjugator of Kadava Kopperunchingan I; The one who paid victory tribute and bravery tribute at Chidambaram; The ruler of three worlds". (). ==Death and succession==

Sundara Pandyan I was succeeded by Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I in 1268 and died in 1271. == Footnotes ==