kingdom · South Asia

Early Pandyas

400 BCE – 300 CE (approx.) · capital Madurai

The Pandya kings of Madurai in the Sangam age, masters of the pearl fisheries of the far south and patrons of early Tamil poetry.

Origins

The Pandyas were one of the three crowned dynasties of ancient Tamilakam, with the Cheras and the Cholas. Megasthenes heard of them around 300 BCE, and Ashoka's edicts in the 3rd century BCE name the Pandyas as independent neighbours beyond his empire. Their heartland was the Vaigai valley around Madurai and the coast near Korkai.

Rule and society

Pandya wealth came from pearls and conch shells from the Gulf of Mannar, traded with the Roman world through ports such as Korkai, and from rice farming. Tamil tradition places the Sangam literary academies at Madurai under Pandya patronage, and Sangam poems praise kings such as Nedunjeliyan, victor at the battle of Talaiyalanganam over the Cheras and Cholas. Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions record gifts to Jain monks.

Decline and legacy

Around the 3rd century the Pandyas, like their neighbours, were displaced by the Kalabhra dynasty, whose rule is poorly documented. The dynasty revived in the late 6th century as the First Pandyan Empire under Kadungon.

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Early Pandyas. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/early-pandyas
MLA
“Early Pandyas.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/early-pandyas. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Early Pandyas.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/early-pandyas.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Early Pandyas’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/early-pandyas (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻