kingdom · South Asia

First Pandyan Empire

590 CE – 920 CE (approx.) · capital Madurai

The revived Pandya kingdom of Madurai, which drove out the Kalabhras and dominated the far south for three centuries.

Origins

Around 590 the Pandya king Kadungon overthrew the Kalabhra dynasty in the Madurai region, reviving the line of the Early Pandyas. His successors expanded into the Kaveri delta and the Kongu country, competing with the Pallava dynasty and the Chalukyas of Badami.

Arikesari Maravarman, according to Shaiva tradition, was converted from Jainism by the saint Sambandar, and the Bhakti movement of the Nayanars and Alvars flourished under Pandya patronage. The Velvikudi copper plates of Jatila Parantaka Nedunjadaiyan trace the dynasty's history in Sanskrit and Tamil. Pandya kings issued land grants, built rock-cut temples and controlled the pearl fisheries. Srimara Srivallabha invaded Sri Lanka and sacked Anuradhapura in the 9th century.

Varaguna II was defeated at Sripurambiyam around 885 by the Pallavas and their allies. Around 920 Parantaka I of the Chola Empire defeated Rajasimha III, who fled to Sri Lanka. The Pandyas survived as Chola vassals and later revived again in the 13th century.

Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). First Pandyan Empire. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/first-pandyan-empire
MLA: “First Pandyan Empire.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/first-pandyan-empire. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “First Pandyan Empire.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/first-pandyan-empire.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘First Pandyan Empire’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/first-pandyan-empire (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻