The Dawn of Pandya Dominance: A Reassessment of the Strategic Significance of the Battle of Talaiyalanganam

http://www.shanlaxjournals.com 159 £UP® Shanlax International Journal of Arts, Science and Humanities The Dawn of Pandya Dominance: A Reassessment of the Strategic Significance of the Battle of Talaiyalanganam Kavitha K PhD Research Scholar, Reg.No: 21211171092004 PG and Research Department of History Rani Anna Government College for Women, Tirunelveli Affiliated with Mononmaniam Sundarnar University, Tirunelveli Dr. P. Leela Moni (Supervisor), Assistant Professor, Department of History Sree Ayyappa College for Women, Chunkankadai Affiliated with Mononmaniam Sundarnar University, Tirunelveli Dr. A. Vanaja (Joint-Supervisor), Associate Professor PG and Research Department of History Rani Anna Government College for Women, Tirunelveli Affiliated with Mononmaniam Sundarnar University, Tirunelveli Abstract The Pandiyan King NedunChezhyan II, known as the victor of the pivotal Battle of Talaiyalanganam, is a towering figure in the Sangam Age of South Indian history. His existence and deeds are primarily documented through the rich Sangam Tamil literature, notably the lengthy poem Madurai Kanchi and some verses from Purananooru, which celebrate his victory over large confederacy that includes the Cheras and the Cholas. Keywords: Nedun Chezhiyan II Talaiyalanganam, Madurai Kanchi, Purananooru, Undefeated King Objective To elevate the historical and political importance of the Battle of Talaiyalanganam beyond a simple military victory. Methodology The study has used a ‘Source-Critical and Comparative Analysis’ focused on the strategic significance of the Battle of Talaiyalanganam. Hence forth, I have acquired and examined specific Sangam texts, specifically, Madurai kaanchi and Puranaanooru and whatever works that spoke about the battle, King Nedun Chezhiyan’s life, and the prosperity of Madurai. And also, the facts that have collected from the Sangam texts were cross-referred with established historical works and non-literary evidences to confirm its chronology and territorial claims. Hypothesis The Battle of Talaiyalanganam was not merely a significant victory but also it was a decisive political turning point that initiated a temporary period of Pandyan ©»º: 13 ]Ó¨¤uÌ: 2 ©õu®: ö\¨h®£º Á¸h®: 2025 P-ISSN: 2321-788X E-ISSN: 2582-0397 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/ zenodo.17339555 160 £UP® kupah fiy kw;Wk; mwptpay; (kfspu;) fy;Y}up> jpUney;Ntyp gz;ila tuyhWk; jkpou; gz;ghLk; hegemony over the other two Moovendar in the late Sangam Age, leading to the cultural and economic centralization in the ancient Tamil Country. Tamil Sangam – The Guardian of South Indian History Ever since the history of India was began to get reconstructed, the historians, especially the Northern and Foreign Historians vehemently avoiding the historical importance of the South. They consider that there is only very less known history in south India and they didn’t care about properly documenting it. On the other hand, they consider that the South Indian History “must have been similar to that of the North”. (1) Unlike the proposals of those historic writers, History of South is rich, full of heritage, and highly admirable with power, valour, and holistic richness. Nagendra Nath Ghosh, Head of the Department of History f Allahabad University, states that Pallavas “…. Played an important part in the history of the South for about 600 years we have little reliable information”. (2) But, the Pandyas, The Cholas and the Cheras have ruled the Tamil Land long before the Pandyas. As they were not familiar with the language, they simply consider it irrelevant. The early history of South India was hiding beneath the poetic verses of Sangam literature. (3) The period assigned to Sangam era is 300 BCE to 300 CE on the basis of literary, numismatical, and epigraphical evidences. (4) The Pandyas were the most ancient rulers of ancient Tamil country, and their dynasty was the oldest among the other two prominent dynasties (Chola & Chera) in the southern India, and the Pallavas were came last in the act. In ancient Tamil country, the title ‘Vendar’ is only assigned to the Chera, the Chola, and the Pandya lineage alone. (5) The fair governance of the King, their warship, administration, justice patterns, donations were all enclosed in the Sangam literature. (6) Pandiyan Nedun Chezhiyan II Korkai, one of the famous early port-city of Tamil Country, was the capital of the early Pandyas. (7) The origin of the early Pandya rulers is not easy to determine as they ruled over the land from a very early period of time. (8) The Pandyas were the highly praised rulers in the Sangam literature. (9) Though the Pandya dynasty attained its zenith under the reign of Maravarman Sundara Pandiyan I (1216-1238) (10) and Jatavarman Sundara Pandiyan I (1251-1268) (11), the seed of these successes was sowed way far before by a young Pandiyan prince named Nedun Chezhiyan the Second. The Mangulam inscription of Madurai states Nedun Chezhian I made stone bed for Jain monks at 3rd century BCE, and by this inscription, Pandiyan Nedun Chezhiyan I is the oldest known ruler of the Tamil Country. (12) The relationship between Nedun Chezhiyan I and Nedun Chezhiyan II was not found, they have a few centuries gap in between which makes them definitely not a father and son. Though Nedun Chezhiyan II was the descendent of Nedun Chezhiyan I, he is not a direct descendent, As Nedun Chezhiyan II defeated the successor of Chera Chenguttuvan, which definitely makes him from the period within 3rd to 7th century CE. (13) The parents, the predecessor and the successor of this king was unknown. The Sangam poet Maangudi Maruthanaar in his Maduraikkaanchi describes the frontiers of the Second Pandiyan Nedun Chenzhiyan. As per his depiction, the area above the Kumari point in the south, Venkada Hills in the North, and both the east and west covered by seas was the vast Pandya country ruled by Nedun Chezhiyan II. (14) Madurai Kanchi also states that the Madurai Country holds with itslef all the five landscapes of sangam literature – Kurinji, Mullai, Marudham , Neithal, and Paalai. I®£õÀ vøn²[ PÂÛ ¯ø©Áµ (15) Another Sangam poet Idaikkuntoor Kizhaar in Purananooru portrays the appearance of Nedun Chezhiyan the second on the battlefield. His head was shaved and wore Neem flowers that represents his clan and also wore Uzhinjai flower that represents war against thy enemy country. (16) He still wore the Thali that wore by the young boys that represents childhood. QsQo PøÍ¢u PõÀ Ks PÇÀöuõmkU, Skª PøÍ¢u ~uÀ÷Á®¤ß Jsuκ ö|k[öPõi EÈøb¨ £Áöµõk ªø»¢x, http://www.shanlaxjournals.com 161 £UP® Shanlax International Journal of Arts, Science and Humanities SÖ¢öuõi PÈzuøPa \õ£® £ØÔ, ö|k¢÷uºU öPõig] ö£õ¼¯ {ß÷Óõß ¯õºöPõÀ? ÁõÌP, AÁß Pso! uõº§sk, uõ¼ PøÍ¢ußÖ® C»÷Ú; (17) These verses from Madurai Kanchi and Purananooru establishes that NedunChezhiyan II was a young boy who bravely defend and fought for kingdom in the battlefield with all the valour and courage of the King. Battle of Talaiyalanganam One of the famous Sangam work Purananooru that only holds the poem of war, kingship and bravery mentions the name of Nedun Chezhiyan II as Paandiyan Thalaiyalangaanathu Cheruventra NedunChezhiyan, which directly translates into the winner of the battle of Thalaiyalanganam Pandiyan Nedun Chezhiyan. Thalaiyalanganam is a historic battlefield and this battlefield is also known as Thalayamangalam which is Alangaanam of Thiruvarur district at present. (18) The soldiers of Nedun Chezhiyan II were madly in love with wars, they had never truned their back on the war field. (19) Having ‘Maaran’ as his general, he defeated all his enemies, said Maangudi Maruthanaar. ö£¸®ö£¯º ©õÓß uø»Á ÚõPU Ph¢uk Áõ´ÁõÒ CÍ®£À ÷Põ\º (20) Before leaving the palace to wage war, NedunCheziyan the second took a breathtaking oath that portrays his war demeanour. The oath goes on like – ‘May I reach the point where my citizens are denied the benefits of good governance, leading them to condemn me, saying, My sovereign is cruel, and may the assembly of poets, led by Maanguḍi Marudhan, refuse to sing my praises, and furthermore, may I suffer in poverty, lacking the means to provide aid to those who seek my help when even their own protectors are enduring hardship.’ ]Öö\õÀ ö\õÀ¼¯ ]Ú[öPÊ ÷Á¢uøµ A¸g\©g ]øu¯z uõUQ, •µ\ö©õk J¸[S AP¨ £÷hGß B°ß; ö£õ¸¢v¯ Gß {ÇÀ ÁõÌ|º ö\ßÛÇÀ Põnõx, öPõi¯ßG® CøÓ GÚU Pspº £µ¨¤U, Si£È yØÖ® ÷Põ÷»ß BSP! K[Q¯ ]Ó¨¤ß E¯º¢u ÷PÒ ©õ[Si ©¸uß uø»Áß BP, E»Pö©õk {ø»C¯ £»º¦PÌ ]Ó¨¤ß ¦»Áº £õhõx ÁøµP, Gß {»Áøµ; ¦µ¨÷£õº ¦ßPs Tµ, Cµ¨÷£õºUS D¯õ Cßø© ¯õß EÓ÷Á. (21) In the battle of Talaiyalanganam, totally seven rulers made alliance to defeat the young NedunChezhiyan II, they are Maantharan Cheral Irumporai, Cholan Perunarkilli, Thithiyan, Ezhini, Erumaiyuran, Irungkovel and Perunan. Their objectivewas to capitalize on NedunChezhiyan II’s recent ascent to the throne and annex his vast kingdom. They marched towards the Pandiyan territory with a huge combined army. In return, NedunChezhiyan II took the famous oath mentioned above. (22) NedunCheziyan II was mostly engaged in wars against his enemies. At least ten battles have been recorded in Sangam literature in his name and he gain victory in all those wars. His most famous battle was the battle of Talaiyalanganam. In this battle, he killed all his enemies including the Chera and the Chola king and the five chieftains. (23) The killing of seven kings was confirmed by Idaikuntoor Kizhar in Purananooru. (24) Legacy The poems of Purananooru depicts the king as young lad who fierce fully defeated his foes in numerous battlefields. On the other hand, Madurai Kanchi didn’t mention his as a young boy but as an adult who slept with his women and enjoys all the pleasures. Henceforth, there would be a time lapse between both of work. Some scholars such as Thenkasi Subramaniam mentions Nedunelvadai is the couplet of Madurai Kanchi as the latter sung about the King in battlefield, the earlier spoke about the loneliness of queen in her palace. Anyhow, Pandiyan NedunChezhiyan the Second is one of the most undefeated early rulers of ancient Tamil Country. The only backlash of his contributions is that he is lacking any archaeological evidence such as inscriptions and numismatics, his existence and victories were only proven in the sangam literature. 162 £UP® kupah fiy kw;Wk; mwptpay; (kfspu;) fy;Y}up> jpUney;Ntyp gz;ila tuyhWk; jkpou; gz;ghLk; To conclude, the bravery of Pandiyan NedunChezhiyan II from his young age was noteworthy and his contributions in early Tamil political history is appreciable but lacking of materialistic evidences holding him backwards in the frontline of historical significance. Works Cited 1. Tales of early India. Tales of early India from early time to Harsha. London : Thomas Nelson and Sons, Ltd. p. 143. 2. Ghosh, Nagendra Nath. Early History of India. 2. Allahabad : The Indian Press, Ltd, 1948. p. 362. 3. Sastri, K. A. Neelakanda. A History of South India: From Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar. Delhi : Oxford University Press, 1955. pp. 110-112. 4. Jesudasan, S. Dennis. Keezhadi excavations: Sangam era older than previously thought, finds study. The Hindu. [Online] The Hindu, 20 September 2019. [Cited: 25 Septmeber 2025.] https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/ tamil-nadu/keeladi-findings-traceable-to-6thcentury-bce-report/article29461583.ece. 0971751. 5. Noboru Karashima (ed). A Concise History of South India - Issues and Interpretations. New Delhi : Oxford University Press, 2014. p. 53. 6. Balasubramanyam, S.R. Middle Chola Temples Rajaraja I to Kulottunga I (A.D. 985-1070). Haryana: Thomson Presss (India) Limited, 1975. p. 57. 7. Gurukkal, Rajan. Classical Indo-Roman Trade - A Misnomer in Political Economy. Economic & Political Weekly . [Online] Economic & Political Weekly Journal , Vol. 48, Issue 2627, 29 June 2013. [Cited: 29 September 2025.] https://www.epw.in/journal/2013/26-27/ special-articles/classical-indo-roman-trade. html. 2349-8846. 8. Ibid. 9. Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Pandya dynasty. Britannica. [Online] Encyclopaedia Britannica, 21 September 2017. [Cited: 29 Seotember 2025.] https://www.britannica.com/ topic/Pandya-dynasty. 10. Sethuraman, N. The Imperial Pandyas: mathematics Reconstructs the Chronology. s.l.: N. Sethuraman, 1978. p. 124. 11. Sewell, Robert. Historical Inscriptions of Southern India. Madras: s.n., 1932. p. 149. 12. Mangulam, Department of Archaeology, Government of Tamil Nadu. http://www.tnarch. gov.in/excavation/Mangulam.htm. 13. Mendis, G. C. The Early History of Ceylon and Its Relations with India and Other Foreign Countries. India: Asian Educational Service, 1996. p. 45. 14. Maangudi Marudhanaar. Madurai Kanchi. 7074. 15. Ibid. 326. 16. Puratthinai – Uzhinjai : öÁm] {øµ PÁºuÀ; «mhÀ Pµ¢øu¯õ® ÁmPõº ÷©À ö\ÀÁx Ág]; EmPõx GvºFßÓÀ Põg]; G°ÀPõzuÀ ö|õa] Ax ÁøÍzuÀ BS® EÈøb & Avµ¨ ö£õ¸Áx x®ø£¯õ®; ÷£õºUPÍzx ªU÷Põº ö\¸ öÁßÓx ÁõøP¯õ® 17. Idaikkuntoor Kizhaar. Purananooru. 77. 18. Shanmugam, Prem Senthil. Thalaiyaalagaanathu Seruvendra Pandyan Nedunchezhian: Battle, Battles and the Thalaiyalangaanam Battle. Tamil Culture. [Online] 6 November 2018. [Cited: 29 September 2025.] https://www. tamilculture.com/thalaiyaalagaanathu-seruvendra-pandyan-nedunchezhian-battle-battles-and-the-thalaiyalangaanam-battle-part-ii. 19. Maangudi Marudhanaar. Madurai Kanchi. Op.cit. 725-727. 20. Ibid. 772-773. 21. Purananooru. 72. 22. L. George Hart; Heifetz Hank (trans). The Four Hundred Songs of War and Wisdom: An Anthology of Poems from Classical Tamil, the Purananuru. New York : Univeristy Press, 1999. pp. 135-136. 23. Shanmugam, Prem Senthil. Op.cit. 24. Idaikkuntoor Kizhaar. Purananooru. 76.