Civil war between Vira Pandya and Sundar Pandya
The last days of Maravarman Kulasekara I were spent in despair. He had two sons of whom the elder Jatavarman Veera Pandya II was an illegitimate son and the younger Jatavarman Sundara Pandya III was born of a queen of Maravarman Kulasekara I. According to the Muslim historian Wassaf, Maravarman Kulasekara I was more inclined towards Jatavarman Veera Pandya II and thus appointed him as his co-regent in 1295-96 CE while the same responsibility was given to Jatavarman Sundara Pandya III later in 1303 CE. Considering the discriminatory behaviour of his father, Jatavarman Sundara Pandya III killed his father Maravarman Kulasekara I in 1308 CE and assumed the Pandya throne. However the civilians and the ministers of Maravarman Kulasekara I were not satisfied and thus sided with Jatavarman Veera Pandya II. Thus started the succession war between the Pandya brothers in 1308 CE and lasted till 1323 CE.
EVENTS
The first battle was fought in Talchi. However, it was inconclusive. In the second battle that was fought, Jatavarman Veera Pandya II defeated Jatavarman Sundara Pandya III. At the same time, the Delhi sultanate ruler Alauddin Khalji of the Khalji dynasty sent an army under Malik Kafur to invade the southern kingdoms of Dwarasamudra and Madurai. After subjugating the Hoysalas, Malik Kafur turned his attention towards the Pandyas.
Malik Kafur started his march towards the Pandya kingdom on 10 March 1311 CE. The contemporary writer Amir Khusro states that the Pandya territory was protected by a high mountain with two passes on either side of the mountain. After passing through these the Delhi army reached Birdhul, the headquarters of Jatavarman Veera Pandya II. Due to the ongoing civil war both the brothers could not offer much resistance to the forces. Later Jatavarman Veera Pandya II fled to the forests and Malik Kafur decided to drop the plan of chasing him. After this, Malik Kafur reached Madurai, the capital of Jatavarman Sundara Pandya III, but he had already fled the city with his queens. The Delhi army could not subjugate the Pandya kingdom but they obtained huge plunder including elephants, horses, gold and precious stones.
AFTERMATH
After the departure of Malik Kafur, the Pandya brothers resumed their conflict, resulting in the defeat of Jatavarman Sundara Pandya III. He later sought the help of Alauddin Khalji and was able to re-establish his rule in the South Arcot region. Later the Delhi general Khusro Khan raided the Pandya territories and the northern part of the Pandya kingdom came under Muslim rule while the Southernmost part remained independent.
