Jatavarman Sundar Pandya I - a heroic conqueror
Jatavarman Sundar Pandya I was born to Maravarman Sundar Pandya II in Madurai. He ascended the throne probably in 1250 CE and ruled the Pandya dynasty till 1268 CE. Jatavarman Sundar Pandya I ruled almost the whole of the area extending from Kanyakumari in the south up to Nellore and Cuddapah districts in the north. During that time, the practice of shared rule was prevalent in the Pandyan kingdom. Jatavarman Sundar Pandya I shared his rule with Maravarman Vikkiraman II and Jatavarman Veera Pandya I.
CONQUESTS OF JATAVARMAN SUNDARA PANDYA I
Jatavarman Sundar Pandya I was a ruler full of courage, grit and determination. He was very interested in conquering territories and expanding his kingdom. As a result, he is remembered as one of the greatest rulers of South India and Pandyan Empire.
The first kingdom that was invaded and conquered by him was the Chera kingdom which was under the rule of Viraravi Udaya Marthandavarman at that time. In the battle that followed, the Chera king was killed.
The next kingdom that faced his wrath was the Chola kingdom. Rajendra Chola III was the current ruler who was ruling over a crumbled and sunken empire that was facing its downfall. Unable to withstand the rising tide of the victorious Pandyas, he was defeated and later accepted Pandyan suzerainty.
The powerful Hoysala kingdom along the banks of river Kaveri and the fortress of Kannanur Koppam were the next target of the Pandyas. The Hoysala dominions were invaded and several generals were killed. The entire territory was looted and plundered and a great amount of wealth, horses and elephants was taken away. The Hoysala king Someshwara withdrew into his kingdom. He later attempted to invade the Pandyan kingdom which resulted in his defeat and death.
The Kadava king Kopperunjinga II was also defeated by Jatavarman Sundara Pandya I. The fortress of Sendamangalam was occupied but later the throne was restored to Kopperunjinga II after he accepted the Pandya sovereignty. The Magadai and Kongu empires were also conquered during the invasion of the Kadavas. Later after the submission of Kopperunjinga II, Jatavarman Sundara Pandya, I turned his attention towards the north of the empire. He led an expedition and killed the Telugu ruler Vijayagandagopala leading to the capture of Kanchipuram in 1258 CE. However, this resulted in direct conflict between the Pandyas and the Kakatiyas under Ganapati II who defeated Kopperunjinga II and recaptured territories up to Kanchipuram.
A major and significant achievement of Jatavarman Sundara Pandya I was the invasion of Sri Lankan island in response to an appeal for help from a minister in Sri Lanka that was under the rule of King Parakramabahu II against Chandrabhanu of Tambralinga. The armies under Jatavarman Sundara Pandya defeated and killed a Sri Lankan prince and a son of Chandrabhanu submitted to the Pandyan forces and agreed to offer precious jewels, horses and elephants as tribute annually. Later Chandrabhanu tried to invade the Pandyan Empire but was defeated and killed by the Pandyan army.
CONSTRUCTION OF TEMPLES
Jatavarman Sundara Pandya I got several temples constructed with the huge wealth that he got from his expeditions. He revamped the Shiva temple in Chidambaram and the Vishnu temple in Srirangam. Large grants were offered to the temples of Trichy, Tanjore and Kanchipuram. A temple at Aragalur was built by him and a gate of Sri Ranganathswamy temple was erected on which he got the names of the Cholas, Pallavas, Pandyas and Cheras engraved. The east tower of Meenakshi temple was built during his rule and a gold-plated kalasha was placed on top of the gopuram of Ananda Nilayam Vimana of Thirumala Venkateshwara temple in Tirupati.
Jatavarman Sundara Pandya I was given the titles like Emmandalamum Kondaruliya Pandiya, Tribhuvana Chakravarthy, Ponveintha Perumal and Hemchandana Raja. He was succeeded by his son Maravarman Kulasekhara Pandya I in 1268 CE and died around 1271 CE.
