Early Pandyan Kingdom
The Early Pandyas of the Sangam period were one of the three main kingdoms of the ancient Tamil country, the other two being the Cholas, and Cheras Dynasty. As with many other kingdoms around this period (earlier than 200 BCE), most of the information about the Early Pandyas come to modern historians mainly through literary sources and some epigraphic, archaeological and numismatic evidence. The capital of the Early Pandyan kingdom was initially Korkai, Thoothukudi and was later moved to Koodal (now Madurai) during the reign of Nedunjeliyan I. The kingdom lay to the south of the Maurya Empire of India. The kings of the Pandyan Dynasty are frequently mentioned in Sangam literature of the third century BCE and onwards, in literary works such as the Mathuraikkanci and other early Tamil literary works such as Cilapatikaram, which have been used by historians to identify their names and, to some extent, their genealogy. Nedunjeliyan II is referred to as the most popular warrior among the Early Pandyas, winning a battle at Talaialanganam against a coalition of forces from Cholas and Cheras and five other kingdoms. The early Pandyan kingdom extended between Travancore in the west, Vellaru river in the north and all the way to the ocean in the east and the south. The Early Pandyas had active maritime trade relationships with the west, a fact testified by western classical writers such as Pliny the Elder (1st century CE), Strabo, Ptolemy and the author of the Periplus. The Pandyan country was well known for pearl fishery, with Korkai being the principal center of the trade. Some of the exports were pearls, spices, ivory and shells, while the imports included horses, gold, glass and wine. Origin and sources The origin of the word "Pandya" has been a subject of much speculation. Historians have used several sources to identify the origins of the Early Pandyan dynasty with the pre-Christian Era and also to piece together the names of the Pandyan kings. Unfortunately, the exact genealogy of these kings has not been authoritatively established yet. One theory is that the word Pandya is derived from the Tamil word "Pandi" meaning bull. Ancient Tamils, considered the bull as a sign of masculinity and valor. Pandya became the epithet of the first Pandyan king of Thenmadurai (lit. south Mathurai), Kulasekharan Pandya as he was built like a bull. It was used as an epithet of masculinity. His son, the second king of Thenmadurai, the legendary Malayadhwaja Pandya who sided with the Pandavas and took part in the Kurukshetra battle is described as follows in Karna Parva (verse 20.25). Malayadhwaja Pandya and his queen Kanchanamala had one daughter Thathagai alias Meenakshi who succeeded her father and ruled the kingdom successfully. The Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple was built after her. The city of Madurai was built around this temple. Yet another theory suggests that in Sangam Tamil lexicon, the word Pandya means old country in contrast with Chola meaning new country, Chera meaning hill country and Pallava meaning branch