About The Book
The Pandya dynasty was one of the oldest and most influential ruling dynasties of South India, primarily based in present-day Madurai. Their history dates back to at least the early centuries BCE, and they were active for many centuries, playing a vital role in the political, cultural, and economic life of the region. The Pandya kings were renowned for their patronage of Tamil literature, especially during the period of the Sangam Age, when poets and scholars flourished under royal support. They encouraged the growth of classical Tamil language and culture, leaving behind a rich literary heritage. Economically, the Pandyas benefited greatly from maritime trade. Their ports facilitated active commerce with regions such as Rome, Southeast Asia, and Sri Lanka. They exported pearls, spices, and textiles, which brought wealth and prosperity to their kingdom. The dynasty was also known for its military strength and frequent conflicts with neighbouring powers like the Cholas and Cheras. Despite periods of decline, the Pandyas experienced revivals and continued to influence South Indian history until the medieval period. Overall, the Pandya kings contributed significantly to the cultural and economic development of ancient India, leaving a lasting legacy in art, literature, and governance.
Introduction
In recent years there has been a considerable accession of fresh material for the study of South Indian History in general, and of the Pandyan kings in particular. But no attempt has been made till now to narrate the history of the Pandyas in a continuous sketch and on scientific lines. The period to be covered in this book ranges over several centuries and at every step we come across difficult questions that could be answered, if at all, only be a careful balancing of several rival points of view. The treatment of the subject must consequently be selective and such as to avoid fruitless controversy. We have no need to concern ourselves with general questions of the origin of the Dravidians and their culture." The student of Pandyan history is not directly concerned with the answers to questions like the following-who where the Tamils? Where they indigenous or foreign to the land where we find them in historical times? Did they come by land There is of course the valuable sketch of Mr. K. V. S. Aiyar in his Ancient Dekhan. A commendable attempt has recently been made by Pandit Harihara Aiyar of the Tirthapati High School, Ambasamudram, to present the story in Tamil in three small booklets. The old sketches of Wilson (J.R.A.S.), Nelson (Madura Country) and Sewell (Antiquities, vol. ii, are now much antiquated. The 'Dravidian problem has been much debated from various points of view in the pages of the Tamilian Antiquary (defunct). See also Caldwell, Comparative Grammar, Introduction; M. Srinivasa Aiyangar, Tamil Studies, Essays I-III; Slater, Dravidian Element in Indian Culture. Kanakasabhai, The Tamils 1800 Years Ago, pp. 49ff., makes several guesses that do not appear to have received confirmation. The main questions are were the pre-Aryans a homogeneous or composite race? Where they 'indigenous and aboriginal (Fergusson) or where they immigrants, wholly or in part, from elsewhere? The attempt to support the Lemurian theory from references to Tamil literature, e.g. S'ilappadi-karam, xi, 11. 18-20, cannot be considered satisfactory from the noth or the south, or by sea? But it is necessary for us to be clear in our minds about the relation in which Tamil culture stands to the culture of the rest of India, The question relates not so much to the extent of culture among the Tamils before the advent of Sanskrit influences as to whether the blending of Aryan with pre-Aryan culture was in essence a different process in the South from what it was in Northern India. The persistent independence of the Tamil idiom (and to a less degree of other Dravidian languages) in the face of Sanskrit, is in striking contrast with the almost total disappearance of non-Sanskritic vernaculars in the north of India. On the other hand we have at present no traces of any literary work in the Tamil language, however ancient, which does not betray Sanskrit influence to some extent. We may conclude that the results of Aryan penetration into the south were more cultural than racial and the pre-Aryan inhabitants survived the 'conquest' in sufficient strength to retain their own language and many of their old habits and methods of life, with the consequence, that the resulting culture was a real blend of the Aryan and Dravidian elements which shows several points of difference from the culture of the remaining parts of India which were more thoroughly Aryanized.¹ The sources of Pandyan history may now be considered. The value of indigenous literature for the historian of India has generally been somewhat underrated. There are, it is true, few professedly historical works of a contemporary character and for the most part we have to rely on casual references to historical events in works of general literature or to winnow a large mass of legend in search of a grain of fact. But with patience and care it may be found that See Tamil Studies, pp. 193-5; Kanakasabhai (p. 52) no doubt much overrated the attainments of Dravidians (and traced them to China!) while Caldwell (Comparative Grammar, (pp. 113-4) is nearer the truth. Dr. Slater's book on 'Dravidian Elements betrays many signs of an utter misreading of the story of Indian culture. The attempted reconstruc-tion of a Pre-Aryan Tamil Polity before the days of Agastya has not been a success. See, however, Senathi-Raja in J.R.A.S., 1887, 558 ff. and the Tamilian Antiquary, Also Mr. P. T. Srinivasa Aiyangar, Pre-Aryan Tamil Culture' in the Journal of Indian History.
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