Indian Antiquary Vol 43

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 37

FEBRUARY, 1914.] THE HISTORY OF THE NAIK KINGDOM OF MADURA
to have joined the Pandya king."95 Mr. G. Rao surmises that, in return for this invaluable service, the Påndyas apparently left "the Madura country in charge of their new ally the Vânakõvaraiyan"; and "changed their capital from Madura to Tinnevelly."
Bana Chiefs of Madura 1400 to 1550. In the paucity of Paidyan inscriptions in the 15th century in Madura and in the frequency of Vâna inscriptions, he finds unmistakable proofs of his theory. "We see from about S. 1375 (1453 A.D.), inscriptions of the Mâvalivânada Râyars, of whom one Urangâvillidan Mâvalivânadarayan calls the country his own. The next person of this dynasty appear's to be one Sundarattóludaiyân Mâvalivînadarayan, the son of Tirumalirunjôlai, MaraliVânadarayan. It seems to me that the Mavalivânadarayars of the Pand. Chron. must refer to these kings. Gopinatha Rao further says that the second of these two chiefs, who bore a few of the Vijayanagar birudâs and lived about S. 1398 (1475 A. D.), must have been the opponent of Narasa Naik during his reputed invasion of the Pâudyan kingdom some time about this date. “Either97 the Mávalivânarlarâyan was defeated by the Vijayanagar general and then dubbed himself with the Vijayanagar birudás, or he defeated the latter and assumed, as the conqueror, the Vijayanagar birudas; which of these was the case, it is not easy to say in our present state of knowledge of the history of that period. But that the chieftains of this family held or were suffered to hold the Madura country under them is certain. For inscriptions of a second Sundarathôludayan Mavalivânadarayan are found in several places, such as Tirupallani, Alagar Kôil, Kalayaros Koil etc., till so late a period as S. 1468 (1545 A.D.)." It will be thus perceived that, whatever might be the case of Kalayar Somanar and Anjatha Perumal, the other two Mâvalivanas of the Pandyan chronicle are historical figures ; and it is not improbable that the Pandyan that made grants in the Conjeevaram temple was a Mâvalivâna Raya, who, unable to endure the overbearing nature of the Saļuvas, rose against them and marched as far as Conjeevaram, but only to be beaten and driven by Saluva Narasingha and his general Narasa Näik.
Their relations to the Pandyans of Tenkasi. The Paidyas of the Vijayanagar period, then, confined themselves, if we are to depend mainly on inscription lore, to the Tinnevelly district. They still of course had claims over Madura as the Vânadarayas were originally their allies and later their vassals. But they did not directly rule the Madura country. In Tinnevelly, they distinguished themselves as great builders and rulers from the middle of the 14th century to the end of the first quarter of the 17th century. The researches of scholars have elucidated and defined the history of the various sovereigns of the line. Bishop Caldwell, the foremost authority on the history of
* See Ep. Ind. XI, p. 240 footnote 6. It will be seen from this that Måravarman Sundara Pandya I (1216-35) is stylod 'Vanada Rayan'; whilo Jatâverman Sundara Pandya I, had an officer named Vikrama Paudya Vanada Rayan. Vanada Rdya thus became the title both of the Pandyan king and his nobles.
For one such inscription see Trav. Arch. Series, 46. It belongs to the Mah nantapa of the Ånda temple at Srivilliputtar. Insc. 113 and 121 of 1903 are other examples.
Or, as Vonkaiyah says, perhaps he helped "the contemporaneous Pandyan princes Sri Vallabha and Kulasekhara to set up a show of Pandya sovereignty." Ep. Ind. XI, p. 240 ; Ep. Rep. 1908-9, para. 32 and 1909-10, para 38.
08 Madr. En. Rep.. 1903, p. 18 and 19. Nos. 585 and 587 of 1902 which are in the Alagar temple say that in 1630 (Manmatha, which is wrong) and Hevilambi (this is also wrong) ho made gifts of land.
99 Ep. Rep. 1907, p. 84, para 57. The inscription is in the Ekambaranátha temple. "It is not unlikely that he (the Pandya) took advantage of the weakness of the central Government at Vijayanagara and ocoupiod Conjeevaram for a short time."