Arikesari Maravarman (''r. c.'' 640–690 CE), also known as Parankusa, was a Pandya king of early medieval south India. Arikesari's reign witnessed the beginning of the Pandya contest with the

Pallavas The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The dynasty rose to prominence after the downfall of the Satavahana dynasty, with whom they had formerly served as ...

in the northern Tamil country. He probably entered into an alliance with

Chalukyas The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynast ...

(to the counter the

). The Pandyas also came into collision with the Cheras ("Keralas") under his rule.

Period

Arikesari Maravarman was the successor of Seliyan Sendan (Jayantavarman), but it is not known for certain if he was Jayantavarman's son or not (most probably his son). * K. A. Nilakanta Sastri (the first assumption) - c. 670–710 CE * K. A. Nilakanta Sastri (revised date) - c. 670–700 CE * T. V. Sadasiva Pandarathar - c. 640–670 CE * Noburu Karashima - c. 650–700 CE (or) c. 670–700 CE * V. Vedachalam & A. Kalavathi - c. 640–690 CE He was succeeded by his son Kocchadaiyan Ranadhira.

Names

In the

Velvikkudi Grant The Velvikudi inscription is an 8th-century bilingual copper-plate grant from the Pandya kingdom of southern India. Inscribed in Tamil and Sanskrit languages, it records the renewal of a grant of the Velvikudi village to a brahmana by the Pan ...

and the Smaller Sinnamanur Plates, his name appears as "Arikesari Maravarman". In the Larger Sinnamanur Plates, he is called "Arikesari Parankusa".

Life and career

Velvikkudi Grant

The reign of Arikesari Maravarman probably saw a significant increase in the Pandya political power and prestige. According to the

, Arikesari Maravarman won battles at Pali, Nelveli, and Uraiyur. In Nelveli, he is said to have conquered the vast forces of certain Vilveli. The victory at Nelveli is confirmed by the Larger Sinnamanur Plates. Except Uraiyur (

Tiruchirappalli Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bei ...

), the identity of these places is not certain. E. Hultzsch tentatively identified Nelveli with modern

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tam ...

, but K. A. N. Sastri disagreed with this identification.

Larger Sinnamanur Plates.

The Larger Sinnamanur Plates states that Arikesari "Parankusa" won battles at Nelveli and Sankaramangai. The inscription further states that he ruined the Paravars (people on the south-east coast of the Pandya country) who did not submit to him and destroyed the people of Kurunadu. According to one theory, "Kurunattar" refers to people of Kurunadu (an unidentified place); another possibility is that the term refers to petty chieftains. Arikesari is also said to have defeated an unspecified enemy at Sennilam, which may refer to a particular place or is a generic term for "Red (Bloody) Battlefield". Finally, the inscription states that he defeated the Keralas (the Cheras) multiple times, and once imprisoned their king with his near relatives and warriors.

Role in the Chalukya-Pallava conflict

Arikesari Maravarman seems to have joined with the

in their struggle against the

. Early in the rule of Pallava king Parameswara I, Chalukya Vikramadtiya I advanced south and even displaced the Pallava from his capital Kanchi. The Chalukya then advanced further south to the

Kaveri River The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu dis ...

and encamped at Uraiyur (where he probably effected a junction with Arikesari Maravarman).

Literary sources

Commentary to the ''Iraiyanar Ahapporul'' mentions a king named Arikesari, with titles Parakusan and Nedumaran among others. The commentary also mention several battles, at Pali, Sennilam and Nelveli and at Vizhinjam, some of which the scholars do not read in epigraphy till late 8th century. Based on this, historian Venkayya assumed that the two rulers are identical. However, K. A. N. Sastri rejected this identification on the basis that "a rhetorical work like this took for its hero a saintly king of legendary fame, and attributed to him all the achievements of the Pandyan lines of kings that the author could think of his day".

Religion

Arikesari is known to have performed the ''

Hiranyagarbha Hiraṇyagarbha (Sanskrit: हिरण्यगर्भः ; literally the 'golden womb', poetically translated as 'universal womb') is the source of the creation of universe or the manifested cosmos in Vedic philosophy. It finds mention in on ...

'' and ''

Tulabhara Tulabhara, also known as Tula-purusha ( IAST: Tulāpuruṣa) or Tula-dana, is an ancient Hindu practice in which a person is weighed against a commodity (such as gold, grain, fruits or other objects), and the equivalent weight of that commodity i ...

'' rituals (a number of times).

Identification with Nedumaran

Arikesari Maravarman is sometimes identified with Pandya king Nedumaran or Kuna Pandya, who converted from

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or ''dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global po ...

under the influence of the Bhakti saint

Sambandar Sambandar ( Tamil: சம்பந்தர்), also referred to as Tirugnana Sambandar (lit. ''Holy Sage Sambandar''), Tirujnanasambanda, Campantar or Jñāṉacampantar, was a Shaiva poet-saint of Tamil Nadu who lived sometime in the 7th ce ...

. Kun Pandya was thence regarded as a saint himself. The legend is considered as an expression of the historical consciousness (signifying the loss of Jain political influence in the Tamil country). According to this legend, Kun Pandya had married the

Chola The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century B ...

princess Mangayarkkarasi.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{Authority control Pandyan kings 7th-century Indian monarchs Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 8th-century Indian monarchs