Jatavarman Vira Pandyan II (also called Sadayavarman Vira Pandyan or Veera Pandyan) was a

Pandyan The Pandya dynasty (), also referred to as the Pandyas of Madurai, was an ancient Tamil dynasty of South India, and among the four great kingdoms of Tamilakam, the other three being the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Cheras. Existing sinc ...

Prince and co-King, who ruled regions of Tamilakkam, in southern

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, between 1253–1275 CE.

Shared Rule

Jatavarman Vira Pandiyan II was crowned between 22 and 27 June 1253. He was one of many Pandyan princes who ruled the Pandyan imperial kingdom in the middle part of the 13th century, adhering to a common practice of shared rule involving Princes in the Pandyan government and one King asserting primacy in the Pandyan Kingdom. Vira Pandyan was a brother, lieutenant and contemporary prince of the Lord Emperor

Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I Jatavarman Sundara I, also known as Sadayavarman Sundara Pandyan, was an emperor of the Pandyan dynasty who ruled regions of Tamilakam (present day South India), Northern Sri Lanka, and Southern Andhra between 1250–1268 CE.Sethuraman, p124 H ...

of the imperial Pandyas and Maravarman Vikkiraman II in his early years. He was also a contemporary of his nephew,

Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I () was a Pandyan emperor who ruled regions of South India between 1268–1308 CE, though history professor Sailendra Sen states he ruled until 1310. In 1279 CE, Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan ended the rule o ...

(1268–1308 CE), Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I's successor as Lord Emperor He got killed by Aditya Karikalan(Chola empire) (''Ellarkku Nayanar'' - Lord of All).

Conquests

In 1263, Vira Pandyan lead Sundara Pandyan I's armies conquered the

Jaffna kingdom The Jaffna kingdom (, ; 1215–1619 CE), also known as Kingdom of Aryachakravarti, was a historical kingdom of what today is northern Sri Lanka. It came into existence around the town of Jaffna on the Jaffna peninsula and was traditionally t ...

, repeating the victory of Sundara Pandyan I in 1258. Here he decisively defeated

Chandrabhanu Chandrabhanu (, ; died 1262) or Chandrabhanu Sridhamaraja was the King of Tambralinga Kingdom in present-day Thailand, Malaysia and Sumatra and the Jaffna Kingdom in northern Sri Lanka. A Javaka, he was known to have ruled from during the period ...

Tambralinga Tambralinga or Ho-ling was an Indianised Malay kingdom located on the Malay Peninsula (in modern-day Southern Thailand), existing at least from the 2nd to 13th centuries CE. It possibly was under the influence of Srivijaya for some time, but l ...

, a usurper of the island's northern Tamil throne, subjugated the other king of the island and proceeded to plant the Pandyan bull victory flag and Pandyan double fish carp insignia at Koneswaram temple, Konamalai and '' Trikutagiri''. Chandrabhanu's son

Savakanmaindan Savakanmaindan (or Savakan Maindan, Saavanmaindan and Javakanmaindan; died 1277) was a monarch of the kingdoms of Tambralinga and Jaffna. He was the son of the Savakan king Chandrabhanu of Tambralinga of the ''Padmavamsa'' (lotus dynasty), Captur ...

submitted to Pandyan rule in the Tamil country and was rewarded. He was allowed to retain control of the Jaffna kingdom while Sundara Pandyan I remained supreme Lord Emperor of Pandyan.

Marco Polo Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...

, upon his visit to Pandyan and Jaffna, described Sundara Pandyan's empire as the richest in the world, and Vira Pandyan as "one of five brother kings" in which Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I was the eldest.Aiyangar, P.65

References

{{reflist Pandyan kings Tamil history