Jayantavarman (''r. c''. 654–670 CE), known in Tamil as Seliyan Sendan,(Tamil:செழியன் சேந்தன்) was a

Pandya 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 ...

ruler of early historic south India. He is best known for extending the Pandya rule to the Chera country (

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

). He was succeeded by his son Maravarman Arikesari Parankusan.

Names

Jayantavarman (of the Smaller Sinnamanur Plates) is described as Seliyan Sendan in the Velvikkudi Grant. Sendan is the Tamil form of the Sanskrit name "Jayantan". The Velvikkudi Grant uses the Chera title "Vanavan" for Sendan. This probably signifies his victory over a Chera king (or the extension of the Pandya rule to the Chera country).

Dates

* K. A. Nilakanta Sastri (the first assumption) — c. 645–670 CE * K. A. Nilakanta Sastri (revised date) — c. 654–670 CE * T. V. Sadasiva Pandarathar — c. 600–625 CE. * K. V. Raman — ascension year = 653 CE. * Noboru Karashima — c. 620–650 CE (or) c. 654–670 CE

Life and career

Jayantavarman was the son and successor of Maravarman Avanisulamani. T. V. S. Pandarathar identified him as the king who ruled in

Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...

, when the Chinese traveler

Xuanzang Xuanzang (; ; 6 April 6025 February 664), born Chen Hui or Chen Yi (), also known by his Sanskrit Dharma name Mokṣadeva, was a 7th-century Chinese Bhikkhu, Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making ...

visited

Kanchipuram Kanchipuram (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: '; ), also known as Kanjeevaram, is a stand alone city corporation, satellite nodal city of Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, from ...

. The rock-cut cave temple at Malaiyadikurichi in Tirunelveli district is ascribed to Jayantavarman's reign. This inscription is dated to the 17th regnal year of "Maran Sendan", and states that the cave was excavated by an officer under the royal order. It was discovered in 1959, and is written in mixed Tamil Brahmi and

Vatteluttu ''Vatteluttu'' (, ' and , ', ), also transliterated as ''Vattezhuthu'', was an alphasyllabic or syllabic writing system of south India (Tamil Nadu and Kerala) and Sri Lanka formerly employed for writing the Tamil language, Tamil and Malayalam ...

. Another inscription ascribed to Jayantavarman was discovered in Vaigai riverbed at

by a washerman, who used it for washing clothes. K. V. Raman noticed it in 1961. This inscription is dated to the 50th regnal year of "Sendan". The Sanskrit portion of this script is written in

Grantha script The Grantha script (; ; ) is a classical South Indian Brahmic script, found particularly in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Originating from the Pallava script, the Grantha script is related to Tamil and Vatteluttu scripts. The modern Malayalam script ...

, while the Tamil portion is written in Vatteluttu script. According to this record, Sendan performed several charitable donations ('' maha-dana'') including ''

hiranyagarbha Hiranyagarbha (, , poetically translated as 'universal womb') is the source of the creation of the universe or the manifested cosmos in Vedic philosophy. It finds mention in one hymn of the Rigveda ( RV 10.121), known as the Hiraṇyagarbha ...

'' and '' tulabhara''. He commissioned a

sluice A sluice ( ) is a water channel containing a sluice gate, a type of lock to manage the water flow and water level. There are various types of sluice gates, including flap sluice gates and fan gates. Different depths are calculated when design s ...

to the Vaigai river, and named it ''Arikesariyan'' (apparently after his heir-apparent Arikesari). He also founded the city of Mangalapura. The Velvikkudi Grant states that Ko Chadaiyan Ranadhira, a later Pandya king, attacked and defeated certain ''maharatha''s (warriors?) at the city of Mangalapura. Historians generally tend to identify Mangalapura with present-day

Mangalore Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the st ...

. K. V. Raman identifies Mangalapura with modern Mangalam, located on the northern bank of the Kollidam River in

Tiruchirappalli district Tiruchirappalli District is one of the 38 districts, located along the Kaveri River, in Tamil Nadu, India. The headquarters of the district is the city of Tiruchirappalli. During the British Raj, the district was referred to as Trichinopoly, ...

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * {{Authority control Pandyan kings 7th-century Indian monarchs