Koon Pandiyan ("The hunch-backed Pandyan") (Tamil: கூன் பாண்டியன்) was the nickname of a king who ruled

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 ...

around 7th century. Some historians identify him with the

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 ...

king Arikesari Parankusa Maravarman. He converted from

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...

Shaivism Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Para Brahman, supreme being. It is the Hinduism#Demographics, second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million H ...

, converted under the influence of

Sambandar Sambandar (Tamil language, Tamil: சம்பந்தர், Romanization, romanized: ''Campantar''), also referred to as Thirugnana Sambandar (Tamil language, Tamil: திருஞானசம்பந்தர், Romanization, romanized: ...

. According to a

Shaivite Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the supreme being. It is the second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million Hindus, found widely across South Asia (predominantly in ...

legend, after his conversion, he ordered a

massacre A massacre is an event of killing people who are not engaged in hostilities or are defenseless. It is generally used to describe a targeted killing of civilians Glossary of French words and expressions in English#En masse, en masse by an armed ...

of 8000 Jains in

Samanatham Samanatham is a panchayat village in the Madurai district of Tamil Nadu, India. It comes under the Thiruparankundram block."Sama Natham" a corrupt version of 'Samanar Rattham' or 'blood of Jains' is situated about six kilometers away from Madur ...

. Sambandar is said to have cured his hunched back, after which he was known as ''Sundara Pandya'' ("Beautiful Pandyan").

Conversion to Shaivism

In the 7th century,

was one of the major religions in

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

. Koon Pandian had embraced Jainism from

, but his wife,

Mangayarkkarasiyar Mangayarkkarasiyar (Tamil:மங்கையர்க்கரசியார்) was one of the 63 Nayanmars or holy Saivite saints who are revered in South India. She is one among the only three women who attained this distinction. Her devotio ...

, and his minister,

Kulachirai Nayanar Kulachirai Nayanar was a minister of the Pandyan king, Koon Pandyan, and one of the 63 Nayanars mentioned in the ''Periya Puranam''. Birth and Life Kulachirai Nayanar was born into a noble family in Manamelkudi in the Pandyan Kingdom. He bec ...

, were both Shaivites. When the king suffered from

boil A boil, also called a furuncle, is a deep folliculitis, which is an infection of the hair follicle. It is most commonly caused by infection by the bacterium ''Staphylococcus aureus'', resulting in a painful swollen area on the skin caused by ...

s and incurable fever, the two invited the Shaivite saint,

, to Madurai. Sambandar is said to have cured his fever and his hunched back. After this, the king became a Shaivite, and several of his subjects converted to Shaivism during his rule. The Tamil poet

Sekkizhar Sēkkilān Mādēvadigal Rāmadēva (12th century CE), known popularly by his family name as Sekkizhar, was a saint and a contemporary of Kulottunga Chola II. He compiled and wrote the ''Periya Puranam'' (Great Story or Narrative) in 4253 vers ...

honoured Koon Pandiyan, Kulachirai and Mangaiarkkarasi by naming them among the 63

Nayanars The Nayanars (or Nayanmars; , and later 'teachers of Shiva') were a group of 63 Tamils, Tamil Hindu saints living during the 6th to 8th centuries CE who were devoted to the Hindu god Shiva. Along with the Alvars, their contemporaries who were de ...

in ''

Periya Puranam The ''Periya‌ Purāṇa‌m'' (Tamil: பெரிய‌ புராண‌ம்), that is, the ''great purana'' or epic, sometimes called ''Tiruttontarpuranam'' ("Tiru-Thondar-Puranam", the Purana of the Holy Devotees), is a Tamil poet ...

''. According to a Shaivite legend, when the Jains in

refused to convert to Shaivism, the king ordered their killings with the consent of Sambandar. Around 8,000 Jains were said to have been killed by

impalement Impalement, as a method of torture and execution, is the penetrating trauma, penetration of a human by an object such as a stake, pole, spear, or hook, often by the complete or partial perforation of the torso. It was particularly used in respon ...

in which the victims were forcefully put over sharp, tall, conical structures in sitting posture. However, this legend is not found in any Jain text and is believed to be a fabrication made up by the Shaivites to prove their dominance.

Legacy

Koon Pandiyan is said to have died without a legitimate heir, and after his death, a number of claimants fought with each other to control the kingdom.

References

{{Authority control Pandyan kings Nayanars Pandyan poets