Maravarman Sundara Pandyan II () 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 ...

king, who ruled regions of

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 ...

between 1238–1251.Sethuraman, p124

Shared rule

Sundara Pandiyan II was one of two Pandyan princes who acceded to power in 1238 after Maravarman Sundara Pandyan I. He shared his rule with his elder brother Jatavarman Kulasekaran II for two years.Narasayya, p43 This practice of shared rule with one prince asserting primacy was common in the Pandyan Kingdom. His years of reign are unclear. While Indian historian K. A. Nilakanta Sastri mentions him as the Pandyan prince defeated by

Rajendra Chola III Rajendra Chola III (reigned 1246–1279) was the last Chola emperor, who reigned from 1246 until his death in 1279. Rajendra began to take effective control over the administration, and epigraphs of Rajendra Chola III indicate there was civil ...

around 1250,KA Nilakanta Sastri, p195. N. Sethuraman mentions another Pandyan prince - Jatavarman Vikkiraman I as the Pandyan ruler between 1241 and 1250.

Hoysala influence

This period was marked with increasing

Hoysala The Hoysala Kingdom was a kingdom originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka, India, Karnataka, parts of Tamilnadu and South-Western Telangana between the 11th and the 14th centuries Common Era, CE. The c ...

influence over the

Chola kingdom The Chola dynasty () was a Tamil dynasty originating from Southern India. At its height, it ruled over the Chola Empire, an expansive maritime empire. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd cent ...

under the rule of

Vira Someshwara Vira Someshwara () (1234–1263) was a king of the Hoysala Empire. The preoccupation of Vira Narasimha II in the affairs of Tamil country resulted in neglect of northern territories and he had to face Seuna incursions south of the Tungabhadr ...

. According to Sastri:

''Hoysala influence over the whole area of the Chola kingdom and even in the Pandya country increased steadily from about 1220 to 1245, a period which may be well described as that of Hoysala hegemony in the south.''

The Pandyan inscriptions of this period indicate tribute being paid to the

king. The ''kilacheval'' temple grants, ''Vira Somi Chathurvedimangalam'' land grants and the presence of a Hoysala general Appana Dandanayaka for settling disputes at Thirumayam all indicate Hoysala dominance over the Chola Country.Aiyangar, p.46

War with Cholas

Sundara Pandiyan II was attacked and defeated by the

around 1250. To prevent the complete revival of Chola power,

temporarily allied himself with the Pandyas

Notes

References

* * * * {{s-end Pandyan kings Tamil history Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown 13th-century Indian monarchs 13th-century Hindus