South India and her Muhammadan Invaders c11.9

Language: English

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The Pāṇḍya Fratricidal War.—It was already pointed out in a previous lecture that the Pāṇḍya who ruled almost up to the time of this invasion was Māravarman Kulaśēkhara I. He had two sons known to history; one of them, a ‘natural’ son Vīra Pāṇḍya, he associated with himself in the Government from A.D. 1296. The other, the ‘legitimate’ son Sundara Pāṇḍya attained to that dignity sometime in A.D. 1302. Both these princes, Vīra Pāṇḍya and Sundara Pāṇḍya, take the prefix Jaṭāvarman in inscriptions, and should not be confounded with others of the name but with a different prefix. This difference of treatment between the two sons may have been due merely to a difference of age or ability. According to one authority Sundara Pāṇḍya was the elder; Amir Khusru makes him younger; but both of them Wassaf and Amir Khusru, agree that Sundara Pāṇḍya was ‘the legitimate’ and Vīra Pāṇḍya perhaps an ‘illegitimate’ son of the ruler for the time being. The preference given to Vīra Pāṇḍya either by advancing him to the position of co-regency, or because sometime about A.D. 1311 Kulaśēkhara, almost at the close of his life, actually ordered the succession in favour of Vīra Pāṇḍya, Sundara Pāṇḍya felt so far discontented as to assassinate his father and actually take possession of the throne. Vīra Pāṇḍya soon after attacked him and drove him out of Madura.

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Sundara Pāṇḍya thus driven from the throne looked out for help and sought the assistance of the Sultan of Delhi either at head-quarters directly, or with the Naib of the Sultan, Malik Kafur, who was then in the South. Sundara’s appeal gave the occasion for interference, if such an occasion were necessary for Malik Kafur at all. This is the trend of events described by Wassaf in relation to the fratricidal war in the Pāṇḍya country. Kales Dewar, Kulaśēkhara Dēva, was a highly prosperous monarch whose rule extended over ‘forty and odd’ years, ‘during which time neither any foreign enemy entered his country, nor any severe malady confined him to bed.’ He had accumulated much wealth during this long reign so that he had in the ‘treasury of the city of Mardi’ (Madura) 1,200 crores of gold not counting the accumulation of precious stones ‘such as pearls, rubies, turquoises, and emeralds.’ ‘This fortunate and happy sovereign had two sons, the elder named Sundar Pandi, who was legitimate, his mother being joined to the Dewar by lawful marriage, and the younger named Tira Pandi, was illegitimate, his mother being one of the mistresses, who continually attended the king in his banquet of pleasure.’ ‘As Tira Pandi was remarkable for his shrewdness and intrepidity, the ruler nominated him as his successor. His brother Sundar Pandi being enraged at this supersession killed his father in a moment of rashness and undutifulness, towards the close of the year A.H. 709 (A.D.

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1310), and placed the crown on his head in the city of Mardi (Madura). He induced the troops who were there to support his interests, and conveyed some of the royal treasures, which were deposited there to the city of Mankul.'¹ Then there was a war between the brothers and a battle is said to have taken place, 'on the margin of a lake which, in their language, they call Talachi.' Both the brothers fled away from the field, each ignorant of the fate of the other; 'but Tira Pandi being unfortunate, (tira bakht), and having been wounded, fell into the hands of the enemy, and seven elephant loads of the gold also fell to the army of Sundar Pandi.' Vīra Pāṇḍya, however, according to this authority obtained the assistance of 'Manar Barmul, the son of the daughter of Kales Dewar, who espoused the cause of the Tira Pandi, being at the time at Karamhati, near Kalul.'² With this assistance Tira Pandi advanced to oppose him, at the head of his army 'in the middle of the year A.H. 710 (A.D. 1310).' 'Sundar Pandi, trembling and alarmed, fled from his native country, and took refuge under the protection of Alau-d-din of Delhi, and Tira Pandi became firmly established in his hereditary kingdom.' According to Wassaf's account therefore, Sundara Pāṇḍya found refuge in the court of Alau-d-din, and that gave the occasion for interference, if such an occasion were necessary for Malik Kafur who was already on this invasion.

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It is this state of affairs that Amir Khusru described when he states that ‘the two Rais of Ma’bar, the eldest named Bir Pāṇḍya, the youngest Sundara Pāṇḍya, who had up to that time continued on friendly terms, had advanced against each other with hostile intentions and that Bellal Deo, the Rai of Dhur Samundar, on learning this fact, had marched for the purpose of sacking their two empty cities, and plundering the merchants; but that, on hearing of the advance of the Muhammadan army, he had returned to his own country.’¹ On Wednesday, 18th of Shawwal, Malik Kafur set forward on his expedition to Ma’bar and arrived at the mountains which separate Ma’bar from the Hoysala country after five days. There were two passes through these mountains, which Amir Khusru calls ‘Sarmali and Tabar.’ After traversing the passes they arrived at night on the banks of the river ‘Kanobari’ and bivouacked for the night on the sands. They then set forward for ‘Bir Dhul’ and committed massacre and devastation all round it. The Rai Bir wished to seek security by fleeing ‘to his islands in the ocean.’ He was advised to seek protection on the land itself. He took a certain amount of treasure and property with him and fled for protection to ‘Kandur.’ Not finding it secure enough from the enemies he fled further into the jungles. Malik Kafur pursued him, and found at Kandur some Musalmans, who were subjects of the Hindu ruler.

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They offered to join the Muhammadans, and in spite of their being half-Hindus Malik Kafur spared their lives, ‘as they could repeat the Kalima (the declaration of faith of the Muhammadans).’ Malik Kafur then set forward after returning to ‘Bir Dhul’ in search of the Raja to Kandur, to which place apparently he had returned. He was there informed that the Raja had fled to a place which Amir Khusru calls ‘Jalkota’ an old city of the ancestors of Bir. Pursuing him closely there, Malik Kafur found that he had again escaped to the jungles, and the Malik had therefore to return to Kandur, where he searched for more elephants and perhaps even treasure. ‘Here he heard that in Brahmastpuri there was a golden idol, round which many elephants were stabled.’ Malik Kafur started on a night expedition against this place and in the morning seized no less than 250 elephants. He then determined on razing the beautiful temple to the ground—‘you might say that it was the Paradise of Shaddad, which, after being lost, those “hellites” had found, and that it was the golden Lanka of Ram’—‘in short, it was the holy place of the Hindus, which the Malik dug up from its foundations with the greatest care,’ and the heads of the Brahmans and idolaters danced from their necks and fell to the ground at their feet, and blood flowed in torrents.

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‘The stone idols called Ling Mahadeo, which had been a long time established at that place, up to this time, the kick of the horse of Islam had not attempted to break.’ The Musalmans destroyed all the Lings, ‘and Deo Narain fell down, and the other gods who had fixed their seats there raised their feet, and jumped so high, that at one leap they reached the fort of Lanka, and in that affright the Lings themselves would have fled had they had any legs to stand on.’ Much gold and many valuable jewels fell into the hands of the Musalmans, who returned to the royal canopy, after executing their holy project, on the 13th of Zi-l-ka’da A.H. 710 (A.D. April 1311). They destroyed all the temples at Birdhul, and placed the plunder in the public treasury.