South India and her Muhammadan Invaders c9.s2.12

c9.s2.12

We have referred above to his description of the Port of Kāyal, and quoted his statement that 'Asciar' was the eldest of the five brothers. This we have already stated was the Pāṇḍya king Kulaśekhara who ruled from A.D. 1268 to 1312 almost. We have inscriptions of this monarch in the Chola capital Gaṅgai-koṇḍa-śolapuram, in the capital Madura itself, and in the Tinnevelly district as far south as Ālvār Tirunagari, so that the statement that he is the supreme monarch is quite correct, and the Sundara Pāṇḍya that Marco Polo refers to must be the predecessor of the name who died in A.D. 1292, or the prince brother or nephew in charge of the coast district of Ramnad and the neighbourhood which Marco Polo must have touched in the course of his voyage.