The Pandyan Kingdom from the Earliest Times to the Sixteenth Century c10.32

c10.32

Parāntaka Vīranārāyaṇa was succeeded on the throne by his son by Vānavanmahādēvī, Māravarman Rājasimha II, the donor of the larger Śinnamanūr plates, the discovery of which has meant the recovery, to a very large extent, of the Pāndya history of this period. This grant is dated in the sixteenth year of the king's reign and it is likely that he reigned some years after. His rule may therefore be taken to have extended from about A.D. 900 to about 920 or a little later. The Sanskrit part of the record of the king's reign though it comprises four fair-sized ślokas contrives to tell us just nothing about the king or his achievements as a ruler. The Tamil account vies with the Sanskrit in fulsome flattery of the king, but happens to mention a few facts. But the obscurity of the diction and the gaps in the text render it extremely difficult to be sure of the ground. With this caution, it may be noted that a battle at Ulappilimangalam is mentioned, another fight with Tanjayarkōn (the king of Tanjore) and perhaps also an attack on Vanji.¹ We learn also that the king had the titles—Vikaṭapāṭava, Śrīkānta, Rājaśikhāmaṇi and Mandara Gaurava. Among his foundations are mentioned numberless Paḷḷiccandams which seem to be Jain temples or endowments in their favour.