A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c16.8

c16.8

Kafur spent less than a fortnight in Dōrasamudra, and then started towards Ma'bar. Ballāla accompanied him and guided the army along the difficult mountain routes that led from the tableland to the plains. Though divided among themselves, the Pāndya princes were at one in resisting the invader, harassing him incessantly, but avoiding pitched battles and taking care not to shut themselves in fortresses that might easily be reduced. Malik Kafur first marched against Bīr Dhūl, the capital of Vira Pāndya in the neighbourhood of Uraiyūr. The king escaped before the city fell into the enemy's hands, and Kafur's further operations were hampered by rains. He braved the weather, however, and pursued Vira Pāndya who was reported to have fled to Kandūr (not identified). On the way he seized a convoy of treasure from the backs of a hundred and twenty elephants, but even when he reached Kandūr, and took it, there was no sign of Vira Pāndya. He therefore marched to Kānchipuram (or Marhatpuri to the Muslim historians) where he plundered and desecrated the temples before returning to Bīr Dhūl. Thence he planned a sudden descent upon Madura, the Pāndya's main capital, where Sundara Pāndya was king; but Sundara was forewarned and abandoned the city, taking his family and treasure into the country. At this stage Vikrama Pāndya, Sundara's uncle, came out of retirement to lead the Pāndyas against the Muslims and inflicted a decisive defeat on them. Malik Kafur was 'obliged to retreat and bring back his army'; but he managed to keep the vast booty he had taken from Vira Pāndya and convey it safely to Delhi. He reached the imperial capital in October 1311 and later presented Ballāla III's son to the sultan, speaking highly of the help the invaders had received from his father. The Hindu prince was treated with kindness and then sent back to his father whose kingdom was also returned to him. The Ma'bar expedition was thus only a military raid, and not a very successful one at that; it had no permanent results, though indeed South India was drained of a vast amount of treasure: 'six hundred and twelve elephants, ninety-six thousand mans of gold, several boxes of jewels and pearls, and twenty thousand horses', according to Barni.