The 13th century was a period of Pandyan revival

The 13th century was a period of Pandyan revival. Their power reached its zenith with the celebrated reigns of Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan and Maravarman Kulasekhara Pandyan which cover the second part of the 13th century.

So long as Kulottunga HI was the effective ruler it was necessary for the Pandyas to accept the subordinate position. But soon after they asserted their independecne to such an extent that the second half of the 13th century has come to be called the age of the second Pandyan Empire.

This may not be a correct description of the event because there was really no first Pandyan ’empire’ as such. If the periods of Pandyan rule are to be separately notified, Pandyan rule in the 13th century will be the third and not the second, the first being the age of the Sangam Pandyas, the second the age of the Pandyas who succeeded Kadungon and the third the revived Pandyas of the thirteenth century.

The sources for their history are (1) epigraphy, (2) literature and (3) foreign notices. Some of the earlier inscriptions are purely laudatory while foreign notices particularly those of Marco Polo are extremely valuable for recapturing the social life of the people. Difficulties regarding geneology are peculiar and special to Pandyan history.

This is largely because unlike inscriptions elsewhere the Pandyan epigraphs do not openly or clearly help us formulate the order of succession. The astronomical data occasionally obtained are so confused that as Nilakanta Sastri says, ‘ignorance at least of astronomy is a bliss’.

There is another difficulty which again is found mostly among the Pandyas. The tradition of a number of rulers simultaneously ruling in different parts of the country and many rulers bearing the same names add to the difficulties already enumerated.