The Pandyas And Hoyasalas In South India (800 – 1200 AD)
The Pandyas
The Pandyas ruled the area of modern south Tamil Nadu, mainly the districts of Madurai, Tirunelveli and a part of Travancore. They were one of the main kingdoms during the Sangam Age 1200 BC – 200 AD) and as per the literary sources, both native and foreign, the kingdom had a flourishing trade with the Roman empire. It is stated that a Pandyan king sent an embassy to Emperor Augustus in 20 BC. The story of the Tamil epic Silappadigaram’ is set in the Pandyan times. The Pandyan kings are said to have patronised the Sangam or a college of scholars who produced some brilliant pieces of Tamil literature like Tolkappiyam and Thirukural by Tiruvalluvar. The important Pandyan king then was Nedunjelian.
The Pandyas rose again after the Cholas declined in the 13th century and ruled independently till Malik Kafur, the general of Alauddin Khalji invaded Madurai and were extinguished when Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq annexed Madurai to the Delhi Sultanate. They were also faced with incursions by the Hoysalas and were reduced to the level of feudatories to the changing rules of the region. Marco Polo visited the Pandyan kingdom in 1288 and 1293 and left a vivid description of the richness of the land and the prosperity of its trade.
HOYASALAS OF DWARASAMUDRA
The home of the Hoyasalas lay in the hilly tracts to the northwest of Gangavadi in Mysore. They became prominent during the prolonged struggle between the later Chalukyas and the Cholas. They initially became the feudatories of the Chalukyas, and after the decline of the latter, they declared independence and asserted their authority over the southern territory of the Chalukyas.
The founder of the dynasty was Sala, also known as Nripakama. His son and successor. Vinayaditya, was a feudatory of the Chalukya Vikramaditya VI. Vinayaditya was succeeded by his son Ereyanga, who in turn was succeeded by Ballala I. He ruled over a small principality with his capital at Belur, although Dvarasamudra (modern Halebid) was an alternative capital.
But the real maker of the Hoyasala kingdom was Vishnuvardhana who annexed the Chola province of Gangawadi and broke away entirely from the domination of the Chalukyas. Originally a Jain, he was converted to Vaishnavism by Ramanuja. The Hoyasalas were drawn into a protracted conflict with the Chalukyas, later Cholas and the Yadavas which weakened the kingdom and made penetration by the Muslims easier. Malik Kafur invaded the kingdom in 1311 and got the submission of Vir Ballala III. He was later defeated and killed by the Madurai Sultan.
Hoysala Art and Architecture
In many cases, the Hoysala temples are not single but double; having all essential parts duplicated. One more noteworthy feature is that the temple itself appears to be the work of a sculptor and not of the builder. This is best illustrated in the Hoyasalesvara temple at Halebid. The Hoyasala temples have been aptly described as sculptors’ architecture. There are a number of temples in the Mysore territory that exhibit the amazing display of sculptural exuberance. The most typical and well-known examples are the temples of Kesava at Somnathpur, Chenna Kesava at Belur and Hoyasalesvara at Halebid.