The Sack of Madurai in 862 was a military expedition led by the

Anuradhapura Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central ...

King Sena II, whose army under the command of general Kuttaka, invaded the region of Pandi Nadu and seized

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration i ...

, the capital of the Pandya Empire then ruled by

Srimara Srivallabha Srimara Srivallabha (r. c. 815–c. 862 ADSastri, K. A. Nilakanta. (1958, second ed.) ''A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar''. Madras, Oxford University Press. 165.) was a Pandya king of early medieval sou ...

. The invasion ended in victory with

Varagunavarman II Varagunavarman II, also described as Varaguna II, was a king of the Pandya dynasty in south India whose reign lasted from c. 862 until c. 879 CE.Sastri, K. A. Nilakanta. (1958, second ed.) ''A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to th ...

being crowned as the king of Pandyas by general Kuttaka.

Background

War between the Pandya and

kingdoms begun during the reign of Sena I of Anuradhapura. Sena I later, entered negotiations with the Pandyans, and

, who invaded Anuradhapura, left. Pandya was also at war against the

Chola The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...

s, who made an alliance with the Hoysalas and Eastern Ganga, to defeat the Pandyans led by Srivallabha.

Invasion of Pandya

Sena II, King of Anuradhapura, a royal namesake, invaded the Pandya kingdom in 862 with a powerful naval force. The invading force entered the city of

, and sacked it. Sena II asked the commander of the expeditionaries, Kuttaka, to look for treasures and bring back all the treasures of

taken by the Srimara Srīvallabha's forces. The forces of Sena II allied with a Tamil rebel leader named, Varagunavarman. Srimara Srīvallabha was handling a

Pallava The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The dynasty rose to prominence after the downfall of the Satavahana dynasty, with whom they had formerly served as f ...

invasion from the North. Despite this, the invasion from the southern flank caused him to flee to the North, however he died in warfare. Varagunavarman II was crowned as king of Pandya by Kuttaka. After touring the Pandya country, Kuttaka returned to Anuradhapura with the treasure of Madurai.Lives of Indian Images. p. 59

References

Wars involving Sri Lanka Overseas empires Kingdom of Anuradhapura Madurai Invasions of India {{DEFAULTSORT:Anuradhapura_Invasion_of_Pandya