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 the Fall of Vijayanagar.'' Madras, Oxford University Press. 165.] Varaguna II was famously defeated by a contingent of troops led by
Pallava king
Aparajita
Aparajita was an able Shilahara ruler of north Konkan branch from 975 CE – 1010 CE.
Chhadvaideva was followed by his nephew Aparajita, the son of Vajjada. Aparajita was an ambitious king. He sought to extend his sphere of influence by ...
around 879 CE.
Background
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 ...
(r. c. 815—862 AD), the predecessor of Varaguna II, was defeated by the
Rashtrakuta king
Amoghavarsha (the battle of Arisil).
[Sastri, K. A. Nilakanta. (1958, second ed.) ''A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar.'' Madras, Oxford University Press. 153-54.] Madurai was then
sacked by the forces of the
Lankan ruler Sena II.
[Noburu Karashima (ed.), ''A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations.'' New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014. 88-89.] Maya Pandya was installed on the Pandya throne by the Sri Lankan army commanders.
Battle of Sri Purambiyam
Battle of thirupurambiyam, Varaguna tried to check the Pallava influence by marching north (and even crossing the
Kaveri
The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu dis ...
in the Chola country by c. 879 AD).
[Sastri, K. A. Nilakanta. (1958, second ed.) ''A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar.'' Madras, Oxford University Press. 167-68.] The northern expedition may well have been directed against the rising power of the Cholas.
A decisive battle was fought at Sri Purambiyam (Tiruppurambiyam near
Kumbakonam) in c. 880 AD. An alliance led by the Pallava Aparajita, supported by Chola
Aditya I and
Ganga Prithvipati I, opposed and defeated the Pandya king (although Prithvipati I lost his life in the battle).
The Pandya advance was rolled back.
[Sastri, K. A. Nilakanta. (1929) ''The Pandyan Kingdom.'' London, Luzac and Company. 78-79.] The Chola king subsequently invaded the Pallava country and defeated Aparajita.
Varaguna was succeeded by his younger brother Parantaka Viranarayana around 880 AD.
References
Pandyan kings
880 deaths
Year of birth unknown
9th-century Indian monarchs
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