Battle of Thirupurambiyam was fought between the Pandya king

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 ...

and a confederacy of the

Pallavas The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of South India, the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The dynasty rose to prominence after the downfall of the Satavahanas, Satavahana dynasty, with whom they ...

Western Ganga Dynasty Western Ganga was an important ruling dynasty of ancient Karnataka in India which lasted from about 350 to 1000 CE. They are known as "Western Gangas" to distinguish them from the Eastern Gangas who in later centuries ruled over Kalinga (mo ...

and the

Medieval Cholas Medieval Cholas rose to prominence during the middle of the 9th century CE and established one of the greatest empires of South India. They successfully united South India under their rule and through their naval strength extended their influen ...

in about 879 CE near modern-day

Kumbakonam Kumbakonam (formerly spelt as Coombaconum or Combaconum) or Kudanthai is a city municipal corporation in the Thanjavur district in the States of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Chennai and is the headq ...

. The Pandyas lost the battle with Varagunavarman II going into retirement. The battle is considered to be a turning point in the history of

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

for it precipitated the fall of the Pallava and Pandya kingdoms and triggered the re-emergence of the Chola power in history after centuries of obscurity during Kalabhra rule.

Causes

At the dawn of the 9th century, the Pallava kingdom which had ruled most of South India for three centuries began to decline. Seizing the opportunity provided by weak Pallava rule, the Pandya king Varagunavarman tried to force the Pallava king Aparajitha into submission. The Chola king

Vijayalaya Vijayalaya Chola (Tamil: விஜயாலய சோழன்) was a king of South India () who founded the imperial Chola Empire. He ruled over the region to the north of the river Kaveri. Dark age of Cholas The ancient Chola kingdom once ...

, then a feudatory of the Pallavas, and his son Aditya Chola I, came to his assistance. Aparajitha was also assisted by the Western Ganga king Prithvipati I. Involvement of Vijayalaya Chola in the battle is still in debate since he is said to be deceased in 870 AD, about nine years before the war happened.

Events

The forces of the Pallava kingdom, Western Ganga kingdom and the Chola kingdom met the Pandyan army at Sri Purambiyam or

Thiruppurambiyam Thirupparambiyam is a village in the Kumbakonam taluk of Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India. Demographics In the 2001 census, Thiruppurambiyam had a population of 5114 with 2559 males and 2555 females. The sex ratio was 998. The literacy ...

in the

Thanjavur district Thanjavur District is one of the Districts of Tamil Nadu, 38 districts of the States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. Its headquarters is Thanjavur. The district is located in the delta of the Cauvery River ...

of present-day state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

in 879 CE. Though, according to the Udyendiram plates of Prithvipati II, Prithvipati I was killed after a brave fight, the allies were still able to salvage a

pyrrhic victory A Pyrrhic victory ( ) is a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat. Such a victory negates any true sense of achievement or damages long-term progress. The phrase originates from a quote from P ...

Consequences

The Pandyas were completely devastated as a result of the battle and never recovered from the loss for two centuries. The Pallavas, though victorious, were forced to give heavy concessions to their rising Chola feudatories, who declared their independence. The Pallava kingdom was eventually annexed by the Cholas during the reign of Vijayalaya Chola's son

Aditya I Aditya I (Tamil: ஆதித்த சோழன்) (c. 870/71 – c. 907 CE), the son of Vijayalaya, was the Chola king who extended the Chola dominions by the conquest of the Pallavas and occupied the Western Ganga Kingdom. Relations with ...

. What started as an internecine conflict between the Pallava heirs blew up into a huge war which set the tone for the Chola regime for the next few centuries.

References

* {{Pandya dynasty 9th century in India 879 Pandyan dynasty Thiru Purambiyam