:''Kadungon or Kadunkon was also the name an earlier Pandya king, mentioned in the

Sangam literature The Sangam literature (Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam'';) historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cāṉṟōr ceyyuḷ'') connotes ...

.'' Kadungon was a Pandya king who revived the Pandya rule in

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 ...

in the 6th century CE. Along with the

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 fe ...

king Simhavishnu, he is credited with ending the

Kalabhra The Kalabhra dynasty, also called ''Kaḷabrar'', ''Kaḷappirar'', ''Kallupura'' or Kalvar, were rulers of all or parts of Tamil region sometime between the 3rd century and 6th century CE, after the ancient dynasties of the early Cholas, the ...

rule, marking the beginning of a new era in the Tamil speaking region. Kadungon's title was "Pandyadhiraja", and his capital was

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 in ...

. He was succeeded by his son

Maravarman Avanisulamani Maravarman Avanisulamani (IAST: Avaniśūlāmani; ''r. c.'' 620–645 CE) was a Pandya ruler of early historic south India. He was the son and successor of Kadungon, who revived the Pandya dynastic power after the Kalabhra interregnum. Not ...

Dates

Most historians, including

R. C. Majumdar Ramesh Chandra Majumdar (known as R. C. Majumdar; 4 December 1888 – 11 February 1980) was a historian and professor of Indian history. Majumdar is a noted historian of modern India. He was a former Sheriff of Kolkata. Early life and educatio ...

, state the period of Kadungon rule as 590–620 CE. *

K. A. Nilakanta Sastri Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta Sastri (12 August 1892 – 15 June 1975) was an Indian historian who wrote on South Indian history. Many of his books form the standard reference works on the subject. Sastri was acclaimed for his scholarship and ...

(the first assumption) — c. 600–620 CE *

(revised date) — c. 590–620 CE *

Noboru Karashima was a Japanese historian, writer and Professor Emeritus in University of Tokyo, Japan. He also served as Professor Emeritus at the Taisho University, Japan. He was a prominent scholar of Asia in the studies of south Indian and South Asian histori ...

— c. 560–90 CE (or) c. 590–620 CE

Velvikudi Grant

The

mentions the early Pandya dynasty, which is believed to have gone into obscurity during the

Kalabhra interregnum The Kalabhra dynasty, also called ''Kaḷabrar'', ''Kaḷappirar'', ''Kallupura'' or Kalvar, were rulers of all or parts of Tamil region sometime between the 3rd century and 6th century CE, after the ancient dynasties of the early Cholas, the ...

. The last known king of this dynasty was Ugrapperuvaludi. Kadungon is the next known Pandyan king. Not much information is available about him. Most of the knowledge about him comes from the

Velvikudi inscription The Velvikudi inscription is an 8th-century bilingual copper-plate grant from the Pandya kingdom of southern India. Inscribed in Tamil and Sanskrit languages, it records the renewal of a grant of the Velvikudi village to a brahmana by the Pa ...

of the Pandya king Parantaka Nedunchadaiyan (also Nedunjadaiyan or Nedunchezhiyan). According to this inscription, Kadungon defeated several petty chieftains and destroyed "the bright cities of unbending foes". It describes him as the one who liberated the Pandya country from the Kalabhras and emerged as a "resplendent sun from the dark clouds of the Kalabhras". His defeat of Kalabhras (who were probably

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

s or

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

s) was hailed as the triumph of

Shaivism Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangi ...

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Authority control Pandyan kings 6th-century Indian monarchs