. . State Pandya kings preferred Madurai as their capital. Madurai has been popularly venerated as Kudal and Tamil Kelukudal.
The kings are traditionally revered as Kudalkon, Kudal Nagar Kavalan, Madurapura Paramesvaran. The titles of the early Pandyas are: Pandiyatirasan, Pandiya Maharasan, Mannar Mannan, Avaniba Sekaran, Eka Viran, Sakalapuvana Chakkaravarti XI History - Lesson - - Later Cholas and Pandyas seventh century, led to the expansion of their trade connection to the east coast of Tamizh country. This was because the governments of the east coast pursued a more liberal and enlightened policy towards the overseas traders. Their charters exempted traders from various kinds of port dues and tolls.
In Kayal, there was an agency established by an Arab chieftain by name Malik-ul-Islam Jamaluddin. This agency facilitated the availability of horses to Pandya kings. Horse trade of that time has been recorded by Wassaff. He writes: "…as many as , horses were imported into Kayal and other ports of India of which , were to be of Jamaluddin’s own breed.
The average cost of each horse was dinars of ‘red gold’." In the inscriptions, the traders are referred to as nikamattor, nanadesi, ticai-ayiratu- ainutruvar, ainutruvar, manikiramattar and patinen-vishyattar. They founded the trade guilds in Kodumpalur and Periyakulam. The goods traded were spices, pearls, precious stones, horses, elephants and birds. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, horse trade was brisk.
Marco Polo and Wassaff state that the kings invested in horses as there was a need of horses for ceremonial purposes and for fighting wars. Those who were trading in horses were called kudirai-chetti. They were active in maritime trade also. The busiest port town under the Pandyas was Kayalpattinam (now in Thoothukudi district) on the east coast.
Gold coins were in circulation as the trade was carried through the medium of gold. It was variously called kasu, palankasu, anradunarpalankasu, kanam, kalancu and pon. The titular gods of the traders are Ayirattu Aynurruvaar Udaiyar and Sokka Nayaki Amman. The periodically held fairs were called Tavalam in settlements called teru where the traders lived.
Irrigation The Pandya rulers created a number of irrigation sources and they were named after the tank. For instance, Madurai is described in an inscription as Madakkulakkil Madurai. The duty of the nattar was to assess the qualities of land under cultivation and levy taxes. In surveying the lands, the officials used rods of and feet.
After the measurement, the authorities donated the lands. Salabogam land was assigned to Brahmins. The land assigned to ironsmiths was called tattarkani; for carpenters, it was known as thatchar-maaniyam. Bhattavriutti is the land donated for Brahmin group for imparting education.
Administration and Religion: Seventh to Ninth Centuries An inscription from Manur (Tirunelveli district), dating to , provides an account of village administration. It looks similar to Chola’s local governance, which included village assemblies and committees. Both civil and military powers were vested in the same person. The Pandya kings of the period supported and promoted Tamil and Sanskrit.
The great Saiva and Vaishnava saints contributed to the growth of Tamil literature. The period was marked by intense religious tussles. The rise of the Bhakti movement invited heterodox scholars for debate. Many instances of the defeat of Buddhism and Jainism in such debates are mentioned in Bhakti literature.