Kadungon

:"Kadungon or Kadunkon was also the name an earlier Pandya king, mentioned in the Sangam literature."

Infobox Monarch
name = Kadungon
title = Pandyadhiraja


caption =
reign = 590 CE-620 CE
coronation = 590 CE
othertitles =
full name =
predecessor = Unknown
successor = Maravarman Avanisulamani
spouse 1 =
issue =
dynasty = Pandya
father =
mother =
date of birth =
place of birth =
date of death =
place of death =
date of burial =
place of burial =

Kadungon was a Pandya king who revived the Pandya rule in South India in the 7th century CE. Along with the Pallava king Simhavishnu, he is credited with ending the Kalabhra rule, marking the beginning of a new era in the Tamil speaking region. [cite book
last = Majumdar
first = Ramesh Chandra
authorlink = R. C. Majumdar
title = Ancient India
publisher = Motilal Banarsidass
origyear = 1968
year = 1987
oclc = 3756513
isbn = 978-8120804364
pages = 395] Most historians, including R. C. Majumdar, state the period of Kadungon rule as 590-620 CE. [cite book
last = Majumdar
first = Ramesh Chandra
authorlink = R. C. Majumdar
coauthors = Achut Dattatraya Pusalker, Asoke Kumar Majumdar
title = The History and Culture of the Indian People
publisher = Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
origyear =
year = 1977
oclc = 59089562
pages = 267] [cite book
last = Perera
first = L. H. Horace
coauthors = M Ratnasabapathy
title = Ceylon & Indian history from early times to 1505 A.D.
publisher = W.M.A. Wahid
location = Colombo
year = 1954
oclc = 12935788
pages = 161] [cite book
last = Pollock
first = Sheldon Ivan
title = Literary Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia
publisher = University of California Press
year = 2003
oclc = 46828947
isbn = 978-0520228214
pages = 306]

The Sangam literature mentions early Pandya dynasty, which is believed to have gone into obscurity during the Kalabhra interregnum. The dynasty was revived by Kadungon, who is considered as the first important Pandya ruler.

Not much is known about Kadungon. [cite book
last = Tripathi
first = Rama Shankar
title = History of Ancient India
publisher = Motilal Banarsidass
origyear = 1942
year = 1999
oclc = 43890119
isbn = 978-8120800182
pages = 483] Most of the knowledge about him comes from the Velvikudi (or Velvikkud) inscription 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".cite book
last = Chopra
first = Pran Nath
coauthors = T.K. Ravindran, N. Subrahmanian
title = History of South India
publisher = S. Chand & Company Ltd.
origyear = 1979
year = 2003
oclc = 6357526
isbn = 8121901537
pages = 79] [cite book
editor = Rao Bahadur H. Krishna Sastri
title = Epigraphia Indica Vol. XVII
publisher = Archaeological Survey of India
origyear = 1924
year = 1983
pages = 291-309] 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".cite book
last = Padmaja
first = T.
title = Temple of Krishana in South India: History, Art and Traditions in Tamilnadu
publisher = Abhinav Publications
year = 2002
oclc = 52039112
isbn = 978-8170173984
pages = 44] His defeat of Kalabhras (considered Jains or Buddhists) was hailed as the triumph of Brahminism. [cite book
last = Ramaswamy
first = Vijaya
title = Walking Naked: Women, Society, Spirituality in South India
publisher = Indian Institute of Advanced Study
year = 1997
oclc = 37442864
isbn = 978-8185952390
pages = 69]

Kadungon's title was "Pandyadhiraja" [cite book
last = Sastri
first = K A Nilakanta
title = The Culture and History of the Tamils
publisher = K.L. Mukhopadhyay
year = 1964
oclc = 17907908
pages = 20 ] , and his capital was Madurai. He was succeeded by his son Maravarman Avanisulamani.

References