Koon Pandiyan

2026-09-08T03:46:20Z

2401:4900:6053:C68A:20F0:88FF:FEAC:5D04: Added Periyapuraman Quotes

{{Short description|Ancient Tamil monarch}}
{{use dmy dates|date=November 2016}}
{{use Indian English|date=November 2016}}
{{Infobox royalty
| title = Nindra Seer Nedumaran,<ref name="TheHindu_2009_Staunch"/> Ninraseernedumaran, Kun Pandya
| reign = 7th century CE
| spouse = [[Mangayarkkarasiyar]]
| dynasty = [[Pandyan dynasty|Pandya]]
}}
{{Pandyan}}
'''Koon Pandiyan''' ("The [[Kyphosis|hunch-backed]] Pandyan") was the nickname of a king who ruled [[Madurai]] around 7th century. Some historians identify him with the [[Pandyan dynasty|Pandyan]] king [[Arikesari Maravarman|Arikesari Parankusa Maravarman]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://karaikal.gov.in/SDS-2011/Thirunallar.htm | title = The Temple At Thirunallar | publisher = District Administration, Karaikal | access-date = 2013-02-25 }}</ref>

He converted from [[Shaivism]] to [[Jainism]], but then re-converted under the influence of [[Sambandar]]. According to a Shaivite legend, after his re-conversion, he ordered a [[Impalement of the Jains in Madurai|massacre]] of 8000 [[Jain]]s in [[Samanatham]].<ref name="Dundas2002">{{cite book | author=Paul Dundas | title=The Jains | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5ialKAbIyV4C&pg=PA127 | access-date=2013-02-25 | year=2002 | publisher=Routledge | isbn=978-0-415-26606-2 | page=127 }}</ref> Sambandar is said to have cured his hunched back, after which he was known as '''Sundara Pandya''' ("Beautiful Pandyan").<ref name="MarcoHenry1875">{{cite book | author1=Marco Polo | author2=Sir Henry Yule | title=The Book of Sir Marco Polo, the Venetian, Concerning the Kingdoms and Marvels of the East: Newly Tr. and Ed., with Notes, Maps, and Other Illustrations | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rRsRAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA317 | access-date=16 August 2013 | year=1875 | publisher=J. Murray | pages=317–| isbn=9780404115425 }}</ref>

== Quotes ==
{{cquote|"When he ruled thus, his enemies came from the north Waging a war; with his sea-like army, his flood Of swift steeds, and his rows and rows of wrathful And destructive elephants, he gave them battle At Tirunelveli and victoriously forged ahead.
In the field where the fierce battle was fought, The armies of the pre-eminent northern kings routed By the Paandya’s army endowed with musty elephants
Whose long tusks were tall like The palmyra trees, scattered away; the king Thereupon wore the victorious garland of fragrant Vaakai along with the Paandya’s own, of neem."<ref>{{Cite web
|title=The Puranam of Ninraseer Nedumaara Nayanar |url=https://shaivam.org/devotees/the-puranam-of-ninraseer-nedumaara-nayanar/
|website=Shaivam.org
|access-date=2026-09-08
}}</ref>}}

==Conversion to Shaivism==
In the 7th century, [[Jainism]] was one of the major religions in [[South India]]. Koon Pandian had embraced Jainism,<ref>{{citation |title=Jainism - Its relevance to psychiatric practice; with special reference to the practice of Sallekhana |pmc=5270277 | pmid=28197009 | doi=10.4103/0019-5545.196702 |volume=58 |year=2016 |journal=Indian J Psychiatry |pages=471–474 |author=Somasundaram O, Tejus Murthy AG, Raghavan DV|issue=4 }}</ref> but his wife, [[Mangayarkkarasiyar]], and his minister, [[Kulachirai Nayanar]], were both Shaivites. When the king suffered from [[boil]]s and incurable fever, the two invited the Shaivite saint, [[Sambandar]], to Madurai. Sambandar is said to have cured his fever and his hunched back. After this, the king became a Shaivite, and several of his subjects converted to Shaivism during his rule. The Tamil poet [[Sekkizhar]] honoured Koon Pandiyan, Kulachirai and Mangaiarkkarasi by naming them among the 63 [[Nayanars]] in ''[[Periya Puranam]]''.<ref name="TheHindu_2009_Staunch">{{cite news | url = http://www.hindu.com/2009/05/15/stories/2009051551401300.htm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140227201813/http://www.hindu.com/2009/05/15/stories/2009051551401300.htm | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2014-02-27 | title = Staunch devotion | date = 2009-05-15 | access-date = 2013-02-25 | newspaper = [[The Hindu]] | location = Chennai }}</ref>

According to a Shaivite legend, when the Jains in [[Samanatham]] refused to convert to Shaivism, the king ordered their killings with the consent of Sambandar.<ref name="James2003">{{cite book | author=James Hastings | title=Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics Part 9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jIPS0d7UTT8C&pg=PA23 | access-date=2013-02-25 | year=2003 | publisher=Kessinger Publishing | isbn=978-0-7661-3680-9 | page=23}}</ref> Around 3,000 Jains were said to have committed suicide [[impalement]] and put themselves over sharp, tall, conical structures in sitting posture.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QIeqvcai5XQC&q=8000+tamil+jains&pg=PA171 |title=Tamil Literature - M. S. Pillai - Google Books |isbn=9788120609556 |access-date=2013-02-14|last1=Purnalingam Pillai |first1=M. S. |year=1994 }}</ref> However, this legend is not found in any Jain text and is believed to be a fabrication made up by the Shaivites to prove their dominance.<ref name="Ashim1984">{{cite book | author=Ashim Kumar Roy | title=A history of the Jainas | url=http://www.jainworld.com/book/historyofjainism/ch9a.asp | access-date=22 May 2013 | year=1984 | publisher=Gitanjali | chapter=9. History of the Digambaras | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180223170524/http://www.jainworld.com/book/historyofjainism/ch9a.asp | archive-date=23 February 2018 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Nilakantha1976">{{cite book | author=K. A. Nilakanta Sastri | author-link=K. A. Nilakanta Sastri | title=A history of South India from prehistoric times to the fall of Vijayanagar | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FjxuAAAAMAAJ | access-date=23 May 2013 | year=1976 | publisher=Oxford University Press | page = 424 }}</ref>

== Legacy ==
Koon Pandiyan's son Kochadaiyaan ranadheeran ascended the pandiyan throne after his father.<ref name="James1989">{{cite book | author=James Henry Nelson | title=The Madura Country: A Manual | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-QpN1BDaS4cC&pg=RA2-PA71 | access-date=25 February 2013 | year=1989 | publisher=Asian Educational Services | isbn=978-81-206-0424-7 | page=2 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Nayanars}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Pandyan kings]]
[[Category:Nayanars]]

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Koon Pandiyan