Tenkasi Pandyas

Tenkasi Pandyas were the Pandya kings from Sadaavarman Parakrama Pandya to his successors who ruled with Tenkasi as their capital. With the invasion of the Sultanates, Vijayanagaras, and Nayakars from the fourteenth century onwards, the Pandyas lost their traditional capital of Madurai and shifted to cities like Tenkasi and Tirunelveli. Tenkasi was the last capital of the Pandyas. All the Pandyas from Sadaavarman Parakrama Pandya and his next generations were crowned in the Adheenam Mutt in Kasi Viswanathar temple. During the same period, some Pandyas ruled with Tirunelveli as their capital. Kayatharu, Vadakkuvalliyur, and Ukkirankottai are some of their major cities. Inscriptions on them are found in Tenkasi's Kasi Viswanathar temple, Brahmadesam, Cheranmadevi, Ambasamudram, Kalakkad and Pudukkottai. The last Pandyan king to be known in the history of the Pandyas was Kolakonda, who was also among the Tenkasi Pandyas.

All the Pandyas of the Varagunarama Pandya period were under the Vijayanagara Empire and paid them tribute. However, other sources invariably mention that though the Madurai Nayakas were in-charge of Madurai, from time to time, they were opposed by and had skirmishes with the Tenkasi Pandyans, who are also said to have had intermittent control of Madurai. The Tenkasi Pandyas also had imperial ambitions, fought some wars, conquered territories outside their terrain. This is proven by the fact that the last Tenkasi Pandyan king bore the title "Kollamkondan", which means the one who conquered Kollam in Malayalam country.