Page:History of India Vol 2.djvu/428

 370 THE KINGDOMS OF THE SOUTH end of the twelfth century, but, after that time, the records are so numerous that a dynastic list which seems to be almost complete for the thirteenth century has been constructed by Professor Kielhorn. The dy- nasty can be traced, with some breaks, up to the middle of the sixteenth century, but it lost most of its political importance after the sack of Madura by Malik Kafur's Mohammedan host in 1310 A. D. The maritime com- merce of the kingdom, however, continued to exist on a considerable scale to a much later date. The most conspicuous event in the political history of the Pandya kingdom is the invasion of the Sinhalese armies under the command of two generals of Para- krama-bahu, King of Ceylon, which occurred about 1175 A. D. Two detailed accounts of this incident, writ- ten from different points of view, are extant. The story, as told in the island chronicle, the Mahavamsa, naturally represents the victorious career of the invad- ers as unbroken by defeat; but the rival account, pre- served in an inscription, proves that the invading army gained considerable success at first, but was ultimately obliged to retire in consequence of the vigorous resist- ance of a coalition of the southern princes. The occa- sion of the Sinhalese intervention was a disputed succession to the Pandya throne of Madura, contested by claimants bearing the oft-recurring names of Vira and Sundara. "Very little can be said about the southwestern king- doms, known as Chera, Kerala, and Satiyaputra. The last-named is mentioned by Asoka only, and its exact