Question

What was the first capital of the Pandyas?
A. Manyaked
B. Dwara Samudram
C. Madurai
D. Kalyani

Answer 1

Hint: The Pandya dynasty was the dynasty of South India one of the three Tamil Lineages. The Pandyas ruled over the territories of present-day South India and Sri Lanka.

Complete answer: The early Pandya dynasty was established by Koon pandiyan while the first Indian Dynasty was established by Kadunga. The Pandyas under kadungon at the end of the sixth century defeated the kalabhras in South India and dominated the politics of Madurai along with other rulers. The capital of early Pandyan Kingdom was korkai but was later moved to koodal which is now in Madurai. The Pandya dynasty was famous for Rock-cut and structural temples, Meenakshi temple in Madurai and life temples built by the Pandyas.
-Dwara Samudram is the old name of Halebidu which was the regal capital of the Hoysala Empire in the twelfth century. The Empire ruled most of the part of Karnataka between 10th to 14th century.
-Someshwara I was the contemporary Chola king who established Kalyani as its capital; he reigned between the period of 1042 AD to 1068 AD.
Therefore the correct answer is option-C.

Note: Under the Pandya Madurai was a stronghold of Saivism. After the invasions of kalabhras Jainism spread its roots and finally, the bhakti movement revived Saivism and Vaishnavism. The flags of Pandyas had a fish symbol which was also the image punched on the coins. The coins of pandyas work of square size. The copper coins had Tamil legends on it while the silver and gold coins were in Sanskrit.