“Kadungon: The Pandya King Who Ended Tamil Nadu’s 300-Year Dark Age”, The Cammune, February 02, 2026
“At a recent NDA rally, AMMK chief TTV Dhinakaran thundered: “Then it was the Pandya king who drove out the dark rulers, today it is Modi who will do the same.” The king he was referring to was Kadungon, the 6th-century Pandya monarch who ended nearly 300 years of oppressive foreign rule over Tamil Nadu. Here is the story of that remarkable king.
Tamil Nadu’s Forgotten Dark Age
Most people know Tamil history through its golden eras – the Sangam age of great poetry, the Chola empire of magnificent temples, the Pandya dynasty of maritime glory. But tucked between the Sangam age and the medieval period lies a chapter that Tamil history textbooks rarely dwell upon: the Kalabhra interregnum.
Around the 3rd century CE, a mysterious dynasty called the Kalabhras swept through Tamil Nadu and overthrew all three crowned kings – the Cheras, the Cholas, and the Pandyas. Who exactly the Kalabhras were, remains debated among historians. Some believe they were a clan from the northern Deccan; others argue they were a local group that rose to power exploiting a political vacuum. What is clear, however, is what they did once they seized power……”
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