The Myth of Isolation

DURING A RECENT DEBATE on the 2025-26 budget in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, a minister said: “Tamil Nadu has never bowed its head to any domination from the North at any point in its history.” According to him, Alexander, Chandragupta Maurya, Samudragupta, Kanishka, Akbar, Aurangzeb and even Chhatrapati Shivaji could not rule Tamil Nadu. I wish it were true.

Alexander, Chandragupta Maurya and Kanishka did not come South. But Xuanzang, who visited India in the 7th century CE, mentions seeing a 100-foot-high stupa built by Ashoka in Kanchi. Was Kanchipuram a part of Ashoka’s empire?

In the 4th century CE, Samudragupta captured Kancheyaka Vishnugopa, the Pallava ruler of Kanchi. According to Samudragupta’s Prayaga Prasasthi pillar inscription, his “magnanimity blended with valour was caused by first capturing and thereafter showing the favour of releasing all the kings of Dakshinapatha… [including] Vishnugopa of Kanchi…”

Delhi Sultan Allauddin Khalji sent his general Malik Kafur to invade, loot and destroy temples in several parts of Tamil Nadu. After looting the Yadavas and Kakatiyas of the Deccan in 1310, Kafur left for Pandya territories (called Ma’bar by the Sultanate army). He first captured a fort and “Birdhul” (Virudhachalam?) and then chased Vira Pandya to Kannanur, where he captured 108 elephants loaded with pearls and precious stones, and massacred the residents. At Chidambaram, 250 elephants were captured; the golden temple, whose ceiling and walls were studded with rubies and diamonds, was plundered and all the Shiva lingams and an idol of Vishnu were destroyed. Amir Khusrau, his co-traveller and chronicler, mentions that the ground that once smelled of musk now stank blood. They set fire to the temple of Jagnar (Chokkanatha?) and Rameswaram. The Delhi army returned with 512 elephants, 5,000 horses and 500 mann of gold and precious stones. Thereafter, the Pandya kingdom came under Delhi rule and later became part of the Madurai Sultanate, till it was liberated by Kumara Kampanna of Vijayanagara in 1370.

The Hoysala kings used Tiruvannamalai as their capital after their kingdom was annexed by the Delhi Sultanate. In 1343, Ghiyasuddin Muhammad killed the Hoysala king Veera Ballala III during the siege of Kannanur Koppam, robbed his kingdom and displayed his stuffed body on the walls of Madurai.

Much of Tamil Nadu was annexed by the Vijayanagara and Nayaka kings. After Vijayanagara’s defeat in 1565, Kanchipuram came under the Golconda Sultanate until its conquest by Aurangzeb. The Mughals defeated the Marathas under Sambhaji in a battle near Kanchipuram in 1688, which caused considerable damage to the city. The priests at the Varadaraja Perumal, Ekambareshwarar and Kamakshi Amman temples transported the idols to southern Tamil Nadu and did not restore them until after Aurangzeb died in 1707.

Chhatrapati Shivaji’s military campaigns played a significant role in Tamil Nadu’s history. During his Dakshin Digvijay campaign, he captured the forts of Gingee and Vellore. He visited Madras, stayed on Armenian Street and visited the Kalikambal temple. He is said to have rebuilt a Shiva temple in Tiruvannamalai, destroyed by the Mughals. Shivaji’s half-brother, Venkoji (Ekoji), established a Maratha kingdom in Thanjavur in 1675.

In 1692, the first Nawab of Arcot, Zulfiqar Ali Khan, was appointed by Aurangzeb to govern Tamil Nadu as a reward for his victory over the Marathas led by Rajaram I. Later, Tipu Sultan of Mysore destroyed temples near Coimbatore, which contained beautiful sculptures, and looted all the valuables.

Nobody wants to bow his head: invaders destroy. Tamil Nadu was not as isolated as imagined. The Vijayanagara and Nayaka kings, who annexed the Tamil states and restored the destroyed temples, made it appear as if no invasion had ever happened, thereby probably inspiring the minister to say what he did.

AurangzebIndian historyisolationNawab of ArcotNorth-South IndiaRajaram ITipu SultanZulfiqar Ali Khan