2026-10-08 Thu

The Sangam age is generally placed broadly between c. 300 BCE and 300 CE, although the chronology of individual rulers and literary works remains the subject of scholarly discussion. The Pandyas feature prominently in early Tamil literature, including works associated with the Ettuthokai and Pattuppattu collections. Poems such as Maduraikkanci provide glimpses of Madurai, the Pandyan court, economic activity and the flourishing port of Korkai. Several Pandyan rulers, including Nedunjeliyan and Mudukudumi Peruvaludi, are remembered in Sangam poetry.

The Pandyas were also connected to the wider maritime world. Their southern territories gave them access to the Gulf of Mannar, famous for its pearl fisheries, while trade routes connected the Tamil country with other parts of India and the wider Indian Ocean.

Among the most fascinating issues attributed to the Sangam-age Pandyas are their copper coins bearing the elephant and stylised fish, accompanied on some varieties by an impressive collection of religious, auspicious and symbolic motifs. The fish was the characteristic emblem of the Pandyas and became one of the most enduring identifiers of their coinage.

Here, the copper coin weighs 7.32 g, known as the “Elephant Trident Man” type, is particularly remarkable for the number of symbols concentrated on its obverse.

The obverse depicts an elephant standing facing right. In front of the elephant is a trident-axe standard enclosed within a railing, while a standing human figure appears on the right.

Above the elephant is an elaborate horizontal arrangement of symbols. From left to right, these are, Tree within railing, Indra-dhvaja, Flower pot, Crescent, Srivatsa, Conch and Wheel. The reverse bears a stylised fish, the most distinctive dynastic emblem of the Pandyas.

These combinations illustrate the rich symbolic vocabulary of early South Indian coinage. Elephant motifs, standards, trees, religious symbols and auspicious emblems occur across the coinage of the early historic period, reflecting the artistic and religious environment of ancient Tamilakam.

The elephant itself is an especially prominent feature of Sangam-period Tamil coinage. The Government Museum, Chennai, records Sangam Pandyan copper coins with a standing elephant on the obverse and a stylised fish on the reverse.

The importance of the fish is considerable. Unlike many of the additional symbols that occur on individual varieties, the fish provides a strong dynastic association with the Pandyas. Early Pandyan copper coins are particularly noted for the combination of an elephant on one side and a stylised fish on the other.