And similarly, Pandya, who dwelt on the coast-land near the sea, came accompanied by troops of various kinds to Yudhishthira, the king of kings. Mahabharatha 5:19
Steeds that were all of the hue of the Atrusa flower bore a hundred and forty thousand principle car-warriors that followed that Sarangadhwaja, the king of the Pandyas. Mahabharatha 7.23.
References abound in Tamil Classics about the relationship between Sanatana Dharma and the Tamil Kings.
First reference of the Pandyas is the Parantaka Pandya who fought with Karikal Chola.
The Forty Kings mentioned before Karikala are not found to be recorded.
Yet references are found in the Ithihasa and Puranas about the Pandyas.
My inference is that Pandya Kingdom at Then Madurai then, was swallowed by a Tsunami and records might have been lost.
One surviving record is that Ravana signed a Peace Treaty with a Pandya King.![]()
