David Pierdominici Leão

Shattering the Crown of the God

Introduction

Shattering the crown of the god. This study examines the Pāṇḍya dynasty's motif of a sovereign clashing with Indra, tracing its evolution and use as political display and royal violence in South India.

Abstract

Among the extensive repertoire of Pāṇḍya dynastic themes, the motif of clash between a Pāṇḍya sovereign and Indra is ubiquitous. This topos which supposedly originated around middle of the 5th century CE, can be traced to Cilapattikāram XI, 17–30, which celebrates a Pāṇḍya monarch wearing Indra’s garland, capturing the clouds, and breaking the god’s crown. The narrative was later employed in the Tiruviḷaiyāṭaṟpurāṇam (late 13th century) and its Sanskrit rendering, the Hālāsyamāhātmya (14th–15th centuries), where the actions of the Pāṇḍya kings were inserted in the narratives about the divine līlās of Śiva in Madurai. Since the early phase of the dynasty, this mytheme was employed as a tool of political display in the South. After a survey of the motif in the first phase of the imperial documents, the paper will focus on the reemployment of the category of royal violence in the Teṅkāśi dynastic period (14th–18th centuries CE), using the lens of the official copper plates of the late Pāṇḍya chancery and the previous Sanskrit literary production.

Review

This paper promises an insightful exploration into a fascinating and historically significant motif within Pāṇḍya dynastic themes: the symbolic conflict between a Pāṇḍya sovereign and the Vedic deity Indra. The abstract clearly establishes the ubiquity and antiquity of this topos, tracing its origins to the 5th-century CE *Cilappatikāram* and its subsequent evolution through various literary works, including the *Tiruviḷaiyāṭaṟpurāṇam* and *Hālāsyamāhātmya*. The central argument – that this mytheme served as a crucial "tool of political display" and a manifestation of "royal violence" – is compelling and sets the stage for a deep dive into South Indian political theology and self-fashioning. The methodology outlined appears robust, combining both literary and epigraphic analysis across distinct historical phases. The paper’s intention to survey the motif in the early imperial period before concentrating on its reemployment during the Teṅkāśi dynastic period (14th–18th centuries CE) provides a valuable diachronic perspective. The reliance on diverse primary sources, specifically the "official copper plates of the late Pāṇḍya chancery" alongside "previous Sanskrit literary production," suggests a rigorous interdisciplinary approach that will enrich our understanding of how religious narratives were strategically adapted for political legitimation and assertion. The incorporation of the motif into narratives of Śiva's *līlās* further highlights the complex interplay of religious devotion and dynastic ambition. Overall, "Shattering the Crown of the God" presents a highly promising study that will contribute significantly to the fields of South Indian history, religious studies, and literary analysis. By meticulously tracing the ideological trajectory of a specific royal motif, the author offers a nuanced understanding of how Pāṇḍya kings leveraged symbolic violence against a divine figure to project their sovereignty and challenge established hierarchies. This investigation into the transformation of the motif across centuries and its strategic deployment in different political and religious contexts will be invaluable for scholars interested in the intersection of power, narrative, and religious identity in pre-modern India. The paper's focus on primary sources across multiple periods ensures a well-grounded and original contribution.

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