(b) The kings of all the three Tamil dynasties traced their ancestry to one or the other of the North-Indian kings. The Pandyas claimed to be an offshoot of the Pandavas and styled themselves the 'Panchavans'; and the Cholas called themselves 'Sembyan' or the descendants of Sibi, a North-Indian Emperor. These kings are said to have assisted the Pandavas in the Great War,
பெருஞ் சோறு பயந்த பெருநாளிருக்கைப்
பூம்புனற் பழனப் புகார்நகர் வேந்தன்.-Sil.
(The king of Pukar—Cauveripatnam—the city of lovely gardens and sweet water, who from on his throne of audience distributed the 'great food')
ஈரைம் பதின்மரும்பொருதுகள் த்தொழியப்
பெருஞ்சோற்று மிகுபதம்வரையாது கொடுத்தோய்.-Pur.
(Thou art the king that gave the 'great fcod' liberally at the battle field till the 'one hundred' fell.)
This they could have done only when they were reigning over small districts somewhere in Upper India ; because, it would be improbable and impossible that the Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas, had they actually been in the south at the time of the war, could have set their large contingents all the way to Kurukshetra in the Punjab through impenetrable forests, rivers and mountains. And in support of the above statement we may quote an extract from Mr. J. W. M'Crindle's Ancient India. The kingdom of Pandion, which was situated on the southern extremity of the Indian peninsula, was founded by an Aryan
