Malik Kafur's invasion of the Pandya kingdom

During 1310-1311, the Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khalji sent an army led by Malik Kafur to the southernmost kingdoms of India. After subjugating the Hoysalas, Malik Kafur invaded the Pandya kingdom (called Ma'bar in Muslim chronicles), taking advantage of a war of succession between the Pandya brothers Vira and Sundara. During March–April 1311, he raided several places in the Pandya territory, including their capital Madurai. He was unable to make the Pandya king a tributary to the Delhi Sultanate, but obtained a huge plunder, including elephants, horses, gold and precious stones.

By 1310, Alauddin Khalji of the Delhi Sultanate had forced the Yadava and Kakatiya rulers of Deccan region in southern India to become his tributaries. During the 1310 Siege of Warangal against the Kakatiyas, Alauddin's general Malik Kafur had learned that the region to the south of the Yadava and Kakatiya kingdoms was also very wealthy. After returning to Delhi, Kafur told Alauddin about this, and obtained permission to lead an expedition to the southernmost regions of India.

In early 1311, Malik Kafur reached Deccan with a large army. In February, he besieged the Hoysala capital Dwarasamudra with 10,000 soldiers, and forced the Hoysala king Ballala to become a tributary of the Delhi Sultanate. He stayed at Dwarasamudra for 12 days, waiting for the rest of his army to arrive at Dwarasamudra.

At this time, the Pandya kingdom, located to the south of the Hoysala territory, was in a state of political turmoil. After the death of the king Maravarman Kulashekhara, his sons Vira and Sundara Pandya were engaged in a war of succession. Some later chroniclers state that Sundara sought Malik Kafur's help, leading to the Delhi army's invasion of the Pandya territory. However, the writings of the contemporary writer Amir Khusrau cast doubt on this claim: Khusrau's account suggests that Malik Kafur raided the territories controlled by both of them.

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