in obscurity in Pazhayarai up to 1279, after which there are no inscriptions found of the Cholas. This war marks the end of Cholas reign in Tamil Nadu and the Chola territories were completely absorbed by the Pandyan empire. Fate of Cholas After the war, the remaining Chola royal bloods were reduced to the state of being chieftains by the Pandyan forces as a retribution for the enslaving the Pandyans for three centuries in their capital city Madurai. Many Chola royal bloodlines who were officials and chieftains still ruled a small part of land till the British rule in India whereby they participated in their fight for independence against the British rule. There is mention of a Chola chief called Veerasekhara Chola in the early 16th century (1520 AD) who defeated the Pandyas and occupied Madurai. The Pandyas who were vassals of the Vijayanagar Empire wasted no time and appealed to Krishnadevaraya. The latter then sent his general Nagama Nayak who defeated the Chola but then usurped the throne of Madurai instead of restoring the Pandyas. Notes Nilakanta Sastri, K. A. (1935). The CōĻas, University of Madras, Madras (Reprinted 1984). Nilakanta Sastri, K. A. (1955). A History of South India, OUP, New Delhi (Reprinted 2002). References Chola kings 13th-century Indian monarchs