Marthanda Varma, Dharma Raja, the Madura Nayaks, and the Arcot Nawabs.
There are only a few papers and articles specifically about the incursions of the Madura Nayaks and Arcot Nawabs into the southern districts of old Travancore, and the motives and timelines are not very clear. I will try to fill in some gaps and provide a brief overview of the events leading to the incursions and their aftermath. The fact is that even Marthanda Varma, supported by a powerful, trained army, was always troubled by these incursions and never emerged victorious. A main reason is that these invading armies were almost always undisciplined and did not follow the traditional rules of war set by the Malayala kings. These marauding ‘Pattani’ armies usually pillaged and burned their way through until they achieved their goals.