Matsya was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas mentioned in the Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya. The founder of the kingdom of the Matsya was Virata. It consisted of the present-day Alwar, Jaipur and Bharatpur.
Varagunavarman II succeeded his father Srimar and ruled the Pandyan empire from 862 to 880 A.D. He made attempts to raise the prestige of Pandyan dynasty by invading the Chola territory.