On this occasion however the Sri Lankan help came too late. By the time Parākramabāhu's general Lankapura Dandanatha arrived in Pandya Nadu, Kulasekhara had captured the capital city of Madurai and killed Parakrama's wife and children. His son Prince Virapandu however had managed to escape. Rather than head for Madurai, Lankapura landed in the vicinity of Ramanathapuram and captured the city of Rameswaram, which remained in Sri Lankan hands for the next thirty years or so. Here they built a fortress called Parakramapura. In this early phase of the war they fought Kulasekhara on several occasions, eventually laying siege to him in Madurai and seizing the city. Virapandu was restored to power, but apparently only as a puppet, as the they under Lankapura remained in Madurai and continued to engage the Chola across south India.