| Succession: | Pandyan Ruler |
| Predecessor: | Unknown |
| Successor: | Pudappandiyan |
| Issue: | Pudappandiyan |
| Spouse: | Kopperundevi |
| Full Name: | Aariyap Padai Kadantha Nedunj Cheliyan |
| House: | Pandyan |
| Religion: | Saivism |
Neṭuñceḻiyaṉ I (Tamil: நெடுஞ்செழியன்,)) was an early Pandyan king. He was titled the Āriyappaṭai-kaṭanta Neṭuñceḻiyaṉ, signifying his defeat of the "northern Aryans".[1]
His name is present in the Mangulam inscriptions of the 3rd century BCE. The inscriptions mentions that workers of Neṭuñceḻiyaṉ I, a Pandyan king of the Sangam era, made stone beds for Jain monks.[2]
Neṭuñceḻiyaṉ was also the king of the Cilappatikaram, the epic authored by the poet Ilango Adigal, who later died of a broken heart along with his queen-consort Kopperundevi.[3] [4]
He is portrayed by O. A. K. Thevar in the film Poompuhar (1964).
. . K. A. Nilakanta Sastri. 115.