For Cordova development, a JavaScript/web technology may be the easier option. Have you considered the ArcGIS JavaScript API?
You can find a demo of using the JavaScript API with PhonGap/Cordova on GitHub: https://github.com/Esri/quickstart-map-phonegap
yes, I have seen the JavaScript APIs, but my motive to opt native SDK is to perform offline operations which is not supported in JavaScript APIs. I have to use Native SDK itself, but not sure of cordova integration be seamless.