The Chera dynasty (or Cēra, IPA: [t͡ʃeːɾɐ]), also known as Keralaputra, from the early historic, or the Sangam period, Tamil-speaking southern India, ruled over parts of present-day states Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Cheras, known as one of the mu-ventar (the Three Crowned Kings) of Tamilakam (the Tamil Country) alongside the Chola and Pandya, has been documented as early as the third century BCE. The Chera country was geographically well-placed at the tip of the Indian peninsula to profit from maritime trade via the extensive Indian Ocean networks. Exchange of spices, especially black pepper, with Middle Eastern or Graeco-Roman merchants, is attested in several sources. Their influence extended over central Kerala and western Tamil Nadu until the end of the early historic period in southern India.
The Cheras of the early historical period (c. second century BCE – c. third/fifth century CE) had their capital in interior Tamil country (Vanchi-Karur, Kongu Nadu), and ports/capitals at Muchiri-Vanchi (Muziris) and Thondi (Tyndis) on the Indian Ocean coast of Kerala. They also controlled Palakkad Gap and the Noyyal river valley, the principal trade route between the Malabar Coast and eastern Tamil Nadu. The bow and arrow or the bow was the traditional dynastic emblem of the Chera family.
The major pre-Pallava polities of southern India—ruled by the Cheras, Pandyas, and Cholas—appear to have displayed a rudimentary state structure. The early Tamil literature, known as the Sangam texts, and extensive Graeco-Roman accounts are the major sources of information about the early historic Cheras. Other corroborative sources for the Cheras include Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions, one of which describes Kadunkon Ilam Kadunko, son of Perum Kadunkon, and the grandson of Chera ruler Athan Cheral of the Irumporai clan, silver portrait coins with Tamil-Brahmi legends, and copper coins depicting the Chera symbols the bow and the arrow on the reverse. After the end of the early historical period, around the third-to-fifth centuries CE, the Cheras' power significantly declined.
"Kadal Pirakottiya" Chenkuttuvan, the most celebrated Chera ruler of early Tamil literature, is famous for the traditions surrounding Kannaki, the principal character of the Tamil epic poem Chilappathikaram. Several medieval dynasties, such as the Keralas/Cheras of Karur (Kongu country), Satiyaputra Cheras of Thagadur, and the Cheras of Mahodayapuram (Kerala) claimed descent from the pre-Pallava/early historic Chera rulers.
The Dravidian title "Chera", along with its variants such as "Cheraman" and "Cheralar/Cheral", and its various Indo-Aryan equivalents like "Keralaputras" or "Kerala", refers to the ruling dynasty or family, the people, and the geographical region(s) associated with them. The title "Cheraman" is generally believed to be a shortened form of the phrase "Cheramakan", which is also considered the original root of the term "Keralaputras".
The etymology of the term "Chera" remains a subject of debate among historians.
A number of additional theories have also been proposed in historical studies.
It may seem that the title Chera is derived from the Malayalam word keram (meaning "coconut palm"). However, the term keram itself is believed to have originated from the name Kerala, which can be confidently linked to the Chera dynasty. Alternatively, some suggest that keram is simply a shortened form of the Sanskrit word nalikera, meaning "coconut tree".
In ancient non-Tamil sources, the Cheras are referred to by various names. The Cheras are referred as Kedalaputo (Sanskrit: "Kerala Putra") in the Emperor Ashoka's Pali third-century-BCE edicts.
Pliny the Elder and Claudius Ptolemy referred to the Cheras as Kaelobotros and Kerobottros respectively, and the Graeco-Roman trade map Periplus Maris Erythraei refers to the Cheras as Keprobotras. These Graeco-Roman names are probably corruptions of the Indo-Aryan term "Kedala Puto/Kerala Putra".
The Cheras are referred to as Kedalaputo (Sanskrit: "Kerala Putra") in the Emperor Ashoka's Pali edicts (third century BCE, Rock Edicts II and XII). There are brief references in the works of Katyayana (c. third-to-fourth centuries BCE), the philosopher Patanjali (c. fifth century BCE), and Maurya statesman and philosopher Kautilya (Chanakya) (c. 3rd - 4th century BCE). The Sanskrit grammarian Panini (c. sixth-to-fifth centuries BCE) did not mention either the Kerala people or the land.
The earliest Graeco-Roman accounts referring to the Cheras are by Pliny the Elder in the first century CE, in the Periplus text, and by Claudius Ptolemy in the second century.
Archaeologists have found epigraphic and numismatic evidence of the early Cheras.
Archaeological discoveries confirm modern Karur, or Vanchi/Karuvur, the ancient Chera capital on the Amaravati river, as a major political, and economic centre of ancient south India. It was an important centre of craft production, esp. jewel making, and inland trade. Excavations at Karur have yielded huge quantities of copper coins with Chera symbols such as the bow and arrow, and pieces of Roman amphorae. Vellavur, near Karur, and the Amaravati river bed are noted for the presence large quantities of Roman coins. Pugalur, noted for the rare Chera donative inscription in Tamil-Brahmi, is located around 10 miles north of Karur, on the south bank of the Kaveri River. An ancient trade route, from ports such as Muchiri and Thondi on the Kerala Coast through the Palghat Gap, along the Noyyal river, through Kodumanal, to Karur in interior Tamil Nadu can also be traced using extensive archaeological evidence.
Historians have yet to precisely locate Muziris, known in Tamil as Muchiri, the foremost port in the Chera kingdom and a capital on the Malabar Coast. However, archaeological excavations at Pattanam near Kochi increasingly suggest its identification with this location. Pattanam is notable for the remains of a brick-lined wharf made of laterite granules, lime, and clay. Other discoveries include amphora sherds, terra sigillata, carnelian intaglios, and fragments of Roman glass. Roman coins have been discovered in large numbers from central Kerala and the Coimbatore-Karur region (Kottayam-Kannur, Valluvally, Iyyal, Vellalur and Kattankanni)
Dynastic coins, primarily recovered from the bed of the Amaravati River in central Tamil Nadu, provide valuable historical insights into this period. Often found as surface or stray discoveries or held in private collections, these coins mainly consist of punch-marked designs. Typically square in shape and made of copper, its alloys, or silver, they frequently feature a bow and arrow—the traditional emblem of the Cheras—on the obverse, sometimes accompanied by a legend. Silver punch-marked coins, imitating imperial Maurya coins and bearing a Chera bow on the reverse, have also been reported. Bronze dies for minting punch-marked coins were discovered in the riverbed in Karur (indicating the presence of a Chera mint there). Additionally, hundreds of copper coins attributed to the Cheras have been excavated at Pattanam, Cochin, in central Kerala. It is also known that the Cheras counter-struck silver Roman coins.
Other major discoveries from central Tamil country include several silver portrait coins, such as one featuring a portrait with the Tamil-Brahmi legend "Makkotai" above it, found in the Krishna riverbed near Karur, and another with a portrait and the legend "Kuttuvan Kotai" above it. Both of these impure silver coins are tentatively dated to around the first century CE or slightly later. The reverse sides of both coins are blank. Impure silver coins bearing the Chera legends "Kollippurai"/"Kollipporai" and "Kol-Irumporai" have also been discovered at Karur. A silver coin depicting a person wearing a Roman-style bristled-crown helmet was also found in the Amaravati riverbed in Karur; its reverse side features a bow and arrow, the traditional symbol of the Chera family.
A macro analysis of the Makkotai coin reveals strong similarities to contemporary Roman silver coins, and the portrait coins are generally considered imitations of Roman coinage. The legends, representing the names or titles of Chera rulers, are typically inscribed in Tamil-Brahmi characters on the obverse, while the reverse often features a bow and arrow symbol. Evidence of an alliance between the Cheras and the Cholas is seen in a joint coin, which displays the Chola tiger on the obverse and the Chera bow and arrow on the reverse. Additionally, Lakshmi-type coins, possibly of Sri Lankan origin, have been discovered at Karur.
The events described in the early Tamil texts, or the Sangam literature, are dated to around the first or second centuries CE based on the Gajabahu-Chenguttuvan synchronism, which is derived from certain verses in the Tamil epic poem Silappathikaram. Despite its reliance on a number of conjectures, this method is considered the sheet anchor for dating early historic south India, as complementary epigraphical and archaeological evidence broadly seems to support the Gajabahu chronology.
Ilango Adigal, the author of Silappathikaram, describes the renowned Chera ruler Chenguttuvan, a central figure in the epic, as his elder brother. He also mentions Chenguttuvan's consecration of a temple for the goddess Pattini (Kannaki) at Vanchi. According to the poem, a king named Gajabahu—identified with Gajabahu, a second-century ruler of Sri Lanka—was among those present at the Pattini temple consecration at Vanchi. Based on this context, Chenguttuvan and the other Chera rulers can be dated to either the first/the last quarter of the second century.
A large body of Tamil works from the c. second century BCE to third century CE, collectively known as the Sangam (Academy) Literature, describes a number of Chera, Chola, and Pandya rulers. These praise-filled poetic eulogies often glorify the rulers' accomplishments and virtues, perhaps serving to legitimize their political power.
Among these, the most important sources for the Cheras are the Pathitrupathu, the Agananuru and the Purananuru. The Pathitrupattu, the fourth book in the Ettuthokai anthology, mentions several rulers (and possible heirs-apparents) of the Chera family. Each Chera is praised in ten songs sung by a court poet. The title Pathitrupathu indicates that there were ten texts, each consisting of a decad of lyrics; however, two of these have not yet been discovered. Additionally, the collection has not yet been worked into a connected history and settled chronology.
The following Cheras are knowns from Purananuru collection (some of the names are re-duplications).
Recent studies on early historic south Indian history suggest that the three major rulers – the Pandya, the Chera and the Chola – were customarily based in Madurai, Vanchi-Karuvur (Karur) and Uraiyur (Tiruchirappalli), in present-day Tamil Nadu, respectively. They had established major ports on the Indian Ocean at Korkai, Muchiri (Muziris), and Puhar (Kaveripumpattinam) respectively.
The Chera country of the early historical (pre-Pallava) period consisted of present-day central Kerala and the Kongu region of western Tamil Nadu. Multiple branches of the Chera family ruled simultaneously in central Kerala, with Muchiri-Vanchi and Thondi as their two regional headquarters—both also being important ports on the Indian Ocean—and in the Kongu country (the Irumporai/Porai branch), with Vanchi-Karur as their capital, an important political and economic center. These collateral branches likely competed for the leadership of the Chera country. The southern tip of Kerala was controlled by the minor Ay dynasty, while the Ezhimala rulers controlled the northern Kerala.
The nature of political organization in pre-Pallava (early historic) southern India remains a subject of active debate among scholars and historians. A major point of contention is the interpretation of early Tamil poems (or the Sangam Literature) alongside archaeological evidence. A balanced perspective suggests that the existence of at least a rudimentary state structure in early historic south India cannot be denied.
A school of academics/scholars argues that developments in early historic south India occurred within the framework of a state polity. Supporting this perspective is the presence of Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions, dynastic coin issues, refined Sangam literature, urban centers such as Madurai and Vanchi-Karur, specialized crafts, and long-distance trade, particularly maritime commerce. Evidence of differential access to and control over resources can be found in poetic references to rulers bestowing expensive gifts, such as gold coins and precious stones. The rulers were major consumers of luxury goods acquired through Indian Ocean spice trade. They also developed key trading ports, such as Muchiri and Korkai, and imposed rudimentary tolls and customs duties. The Pugalur inscriptions refer to the Chera king as Ko, while princes carried the suffixes Ko or Kon in their names. Additionally, references to an investiture ceremony for the Chera heir apparent perhaps highlight the structured nature of succession.
At the top of the political hierarchy of early historic south India were the three crowned kings, or Vendars, each distinguished by their royal insignias and emblems of power. Lesser rulers, known as Velir chieftains, were likely required to pay tribute to the Vendars. Violent conflicts were a common feature of early historic south Indian politics, as kings and chieftains frequently formed alliances and waged battles against one another.
However, this view is sometimes questioned by scholars such as R. Champakalakshmi. They argue that urbanization in early historic south India did not occur within the framework of a state polity. Instead, this period was characterized by tribal chiefdoms or, at most, "potential monarchies". The Vendar rulers exercised only limited control over the rice cultivating agricultural plains and relied primarily on tribute and plunder for their sustenance. There was no regular or extensive system of taxation, nor was there a centralized coercive authority. Political organization was based on communal resource ownership, with production structured around kinship ties. Authority was maintained through various redistributive social relationships, supported by the predatory accumulation of resources. Ancient south India consisted of kinship-based, redistributive chiefdom economies. Subsistence was largely agro-pastoral, and politics was driven by competition and conflict. Scholars from this school explicitly use the terms "chief" and "chiefdom" to describe the Chera ruler and the Chera polity of early historic south India, respectively.
In general, early Tamil texts or the Sangam literature (c. second century BCE - c. third century CE) reflect the southern Indian cultural tradition and some elements of the northern Indian cultural tradition, which by then was coming into contact with the south. Most of the Chera population, like the rest of southern India, probably followed native Dravidian belief systems. Religious practice might have mostly consisted of sacrifices to gods such as Murugan. The worship of departed heroes was common in the Tamil country, along with tree worship and other kinds of ancestor worship. The war goddess Korravai was propitiated with elaborate offerings of meat and toddy. Korravai was later assimilated into the present-day goddess Durga.
Early Tamil texts refers to several social stratifications in the early historic south Indian society. They sometimes use the term kudi ("group") to denote some type of antecedent to present-day caste.
In the early historic southern India, women were probably accorded high status (in comparison to the medieval period), and poets and musicians were held in high regard in society. Early Tamil texts include several references about the lavish patronage of court poets. Professional poets of all genders composed texts praising their patron rulers, for which they were generously rewarded. It is assumed the institution of "sabha" in south-Indian villages for local administration began during the early historic period.
The initial phase of urbanization in southern India, and the Chera country, is typically linked to the period from the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE, though recent evidence suggests it may have begun earlier. Some scholars argue that this urbanization was not driven by socio-economic changes but was instead stimulated by external trade. However, this view is considered difficult to accept, as trade cannot be seen as an independent factor separate from socio-economic processes.
Trading relations with merchants from Graeco-Roman world, or the Yavanas, and with northern India provided considerable economic momentum for southern India; the main economic activity was trade across the Indian Ocean. The earliest Graeco-Roman accounts referring to the Cheras are by Pliny the Elder in the first century, in the first-century text Periplus Maris Erythraei, and by Claudius Ptolemy in the second century. The Periplus Maris Erythraei portrays the trade in the territory of Cheras or "Keprobotras" in detail. The port of Muziris, or Muchiri in Tamil, located in the Chera country, was the most-important centre in the Malabar Coast, which according to the Periplus "abounded with large ships of Romans, Arabs and Greeks". Bulk spices, ivory, timber, pearls and gems were exported from Chera country, and southern India, to the Middle East/Mediterranean regions.
Geographical advantages, such as favorable monsoon winds that carried ships directly from Arabia to south India, the abundance of exotic spices in the interior Ghat Mountains and the many rivers connecting the Ghats with the Arabian Sea allowed the Cheras to become a major power in ancient southern India. Trading in spices and other commodities with Middle Eastern/Mediterranean Graeco-Roman navigators was perhaps extant before beginning of the Common Era and was consolidated in the first century CE. In the first century, the Romans conquered Egypt, which probably helped them gain dominance in the Indian Ocean spice trade.
The Graeco-Romans brought vast amounts of gold in exchange for commodities such as black pepper. The Roman coin hoards that have been found in Kerala and Tamil Nadu provide evidence of this trade. The first-century writer Pliny the Elder lamented "the drain of Roman gold into India and China" for luxuries such as spices, silk and muslin. The Indian Ocean spice trade dwindled with the decline of the Roman empire in the third and fourth centuries, and they were replaced by Chinese and Arab/Middle Eastern navigators.
The nature of the spice trade between the ancient Chera country, and southern India, and the Middle East/Mediterranean regions is disputed. It remains uncertain whether this trade with the Mediterranean world was conducted on equal terms by local rulers and merchants, such as the Cheras and Pandyas. However, early Tamil poems record that these rulers were consumers of luxury goods associated with the Indian Ocean spice trade. They were also involved in long-distance maritime trade, likely by developing ports and imposing rudimentary tolls and customs duties.
There are several ancient Tamil, Greek and Roman literary references to high-carbon steel from South Asia. The crucible steel production process probably started in the sixth century BCE in southern India (as evidenced from Kodumanal in Tamil Nadu, Golconda in Telangana, and Karnataka) and Sri Lanka. The Romans called this steel "the finest steel in the world" and referred to it as "Seric". It was perhaps exported to the Middle East/Mediterranean world by c. early 5th century BC.
The steel was exported as cakes of steely iron that were known as "wootz". Wootz steel was produced by heating black magnetite ore in the presence of carbon in a sealed clay crucible inside a charcoal furnace to completely remove slag. An alternative was to smelt the ore to give wrought iron, then heat and hammer it to remove slag. The carbon source was probably bamboo trees and leaves from plants such as avārai (Senna auriculata). The Chinese and Sri Lankans perhaps adopted the production methods of wootz steel from the south Indians by the fifth century BCE.
In Sri Lanka, this early steel-making method employed a unique wind furnace that was driven by the monsoon winds. Production sites from early historic period have been found at Anuradhapura, Tissamaharama and Samanalawewa, as well as imported iron and steel artefacts from Kodumanal in southern India. A c. 2th century BC Tamil trade guild in Tissamaharama, in the south-east of Sri Lanka, transported some of the oldest iron and steel artefacts and production processes to the island from early historic southern India.
After the fifth century, the influence of the Cheras significantly declined compared to the early historic or pre-Pallava period. Comparatively little is known about the Cheras during this period. The Chera collateral branch from Karur in the Kongu country, also called the "Keralas", seems to have dominated the former Chera territories, including present-day Kerala.
The region was affected by the rise of the Kalabhras, and then by the Chalukya and Pallava-Pandya domination, and the ascent of the Rashtrakutas and Cholas. Present-day central Kerala likely detached from the larger "Kongu Chera"/"Kerala kingdom" to form the "Chera Perumal kingdom" around the 9th century CE. The medieval Chera kingdom in Kerala had alternating friendly and hostile relations with the neigbouring Cholas and the Pandyas. The Cholas later attacked the kingdom and eventually forced it into submission (early 11th century CE), primarily to break its monopoly on the Indian Ocean spice trade with the Middle East. When the Chera kingdom in Kerala was dissolved in the early 12th century, most of its autonomous chiefdoms became independent. Academics tend to identify the Alvar saint Kulasekhara and the Nayanar saint Cherman Perumal (literally "the Chera king") as some of the earliest Perumals. The port of Kollam in the kingdom was a major hub for Indian Ocean trade with the Middle East and South East Asia. During this period, the Cheras, along with the Pandyas, notably made extensive use of the Vattezhuthu script.
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