Kongu Chera dynasty

Kongu Chera dynasty, or Cheras or Keralas^[a] of Kongu or Karur, or simply as the Chera dynasty, was a medieval royal lineage in south India that initially ruled over western Tamil Nadu and central Kerala.^[1] The headquarters of the Kongu Cheras was located at Karur-Vanchi (present-day Karur), an ancient base of the early historic Cheras in central Tamil Nadu.^[2] The Chera rulers of Kongu were subordinate to, or were conquered by, the Chalukya, Pallava, and Pandya kings.^[1] Rashtrakuta and Chola rulers are also said to have overrun the Kongu Chera country.^[3]

The Kongu Cheras claimed descent from the Cheras who flourished in pre-Pallava (early historic) south India.^[1] Present-day central Kerala likely detached from the Kongu Chera kingdom around the 8th-9th century AD to form the Chera kingdom on the western coast (fl. c. 9th – 12th century AD; modern Kerala).^[1] The exact relationship between the different branches of the Chera family — such as the one based in Karur and the other in Kodungallur — is not clearly known to scholars.^[4]

The Kongu Cheras are often described as members of the Chandra-Aditya Kula (the Luni-Solar Race) around 9th–11th centuries AD. By the 10th–11th century AD, the Kongu Cheras appear to have been absorbed into the Pandya political system.^[4] A collateral branch of the Kongu Cheras, known as the "Kongu Cholas", later ruled the Kongu country under Chola suzerainty.^[5]

The terms "Kerala" and "Chera" are used interchangeably in most ancient and medieval sources. Both terms can refer either to the dynasty (the Cheras or the Keralas) or to a specific geographical region (western Tamil Nadu or Kerala).These naming conventions are entirely distinct from modern usage.

The following description incorporates corrections made by M. G. S. Narayanan (Perumals of Kerala, 1972) to the revised second edition of K. A. Nilakanta Sastri's work, as well as the writings of Elamkulam P. N. Kunjan Pillai.

Kongu Cheras, or "Keralas" of Karur (in interior Tamil Nadu), initially appear as rulers of western Tamil Nadu and central Kerala during the early medieval period.^[1] The family claimed descent from the legendary Cheras who flourished in pre-Pallava (early historic) south India.^[1] It is likely that the Cheras followed a system of joint rule, with each elder from the family governing a different region — at least three centers are known: Karuvur-Vanchi, Muchiri-Vanchi, and Thondi.^[6][7]

By the beginning of the early medieval period, Karur had gained prominence over the other two centers, Muchiri-Vanchi and Thondi (both located in present-day Kerala).^[1] Karur came to be known by the 8th – 9th centuries AD as "Vanchi ma-nakara-mana Karur".^[8][9] The Kongu Cheras of Karur may have exerted dominance over parts of present-day Kerala, possibly through a form of viceregal rule.^[1]

Available epigraphic evidence points to the influence of several other dynasties over the old Chera country during this period. This includes an inscription of Kadamba king Vishnu Varma, dated 5th or 6th century AD, found at Edakkal cave in Wayanad.^[10] An early historic Chera graffiti in Tamil-Brahmi script, containing the phrase "Kadummi Putra Chera", was discovered in the cave.^[11] The earliest Chalukya king to claim overlordship over the Chera/Kerala is Kirttivarman I (fl. 566 - 598 AD), although this claim is generally regarded by historians as a boastful exaggeration. A later grant dated 695 AD by king Vinayaditya II Satyasraya, which refers to the "vassalage" of the Kerala country, is considered a more reliable record.^[12] Several Chalukya inscriptions from the 7th and 8th centuries mention the conquest and vassalage of the Kerala country.^[12] Additionally, a number of Pallava records also refer to the vassalage of the Kerala/Chera country.^[12]

There are clear attestations of repeated Pandya conquests of the Kerala/Chera country in the 7th and 8th centuries AD.^[12] Pandya king Sendan was known as the "Vanavan", an ancient title traditionally associated with Chera rulers.^[12] Arikesari Maravarman, another Pandya ruler, likely defeated the "Keralas" or Cheras on multiple occasions.^[13] His successor, Ko Chadayan Ranadhira, also made gains against the Cheras.^[14]

The so-called "renewal of the capital city of Vanchi (Karur) along with Kudal (Madurai) and Kozhi (Uraiyur)" by Pandya king Rajasimha I (730 – 65 AD), as described in the Madras Museum Plates of Jatila Parantaka Nedunjadaiyan Varaguna (765 – 815 AD), may indicate a Pandya occupation of the Kongu Chera capital, Karur.^[15] It is recorded that when Jatila Parantaka went to war against the Adigaman ruler of Thagadur (Dharmapuri), the Keralas and the Pallavas came to the latter's aid, though "the Pandyas drove them back to the quarters from which they had emerged" (Madras Museum Plates of Jatila Parantaka, 17th year).^[15]

Rashtrakuta inscriptions also mention "an alliance of Dravida kings — including "Kerala", Pandya, Chola and Pallava — who were defeated" (E. I., XVIII). The "Keralas" mentioned in these records may refer to the Kongu Cheras, who had already submitted to the Pandyas, rather than the Chera rulers of Kerala.^[15]

As the eastern portions of the ancient Chera country gradually came under the Pandya sphere of influence, the western portion evolved into an independent kingdom, with its headquarters at Mahodayapuram-Kodungallur (c. early 9th century AD).^[15] Rulers from a branch of the Chera family, who survived in the Kongu country as vassals of the Pandyas, are described in inscriptions dated to the 9th–11th centuries AD as members of the "Chandra-Aditya Kula" (the Luni-Solar Race).^[4] This likely suggests a process of integration with the Pandya royal family (traditionally associated with the Lunar Race) through marriage alliances.^[15] The two branches of the Chera family — the Kongu Cheras and the Chera Perumals — supported by the Pandyas and the Cholas respectively, were possibly rivals during this period.^[16]

• The Pandyas are known to have formed a defensive alliance during this period with the Cheras of the Kongu country, who were under their influence.^[14] Pandya king Parantaka Vira Narayana (c. 880 – 900 AD) is recorded as having married a Chera or "Kerala" (Kongu Chera) princess, "Vanavan Maha Devi".^[17] Their son, Rajasimha II, is described in the Sinnamanur Copper Plates as a member of the "Chandra-Aditya Kula".^[17] Earlier Historians such as K. A. Nilakanta Sastri and Elamkulam P. N. Kunjan Pillai initially assumed that Vira Narayana had married a Chera princess from Kerala; however, this view was later revised by M. G. S. Narayanan.^[17]

• The Kongu country was conquered by the Cholas under Aditya I in the final years of the 9th century AD, likely involving conflict with Parantaka Vira Narayana.^[18] It is recorded that the Chera Perumal king Sthanu Ravi acted as a junior partner in this Chola campaign in the Kongu country.^[18] The Pandyas were eventually defeated in the "great battle" of Sripurambiyam (c. 885 AD).^[19] Corresponding marriage alliances between the Chera Perumals and the Cholas are also recorded in several inscriptions (see Kizhan Adigal).^[17]

Pandya king Rajasimha II, who was defeated by Parantaka I, is said to have found asylum in the Chera country or Kerala around 920 AD.^[20] It is also recorded that Chola king Sundara (c. 956 – c. 973 AD) had a Chera or Kerala princess among his queens.^[21]

The Kongu Chera country was subsequently conquered by the Cholas (late 10th-early 11 centuries AD).^[22][23]

• "Amara Bhujanga Deva", one of the princes defeated by Chola king Rajaraja (as mentioned in the Tiruvalangadu Grant), was likely a Pandya or a Kongu Chera prince.^[24] Records from this period also mention a ruler named "Vira Kerala Amara Bhujanga Deva" from the Kongu country.^[24]
• Chola king Rajadhiraja is known for defeating certain "Vira Kerala", one of the so-called "thennavar muvar", and trampling him to death with his war elephant.^[25] This royal figure was probably a Kongu-Chera of the "Chandra-Aditya Kula" or a Pandya prince born of a Pandya royal and a Kongu Chera princess.^[26] Vira Kerala was previously thought to be a Chera Perumal king of Kerala by historians such as K. A. Nilakanta Sastri and Elamkulam P. N. Kunjan Pillai; however, this view was later revised by historian M. G. S. Narayanan.^[27]

A line of independent rulers known as "Kongu Cholas", who bore Chola titles, ruled the Kongu country around the 13th century AD. These rulers were probably members of a collateral branch of the Kongu Cheras or descendants of Chola "viceroys" appointed to the Kongu country.^[23]

Unlike the Chera Perumals of the west coast (Mahodayapuram; Kerala), the Kongu Cheras are known for their distinctive coins.^[28]

Silver coins bearing the Nagari legend "sri vira keralasya" (11th–12th centuries AD), found in British Museum and other locations, are generally attributed to the Kongu Cheras.^[28] Another coin, known as "anai achu" (the elephant mould"), featuring the bow and arrow symbol, is also believed to be a product of the Kongu Cheras.^[28] The anai achu coin was in circulation in western Tamil Nadu and, to some extent, in Kerala in the 12th–13th centuries AD.^[28]

Several stone and copper inscriptions of the Kongu Cheras — likely vassals of the Cholas — dated by palaeography to the 9th – 11th centuries AD, have been found in places such as Vellalur, Namakkal, Pazhani, Perur, Dharmapuram, Erode, and Tirukkannapuram.^[29] In these inscriptions, they are generally described as members of the Chandra-Aditya Kula (the Luni-Solar Race).^[29]

• Ramamurthy, A. (1986). Mahalingam, N. (ed.). History of Kongu: Pre-historic Period to 1300 AD (PDF). Madras: ISIAC.