Cheras of the Sangam Age

Cheras were one of the three famous ruling kingdoms of the Snagam Age. The rulers of these kingdoms ruled over parts of Kerala and Tamilham. Cholas and Pandyas were the other two ruling dynasties. The Tamil anthology Padirruppattu is exclusively devoted to the Chera monarchs.  

The first famous king of the Chera dynasty was Udiyanjeral (c. AD 130). He was given the titles of Vanavaramban and Perunjoram Udiyan by the poet Mudinagarayar in Puram literature. A generous ruler, he is said to have maintained a large kitchen from where he freely distributed food to the people. He was succeeded to the throne by his son Imayavaramaban Nedunjeral Adan (c. AD 155) who defeated the ruler of the Kadambas and destroyed his guardian tree. In another work, he is also credited to have captured several Yavanas, who were released only when the ruler received a heavy ransom in the form of diamonds and may utensils of fine workmanship. These Yavanas are identified with the Greek sailors. It is not known why these sailors bore the burnt of the Chera ruler. The  capital of Nedunjeral Adan was Marandai. He lost his life while fighting a war with the contemporary Chola king who also died. Their wives of both the kings performed sati. 

But the greatest of the early Chera kings was Pirakotiya Senguttuvan, also known as Red Chera, who was a contemporary of the poet Paranar, one of the most famous and long-lived poets of the Sangam Period. Paranar credits Senaguttuvan with a number of conquests. He also made a campaign to North India to get a Himalayan stone to make an idol of Goddess Kannagi (the Goddess of Chastity). According to early Tamil epic Silappadikaram, the ruler was the founder of the famous Pattini cult related to the worship of the Goddess of Chastity, which after became common in South India and Lanka.

Senguttuvan was succeeded by his half-brother Perunjeral (or Perumcheral) Adan (c.180), who was a contemporary of the great Chola monarch Karikala. We learn from the poems Puram and Aham that while fighting against the Choals in the Battle of Venni, Perunjeral Adan received a wound in the back and expiated by starving himself to death on the battlefield with his sword in hand. We learn that many eminent men gave up their lives when they came to know the Chera ruler’s demise and the reason for it. 

Kanaikkal Irumporai was another important Chera ruler who was defeated by Chola monarch Senganan in the battle of Por. The Chera king was thrown into prison where he refused to drink water which he asked and was brought to him after a deliberate delay and he fasted unto death. 

The later Chera kings were constantly at war with the Cholas. The decline of the Chera dynasty began at the beginning of the third century AD. 

The Cheras did a brisk trade with the Tamil ports. The celebrated Chera port Muziris was a great centre of Indo-Roman trade.