The lists of legendary early Chola kings are recorded in Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

 literature and in the inscriptions left by the later Chola kings.

Chola Empire

The genealogy of the Chola empire as found in the Tamil literature and in the many inscriptions left by the later Chola kings contains a number of kings recorded for whom there is no verifiable historic evidence. There are as many versions of this lineage as there are sources for them. The main sources are (a) the Sangam literature – particularly Purananuru

Purananuru

Purananuru is a Tamil poetic work in the Pathinenmaelkanakku anthology of Tamil literature, belonging to the Sangam period corresponding to between 200 BCE – 100 CE. Purananuru is part of the Ettuthokai anthology which is the oldest available collection of poems of Sangam literature in Tamil....

, religious literature such as Periapuranam, semi-biographical poems of the later Chola period such as the Kalingathuparani written during the Kulothunga Chola I

Kulothunga Chola I

Kō Rājakēsarivarman Abaya Kulōthunga Chōla was one of the greatest kings of the Chola Empire. He was one of the sovereigns who bore the title Kulottunga, literally meaning the exalter of his race.-Early life:...

 and in the temple and cave inscription and copper-plate grants

Tamil Copper-plate inscriptions

Tamil copper-plate inscriptions are copper-plate records of grants of villages, plots of cultivable lands or other privileges to private individuals or public institutions by the members of the various South Indian royal dynasties. The study of these inscriptions, has been especially important in...

 left by medieval Cholas.

Irrespective of the source, no list of the kings has a high level of historic fact and, while they generally are similar to each other, no two lists are exactly the same. Modern historians consider these lists not as historically reliable sources but as comprehensive conglomerations of various Hindu deities and Puranic characters attributed to local chieftains and invented ancestry of the Cholas of the Vijayalaya

Vijayalaya Chola

Vijayalaya was the Chola king of South India Thanjavur during c. 848 C.E. and re-established the Chola dynastic rule.-Dark age of Cholas:The ancient Chola kingdom once famous in Tamil literature and in the writings of Greek merchants and geographers faded in to darkness after c 300 C.E. Cholas...

 dynasty attempting to re-establish their legitimacy and supremacy in a land they were trying to conquer.

Prehistorical Cholas

A number of mythical hero and demi-gods found their place in the ancestry claimed by the later Cholas in the long mythical genealogies incorporated into the copper-plate charters and stone inscription of the tenth and eleventh centuries. The earliest version of this is found in the Anbil Plates which gives fifteen names before Vijayalaya Chola including the genuinely historical ones of Karikala, Perunarkilli

Perunarkilli

Perunarkilli was one of the Tamil king's of the Early Cholas mentioned in Sangam Literature. We have no definite details about this Chola or his reign. The only information we have is from the fragmentary poems of Sangam in the Purananuru poems....

 and Kocengannan

Kocengannan

Kocengannan was one of the Tamil king's of the Early Cholas mentioned in Sangam Literature. The only surviving details about his reign come from the fragmentary poems of Sangam in the Purananuru poems...

. The Thiruvalangadu Plate swells this list to forty-four, and the Kanyakumari Plate runs up to fifty-two.

The Cholas were looked upon as descended from the sun. These myths speak of a Chola king, supposed contemporary of the sage Agastya, whose devotion brought the river Kavery into existence. There is also the story of the king Manu

Manu

-Geography:*Manú Province, a province of Peru, in the Madre de Dios Region*Manú National Park, Peru*Manú River, in southeastern Peru*Manu River, Tripura, which originates in India and flows into Bangladesh...

 who sentenced his son to death for having accidentally killed a calf. King Shibi

Shibi

King Shibi Chakravarti is a famous king in Hindu mythology and Buddhist Jataka Tales. Sibi was the son of Usinara a famous king of Chandravamsa...

 who rescued a dove from a hawk by giving his own flesh to the hungry hawk was also part of the early Chola legends. King Shibi was also called Sembiyan, a popular title assumed by a number of Chola kings.

Cholas of the Sangam period

Though legendary and apocryphal, the early Chola kings of the Sangam period and the life of people

Ancient Tamil country

The Sangam period is the classical period in the history of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and other parts of South India, spanning about the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE...

 contributed much to the cultural wealth of the Tamil country. The Sangam literature is full of legends about the mythical Chola kings.Their Pantheon

Pantheon (gods)

A pantheon is a set of all the gods of a particular polytheistic religion or mythology.Max Weber's 1922 opus, Economy and Society discusses the link between a...

 of Gods

Deity

A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....

 were led by Siva

Shiva

Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...

the supreme, Aiyai or Uma the Kotravai(Kullabai), Sevvel

Bel

Bel can mean:* bel , a unit of ratio used in acoustics, electronics, etc. A derived unit of 1 decibel = 0.1 B is often used.* Bel , a Semitic deity * Belenus aka Bel; a Celtic deity...

or Muruga the Kurinci-Marudakkadavul

Marduk

Marduk was the Babylonian name of a late-generation god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon, who, when Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time of Hammurabi , started to...

, ThiruMaal

Narayana

Narayana or Narayan or Naraina is an important Sanskrit name for Vishnu, and in many contemporary vernaculars a common Indian name. Narayana is also identified as the original man, Purusha. The Puranas present divergent views on Narayana...

 or Maayoan the Mullaikkadavul, Vanci-Irai(Indra

Indra

' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...

), Neitharman(Varuna), El

El

EL, El or el may refer to:* El , a Semitic word for "God"; also a senior god mentioned in the Ugarit and Ebla texts found in ancient Syria.* El , a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet* El , the letter L...

 the Uthi

Utu

Utu is the Sun god in Sumerian mythology, the son of the moon god Nanna and the goddess Ningal. His brother and sisters are Ishkur and Inanna and Erishkigal....

(the Sun

Sun

The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...

) and Nanna

Nanna

-Mythology:* Nanna or Sin , god of the moon in Sumerian mythology, also called Suen* Nanna , goddess and wife of the god Baldr in Norse mythology-People:* Nanna , a Scandinavian female name...

 the Mathi(the Moon

Moon

The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...

) . The following list of early Sangam Cholas has been built from the various poems of Purananuru. The dates of accession are approximate interpolation of the Hindu Puranic Timeline.

• Eri Oliyan Vaendhi C. 3020 BCE
• Maandhuvaazhi C. 2980 BCE
• El Mei Nannan C. 2945 BCE
• Keezhai Kinjuvan C. 2995 BCE
• Vazhisai Nannan C. 2865 BCE
• Mei Kiyagusi Aerru C. 2820 BCE
• Aai Kuzhi Agusi Aerru C. 2810 BCE
• Thizhagan Maandhi C. 2800 BCE
• Maandhi Vaelan C. 2770 BCE
• Aai Adumban C. 2725 BCE
• Aai Nedun jaet chozha thagaiyan C. 2710 BCE
• El Mei Agguvan a.k.a Keezh nedu mannan C. 2680 BCE
• Mudiko Mei Kaalaiyam Thagaiyan C. 2650 BCE
• Ilangok keezh kaalaiyan thagaiyan a.k.a. Ilangeezh nannan C. 2645 BCE -start of Kadamba lineage by his brother Aai Keezh Nannan
• Kaalaiyan gudingyan C. 2630 BCE
• Nedun gaalayan dhagayan C. 2615 BCE
• Vaengai nedu vael varaiyan C.2614 BCE
• Vaet kaal kudingyan C. 2600 BCE
• Maei Ila vael varaiyan C. 2590 BCE
• Sibi Vendhi C. 2580 BCE
• Paru nonji chaamazhingyan C. 2535 BCE
• Vaeqratrtri chembiya chozhan C. 2525 BCE
• Saamazhi chozhiya vaelaan C. 2515 BCE
• Uthi ven gaalai thagan C. 2495 BCE
• Nannan that kaalai thagan C. 2475 BCE
• Vel vaen mindi C. 2445 BCE
• Nedun jembiyan C. 2415 BCE
• Nedu nonji Vendhi C. 2375 BCE
• Maei Vael paqratrtri C. 2330 BCE
• Aai Perun thoan nonji C. 2315 BCE
• Kudiko pungi C. 2275 BCE
• Perun goep poguvan C. 2250 BCE
• Koeth thatrtri C. 2195 BCE
• Vadi sembiyan C. 2160 BCE
• Aalam poguvan C. 2110 BCE
• Nedun jembiyan C. 2085 BCE
• Perum paeyar poguvan C. 2056 BCE
• Kadun jembiyan C. 2033 BCE
• Nedun kathan C. 2015 BCE
• Paru nakkan C. 1960 BCE
• Vani sembiyan C. 1927 BCE
• Udha chira mondhuvan C. 1902 BCE
• Perun kaththan C. 1875 BCE
• Kadun kandhalan C. 1860 BCE
• Nakka monjuvan C. 1799 BCE
• Maarko vael Maandhuvan Aaththikko C. 1786 BCE
• Musukunthan Vaendhi C. 1753 BCE
• Peru nakkan Thatrtri C. 1723 BCE
• Vaer kaththan C. 1703 BCE
• Ambalaththu Irumundruvan C. 1682 BCE
• Kaari mondhuvan C. 1640 BCE
• Vennakkan Thatrtri C. 1615 BCE
• Maarko chunthuvan C. 1565 BCE
• Vaer parunthoan mundruvan C. 1520 BCE
• Udhan kaththan C. 1455 BCE
• Kaariko sunthuvan C. 1440 BCE
• Vendri nungunan C. 1396 BCE
• Mondhuvan Vendhi C. 1376 BCE
• Kaandhaman C. 1359 BCE
• Mundruvan Vendhi C. 1337 BCE
• Kaandhaman C. 1297 BCE
• Monjuvan Vendhi C. 1276 BCE
• Ani sembiyan C. 1259 BCE
• Nungunan Vendhi C. 1245 BCE
• Maarkop perum Cenni C. 1229 BCE
• Monjuvan Nanvendhi C. 1180 BCE
• Kop perunar chenni C. 1170 BCE
• Monthuvan jembiyan C. 1145 BCE
• Narchenni C. 1105 BCE
• Caet chembiyan C. 1095 BCE
• Nakkar chenni C. 1060 BCE
• Parun jembiyan C.1045 BCE
• Venjenni C. 998 BCE
• Musugunthan C. 989 BCE
• Maarkop perun jembiyan C. 960 BCE
• Nedunjenni C.935 BCE
• Thatchembiyan C. 915 BCE
• Ambalaththu iruvaer chembiyan C. 895 BCE
• Kaariko chenni C. 865 BCE
• Venvaer chenni C. 830 BCE
• Kaandhaman, C. 788 BCE
• Kaandhalan C. 721 BCE
• Caetchenni C. 698 BCE
• Vani nungunan C. 680 BCE
• Mudhu sembiyan Vendhi C. 640 BCE
• Peelan jembiyach chozhiyan C. 615 BCE
• Maeyan gadungo C. 590 BCE
• Thiththan C. 570 BCE
• Perunar killi Porvaiko C. 515 BCE
• Kadu mundruvan C. 496 BCE
• Kopperunjozhan C. 495 BCE
• Narkilli Mudiththalai C. 480 BCE
• Thevvan go chozhan C. 465 BCE
• Naran jembiyan C. 455 BCE
• Nakkam peela valavan C. 440 BCE
• Iniyan thevvan jenni C. 410 BCE
• Varcembiyan C. 395BCE
• Nedun jembiyan C. 386 BCE
• Nakkan aran jozhan C. 345 BCE
• Ambalathu irungoch chenni C. 330 BCE
• Perunar killi C. 316 BCE
• Kochaet Cenni C. 286 BCE
• Cerupazhi Erinda Ilanjaetcenni, C. 275 BCE
• Nedungop perunkilli C. 220 BCE
• Cenni Ellagan C. 205 BCE
• Perun gilli C. 165 BCE
• Kopperun jozhiyav ilanjaetcenni C. 140 BCE
• Perunar killi Mudiththalai ko C. 120 BCE
• PerumpootCenni C. 100 BCE
• Ilam perunjenni C. 100 BCE
• Perungilli Vendhi aka Karikaalan I C. 70 BCE
• Nedumudi Killi C. 35 BCE
• Ilavanthigaipalli Thunjiya Maei Nalangilli Caet Cenni, C. 20 BCE
• Aai Vaenalangilli C. 15 BCE
• Uruvapakraer Ilanjaetcenni, C. 10 - 16 CE
• 16 CE - 30 CE Kingdom ruled by a series of Uraiyur chieftains
• Karikaalan II Peruvalaththaan, C. 31 CE
• Vaer paqradakkai Perunar killi, C. 99 CE
• Perun thiru mavalavan ,Kuraapalli Thunjiya C. 99 CE
• Nalangilli C. 111 CE
• Perunarkilli , Kula mutrtraththu Thunjiya C. 120 CE
• Perunarkilli , Irasasuya vaetta C. 143 CE
• Vael kadunkilli C. 192 CE
• Kochenganaan C. 220 CE
• Nalluruththiran C. 245 CE

Genealogy from Chola inscriptions

There is no concordance between various Chola inscriptions as far as their ancestry is concerned.

The genealogy of the Chola family conveyed by the Thiruvalangadu copperplate grant consists of names that are mostly mythological.

• Manu
• Ikshvaku
• Vikukshi
• Puranjaya
• Kakutstha
• Kakshivat
• Aryaman
• Analapratapa
• Vena
• Prithu
• Dhundhumara
• Yuvanasva
• Mandhatri
• Muchukunda
• Valabha
• Prithulaksha
• Parthivachudamani
• Dirghabahu
• Chandrajit
• Sankriti
• Panchapa
• Satyavrata
• Rudrajit
• Sibi
• Marutta
• Dushyanta
• Bharata
• Cholavarman
• Rajakesarivarman
• Parakesarin
• Chitraratha
• Chitrasva
• Chitradhanvan
• Suraguru (Mrityujit)
• Chitraratha
• Vyaghraketu
• Narendrapati
• Vasu (Uparichara)
• Visvajit
• Perunatkilli
• Karikala
• Kochchengannan