Uthiyan Cheralathan
Encyclopedia
Uthiyan Cheralatan is the first recorded Chera dynasty
king of the Sangam period in ancient South India
with capital at Kuzhumur in Kuttanad (present day Idukki district). His kingdom was located in the modern state of Kerala
and part of Tamil Nadu
and ruled between first and third century AD according to the literary works of the Sangam Era, particularly the Pathirruppaththu
. Uthiyan Cheralathan is also regarded as the founder of the dynasty, and was contemporary to Karikala Chola
. During his reign, foreign trade by the famous sea port Muziris
flourished, bringing great prosperity to his kingdom. Uthiyan Cheralatan assumed the title 'Vanavaramban' which could either mean "one whose kingdom reaches up to the sky" or "the one who's loved by the Gods". He is even exaggerated to have fed the armies of the Kauravas and the Pandavas in the Mahabharata war.
His royal kitchen is said to have been at Kulumur identified with Kulukur in North Travancore, present day Kerala
. His queen was Nallini, the daughter of Veliyan Venman. He is said to have ruled from the east to the west coast and is praised for his elephant corps and cavalry. He went into several battles and in one of those with the ruler of Chola kingdom, his back was injured and being unable to bear the disgrace is believed to have committed suicide, a common practice at the time.
Uthiyan Cheralatan was succeeded by his son, Imayavaramban Nedun-Cheralatan
.
Chera dynasty
Chera Dynasty in South India is one of the most ancient ruling dynasties in India. Together with the Cholas and the Pandyas, they formed the three principle warring Iron Age Tamil kingdoms in southern India...
king of the Sangam period in ancient South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
with capital at Kuzhumur in Kuttanad (present day Idukki district). His kingdom was located in the modern state of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
and part of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
and ruled between first and third century AD according to the literary works of the Sangam Era, particularly the Pathirruppaththu
Pathirruppaththu
Pathiṟṟuppaththu is a classical Tamil poetic work. It is the fourth book in the Ettuthokai, an anthology of Sangam literature. The name Pathiṟṟuppaththu means 'ten tens', referring to the ten sets of ten poems the book contains. The first and the last ten poems have been lost beyond recovery...
. Uthiyan Cheralathan is also regarded as the founder of the dynasty, and was contemporary to Karikala Chola
Karikala Chola
Karikala Chola or Karikala Chozhan was one of the great Tamil kings of Early Chola during the Sangam period. He was the son of Ilamcetcenni and ruled around 270 BC....
. During his reign, foreign trade by the famous sea port Muziris
Muziris
Muziris is an ancient sea-port in Southwestern India on the Periyar River 3.2 km from its mouth. The derivation of the name Muziris is said to be from "Mucciripattanam," "mucciri" means "cleft palate" and "pattanam" means "city". Near Muziris, Periyar River was branched into two like a...
flourished, bringing great prosperity to his kingdom. Uthiyan Cheralatan assumed the title 'Vanavaramban' which could either mean "one whose kingdom reaches up to the sky" or "the one who's loved by the Gods". He is even exaggerated to have fed the armies of the Kauravas and the Pandavas in the Mahabharata war.
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
. His queen was Nallini, the daughter of Veliyan Venman. He is said to have ruled from the east to the west coast and is praised for his elephant corps and cavalry. He went into several battles and in one of those with the ruler of Chola kingdom, his back was injured and being unable to bear the disgrace is believed to have committed suicide, a common practice at the time.
Uthiyan Cheralatan was succeeded by his son, Imayavaramban Nedun-Cheralatan
Imayavaramban Nedun-Cheralatan
Imayavaramban Nedum Cheralatan was a Chera king of the Sangam period in ancient South India, contemporary to Perunarkilli. He is considered as the second Chera King belonging to the First Chera dynasty ruled some part of the Southern India as per the literary works during Sangam Era and...
.