The Cheras were one of the famous Muvendars who ruled Tamil Nadu for hundreds of years. They are slightly inferior to the Muvendars in the land, but they are not in any way slack in heroism. The Cheras were the ones who defeated the Chola, Pandya, Kalabhira, and Kadamba kingdoms and defeated many glorious and powerful kings. The Cheras ruled Kongu Nadu and Kerala for more than seven centuries.
History
The historical record of the Cheras is less than that of the Cholas and Pandyas. The history of the Cheras can be divided into two sections, the Early Cheras and the Later Cheras. References to the early Cholas are found in Tamil texts/epics. The history of the early Cheras is more about the pride and heroism of the Cheras than the history of the later Cheras.
Early Cheras
The three most important kings in the history of the early Cheras and the most historically significant kings are Uthiyan Cheral Athan, Imayavaramban Nedum Cheral Athan, and Cheran Chenguttuvan. According to the information available to us in history, Uthiyan Cheral Athan was the originator of the Chera lineage. References to them are found in the Sangam literature, Ettuthogai, and Paththupaatu.
Imayavaramban Nedum Cheral Athan :
Imayavarampan cheral athan was the son of Nedum cheral athan and Nalini. He got the name Imayavaramban as he carried the glory of the Chera dynasty to the Himalayas. He ruled all the kingdoms in between the Himalayas and Kumari Kandam, and during his reign, his people lived without knowing hunger, and he shared the gold and goods with his people.
Nedum Cheral Athan conquered the Himalayas and hoisted the flag of the Cheras there. The highway on the south sought the help of the Chola and Pandya kings in Tamil Nadu to conquer the Himalayas on the north. The Chola and Pandya kings also gave a portion of their army to help the emperor, who successfully conquered the Himalayas and hoisted the flag of the Cheras there.
Cheran Chenguttuvan
Cheran Sengkuttuvan is born in the 2nd century as the son of Imayavaramban Nedum Cheral Athan and narchonai. He ruled with Vanji as his capital and traded with the Greeks through Musiri in Kerala. He defeated the Kadambas and many other kings of his time in battle and wore the crown of the seven kings he had conquered.
Thus none of the heroic kings came from the dynasty to join after three successive kings. Thus the Chera dynasty began to crumble from the third century. The rise of the Cholas and Pandyas led to the total annihilation of the Chera dynasty and that is the end of early Cheras history.
The territory of Early Cheras
What exists among the people is that the Cheras are not pure Tamils and they belong to Kerala. But that is completely wrong. During the rule of the early Cheras, there was an area called Kongu Nadu along with some parts of Tamil Nadu and some parts of Kerala they have been ruled. The whole of Kongunadu is Tamil. So the Cheras are pure Tamils.
Later Cheras
Five centuries after the fall of the early Cheras in the 3rd century the lineage did not rise to join the Cheras. There was an uprising of the Cholas during that period. Kulasekara, a Chera king, brought together the Chera dynasty that had been scattered for five centuries together in the eighth century. The entire territory of the later Cheras was only part of Kerala. After the Reunion of the Cheras the Paranthaka Chola invades Kerala i.e. the Cheras.
Fall of Chera Lineage
As the Chola kings continued to invade the Cheras following the Paranthaka Chola, the Cheras could not stop it and the Chera rule came under the leadership of the Cholas.
Finally, King Rama Varma Kulasekara from the Chera dynasty launches a war against the Cholas, mobilizes all his forces, and reclaims his capital from the Cholas but loses his entire army in that battle. Thus the lineage to join is further declining. Following the Cholas, the Pandyas suppressed the Cheras after the uprising of the Pandyas. Thus under the leadership of someone, the Cheras are brought in.
After that, due to the attack of the Nayaks and the uprising of the Brahmins, the Cheras left Tamil Nadu altogether and lived in Kerala. Then the Chera dynasty comes to an end due to the lack of uprising of the later Chears.
Read also the Pandya Kingdom
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