Nedum Cheralathan was a
Chera ruler of the
early historic south India (c. 1st - 4th century CE), contemporary to the Chola ruler
Perunarkilli
Perunarkilli ( ta, பெருநற்கிள்ளி) was one of the Tamil kings of the Early Cholas mentioned in Sangam Literature. There are no definite details about this Chola or his reign. The only information available is from the f ...
. He won the title 'Imayavaramban
' which means 'whose limit extends upto Himalayas' as he fought various kings around Kerala and reached upto
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
. He is the second known Chera ruler from the early Sangham literature, and is praised in the Second Ten of ''
Pathitruppaththu'' (composed by poet Kannanar).
[Zvelebil, Kamil. ''The Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South India''. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1973. 52-53.] He patronized ''
Jainism
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current ...
'' and
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
.
Nedum Cheralathan succeeded his father (
Uthiyan Cheralathan
Uthiyan Cheralathan ("Perum Chottu Uthiyan") is earliest known Chera ruler of early historic Kerala (c. 1st - 4th century CE) from available literary sources. He had his headquarters at a place called Kuzhumur in Kuttanad (southern Kerala). ...
) and ruled the territory for 58 years (as a crown prince first and then as an absolute ruler). He was a successful ruler with several victories over neighbouring rulers such as the
Kadambas. He is believed to have won over "seven crowned kings" and thus obtained the status of ''"adhiraja"''. He defeated an enemy on the
Malabar Coast
The Malabar Coast is the southwestern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing m ...
and captured several ''
Yavana
The word Yona in Pali and the Prakrits, and the analogue Yavana in Sanskrit and Yavanar in Tamil, were words used in Ancient India to designate Greek speakers. "Yona" and "Yavana" are transliterations of the Greek word for "Ionians" ( grc, ...
'' traders, later releasing them for ransom. Nedum Cheralathan fought a battle against a
Chola ruler, an encounter in which both the principal adversaries lost their lives.
[Menon, A. Sreedhara. ''A Survey of Kerala History.'' Kerala: National Book Stall, 1967.]
References
Citations
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2nd-century Indian monarchs
People of the Chera kingdom
Chera kings
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