Nelcynda ( grc, Νέλκυνδα) is a place in ancient Kerala. It was described in Pliny's classical work The Natural History as well as in

Periplus of the Erythraean Sea The ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' ( grc, Περίπλους τῆς Ἐρυθρᾶς Θαλάσσης, ', modern Greek '), also known by its Latin name as the , is a Greco-Roman periplus written in Koine Greek that describes navigation and ...

. It was believed to be the capital of the Ay kingdom. Nakkada near Niranam in

Pathanamthitta district Pathanamthitta District (), is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. The district headquarters is in the town of Pathanamthitta. There are four municipalities in Pathanamthitta: Adoor, Pandalam, Pathanamthitta and Thiruvalla ...

are often identified with Nelcynda.

Variations

Nelcynda is mentioned by various authors under varying forms of the name. As has been already stated, it is Melkunda in Ptolemy, who places it in the country of the Ay. In the Peutingerian Table it is Nincylda, and in the Geographer of Ravenna, Nilcinna. Pliny the Elder in his book Naturalis Historia calls the port Neacyndi.

Citations

Periplus of the Erythraean Sea

According to the ''Periplus'', numerous Greek seamen managed an intense trade with Muziris:

The Natural History

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

(c. 23- 77 CE) gives a description of voyages to India in the 1st century CE. He refers to many Indian ports in his work The Natural History.

Present location

The present location is actually not self-evident. Some researchers identity Nelcynda with Nakkada near Niranam. Other possible locations include

Neendakara Neendakara is a suburb of Kollam city in Kerala, India. The twin harbours, Neendakara and Shakthikulangara are located here. , url=https://www.tourmyindia.com/states/kerala/neendakara-port-kollam.html Trawling ban and withdrawal of the state off ...

, Nirkunnam, Kannetri and

Kollam Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city ...

. The details like "Nelcynda is distant from Muziris by river and sea about five hundred stadia..." and other evidences of ancient ports are used in arriving at these possibilities. Scholars have tried to identify the port of Nelcynda with Kallada on the Kallada River (Yule 1903), with Nirkunnam on the Meenachil River (Kanakasabhai 1904), with Niganda (which later on came to be known as Niranam) (I C Chacko 1979) and with Kottayam (Sastri 1955, Gurukkal and Whittakker 2001).

Kollam

(Nelcynda) shares fame with Kodungallur (Muziris) as an ancient sea port on the Malabar coast of India from early centuries of the Christian era.

had a sustained commercial reputation from the days of the Phoenicians and the Romans. Pliny (23-79 AD) mentions about Greek ships anchored at Musiris and Nelkanda. Musiris is identified with Kodungallur (then ruled by the Chera kingdom) and Nelkanda (Nelcyndis) with

Quilon Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city ...

(then under the Pandyan rule). The inland sea port(kore-ke-ni) was also called Tyndis.

was the chief port of the Pandyas on the West Coast and was connected with Korkai (Kayal) port on the East Coast and also through land route over the Western Ghats. Spices, pearls, diamonds and silk were exported to Egypt and Rome from these two ports on the South Western coast of India. Pearls and diamonds came from Ceylon and the South eastern coast of India, then known as the Pandyan kingdom. Yule identifies Nelcynda as

Kallada Kallada is a village in Kollam district of the Indian state of Kerala. Maharaja Marthanda Varma of the kingdom of Travancore was born there. The Kallada River Kallada River/Kulathupuzha " Puzha "means River.Its's the longest river in Kollam D ...

. That would also satisfy the mention "This place also is situated on a river, about one hundred and twenty stadia from the sea...." Yule writes

Niranam

This assumption is possible from the mention "This place also is situated on a river, about one hundred and twenty stadia from the sea....". But there are no evidences of Niranam being an ancient port. Barace can be identified as Varakkai.

Kannetri

Caldwell is said to have identified it with Kannetri

Nelcynda in Fiction

Writer and Renowned Social Anthropologist Susan Visvanathan wrote a novella based on Nelcynda, called "Nelycinda and Other Stories", Roli Books(2012).