Later Cheras

Chera Kingdom
Monarchy
Unknown, c4th century BCE–12th century CE
Extent of Chera kingdom
Capital		Mahodayapuram Quilon Karuvur
Languages		Tamil
Religion		Dravidian folk religion Hinduism: Shaivism, Vaishnavism Jainism Buddhism Christianity Judaism
Political structure		Monarchy
History
•	Established	Unknown, c4th century BCE
•	Disestablished	12th century CE
Succeeded by Venad Samoothiri
Today part of		India

The Cheras were the principal ruling dynasty of the present-day state of Kerala and to a lesser extent, parts of Tamil Nadu in South India. Along with the Ay kingdom in the south and the Ezhimala kingdom in the north, they formed the ruling kingdoms of Kerala in the early years of the Common Era. Together with the Cholas and the Pandyas, they were one of the three major kingdoms of Tamilakam, the territory of the Tamils. The recorded history of the Chera dynasty is broadly divided into two phases. The Early Cheras are said to have spanned the period between the 4th century BCE to 5th century CE. The Later Cheras, also known as the Kulasekharas, were in power between the 8th and 12th century. Little is known about the Cheras between these two prominent phases which is often called a 'historical darkness'.

The age and antiquity of the Early Cheras is difficult to establish. Most of their history is reconstructed from a body of literature known as the Sangam literature written in Old Tamil around the 3rd century CE. Traveller's accounts suggest that the Cheras existed during the 4th century BCE. Sangam literature records the names of the long line of Chera kings, princes, and the court poets who extolled them. The internal chronology of this literature is still far from settled and a connected account of the history of the period is an area of active research. Uthiyan Cheralathan, Nedum Cheralathan and Senguttuvan are some of the rulers referred to in the Sangam poems. Senguttuvan, the most celebrated of the Chera kings, is famous for the legends surrounding Kannagi, the heroine of the epic Silapathikaram.