Sangam Age – The Three Early Kingdoms of the Deep South

At a Glance

• Region Tamizhakam, south of the Krishna
• Kingdoms Chola, Pandya, Chera
• Chola ruler Karikala
• Chera ruler Senguttuvan
• Wealth Roman trade, pepper, pearls
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Ancient History: Post-Mauryan Period and Early South India

Where Does It Fit?

This is the eighth topic of the category on the post-Mauryan period. The previous topic covered Satavahana society and monuments, and this one covers the early southern kingdoms. The next topic covers Sangam literature and society. Previous topic: Satavahana Society, Administration, Religion and Architecture. The Cholas return as a great power in Chola Rulers and Political History (Rajaraja I, Rajendra I).

How Did State Formation Begin in the Deep South?

In short: iron, contact with the north and Roman trade turned megalithic communities into organised kingdoms.

After the prehistoric period, the markers of the historical period are large rural communities practising plough agriculture with the iron ploughshare, a state system, social classes, writing, metal coinage and written literature. In the tip of the peninsula, with the Kaveri delta as the nuclear zone, these did not appear until about the second century BC. Until then the uplands were inhabited by megalith builders, known from their graves: 104 excavated megalithic and black-and-red ware sites are listed, mostly in south India, concentrated in eastern Andhra and Tamil Nadu. The megalithic culture begins about 1000 BC and lasted in many places from the fifth to the first century BC. In the southern districts of Tamil Nadu they buried skeletons in urns, and preferred hill slopes for settlement. By the second century BC they moved to fertile river basins and reclaimed marshy deltaic areas, and began wet paddy cultivation, villages, towns and social classes under the stimulus of traders, conquerors and Jaina, Buddhist and some brahmana missionaries. Contacts between the north and Tamizhakam became important from the fourth century BC, and the Dakshinapatha was valued for gold, pearls and precious stones. Megasthenes knew the Pandya state, and the Ashokan inscriptions mention the Cholas, Pandyas, Keralaputras and Satyaputras on the borders of the empire. The megalithic background is in Megalithic and Iron Age Cultures of South India.

Who Were the Pandyas, Cholas and Cheras?

The Pandyas first appear in Megasthenes, who says their kingdom was famed for pearls and ruled by a woman, a hint of matriarchal influence. Their territory covered the districts of Tirunelveli, Ramnad and Madurai with the capital at Madurai. They profited from Roman trade, sent ambassadors to Augustus, and performed Vedic sacrifices in the early centuries AD. The Cholas ruled the area between the Pennar and Velar rivers, with their chief centre at Uraiyur, famous for cotton. In the mid-second century BC a Chola king named Elara conquered Sri Lanka and ruled for nearly fifty years. A clearer history begins in the second century AD with Karikala, who founded Puhar and built 160 km of embankment along the Kaveri with 12,000 slaves captured in Sri Lanka. Puhar, or Kaveripattanam, had a large dock and was a great centre of trade. After Karikala, Chola power declined, Puhar was destroyed, and from the fourth to the ninth century the Cholas played a marginal role. The Cheras held the area west and north of the Pandyas, between the sea and the mountains, and prospered from Roman trade; Muziris was their port, where the Romans are said to have stationed two regiments and built a temple of Augustus. Their greatest king was Senguttuvan, the Red Chera, who is said to have crossed the Ganges, a claim that seems exaggerated. Chera power declined after the second century.

How Did Trade, Revenue and Society Work?

The kingdoms fought one another and Sri Lanka, but profited from natural resources and foreign trade. They grew pepper, which was in great demand in the West, and exported ivory, pearls, precious stones, muslin and silk. Uraiyur was noted for cotton, and Greek words for rice, ginger and cinnamon came from Tamil. With Egypt becoming a Roman province and the discovery of the monsoon about the first century AD, trade grew, and for about two and a half centuries the south enjoyed a lucrative trade with Rome; its decline caused decay. Trade provided revenue through customs and transit duties, and the real foundation of polity was agriculture on fertile land growing paddy, ragi and sugarcane. The army had chariots, elephants, cavalry and infantry. Income allowed kings to pay warriors, bards and priests, and brahmanas first appeared in the Tamil land in this age. Kshatriyas and vaishyas appear as varnas, and vellalas, rich peasants, held land. The details are in Sangam Literature and Society and Indo-Roman Trade and Maritime Contacts.

As an analytical point, state formation in the south was driven by trade and iron, not by conquest from the north, and it produced kingdoms of moderate size rather than a Mauryan-style empire. The contact with the Mauryas is in Mauryan Economy and State Control.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Southern history Foundation topic
• Trade Roman link
• Chronology Megalithic to early states

What Came Next?

The next topic describes Sangam literature and society. Next topic: Sangam Literature and Society.

Key People and Terms

• Tamizhakam Tamil country
• Dakshinapatha Route to the south
• Uraiyur Early Chola centre
• Puhar Chola port capital
• Muziris Chera port
• Vellala Rich peasant

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions ask about state formation and trade. These points add depth.

• Transition Megalith to state
• Kingdoms Three powers
• Trade Roman link