The legendary early Chola kings are

recorded history Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historical method. For broader world his ...

early Chola The Early Cholas were a Tamil kingdom of the pre and post Sangam period (600 BCE–300 CE). It was one of the three main kingdoms of South India. Their early capitals were Urayur or Tiruchirapalli and Kaveripattinam. Along with Pandyas a ...

rulers of

Sangam period The Sangam period or age (, ), particularly referring to the third Sangam period, is the period of the history of ancient Tamil Nadu, Kerala and parts of Sri Lanka (then known as Tamilakam) spanning from c. 6th century BCE to c. 3rd century CE. ...

Tamil literature Tamil literature has a rich and long literary tradition spanning more than two thousand years. The oldest extant works show signs of maturity indicating an even longer period of evolution. Contributors to the Tamil literature are mainly from T ...

and

Sangam literature The Sangam literature (Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam'';) historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cāṉṟōr ceyyuḷ'') connotes ...

. The other source of early Chola history is found in the inscriptions left by

later Chola The Later Chola dynasty ruled the Chola Empire from 1070 C.E. until the demise of the empire in 1279 C. E. This dynasty was the product of decades of alliances based on marriages between the Cholas and the Eastern Chalukyas based in Vengi, and ...

kings.

Sources of early Chola history

The genealogy of the Chola kings as found in Tamil literature and in the many inscriptions left by the later Chola kings. It contain records of kings for whom no verifiable historic evidence survives. Many versions of this lineage exist. The main source is the Sangam literature – particularly, religious literature such as '' Periyapuranam'', semi-biographical poems of the later Chola period such as the temple and cave inscriptions and left by medieval Cholas. Irrespective of the source, no list of the kings has a strong evidentiary basis and, while they generally are similar to each other, no two lists are identical. Some historians consider these lists as comprehensive conglomerations of various Hindu deities and Puranic characters attributed to local chieftains and invented ancestry of dynasty attempting to re-establish their legitimacy and supremacy in a land they were trying to conquer.

Origin of Cholas and Literary sources

Typical hero and demi-gods found their place in the ancestry claimed by the later Cholas in the genealogies incorporated into the copper-plate charters and stone inscription of the tenth and eleventh centuries. The earliest version of this is found in the Kilbil Plates which give fifteen names before Chola including the genuinely historical ones of Karikala,

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 fr ...

and

Kocengannan Kochchenganan (''Kōccengaṇān'') Kochengat Cholan or Śengaṇān (also spelt Senganan)( ta, சோழன் செங்கணான்) was one of the kings of the Early Cholas mentioned in Sangam literature. The only surviving details abo ...

. The Thiruvalangadu Plates swells this list to forty-four, and the Kanya Plates lists fifty-two. The Cholas were looked upon as descended from the Solar dynasty. The

Puranas Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...

speak of a Chola king, a supposed contemporary of the sage

Agastya Agastya ( kn, ಅಗಸ್ತ್ಯ, ta, அகத்தியர், sa, अगस्त्य, te, అగస్త్యుడు, ml, അഗസ്ത്യൻ, hi, अगस्त्य) was a revered Indian sage of Hinduism. In the I ...

, whose devotion brought the river Kavery into existence. The story of king

Manu Needhi Cholan Ellalan ( ta, எல்லாளன், translit=Ellāḷaṉ; si, එළාර, translit=Eḷāra) was a member of the Tamil Chola dynasty, also known as "Manu Needhi Cholan", who upon capturing the throne became king of the Anuradhapura Kingd ...

tells of how he sentenced his son to death for having accidentally killed a

calf Calf most often refers to: * Calf (animal), the young of domestic cattle. * Calf (leg), in humans (and other primates), the back portion of the lower leg Calf or calves may also refer to: Biology and animal byproducts *Veal, meat from calves *C ...

. He was called thus because he followed the rules of Manu; his real name is not mentioned and is thought to be "Ellalan" according to Maha vamsam who was attributed with a similar story. King Shibi rescued a dove from a hunter by giving his own flesh to the hungry and poor hunter and was also part of the legends. King Shivi was also called ''Sembiyan'', a popular title assumed by a number of Chola kings.

Sangam period Chola rulers

The Chola kings of the

and the life of

people A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...

contributed much to Tamil cultural wealth. The Sangam literature is full of legends about Chola kings. However, no evidentiary basis supports this list of Kings either by way of inscriptions or by way of literary evidence (even in Sangam literature). The dates of accession are approximate interpolation of the Chronological standpoints in Tamil history. ;List of Sangam Chola rulers till 250s CE–

Genealogy from Chola inscriptions

The genealogy of the Chola family conveyed by the Thiruvalangadu copperplate grant consists of names that corroborate the historic authenticity of legends.http://www.whatisindia.com/inscriptions/south_indian_inscriptions/volume_3/no_205_aditya_ii_karikala.html * Manu *

Ikshvaku Ikshvaku ( Sanskrit ; Pāli: ) is a legendary king in Hindu mythology. He is described to be the first king of the Kosala kingdom, and was one of the ten sons of Shraddhadeva Manu, the first man on the earth. He was the founder and first king ...

* Vikukshi * Puranjaya * Kakutstha * Kakshivat * Aryaman * Analapratapa * Vena * Prithu * Dhundhumara * Yuvanasva *

Mandhata Mandhata, also called Shivapuri or Mahismati, Capital of Awanti Mahajanpad Omkareshwar, is a riverine island in the Narmada river in Khandwa district, Madhya Pradesh, India. Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga is situated on the southern part of the ...

* Muchukunda * Valabha * Prithulaksha * Parthivachudamani * Dirghabahu * Chandrajit *

Sankriti The sage Sankriti () is the founding rishi of the Sankriti Gotra, one of the 10 lineages in Vedic society. The lineage of Sankriti's is given as Shaktya, Sankritya, and Gaurivita. i.e. lineage of Shakti, Sankriti, and Gauriviti. Sankriti is the ...

* Panchapa * Satyavrata * Rudrajit * Sibi * Marutta * Dushyanta * Bharata * Cholavarman * Rajakesarivarman * Parakesarin * Chitraratha * Chitrasva * Chitradhanvan * Suraguru (Mrityujit) * Chitraratha * Vyaghraketu * Narendrapati * Vasu (Uparichara) * Visvajit * Perunatkilli * Karikala * Kochchengannan

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chola Kings, Legendary Early Chola dynasty Empires and kingdoms of India Dynasties of India

Chola The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...

Hindu dynasties Tamilakam Tamil empires and kingdoms Chola kings

Sources of early Chola history

Origin of Cholas and Literary sources

Sangam period Chola rulers

Genealogy from Chola inscriptions

See also

References