Uthiyan Cheralathan (c. 130 CE, titles "Vanavarampan" or "Perum Chottu") is the earliest known Chera ruler of early historic south India (c. 1st - 4th century CE), as attested by extant Tamil literary sources (the

Sangam Literature The Sangam literature (Tamil language, Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam''), historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil language, Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cā ...

). He is widely regarded as the hero of the lost decad of the Pathitruppathu Collection (the First Decad)'''' and the earliest recorded ruler of the western coast branch ( Muchiri-Vanchi) of the Chera dynasty. Uthiyan Cheralathan was known by the royal epithet "Vanavarampan", meaning either "One whose Kingdom is Bounded by the Sky" or " Beloved of the Gods". The latter title had previously been adopted by the

Maurya The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia with its power base in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around c. 320 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary sourc ...

emperor

Ashoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...

. According to early Tamil poems, Uthiyan Cheralathan supplied both rival armies in the epic battle of the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

with sacred rice (or, alternatively, offered sacrificial rice to his ancestors), earning him the title "Perum Chottu". Notably, the same honor is also claimed by the

Pandyas The Pandya dynasty (), also referred to as the Pandyas of Madurai, was an ancient Tamil dynasty of South India, and among the four great kingdoms of Tamilakam, the other three being the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Cheras. Existing sinc ...

and Cholas. A later Chera ruler, "Kottambalathu Thunchiya" Makkothai, locates Uthiyan Cheralathan's great kitchen (the attil) at a place called "Kuzhumur," possibly in present-day

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. Veliyan Venmal Nallini, daughter of Veliyan — likely a member of the Ay family — was the royal consort of Uthiyan Cheralathan. He was succeeded by his son Nedum Cheralathan. Uthiyan Cheralathan is sometimes identified with "Cheraman Perum Cheralathan". Perum Cheralathan was the opponent of the Chola ruler Karikala in the battle of Venni. During the battle, he was wounded on the back while leading his warriors. Unable to bear the disgrace, he committed suicide by slow starvation ("Sitting by Facing the North"). It is said that some of his companions also took their own lives, unwilling to be separated from him. The Perum Cheralathan of the battle of Venni is also sometimes identified with "Adu Kottu Pattu" Cheralathan.

Reference

People from the Chera kingdom 2nd-century Indian monarchs Chera kings {{India-royal-stub