Question

Capital of the Cheras was?
(A) Madurai
(B) Muziri
(C) Uraiyur
(D) Vanchi

Answer 1

Hint: The Cheras area ruled the central and northern parts of Kerala and the Kongu area of Tamil Nadu.
The Pugalur inscription of the 1st century AD refers to three generations of Chera kings.

Complete Solution :
1. Another name of The Cheras was 'Keralaputras' in history.
2. Their Capital was known by many name such as
(a) Vanchi, Vanzi, Karur, Karavur etc
(b) And, the ports on the west coast, Muziri, and Tondi, were under their control.
The region of a narrow strip between the sea and the mountains of the Konkan range was occupied by the Chera kingdom.
They also occupied a high position in the history of south India.
Nedunjeral Adan
1. He was a famous Chera king. He conquered Kadambas with his capital Vanavasi (near Goa). He also defeated the Yavanas.
2. He had a good relationship with the Greeks and Romans who came in large numbers as traders and set up large colonies in south India.
3. He fought a battle with the father of the Chola king Karikala. In this battle, both the kings were killed.
4. He was called Imayavaramban. The literary meaning of the term Imayavaramban is "one who had the Himalaya Mountains as the boundary of his kingdom." However, it seems to be a mere exaggeration.
5. The greatest king of the Chera dynasty as mentioned in the Chera tradition was Senguttuvan. He had defeated the Chola and the Pandya kings.
6. The power of Cheras declined at the end of the 3rd century A.D. They again acquired power in the 8th century A.D.

Note:
1. The Capital of the Imperial Cheras was Thanjavur
2. The important facts about the three early kingdoms (The Cheras, The Cholas, The Pandyas) of south India are –
(a) They constantly fought with each other;
(b) They made new alliances against the ones who became powerful; and
(C) They also fought regularly with Sri Lanka and ruled there at some point in time.