Nedum Cheralathan

Nedum Cheralathan (Nedunjeral Athan) was a Chera king of the Sangam period in ancient South India, contemporary to the Chola ruler Perunarkilli. He is considered as the second known Chera King as per the literary works during Sangam period, and particularly in the Second Ten of Pathirruppaththu. Nedum Cheralatan succeeded his father, Uthiyan Cheralathan and ruled the kingdom for 58 years as a Crown Prince first and as an absolute king later.

Biography

Nedunjeral Athan was born to Udiyanjeral.^[1] He was a powerful ruler with several victories over neighboring kings during his tenure to his credit. Nedum Cheralathan consolidated the Chera kingdom, extended its frontiers, and literature and art developed highly during his period. He inflicted a crushing defeat on his enemies, the Kadambas of Banavasi.

Kannanar was Nedum Cheralathan's court poet. Among those victories, he's believed to have won over seven crowned kings and thus obtained the status of Adhiraja. He defeated an enemy on the Malabar Coast and captured several Yavana traders, later releasing them for ransom.^[1]

Kuttuvan, the first son of Nedunjeral Athan, is supposed to have conquered Kongu and extended the power of the Cheras up to the eastern and western oceans. One of the Adan's sons achieved military success against Anji, a chieftain of Tagadur, and lead an expedition against a ruler named Nannan, who held sway in the area to the north of Malabar.^[2]

Death

Nedunjeral Adan fought a war against a Chola king, an encounter in which both the principal adversaries lost their lives.^[1][3]

Notes

References

• Singh, Upinder (2008), A history of ancient and early medieval India : from the Stone Age to the 12th century, New Delhi: Pearson Longman, ISBN 978-81-317-1120-0