Kerala Ancient History

There is no unanimity among historians about the history of ancient Kerala, since not many written records exist.

One such myth centers around the legend of Parasurama, the warrior-sage who is regarded as the incarnation of Vishnu . Vishnu is said to have many incarnations , The Buddha being one. After destroying the Kshathriya (the second of the ancient Hindu caste system) kings, goes the legend, the warrior-sage asked an assembly of learned men a way of penance for his past misdeeds. On being advised to hand over the lands he had conquered to the Brahmins to save his soul from eternal damnation, he readily agreed and sat in penance at Gokarnam (somewhere in North Kerala), those days considered to be land's end. He threw his battle axe northwards across the waters through a boon from the god Varuna. The waters subsided and what was left over was called the land of Parasurama, that is today's Kerala.
 

Fiction ? Maybe so, but geologists have pointed out that the elevation of Kerala from the sea was the result of some seismic activity, either sudden or gradual. There is also another theory. The rivers of Kerala emptying into the Arabian seas bring down enormous quantities of silt from the hills. The ocean currents transport quantities of sand towards the shore. The coastal portions could well be due to the accumulation of this silt over thousands of years.

Trade Links of Ancient Kerala: Muziris (Kodungalloor or Cranganore) was reputed to be the ancient world's greatest trading centre in the East for such highly prized possessions as pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and other spices. Pliny , the younger is said to have lamented the fact that trade with the East was draining the treasury of Rome ! The trade flourished by ships riding on the monsoon winds from Africa and back to Arabia, from where the overland caravan took the prized items to the markets along the Mediterranean ports.

The Brahminical Era: By common consent among the historians, the earliest inhabitants of Kerala were the Pulayas, Kuravas and Vetas .By the beginning of the Christian era, there was a noticeable increase in the influence of the Chera dynasty of across the Western Ghats and into the political and cultural life of ancient Kerala. The armies of the northern empires of the Mauryas could not enter the lands of the Cheras, but Buddhism and Jainism did enter in a big way. But it was the entry of Brahmins from the boundaries of modern day Karnataka which really changed the power structure of Kerala for the next millenium . From Payyannur in North Kerala, they gradually moved south and occupied the most fertile lands . By the time of the terminal decline of the Cheras started, it coincided with the rise of the Brahmins in Kerala. By the 10th century, they were powerful entity from Gokurnum (North Kerala ) to the Cape Comorin, divided into 32 Brahmin or 'Namboothiries' communities. Soon thereafter, the Buddhists and the Jains had to beat a retreat from the social landscape of Kerala.
The Namboothiries also were the landowners ( janmi) of most lands in Kerala. Lands being leased out to next higher castes for share cropping, and these in turn would further be leased out to those lower on the caste hierarchy and to non-Hindus.

The Arrival of the Jews, Christians and the Muslims: The Christians who had arrived from the middle East in the 3rd century AD and the Muslims who arrived in the 8th century were generally traders and were not involved in this social segregation and generally kept aloof from the ambit of caste politics of those days. The Jews who arrived Kerala in the early years of the Christian era were given privileges to trade and became an influential part of the melting pot of Kerala's population. Next Part of Kerala's History is the Feudal System which gave way to partial colonization by the European Powers. Read on..

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