The area lying to the south of river
Krishna and Tungabhadra is called South India. During the Sangam Age,
it was ruled by three dynasties-the Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas. The
main source of information about these kingdoms is traced from the
literary references of Sangam Period.
Cheras:
The Cheras
had their rule over major parts of modern Kerala/ malabar areas.
- The capital of Cheras was Vanji and their important seaports were Tondi and Musiri.
- They had the palmyra flowers as their garland.
- The insignia of Cheras is the” bow and arrow”.
- The Pugalur inscription of the 1st century AD has reference to three generations of Chera rulers.
- The important ruler of Cheras was Senguttuvan who belonged to 2nd century A.D.
- His military achievements have been chronicled in epic Silapathikaram, with details about his expedition to the Himalayas where he defeated many north Indian rulers.
- Senguttuvan introduced the Pattini cult or the worship of Kannagi as the ideal wife in Tamil Nadu.
- He was the first to send embassy to China from South India.
Cholas:
The Chola
kingdom in the Sangam period extended from Northern Tamil Nadu to southern
Andhra Pradesh.
- Their capital was firstly at Uraiyur and later shifted to Puhar(Tanjore).
- King Karikala was a famous king of the Sangam Cholas.
- The insignia of Cholas was “tiger”.
- Pattinappalai portrays his life and military conquests.
- Many Sangam Poems mention the Battle of Venni where he defeated the confederacy of Cheras, Pandyas and eleven minor chieftains.
- He also fought at Vahaipparandalai in which nine enemy chieftains submitted before him.
- Hence, Karikala’s military achievements made him the overlord of the whole Tamil country.
- Therefore, Trade and commerce flourished during his reign.
- He also built irrigation tanks near river Kaveri to provide water for reclaimed land from forest for cultivation.
Pandyas:
The
Pandyas ruled over the present day southern Tamil Nadu.
- Their capital was Madurai.
- Their insignia was the “carp”.
- King Neduncheliyans also known as Aryappadai Kadantha Neduncheliyan. He ordered the execution of Kovalan. The curse of Kovalan’s wife-Kannagi burnt and destroyed Madurai.
- Maduraikkanji was written by Mangudi Maruthanar which describes the socio-economic condition of the flourishing seaport of Korkai.
Sangam Polity and administration:
During the
Sangam period hereditary monarchy was the form of government. Each of the
dynasties of Sangam age had a royal emblem – tiger for the Cholas, carp
for the Pandyas, and bow for the Cheras.
- The king was assisted by a wide body of officials who were categorised into five councils.
- They were ministers (amaichar), priests (anthanar), envoys (thuthar), military commanders (senapathi), and spies (orrar).
- The military administration was efficiently organized with each ruler a regular army was associated.
- The chief source of state’s income was Land revenue while a custom duty was also imposed on foreign trade.
- Major source of fulfilling the royal treasury was the booty captured in wars.
- The roads and highways were maintained and guarded to prevent robbery and smuggling.
Position of Women during Sangam Age:
A lot of
information is available in the Sangam literature to understand the position of
women during the Sangam age.
- There were women poets like Avvaiyar, Nachchellaiyar, and Kakkaipadiniyar who flourished and contributed to Tamil literature.
- Love marriage was a common practice and women were allowed to choose their life partners.
- But, life of widows was miserable.
- There is also a mention about the practice of Sati being prevalent in the higher strata of society.
Economy of the Sangam Age:
- Agriculture was the chief occupation where rice was the most common crop.
- The handicraft included weaving, metal works and carpentry, ship building and making of ornaments using beads, stones and ivory.
- These were in great demand of all above products in the internal and external trade as this was at its peak during the Sangam period.
- A high expertise was attained in spinning and weaving of cotton and silk clothes. Various poems mention of cotton clothes as thin as a cloud of steam or like a slough of snake. These were in great demand in the western world especially for the cotton clothes woven at Uraiyur.
- The port city of Puhar became an important place of foreign trade, as big ships entered this port containing precious goods.
- Other significant ports of commercial activity were Tondi, Musiri, Korkai, Arikkamedu and Marakkanam.
- Many gold and silver coins that were issued by the Roman Emperors like Augustus, Tiberius and Nero have been found in all parts of Tamil Nadu indicating flourishing trade.
- Major exports of the Sangam age were cotton fabrics and spices like pepper, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon and turmeric along with ivory products, pearls and precious stones.
- Major imports for the traders were horses, gold, and sweet wine.