Kalabhra dynasty

{{Short description|Ancient dynasty in South India}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}} {{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}} {{Infobox Former Country | conventional_long_name = Kalabhra Kingdom | common_name = Kalabhra Kingdom | year_start = 3rd century CE | year_end = 6th century CE | p1 = Three Crowned Kings | p2 = Ancient Tamil country | s1 = Pallava dynasty | s2 = Pandyan dynasty | today = India | image_map = Ancient tamilakam ports.png | image_map_caption = Kalabhra ruled parts or all of ancient Tamilakam | capital = Kaveripumpattinam, Madurai | common_languages = Tamil{{sfn|Archaeological Society South India|1955|p=96}}{{sfn|Rā. Ya Dhāravāḍakara |1968|p=96|}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hiltebeitel · |first1=Alf |title=Freud's Mahabharata |date=6 August 2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780190878344 |page=86 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4hhnDwAAQBAJ&dq=Mahadevan+2008+kalabhras&pg=PA86 }}</ref>{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1992|p=93}}<br>Prakrit<br>Sanskrit<br>Pali{{sfn|Indira Peterson|1998|pp=166-167}} | religion = Jainism (major) <br/>Buddhism <br> Ajivikism | government_type = Monarchy }} The '''Kalabhra dynasty''' (also called '''Kaḷabrar''', '''Kaḷappirar''', '''Kallupura''' or '''Kalvar''')<ref name="Bhandarkar1927">{{cite book|author=Sir Ramkrishna Gopal Bhandarkar|title=Early History of the Deccan and Miscellaneous Historical Essays|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aGNxvgAACAAJ|year=1927|publisher=Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute|page=206}}</ref> were rulers of all or parts of Tamil region sometime between the 3rd century and 6th century CE, after the ancient dynasties of the early Cholas, the early Pandyas and Chera. Information about the origin and reign of the Kalabhras is uncertain and scarce.<ref name="Singh2008p4852">{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Upinder |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GW5Gx0HSXKUC |title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Calabrians from Rome, might have lived, invaded or were part of Choke peoples (Seljuks).Century |publisher=Pearson Education |year=2008 |isbn=978-81-317-1677-9 |pages=485, 557–558}}</ref> It is believed that they were once the feudatories of the Pallavas.<ref name="Chakrabarty 2010 p. 842">{{cite book |last=Chakrabarty |first=D.K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EIAyDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT84 |title=The Geopolitical Orbits of Ancient India: The Geographical Frames of the Ancient Indian Dynasties |publisher=OUP India |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-19-908832-4 |page=84 |access-date=2023-01-16}}</ref> Prof. M. S. Ramaswami Aiyangar, in his 1922 book "Studies in South Indian Jainism" asserted that the Kalabhra period was 'The Augustan age of Tamil literature". He also noted that many Pallava and Pandya records describe how the Kalabhras defeated the Cholas, Pandyas, and Cheras and established their rule.<ref>Aiyangar, M. S. Ramaswami; Rao, B. Seshagiri (1922). ''Studies in South Indian Jainism''. Madras: University of Madras. pp. 72–74.</ref> The Kalabhra era is sometimes referred to as the "dark period" of Tamil history, and information about it is generally inferred from any mentions in the literature and inscriptions that are dated many centuries after their era ended.<ref>{{cite book|author=T.V. Mahalingam|title= Proceedings of the Second Annual Conference|year=1981| publisher= South Indian History Congress|url = https://archive.org/details/SIHC1981PROVOLII|pages=[https://archive.org/details/SIHC1981PROVOLII/page/n28 32]–34}}</ref>

Historian Upinder Singh states that Shivaskandavarman rise in the 4th century, as evidenced by inscriptions, show Kalabhras were not in power at that time near rivers Penner and Vellar (close to Kaveri). The Kalabhras dynasty had ended for certain by the last quarter of 6th century when Pallava Simhavishnu consolidated his rule up to the Kaveri river, south of which the Pandyas led by Kadunkon consolidated their power.<ref name="Singh 2008 557–558">{{cite book|first=Upinder|last=Singh|title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GW5Gx0HSXKUC|year=2008|publisher=Pearson Education |isbn=978-81-317-1677-9|pages=557–558}}</ref> Cholas became subordinates of Pallavas and they were already ruling Telugu region of Rayalaseema.

Some early scholars, including M. S. Venkatasamy and S. K. Aiyangar, suggested that the Mutharaiyars might have had links to the Kalabhra period, but this view remains speculative and is not supported by inscriptional or archaeological evidence.<ref>Mayilai Seeni Venkatasamy, Kalappirar Aatchiyil Thamizhagam, Naam Tamilar Publications, 2006.</ref> Later studies of Pudukkottai inscriptions recording clearly Tamil personal names such as Maran, Meenavan and Tennavan - indicate that the Mutharaiyars were a Tamil-origin group, and therefore the Kalabhra-Mutharaiyar ancestral connection is not considered an established historical conclusion.<ref>J. Rajamugam, Pudukkottai District History, 1992.</ref><ref>N. Kasinathan, Mutharaiyar, 1976.</ref>

== Identification == The origin and identity of the Kalabhras is uncertain. Information about the origin and reign of the Kalabhras is uncertain and scarce.<ref name="Singh2008p4852"/>

Their proposed roots vary from southeast region of modern Karnataka, Kalappalars of Vellalar community, to Kallar chieftains.<ref name="Singh2008p4852"/><ref name="Chakrabarty 2010 p. 842"/><ref name="Cre-A">{{cite book |author1=Iravatham Mahadevan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DZBkAAAAMAAJ&q=Tribal+jain |title=Early Tamil Epigraphy from the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. |date=2003 |publisher=Cre-A |isbn=9780674012271 |location=Chennai, India |page=136 |quote=During most of this period, the Tamil country was under the rule of the Kalabhras, said to be tribal invaders from Karnataka following the Jaina faith.}}</ref><ref name="History of the Kannada Language">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yhXRDSgBuL0C|title=History of the Kannada Language|last=R|first=Narasimhacharya|publisher=Asian Educational Services|year=1942|isbn=978-81-206-0559-6|pages=48}}</ref>

One theory states that they were probably hill tribes that rose out of obscurity to become a power in South India.<ref name="thapar">{{cite book|last1=Thapar|first1=Romila|author-link1=Romila Thapar|title=The Penguin History of Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300|date=2003|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=9780141937427|page=327 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HqmyEbLScZ4C|access-date=7 September 2016|language=en}}</ref> Historical documents of the Vettuva Gounder community interpreted by the Kongu historian Pon Dheepankar show that the Vellalars, Vanniars and Maravars (other than the Kondayankottai caste), Kallars,<ref>{{Cite book |last=S. Velsamy Kavirayar |url=http://archive.org/details/tva-bok-0012553-1 |title=குருகுல வரலாறு |date=1934}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Richards |first=F. J. |url=http://archive.org/details/p1salemrich01richuoft |title=Salem |date=1918–1932 |publisher=Madras : s.n. |others=Robarts - University of Toronto |trans-title=These Brahmans ruled for some four centuries, towards the end of which period the kingdom suffered severely from the depredations of certain raiders called Ottiars and Salliars, who represented, it is said, the Kallars and Maravars of to-day}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Pondheepankar |first=முத்துக்கவுண்டர் |title=கொங்கு குலகுருக்கள் - 54. பட்டயகாளிபாளையம் மடம் |url=http://kongukulagurus.blogspot.com/2009/09/52_1.html |access-date=2026-02-07 |language=en}}</ref> who were a formerly a denotified tribe of Tamil Nadu were the Kalabhras.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Superintendent Government Press |first=Madras |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.177470 |title=Madras District Gazetteers Salem Vol I Part I |date=1918}}</ref> Other theories state that they were Karnatas probably from north of Tamil-speaking region (modern southeast Karnataka),<ref name="History of the Kannada Language"/><ref name="Cre-A"/> or on etymological grounds may have been the Kalappalars of Karkarthar community or the Kalavar chieftains.<ref name="Singh2008p4852"/> Kalabhra or Kalamba is to be equated with Kalava ( = Kallar ) or Kadamba .<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jHaVqNy-V6UC&dq=kalabhra+kallar&pg=PA47 |title=IOrigin of Saivism and Its History in the Tamil Land |year=2000 |page=47 |publisher=Asian Educational Services |isbn=978-81-206-0144-4 }}</ref>

According to Kulke and Rothermund, "nothing is known about the origins or tribal affiliations" of the Kalabhras, and their rule is called the "Kalabhra Interregnum".<ref name="kulke"/> They are reviled in texts written centuries later, particularly by Tamil Hindu scholars.<ref name="thapar"/> This has led some scholars to infer that the Kalabhra rulers may have discontinued grants to Hindu temples, possibly because they were originally Jains and strong adherents of Jainism, while also extending support to other Śramaṇic traditions like Buddhism and Ajivika during their rule. Other scholars suggest that much of their literary and cultural contribution may have been lost or destroyed during the later Bhakti movement.<ref name="thapar"/><ref name="kulke">{{cite book|last1=Kulke|first1=Hermann |author-link1=Hermann Kulke|last2= Rothermund|first2= Dietmar|author-link2=Dietmar Rothermund|title=A History of India|date=2007|publisher= Routledge|location= London| isbn=9780415329200|page=105 |edition=4th|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=RoW9GuFJ9GIC|access-date=7 September 2016}}</ref> However, the textual support for these conjectures is unclear. In support of their possible Jaina patronage, is the 10th-century Jain text on grammar which quotes a poem that some scholars attribute to Acchuta Vikkanta, a Kalabhra king.<ref name="kulke"/> A non-Tamil language Buddhist text ''Vinayaviniccaya'' by Buddhadatta was composed in the 5th-century Tamil region. According to Shu Hikosaka, Buddhadatta in this Pali language text mentions "Putamarikalam in the Chola country".<ref name="Hikosaka1989p24">{{cite book|first=Shu|last=Hikosaka|title=Buddhism in Tamilnadu: A New Perspective|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=XmQEAAAAYAAJ|year=1989 |publisher=Institute of Asian Studies|page=24}}</ref> According to Karl Potter in ''Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies: Buddhist philosophy from 360 to 650 AD'', multiple scholars place the 5th-century Buddhadatta in the Chola kingdom near Kaveri river.<ref>{{cite book|first=Karl H.|last=Potter|title=Buddhist Philosophy from 350 to 600 A.D.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LajWAAAAMAAJ|year=2003|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt. Limited|isbn=978-81-208-1968-9|pages=216–217}}</ref> According to Arunachalam, the Pali manuscripts of this text includes the name Acutavikkante Kalambakulanandane and therefore he states Acutavikkante must have been a Kalabhra king.{{sfn|Arunachalam|1979|pp=52-55}} However, the oldest surviving ''Vinayaviniccaya'' manuscript in Pali does not have that name, it has Kalabbha. This could be Kalabhra.<ref>{{cite book|author=Oskar von Hinüber|title=A Handbook of Pali Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R3ldDwAAQBAJ|year=2017|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-081498-9|page=156}}</ref>

{{ Annotated image | image=Map of the Gupta Empire.png | width=290 | image-width = 290 <!-- DO NOT CHANGE MAP SIZE (290) AS THIS WILL DISPLACE THE LABELS --> | image-left=0 | image-top=0| float = right | annotations = {{Annotation|text-align=center|230|5|South-Asia<br>400-450 CE|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=10|color=#000000}} {{Annotation|text-align=center|115|215|KALABHRAS|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=7|color=#000000}}{{Annotation|text-align=center|115|195|WESTERN<br>GANGAS|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=5|color=#000000}} {{Annotation|text-align=center|43|65|SASANIAN<br>HIND|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=6|color=#000000}} {{Annotation|text-align=center|85|152|TRAITAKUTAS|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=6|color=#000000}} {{Annotation|text-align=center|105|160|VAKATAKAS|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=7|color=#000000}} {{Annotation|text-align=center|95|185|KADAMBAS|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=7|color=#000000}} {{Annotation|text-align=center|210|130|SAMATATAS|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=6|color=#000000}} {{Annotation|text-align=center|253|90|VARMANS|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=6|color=#000000}} {{Annotation|text-align=center|45|20|ALCHON HUNS|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=7|color=#000000}} {{Annotation|text-align=center|5|5|HEPHTHALITES|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=8|color=#000000}} {{Annotation|text-align=center|1|45|SASANIAN<br>EMPIRE|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=8|color=#000000}} |caption={{center|Location of the Kalabhras and neighbouring polities circa 400-450 CE.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schwartzberg |first1=Joseph E. |title=A Historical atlas of South Asia |date=1978 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |page=145, map XIV.1 (j) |isbn=0226742210 |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=182 |archive-date=24 February 2021 |access-date=14 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224162023/https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=182 |url-status=dead }}</ref>}} }} Buddhadatta in his manuals (in the ''Nigamanagātha'' of ''Vinayavinicchaya'', verse 3179) identifies his patron as follows:<ref>{{cite book|title=THE COLAS, SECOND EDITION|author=K. A. NILAKANTA SASTRI|publisher=G. S. Press, Madras|year=1955|page=108}}</ref> {{col-begin|width=auto}} {{col-break}} Accut' Accutavikkante Kalambakulanandane<br /> mahin samanusāsante āraddho ca samāpito.<br /> {{col-break|gap=1em}} In the time of the immortal Accutavikkante, the pride of the Kalamba family<br/> this work was accomplished. {{col-end}}

and once again the tika (colophon) adds:<ref>{{cite book|title=GEOGRAPHICAL ESSAYS RELATING TO ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY OF INDIA|author=BIMALA CHURN LAW |publisher=BHARATIYA PUBLISHING HOUSE|year=1976|page=59}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=International encyclopaedia of Buddhism. 51. Nepal|editor=Nagendra Kr Singh|publisher=Anmol Publications|page=4514|year=1997}}</ref> {{col-begin|width=auto}} {{col-break}} Kalambhakulavamsa jāte Accutavikkamanāme Colarājini<br/> Colarattham samanusāsante<br/> ayam vinicchayo mayā āraddho ceva samāpito cāti<br/> {{col-break|gap=1em}} This work Vinicchaya was accomplished,<br/> when the king of Cholas, Accutavikkaman,<br/> born in the lineage of the Kalamba family was ruling the earth. {{col-end}}

Amritasagara, a Jain poet of the 10th century CE and the author of the works Yapparungalam and Yapparungalakkarikai, has also written a few verses about Achyuta Vikranta.<ref>{{cite book|title=Early Chōla Art: Origin and Emergence of Style|first=Rama|last=Sivaram|publisher=Navrang|page=-25|year=1994}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Ancient India|author=Vidya Dhar Mahajan|publisher=S. Chand|page=571|year=1962}}</ref>

A few verses of the Tamil Navalar Caritai, a later work, is sometimes identified as glorifying Accuta Vikranta. It describes the three kings Chera, Chola and Pandya paying obeisance to king Accuta when they were taken captive.<ref>{{cite book|title=Madurai Through the Ages From the Earliest Times to 1801 A.D|author=D. Devakunjari|publisher=Society for Archaeological, Historical, and Epigraphical Research|page=73}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Drama in Ancient Tamil Society|first=Kārttikēcu|last=Civattampi|publisher=New Century Book House|year=1981|page=158}}</ref>

According to Burton Stein, the Kalabhra interregnum may represent a strong bid by non-peasant (Tribal) warriors for power over the fertile plains of Tamil region with support from the heterodox Indian religious tradition (Jainism and Buddhism).<ref name="Stein1994p76"/> This may have led to persecution of the peasants and urban elites of the Brahmanical religious traditions (Hinduism), who then worked to remove the Kalabhras and retaliated against their persecutors after returning to power.<ref name="Stein1994p76">{{cite book|first=Burton|last=Stein|title=Peasant State and Society in Medieval South India|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=4SsKAQAAIAAJ|year= 1994|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=76–84|isbn=9780195635072}}</ref> In contrast, R.S. Sharma states the opposite theory and considers "Kalabhras as an example for peasant revolt to the state" - with tribal elements, albeit around the 6th century.<ref name="Ray2019">{{cite book|first=Rebecca|last=Darley|editor=Himanshu Prabha Ray|title=Negotiating Cultural Identity: Landscapes in Early Medieval South Asian History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CgXgCgAAQBAJ |year=2017|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-34130-7|page=68}};<br>{{cite book|first=Rebecca|last=Darley|editor=Himanshu Prabha Ray|title=Negotiating Cultural Identity: Landscapes in Early Medieval South Asian History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qkyfDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT76|year=2019|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-00-022793-2|pages=76–77}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=R.S. Sharma| title=Problems of Peasant Protest in Early Medieval India| journal= Social Scientist| year=1988| volume=16|issue=19| pages=3–16| doi=10.2307/3517169| jstor=3517169}}</ref> All these theories are hampered by the fact that there is a "profound lack of evidence for the events or nature of Kalabhra rule", states Rebecca Darley.<ref name="Ray2019"/> A few consider the Kalabhras to be a militant branch of the Jainas who were opposed to the Historical Vedic religion and this resulted in their vilification in later times.<ref>{{cite book|title=Studies in Religion and Change|editor-first=Madhu|editor-last=Sen|publisher=Books & Books|year=1983|page=146}}</ref>

===In epigraphs===

====Pulankurichi inscription==== The earliest Kalabhra inscription available is the Pulankurichi (Tamil Nadu) epigraph of king Chēndan Kurran (Kootran) dated to 270 CE. It is also one of the earliest inscriptions in Tamil and extends to over 15 metres in length. It refers to the administrative divisions of the kingdom and also to Vedic sacrifices and temples. Scholar Kamil Zvelebil indicates that the language of the inscription is almost identical to classical Tamil similar to the one used in the Tolkappiyam and Sangam texts.{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1992|p=93}}

====8th-century Velvikudi grant inscription==== A much-cited and discussed epigraphical evidence for the existence of Kalabhras is the 155-lines-long 8th-century Velvikudi grant copper plate inscription of Nedunjadaiyan.<ref name="sastri306"/> It was created at least 200 years after the end of the Kalabhras. It opens with an invocation to Shiva and many lines in Sanskrit written in Grantha script, followed by Tamil written in Vatteluttu script. Loaded with myth and exaggerated legends, the inscription has the following few lines about a Kalabhra king and his relatively quick end by Pandya king Kadungon (lines 39–40, translated by H. Krishna Sastri):<ref name="sastri306">{{cite book|author=Rao Bahadur H. Krishna Sastri|title=Epigraphia Indica, Volume XVII|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0VwmsGA7ZuoC|year=1923|publisher=Archaeological Society of India|pages=293–294, 306, 308; context: 291–309}}</ref>

thumb|upright=1.75|8th Century Velvikudi grant that mentions Kalabhras. {{Blockquote| L 39: Then a Kali king named Kalabhran took possession of the extensive earth driving away numberless great kings (adhiraja) and resumed the (village mentioned Velvikudi) above.<br> L 40: After that, like the sun rising from the expansive ocean, the Pandyadhiraja named Kadungon, the lord of the South of sharp javelin who wore (the cloak of) dignity and was the leader of an army, sprang forth, occupied (the throne), spreading around him the brilliant splendour of (his) expanding rays (prowess), destroyed the kings of the extensive earth surrounded by the sea together with (their) strongholds and (their) fame, wielded the sceptre of justice and removed by his strength the evil destiny of the goddess of the earth whose splendour deserved to be under the shade of (his) white umbrella, by terminating by his strength the possession of her under others and establishing her in his own possession in the approved manner and destroyed the shining cities of kings who would not submit to him. |Velvikudi grant inscription<ref name="sastri306"/>}}

The inscription then recites the generations of Pandya and Chola kings who followed the victorious Kadungon, and finally to king Nedunjadaiyan who ruled in the year of the inscription (c. 770 CE). The copper plate records that a Brahmin complainant said that the land grant which was given to his ancestors before Kalabhras "ignobly seized it" has not been returned so far after numerous generations (lines 103-118).<ref name="sastri306"/> The king sought evidence of past ownership, which he was provided, and thereafter the king restored the grant to the complainant.<ref name="sastri306"/> The inscription ends in Sanskrit with verses from Vaishnavism and Shaivism traditions of Hinduism, followed by the engraver's colophon.<ref name="sastri306"/> This inscription has been assumed to be an accurate historical record by some scholars, interpreted to affirm that Kalabhras existed for some period, they conquered some or all parts of the Pandyan kingdom, they seized lands belonging to Brahmin(s) and were defeated by the Pandyas (Pāṇṭiya).<ref name=sharma53>{{cite book|first=Arvind|last=Sharma|title=The World's Religions After September 11|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=XOM5D-pj7kIC&pg=PA53|year=2008|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-275-99621-5|page=53}}</ref> Some scholars dismiss the Kalabhra interregnum as for all practical purposes "a myth".<ref name=sharma53/>

The passing mention of Kalabhras in some records have led to a number of theories for the identity of the Kalabhras. T. A. Gopinath Rao equates them with the Mutharaiyars and an inscription in the Vaikunta Perumal temple at Kanchi mentions a Mutharaiyar named as ''Kalavara-Kalvan''. M. Raghava Iyengar, on the other hand, identifies the Kalabhras with the Vellala Kalappalars.<ref name="gupta" /> Based on the Velvikudi plates inscription above, R. Narasimhacharya and V. Venkayya believe them to have been ''Karnatas''.<ref name="narasimhacharya">{{cite book|last1=Narasimhacharya|first1=R.|title=History of Kannada language: readership lectures|date=1990|orig-year=1934|publisher=Asian Educational Services|location=New Delhi|isbn=9788120605596|page=34|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yhXRDSgBuL0C|access-date=8 September 2016|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Epigraphia Indica vol.17|last=Sastri|first=Rao Bahadur H. Krishna|publisher=Government of India|year=1924|pages=295}}</ref> K. R. Venkatarama Iyer suggests that the Kalabhras might have emerged from the Bangalore-Chittoor region early in the 5th century.<ref name="gupta" />

===Numismatics=== A study of unearthed coins of that era show on the two sides of each coin, a range of Brahmi inscriptions in Prakrit language and images. Typically the coins show tiger, elephant, horse and fish icons. In "rare specimens", states Gupta, one finds an image of a seated Jain muni (monk) or a short sword or the Swastika symbol. Other coins of this era have images of Hindu gods and goddesses with inscriptions in Tamil or Prakrit. According to Gupta, these use of Prakrit language on the coins may reflect the non-Tamil origins of Kalabhra.<ref name="gupta">{{cite book|last1=Gupta|first1=Parmanand|title=Geography from ancient Indian coins & seals|date=1989|publisher=Concept Pub. Co.|location=New Delhi|isbn=9788170222484|pages=23–24|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LzHpZ5N5MhcC|access-date=7 September 2016}}</ref> Other scholars are skeptical of the coin's dating and interpretation, the origins of the coins and the impact of trade, and the rareness of Jain and Buddhist iconography.<ref>{{cite book|author1=A. V. Narsimhamurthy|first2=PN |last2=Singh |display-authors=etal|title=The Journal of the Numismatic Society of India, Volume 58|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X05mAAAAMAAJ|year=1996 |publisher=Numismatic Society of India|pages=10–12}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=N. Subrahmanian|title=Original sources for the history of Tamilnad: from the beginning to c. A.D. 600|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zOBHAAAAMAAJ| year=1994|publisher=Ennes |pages=329–331}}</ref>

According to Timothy Power - a scholar of Middle East and Mediterranean archaeology and history, coins and texts attest to an on-going trade between the Mediterranean, Middle East and South Indian ports such as Muziris until the 5th century, but then suddenly there is no mention of Indian ports in the Mediterranean texts around mid-6th century.<ref name="Power2012p179"/> This "dark age" may be related to the conquest of Kalabhras over Tamilakam in the 6th century. This period of violence and the closure of trading ports probably lasted about 75 years, around the first half of the 6th century.<ref name="Power2012p179">{{cite book|first=Timothy|last=Power|title=The Red Sea from Byzantium to the Caliphate: AD 500-1000|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Md2OBAAAQBAJ |year=2012|publisher=American University in Cairo Press|isbn=978-1-61797-350-5|pages=179–181}}</ref>

== Religion and literature == {{TNhistory}} The religious affiliation of Kalabhras is unknown. According to Peterson theory, the Kalabhras patronised the ''Sramana'' religions (Jainism, Buddhism, Ajivikas). And Peterson more particularly states that the Kalabhras were followers of the Digambara sect of Jainism. {{sfn|Indira Peterson|1998|pp=166-167}}

Buddhism and Ajivikas also flourished as is evident from the writings of Buddhadatta (5th century) who wrote some of his manuals like ''Vinayavinicchaya'' and Abhidhammāvatāra among others on banks of the Kaveri river. The Kalabhras encouraged the building of Buddhist monasteries in places like Bhoothamangala and Kaveripattinam, the early Chola capital.<ref>{{cite book|title=Glimpses of Art, Architecture, and Buddhist Literature in Ancient India|author=K. Krishna Murthy|publisher=Abhinav Publications, 1987|pages=93–94}}</ref> In the ''Nigamanagātha'' of Vinayavinicchaya, Buddhatta describes how he wrote the work while staying at the monastery built by one ''Venhudassa'' (Vishnudasa) on the banks of the Kaveri in a town called Bhootamangalam.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Kalabhras in the Pandiya Country and Their Impact on the Life and Letters There|first=Mu|last=Aruṇācalam|publisher=University of Madras, 1979|page=53}}</ref> He describes his patron as ''The Immortal AccutaVikkante, the pride of the Kalamba family'' (''Accut' Accutavikkante Kalambakulanandane'') in Pali.<ref>{{cite book|title=Indological Studies, Vol 3|author=Bimala Churn Law|publisher=Ganganatha Jha Research Institute, 1954|page=225}}</ref>

Buddhadatta vividly describes the capital Kaveripattinam as follows:<ref>{{cite book|title=The March of India, Vol 8|publisher=Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, 1956|page=52}}</ref>

In the lovely Kaveripattana crowded with hordes of men and women from pure families endowed with all the requisites of a town with crystal clear water flowing in the river, filled with all kinds of precious stones, possessed of many kinds of bazaars, beautified by many gardens, in a beautiful and pleasant vihara built by Kanhadasa, adorned with a mansion as high as the Kailasa, and having different kinds of beautiful entrance-towers on the outer wall, I lived in an old mansion there and wrote this work..

The Kalabhras appear to have also supported Shaivites. Their inscriptions and temple patronage indicate devotion to Shiva. King Achyuta is recorded as patronising Shiva, and references to Murugan are also found in their inscriptions.<ref>Veermani Pd. Upadhyaya Felicitation Volume by Veermani Prasad Upadhyaya</ref><ref>''Buddhism in Tamil Nadu: collected papers'' By G. John Samuel, Ār. Es Śivagaṇēśamūrti, M. S. Nagarajan, Institute of Asian Studies (Madras, India)</ref>

According to the ''Gandhipadavannanā'' of Buddhadatta's manual ''Vinayavinicchaya'', the word ''Accuta'' of the patron king was used in the same context as the epithet of Narayana (''Accutassa Nārāyanassa viya vikkantām ettassāti Accutavikkanto'').<ref>{{cite book|title=International encyclopaedia of Buddhism. 51. Nepal|author=Nagendra Kr Singh|publisher=Anmol Publications, 1997|page=4514}}</ref>

The early twin Tamil epics Silappatikaram (Jaina) and Manimekalai (Buddhist) were written under the patronage of the Kalabhras.<ref>{{cite book|title=Ancient Tamil Country: Its Social and Economic Structure|author=S. Sundararajan|publisher=Navrang, 1991|page=233}}</ref> During their patronage, states Peterson, Jain scholars formed an academy in Madurai and wrote texts in Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, and Tamil. These include classics such as the ''Tirukkural'' that condemns meat-eating (one of the cornerstones of Jainism as opposed to Hinduism as Brahmin poets like Kapilar are described to be meat-eaters in the Sangam literature),<ref>{{cite book|title=Tamil Culture as Revealed in Tirukkural|author=Iḷacai Cuppiramaṇiyapiḷḷai Muttucāmi|publisher=Makkal Ilakkia Publications|page=137|year=1994}}</ref> the Tamil epics, long and short devotional poems.{{sfn|Indira Peterson|1998|pp=166-167}}<ref>{{cite book|title=The Social Philosophy of Tirukkural|first=Subramania|last=Gopalan|publisher=Affiliated East-West Press|page=53|year=1979}}</ref> Some of these texts "paint a picture of dialogue and mutual tolerance" between the various Indian religions in the Tamil country, according to Peterson.{{sfn|Indira Peterson|1998|pp=166-167}} Other scholars disagree that these are Jain texts, or that the authors of these texts that praise the Vedas, the Brahmins, Hindu gods and goddesses were Jains.{{sfn|Stuart Blackburn|2000|pp=464-465}}{{sfn|P. R. Natarajan|2008|pp=1–6}}{{sfn|Norman Cutler|1992|pp=555-558}}

== End of the dynasty == It is unknown as to how the Kalabhras rule ended. However, a multitude of evidence affirms that Simhavishnu - the Pallava king and Pandya Kadungon had united the Tamil regions, removed Kalabhras and others. Simhavishnu consolidated his kingdom from south of the Krishna river and up to the Kaveri river by c. 575 CE. To the south of Kaveri, the Pandyas came to power. Cholas became subordinates of Pallavas and they were already ruling Telugu region of Rayalaseema. The Kalabhra rule which had dominated the political scene of the Tamil country for few centuries was defeated and ended by the Chalukyas, Pandyas, and Pallavas.<ref name="Singh2008p4852"/> This is attested by the numerous inscriptions dated from the 6th century and thereafter, as well as the Chinese language memoirs of the Buddhist pilgrim Xuanzang who visited the Tamil region about 640 CE along with other parts of the Indian subcontinent.<ref>{{cite book|first=Kenneth|last=Pletcher|title=The History of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VsujRFvaHI8C&pg=PA97|year=2010|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-1-61530-122-5|page=97}}</ref> Xuanzang describes a peaceful cosmopolitan region where some 100 monasteries with 10,000 monks were studying Mahayana Buddhism, Kanchipuram was hosting learned debates with hundreds of heretic Deva (Hindu) temples but no Buddhist institutions. Xuangzang makes no mention of the Kalabhras.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Hermann|last1=Kulke|first2=Dietmar|last2=Rothermund|title=A History of India|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=V0GEtXp-GsUC |year=1998|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-15482-6|pages=114–115}}</ref><ref name="SchalkVeluppillai2002">{{cite book|first1=Peter|last1=Schalk|first2=A.|last2=Veluppillai|first3=Irāmaccantiran̲|last3=Nākacāmi|title=Buddhism among Tamils in pre-colonial Tamilakam and Īlam: Prologue. The Pre-Pallava and the Pallava period|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q2QEAAAAYAAJ|year=2002|publisher=Almqvist & Wiksell|isbn=978-91-554-5357-2|pages=287–290, 400–403}}</ref>

== See also == *Kutruva Nayanar *Karanthai *Meykandar

== References == {{reflist}}

===Sources=== * {{cite book |last1=Hiltebeitel · |first1=Alf |title=Freud's Mahabharata |date=6 August 2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780190878344 |page=86 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4hhnDwAAQBAJ&dq=Mahadevan+2008+kalabhras&pg=PA86}} * {{cite book |ref={{harvid|Archaeological Society South India|1955}} |first=South India|last=Archaeological Society|title=Transactions Volumes 1-5|publisher=Archaeological Society of South India|year=1955|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TtIZAAAAMAAJ}} * {{cite book |ref={{harvid|Rā. Ya Dhāravāḍakara|1968}} |first=Dhāravāḍakara|last= Rā. Ya|title=Approach to the study of Kannada language: philology|publisher=Samāja Pustakālaya|year=1968|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H7IRAQAAIAAJ}} * {{cite book|last=Arunachalam|first=M.|title=The Kalabhras in the Pandiya Country and Their Impact on the Life and Letters There|publisher=University of Madras|year=1979|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dvq1AAAAIAAJ}} * {{cite journal |ref={{harvid|Stuart Blackburn|2000}} |first=Stuart |last=Blackburn |title =Corruption and Redemption: The Legend of Valluvar and Tamil Literary History |journal=Modern Asian Studies |volume=34 |issue =2 |pages=449–482 |year=2000 |doi=10.1017/S0026749X00003632 |s2cid=144101632 }} * {{cite journal |ref={{harvid|Norman Cutler|1992}} | title= Interpreting Tirukkuṟaḷ: The Role of Commentary in the Creation of a Text| first= Norman| last= Cutler| journal = Journal of the American Oriental Society| volume=112| pages= 549–566| number= 4| year= 1992|jstor=604470| doi= 10.2307/604470}} * {{cite book |ref={{harvid|P. R. Natarajan|2008}} |first=P. R. |last=Natarajan |title=Thirukkural: Aratthuppaal |edition=First |publisher = Uma Padhippagam |location=Chennai |year=2008 |language=ta }} * {{citation |ref={{harvid|Indira Peterson|1998}} |first=Indira|last=Peterson| editor-last=Cort |editor-first=John E. |editor-link=John E. Cort |title=Open Boundaries: Jain Communities and Cultures in Indian History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yoHfm7BgqTgC |publisher=SUNY Press |year=1998 |isbn=0-7914-3785-X }} * {{cite book|title=Companion studies to the history of Tamil literature|author=Kamil Zvelebil|publisher=Brill|year=1992}}

Category:States and territories established in the 3rd century Category:States and territories disestablished in the 6th century Category:600 disestablishments Category:Dynasties of India Category:Ancient Tamil Nadu Category:Jain empires and kingdoms Category:Jain dynasties