Puhar, Mayiladuthurai

Puhar (also known as Poompuhar) is a town in the Mayiladuthurai district in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It was once a flourishing ancient port city known as Kaveri Poompattinam, which is described in Sangam literature like Silappadikaram, Manimekalai, Pattinapalai and Akananuru as the capital of the Early Chola kings in Tamilakam. Puhar is located near the mouth of the Kaveri river, on the sea coast. It is mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. It has now been established by marine archaeological research (conducted by the National institute of marine archaeology, Goa) that much of the town was washed away by progressive erosion and floods. In the 1960s and 1970s, archaeological research was conducted under the leadership of the noted archaeologist K. V. Soundararajan. Submerged wharves and several meter lengths of pier walls excavated in recent times have corroborated the literary references to Poompuhar. It was rebuilt several times after that. Ancient Pottery dating back to the 4th century BCE have been discovered off shore by marine archaeologists east of this town. The general plan of the city of Puhar is described in considerable detail in the fifth book of Silapathikaram. The town was built on the north banks of the river Kaveri. The town had two distinct districts, Maruvurpakkam near the sea and Pattinappakkam to its west. These two villages were separated by a stretch of gardens and orchards where daily markets were held under the shades of the trees. The market place was known as Naalangadi during the day and as allangadi by night. The district of Maruvurpakkam was near the beach and had several terraced mansions and warehoused with windows shaped like the eyes of the deer. Maruvurpakkam being close to the shore and hence to the shipyard was naturally preferred by the many overseas travellers, merchants and yavanas (Greeks). Maruvurpakkam was inhabited by the fisher folk. The town had several warehouses. Weavers, silk merchants, vendors, fish and meat sellers, potters, grain merchants, jewellers and diamond makers lived in Maruvurppakkam.

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Concepts associés (3)

Chera

Les Chera est une des trois dynasties tamoules de l'antiquité indienne, les deux autres étant les Chola qui règnent sur la côte de Coromandel et les Pândya occupant la pointe sud de l'inde actuelle, qui dominent une grande partie de l'histoire du sud de l'Inde et qui sont en conflit quasi perpétuel pour assurer leur prédominance. Ses rois appartenaient à la tribu des Vânavar, peut-être le Vanara ou peuple des singes du Rāmāyana. Les Chera règnent sur la côte de Malabar dans une région qui correspond à l'État moderne du Kerala, dont le nom provient de Keralaputra ou fils des Chera.

Tamilakam

Tamiḻakam (Tamil: தமிழகம்) refers to the geographical region inhabited by the ancient Tamil people, covering the southernmost region of the Indian subcontinent. Tamilakam covered today's Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Lakshadweep and southern parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Traditional accounts and the Tolkāppiyam referred to these territories as a single cultural area, where Tamil was the natural language and permeated the culture of all its inhabitants. The ancient Tamil country was divided into kingdoms.

Dynastie Chola

Les Chola sont une dynastie tamoule du sud de l'Inde, mentionnée dans le Mahābhārata, et qui a donné son nom à la côte de Coromandel (d'après Chola mandalam, « le pays des Chola ») au Tamil Nadu. Attestée dès la fin du troisième siècle avant notre ère, elle règne sur un territoire de taille variable jusqu'à la fin du . On sait peu de chose des premiers Chola, dont la tradition et la littérature nous ont transmis quelques noms et dates approximatives.