Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Kalabhras (Kalappirar)

Kalabhras who are called as Kalappirars by Tamils ruled Tamil Nadufor about three centuries from 3rd or 4th century AD. After their decline it was ruled by Pallavas and Pandyas for the next three centuries. Cholas came to limelight again in the middle of 9th century AD during Vijayalayala Chola.

It is not clearly known who were Kalappirars actually. They appeared to be bandit group. The region between Tirupati and Ganges river was ruled by Satavahanas. Pallavas were princes who ruled the southern region and had accepted the supremacy of Satavahanas. After the decline of Satavahanas, Pallavas became powerful. They claimed themselves as the emperors for the region between Krishna river and Pennai river. They also captured Aruva and Aruva Vadathalai countries. This led the bandits in the forests of Kadappai to move towards south. Pallavas kept capturing the countries occupied by them and ultimately made Kanchi as their capital. The first Pallava king to have Kanchi as his capital was Siva Skandavarman. This made Kalabhras to enter into Cholas and Pandya regions. This could have hapenned between 350 AD - 450 AD.

Kalabhras ruled Chola region as powerful emperors till 575 AD. They were completely defeated by the Pallava king Simha Vishnu. They lost their mpire. They became princes in various regions such as Tanjore, Vallam, Chenthalai, Pudukkottai, etc.

In between, the Pandya king Kandungon became powerful and he established the Pandyan empire successfully. Similar to Pandyas, Cholas couldn't reestablish their empire. Initially, Kalbhras were powerful. Then, there were powerful Pallavas ruling the Chola region till 875 AD.

It appears the Kalabhras were Jains and Buddhists.

There are references about a Kalappirar king named Achchutavikkandan who claimed to have won Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas. He was a Buddhist. The reference was found in a book written by Buddhadatta (period: probably 450 AD).

No comments:

Post a Comment