Kalabras

THIS EXPLAINS ABOUT THE KALABRAS

1. Dr.AGHALYA.,M.A.,M.Ed.,M.PHIL.,Ph.D ., Head & Asst.Professor Department of History Bon Secours College for Women Thanjavur Tamil Nadu History - Kalabhra's Rule

2. KALABHRA'S  (middle of 3 rd  Century A.D - end of 6 th  Century A.D ) Kalabhras rule put an end to classic Sangam Age Kalabhras rule is also referred as 'Dark Age' since very few sources are available to study the history of Kalabhras .

3. Literacy Sources:- Tamil Navalar Charithai , Yapperunkalam and Periyapuranam . The inscription at Thiruppugular and Vaikunda Perumal Temple in kancheepuram also refers to Kalabhras rule.

4. Kalabhras King :- Achutha Kalappalan   He rulled Tamil Country from Uraiyur . Buddhist scholar Buddhadatta lived in his kingdom. According to tradition has imprisoned Chera , Chola and Pandya rulers. Patronised Buddism and Buddhist monastries

5. Thirumoolar  - Tamil Siddhar's Vattezhthu  : Sanskrit and Prakrit languages had been introduced in the Tamil region this resulted in development of new script calledVattezhthu . The tamil literature has also taken new form of Tamil grammer and has undergone a few changes during this period.

6. Epics like Sivaka Chinthamani and Kundalakesi were written at this period. Sivaka Chinthamani - by Thiruthakka Thevar Kudalakesi  - by Nathakuthanaar Nigendas were also composed during Kalabhras period. Ghatikas :  Buddhist education institution Buddhist Scholars :   Buddhadatta , Buddhaghosha and Budhidharma

7. Jain Pallis  : Jain education centre Jain Scholars  : Sarva Nandi and Vajra Nandi By the end of 6 th  Century AD the Pandyan ruler Kadungon had liberated the southern part of the Tamil country from Kalabhras And at same period Pallava king Simhavishnu had captured Tondaimandalam and Cholamandalam from the Kalabhras . Thus Kalabhras kingdom came to an end.

8. The Golden Age of Kalabhras termed as Dark Age ( Kalabhra Interregnum )  The last Sangam ended around the 2nd century CE with the invasion of Kalabras from the north. Interregnum is the period starting sometime after the end of the third Sangam and ending sometime prior to the rise of the Pallavas (mid 5th century CE), during which there was a definitive break in the continuity of Tamil culture.

9. The Kalabhras had occupied the Tamil country from the middle of the Third century A.D. to the end of the Sixth century A.D. The literary sources for this period include Tamil Navalar Charithai , Yapperunkalam and Periyapuranam . The Velvikkudi and Dalavaipuram copper plates also mention about the Kalabhras . The inscriptions at Thiruppugalur and Vaikunda Perumal temple in Kanchipuram also refer to the Kalabhra rule. 

10. It is significant that during the Kalabhra reign which lasted nearly 300 years, Buddhism was at its best in and around Kanchi , ancient Tondaimandalam . And there flourished a number of Buddhist saints and scholars, such as Nagaguttanar , author of Kundalakesi , (4th century), Buddhadatta , the Pali commentator, (5th Century), Dinaga , the great logician, (5th century), Dhammapala , another Pali commentator, (6th century), and Bodhidharma , the great Dhyana teacher, (6th century).

11. The association of Buddhaghosha , the greatest Pali scholar and commentator, who was contempoary of Buddhadatta , further confirms the ascendency of Buddhism during the Kalabhra Interregnum in the Tamil land.

12. Coins of Kalapiras   A small number of coins attributed to this dynasty have recently come to light, found in and around Madurai. One of the Kalabhra coins is a small, square specimen, each side measuring 2 cm. made of copper and weighs 7.45 grams. The obverse portrays a big tusker with its trunk hanging downwards and terminating in an inward twist. Above the elephant is a legend in Tamil language and Tamil- Brahmi script, written in anti-clockwise direction. It reads Kalapira . 

13. The most remarkable thing about the coins is the popularisation by the Kalabras of the cults of the Hindu pantheon like that of Subramanya and Vinayaka . It appears that at a later stage the Kalabras became Hindu. The Kalabras appear to have been Vaishnava . Scholar F.E. Hardy traced the palace ceremony to a Vishnu or Mayon temple to the rule of the Kalabras . Scholar Alice Justina Thinakaran writes that perhaps they were Saiva , Jain or Buddhist