Mushika dynasty, also spelled Mushaka, was a minor dynastic power that held sway over the region in and around Mount Ezhi (Ezhimala) in present-day North Malabar, Kerala, India.[1][2] The country of the Mushikas, ruled by an ancient lineage of the Hehaya clan of the same name, appears in early historic (pre-Pallava) south India[3][4] and it is believed that Mushika dynasty has their descents from Heheya Kingdom. Early Tamil poems contain several references to the exploits of Nannan of Ezhimalai.[5] Nannan was known as a great enemy of the pre-PallavaChera chieftains.[5] The clan also had matrimonial alliances with the Chera, Pandya and Chola chieftains.[6] The Kolathunadu (Kannur) Kingdom, which was the descendant of Mushika dynasty, at the peak of its power, reportedly extended from Netravati River (Mangalore) in the north to Korapuzha (Kozhikode) in the south with Arabian Sea on the west and Kodagu hills on the eastern boundary, also including the isolated islands of Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea.[7]
The Mushika/Ezhimala kingdom/chiefdom gradually developed into a monarchical polity (known as Kolla-desam[8]) in the early medieval period.[5] The medieval Mushikas were considered as Kshatriyas of Soma Vamsa.[9] The hereditary title of the Mushika kings in the medieval period was Ramaghata Musaka (Malayalam: Iramakuta Muvar).[10][11] The Mushaka Vamsa Kavya, a dynastic chronicle composed in the 11th century by poet Athula, describes the history of the Mushika lineage.[12][13]
Mushika kingdom came under the influence of Chera/Perumal kingdom in the 11th century AD.[14] Mushika royals seem to have assisted the Chera/Perumal kings in their struggle against the Chola Empire.[13][9] Two subsequent Chola inscriptions (c. 1005 AD, Rajaraja I and c. 1018–19, Rajadhiraja) mention the defeat of the Kolla-desam and the fall of the Iramakuta Muvar.[8][9][11] The presence of the Cholas in north Kerala (1020 AD) is confirmed by the Eramam inscription.[11] The kingdom survived the Chera/Perumal state, and came to be known as Kolathunad (Kannur-Kasaragod area) in the post-Chera/Perumal period.[5]
The Mushika kings appear to have encouraged a variety of merchant guilds in their kingdom. Famous Indian guilds such as the anjuvannam, the manigramam, the valanchiyar and the nanadeshikal show their presence in the kingdom. The kings are also described as great champions of Hindu religion and temples. Some Mushika rulers are known for their patronage to a famous Buddhist vihara in central Kerala.[9] Presence of Jewish merchants is also speculated in the ports of Mushika kingdom. A location in Madayi is still known as "the Jew's pond" (the Jutakkulam).[9]
Etymology
Tamil name "Ezhimalai" (the Ezhil Kunram[4]) for the term "Mushika" or "Mushaka" in Sanskrit. The name was incorrectly pronounced as "Elimala" ("the Mountain of the Rats") also.[5]
The Ezhimala hill is described in Mushaka Vamsa Kavya as the "Mushaka Parvata".[13]
Origins
Ezhimala, the ancient capital, as seen from train
The ancient ruling family of the Ezhimala seems to have existed in northern Kerala at least from early historic (pre-Pallava) period.[9]
Ancient Tamil poems also describe th chiefdom of Ezhimalai (also Ezhilmalai) on the northern edge of Tamilakam on its west (Malabar) coast.[15] The rulers of Ezhilmalai were the most prominent hill chieftains of ancient Kerala.[3] The port known as Naravu was located in Ezhimalai chiefdom (Akam, 97). The "Muvan" chieftain of the early Tamil poems, described as an adversary of the early Chera chieftains, is also identical with the Muvan of Ezhimalai.[5]
The early historic Ezhimala clan had matrimonial alliances with the Chera, Pandya and Chola chieftains.[6]
Mahabharata, the Sanskrit epic poem of ancient India, also mention the Mushika as one of the kingdoms of the deep South of India, and is grouped with the Cheras, Pandyas and Cholas.[16] It is identified both as the Ay/Venad/Thiruvithamkur dynasty as well as the Nannan/Mushika/Kolathiri dynasty.[17][18]
Ezhimala Nannan
Nannan was a chieftain of Ezhimalai ("the Ezhil Kunram").[3][4] Nannan is known as a great enemy of the early (pre-Pallava) Chera chieftains (western Tamil Nadu and central Kerala).[5] He appeas in Akananuru and Purananuru poems, and also in Natrinai, in Pathitruppathu and in Kurunthokai.[5] He is described as the hunter chieftain of the vetar descent group ("vetar-ko-man").[3]
Early Tamil poems contain several references to the exploits of Ezhimalai Nannan (who was also known as the lord of Konkanam).[5]
Poet Kudavayur Kirattanar speaks about the defeat of certain Pazhayan by Nannan and his associates Ettai, Atti, Gangan, Katti and Punthurai. In another battle Nannan defeated a chieftain called Pindan (Akam, 152, and Natrinai, 270).
When Nannan invaded Punnad, the Chera warriors came to the aid of the people of that country. It seems that Nannan managed to defeat Ay Eyinan, the leader of the Chera warriors, in the ensuing battle at Pazhi. The warriors of Nannan were led by a person called Minjili in this battle (Akam, 141, 181, and 396, and Natrinai, 265).
However, poem 351 and poem 396 from the Purananuru describe Nannan and Ay Eyinan as relatives and as extremely close friends. So intimate was their relationship that Nannan renamed the "Pirampu" hills in his domain as "Aypirampu".[19][20][21]
In the meanwhile, Kosar people from Chellur (identified present day Taliparamba) attacked Ezhimala country, and even cut down the vakai (albizia), the tutelary tree of Nannan.[4] Nannan defeated the Kosars with help of Chola Ilanchettu Chenni, but Pazhi was sacked by the Cholas (Kurunthokai, 73 and Akam, 375).
Nannan was killed in a battle at Vakai Perumthurai by Chera Narmudi Cheral (Pathitruppattu, IV).
Ezhimala dynasty had jurisdiction over two Nadus - The coastal Poozhinadu and the hilly eastern Karkanadu. According to the works of Sangam literature, Poozhinadu consisted much of the coastal belt between Mangalore and Kozhikode.[29]Karkanadu consisted of Wayanad-Gudalur hilly region with parts of Kodagu (Coorg).[30] It is said that Nannan, the most renowned ruler of Ezhimala dynasty, took refuge at Wayanad hills in the 5th century CE when he was lost to Cheras, just before his execution in a battle, according to the Sangam works.[30] The Ezhimala/Mushika Kingdom at the peak of its power, reportedly extended from Netravati River (Mangalore) in the north to Korapuzha (Kozhikode) in the south with Arabian Sea on the west and Kodagu hills on the eastern boundary, also including the isolated islands of Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea.[7]
The Indian anthropologist Ayinapalli Aiyappan states that a powerful and warlike clan of the Nair caste was called Kola Swaroopam and had a parallel in the Bunt community of Tulu Nadu which was called Kola Bari and the Kolathiri Raja of Kolathunadu was a descendant of this clan.[41] The Kolla-desam (or the Mushika-rajya) came under the influence of the Chera/Perumals kingdom during eleventh century AD.[42] The Chola references to several kings in medieval Kerala confirms that the power of the Chera/Perumal was restricted to the country around capital Kodungallur. The Perumal kingship remained nominal compared with the power that local rulers (such as that of the Mushika in the north and Venatu in the south) exercised politically and militarily.[43] In his book on travels (Il Milione), Marco Polo recounts his visit to the area in the mid 1290s. Other visitors included Faxian, the Buddhist pilgrim and Ibn Batuta, writer and historian of Tangiers. The Arabic inscription on a copper slab within the Madayi Mosque in Kannur records its foundation year as 1124 CE.[44][45]
Medieval Kolla-desam stretched on the banks of Kavvai, Koppam and Valappattanam rivers.[42]
Mushika rulers from medieval inscriptions (10th - 12th centuries AD)
Kantan Karivarman alias Iramakuta Muvar (c. 1020 AD) [46] - mentioned in an Eramam inscription of Chera/Perumal Bhaskara Ravi Manukuladitya (962–1021 AD).[46]
Partly in the courtyard of the temple on either side of the sopana.[47]
Partly in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.[47]
Creation and endowment of a grama (Brahmin settlement) with members chosen from some old grama settlements from central Kerala (Vaikom, Paravur, Avittathoor, Irinjalakuda and Peruvanam).[47]
The engraver is mentioned as Rama Jayamani, the "royal goldsmith of the Mushika king [Jayamani]".[47]
In 1005 AD, i. e., 20 regnal year of emperor Rajaraja I (985–1014 AD), there is a reference (in the Senur inscription) to the defeat of the "haughty" kings at Kollam, Kolladesam and Kodungallur at the hand of Rajaraja. The Kolladesam is identified with the Mushika kingdom in north Kerala. According to scholars, "plunder is emphasised more than conquest [in the inscription] and it is likely that the victories at Kollam in the south, Kodungallur in the center and Kolladesam in the north of Kerala have been primarily the achievement of [the Chola] naval forces".[8]
Chola emperor Rajadhiraja (1019–1044–1053/4 AD) is stated to have "confined the undaunted king of Venatu [back] to Che[ra]natu, destroyed the Iramakuta Muvar in anger, and put on a fresh garland of Vanchi flowers after capturing Kantalur Salai [Vizhinjam?] while the strong Villavan [the Chera/Perumal king] hid himself in terror inside the jungle".[11] The Irumakuta Muvar is not named in the above Chola prasasti (the above events are dated to around 1018–19 AD).[11]
The presence of Chola army in north Kerala (1020 AD) is confirmed by the Eramam inscription of Chera/Perumal Bhaskara Ravi Manukuladitya (962–1021 AD) (which mentions a meeting attended by Rajendra Chola Samaya Senapati in the Chalappuram Temple).[11]
Inscriptions related to Mushika country
Records mentioning Chera/Perumals
Inscription
Location
Notes
Panthalayani Kollam inscription (973 AD)
Single stone slab in the upper frame of the srikoyil (central shrine) entrance in Tali temple.[53]
Name of the king – probably Bhaskara Ravi Manukuladitya (962–1021 AD) – is built over by the present structure.[53]
Koyilandy Jumu'ah Mosque inscription (10th century AD)
On the granite blocks built into the steps of the ablution tank of the Koyilandy Jumu'ah Mosque[40]
A rare surviving document recording patronage by a Hindu king (Bhaskara Ravi) (961-1021 AD) to the MappilaMuslims of Kerala.[40] It also mentions about a merchant guild.[40]
Single stone slab outside the prakara (outer wall) of the temple.[59]
Maniyur inscriptionConfirms the extension of the so-called Agreement of Muzhikkulam to Mushika country.[59]
Udayavarman Kolattiri
An inscription discovered from Kannappuram Temple, found fixed on a platform outside the prakara of the temple, in old Malayalam mentions king "Utaiya Varma Ramakuta Muvar".[49] The record give details of land set apart for the expenses of the Kannapuram Temple. The inscription can be attributed to the early years of the 12th century on the basis of script and language.[49]
Inscription
Location
Notes
Kannapuram inscription
(beginning of the 12th century)
Single stone slab fixed on a platform outside the prakara (outer wall) of the Kannapuram temple.[49]
King Udayavarman of Karippattu palace in Kolattunadu is described as a favourite of the Chera/Perumal king in traditional Kerala chronicles. He is described as the overlord of the Fort Valapattanam, the Chera/Perumal king's Palace, the Taliparamba Temple, and the Perinchellur Brahmin village.[60]
References
^Narayanan, M. G. S. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 178.
^Prange, Sebastian R. Monsoon Islam: Trade and Faith on the Medieval Malabar Coast. Cambridge University Press, 2018. 98.
^Pg 58, Cultural heritage of Kerala: an introduction, A. Sreedhara Menon, East-West Publications, 1978
^ abcdeAiyer, K. V. Subrahmanya (ed.), South Indian Inscriptions. VIII, no. 162, Madras: Govt of India, Central Publication Branch, Calcutta, 1932. p. 69.
^Ayinapalli, Aiyappan (1982). The Personality of Kerala. Department of Publications, University of Kerala. p. 162. Retrieved 27 July 2018. A very powerful and warlike section of the Bants of Tulunad was known as Kola bari. It is reasonable to suggest that the Kola dynasty was part of the Kola lineages of Tulunad.
^ abGanesh, K. N. (2009). Historical Geography of Natu in South India with Special Reference to Kerala. Indian Historical Review, 36(1), 3–21.
^Noburu Karashmia (ed.), A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 144-145
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