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 3rd Century A.D - end
of 6th 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 6th 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.

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