Ay dynasty

The Ay formed one of the major rulers of early historic Kerala, along with the Cheras of central Kerala and the rulers of Ezhimalai in the north. Greek geographer Claudius Ptolemy (2nd century CE) described the "Aioi" territory as extending from the Baris (Pamba) to Cape Comorin (Kanyakumari). The elephant was the emblem of the early historic Ay rulers.

The Ay kingdom, whose ancient rulers could, at that time, be considered among the several "political chiefs", functioned as a buffer state between the powerful Pandyas/Cholas and the Cheras (Kerala) during the medieval period. A number of kings such as Chadayan Karunanthan (c. 788/89 CE), Karunandatakkan "Srivallabha" (r. c. 856/57 – 884 CE), and Vikramaditya "Varaguna" (r. c. 884 – 911/920 CE) figure as the Ay chiefs of the port of Vizhinjam. Shifts in allegiance between the Pandyas and Cheras persisted, with the Ay rulers adopting Pandya surnames, yet they refrained from using Pandya regnal years in their inscriptions, signalling their continued autonomy despite their affiliation. Historians assume that the Ay were a leading power in south Kerala till c. 10th century CE.

Origins

The medieval Ay lineage claimed its origins from the hill-chiefs the same name (the Ays) from early historic (pre-Pallava) south India. Members of the Ay family – of the Podiyil Hills (the Aykudi) – were related to the early historic Cheras of central Kerala.

Sri Padmanabhaswamy was the tutelary deity of the medieval Ay family. The medieval Ay claimed that they belonged to the Yadava/Nanda or Vrishni lineage (Parthivapuram Grant and Paliyam Copper Plates). This claim was advanced by the later rulers of Venad and Travancore. Ays are also described as having come to the south India from Dwaraka along with sage Agastya.

Relation to Travancore Royal Family

It is speculated that after the decline of the Ays, some branches of the Ay family moved their headquarters to Thiruvalla and settled in the vicinity of Kadapra (Niranam). They seem to have appeared in the 12th and 13th centuries as the Chirayavay branch, claiming descent from the "Yadu Kula", and ruled near Thiruvalla with Athanthuruthi as their headquarters. In the second half of the 13th century, the Chirayavay branch merged with the Kizhperur branch of the Venad family. A branch of the Ay family, which had established itself at Thrippappur, also appears to have later merged with the Kizhperur house.

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History

The Ay clan was one of the major hill-chiefs (or the Vels) of early historic south India. Members of the Ay family – of the Podiyil Hills or the Aykudi – were related to the early historic Cheras of central Kerala/western Tamil Nadu. In ancient Tamil literature, they are represented as falling under the influence of the Pandyas at certain times and under the Chera sphere of control at others. Towards the close of the early historic period, Pandya supremacy might have extended to the Ay territory (through it is likely that the Ay gained their independence during the Kalabhra period).

Ay chieftains of early historic south India

A number of Ay (Ay-Vel) chiefs — such as Andiran, Titiyan, and Atiyan — are mentioned in the early Tamil poems (the Sangam Collection)..These rulers were renowned for their possession of numerous elephants, their palaces, chariots, and horses, and for their control over the mountainous marches of the southernmost section of the Western Ghats, including the prominent Podiyil Hill.

Ay Andiran is praised by early Tamil poets such as Uraiyur Enicheri Muda Mochiyar, Turaiyur Odaikizhar, and Kuttuvan Kiranar in the Purananuru. He is described there as the "Lord of Podiyil Mala" in the southern Western Ghats and is said to have defeated the Kongu chief and driven him as far as the Sea. Andiran was an elder contemporary of the famous Chera ruler Antuvan Cheral, dated to around c. 140 CE. Ay Titiyan, also known as Podiyil Chelvan, is praised by Paranar and Bhuta Pandya (the Pandya ruler) in the Akananuru, and it appears that he served as a vassal of Bhuta Pandya. Ay Atiyan, the successor of Ay Titiyan, is mentioned by Paranar and Madurai Kanakkayanar in the Akananuru; these poets also note that Podiyil Mala, the Ay stronghold, later became the property of Pachupun Pandya ("the Azhakiya Pandya"), the successor of Bhuta Pandya. An Ay ruler also participated in the famous battle of Talai-yalankanam, in which the Pandya chief Nedum Chezhiyan defeated several of his enemies.

Originally, the entire region of Venad ("Vel+nadu", meaning "the country of the Vel people", who were related to the Ay family) formed part of the larger Ay-Vel territory, and members of the Ay family served as chieftains of this Vel country. Veliyan Venmal Nallini, or "Venmal Nallini, the daughter of the Veliyan", was the wife of the renowned Chera ruler Utiyan Cheralatan, dated to around c. 130 CE. Another prominent figure, "Veliyan Venman" Ay Eyinan—possibly the son of the same Veliyan—was among the warriors assembled by the famous Chera ruler Perum Cheral Irumporai (c. 190 CE) to oppose Nannan of Ezhimalai (fl. c. 180 CE) in the well-known battle of Pazhi. Eyinan, who had once shared a friendship with Nannan, is said to have fallen during the course of the battle while fighting against certain Minjili or Njimili.

As medieval political chiefs

The Ay rulers of early medieval south India were among several local "political chiefs" who acknowledged the authority of major dynasties such as the Cheras or the Pandyas. Along with the Mushikas or the Ezhimala rulers of northern Kerala, the Ays notably traced their lineage back to the early historic period. This ancient ancestry distinguished them from other chiefly families in Kerala, who were typically of more recent origin or had been "nominated" by the medieval Cheras. However, shifts in allegiance between the Pandyas and the Cheras persisted. Although the Ay rulers adopted Pandya royal surnames such as "Srivallabha" and "Varaguna", they did not employ Pandya regnal years in their inscriptions, indicating a degree of autonomy despite the association.

Inscriptional evidence indicates that renewed Pandya incursions into the southern Kerala began in the mid-8th century CE. Around 765 CE, Pandya king Jatila Paranthaka/Nedum "Maran" Chadayan Varaguna I (r. 765–815 CE) notably sacked the Ay port of Vizhinjam by defeating the Vel chieftain (the "Vel Mannan", who might have been related to the Ay family) and took possession of the Ay-Vel country ("the fertile country along with its magnificent treasures") (Madras Museum Plates of Jatila Parantaka, 17th regnal year). This event is perhaps also remembered in the Velvikkudi plates (3rd regnal year, Nedum Chadayan) as "the suppression of the rebellious Ay-Vel" (or at the battle of "nattukkurumbu").

The Pandya foray into southern Kerala may have drawn the medieval Chera rulers into the conflict, leading to a prolonged Pandya–Ay/Chera struggle. It is recorded that the Pandya king "Maran Chadayan" Jatila Paranthaka destroyed a fort at Aruviyoor (identified with Aruvikkarai near Thalakulam) by defeating Ay ruler Chadayan Karunanthan of "Malai Nadu" in 788/789 CE (dated to 23rd regnal year, Kalukumalai inscription). In 792 CE (27th regnal year, Jatila Paranthaka), the Chera warriors (the Cheramanar Padai) are seen fighting for a fort at Vizhinjam and at Karaikkotta (identified with Karaikkodu near Thalakulam) against a commander of Maran Chadayan (Trivandrum Museum Stone Inscription of Maran Chadayan).

By the 9th century CE, as a result of the encroachments of the Pandyas and the medieval Chera rulers, the ancient Ay territory was partitioned into two portions. Venad (or the Country of the Vel People), with its headquarters at Kollam, came under influence of the medieval Chera rulers of Kerala while the Ay kingdom, or what remained of it, based at Vizhinjam, came under the influence of the Pandya ruler Srimara Srivallabha (r. 815–862). This corroborated by the Larger Cinnamanur Plates, which record a victory of king Srivallabha at the port of Vizhinjam. Karunanthadakkkan "Srivallabha" (r. c. 856/57–884), who served as the Ay vassal under Srimara Srivallabha, is particularly noted for founding the Parthivapuram Salai.

Srimara Srivallabha was succeeded on the Pandya throne by Varaguna II (r. 862–885 CE). The Ay kings of Vizhinjam continued as vassals of the Pandyas, as indicated by the Pandya surname ("Varaguna") borne by king Vikramaditya (r. c. 884–911/920 CE).

The Pandyas were defeated in the "great battle of Sripurambiyam" around 885 CE. The considerable influence of the Chera rulers in the Ay country following this battle is evident in two records discovered from the region. The first is an inscription of Kizhan Adikal Ravi Neeli, queen of the Chera ruler Vijayaraga, preserved at Tirunandikkara, a Shiva temple located in the Ay country. The second is the Paliyam copper plates, which record large land grants made in c. 898 CE by the Ay ruler Vikramaditya "Varaguna" to a Buddhist vihara in the Chera Perumal kingdom.

The later years of Vikramaditya's reign may have coincided with the Chola conquest of the Pandya country under king Parantaka I (c. 910 AD). It is therefore likely that the Ays were liberated from Pandya overlordship during this period. Inscriptions of Parantaka I (907 — 955 AD) have been found at Kuttalam (24th and 36th regnal year) and at Suchindram (40th regnal year) within the Ay country.

Legacy

In general, the influence of the Kerala rulers — such as the chieftains of Venad, who owed allegiance to the medieval Chera rulers — seems to have extended into the southern Ay territory in the 10th century CE. By the early 11th century, the entire region, including the port of Vizhinjam and Cape Comorin, had come under the control of the imperial Cholas. The Senur inscription of emperor Rajaraja I, dated to 1005 AD, notably mentions only the ruler of Kollam (i. e., Venad) in southern Kerala.

There is a possibility that the Venad chieftains, following the Chola raids, attempted to recapture the old Ay region. Emperor Rajadhiraja claims to have "confined the undaunted king of Venadu [back] to the Che[ra]natu [from the Ay country]... and liberated the [Ay?] king of Kupaka... and put on a fresh garland of Vanchi flowers after the capturing Kantalur Salai while the strong Villavan [the Chera king] hid himself in terror inside the jungle" (an event dated to c. 1018/19 CE).

A branch of the Ay family, which had established itself at Thrippappur and exercised control over the Padmanabhaswamy Temple, later appears to have merged with the Kizhperur house, the ruling lineage of Venad.