![various names of lord shiva in tamil various names of lord shiva in tamil](https://cdn.exoticindia.com/images/products/thumbnails/t400x300/books/gpa766h.jpg)
They first appeared in non-Tamil records in the third century B.C.E., in stelae inscriptions from the Mauryan King Ashoka the Great, who held territory to the north of Tamilakam. They were based in the Cauvery valley, in the cities of Tanjore (Thanjavur) and Uraiyur. After ruling southern India for centuries, infighting and Islamic invaders weakened the dynasty, which eventually ended around the 16 th century C.E.Ĭhola rulers held the eastern coast of southern India and Sri Lanka, becoming prominent in the 10 th through 13 th centuries C.E. The symbol of the Pandya Dynasty was the fish. There, scholars produced much of the unique Tamil literature from this period. The main city of the Pandyas was Madurai, where Tamil kings held three Sangam poetry academies. The Pandya rulers governed the most southern part of the Indian subcontinent and initially practiced Jainism, but later became Hindus, specifically Shaivas. and were said to have sent ambassadors to Roman emperors. They first appeared in Greek writings in the fourth century B.C.E. The Pandya are the earliest mentioned of the Tamil ruling chieftains. Many ancient Tamil were part of the Shaivism sect of Hinduism, worshiping Shiva as their main god. Shiva-known as the destroyer of the universe-is a Hindu god, one of the trio of the Hindu pantheon alongside Brahma and Vishnu. Tamilakam is an important historical region for early Hinduism, and Shiva worship was particularly prominent during the period of the Three Crowned Kings. Archaeological and written evidence suggests there were strong trade and economic links between Tamilakam and Mediterranean powers like Rome. Tamil is one of the oldest languages of the Indian subcontinent. The traditional homeland of the Tamil people is called Tamilakam, or Tamil Nadu. The Tamil people are a linguistic group with roots in modern south India and Sri Lanka, although many have emigrated out of this region. Despite this turmoil, they were crucial in advancing south Indian art, architecture, and literature. At the beginning of the common era, southern India and Sri Lanka were home to three Tamil dynastic chiefdoms or kingdoms, each ruled by kings, together called “muvendar.” The Pandya, Chera, and Chola dynasties ruled over the Tamil people during ancient and medieval India, fighting among themselves and other forces for dominance of the region. The Three Crowned Kings of Tamilakam ruled and fought over the southern region of the Indian subcontinent for centuries.