Ancient South Indian kingdom
This article is about the kingdom of Kerala in Indian epic literature. For the historical kingdom, see
Chera dynasty.
The Keralas or Udra Keralas were a royal dynasty mentioned in Sanskrit epics of ancient India. In the Mahabharata, the Keralian empire took part in the Kurukshetra War by feeding both armies. According to the Puranas, the navigators and survivors of the Yadavas of Dwaraka also settled in Kerala later. Some remnants of the Naga culture are also found here.
This Kerala kingdom has been identified with the Chera kingdom, which existed from the 5th century BCE to the 12th century CE in present-day Kerala state and Tamil Nadu in South India. The Pandyas, Cheras and the Cholas were mentioned in Tamil literature (consisting of Silappatikaram, Tirukkural etc.), complementing their mention in the existing Sanskrit literature (constituted by the Puranas, Vedas, Ramayana and the Mahabharata).