South Indian Traders of the ancient world

South Indian Traders of the ancient world
Bala kote district Seal OM in Tamil
Dr. UDAY DOKRAS
B.Sc., B.A. (Managerial Economics), LL.B., Nagpur University, India
Certificat’ en Droit, Queens University, Canada,
MBA CALSTATE, USA,
Ph.D. Stockholm University, Sweden,
Management and Efficacy Consultant, India

Introduction: India has had a maritime history dating back to around 4,500 years, since the
Indus Valley Civilization. The impetus to later re-develop maritime links was trade (primarily in
cotton, pepper and other spices), due to the monopoly of the Persians and later the Arabs over
land-based caravan routes. The later maritime journeys spread the influence of ancient and
medieval Indian civilisation as far as the islands ofIndonesia to the east, the islands of Japan to
the north, and the east coast of Africa to the west.

Proper rules of conduct of trade were laid by the head of trade guilds, known as Sarthavaha or
Srenipramukha. The rules were called Samay and Srenidharma.Taxila, Pushkalavati, Kapisa and
Vidisha prospered as trade centres, under the Indo-Greek rulers.Kautilya asked the king to
develop measures to stop obstruction of the trade routes by his favourite men (vallabhas).
Frontier guards (Antapalas) were also appointed.Guilds of merchants were proper-ly registered

and even served as banks.Ships in ancient period were usually of the two-masted type. In the 2nd
century A.D., a regular sea-route was in operation for the quest for gold (swarna).
There are ample sources of information, supplying authentic material for the construction of a
short history of South Indian International commerce in ancient times; and they may be arranged
under the usual following heads:
(1) archaeological evidences, which include monuments, buildings and works of art;
(2) inscriptional or epigraphic evidences;
(3) linguistic or evidence of words, adduced by the similarity in origin and of sounds;
(4) religious treatises;
(5) purely literary works, containing hidden historical allusions and references;
(6) coins or numismatic evidence;
(7) traditions, as recorded in literature and in verbal circulation;
(8) the recent ethnological researches of great value and importance; and
(9) ancient and modern historical writings, consisting of almost all the accounts, left by
foreigners and native historians.
All these original authorities for the early history of South India and her international
commercial enterprises need a careful examination.
Archeology: Let us take the archaeological evidence for scrutiny. A scientific examination of
buildings, monuments and works of art throw much light upon the South Indian early commerce
and her civilisation. The Obelisks of Shalmeneser III, bearing figures of Indian elephants and
apes, proved ancient trade connections between India and Babylonia in or about 860 B.C. The
temple of the moon at Mugheir (the “Ur of the Chaldees”) and the palace of Nebuchadnezzar,
belonging to the sixth century B.C. contain a number of pillars and beams, made of teak wood, a
native product of India, and confirm that the trade in teak wood flourished between India and
Barygaza and Euphrates, in the early days; and the tombs of Egypt reveal the presence of indigo,
tamarind wood and such other products, and they un- mistakably speak of the earliest trace of
South Indias commercial intercourse with Egypt.
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As regards the inscriptional evidences, we should say that they form the most important and
reliable source of our knowledge of the early commercial history of South India. In fact, the
earliest trade relations between Assyria and India are revealed by the Cuneiform Inscriptions of
the Hittite Kings of Mitani, in Cappadocia, belonging to the fifteenth or fourteenth century B.C.
The Nimrud Inscriptions of the Assyrian King, Tiglath Pileser III, referring to the Indian exports
of the day, like spices and clothing, as having been received in Assyria as tributes from a King,
by name Yakim; and the Egyptian Inscriptions of the Queen Hatshepsust, recording the
monarchs expedition to Punt and the booty of cinnamon wood are very important evidence
relating to South Indian international connections with the rest of the world.
Next, we proceed to the linguistic source of information. Similarity or resemblance between
various words, the names of commercial products, prevalent in different countries, to some
extent, adduce proof of their ancient commercial relations for example, the Hebrew word “shen
habbin” for ivory, a literal translation of the Sanskrit “ibha danta”; the Egyptian word “kafu” for
ape, from the Sanskrit word “kapi”; the Balylonian word “sindu” for muslin, from the Dravidian
word “sindhi”; the Indian word “sini” for sugar given to it, as it was imported from China.
While examining the next important species of evidence, religious treatises, we should divide
and study them under three heads: Hindu, Buddhist and Christian sacred works. Taking first the
Hindu treatises into consideration, we find that the Vedic Mantras contain many allusions to seavoyages undertaken by Indians perhaps chiefly by South Indians. “Mahabharata” mentions
Yudishtara of the Pancha Pandavas having received Chinese silk, as tribute, from China, in the
second millennium B.C.; while the Buddhist “Jataka Stories” (e.g. Baberu Jataka) narrate Indian
merchants, presumably South Indian merchants, having taken periodical voyages to the land of
Babylon (Balylonis). Lastly, comes the Christian sacred literature: a reference to ebony, an
Indian article of trade is found in “Ezekiel” XXVII. 13, having been a commodity in the trade of
Tyre; a similar reference to cinnamon having become one of the ingredients of the sacred
anointing oil of the Hebrew priests, in “Exodus” XXX and a specific mention in the Book of
Genesis relating to the Indian merchants going to Egypt to trade doubtless establish South Indian
commercial relations with Palestine and Egypt in the ancient times.
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Proceeding to the ancient Indian literature, containing many historical facts and truths, as a
significant source of information, we find that the classical Puranic literature of India, like
“Tholkapyam,” contain several allusions to the Roman settlements and their occupations under
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various Tamil kings. We have also numerous Egyptian records of the receipt of several articles
like ivory in commerce and as tribute under the seventh dynasty 1580-1350 B.C.
Next, we may examine tradition as a very valuable source of information. Traditions, as recorded
in Literature and as they are current in mere “verbal circulation” constitute, indeed, a chief
supplier of some important historical information. The Queen Hatshepsusts expedition and
Queen Shebas meeting with King Solomon and the fabulous tributes that the former gave the
latter indicate an extensive trade between Egypt and India even in the tenth century B.C., and
also the kinds of articles that Egypt and India exchanged in commerce.
As regards the ethnological sources from the face-type of the average Indian of today and a
strong resemblance which exists between the ethnic type of the Sumerians marked strongly in
their statues and to the Dravidian ethnic type of the average Indian, H. R. Hall concludes that a
South Indian tribe should have migrated and settled in Sumeria. Likewise, there are other
ethnological facts which throw much light upon ancient South Indian commerce with the rest of
the progressive countries.
Lastly, we should examine the historical accounts left behind by several of the ancient and
modern writers of history. The accounts of the ancient Greek writers like Herodotus, Homer.
Aristophanes, and Sophocles, the great and valuable Chinese Annals, the diary of the German
scholar, Buhler, the interesting writings of the Roman historians, Strabo and Pliny, and, last but
not least, the modern historical; treatises of the celebrated English historians. H. R. Hall,
Mommsen, Warmington, Sewell and Smith and a host of others all these give us practically true
and valuable information regarding the ancient maritime and international relations that existed
between ancient South India and the rest of the known and progressive world, as well as an
account of the flourishing ports of South India.
It is a geographical fact that the coastal line of South India is not even, and so there must have
been the possibility of the formation and establishment of many ports in the peninsular South
India in ancient times. The great author of the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, in his Guide-book
to the Indian Ocean, writes about these South Indian ports. Among others, he mentions India,
Musiri, and Comari (Cape Comorin). He also speaks of Colchi (Korkai), Camara, Poduka,
Sopatma, Kodikkaraim, Negapatam, Nelkynda and Kaviri Paddinam. All these ports were in
excellent and flourishing condition. Either they played the role of important stations of imports
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and exports or they served merely as calling stations. These ports were owned by one or other of
three important Tamil Kings, Colchi or Korkai, whose pearl fisheries were carried on on a large
scale, belonged to the Pandyan Kingdom. Camara, Poduka and Sopatma were “Sola” ports;
Kodikkarai, Negapatam and Kavari Paddinam also belonged to the Cholas, while Musiri and
Nelkynda were the ports of Chera Kings. These various South Indian ports, favourably situated
as they were, facilitated South Indian trade with the rest of the world, in the pre-historic and later
ages.
It must be remembered that as far back as in the fourth milliennium B. C., when the most
civilised countries of today were steeped in darkness, South India was a flourishing country in
civilisation and commerce. In fact, trade began in South India as a matter of necessity. “Her
geographical features helped her to become a commercial country.” Says a historian, that as a
large part of the Tamil peninsular India is near the sea, the knowledge of easy sea-travels and the
comparatively rich commercial animal, mineral and agricultural products of the same naturally
tempted the inhabitants of the coastal districts, called “Baradavar” or sailors, to take to seatravels and to contract commercial relations with other countries. We have reasons to believe that
South Indian sailors sailed along, hugging the shores, up to Afghanistan and Persia, from very
early times. Excessive travels, both by land and sea, in the very ancient times, could have made
possible the colonisation of the Mesopotamian Valley by the South Indians by the Tamils which,
according to a recent theory, gave birth to the ancient Sumerian civilisation of that region. H. R.
Hall says: “The ethnic type of Sumerians, so strongly marked in their statues and reliefs, was as
different from those of the races which surrounded them as was their language from those of the
Semites, Aryans or others; they were decidedly Indian in type.” The face type of the average
Indian today is just the same as that of his Dravidian ancestors, years ago. And, according to H.
R. Hall, “it is to this ethnic type of India that the ancient Sumerian bears most resemblance, so
far as we can judge from his monuments.”He was very much like a Southern Hindu of the
Deccan.” It is quite improbable that the Sumerians were an Indian tribe which migrated to the
valley of the two rivers, through Persia, by land and perhaps by sea, as well. It recently was
proved that in Baluchistan there exists a Dravidian population, “the Brahuis”; the Dravidian type
is noted in Southern Persia; and perhaps, the non-Aryan people of ancient Persia were of the
Dravidian race, who formed connection between Babylonia and India. The legends of OannesMan-fish swimming up the Persian Gulf to the earliest Sumerian cities, like Eridu, denote an
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early maritime relationship between Sumeria and India which was by then a civilised land. It
would not be too much to presume that the Sumerian culture was developed in the Indian home.
It was their writing that, later on, was adapted by Babylonia and it was the seeds of their culture
that were afterwards left in Elam. Till the writings of Mohenjo Daro are definitely deciphered,
nothing positive or more could be said about the South Indian trade with Sumeria.
If there was commercial intercourse between South India and Sumeria, there must have been
greater intercourse between South India and Babylonia. By means of evidence. Sarce mentions
two instances: in the first place, there were found in the ruins of Ur (Mugheir), pillars of Indian
teak, probably South Indian teak; and it was a well-known fact that, in the fourth millennium
B.C., Mugheir or Ur was the capital of the Sumerian Kings. Secondly, the word Sindhu or
muslin shows a distinctly South Indian product that was to be found in an ancient Babylonian list
of clothing. Mr. P. T. Sreenivasa Chary thinks that muslin should have been taken from the
Tamil coast to Babylonia by sea. Passing on, we again hear of the South Indian trade with ”
Balyloni” in 606 B.C. during the period of the Babylonian Empire. After the fall of the Assyrian
Empire, the great city of Babylon took the place of Nineveh as the centre of commerce and trade
with Western India. In the crowded market of Babylonia met all the races of the world, including
South Indians who went there to sell their wares. In the Baberu Jataka, Indian merchants, perhaps
both South and North Indian merchants, took periodical voyages to the land of Babylon. The
classical literature of South India is full of references to ships, shipping and distant voyages.
There was soon established in that great town a colony of South Indian merchants, which
continued to thrive till the seventh century A.D.
There is ample evidence that the trade of South India extended not only to the Mesopotamian
valley, but also to Egypt in the third millennium B.C. “Thousands of years before the emergence
of the Greeks from savagery.Egypt and the nations of Ancient India came into being, and a
commercial system was developed for the interchange of products within those limits, having its
centre of exchange near the head of the Persian Gulf.The growth of civilisation in India created
an active merchant marine and trading to the Euphrates and Africa.” (W. H. Schoff). The Arabs,
who played the intermediaries, carried muslins and Indian spices from South Indian
“Baradavars,” who took those articles in their boats to Aden and the East African Coast, and
carried them, in turn, to Thebes or Memphis, by sea or land. In the Book of Genesis there is
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mention of a company of traders with spicery and myrrh going to Egypt. In exchange for these
articles, Egypt sent to South India incense, sweet-smelling gums, etc. The Vedic Mantras are
burdened with allusions to the “interchange” of merchandise: South Indian traders must have
sent their ships to sea and sailed to distant lands for sale and barter, long before North Indians
took to maritime commerce. In the second millennium B.C., when the old land-route was
destroyed, the tide of trade bent southward and led to a great development in the sea trade of
South India. Under the seventeenth Egyptian dynasty (1580-1530 B.C.), there were several
records of the receipt of ivory in trade and as tribute, which fact indicates that in the early times,
ivory and ivory-articles, like chairs, tables, statues and whips, went from the west coast of India
to the Nile Valley. Under the eighteenth Dynasty, great Egyptain ships fetched, from the Arab
intermediaries, South Indian ebony, precious stones, ivory, gold, cinnamon, incense, apes,
monkeys, dogs and panther skins. In the days of the twentieth Dynasty, under Rameses III (1198-
1167 B.C.), Egypt continued to get ebony and precious stones from South India. During the heyday of Egytian prosperity, under the twenty-eighth Dynasty, the garments of royal linen used in
Egypt were considered to be of South Indian muslin. The cinnamon, which Egypt largely
imported, was not an article of Punt, as it was believed, but it grew in Malabar and Cochin; and
South India traded in it with the Arab intermediaries, who sold it in their turn to Egypt. Among
the eastern treasures, mentioned as supplied from Punt to Egypt, were grain and gingelly oil,
which, according to the Periplus, were largely exported to far off countries only from South
India. The Egyptian priests underwent the “anointment” ceremony. with the “South Indian
gingelly oil,” and the Egytian Queen Hatshepsust got her excellent ebony only from the Malabar
coast and not from Punt, as she believed!” So, trade between South India and Egypt flourished
from very early times to the second millennium B.C.
A little before the end of the second millennium B.C., the Hebrews ended their servitude in
Egypt and migrated to Palestine. Sweet spices were considered very holy among the Hebrews in
Palestine. After Israels rise to prosperity, the Palestine trade with South India and other countries
grew by leaps and bounds. South India not only imported cinnamon and sapphires to Palestine,
but also all the other articles which she had been sending Egypt through the Arab intermediaries.
In the tenth century B.C., we hear of Queen Shebas lavishing presents upon King Solomon:
spices and precious stones, which were undoubtedly South Indian articles. “The almug trees,
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which are identified with sandalwood, native to South India, especially Mysore, Coimbatore and
Salem Districts, and a large quantity of gold should have gone to Palestine from South India.”
South Indian ivory and peacocks were, among several other articles imported to Palestine. The
Hebrew word for ivory” Shen habbin” resembles “Ibha danta” in Sanskrit, and the Hebrew word
“Thakki” for peacock bears semblance to the Tamil word “Thogai.” In Ezekiel, XXVII, 13, in the
Old Testament, South Indian trade with Palestine in ebony is mentioned; it was prior to the
seventh century.
It is fairly certain that there was commercial intercourse between South India and China also, in
the second millennium B.C. The reference to Chinese silk having been sent to Yudhishtra of the
Pancha Pandavas by the Chinese King in “Mahabharatha” and referenecs in the Chinese Annals
to several voyages made to Malacca and farther by the Chinese, indicate that South India must
have had some commercial dealings with China. Her chief trade was in sugar and silk, originally
made in China and then imported to India. Sugar was called “Sini,” a product of China: and silk
was called “Sinan,” foldable cloth of China. In exchange for these, China got from South India
incense, red coral, costus and pepper. Recently, it has been discovered that South Indians also
acted as intermediaries between China and Western Asia; and the Tamil ports served as the
meeting points of the trade between the West and the East of Asia. For a long time, down to 500
B.C., we may suppose, the trade of the Malabar and Coromandel coasts with China did not
languish: Chinese cardamom, for instance, continued to find its way to Western Asia and Eastern
Africa by South Indian ships. Even passing on to the first century A.D., we find South Indian
trade extending to China and Japan in the farthest east, beyond the small colonies of Java and
Sumatra. Throughout the first and second centuries A.D., during the reigns of the Chinese
Emperors, Hoti (85-105 A.D.) and Hiwanti (158-159 A.D.), there arrived in China, according to
the Chinese Annals, many South Indian Embassies, with merchandise, in the name of tributes. In
the sixth century A.D., there was a continued development of the maritime intercourse between
China and South India. The North Indian religious missions to China, in the early times,
facilitated the inter-commercial relations of China and South India, to a very great extent.
There is some evidence that there were commercial relations between South India and Arabia in
the second millennium. The Arabs were good sailors and merchants. They acted as
intermediaries between South Indian merchants and Western purchasers of Egypt and Palestine,
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in the olden days. Tactful and artful as they were, they would not reveal the Indian origin of
several articles of trade to their Customers. They wished to monopolise the privilege of being
intermediaries and also to keep South Indian trade in their hands. South India sent cinnamon,
ivory and precious stones, pepper, ebony and sandal wood, besides her native birds and animals
to Arabia, which passed them on to Egypt and Palestine in the course of trade.
The earliest trace of South Indian intercourse with Assyria can be found in the Cuneiform
Inscriptions of the Hittite Kings of Mitani in Cappadocia, belonging to the fifteenth or fourteenth
century B.C. These kings bore Indian names and worshipped the Vedic gods. “Assurbanipal, a
great cultivator, seemed to have got South Indian plants including wool-bearing trees (cotton).”
The Ninrud Inscriptions of the great Assyrian monarch, Tiglath Pileser III, mentions several
articles of tribute paid by Yakim, a king of the Sea-country to “Ashur,” among which many were
the articles of South Indian exports of the day: pearls, spices, gold, precious stones. On the
Obelisks of Shalmeneser III (860 B.C.) are the figures of apes and Indian elephants, indicating
early South Indian trade with Assyria. In the markets of Tyrus, South Indian iron and steel were
sold. Sennacherib (704-681 B. C.) enlarged the city of Nineveh and built a palace and a garden,
where he introduced the “wool-bearing trees.” Fine skins of lions, tigers and leopards, aromatics
and spices and ghee and gingelly oil, in later times were also sent to Assyria by South India.
South Indian teak was also in great demand is Assyria: the remnants of teak wood are found in
the ruins of the temple of the Moon at Mugheir, “the Ur of the Chaldees” as well as in the ruined
palace of Nebuchednazzar. Thus, South Indian trade with Assyria was both profitable and
beneficial.
In 606 B,C., the Assyrian Empire was overthrown; and soon after, Babylon became the
headquarters of trade in Asia. In 538 B.C., even the last of the great Semitic Empires of Western
Asia came to an end with the storming of Babylon by Cyrus, the great monarch of Persia. His
son, Darius helped sea trade between Persia and South India. South India might have sent, either
directly or indirectly, her native commercial goods to Persia, either by land or by sea. Details of
their trade relations are not available. With the break-up of the Persian Empire by Greece, South
Indian trade with Persia came to an end.
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Just as in the early days the Arabs served as the intermediaries between South India and the
Asiatic and Semitic Empires, Greece was the greatest intermediary between South India and
Europe, in the half millennium prior to the birth of Christ. As a result of this international
commercial intercourse, the Hellenes borrowed several South Indian names of articles: e.g.,
“Oryza” for “Arisi” (price); “Karpion” for “Karova” (cinnamon); “Peperi” for “pippali”;
“beryllos” for “vaidurya” (a precious stone). “In the processions of Ptolemy Philadelphus were to
be found South Indian women, hunting-dogs, crows and spices! Homer referred to the black
people of the Deccan and their sea-faring nature.”xx
Image of Calicut, India from Georg Braun and Frans Hogenberg’s atlasCivitates orbis
terrarum, 1572.
Mauryan Empire
The earliest known reference to an organization devoted to ships in ancient India is to the
Mauryan Empire from the 4th century BC. The word navigation is derived from the sanskrit
word “Navgath” also. Its believed that the navigation as a science originated on the river Indus
some 5000 years ago. Emperor Chandragupta Maurya’s Prime Minister Kautilya’s Arthashastra
devotes a full chapter on the state department of waterways under navadhyaksha (Sanskrit for
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Superintendent of ships) . The term, nava dvipantaragamanam (Sanskrit for sailing to other lands
by ships) appears in this book in addition to appearing in the Buddhist text, Baudhayana
Dharmasastra as the interpretation of the term, Samudrasamyanam.
Journeys to the East and later centuries
Indian maritime expertise helped disperse the Indian civilisation (including Hinduism and
Buddhism) as far as the islands of Indonesia, Java and Sumatra.
The Tamil people are speakers of the Tamil language and trace their ancestry to the present day
State of Tamil Nadu in India and to Sri Lanka Tamils constitute 5.9% of the population
in India (concentrated mainly in Tamil Nadu), 15% in Sri Lanka,[note 2] 6% in Mauritius, 7%
in Malaysia and 5% in Singapore. Tamils, with a population of around 76 million and with a
documented history stretching back over 2,000 years, are one of the largest and oldest extant
ethnolinguistic groups in the modern world.
From the 4th century BC onwards, urbanisation and mercantile activity along the western and
eastern coasts of what is today Kerala and Tamil Nadu led to the development of four large
Tamil political states, the Cheras, Cholas, Pandyas and Pallavas and a number of smaller states,
all of whom were warring amongst themselves for dominance. The Jaffna Kingdom, inhabited
by Sri Lankan Tamils, was once one of the strongest kingdoms of Sri Lanka, and controlled
much of the north of the island.
Tamils were noted for their influence on regional trade throughout the Indian Ocean. Artifacts
marking the presence of Roman traders show direct trade was active between Rome and southern
India, and the Pandyas were recorded as having sent at least two embassies directly to Emperor
Augustus in Rome. The Pandyas and Cholas were historically active in Sri Lanka. The Chola
dynasty successfully invaded several areas in southeast Asia, including the
powerful Srivijaya and the Malay city-state of Kedah. Medieval Tamil guilds and trading
organizations like the Ayyavole and Manigramam played an important role in Southeast Asian
trading networks. Pallava traders and religious leaders travelled to Southeast Asia and played an
important role in the cultural Indianisation of the region. Scripts brought by Tamil traders to
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Southeast Asia, like the Grantha and Pallava scripts, induced the development of many Southeast
Asian scripts such as Khmer, Javanese Kawi script, Baybayin and Thai
The Tamil language is one of the world’s longest-surviving classical languages, with a history
dating back to 300 BCE. Tamil literature is dominated by poetry, especially Sangam literature,
which is composed of poems composed between 300 BCE and 300 CE. The most important
Tamil author was the poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar, who wrote the Tirukkuṛaḷ, a group of
treatises on ethics, politics, love and morality widely considered the greatest work of Tamil
literature. Tamil visual art is dominated by stylised Temple architecture in major centres and the
productions of images of deities in stone and bronze. Chola bronzes, especially
the Nataraja sculptures of the Chola period, have become notable symbols of Hinduism. A major
part of Tamil performing arts is its classical form of dance, the Bharatanatyam, whereas the
popular forms are known as Koothu. Classical Tamil music is dominated by the Carnatic genre,
while gaana and dappan koothu are also popular genres.
Although most Tamil people are Hindus, many (especially those in the rural areas) practice what
is considered to be Dravidian folk religion, venerating a plethora of village deities, while a
sizeable number are Muslims and Christians. A small Jain community survives from the classical
period as well. Tamil cuisine is informed by varied vegetarian and non-vegetarian items usually
spiced with locally available spices. The music, the temple architecture and the stylised
sculptures favoured by the Tamil people as in their ancient nation are still being learnt and
practised. English historian and broadcaster Michael Wood called the Tamils the last surviving
classical civilisation on Earth, because the Tamils have preserved substantial elements of their
past regarding belief, culture, music and literature despite the influence of globalization.
The cholas were experts in ship building, sea trade flourished under their empire with trade
routes established well in south-east Asia. Further cholas also spread Hinduism in
Indonesia(java) and other south-east Asian countries.
Finally, the advent of Portuguese sailor, Vasco Da Gama in 1496 opened up the trade routes to
India to the Europeans. As a result of the Battle of Swally, the Portuguese monopoly began to
crumble and the rise of the British East India Company began.
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Indians of old were keenly alive to the expansion of dominions, acquisition of wealth, and the
development of trade, industry and commerce.The material prosperity they gained in these
various ways was reflected in the luxury and elegance that characterized the society.Some find
allusion in the Old Testament to Indian trade with Syrian coast as far back as 1400 B.C.
Archaeological evidence shows that as early as the eighth century B.C., there was a regular trade
relation, both by land and sea, between India on the one hand and Mesopotamia, Arabia,
Phoenica, and Egypt on the other. (For more information refer to chapter on India and Egypt).
The Chinese literary texts refer to maritime and trade activity between India and China as far
back as the seventh century B. C. Recent excavations in Philippines, Malay Peninsula, and
Indonesia confirm of early and extensive trade which continued down to the historical period. It
was this naval supremacy that enabled Indians to colonize the islands in the Indian Archipelago.
Shortly, after, there grew up a regular traffic between India andChina, both by land and sea. India
also came in close contact with the Hellenic world. We learn from ancient authority that in the
processions of Ptolemy Philadelphus (285-246 B.C.) were to be found Indian women, Indian
hunting dogs, Indian cows, also Indian spices carried on camels, and that the yachts of the ruler
of Egypt had a saloon lined with Indian stones. Everything indicates that there was a large
volume of sea-trade between India and the western countries as far as African coast. From the
coast the goods were carried by land to the Nile, and then down the river to Alexandria which
was a great emporium in those days.
There was a mercantile colony of Indians in an island off the African coast in the first century
A.D. The adventurous spirit of the Indians carried them even as far as the North Sea, while their
caravans traveled from one end of Asia to the other.
Towards The West
S. R. Rao says that the Indian traders first settled in Bahrein and used the circular seal. Later on
the different sections of the Indian merchants colonized the different cities of Mesopotamia after
the name of their race. The Chola colonized the land where the two rivers, the Tigris and
Euphrates, approach most nearly and the banks touch the so called Median wall. They called
their colony Cholades which later came to be known as Chaldea (i.e. the land of the Cholas) as a
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result of corrupt pronunciation. Similarly the Asuras of Vedic India colonized the city Asura
after their name and later they established the Assyrian empire.
The ancient Egyptian traders sailed there boats not only on the Nile but also ventured into the
Mediterranean and the Red Sea and even into the Indian Ocean, for they are said to have reached
“God’s land” or the land of Punt (India). Similarly the Indian traders sailed their ships not only on
the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf, they also ventured into the Red Sea and even into the
Mediterranean and Aegean Sea. From the very beginning Indian traders had a very fair
knowledge of all the ancient oceans and seas of the populated world. the Egyptians called India
as “God’s land” because India was in those days culturally very much developed. The priest of
ancient Egypt required vast quantities of aromatic plants for burning as incense; frankincense,
myrrh and lavender were also used for embalmment purpose. Herodotus has left us a sickening
description of the great number of spices and scented ointments of which India was the center.
Beauty products from India also attracted the women of Egypt. The cosmetic trade was entirely
dependent on imports chiefly from India. The Pharaohs of the fifth and sixth dynasties made
great efforts to develop trade relations with the land ofPunt. Knemphotep made voyages to Punt
eleven times under the captainship of Koui. This expedition was organized and financed by the
celebrated Queen Halshepsut.
Towards The East
Southeast Asia has always been an integral part of the Indian consciousness is borne out by the
fact that the countries of Southeast Asia so comprehensively embraced Hinduism and Buddhism
in all its aspects. This spiritual and cultural affinity became an inseparable part of their ethos and
way of life. Successive Indian kings and kingdoms from the first century AD and even before to
the beginning of the 15th century, had regarded Southeast Asiaand the lands lying beyond as
vital for their own strength, security and sustained development. This intricate and abiding web
of relationships in turn contributed significantly to Indias sense of security in an extended
neighborhood in whichIndia is neither seen as an alien power nor as a country with a colonial
past.
The advent of the British in India and the struggle for influence between European powers that
ensued all over Southeast Asia, suspended the continuous interaction that had existed between
India and the region. Southeast Asia itself was carved up into areas of influence by the major
16
colonial powers, viz., the British, French, Dutch and Portuguese. Indias cultural and commercial
interaction with this region was therefore subordinated to the political and strategic
considerations of the great powers. The relationship spanning nearly 2500 years was founded and
nurtured on mutual interest and security in which both partners constantly enriched and
reinforced each other.
The control of the Indian seas belong predominantly to India till the thirteenth century A.D.In
respect of the Arabian Sea this control meant only the freedom of navigation. There was no
colonizing activity in that area, though Socotra, or Sukhadhara dwipa (the island of the blest)
was discovered long before the Christian era and was probably under the Indian occupation at
that time. Indian communities existed in Alexandria and other Egyptian towns and there were
also settlements on the coasts of the Persian Gulf. But generally speaking, the navigation of the
Arabian Sea was only for the purpose of trade. In case of Bay of Bengal, it was different. The
supremacy in that sea was naval and political, based on an extensive colonization of the islands
and this supremacy ceased only with the breakdown of Chola power in the thirteenth century.
The naval activity of the Hindus was controlled by organized corporations of which the most
important were the Manigramam Chetties and the Nanadesis. Of the Manigramam Chetties who
traded all over the world we have authentic records in grants and inscriptions. The Bhaskara Ravi
Varman plate of the Kerala King grants certain special privileges to the Manigramam guild. This
body was given charter..including “the sword of sovereign merchantship” and monopoly rights
of trading. Other “merchant adventurers” known from records are the Nanadesis, the Valangai
and the Elangai who are described in the inscription at Baligami in Mysore as bodies of “brave
men born to wander over many countries since beginning of the Krta Age (the first of the Indian
Cycle of Yugas) penetrating regions of the six continents by land and water routes, and dealing
in various articles, such as horses and elephants, precious stones, perfumes and drugs either
wholesale or in retail.”
Kalidasa, in the Raghuvamsa, tells of a tour of conquest of India, made by Raghy, the greatgreat-grandfather of Rama; starting from Ayodhya he went eastward to the ocean, having
conquered the Bangalis, who trusted in their ships.
17
The textile industry of both Trichinopoly and Tanjore has been famous from early times. There
can be little doubt that some of the finest fabrics that reached the Roman world came from this
kingdom of Chola. From this part of India, in the middle ages, came those gold-threaded
embroideries which were to such demand in the Saracen markets.
Marco Polo called Chola the kingdom of Maalabar called Soli, which is the best and noblest
province in India, and where the best pearls are found.
Arco Polo-Source: Periplus of the Erythrean Sea – W.H. Schoff p. 242- 250).
“The Mauryan emperor Chandragupta, who ruled from 321 to 297 B.C had even at that time, an
actual Board of Admiralty, with a Superintendent of Ships at its head.” References to it can be
found in Kautilya’s Arthasastra. From their voyages of conquest and trade, we can infer that
although much later, the Pallavas, Pandyas and Cholas of South India must also have had an
efficient naval organization. The merchants of Surat, who relied upon ships built by the Wadias
of Bombay (who had not taken long to copy prevailing European designs) were particularly rich
– one of them Virji Vora (who died in the beginning of the 18th century) left a fortune of 22
million gold francs. “According to certain travelers, Surat was then the most beautiful city of
India. One small detail will give an idea of the unparalleled luxury that prevailed there: certain
streets were paved with porcelain.
The waves of Indian migration before breaking on the shore of Americasubmerged the islands of
the Indian Archipelago or Suvarnabhumi.
18
Colonel James Tod wrote: “The isles of the Archipelago were colonized by the Suryas (SuryaVamsa Kshatriyas), whole mythological and heroic history is sculptured in their edifices and
maintained in their writings.”
(source: Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan: or the Central and Western Rajput States of India
ISBN 8120612892 Vol. II p. 218).
Sir Mountstuart Elphinstone says: “The histories of Java give a distinct account of a numerous
body of Hindus from Kalinga who landed on their island, civilized the inhabitants and
established an era still subsisting, the first year of which fell in the seventh year before Christ.”
“These pilgrims sailed from the Ganges to Ceylon, from Ceylon to Java and from Java to China
in ships manned by crews professing the Brahmmanical religion.”
(source: History of India – By Mountstuart Elphinstone London: John Murray Date of
Publication: 1849 p. 168-185).
Most of the sculptures show in splendid relief ships in full sail and scenes recalling the history of
the colonization in Java by Indians in the earlier centuries of the Christian era.
Of one of them E. B. Havell thus speaks in appreciation:
“The ship, magnificent in design and movement, is a masterpiece in itself. It tells more plainly
than words the perils which the Prince of Gujarat and his companions encountered on the long
and his companions encountered on the long and difficult voyages from the west coast of India.
But these are over now. The sailors are hastening to furl the sails and bring the ship to anchor.”
Big ships were built. They could carry anywhere upwards from 500 men on the high seas. The
Yuktialpataru classifies ships according to their sizes and shapes. The Rajavalliya says that the
ship in which King Sinhaba of Bengal sent Prince Vijaya, accommodated full 700 passengers,
and the ship in which Vijaya’s Pandyan bride was brought over to Lanka carried 800 passengers
on board. The ship in which Buddha in the Supparaka Bodhisat incarnation made his voyages
from Bharukachha (Broach) to the “sea of the seven gems,” carried 700 merchants besides
himself. The Samuddha Vanija Jataka mentions a ship which accommodated one thousand
carpenters.
The study of corporate bodies of various sorts has taken a significant place in the historiography
of medieval south India. Among these corporate bodies, the Ayyàvoëe Five Hundred (Ayyàvoëe
ainåŸuvar in Kannada and Aiyappo×il ain域uvar in Tamil), supposed to be a guild of itinerant
merchants1 met with all over south India, has been studied by several scholars as an economic
19
and social institutionThousands of years ago, the process wasn’t nearly as simple. If you or
someone in your town didn’t grow it, herd it or make it, you needed to abandon that desire or else
travel for it, sometimes over great distances. For many towns, the effort of trade was too much.
Those ancient towns make only rare appearances in our history books.
When the first civilizations did begin trading with each other about five thousand years ago,
however, many of them got rich…and fast.
Trade was also a boon for human interaction, bringing cross-cultural contact to a whole new
level.
Luxury goods
When people first settled down into larger towns in Mesopotamia and Egypt, self-sufficiency –
the idea that you had to produce absolutely everything that you wanted or needed – started to
fade. A farmer could now trade grain for meat, or milk for a pot, at the local market, which was
seldom too far away.
Southern Indian trade guilds were formed by merchants in order to organise and expand their
trading activities. Trade guilds became channels through which Indian culture was exported to
other lands. From the 11th century to the 13th century, South Indian trade in Southeast-Asia was
dominated by the Cholas; and it replaced the Pallava influence of the previous centuries.[1]
Early guilds
Before the rise of the Cholas, inscriptions from Java, Indonesia, mention only the Kalingas as
foreign visitors from the eastern coast of India. In 1021 AD an inscription added Dravidas to the
list of maritime powers, and they were then replaced by the Colikas (Cholas), in the year 1053
AD. The Kalinga traders (of modern Orissa) brought red colored stone decorative objects for
trade. Kalinga was also an important source of cotton textiles to Southeast Asia at an early
date. In the Tamil Sangam classic, Chirupanattuppadai (line 96), there is a mention of
blue Kalingam. Fine garments of high quality cotton imported from Kalinga country into the
Tamil country were called Kalingam, which shows that Kalinga was an exporter of cotton at an
early date.
20
Description
Several trade guilds operated in medieval Southern India such as the Gatrigas, Nakaras,
Mummuridandas, Ayyavole-500, Ubhayananadesigal, Settis, Settiguttas, Birudas, Biravaniges,
Gavares, etc. Temples were the pivot around which socio-economic activities of the land
revolved. Some trade guilds, such as the Nakaras and Gavares, met only in the temple premises.
Some trade guilds were very powerful and decided the fortunes of the kingdom. One example is
the trade guild of Nanadeshis who not only financed local development projects and templeconstructions but also lent money to the kings. The rulers did their best to accommodate the
guilds because of the benefit they derived from them. Trade guilds employed troops, enjoyed
immunities, and had international connections and thus constituted a state within a state.
Trade guilds were often independent bodies over which kings tried to exercise control; and
sometimes failed. One such example relates to the bankers and money-changers of the Bahmani
Kingdom who ignored all warnings and melted all new coins that fell into their hands and
supplied the metal to the mints of Warangal and Vijayanagar. (See my paper on the Ayollaye
500 in academis.edu)
The economy of the ancient Tamil country (Sangam era: 500 BCE – 300 CE) describes the
ancient economy of a region in southern India that mostly covers the present-day states of Tamil
Nadu and Kerala. The main economic activities were agriculture, weaving, pearl fishery,
manufacturing and construction. Paddy was the most important crop; it was the staple cereal and
served as a medium of exchange for inland trade. Pepper, millets, grams and sugarcane were
other commonly grown crops. Madurai and Urayur were important centers for the textile
industry; Korkai was the center of the pearl trade. Industrial activity flourished.
Inland trading was conducted primarily through barter in busy market places by merchant
associations and commercial lending institutions. Merchants formed associations that operated
autonomously, without interference from the state. The people of ancient Tamil country engaged
in brisk overseas trade with Rome; the trade reached a peak after the discovery of a direct route
for merchant ships between Tamilakam and Egypt, taking advantage of the monsoon winds.
Pepper, pearls, ivory, textiles and gold ornaments were exported from Tamilakam, and the main
imports were luxury goods such as glass, coral, wine and topaz. Foreign trade brought in a large
amount of internationally convertible Roman currency.
21
The state played an important role in building and maintaining infrastructure such as roads and
ports—funded through taxation—to meet the needs of economic and social activity. Wealth was
unequally divided among the people, giving rise to distinct economic classes.Farmers believed
that ploughing, manuring, weeding, irrigation and the protection of crops must be done according
to a specific method in order to obtain a good yield. A wide range of tools needed for
agriculture, from ploughing to harvesting, were manufactured. The basic tool was the plough
also known as meli, nanchil and kalappai. Palliyadutal referred to the process of removing
weeds using a toothed implement attached to a plank and drawn by oxen. Lower-class peasants
used stone sling devices to scare animals and birds away from the standing crops. Sickles were
used for harvesting mature rice paddies.[5] Since the rivers of the region were not perennial,
several irrigation techniques were developed to ensure an adequate and continuous supply of
water. Farmers used a bullock-propelled device called Kapilai for bailing out water from deep
wells and a manual setup called Erram, for shallow wells. Tanks, lakes and dams were used as
water storage systems and the water regulated using sluices and shutters. Kallanai, a dam built on
river Kaveri during this period, is one of the oldest water-regulation structure in the world.
Surface irrigation, sprinkler mechanism and drip irrigation methods were followed to prevent
wastage of water.
Most farmers cultivated their own plots of land and were known by different names such
as Mallar, Ulutunbar, Yerinvalnar, Vellalar, Karalar and Kalamar.
[10] There were also absentee
landlords who were mostly brahmins and poets who had received donations of land from the
king and who gave these donations to tenant farmers. Sometimes independent farm laborers,
known as Adiyor, were hired for specific tasks. Landlords and peasants paid tax on the land and
its produce – the land tax was known as Irai or Karai and the tax on produce was called Vari.
One sixth of the produce was collected as tax.[11] Taxes were collected by revenue officials
known as Variya and Kavidi, who were assisted by accountants called Ayakanakkar. For survey
and taxation purposes, various measurements were used to measure the land and its produce.
Small lots of land were known as Ma and larger tracts as Veli. Produce was measured using
cubic-measures such as Tuni, Nali, Cher and Kalam and weight-measures such
as Tulam and Kalanju.
22
Industry in Ancient Tamil times: During the Sangam age, crafts and trade occupations were
considered secondary to agriculture. Carpenters crafted wooden wares and blacksmiths worked
in simple workshops. Weaving, pearl fishing, smithy and ship building were prominent
industries of ancient Tamilakam. Spinning and weaving was a source of income for craftsmen;
weaving was practised part-time by the farmers in rural areas. Madurai and Urayur were
important industrial centers, known for their cotton textiles. Muslin cloth was woven with fine
floral work of different colors. Silk cloth was manufactured with its threads gathered in small
knots at its ends. Clothing was embroidered for the nobles and aristocrats who were the main
customers. Material was often dyed; the blue dye for the loin cloth was a preferred color. In
addition to silk and cotton fabrics, cloth made of wood fibre called Sirai
Maravuri and Naarmadi was used by the priestly class. The cloth manufacturers wove long
pieces of cloth and delivered it to the dealers. The textile dealers then scissored off bits of
required length, called aruvai or tuni, at the time of sale. Hence, the dealers were called aruvai
vanigar and the localities where they lived aruvai vidi. Tailors, called tunnagarar in Madurai
and other big towns, stitched garments .
Pearl fishing was an important industry in ancient Tamilakam
Pearl fishing flourished during the Sangam age. The Pandyan port city of Korkai was the center
of the pearl trade. Written records from Greek and Egyptian voyagers give details of the pearl
fisheries off the Pandyan coast. According to one account, the fishermen who dove into the sea
avoided attacks from sharks by bringing up the right-whorled conch and blowing on the shell.
Convicts were used as pearl divers in Korkai. The Periplus mentions that “Pearls inferior to the
23
Indian sort are exported in great quantity from the marts of Apologas and Omana”.Pearls were
woven together with muslin cloth before being exported and were the most expensive product
imported by Rome from India. The pearls from the Pandyan kingdom were in demand in the
kingdoms of North India as well. Several Vedic mantras refer to the wide use of the pearls,
describing poetically that royal chariots and horses were decked with pearls. The use of pearls
was so great that the supply of pearls from the Ganges could not meet the demand.
The blacksmith, working in the Panikkalari (literally: workplace), played an important role in
the lives of ancient Tamils. Some of the essential items produced by blacksmiths were weapons
of war, tools such as the plough, domestic utensils and iron wheels. They used a blow pipe or a
pair of bellows (a turutti) to light the fire used for smelting and welding. There were not many
blacksmith shops in the rural areas. Blacksmiths were overworked as they had to serve the needs
of neighboring villages. Shipbuilding was a native industry of Tamilakam. Ocean craft of
varying sizes, from small catamarans (logs tied together) to big ships, navigated Tamil ports.
Among the smaller crafts were ambi and padagu used as ferries to cross rivers and the timil,
a fishing boat. Pahri, Odam, Toni, Teppam, and Navai were smaller craft. The large ship,
called Kappal, had masts (Paaymaram) and sails (Paay).
Other industries were carpentry, fishing, salt-manufacture, forestry, pottery, rope making, chankcutting, gem cutting, the manufacture of leather sheaths for war weapons, the manufacture of
jewellery, the production of jaggery, and the construction of temples, and other religion-related
items such as procession cars and images. Baskets made of wicker for containing dried grains
and other edible articles were also constructed.
Inland Trade: Ancient Tamilians were active traders in various commodities, both locally and
outside Tamil country. The kingdoms of northern India sought pearls, cotton fabrics and conch
shells from Tamilakam in exchange for woollen clothing, hides and horses. Locally most trading
was in food products – agricultural produce was supplemented by products from hunters,
fishermen and shepherds who traded in meat, fish and dairy products. In addition, people bought
other goods such as items for personal hygiene, adornment and transportation. Mercantile
transactions took place in busy market places. Traders used various modes of selling: hawking
24
their goods from door to door, setting up shops in busy market places or stationing themselves at
royal households. Sellers of fish, salt and grain hawked their goods, the textile merchants sold
cloths from their shops in urban markets and the goldsmith, the lapidary and sellers of
sandalwood and ivory patronised the aristocrats’ quarters. Merchants dealt in conches and ivory.
Most trade was by barter. Paddy was the most commonly accepted medium of exchange,
followed by purified salt. Honey and roots were exchanged for fish liver oil and arrack, while
sugarcane and rice flakes were traded for venison and toddy. Poems in Purananuru describe the
prosperous house in Pandya land well stocked with paddy that the housewife had exchanged for
grams and fish. Artisans and professionals traded their services for goods. Quantities were
measured by weighing balance, called the Tulakkol named after Tulam, the standard weight.
Delicate balances made of ivory were used by the goldsmiths for measures of Urai, Nali and Ma.
A different kind of barter involving deferred exchange was known as Kuri edirppai – this
involved taking a loan for a fixed quantity of a commodity to be repaid by the same quantity of
the same commodity at a later date. Since barter was prevalent locally, coins were used almost
exclusively for foreign trade.
Markets
Sangam works such as Maduraikkanci and Pattinappalai give a detailed description of the
markets in big cities. The market, or angadi, was located at the centre of a city. It had two
25
adjacent sections: the morning bazaar (nalangadi) and the evening bazaar (allangadi). The
markets of Madurai were cosmopolitan with people of various ethnicities and languages
crowding into the shops. Foreign merchants and traders came to Madurai from such northern
kingdoms as Kalinga to sell merchandise wholesale. According to the Mathuraikkanci, the great
market was held in a large square and the items sold included garlands of flowers, fragrant
pastes, coats with metallic belts, leather sandals, weapons, shields, carts, chariots and
ornamented chariot steps. Garment shops sold clothing of various colours and patterns made of
cotton, silk or wool, with the merchandise neatly arranged in rows. On the grain merchants’
street, sacks of pepper and sixteen kinds of grains (including paddy, millet, gram, peas
and sesame seeds) were heaped by the side. The jewellers, who conducted business from a
separate street, sold precious articles such as iamonds, pearls, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, topaz,
coral beads and varieties of gold.
Vanchi, the capital of the Cheras, was a typical fortified city, with two divisions inside the fort –
the Puranakar and the Akanakar. The Puranakar was the outer city adjacent to the fort wall and
was occupied by the soldiers. The Akanakar, the inner city, included the king’s palace and the
officers’ quarters. The city market was located between these two divisions; the artisans and
traders lived close to the market. Kaveripumpattinam, the port city of the Cholas, had its market
26
in a central open area close to the two main suburbs of the city –
Maruvurpakkam and Pattinapakkam. Maruvurpakkam was adjacent to the sea where the
fishermen and the foreign merchants lived. The main streets of the market met at the centre
where there was a temple dedicated to the local guardian deity of the city.

The market of Kaveripumpattinam was similar to the one in Madurai. Large quantities of dyes,
scented powder, flowers, textiles, salt, fish and sheep were sold. Flowers were in great demand,
especially during festivals such as Indira vizha. Near the bazaar were warehouses with little
ventilation located underground..Since merchants from various places thronged the bazaar, each
package for sale had the name and details of its owner written on it. Simple advertisements were
used to indicate the goods available at different locations.
Mercantile organization
There were different types of merchants who operated in the ancient Tamil market, which gave
rise to a wealth-based class distinction among them. Merchants in the lower levels of the
hierarchy were of two varieties: the itinerant merchants who sold goods that they manufactured
themselves and the retailers who sold goods manufactured by others. Itinerant traders were found
in both the rural and urban markets, but the retailers were concentrated in the cities. In the rural
markets, salt and grain merchants usually produced the goods, transported them and sold them
directly to the consumers. Salt merchants, known as umanar, travelled with their families in
trains of carts. In the cities, artisans such as the blacksmiths and the oil mongers sold their
products directly to the consumers. The bulk of the retailers operated in the textile industry. The
textile dealers (aruvai vanigar) bought their products from the weavers (kaarugar) and resold
them to the consumers. Merchants selling agricultural produce in the cities were also retailers. At
the upper end of the merchant hierarchy, were the rich merchants who participated in the export
trade. There were three classes among them – ippar, kavippar and perunkudi – based on the
extent of their wealth; the perunkudi made up the wealthiest class. Foreign merchants, mainly
Romans, also did business in the Tamil markets – not just in the port cities, but in inland cities
such as Madurai, where they exchanged indigenous goods for their offerings. Another category
of merchants were the intermediaries or the brokers, who acted as information channels and
offered their services mainly to the foreign merchants.
27
Coin of Roman Emperor Augustus found in Pudukkottai
Merchants organized themselves into groups called Sattu or Nikamam. Stone inscriptions
at Mangulam (c. 200 BCE) and pottery inscriptions found at Kodumanal refer to merchant guilds
as nikamam and the members of the guilds as nikamattor. These findings suggest that merchant
guilds were established at several industrial and trade centres of ancient Tamil country. Many of
these merchant associations acted in union in their public activities. They were autonomous,
meaning that they enjoyed freedom from state interference but also suffered from the lack of
state backing. Merchants were expected to abide by a code of conduct, which was: “Refuse to
take more than your due and never stint giving to others their due. Therefore, they went about
running their business by openly announcing the profit they were aiming at, known
as Utiyam. The mercantile community of Tamilakam was aware of elementary banking
operations. Lending through houses specializing in monetary transactions and fixation of rates
were common. This was, evidently, necessitated by the extensive overseas trade. Accountants
were in demand in view of monetary transactions and considerable trading activity. Merchant
groups from Madurai and Karur made endowments, or donations, as attested by inscriptions
found in Alagarmalai (c. 1st century BCE) and Pugalur (c. 3rd century CE). These inscriptions
also mention that the various commodities traded by such merchants included cloth, salt,
oil, plowshares, sugar and gold.
28
29
Trade with Other Lands: The economic prosperity of the Tamils depended on foreign trade.
Literary, archaeological and numismatic sources confirm the trade relationship between
Tamilakam and Rome, where spices and pearls from India were in great demand. With the
accession of Augustus in 27 BCE, trade between Tamilakam and Rome received a tremendous
boost and culminated at the time of Nero who died in 68 CE. At that point, trade declined until
the death of Caracalla (217 CE), after which it almost ceased. It was revived again under
the Byzantine emperors. Under the early Roman emperors, there was a great demand for articles
of luxury, especially beryl. Most of the articles of luxury mentioned by the Roman writers came
from Tamilakam. In the declining period, cotton and industrial products were still imported by
Rome. The exports from the Tamil country included pepper, pearls, ivory, textiles and gold
ornaments, while the imports were luxury goods such as glass, coral, wine and topaz. The
government provided the essential infrastructure such as good harbours, lighthouses, and
warehouses to promote overseas trade.
Trade route
The trade route taken by ships from Rome to Tamilakam has been described in detail by the
writers, such as Strabo and Pliny the Elder. Roman and Arab sailors were aware of the existence
of the monsoon winds that blew across the Indian Ocean on a seasonal basis. A Roman captain
named Hippalus first sailed a direct route from Rome to India, using the monsoon winds. His
method was later improved upon by merchants who shortened the voyage by sailing due east
from the port of Cana or Cape Guardafui, finding that by this way it was possible to go directly
from Rome to Tamilakam. Strabo writes that every year, about the time of the summer solstice, a
fleet of one hundred and twenty vessels sailed from Myos Hormos, a port of Egypt on the Red
Sea, and headed toward India. With assistance from the monsoons, the voyage took forty days to
reach the ports of Tamilakam or Ceylon. Pliny writes that if the monsoons were blowing
regularly, it was a forty-day trip to Muziris from Ocelis located at the entrance to the Red Sea
from the south. He writes that the passengers preferred to embark at Bacare (Vaikkarai) in
Pandya country, rather than Muziris, which was infested with pirates. The ships returned from
Tamilakam carrying rich cargo which was transported in camel trains from the Red Sea to
the Nile, then up the river to Alexandria, finally reaching the capital of the Roman empire.
Evidence of Tamil trading presence in Egypt is seen in the form of Tamil inscriptions on pottery
in Red Sea ports.
30
Imports and exports
Fine muslins and jewels, especially beryls (vaiduriyam) and pearls were exported from
Tamilakam for personal adornment. Drugs, spices and condiments as well as crape ginger and
other cosmetics fetched high prices. Even greater was the demand for pepper which, according to
Pliny, sold at the price of 15 denarii (silver pieces) a pound. Sapphire, called kurundham in
Tamil, and a variety of ruby were also exported. The other articles exported from Tamilakam
were ivory, spikenard, betel, diamonds, amethysts and tortoiseshell. The Greek and Arabic
names for rice (Oryza and urz), ginger(Gingibar and zanjabil) and cinnamon
(Karpion and quarfa) are almost identical with their Tamil
names, arisi, inchiver and karuva. The imports were mostly luxury items such as glass, gold and
wine. Horses were imported from Arabia.
Foreign exchange
Local imitation of a coin of Augustus, c. 1st century AD.
31
The flourishing trade with the Romans had a substantial impact on the economy of ancient Tamil
country and the royal treasury and the export traders accumulated large sums of Roman
currency. Pliny writes that India, China and Arabia between them absorbed one hundred
million sesterces per annum from Rome. This sum is calculated by Mommsen to represent
1,100,000 pounds, of which nearly half went to India, the preponderance to South India.
Coins hoarded by the early Roman emperors from Augustus to Nero have been found in the
vicinity of the South Indian beryl mines which produced the best and purest beryl in the world.
At fifty-five different locations, mostly in Madurai and Coimbatore districts, these coins have
been unearthed; the number of gold coins discovered has been described as a quantity amounting
to five coolly loads. The quantity of silver coins has been variously described as “a great many in
a pot”, “about 500 in an earthen pot”, “a find of 163 coins”, “some thousands enough to fill five
or six Madras measures”. Coins of all the Roman emperors from Augustus (27 BCE)
to Alexander Severus (235 CE]) have been discovered, covering a period of nearly three
centuries. By far the greatest number of these Roman coins belong to the reigns of Augustus
and Tiberius. After 235 CE, for the next one hundred years, there are no coins that can be dated,
suggesting a temporary abeyance of trade between Rome and South India. This could have been
due to internal revolts and external attacks suffered by the Roman empire during that period.
When order and good government were restored in Rome, trade with Tamilakam revived, as
indicated by the finding of an increased number of coins from this period. Zeno’s coins have
been traced to the end of the Roman empire. Scholars believe there was a Roman settlement near
Madurai and that little copper coins with the Roman Emperors’ heads on them might have been
minted locally.
The role of the state in trade related to two aspects: first, to provide an adequate infrastructure
necessary to sustain the trade and second, to organise an efficient administrative apparatus for
taxation.
During the Sangam period, the main trade routes, such those going over the Western Ghats, went
through thick forests. It was the duty of the state to protect the merchant caravans on these trade
routes from robbers and wild life. Main roads, known as Peruvali, were built that connected the
distant parts of the country. These roads were as important to the army as they were to the
merchants. Commodities like salt had to be transported long distances, such as from the sea coast
32
to the interior villages. The state also built and expanded the infrastructure for shipping such as
ports, lighthouses and warehouses near the ports to promote overseas trade. Several ports were
constructed on both the east and the west coasts of Tamilakam. Kaveripumpattinam (also known
as Puhar) was the chief port of the Cholas; their other ports
were Nagapattinam, Marakkanam and Arikamedu, all on the east coast. The Pandyas had
developed Korkai, Saliyur, Kayal, Marungurpattinam (present day Alagankulam) and Kumari
(present day Kanyakumari) as their centers of trade along the east coast, while Niranam and
Vilinam were their west coast ports.

Custom Collection: To collect revenue from commerce, the state installed customs checkposts
(sungachavadi) along the highways and the ports. In the ports, duty was collected on inland
goods, before being exported, and on overseas goods meant for the local markets, which were
stamped with the official seal before being allowed into the country. The volume of trade in the
port cities was high enough to warrant a large workforce to monitor and assess the goods. The
state issued licenses to liquor shops, which were required to fly the license flag outside their
premises. Flags were used by foreign merchants too, to indicate the nature of goods they were
selling. The state also kept records of the weights and counts of all the goods sold by merchants.
One of the significant aspects of the state intervention in commerce was that it reinforced the
authority of the ruler.
Personal Wealth: How wealth was assessed varied from one community to another. Farmers
counted the number of ploughshares owned and among the pastoral folk it was the number of
cows. Wealth was distributed unequally among the people, leading to distinct economic classes –
the rich, the poor and the middle class. The nobility, state officers, export traders and court poets
formed the wealthy class. Most agriculturists and inland merchants made up the middle class.
The lowest class consisted of labourers and wandering minstrels. It was believed that this
economic division of people was the result of a divine arrangement; the poor people were made
to feel that their miserable condition was due to their past sins, tivinai, and was inevitable.[45] The
extreme opulence of some people as well as the abject poverty of some others are clearly
portrayed in the contemporary literature. Most of the rich spent a part of their wealth on charity,
the king’s philanthropy setting an example. It was believed that one needed to accumulate wealth
in order to give donations and perform righteous obligations. Sometimes, the men of the
33
household undertook a long journey to the north of the Venkata Hill or the northern boundary of
Tamilakam, to earn wealth. One possible region that they might have gone to is the Mysore
region, where the gold mines were getting famous. F. R. Allchin, who has discussed the antiquity
of gold mining in the Deccan, says that the high period of mining in South India was the last
centuries of the pre-Christian era and the first two centuries of the Christian era, which coincides
with the Sangam period.
Sangam: The most important source of ancient Tamil history is the corpus of Tamil poems,
referred to as Sangam literature, dated between the last centuries of the pre-Christian era and the
early centuries of the Christian era. It consists of 2381 known poems, with a total of over 50000
lines, written by 473 poets. Each poem belongs to one of two types: Akam (inside)
and Puram (outside). The akam poems deal with inner human emotions such as love, while
the puram poems deal with outer experiences such as society, culture and warfare. These poems
contain descriptions of various aspects of life in the ancient Tamil country.
The Maduraikkanci by Mankudi Maruthanaar and the Netunalvatai by Nakkirar contain a
detailed description of the Pandyan capital Madurai, the king’s palace and the rule of Nedunj
Cheliyan, the victor of the Talaialanganam battle. The Purananuru and Agananuru collections
contain poems sung in praise of various kings and poems that were composed by the kings
themselves. The Pathirruppaththu provides the genealogy of two collateral lines of the Cheras
and describes the Chera country. The Pattinappaalai talks about the riches of the Chola port city
of Kaveripumpattinam and the economic activities in the city. The historical value of the Sangam
poems has been critically analysed by scholars in the 19th and 20th centuries. Historians agree
that the descriptions of society, culture and economy in the poems are authentic, for the most
part: many eminent scholars including Sivaraja Pillay, Kanakasabhai, K.A.N Sastri and George
Hart have used information from these poems to describe the ancient Tamil society. Herman
Tieken, a Dutch scholar, has expressed his disapproval of doing so, arguing that the poems were
composed much later in the 8th-9th centuries CE. Tieken’s methodology and his conclusions
about the date of Sangam poems have been criticized by other scholars.
Among literary sources in other languages, the most informative ones are Greek and Roman
accounts of the maritime trade between the Roman empire and the kingdoms of
34
Tamilakam. Strabo and Pliny the Elder give the details of the trade route between the Red Sea
coast and the western coast of South India. Strabo (c. 1st century BCE) mentions the embassies
sent by the Pandyas to the court of Augustus, along with a description of the ambassadors. Pliny
(c. 77 CE) talks about the different items imported by the Romans from India and complains
about the financial drain caused by them. He also refers to many Tamil ports in his work The
Natural History. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (c. 60 – 100 CE) an anonymous work, gives
an elaborate description of the Tamil country and the riches of a ‘Pandian Kingdom’.
Archaeological excavations at many sites in Tamil Nadu including Arikamedu, Kodumanal,
Kaveripumpattinam and Alagankulam, have yielded a variety of artifacts belonging to the
Sangam era, such as various types of pottery and other items including black and red ware,
rouletted ware, Russet coated ware, brick walls, ring wells, pits, industrial items, and the remains
of seeds and shells. Many of the pottery sherds contain Tamil-Brahmic inscriptions on them,
which have provided additional evidence for the archaeologist to date them. Archaeologists
agree that activities best illustrated in these material records are trade, hunting, agriculture and
crafts. These excavations have provided evidence for the existence of the major economic
activities mentioned in Sangam literature. Remnants of irrigation structures like reservoirs and
ring wells and charred remains of seeds attest to the cultivation of different varieties of crops and
knowledge of various agricultural techniques. Spinning whorls, cotton seeds, remains of a woven
cotton cloth and dyeing vats provide evidence for the activities of the textile industry. Metallurgy
has been supported by the discovery of an ancient blast furnace, along with its base and wall,
anvil, slags and crucibles. The remains have indicated that, in addition to iron, the blacksmith
may have worked with steel, lead, copper and bronze. The Kodumanal excavation recovered
several jewellery items and semi precious stones at different stages of manufacture, suggesting
that they were locally manufactured. Remains of import and export articles recovered from
Arikamedu indicate the important role it played as an Indo-Roman trading station. Building
construction, pearl fishery and painting are other activities that have been supported by findings
from these excavations.
35
Inscriptions are another source of deducing ancient Tamil history: most of them are written in
Tamil-Brahmi script and found on rocks or pottery. The inscriptions have been used to
corroborate some of the details provided by the Sangam literature. Cave inscriptions found at
places such as Mangulam and Alagarmalai near Madurai, Edakal hill in Kerala and Jambai
village in Villupuram district record various donations made by the kings and chieftains. Brief
mentions of various aspects of the Sangam society such as agriculture, trade, commodities,
occupations and names of cities are found in these inscriptions. Several coins issued by the Tamil
kings of this age have been recovered from river beds and urban centers of their kingdoms. Most
of them carry the emblem of the corresponding dynasty, such as the bow and arrow of the
Cheras; some of them contain portraits and written legends. Numismatists have used these coins
to establish the existence of the Tamil kingdoms during the Sangam age and associate the kings
mentioned in the legends to a specific period. A large number of Roman coins have been found
in Coimbatore and Madurai districts, providing more evidence for the brisk maritime trade
between Rome and Tamilakam.
Changing Character of the country: With the growth of agriculture, the rural economy of the
people gradually changed its character because of surplus production. It gave rise to the
36
development of towns on land and sea-routes and the centres of pilgrimage, commercial
relationship, development of guilds and the introduction of metallic currency. Trade and
commerce became a civilizing force in the world. The diversity of natural resources and
differences in human wants automatically lead to the surplus production. For the distribution of
the produce among the world population, trade appears as a guiding force to bring economic
change in the world. Thus surplus agricultural production and human wants led to the origin of
the overseas trade.
From the earliest days, India has been a trading country. Indian merchants carried an extensive
trade with the foreign countries. Because India was endowed with abundance of raw materials
and its natural products found appreciated markets in the Middle East, Far East and South East
Asia. There were classes of people belonging to certain castes such as Paris, Veta, Sambar and
Vaisyas who were mainly concerned with commerce. They were mighty and intelligent people
who accumulated fabulous wealth through extensive maritime trade and made India a great
exporting centre.
He believes that the feudalization of Indian economy led to the languishing of trade,
especially long-distance trade between the 4th and the 12th centuries CE. Commercial
activities gradually declined in two stages, first from 700 to 900 CE and then from 900
to 1300 CE. At the same time he accepts the notion of a partial revival of trade in 11th
and 12th centuries CE due to changing perspective of Indian feudalism. Several
contradictory arguments have been given in the preceding discussion regarding the
presence of trade in the early medieval period.
India’s natural wealth and extensive seaboard distinguished it from other Asiatic lands. In
contrast with the Arabian peninsula on the West, with the Malayan peninsula on the East or
with the equally fertile empire of China, India has always maintained an active trade with
foreign countries in spices, medicinal herbs, dyes, woods etc Fabrics of silk and cotton, jewels
and gems were the temptations, which attracted the foreign traders to India. Pliny calls India
as ‘Mother of Gems’. The Romans loved precious stones and India was the only country at that
time which could export all varieties of gems.3
37
With the growth of commercial enterprise, trade began to assume certain fixed forms and
passed through many stages of development. In this process production was earmarked for
some definite markets. Markets arose as the centres of commerce and industry. In markets trade
became a permanent feature. Trade plays a significant and permanent role in economic
history.
In the second process trade with distant places was usually conducted by itinerant merchants.
They met periodically at markets and fairs to dispose of their commodities, which gradually
gave birth to merchant guilds. In this process, some traders collected commodities from the
place of production and sold them to the local merchants for regular sale among the common
masses.
Moreover the traders of Tamil country had both the knowledge of navigation and land routes.
They maintained close commercial contacts with the outside countries like Egypt, Rome,
Middle East, Far East and South East Asia.
Favorable overseas trade was still and important source of country’s wealth. The overseas
commerce which flourished under the Cholas was continued by the Pandyas. The foreign
accounts of a galaxy of travellers had given an excellent peep into the commercial activities of
the age.
In the medieval Tamil country, the corporate trading communities were called ‘guilds’. There
were different kinds of guilds. Among them the ‘Manigramam, Ayyavole, Nanadesi,
Padinenvisayatar, Chitrameli Periyanattar, Valanjiyar and Anjuvarattar were itinerant trade
guilds. They played a vital role in the multipurpose activities of trade and commerce. They
also played a prominent role in matters concerning social, religious, administrative and judicial
affairs of the country. They acted as trustees of both the rulers and ruled. They received
endowments of money from the rulers. They built and maintained charity houses, temples and
tanks for the welfare of the people.
EXPORTS from India: India exported to Arab, many valuable merchandise which
made them earn huge profits. India exported several articles such as perfumes like
38
musk, aloes, amber and camphor, pearls of various varieties and sizes, diamonds,
corals and innumerable kind of medicinal herbs. (Gopal, 1965, 149-152). Another
source mentioned other items of exports such as diverse species of aloe-wood,
sandalwood, camphor, nutmeg, clovepink, cubeb, cocoanut, vegetable stuffs, textiles of
velvety cotton and ivory. Spices were the chief merchandise to export from India.
Foreign accounts give details of merchandise exported by different Indian ports such
as Sind exported costus, canes and bamboos; Gujarat exported to Arabia a great
quantity of indigo, red kino, myrobalans and foreign cotton stuff of all colours; the
Rastrakuta kingdom exported teak; several slaves were exported to Persia from Gujarat
Coast. India also seems to have exported varied kind of textiles, aloe wood, teak for
shipbuilding, coconut coir, grains specially rice of various type, spices both indigenous
and those brought from the South-east Asia.
In the eleventh century the main items exported from India to China in return, were
horses, sandalwood, gharuwood, sulphur, frankincense, sandalwood, elephant tusks,
sapanwood, rosewater, rhinoceros horn, spices, camphor, ivory, putchuck and cinnabar.
There were three changes witnessed by Tansen in the composition of products traded
between India and China through the maritime routes, ’first the proportion of Buddhistrelated items marked by the seafaring traders seems to have dropped drastically.
Second, the export of non-luxury Indian products increased in the tenth and the
eleventh centuries whereas…by the twelfth century, third-country products, such as
frankincense or products destined only for markets in the third country became
essential components of Sino-Indian maritime trade’ (Sen, 2003, 192-93). Some
products like frankincense and rosewater, originated in the Persian Gulf and
transshipped to China through the south Indian ports. Most of these products were
shipped to China from ports of Malabar and Coromandel. During the latter half of 13th
century CE, cotton fabric from Bengal, Coromandel and Malabar became one of the
most prominent Indian exports to Chinese markets.
Imports from India
India imported several commodities in exchange of its exports, the main merchandise
39
were incense from the Middle East, copper and lead from the west, ivory came through
the route of Oman to India; dye came from Persia and horses from the Arabia; Chinese
silk, gold, silver and some amount of iron metal from China; several commodities were
imported from Southeast Asia such as porcelain-ware, camphor, rhubarb, bees wax,
cloves, lump-camphor, sandalwood, cardamoms and gharu-wood, spices (cloves,
spikenard and other fine spices reached Malabar from Java and Sumatra), silk and
metals such as gold, silver, copper and blue vitriol (Gopal, 1965, 149-155). India
received pearls, dry ginger, tin and fine fabric from Ceylon. Many of these items were
re-exported to Arabian world while others were consumed in India. The demand of war
horses in India was huge, so during 600 CE from Central Asian steppes came the
horses via land to the northwestern borderlands. Later these horses were imported to
India preferably via sea-trade. The proliferation of regional powers and their expanding
military plans created a huge increase in demand of the martial quality of war horses
from Arabia, Persia and Syria, which cost huge sums of money and were generally
called bahri (sea-borne) (Chakravarti, 2010, 233- 34). Early medieval Bengal was also
famous for trade in horses, as the Pala inscriptions from the 8th to 12th century CE also
give reference of supply of best quality horses from the northern quarters. There are
also references that Bengal during the Sena rule, received supply of horses from the
mountainous north-eastern parts (Chakravarti, 2010, 233-34). Varied kind of trade
commodities and links related to Indian trade were established in the early medieval
period. Meera Abraham made a detailed research on the list of commodities based on
inscriptions of the Ayyavole guild that shows the shift from luxury goods to commonly
needed goods such as textiles, dyes, processed iron, yarn, pepper and horses.
In the second process trade with distant places was usually conducted by itinerant merchants.
They met periodically at markets and fairs to dispose of their commodities, which gradually gave
birth to merchant guilds. In this process, some traders collected commodities from the place of
production and sold them to the local merchants for regular sale among thecommon masses.
Moreover the traders of Tamil country had both the knowledge of navigation and land routes.
They maintained close commercial contacts with the outside countries like Egypt, Rome, Middle
East, Far East and South East Asia.
40
Favorable overseas trade was still and important source of country’s wealth. The overseas
commerce which flourished under the Cholas was continued by the Pandyas. The foreign
accounts of a galaxy of travellers had given an excellent peep into the commercial activities of
the age.
Merchant Guilds and their Activities
In the medieval Tamil country, the corporate trading communities were called ‘guilds’.7 There
were different kinds of guilds. Among them the ‘Manigramam, Ayyavole, Nanadesi,
Padinenvisayatar, Chitrameli Periyanattar, Valanjiyar and Anjuvarattar were itinerant trade
guilds. They played a vital role in the multipurpose activities of trade and commerce.
They also played a prominent role in matters concerning social, religious, administrative and
judicial affairs of the country. They acted as trustees of both the rulers and ruled. They received
endowments of money from the rulers. They built and maintained charity houses, temples and
tanks for the welfare of the people.
ROLE OF MERCHANT GUILDS IN THE OVERSEAS TRADE
Ayyole: Aihole was also known as Ayyavole, Aryapura and Ahichchatra and these names are
frequently used in the guild inscriptions. In one particular inscription of the mid-Twelfth century
the members of the guild are described as Ahichchatra Vinirggatarum i.e. those coming from
Ahichchatra. In another inscription of the same period Achichchatra and Ayyavole are
considered identical. Ayyavole, in the mystique which came to be associated with the guild was
considered the parent city of this corporate association. The members of the guild are described
in inscriptions in phrases such as ‘ornaments on the brow of that great lady, the city of
Ahichchatra or the five hundred swamis of the illustrious town of Ayyavole” and so on.
Regarding Aihole, from a close and meticulous examination of the epigraphs in which the guild
is mentioned and which are found in Aihole.We obtains some idea of what were the origins of
this corporation. The Aihole had Khan temple epigraph of the eighth or ninth century considered
to contain the first mention of this merchant guild. The inscription is a record of a charitable
grant and the key phrase in its transliterated form reads, “Aryajana – samuday odita-var Aryapura
41
ai-nuruvarkam …” This has been translated ‘the five hundred the great body of chaturvedis of the
excellent capital of Aryapura which arose from a collection of worthy people
Manigramam
Manigramam was a merchant guild. One of the earliest records of this guild appeared in the
port of Quilon on the Kerala coast. This region has got inscriptions of Manigramam in the
Sthanuu Ravi copper plates .There were many theories regarding the nature of the association.
According to one theory Manigramam could have been a group of Christians following the
heresy of the School of Manes. Sthanu Ravi Plates suggested them as Christians.Another
theory was that the Manigramam consisted of Christians who were reconverted to Hinduism
by Manikkavasakar The inscriptional record of this merchant group by name is of great value.
It became the evidence of commerce between West Asia and the west coast of India in the
ninth century. It also mentioned the trading stations and commodities of trade, which were
referred to in Arab sailing guides and topographies. In these trading activities the manigramam
42
played a vital role.
There was a fragmentary ninth century Tamil inscription found in Takupa, Thailand give the
impression that Manigramattar involved in overseas trade in ninth century. According to
K.A.N.Sastri it belonged to reign of Pallava king Nandhivaram III (826 – 850) It referred to a
tank protected by the Manigramam and to a group of armed warriors probably militia associated
in medieval times with the protection of trade.The sculptures in Takupa also resembles the
Pallava style of architecture Both the statues and the inscription point to the existence of a
Hindu colony at Takupa. The tamil traders who came to Takupa in Pallava times included some
armed soldiers since the inscription speaks of protection extended to a tank . The colony might
have been founded by manigramam guild. At the mouth of Takupa river ceramic and glass
deposits and beads were found. Some of them would have come from West Asia and the rest
form China and possibly some from India. These findings indicate that the Takupa area was
used by the manigramam traders who dealt in merchandise from both ends of the maritime
route in the ancient times. . .
Manigramam under the Cholas and Pandyas:
Many inscriptions of Manigramam were found at various places of Tamil Country speak the
glory of the guild. Some places in South East Asia, Srilanka also the bear the inscriptions of
this guild. These attest the trading activities of the manigramam. In the coastal area of South
East Asia was located the state of Tambralinga which was probably denote Madamahalingam
of the Tanjore inscription of Rajendra Chola I The manigrmam inscriptions were found at
Ramantali in former Malabar district,courtralam in Tirunelveli district, Srinivasa nallur in
Tiruchirappalli district, Tiruvellarai in Trichirappalli district. Of these the Ramantali and
Coiurtralam inscriptions belonged to the early tenth century. The others are of later period.
These inscriptions attest to the religious endowment activities of the manigramam guilds. At
Talakkad in the Mukundapuram taluk a long inscription was found in which the manigramam
was mentioned. The inscription consists of two sections, which would have been inscribed at
different times. The first portion of the inscription could have belonged to the ninth or early
tenth century on paleographic grounds but the content suggest an eleventh century date. Section
one of the inscription describes the founding of a market. The urar or responsible citizens of the
43
village defined the boundary of the market area.
The inscription also suggest the area in which the merchants were permitted
to put up shops. The urar also been the members of the assembly of the village levied tax in kind
on the stalls but gave the merchants a free hand in running the market. The second half of the
inscription was inscribed in the first half of the eleventh century. The second portion of the
inscription mentions the two members of the manigramam who were given the right to set up
shops in the market and were exempted from certain specific taxes. The taxes that were paid
by all merchants included ulgu, the tax on goods coming in by sea. It was also stated in the
inscription that local people were free to buy in the market. This inscription also attests to the
existence of overseas trade contacts of the manigramam guild.
The Manigramam merchants enjoyed a special position as compared to the other merchants.
Goods form outside came into the locality and there was a local demand for these goods. On
the other hand the movement of trade isindicated as well as the opening up of village
communities to itinerant traders. There was buying capacity and a market in rural areas for
goods other than those produced locally including overseas wares.
The manigramam merchants had regional base of operation is clearly stated in the Chola
inscriptions. Manigramam of Uraiyur, manigramam of Kodumbalur were frequently mentioned
in the Chola inscriptions. The Syrian Christian tradition about the Manigrmam is that they were
a group who had originally come from Chola Country manigramam of valikantapuram Thus
they had regional base in Tamil Country and had overseas contacts.
Another eleventh century inscription in Sukhavaneswara temple, Salem described a donation
made to a temple by a merchant who belonged to manigramam of Kodumbalur. Koodumbalur is
located in the Pudukottai tracts about equidistant between Madurai and Tanjore the Pandya and
Chola capitals. Another inscription is found at Piranmalai on the borders of the present Pudukottai
district was issued by the Ayyavole guild and the Citrameli association. This inscription also
refers to the manigramam of kodumbalur This inscription shows that the merchants of
manigramam of Kodumbalur as one of the many groups which met to discuss the taxes to be
levied on the goods passing through this area. This inscription listed out the commodities of
44
overseas trade.
Another inscription found in Tiruchirappali also referred the manigramam of Kodumbalur
region. .The frequent mentioning of this region in the inscriptions attested the commercial
importance of the region. Irukkuvels of this region were the important feudatories of the Cholas
and they supported the rulers in wars and battles. Since the Chola rulers encouraged the
itinerant traders, they also encouraged the traders who passed through this region.Moreover the
location of this region also helped the traders to easily reach their destination point like Tondi
and other ports in Pandimandalam. It is located in the equidistant between the capitals of
Pandya and Chola. Thus the incoming foreign trade considerably had brought great prosperity
to this region
A eleventh century inscription in Natham in Dindigul region also attests to the activities of the
guild. A twelfth century inscription refers to Vaisyapalan
a trader enjoyed certain concessions in the hands of urar of Menaveli in Urtturkurram The name
vaisyapalan indicates that the vaisyas continued their identity as traders. A 13th century
inscription attested the activities of manigramattar in kovilpatti region Another inscription is
found at Tanjore district. This inscription describes a donation to a temple near kombakonam
Another inscription in Copper plates at kottayam Church is also belonged to thirteenth century.
This inscription listed out the rights given to a manigramam merchant. From the port of
Craganore the merchant traded cardamom, pepper, betel nuts and ginger to Arab countries. The
inscription also describes the right of the manigramam guild. According to this, the
manigramam had the right of levying tax on goods, which were arrived at the port. It had
monopoly right on many commodities including musk, salt and sugar. Thus Manigramam guild
was associated with the distribution of commodities of internal and overseas trade.
Sarkarpriyapalayam inscription also refers to this Manigamama guild. This inscription refers to
the joint action of the guilds. It also refers to the tax collected by the guild. Valikandapuram
was a centre of the commercial activities of the Manigramattar. Another inscription at
Tittadanapuram in Ramnad district also mentioned about Manigramam guild. In this inscription
the manigramam members had collaboration with Kaikolas ,valanjiyar and Anjuvannam. The
45
merchants of manigramam purchased the cotton fabric form Kaikolas and exported the same to
the foreign countries. Since this place is very near to the port Tondi, the manigramam members
might have involved in overseas trade from this port.
A thirteenth century inscription found at Melmangalam in Theni district refers to trader namely
Kodumbalur manigramattuadalvallan chockan.This inscription mentions the donation made by
the trader to the temple.
A fourteenth century inscription found at Rajaraja Cholisvaramudaiyar temple.
Another fourteenth century inscription attested the commercial activity of the manigramam in
Kovilpatti region. This inscription also enumerates all the commodities of overseas trade, which
passed through this little town. Thus kodumbalur was obviously a major centre of manigramam
and overseas trade upto fourteenth century. Thus manigramam guild engaged in overseas trade
from the 6th century to the fourteenth century.
Conclusion:
It was because of the activities of the merchant guilds, there was a marked increase in
commercial activities of the guilds from the sixth century to the fourteenth century. They
established their sway even in foreign countries. All these resulted in the increase of the overseas
trade in Tamil Country. The guilds enjoyed their powers in Tamil Country and exercised their
commercial supremacy in many trade and market centres in Tamil country Besides trade, they
also involved in multidimensional works like charity, Social welfare, judicial, temple
endowment etc. They contributed much for the development of economy in the medieval period
Tamil Country. The commercial activities of the guild were also continued during the time of the
Vijayanagar period also.
One of the earliest inscriptional notices of the Manigramam guild traders appeared in the
ninth or early tenth century at the port of Quilon on the Kerala coast. The contents of this
inscription as well as many others referred to indicate that the Manigramam association was
undoubtedly a merchant guild. The evidence that this corporation of merchants was functioning
at this port, at that time needs to be viewed in its wider context as part of the larger pattern of
overland and maritime commercial activity which included areas bordering Arabian peninsula,
46
part of the North-West India, the East and West coasts of India, and many areas of North East
Asia and China. This wide ranging trade was particularly important in medieval times.
But for a long time, there were several interpretations of the term Manigramam. Gundert first
believed it was a Christian principality. It was held also that the Manigramam could have
been a group of manicheans, that is a group of Christians following the heresy of the ‘school of
manes’. Richard Collins took it to be a village of students.12
It was also suggested that it was a
title conferred upon a donee. In an old Malayalam song called Panyannur Pattola which
describes these groups and which when translated read: ‘strong guards … are few required (to)
take the children of Govatala chetti of Manigramam and Anjuvanam people, who together with
ourselves, are the four (classes of) colonists in the port town”. Another theory was that the
Manigramam consisted of Christians who were reconverted to Hinduism by Manikkavasakar.
Naccinarkiniyar takes it to be the name of a community (Kuluvinpeyar). His mention of the
Vanigramam, a variant of the Manigramam gives the possible explanation to the word.
Ravi plates undoubtedly indicate a close connection between Manigramam and the Christian
community.All other epigraphic evidence, discovered in other parts of the peninsula referred to
it as an association of Hindu traders. According to the Syrian Christian tradition about the
Manigramattars is that they were a group who had originally come from the cola country. The
Manigramattar were most probably Hindu traders.
Membership of a guild seems to have been open to all merchants irrespective of their religion,
on the west coast. Where trade was in the hands of the Christian merchants for a long time, it
might have been possible that the Manigramam organization had Christian merchants also in
its rolls along with many other Hindu merchants. Elsewhere it is possible that it consisted only
of Hindus. The donors to the temples at Tirunelveli, Salem and Kutralam were Hindus and
not Christians. Its activities seemed to have covered period from 9th to the middle of 14th
century A.D. It also functioned in foreign countries as may be seen from an inscription at
Takuapa in Siam.
At Talakkad in the Mukundapuram taluk of the former Cochin state (present-day Kerala) a
long inscription was found in which Manigramam was mentioned.18 The inscription consists of
47
two sections which may have been inscribed at different times. Among them, one section of the
inscription describes the founding of a market. The urar or responsible citizens of the village
defined the boundary of market area . “West of the boundary of Sirupalli, to the North of the big
banyan tree, to the East of Kalapalli, and to the South of the lands belonging to the Devar of
Kilattirukoyil”. Within this area the merchants were permitted to put up shops. The Urar
who might also have been members of the assembly of the village levied tax in kind on the
stalls, but gave the merchants a free hand in running the market. The second portion of the
inscription mentions two members of the Manigramam, who were given the right to set up
shops in the market and were exempted from certain specific taxes. The taxes which
irrespective all the merchants had to pay include ulgu, the tax or goods coming in by sea. It was
also stated in the inscriptions that local people were free to buy in the market. Some conclusions
of interest may be drawn from this inscription. The Manigramam merchants enjoyed a special
position as compared to the other merchants. Goods from outside came into the locality and
there was local demand for these goods. There was no hint here of self-sufficient isolated
village communities and of a subsistence economy. On the other hand the movement of trade is
indicated as well as the opening up of village communities to itinerant traders. They had the
buying capacity and a market in rural areas for goods other than those produced locally
including overseas wares flourished. The Talakkad inscription provides a useful insight into
the relationship established between a village community and local and itinerant merchants on
the West Coast of South India.
We may consider the well-known copper plate inscription in the possession of the Syrian
Christian church at Kottayam. The Kottayam plate of Vira-Rahava belonged to the thirteenth
century.This inscription listed out the rights given to a Manigramam merchant. From the port
of Cranganore the merchants traded cardamom, pepper, betel nuts and ginger to Arab
countries. This inscription which may be interpreted as signalling the grant of certain export
rights to Manigramam. Monopoly rights were granted as well as a commission on many
commodities including musk, salt and sugar was allowed. The Manigramam was also
given the right to levy customs duty on goods which arrived at the mouth of the river and
were then transported to the interior. All the inscriptions referred to goods coming by sea, and
the right to handle foreign trade was formally granted by the king. At Talakkad, the
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arrangements were worked out between the king and the manigramam traders. At both Quilon
and Kodungallur the incoming foreign trade was considered to have brought great prosperity to
the city.
In the Tamil country, in the thirteenth century and the first decade of the fourteenth century, the
Manigramam was associated with the distribution of commodities of internal and overseas
trade. Their base, judging by the content of the inscriptions in which they are mentioned, was
at Kodumbalur in the present District of Pudukkottai. Dated in the early thirteenth century an
inscription found in the Rajarajacolisvaramudaiyar temple at Koilpatti, Kullitalai taluk,
Tiruchchirappalli district mentioned the Manigramam of Kodumbalur. A major inscription of
the thirteenth century found at Piranmalai was issued by the Ayyavole guild and the Citrameli
Periyanattar and in this also the Manigramam of Kodumbalur was mentioned. The Piranmalai
inscription shows the merchants of the manigramam of Kodumbalur as one of the many groups
in Manigramam which met to discuss the taxes to be levied on the goods passing through the
area, for the benefit of temples.
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Another important inscription of the thirteenth century A.D. 1269 was found at
Tittandatanapuram, Tiruvadanai Taluk of former Ramanathapuram district. Here the members
of the Manigramam were found in collaboration with the Kaikolas who in the thirteenth century
had much to do with cotton weaving and were in contact with the Valanjiyar of Southern
Srilanka, and the Anjuvanam. It is possible that one of the commodities they exported from this
town was cotton fabric. The text of the inscription indicates this possibility. Tittandatanapuram
was not far from the port of Tondi. Finally one notes the early fourteenth century inscription
found in Rajarajacoliswaramudaiyar temple, Koilpatti. Here again the Manigramam of
Kodumbalur is mentioned with Ayyavole and the Citrameli. This inscription enumerates all the
commodities of overseas trade which passed through this little town and on which taxes were
levied for the benefit of the temple. Kodumbalur was obviously a major centre of the
Manigramam guild and overseas trade upto the Fourteenth century.
Ainnurruvar
Many subsequent inscriptional notices of the merchant guilds were located at coastal sites, the
earliest inscription referring to the merchant guild of the five hundred swamis of Ayyavole.
This guild is found in the Central Deccan Plateau at Aihole, which is the present day
Hungund taluk of Bijapur district. Aihole is situated in the doab formed by the Krishna and
the Tungabhadra rivers on the banks of the Malprabha river. Aihole inscriptions which refer to
the merchant guild Ayyavole, range chronologically from the eighth century to the early twelfth
century.28
Within the geographical area in which Aihole is situated, the Raichur doab, there are
many other known inscriptions referring to the activity of the guild. These inscriptions begin
about the early Eleventh century and continue till the mid-thirteenth century.
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REFERENCES and Bibliography
1. Ancient South Indian Commerce( BY SRIMATI V. T. LAKSHMI)
2. A UNIQUE TRADE GUILD OF MEDIEVAL TAMIL COUNTRY,– A STUDY
Dr.PSelvi,Dr.M.Nageswari,INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CURRENT ENGINEERING
AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH (IJCESR)
Inter Regional Maritime Trade.Sukul Kundra,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303697627 ee also
3. TRADE GUILDS AND THE CHARACTER OF STATE IN EARLY SOUTH
INDIA,K.P. Velayudhan,Proceedings of the Indian History Congress,Vol. 39, Volume I
(1978), pp. 200-207,Published by: Indian History
Congress,https://www.jstor.org/stable/44139353
4. Trade guilds of south India up to the tenth century,Article · May 2015,Y. Subbarayalu
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277904378_Trade_guilds_of_south_India_up_to_the_t
enth_century
5. https://peoplepill.com/people/lokaksema/
6. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-46055285
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500 had extensive trade with China. Here is a water mill from China