Limited evidence is found about the inhabitants of Kerala and almost nothing was known until the rock-cut inscriptions of the Mauryan Dynasty were found. These insciptions formed the basis of recorded evidence about Kerala, the land between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats in the southern tip of Indian Peninsula.

The first scripted history of Kerala is found the inscription of Ashoka the Great, the Mauryan Emperor (269-232 BC) who cited four independent territories in the south of his empire and Kerala was one of them. These four kingdoms were the Keralaputras, the Satiyaputras, the kingdom of Cholas and the kingdom of the Pandyas. Ashoka recorded Kerala as Keralaputra, meaning Kerala’s son. Actually Ashoka misnamed Cheraputra as Keralaputra and wanted to refer to the land ruled by Cheras who were the contemporary rulers of Malabar, North Travancore and Cochin-these three constituting the present day Kerala. These four kingdoms had very good relation with the Mauryan Emperor and were on friendly terms with him.

Jainism was introduced in Kerala during the reign of Chandragupta Maurya and this fact is supported by the proof that some present day Hindu temples were originally Jain ones and some idols in Hindu temples near Irinjalakuda, like that of Kudalmanikkam is said to have resembled Jain saints.

During the third century B.C, Asoka sent numerous monks to preach and spread Buddhism to different parts of India including South India and other parts of the world such as Burma, Sri Lanka and also to Persia and Greece. These Buddhist monks established their monasteries in Kerala. A plethora of Buddha figures have been found out in the coastal districts of Alleppey and Quilon and among all the most renowned Buddha-image- the Karumati Kuttan has been discovered near Ambalappuzha.

Last Updated on 31 May 2011