Product Code Database
Ay dynasty (transliteration: Āy, ), also known as Kupaka in medieval period, was an Indian dynasty which controlled the south-western tip of the Indian peninsula, from the early historic period up to the medieval period. The clan traditionally held sway over the port of Vizhinjam, the fertile region of Nanjinad, and southern parts of the spice-producing Western Ghats mountains. The Ays were traditionally subject to the Pandya dynasty rulers of Madurai.
The Ay formed one of the major rulers of early historic Kerala, along with the Chera dynasty of central Kerala and the Mushika dynasty in the north. Greek geographer Claudius Ptolemy (2nd century CE) described the "Aioi" territory as extending from the Pamba River to Kanyakumari. The Indian elephant was the emblem of the early historic Ay rulers.
The Ay kingdom, whose ancient rulers could, at that time, be considered among the several "political chiefs", functioned as a buffer state between the powerful Pandyan dynasty/Chola dynasty and the Chera dynasty during the medieval period. A number of kings such as Chadayan Karunanthan ( c. 788/89 CE), Karunandatakkan "Srivallabha" (r. c. 856/57 – 884 CE), and Vikramaditya "Varaguna" (r. c. 884 – 911/920 CE) figure as the Ay chiefs of the port of Vizhinjam. Shifts in allegiance between the Pandya dynasty and Chera dynasty persisted, with the Ay rulers adopting Pandya surnames, yet they refrained from using Pandya regnal years in their inscriptions, signalling their continued autonomy despite their affiliation. Historians assume that the Ay were a leading power in south Kerala till c. 10th century CE.
Sri Padmanabhaswamy was the tutelary deity of the medieval Ay family. The medieval Ay claimed that they belonged to the Yadava/Nanda or Vrishni lineage (Parthivapuram Grant and Paliyam Copper Plates).V. Nagam Aiya (1999). 9788185499321, Kerala Gazetteers Department, Government of Kerala. . ISBN 9788185499321 This claim was advanced by the later rulers of Venad and Travancore. Ays are also described as having come to the south India from Dwaraka along with sage Agastya.
Ay Andiran is praised by early Tamil poets such as Uraiyur Enicheri Muda Mochiyar, Turaiyur Odaikizhar, and Kuttuvan Kiranar in the Purananuru. He is described there as the "Lord of Podiyil Mala" in the southern Western Ghats and is said to have defeated the Kongu chief and driven him as far as the Sea. Andiran was an elder contemporary of the famous Chera dynasty ruler Antuvan Cheral, dated to around c. 140 CE. Ay Titiyan, also known as Podiyil Chelvan, is praised by Paranar and Bhuta Pandya (the Pandya dynasty ruler) in the Akananuru, and it appears that he served as a vassal of Bhuta Pandya. Ay Atiyan, the successor of Ay Titiyan, is mentioned by Paranar and Madurai Kanakkayanar in the Akananuru; these poets also note that Podiyil Mala, the Ay stronghold, later became the property of Pachupun Pandya ("the Azhakiya Pandya"), the successor of Bhuta Pandya. An Ay ruler also participated in the famous battle of Talai-yalankanam, in which the Pandya chief Nedum Chezhiyan defeated several of his enemies.
Originally, the entire region of Venad kingdom ("Vel+nadu", meaning "the country of the Vel people", who were related to the Ay family) formed part of the larger Ay-Vel territory, and members of the Ay family served as chieftains of this Vel country. Veliyan Venmal Nallini, or "Venmal Nallini, the daughter of the Veliyan", was the wife of the renowned Chera ruler Utiyan Cheralatan, dated to around c. 130 CE. Another prominent figure, "Veliyan Venman" Ay Eyinan—possibly the son of the same Veliyan—was among the warriors assembled by the famous Chera ruler Perum Cheral Irumporai (c. 190 CE) to oppose Nannan of Ezhimalai (fl. c. 180 CE) in the well-known battle of Pazhi. Eyinan, who had once shared a friendship with Nannan, is said to have fallen during the course of the battle while fighting against certain Minjili or Njimili.
The Pandya foray into southern Kerala may have drawn the medieval Chera rulers into the conflict, leading to a prolonged Pandya–Ay/Chera struggle. It is recorded that the Pandya king "Maran Chadayan" Jatila Paranthaka destroyed a fort at Aruviyoor (identified with Aruvikkarai near Thalakulam) by defeating Ay ruler Chadayan Karunanthan of "Malai Nadu" in 788/789 CE (dated to 23rd regnal year, Kalukumalai inscription). In 792 CE (27th regnal year, Jatila Paranthaka), the Chera warriors (the Cheramanar Padai) are seen fighting for a fort at Vizhinjam and at Karaikkotta (identified with Karaikkodu near Thalakulam) against a commander of Maran Chadayan (Trivandrum Museum Stone Inscription of Maran Chadayan).
By the 9th century CE, as a result of the encroachments of the Pandyas and the medieval Chera rulers, the ancient Ay territory was partitioned into two portions. Venad (or the Country of the Vel People), with its headquarters at Kollam, came under influence of the medieval Chera rulers of Kerala while the Ay kingdom, or what remained of it, based at Vizhinjam, came under the influence of the Pandya ruler Srimara Srivallabha (r. 815–862). This corroborated by the Larger Cinnamanur Plates, which record a victory of king Srivallabha at the port of Vizhinjam. Karunanthadakkkan "Srivallabha" (r. c. 856/57–884), who served as the Ay vassal under Srimara Srivallabha, is particularly noted for founding the Parthivapuram Salai.
Srimara Srivallabha was succeeded on the Pandya dynasty throne by Varaguna II (r. 862–885 CE). The Ay kings of Vizhinjam continued as vassals of the Pandyas, as indicated by the Pandya surname ("Varaguna") borne by king Vikramaditya (r. c. 884–911/920 CE).
The Pandyas were defeated in the "great battle of Sripurambiyam" around 885 CE. The considerable influence of the Chera rulers in the Ay country following this battle is evident in two records discovered from the region. The first is an inscription of Kizhan Adikal Ravi Neeli, queen of the Chera ruler Vijayaraga, preserved at Tirunandikkara, a Shiva temple located in the Ay country. The second is the Paliyam copper plates, which record large land grants made in c. 898 CE by the Ay ruler Vikramaditya "Varaguna" to a Buddhism vihara in the Chera Perumal kingdom.
The later years of Vikramaditya's reign may have coincided with the Chola dynasty conquest of the Pandya country under king Parantaka I (c. 910 AD). It is therefore likely that the Ays were liberated from Pandya overlordship during this period. Inscriptions of Parantaka I (907 — 955 AD) have been found at Courtallam (24th and 36th regnal year) and at Suchindram (40th regnal year) within the Ay country.
There is a possibility that the Venad chieftains, following the Chola raids, attempted to recapture the old Ay region. Emperor Rajadhiraja claims to have "confined the undaunted king of Venadu back to the Cheranatu from... and liberated the Ay? king of Kupaka... and put on a fresh garland of Vanchi flowers after the capturing Kantalur Salai while the strong Villavan the hid himself in terror inside the jungle" (an event dated to c. 1018/19 CE).
A branch of the Ay family, which had established itself at Thrippappur and exercised control over the Padmanabhaswamy Temple, later appears to have merged with the Kizhperur house, the ruling lineage of Venad.
| +Major medieval Ay grants !Grant name !Date !Summary !Image | ||
| Parthivapuram Grant (Trivandrum Huzur Office Plates) or (the "Huzur Office Plates of Kokkarunandadakkar") | ||
| Tiruvidaikkodu inscription I | Regnal year 14 = 870 CE (Narayanan, 1972) | |
| Tiruvidaikkodu inscription II | Regnal year 22 = 878/79 CE (Narayanan, 1972) | |
| Thirunandikkarai (Trivandrum Huzur Office Plates) | Regnal year 8 = 892 CE (Narayanan, 1972) | |
| Paliyam Copper Plates | Regnal year 15 = 898 CE (Revised from 925 AD, Narayanan, 1972) |
|
| Thirupparappu Plates | 9th century CE |
|
|
