various authors, under varying forms of the name. In Pliny it is Neacyndi. It is Nelkunda in the Periplus, Melkunda in Ptolemy: in the Peutingerian Table it is Nincylda, and in the Geographer of Ravenna, Nilcinna. The site of this town is six miles east of Kottayam, not far from Meenachil, where the best pepper is grown to this day.
South Of Bakarei, Ptolemy places the country of the Aioi. This was the territory of the Ay[1] a family of chiefs of the Pothiya hills, who were great patrons of poets. The towns Elankon, Kottiara and Bammala may be identified with the modern Vilavankodu, Kottaru and Ponnanai. It will appear therefore, that even south of Bakarei or the modern Kottayam, the sea coast has receded six or seven miles since the time of Ptolemy. Of the inland cities named by Ptolemy I would suggest the following identifications:
| Pounnata | ... | The modern Poonjarru near Meenachil, where the descendant of a fugitive king is said to reside at present. |
| Aloe | ... | Alwaye, a famous place of resort for its medicinal water. |
| Karoura, the royal seat of Kerobothros. | ... | Karuvai or Vanchi, the ruins of which are at Tiru-karur, 28 miles east by north of Cochin.[2] |
| Videris | ... | Pithara. |
| Adarima | ... | Atharimalai. |
The region Kottanara[3] from which pepper was exported
- ↑ Puram, Stanzas 127 to 136.
- ↑ “Karonra” says Caldwell “is mentioned in Tamil traditions as the ancient capital of the Chera, Kera or Kerala kings, and is generally identified with Karur, an important town in the Coimbatore District, originally included in the Chera kingdom. It is situated on the left bank of the river Amarâvati, a tributary of the Kaviri near a large fort now in ruins—” (Introd., pp. 96, 97). This identification rests merely upon the similarity of the names Karoura and Karur. Dr. Caldwell would not have made this mistake, if he had been acquainted with the ancient Tamil poems which I have taken as my authorities.
- ↑ Dr. Buchanan identified Cottonara With Kadattanadu the name of a district in the calicut country celebrated for its pepper. Dr. Burnell identified it with Kolattanâdu, the district about Tellicherry, which he says is the pepper district. MeCrindle’s Periplus, p. 132. But when we compare Cottonara with the names of the ancient divisions of the Tamil-land, the identity of Cottonara with Kuddanâdu will readily suggest itself.
