The origin of Kerala goes back several years in history to as early as the Mauryan Empire. The existence of this state is acknowledged by the inscriptions on the Ashoka edicts (273-236 BC).
In these inscriptions, Ashoka has referred to four independent kingdoms that were located to the south of his empire. These were the realms of the Cholas, the Pandyas, the Keralaputras and the Satiyaputras. Among them, the Keralaputras or the Cheras, as they were called, ruled over Malabar, Cochin and North Travancore � all of which were parts of modern-day Kerala.

However, it is only in the Sangam Age that Kerala gets a stronger significance instead of simply being a part of myths and legends. It was during this age that Sangam literature was composed. History of Kerala says that the first three academies met at Madurai and were presided over by kings and poets. However, the influence of Sangam literature has died down over the years.


Having derived its name from Keralaputra (land of the sons of Cheras), Kerala was first ruled by the Cheras. They continued to use Tamil till 7th century as their national language. With the decline of the Chera dynasty in the 10th century AD, the Cholas, the rulers of Tamil Nadu, took over to give a new turn to the Kerala history. The rule of the Cholas the political power in the state gradually went into the power of the Zamorin of Calicut. Vasco da Gama was the first European to hit the shores of India in 1496 through sea and eventually there started a long running fight for the power between the Portuguese, British, and Dutch.

For a brief period in the mid 18th century AD, Kerala was about to be politically captured by Travancore, with the help of petty kingdoms. Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan also tried to seize possession of the areas south of Travancore, but were unsuccessful as they were attacked by the British from the east. After Tipu Sultan�s first defeat by the British, the Seringpatnam Treaty brought all the conquered parts of Kerala under direct control of the British and eventually Travancore and Kochi became princely states under the British. Kerala became an independent state only in 1956. Formerly a part of Madras state, the regions of Travancore, Cochin, and Malabar were rolled into one to be called Kerala.

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