A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c12.9

c12.9

A careful study of the synchronisms between the kings, chieftains and poets suggested by the notes at the end of the poems indicates that this body of literature reflects occurrences within a period of four or five continuous generations at the most, say a period of 120 or 150 years. It is only for the Chera line of rulers that we can construct anything like a continuous genealogy, and this shows the existence of two lines of rulers, either connected by marriage or otherwise, each extending over three or four generations at the most. In all other instances we only have unrelated names which render a regular history of the period impossible. We must therefore rest content with the outstanding figures and their achievements reported by the poets.