Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c7.2301

c7.2301

In this description, the words Daityas, Nāgas, Ananta, Sandalwood, aloewood etc. and the mention of natural beauty should be paid particular attention to. From the Rāmāyaṇa we can understand that the Āryas referred to the Drāviḍas as Asuras, Rākṣasas (Giants) etc. History says that the Nāgas were the early inhabitants of Kerala. The ancient word ‘Ananta’ denotes Trivandrum (Tiru-Ananta-puram). The temple of Śrī Padmanābha at Trivandrum answers to this description. The perfumeries such as sandalwood, aloewood (cidar) are the wealth of Kerala. On the whole the description of Pātāla fits well with that of Kerala. So it is not wrong to infer that the description of Pātāla in the Purāṇas is entirely about Kerala in all its aspects.