Mushika Dynasty
At what stage of history, the Mushika dynasty came into power in Ezhimala cannot be definitely stated. They seem to have succeeded the Cheras who had defeated Nannan and held domain over the Ezhimala area.
In the beginning of the Fifth Century A.D., the kingdom of Ezhimala had risen to political prominence in the north Kerala under Nannan. After the death of Nannan the glorious period of Ezhimala kingdom has ended. After the death of Nannan, a separate line of rulers known as Mushika kings held sway over Kolathunad with their capital near Mount Eli. It is not clear whether this line of rulers who are celebrated in the Mushakavamsa were subordinates to the Chera rulers of Mahodayapuram or whether they ruled as an independent line of kings on their own right.
The history of Mushika kings as much as the 12th century is found in the Sanskrit poetical work referred to as “Mushika Vamsa Kavyam”. The writer of this work was Athulan, the court poet of Shrikantan, who ruled throughout the early years of the eleventh century. The founder of the dynasty was Ramaghata Mooshika, but the work gives a lot of importance to Vikramaraman, Jayapani, Vallabhan the second, and Shrikantan. The townestablished by Vallabhan, known as Vallabhan Pattanom, is now Baliapatam or Valiapatanam.
Nothing is heard about this dynasty during the 12th and 13th centuries. When the Chola armies of Rajendra attacked the Cheras, there was also an attack on the Mushikas in Exhimala, who were allied to the Cheras. The Cholas, who had conquered Sri Lanka, Mounted a three-pronged attack which led to the destruction of their capital and to the decline of the Cheras. Yet the Cholas could not control Kerala politically, and many small kingdoms took shape. Kolathunda was the north most of these powers. It appears that it was in the fourteenth century that the new dynasty of Kolathiri took over. Perhaps they were at one time the vessels of the Mushika kings.
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