Ezhimala

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Ezhimala (ईजीमाला) is a hill located near Payyanur, in Kannur district of Kerala, India. It is a part of a conspicuous and isolated cluster of hills, forming a promontory, 38 km north of Kannur (Cannanore). Ezhimala was the former capital of the ancient Mushika Kingdom.

Variants

History

The hills is also known as Elimala, Mooshika Sailam and Sapta Sailam. The hill had been named Monte d'Eli by the Portuguese.[1] and was known as Mount Delly or Mount Eli to the British.

As the former capital of the ancient Mushika Kingdom, Ezhimala is considered to be an important historical site. A flourishing seaport and center of trade around the beginning of the Common Era, it was also one of the major battlefields of the Chola-Chera Wars, in the 11th century. It is believed by some that Buddha had visited Ezhimala.

Ezhimala, which is part of Ramanthali panchayath, is one of the most important places in the recorded history of north Malabar. From before the period of known history, some chapters of the Ramayana and local Hindu legends associate the Ezhimala Hills with the famous epic, in particular with Hanuman.[2][3]

Ezhimala, Pazhayangadi, and several villages and towns in this region find plenty of mention in the extant Tamil Sangam Period's literature (500 BC to 300 AD). Pazhayangadi is the present corrupted form of its ancient name of Pazhi. Pazhi is mentioned as the ancient capital of King Udayan Venmon Nannan (known as Nannan or Nandan) of the Mushika or Kolathiri Royal Family. Though the Dynasty of Nannans was a cousin or sister dynasty of the Cheras and Pandyas and Cholas, warfare among them was nearly consistent, and the period of Nannan was no exception.[4][5][6][7] There are texts that speak of Nannan fighting heroic battles at Pazhi against the Chera Kings who invaded his kingdom (Kolathunadu). Eventually, Nannan was killed in battle by the Chera king, Narmudi Cheral. Like the other kings of the then Tamilakam cultural polity, Narmudi Cheral was a great patron of scholars and poets, and he once gifted his court-poet, Kappiyattu Kappiyanar with 40 lakhs gold coins, as a token of his poetic genius.

Extant Tamil Sangam texts describe the glory and wealth of the ancient Pazhi in the highest terms.[8] Sangam Era poets, as well as Classical Tamil poets of later centuries, like Paranar, speak of the wealth of Pazhi in the greatest degree. One of the Sangam pieces, Akam 173 speaks of "Nannan's great mountain slopes where goldfields abound, and long bamboos dried in the Sun burst and released the unfinished pearls." Noted scholar, Elamkulam Kunjan Pillai states that "It is from Kottayam (of North Malabar) and Cannanore regions of old Ezhimalainad that innumerable Roman (gold) coins have been excavated. On one (single) occasion (gold) coins that could be carried by six porters were obtained. These coins were found to belong to the period down to 491 AD".[9]

Ezhimala was also a flourishing seaport and center of trade at least by the start of the Common Era; and later was also one of the major battlefields of the series of Chola-Chera Wars in the 11th century; some believe that Buddha had visited Ezhimala.

Mooshika Vamsham, written by Athulan in the 11th century, throws light on the recorded past of the Mushika Royal Family up until that point. The first recorded king of Mooshika Vamsham (the Mooshika Dynasty) was Ramaghata Mooshika and his capital most probably was Pazhi (ancient Pazhayangadi). Athulan describes the later kings of this dynasty who are now better known as the Kolathiri Dynasty. King Ramaghata Mooshika's successors shifted their capital to Ezhimala, Valabhapattanam (Valapattanam), and eventually Chirakkal, among other nearby places, over the following centuries.

Several notable travelers have described this area in their writings. Ibn Battuta visited Ezhimala in AD 1342 and wrote about the large seaport and the Chinese ships anchored here. Abul Fida in AD 1273, Marco Polo in AD 1293, the Italian explorer Niccolò de' Conti in the 15th century and the Portuguese scholar and traveler Barbosa all visited this place and gave extensive accounts of Ezhimala port, which was then known as "Heli".[10] The scholar and author Hermann Gundert and William Logan, the Malabar District Collector during the British Colonial rule, who wrote Malabar Manual, also visited Payyannur and studied the rich heritage of the area.

Centuries back, Payyannur was a part of the Ezhimala/Mushika/Kolathiri Kingdom. King Nandan was well known as a great warrior and ruler. The books written during the Sangam period describe the area and King. Ezhimala was also under the rule of the Cheras. A famous ruler there was Pazhassi Raja. Indian Naval Academy

Indian Naval Academy

The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, inaugurated the Indian Naval Academy in Ezhimala, which is the largest in Asia, on 8 January 2009. This institution trains officer candidates of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard.

पय्यन्नूर परिचय

पय्यन्नूर (Payyannur) (केरल): त्रिवेन्द्रम शहर से 506 किमी की दूरी पर उत्तर दिशा में स्थित केरल राज्य के कन्नूर ज़िले में स्थित एक नगर है। यह पेरुंबा नदी के तट स्थित है. पय्यन्नूर का अर्थ है 'पय्यन का नगर'. 'पय्यन' कार्तिकेय को कहते हैं जो शिव और पार्वती के पुत्र थे. यह एक प्राचीन सभ्यता का नगर है जिसका उल्लेख अनेक यात्रियों ने किया है। इब्न-बतूता 1342 ई. में ईजीमाला आए थे और एक बड़े बंदरगाह के बारे में लिखा है। Abul Fida 1273 ई. में, Marco Polo 1293 ई. में , इटली के यात्री निकोलो दे कोंटी (Niccolò de' Conti) 15 वीं सदी में, पुर्तगाली स्कॉलर और यात्री Barbosa आदि ईजीमाला ने बंदरगाह की यात्रा की और इसका विस्तृत विवरण दिया है। उस समय यह हेली (Heli) नाम से जाना जाता था। निकोलो दे कोंटी (1395-1474) एक इतालवी देशाटक और अन्वेषी था जो मध्य युग में मुस्लिम व्यापारी के वेष में इटली से लेकर भारत, दक्षिण-पूर्व एशिया और संभवतः चीन तक का भ्रमण किया।

ईजीमाला परिचय

ईजीमाला (Ezhimala) (केरल): केरल राज्य के कन्नूर ज़िले में पय्यन्नूर के पास स्थित ईजीमाला पहाड़ियां और बीच कन्नूर की उत्तरी सीमा पर स्थित है। कन्नूर से 50 किलोमीटर दूर इन पहाड़ियों में दुर्लभ जड़ी-बूटियां पाई जाती हैं। यहां माउंट देली लाइटहाउस भी बना हुआ है जिसकी देखभाल नौसेना द्वारा की जाती है। लाइटहाउस प्रतिबंधित क्षेत्र में है और सैलानियों को यहां जाना मना है। यहां के बीच की रेत अन्य बीचों से अलग है, साथ ही यहां का पानी अन्य स्थानों से अधिक नीला है। यहां की एट्टीकुलम खाड़ी में डॉल्फिनों को देखा जा सकता है। ईजीमाला में इंडियन नेवल अकेडमी है जहाँ इंडियन नेवल और कोस्ट गार्ड अधिकारियों को प्रशिक्षण दिया जाता है।

External links

References

  1. ↑ Edgar Thurston (1913). The Madras Presidency. Cambridge University Press. p. 167.
  2. ↑ Murkot Ramunny (1 January 1993). Ezhimala: The Abode of the Naval Academy. Northern Book Centre. pp. 23–. ISBN 978-81-7211-052-9.
  3. ↑ Kerala (India); C. K. Kareem (1976). Kerala District Gazetteers: Palghat. printed by the Superintendent of Govt. Presses.
  4. ↑ ndian History. 1988. ISBN 9788184245684.
  5. ↑ "marriage+alliances" Glimpses of Tamil civilization. 1994. ISBN 9788170902119.
  6. ↑ Leela Devi, R. (1986). "History of Kerala".
  7. ↑ Congress, Indian History (1981). "Proceedings of the Indian History Congress".
  8. ↑ Ramunny, Murkot (1993). Ezhimala. ISBN 9788172110529.
  9. ↑ Ramunny, Murkot (1993). Ezhimala. ISBN 9788172110529.
  10. ↑ "Payyanur Informations : Payyanur Municipality Profile". Payyanur, India.
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