Ilamchetchenni

Ilamchetchenni (Iḷamcēṭceṉṉi; IPA: [iɭəmt͡ɕeːt͡ɕːsen̪ːi]; also spelt Ilanchetchenni) was an early Tamil king of the Chola dynasty during the Sangam period. He was a great warrior and ruled the Chola kingdom with Puhar as the capital. He married a princess of the Velirs and their child was Karikala Chola. Ilamchetchenni was succeeded by his son, Karikala Chola, who is considered the greatest among the Early Cholas.

N.K. Sastri claims that this is the period where Magadha dynasty had established its empire from Persia to southern India. Bindusara, son of Chandragupta Maurya, conquered almost the whole of India except Kalinga and Cholas. It is also mentioned that Ilanchetcheni had a good relation with Bindusara. But fragmentary poems of Sangam in the Purananuru states that, Ilamcetcenni successfully resisted the exploration of Mauryas down the southern region of the Indian subcontinent. Also Sastri claims that his period of reign is 301 BCE – 270 BCE and Cholas overpowered Cheras and Pandiyas at this time.

V. Gurunathan rejected these claims as inflated, because there is no Purananuru verse which states the relationship or war between Cholas and Mauryas.