ORIGIN OF KERALAM:
IS THE ORIGIN MYTHOLOGICALLY FROM PARASHURARAM OR HISTORICALLY FROM CHERA CIVILIZATIONKerala one of the tiny states at the southern tip of India is an enchanting land dense with coconut trees. The name "coconut tree" is best translated into "Malayalam", the mother tongue of Kerala as "KERA VRUKSHAM". The word "KERALAM" can be thought as a possible combination of two words such as ‘KERA’ meaning ‘coconut’ and ‘ALAM’ meaning ‘land’ or ‘place’. Hence the land of coconut trees is called ‘KERALAM’.
However, if you get a chance to review the article written by Mr. Krishna Chaithanya, we will realize how little we knew about our tiny state, Kerala. Ethics teaches us that Kerala was created by one of Lord’s incarnations, ‘Parasu Rama’ by throwing his axe into the southern sea. However, do we know the fact that Kerala was known by another name "CHERALAM" well before even our ancestors were born? The meaning of "CHERALAM" is multifold. It is meaningful if we consider "CHERALAM" as the land of "CHERAS CIVILIZATION" who was predominantly covering today’s Kerala, long ago. In another way of considering the word "CHERALAM" is as follows. The word "CHER" has a meaning ‘sea weeds’ or ‘sea bed’. Therefore "CHERALAM" could even be a land that has originated from seaweed or seabed. It is also interesting to note that geological and archeological surveys conducted by various agencies also corroborate land’s origin from sea. Such implications are obvious at Allappuzha beaches and even at Changanacherry well deep inside from coastal area. Exploratory efforts excavated fossils of sea mammals and various sea animals near Changanacherry. History may be pointing out the fact to us that once sea waves were washing the rocks of Western Ghats. One things we all can admit: "Though Kerala Is A Tiny State, The Beliefs And Myths Behind Its Origin Is Still At Large".
HARI KOCHAT