Athiyamān

Their rule in Southern India is mentioned in rock inscriptions of the Sangam period as well as in the Edicts of Asoka dated to the 3rd century BCE and the Gummireddipura plates with the added title Satyaputra – the "members of the fraternity of truth", synonymous with the Chera clan.

Their most famous ruler was Athiyamān Nedumān Añci, a powerful king who was one of the Kadai ezhu vallal (7 great patrons) of arts and literature in Tamilakam.

The Athiyamān was a small kingdom situated on the eastern valley of Malaya Mountains of the Western Ghats (Anamalai, Palani and Nilgiri).

The Athiyamans wielded sufficient power in the time of Asoka (3rd century BCE) almost on par with the Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas.

This clear statement enables researchers with absolute certainty, to identify a chieftain mentioned in the Tamil Sangam literature with a personage figuring in a Tamil-Brahmi inscription.