of Learning Chola kings were great patrons of learning who lavished support on Sanskrit education by instituting charities. From the inscriptions, we see that literacy skills were widespread. The great literary works Kamba Ramayanam and Periyapuranam belong to this period. Rajendra I established a Vedic college at Ennayiram (South Arcot district).
There were students in this Vaishnava centre, learning the Vedas, Grammar and Vedanta under teachers. This example was later followed by his successors growing exchange of goods for goods. This trade activity involved the notions of price, profit and market, which were not known in South India in the earlier period. Two guild- like groups are known: anjuvannattar and manigramattar.
Anjuvannattar comprised West Asians, including Jews, Christians and Muslims. They were maritime traders and were settled all along the port towns of the west coast. It is said that manigramattar were busy with trade in the hinterland. They settled in interior towns like Kodumbalur, Uraiyur, Kovilpatti, Piranmalai and others.
In due course, both groups merged and got incorporated under the banner of ainutruvar, disai-ayirattu-ainutruvar and valanciyar functioning through the head guild in Ayyavole in Karnataka. This ainutruvar guild controlled the maritime trade covering South-east Asian countries. Munai-santai (Pudukkottai), Mylapore and Tiruvotriyur (Chennai), Nagapattinam, Vishakapattinam and Krishnapattinam (south Nellore) became the centres of the maritime trade groups. In the Trade routes Thanjavur Kanchipuram Vengl (Western chalukyas) Kalyani Kalinga Odda Vangadesam (palas) Pagan (Burmese) Pegu (Khmer) (siam) Champa (Chaiya) Kadaram (Kedah) Panai Srivijaya (Palembang) Gangaikonda cholapuram Nagapattinam Lanka Chola terrirory Chola influence N S W E BAY OF BENGAL ARABIAN SEA A n d a m a n a n d n i c o b a r i s l a n d s ( I N D I A ) I N D I A N O C E A N Map not to scale CHOLA EMPIRE L a k s h a d w e e p I s l a n d XI History - Lesson - - Later Cholas and Pandyas and, as a result, two more such colleges were founded,