Korkai, the pearl fishery port of the Pandyas in the Sangam age, stood on which river?
- A.Kaveri
- B.Vaigai
- C.Tamraparni
- D.Palar
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, the Tamraparni. Korkai lay near the mouth of the Tamraparni in the present Thoothukudi district, and it was the headquarters of the Pandya pearl fishery of the Gulf of Mannar, praised by the Periplus and by the Sangam poets; the sea has since receded and left the site inland. Option A is wrong because the Kaveri mouth carried Kaveripattinam, also called Puhar, the Chola port described in the Pattinappalai. Option B is wrong because the Vaigai flows past Madurai, the inland Pandya capital, and not past Korkai. Option D is wrong because the Palar belongs to the northern Tamil country and the Pallava region. The three river and port pairs to fix in memory are Tamraparni with Korkai, Kaveri with Puhar and Rupnarayan with Tamralipti.
Read the full article: Ancient Ports of India and Maritime Trade: Exam Notes
Practice Questions
View allThe Harappan site of Lothal, known for the earliest dockyard in the subcontinent, is located in which present day state?
- A.Rajasthan
- B.Gujarat
- C.Maharashtra
- D.Haryana
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Lothal lies in the Bhal region of Gujarat, near the head of the Gulf of Khambhat, and was excavated by S. R. Rao.
Read the full explanation →Barygaza, the busiest western port in Greek and Roman accounts of India, is identified with which modern town?
- A.Bharuch
- B.Surat
- C.Mumbai
- D.Kochi
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It drained the trade of the Satavahana and Kshatrapa lands through the Narmada and Tapti valleys and sent out cotton cloth, long pepper, spikenard and gems.
Read the full explanation →The ancient port of Muziris, the chief pepper market of the Indo-Roman trade, lay on the coast of which present day state?
- A.Tamil Nadu
- B.Karnataka
- C.Kerala
- D.Andhra Pradesh
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Muziris, called Muchiri in Tamil sources, stood near Kodungallur on the Periyar, and the excavations at Pattanam in Ernakulam district have yielded Roman amphora sherds, glass beads and brick structures that fit its description in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.
Read the full explanation →The site of Arikamedu, where Roman amphorae and rouletted ware were excavated, appears in the Periplus under which name?
- A.Poduke
- B.Nelcynda
- C.Tyndis
- D.Maisolia
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Arikamedu, on the Ariyankuppam river near Puducherry, is identified with the Poduke of the Periplus and the Poduke emporion of Ptolemy.
Read the full explanation →The ancient port of Tamralipti, from which Fa-Hien sailed for Sri Lanka, is in which present day state?
- A.Odisha
- B.West Bengal
- C.Bihar
- D.Andhra Pradesh
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Tamralipti is modern Tamluk in Purba Medinipur district, on the Rupnarayan river near its meeting with the Hooghly.
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