Battle of Venni

Battle of Venni was a military engagement fought by the early historic Chola (Uraiyur) ruler Karikala with a confederacy of Pandya (Madurai) and Chera rulers. Venni is identified with present day Kovilvenni near Needamangalam and 25km from Thanjavur, southern India.

Upon the accession of Karikala, at a young age, there was a civil conflict in the Chola territory. By the time Karikala had succeeded in vanquishing rival claimants and establishing his hold over the territory, the neighboring Chera and Pandya rulers saw their opportunity. The two rulers formed a confederacy which also included eleven Velir chieftains apart from the two major rulers and invaded the Chola territory. It is unclear why even the Velir who were generally the allies of the Cholas stood against Karikala, though Karikala by his brilliant stratagem inflicted a crushing defeat on the alliance in the ensuing encounter at Venni. Following his defeat, the Chera ruler Uthiyan Cheralathan starved himself to death (suicide by slow starvation).

The battle is generally considered historical and dated approximately to 190 CE.