With reference to ancient South India, Korkai, Poompuhar and Muchiri were well known as
- (a) capital cities
- (b) ports ✓ UPSC's answer
- (c) centres of iron-and-steel making
- (d) shrines of Jain Tirthankaras
Why the answer is (b)
• Sangam literature and Greco-Roman sources describe a flourishing maritime trade from the Tamil coast around the 1st–3rd centuries CE.
• Korkai on the Tamirabarani was the Pandya port famed for pearl fishing; Poompuhar (Kaveripattinam) at the Kaveri mouth was the Chola port described in the Pattinappalai; Muchiri (Muziris) on the Malabar coast was the Chera port for pepper trade with Rome, mentioned in the Periplus — all three were ports, option (b).
• The capitals were Madurai (Pandya), Uraiyur (Chola) and Vanji/Karur (Chera).
• Roman coin hoards at these sites confirm their trading role.
• Hence option (b).
Why the other options are wrong
- (a) capital cities
- The capitals were Madurai, Uraiyur and Vanji, not these towns.
- (c) centres of iron-and-steel making
- These were trading ports, not metallurgical centres.
- (d) shrines of Jain Tirthankaras
- They were not Jain shrines.
Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2023, held on 28 May 2023. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.