Kalavali-harpathu, the earliest reference to the
Chera Empires, is one of the three poems from the Sangam Period, which refers to the time when academies flourished for the cultivation of poetic arts in various capitals of the
Pandiyan kingdom. It was written probably during the first three centuries of the Christian era. Kalavali-harpathu is also among the works attributed to Kerala poets during this epoch.
