With reference to ancient South India, Korkai, Poompuhar and Muchiri were well known as

Answer: (b) ports

All three were seaports of the early Tamil kingdoms. Korkai served the Pandyas' overseas trade, Poompuhar (Puhar or Kaveripattinam) was the Chola port at the mouth of the Kaveri, and Muchiri, the port that Greek and Roman writers called Muziris, lay on the Chera coast of Kerala. Ports are the one description that fits all three.

• ✓ (b) NCERT lists Korkai among the ports through which the Pandyas traded with Southeast Asia, and names Poompuhar (Kaveripattinam) and Muziris among the major ports of early historical India, linked by trade routes to inland towns such as Kanchipuram and Madurai.
• ✗ (a) Puhar did double as a Chola capital in the Sangam period, but Madurai was the Pandya capital and Korkai and Muchiri were trading harbours, so 'capital cities' is not the shared identity of the three.
• ✗ (c) Iron and steel working in the early Tamil country is associated with inland sites such as Kodumanal, not with these coastal towns.

Remember · Sangam-age ports: Korkai (Pandya, Gulf of Mannar), Puhar/Poompuhar/Kaveripattinam (Chola, Kaveri mouth), Muchiri/Muziris (Chera, Kerala coast); Arikamedu near Puducherry.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 7 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 3 (practise this chapter) · Class 9 Understanding Society: India and Beyond, Ch 5 (practise this chapter) · Class 9 Understanding Society: India and Beyond, Ch 5 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). · Report an error