Official languages Malayalam, English

Website kerala.gov.in
(http://kerala.gov.in/)
^* 140 elected, 1 nominated
12 Media
13 Sports
14 Tourism
15 See also
16 References
17 External links
Etymology
A 3rd-century BCE rock inscription by the Mauryan emperor Asoka the Great refers to the local ruler as Keralaputra (Sanskrit for "son of Kerala"; or
"son of Chera[s]", this is contradictory to a popular theory that etymology derives "kerala" from "kera", or coconut tree in Malayalam).
[6]
Two thousand years ago, one of three states in the region was called Cheralam in Classical Tamil: Chera and Kera are variants of the same word.
[7]
The Graeco-Roman trade map Periplus Maris Erythraei refers to this Keralaputra as Celobotra.
[8]
Ralston Marr derives "Kerala" from the word
"Cheral" that refers to the oldest known dynasty of Kerala kings.
[9]
In turn the word "Cheral" is derived from the proto-Tamil-Malayalam word for
"lake".
Ancient religious texts
According to Hindu mythology, the land of Kerala was recovered from the sea by Parasurama, an avatar of Vishnu; hence Kerala is also called
Parasurama Kshetram ("The Land of Parasurama"). Parasurama was an axe-wielding warrior sage. He threw his axe across the sea, and the water
receded as far as it reached. According to legend this new area of land extended from Gokarna to Kanyakumari.
[10]
Consensus among more scientific
geographers agrees that a substantial portion of this area was indeed under the sea in ancient times.
[11]
The legend later expanded, and found literary
expression in the 17th or 18th century with Keralolpathi, which traces the origin of aspects of early Kerala society, such as land tenure and
administration, to the story of Parasurama.
[12]
In medieval times Kuttuvan might have emulated Parasurama tradition of throwing his spear into the sea to
symbolize his lordship of the sea.
[13]
Another much earlier Puranic character associated with Kerala is Mahabali, an Asura and a prototypical king of
justice, who ruled the earth from Kerala. He won the war against the Devas, driving them into exile. The Devas pleaded before Lord Vishnu, who took
his fifth incarnation as Vamana and pushed Mahabali down to Patala (the netherworld) to placate the Devas. There is a belief that, once a year during
the Onam festival, Mahabali returns to Kerala.
[14]