One of the three Great Tamil Dynasties of Dravida Desa was Chera Dynasty .They trace their origins to Suryavansha and also Chandravansha,ie Solar and Lunar dynasty.Reason is that Manu’s son Ikshvaku, founded the Solar/ Suryavansha).Manu had a daughter Ila and she founded the Lunar dynasty, Chandravansha by marrying Chandra and begetting Budha. There were intermarriages between the two dynasties as well.Therefore not only Cholas but Chera s and Pandyas may be traced back to these two dynasties.Surya Vamsa, the Solar Dynasty .

Karikal Chola was an early Chola and he undertook an expedition to North India and was victorious.Chera King Cheralaathan was a Chera King who was successful in his expedition to North India. Cheralaathan’s Father Udhiyan Cheralaathan was contemporary of Karikal chola and Udhiyan Cheralaathan fed both armies of Kaurava and Pandava armies during Kurukshetra war , during Mahabharata period.Exploits of these kings are mentioned in Tamil Sangam Literature.

Karikal Valavan,aka Karikalan conquered the kings of Magadha, Avanti,and other Kings including Maya.Maya refers to The architect of Asuras .Asura does not mean nether beings but people who were at loggerheads with Devas and are generally considered as with more bad qualities than good .This is a question of perception. ‘the Asuras are any spiritual, divine beings including those with good or bad intentions, and constructive or destructive inclinations or nature.^[6] ‘ He built Mayssabha, Palace of Illusion for Pandavas.He was a historical figure.

‘According to Nilakanta Sastri Karikala reigned in 90 CE.(A History of South India: From Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar, page 119) I differ from this date. I shall be justifying the date of Karikalan in my next article.

After subduing the south Karikala went on an expedition to the north and engraved his tiger emblem in the Himalayas. The king of the great Vajra whose sway extended as far as the roaring sea (in the east), gave him a pearl canopy as a tribute while the king of Magadha famous for his sword-play, and his enemy a while ago, presented to him an audience hall (pattimandapam). The king of Avanti gave him a friendly present of a tall and beautiful arch on the gateway. Though all these were made of gold and gems, their technique was not known to human artists even of exceptional skill; they were long ago given to the ancestors of these three monarchs by the divine Maya in return for some valuable service rendered to him. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karikala

இருநில மருங்கின் பொருநரை பெறாஅச்

The above verse says that Thirumavalavan (karikala cholan) who after winning over North Vengadam to Kanyakumari and after defeating the mightier Pandya and Chera Kings ,

Karikalan , the chola king who is also a lover of wars went in search of New enemies towards North until Himalayas (it mentions about his Himalayan expedition and conquest) , who could match his shoulder strength in fight , Started Conquest after praying to his god Kotravai , along with his soldiers , Carrying White umbrella and Murasu (Drums)

In the Battle of Venni, Karikala crushed the Pandya and Chera forces along with their 11 chieftains, leading to the unifying of the three kingdoms into one under Karikala’s rule. Chera King Peruncheralathan was fatally wounded by the arrow throwed by Karikalan that pierced his chest and wounded his back , Since he got wounded his back , the chera king out of shame had commited self sacrifice by starving himself to death facing North (vadakkiruthal).

He expanded his kingdom from Vengadam (Tirupati) to Kanyakumari after defeating other smaller kingdoms such as Thondai Naadu , Naagar Naadu , Pothuvar naadu , Malaiyamaan Naadu and vaduga Naadu in the extreme North of Tamil land(tirupati). After returning back from his Himalayan Expedition he raided Eelam and brought its kingdoms under his rule.https://www.quora.com/Which-Tamil-kings-went-on-Himalayan-expeditions-and-engraved-or-planted-the-victorious-symbols-of-their-flag-on-Himalayan-mountains?top_ans=102753057