Consider the following statements about merchant guilds of South India : 1. Ayyavole merchant guild was originally established in Aihole. 2. Manigraman merchant guild was subordinated to the Anjuvannam merchant guild in the 13th century. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

The correct answer is Option 1.

Statement 1 is correct because the Ayyavole (also known as the Five Hundred Lords of Ayyavole) was a prominent merchant guild that originated in Aihole (Karnataka) during the Chalukyan period. It eventually expanded into a powerful supralocal network controlling maritime and inland trade across South India and Southeast Asia.

Statement 2 is incorrect. While both were influential guilds, historical evidence (such as the 13th-century Kollam inscriptions) indicates that the Anjuvannam (a guild of foreign merchants like Jews, Christians, and Muslims) and the Manigramam (a local merchant guild) often worked in tandem or were integrated into the larger Ayyavole network. There is no historical consensus that the Manigramam was subordinated to the Anjuvannam; rather, they maintained distinct identities or merged under the umbrella of the Nanadesi merchants.

Therefore, only the first statement regarding the origin of the Ayyavole guild is historically accurate.