# The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago/Chapter 4

CHAPTER IV.
Tamil Races and Tribes.
The oldest of the tribes who dwelt in Tamilakam were the Villavar and Minavar. The Villavar or bowmen (from the Dravidian word vil meaning a bow) inhabited hilly tracts and jungles and lived by the chase: and the Minavar or fishermen (from the Dravidian meen, a fish) subsisted by fishing and resided in the valleys and plains, or on the sea-coast. The two tribes were evidently a primitive race which was spread over the whole of India as they are still found in large nümber in Rajputana and Guzarat, where they are known as Bhils and Meenas, and in the Canarese country, where they are called Billavar.
These semi-barbarous tribes were conquered by the Nagas who were a very numerous and civilised race, and who at one time or other ruled a great portion of India, Ceylon and Burma. They were mentioned in the Ramayana, and the Naga capital, which probably lay in the heart of the Dekkan is described in that epic as follows :—
          Near Bhogavati stands the place
          Where dwell the hosts of the serpent race,
          A broad-wayed city walled and barred
          Which watchful legions keep and guard.
          The fiercest of the serpent youth
          Each awful for his venomed tooth;
          And throned in his imperial hall
          Is Vasuki who rules, them all.
          Explore the serpent city well.
          Search town and tower and citadel,
          Scan each field and wood that lies
          Around it with your watching eyes
There were several tribes of the Nagas, such as the Maravar, Eyinar, Oliyar, Oviyar, Aruvâlur and Parathavar. Of these, the Maravar appear to have been the most powerful and warlike tribe, and most hostile to the Tamils. “Of strong limbs and hardy frames” says a poet “and fierce looking as tigers, wearing long and curled locks of hair, the blood thirsty Maravar, armed with the bow bound with leather, ever ready to injure others, shoot their arrows at poor and helpless travellers, from whom they can rob nothing, only to feast their eyes on the quivering limbs of ​their vctims.” They were so numerous especially on the East Coast between the Kaviri and Vaigai rivers, where they are still to be found in large numbers, that they successfully resisted the armies of the Tamil Kings. “The wrathful and furious Maravar” says the Poet quoted above “whose curled beards resemble the twisted horns of the stag, the loud twang of whose powerful bowstrings, and the stirring sound of whose double headed drums, compel even Kings at the head of large armies to turn their back and fly.” Their prowess in battle was so much valued by the Tamil Kings that they were enlisted largely in the Tamil armies. A Marava chieftain named Nalai-kilavan Nagan served the Pandya as a Minister and Commander in his army. Another Marava, Piddank-korran, chieftain of a mountain called Kuthiraimali, was in the service of the Chera King.
The Eyinar or Vedar were the most lawless of the Naga tribes. Cattle lifting and pillage and murder appear to have been th sole business of their life. Thy worshipped the dread goddess Kâli, and slaughtered buffaloes at her shrine, to secure her favor in their plundering raids. Before starting on their expeditions they usually consulted omens in the chirping and flight of birds. Their descendants are now known by the appropriate title of kallar or “thieves.” Dhirataran Murti-Eyinar the great chief of Viramangalam referred to in the plates of Jatilavarman, a Pandyan King of the twelfth century A.D. appears to have belonged to this tribe.
The Oliyar were another tribe of the Nagas who, it is said, were conquered by Karikâl-Choia. We find them in power as late as the eleventh century A. D. from an inscription at Mamallapuram This inscription is dated in the 9th year of the reign of the Chola King Koppara-Kesari-Varmman alias Udiayâr-Sri.. Râjendna Déva who defeated Ahawa-Malla, the western Chalukya King (1040—1069 A.D.) at the battle of Kopa. It is the copy of a deed by which a piece of land was granted to the Varâha-Swâmi ​temple at Mâmallai-puram, and which was signed by the following Nagas, amongst other high officers ot the Chola-King :—
Amurnaddu Muvenda Velan
Olinagan Chandra Sekaran
Olinagan Narayanan
Indupuravan Sanga-Nagan
Uchan-Kilavan Muguli Nagan.
It appears from this deed that there were, besides the Olinagas, other tribes of the same race, such as Sanga Nagas and Muguli Nagas, in the eleventh century A. D.
Aruvalar was a local name of the Naga tribes who inhabited Aruva-Nadu and Aruva-Vadathalai. The Oviyar were a family of the Aruvalar tribe who ruled at Eyil-Paddinam, and were Kings of Mâvilankai about the middle of the second century A.D. when there was a temporary decline of the power of the Cholas and of other Tamil Kings. They are described by a Tamil poet as “Chivalrous and intrepid warriors, fierce as tigers on ‘the battle field." The Oviyar were most probably the Basore Nagas alluded to by Ptolemy as Kings of Mélangae. It appears from Ptolemy that at Uraiyur, the Chola capital also, the Cholas were displaced by the Sôre Nagas who were evidently the descendants of Chola and Naga families who had intermarried. About this period the Nagas appear to have risen to power even in Ceylon, judging from the names of the following Kings of the country as given in the Mahâwanso
          Mahalamana or Mallaga Naga ... 125 A.D.
          Kuhana or Chanda Naga ........ 173 A.D.
          Kudanama or Kuda Naga ........ 183 A.D.
          Kuda Sirina or Sri Naga ...... 184 A.D.
The Parathavar were a Naga tribe who occupied the sea coast and maintained themselves by fishing or by sea faring. They dived for pearls or for conch shells, and knew the charm to keep off sharks from that part of the sea, where they dived. They were most powerful in the country around Korkai in ​Then-pandinad; “well fed on fish and flesh and armed with bows, their hordes terrified their enemies by their dashing valour.”
The Nagas, were skilled in many arts and especially in weaving. The Nagas of the Kalinga country were so famous in the art of weaving that the word kalingam in Tamil has come to signify a cloth. At the period which I describe, the Nagas inhabiting the Eastern Coast in the Pandyan territory were great weavers, and exported a large quantity of cloths and muslins. The fine muslins manufactured by the Nagas were highly prized by the Tamils and fetched fabulous prices in foreign countries. Tamil poets allude to a famous chieftain Ay who offered to the image of Siva, one of these priceless muslins which had been presented to him by Nila-Naga.
It was from the Nagas that the Aryas first learnt the art o writing; and hence Sanscrit characters are to this day known as Deva-nâgari.
While the fair skinned Aryas who had entered India through the Kabul valley, were settled in the Punjab, a horde of the yellow races who inhabited the central table land of Asia, appear to have passed southward through the numerous passes between Tibet and Nepal, and occupied the Gangetic Valley. Sanscrit writers name these yellow races Yakshas: Pali chroniclers called them Yakkos: and Chinese historians speak of them as the Yuhem. These yellow races being natives of the higher regions of the earth, considered themselves to be superior to the inhabitants of the plains, arid assumed the name of Daivaputras or “the sons of Gods.” They were intellectually and morally a superior race of people, and eventually spread over the whole of Bengal; and emigrated thence by sea to Southern India and Ceylon.
When the Ramayana was composed the Yekshas had reached the southernmost parts of India, and they are alluded to in that poem as inhabiting the sea-coast facing Ceylon.
Whose pleasant waters glance and gleam
And to the lovely banks entice
The sportive maids of paradise.
*** Thence hasting on your way behold
The Pandyas gates of pearl and gold,
Then with your task maturely planned
On ocean’s shore your feet will stand.
Where, by Agastya’s high decree
Mahendra, planted in the sea
With tinted peaks against the tide
Rises in solitary pride,
And glorious in his golden glow
Spurns back the waves that beat below,
Fair mountain, bright with creeper’s bloom
And every tint that trees assume
Where yaksha, god and hewenly maid
Meet wandering in the lovely shade.”
In the fifth century B. C., when Vijaya the leader ot the first colony of Aryas, from Bengal, landed in Ceylon, he found the island in the possession of the Yakshas, and he first married Kuveni, a Yaksha Princess.
Most of these Magolian tribes emigrated to Southern india from Tamalitti, the great emporium of trade at the mouth of the Ganges, and this accounts for the name."Tamils” by which they were collectively known among the more ancient inhabitants of the Dekkan. The name Tamil appears to be therefore only an abbreviation of the word Tamalittis. The Tamraliptas are alluded to, along with the Kosalas and Odras, as inhabitants of Benga and the adjoining Sea-coast in the Vayu and Vishnu Puranas
The oldest of the Mongolian tribes who invaded Southern India and conquered the Nagas appears to have been the Mârar, and the chief of this tribe was ever afterwards known as Palayan or “the ancient,’ being the most ancient, of the Tamil settlers in ​the Southern part of India. The capital of Palayan Mâran was Mohoor, the exact site of which I am unable to ascertain. I, was somewhere close to the Pothiya Hill near Cape Comorin. The Pandyan King claimed to be a Maran and “Minavar Kon" or the King of the Minavar. The name Mâran appear to be identical with the name Mrânmar, borne by the tribe which conquered Burmah before the first century A.D. In the accounts of Burmah written in Pali, the country is known as Maramma-desa.
The next tribe of Tamil invaders was the Thirayer o “Sea Kings.” They were a great seafaring race, whose home appears to have been Lower Bengal and who travelled by sea to Burmah, Cochin, China, Ceylon and Southern India. A King of this tribe named Thirayan who reigned at Kanchi, the modern Kanchi-puram contemporary with Karikal-Chola, claimed to be a descendant of the god Vishnu, whose bed is on the ocean, according to Hindu Mythology It was on this account perhaps that the Chola Kings who belonged to this tribe, boasted of being descendants of the solar race. The oldest of the Chola Kings mentioned in the Tamil poems of the first century A. D. is Muchukunta. He is said to have saved Amaravati, the capital of Indra, when it was besieged by the Asuras, and that in gratitude for the service, Indra sent five giants who killed the Nagas of Kaviri-paddinam and enabled the Chola King to take possession of that town.
​The Tamil conquerors named the town Champâ-pati, most probaby after Champânagar, an ancient capital of Bengal (the site of which is near the modern town of Bhagalpur) fron which hey had emigrated.
There seems to be no doubt that Muchukunta was the first Chola King who conquered the Nagas. The name of the Thiraiyar in Sanskrit was Sâgarakula. The ancient Kings of Thondainad belonged to the Sâgarakula, but the later Pallavas styled themselves Bhâradvajas. Families of the Thirayar tribe who lived in Thondai-Mandalam (the modern Chingleput and North Arcot Districts) were known by the following names, as late as the sixteenth century A. D.:-
       Pangala Thirayar—Thirayar of Bengal.
       China Thirayar—Thirayar of China, this was most probably Cochin China.
       Kadara Thirayar—Thirayar of Kadaram, that is, Burmah.
       Singala Thirayar—Thirayar of Ceylon.
       Pallava Thirayar—Thirayar of Pallavam.
Another tribe of the Tamils was the Vanavar or “Celestials". They were evidently natives of a mountainous region in the North of Bengal, and when they settled in Southern India, they chose for their residence hilly tracts, such as the Kolli-hills (in the Salem District) the Western Ghats, and the Nilgiris. The Chera Kings belonged to this tribe and called themselves Vanavar or Celestials. They claimed affinity with the Vanavar inhabiting the Himalayas, and expressive of their origin they adopted the titles of Vanavarmman or Imaya-Varmman. Besides the Chera Kings, other mountain chiefs such as Nannan, lord of Muthiram and Alumbil-Vel called themselves ​Vana-Viral-Vel or Chiefs of the Vanavas. One of the Chera Kings called Chenkudduvan, who was contemporary with Gajabahu of Ceylon (113 to 105 A. D.) is said to have been on intimate terms of friendship with the Karnas, Emperors of Magadha, and with their assistance he attacked the Aryas near the Himalayas. The Karnas, who belonged to the great Andhra tribe ruled Magadha during the first and second centuries of the Christian era. They were lords of the Three Kalingas, and their dominion extended from the modern Telugu country on the one side, to Arakan on the other side of the Bay of Bengal.
Mr. Fergusson, the great writer on Architecture, having observed the striking similarity of the style of Architecture prevailing in South Canara and Malabar to that of Nepal, wrote as follows :— “The feature, however, which presents the greatest resemblance to the Northern styles is the reverse slope of the eaves above the verandah. I am not aware of its existence anywhere else South of Nepal, and it is so peculiar that it is much more likely to have been copied than reinvented. I cannot offer even a plausible, conjecture, how or at what time, a connection existed between Nepal and Thibet and Canara, but I cannot doubt that such was the case.” “In fact there are no two tribes in India, except the Nayars (of Malabar) and Newars (of Nepal) who have the same strange notions as to female chastity, and that ​coupled with the architecture and other peculiarities, seems to point to a similarity of race, which is both curious and interesting: but how and when the connection took place I must leave it to others to determine. I do not think there is any thing in the likeness of the names, but I do place faith in the similarity of their architecture combined with that of their manners and customs” (Mr. Fergusson’s History of Indian and Eastern Architecture, p.270 and 305). The similarity of races, which Mr. Fergusson’s professional instinct told him must be a fact, is fully borne out by the direct testimony of ancient Tamil poets. The connection between Nepal and Malabar had broken off probably more than two thousand years ago. It is truly marvellous therefore that traces of this connection still linger in the language, the customs, and the style of Architecture of the latter country, after the lapse of twenty centuries!
The three Tamil tribes Maranmar, Thirayar and Vanavar founded respectively the Tamil Kingdoms subsequently known as the Pandya, Chola and Chera Kingdoms. From the edicts of the great Magadha Emperor Asoka. which were engraved in the latter half of the 3rd Century B.C., we learn that the three Tami’ kingdoms were in existence in his time and were not subject to his authority.
The latest of the immigrants into the Tamil country were the Kosar. It is said that they attacked Mohoor the Capital of PalayanMaran and as they were repulsed there, the “Vamba-Moriyar” or the illegitimate Mauriyas came to their assistance, and drove in ​their handsome chariots on the Pothiya hill. It appears therefore that the immigration of the Kosar took place in the 3rd or 2nd Century B.C., when the illegitimate Mauriyas were on the Magadha throne. The Kosar are said to have come from four different towns and they spoke four different dialects. They were a very warlike people and were remarkable for their regard for truth. In the first Century A. D., they were the Masters of the Konga country (the Modern Coimbatore District) while in the Pandyan country they were the most honored of the subjects of the Pandya, inferior in rank only to Palayan-Maran. They invaded Then-Pandi and the Chola territory also, but were repulsed by the Kings Thithiyan and Killi.
The Kosar appear to be no other than the Koshans, a branch of whom conquered Bactria in the second Century B.C. and the north-western portion of India, in the first Century B.C. They were the leaders of the four tribes of the Yuh-chi, i.e., the Asioi, Pasianoi, Tocharoi and Sakarauloi : and their great god was Siva, as may be seen from the coins of Kanishka.
As the Tamil immigrants came into Southern India at distant intervals of time and in separate tribes, and were fewer in number than the aboriginal Nagas and Dravidians, they had to adopt the ancient Dravidian language, and in course of time, they modified and refined it into the language now known as Tamil. The peculiar letter Rzha (ழ) found in the Tamil alphabet which does not occur in the other Dravidian or Sanskrit languages, was doubtless brought in by the Tamil immigrants. This letter, I understand, occurs only in some of the Thibetian languages. It indicates most clearly that the primitive home of the Tamil immigrants must have been in the Thibetian plateau. That they were not of Aryan descent ​is proved not only by the continued antagonism they displayed towards the Aryans, but also by ancient Sanscrit works in which the Dravidas are spoken of as an alien people. That the Tamils had attained a high degree of civilization before the advent of the Aryans is established indisputably by the fact that the pure Tamil language is so copious and exact that it can do well without borrowing Sanscrit words. In fact, in the ancient Tamil classical works, the terms relating to Music, Grammar, Astronomy and even abstract Philosophy are of pure Tamil origin; and they indicate most clearly that those sciences were cultivated by the Tamils long before the arrival of the Brahmins or other Aryan immigrants. The Tamils obtained a knowledge of these sciences most probably from China, through Bengal or Burma, with both of which countries they had direct and constant intercourse. The Tamil language, unlike other Dravidian dialects, abounds in words with nasal letters such as nga, nja and nna: and this peculiarity is remarkable in ancient Tamil works, and in modern Malayalam. This is further evidence of the affinity of the Tamils and the Burmese and Chinese, the latter of whom call themselves “Celestials” like the ancient Cheras who were known as Vanavar or “Celestials” —
The modern Malayalam preserves, I believe, that form of language which was spoken by the early Tamil immigrants, some time after they had settled in Southern India. They had then learnt to use Dravidian words, but were not familiar with the personal signs of verbs. In this condition, the Malayalam of today resembles the Mongolian, the Manchu, and other primitive tongues of High Asia.
The early Tamil poets believed in the tradition that Agastya lead the first colony of the Aryas to the Pothya hills near Cape Comorin. How much of historical truth there is in this tradition it is difficult to determine; but the tradition seems to rest entirely on the Ramayana, in which epic, Agastya is represented as inviting Rama to overcome Ravana, the King of Ceylon. In the same poem ​Panchavati which was situated on the banks of the Godaveri near the modern Nasik is said to have been two yojanas from the hermitage of Agastya. It follows therefore that during the time of Valmiki, Agastya’s hermitage was believed to be near the modern Nasik. Danda-karanya, the modern Mahratta country, as described as a forest infested by wild tribes who disturbed the religious rites of the Brahmins, while the country South of the river Kaviri is designated Janasthan, or a region inhabited by civilized people. In the passage describing the despatch of monkey soldiers in search of Sita, they are directed to go to the countries of the Andhras, the Pandyas, the Cholas and the Keralas in the South, and are told that they will there see the gate of the city of the Pandyas adorned with gold and jewels These descriptions in the Ramayana go to show that during Valmiki’s time, the Aryas had some knowledge of the Tamil people and considered them as a civilized nation, and that they knew the Pandyan capital to be a very wealthy city. Another Sanscrit author, Katyayana who wrote his aphorisms called Varthikas, to explain and supplement the grammatical Sutras of Panini, and who is popularly known to have lived during the time of the Nandas in the first half of the fourth Century B. C., allules to the Pandyas and Cholas and says that one sprang from an individual of the tribes of the Pandas, or the Kings of their country, should be called a Pandya.”
It is beyond doubt therefore that long before the fourth Century B. C. the Pandyan Kingdom in the South of India had come into existence. But of the founder of the Southern Pandyan kingdom nothing definite is known. According to the Mahabharata current in South India, Arjuna is said to have married Chitrangada, the daughter of Malayadhvaja, King of Pandya. But as the section containing this account is not to found in copies of the poem which are current in Northern India, it is doubtless an interpolation. From other accounts however it ​appears that the founder of the Southern Pandyan Kingdom was a princess. Megasthenes who resided as an ambassador of Seleukus in the Court of Chandragupta at Pataliputra, has the following account of the origin of the Pandyas: “Herakles begat a daughter in India whom he called Pandaia. To her he assigned that portion of India which lies to southward and extends to the sea, while he distributed the people subject to her rule into three hundred and sixty-five villages, giving orders that one village should each day bring to the treasury the royal tribute, so that the Queen might always have the assistance of the men whose turn it was to pay the tribute, in coercing those who for the time being were defaulters in their payments.” Pliny gives a similar account, “next come the Pandœ the only race in India ruled by women. They say that Hercules having but one daughter, who was on that account all the more beloved, endowed ier with noble kingdom. Her descendants rule over 300 cities and command an army of 150,000 foot and 500 elephants.” Ancient Tamil poems seem to support this tradition because they refer to woman as the founder of the Pandyan Dynasty. She appears to have been subsequently worshipped as a goddess in Madura. In the Chilappathikaram she is spoken of as Mathurapathi or “Queen of Madura” and she is described as dressed half in the attire of a warrior and half in that of a prin- ​cess. The Manimekalai also alludes to her as Mathurâpathi. Taking together the tradition as reported by Megasthenes and Pliny and the allusions in ancient Tamil works, it appears that a princess who belonged to the race of the Pandus, then reigning at Mathura on the banks of the Jumna, led a colony and founded Dakshina-Mathura on the banks of the Vaigai. Like Dido, who fled from Phœnicia and founded Carthage, it is most probable that the princess was driven by some domestic affliction to settle in a distant land. The later traditionary accounts speak of this princess as a woman born with three breasts. It is quite possible that owing to this personal deformity she as obliged to seek a husband in a foreign country. She appears to have married a king of the Marar tribe, which was already settled in the Tamil country, and hence her descendants assumed the titles of Pandyan and Maran.
The few Aryas who accompanied the Pandyan princess appear to have merged in the Tamil people by inter-marriages with them. The Pandyan Kings of the first and second century A. D. considered themselves as Tamils, and not Aryas, although they claimed descent from the Pandus. Not only the Pandyas, but also the Cholas and Cheras of this period considered themselves as rivals to the Aryas. Reference is made to frequent collisions between the Tamil Kings and the Aryas, in which the latter were defeated. One of the Pandyan Kings had the title Ariyappadai-Kadanta- Nedunj Cheliyan, which meant that he had defeated an Aryan army. A Chola King is said to have routed the Aryas in a battle at Vallam (near the modern Tanjore.) The Chera king Chenkudduvan defeated the Aryas on the northern bank of the Ganges, with the assistance of the Karnas, princes of Magadha. Although the Aryas did not settle in the Tamil country by force of arms, many Brahmin families appear to have come in, as peaceful settlers. There was a large colony of them around the Pothya hill, where they believed, the Vedic sage Agastya had resided. They did not mix freely with the natives of the soil ​but lived apart in gramums or villages, and in large towns, they resided together in separate streets. At Maduara, Thankal and Vayanankodu in the Pandyan Kingdom, at Vanji, Poraiyur, Erakam and Mankadu in the Chera country and at Kavirippaddinam, Mulloor, Avinankudi and Chenkanam in the territory of the Chola King, they resided in large numbers. They claimed to be of several gotras or clans, all of which traced their descent from two patriarchs reputed to be the sons of no less a personage than Brahma the creator himself. Brahmans of the ancient family of Kapiyas are specially alluded to as residing in the Chera dominions. The Brahmins as a rule never allowed dogs or fowls to enter their houses. They reared cows for the sake of their milk, parrots to amuse their women and children, and mangoose to kill the serpents which might intrude into their houses or gardens. Their chief employment was to keep up the triple sacred fires in their homes, to perform yogas or sacrifices and to chant Vedic hymns. To the other castes they posed as ”heaven compellers.” They engaged as teachers occasionally Some of them were Tamil poets. Frequently they started on pilgrimage, when they went round the Pothia Hill, bathed in the sea at Cape Comorin and at the mouth of the Kaviri, and travelled to the banks of the Ganges. On these occasions, they wore leathern sandals to protect their feet; and carried an umbrella to save themselves from sun and rain, a water-pot suspended by a string and three staves tied together. It is interesting to note that elephant drivers spoke to the animals in Ariyam. The Dravidians used to catch wild elephants in pitfalls dug in the woods: but the Aryas introduced the ingenious method of decoying wild elephants, ​by tame female elephants. As astrologers they had rivals amongst the Dravidians. The Brahmins were called in Tamil Pârppâr or “Seers” and the Dravidian astrologers were called Arivar or “Sages.” These sages like the Brahmins pretended to read the future by consulting the positions of the heavenly bodies and fixed auspicious times for celebrating marriages or other important domestic and public ceremonies.
The Ayar or the cowherd race was distinct from the other races above mentioned. Their name Ayar is derived from the Dravidian word Â meaning a cow. They were known as the Abhiras in Puranic history. In northern India they are still called Ahirs. In the Tamil land they were also called the Pothuvar or Commons (from the Dravidian word Pothu meaning common) apparently because they professed friendship to the Nagas and Tamils alike. Originally they appear to have had their own petty Kings, in the Chola country, but Karikal-Chola is said to have exterminated their line of kings. The Ayar in the Pandyan dominion had a tradition that they came into the Tamil land, along, with, the founder of the Pandyan family. They worshipped ordinarily the Yakshas. Their favorite deity was however their national hero Krishna whose liaisons with shepherd girls and feats celebrated in the Mahaharata formed the theme of their festive songs. The shepherd lads and lasses who resided in Madura are represented as personating in their dances Krishna and his brother Bala.Rama, Asothai the mother of Krishna and his wife Pinnay. They were familiar with all the legends regarding the boyish freaks of Krishna, who stole the butter churned by the shepherdesses, and concealed their clothes, while they bathed and sported in the Jumna. They had a peculiar custom among them of selecting husbands for their girls from the victors of a bull-fight. A large area of ground is enclosed with palisades and strong fences. Into the enclosure are brought ferocious bulls ​with sharpened horns. On a spacious loft, overlooking the enclosure, stand the shepherd girls whom they intend to give away in marriage. The shepherd youths prepared for the fight, first pray to their gods whose images are placed under old banian or peepul trees or at watering places. Then they deck themselves with garlands made of the bright red flowers of the kânthal and the purple flowers of the kâya. At a signal given by the beating of drums, the youths leap into the enclosure and try to seize the bulls, which, frightened by the noise of the drums, are now ready to charge any one who approaches them. Each youth approaches a bull which he chooses to capture. But the bulls rush furiously with tails raised, heads bent down and horns levelled at their assailants. Some of the youths face the bulls boldly and seize their horns. Some jump aside and take hold of their tails. The more wary young men skilfully avoid the horns and clasping the neck cling to the animals till they force them to fall on the ground. Many a luckless youth is now thrown down. Some escape without a scratch, while others are trampled upon or gored by the bulls. Some though wounded and bleeding again spring on the bulls. A few who succeed in capturing the animals are declared, the victors of that day’s fight. The elders then announce that the bull fight is over. The wounded are carried out of the enclosure and attended to immediately; while the victors and the brideselect repair to an adjoining grove, and there forming into groups, dance joyously before preparing for their marriage.
The Jews appear to have visited the Western Coast in the early centuries of the Christian Era. They have a tradition that a large number of their nation came and settled in Malabar soon after the destruction of their temple at Jerusalem, which event took place in A. D. 68. There is no allusion however to the Jews in ancient Tamil literature. But the fact that they were settled in the Western Coast during the second century is established beyond a doubt by the ancient deeds engraved in copper, still in possession of the Jews and Syrian Christians of Malabar. These deeds are written in ancient Tamil and in the archaic character known as Vaddeluttu or “round letters.” They ​have excited much interest, not only because of their antiquity, but because of the curious fact that by them the ancient Chera Kings conferred on the Jewish Colonies, certain privileges which those Colonies still possess to some extent. They have been more than once translated, and there has been much diversity of opinion regarding the dates assigned to them. The earliest of the deeds is dated in the 36th year opposite to the 2nd year, during the reign of Sri-Bhaskara Ravi-Varman. The expression “36 year opposite to the 2nd year” has been variously interpreted. One scholar understood the 2nd year, to refer to the Cycle of Parasu Rama, another took the 36th year to refer to the 60 years Cycle of Brihaspati.” Neither of these Cycles are however applicable to all the deeds whose dates are given in double years. From the researches made by the Portuguese Missionary Beschi, who resided in Madura for forty years, it appears that the Cycle then used in Southern India was the Grahapparivirthi Cycle of ​90 years. The Epoch of this Cycle occurs on the expiration of the 3078th year of the Kaliyuga, in 24 B. C. The years follow the ordinary Solar or Siderial reckoning. The concurrent Christian year for any year reckoned by the Cycle may readily be found by multiplying the number of the Cycle by 90 and adding the year and subtracting 24. Thus the 36th year of the 2nd Cycle is equal to 2x90+36—24 or 192 A. D. The deed of the Chera King Bhaskara-Ravi-Varman, which is dated in a year equivalent to 192 A. D., appears to be therefore the oldest of the copper plate inscriptions preserved in Southern India, and as such, it deserves to be carefully studied. To those students of history who place more faith in inscriptions than in ancient literature, this deed affords the most satisfactory evidence of the civilization of the Tamils in the second century A. D. The language of the deed being very old and obscure Tamil, and some of the terms used being obsolete, it is difficult to render it correctly into English, but I give below a translation of it conveying the meaning of the deed as close to the original as I can render it.
“Health and prosperity!
The grant vouchsafed by the King of Kings His Majesty Sri-Bhaskara-Iravi-Varmmar, during his reign—may it last for many hundred thousand years! - the 36th year against the 2nd year (Cycle), when he tarried at Muyirik-Kodu.
We have given to Joseph Rabban the principality of Anjuvannam, the (right to levy) tribute in money and in kind, the revenue of Anjuvannam, the light by day, the spreading cloth, ​the palanquin, the umbrella, the Vaduca drum, the trumpet, the sandals for the feet, ornamental arches, awnings and presents carried on poles balanced on the shoulders, along with the 72 privileges of a nobleman.
We have exempted him from paying the land tax and water rate; and we have enacted with this copper deed that when the other inhabitants pay taxes to the Palace he shall not have to pay, when they receive (presents) he shall also receive.
Given to Joseph Rabban Lord of Anjuvannam and to his posterity, sons and daughters and nephews and sons-in-law as a heriditary grant. Prosperity!
Thus do I know Gôvardhana Mârthândan,
Lord of Vênâdu.
Thus do I know Kotai Sri-Kandan,
Lord of Vênavali.
Thus do I know Mâna Vêpala Mâna Viyan,
Lord of Erâla-Nâdu.
Thus do I know Rayâran Châttan,
Lord of Vslluvanâdu.
Thus do I know Kothai-Ravi,
Lord of Nedum-Purayur.
Thus do I know Mûrkhan Chattan,
Commander of the Eastern Army. Kandan of Great Thalacheri Kilway,
the Mountain Splitter.
The writing of Kelappa.”
From this deed we learn that about the close of the 2nd century, the Tamil Settlements on the Malabar Coast extended beyond Thalaicheri (modern Tellicherry) in the north, and up to the foot of the ghauts in the east. The Chera Kingdom was divided into six or more provinces, the rulers of which aspired to the dignity of kings, and the Chera Monarch assumed the title of King of Kings or Emperor. The chieftains of the Provinces formed a sort of council to the King, and it was with their assent that any grant was made, or privileges conferred under royal sanction. It appears that a land tax and water cess were levied by the king throughout his dominions except in those parts where the landholders had been specially exempted. Tribute from local Chiefs to the Lord of each province was paid in money or in kind. It is curious to note that foreigners could use sandals or umbrellas or ride in ​palanquins, only with the permission of the King. Noblemen prided themselves on special privileges such as the cloth spread on the ground for them to walk upon, ornamental arches and awnings to be erected on the roads on which they travel, and the flourish of trumpets and drums to announce their arrival and departure. There were no less than seventy-two rights claimed by great landholders, but the nature of these rights does not appear from the deed.
Another deed issued during the reign of the same King Bhâskara-Iravi-Varmman records an endowment made to the Vishnu temple at Tirunelli (in the Wynad) by Porai Kilan or the Lord of Porayûr Nadu. The endowment was placed under the control of the “five hundred” of Poraiyûr. The five hundred were doubtless an assembly of the heads of 500 families of the Nadu. It appears therefore that in this ancient period, although the Kings had apparently unlimited power over the lives ard properties of their subjects, much of the local administration remained in the hands of the people themselves.
* ↑ Griffith’s Ramayana IV. 205. Indian Antiquary Vol. VIII. p. 5.
* ↑ Ferguson’s Tree and Serpent Worship, p. 60.
* ↑ Archaelogicol Survey of Southern India, Vol. I. The Buddhist stupas of Amaravati and Jaggayapeta.
* ↑ Chilappadikaram I. 19 & 20 Arumpatha-urai-achiriyar and Adhyarkku-Nallar the two commentators to the Chilappathikaram, who were evidently not aware that there were kingdoms ruled by Nagas at this early period, interpret the expressions Naga-nagar and Naga-nad, in the text, to mean Swarga and Pathala or the world of the gods, and the world of the serpents!
* ↑ Mani-mekalai VIII. 54 to 61.
* ↑ Mani-mekalai- VIII. 54 to 61.
* ↑ Ibid - VI. 211-213.
* ↑ Ibid-IX. 12-22
* ↑ Mani-mekalai-XXIV 30-61
* ↑ Kalith-thokai, IV—1 to 5.
* ↑ Ibid, XV- 1 to 7
* ↑ Vada-nodun-tha-ththanar-Puram Stanza 179.
* ↑ Karuvar Kanchnp-pillai Chaththanar-puram St. 168.
* ↑ Chilapp-athikaram—XII.
* ↑ Ibid, XII- 120 to 128
* ↑ Indian Antiquary Vol. XXII, p. 57.
* ↑ Paddinap-palai—line 274.
* ↑ Madras Journal of Literature and Science, Vol. XIII, part II, article IV.
* ↑ Chiru-pànàrrup-padai. II. 121-122.
* ↑ McCrird1es’ Ptolemy, p. 185.
* ↑ Ibid, p. 184.
* ↑ Mahawanso. List of Kings.
* ↑ Mathuraik-kanchi, II. 140 to 144.
* ↑ “To Kolkhol succeeds another coast tying along a gulf having a district in the interior bearing the name of Argalon. In this single place are obtained the pearls collected near the island of Epiodôras. From it are exported the muslins called ebaryareitides” - McCrindles, Periplus Maris Erythrœi, p. 140.
* ↑ Chiru-panarrup-padai, II. 93—99.
* ↑ Valmiki's Ramayana, translated by Griffins. Book IV. Chap. XLI.
* ↑ The Pali form of the Sanskrit Tamralipti. It is now known as Tamlok, and lies on a bay of the Rupnarayan River 12 miles above its junction with the Hughli; mouth of the Ganges. McCrindie’s Ptolemy: 170.
* ↑ Vishnu Purana. Book IV. Chap XXIV.
* ↑ Mathuraik-kanoci, I. 563.
* ↑ Mamulanar-Akam, stanza 250.
* ↑ “Sir Arthur Phayre derives Mranma from Brahma (see page 2 of his History of Burma). The exact derivation and meaning of the designation by which the Burmans are known have not yet been settled. The term Mranma is not met with in Burmese history till the first Century A. D. In Marco Polos’ travels, Burma is referred to as the Kingdom of Mien. The Burmans are known among the, Chinese as the Mien, and among the Shans as the Man, the same appellation by which the Mongols are known among the Chinese. In the accounts of Burma written in Pali, the country is known as Maramma dêsa. If Sir Arthur Phayre’s derivation is correct, it is difficult to justify the action of the learned priests of the 14th and 15th Centuries, in making use of the barbarous appellation Maramma in lithic inscriptions as well as in literary works, while they had the familiar term Brahma for their national designation.” Taw Sein Ko, in the Indian Antiquary, Vol. XXII., p. 8.
* ↑ Perum-panarrup.padai, II. 29—37.
* ↑ Chilapp-athikâram, V. 11. 95 to 97 and VI. II. 14 to 17, Mani-mekalai, I. ii. 19to 24.
* ↑ Epigraphic Indiea, part I., p 2.
* ↑ Thondai-mandala-paddayam.
* ↑ Chilapp-athikaram XXV. II. 1 to 2.
* ↑ Pathirrap-paththu: Stanzas 11 to 20 are in praise of Nedun-cheralathan alias Imaya-varmman, I. Stanzas 31 to 40 are addressed to Kalankaikkanni-Nar-Mudich-Cheral alias Vana-varmman I. Stanzas 48 to 50 refer to Chenk-kudduvan Imaya varmman II. stanzas 51 to 60 allude to Nadu-Kôdpadu-Chêral-athan alias Vana-varmman II.
* ↑ Malai-padu-kadam, I. 164. The Comnmentator Nachchinârk.iniyar misreads the expression Vana-viral-vel as Mana-viral-vel.
* ↑ Mathuraik-kanchi, II. 344-345.
* ↑ Chilapp-athikaram XXVI. II. 148-149 and II. 176—178.
* ↑ “Soodruka is known in the native annals as Karna Dêva or Maha Karna. A plate has recently been dug up at Benares, on which is inscribed a grant of land made by their monarch who is styled the Lord of the three Kalingas. If this be not an oriental exaggeration, it would go to show that the great Karna of Magadha had extended his dominions as far as the coast of Telinga on the one side and of Arracan on the other side of the Bay, and to the sea coast of Bengal: for this is the locality of the three Kalingas as explained by historians. After a reign of eighteen years he was succeeded by his brother. Six monarchs in succession filled the throne after the founder, who all assumed the same patronymic, and were remembered as the seven Karnas but we have nothing but this naked fact for our guidance, except the great veneration in which the name of Karna is traditionally held, not only in India, but throughout the Eastern Archipelago. This would almost justify the supposition that the Karnas, possessing the three divisions of the sea coast, had created a navy, and made their power felt in the islands of the East. In common speech, the natives are accustomed, when anxious to pay the highest compliment to a liberal man to compare him to Karna and we incline to the belief that on such occasions they allude to the more modern Karna of Magadha, rather than to the antiquated hero of that name mentioned in the Mahabharat.” “These Andhra kings appear to have maintained towards the close of their dynasty a constant intercourse with China: and we find the Chinese Government on one Occasion sending an army to assist, in putting down a rebellion in India.”—Marshman’s History of India, p. 63. Dr Bhandarkar’s Early History of the Dekkan, p. 25.
* ↑ The Puranic authors have however tried to conceal this fact by asserting that the Pandya, Chola and Chera were descendants of an Aryan king. “The Hari-vamsa and Agni Purana make Pandya, Chola, Kerala and Kola great grandsons of Dushyanta of the line of Puru, and founders of the regal dynasties named after them. The descendants of Dushyanta however as specified in the Vishnu Purana do not include these personages, and their insertion seems to have been the work of the more recent authorities. The Harivamsa with no little inconsistency places the Pandyas and Cholas amongst the Kshatriya tribes degraded by Sagara. The Padma Purana has a similar addition to the list of those tribes in the Ramayana.” Prof. H. H. Wilson’s Historical Sketch of the Pandyan Kingdom. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. III. Art IX., p. 199.
* ↑ Indian Antiquary. Vol. XX., p. 242.
* ↑ Mamûlanar-Akam, 250.
* ↑ Mathuraik-Kanchi, II. 508-509.
* ↑ Old stanza quoted by Nachchinakiniyar In his commentary to the Tholkapiyam Porul-athikaram, Mr. Thamotharam Pillai’s edition, p. 329.
* ↑ Chilapp-athikaram Urai-peru-kaddurai.
* ↑ Mathuraik-kanchi, II. 772-774.
* ↑ Paranar-Akam, 195.
* ↑ Nakkirar-Akam, 204.
* ↑ Strabo XI. viii. 2
* ↑ Catalogue of coins of Greek and Scythic kings of Bactria and India, by R. S. Poole, p. xl.
* ↑ Hanghton’s translation of Manava Dharma Sastra. Chap. X. V. 43. The following races of Kshatriyas by their omission of holy rites and by seeing no Brahmans have gradually sunk among men to the lowest of the four classes. Chap. X. V. 44. Paundracas, Odrus, and Dravidas: Cambojas, Yavans and Sakas: Paradas, Pahlavas, Chinas, Kiratas, Deradas and Chasas.
* ↑ Ramayan III. 13, 13. Bombay Edition.
* ↑ Ramayana.
* ↑ Vârtika on Panini. IV. 1—168.
* ↑ “The traditions of the South however make Malaya Dhvaja, a more important character and consider him as the father of Chitrângada, the wife of Arjuna. This opinion is grounded on a section of the Sabba Parvan of the Mahâbharat, where Sahâdeva, whilst performing his military career in the Dekkan is described as having an interview with her father Malaya Dhvaja, king of Pandya. This section is however perhaps peculiar to the copies of the Mahâbbârat current in the peninsula, as it has no place in a fine copy in the Devanagiri character in my possession. In the first chapter too, it is there said that the father of Chitrângada is Chitravâhana, king of Manipur, to which Arjuna comes leaving Kalinga. The Telugu translation of the Adi-Parvan agrees in the names of the parties but places Manipur South of the Kaveri. How far therefore it is safe to identify Malayadhvaja with Chitravâhana and Manipur with Madura, must depend upon the verification of the authenticity of different copies of the Mahâbhârat. The result of a careful collection cf even copies at Benares, examined by Captain Fell, at my request, may be regarded as fatal to the identification, not one of them containing the section in question or tile name of Malaya Dhvaja. The Bhâgavat calls the bride of Arjuna, Ulipi, the daughter of the serpent king of Manipura. Prof. H. H. Wilson: Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. III. Article IX. p. 199
* ↑ McCrindle’s Ancient India, p. 158.
* ↑ Pliny’s Hist. Nat. VI. 21, McCrindle's Ancient India, p. 147.
* ↑ Chilappathikaram, XXIII. II. 11 to 13.
* ↑ Ibid. XXIII, II. 5 to 10.
* ↑ Manimekalai, XXVI. 13.
* ↑ Chilapp.athikaram. XXIII. p. 449 of Mr. Saminathier’s edition.
* ↑ Akam 335.
* ↑ Chilapp-athikaram XXVI. II. 147 to 154 and II. 176 to 178.
* ↑ Chilapp-athikaram XXIII. 11. 74-75.
* ↑ Mani-mekalai, XIII, 1. 15.
* ↑ Chilapp-athikaram.
* ↑ Tiru-murukattup-padai, 11. 177-189.
* ↑ Chilapp-athikaram XI. 1. 53.
* ↑ Chiru-panarrup-padai, II. 187-188.
* ↑ Tiru-murukattup-padai, 1. 176.
* ↑ Chilapp-athikaram, XI. 1. II.
* ↑ Tiru-murukattup.padai, 1. 178. The Commentator Nachchinark-iniyar misinterprets the meaning, which is plain— see Mani-mekhalai, XIII. 93 to 97.
* ↑ Chilapp-athikaram, XXX. 83.
* ↑ Perum-panarrup-padai, 11. 294-300.
* ↑ Tholkâppiyam. Porul-athikaram, Sutra 193, 503-510. Kalith-thokai, stanza 39, 1. 44.
* ↑ Paddinap-pâlai, 1. 281.
* ↑ Kaith-thokai, stanza 104, II. 4 to 6.
* ↑ Chilapp-athikaram, XV. 1. 116.
* ↑ Ibid, XVII.
* ↑ Kalith-thokai, stanzas 101, and 11.
* ↑ Deeds No. 1, 2 and 3 translations of which are given in Logan’s Malabar Manual, Vol. II, pp. 115 to 122.
* ↑ “The words irandam-andeikk-edirmuppatt-aram-andu were translated by Mr Whish “the thirty-sixth year of the second cycle (of Parasurama) = 139 B. C.; and, by Sir Walter Elliot ‘the thirty-sixth year opposed to or in contradistinction to the second which would be the third cycle (of Parasurama)=861 A.D. Dr. Burnell suggested that the first andu might refer to the year of the reign, and the second to that of the King’s age, while Dr. Cadwel1 took the second andu for the year of the reign, and the first for the year of the 60 year cycle of Brihaspati.” Dr. Hultzseh in the Indian Antiquary, Vol. XX, p 288. Dr. Hultzsch was of opinion that the first year indicated the date of the King’s appointment as Yuvaraja or heir apparent: and the second the year of his reign.
* ↑ “Grahapparivirthi cycle of ninety years. The Southern inhabitants of the peninsula of India use a cycle of ninety years, which is little known, according to Warren in the Karnatak. This cycle was analysed by the Portugese missionary Beschi, while resident for 40 years in Madura. The native astronomers there say it is constructed of the sum of the products in days of 15 revolutions of Mars, 22 of Mercury, 11 of Jupiter, 5 of Venus, 29 of Saturn and one of the sun. “The epoch of this cycle occurs on the expiration of the 3078th year of the Kaliyug in 24 B. C. The years follow the solar or sidereal reckoning. The concurrent cycle and year for any European year may readily be found by adding 24 and dividing by 90: thus 1830 A. D. = 1830+24/90= 20 cycles and 54 years.”—Prinsen’s Indian Antiquities by Thomas, Vol. II, p 138.The Grahapparivirthi cycle is applicable to every deed or inscription in the Tamil country, whose date is given in double years. The inscription of the Kerala King Rami (Malabar Manual, Vol. II. p. 122) found at Tirnannur, near Calicut, is dated in the fourth year opposed to the fourth year. The corresponding date in the Christian Era is 4 x 90 + 4—24 or A. D. 340. The Tiruppuvanam grant of Kulasekharadeva is dated in the 12th year opposite to the thirteenth year, which is equivalent to 13 X 90 + 12-24 or A. D. 1158. Kulasekharadeva was contemporary with Parakrama Bahu I of Ceylon (A. D. 1146-1179). Mahawanso— Chapter 76-77.
* ↑ The words, pala-nurayirattandu-chenkkol-nadatti-ala-ninra, mean literally “wielding the sceptre for many hundred thousand years” :— but in the deed they should I think be interpreted as conveying a blessing.
* ↑ The words pidiyalum payanattalum have been translated by Dr. Gundert as “going with elephants and other conveyances.” Madras Journal Lit. sc, XIII part 1, p. 137. But the correct meaning appears to be “in money and in kind.” Pidi means “ready cash” as well as a “female elephant“—Payanam or Pasanam means “a share.” — The word Iduvudi is translated by Dr. Gundert as “the gateway with arches.” But it is not used in this sense in any ancient work. The correct meaning appears to be “sandals” or “shoes.”
* ↑ An excellent facsimile and translation of this deed have been published by Dr. Hultzsch.—Indian Antiquary. Vol. XX. p. 285.
* ↑ “The six hundred were the supervisors and protectors of the Nad”—Malabar Manual, Vol.I. p. 267. Another deed mentions the 600 of Ramavala Nadu.—Malabar Manual Vol. II. p.122. These village republics continued in existence till the English annexed Malabar. “The Nad or country was a congeries of taras or village republics, and the Kuttam or assembly of the Nad or country was a representative body of immense power which, when necessity existed, set at naught the authority of the Raja, and punished his ministers when they did “unwarrantable acts.” These are the very words used by the Honorable Company’s representative at Calicut when asked to explain the origin of certain civil commotions which had taken place there in 1746. His report deserves to be quoted in full, for it gives a vivid insight into the state of things as it then existed. “These Nayars,” he wrote “being heads of the Calicut people, resemble the parliament, and do not obey the King’s dictates in all things, but chastise his ministers when they do unwarrantable acts.” Malahar Manual. Vol. 1, p. 89.