# The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago/Chapter 2

CHAPTER II.
Geography of Tamilakam.
The whole of the country lying south of the central plateau of Asia was known as Jambudvipa or “The Land of the Rose Apple trees” which are said to abound in it. In Jambudvipa, the region south of the Vyndhyas was called Dakshinapatha or The Southern side; and the extreme south of the peninsula, which was occupied by the Tamil people, was Tamilakam, or the abode of the Tamils. The limits of Tamilakam were from Venkata Hill in the North, to Cape Comorin in the South, and from the Bay of Bengal in the East, to the Arabian Sea in the West. Malayalam had not formed into a separate dialect at this period, and only one language, Tamil, was spoken from the Eastern to the Western Sea.
The people who lived north of Venkatam were called Vadukar. Immediately north of Tamilakam, above the Ghats, was Erumainad or the “Buffalo land” the equivalent of which name in Sanscrit was Mahisha Mandalam. West of Erumainad were Tulu Nad, Kudakamn (Coorg) and Konkanam. Other races in India were the Kalingar, Pangalar, Kankar, Kattiyar and Northern Aryas. The following Kingdoms and towns, outside Tamilakam are alluded to by Tamil poets :—The Kingdom of Magadha and the town of Kapilai which was the birthplace of Buddha: the Kingdom of ​Mâlava and its capital Avanti: the Kingdom of Vajra: the seaport Gangai on the banks of the Ganges, which was in the territory of the Kannar: Vâranavâsi, the modern Benares: Thuvarai or Dwaraka in Guzerat, the capital of the deified hero Krishna. Ceylon was known as Lanka-dvipa or Ratna-dvipa: the highest mountain in the island was Samanoli (now called Adam’s Peak); and on its summit was an impression of Buddha’s foot, which was an object of pilgrimage to Buddhists far and near. Between Ceylon and India was the island Manipallavam, on which there was one of the sacred seats of Buddha, then held in great veneration by all Buddhists. It is said to have been at a distance of thirty yojanas south of Puhâr, the ancient sea-port at the mouth of the Kaviri. A ship sailing from the coast of Madura, to Chàvakam (Java) touched at Manipallavam. To the east of Ceylon were the islands inhabited by a race of Nagas called Nakkasâranar or “naked nomads,” who were cannibals. Beyond these islands was Châvakam a large kingdom the capital of which was Nâgapuram. The king of this country claimed to be a descendant of the God Indra, and what is most remarkable, the language spoken in Chavakam appears to have been Tamil! This Chavakam was most probably Sumatra or Java.
​Tamilakam was divided into thirteen Nadus or provinces, the names of which were:—Pândi, Thenpândi, Kuddam, Kudaâ, Karkâ, Vên, Pooli, Panri, Aruva, Aruva-vadatalai, Cheetham, Malâdu and Puna-nâdu. Of these, Pandinadu, which corresponded nearly to the whole of the modern district of Madura, was considered the most important, being that tract where pure Tamil was then spoken. The chief town in this Nadu was Mathurai, the capital of the Pandyan kingdom. It appears to have been so called after the sacred city of Muttra on the banks of the Jumna, which was most probably the capital of the northern kingdom of the descendants of the Pândus, the heroes of the Mahâbârata. This is evident from the appellation ThakkanaMathurai or Southern Madura given to it by Tamil poets of this age. The Pandyan king called himself Panchavan (the decendant of the five.) and Kaurian (of the line of the Kurus), names which clearly indicate his origin from the Pandus, who were five brothers. The city of Madura retains to this day its ancient name, and thus bears living testimony to the fact that the descendants of the Pandus, who ruled in Muttra, had in early times established their power in the most Southern parts of the peninsula. It was a fortified city. There were four gates to the fort, surmounted by high towers, and outside the massive walls which were built of rough-hewn stone was a deep moat, and surrounding the moat was a thick jungle of thorny trees. The roads leading to the gates were wide enough to permit several elephants to pass abreast, and on the walls on both sides of the entrance, there were all kinds of weapons and missiles concealed, ready to be discharged on an enemy. Yavana soldiers with drawn swords guarded the gates. Over the gates and walls waved many a standard which had been taken in battle. The principal streets in the city were the royal street, the market street, the ​courtezan’s street and the streets where dwelt the goldsmiths, corn dealers, cloth merchants, jewellers, &c. The temple of Sva known as Velliambalam or “the silver shrine” appears to have been the grandest building in the city. There were other temples dedicated to Vishnu, Baladêva, Subramanya and Chintadêvi, and there were separate monasteries for the Buddhist, Brahminic and Nigrantha ascetics.
Madura was doubtless the most famous and important town in Tamilakam at this period, being the capital city of the Pandyas, who were renowned as the most powerful of the Tamil kings, and munificent patrons of poets. What distinguished it however from other towns in the Tamil country were the high towers over the four gates of the fort. Hence it was familiarly known as Nân—mâdak—kûdal or the “Cluster of four towers. The name was sometimes shortened into Mâdak—kûdal, or Kûdal. The site of this ancient Madura or Kudal was most probably Pala Madura (or old Madura,) now in ruins, which is situated at a distance of about six miles to the south-east of the modern town of Madura. The ruins are now on the northern bank of the Vaigai, whereas ancient Madura stood on its southern bank; but it is quite possible that the river had changed its course since the destruction of the old city. That Madura was in danger of being destroyed by the Vaigai may be inferred from a poet’s description of Pandya in the following words: “Lord of the fortified city, whose walls knew of no siege by any other enemy, but the waters of the Vaigai when it is swollen with floods.” Outside the fort of Madura, resided those men who led a life of religious devotion and poor classes of people such as the Pânar and other lower castes.
West of Madura was the hill Parankunru sacred to Subra​manya according to the poet Nakkirar. This hill is south-west of modern Madura but directly west of the ruins now known as old Madura; east of the capital was another hill, where there was a temple dedicated to Vishnu. On the latter hill were three sacred springs, to bathe in which was believed to he an act of great merit by the votaries of Vishnu. On the way from Madura to Uraiyur (now a suburb of Trichinopoly) were the Sirumalai hills which were covered with groves Of mango and jack trees, arecanut and cocoanut palms, and where onion, saffron, raggy, millet, hill rice, edible roots, plantain and sugarcane were cultivated extensively.
Of the boundaries of Pandinadu, or of the exact extent and position of the other twelve Nadus comprised in Tamilakam, there is no record in ancient Tamil poems. The accounts given by commentators are also conflicting. In the absence of any connected account of the ancient geography of the country by Tamil authors, I have had to make my own researches with the help of the information available in the Periplus and in the works of Pliny and Ptolemy.
The five Nadus above mentioned formed the Chera Kingdom the capital of which was Vanchi or Karur. It was situated on the banks of the Periyar, far from its mouth and near the foot of the Western Ghats. The site of the town is now a deserted village, known as Tiru-Karur, three miles from Khothai-mangalam, and 28 miles east by north of Cochin, where the remains of an old temple and other massive buildings are still visible. The town was strongly fortified, and on the battlements were mounted various engines to throw missiles on those who ​attacked the fort. Over the gates in the walls, were towers plastered with white mortar and adorned with flags. Surrounding the walls was a broad moat in which man-eating alligators of large size abounded. The king’s palace, a temple of Vishnu called Adakamadam or the “golden shrine,” a Buddhist Chaitya, and a Nigrantha monastery which was outside the Eastern gate of the fort, appear to have been the most conspicuous buildings in the town. If Madura was noted for its many mansions and towers, Vanchi, with its flower-gardens and tanks full of crystal water, limpid streams and little islands, shady bowers and parks with artificial hills and waterfalls, was charming to every visitor. Outside the fort resided the soldiers of the Chera king. Ascetics and philosophers also dwelt in the silent and shady groves, far away from the din and bustle of the capital.
Near the mouth of the Periyar was Muchiri, an important seaport. A poet describes it as follows:— ”The thriving town of Muchiri where the beautiful large ships of the Yavanas bringing gold, come splashing the white foam on the waters of the Periyar, which belongs to the Cherala, and return laden with pepper.” “Fish is bartered for paddy which is brought in baskets to the houses” says another poet : “sacks of pepper are brought from the houses to the market; the gold received from ships, in exchange for articles sold, is brought to shore in barges, at Muchiri, where the music of the surging sea never ceases, and where Kudduvan (the Chera king) presents to visitors, the rare products of the seas and mountains.”
Thondi was another flourishing seaport on the western coast. It stood on the banks of the Mâkkali or the “big salt river” which is now known as Agalappulai. “It was bounded” says a poet “by groves of cocoanut trees bearing heavy bunches of fruits, a wide expanse of rice-fields, verdant hills, bright sandy tracts and a salt river, whose glassy waters are covered ​with flowers of btiiliant colours.” This description suits exactly the village now called Pallikara which is situated at a distance of five miles north of the modern town of Quilandy. The name Thondi is not now remembered by the inhabitants; but the richest landlord in the village, a hereditary nobleman, is styled Thondippunathil Nair or Thondyil Kuruppachan. About twelve miles up the Agaiappulai, near Kuttiadi, is a village still called Thondippoil, a name, which, I believe, signifies, the way to Thondi. The Agalappulai must have been navigable up to Thondi or Pallikara in former days ; but since the Kotta river diverted into another channel, the Agalappulai has shrunk in size and is no longer navigable.
Ptolemy gives the following list of seaports and rivers on the west coast of Tamilakam:–
Tyndis a city, Bramagara, Kalaikkarias, Mouziris an emporium; mouth of the river Pseudostomos, Podoperoura, Semne, Koreoura, Bakarei, mouth of the river Baris. Then he mentions the Country of the Aioi and the following seaports in it.
Melkynda, Elangkon (or Elangkor) a mart, Kottiara the metropolis, Bammala, Komaria a cape and town.
Of the inland cities he gives the following list: Inland cities of Limurike, to the west of the Pseudostomos are these: Naroulla, Kouba, Paloura. Between the Pseudostomos and the Baris these cities : Pasage, Mastanour, Kourellour, Pounnata where is beryl, Aloe, Karoura, the royal seat of the Kerobothras, Arembour Bideris, Pantipolis, Adarima Koreour. Inland town of the AioiMorounda.
Pliny and Ptolemy agree in fixing the northern limit of the Tamil country on the western coast somewhere above Tundis (Thondi). The Peniplus gives a clearer indication of the boundary as it states that Limurike (Dimirike) or Tamilakam commenced immediately south of the Island Leuke or “ the White.” This Island which is north-west of the modern town of Bada​gara, about eight miles from the coast, is still known to the natives as Thoovak-kal or Vellaikal “the white rock.” Europeans have called it “the sacrifice rock,” because, when the Portuguese first settled at Calicut, the Kottakkal cruizers surprised a Portuguese vessel and sacrificed all their prisoners on that rock. I am unable to identify Naura. It appears to have been a small village on the banks of the Aka’appula. Tundis is of course Thondi which was near the site of the modern Pallikkara about five miles north of Quilandy. Even to this day trading vessels from Arabia regularly visit old Kollam or Pantalayini Kollam, a village about three miles south of Thondi.
Between Tundis and Muziris, Ptolemy mentions two towns on the sea coast, Bramaara and Kalaikarias, and three inland, Naroulla, Kouba and Paloura. Bramagara may be identified with Brahmakulam, Kalaikarais was most probably Chalacoory, and Paloura is doubtless Pâlayur which is still a large and populous amshomn near Chowghat. Mouziris may unhesitatingly be taken to represent Muchiri which, according to Tamil poets, was situated near the ​mouth of the Periyar and was frequented by Yavana merchants. Pseudostomos signifies in Greek “false-mouth” and is a correct translation of the Tamil or Malayalam expression “Alimukam” by which the mouth of the Periyar below Kadungolur is known even now. It was so called, because during the monsoon the river frequently made a new opening for itself in the low sand banks, which obstructed its entrance to the sea. The proper name of the river was Periyar or Porunai. South of this river at a distance of 500 stadia or about 58 miles, Ptolemy mentions another river called Baris. Neither the river Baris, nor any of the towns mentioned as situated between Muziris and Cape Kumari or Comorin, has been satisfactorily identified by the scholars who have hitherto examined Ptolemy’s account of ancient India. I experienced the same difficulty till one day, when travelling by boat from Alleppy to Kottayam, the boatmen informed me that I should land at Vaikkarai. This brought to my mind Ptolemy’s Bakarei and on further enquiry, I was glad to learn that the landing place at Kottayam is known as Vaikkarai, and-the hill, on which the Dewan Peishkar’s Court-house is built, is called Vaikkarai-kunnu or the Vaikkarai-hill. I came to know also that- the river which flowed through Kottayam is called Pâlâi or Pâli, and this corresponded to the Baris which Ptolemy places next to Bakarei. I was satisfied therefore that the ancient seaport of Bakarei was identical with the village of Vaikkarai near Kottayam. I was surprised to find that the towns on the sea coast between Muziris and Bakarei named by Ptolemy, viz., Podoperoura, Semne and Koreoura may be identified with Udiamperur, Smbai and Kothora which are situated on the eastern coast-of the backwater. This led me to the startling discovery that in Ptolemy’s time the sea coast was along the eastern shore of the backwater, and that neither the backwater, which extends at present to over 40 miles from Changanachery to Pallipuram, nor the long strip of land which forms its western bank, and on which now stand the flourishing sea-ports of Cochin and Alleppy, was then in existence.
Nelkunda, the town from which pepper was exported in barges to Bakarei, appears to be Nirkunram. It is mentioned by ​various authors, under varying forms of the name. In Pliny it is Neacyndi. It is Nelkunda in the Periplus, Melkunda in Ptolemy: in the Peutingerian Table it is Nincylda, and in the Geographer of Ravenna, Nilcinna. The site of this town is six miles east of Kottayam, not far from Meenachil, where the best pepper is grown to this day.
South Of Bakarei, Ptolemy places the country of the Aioi. This was the territory of the Ay a family of chiefs of the Pothiya hills, who were great patrons of poets. The towns Elankon, Kottiara and Bammala may be identified with the modern Vilavankodu, Kottaru and Ponnanai. It will appear therefore, that even south of Bakarei or the modern Kottayam, the sea coast has receded six or seven miles since the time of Ptolemy. Of the inland cities named by Ptolemy I would suggest the following identifications:
| Pounnata | ... | The modern Poonjarru near Meenachil, where the descendant of a fugitive king is said to reside at present. |
| Aloe | ... | Alwaye, a famous place of resort for its medicinal water. |
| Karoura, the royal seat of Kerobothros. | ... | Karuvai or Vanchi, the ruins of which are at Tiru-karur, 28 miles east by north of Cochin. |
| Videris | ... | Pithara. |
| Adarima | ... | Atharimalai. |
The region Kottanara from which pepper was exported ​was doubtless Kuddanadu, the limits of which I have already described.
Cape Kumari (the modern Comorin) was a sacred bathing place. Brahmin pilgrims came from Vâranâsi (or Benares) to bathe in Kumari and absolve their sins. Similarly the Brahmins of Southern India went round the Pothiya hill, which was famous as the residence of the Vedic sage Agastya, then bathed in the sea at Kumari, and travelled northward to the Ganges to bathe in the sacred waters of that river. Pilgrims from the banks of the Ganges to Kumari, and from Tamilakam to Benares appear to have kept up communication between the Northern and Southern Aryas. At the period of which I now write, the people remembered that in former days the land had extended further south, and that a mountain called Kumarikkodu, and a large tract of country watered by the river Pahruli had existed south of Cape Kumari. During a violent irruption of the sea, the mountain Kumarikkodu and the whole of the country through which flowed the Pahruli had disappeared. Similar irruptions of the sea, and the subsidence of land on the south-western coast of Ceylon in the second century B. C. are recorded in the Buddhist annals of that island.
​Ptolemy mentions the following provinces, rivers and towns on the east coast :—Country of the Kareoi : In the Kolkhic Gulf, where there is the pearl fishery: Sôsikourai, Kolkhoi an emporium, mouth of the river Solen. Inland cities of the Koreoi: Mendêla, Selour, Tittoua, Mantittour. Land of Pandion. In the Orgalic Gulf, Cape Koty, called also Kalligikon: Argeiron a town, Salour a mart. Inland cities of the Pandionoi: Tainour, Peringkarei, Korindiour, Tangala or Taga, Modoura the royal city of Pandion, Akour. Country of the Batoi: Nikama the metropolis, Thelkheir, Koroula a town: Inland cities of the Batoi: Kalindoia, Bata, Talara. In Paralia specially so called : the country of the Tôringoi: mouth of river Khabêros, Khabêris an emporium, Sabouras an emporium. Inland cities of the Paralia of the Sôrêtai : Kaliour, Tennagora, Eikour, Orthoura the royal city of Sôrnagos, Berê, Abour, Karmara, Magour.
The Arouarnori (Arvarnoi) : Podoukê an emporium, Melangi an emporium, mouth of the river Tyna, Kottis, Manarpha (or Manaliarpha a mart)—The inland cities of the Arvarnoi are these :- Kerauge, Phrourion, Karigê, Poloour, Pikendaka, Iatour, Skopoloura, Ikarta, Malanga the royal city of Basaranagos, Kandipatna.
North of the territory of the Arovarnoi, Ptolemy places Maisolia the region watered by the river Maisolos or the Krishna. Between Cape Comorin and Taprobane or Ceylon, he mentions an island Nanigeris and in the Argaric Gulf, another island Kory.
The eastern coast extending from Cape Cumari was inhabited by a tribe called Parathavar who subsisted by fishing. They were the Kareoi of Ptolemy. The correct form of the name in Tamil is Karaiyar or the “Coast men,” which is to this day the ordinary designation of the Parathavar tribe amongst the Tamils. Korkai, the chief town in the country of the Parathavar was the seat of the pearl fishery and the population of the town consisted mostly of pearl divers and chank-cutters. The pearl
    Tainoor—Thenoor (in the Tirushuli Taluq, Madura District) spoken of in Tamil poems as the capital of a chieftain called Thêr-van-komân.
    Tangala or Taga—Thiruth-thankâl (in the Satur Taluq, Tinnevelly District). The author of the Chilappathikaram states that the revenue of the towns of Thankâl and Viyalur were once assigned by a Pandyan king to the temple of the goddess at Madura.
    Modoura—The royal city Of the Pandyan is old Madura which is six miles south-east of the modern town of Madura.
​North of the Pandyan kingdom lay the country of the Vedduvar or Vedar (the Batoi of Ptolemy), which was also known as Panri-Nadu or “the land of pigs“ — the capital of this province was Nâgai or Nâga-paddinam. Very little is known of this town from Tamil poems of this period. It appears therefore that there was not much of communication between the Vedar and the rest of the Tamil people.
Beyond Panri-Nadu was Punal-Nadu or the Chola kingdom. The name Punal-Nadu signifies the land of floods. This province, which comprised the region around the mouth of the river Kaviri, was so called as it was subject to floods caused by the periodical freshes in the Kaviri. No dam had been built across the river at this period and there is no mention of the branch Coleroon which appears to have been formed by the river, many centuries, later, after the construction of a dam near Trichinopoly. The Chola capital was Uraiyoor on the southern bank of the Kaviri. The site of this capital is still known as Uraiyoor and is a suburb of the modern town of Trichinopoly. It was strongly fortified with a wall and ditch, and a jungle of thorny trees surrounding the ditch. Here was an ancient shrine of the Nigranthas which contained an image of Argha, with a triple umbrella under the shade of an Asoka tree. A town of even greater importance than Uraiyoor was Kaviripaddinam, which stood at the mouth of the river Kaviri and was a great emporium of trade. We have a full description of this town in the poems Chilappathikaramn and Paddinappalai. It was also known as Pukâr or Kâkanthi. The latter name is said to have been given to Kavirippaddinam, because it was once ruled by a prince called Kakanthan. The name Kakandi occurs in the Bharaut Inscriptions, which were engraved in the first or second century B. C. One of the inscriptions records the gift of the nun Sorna from Kakandi.
Kaviripaddinam (the Kamara of the Periplus and Khaboris of Ptolemy) or Pukâr was built on the northern bank of the ​the Kaviri river, which was then a broad and deep stream into which heavily laden ships entered from the sea without slacking sail. The town was divided into two parts, one of which was called Maruvur-Pâkkam and adjoined the sea coast, and the other, which was situated to the west of it, was called Paddinappâkkam. Between these two portions of the city was a large area of open ground, planted with trees at regular intervals, where the great market was held. The principal streets in Paddinap-pâkkam were the Royal Street, the Car Street and the Bazaar Street. The merchants, Brahmins, farmers, doctors and astrologers resided in separate streets. Surrounding the palace were the houses of charioteers, horse and elephant riders and soldiers who formed the body-guard of the king. Bards, minstrels and panegyrists, actors, musicians and buffoons, chank-cutters and those skilled in making flower garlands and strings of pearls, time-keepers whose duty it was to cry out the number bf each nàlikai or division of time, as it passed, and other servants of the palace, also resided within the limits of Paddinap-pâkkam. Near the beach in Maruvur-Pâkkam were raised platforms and godowns and warehouses with windows shaped like the eyes of the deer, where the goods landed from ships were stored. Here the goods were stamped with the tiger-stamp (the emblem of the Chola kings) after payment of customs duty, and passed on to the merchants’ warehouses. Close by were the settlements of the Yavana merchants, where many attractive articles were always exposed for sale. Here were also the quarters of foreign traders who had come from beyond the seas, and who spoke various tongues. Vendors of fragrant pastes and powders, of flowers and incense, tailors who worked on silk, wool or cotton, traders in sandal, aghil, coral, pearls, gold and precious stones, grain merchants, washermen, dealers in fish and salt, butchers, blacksmiths, braziers, carpenters, coppersmiths, painters, sculptors, goldsmiths, cobblers and toy-makers, had their habitation in Maruvur-Pakkam.
The palace of the Chola king in Kaviripaddinam is described as a magnificent building. “Skilled artisans from Magadha, mechanics from Marâdam, smiths from Avanti, carpenters from ​Yavana and the cleverest workmen in the Tamil land” had combined to make the building so grand and lovely that later generations believed it to be the work of no other than Mayan, the architect of the gods. The throne ball was of dazzling splendour, the walls being covered with plates of burnished gold. Its roof was supported by pillars, the shafts of which were made of coral and the capitals set with gems of brilliant colors. It was elaborately carved and painted, and from the edges of the roof hung strings of lustrous pearls. Besides the throne hall, there were various objects of interest in the palace, among which may be mentioned, a beautiful canopy of pearls sent by the king of Vajra, a hail of state furnished by the king of Magadha and an ornamental gateway presented by the king of Avanti. In the park surrounding the palace were ,“ wells worked by machinery, artificial hills and waterfalls, flowery arbours, broad lakes and deep tanks, labyrinths and shady alcoves with beds all built of crystal.” The park was also well stocked with small game such as “short-legged quails and long eared hares, leaping deer and mountain goats.” There were splendid temples in the city dedicated to the worship of the celestial tree Kalpaka, the celestial elephant Airâvata, Vijrâyuta (the thunderbolt of Indra the king of the Gods), Baladeva, Surya, Chandra, Siva, Subramanya, Sâthavâhana, Nigrantha, Kâma (god of love) and Yama (god of death). There were seven Viharas reputed to have been built by Indra, the king of the Gods, in which dwelt no less than 300 Buddhist monks. The temple of Yama was outside the walls of the town, in the burial ground. Outside the town were also two lakes called Surya Kundam and Chandra Kundam or “the lakes of the Sun and Moon” which were held very sacred. In the broad moat surrounding the fort “the waters of which were covered with beautiful flowers, the chirping of birds never ceased.” On the fort gates were painted the figure of the tiger, which as stated already was the ensign of the Cholas.
All the articles prepared in Egypt for the markets of Tamilakam, as well as all the produce of Tamilakam itself finally ​centred on the Chola coast. “Horses were brought from distant lands beyond the seas, pepper was brought in ships; gold and precious stones came from the northern mountains; sandal and aghil came from the mountains towards the west; pearls from the southern seas and coral from the eastern seas. The produce of the regions watered by the Ganges; all that is grown on the banks of the Kaviri; articles of food from Elam or Ceylon and the manufactures of Kalakam” (in Burmah) were brought tO the markets of Kaviripaddinam.
The Toringoi or Soretai who according to Ptolemy inhabited the country watered by the Kaviri were doubtless the Choliyar. Of the other towns mentioned by Ptolemy in this region “Orthoura the royal city of the Sornagos” is of course Uraiyoor or as it is more commonly written Uranthai, which I have alluded to above as the old capital of the Cholas; Karmara is either Kalumalam the ancient name of Shiyâli, the headquarters of a Taluq in the Tanjore District, or Kamalai the modern Tiruvaroor.
North of Punal-Nadu was Aruva-Nadu and beyond the latter Aruvàvadathalai or North Aruva. The two provinces Aruva and North Aruva were together known as Mavilankai or the great Lanka. The country is said to have been so named because its natural products were similar to those of Lanka or Ceylon. The capital of this province was Kachchi the modern Kanchipuram. It was fortified like all other chief towns in Tamilakam. There was a Buddhist Chaitya recently built by the Chola king. A Vishnu temple is also mentioned. The whole of this ​country was inhabited by the Aruvalar, a nomadic tribe, who were also called Kurumbar. It was the Chola king Karikal the Great, of whom I shall speak fully later on, who first settled these wandering tribes and divided their country into twenty-four Koddams or districts and parcelled it out to families of the Vellâla tribe. The list of the twenty-four Koddams and seventy-nine Nadus is as follows :—
| Koddam. | | Nadu. |
| Pulal | ... | Nayaru, Akudi, Athoor, Elumur. |
| Puliyur | ... | Kurmathur, Porur, Mankadu, Amarur, Koddur. |
| Eekkadu | ... | Kakkalur, Kachi. |
| Manavur | ... | Pashalai, Illathur, Konnur, Purichai, Perumur. |
| Chenkadu | ... | Ponnalur, Athikaththur. |
| Payyur | ... | Virpathi, Chevoor, Venkal. |
| Eyil | ... | Thandakarn, Makaral, Koneri. |
| Thamal | ... | Karuveedu, Vakaraivallai. |
| Uttukkadu | ... | Palayur, Thamalur, Kunnam, Neevaloor. |
| Kalathur | ... | Kurumbara, Vallipuram, Pattur, Nadunadu |
| Chembur | ... | Peraiyur, Pattanam, Mukanthur. |
| Amur | ... | Kumuli, Paluvur. |
| Eethoor | ... | Aram-uranganadu. |
| Venkunram | ... | Perunagar, Arasoor, Maruthadu, Nellur, Thellaru. |
| Palkunram | ... | Pasur, Thachoor, Meyoor, Singam-poruta-valanadu. |
| Ilankadu | ... | Ponnoor, Thennathoor, Makunam. |
| Kaliyur | ... | Kaliyur, Thiru-puli-vanam, Virpedu, Erikeelnadu, Pavoor. Chirukarai - Ayntha-nadu. |
| Paduvur | ... | Perunthimiri, Arkkadu, Chenkunram. |
| Kadikai | ... | Perunkanchi, Paranchi, Melkalathur. |
| Chenthirukai | ... | Polyur, Valakulam, Alathur, Arunkulam. |
| Kunrapattiram | ... | Mangalam, Venkalur, Ninnayam. |
| Venkadam | ... | Kudakarai, Pottappi, Thondaiman. |
| Velur | ... | Olukarai, Nenmili, Mathur. |
Many of the inland towns of the Aru-Varni mentioned by Ptolemy may be identified with the capitals, of the Koddams above mentioned as shown below:
| Karige | Kadigai. |
| Poleur | ... | Puliyur. |
| Pikendaka | ... | Palkunram. |
| Iatour | ... | Eethoor. |
| Ikarta | ... | Eekkadu. |
| Kandipatna | ... | Kunrapattiram. |
Milanga the royal city of Basarnagos appears to have been no other than Kânchipuram the capital of Mâvilankai. Phrourion, another city of the Arnvarnoi, was most probably the same as Sopatma mentioned in the Periplus. Phrourion in Greek, signifies “a garrisoned fort.” Sopatma is evidently Sopaddinam, which in Tamil means a fortified town. This was a sea-port and was commonly known to the Tamils as Eyilpaddinam, which conveys the same meaning as Sopaddinam, i.e., a fortified town. In these ports were high light-houses built of brick and mortar, which exhibited blazing lights, at night, to guide ships to the ports. The northern limit of Tamilakam on the east coast was at Vêrkâdu now known as Palavêrkâdu (or Pulicat). Beyond this was the country of the Vadukas who spoke a language called Vaduku. The king of Erumai-Nadu, or the modern Mysore, was also called the “chief of the Vadukas.” It is evident therefore that in this early period, the people north of Tirupaty and those who resided in Mysore spoke one and the same language Vaduku, and that Telugu and Canarese had not become separate dialects. In ​the interior below the ghats, Venkadam or the modern Tirupaty was the northern limit of the Tamil land. It is most remarkable that after the lapse of eighteen centuries, during which many, a kingdom rose and fell, and the Tamils, Telugus, Mahrattas, Musalmans, French and English successively rose to political power, the language boundary has remained unaltered on the eastern coast. The same cannot be said of the boundary of the Tamil land on the western coast, for, it has advanced there from Badagara to Kasaragod, a distance of about sixty miles.
North-west of Punal-Nadu and west of Aruva-Nadu was Maladu or Malayaman Nadu. This was the territory of a chief known as Malayaman or the mountain chief. He was a feudatory of the Chola king. The capital of this province was Koval on the banks of the river Pennai. This town is now called Thirukoilur and is situated in the Tirukoilur Taluk of the modern South Arcot District. Another large town in Maladu was Mullur or the thor town.
West of Maladu was Seetha-Nadu or the cold region which evidently included the northern half of the modern Coimbatore District and the Southern portion of the Nilgiri District, where the climate is much cooler than in other parts of Tamilakam. Between Seetha-Nadu and Kuda-Nadu, which, as I have already described, extended along the, Western, coast was KalkâNadu or the “rocky province.” This part of the country is remarkable for the rocks and hills with which it abounds. It included the North-western portion of the Travancore State, which is to this day known to the natives as Kakkanadu.
Of the sub-divisions of the several Nadus no complete, record is available except for a portion of Mavilankai, which I have given above. Tamil poets, allude, however, to Kundur Kûrram in the Chera kingdom, and Milalai Kûrram in that of the Chola, from which it will be seen that the Chera, Chola and Pandya dominions were also divided into kûrrams or districts.
* ↑ McCrindle's Periplus, page 124. Dr. Bhandarkar's Early History of the Dekkan, page1
* ↑ Chilappathikaram iii. 37. Manimekalai xvii 62. Ptolemy and the author of the Periplus call it Limirike, but as pointed out by Dr. Caldwell (Dravidian Grammar, Introduction, page 14), it is evidently Damirike. In the Indian segment of the Roman maps called from their discoverer, the Pentinger Tables, the portion of India to which this name is applied is called Damirike—McCrindle’s Periplus, page 126.
* ↑ Chilappatikaram vii, 1 and 2, Venkata Hill is the modern Tirupati about 100 miles North-west of Madras.
* ↑ Akam, 294.
* ↑ Ibid, 252.
* ↑ Chilappathikaram xxv. 156 to 158. The Pangalar appear to have been the people who inhabited Lower Bengal. The Kankar were those who occupied the banks of the Ganges higher up evidently the Gangaridae mentioned by Ptolemy. The Kattiyar were doubtless the people who gave the name Kattiwar to Guzerat.
* ↑ Manimekalai xxvi. 12 to 44,
* ↑ Chilappathikaram ii. 99 to 103.
* ↑ Ibid. xxiii. 198-141.
* ↑ Ibid. xvii.
* ↑ Manimekalai xxviii. 103.
* ↑ Manimekalai vi. 211 to 214.
* ↑ Ibid. xiv. 74 to 81. The Dipawanso and Mahawanso give a glowing but fabulous account of Buddha’s first visit to this seat: but the Tamil Buddhist poem Manimekalai, which was composed three centuries earlier, gives a very simple version of the story which is as follows:— "Two Naga kings contended for this seat, but neither was able to lift it off the ground; determined however not to give it up, with eyes all aflame and breathing fury, they led their great armies and fought a bloody battle. The great Teacher (Buddha) then appeared before them and said, “Cease your strife, this seat is mine”: then he sat upon it and preached the Law. Manimekalai, viii. 54 to 63.
* ↑ Manimekalai xvi. 15. Ptolemy mentions three groups of islands inhabited by cannibals. Yule has identified them with the Nicobars, Nekkavararm of Marco Polo, Lakavaram of Rashid-ud-din, McCrindle’s Ptolemy, 236 to 239.
* ↑ Manimekalai xxiv. 164 to 170. Ptolemy calls the island Iabadois or Sabadois (the island of barley) and its capital Argyre (Silver town) McCrindle’s Ptolemy. page 249.
* ↑ Nachchinarkiniyar gives a slightly different list of the Nadus. Instead of Veri and Puna-nadu he mentions Olinadu and Ponkar-nadu. Tholkapiyam Chollathikaram, Sutram 400.
* ↑ Manimekalai, xiii. 13.
* ↑ Puranânuru, Stanza 58, line 8.
* ↑ Chilappatikaram, xv. 2.
* ↑ McCrindle's Ptolemy, page 60
* ↑ Chilappathikaram, xiv, 62-67
* ↑ Ibid. xiv. 143 to 218.
* ↑ Ibid. Pathikam 40-41.
* ↑ Ibid. xiv. 7 to 11.
* ↑ Mathuraikanchi, lines 467-487.
* ↑ Nakkirar’s Tiru-murukârrup-padai, line 71. Kalith-thokai, stanza 35, line 17. Stanza 02, lines 11 and 65. The tradition that the name Nan-madak-kudal owed its origin to the four temples Tiru-âiavây, Tirunallaru, Tiru-madankai and Tiru-naduvur appears to be an invention of the Puranic age.
* ↑ Kaliththokai, stanza 67, lines 3 to 5.
* ↑ Mathuraik-kanchi, 340-342.
* ↑ Thiru-murukattup-padai, 71-77.
* ↑ Chilappathikaram, xi. 91-103.
* ↑ Ibid., xi. 80-85.
* ↑ Guuasâgara in his commentary to the Yâpparunkalam of Amrithasâgara, eighth sutram of the third part Olipiyal, gives the limits of Chen-Tamil-nadu or the province where pure Tamil was spoken “as north of the Vaigai river, south of the Marutha river, east of Karuvur and west of Maruvur.” This would include approximately, the northern half of the modern district of Madura and the Tanjore and Trichinopoly districts. It would exclude Madura, the capital of the Pandya. The commentator Chenâvaraiyar and after him, Nachchinâr-kkiniyar accepted this definition of Chen-Tamil-nadu, and they mention the names of the surrounding Nadus in the following order from the South-east to the North-east of Chen Tamil Nadu :—Ponkar, Oli, Then-pandi, Kuddam, Kudam, Pauri, Karka, Cheetham, Pooli, Malayamanadu, Aruva and Aruva vada thalai. Gunasgara gave the same list with this difference that instead of Ponkar and Oli, he had Ven and Punal Nâdus. Sankara-namach-chivayar rejected with very good reason, this definition of Chen Tamil Nadu, in his commentary to Pavananti’a Nannul, Chollathikaram, Peyariyal, sutrams 14 and 16. He was of opinion that Chen Tamil Nadu ought to have included Pandi Nadn and excluded the Chola country or Punal Nadu.
* ↑ The names Pooli-Nadu and Kuda Nadu survived till the Mysorean conquest of Malabar, in the latter part of the eighteenth century, though slightly altered into Payanad, Polanad and Kutnad. Paynad comprised 9 amshams around the modern town of Quilandy, and Polanad 22 amahams surrounding Calicut. Kutnad consisted of 24 amshams in the modern Taluk of Ponani. Malabar Manual, Vol. I, pp. 647 to 666.
* ↑ Chilappathikaram xxv. 9-22. Adiyarkku-Nallar the commentator of the Chilappathikaram identified Karur with Tiruvanjai-kalam, a later capital of the Chera kingdom, near the mouth of the Periyar: but Ptolemy places it much higher up the river, and I believe the latter is correct.
* ↑ Journal of the Asiatic Society, Vol. II, p. 33 Sewell’ Lists of Antiqnities, Vol. I, p. 261.
* ↑ Manimekalal xxviii. 2 to 68.
* ↑ Chilappathikaram xxvi 62 and xxx. 51. The commentator states that Adakamadam was Thiru-ananthapuram (the modern Trivandrum) or Haripuram : bus there is nothing in the text of the poem to Warrant this conclusion.
* ↑ Manimekalai xxviii. 127.
* ↑ Chilappathikaram Pathikam, line 1.
* ↑ Erukkaddur Thayankannanar—Akam 148.
* ↑ Paranar,—Puram 343.
* ↑ Poykaiyar—Puram 48.
* ↑ Kurunkoliyar-kilar, Puram 17.
* ↑ "It would seem as if the Kotta river had at one time found its way to the sea by this outlet (Agalappula) instead of by the channel flow in use.”—Malabar Manual, Vol. I, p. 12.
* ↑ McCrindle’s Ptolemy, p. 48 ff.
* ↑ Ibid., p. 180 ff.
* ↑ Malabar Manual, Vol. I, p. 356.
* ↑ This is the Pandarani of Portuguese writers, the Flandrina of Friar Odoric, the Fandreeah of Rowlaudson’s Tahafat-ul-mujahidin and the Fandarina of Ibn Batuta, Malabar Manual, Vol. 1, p. (72). “Tenor itself“ says Yule “may be Tyndis; it was an ancient city, the seat of a principality, and in the beginning of the 16th century had still much shipping and trade. Perhaps, however, a more probable site is a few miles further north Kadalundi, i. e., Kadaltundi, the raised ground by the sea standing on an inlet three or four miles south of Beypoor. It is now a port, but persons on the spot seem to think that it must formerly have been one and in communication with the backwater.” He adds in a note supplied by Dr. Burnell “The composition of Kadal and Tundi makes Kadalundi by Tamil rules” McCrindle’s Ptolemy, p. 50. With due reference to so great an authority as Dr. Burnell, I should however state that I am not aware of any rule of Tamil Grammar by which the words Kadal and Tundi can combine and form Kadalundi. The only objection to my identification of Tundis with Thondi near Pallikara will be that it is nearly 800 stadia from Muziris or Kadungollur and not 500 stadia as stated in the Periplus ; but the calculation of distances by sea voyages at this early period when navigators had no mechanical contrivances whatever to register the speed of vessels, cannot he expected to be correct.
* ↑ Muchiri is the Muyiri of Muyiri-kodu, which, says Yule “appears in one of the most ancient of Malabar inscriptions as the residence of the king of Kodungolur or Kranganur, and is admitted to be practically identical with that now extinct city.” It is to Kranganur he adds that all the Malabar traditions point as their oldest seaport of renown: to the Christians it was the landing place of St. Thomas the Apostle—McCrindle’s Ptolemy p. 51.
* ↑ Yule conjectured that Bakarei must have been between Kanetti and Kollam poilon) in Travancore. McCrindle’s Ptolemy. p. 134.
* ↑ Puram, Stanzas 127 to 136.
* ↑ “Karonra” says Caldwell “is mentioned in Tamil traditions as the ancient capital of the Chera, Kera or Kerala kings, and is generally identified with Karur, an important town in the Coimbatore District, originally included in the Chera kingdom. It is situated on the left bank of the river Amarâvati, a tributary of the Kaviri near a large fort now in ruins—” (Introd., pp. 96, 97). This identification rests merely upon the similarity of the names Karoura and Karur. Dr. Caldwell would not have made this mistake, if he had been acquainted with the ancient Tamil poems which I have taken as my authorities.
* ↑ Dr. Buchanan identified Cottonara With Kadattanadu the name of a district in the calicut country celebrated for its pepper. Dr. Burnell identified it with Kolattanâdu, the district about Tellicherry, which he says is the pepper district. MeCrindle’s Periplus, p. 132. But when we compare Cottonara with the names of the ancient divisions of the Tamil-land, the identity of Cottonara with Kuddanâdu will readily suggest itself.
* ↑ Manimekalai, xiii. N. 3 to 7.
* ↑ Chilappathikaram, xv. N. 14 & 15, and xxvii: N. 68, 69 and 110.
* ↑ Kalith-thokai-stanza 104 N. 1 to 4. Chilappathikaram, xx. N. 17 to 22. “The river Pahruli, and the mountain Kumari, surrounded by many hills, were submerged by the raging sea.” The commentator Nallarkiniyar states that between the Pahruli and Kumari rivers there was a tract of land extending to 700 Kavathams: and that it was divided into 7 Thenga Nadus, 7 Mathurai Nadus, 7 Munpalai Nadus, 7 Pinpalai Nadus, 7 Kunra Nadus, 7 Kunakarai Nadus, and 7 Kurumporal Nadus, or 49 Nadus, in all. But he does not quote his authority for this statement.
* ↑ During the reign or Tissa, the sovereign of Calyani, the province was submerged by the overflow of the ocean. This was about B. C. 200. Mahavansa. L. C. Wijesiuba Mudaliar’s edition, Chap. xxii, p. 84. The event is thus recorded in the Rajavali. “In these days the sea was seven leagues from Kalyany; but on account of what had been done to the priest (who had been tortured by the king of Kalyany) the gods who were charged with the conservation of Ceylon became enraged, and caused the sea to deluge the land......... In this time, of Tissa Raja, 100,000 large towns’ 970 fisher’s villages, and 400 villages inhabited by pearl fishers making together eleven-twelfths of the territory of Kalyany was swallowed up by the sea. Rajavali : Vol. II., pp. 180, 190. Sir J. E. Tennent disbelieved the traditions of the former extent of Ceylon and submersion of vast regions by the sea, and remarked as follows :—“ But evidence is wanting to corroborate the assertion of such an occurrence at least within the historic period, no record of it exists in the earliest writings of the Hindus, the Arabians or Persians.” Tenant’s Ceylon, Vol. I., pp. 6 and 7. The mention of a similar catastrophe at the southern extremity of India, about the same period, in Tamil works, may be taken as strong evidence of the occurrence.
* ↑ McCrindle’s Ptolemy, p. 57, ff. and 183, ff.
* ↑ Maduraik-kanchi, II. 134, 144.
* ↑ Chilappaithikaram, xxvii. 127.
* ↑ Akam, 90.
* ↑ Maduraikkanchi, II. 75—88.
* ↑ Old stanza quoted in Nachichinarkiniyar in his commentary to Tholkappiyam, Porul-athikaram, sutram 150.
* ↑ Ainkurunuru, stanzas 54 and 57.
* ↑ Chilappathikaram, xxiii. 75 and 118, 119. McCrindle states that Tangala now represented by Dindigul an important and flourishing town lying at a distance of 32 miles north by west from Madura, McCrindle’s Ptolemy, p. 184.
* ↑ Chilappathikaram, x. 242, xi. 1 to 4 and Akam, 121.
* ↑ Chilappathikaram. v., 7 to 63.
* ↑ It is also mentioned in the Pattavali of the Kharataraguchha. Indian Antiquary, vol. xi.. p. 247 and vol. xxi., p. 235.
* ↑ Chilapp-athikaram.
* ↑ Paddinap-palai—II. 134—-136.
* ↑ Chilapp-athikairam
* ↑ Chilapp-athikaram. Manimekhalai, xix. 107—109.
* ↑ Chilapp-athikaram.
* ↑ Manimekhalai, xix. 102—105.
* ↑ Ibid. xii. 96—97.
* ↑ Chilpp-athikaram
* ↑ Paddinap-palai, 1. 39.
* ↑ Manimekhalai, v. II. 110—112.
* ↑ Paddinppalai, I 40.
* ↑ Ibid., II. 185—191.
* ↑ Pinkalanthai and Thivakaram.
* ↑ Chiru-panarrup-Pudai, II. 119—120. In Yule’s map Melange is placed at Krishnapatam a little to the South of the North Pennar River, which he identifies with Ptolemy’s Tyna. McCrindle’s, Ptolemy, p. 67. Cunningham who takes the Maisolos to be the Godavari, locates Melanga in the neighbourhood of Elur. Cunningham’s Geog. of Anc. India, pp. 539-40.
* ↑ Manimekhalai, xxviii., II. 175-176.
* ↑ Perum-panarrup-pudai, I. 373. When Hiuen Tsiang visited Kanchipuram, five centuries later, the circumference of the town was about 30 lis or 5 miles. There were about one hundred monasteries, wherein resided nearly 10,000 Buddhist monks. There were also about 80 temples of gods, visited by monks who went about naked (nigranthas) Si-yu-ki. Book X.
* ↑ I take this list from a document called the Thondai-mandalapaddayam. It gives the names of 24 Koddams and 77 Nadus, although in the same document it is said that the total number of Nadus was 79. The names of these Koddams and Nadus occur in the Chola inscriptions of the eleventh century A. D.
* ↑ McCrindle identified Karige with Kadapa, the chief town of the modern Cuddapah District, Pikeudaka, he thought may have been Pennakonda in the Bellary District.
* ↑ Chiru-pan-arrup.pada, II. 152—-153.
* ↑ Perum-pan-arrup-padai, II. 346—350.
* ↑ Old stanza quoted by Nachchinark-iniyar in the commentary to Tholkappiyam, Porul-athikaram, Sutram 113. Nakkirar, Akam 252.
* ↑ Ammuvana, Akam 35.
* ↑ Pura-nanuru, 24.