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TAMIL STUDIES

\\

MAP OF

Ind|/\

*|/

u<-7

'^'^Ti

.h^'t^^iitu^yh D)

\ \

/"**""

TAMIL STUDIES
OR

ESSAYS ON THE HISTORY OF THE TAMIL

PEOPLE, LANGUAGE, RELIGION

AND LITERATURE

BY

M.

SRINIVASA AIYANGAR,

M.A.

FIRST SERIES

WITH MAP AND PLATE

MADRAS
AT THE GQARDIAN PRESS
'

1914

J[All rights reserved"}

G. C. LOGANADHAM BROS, THE GUARDIAN PRESS, MADRAS

D3
T3S7

To
Tbe
SIR
VConourable
k.cy.o.,
C.s.i.,

HAROLD STUART,

i.c.s,

/Aerober of Qouncil, /AadraS

Tb'S 9olun)e
3s by Hind pern))SSion roost reSpectfutty
Pedicatecf

By
(Cs a

^bs ^utbor

bu")bte tribute of gratitude

2n5ien5io

PREFACE
A
want.

popular hand-book

to

the

history,

from

original sources, of the

Tamil people has been a

In these essays an attempt has been

made
of

for the first

time to put together the

so
as
to

results

past

researches,

present
of

before the

the

reader a complete bird's-eye view

history of

early

Tamil culture and

civilisation.

The

several topics have

been treated from the stand-

point of

modern

criticism, traditions

and legends
caution.

being discarded or utilized

with

great

They
of

are based

chiefly

upon

materials,
of

which
study

have been gathered

in the course

my

Tamil

literature,

ethnology
Sir

and epigraphy
Harold Stuart
Indian
Civil

begun while working under

and Mr.

W.

Francis, both of

the

Service, in connection with the

of

Madras Censuses

1891 and 1901 and the revision of District

Gazetteers.

Some
light

of

the

theories explained

here might be open to corrections

tions
in

and

altera-

the

of

further discoveries

and

Vlll

PREFACE

investigations.

Any

criticism

calculated
of

to

enhance the accuracy and usefulness

the

book

will

be thankfully received.
especially

My

obligations to published works

in

to the contributions

the

Indian Antiquary

and Epigraphia Indica

this

are extensive.

list

of the

English books consulted in the preparation of

work
due
to

is

foot-notes
are

given separately to avoid numerous and references. My sincere thanks Rao Bahadur M. Rangacharyar, M.A.^

Professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Philology,

Presidency College, Madras, for the introduction

to
this

volume,

and

to

Mr.

P.

Subba Rao,

B. A., of the Madras Record Office, for valuable

suggestions while revising the

manuscript and

correcting the proofs for the press.

ENGLISH WORKS CONSULTED

Bray, Denys. Buhler, Dr. Burnel], Dr. A. C.-

The Brahui Language.

Indian Palasography.
of South Indian Palaeography. On the Aindra School of Sanskrit Grammarians.

Elements

Caldwell, Bishop.
Chitty,
District

Comparative

Grammar

of

Simon

Casie.

Colbrooke, H. T.
Gazetteers

the Dravidian Languages. The Tamil Plutarch. Miscellaneous Essays. (New Edition.^

Epigraphia Indica.
Farrar,

Canon F.W.

Forbes, Capt.
Francis, W. Gesenius, Dr. Grierson, Dr.

Language and Languages. The Languages of Further India.

Madras Census Report, 1901.

Gundert, Dr. H.

Hebrew Lexicon. The Languages of India. The Linguistic Survey of India. The I\Ialayalam Grammar.

Malayalam Dictionary. Hasting's Encyclopcedia of Religion and Ethics. Hovelacque, M. The Science of Language, Hultzsch, Dr. E. South Indian Inscriptions.

Hunter,

Sir

W. W.

Non-Aryan Languages
Imperial Gazetteer.

of India,

Haberlandt, Dr. M.
Imperial Gazetteer Indian Antiquary. Journal of the Royal Liddei and Scott. Kanakasabhai, V.

Ethnology.
of India

(New

Edition).

Asiatic Society,

London.

Keane, A. H. Letourneau,

Greek Lexicon. The Tamils 1800 years ago. Ethnology.

Sociology.


ENGLISH WORKS CONSULTED
Macleane, Dr.

Madras Christian

Max

Muller, F.
J.

M'Crindie,

W.

Manual of Administration. College Magazine, The The Science of Language. Ancient India &c.

Nagamiah, V. Nelson, J. H.
Nesfield,
J.

C
U.

The Travancore State Manual. The Madura District Manual.

Theory
of Indian Castes.

Oppert, Dr. G.

The Aboriginal

Pope, Dr. G.

Inhabitants of Bharatavarsha. The Kural of Tiruvalluvar.

Quatrefages, A.

The Tiruvachakam. The Human Species.

descriptive Catalogue of Tamil Manuscripts, Vol. I. The Buddhist India. The Mysore Gazetteer.

Rangacharya, M.

Rhys Davids, Dr.

Rice, L.
Risley, Sir

H.

H.

Epigraphia Carnatica. The Peoples of India.

Principles of Philology.

Sayce, A. H.

Comparative

Seignohos, Ch.
Seshagiri Sastri, M.

History of Ancient Civilisation.

Smith, Vincent A.

Report on Sanskrit and Tamil Manuscripts, Nos. 1 and 2. Early History of India Asoka.
;

H. A. Taylor, Meadows.
Stuart, Sir

Madras Census Report, 1891.

History of India. and Castes of Tribes Southern India. Primitive Culture. The Riddle of the Ramayana. The Malay Archipelago.

Thurston, E.
Tylor, E. B. Vaidya, C. V. Wallace, A. R.

The

Whitney,

W. D.

The

Life

and

Growth

of

Language.
Wijesinha, L. C. Williams, Monier,

The Mahawanso.
Sanskrit Dictionary. Glossary of Indian Terras.

Wilson, Prof. H. H.

INTRODUCTION
It

is

with

very

great pleasure

that

have,

in

compliance with the wish of the author, written this

short introduction to this
essays

volume

of really interesting

on subjects

relating to the history of the

Tamil

people and their culture and civilisation.

The

history

of the famous inhabitants of the ancient Pandya, Chola

and Chera kingdoms

Jess valuable as a

is

in

no way

less

edifymg or

source of inspiration than the history

of the inhabitants of
is

any other part of India, which

historic.

throughout highly

The

progress of Tamil
restlessness

civilisation

from

its

primitive rude
its

and
day

wild aggressive valour to

nity
is

ordered sense of

humavarious

and

exalted moral

and

religious

aims of a

later

undoubtedly the

result of the operation of

momentous
It is

influences, the chief ones

in origin

have naturally been religious

a fact well of civilisation

among which and character.

of the history

known to the students that, in some of its earlier

stages of deve-

lopment,nothing acts so powerfully as an advancingly

ethical religion in stimulating
in

and sustaining progress

the
virile

human communities.

Accordingly
of the

vitality

and undecaying vigour

Tamil people,

subjected to the mellowing influences of Buddhism,

Jainism

gave

rise in

and earlier as due time to

well
their

as

later

Brahmanisra

sweet, practical

and

in more than one respect heart-enthralling culture, of which the great Tamil classics, together with their noble Saiva and Vaishnava hymnology not to

XU

INTRODUCTION
their

mention
temples

mighty and majestic

constitute

God-aspiring even today the enduring monu-

ments of beauty and glorious divine enthusiasm. To

construct and to explain the history of such a people,
characterised by such a noteworthy progress in civilisation

and possessed

of

such an enduringly valuable

culture, must indeed be always fascinatand innumerable avenues of enquiry and research are certain to open out before the watchful eyes of the
ing;

and edifying

trained
this

and sincerely earnest student trying to help on work of historic up-buildingand exposition. Here
field of research, criticism

in this

and

construction,

there

is

ample scope

for ethnological, anthropological,

and sociological investigations of more than one kind; there is abundant room for the work of antiquarian discovery and illumination in which all the various
types of archaeologists

may

take part to their heart's

content

and written

records of various

kmds

are

also available

in quantities large

enough

to satisfy

the hunger of

many

voracious enquirers after historic

truth, or literary

beauty or linguistic
is

development.

The

field for

cultivation

both

wide

and

well are

endowed; but

earnest

and

capable

labourers

unhappily as yet too few.

I

have no doubt
to

that these essays will act as

an eye-

opener

many

inhabitants

of the

Tamil land who

that

take a true and cultured pride in the history of their

own

country.

am
many

far

from

saying

all

the

various opinions, which Mr. Srinivasa Aiyangar

has

expressed on so

topics in this volume, will be

INTRODUCTION
found
It is

XIU
all.

to

be absolutely faultless and acceptable to

opinions,

invariably the fate of

relating to the

elements of what
to

may

be called constructive history,

undergo more or less rapid modifications as more and more materials become available for examination and subsequent structural utilisation and employment.

Moreover, in dealing with problems of cons-

tructive history, there arise very often peculiar

tempta-

tions to base conclusions

on

insufficieni or inaccurate

data as well as
to

to

adjust the scantily available evidence

preconceived

conclusions.

My
of

reading of the

essays, comprised in this

volume

Tamil
such

Studies,

has led

me

to feel that their author has earnestly

far as possible, all

end-

eavoured to avoid, as

pitfalls,

and has calmly and courageously exercised his judgment in the free and clear light of unbiassed reason. That he has had adequate equipment for
dealing

with the various

in his essays,

problems, which he
well

has

handled

comes out

enough from
well

the essays themselves, seeing that

they are so

calculated to stimulate thought and bring into exist-

ence that curiosity which

of all true love of

is

the necessary

precursor

scholarly investigation, enquiry and

research.

The

gathered his
put them

which he has sought and varied materials and endeavoured to

way,
in

together in
is

the spirit of

the architect
of

and
by

the interpreter,

assuredly worthy
of the

imitation
of the

many more

students

history

Tamil

people and their culture and civilisation.

M,

RANGACHARYA


TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE.

Preface

...

...

...
...

... ...

vii

Introduction
Essay
I.

...

xi

The Tamil People. Introduction the

'

Dravida and the Cauda contrasted Dr. Caldwell's use term Dravidian linguistic sense etymology Dravida' the word Tamil exot the word ancient limits plained the Tamil country the Tamils a mixture ot three races according Tamil literature Risley's theory examined determining racial varieties lor data anthropometry archaeology language and literary traditions The The Tamil People Essay place of the Dravidians the human family different views of ethnologists Kisley, Hasckel, Topinard and Keane Caldwell's aborigines- theories concerning the Dravidian mithe early the Lemugration Aryans evidence from ethnology rian theory from geography Dr. Hunfrom philology theory the Mongolian or Norththeory Kanakasabhai's arguments Eastern conclusion... examined the Nagas The Tamil People Essay (5)The North-Western origin from evidence philology Mr. Bray's views about the Brahthe Brahuis, Todas and the uis the archaeological evidence the Vellalas Dravidians and Assyrians the word Vellala literary evidence probable explained date of migration sea route improbable commercial relation with the West no early the ship the Aryan conquest Tamil words
meaning

name

Dravida

'

explained

its

ethnological
of

its

social significance

'

its

to

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

II.

(continued).

in

(1)

(2)

(a)

(b)

(c)

ter's

(4)

(3)

...

17

III.

(continued).

(a)

(b)

(c)

lor


XVI

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE.

of the

South according to the Sanskrit epics the Rakthe theories of the neo-Timil School
the

shasas and
religious

Vanaras'

customs

Summary
Castes.

their
...

social
...

and
...

33

Essay IV.
ing

The Tamil
castes

the three types of pre-Aryans the caste system introduced by the Aryans but it was regional the Vellalas not included their occupations the occupational castes Tamil and Malayalam castes compared how the modern castes sprung from the territorial the the Naga tribes tribes the hill tribes Maravas and Eyinas the Parayasand Idaiyas the the fishing castes the Pallas and Shanars the caste the Kammalas dissolving factors svstem created disputes the tribal quarters in their origin of the Paraiyas ancient towns former greatness origin of the Kaikolas the Tamils not good weavers the Panans and other castes origin of the Kammalas the food ... origin of caste pollution of the Eyinas

Brahmans

the

Tne Tamil speakBrahmans and the non-

58

Essay V.

The Tamil

Castes.

the caste system bred discontent and quarrels castes enumeratright and left hand disputes ed the caste privileges Kammalas and Kaikothe social traditional origin of the division las Kammalas and Kaikolas ot the position origins and Pallis or Vanniyas suggested M. Rangacharya's theory examined Prof. the distinction not found in Malabar (1) polidisputes tical origin (2) supported t5y social

'continued). The

and

(3)

confirmed by religion

Essay

Its The Tamil VI. tance the ten heads under which Tamil letters are treated the Vatteluttu and the Grantha- Tamil characters the age of Vatteluttu date of the Tolkapyam by whom the alphabet was introduced the two opposite

Summary Alphabet. impor...

92


TABLE OF CONTENTS

XVll

PAGE.

Caldwell and Buhler examined arguments m support of . Thomas's not derived from Brahmi Vatteluttu theory and Brahmi were in use simultaneously why supplanted by Grantha-Tamil- which was developed from the Pallava characters how much of modern Tamil characters adapted vowel-confrom Vatteluttu the shape of sonants described why the modern Tamil the number characters are an^^ular in form and order of letters pronunciation letters accent and emphasis origin peculiar toTamil of letters interchange of letters of similar sounds how to determine pure Tamil words initial letters and middle letters... 113 final letters
theories

views

of

Essay VII.

The Place

spoken^ the Tamil's knowledge of geography principles of philology changes Tamil an agglutiin the growth of a language native tongue can never become inflectioKal it traditional origin is one of the Dravidian ianjiuages Sanskrit and Tamil compared as regards their vocabulary Tamil words in orthography Dr. Caldwell's views Sanskrit examined word structure word formation coalescence in words or Sandlii compound or words phrases etymology differences between Tamil and Sanskrit prosody in the two languages other peculiarities of Tamil the Indo-Germanic affinity the Dravidian influence on the Sanskrit dialects affiliation of Tamil the Dravidian and the Uralo-AItaic languages causes for the difference position in the linguistic system early Tamil (vocabulary, grammar, style and matter) mediaeval Tamil modern Tamil needtor prose literature. 141

Where

of Tamil in Philology.

Essay VIII. Periods of Tamil Tamil literature characteristic B

Literature
of race^

insepa-


XVlll

TABLE OF CONTENTS

the three classes of Tamil rable from religion music and the drama the extent literature mostly of polite literature translations the ethical literature no Tamil literature without

the Aryan influence

ting

the exegetical period and the modern period the anti-Brahmanical School prose literature Essay IX. The Tamil Academies. Introduction references to Tamil academies explanation
trom Sanskrit
(6)

absence of critical among the Tamils examination of Damodaram Suryanarayana's of Caldclassification of other western scholars of well's cycles M. Julien Vinson proposed classification the pre-academic period the academic period (3)the hymnal period translations
spirit
Pillai's

history of

literature

wan-

of

(1)

(2)

(4)

(5)

...

...

...

185

Sangam and aval the scope of the upper limit of the Sangam the essay described Agaslperiod the first academy yar and his students their works the date of the location of Dakthe academy discussed shana Madura the second academy described first its date the a continuation of the importance of the third academy described when established and where its members (Thiruvalluvamalai, a forgery) how and
of the terms

its wtien broken value of encouraged by Tamil demies literature account of the acadekings summary mies refinement of the Tamil language how liberal presents to poets poetical works passed

the

up religion of members Nakkirar's account later aca-

the

French

academy and
-..

the
...

sangams
...

compared
Essay X.

...

...

231

the dates

TheTenTens. Description
of the several

kings

difficult to

of certain ancient

of the Chera get their dates description [Tamil customs the political
books

of the

work


TABLE OF CONTENTS

xix
PAGE.

condition

the country guage of the work. ...

ot

the
...

style

and

lan-

264
Introduction

Essay XI

religion
rai

The Vaishnava
of the early

Saints

Tamils Brahmanization of the Tamils growth of Brahmanism among the beginning of the Vaishnava the Tamils the Guruparampathe Vaishnava saints sect

Alvars or Saints iheir dates Tirumalisai Alvar his age Tiruppan Alvai and Tondaradippodi Alvar Kulasekhara Alvar and bis date Tirumangai Alvar his date Periyalvar and his date Andal Nammalvar, the age of the last of the Vaishnava saints Nammalvar conclusion ... ... ... 281
first

the

Essay XII.
tion

of the terms Malayalam and M^dabar people of Kerala were Tamils the which was a early Tamil poets of Kerala Tamil country (1) geographical evidence (2) from religious literature the Nambis Or Nambudris and the Bhatta Brahmans (3) ethno-

etymology

The Origin of Malayalam. Introduc-

logical
(5)

formative causes conclusion 340 Conclusion. The Tamil people the Tamil Brahmans the Tamil alphabet and language the Tamils Tamil religion Exvocabulary
...

literaryevidence Kannassa Ramayanam Krishnappattu Eluttacchan Unnayi Variyar linguistic evidence grammar
(tt)

evidence

(4)

archaeological

evidence

(a)

(b)

ot

literature

hortation

377

Appen

The Early Pandya kings

Note on Agastya's Grammar Tlie Age ot Manikka Vachakar Note on the word Tiyan

... ...
... ...

387 397 401 411

419

Index

ABBREVIATIONS Iraiyanar. P. T. Periya Tirumozhi. Agap. Agapporul Pey. Peyalvar. Agat. Agattiyam. Ping, Pingalandai Akam. Akananuru. Poi. Poigai Alvar. Cher. Cheraman Peruinal. A. Porunararruppadai. Chin Cintamani. Pur. Purananuru. D. A. Dandi's Alankaram. P. V. M. Purapporul VenbaEp. Ind. Epigraphia Indica. malai. Ind. Ant. Indian Antiquary. eview. Ind. Rev. Indian Sikandiyar. Silappaciikaram. R. A. S. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, London. F. P. or Sirupanarruppadai. Kal. Kalittogai or Kalladam. Kam. Kamban's Ramayanam. Sivavakkiyar. Kap. Kapilar. South Indian InscripKur. Kural. Mani. Manimekalai. Tat. Sek. Tatva Sekharam. T. T. Tirugnana Sambaiidar's Mut. Muttanayanar Antadi. Tevaram, or Tiruttondar Nak. Nakkirar. Tiruvandadi. Nan. Nannul. Ned. Xedunalvadai. T. v. Tiruvachakam. Tol. Tolkappiyam. Nig. Chudamani Nigandu. Pat. Pattuppattu or Pattinappalai. Vil. Villiputtur Alvar.
of P.
*'

Sik.
Sil.

J.

S.

Sir.

Siv.
S.

I.

I.

tions.

THE TAMIL PEOPLE

Who
problems
the

are Dravidians

Whence and how

did they

come to South
in

India? These are

some of the outstanding

During the past
fifty

Indian ethnology.

years various theories have

been put forward from

point

of

view either of philology or anthro-

pology or
last
is

literature, and it cannot be said that the word has been pronounced on the subject. It
in

not intended

these short papers

to put

forth

any new hypothesis, but

existing

to bring together

all

the

theories bearing

on the subject, and

to ex-

amine them in the light of the evidence furnished by ancient Tamil literature and the labours of reputed scholars and savants. The word Dravida is widely used as a synonym
for
its

Tamil and
origin

at the outset

it

is

desirable

to explain

and meaning. According

to Sanskrit pandits

'Dravida' was the

try
in

name
;

of a particular tract of

counin

Southern India

and

it

is

so

defined

the

Sabdakalpadruma on the authority

rata.

of the

Mahabhaalong

The country

called

'Dravida' extended

2
the east
to

TAMIL STUDIES
coast
of

India from Tirupati (near Madras)

for

interior.

Cape Coraorin and The name is

Prof.

about sixty miles to the

applied to the

also loosely

south of the Peninsula.

Wilson
in

and

Sir

Monier-Williams

give

three senses

country

in

which the word is used (1) the which the Tamil language is spoken; (2)
(3)

an inhabitant of the country; and

manical tribe calledthe
first
'

a class of Brah'.

five

Dravidas

In accepting

meaning western scholars and Indian pandits the seem to agree. As regards the second, differences of Dravida was opinion exist. Whether the name
applied to
all

the

peoples living in
or

that

country

or only to a

particular caste

tribe

remains to

be

settled.

The Tamil-speaking non-Brahmans have

Brahmans who
*

always called themselves Tamilar but never Dravidas.

And

the Tamil

called
'

themselves

the mahajanaiii or the

great

men

were,

and even
of

now
as

are,

known

to

the other

Brahmans

India

Dravidas.

Sankaracharya

(A. D. 820),

who was
and
This
Tamilin

a great Sanskrit scholar and religious reformer, refers

to

Trignanasambanda, a Brahman
poet, as

Saivite Saint

Tamil
use of

Dravida

Sisii

(Dravida child).
to-day.

the

word obtains even

speaking

Brahman
Presidency

who
is

has settled

down

the

Bombay
the

spoken of as a 'Dravid' and

word is affixed to the name of the person, e. g., Chintaman Dravidy Natesa Dravid. But the Tamilspeaking non-Brahmans are known by their caste
titles

Mudaliyar,

Pillai,

and so on.

Similarly,

the


THE TAMIL PEOPLE
Teliigus of the

north

call

the

Tamil

Brahmans

VDravidlu' Or 'Dravidas' while the Tamil non-Brah-

clearly

mans are called Sudralu or Dakshanadi-Sudralu. These show that in practice the ethnological: application of the
to

name Dravida was

class,

restricted

and limited

particular

namely, the Tamil-speakin

Brahmans.

The

significance of

the

word Dravida

in

the

expression, Pancha Dravida has

now

to

be explained.
of

At a very early period

in

the

history

the

Indo-

Aryan people,

the

Tamil-speaking Brahmans had

developed a system of social and religious customs

and practices which became a marked feature of They had 3 separate ritualistic that community.^ system their social code was different from that of ^ and their laws also were the northern Brahmans
; ;

Dramidachar and other early commentators on the Brahmasutras, some Aryan reformers and law-givers he. longed to the Dravida Brahman community.
1.

Baudhayana,

Dravida Brahmans are Omission to perform any of them entails degradation or even excommunication. A Dravida Brahman
of the five

2. The religious ceremonies more numerous and elaborate.

cannot eat
the

fish

or

meat,

and cannot accept

food or water from

non-Brahman without losing his caste. A married woman cannot wear white cloth, and when tying it she must pass it between her legs. A widow should remove not only her
hands
of a

ornaments but

also

her hair, a

custom prevalent

in

the

Tamil

country at least from the second or third

seen from the following lines of Kalladanar

century A. D. as will be
:

OjuSinrsi sd(giJ)u:)Qm(oBr

[Trans

Observed the

cutting of the fair,

to

soft,

black-sand-like

hair of the bright-faced

women

enforce their widowhood.)

4
different.

TAMIL STUDIES
These
were generally known as Dravifar as these habits of life, customs,,

dasampradaya. So

practices and rituals tended to higher spirituality, they

were adopted by the other Brahman communities

of

the peninsula the Andhras, the Karnatakas, the

Gurjaras.

Maharashtras and the

This accounts for

like

peoples speaking Sanskritic dialects

Marathi and'

Gujarathi and people speaking non-Sanskritic dialect

like

Tamil, Telugu and

Kanarese being grouped to-

gether as Pancha Dravidas or the five Dravidas.

The Dravidas

proper were the Tamil-speaking

Brahmans. The use of the name for other Brahman communities is an instance of extension of its meaning and application. The term was extended to all

Brahmans observing
dnsampradaya.
In

the Dvaviddchdrains,

or

Dravi-

North

India

the

Brahmans, who did not

On

the

contrary in these matters

lax.

Brahmans are more

customs
of their
is

the Gauda or northern The Dravida Brahmans n,re generally

in the

very conservative and the strictness

attributed to
tfieir

observance

of the

above

natural desire to maintain

the purity

Aryan blood.

Among the Dravida Brahmans, the Nambudris ot Malabar form an exception. They seem to have retained some of the original trans- Vindhyan or Gauda customs and resisted the healthy
reforms of Sankara, Ramanuja and Ananda Tirtha. Their enforced polygamy, their free intercourse with the non-Aryans

and a few of their nnacharas or unaryan customs raise some doubl as to the pur-ty of their Aryan descent, a doubt which occurred to our minds in spite of the somewhat rigorous social
customs obtaining among them to-day and their fair complexion, which are no doubt due to climatic conditions and their ways
of living.

Yi

THE TAMIL PEOPLE

accept these

'>

more

rigid

social

rules
of

developed by the Dravida Brahmans

and practices South India,

came
the

to
fact

be distinguished as
that

Pancha Gaiidas.
this

From

the

Malayalam-speaking Brahmans,
classifica-

the Nambudris, are not mentioned in

tion,

it may be inferred that the division of Brahmans Pancha Dravidas and Pancha Gaudas had taken place long before the evolution of the Malayalam

into

language

in

the thirteenth century.

From what
that the

has been said above

it

would be
later

clear

term
first,

Dravida had no ethnological

but this
it

signifi-

cance

at

acquired
'

on.

The

definition of

the

word

Dravida
*

quoted by Dr. Cal-

dwell from Sanskrit

tribe

lexicons

as a

man

of
'

out-cast
is

descended from a degraded Kshatriya

open

to

question.

The

genesis

of

the

Dravida castes

and

tribes given here

and that given by Manu cannot

true.
It

be accepted as

literally

is

one of those
dealing with

fictions, familar to Indian

sociologists
of

the question of the origin

caste

by

which the
between
tribes

Brahmans got over

the troubles

and

conflicts

themselves and the numerically stronger and socially

more influential sections

on

of the

non-Brahmanical

whom they
To
of the

imposed
is

their culture

and

civilization

Dr. Caldwell

due

a further extension of the

meaning

term Dravida.

When

the comparative
first

study of the South Indian languages was

started

by

him, the glossarial and grammatical

affinities

between

them were so marked as

.that

to lead

him

to the conclusion

they

were

allied

languages of the non-Aryan

TAMIL STUDIES

group.

He

called

these

languages

of

South India

Dravidian and the people speaking them Dravidians.

His extension

of the

word

as a generic
is

term for the

South Indian group

cannot be
establish
sufficient,

of languages

convenient and

has been accepted. Linguistic evidence alone, however^

and by

itself

is

unreliable to

any theory about the origins of castes or the

ethnic affinity of peoples.

Thus

the application of the

all tribes,

name Dravidian
well as
of

or Dravida to

Brahman

as

non-Brahman, inhabiting the extreme south the Peninsula is unwarranted, inaccurate and misTlie derivation of the

leading.

It is

purely of
of
It

Sanskrit

pound
land).

two roots dra,

word Dravida is doubtful. origin and may be a comto run, and vid, a piece (of
which one runs as

might mean
last

a place to

a place of retreat, the

extreme south of the peninsula

being the
itself

place to

which any race could betake

when

driven by a stronger race from the north

is

of India.

This

only a plausible suggestion. Sanskrit

pandits, however, think

Dravida

is

a corruption

or

Sanskritised form of Tamil.

But whether

this

bold
pro-

derivation could be supported by any linguistic

cesses

known The origin

to philology seems doubtful.

of the

word Tamil

is

not very

clear,,

and native grammarians are

Caldwell derives

silent

on

this

points

Agreeing with certain Tamil and Sanskrit pandits. Dr.

it

from Sanskrit Dravida.

Mr. Da-

modaram
of
this

Pillai>

however, questions the correctness

etymology and asks

Is

it

possible

for


THE TAMIL PEOPLE
language to have no native
7

to it by Aryans, especially tongue of a tolerably civilised race which had a cultivated literature and which had commercial

name until one was given when it was the mother

fairly

rela-

tionship with the ancient nations of the

derives

West

He
and

Tamil from the root Tami

i^i^) lonely,
'

believes that

Tamil means the

it

'

peerless
:

language.

In the Pingalandni

is

explained thus

(Tamil means sweetness and mercy).

We

find

tantil

used only once in the sense of

literature,

'sweetness'

in

Tamil

and

that
;

author of Chintamani (about A. D. 950)

not see
it

was by the but we do

QsrrQ^ii

used

in this

sense in the earlier Tamil works.

Ot course the expressions ^i^tdltp (the sweet-),

^L^i^ (the fat-),
i_uJ75f.

Q^^mp^i^^
very not by
itself

(the honeyed-)

and ^esm

(the

cool-Tamil)
is

often

occur; but the

word Tamil
in

used in this sense except

noted.

the solitary instance above

However,

fol-

lowing the

Pingalaudai, the author of the Dravida

Prakasika and a few other Indian scholars explain Tamil as meaning the sweet language. This connotation ot sweetness

seems
the

to

have long lingered

author of

among

Tamil

Naishadam speaks of his heroine as one the sweetness of whose speech was sweeter than Tamil, ^uSl^^ uSeafliu^(^
writers, for

royal

QisFnpoapiueon&r.

Mr. Kanakasabhai thinks

it

to

be an

abbreviated form of Tamra-litti, but this etymology

seems

to

be rather fanciful.

It

may

not perhaps be

rash to suggest here what appears to be a reasonable


.8

TAMIL STUDIES

derivation.

pound
like

of ta)n

The word Tamil may be taken as a com+ izh tain is a reflexive pronoun which
;

has given

rise

to a very interesting

class

of

words
tani;

tain-appan (father), tay or tam-ay (mother), iamtani.kai

(//),

aiyaii (elder brother),

(younger

sister),

akkai (elder

sister), iajn-pi

iam-piran

&c.

izJi

(which

is

the root

means sweetness. which is sweet " or the sweet language. It may be observed that this word is used
Tamil w'orks
their country.

Izhm or Izhum, Izhudu-&c.) Hence Tamizh or Tamil is " that

of
in early

to

denote the language, the people and

That part of the Indian peninsula which the

Indo-Aryans called the Dravida was known to ancient

abode of the Tamil-akam was not, The extent Tamils'. however, alwa3's the same. Tolkapyar, a Tamil gramTamils as the Tamil-akain or the
of
this
'

marian, probably of the fourth century B.

C,

Ilango-

adigal, the royal ascetic and reputed author of Silap-

padikaram, and Sikandiyar, a pupil of Agastyar and

the author of a treatise

on music, roughly

fix

the

boundaries of the Tamil country, as

may

be seen

from the following quotations

(1)
^iA)i^ <9S-^

suL Qeuihaik Q^skc^LXufl ujnuSss>i^

tBsO^

eosij).

Tol.

(The
Kumari.)
(2)

good world

of

the

Tamils which

lies

between the northern Venkatam and the southern

QiBis^QtuiT(oisr

(^m pQfi Q^nt^Qojn&r

QueireuQfiii

THE TAMIL PEOPLE

(The cool country
Vishnu's
(3)
hill

ot

the

Tamils bounded by

and the bangled lady's sea Kumari).

Qseo'ieo ^lSIl^^ qji^sCcS.

(cQjias!iii (^LDtf! ^LDL^esr jb QusfreuQinesT

i^ismGS)^

Stk.
ot

(Tamil

prevails within the four

seas.)

limits

Ven-

katam, Kumari and the

The Tamil-akam or the land of the Tamils thus seems to have extended east and west from sea to sea, ^nd north and south from the Tirupati hills to Cape Comorin, and to have also included the modern
states
of

Travancore
Malabar.
in

and Cochin and the British

the west coast

district of

who were cut off from the main body and who were much under the control of the Brahman hierarchy, developed a dialect of their own, a patois of Kodum-Tamil and Prakritic Sanskrit, which has been known as Malayalam since And this the beginning of the thirteenth century.
The Tamils
isolation

accounts also for

of the

some
Tamils

of

the

ancient

customs and manners

served to this day
eastern districts.

bemg

better prein

the west

coast than

the

The loss of this western strip from the Tamilakam was, however, soon made up for, new districts
;

were added to
time of
from

it

by the colonisation by the Tamils

Chola
lA. D. 907-946)

of

the northern portion of Ceylon, beginning from the

Parantaka

or

even

an earlier date. They may be found also in Burma, Sumatra, Java and wherever they could lind food and labour.

10
All

TAMIL STUDIES
the

Tamil

speaking

inhabitants

of

the

southern districts do not belong to one and the same

race.

Any layman can

easily distinguish

the Dravi-

dian Tamils from the Aryan Brahmans.

characteristics of the hill

The

physical

and

forest tribes,

such as the

Kadars, the Soiigas and the Kurumbas differ from

those of the Vellalas and the Todas. Dr. A. H. Keane

and other ethnologists recognise

races
in

at least three distinct

the

population

of

Southern

India.

This

hypothesis seems to receive

some countenance and

literature

support from ancient Tamil

tions.

and
of

tradi-

The

well-known
devar

classification

rational

beings
inakkal
71

{^ujit^^ssst)

by the Tamil grammarians into

(Q^qjit)

(^mss^),

and narakar

{(bctsit)

or

a'gar

(iB IT sit)

points to the existence of three types of

people in the Tamil land, namely, the Dravidian

Tamils (Makkal), the

applied to
forests, the

the aboriginal tribes (Na'gar). 'Na'ga'

all

Aryan-Brahmans (Devar) and is a word loosely

the aborigines

who

used to inhabit the

low regions and other unknown realms

late as

(Narakam). Even so
aboriginal

the eleventh century

when
was

the process of the capture and absorption

of the

peoples by the superior Dravidians

going on, the more powerful of the Na'ga tribes seem

to

have struggled hard to maintain their sturdy indeto preserve their racial
integrity."

pendence and
1.

For

remarks of the Madras Government Epigraphist ; '' The mythical account of the Epic hero Arjuna marryinj; a Nag:t queen and similar stories current about the early Chola kings in Tamil liteiature, combined with what is stated of

With

this

compare

the

the

Naga connections with

the

first

Pallava kingt;

contirrti

p
THE TAMIL PEOPLE
11

we find in the early Tamil works that the Nagas are described as a race of dark people with curly matted
hair.

The

ancient Tamils were acquainted also with

(jBsas^irn&mn)^

a tribe of

naked nomads

probably a sec-

tion of the

Nagas

living in

an eastern Island.

They

were cannibals and spoke an unknown language.

(1)

eua(Siu&iLiLpi^

SmssBQ^LDQuQarTsa^Q&oa.

P. A.

(With your starving, dark and large relations)

(2)
eij&S(ifi<5srL3<osr<s>J60

Q&)mpiu!TS<ss)SLj u^eSQiBirsQ

jfjppuo urriT^^ev

(^fEJs(SiEj ssmLDp(Si}iT.

Kal.

(The cruel-eyed, curly-haired and able-bodied Maravas (robbers) with tiger-look and banded bows
waiting on the roads to harass the travellers).
i^i)

QonmrSQeup

Sleir&fld(g

iBiTsiBiriireir

Qsutrdsr

pair LDSofT iSs^eu^efi^iresrunjih^

L\ejsB pfSlefriB(^LfieSL

Maili.
Pilivalai,

(The tender infant which

the
ruler
of

the daughter of

Naganadu, bore

for

Killi

(Chola)

who

wields the victorious lance).

From the

first

quotation

we

learn that the

Panans

the ancestors, or rather, a sub-caste of the modern Paraiyas were an aboriginal tribe of dark men from the second that the Maravas not the present caste of that name w'ere a tribe of hunters and robbers
;

with tiger-look and curly matted hair

the accepted
belief

while the third

indigenous
losing their

that

the

Nagas were the

original

rulers of Southern

India and that they were subdued in course of

time by the powerful kings from the north, eventually

individuality by intermarriages with the foreigners''.

Report dated

28-7-1911.

13

TAMIL STUDIES

points to the fusion of the Tamils with the aboriginal

tribe of

Nagas even so

early as
It

the

first

or second

century of the Christian era.

might also be learnt

from Pattuppattu or the Ten Tamil Idylls and the Mahabalipuram inscriptions of Rajendra Chola (A. D. 1012-1044) that there were among the Nagas at least
four sub-divisions,
viz.,

Oli-Nagan,

Mugali-Nagan,
Paraiyas,

:Sanka-Nagan and Nila-Nagan.

constitute nearly

The
to

who

a seventh

of the

Tamil population
be the descendants
call

and who

will

be shewn hereafter

of the ancient

Eyina

tribe dislike to

themselves

Tamils, thus suggesting that they belong to a different

race altogether. Further, the various
sing of the dead prevalent

modes

of

dispo-

among

the Tamils of anci-

ent times, namely, cremation, interment and exposure,

could not have been

practised

at

the

same time
clearly

by one and the same

prove that there were

race.

These
the

facts

go

to

in

Tamil country

at least

three distinct races namely, the aborigines

(whatever

may be

their

names), the

Dravidian Tamils and the

there

Aryan immigrants.

Though

was a

free

inter-

mixture of the aborigines and the Dravidian Tamils

and though some isolated instances of the fusion the second and third are noticeable, the existence
three different types
Sir
all
is

of

of

clear.

Herbert

Risley,

however,
Dravidians
people

considers

that

the South

Indians are

dark-comlong head,

plexioned,

short-statured

with

broad and thick-set nose and long fore-arm. Doubtless this description applies to some of the hill and

THE TAMIL PEOPLE

forest
tribes

13

and some low

caste

Hindus,

but

it

cannot apply to the population of Southern India

a whole.
It will

as
of

be admitted that
are

three types

physical
districts

character

observable in
the three

the

Tamil
races

corresponding to
complexion,

different

already noticed.

First, there are

tall

the

Aryans

with a

somewhat
small
lips,

fair

stature, aquiline nose,.

hair.

smooth and flowing pure Dravidian like the Todas

Secondly,

the

of

the

Nilgiris, tall,
nose,^

brown complexioned, with

thick

prominent
thirdly,

hairy body, well-proportioned limbs,

receding fore-

head and of Jewish appearance.

the

And
lips

we have

aborigines

like

the

Kadars, with

African face,

flatfish

and broad nose, thick

hair,

and dark comwild

plexioned; and the pot-bellied

Kurumbas with
prominent

matted

large

mouth,

outstanding

teeth, thick lips

and prognathous. Although there must have been intercrossing and shuffling of races from a time long anterior to the Christian era, it is
doubtful

extremely

whether any
at

tribe of
its

the

pure
into

Mongolian race had

the

any time found

way

Tamil

country,

as

Mr. Kanakasabhai

seems
the

to think.

The
(c)

only

data

available

for determining
(b)

racial varieties are, (a)

Language,

Anthropometry,

Prehistoric

arch;^eology

and

(d) Traditions

and

customs.

None

of these, however,

can independently

prove the racial type

(a)

oneway

or the other.
will

No

comparative philologist
is

now admit

that language

a safe test of race.

Languages have

14
their rise,

TAMIL STUDIES:

growth and decay, and languages once well

entirely

known
Keltic
IS

are

forgotten,

foreign

languages

taking their place as though they were native.

extinct in

Thus
of

Cornwall
;

Sclavonic has disap-

peared in Prussia
a

Accadian, the

home speech

highly civilised Turanian race in Asia

Minor, was
Semites.

completely rooted out by the conquering

Coming

to our

own

country,

we

find

the

Brahman

settlers in the

Tamil land speak only a Dravidian

dialects.

language forgetting their Sanskrit

native

The

entire

population

of

the

Tamil-akam

aborigmes,
Tamil or

Dravidians as well as Aryans

speak

either

an

allied

language of the Dravidian family.

yet

No
a

suc-

cessful attempt has

been made to analyse the

purely
to trace

Tamil language and

philological spirit.

to write its history in

Dr. Caldwell was the

first

Tamil with the Uralo- Altaic languages. Some philologists, however, seem to think We that he was not quite successful in the attempt.
distant affinity of
shall discuss this question
(b)

some

more

fully in its

proper place.

Anthropologists place rather too

much
as

confi-

dence

m
of

the absolute

certainty

of

the nasal

and
Sir

cephalic indices, of
tests

hair

and colour
Sir

permanent
Risley,

racial

distinction.

Herbert

William Turner and Dr.

constancy of cranial

Topinard

rely

on

the

measurements, assuming the

persistent

form

of

the head as a

character that

is

not liable to
selection.

be modified by the action of

scientists,
in

artificial

These

however,

do not agree
respects.

among

themselves

certain

important

THE TAMIL PEOPLK

Professors

15

Flower,

Lydekker and
to the

Huxley

classify

mankind according
of the
hair,

while

others

smoothness or roughness like Quatrefages add to

of

these colour,
all

odour &c. Nevertheless, the value

is

these data

being seriously doubted by equally

Professor

eminent
gether

scientists.

Cox has brought

to-

all

their objections forcibly in a very interesting

articlethat appeared in
for 1911.

the

Modern

Revieiv {Calcuita)

He
'

says 'the cephalic index separates races

is

closely allied

and

almost identical for races widely

apart/

In almost every nation

we
it

find

almost every

cephalic index.'

As

for the nasal index,

of

after elaborate researches thinks

M. Colignon minor impor-

tance.

Rome says 'the method of method only in appearance and it inevitably leads to errors and can produce no satisfactory results.' Professor Ridgeway thinks these osteologiProfessor Sergi of
a
indices
is
'

cal

differences
all

are

but
in

foundations of sand.'

And
the

above

a writer

the Miienschener Medizinische

I.C.S.,)

(quoted by Mr. G. A. Gait,

asserts

that

numerous head measurements collected with endless assiduity by anthropologists have been shown to be
worthless.

Thus we
is

see
of

that

neither

the

cephalic

nor the nasal index

race.

much

value

in

determining
as

The same may be

changed
in

said of hair

and colour,

these can be

course of time by climate,

food

and other artificial means and methods. It would therefore be unwise on the part of anthropoloto

gists

think they could

correctly

interpret

these or

physical differences as

indications of

inferioritv

IG

TAMIL STUDIES
a

otherwise of
India,

race,

especially

in

country like
past an inter-

where there has been

for ages

mingling of diverse races

Semitic or Aryan.
(c)

autochthonous, Turanian,
con-

The evidence of
weapons,
are

pre-historic arch^eology

sists

of

implements, and
in the earth,

which
thic

found buried

human bones and the megali-

monuments
in

kistvaens.

like the dolmen, cromlech {and the Such remains abovuid in Tamil districts.

But

India the science

of archaeology

has not yet

advanced, and no excavations on a large scale have

till

now been

undertaken.

to light are therefore very limited

The finds hitherto brought and do not afford

concerning ethnic

data for any reliable

inference

problems.
(d)

The

fourth source
for

from

which
racial

we may
varieties

derive

some help

determining

consists

and ancient customs described Some of them may have been in early Tamil works. distorted, exaggerated or even wrongly stated. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata in Sanskrit, the Tolkapyam, the Purananuru, the Pattuppattu, the
of traditions

Kalittogai

and other works

all

in

Tamil furnish plenty

have to be
sifted

of

evidence. But

these will

and
this

considered in the light of other evidences.

will

And

be attempted

in the next chapter.

II

THE TAMIL PEOPLE (continued).

The
sion.

original

place in the

home of human family

in

the Dravidians
are
still

and

their

subjects of discus-

The

various views that have

this

been held by
will

anthropologists
in review.
'

connection

be

passed

The Dravidian
least

race,'

says

Dr.

Grierson,

'

is

commonly
or
at

considered to
of

be the aborigines of
India,

India

Southern

and we have no
aboriginal
says,

information to
inhabitants of
*

show

that they are not the

Sir

the South.'

Herbert Risley
it

Taking them as we find them now

that
their

may

safely be

said

present

geographical

distribution^

the

marked uniformity of physical characters among the more primitive members of the group, their
languages,
of
a

animistic religion, their distinctive

their

stone

monuments

and

retention

primitive

system of totemism justify us in regarding them as the

earliest

inhabitants of India of

whom we

have any

knowledge.'
It

will

be seen from the above extracts that Dr.

18

TAMIL STUDIES
not take the

Grierson and Sir H. Risley do

tion deeper

ques-

than saying that the Dravidians are the

aboriginal inhabitants of Southern India.

as a linguist says that the question

The former
and

of the origin

migration of the Dravidian race cannot be solved by

and the latter as a leading Indian ethnologist tries to 6nd out some connection between the Dravidians and tlie Australians; but he is opposed
the philologist
;

in his

conclusion by Sir

W.

Turner,

who

has found

no

cranial connection

criticising the other theories

between the two races. After concerning the origin

and dispersion of the Dravidians, Sir H. Risley comes back to the same ground on which his colleague stood.
According
sians,

the Dravidians, the Caucaand the Indo-Germanic races rethe Basques

to
in several characteristics, especially

H deckel,

semble one another

in the strong

development

of

the head, which sug-

gests a close relationship

between them.

Professor

Huxley includes ihem

in the

smooth-haired division
Europeans, asorigin.

with the North Africans and South

suming

Australia as the land of their

While

agreeing with them generally Professors Flower and

Lydekker put the Dravidians

in the

white division of
India they are

man and
largely

observe that in

Southern

mixed with a Negrito element. This last point is supported by Dr. Topinard who says that the remnants of the black people are at the present day shut up in the mountains and that the
ancient inhabitants of the Deccan were identical with
the Australians,

who probably come from

a cross

THE TAMIL PEOPLE

between
a ieiotrichi race
race.

19

from outside and a Negrito

that he
is

autocthonous
that

Lastly, Dr.

Keane thinks

able to prove

the Dravidians

preceded the

Aryan-speaking
aborigines of

Hindus and

that they are not the true

the Deccan, they being themselves preceded by dark

peoples probably of an aberrant Negrito type.

The question now

is

'

who

are the aborigines

'

The

tirst

Scholar

who

discussed this problem from the

stand point of philology was

Dr

Caldwell; and he

arrived at the conclusion that even the lowest castes

including the Paraiy;is are Dravidians and that they

were reduced by conquest to

tlie

condition

of

serfs

and jungle

tribes.

He

held also that the Dravidians

entered India from the North-West.

These two hy-

potheses of Dr.Caldweli's seem to conflict each other,

as
it

is

extremely improbable that a very large body

so
called

of the

Dravidians consisting of the

Pallis, Kallas

dark

complexioned Paraiyas,

and the several come from northhill and forest tribes could have western Asia, which has been peopled by the fair complexioned Semitic tribes. There is no philological
evidence to show
well does not
tell

who

the aborigines

v.'ere.

Dr. Cald-

us that there

were no people

Southern India before the advent of the Dravidians. If there were no people, the Dravidians should be
regarded as
the

aborigines

otherwise they are not.

It

He
and

leaves

all this

an open question.

was, however
Drs.

taken up by ethnologists.amongst

whom

Haddon
the

Keane

are

decidedly

of

opinion

that

20

TAMIL STUDIES

Dravidians are not the aborigines, but that they were

preceded by a Negrito race akin to the people of
the-

Malay Peninsula and the Australians, the remnants of whom may be found among the jungle and

mountain

tribes of

Southern India.

And

this

is

the

view accepted by scholars intimately acquainted with

the South Indian people, notably by Mr.R. Sewell,

who

says that
of

'

at

some
India

very remote period the aborigines

Southern

were

overcome

Dravidian invaders and

desert tracts
If

driven to

the mountains

by hordes of and
then

where

their

descendants are to be found.'

the aborigines,

the Dravidians
their

are not

what was
they

original

home and by what

India
?

route did
to

come

into

Southern

According

one theory, they were the earliest or the first Aryan Another theory places their home somein the ** submerged Continent" in the Indian where Ocean whence they are supposed to have migrated northward to India. According to some, their original home was somewhere in Central Asia and
settlers.

they entered

India (a)
or

by the

north-east through

Assam and Burma,

(b)

and north-western gales. immigrants from Western-Asia western mountain passes, or

route.

by both the north-eastern Yet another makes them

either
direct

by

(a)

the north-

by

(b) the
at

sea

Each

of these

may be

considered

some

length.

The Eaply Aryan Theory

and Cymri
in Ireland, the

Like the Celts

Tamils were supposed by

some

to

be the representatives of the earliest band of


THE TAMIL PEOPLE
the Aryan immigrants

21

aware

this

theory

in India. So far as we are was never seriously advanced or

advocated by

any ethnologist.

Dr. Caldwell traces

some
are

affinity

between Tamil and the

Further

Indo-European
for a

languages, even though their

radically different.

grammar and vocabulary

it

was believed
in

long time that the megalithic tombs found

parts of India

some

and England belonged

to

the ancient

Gauls or

Celts,

which had

led to a mistaken idea that

of

the original inhabitants

India,

to

whom

these

monuments (dolmens) were

akin to the Celts of Europe,

attributed,

were Aryans

But the fact remains that

Ping, 797) in spite of any

the Tamils themselves called the Aryans Mtechchas or

foreigners

((i?(?6\)i^^j/r//?aj/f.

social, linguistic

and other influences each might have

received from the other.

The Lemurian op Selater's Theory

Accordmg
to
this

theoiy.the

original

home

of

the
of

Dravidians was the

now submerged
the
to

continent

Lemuria, which was somewhere

before the formation of

in the Indian Ocean Himalaya Mountains.

This continent

is

supposed

have extended from

India with

Madagascar

in

the west to the Malay Archipelago in

the east, connecting Southern

Africa
If

on
the

the one side and

Australia

on the other.

so,

Dravidians must have entered India

from the south

In

long before the submergence of this continent.

support of
this

theory the following arguments have

been adduced:
Ethnology
:

The system

of

totems

prevailing


42

TAMIL STUDIES
the half-civilized castes and
of
tribes

among

of

India,

and the use

the

South India are

of

bomerang bv the Kalians of found nowhere except among

certain Australian tribes; Dr. R. Wallace's description

tree

climbing by the Dyaks of Borneo applies

\ve!l

equally

to the

Kadars of the Anamalai

hills

and the chipping of all or some of the incisor teeth by the Kadars and Mala-Vedans may be found among the Jakuns of the Malay Peninsula.
Philology
:

Linguistic afSnities, especially

in

doubtful resemblance between the numerals

dari

some Munbeen

and

in

certain

Australian

dialects

have

noticed by Bishop Caldwell and Sir H. Risley.

it

But
is
it

may

be pointed out that the

of

Munda

language

quite independent

the Dravidian

tongue and

mav be doubted whether the poor similarity in respect of the numerals alone will be enough tC) establish the
theory under discussion.

Geography

The argument under

more
it

this

head has
it

already been stated and

further on.
to

will

be said about

However,
in

may
it

not

be out of place

mention here

support of

a tradition

which had

currency

among

the early Tamils and has been pre-

served in their literature.

That

is,

(^ riflsQsrrQfsi 0srT(SrEJ^L^6\)

Qaam&r.

Sil.

(The

cruel

sea

swallowed up the
of
{^)

P.ihruli

river

and the Kumari peak with the chain

of mountains).

And
above

the

commentary
runs thus
:

Adiyarkunallar on the

lines

^ssneoi^

^eufr

miL^

THE TAMIL PEOPLE

23

Qpisbr Ui7'2e\) iBir^iMSji^ iSleir

(g,vsarsfT<5S)J
iBfT!})
ihfi(Slih

ut^so

isrTiM S7tp

(^sisrp

istrQiii

(5ji^

<s]i^

(^^iiMu'^esT [btQu) sKok^iLD

@/5^ isrrpu^
strQih

Q^ni,bru^

(^LDtFloia,iTs\)s\).Jj

(tppsSlm ussr

LD'2e\) iBrrQiii

'B^iLjih u^iLjti)

<suSiT<s(^uD!fl (oUL-Q LJ(ir)rEjQ an LLisf.sr srrpiLo

(^LDrfliutrQuj
is

slSo

QanmsrQirriSl^oOfrp

QuofrojQLDvSTQr/'Qfri^a

S//,

198.

Cape Comorin

spoken

of in

early

Tamil

mountain and even as a sea. And the ancient Tamils, who weie acquainted with the Island of Java and generally with tiie Eastern
literature as a river, a

Archipelago, appear to have had

some vague notions

of
a

about the existence

country
in

in

the remoter past

vast

continuation of Cape Comorin.

this

But, the

geography of
the

submerged continent
change
of

as given in

above excerpt looks very suspicious.

capital of

And
the

their

tradition about the

Pandya

country from South Madura to North Madura (the modern Madura) seems to indicate the Tamilian's theory
of

an early migration of some race from the South.

:

Hunter's Theory In his account of non-Aryan races Dr. W.W. Hunter thinks there
'

the
are

two branches

of

the Dravidians

the

Kolarians and

the Dravidians proper.

The former

entered India by

the north-east and occupied the northern portion of the

Vindhya
split

and

There they were conquered into fragments by the main body of Dravitable land.
their

dians

who found

way

into the

Punjab through

the north-western passes and pressed forward towards

2i

TAMIL STUDIES
Yet
in
:

the south of India'.

another place the same

*

scholar

writes

as

follows

It

would appear

that

long before the Aryan

invasions, a people speaking

a very primitive Central Asian language,

by the Sind passes.

Dravidians of

had entered These were the Dravidas or the

later times. Other non-Aryan races from the north pushed them onwards to the present Dravidian country in the south of the peninsula...

The
India

extrusion

of

the

Dravidians
before
the

from northern
arrival

had

taken place

of

the

Aryan-speaking races.
distinguished

The Dravidians
later

are

to

be

from the
Indus and
in

non-Aryan immigrants,
in

whom

the Vedic tribes

found

possession

of

the

valleys of the

Ganges.

These

later

non-

Aryans were
out

their turn

subjugated or

pushed

by the and

Aryan
'serfs'

dingly appear in the

new comers; and they accorVedic hymns as the 'enemies'

(Sudras)
of

(Dasyus)
settlers.

the

Indo-Aryan

The Dravidian non-Aryans of

the south,

on

the other hand, appear from the

as friendly forest folk, the

first in

the Sanskrit

monkey armies who helped

the

Aryan hero
As
Sir

Southern India

Kama on his march through against the demon king of Cevlon.'

;

theory

is

H. Risley has remarked, the basis of this obscure and neither philology nor ethnology
it.

supports

It

will

be shown

in

the sequel

that

the

Dravidians were not driven from Northern India bv

later

the

monkey armies who helped

non-Aryan immigrants and that they were not the Aryan hero Rama. The Mongolian Theory According to
:

THE TAMIL PEOPLE

this

25

theory the Dravidians had hved somewhere on the

the Mongolians

plateau of Central Asia along with

before they entered India by the North-eastern passes

from Tibet or Nepal, or by the way of Assam and the Tennaserim provinces. This theory has been very
strongly supported by Mr. Kanakasabhai in his Tamils

Eighteen

Hundred years

ago.

According

lo

him
were

the

aboriginal inhabitants of
Villavas and Minavas.

Southern India
the Nagas

the
a

They were
called

conquered by

highly civilised

race

who

hailed

from Central Asia.

They were very good weavers

and from them the Aryans learnt their alphabet which thencefortli was known as Deva-Nagari. He is of
opinion that
the

Maravas,

Eyinas, Oliyas,
in

Oviyas,

Aruvalas and the

Paratavas mentioned

the Tamil

works

of the

academic period belonged

Tamils.

to the

above

Naga
were

race,

and that they had always been

hostile to

the Dravidian
in

called

Nagas their turn conquered by a Mongolian race the Tamralitti.s or the Tamils who had
Subsequently, these

migrated

from

the Tibetan plateau.

They came

to

the south of India along the east coast in four bands

the earliest of

whom
the

he considers to be the Marar

who founded
the Vanavar, a

Pandya

kitigdom.

The second

were the Thirayar

tribe of the

Cholas and the third

tribe

mountainous

from Bengal, who

kings
;

were the ancestors of

fourth and
In this
last,

the Chera

and the
the four

the Kosar tribe of the

for

Kongu country,
of

way he accounts ancient Tamil kingdoms.

the

origin


26

TAMIL STUDIES
Further on, the same writer observes as follows:

'As the Tamil immigrants

at

came
and

into

Southern India

distant intervals of time

in

in separate tribes

were fewer

number than
to

the aboriginal

and Nagas and

and
in

DravidianS; they had

adopt the ancient Dravidian

they

language and in course of time

refined
it

modified
as

into

the language
zli
(i-g)

now known

Tamil.
exist

The
in

peculiar letter

which does

not

the other Dravidian languages was doubtless brought

by the Tamil immigrants. This letter occurs in the Tibetan languages. It indicates most clearly that the primitive home of the Tamil immigrants must have
been
in the

Tibetan plateau'.
all

And

in

support of his

theory that

the

Tamils are of Mongolian origin he

goes on to say that the existence of very

in

many words

gn (a), jn (gj) atjd n (soar) in Tamil, Burmese and Chinese, and tlie siinilarity between Malayalam and the Mongolian languages, clearly confirm the North-eastern or the Mongolian origin of the Tamil
people.
In attributing a

Mongolian origin

to the

Tamils

Mr. Kanakasabhai

relies partly

and partly on the

similarity of

on literary evidence sound in certain words.

in

He seems
works and

to

misinterpret

some passages
and
it

Tamil

distorts current traditions so

;

as to support

would be fallacious and unwarrantable to draw any inference from words and Tamil, Mranmar and Maran, like Tamra-litti Koshan or Kushan and Kosar &c., which are similar
his preconceived theories

only in sound.

He has

entirely ignored the testimony

THE TAMIL PEOPLE

of

27
It

archaeology, philology and

anthropology.

is

necessary to examine his statements

more

fully.

He
Minas

says the Villavas

aborigines of

and the Minavas were the Southern India, citing the Bhils and the
India in

of Central
is

Villav^an

bowman and Minavan

kings.
in

support of his assertion. a fisher-man is

and these are some

to the

of the titles applied honorifically

Chera and Pandya

bearing either

There
the

is

no caste or

tribe

Tamil districts. Further, the Bhils and the Minas do not speik a
Dravidian language.

name

How

they

were

ethnically

related to the Tamils

and to what race they had

Nag'is were a highly

belonged he

quie'ily passes over.

Again, he says that the

civilised

aboriginal

race

from

whom

the

Aryans
enquire

learnt their Sanskrit alphabet.

Before entering upon

shall

any criticism of these statements we

who
the

these Nagas were. There were Nagas in Northern India as well as in Southern India, About

former

Capt. Forbes

writes as follows in
is

his

Languages of Further
ledged that prior
into
to

India: 'It
the

now acknowthe Aryans

irruption of

India

valley of

from the west across the Indus, the the Ganges was occupied by various races
origin.
:

of Turanian

The
of

Arvans came

in

contact

with two races

tribes

one

fierce

black degraded savage

Rakshasas, &c.
cities
;

whom

they called Asuras,

the

other a
wealth,

people

who

lived

in

and possessed

and whose women were

fair,

whom

they

termed the Nagas or serpent worshippers, and who

28

TAMIL STUDIES
'

doubtless belonged to the great Takshak or

race
'

Serpent
of

of

Scythia.

Under

the continued pressure

the advancing Aryan invaders, these

Turanian
of

tribes

were driven back carrying before them in their turn

the
feeble

and

scattered

remnants
either

the

black
or

aboriginal race,

who were

exterminated

found a last refuge in the most and mountams.' Nothing definite

the South Indian

inaccessible
is

forests

known about

Nagas except what is mentioned in the Aianimekalai and the occasional references in the
Pattuppattu and in
the inscriptions.
In

the early
tribe

Buddhistic 'Jamil literature the

occurs very often.

name

of this

(The four hundred yojanas

the Nagas will be destroyed

of

the

good country

of

by sinking into the broad

netherworld).
iBSS
S^ITITSamiT I'STSIT SJfTL^LD'^eO.

Sll.

(The mountain inhabited by the naked nomads and

the Nagas.)

The Naga Nadu

or

tlie

country of the Nagas

is

described as a vast island situated in the east or rather

south-east of the Tamil country
;

and the Nagas were

a half civilised tribe, some of

whom

were naked

nomads

while others were cannibals.

They spoke

language not understood by the Tamil people. From this description it might be easily surmised that the
country referred to was Ceylon and that the people

were the Veddas or Vedas.

Nilan and

Nagan were

THE TAMIL PEOPLE

29

names quite familiar among the Kalian and the Vedan or Vettuvar tribes of the Tamil districts. Nilan was the name of the Vaishnava saint Tirumangai
Alvar, a Kalla by caste,

and
;

of the

donor

of

the fine

cloth to

Ay

a hill king

rieo iSfTssar ibsoSlu ssSlihsii.

S.P.P.
tribe.)

(The

fine cloth

presented by Nilan of the Naga

Nagan

was

the

name
famous
it

of

Veda

chieftain

the father of the

Saiva

saint

and Kannappa
Nagas
by Mr.
else-

Nayanar.

From
;

these

will

be seen that the

is

were not so highly

civilised as

represented

Kanakasabhai
of

but doubtless they were a martial tribe

hunters from
the

whom,

as

we have shown
seems,
therefore,

where,

Pandyas, the Cholas and the Pallavas

armies.
It

recruited their

that

'Naga' was the

name

given by the

Aryans

to

any

aboriginal tribe in
it

Southern India and Ceylon, and

of

might be remarked that the Nagas

distinct

the south

were

from

the

Nagas

of

Northern India who

by Capt. Forbes in the above extract. The South Indian Nagas were probably the aborigines, while their North Indian namesake were Turanian or Scythian immigrants from Central Asia
are described

belonging probably to the Mongolian race.

As regards the origin

conclusions of
authorities

of the Nagari alphabet the

Dr.

G.

Buhler and other eminent

Paleography
are

on

Indian

certamly

opposed
that the

to the

bold assertion
it

Aryans learnt
is

of Mr. Kanakasabhai from the Nagas. The v/ord

city,

Nagari'

derived

from nagar, a

but not from

30
^

TAMIL STUDIES
'

Naga and the

the

name

of a tribe,

Nj^gari or the

formerly used by the

Again,
grants were
of the
'

as he seems to think Deva Nagari was the alphabet Aryan city folk.

Mr. Kanakasabhai says the Tamil immia

Mongolian

tribe

quite

independent
'

aboriginal.

Nagas and
cites

Dravidians
the

and
of

in

suppoit of his theory he

peculiar letter
tp

existence

the

Tibetan
the

Tamil and in some of the languages, but which does not occur in
(zh) in
'

other

Dravidian or Sanskrit languages.'

population
to

Elimi-

nating the Nagas and the Mongolian tribe of

Tamils

from
were.

the

of the

Tamil

districts,

one

would be anxious
gines
in his letter

know who

these

Dravidians

Were they his Villavar and Minavar aborior some other tribe which had its existence only
imagination? Then, adverting to the
tp

peculiar

we must say that it did exist in the ancient and Telugu languages though it had disappeared owing to the continuous Sanskrit influence for centuries. In modern Kanarese and Telugu by m (1) and it has been dropped or its place taken
Kanarese

i_ (d).

As Dr. Caldwell has rightly said

the

this letter
(y)

has

sometimes

sound

of

err

(1)

or

tu

or

is

even
it

omitted as in

modern

colloquial

Tamil.

And

might further be remarked that ^e which has the sound approaching the English zh (as in pleasure) or the French J (as in J'ai) may be found in some of The mere the languages of the Uralo- Altaic group.
fact therefore that
it

is

found

to

prevail

equally

in

Tamil and throughout the aboriginal Indo-Chinese

THE TAMIL PEOPLE

tongues of
the

31
is

Himalayas and Tibet

by

itself

insufficient to

establish

an ethnic relationship bethe contrary.

tween the two races, especially when there are so

many and

so strong
is

arguments
the
slightest

to

Further, there

not

affinitv

between
resem-

Tamil and the Tibetan tongues, nor the

and
the

least

blance in the physical characters of the Tamil people

Mongolian

tribes.

We have already stated

hill

that

'

Tamra-litti

'

had no

connection with 'Tamil'. Kosar seems to have been a

tribe

more or

less

akin to

the

Koyas and the

Eyinas (Paraiya)
is still

of the

preserved in

Tamil districts, which name the word Koyan-puttur (Coimbavillage of

tore)
sribe.

meaning the new

It is

the
that

Koya

or Kosar

not connected

with

powerful and

civilized race, the

Cushites of antiquity, as Mr. Kanaka-

sabhai seems to think, but rather allied to the Telugu

speaking
barters
;

hill
it is

tribe of
a title

Maran is he who assumed by the Pandya kings on

that

name.

account of

their earliest

the Egyptians, Chaldeans,

commercial relationship with ancient Arabs and other

Western nations.
from Mani
in
(to

The

traditional origin of this

word
to

beat with a

tamarind swdtch) given

in

the

Madura Tiruvilayadal-Purana,
it

order

connect

with one of the Siva's 'sacred sports'

betrays the imaginative flights of the

writers.

And we may

say that this

Brahman Purana word Maran has

sell

greater
barter,

connection with the Hebrew Mara to

than with the Burmese Mran-mar.

or

32

TAMIL STUDIES

The weightiest
H.
Risley.

of

all

objections to Mr, Kanaka-

sabhai's theory seems to

come from

the

pen of Sir

He

says

'It is

extremely improbable that

and conspicuously long_ headed type should have come from the one region of the earth which is peopled exclusively by races with With this broad heads and yellow complexion.
a large

body

of a very black

we may

dismiss the theory which assigns a transDravidians,'

is

Himalayan origin to the seems sound, although it

all
*

This objection
to admit
that

too

much

the inhabitants of

Southern India belonged to a

very black and conspicuously long headed-type' of

the

human

species.

Of the

several theories

set forth

above, those of

the Early-Aryan and Mongolian origins

may be dismissed as altogether untenable, as they are supported

by tradition nor
Sir

neither

by science.
Hunter's

The

feeble

support which

William

theory

has

received at the hands of scholars in spite of his magic

name shows what little substratum of probability there is under it. The Lemurian theory can cover, if
at all,

only a very small part of the problem and

apply only to the primitive aboriginal sections of the

people.

The bold conclusions

fanciful
to

of Mr.

Kanakasabhai

seem to be based on and a feverish desire

philological
originality.

musings
In

show
ideas

the

following chapter an attempt will be

together a few facts and
that

made may

to

collect

constitute
of this

what appears

to be a

more probable solution

interesting question.

Ill

THE TAMIL PEOPLE. (continued

).

The one other theory that remains to be considered is that a large number of emigrants from Western Asia came into the country either by a
direct

sea-route or
passes,

mountain

by land through the Western and became superimposed on the

of

aboriginal stock, probably

the

Lemurian

origin,

before there was any Aryan influence in South India.

The

original

home

of these

people should have been

they should

Assyria and Asia Minor and

have lived

with the ancient Accadians and other Turanian races

before they migrated to
India

through the North-

western

passes.
its

This theory seems to have

favour, although
it

much
Sir

to be said in

apparent objections

have been raised against

Risley and other scholars.
of the

by Mr. D. Bray,
shall

H.

We

as

in the

case

other

theories
it

collect together all

the

argu-

ments regarding
Lingttistic

under the three main heads of

philology, archaeology

and
:

literary tradition.

evidence

Dr. Caldwell

thinks

that

34
the Dravidian

TAMIL STUDIES
languages

may be

affiliated

morpho-

logically to the

Uralo-Altaic or

the Finno-Tartaric

family

of

tongues which comprise the Samoyedic,

the Finnic, the Turkic, the Mongolian and the

sian groups.

Tungu-

To

the

same family belonged Accadian

in

fully

developed language spoken by a highly

civilised

Turanian race that had lived

Assyria,

Chaldea, Susiana and Media.

after indicating the

The learned bishop

pomts of resemblance in grammar and vocabulary between Accadian and the Dravidian languages, comes to the conclusion 'that the Dravidian race though resident in India from a period long
prior
to the

commencement
that

of the

Christian

era,

originated in the Central tracts of Asia

of nations

from thence after parting company with the Aryans and the Ugro-Turanians, and leaving a colony in Baluchistan, they entered India by

and

the seed

plot

way

of the Indus.'

In

the

language

of

the

Behistun

tablets

(Accadian)

we

find
/,

largely

used the

consonants
termination

of the cerebral class,

d, n\ the genetive

and dative ikka or im (Tam. =^ii) mw); and the second person pronoun ni, nin (Tam. There are other points of linguistic affinity i,Sasi), between Tamil and the Altaic languages and the reader is referred to Dr. Caldwell's invaluable Comparative Grammar which ought to be in the hands of
a
j>i

as in na^

nina,
;

or inna,

ikki (Tarn, o, kn)

ordinals ending in

every student of the Dravidian languages.

The conis

nection

of

the Tamils

with

Asia Minor

further

THE TAMIL PEOPLE

35

confirmed by the identity in form and meaning of several important words in the Semitic, Altaic and Tamil languages. For example, Tam. akkan, Ugr.
iggcn

= t\dQv

sister

Tam.
appl,

aiinai, Fin.

anya = moihtT\
;

Tam. appan,
^^/^z

Fin.

amma, Samoy.
= mother
;

Hung. /7;;i)a= mother

//)= father
;

Tarn.
Fin.

Tam.

attaly
;

Tam. am, Vogoul. am=yes Tam. Tam. kattn, Hung. 4itivai, Mordvin. ava=moihQx *o/=to bind, to tie Tam. kel, F"in. kitl-en=to hear Tam. ko, Behistun tablets, ko=3. king Tam. kozhi^ Vogoul. kore=3. cock; Tam. ti, Samoy. /i=Hre Tam. towl=skin Tam. jnayiru (the sun) tol, V';goul. ;i_yar=summer; Tam. pidi,F\n. pidan=to catch; Hung. TBm.pira, Fin. pera=iiiter; Tam. uianai, Sam. maii= a house; Tam. may-am, Lap. io/'=a tree Tam. velich;

am, Hung.
affinities

velega=\\gh\. &c.

We may
also,

trace

similar

with

Turkic languages

both

in

gram-

mar and vocabulary.

that
in mind the axiom no account should be taken of mere resemblanin sound and meaning of words for linguistic
;

Of course, we must bear

ces

considerations

but in the above case

such

coinci-

dences do not seem to be so purely accidental as to vitiate our conclusions, as there are other collateral
evidences to strengthen

them,

notwithstanding
*

the

opinion

of

M. Hovelacque that

Dr.

Caldwell has
Dravidi-

not been more successful with his assumed

an

affinity.'
It

was

for a

long time supposed that the cradle of

the Aryans was

somewhere

in Central Asia,which

was

86

TAMIL STUDIES

likewise considered the original dians.

home

of

the

Dravi-

Dr. Caldwell must have held this view

'

he said that the Dravidians

with the Aryans
India by the
in the

after

parting

when company

Central tracts of Asia entered

way

of the Indus'.

He

has also proved

some Dravidian
Aryans lived
Central Asia.

influence in Sanskrit and vice versa in

order to support his theory that the

together before
their

Dravidians and
dispersal

from

But scholars are now agreed that the original home of the Aryans was somewhere in the Scandinavian Peninsula and that no traces of any
can
be found
in

Aryan influence
language.

the

Accadian
determine

And

this

must afford us a clue

to

the approximate date of the Dravidian migration to

Southern India.
the

As pomted

out by

Dr. Caldwell*-

Dravidian languages have had some influence

It

from the Aryan languages.

should
left

have taken
Central

place only after the Dravidians had

Asia
of the

and

settled in the

Punjab,

before the arrival

Aryans.
India

The migration
have

of the

Tamils to Southern
long
after

should

taken

place

their

Upper India with the Sanskrit-speaking Aryans and it will be shown in the sequel that the Dravidians had separated from the Aryans in the trans-Vindhyan Aryavarta sometime after the Mahabharata war about the eleventh century B. C. The North-Western origin and migration of the Dravidians receive an additional support and confirmation from the Brahui language which has
sojourn in
;

THE TAMIL PEOPLE

been the home speech
chistan.
of Mr.
of a

37
in Baluis

Dravidian tribe

The

latest verdict
I.

on that language
In his

that

Denys Bray,

C. S.
'it

that tongue he says that

is

monograph on sprung from the same

it

source as the Dravidian language group;

has freely
Baluchi,
;

absorbed the
spite

alien

vocabulary of Persian,

Sindhi and other neighbouring languages

of their

but in

inroads

its

grammatical system has

Mr. Bray goes on to

preserved a sturdy existence,'

give us a

word

of advice so that

we may not

identify
'

the

Brahuis with the Dravidians.

He

says

We

can

no longer argue with the child-like

fathers

faith of

our fore-

from philology
further
is

to

ethnology, and assume

this

without

ado that

race of Baluchistan

whose speech
that
it

akin to the languages of the Dravi-

dian peoples of Southern

is

India

is itself

Dravidian

in

fact the

rear guard or the van-guard

according to the particular theory

of a Dravidian migration

we
to

may

affect

from North

South or

from South

to North.'
*

The term

Dravidian

'

means one thing

for

an

ethnologist and another for a philologist. Sometimes

both are confounded.

The peoples whose homeis

speech

at the present

day

a Dravidian language, are

not necessarily Dravidians by race

non-Aryan

tribes

who

speak an

and there are Aryan language.

;

To
it

avoid

further

confusion

and misapprehension

which have unnecessarily

led to conflicting theories,

must be said once

'

for

all

here that the term *Drahill

A^idian

does not include the very black

and forest

38
tribes,

TAMIL STUDIES
the

low castes of Southern India

who had

migrated thither from the submerged continent and

the Tamil speaking Aryan Brahmans,

but only the

hi^h class

Tamils the

who were more or

civilized, of

and the Chetti castes brown complexioned, fairly good physique and of martial habits like
Veilalas
less

the Semitic or Iranian tribes of North-Western

Asia.

These people, we presume, are

the

now

represented by

Todas

of the Nilgiris,

though there had been on

says,.

the plains a complete fusion with the aboriginal races

and the

later

Aryan immigrants, as the proverb

Quxsnetr OiCOTsrr

G)eusir(ofrfT&r<our,

(A Kalian

became

a Maravan, the Maravan be-

came an Agambadiyan, and came a Vellalan.)

F'urther.the

the

Agambadiyan be-

mental and physical characteristics of

the Brahuis as described by Mr.D. Bray agree so well

with those found in the literature of the early Dravi-^

dian Tamils, that one will be justified in regarding

both as ethnically related to each other. Thus, we see

that this theory
is

supported by philological as well

as ethnological evidences,

and we cannot observe any

contradiction

between

them.

The Brahuis must,

van-guard.

therefore, be regarded as the rear guard in the Dravi-

dian migration and the Todas

its

We

mayis

say that the connection between Brahui and Tamil

so great that no other inference than that of the ethnic

relationship between the two peoples seems possible,
in spite of

Dr. Grierson's assertion that the Brahuis

THE TAMIL PEOPLE

3^

do not belong to the Dravidian race but are anthropologically Iranians. And the existence of such

words as (worm)
;

ba,

eumii,

vay, (mouth)

pii,

Lj(Lp,

puzhu,
;

bei, emoj,

vai (straw); khal, sdo, kal, (stone)

;

bil,

<a5<rj,

vil

(bow); kh'in, ssm, kan, (eye)

ielli,

inits,
;

Qp^(St
urreo,

mukku
(plural

(nose):

(?^srr, tel

(scorpion)

palh^
^eir,

pal, (milk); ingh, M^^iS,

tungu,
irat,

(sleep); gcil,

kal;

termilnation)

i^iT'sm'Si,

irandu,

(two)
fsrrasr

&c.,

and the sentences

sii(i^Q<siim,

like,

/ nnrnto bareva,

^ih

QmrrQ

irresistably lead

us to the

same con-

clusion.
Arachceologlcal Evidence
:

'The Indian oblong sar

cophagi,' says Mr. V. A. Smith, 'discovered at various

places

the Madras districts of Chingleput, Neliore,

in

North and South Arcot. are practically identical

form with sunilar objects found

Bagdad.
This
fact
is

at

Gehrareh near

one of

many

indications con-

necting archaic Indian civilization with that of Babylonia and Assyria,which suggest
cal speculations.'

tempting ethnologi-

The author

of

Manimckalai enumedead as prevalis

rates five

methods

of disposing of the

ent in his days

among

the Tamils, that

(1)

about the
(2) ex-

third century A. D.

They were

cremation,

posure

in

an open place to be eaten by jackals and vul-

tures, (3) burial, (4) stuffing the corpse in natural pits,

and

(5)

covering

it

up with big earthen

jars, {^"i^).

m-Qisu!T ffKSQeuira

Q^it(S(^l^u uQuQuair

^ITipQJuS (SST'SSiL-LJ^Uljir ^ITL^uS/b SisS

uQ UlT

IT

So

far as

we know,
in

the only early nation

who

ex-

posed the dead

this

fashion

was the ancient

40
Persians.

TAMIL STUDIES

The Tamil

Dravidian, in his
in

march towards
with

India, must

have lived

Persia,

and moved

Persians sufficiently long to adopt the above custom.

Again some of the Tamil

peculiar

districts
*

tomb
set

stones

called

abound with Virakkals.' They

were usually were

slain in
cattle raids.l

up on

the

graves of warriors that

skirmishes following

battle,

chiefly in
of the

The names
are

deceased soldiers and

their exploits

found inscribed on the stones,

which were decorated with garlands of peacock Usually small feathers or some kind of red flowers. canopies were put up over them.
(1)

&-^ld(?u...

uS i-.ldl9

nriiT

QsiT&refrrT^ QgU'SuL^u

(2)

ulLQl^itit

Quaj0

LDtTjD/D^

Qldqp^

We
of

give below a specimen of

such an epitaph

dated 936 A. D. 'Prosperity! In the twenty-ninth year

King Parakesari Varman who conquered Madura when cattle were lifted at Muttukur by the Perumanadigal, Vadunavaran Varacian Tandan having
recovered them
fell.'

A
1.

careful study of the

Purapporul Venbamalai

will doubtless
In ancient

convince the reader that the ancient

India the lifting of the enemy's cattle usually

a nnounced the commenceuient of hostilities between neighbouring

tribes or provinces.


THE TAMIL PEOPLE
Tamils were,
ferocious
race
like the

41

Assyrians and Babylonians, a

of

hunters and soldiers armed with

bows and

lances making war for the mere pleasure of

slaying, ravaging

and

pillaging. Like

believed in evil

spirits,

astrology,

them the Tamils omens and sorcery.

to the

They cared

little

for death.
will

The following quotations

bear testimony

from the above work

characteristics of that virile race:

(2)

Qmaa^uij euenisfTLLemL-s

(3)

3k.ifTiT

Qp'^emQairen'^Fv

s'lrp^

(4)

Qpisf.^ 3,'^iu

QuiSlp \3ih^Si%sci^^ni^^

Q^rru^^ QsifTLL (SuiSn) ^esiLp^iu &imQs=iT^

LD/DuQuiL euiT^suesi
(l)
euuSisaifjSih

^lLl

Sil.

Garlanded

with

the entrails of enemies they

danced with lances held in their hands topside down. (2) They set fire to the fertile villages of their enemies; (3) and plundered their country and demolished their
houses.
(4)

The

devil's

cook distributed the food

the hearth
of

boiled with the flesh of the slain, on

the

crowned heads
these

of fallen

kings and stirred

with

the ladle of the bangled arm.

With
flayed
in

compare some
compaigns.
'

passages from
I

the

Assyrian stories of

had some of them

my
I

presence and

their skins.

arranged their heads

bodies in the

had the wall hung with like crowns and

their transfixed

form

of garlands

... I

42
raised

TAMIL STUDIES
mountains of bodies before his
I

gates. All his

;

villages

destroyed,
I

desolated,
it

burnt

country desert.
debris'.

changed

into hills

made the and mounds of

I

And

yet the early Dravidians are

considered by

Dr. Caldwell as the

framers of the best moral codes,

of

and by the new school

as the inventors,

non-Aryan Tamil scholars

of the sliahtest

independent

Aryan
for

or other influence, of grammar, philosophy, theology

and

in fact of

every science and

art.

It is

enough

the present to remind

them that the earliest grammarians of Tamil were Brahmans, their first spiritual instructors were Brahmans, and iheir first teachers of philosophy were also Brahmans. The first Tamil grammarian, an Aryan sage,
found the customs,
of the
polity

and even thought of the

prudent to leave
of

ancient Tamils so completely at variance with those

Aryans that

he thought
for the

it

a description of
posterity
;

them

information

their

and with a view, no doubt, to satisfy the incorrigible and refractory early Tamils and to give them a permanency at least in books, he codified and varnished them with a thin veneer of Aryan religious sanction. These now form the subject matter of the
third

book

of the

Tolkapyam.

We
tribe.

have said that the Vellalas were pure Draviwere a

military

dians and that they

If

and dominant
*

so,

one would naturally ask

cultivators
'

How
a

could
warlike

the ancestors of peaceful

race
?'

be

The term

'

Vellalan

is

ordinarily derived by

THE TAMIL PEOPLE

some from
cultivator
;

43
a ruler,

vellam, flood,

and

alaii,
it

hence a

while

others

derive

from vdlanmai,
occurs
in

cultivation.

Neither seems to be quite correct, for the

of this

right early

form

word
of

is

Vellan and
In
;

it

Tamil
are
vcl,

inscriptions.

Tamil the words

vel-ir,

allied

to

it

the

god
but
;

war
;

the ruling class

among
(now

the ancient Tamils

vel-akkaraii,2i foot-soldier

obsolete,

found
help

in
;

the inscriptions
;

of

Raja-raja Chola)

vcly

vel-anmai, truth

and
to

Vell-alan, a cultivator.

The

last

two are rarely

while

be

met with

in early

Tamil

literature,

the others

we hear the sound of the war-drum. Compare the word padai [usmiJ) which meant an army, a weapon of
war and a plough
;

and
it

to distinguish 'a plough'

is

from

the other implements

ploughing weapon.
all

now called a-(z^us3)i_ or a Audit may be pointed out that

the

modern

cultivating castes

the

Bants,

the

Nayars, the Pallis and the Telagas or Velamas

were
of

formerly martial tribes

Literary evidence:
the soil

like
{(i)

the ancient Vellalas.

The

artificial irrigation

by constructing
scale

large

reservoirs

and canals
the early

on an extensive
Tamils.

was encouraged by

^ilSoiT [Tilt LBsSi'SuLLL-LLQi^nQ rr (Verily, he

Piir.

who

has turned the bent (low) land into a

is

reservoir to arrest the flow of the running water

one

who has
This
in

established a

system, says

name ip this world.) Meadows Taylor, 'existed probably

no other country except Babylon.'

44
(b)

TAMIL STUDIES

The

kings of

all

the three

Tamil dynasties
other of
the

traced

their ancestry

to

one or the

North-Indian kings. The Pandyas claimed to be an

offshoot of the
*

Pandavas and

styled themselves

the

Panchavans';

and the Chobs called

to

themselves

'Sembyan' or the descendants of Sibi,a North-Indian

Emperor.
Pandavas

These kings are said

in the

have assisted the

Great War,

L^wLjisrjb

ULpsGiu

LjSfTiTiBsiT

Qisuis,m.

Sil.
city of
his

(The king of Pukar

Cauveripatnain the
who from on
')
'

lovely gardens and sweet water,

of

throne

audience distributed the

great food

QuQ^(^QfiTpgn

tAl(^u^u)6uesi!rLurr^QsiT(S)^Q ^mu.

Pur.
fell.)

(Thou

art

the

king

that
till

gave the 'great food'

the
'

hberally at the battle field

one hundred

'

This they could have done

reigning over small
India
sible
;

districts in Upper would be improbable and imposthat the Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas, had they

when somewhere
(jnly

they were

because,

it

actually been

in

the south

at

the time of the war,

all

could have sent their large contingents

the

way

to

the Punjab through impenetrable and mountains. And in support of the above statement we may quote an extract from Mr. J. The kingdom of W. M'Crindle's Ancient India. Pandion, which was situated on the southern extremiin
forests, rivers
'

Kuruksheha

ty of the Indian peninsula,was

founded by an Aryan

THE TAMIL PEOPLE

race

45
regions

whose ancestors

had
This

occupied the

watered by the Jamna.

may

be inferred both

from the name of the king and that of his capital which was called Madura after the celebrated city
which adorned
of old, as
it

does

still

the

banks of
is

that great tributary of the Ganges.'

The kingdom

mentioned by Pliny
Peripins of the
'In

by the author of the Eryihnvan Sea and by Ptolemy.

(A. D. 77),

his

commentary on

the prefatory sutra

a

to the

Tolkapyam, Nacchinarkiniyar describes

as follows:

tradition

relating to the migration of the Dravidian race,

is

The sage Agastya

Sri

repaired

to

which Dwarka

(Tatn.

Tuvarapati)

and, taking vvith

him

eighteen

kings of the line of

Krishna, eighteen families of

Vels or Velirs and others,

the Aruvalari tribes.
cleared

moved

to

the South

with

There, he had all the forests and built up kingdoms settling therein all the people he had brought with him. One of the princioalities thus founded bv him was Dwarasamudram in
the Mysore State.
Kapilar, a

Brahman

poet probably

of the second century

1.

A. D,,

addresses the reigning

the ancestors of the
or Vellalas as will be

The Aruvalars seem- to have been Kummbas. They were not Hked by the Vehrs

evident from the bad meanings which these Tamil words acquired
in later times and from the following quotation.

f^gu^fT irrSs^

esiituirfr.

(The wise will not approach

the Vadugas,

Arnvalas, Karnatas

the burning ground, the devil and the buffalo.)


46
TAMIL STUDIES
chief of this place as the forty-ninth in descent

from

the original founder of that dynasty.

S-Qjuit eSstsis^
iBfT

^eussnT luiremQ

pu^
!

Q^iTiSsru^ suip](Lpssip eurs^

QeuQetr.

Qeue(fl(rf,<3(r

Pur.

(O The Velir of Velirs that governed Tuvarai Dwarasamudram for forty-nine generations.)

Allowing the usual twenty-five years for each generation, the

above kingdom must have been established

1075

about

B.'J.

and

this

may

be assumed as the

probable date of the migration of the Tamils to

Southern India.

Within the hst

of admirers fessor

fifteen

years a

new school

of

Tamil scholars has come into being, consisting mainly

and castemen of the late lamented proand antiquary, Mr. Sundaram Pillai of Trivandram. Their object has been to disown and to
disprove any trace of indebtedness to the Aryans, to
exalt the civilisation of the ancient Tamils, to distort
in the

name

of historic research the current traditions

and to pooh-pooh the views of former which support the Brahmanizalion of the scholars,
literature,

and

Tamil

race.

They would
had ever

not even
in

admit

that the

early Tamils

lived
of

Upper-India by the
writes thus
: '

side of the Aryans.

One

them

It is

my

view that Tamilians were not derived directly

settlers in the

from the
days,

north during the Indian Vedic

and

that the Tamilians did not immigrate

from
;

the north of India to the south by choice or by force

that they are not to be identified with the people

whom

THE TAMIL PEOPLE

the Vedic settlers encountered and called Dasyus
if
;

47
that

they did

settle in

the

south from outside, they did

so by the sea and not by land and through

ranges,

mountain and that they came from Assyria and Asiacivilisation.

I

Minor, the oldest seat of ancient

think, that once they

further

entered India

sea-gate they spread themselves rapidly over the

of

by the Western whole

South

India

up

to

the

Dandakaranya and the

their letters,

Vindhya, which
sable,

at that

time must have been impas-

and that they developed

and

arts,

and

sciences,

and law, and government which

in

at the

time they

came

contact with the Northern settlers

must have been in a sense perfect'. If the above theory be correct, the migration
must have taken place earlier than the twelfth century B. C; and to accomplish such a huge undertakmg the Dravidian Tamils must have had an immense naVy. But we know of no ancient nation who had
it

at this

remote penod.i
;

The Egyptians were an

the Phoenicians
of

agricultural race

the Assyrians were mountaineers;

the

Hebrews were shepherds and

but of
later

alone,

date,

were a maritime race

merchants. As a matter
last,
Prof. Sayce

of fact

the lonians and the

we know Romans and

that

these

very lately
com-

1.

believes he has proved the existence of

merce by sea between India and Babylon bo early as 3000 B.C. by the finding of Indian teak in the ruins of Ur. But this conclusion
is

not accepted

by

all

si-holars.

Mr.

J.

Kennedy has

deci-

sively

shown

in a

very learned paper that he can find no archaeo-

logical or literary evidence for a

maritime trade between India and

Babylon prior to the seventh century B. C.


48

TAMIL STUDIES

the Arabs had commercial intercourse with the early-

Tamils.

Their ships came to South India with gold,

peacock-feathers and agil as
will

wine and lamps and bartered them with the Tamils

for pepper,
pearl,

the

following quotations
cueuissriT

show:
sgOld

^i^

<sS^esr LDrremasr

(The stately vessel of the Yavanas (lonians) will

come with gold and go with

LUQjssr

pepper.)
unssisu

SajpfSiu

eSl^esr LofTsm

easQiLii^

sssfleoi/Diu Q:?ajQs^iTifli^.

Ned.

(Poured

oil in

the

lamp held by the statue made by

the Yavanas.)

(BasTseotJD

^k^

^eaarsLDj^ Q^jsso,

Pur.
fine

(The cool sweet-scented wine brought by the

ship of the Yavanas.)

When
come

their acquaintance with the ^Tamils

had be-

closer the

Romans began
cities.

to settle in

some

of

the principal Tamil

A Pandya

king in return

sent an embassy to Augustus Caesar in B. C. 20.

He

might have been Mudu-Kudumi-Peruvaludi whose

name occurs both in Tamil hterature and inscriptions. The Roman settlement in Madura probably continued
till

about

4.50

A. D. There
in the

was

also a

Greek colony

at

Kaveripatam

second century A. D.
in

The words used

denote the
Navis,
'

ancient Tamil literature to

{iBrranTih),

ship

'

are

navay

Gr. Naus, Lat.

{ssoim).

Skt. Nav,

and kalam or kalan

Ion..


THE TAMIL PEOPLE
Kalon
(a

49

wooden

hou^e). These are not

Tamil words,

and
or

tliey

might have been borrowed from the lonians

Greeks

who

had, as already stated, commercial

ancient Tamils.

relationship with the

We know

that

foreign nations carried on trade with the Tamils

settled in The

and
it

Tamil countries

but

we do not

find

any foreign countries for the purpctse of commerce, though in later times they had ships and were experts in navigation. Their voyages, however, seem to have been
said

anywhere

that the Tamils ever visited

confined mostly to the East as the following extract

will

show

ia_LO?s ulSIjdibs

insmfiiLjil)

QuiTisar^iEi

@i_LD?lsy UlS/DIS^ (SUlTITQp

ldQ^ib

QaeisrsL-eo

Qp^^w

(^ssarsL^p ^Qq^isi

sfSjioiDS tsufrfftiLjisi

aaeSfflu

ulu^
Pat.

iBi^^^emei^isi aiTLpt^ ^a&s(LpLD,

(The gold and gems

of the

Himalayas, the sandal

the
pearls of the

and

agil

of

the Western

ghats,

Southern ocean, the coral

of the Eastern sea, the

pro-

ductions of the Ganges and the Cauvery, the eatables,

from Ceylon and the spices from Burmah).

As
*

Mr.

Ancient

Smith has rightly observed, Tamil literature and the Greek and Roman
Vincent
in

authors prove that

the

first

Christian era the ports on the

\.

two centuries of the Coromandal or Chola

a
ship-

The Tamils had words

to

signify a boat, but not

Patai, padakti (Gael. bata)*2mnai, a catamaran, iollai (that which

is

made hollow), &c.

between a
4
raft, a

The Tamil lexicographers made no

boat and a merchantman.

distinc-

tion

50

TAMIL STUDIES

coast enjoyed the benefits of active

both the West

atid

East.
to

commerce with The Chola fleets did not

confine taemseives

coasting voyages, but boldly

crossed the

Bay

of

Bengal to the mouths of the

Ganges and the h-rawaddy, and the Indian Ocean

to the islands of the xMalay Archipelago'. Dr. Caldwell

thinks that the ancient Tamils

'

had no foreign com-

merce, no acquaintance with any people beyond the

sea

except

Ceylon,

and

no

word

expressive of

geographical idea of island or continent'.

say that Dr. Caldwell was not altogether
estimate
of

We
just

might
in his

the ancient Tamil civilisation.

But he

might be correct
they had

with

regard

to the

Tamils before

come

in contact

with the Aryans either in

South.

Upper India or

in the

extreme
it

In this connection
of the capitals

may

of the a-icient a
fact

be observed that most Tamil kingdoms were

militates against
of a daring

inland towns,

which
been

the

theory of their having

slock.

sea-faring

Again

if

we

believe in the theory that the

Tamils
the
of the

migrated to Southern India by the sea and not by

land,

how

are

we

to

account for the location

the Dravidian

Brahuis

a tribe allied to

Tamils

in

Aryan early Tamil language? History and elements in the traditions are against it, philology is against it, and
Baluchistan?
are
to explain the

And how

we

in fact everything

is

against
the

it.

Some

glimpses of

Aryan conquest and

THE TAMIL PEOPLE

51

colonization of Southern India will be obtained from

the two great Sanskrit epics the Mahabharata

and the on

Ramayana.
minute

The evidence furnished

is,

by thetn

details

however, extremely questionable.

has

Neither of them

come down

to

us in

its

original

form. Additions, interpolations and alterations

to

have been
till

made from

time to time to

the

seem Mahaand

bharata
to

the tenth or eleventh century A.D.,

at least

the

Ramayana

up

to the

second or third

century, which have given rise to

many contradictory

statements

be hazardous

and anachronisms. It would, therefore, to start any theories from incoherent

statements, or to cite

them

in

support of one's pre-

conceived theories concerning the civilisation of the

aboriginal tribes

inhabited, bers of the

as

and the geography of the tracts they has been done recently by the memSchool of
is

New

love of their language

historic truth.

Tamil Research whose more than their regard for

preten d to have the

The

present

writer cannot

boldness or the requisite scholarship in Sanskrit to

derive the

name

Rama

'

from Tam.

Inil,

darkness

to say that the Rakshasas

and Vanaras were more

Tamilians
the
form,

civilized than the Aryans, to call the ancient

Asuras, to assert that

of marriage prevalent

Svayamvaram was

among

the aborigines,
'

and

to

Rakshasas were monotheists' and worshipped Siva and Siva only with incense and flowers while the Aryan worship
'
;

proclaim from

the

house-tops that

the

of natural

phenomena and

their

unmeaningsacrifices


52

TAMIL STUDIES

appeared to the philosophical Tamils

the Ramayana
duty

to be

Rakshasas of
it is

sacreligious.'

Leaving these theories severely alone,

in

our
forth

the interest

of scientific truth

to

set

what we have gleaned from the two great epics and the
writings of
the ancient Tamils.
epics, the

Of the two grand

seems
to

Mahabharata alone
Som.e of the

have been widely known and regarded, in

a

the Tamil country, as

sacred work.

Mahabharata
tioned therein

stories
like Sri

and the divine personages menKrishna and Bala

Rama

occur

very often in the early Tamil works of

the academic

period prior to the hfth or sixth century A. D. the other hand, the
to

On

Ramayana was almost unknown

The

them, except probably to certain Tamil poets of

a

that period as

quasi-historical composition.

author of Silappadikaram (A.D, 220) while describing

Kaveripatam,

after

it
it

Kannaki, compares

to

was left by Kovalan and Ayodhya after its desertion

:

by Rama and

Sita as in the following lines

And Ravana
Kanji (A. D.

is

mentioned by the author

of

Madurai
Pandya,

150).

He

says that owing to the diplo-

matic
their

skill

of Agastya, the royal priest of the

Tamil country was saved from being conquered

by Ravana.
Q(yrj>m (i/>^ siei\L- LS(5sr6miT Qldlu

THE TAMIL PEOPLE

53

in

Again both the names Rama and Havana occur an example for the logical method of immediate

inference cited by Sattanar.

(To infer that 'Ravana suffered defeat' from the proposition

'

Rama won

'

is

what

is

called mitchi)

Thus we
and that early Tamils

Ravana was not a TaraiHan he and Rama had been regarded by the
see that
as pure
historical personages,
till

we
to

come
Saints

to

the

Puranic period, when the Vaishnava

following
the

{^u^suirn)

impetus given
to

Brahmanism
as an

in

Upper

India,

began
the

deify

Rama
of

Avatar of
in

Vishnu.

And

Ramayana

which Rama is described as a great national hero a typical Aryan of noble, pure and
Valmiki,

sublime

life

worthy

of

divine

respect
in

appears

to

have been recast with vast additions

imitation of

the Mahabharata, probably, during the third or fourth

century A.D. Even so late as the seventh century,

Ramayana did not secure such a hold on the Tamil mind as the Mahabharata. The following extract from the Kuram grant of the Pallava king Paramesvara Varma I. (AD. 660) will be to the point
the

(One share
matitapam.)

to the

reader of the Mahabharata at this

was one century later that the first Tamil ^translation of the Mahabharatha was made by
it

And

54

TAMIL STUDIES

Perum-Devanar, the celebrated compiler of the Eight Tamil anthologies. The Ramayana was translated for the first time in A. D. 1185 by the immortal

Kamban.

Now
to
It

the

Ramayana

is

quasi-historical

epic

poem which

describes the migration of the Aryans

Southern India prior to the fifteenth century B.C.

gives an account of the
tribes that

were living

in

the various regions of

description of the
in the

the

Indian Peninsula.

The

Pandya and other countries given

interpolations.

modern recensions of that epic are only later The Tamil kingdoms did not come
Rama's
time.

into existence during

These provinces

were then dense forests inhabited by wild and savage

tribes,

whom

Valmiki called Rakshasas, Yakshas and account of

their strange,

Vanaras (monkeys) on
familiar

un-

non-Aryan physical features and customs.

In later Sanskrit works the Asuras are sometimes con-

founded with the Rakshasas ; but it is not correct, as the Asuras were a section of the fair-skinned Aryans, now represented by the Parsis, while the Rakshasas
were a dark-complexioned cannibal race
ters

of

hun-

modern Andamaners and the Australian aborigines. The Yakshas of Ceylon and the Rakshasas ot Southern India belonged to the same race of people called Yatudanas in the Vedas and Nagas in the later Buddhistic and other liteThey might have been the ancestors of the ratures. Pallas, Idaiyas, Maravas Paraiyas, and modern
and fisherman
like the

Kallas.

It

will

be interesting to note that one of the


THE TAMIL PEOPLE
Marava
chieflains

55

under a Pandya king was called

lyakkan or Yakshan.

Aryan

They were demonalators and hated Siva, an deity, and their king Havana who treated Siva

with contempt had his ten heads cut off by that deity,

Q^rrOieiriT
tLirrememixLqLiD

ud^eumLjih QsiT^e\}^^i
u&9LL!i ^iruumrsLiT

esiQcihsisi^'oai/iS

ii6\)ixii-i!reiiieu)Qir.

The custom
prevalent
lias

of carrying
;

off

women

for

wives was

come

j^CAual

among them hence this kind of marriage to be known as Rakshasam. This form of alliance which is very common among some of
hill

the

modern

tribes

and
girl

largely
tl

practised

by

the ancient

Tamils has

left its

trace in
'

e social rules

called
*

the 'be.eging

for a

ira^l L.ff^<5/7(g^

and
c^ve

refusal to give a girl' Lcsemws)'^^

Qu

l^

^&}.Thty

explained in the Venbamalai thus:

sjiB^asLQ ujitlLi0

Qsesi^LD

(To see an enemy

of a jewelled maiden.)
QeutMQpo'
(emani-D'SBSfr

in

the king

who begged

the gift

Qeuemi

(They
a bitter

in the fort

refusing the

hand

of

damsel to

foe.)

This kind of marriage by capture seems to have led to frequent bloody quarrels between neighbouring villages. As to their cannibalism and excess of,
flesh-eating

and drinking

of liqucr

more

will

be said


56
in the

TAMIL STUDIES
following pages.

So much

for the

Rakshasa

ancestors of our non-Aryan friends.

We
key
the

shall

allies

of

now enquire who Rama were. Even

the Vanara or

mon-

the early

Tamils of

second or third century believed that they were

actually monkeys.

poet of that

period has said,

Qs=LbQpsLj

QuQ^iEiSi'^.

Piir.

In reality they were not monkeys,but only an aboriginal race, darkcomplexioned, short statured, but strong

and

of

monkey-like
roots

appearance

like

the Negritos.

They lived upon

and

fruits;

and they used only

the Rakshasas
description of

stones and clubs in their fights

with

whom

they ahviys

disliked.

This

the Vanaras

leads us to infer that they should have

been the ancestors of

tribes
like

the

modern

hill

and

forest

the

Malasars, Soligas, Paliyas, Kadars

and the Irulas. We have said before that these hill and forest tribes had their own kings like Vali and Sugriva, the monkey chieftains of the Ramayana. All that we have discussed in the preceding pages may be summarized thus. The present population of the Tamil districts is composed of four distinct races, namely (1) the Negritos, (2) a mixed leiotrichi race allied to the Veddahs of Ceylon and the aborigines of Australasia, whom, for the sake of brevity, we may
all the

Nagas,
first

(3)

the

Dravidian race, and

(4)

the

Aryans. The

two

the Vanaras and the Kakshasas

THE TAMIL PEOPLE

of the

57

Ramayana

had

had

their

original

home

in

the submerged continent before they

entered India

from the south.

been the
earlier

Of these

the Negritos

must have

immigrants, and they must have been

driven to the

hills

and
after

Nagas who came

maritime
districts.

forests by the mixed race of them and occupied mostly the

Tiie date of their migration cannot

be given as

we have no

data for

it.

Thirdly,

came

the

Dravidians from Upper India about eleven hundred

B.C.,

who carved

out three or four small kingdoms by

tribes.

subduing the petty chieftain? of the Naga

original

Their

home Seems

to

have been

Asia-Minor,

and Ihey entered India by the North-Western gate long before the arrival of the Aryans; and before they marched southward both the races should have lived together in Northern India at least for some centuries. And lastly, came the Aryans not as conquerors but as teachers of religion and philosophy Dravidians, mostly on the the semi-civilized to
invitation of their kings.

58

TAMIL STUDIES

DISTRIBUTION OF PRINCIPAL TAMIL CASTES.

(In Thousands). Tamil popiiIalion~16, 647.

IV

THE TAMIL CASTES

An examination
shows
that,

of the

South Indian
to

inscriptions
of

from

time

time,

small bands

Brahmans from Northern India were invited by the Tamil kings and made to settle in their countries. Even at that remote period the Dravidians were snfliciently civilized and the Brahmans felt no necessity to bring with them either the Kshatriyas or the
Vaisyas.
extensive

We

have neither heard nor read of any

within
historic

immigrations,

times,

of

other
course,

races

from outside the Tamil

country.

Of

we

leave out of

consideration the handful of

'Skilled artisans

from Magadha, mechanics from Ma-

ratam, smiths from Avanti and carpen'ers

from Yain the

vana (Ionia or Europe)'i who were found

1

city

"The name 'Yavana' was derived from

the lonians or descend-

ants of Javaii, the first Greeks with whom the Hindus became acquainted, and ill the ancient Tamil and Sanskrit period denoted the Greeks in general. In subsequent times, when the Greeks were succeeded by the Arabs, it was the Arabs that were denoted by this name; so that in the later Sanskrit of the Vishnu Purana We ai e to understand by the Yavaiias not the Greeks but the Arabs of more widely the inhabitants of both sliores of the Pei'sian Gulf, as that work speaks of the national custom of the Yavaiias shaving their heads entirely without leaving a lock. The name Sonagan by wliich these Muhammadans of Arab descent are sometimes called in Tamil, is merely a corruption of the Skt. Yavana or Yavanaka " See Ind. Ant, for 1876, p. 110.

'60

TAMIL STUDIES
Kaveripatam before
its

of

destruction which occur-

red in the early part of the second century A. D.

We
castes

do not nickide
recent

in this all later

immigrants of
as

the Telugu and Sourashtra weavers who followed the Vijayanagar Governors, the stray Kshatriyas and Vaisyas v.'ho hailed from the North during the Mogul
rule,

comparatively

times

such

and the
of

Mahratta Sudras Mahratta leaders.

who came

in

the

train

the

We

are

concerned

here only with the Tamil speaking castes and tribes

of an earlier period.
It

is

therefore certain that even

those Tamil castes

to the
'

who
'

trace their ancestry straight

Vedic and Pauranic gods, calling themselves

Viswa-Brahmans,'

Dravida Kshatriyas' and

of the
in

'

Arya

Vaisyas,'

must have grown out

which are described
inscriptions.

Tamil tribes

and

castes

ancient

Tamil

literature

and

Broadly speaking, the Brahmans and the Sudras of the Tamil country belong each to a distinct race. In a way each had its own system of thought, religion, and ethical and social rules, so that an attempt to engraft the one on the other must look strange and This fact has rightly been grasped by preposterous. the English educated portion of the non-Brahman
castes,

who,
to

as already pointed out,

have been endeaDravidian

civili-

vouring
^sation.

assert
is

an indigenous
;

This

only natural

and they merit the

THE TAMIL CASTES

sympath}'

61
if

and suppoit

of scholars

they

confine

themselves to a rational scientific enquiry.

It

has been said

in the last essay

that there

were

at least three distinct

types of pre-Aryans in the Tamil

Hill

country,
the

and Forest tribes, (2) Nagas and (3) the Vtlir or the Vellala tribes. For want of a better name these are called collectively
namely,
(1) <lie

Dravidians,

though,

strictly

speaking,
the

'

Dravidian

'

should be applied
the latest
India.
*

only

to

Vellalas,

who were
Southern

of

the pre-Aryan

mimigrants

in

Sometimes

the

moie

significant

compound

Naga

Dravidians' has also been used.

the

Before the arrival of

Aryans

there was

no caste
earliest

system

in

the

Tamil
tried,

country.

The
before

Brahman

settlers

however, to intro-

duce

their

four-fold

division of people, and

it

they could succeed in

ition.

they met with

much oppos-

No

Dravidian was considered worthy of being

classed as

Brahmans.

The Tamil

kings alone were

in spite

elevated to the rank of Kshatriyas

of

their

marriage connections with the ancient Velir or Vellala

tribes.

These

Velirs

were on that account called

kings'.

Ilangokkal or the 'minor

The Brahmans

got

up for them very decent geneologies which traced

ancestry to the sun, the

their

the position of the

moon or the tire. This rendered Vellalas who had to oscillate betthe

ween the Vaisya and

the
hill

Sudra castes dubious and

unsettled. Their greatest difficulty, however,

was with
constitu-

and

forest tribes

and

the Nagas,

who

52
ted the bulk of the

TAMIL STUDIES
South Indian population. They could

not put these earlier

Naga

inhabitants in the Sudra

division along with the Diavidian Vellalas for fear of

injuring the feelings of the

nobility.

Tamil kings and the Velir

To get new scheme

or region
i

over this difficulty they had to devise

of

classification

on

an altogether

different principle,
soil

in

which depended on the nature of the which the tribes happened to live.
TRIBE.
j t

REGION.
1.

Neijtal or maritime,

Paravas, Nulayas

and Valaiyas.
Mallar (Pallar)
Idaiyar

2.
3.

Marutam

or

fertile.

&

Kadaignar.

Mnllai or pasture.
Palai or desert.

4.
5.

and Toduvar. Maravar and Eyinar.

f

Knriujl or

hilly.

Kuravar, Irular, Savarai

Vedar and

Villiyar.

This regional classification of the

non-Aryan
refer

Tamil

tribes

is

conspicuous by the absence of the

It

Velir or

the

Vellala caste.

must, therefore,

only to the pre-Dravidian tribes mentioned in Groups

Palai is sometimes omitted or I and II given above. amalgamated with Kurinji and the tribes of these two
;

regions consequently interchange.

The
ans,

earliest

Tamil works inform us

that there

were two sections

among

the Velirs or pure Dravidi-

namely the cultivating and the non-cultivatmg.

rule the latter section
i

As a
1.

furnished

statesmen and

Tlie

amil grammarians and lexicographers have classified the

Soil as five

^/w/v.Neytal, Marutam, Mullai, Palai and Kurinji,

or

as four

iiilaiiis

making

Palai

common

to

the other four.

THE TAMIL CASTES

generals
generally
to

63

the

Tamil
of

kings.

Its

members were
like

recipients

high

titles

Kizhan,
;

Udaiyan, Rayan or Arayan, Vel or Velan and Kaviti

and

such

Tamil

names

as

Kudal-udai.

Arisil

kizhan and

Kalinga-rayan appear
Karkatta Vellalas.

now

as the

go trie

names

ot the

They have
thirteen ot
in

ninety-

six gotras or

exogamous

septs,

which end
sixty-

in Thirai, or Thiraiyan, fourteen

Rayan and
of the
title
;

nine in Udai or Udaiyan.

clan or
tribe
to

The

first

designates the
Vellalas

which that section

;

originally

belonged

the second

is

the

conferred

on them by the Chola or Pandya kings

third appears to have been the

while the
villages

names

of

of

which
special

they

were the chieftains.

bestowed
of

distinction

of state.

Most

these gotric

was a Kaviti upon the ministers names may be found

in the ancient

Tamil
to

inscriptions.
at

No

traces of

the

Tamil kings are

be found

present in this country,

and

it is

highlv probable that they should have merged

in the

pure Vellala caste.

We

say pure because

the

Vellala caste as a

whole appears
will

to have been receiving

additions from time to time from other tribes as the

following extract
srHi!jtT(eu)sr

show

QwiL^surflio
of the

Qsustrrrssr

L0(3^-E/G'QjswyT53r.i

Most

Konga

Vellalas

preceding statement were formerly Vettuvans. will show that the Coimbatore District contains an
unusually
casts

The

large

number

ot

Vellalas

fact

which

a serious doubt on their

pure

Dravidian or

Vellala origin.
1.

.^outli

Indian Iiircriptions, Vol.

Ill, p. i5.


64
TAMIL STUDIES
of

The occupations
as given below,

the

cultivating

section

were

S-Qp^ LJiumQsrrem
u(ips)e\}iTU

Qi^rr&9iSss3!r QiurrmLSu

u^miLD

usri^

QpQp^essnT
M,
(3)

(SS)^ su'SsiSsfT.i srrs?,

P.
(5)

V.

(1)

tilling,

(2i

cow-breeding,

trade,

(4)

studying
fire,

the
(G)

Vedas,
giving

worship

of

sacrificial'

and

aims.

Here the Vellalas are

spoken

of as Bhu-Vaisyas.

These occupations were,

Tilling

however, never confined to particular castes.

was and has been done by the Mallars (Pallars)^ Maravas and others; cow-breeding by the Idaiyas and

Kurumbas
by
all

trade in

grains

was formerly followed

Kuia-Vanikar or Vellan;

a class of Vellalas called

Chettis

and now by any caste

non-polluting
of sacrificial
castes.
fire

the

and giving alms by Vedic study and

to

worship

do not appear

have

at

any time been practised by the non-Brahman Tamils, except probably by an extinct section of the VellaVaidyas.' This name which as the las known
'

occurs in a Vatteluttu inscription

dated

70

A.D.

should not be confounded with the Boidya caste of

'

Bengal or with the class of native physicians called Pre-eminently Vaidyan as is sometimes done.
'

'

charming theson of Maran, and a learned and illustrious member of the Vaidya family, Madhurakavi made thisin of

manners, a resident

Karavandapura,

stone

temple of Vishnu'.

The Vaidyas were minis-

V
(

Vatteluttu

"^

o 3 l7 r) -tb t( d:p + ^
*T
Lfr

U -^

<W

M^

^J

9>

GO

^*

0'p!>_'^C) ly

J5

3 3*^

S3-

:r7.


THE TAMIL CASTES
ters

65

under the Chola and Pandya kings and were

well

good Sanskrit scholars

Their royal
that
It

versed
'

in

the

Vedas.

was Per-Arayan,' while of a Brahman minister was Brahma- Arayan.'

title

as ministers

'

will

be interesting to observe that the great Vaishalso belonged

nava Saint Nammalvar and probably the Saiva ascetic

Tayumanswami
Vellala caste.
In the

to this section of

the

Sendan-Divakaram, a work
century, the

probably of

the

eleventh or twelfth

occupations of

the Vellalasi are given, as (1)

(3) trade,
(4)

tilling, (2)

cow-breedings

playing on

ments,

(5)

weaving, &c.,

drums and musical instruand (6) service to Brahmans.

many inferior castes like the Kaikolas and mcluded here in tiie great Vellala tribe. And agreeably to it the word 'Kaikolan' makes its first appearance m this work as a caste name, and 'Pallava' is expunged therefrom, taking in the word 'Kavandan'
Obviously,
Pallis

are

to denote

man

of the servile class.

The Brahmans

depended upon the Idaiyans for the supply of milk, ghee and butter, which were necessary for their subsistance

and

sacrificial oblations,

and they were conseof

quently elevated to the rank of V^^isyas, though they

were never granted the privilege

wearing the sacred

thread, to perform the Vedic rituals

their villages.

and

to live within

They had

to live in a Clieri far

remov-

ed from the village

1.

like the Paraiyas,

Izhavas and

About the end

of the eleventh century the occupations of the

tilling,

Vellalas were,
sei'vice to

giving ahns,

cow-breeding, trade, music and

Brahmans.
6

Virasoliyam, 85.

66

TAMIL STUDIES

Kammalas. What a strange fitting of these nonAryan tribes to the procrustean bed of the Brahmanical caste system
!

Turning once more

to the early

Tamil

literature

and

inscriptions,

we
five

find

the

following

names

of

occupational castes mentioned:

Ambattan,
Kani
or

Izhavan,

Kammalan
Kaviti,

or the

artizans,

Kaniyan,

Kusavan, Marayan, Navisan, Panan, Panikkan,

{Mai. Chakkian), Uvaichan,

Pidaran, Sekkan, Sakkai

Vannan, Vannattan, Valluvan, Variyan and Velan. All these castes now exist in Makibar though their occupations have since undergone slight change
while in the Tamil
districts Kani,

Kaviti,

Marayan,
Tanjore

Sakkai, Vannattan, Variyan and Velan have altogether

disappeared.
inscriptions

Most
of

of

these

occur
(A.

in

the

Rajaraja Chola

D. 9851013).
;

Kani or Kaniyan was

an astrologer
;

Kaviti,

an

accountant (but formerly a minister)

title

Marayan, a
of

conferred on the royal musician

is

a temple

Pidaran

the

reciter of

the

Devara-hymns, audit
;

corresponds

to the present
;

day O'duvan
a high class

Sakkai

is

a
;

temple actor
Variyan
dancer
in

Vannattan

is

washerman
and
Velan

an overseer

in

temples

a
;

Subrahmanya the hill deity Ambaltan was a medicine man and now a barber Panan was a low caste minstrel and now a tailor Panikkan was a teacher or instructor in gymnastics and now the name of a mure advanced section of the Izhava or Shanan caste to which also belonged Enadi Nayanar the famous Saiva saint and athletic
honour
of
;
;

THE TAMIL CASTES

teacher of a Chola king.
of Izhavan in

67

Shanan has taken the place the Tamil districts, for reasons which

have not yet been ascertained.

Many

of

our readers must no doubt be faraihar

in the

with the tribes enumerated

tion given above.

regional

classifica-

For a better understanding of the process of formation and growth of the numerically strongest Tamil castes which account for more than 80 per cent, of the Tamil population, we shall exhibit

them

in the

subjoined table.
trihes.
[

Original
(1)

Modem
ParaVan,
\ (

castes.

Paravan and
Valaiyan.

Valaiyan, Sembadavan, P'atlanavan,

Karaiyan &c.
Pallan, Shanan, Panikkan.

(2)

Mallar (Pallar).
Idaiyan.

(3)

Idaiyan.

Maravan,

Agambadiyan,
Kaikolan,

^^

il\

Maravan and

P^i'-^'Y''^"'
'

KamPalli

Fvimn ^y^"^"-

< ^''^"'
j

Kurumban,

or Vanniyan, Kalian, Muttiriyan and Ambalakaran.

(5)
^

Kuravan, Irulan, \^TT'' J'h^''"' Malasar J","^^"' Kadai, Vedan^ndVilliyan.^^^l'^y'^"' ^and mmor hill tribes.
^

The other important castes like Ambattan, Vaniyan and Vannan were originally occupational guilds
consisting of peoples from various tribes, which have of time hardened into distinct in course castes*

Even now

in

barbers and

Malabar the Brahmans have their own washermen, while the Nayarsand Tiyars

.68

TAMIL STUDIES
*

have each their own.

'

Vaniyan
a
*

'

is

another form of

Vanijyan

'

which means
and

merchant.'

All the hill

forest tribes of the present day,

in

do
I,

not belong to the Negrito race alluded to

Group

Some

of

them

like

the

Kurumbas, the Malaiyalans

and the Malayamans are emigrants from the plains. During the dynastic convulsions and terrible civil
wars of the early Tamil period, several bands of the

who were driven from the low lands took on high mountains and in inaccessible forests, which had from the earliest times been under the rule of petty refractory chieftains called Kuru-nila-Mannar.
Naga
tribes

shelter

Early Tamil literature

tells

us that there were feuda-

tory chiefs on the Vengadam (Tirupati) hill, Kollimalais, Malainad, Tomimalai, Kudirai-malai and Mudiram. Some of them are eulogized by ancient

Tamil poets
of
of

as the

most benevolent
hill chiefs.

of

rulers

while

the

seven

third-ratei Vallals

{<sumsfr&))

or grantors

docenr some were

allies of

They had always

of the three

been the
kings,

one or another
in his

Tamil

like their

remote monkey ancestors

who had

helped Sri

Rama

war with Havana.

study of the various sub- castes returned during

the Census of 1891 supplemented by the latest ethnological researches should lead

one to the

irresistible-

1. Three grades of donors are mentioned in Tamil literature. Those who give any present unasked belong to the first class;, and those who offer what is asked belong to the second class
;

those

who

give grudgingly after

much importunity belong

to the:

bird class.

THE TAMIL CASTES

inference
that

69
Kalian,

Ambalakkaran, Muttiriyan,

Kurumban and Vanniyan belonged to the race of Nagas who inhabited the Northern Tamil districts,
which constituted the ancient Pailava country or Tondaimandalam, When the power of the Pallavas about the sixth and seventh was in its zenith, that
is.

-centuries A.

D.,

their

conquests extended
,

to

the

south as far as Trichinopoly

and

it

must have been

sections
of

then that the Kalian and

the Muttiriyan

the great Pallava, Palii or Malla tribe migrated to the

Chola
caste

country

Tanjore
Palii

and Trichinopoly.
nor
Kallani

As a

name
Tamil

neither

occurs in

early

literature or inscriptions,

but this exten-

was known as Pallava, and Mallava (uajevjaj/f Qmm, P. T.). The Pallava army was recruited from this martial tribe of Pallis or Kurumbas, and some of
sive tribe

them were
kings.

also feudal

governors under the Pallava

Like the Paraiyas

some

of

them claim
all

their
style

descent from

Sambu

or

Siva, while

Pallis

themselves Vahni
Palii or

Kshatriyas,
tribe,

One

section

of

the
(Tel.

Pallava

called the

Muttarasar
first

Mutracha) ruled
ries
of the

in the

Chola country,
of

as feudato-

Pandya kings during the eighth century A.D. It was during this period that Naladiyar was composed under the ausThe Pallavas pices of the Muttarasa governors. were the hereditary enemies of the three Tamil kings Chera, Chola and Pandya and their subjects
Pallava and then
the

1.

There

is a

doubtful
it

reference to the kalvars or kallar in the

Agananuni, and

corresponds to the 'Dasyus' of the Indo-Aryans,

70

TAMIL STUDIES
in the

were regarded as intruders

in the

southern

districts^
*

Hence, the term Pallava has come to mean a

rogue'

Tamil language, while a section

of the Pallava.

subjects
tries

who

settled in the

Chola and Pandya counof

Kallaj.

received the undesirable appellation

All these doubtless
oi

or thieves.
race, as

belonged

to the

Naga

one subdivision

the Palli caste called the

agavadam, Nagapasam or Nagavamsam and the occurrence of such names as Mugali-Nagan, Oli-Nagan

and Sanka-Nagan

in

the
will

Pagodas) inscriptions

Mamallapuram (the Seven show; and they must have

districts

migrated from the Telugu and Canarese

or third century A. D. For this reason

as

soldiers of the early Pallava kings during the

second
districts

the Pallavas

were always considered as strangers

to

Tamil

Tamil works.

and were never mentioned favourably m ancient As regards their connection with the

Kurumbas and Pallars enough has been said by Mr. (now Sir) H. A. Stuart in the iMadras Census Report
of 1891.

Maravan and Eyinan occur very often in ancient Tamil works, and they are said to have been skilful

bowmen and soldiers^ The Maravas were and even now are very numerous in the Pandya country, and
the habitat of the Eyinas appears from

time

immeand

morial to have been the Pallava and Chola countries.

Prior
lo

the

tenth

century, the

Kaikolas

Agambadiyas did not come tinct castes, and the origin

given presently.

into existence as dis-

of

the former

will be-


THE TAMIL CASTES
Mdaiyan'
in
literally

71

means a 'Middleman,' because he came to occupy the middle or the pasture land. He had to live next to the Eyinas on whom he depended for the
the
regional

grouping

supply of cows and buffaloes.i

century A. D. a

As

late as the

tenth

man

ot

any other

tribe

might become

an Idaiyan or cowherd by following that profession. The Kallaand Samban sub-divisions of this caste connect
latter

them with

the

Kalians and
is

Paraiyans.

sub-division which

by

far the

The numerous most

or
Siva,

not only

bears out their origin from

justifies

Sambu

but also
the Cheri

the proximity of their

residence to

of the

Eyinas or Paraiyas
very suggestive:

in ancient Dravi-

dian villages.

The
is

following description of atypical

Idaiyan of old

LDiT'Sf^U^dsms

LD u^ <su ij uS SO)

I Lu ear.

Pui'.

(The shepherd with

cloth

his thick (turned

down)

lips, dirty

and garland

of green leaves.)

There was no such caste as Pallan, but in its stead we tind in early Tamil literaluie IV'allan and Kadai,
gnan, the
latter

appearing as a sub-division
are

of

the

Pallan caste.

They

found chiefly

in

the

Pandya

country and correspond in their traditional occupaticn

to the Palli or

Vanniya

caste of the

Tondainadu. These
disputed and
that

people were agricultural labourers and soldiers.

The
it is
1.

origin of the

lei

Shananismuch
literature in

found nowhere
In this

in

Tamil

form

CLrnection

lines 130-180 of the Penimlavarnip^

fadai might be read with advantage.

72

TAMIL STUDIES
late as

As

as Izhavans,
levied

Shanans were known and a tax called tlie Izha-piitchi was by Tamil kings on all toddy-drawers. They
the 13th century the

and

were surely a polluting caste in those days as now, it would therefore be absurd to derive it from
sun,
is

Sanron, the

as

the educated section

do.

of

the
to a

Shanar caste

attempting to

According

tradition current in Malabar, the toddy-drawers are

considered immigrants from Izham or Ceylon.

theory
civilised

If

this

be correct, they
section
of

may be
the

regarded as a more

the Veddahs.

And

if

Izham

is

taken to

mean
life

toddy,'
t
>

of Pallars, allied

Shanars must be a class the Vedar c-v Vettuvar, leading

cultivators, wuiie
tribe.

the settled

of

palm

the

other

continues a nomadic
it

huntmg
in

In either case,

is

to

be observed that the Pallar

castes are

most numerous

and the Shanar the Tamil districts which

Ceylon the abode of the Veddah, Yaksha or Naga tribes. The caste names Valaiyan (net-man), Sembadavan,
are adjacent to

Pattanavan and

Karaiyan

do not occur
is

in

early

Tamil books.

Sembadavan

boatman,
vilhige,

Patta-

navan

is

an inhabitant of a sta-coast
is

and
any
of

Karaiyan

man

o^.

the beach.

The absence

of

of these fishing castes

from the maritime

district

Tinnevelly

is

noteworthy.
caste

Probably they must have

as
'

returned

their

name
race

Native

Christian

'

in the census of 1911.

All these

hshing castes form

part of the great

Naga

who

lived

on

the

South

Indian sea-board.

THE TAMIL CASTES

About the middle
were,
tribes
it

73

of the fourteenth century there

seems, only eighteen

the

principal
as

castes

or

among
from

non-Aryan Tamils

might be

inferred

the saying usfr(^uusiap u^QesriL ^it^u^ld

(the 18 castes inclusive of

Within the
tenfold,

the Pallas and Paraiyas). hundred years they have increased on account of various causes which will be
last five

explained below.

The elements which

were,
(1)

contributed to the break up

into iiinumetable castes
(3)

of the few Dravidian tribes

food, (2)

and (4) locality. The Dravidians of antiquity like the Vedic Aryans used to eat beef, pork, venisjn, mutton and even Brahmans of fish, and as late as 250 A. D. South India appear to have been meat-eaters. But
occupation,
religion,

under the humane influence

of Jainism, the

Brahmans

had ceased long before the Pauranic period to eat any animal ford, and some of their Dravidian neighbours followed
suit.

This, by the way,

may

be ob.

served as a remarkable case, quite unique in the socio-

logy of a whole people

habit

the Brahmans changing its from meat eating to vegetarianism. Killing of animals was condemned as a sin, the gravity of which
their

increased according to

usefulness

to the

Brah-

man's personal comforts

of

and

religious

offerings.

Thus, the cow became the most sacred animal, because

her
five

products,

panchagacyain, which

were

necessary for their food

of

and

sacrifice,
is

and

the killing

such an animal was and

of the greatest of sins.

still

being

considered
rise

one

It

has given

to

an

74

TAMIL STUDIES
all

imprecatory saying usually appended to

jrrrs&^m

grants,

VIZ, SEJGmsdssmn'uSleo smrfTihusfisaieiis Qin(S5T pu!TQi^^i&) Qufreu

(may he incur the

sin of

having slaughtered a

black

cow on

the banks of the Ganges).

The Dravi-

dians, chiefly the fighting classes, indulged very freely

in intoxicating drinks

liquor

and the manufacture and sale of was not considered a mean occupation by the
Tamils.
'

ancient
*

The

simple

fact that

the

word
the

toddy

has

at least eighty

equivalent words in

Tamil

language proves the extensive use of that

land.
It

beverage throughout the Tamil

after the

was only

advent of

the

Jains

and Brahmans that

its sellers

drinking was condemned, and

cers

and produ-

came to be shunned as polluting castes. The five artizans, potters and weavers were
requisitioned by
all

much

castes

high and low, and

to

these industries consequently tended

in closer contact
rise of

bring them

with the Brahmans.

And

with the

temples and other religious institutions, the

status of

social

these

classes

began to
for

improve.

The Brahmans
tions,

conferred on the;n flattering distinc-

high

titles,

and

fabricated

tiiem divine

origins, which, besides elevating their social status,

the

humoured them and made them willing workers new social organisation. Thus, the seeds of
subsequent quarrels and dissensions were sown.

in
all

All

these Dravidian castes were granted the privilege of

wearing the sacred thread.

The power
tribes

of a religion
is

to

rend asunder

large

and races

too well known.

The want

of easy

THE TAMIL CASTES

and quick communication
country
at

75
in the

of

any kind

Tamil
larger

the time, and the geographical conditions

splitting

of the country accelerated this

up

of

castes

and favoured the

introduction

crystallisation of the

smaller

communities.

The
system
in

of

the

Indo-Aryan caste
the Brah-

the Dravidian
for

country produced severe

centuries.
If

social troubles

many

mans

of

olden time were responsible for the superof

their

imposition

own

social

organization,

the

measure was one of doubtful expediency.

pointed out
it

As already
serious

had been the cause

of

and

unceasing disputes, particularly

classes,

among
to

the

artizan

which those Br ah mans had

Dharmasastras.

decide with
inscription'

reference to their

An

of Kulottunga Chola,

dated 1118 A. D,, records the

w^hether
the

decision of a curious question

Kam-

malas are entitled to wear the sacred thread. In support of their decision allowing the Rathakaras

(Kammalas)
the
the

to perform

'

only the Upauayana (thread

mantras",

wealing ceremony) without quoting the

Brahmans had
sons of

first

to

grant

that

they were

Mahishyas

by

Karani
of a

women.
of

A
male

Mahishya is the and a Vaisya female, and male and a Sudra female. In
offspring

Kshatriya
a

Karani

Vaisya

the Dravidian

country

whence did the and Vaisyas as to bring 650.000 Kammalas ?

1.

Brahmans

get so

many

Kshatriyas

forth by

illicit

unions about
Report,

The Madias (jovernment'Epigraphist's

p. 95.

dated the

28th July 1909,

'76

TAMIL STUDIES

It will be a huge task to attempt to trace the origin and development of every Tamil caste. We shall therefore take only the Eyinas or Paraiyas, which is

perhaps the third largest of Tamil castes, and examine what other castes have evolved from them and how
they

managed to secure their present social-position. But, by way of introduction, it is highly desirable to
present before the reader a description of the consti-

tution of an ancient

town or
of

village,

in

which the
is

regional

classification

tribes

explained above

clearly discernible.

We

shall first take the city of

cribed in

Kanchipuram as desthe Perum-panarruppadai^ a Tamil work of

In the heart of the

the third or fourth century A. D.

town were the Brahman' quarters where neither the dog nor the fowl could be seen'; they were flanked on the one side by the fishermen's {sn'^js^^ff) streets and on the other by those of traders (susssflaiT), and these were surrounded by the cheris of the Mallas or Pallas (&,L^e>jiT) and toddy-drawers {amea^Suoiefflir). Then, far removed from them were situated at one extremity of the city the pallis of the Idaiyans; and beyond
these lay the isolated piini-clietis of the
their
chiefs.

Eyinas and
streets

Next

to th.e

Malla

{^.l^suit)

were

the temple of Tiruvehka

and the

royal palace of king

Ilam.Tiraiyan.

By

the

end

of the tenth

century the social position

of certain tribes

was somewhat changed.

The

Idai-

yans had come to occupy a higher rank on

account.

THE TAMIL CASTES

of the diffusion of the Krishna cult, while the

77
toddy-

drawers and the

as

live artizan castes

were

still

regarded
sites

polluting

castes
of

and

assigned

separate
these

by the side
illustrated

the

Paraiyas.

And

may be

by a few extracts from the Tanjore inscrip-

tions of the great Rajaraja

*

Chola (1004 A.D.):

The

village site, the pond, the sacred temples, the

burning ground, the Vannaracheri, the pool of the

Paraiyas
(S,/./.,

II.

i-L).

The

village site, the ponds,

the sacred temples, the burning ground, the

cheri, the Izhacheri, Paraicheri (lb. 50).

Kammalaits

The temple
banks,
the village the

of Pidari

and
the

its

Court, the village

its

pond and
court,

the

temple of Aiyanar and

granary,

burning ground of the

of
'

Vellalas,

burning
the

ground
of
say.

the Paraiyas,
(lb. 55).

the Paraicheri,
relative

Izhacheri

What
held

social

rank

each

these

castes

we

carinni

now

But it is tolerably certain that the Paraiyas, Kammalas, Izhavas and Vannans were
definitely
all

considered polluting castes as these are

at

present

in

Malabar
specially

and
in

Travancore.

Thus, the above

arrangement
is

the constitution of a Dravidian village

as
it

noteworthy,

combined with the

to

circumstances described below

degrade the social

position of the Paraiya descendants of the Eyina tribe.

Of the six servile tribes Paraiya, Pulaiya or Cheruma, Mala, Holaya, Palla and Madiga which

constitute nearly one-sixth

of the

population of the

Madras Presidency, the Paraiya is by far the most important and interesting. They are found chiefiy

78
in

TAMIL STUDIES
the districts
of

and Tanjore tribe had formerly hved and where numberless cromlechs and kistvaens abound to this very day. The term Paraiyan as a caste, or more
Arcot, Chingleput

where the Eyina

correctly

an

occupational,
Kilar,

name

first

occurs in a

poem

of

Mangudi
s&)&.)^
'

second century A. D.
siihuQsmek

^L^iLKSsr urremeisr ussipiussr

fBiBiBiT&sr

(^u^u^uSe\)'2e\}.

Pltr.

Here

Tudiyan

means

one who plays on

hill
is

the

Tudi or a kind of drum

tribe; 'Panan'
;

peculiar to the
;

or jungle

is

a minstrel

'Paraiyan'
All

a drum"
these are

mer and 'Kadamban' is a hill man. occupational names and seem to refer
of the Kurinji
this
(hill)

to four sections

or

Palai (jungle) tribes.

Besides

casual

reference,

we do not
in

find

the

name
to

Paraiyan mentioned either

or in the inscripti(3ns, until

early

Tamil

literature

we come down

the

time of the great

Rajaraja Chola (A. D. 10.13), from

which! period it evidently obtained currency as a It is commonly derived from caste denomination.
parai, a

drum by

Dr, Caldwell and

native

writers.

This etymology though plausible and tempting seems unsatisfactory, as it is inconceivable that the beating of

drums could be the occupation

and
the

a half millions of labourers, while the

drum-beating section of that caste forms only j}^ih part of it. The more accurate derivation

two Murasu or comprehensive

of nearly

seems to be that

of Col.

Cunningham,

M. Letourneau and Dr. Oppert from the Sanskrit pahariyn, a hill man, or from Tamil Poraian, which

THE TAMIL CASTES

is

79
assign-

more

in keeping with the regional division

ed to the Eyinas by the ancient Tamil grammarians.

According
the
least

to

the inscription
in

already referred

to,

Paraiyas

were divided

ancient

times into at

two

sub-divisions the Ulavu (ploughing) and

;

Ncsavu (weaving)
&c.

and there probably existed many

like

more occupational groups among them,

Panan

Some

of the

most

significant of the sub-divisions

returned by them in the Census of 1891 were,

Kottai, Kottakara,
Saliya,

Valluva,

Jambu, Virabahu, Panikka, Koliya, Kurava and Ambu. The Valhivas are the

priests to the Paraiyas,

and were formerly superinten-

dents

of

religious

ceremonies (more probably con:

ductors of funeral obsequies) in a kmg's household

This

may

not look strange

(a

if

we

only

rememas
'

ber that the Marayans,

barber caste)

officiate

pnroliits at the funeral rites of the

Nambudri
Valluvas

or Vedic'

Brahmans

of

IMalabar.

The

were also

heralds under the Tamil kings.

!Bmusap

ujsmnoiB^eariT.

Kci^ll.

drum from
KottiU

(The Valluvan proclaimed the news the back of an elephant.)

is

beat of

a fort

Kottakarmn

is

a granary, for

in

ancient
as in the

days the land-tax was levied in kind as well

;

money
mythical
;

Saiiibn

is

Siva and Virabahu

of Siva
;

is

one of
is

commanders

Panikkan
;

teacher

Koliyan and Saliyiin are weavers

Kunivan

80
is

TAMIL STUDIES
a
hill

man

and Ambit
to

is

an arrow.

The

Eyinas-

were considered good archers.

All

these point

their

former greatness, the

in the

vestiges

thereof

still

survive

form
in

of rights

and

privileges

which cling

to

them
of a

the

village

organization.

The

settlement

land dispute

by
the

one Vesali Paraiyan and

village of

his councillors
to a

regarding
at

the ownership of a field belonging

temple

Mudepakavar
final

is

of the eleventh century;

mentioned in an inscription and the Paraiyar's decision

above
districts

was deemed
were the
to
clear

and absolute.i
or

The Eyinas

hunters of the
of
of

earliest

the

Naga-Dravidian

tribes

the forests

ranya
as

for

purposes

of

small forts therein for

Dandakaranya and Shadacultivation and to build their safety. Such of them

in

had been employed

in the

the

clearing of jungles

came

to be called the Vettiyan (hewers), while others

engaged

sinking of wells and the

digging of

tanks for irrigation grew

dig) or digger caste.

up into the tdii {tondit, to As early as the third or fourth century A. D. they had their chieftains reigning at Ambur, Vellore and other places. The Eyinas had well supplied granaries {kotlakaram) and strong forts they had deep ditches and lofty walls {eyil) with musicians and dancers (Panans) to amuse them when out of work; they had priests (Valluvans), carpenters,
;

masons, weavers (Koliyans), gymnastic instructors

1.

The Madras Government

p. 94.

Epigraphist's Report, dated the

25th July 1910,

THE TAMIL CASTES

81

(Panikkans), shoe-makers (Semman), barbers, washer-

men and what

not.

The

Paraiyas, or

the

modern

representatives of the ancient Eyinas, as Dr. Caldwell

rightly observes, thus constituted 'a well defined, distinct ancient caste

independent of every
belonged

other'.

The

high honour of founding villages in the south during

the remote

period

to the sylvan ancestors

of the despised Paraiyas.

They were
all

the mayors and

aldermen
this
is

of

the

villages

they had established, and

even

now

recognized by
referring

other castes in the

old custom of

any boundary dispute to a

Paraiya, Toti or a Holeya Kulavadi,

all

And

in

almost

tlie

ancient village
Paraiyas
the

ceremonies of a

communal
part.

nature, the

play

an important

For
at

example, on

occasion of any festival of Siva

district, a

Tiruvalur in the Tanjore

hereditary
right
to

Paraiyan has an
god's
procession

precede the

holding a
the

white

umbrella.

detailed
in

account of

existing

customs

observed

various places

cannot, however,

conveniently be given here.

So much
the

for their forgotten greatness.

But with

advent of

the

Indo-Aryans about the second

century A.D. there

of

came

change
food

in the constitution

the

Paraiya

tribe,

their

and

occupation
It

contributing largely to their self-degradation.

lias

been said above that there were

following
of those
all

amongst them people

sorts of pursuits.

The

social standing

men

w^ho

had been following occupaaons

indispensible to the well-being of the

Brahmans
for

rose

high

in

the long run

and they now pass

high

^2
caste

TAMIL, STUDIES

Hindus. Of course, learned Brahmans discovered decent Hindu pedigrees for the low but
highly serviceable tribes and

stamped them with the

seal

of

sanctity in the

The

Kaikolas,

Virabahu, one of

name of pnmnas. who trace their descent from the nine commanders of god

Subrahraanya, seem to have been originally (before

the tenth century A.D.) Eyina weavers like the Koliya
Paraiyas, though

some

of

them

have

very

recent-

ly caught the infection

of

wearing the sacred thread

to claim an equal position with the high caste

Hindus.

Five reasons
(1)

may

be adduced

in

favour of this origin:

in the districts

They

are chiefly

found
are

the Paraiyas and

Brahmans
Kaikolan
'

where most numerous S.

Arcot, Tanjore, and Trichinopoly.

(2)

The

word

is

simply

the

Tamil

equivalent of the Sanskrit

Virabahu', a mythological

hero from

whom
said

both the Kaikolas and a section of

they

the Paraiyas claim descent.

('.'))

It

is

that

were formerly

soldiers

like the

Eyinas and Paraiyas, under a

monkey-faced

king

named Muchukundan; and

that the art of weav-

ing was taught to them by Tiru-Valluvar at the command of Subrahmanya, the patron deity of the Kaikolas

and other Xaga

gifts

trioes.

Two

of the

Tillaistanam

(Neyltanam) inscriptions of Gandaraditya (A. D. 960)

record the
lar,

made by Samara
'

Kesari-terinja Kaiko-

Vikrama-Singa-terinja

Kaikolar

and

Virachola

terinja-Kaikolar'.i
1.

They were

natives of Tanjore

and

The Madias Government

Epi^jraphisl's

Report dated the

29th July 1912.

THE TAMIL CASTES

83
I.

served as soldiers under the Chola king Parantaka

(A.

D. 90G-949).

Other inscriptions

of

a later

date

speak of the Rajaraja-termja-Kaikular and the Kaikola-

Perumpadai.
*

All these clearly

'

prove that the word

'

Kaikolar,' like

Velakkarar

'

and

Viliiyar

'

(archers),
I,

which occur
(terinja)

in the inscriptions of

Rajaraja Chola

was the name

(the war-lion),

of

the regiment enlisted or selected

titles

by Parantaka, whose

were Samara Kesari

Vikrama-Singa and Vira Chola and by

of the soldiers of the

Rajaraja

I.

One

above regiment
as

was a Kadikavan Kalian. They were known also Sengundar or the Red Lancers.'
'

(4)

In

the inscriptions of
{iarJ) of the

Rajaraja Chola,

(A. D-

1013) the loom

Kaikolas does not occur

though the

Parai-tari,

Tusa-tari

(washerman) and

Saliya-tari are given.

(5)

In ancient

Tamil
a

called

Kammiyan, present Kammaias.

literature the weavers w^ere term which also included the

simjSujit luQJssr QjirsSujIr

SLDUiiTefriT

eS^^siT
^LLQstaiT.

^u^iuiT QufT^uQuLuiT
to

pi/i<^.

788.

It

Will

be interesting

learn

that

the

earjy
to

Tamils were never

good

weavers.

They had

Telugu neighbours for cloths of Thus superior cloths have come to be finer texture. In the Tamil country called in Tamil kaUngam,
their

depend upon

coarse weaving was done by a section of the Paraiyas or Eyinas. Dissatisfied with the quality of the work
.turned

out

by the Tamils, probably Rajaraja Chola

84

TAMIL STUDIES

brought the Saliya-weavers from Kalingam, the moderm

Telugu

districts of

Vizagapatam, Godavariand Kistna.

the Eyina weavers or

From them probably

to

yans learnt during the eleventh century A. D.

Kammihow

weave

finer cloths.

Since the
is

earliest
in a

mention of
highly
to

Kaikolan as a caste
inscription of

name
class

found

Conjeevaram
it

the

fourteenth
of

century,

is

probable that this

weavers began

be

recognised as a distinct Hindu caste of

ing,

some

stand-

between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries,

greatest

when the manded a

Kaikola poet, Ottaikuttan, com-

great influence at the court of

A. D.)-

Kulottunga

Chola (1150

And

it

happened probably a few

granted the privilege

years after the Kamnialas were

of wearing the sacred thread-

Again, to

take

another

instance,

the

Panans-

were

minstrels

under the

ancient

and with the extinction

ing their
lihood.

of the latter in

Tamil kings, South India their

profession as bards ceased to exist,

most of them findway into Kerala.theLand of Charity, for a liveThe descendants of these emigrants are now
Malabar and Canara as devil-dancers and

found

in

basket-makers.

On

the other hand, the

living

Tamil country, especially those

their

Panans of the in Madura and

Tinnevelly style themselves Pandya Vellalas and earn

bread as
is

which

They are also called Mestris,. a Portuguese word introduced by the early
tailors.

Roman Catholic Missionaries, under whom the Paraiya

Panans served
as

workmen.

The low

origin of th&

THE TAMIL CASTES

Panans
is,

85

however, betrayed by about 5 per cent, of

in

that caste

who Hve

out-of-the-way villages of the

as

their

Madura district returning Paraiya main caste.

the

name

of

The Semman

is

anotbef important sub-division of

is

theParaiyas, whose existence

side the districts of

almost

unknown
It

out-

Madura and Tuineveily.

caste
of
Q^s^imld.jit.

was

once

numerous

Tamil leather-workers,
Since the immig-

{Ljs<sfrnoQ^fr/r)_^^esriT

Nig.).

ration of the
kiliyans,

Telugu and Canarese Madigas or Chakafter the fifteenth or sixteenth cen-

sometime

tury, the
their

Semmans have

almost entirely
adopted,

given

up
and

traditional

occupation, and
in villages

like the

Panans, menial services

lime selling
in

and

tailoring

towns.

We shall
status has

content ourselves with one more instance

the
artizan
castes,

furnished to us by

whose

social

undergone within the

change

past nine

centuries a

thorough

which

never could have been

ancestors.
are the descend-

dreamt

of

by

their

humble

The Kammalas

assert that they

ants of Visvakarma the architect of the

gods, and in
the sacred

many

parts

of the

country they wear

thread calling themselves Visva-, Deva-, or Devagna-

Brahmans and
to the

deliberately refuse to give precedence

Brahmans.

Without going
of the

into the details of

their origin

we

shall

simply indicate a few reasons to

prove that they are one

undoubted Naga

86
tribes,
i

TAMIL STUDIES
forming an advanced section
of, or closely

allied to, the

(1)

Eyinas

of the

Tamil country.
code

The Dharma

Sastras, a social
to the

common
in the

to all

Hindus, assign no place

Kammalas

Hindu
out by
said

caste system, purely because they stood out of

;

the Aryan pale

the

and

this fact

has been clearly brought

Further,
it is

author of the Ramayana.

that

the artisans

were supplied by the mixed

classes

a
It

theory strongly confirmed by the ancient

decision already quoted.

(2)
is

generally
the
a

supposed,

even

in

Upper
celestial

India, that

all

artisan castes

and weavers were

by
the
also

begotten
architect of the

of

Sudia

woman

Visvakarma, from

whom

the Kolis

United-Provinces, a weaver caste allied to

the Koliya Paraiyans of Madras, trace their descent.

^

They worship
(3)

Sakti

and

village deities

and
in a
late

are, as a village.'

rule,

considered undesirable neighbours

Tamil inscriptions prove that as

as A. D..

1013 the Kammalas were regarded as a polluting

caste like the Izhuvans

and Paraiyans and were not

the villages, or to

allowed to

live

within

blow con-

ches and beat drums on the marriage and funeraJ

occasions, or to
plaster
their

houses with

mud

or

chunam,

or even to wear shoes.

And

it

appears that

1. With this compare what Mr. Charles Johnston, I. C. S, sajs on the subject: 'It is probable that among them [black Dravidians] first grew up the system of trade guilds which gradually developed into hereditary caste of artisans and craftsmen, the chief of which are the workers in gold, brass, iron, stone and wood'. The black Dravidians' are our Nagas.


THE TAMIL CASTES
87
they were regarded as slaves and given from time to

time certain privileges since the twelfth century A. D.i

(4)
first

In Kerala (Malabar

and Travancore),

a country

colonized largely by the Tamils, a country where

caste rules

and observances have been scrupulously

for

maintained

several

centuries,
in the

the

Kammalas
and are
(probably

occupy

low position

social

scale

regarded by the other people of that

a polluting caste like the Tamil

district

on the authority of the Vaikhanasa Dharmasura) as

Kammalas

of the ele-

venth century.
sacred

They

are allowed neither to

wear the
Presi-

thread as in the other parts of the

dency, nor to enter the houses of

castemen, except

during construction, which when completed undergo

purification, a
districts.

custom
late

still

followed in
fourteenth

the

Tamil
the

As

as

the

century

Kammalas and
Kottayam
it is

the Vaniyans (oil-pressers) were con-

sidered as slaves in Malabar.

This

we

learn

from the

plates of Viraraghava
:

Chakravarti wherein

stated thus

(We have
malas as

given the

Vaniyas and the

five

Kamdis-

slaves.)

The Kammalas
tricts

of

Malabar and of the Tamil

must

h^ive

descended from the same stock of

the Naga-Dravidian artisans

mentioned
in

in

the early
to,

Tamil literature and inscriptions already referred

though, on account
o-f

difference

circumstances

which
1

will

be explained hereafter, the former have

Ill, p.

South Indian Inscriptions, Vol.

47.

^8
retained
their

TAMIL STUDIES
original
'

distance

pollution/
to

while

the latter have risen so far in social scale as

equality with the
(5)

claim

Brahmans.
of burying their

The custom
absence

dead, partiality

to the worship of Kali anrl other village deities,

and
to

the entire

of

Vishnu

worship

seem

connect them with the pre-Dravidian or aboriginal

Naga tribes. Thus it will be seen that the claims of the Kammalas for Brahmanhood are not based upon any recognised Veda, Sastra, Itihasa or Purana, and
their

that

arguments

in its

favour are opposed

prevalent at

toto ccelo

to customs and usages

any

period of

Indian history.

Now

with regard to the fo-)d of the Eyina tribe of

hunters, the

'Ten Tamil

Idylls'

and the Purananuru

say that they ate pork and the flesh of the wild

cow

and

freely

indulged in spirituous liquors.

sruSismiT

^i^

QiSuiLLcrTQssrjjS^sms^u

(oS3U(^(^sa!srujQu(VTj^^ ua^-Qeum sttlo^.

Pill'.

^The new white

swine
just killed

rice boiled

with

the

flesh

of

the

by the Eyinas.)

^maesr

(^lLl^sst <ss)LDSu(ruQu^i^(sSliT^

Sir.

(Thou
Eyina

shall

women
in the

cooked by the with sweet tamarind and roasted beef.)

get

the

hot

rice

Even
of

after a lapse of nearly fifteen centuries

we

see

no

change

food of their Paraiya descendants.

habit

Some
which

them

are said to eat frogs, a strange

the.ii

connects

with the V'anadis of Nellore.

THE TAMIL CASTES

89

To

the

well as the bull, the

eating of the

Hindus the cow is a sacred animal as Vahana of Siva, the killing and which are abominable. Not less hateful is
intoxicating
drinks.
It

use of

was
filthy

therefore
liquors

natural that the people

who ate beef and drank

should be treated by Brahmans as a

Caste.

polluting the best

From

the Brahmanical standpoint

for a

recommendation
in the social scale

non-Aryan was the giving up

tribe to rise higher

of

the

above

practice.

The

Kaikolans, Panans,

Semmans and
good
relation

Kammalas

did so, and

we can

see the

between ihem and the Brahmans.

But above
in
all,

the primary cause of

of the Paraiya

the revolution
tribes

the organisation

seems

to

have been the Brahman exclusiveness.

allow the Paraiyas

They did not

even

to

enter
perusal

and the polluting castes generally A their agmharams and villages.

of
*

careful

Nandan's

Life'

will

give our

readers

some

idea as to

how

these Paraiya labourers

were treated by the Tamil Brahmans. The influence is of the Brahmans is now gone and their power
;

crippled by the stronger Anglo-Saxon race, who have assumed, as Leyden naively remarked, the
character
of

Kshatriyas

in

the

estimation of

the

subdued
are
still

Brahmans, while the beef-eating Paraiyas

looked

down
thougii

as

being outside the Hindu

be

social

system

admitted to

Hindus
that
first

in

religion.

Among
fered

the Paraiyas the sub-division

suf-

from the Brahman domination was the Ulavu

90
Paraiyans,

TAMIL STUDIES

who now form about

class.

50 per cent, of that

labouring
all

They had
They,

to

work

in the

fields

day long without

lord.

having any
toiling

access to

the

Brahman
fields,

and moiling on the

which were once their own but were wrested from them by the Tamil kings to encourage and
support
the

Brahman
became
as
it

advisers

and

their

religious

institutions,

were, a part and parcel

of

their rice

fields.

Their masters

changed with the

change
slavery

of

ownership of land. Thus arose the predial

which, however,

was put down when the

country passed luckily into the hands of the British.

With the exception

of

of

the dog-eating
are supposed
pollution,

Navadisto

Malabar, the

Paraiyas

carry
that

with

them a

high

degree of

so

even the Pulaiyas and Holayas of the West Coast

and the
be

Khonds
by
pollution
It
is

of

Vizagapatam think

they
a

will

defiled
is
?

the

mere touch
according

of
to

Paraiya.

What
notion

then

the

Hindu

something imaginary, flowing out of the social gravitation which exists between an Aryan

and a non-Aryan Hindu.

The degree

of the pollu-

tion varies mversely with the degree of adoption of

the Brahmanical customs and manners.

The

Parai-

yas were stubborn and the

least inclined to

adopt
a

them, and
high

consequently

their

approach

within

radius of thirty yards has been considered polluting

to a

caste

Hindu.

The

hatred which existed

is

between the early Dravidians and Aryans

best

THE TAMIL CASTES

preserved in the Kuricchan's
(a hill tribe in

91
Malabar,

corresponding

to the

Kuravas

of

the Tamil country)

custom of plastering their huts with cow-dung to remove the pollution caused by the entrance of a

Brahman. During the past three centuries the Jesuit and other Missionaries on the one hand, and the Siddhar School of Tamil philosophers on the other, we are glad to observe, have been working to elevate these classes and alleviate the evils arising out of their social degradation, which has rendered their
position anything but happy.

THE TAMIL CASTES (continued).

In the
last

chapter

it

has been

shown
of the

that

among

the

ancient Tamils there was no caste system similar to

that of the

Aryans

that

most

Tamil castes

of

modern
Vellalas,
to

times,

probably with the exception

traced
to the ancient

ot the

could be
of
five

Nagas and
that
it

some

the

hill

and
the

forest

tribes

took

at least

centuries for these castes to attain their

in

present

position
;

social

economy
of

of

the

country

that

the

present

diversity

castes

was

caused by the differences

beliefs

in food, occupation, religious

and the physical condition

;

of

the countries
in-

inhabited by them

and

that the

Brahmans were

strumental in bringing about this result, though

precise extent to

the
is

which

their influence prevailed

a
all

matter

not easily determmable.

This applies to

the non-Aryan castes and tribes of Southern India.

The introduction and expansion of the caste system ;among the Dravidian Tamils had in course of time
bred discontent, jealousy and mutual hatred in their
social
life,

which
'

in the

end culminated
left

in

the

dis-

putes of the

right

and

hand

factions,' into

which
this

the whole Dravidian society

division has

was

divided.

A.nd

been the cause of endless feuds and

its

mischief from the time of

inception.

About
i(1449

the

middle of

the fifteenth
the

century
of

A. D.)
in

the
the

inhabitants of

kingdom

Padaividu

North

Arcot

District

appear to


THE TAMIL CASTES
have
of
LLju)

93
irrespective
isjeoiisias

been

divided into

three factions

their

nationality,

creed or occupation

^L^iKiss)3iLjii)

LDsrr^sisr(ip}i

(the
t.
<?.,

right-hand,

the

left-hand

and the mahajanam,

the Brahmans).
is

Again, on the 5th

November

1G52, that
of

within
St,

fif-

teen years after the foundation the inhabitants of

privileges
safety to

Fort

George,,
certain

Madras were
disturbing
the

fighting

for

and

public

peace and

such an extent that the authorities of the

East India

Company were

obliged
to

to

call

on the

heads of the respective factions

draw up an agree-

ment settling all the diflferences between the righthand and left-hand castes. Some sixty years after this, the same tragedy was enacted once more at
Chintadripetta,

a suburban colony of

artizans

and

merchants, the dispute arising out of the right claimed by certain Chetties or traders to
recite

Sanskrit

Mantras before the

to the
last

idol of Vignesvara.

Now

coming

century,

the

contest was

fought with

renewed vigour among the impoverished inhabitants of Seringapatam. This town, shortly after it had
fallen into

the

hands

of

the

English,

was found
mainly by

divided into two portions, one occupied

the adherents of the right-hand faction and the other

by the upholders of the left. And it the faction feuds were so rampant
British

is

also said that

that

there,

the
of

Government was driven

the Fort
in

to

the necessity

prohibiting for a time

sions

marriage and other procesorder to preserve public

within

peace and tranquillity. About thirty years ago another

-94

TAMIL STUDIES
at

quarrel ensued
district,
It

Dummagudam

in

the

Godavari

which, however was immediately put down. was on the occasion of a marriage in the Kamsali the ring-leader being a Madras Paraiyan. caste,

Moreover,

this jealousy in

guarding the rights underled to painful

lying the factious feud has very often

litigation

and prosecutions
forces

in

the Civil and Criminal

Courtsof Chittur, Salem and Chingleput. Unlike other

segregating
it

extended

its

evil

influences

even
caste

among members
system

of the

same

families while the

has only

divided

the

people

into
It

ethnic, territorial, professional or sectarian classes.

is

no wonder then that

;

it

has attracted

the attention

of ethnologists
sufficient light

but none has yet been able to throw

its

on

origin or subsequent history.

An
not,
it is

enquiry regarding the

probable date of the

genesis ot the faction

and

its

subsequent growth
;

will

and it is hoped, be uninteresting to the reader not without some confidence that the following explanation based on a rather prolonged and careful
is

study of the subject

carries with
ty.
it

offered, in the

belief

that

it

at least the

merit of historic probabili-

And

in

order to get a correct idea of the minute

distinction,

details of this curious

torical

an accurate

his-

account

of each
is

and

every caste comprised

within the division

1.

highly desirable.i
some
of the

But the

lists

Brief historical notices of

most important castes

in

which are given

in the statement will oe

found

Chapter

of the

Madras Census Report for 1891, and in the Caste Glossary appended to the Report on the Census of 1901.


THE TAMIL CASTES
95

we

have examined
castes,

<*ive

conflicting accounts of the

will

several

which

be

noticed

later

on.

Nevertheless,

we subjoin

tolerably
of

correct

state-

ment which

exhibits the

names
their

important
followed

caste

^nd the members

traditional

occupations

by the
these

thereof prior to
:

division

into

social factions

Occupation

Right-hand.
Balija,

Left-hand.
f Beri Chetti,
I

Traders.

Banajiga,

Komati, Vellan Chetti.

Jandra,
Saliyan,

Vaniyans (who yoke two

(^bullocks).

Devanga
and
Kaikolan.

Weavers.

Seniyan.
Artizans.
Nil.

Kammalan,
Kamsali, Panchalas.

Leatherworkers

Madiga or
Chakkilian. (females)
(Males.)

Field labourers

J
]
[

and
soldiers.

Malaiman, Nattaman, Bedar, Falh (females), f Vedan or Vettuvan^ Palli (Males) [ Pall an, Paraiyan, Mala

(_and Holeya.

iy

Of these the Mala, Holeya and Paraiyan were raostand the Kaikolans were soldiers. held labjar^rs
;

As

a rule,

)st

of

tue lab jurin4 classes

and hunters
All the

were enlisted as sepoys by the Tamil kmgs.

96
other South

TAMIL STUDIES
Indian
castes

not

mentioned

in

the

above table belong either to the right-hand faction

or to the
left,

or hold with the

It

Brahmans

a neutral

attitude in the dispute.

will

be curious to note

that later immigrants

in

South India such as the

This strange dissenSimilar distinctions

Musalmans, Guzaratis, Marwaris and Patnulkars are

classed with right-hand castes.
sion,
in

which

is

confined only to South India, exists

of the country.

no other part
still
;

may

be found
but

among

the Sakti worshippers of

sect

Bengal
of the

this religious

does not

seem

to

have any connection whatever with the social division

non-Brahmanical

castes of the

Madras

Presi-

dency.

The members
in the

of the

two divisions struggle

for certain honorary distinctions, such as the use of

twelve pillars
five

marriage pandal. the beating of

drums on certain ceremonial occasions, the on horse-back or the carrying of a monkey flag. These privileges are claimed by the right-hand castes
big
ride

on all public and festive occasions, and whenever any of these privileges are exercised by a member of
the left-hand faction, fights usually occur.

The Pancham Banajigas

vince, the

of

the

Canarese pro-

Paraiyas of the Tamil

districts

and the

Malas of the Andhra country are the strenuous supporters of the right-hand division.

They

are assisted

by the
weavers

Holeyas
in the

in

Tamil and Telugu

is

Mysore and Canara, and by the districts. The leftthe presi-

hand

division

commanded throughout

dency by the Kammalas^ Kamsalis or Panchalas with


THE TAMIL CASTES
97
the indefatigable assistance of the Madigas or Chakkilians.

But

for the zealous support of these

degraded

classes, this

enemy

of public

peace would have dis-

appeared from the land several centuries ago. J Yet SLich a distinction, notwithstanding Dr. Macleane's statement to the contrary,
is

not

maintained

with so

much

zeal

and

pertinacity in

the Tamil dis-

tricts as in

the Canarese
India.

Southern
their

The

and the Telugu parts of Pallis or Vanniyas have, in

all

fond hope of becoming Kshatriyas, forgotten

feuds
;

about the
indignity

many

Kaikolas have,
or rather

in

order
social

to wipe off the so-called tribal

still

the

clinging to

the

left-hand faction,

be.

come within the last six centuries dancers and singers in Hindu temples as the following Kanchipuram inscription will show
:

Qsii'SirsfTS SL^euiT ^ssiju).

(S. /. /. I.

122.)

[May

sell

or

lease, service to

mortgage the head-ship, the right of god (dancing, &c.), and weaving.]
in asserting

Again the Kammalas

their

that

they are

the Deva-or Visva-Brahmans not only try to conceal

Naga
all

origin but also take shelter in a tradition

privileges

that

the above

were granted to them

her left-hand

by
ing

Kali,

and that 'they are

in

of the highest rank hav-

been

placed by that goddess on

side

which

India

is

the place of honour.'

Further,

before the introduction of this distinction in iVIalabar

by the

later settlers
T

from the surrounding Tamil and

98

TAMIL STUDIES
districts, this inter-caste

Canarese
quite

dispute was a thing

unknown to the Malaiyahs, and even now it exists only among the weavers and Canarese immigrants.

Thus

as a

matter of fact the dispute

to

is

practi-

cally confined only

the lowest castes

Paraiyas,
in

Holeyas and Madigas

the

occasionally
is

encouraged by
obscur-

Kammalas. The origin of

but
it is

this distinction
it is

involved

ity;

clear that

purely a Dravidian schism,

though countenanced, and even sometimes fomented covertly, by the later Aryan immigrants in the south. Many traditions, however, have been manufactured
either by the Brahmans to elevate the status of the low but serviceable tribes of the Dravidian race, or by the busy and ingenious artizans, who scarcely let slip an opportunity to elevate their low position.

And in among
cal

proof of
the

it

we

give

below a story current

tradition, perverted

Kammalans. The
it

and

mutilated though

be, so as to support their chimeristatus,

is

claims for a higher social

not altoit

gether devoid of an
to

historical interest,

as

seems
of
this

suggest

the

probable
'

age

and

origin

endless dispute.

The Panchalas

(artizans) say

they

were the hereditary priests for the royal family During the reign of Parimalan, of the Cholas.

them from Accordingly he murdered the their spiritual office. king while out hunting and raised his illegitimate son This event was followed by unpleasto the throne.
oust

Vedavyasan waxed jealous of their kingdom and devised a scheme to

influence in the

THE TAMIL CASTES

ant
results.

99

The people
;iU

refused to cultivate,

and

tumult and disorder ruled everywhere.

therefore declared that

The king people who supported him

people.

should be
carried

called

the

right-hand
this,

neigh-

bouring Rajah hearing of

off its

invaded Kalingam and

for

king as captive,

dismissing

the

Panchalas and appointing Vyasan, and for dividing

the people into the right-hand

and left-hand

castes.'

Another old
castes took

tradition of equally historical value

says

that the division into

its

the

right-hand and

left-hand

dess Kali at

from the Kanchipuram (the

origin
halls

command
seat of so
it

of the god-

many
said,

religi-

ous and political changes) where,

to this

is

exists
callIt

day special

for the

two

parties

ed
is

the

eueosaasLDsmiULD

and

^L-iW'SSiSLDsmL^ULh.

further

has a
the

Conjeevaram copper-plate bearing inscriptions which give

stated that
of
this

the pagoda at

origin

queer

distinction
it,

of

castes.

Though both
it

parties referred to
this

neither of them,

appears,

could produce

important document
in

before the Zillah

Court of Salem or Chittur

the

the

course
factions.

of
It

litigation

between the two irreconcilable

appears, however, that

Kammalas
its
l

have forged a series of copper plates (dated 1098 SS.)

in

favour of the left-hand faction to justify

social,

prefer-

ence over the right-hand in matters

All that
stories
is,

that

we can infer at present from the above some Dravidian castes such as the
or pnrohits to tha

Valluvas, were priests

1.

Tamil kings
July 1910.

The Madras Govt. Epigraphist's Report dated

100

TAMIL STUDIES

before the arrival of Brahmans, and that the arrange-

ment of the Dravidian castes into two grand divisions (the right and left hands) took place at Kanchipuram
under the royal
connection
it

command

of

a
to

Chola king.

In this

would be well

and former

social position

remember the origin of the Valluvas which have

already been explained.

Various suggestions have been

made concerning

the probable origin of the dispute between the right-

hand and left-hand

factions.
*

One

writer in the Indian

Antiquary (Vol. V) says

it

does appear to have been

caused by some person or persons

ers to

who were

strang-

South India

'.

But who that person or persons

say.

could have been he does not

tells

Another writer

us that

it

is

a dispute

between the principal

artificers

and the
while
a

agricultural, mercantile

and other
'

classes

third

observes that

tlie

distinc-

from the land-owners and their heads of one class, and the Brahmans, serfs being the the artisans and other interlopers, form the other '.
tion arises primarily

The

last

view
in

is

maintained by the Superintendent of

Census

Mysore (1891)

who

goes on

to
is

say

that the origin of this

irreconcilable faction

due

to the professional jealousy that existed

between the

indigenous mercantile community and the larger and

more powerful traders. This is, no doubt, borne out by the alternative names of the factions, Desa (foreign) and Peta or Nadu (native) which are curBut the quarrel rent only in the Mysore State. throughout the presidency and is not is fqund

THE TAMIL CASTES

confined
vince
;

101

to

the circumscribed limits of that proto assign

and there are no grounds

to

it

a western origin.
effort are

Since co-operation and

combined

necessary to the wellbeing of a nation

cultivating classes be always
?

why

should the

at

enmity
inscrip-

with the Kammalas

We

leain

from

the

tions already referred to that the

to neither side, though

Brahmans adhered

them
left

as partizans.

some lists erroneously mention The serfs of the cultivating castes,

were included
fact of
in

namely, the

Pallis, Pallars &c.,

the

while their masters,

the Vellalas, espoused

the

right-hand division.
of the

The very

the inclusion

Telugu and Canarese Madigas and Bedarsand the Tamil Pallars and Pallis in the left-hand faction
to

goes
side

confirm the origin of

Kalinga,
;

this dispute

from out-

the

Karnataka,

Pallava

and Pandya

countries

and the exclusion from it of the corresponding Tamil castes Malaiman, Vedan and Paraiya seems to point out the Chola kingdom as the land

of its origin.

To

call

into

existence such

powerful

and
been

wide-spread social division, a single cause of smal^

magnitude would never

this

suffice.

It

has, therefore,

suggested by Rao Bahadur M. Ranga Charyar that

division originated
its

from the Dravidian family

organization during

passage 'from the matriarchal

to the patriarchal state'.

...the

He says that

'in their

families

mother seems
to

to

have been the head thereof

and

property seems to have descended from the

the

mother

daughter

'.

And

in

proof of

the


102

TAMIL STUDIES

universal existence of this matriarchal system

the early

among
(1)

Dravidians he

adduces two
'

facts

In

the Dravidian languages

the

name

for the father;

and the maternal uncle is the same for the mother-in-law and the paternal aunt is the same
in-law
(2)

'.

'The

division

is

unknown
'

in

Malabar, because
matriarchal

its

people

never

passed

from the

to the

patriarchal condition'.
of the right-hand side

The
to

eighteen

communities

seem

have approved of the

Mr. Rice also observes

change, while the nine communities of the left-hand

side

seem

to
is

have opposed
a 'doubtful

it'.

that there

passage in the
to refer to
it,

Mahawanso
if

which may be supposed

institution

and

so,
';

the

would seem
it

to be of great antiquity
'

and
the

in support of

he quotes a tradition that

when

Pand5'a princess was sent from Madura to Ceylon, in

response to an embassy from
Vijaya
soliciting

her

hand in marriage, she

to of

is

said (according to

one version)
of

have been accompanied by a thousand members

the eighteen
'.

castes

and

five

different clans

workmen

With due deference

quoted above,
their
I

to the

two high authorities

the
tenability

doubt very
in

much

of

arguments
has

support of the origin and antiquity

:

of the dispute for the following reasons

It

been

shown

in

the

last

essay

that

among the ancient Dravidians like that which we find amongst them in modern times. Then how did the 18 panas or castes of the right-hand and the 9 panas of the left come
there

was no

caste system

THE TAMIL CASTES

into existence so early as the

103
B.
C.
?

sixth century

The above
concoction

tradition, therefore,

seems

to us a post facto

of
of

the

Canarese

people;

and

in

the
the

whole range

Tamil
is

literature,

especially of
to this
vital

early period, there

social division,

no reference
it

'ancient'

though
is

was
the

of

such

importance.
of

Further, there

not

slightest vestige

the

matriarchal system in South India except in

Kerala

and

in the Pendiikkii

Meykki sub-caste

of the

Idaiyans

of the

Madura
the

District.
else,

In

Dravida country, as everywhere

the lowest castes

and the

hill

and

forest tribes are the

least affected by, or are

very slow to adopt, the Aryan

civilisation,

and even amongst them the matriarchal

Malabar and Travancore are
to this principle.

system was unknown.

no exceptions
from
the
the

Here the

transition
is

patriarclial

to

the matriarchal state

in various stages.
all

Most
other

of the polluting

castes and

aboriginal
in

tribes

follow
parts of

the

Makkatayam
while
the

system as

the

India,

Ambalavasis, Saliyans, Tiyans and others,

who may
both the
of

be said to be in a

state of transition, follow

Makkatayam and
inheritance.
of the
of

the
is

Marumakkatayam system
the

This

doubtless due to the influence

Nayars and
castes.
it

to a desire to imitate

custom
(by

higher

Among
is

the

non-polluting

distance) castes

only the so-called

Kshatriyas
still

and the Nayars, whose females had and

have

Sanibandani or marital relationship with the

Nam-

budri Brahmans, that have adopted completely the

104

TAMIL STUDIES
It
is

Marumakkatayam system.

thus clear

that the

matriarchal system of Malabar should

into existence only after the arrival of the

have

come

Brahmans
patriarchal

into the

Kerala country,

and

that the

system alone has been in vogue for ages everywhere

in

South India

since

the earhest

historic entirely

times.

the

Whether the matriarchal system was influence of the Nambudri

it

due to
or
in that

Brahmans
at

whether there had been other causes

direction,
is

work
this

beyond the scope

absence of

of

essiy to

determine.

As
it

for the

this division

from Kerala,
find
its

may

be said that this disaffection did not

way amongst the non-Brahman castes of that country on account of the iron-hand of the Nambudris, which kept them down under its strong grip. Further, the people of Kerala led a
life,

comparatively simple
of

as at present

there

was no building

large
skilful

temples; and there was no such

demand

for

labour of the artizans and weavers as in the Tamil

districts.

The Kammalas, therefore, never aspired for Brahmanhood, nor did the Nambudris invest them with the sacred thread as the Brahmans in the other
parts of India did.

The forms

of

marriage

prevalent

among
as

the

ancient Dravidians weie gandharvaut (Tarn,

sotraii)

and rakshascim or marriage by capture

we have
tie

shown was so

in a

previous essay.
it

And
among

the
at

marriage
tlie

loose that

could be broken
see

will

of

either party as

we now

the

lowest castes.

THE TAMIL CASTES

In this state of connubial relationship there

105

was no
had
no
&c.,

need for terms to express the idea

or a 'mother-in-law.'

of a 'father-in-law'

The
sister,

early Dravidians

words
their

for

father's

mother's

brother,

relationship

being confined
sister.

only to father,
the

mother, brother and

Thus

term niaina
not a
that
it

(Tam.

miTLDrr)

was borrowed from Sanskrit, and the

meaning
meant
in

of aitai (Tamil, ^^ew^),

is

which

is

also

Dravidian word,

so vague

and

indefinite

Tamil mother, elder

sister,

mother-in-law,

father's sister

and the teacher's wife. Similarly akka and aminai are both mother and elder sister aiyan, Then, these father-in-law, mother's brother, etc.
;

words do not help us

theory, except that

in the least to infer

one
in

way or
a very
rela"

the other regarding the matriarchal or the patriarchal

the

Dravidians were

primitive state destitute of terms to express any

tionship other than father, mother and children.

Turning now

to the origin of the dispute,

we

find

from

a careful study of the

Tamil inscriptions and the

history of the South Indian castes that there are three

obvious causes.

The

first

and the most important

final

is

the political dissension which led to the

over-

throw

of the powerful

kingdoms

of the Pallavas(wliich the

besides other provinces then

state of

embraced
the

modern

Mysore) and the Pandyas.

of the

hereditary enemies

Cholas
;

They were the very name

fate

Pallava was hateful to them

of

and the Pallava gods

of

Pallava

Kanchipuram shared the miserable kings and their subjects. As

the

the

Kanchi-

106

TAMIL STUDIES
inscriptions of

puram

Kampana Udaiyar

will

show,

the Pallava temples were closed for a long period of

nearly three centuries, and their lands alienated by a

Choliyan edict.

About the ninth century A. D. the Pallavas were defeated by the Chola and Chalukyan kings in a series of battles, after which the vast empire

was broken up

into small

principalities

such

as Gangaipadi,

Nulambapadi, Tadigaipadai, &c.

century

Agam,

in the first quarter of the eleventh

Rajaraja Chola, the richest and one of the mightiest

of the Chola sovereigns, invaded and conquered Vengi

Nadu,
11am

Rettaipadi,

Gangaipadi,

Kollam,

Kalingam,

(Ceylon),

Madura and
of his

other

countries.

To-

wards the close

posted

prosperous reign he seemed to

have marshalled

his extensive armies,

which he had

at different quarters to

defend his newly con-

quered dominions, into two grand divisions

consisting of those

the one
him
vic-

men who had won

soldiers

for

tories in all his foreign

campaigns, and the other

composed

of

new

from the

Pandya,

the

Telugu and Canarese countries, who

had

formerly

fought against him from his enemies' camps.

former, recruited chiefly from the Vedan,

The

Nattaman,

Malayaman and Paraiya castes, he called the right-hand

d-rrny
(sijeviaeins Qt^'SefrdamriT

the

right-hand infantry),
Pallis,

while the

latter

made up

of the Pallans,

MadiThis

gas and Bedars was called the left-hand army.

alone,

we

think,

could account for the anamolous

in the
left,

grouping of the Bedars (Canarese hunters)

while their

Tamil brethren, the Vedans, were placed in

THE TAMIL CASTES

the

107
correctly

right-hand

division.

The

Pallans,

formed the Pandiyan army, the PalHs constituted the Pallava army, while the troops of Kalingam
Mallar,

and other countries were recruited chiefly from the Bedars and Madigas or Chakkiliyans. The male members of these military classes were

put in

the

left-

hand, but their females

who could
The

not have naturally

taken up arms against Rajaraja were treated as belonging to the right-hand faction.
inscriptions of Ra-

jendra Chola prove that this distinction was observed

army though not so strictly as in his father's time. The expression us\)iiiss)suuifiLbusioL-si&r which occurs therein means the 'old troops of the right-hand' as
by
his

opposed to the new soldiers

nions.

of the

conquered domithe male

And by

the time of Adhirajendra Chola (A. D.

i

1065) a poll-tax
of both factions

was

levied

on

all

members
use the

who were
was

in a

position to

implements
origin of the

of war.

All these clearly prove that the

division

purely of

a military

or

political nature.

Again, the tradition already referred to informs us

that

the

distinction

originated in

the reign

of

Chola king

of the Kalinga country, and we know of Chola kings than Rajaraja and Rajendra temporarily subjugated Chola, v^rho invaded and Kalingam. For these reasons the present writer is

no

earlier

strongly

mclined

to assign to this social

distinction

a date not earlier than A. D. 1010.

The second
1.

agent, also in the order of time, which

Ill,
p.

South Indian Inscriptions, Vol.

115.

108

TAMIL STUDIES
factions,

tended to swell the ranks of the two

the aspiration of certain castes to rise
social scale.

was
the
the
of

higher

in

ancient

One of the six principal duties of Hindu kings being the preservation
and observances as dictated by
of

caste rules
it

the Sastras,

is

very likely that any violation

the established

custom by any member of a caste or tribe would have met with tl:e severest punishment. The Kammalas
were, as stated above, a guild of
origin,

Dravidian or Naga
the

holdmg

a place outside the pale of

Aryan

caste system.

They

were, however, skilful

artificers

and
the

as such their services

were

in

constant

demand by
eleventh

Brahmans and

other

classes.

During the great

and

temple-building
centuries

epoch

the

tenth

the

these people,

Hindu kings not only patronized but also appointed them permanently
and
repair of the temples they

for the extension

built. In this

had

way

their

connection with the religious

institutions

with the

and consequently their closer contact Brahmans contributed largely to elevate

their social position.

And

as

Sir

W.

W.

Hunter
itself

observes,

'

the Brahmanical element here finds

so weak, and so accustomed to

compromise with
five

the

original population, that the priests have invented a

legend, to give a semi-Aryan

descent to

castes,

which everywhere

else

rank as Sudras'.

But with-

out being content with the concessions and privileges

granted to them, they
the Brahmans.

began

to

clamour

for a

still

higher status, nay, even claimed an equal rank with

This offended the Chola king, pro-

THE TAMIL CASTES

109

bably Rajendra, the reputed conqueror of Kalingam

and other northern countries

many were

persecuted,
rest

many were
division.

ordered to be destroyed, and the

were

classed along with other hostile tribes in the left-hand

The other
position
are

castes

which

strive for a

higher social

the

Kaikolas

former of

whom

and the Devangas, the claim direct descent from Virawearing the sacred thread, fight
This kind of struggle for Brahin

bahu, one of the nine commanders of god Subrah-

manya, and the

for

latter,

Brahmanhood.
is is
it

manical rank
Canara, but

strongest

Mysore and South

in

almost

unknown

the neigh-

bouring
of

district of

Malabar. For example^ the potters

at
;

South

Canara returned their caste name

of

the
the

Census

1891

as

Gnnda

(pot)

Brahmana

artisans as Visva-,

Deva-, Surya-,

and Snhrahnicinya
Vaisya
as

Brahmana

the

Kshatriya and

Brahmana

;.

Mafanga Brahmana. Encouraged by the novel and anti-Brahmanical doctrines of Basava, which did away with all
and the Madigas (leather-workers)
the
caste
distinctions,

the

servile

classes

styled

doing have adopted uncouth nomenclature from the Sanskrit and Canarese The names of the Lingayat septs are vocabularies.
themselves
;

Brahmans

and

in so

legion, but

some may be given here Chikkamane Sampradaya Brahmana, Dhuli Pavada Brahmana, Gaudalike Jangama Brahmana, Hirihasube Banajiga Brahmana, Sthavara Jangama Brahmana, &c. It is this, we believe, that has misled Sir W. W.
:

110

TAMIL STUDIES
of the

Hunter when he speaks

class of

non-Brahmanical ryot

Mysore as "the peasant Brahmans." Thus, the

high aspirations of certain low castes had provoked

the Aryan

Brahmans, who

out

of

jealousy

and

anger managed with the assistance of their

class such

kings, to

men

in the left-hand division, so that there

might crop up unceasing quarrels,

factions to
significant
districts

in

almost

all

of

which they were requested by the heads

sit

of respective
It is

as judges for
this

settling
is

disputes.

that

feud
is

very

strong

in

the

where

there

large

number

of Lin-

gayats.

In addition to the

two sources already explained.

a

Dr. Oppert

suggests
of

third

one.

He

says

'

the
fair

imminent decay
prospect to
the

the

Jaina

power opened a

slow

to take

Brahmans of which they were not advantage. They gathered round them
opponents,

their followers, while their

who

represent-

ed
,
.

in certain respects the

.

national party did the

same
in

The

influence of Jains

was perhaps strongest

while
the

towns, where the artizan classes form an important

portion
of

the

population,

Brahmana

appealed to the land owning and agricultural classes'.

This

is

cause,

but not the cause of the dispute.

Because

firstly,

the struggle for

Brahman supremacy

century A.D.

had almost been over in the south before the tenth and had this been the only cause for the division into rival hands, it would have taken But it is not mentioned place prior to that period.
;

in

any work or inscription of that

date.

Secondly,

THE TAMIL CASTES

granting that the struggle between

111

Brahmanism and
curious
that

Jainism

was

the

essential

cause of this

division, the
artizans

logical inference

would be

most

of

would have adopted the Jaina faith, and the the Brahmans and Jains would have respectively espoused the right and left hand factions. But the
census
statistics of

1891 clearly showed that only

40 artizans were Jains, and even these belonged to the

right-hand faction, while the

Brahmans occupied,

as

already stated, a neutral position.

Jainism was on the

decline in the south during the eighth and ninth centuries,

but

it

had not

lost its

strong-hold in the Pallava

the
of

andKadamba kingdoms. The Periyapuranim and

Tiruvilayadalpuranam give graphic descriptions
constant
Jains,

struggles
of

between

the

Brahmans
in putting

and

and

the zeal

and enthusiasm evinced by

the

Chola and Pandya sovereigns

in their

down
he

Jainism
Sri

countries.

And we know how long

Deva (Vishnu Vardhana),
It is

Ramanuja had
in

to struggle with the Jains before

Bitti

succeeded

converting

the Jain king of Mysore (A. D. 1138).

possible that

therefore
religion

Jainism,

an anti-Brahmanical
cause
the

professed by the enemies of the Chola kings, might

have acted as

third

for

division

into

the right-hand and left-hand factions.

therefore,
little

The

supposition,

of Mr. Nelson that

religious difference has

this
is

or

no connection with

remarkable
very near the

feud

cannot be accepted, though he

disputing the supremacy of

mark
their

in suggesting that the obstinacy of the

the

Panchalas in

Brahmans and

112

TAMIL STUDIES

adoption of the Brahmanical customs must have laid

the foundation for this social distinction.

We
contrary,

have said above that the Jains belong to the

division,

right-hand

although
find

one would, on the

in

expect

to

them
is,

the left-hand.
inscrip-

The
tion

reason for the change

of A. D.

says a Mysore

1368,
for a

that

the
of

were fighting

the

use

Brahmans and Jains the five big drums

by the

and the Kalasa,

right-hand

privilege usually exercised

castes,

when

in the

same year the then

king of Mysore, Vira Bukka Raya, effected a com-

promise between the Jains and the Brahmans, and ever since that time the Jains have been admitted as
belonging
to the

right-hand party.

To summarise: the distinction into right-hand and left-hand castes, now mamtained by the agricultural
classes

on the one side and by the artizans on the other, originated in the Chola country about 1010 A. D., the
it

cause which led to

being,(l) the enmity that

had

exis-

ted between the Cholas and the neighbouring kings,(2)

the aspirations of certain low castes to attain a higher

social status, stimulated

by the newly inculcated

Basava, and
(3)

anti-

Brahmanical doctrines
tence in
to put

of

the struggle
exis-

between the Jaina and the Hindu religions for

the Pallava and the Kadamba countries.
it

Or,

more
the

briefly, this

faction dispute

is

the out-

come

of

political, social

and

religious jealousies

eleventh
era.

amongst the Hindus and twelfth

of

South

India
of

during the
Christian

centuries

the

VI

THE TAMIL ALPHABET

In that classic of

Tamil

literature

the

Kiiral

Tiru-

valluvar describes "

Numbers" and

" writing" as the

two eyes

of

humanity.

SoemQemr&sru euiTQ^

QpiiSlir<i(^,

Klir.

So high was the importance attached

" Rs."

to

these

two
as

hi

Tamil

'

ezhuttu' includes letters as well

of

picture,

and as a mark
It is

distinction

writing

or

alphabetic letters have been called

signs for the eye.
*

semQssmQp^^ or
numbers,
ctsot

also called Qiiiis6ms(^ or the

long account'

in contra-distinction to
is

or ssms(^.
letters

Kanakhi

vague term meaning account,

in
'

or

knowledge, as

Samaya-kanakkan', a

thelogian.

Pavanandi, the popular grammarian of the thirteenth

century treats the subject of Tamil
letters or

ortho-

graphy

under
letters

twelve-heads,

namely,

number,
middle
sound,
in

name, order,

origin,
(in

form, quantity,

initial,

and

final

words), similarity

114
wordbuilding

TAMIL STUDIES

and combination, i Including his famous Nannul there are about half.a-dozen authoritative treatises on grammar which were written at different times
;

but in every one of these the history of

The fact seems to be that the native grammarians knew has led some of their little of it, and their ignorance
the Tamil alphabet has been studiedly avoided.

commentators

to

bungle as regards certain points of

It is

historical import.

therefore proposed to deal at

the outset with the historical side of the Tamil alphabet

at

some

length,

touching very

briefly

on the other

points connected therewith in the concluding part of

the present essay.

The Tamil alphabet now

in

use

is

not

what

it

was a thousand years ago. Its form appears to have undergone changes from century to century until about the fourteenth, when it reached the present stereotyped condition. There were, however, two

different kinds of writing in use in the

Tamil country one introduced by the Brahmans and the other indigenous to the Tamil race. The former is known as the Grantha-Tamil alphabet, and it was the parent
the

stock from which some of the modern Tamil characters

have sprung, while the

as

latter

is

called

by

pal?e-

ographists
alphabet.

the Vatteluttu

or the

Chera-Pandya
Malabar and
varieties,
Scholars

The Tamil

districts including;

Travancore abound
1.

in inscriptions of

both

The
(1)

classification of letters
(c-tifoj),

by some early
(Quiuf), (3)

Tamil

into

graphic

(2)

Nominal

phonetic (9^)

and

i\) conceptual

(tyi^ei)

seems to rne unpsychological.

THE TAMIL ALPHABET

Very
recently

115

writings

in the

Asoka or Brahmi chadistricts

racters also have been discovered in the

of

Madura But the introduction of all these did not take place The Vatteluttu or the at one and the same period. original Tamil alphabet was supplanted by the Grantha-Tamil or the modern Tamil characters in the Tamil kingdoms at different periods, which were perhaps conterminous with the migration and settlement
and Tinnevelly.
of the

Brahmans

in these countries.

In

the

Pallava
first

province (Tondaimandalam), where they settled

before

proceeding to

the

southern

districts,

the

Pallava characters

an

off-shoot of

the

Brahmi or
at

the North Indian script

650.

were

in

use prior to A. D.

We

have no documentary evidence to prove

earliest

what period the Vatteluttu was in use there. The Chola inscriptions belong only to the tenth century, and all of them are in the Grantha- Tamil
characters,

which appear
of the

to

be a

later

development
centuries.

of the Pallava-Tamil used in the

Kuram and Kasakudi

copper-plates

seventh

and eighth

Occasionally, Vatteluttu inscriptions

may

alSo be

met

with in the Chola country, but

to the

most

of these

belong

Pandya

kings.

It is

not

therefore possible in

the absence of the earlier Chola records to state

the
Vatteluttu

when

was ousted

by the Grantha-Tamil

characters

country,
in

In the Pandya in the Tanjore District. on the other hand, we have inscriptions both scripts going up to the eighth century A.,D.,
it

and from these

will

appear that

Vatteluttu

came

116
nto

TAMIL STUDIES
desuetude

that country

sometime after the conquest of by the Choia king Parantaka I during

first quarter of the tenth century. In Travancore and Malabar the Vatteluttu survived some centuries

the

longer.

The two main

in

questions u'e have

now

to consider

connection with the earlier Tamil alphabet or

Vatteluttu are,

(1)

the date of
(2)

its

introduction
it

into

the Tamil country; and

whether

was borrowed

by the Tamils
tics,

direct

from the north-western Semi-

or

or was only an earlier modification of the Asoka Brahmi characters as some scholars seem to think. The earliest Vatteluttu inscriptions known to us belong to the eighth century A. D. and do not go further back and the earliest description of that alphabet is what we find in the grammar of Tolkapyar. It is said that Agastya was the first Tamil gramma;

rian

but

we know nothing about

his date

or the

existence of his grammar, except that Tolkapyar was his student, even which seems extremely questionable.

The

date of the

introduction of the
present be
In his

Vetteluttu

alphabet cannot

for the

carried earlier
'

than the age

of

Tolkapyar.

the Aindra School of

Sanskrit

monograph On Grammarians Dr,

',

Burnell assigns the eighth century A.D. as the proba.

ble date of

Tolkapyar, assuming

that there

was no
Tolkawriter^

Tamil

literature before that

period and

that

pyar professed Jainism or Buddhism, nant religions

at

the

predomi-

the time,

according to

this

in Southern India.

Both these premises have since

THE TAMIL ALPHABET

been proved
to be false.

117

Tolkapyar was a Brahman

;

Rishi and belonged to the Jamadagni tribe and the contemporary scholar, Athangottasan who passed
his

work

at the royal court of the

Pandya king was

the author says
of Indra.

also a

Brahman deeply
Colophon

versed in the four Vedas.

In the

to the

Tolkapyam

that he has mastered the Sanskrit

grammar

When
ject in

the epoch-making

work

of Panini

had long
the sub-

been considered the highest

Sanskrit,

authority

on

follow Indra's

why Tolkapyar should work in his grammar of

it

study and
the

Tamil

language
not

is

inexplicable, unless

be that Panini was

of

known to time. One of

Panini in the

the

Southern

Hindus

Tolkapyar's

the sixty-four

predecessors

quoted by

field of

grammatical science was Indra,

and he should therefore have flourished before him.

Thus, Tolkapyar must have lived anterior to .B.C. 350

which

is

the date assigned to

Panini

by the

best

authorities.

Again,
that,
at

it

will

be seen
of

from the following sutras

use

the time

Tolkapyar, there were in

some Tamil words

combinations
nya,
{ldiu)

in the

middle
{&tiij)

of

which

letter
(iBtn)

like {eouu) lya,

{<suuu)

lya, (@ij) jnya,

mya,

vya and

[imsu)

mva, could occur,

J,

&)sn oosn(cir Qpssresiir ujoysj/i

Q ^n&srgviJo.
I,

24.

iLSooSireafl

p pm QunLQupmQp.

27.
I,

LDoosiresr Lj&reffl Qp&saieue^is Q^tnssrjinu),

28.


1-18

TAMIL STUDIES
these sidras Nacchinarkiniyar writes
(^p^rrisi

Commenting on
thus,

^ikiEiesTLD ^SiflujiT

Qs^iL^sSm j^ssireo^^

Not
the
of

single
is

word

of

the
in

kind referred to
the

in

the sutras

to

be found

existing

Tamil

literature.
is

whole range of The earliest work

of

any magnitude

that

the

Kural

TiruvaL

luvar

goes back to the

first

century A.D.,
current

and the

period

when such words

w^ere

should have

been

at least three or

four centuries before the age of

that work.

much
the

to

For these reasons, it would not be too suppose that Tolkapyar flourished before
is five

B.C. 350, that

Stoic

centuries earlier than Apollonius,

first

philosopher and the

grammarian

of

the Latin language.

fortiori

Tolkapyar's teacher

and first Tamil grammarian and divine rishi, Agastya must have lived before the fourth century B. C. When these two In do- Aryan scholars began to write their grammars, Tamil had already become a written
language.
It
is

said

by

Prof. Macdonell

of

Oxford that the

for the a

Katantra of Sarvavarman, the famous minister of the

Andhra king Satavahana, served as a model As this is native grammar of the Dravidians.

work

of the second century A.D., Tolkapyar could not have

1.

This view

las,

however, been questioned by the authors of

Q^fejsiuiSiui: (s^^!r(^(54^

and

^jt reSiuiSirsfrSerisloWowing

the

Com-

mentaries of^sTiAyir
follow

sozr/f

and

G*a(SB>/riu/r.

But we are inclined te

B^Sif^rsQafiinir,

THE TAMIL ALPHABET

followed
it,

119

and

if

he had done so he would have

of ^i^aSisapih^^

plainly said sn^i^iriBesipiB^ instead

It
is,

however,

believed

by

Tamil

scholars

that

Sarvavarman's work was imitated by Buddha-Mitra (A.D 1075) in his Virasoliyam. And the difference
in the

treatment of the subject adopted by the authors

of

Tolkapyam and Virasoliyam, appears to favour the view that Katantra was not imitated in the former
Thus
then the introduction of
the
Vatteluttu

work.

alphabet must have taken place long before the fourth

or
fiftlj

century

B.

C, and
in

this

approximates the
to

earliest date

assigned by European scholars

writing
India,

the

introduction of

which was the

era.

seventh or eighth century before the Christian

As
or the

to

who

first

brought the alphabet from the

western

whether the Southern Dravidians not quite easy to settle* Northern Aryans
Semitics
it

is

On

this

point

western

scholars

hold

contrary

opinions, Dr.
scholar, thinks

Rhys Davids,
*

the learned

Bhuddhist

that

all

the present available evidence

is

tends to
all
;

show
it

that ihe Indian alphabet

not Aryan at

that

was introduced into India by Dravidian

writer goes

(Tamil) merchants in the eighth or seventh century'.

And

the

same
e<ilarged

on

to say that 'after the

merchants brought the

script to

India,

it

gradually

became
ments
This
is

and adapted

to the

special requiredialects.'

of the Indian learned

and colloquial

also the view taken by that pioneer orientalist

and

antiquary, Mr. E.

Thomas.

Dr. Burnell seems

120
to

TAMIL STUDIES
think that Vattehittu had an independent source
to

and had nothing

Northern
India.

do with the Brahmi

Indo-Aryan
to

alphabet of

This alphabet, he says, 'was formed

and

settled' before the

grammarians
India.

of

the Tamil language

In opposition to

came
this

Southern
Drs.

view

Caldwell, Buhler

and Grierson
as
will

maintain (and on insutficent ground

later

be

shown
or

on) that
or

the

Vatteluttu

alphabet
the

was

borrowed
Asoka

rather adapted
of

from
India.

Brahmi

alphabet

Upper

'The older Mauryan alphabet', says Dr, Buhler, 'was used over the whole of India.' He says
further

'from

palaeographical

point
as
to

of a

view,
cursive

the

Vatteluttu

may be

described
relation

script

which bears the same

the

Tamil
that

as the

modern alphabets
...
''

of the clerks
it

and merchants

to their originals

Perhaps

may be assumed
of time

the " round hand

arose already before the seventh

century, but was modified in the course

the
further

by

development

of

the

Tamil
is,

and the
of the

Grantha

scripts.

Owing

to the small

number

accessible inscriptions, this conjecture

however,
'

by no means certain.' Dr. Caldwell asserts that the Tamil characters were borrowed from the earliest Sanskrit, and the language of the Tamilians was
committed
the
first

to writing

on or soon
this

after the arrival

of

colony of Brahmans.'
of
'

He

even goes to

the

length
that the

confirming

hypothesis

by

saying

oldest

known

Dravidian alphabet (he means

the Vatteluttu)

makes no difference between long


THE TAMIL ALPHABET
and short
that
e,

121

srand

o,

9 which
in

is

one

of the

arguments

may be adduced
of that

favour of the

theory of the

derivation

alphabet

alphabet of Asoka.'
far as

All these are

from the Sanskritic mere theories. So

we

are aware, neither Dr. Caldwell, nor Dr.

Buhler,

nor even Dr. Grierson has disproved the

other hypothesis by any crucial instances.

In

support of
Drs.

the

theory

advocated by Mr. E.

Thomas,

Rhys Davids and Burnell

seems

side the balance of authority

to rest

on whose that the

:

Tamilians had introduced the Vatteluttu and developed

it

independently of the

alphabet, the following arguments

It

Asoka or the Brahmi may be adduced

essay that the

has

been shown

in a

previous

Tamil people or rather

civiized

the early Dravidians

were a

race allied to the ^ancient Accadians, with

whom

they lived in

Babylonia

and Assyria before

their migration to Hindustan.

They were acquaintIt

ed with the

Phoenicians and Egyptians as early as

century B. C.

the 14th jr 15th

would, therefore,

be highly probable that these early Dravidians might

have brought

with

them the

alphabet

when

they

migrated to India.

And

it

is
it

also probable that the

Indo-Aryans
neighbours.

borrowed

from
of

their

Dra vidian
Aryans
in

Long
South

before the
India,

settlement

the

had commercial intercourse with the Egyptians and oiher Western nations, as will be inferred from the existence of Tamil
the

Tamils

words

like

^o^m (peacock) and

agil (a fragrant

wood)


132
in the

TAMIL STUDIES

Hebrew

Bible, and arisi (rice) in Greek.

the Banyas or the Aryan

India, the Tamils

Like merchant caste of Upper

caste scruples prohibiting

had no

them from sea-voyage.

In fact,

among

the Dravi-

dians of the remote past there was no

caste

system^

and they were expert seamen. Although the Tamilians owed

Agastya and
to

their

grammar

to

Tolkapyar,

it

should not be inferred

for the art of writing

that they were indebted to

also.

them

The

existence of pure Tamil

words

like ezliuttii

(letters),

siwadi (book) &c, before they

came

to

the

south disproves the theory that Agastya brought the

alphabet with him from Upper India.
assertion of Dr. Caldwell
that
'

The

gratuitous

the language of

the

Tamilians was committed to writing on or soon after

the arrival of the
falls to
first

colony of Brahmans',

therefore,,

the ground.
that the

Again, his statement

Dravidian alphabet

makes no difference between the long and short c, sr and 0, ^ is a mere specious argument, if by Dravidian he meant Tamil,because the Vatteluttu alphabet of the early Tamils did make the distinction, as the author of the Tolkapyam has distinctly ruled that, sranQmiTsir QmiLuL^eneffl Qu^ua and this sutram will have no
;

meaning
days.

if

no such

distinction

was observed

in his

While writing about the formation of the letter m, w the grammarian.Tolkapyar clearly defines that,. s^ilQuut^miSfftLLi(T^eiiii^LDQu>. What he meant by this rule was that the form of />, u (Vatteluttu ^ ) should be


THE TAMIL ALPHABET
carefully distinguished

123
(Vatteluttu

from

that of ni,

ld

which received an inner dot. Here the right hand tail of u was joined in later times with the inner dot,
which was quite natural
leaves with an iron stylus,
rightly observed
(ev)iT.

in cursive writing

on palm
has

as

Nacchinarkiniyar
i^en-efflssuju

lls!TiJd

s^ilQugn

laSsrr^^ '^Q^^

In the Brahmi,

and LD were written as Asoka script which in form approached the Vatteluttu LD, but that was ph. and not in. It will thus be seen
that there
is

Asoka or Mauryan alphabet u b and )6. There was a letter in the

not the least

the

resemblance between the

;;;,

Vatteluttu and

Asoka p and

nor can

we
I,

perceive any appreciable similarity in the other letters

of both alphabets except in the case of k,
p,
r,
t,

and

which may after all be only accidental, both borrowed from the same Semitic source, as being will be seen from the comparative table of the ancient alphabets given below
cli,
:

English

124
If

TAMIL STUDIES Tamil borrowed

and
of

developed
like

its

alpha-

bet

from Brahmi

of

North India
the

the

other
it

cultivated

languages

Dravidian family,
its

should have taken

written.

place
that
in

before

grammar was
and
complete
languages,

And

in
itself

case, the

tendency should
sister

have

shown
and

an
in

efficient

alphabetic

system

as

the

Telugu

Kanarese-

On

the

other

hand, the
of

simplicity of the alphabetic

its

and the deficiency

stationary
to

phonetic systems, and their

for

charac-

ter

nearly
for
is

2,000
origin.

years

point
are

a different
to

source
that this

its

We

glad

observe
I.C.S.

also the view taken

by Mr. R. Sewell,
meagre
character

He

writes

thus

'

The

and

simple forms of the Tamil alphabets almost certainly

derived from a Semitic source,
Himayaritic,
point to
its

perhaps,

Araroic or

having been adopted and

having become fixed before the Kharoshti was known'.

Among

the

Dravidian races

of

South India the

Tamils alone made use

neighbours have, so
veal,
its

of the Vatteluttu alphabet

from

time immemorial, whilst their Telugu and

Kanarese

far as epigraphical researches re-

been using some alphabet or other which had

origin from the

Brahmi
in

of

Upper

India.
is

The

prin-

ciple of adding a dot for

to Tamil,

consonants

peculiar only

and

is

found

adopted from Brahmi.

It
it

no other alphabetic systems is possible that the Tamils

of

might have borrowed

Asia and used
it

from the Semitics

Western

for

consonants instead of for vowel

other Semitic alphabets.

signs, as in the

Hebrew and

THE TAMIL ALPHABET

The
the
vast difference that exists

125

between

Tamil and

Aryan languages

in their vocabulary,

between the

Tamils and the Indo-Aryans, the contempt which the

one had

for the other,

and the great antiquity and the

*

which the Tamils claim for their sweet' language and its grammar all these seem to favour the
divine origin

indigenous origin of the Tamil Vatteluttu alphabet.

The
light

latest epigraphical

researches have brought to

Pandya country of tht Rai Bahadur V. Venkayya, Epigraphist to the Government of India, believes that this discovery in the Madura and Tinneveliy districts proves beyond doubt that the Mauryan alphabet was in use all over India', and that this
the

existence

in the

Brahmi or Asoka

inscriotions,

'

seems

to

him

'

to militate
'

against the theory of

the

indigenous origin

of the Vatteluttu

alphabet.

We
state-

do not
'

for a

moment

question

Dr.

Buhler's

ment that the older Mauryan alphabet was used over the whole of India'; but it is extremely doubtful
whether
by the
Jains,
fact
this

alphabet was used in the Tamil country

of all castes

literates

Hindus and Animists

from the Himalayas
to

and creeds Buddhists, alike. As a matter of

is at

we know

that the English alphabet

present

in use

Cape Comorin among

in
it

the educated classes,

are

and even English inscriptions

India.

found almost everywhere

see side by side with

And

yet,

do we not
alphabets?

scores of

Indian
in a

The ubiquity

of

an alien alphabet

particular country cannot, therefore, be a proof for

the non-existence of other alphabetic systems

and of

126
its

TAMIL STUDIES
necessity for the aboriginal

inhabitants of that

soil.

History informs us that Emperor Asoka sent Buddhist Missionaries to the three

Tamil countries about

evidence to
lands

B.C. 250,
that there

and there

is

very

little

show
to

were Buddhists

in these

prior

that date.

The Brahmi
It

inscriptions alluded to

above

are believed to
period.

belong to the Asoka or post- Asoka

has been

shown above
350,
it

that Tolkapyar
is,

flourished

anterior to B. C.

that

at

least a

century before Asoka.

the description of
in his

As

has

been proved that

Tolkapyar

the alphabet given by

grammar
but

is

applicable
to

only to the Vatteluttu

Brahmi or Asoka alphabet, it is evident beyond any shadow of doubt that Vatteluttu alone was in use among the Tamils before the introduction ot Buddhism in their country. The Brahmi was evidently used only by the Buddhist monks and missionaries, and perhaps by Brahmans
characters,

not

the

also.

This theory should hold

it

its

own

against any

others, until

could be established from inscriptional

sources, that the

by

all

classes in

Brahmi alphabet was universally used the Tamil country before the days of

Tolkapyar (B.C. 350).

The mere
all

fact that the

Brahmi alphabet was

in use

over India proves nothing concerning the origin of

Vatteluttu,

any more than the use

of the

of the English alpha-

bet

regarding the source of the

Indian alphabets.
Vatteluttu

The

Moplahs

West Coast use the

to

;(Koleluttu)

characters

this very day,

while

the

THE TAMIL ALPHABET

Hindus there gave
That
is
it

127

up three or four centuries ago.

and the Grantha-Malayaby side for
centuries in a particular
in existence side

to say, the VatteUittu

1am alphabets have been

at least the last three

or four

part of the ancient Tamil land, the

former being used

latter

by the pure Tamilians (Malayalis) and the

the Aryanized Dravidians.

by

Again,

Vatteluttu copper plate grants of Jatila

we observe in the Varman, Ravi

Varman,

Sri

Valiuvan Kodai and others, that Grantha

characters were used freely to express pure Sanskrit

words and Vatteluttu

Tamil,

for the

Tamil ones. All the South

Indian alphabets, not excepting the

modern Grantha-

may

be

traced

to

the

B rah mi
like

script

of

Upper

hidia.

Had

Vatteluttu

been borrowed
the

developed

from the
difficult to

Brahmi,

and the Grantha and

times,
it

other alphabets of

India from

earliest

would be

account for the

Tamils alone
in

using both the characters simultaneously

inscriptions.

their

This anamoly

is

nowliere to be found
this

outside the

Tamil country.

And

one

fact,

com.
the

bined with the other considerations

Vatteluttu had an

set forth

in

previous paragraphs, must lead one to conclude that

indigenous origin, and that the

Brahmi

characters

even largely used by the

Jains, while the
rest of

might have been understood and Brahmans, Buddhists and

the people in

rhe Chera and Pandya countries marie use of the Vatteluttu alphabet And, notwithstanding the divergence of opinion

among
us to

high authorities, the above arguments compel

accept the theory that
the

Tamil

alphabet


128
(Vatteluttu)

TAMIL STUDIES

was not borrowed from the Brahmi or any

other

directly

Upper Indian alphabet, but had been introduced from Western Asia by Tamil merchants,

during the eighth or seventh century B.C.,

loped
it
it

who

deve-

independently of the northern alphabets until

partially supplanted

was

by the Grantha charac-

ters in or

about the tenth century.

But for the mighty influence of the Aryan Brahmans, such an ancient and original alphabet might have survived among the Tamils as amongst the Musalman Moplahs of Malabar. Before the introduction of the

Grantha-Tamil characters, the influx

of

was extremely limited and even those words appeared in the Tamil garb or in the form of tadbhavas. Thus, we find in
Sanskrit words in the Tamil language
;

the

Tirtivoymoli

of

Nammalvar
^/j^^treir,

tamilized
,

Sanskrit
sSiSIq^^lo^

words

like ujbursiruesTy
isSi^LDiMj

^q^is^^s^Sw

^ffrTss^&nr,

s^eeWy ld^s^it, &LLL-&STy ^.(i^^^iiT&sr, &c.-

But with the

phrases

large

influx

of

Sanskrit

words

and

tadbhavas

and

tatsamas

in

consequence
the

of the importation of the

Aryan religion and philosointroduction

of in the

phy among
countries
rules for

the

Tamils, the

Grantha-Tamil characters

became
tlie

a matter of

necessity.

Pandya and Kerala And new

adoption and nataralisation of Sanskrit

words
in the

in

Tamil, not given by Tolkapyar, v;ere added

of

grammars

Buddha Mitra and

flourished in

Pavanandi,.

the former of

whom

the eleventh

and

the latter at the beginning of the thirteenth century.

Of the thirty-one Tamil

letters

of

the Grantha-


THE TAMIL ALPHABET
129

pear

Tamil alphabet, the consonants em, ^,15 and lu only apto have been adopted or borrowed from the
Pallava characters, the rest being
of the defunct

moditied

survivals
ins-

Vatteluttu.

In

the Yanaimalai
(A.

criptions of the

Pandya king Jatavarman

of the

D. 770),

we

find

some

Pallava-Grantha characters

mixed up with the Vatteluttu. For example, in the Tamil word Loirpm the Vatteluttu imit, m, is used, and in the Sanskrit word wk^iB the Pallava or the Brahmi

and the

y, uj of
>,

the

earlier

Vatteluttu

appears
plates of
uj,

like

the Telugu
like

while

in the

Museum
the

Jatavarman

the

modern

tripartite letter

r^.

Minor

differences in

the forms of

Vatteluttu

themselves

may

be noticeable in inscriptions

from

different quarters.

The

tacking

of

vowel signs

to

the

consonants

was regular

in Vatteluttu,
is

but not so in the Grantha-

Tamil which

doubtless due to the mixture of the

two alphabets. The vowel-consonants of GranthaTamil are exactly after the formation of the Nagari
that most of the vowel signs, S, 9, 55 and f^en- stand detached from ^, <ST, This may be made intelligithe Tamil consonants.

characters, excepting
as for
<5j,

ble

by

commenting
;

on the following

note

of

Nacchinarkiniyar
QupgUih

QanCSl

QupguiJo

i^msffl

Qup^ih

Lji^brftu^iEi

Qs!tiJd

Quppmr.

(5,

<si_

(ip^s^aj<oBT
sit,

Q !^!sSle^iEj(^ QuppesT.
isiti

Qs, Qs
Quppesr.

Qp^&Sujesr QsrrQ

Quppesr.

(Lp^(S^ujicST L\&r<siB

130

TAMIL STUDIKS

LDSIILD

&.LLQugil

L^SasiBsGitJU

Qj'^eTT^^

STQ^0^:T. QaiTjQarr^

QlSllTy
I.,

Qiwrr Qp^s\9tassr Ljsirsfffi^ii

Q.sa'S^-^i^mQuppsm. 'Tola

17.

Here,

<oSlsow(^

means

curve,
is

Qm

is

a loop or curl,

L/sffafl is

a dot, and saec

a vertical stroke.

Thus

in

the consonant i
in

has received

the upper curve and

a nether one.

The
it.

letter

Qs

is

formed by
vowel
ot

pre-

fixing a loop or coil to

In the early stage the loop

half of the

which was only the

tached
to the

first

was

atit.

consonant, though
is

now

separated from
it

The

case of Qsa and

peculiar, and

clearly proves

that the Grantha-Tamil system of forming vowel-con-

sonant has been adopted instead of the old Vatteluttu

system.

The

letter

Qsa

is

formed by the addition

of a

]oop and a
.^),

vertical

stroke (originally the sign of long

the one preceding and the other

i-\^ffl

succeeding the
for

consonant. But the doiov

this

was never used

in

purpose, either in

the

Grantha-Tamil or
of
^dsireo^^rrir

the

Vatteluttu characters.

The statement
L/ffsr/?aaj

Nacchinarsiredirs

kiniyar that
eiQ^0(es)iT

j^iq^Qs

Qlupp

seems, therefore, purely unauthorized.

it

In

the Vatteluttu the stroke was horizontal, and

always
it

stood for a long vowel

is

but in the Grantha-Tamil

vertical

and does not always

=g.
(sw),

indicate a long vowel,

except in the case of

The long vowel

(y,
''^nd

^
is

and the
a

vowel-consonants

have

received

nether curve, while a perpendicular stroke

the other consonants. This
is

put after

surely un^yrametrical,

though not more anomalous than the joining of such parts of a_ to consonants (as in o, #, and ^) as fit in

THE TAMIL ALPHABET

with their form.
All these

131
evi-

afford unimistakable

dence for the mixed character of the modern Grantha-

Tamil alphabet.
written

Long
which

aai

and
stroke
the

^m

were originally
to of
a.

with
&-],

a
s?]

vertical

added
course

9 thus
centuries

in

and few

of a rr. The short or was formerly distinguished by means of a dot over it. As late as A. D. 1740, no distmction was made between the short and long vowel -co nso.

assumed the shape

the long

s?

nantal signs of

ct

and

?,

Q,

Q-fr.

Beschi seems to have

the
sign

been the

first

to

make

this

reform by rounding

upper end of the loop for the long sound.

for

The
the

in sa)s is a

double loop or curl as

;

in the

Gran,

tha but joined together in later Tamil

and

two
letter

loops were originally placed sometimes

the other and sometimes side
r^iJu^iM
is

one above

by

side.
like

The
the

written with
'

three

dots
is

English

symbol

for 'therefore

and

it

neither a vowel nor

a consonant.

The
called

Vatteluttu or the

on account

of

its

Tamil archaic alphabet is so round or circular form like

the

modern

Telugu

alphabet,

development has assumed the angular

would

say, square shape.

modern or, as some This angularity was due to

while
its

the facility in writing on palm

stylus, or
in

leaves with

an

iron
plates

cutting

on stones or
angle
<?,

copper
with
^, m
in

with a

chisel.

Further, the left-hand vertical line or

the

stroke which goes to form an

top

horizontal
later

stroke

in letters like a,

meaningless addition not

found

and j is a the Tamil

132

TAMIL STUDIES
1050.

inscription prior to A. D.
iu,

The

letters /_, u, m^

of
(j;,

and tp had no angles on either side, because each them had only a curve at the bottom like c, ^,'^
a;
ID

and
a

P.

In the Vatteluttu

the vowel

s.,

z^
;

was
u
id

and ld was a u with an inner dot Hence &., u, eu, and simply another form of almost alike both in form and sound.
half
en,
sij.

is

are

So much

for

the

form

of

Tamil

letters.

Let us

now

take

their

number,

order,

and pronunciation.

There are thirty-one letters ; twelve vowels and eighTolkapyar teen consonants and one semi-vowel.
shortened @ and s_ making them As there are no separate signs to express these two sounds, the number of Tamil letters should be taken as onjy thirty-one. Of the twelve

adds to these the

thirty-three.

vowels,
67
ge,

=gy,

g), a., ot, 9,

e^eir

are short (@/zJ^)

;

and ^,

it-,

sss,

and

are long (O/sif a')

strictly

speaking

and

epsfT

are not
;

long vowels but only diphthongs or

and they maybe represented by =gy+@ or ^ and . ^ + Lu and =gw + 2- or +=gyia/. The letters are called primary vowels, hence they are placed first
s^i^ajsarrio
<=gy,

with their cognate long sounds,

e^efT

ct, sj

and

S, 9,

are considered

in

Sanskrit

secondary or

^ and com-

pound vowels formed by the union of ^ and ^ and ^ and a- respectively. With this compare the exam+ s^^^LDasr=i5Qa!T^ [BIT + ^iB^!iiok = fBQMii^!reisr ple,
;

i5[r

^inm.
CT

It Will

thus

be seen that there are no

short
in

and 9
is,

in Sanskrit.

The arrangement
in

of

Vowels

Tamil

therefore, exactly

after the Sanskrit

model.

There are eighteen consonants

Tamil.

Of these

THE TAMIL ALPHABET

s,
9=,

133
(?,

I,

^,

are

nasals

u and p are surds and (u, a, so, en,

;

ra, (Sj,
tg

em,
an-

ld

and

esr

and

are
is

liquids.

The order followed in To shew of Sanskrit.

Quantity or
tion
;

their

arrangement
l^,
sir,

also that

that

p and
last.

are letters

peculiar to Taiuil they are placed

LDiTaSl<ssyiT

is

different

the one relates to

music
of

in

from pronunciapoetry, and the

and words
in

other to the

enunciation

letters

in

speech.

We
is

are not, therefore,

concerned here with

quantity,

j)jsfrQuss)u.,

prolation

or

the

increase
to
e.

which

applicable

only

among Tamil vowels

lesser quantity

and

However, have sometimes a

poetry.

even in ordinary speech.

Sivagnana

Swami, the uncompromising critic of ^^MssemeSlmssiM says, the shortened ^ and a. are indicated by a dot The but the truth of his statement is questionable. dot was never used either in the Tamil inscriptions
;

or in the ordinary writing. Now-a-days a dot

in

is

used
in

Malayalam

to

denote a

final

short q_ which

this
=gy

language approacfies a sound mid-way between

&-

and

as in 6)QJcaicw
is

S and

epsir

being diphthongs,
the
first

their quantity

shortened at times,

in

all

the three places

ning of
gets

and the second only at the beginwords. But this does not satisfactorily
in

account for their existence.

decreased
with

The semi-vowel ^iL^ld quantity when words beginning

in
sd

^ combine with words ending

changes
in

and

ek.

All these are called

s^aaQuQg^^ or dependant
quantity occur

letters

as the

only

in

words,

but never

in isolated letters

themselves

134

TAMIL STUDIES
to consonants,
in

Coming

very defective, and

we find the Tamil alphabet some cases redundant also.

as-

Surds coming after nasals lose their hard sounds

in 0^157(5,

^^

(Sjeaw^

sih^sih

and

Q.rLDL9iusar

and

in

Malayalam they
for
LDrrihsiTtL^

are changed' into

nasals as in mainarr

^(^i^ for ^Q^i^ and so and <? even when not preceded by on. Sometimes nasals get the soft sound similar to the Arabic
(3;^(^ for igj^,
<

gliayii

and the Sanskrit

(y^

as

in

Qs'(^^3,

and u^^^

respectivel3^
fifteen

Thu*
This

for the

thirty-one letters w^e have

vowel and twenty-five

in
ali.

consonant sounds, or

forty

is

certainly a defect.
first

But

some

might say
that the

that

when

the alphabet was

introduced,

the Tamil language had

only thirty-one sounds, and

explained above crept in

remaining

nine

during

later times

owing

to the influence of the

Indo-

Aryans- This

may be

accepted as
if

partly

correct, as
to

we

find to

this day,

one

is

careful

enough

obthe

serve, slight

variations in

the

pronunciation of

Jaffna Tamils and the Tamil Brahmans.

The letters The sound of

and
the
or

peculiar
oo is

to

Tamil are

oo, ip,

p and
no

ear.

midway between
pm.
It
is

the Arabic ghayn

in
it

Sanskrit

found

other
to

Indian
suggest

European

languages,
of

and

seems

some connection

the

Tamil race with

the Semitic or Western Asiatic nations.

is

The

letter

tp

equally a private property

for

of
to
in

Tamil and
pronounce.
of the

terriIt

ble bugbear

Europeans
zj, zh, rl,

has

been variously transliterated

languages by
Ij,
1,

some
&c.
;

European

zy,

Dr. Pope's rule

THE TAMIL ALPHABET

for
its

135
tip

pronunciation

is

to

apply

the

of

the

tongue as far back as you can to the palate and pronounce a rou<^h r in which a sound of 2 will mingle.'
This
siUra^
is

only an

English rendering of the Nannul

Even
correctly,

the

Tamils
in

cannot pronounce
districts they

this

letter
srr,

and
it

some
it

substitute

lu,

and

enj

for

or omit

altogether.
classes,
I

In

Madras
in

ew are

used by the
en-

lower
is

while

and Madura
uj

and Tinnevelly was

this letter

preferred.

presume
J.

that

it

which frightened Mr.

Molony

and

led to his

remark on the Tamil language, which

resent, notwithstanding his init.
'

any Tamilian would

direct

compliment
call

to the people that speak

;

Few
the

would
that

Tamil beautiful

yet

its

great harsh words,

one can almost

bite as they pass the teeth,

stubborn

inelasticities of its construction, suggest

certain doggedness in the people

who have subdued

daily use.' (C.R.p.7)

such an untractable organ to

tlieir

The letter p has the sound of a rough r and jb p that of tr. The sounds of m and sot are almost identical and it may be supposed that the second m is redundant. But their origin shows a slight variation and justifies the
necessity
for
iot

the
is

existence

of both,

because

/5

is

dental while
In

a palatal letter.
is

Tamil no

distinction

made between an
is

accent,

and an emphasis or intonation. There

only one

word
ing

in the Tamil language which changes its meanby the accent or intonation, that is ^q, iapii^


136

TAMIL STUDIES
the accent
falls
is

When
and

if it

on the first it means to on the second it means to 'kill'.

falls

'die'

In-

tonation

of

three kinds,

rising
level
in use.

tone

or CT^^si),
is-sSl^eo,

falling tone or u(Si^^&)

and
is

tone or
In

Of
the

these, only the

first
i-,

two are
that

fsu.

when

accent
rising

falls

on
it

tone,
falls

denotes a

when it is uttered in a command, and when the

in

accent

on or pronounced
root.

falling

tone

it

becomes

a simple

In

phrases and
alters their

sentences,

emphasis on particular
Thus, the
stupid

words

meanings.
either *a

phrase

^/iS^BevT^sijek

may mean

man' or *aman
said
in

as intelligent as the sun'.

of

Concerning the origin

been
the

Panniru-pattiyal

letters enough has and Nannul. The u^suflQ^ufTLLis^uj6\) a grammatical

Tamil

Tolkapyam

compilation, assigns a divine origin to

except
oo.

all

the letters

It

says the twelve vowels were created by the eighteen consonants by Siva, Vishnu,

Brahma and

Muruga, Indra, the Sun, the Moon, Kubera, Yama and Varuna at the rate of two each. This is a
curious piece of information to a
It

modern

philologist.

shows

that these

were

the

only important deities

the Tamil

known and worshipped by

Poigaiyar's time
In
i.

Hindus

of

e.

about A. D. 500.
letters
is,

Tamil the

interchange of
is

which have
perhaps, due
It

almost similar sounds

to

allowed. This

wrong pronunciation and defective hearing. occurs mostly at the end of words, sometimes
the beginning
cgy

at

and middle
in

also.

These
;

letters are,

for

as

^amsk

for

j)jsa) [t ojisst

for

is

as

THE TAMIL ALPHABET

in Q(^5SBr for
lSIs^st
;

137

^smd^ ^jsk for ,^jdr ^ for ^ as in l3^^ m for as in Qsojld for QiB.3=ua ssr, for LD, and err as in .4<5\)^-a6AJ:ii, ^pio-^ piJo, uo^e^Ln^m &c. The Malayalam languaj^e wliich may be taken as a highly differentiated dialect of Tamil
for
;

<5^

6\J

/f

affords plenty of instances of this sort of

in
letters,

interchange

technically called
against
or

QufrsSI.

But the reader

it

must be warned
iingrammatical

confounding
usages

with

the

vulgar

pointed

out by
of the

Buddha-Mitra
^^6s(t

as prevalent in

different parts

Tamil country
&-efrd(^

even
ewsif^

in

his

days
eSii^ii^

/f/tsi/?

QsneiB

eun^Setr

GT.5srei\ii,

ul^]ej(^

^L^sms

^L^ss)LD eimeijLD...S(^leo^<9^/b/iSear
Q'Sjs^iFi'2ei>

Q^^^^ff^

S&)it eui^iEi(^U!T.
srssrei^uD^

Qp^&it

<s#'5ij)#

sresrisijLD^

i^prSiUiJoQuir^

Lcjh/iSujuD iS paap^aiBjSicSl p(irj>^ iiTsme^ih. ..s^reSifluadjiBii

S&)^

^<f

&&)IT QJL^'5J(^^IT.

Qf5S\)e^<isiT SiSST

p^

(cSiL^isa

S^p^
mp^ih

eresT^

uueorr^

U'TiLi^

le\)^^,f

Se\}iT

qji^ieii^ouit.

^Qi'2eaTLJUiTSs ^iisrrss jfjisisirasi

sresreijtx)^

^uutsf.sQsn pp
(sresrei^iitf

^ uUis^sQsrT p p

<si

&5r iSi^LD y

Q-f^^Seaui
STSSTeijlMy

^^^ssfr&i
LdSiT

eulTSSiUUUlUUO QsfT'dSQfii-LsSiU.

^QlT

OTSSrai/LO,

iSp

Vir. p. 64.

Rules are

given

in

Tamil
of

grammar books
pure

to

determine what 'words are

Tamil
are

origin

and

what

are

borrowed.

They

highly

important to a Dravidian philologist.

letters,

There are 247

;

both single
in the

and compound
the

but

all

are

not

used

building up of
at

Tamil words.

Some
some

letters

may come

beginning,

while


138
others
at the

TAMIL STUDIES
end
of

The grammarian l Tolkapyar took only the Tamil words and framed his rules accordingly, while other grammarians have included in them such of the Sanskrit words as have been adopted in the Tamil vocabulary. The differenwords.
ces between the

Tamil and Sanskrit words

In the

will

be

pointed out as we go on.

INITIAL LETTERS
are
either
:

Tamil language there

forty-two

one-letter

words, long

and

they

are

long

vowels

or

vowel-consonants.
letter

Short
except
or

vowels
with

cannot

form

single

words
of

consonants.

Among words
may
The
to

two
any

more

letters,

any word

begin

with

one of

the twelve
tf,

vowels or

the

twelve
<?=,

vowels3j<?=

consonants

/5,

u and
at

LD.

letters

and
(J^
this
Qeutr
let-

O^sp- will not

come

the beginning except

in

words

of Sanskrit origin.

According

Tolkapyar
;

(ejt,

but to and 0@/r may commence a word Bhavanandi adds (gj. The letters etj, g^, Qisui and
are not allowed at the
ter in the
lu

beginning,

ujit

is

the only

series that

can come

at the
first

commencethree

ment
1.

of
Mr.

pure Tamil
A. H.

words.
writes

The

short

Keane

about Tolkapyar as follows:

'The

first in

Tamil,

known

as the Tolkapyam, dates from about the

is,

eighth century of our era,

and

perhaps,

thft

very oldest
is

Tamil

work
strict

extant, ..The

Tolkapyam,
in

itself,

however,

rather a treatise
in

on grammar
sense
;

composed

Tamil,

than a Tamil grammar

in Sanskrit

the
cov.-

and though not written

work, that
is

must

still

be
of

sidered as an Aindra

the

work

of a
is

disciple

the

Aindra School of Sanskrit grammarians'.

This

clearly derived

from

wrong

source.

THE TAMIL ALPHABET

vowels
strative
series
jij,

139

and
;

?>-

are called */-lQi_(^^^ or

g/

demonin

prefixes

and

is

the

only

letter

the

which may begin a word with them as jiii'rsmih and ^isiiEii^ LD but these words have no independent existence without this combination. Thus,
^itsEimti)
;

there are in

all

94

letters

wilh any one of which

a pure Tamil

word may begin.

I

FINAL LETTERS
either

Any vowel

by
at

itself

or

come
will

the end of

except ct, 9 and gssrr combined with consonants will usually a- and ^jm a Tamil word
;

not unite with and

j,
qj.

<S7

will join

only with and

and ep widi (sj and sjar There are, however, ex;

ceptions to these rules.

According

to

Virasoliyam,
letters,
ct

Tamil words may end with the following

ii),

em,
5?.

uj,

IT,

So,

/^,

<iff,

and

ek^

and
(ct,

all

vowels except
eu.

and

To

these
in

may

be added

and

There

is

only one

word

(Cj (s_//?(^),

two words
obsolete.

and four words

in

eu (^<aj, ^<su,

words are
end
in
esr

all

now

(Qun^i and QeurFlii) ^eu and Gis&j). These Among the words which
in i
in

there are only nine

the neuter gender,

of
th.

but are not moc'ifications or

CTSD7,

QufTe\9

They
,

are

Q^SioSr,

sSLfiSSTj (^uSlsSl

IMuS'Sk ,

^tgOT^ ULpi^

</_/r(Ssr,

and eumnm. In the @ series all except Q(^^Q(^, G(^a, Qi^rr, and 0@srr may be at the end of words. Generally, ^, sn', <a/ and e/, may not be final letters. There are
only

two words ending

the
a_

in

^, namely,

s_5f (.(srj)

and
is

(2/3* ((g5-/B@),

and only one word ending

;

in

l/

which

^4
in

(to kill or to die)

Lj

&- in

the other words ending

is

the shortened

or

(^n)r5!uje^siTu>.

Thus

ac-

cording to Tolkapyar there are IGl

letters that

may

140

TAMIL STUDIES
at the

come

end

of

Tamil words.

But as Nacchinarof
Qld,
u?, nj, Qtu,

kiniyar

has observed the examples for eighteen

Qiir, Qssm,
"Seir,

these (namely, Qt~,

Q(^, Q^,

ui/,

QjTj Q&), Qip, GigT, Q&r,

Q/d,

and

Q^rt;)

are not

to be

found

in

any Tamil dictionary.

In the middle of Tamil
(Gj, is

MIDDLE letters:
letters .
-sf,

words the
conwill

^, u,

ra,

and

ld

coming

after the
it

sonants
not

uJ,

IT

and

ifi

mast double. Of these

In poetry

and

tg

come

after short

vowels or consonants, nor can

isor

they double in any position.

join together as in Qufrmuo.
will

and

ld

may

The
;

follow

lL,

p,

k)

and

<ar

and

after &>

and

srr.

After nasal

and u may come consonants will come

letters
, <?
lu

and

<a;

their
u>, lu

corresponding surds.

The seven
em and
sot.

letters ,

?=,

(Gj,

and

11

may

join with

Combinations and
Loau

of letters like @aj, iiu,

ldiu, &)iu,

enm, diuj

were

tolerated in

Tamil words, but are

lu,
it

now

obsolete.
,

And
dj,

the consonants
/5,

and

tp

may

precede

ra, <?, (Cj,

u,

Lo, uj

and

su.

The remaining two

building
i^6miTs9i\ will

subjects,

namely,

the

word-

and word-combination
be dealt with
in

{QeneiSujiTdsLh

and

the next essay.

VII

PLACE OF TAMIL
Tamil
race
is

IN

PHILOLOGY
the

the language of a section of the Dravidian^

inhabiting the

extreme south of

Indian
spokei>
to
its

Peninsula.

The
its

area within
in a

which

it

is

now

has

been given

previous essay.

Owing

antiquity and

high culture at a very early date, this

the other the scm or

language long ago assumed two forms, the one called

the

kodum or colloquial, and good literary Tamil.

which the Sen-Tamil was spoken is and his commentators unanimous on this point. Senavaraiyar and are not
locality in

The

not described by Tolkapyar

Nacchinarkiniyar give
SeOLDireu^,
S(7^siirflsir
<ssi<Sii<oSiuuujiT

its

boundaries thus,
fijyi_<5@u3

Qs=i^iSl^^

p^^
in

wQ^^iua jbfS'SsrQ pjb(^iJD

(

QLps(^LD

iBQ^siiiBrnQisi p(^ld(tui.

The "pure

Tamil" was spoken

Maruta-yar on
the

Maruvur on

the east

bounded by the north, the Vaiga on the south, and Karuvur on the west).
the
tract

According to Tamil saints and poets the Sen-Tamil land seems to have been the modern district of

Madura

this

seems to

me

to

be more accurate

in as.


.142

TAMIL STUDIES
as the

much

Punal Nadu or the Tanjore

district

and

Ten-Fandi Nadu or the

included in the twelve
tricts

Tintievelly district have been

Kodum-Tamil nadus

or dis:

which

are

enumerated

in the following stanza

Qit^lSIso

ueis! 51^01? ml.

Qiesor.

An

earlier list gives

Podunga-Nadu and Oli-Nadu

It

instead of

Venadu

and Punal-Nadu.

must

be

remembered that the ancient districts of Kuttam, Kudam, Karka, Ven and Puzhi were in the Travancore State and in the modern district of Malabar Aruva and Aruva-vadatalai were in the Chingleput and North .^rcot districts Sitam was the Nilgiris Maladu or Malai-Nadu was in South Arcot Panri was on the north-west of Madura and Podunga
; ;

and Oli were probably somewhere in the ancient Ramnad country. It cannot therefore be said that

Tondaimandalam, or even the Chola Desam was the land of pure or SemTamil, in spite of the claims put forward by some
either

the Cheta

country, or

the

patriotic scholars for that

honour.
entirely

The media3val Tamils were

ignorant
is

of

the Indian Geography, and their ignorance

in the description of the countries

betrayed

which surrounded
twelve,

the Tamil Nadu. Nacchinarkiniyar mentions

namely, Singalam, Pazham-divu (the Laccadives), Kol-

lam,Kupam, Konkanam, Tulu, Kudagam, Karunatam, Kudam, Vaduku, Telugu and Kalingam. According to


PLACE OF TAMIL
Keralolpatti, Kapaiii
IN

PHILOLOGY

143
speaking

was the M.ilayalam

and Cape Coinorin. KoUam (Ouilon) and FCupam, which formerly constituted the modern State of Travancore, must have secountry lying between Kunnatii
parated from the

Kodam-Tamil Nadus,
;

before the

time of our commentator

the geography of the

and yet, without knowing West Coast, he has given Kuttam, Kudam, Ven and other Nadus which formed
province
in

part of that

the

list

of

Kodum-Tamil
districts

Nadus, following the division of nadus or

that existed in Tolkapyar's days.
of

But

his

ignorance
later

geography

is

not so

great as that

of

Tamil

scholars

who have
Bengal,

included in the

list,

countries like

Arabia,

Burma, China,

Java, Orissa, etc. as

:

described in the following stanza

QsiT'EisffmEi sseoTiosn^rsi Qsfrsoeoi Q^^^isisfki SaStiasiJa

euiEisisi

Philology

is

mainly an
is its

historical science,
is

because lanof

guage which

subject matter

the

work

man,

and
is

it

implies change

of a society

and not

of

and progress. It is the property an mdividual and its object

;

to trace the
in

pressed

development of human thought as exIt cannot the speech of that society.

It

therefore be the creation of any individual.

has

life,

growth and death,

the society or
like

co-extensive
it.

with

the

state

of

race that uses

living

language

Tamil is in a condition of constant change, which cannot be arrested by a scholar, poet or gram-


144

TAMIL STUDIES

marian by means of his writings.

The condition

of

Tamil

any other Hving language) one thousand years ago was not what it had been a thousand years
(or
still earlier.

And

its

grammar, which

is

essentially

an

empirical or inductive science, necessarily varies with

the

conditions of that language.

In
;

any language^
this

literature

always precedes grammar

and
in

funda-

mental principle was not unknown to the early Tamil

grammarians,
terms thus
:

who have

explained

it

unmistakable

^eodSujisi ssaaii^^jr) Ssvssesm

lAliviMueo.

ail.

(Literature yields the

grammar

grammar follows
change

the literature.)

They have

also recognised the principle of

in a living language,

and provided

for

popular accepta-

tion of innovations.

(Usage sanctifies any

new

word.)

euQpeueo saeo eustssaS (^Q<ssr.

Ncin.

(The order of things

the new.)

is

for the old to give place to

Thus
StflmtT

the statement of Sivagnanaswami that,

<suLps(g.

Q^rreoeoir

euLpsQs

LSpaaeo^j Qeij^ uL^euLpiiauu^Lorr

is

uSek ^(SusuLpa(^ ^eodsesar ^Q ^rr QurT(r^iB^n(^^e5r eSl&)i^Sy

not only unscientific, but also an obstinate clinging

to that old superstition

which believed the ancients

to

have discovered

all

wnsdom.


PLACE OF TAMIL
IN

PHILOLOGY
in the
:

145

According to Prof. Whitney changes

of a
I.

growth

language

may

take the following forms

Alteration of the old materials of language,

which

may be either change in form, or change in meaning. A word may change its form to any extent without
change
of

meaning
It

in

Tamil

sjbi-i

and
rstr

sdoeSI

mean
the

learning; ^eaaiQ and

^i&kiL^Lo,

a piece;

and

i^rrs^,

tongue, &c.

may

take

on an

entirely

new meanmg
which form'

without the change of form, as in

erly

ju^Sulj

meant

'

withering
;

'

as well as the

hearth
*

',

but

now
the

only the latter

^
*

was

'

sheep
'

'

and
';

victory

in old Tamil,

but

now

only the

sheep

Q^trssiu.
*

body and now the

the
*

thigh'; QL^d(g

was a

pit

'

was and

now
II.

east

',

&c.
It

Loss of the old materials of language.

may

be a loss of complete words or a loss of grammatical

forms and
freely as

distinctions.

There

are

many Tamil
:

words which are not

the

used

by modern authors, so
they have co

ancients did, though

down to us in poetical dictionaries. These words may therefore be said to be practically dead to the
present Tamilians.
of

But

yet, there

are

other

kinds

words such

as the

revenue terms
,

like SeoeurB^ ^sr&jfft,

QesrearuD, Qfimstru^, srrir ^^sasuuS^ssiS'

&c.,

words

signify-

ing certain social

^LDiDiTLULb,

customs, such

as Qfi^mssilj^iTL^,
f

s/]S^iJ1^^6\},&Cc the cxact

lost.

are

now

Thus with

political institutions,
ple's

mcauings o which of customs and those words went out of the peothe

change

memory and were

loss of
10

for a practical

purposes

lost.

As

for the

grammatical forms, we

may

find

146

TAMIL STUDIES
early Tamil, but
for example,

some occurring in become obsolete

/F(5L/,

which have

now

past tense in q as in

future in (5 as in

^ji,

instrumental

case in

^isk as in iSskssBjbjDii^,
III.

&c.

Production of

new

materials

new words and

it

new

forms.

Civilization brings

with

new thoughts

and new ideas which require new words to express them. Such words are either borrowed or coined for the nonce out of the existing words in the language, or by metaphorically extending
of old words.

the

Most words relating

borrowed from
adopted
terms

to

meanings religion and

;

philosophy are
terms
are

Sanskrit

revenue
Arabic;

from
are

Persian

and
*

administrative

borrowed from English' besides some colloquial words like 'gate', compounds
'coat', 'tiffin', 'clean', etc.,

used

in

daily

life.

There

are not very

duced as

many grammatical forms newly introwe find in English (if we compare modern
of the

English with that of Bede or Chaucer), because the

grammar

Tamil language was written so early

as the third or fourth century B.

C, and

the conser-

vative instinct of the Tamils has been so strong, that

new grammatical forms

principle that

either

by coinage or by loan
It is
it

have been jealously guarded against.

settled

when

a language
;

borrows,

borrows

mostly nouns and adjectives

;

verbs are rarely taken

from other languages and particles never. All the above changes were due to the operations
of the principles of phonetic

decay and emphasis, and

analogy, aided, doubtless, by climate, food and edu-

PLACE OF TAMIL

IN

PHILOLOGY
the individual.

147

cation of the society but not of

will

These

be explained

fully

with reference to Tamil in the

following pages.

According
five

to

VI.

Hovelacque, Tamil

is

one

of

the
of

hundred principal languages spoken on the face

the globe at the present day.

Morphologically, the
viz.

existing languages are divided into four groups,

isolating, agglutinative, polysynthetic

and

inflectional.

The morphological classification is based entirely on the form or manner in which the roots or the final
elements of a language are put together to form words

and sentences. In the

the roots are
full

isolating languages, like Chinese,

its

used as words, each root preserving

independence, unrestricted by any idea of person,

gender,

number,
this

time or

mood

and, in

fact,

lan-

guages of
This
is
;

kind
the
;

do not

require
In
tse

any grammar.
Chinese, nan^
niu
tse

called

radical stage.

male

niu, female

whence nan

son,

daughter, niu jin

= \vovna.n.
its

In the agglutinative lan-

guages when two roots join together to form a word,

one of them loses

independence subjecting
This
is

itself to

phonetic corruption.
stage.

called the terminational

In
of

Tamil

maga,
/

isiiue,

becomes by
of

the

addition
aval)

and

(corruptions

avan

and

magan = son

and

words blend together and ellipsis, it is called polysynthesis. This is a feature peculiar to American languages. Thus in the Algonquin, the sentence Nadliolineen=bnng us the canoe, is made up of naten=brmg, amochol =

magal = da.ugh.ieT, When in a sentence by syncope

148 canoe,
/

TAMIT STUDIES

= euphonic,
and

and neen={o

which
by
the

relations between
prefixes,

suffixes

us. Languages in words are expressed not only but also by a modification of

form

of roots, are called

inflectional
is

languages.

For example,
of
krit eti,

in Sanskrit Vinsati, twenty,

;

two roots dvi, two, and dasati, ten

he goes,
is

composed and the Sansi,

composed

of

two

roots,

to

go

and

ta,

the demonstrative pronoun.

bet-

Some philologists do not make much distinction

ween agglutination and
only
three forms
is

polysynthesis, thus counting

in

of

speech

preference

to four,

which

the

view accepted

by recent writers on
languages must
pass

the subject.

The theory

that

through
stage

the

monosyllabic

and the

agglutinating

phases successively before reaching the inflectional

a theory current when

Grammar of
given up.
the

Dr. Caldwell wrote his

Comparative
has not become
inflectional.

Dravidian Languages
agglutinative
of

now been

An

isolating dialect does

agglutinative,

or an

one

The

radical

feature

language

explained in this fourfold classification, besides being

innate to that tongue,
is

expressive of the racial char-

acter of the people that

speak

it

it

cannot change

from one

class to another

though

it

can be modified

or altered by external circumstances.

To

the
is

agglutinative group belongs

Tamil,

while
of the

Sanskrit

the most ancient cultivated

member

inflectional family.

Morphologically, the one has no

connection whatever with the other.

Some Tamil

scholars seem to expect that their language will, in the


PLACE OF TAMIL
IN

PHILOLOGY

149

ordinary course, one day or other, reach the inflectional

stage

and claim sisterhood with

Sanskrit.

Their
;

expectation will, indeed, prove a baseless

similarly, the attempt of

and some Malayalam scholars to

dream

elevate their Dravidian

the classic inflectional Sanskrit,

home-speech to the dignity of by purging it of its

native element in order to import therein en bloc the

grammar and vocabulary of that sacred language, may remind one of the Jackal miracle of saint Manikka
'
'

Vachakar.
Relying on the traditions
pnranas,
the

narrated

in

the

Tamil
of

non-Brahman Saiva

pandits

the

orthodox school hold that Sanskrit and Tamil were

created by
of their

god Siva

as his twin children,

cite the
'

and

in

proof
the

divine

origin they
*

Vedas and
and the
'

Devara hymns.
vilayadalpurana
'

The Kanchipurana
assert that

Tiru-

Siva taught the

in

Tami

grammar

to Agastya, as

he had

former days taught

the Sanskrit

grammar

to Panini.
iSij(^^^(T^sffl

euu-QiDP L^eaiuu UfressBeaflsi^

m ^ p@'2essr uu!r

According

to a third

tradition

Subrahmanya was
Sivagnanasvami, a

the teacher of Tamil to that sage.

conceited Saiva
century,
the

monk and
his
'

scholar of the eighteenth

'

writes in

Tolkapya-sutra-vritti

that

Tamil

grammar
of

of

Agastya

was

the

only

Tamil work that had come into existence on the day

of the

creation

the

Tamil

language.

Q^ih^sL^u^

150

TAMIL STUDIES
imrssonm.

^s^^tuQmnmQ p
Jains beheve that

On

the

other hand, the

Agastya learnt

his

Tamil

from

Avalokita.
days, the
that

Following the traditions current

poets

in their

Kamban and
itself

Villiputturar have said

the language

was

created

by Agastya

^s^^iumtJLuis,
All

Qg:^^Qs=iT6i)rr!resaria(^.

Vil,

these would only amuse the school children of modern days. But Sanskrit and Tamil, though they may have
oldest,

been the
prevalent

were not the only two languages

Varsha.
In

the Bharata

the

extreme

south we have now Telugu, Kanarese and Malayalam

besides minor dialects,
its

each
as,

being

considered by

speakers

as

valuable
call

and

even more than^

Tamil. The Telugus

Tamil aravam or 'soundless',

oi
it

and the Kanarese speak

closely allied to

as the 'stammerer's lan-

guage' (iigalu). These vernaculars which are, however^

one

another are collectively

known
vowels
lan-

as the 'Dravidian family'.

No

definite laws for

in

the

permutation

of

and consonants
guages,
like

the
of

allied

words of
or

these

those

Grimm

Vernor,
to
their

could
a

be framed as they had been

influenced

very

considerable extent by Sanskrit

before

gram-

mars were
tion.

written.

Tamil

is

the only solitary excepthe

Though Malayalam has been

most un-

fortunate of the family, having been affected most by

Sanskrit, the consonantal interchanges in Dravidian

words

between

it

and Tamil are almost

trifling,

PLACE OF TAMIL
except such as
its

IN

PHILOLOGY

15 L

we

find

between the refined Tamil and

proves
the
lateness
of
its

vulgar form.

This

separation from Tamil,

We

show some
undergo
in

of the striking

below a table to changes which the words

give

Tamil, Malayalam, Kanarese, and Telugu.

Tamil.


152

TAMIL STUDIES

or eighth century A. D., and

when

Sanskrit puraiuis

and

other

Sanskrit
the

religious

literature

were

in-

troduced,

of Tamil scholars began to them were acquainted with both Tamil and Sanskrit ye.t they had greater love and reverence for the latter, as their Vedas and Puranas and Agamas were written in that language and this partiality or rather a sentiment verging on odiiiui theologicum induced them to trace Tamil f^rom Sanstried krit divines just as the early European the Hebrew. to trace the Western languages from The authors of Neminadam and Virasoliam' and the commentators of the Tolkapyam and the

views
of

change.

Most

'

'

Kural countenanced the above view.

eighteenth

Again,

in

the

century

the

authors
of

of 'Ilakkanakkottu'

and 'Prayoga Vivekam', both

Sanskritists,
lect of

whom

were good
to

boldly asserted that Tamil was a dia-

Sanskrit with a

grammar common
LUQjpgti
(i^eearQitT

both.

Swaminatha Desika
jH&srnSiLjfB

writes.
setreiS^ei)

^iAlt^^jb

QmiT&srQ p LunaS^iB ^enB^fiL^

pztsipLuQeu sn espi eu

!TfS<Si\ssii~.

QuuirQwy

euL-QmiTL^ ^uSi^Qld/tl^ Quj^lSIq^ Quhtl^uSi^

'j^&)ss6sar QuDiTsisiQp QtueisrQp

Qiuem^iis.

He
is

thinks that savants will be

exist,

ashamed

to say that

a language can

whose distinguishing
ew,

feature
sw,

the possession of only five letters, namely,

<ow^

ob, tg,

p and

or

ct,

9,

^,

p and

and wants us therefore

PLACE OF TAMIL
to accept that the
for

IN
is

PHILOLOGY

153

grammar

one and the same both

is

Tamil and

Sanskrit.

This

the

logic

and the

acumen of a divine andthe head of a nonBrahman Saiva monastery. While another scholar and a Brahmnan contemporary of the above has almost upet the Tamil grammar by his indiscreet
philological

substitution of Sanskrit terminology. His book, after

all, is

logomachy and

is

no improvement on

its

pre-

decessors.

He

says,

a;L_QtD/rL^/i@,5

^Ldii^QLDiTL^s(^ih

Qeup^oSiLD'jjiT&iiuD ^sifiii^

QqjQ p&sruasmrr

QiBnsSi Qtueisrs.

In determining the affinity of

any two languages

the points that must be considered are,

larity

(a)

the simi-

of

general structure,

grammar
and

(both in form
regular

and meaning) and

the languages
relate to

signification;

{b)

and
two
the

uniform interchange of phonetic

sounds between
vocabulary of
with

compared. grammar, and the

Of

these, the first

rest to the

a language.

We

shall at the outset

is

deal

vocabulary which

less

important.

is composed two elements only, the Tamilic or southern and the Sanskritic or northern. There are, indeed, words chiefly relating to a few dozens of foreign commerce and adminstration, introduced into the Tamil language during the past two or three centuries. Eliminating all the Sanskrit words from the Tamil

The vocabulary

of

modern Tamil

essentially of

dictionary, there will be

large

residue

of

native

words, which must have been the vocabulary of the

original Tamils.

They had been

a tolerably civilized

154
race before they

TAMIL STUDIES

came
still

in

contact
their

with

the

Aryans.

They had and

to

have

own terms
family

pertaining

agriculture,
,

anatomy,
language

architecture,

astronomy,
relations,

commerce, domestic
fauna
cine,

and

flora,

economy, and
course

literature,

medi-

minerals,
&;c.,

politics,
all

religion, war,
in

weights and
primitive

measures,
stage.

of

their

and Qs^dj, (^ituSsu and ^ihsm, b<5 QfBe\) siiOj magii and Qanm, and urreo, Qpjbpui and and U3.F*, ^iroj and ^uum, Q^ib(^ and 3,!T<ss)Lp and y,s35.9^, siq^^^ and Q<frr&), uit and ^Ssjrjt, Qieit and <aus)S, Qsueneifl and Qurrm, ^'^p, ^^iT and Qstr, ^eS
'T^
-

/-/6>j?

and si^eij&r, j>jLDLi and eSI<s\), u)it and s!^(^s? are Tamil words, and they are not to be found
Sanskrit language.
In
fact,

all

pure
the
daily

in

every

word

of

usage
at

is

Tamil.

To

establish
the

any

linguistic

affinity,

least

words denoting
family

simplest and the

most
'

ordinary

relationship
'

For example, the words

English are
Sanskiit,

father

represented

by

pater
Latin,

and
vater

meter

mater

'\w

and

must be identical. and mother in pitri and niairi in in Greek, pater and mutter in German,
'

pitar 3.nd jnater

Zend, and so on.

On

the

other
in

hand, the corresponding relations are

expressed

Tamil by appan and tay. This in itself is sufficient to prove that Tamil has no philological affinity
with either Sanskrit or any Indo-European tongue.

There

are,

however, certain words apparently of

Tamil

origin

which may be found

list

in

Sanskrit.

Dr.

Caldwell gives a

of

some

thirty

words which, he


PLACE OF TAMIL
thinks, Sanskrit has
^isiT^
IN

PHILOLOGY
155
are,
(^uf-t

borrowed from Tamil. They

r^eesfly

Sl^'^^, Jtji^, ^miMT,

iiT,

a(^,

a&drr ,
ojeirsffl

QsmLisaij

ulLl^ssotiMj

urrstj),

ueom, iSm,

&C.

Some

are

common
is

to

both

languages
to

rational

view

to believe

them

and a more have come from a

'j^rr,

common
L^, eueo,

source.

They
'51,

are,

^i^,

/_,

(short), OcS, ^,

Qedj^ USD, u/r,

uneo,

Qua^,
be
of

@l^, (s/^, Qu3f>

&c.

The following canons

a

will

some

help to detect such words.

(1)

When
in
is

word

is

an isolated one
derivatives,

in

Sanskrit
is

without a root and without

but

sur-

rounded
that

Tamil
of

with collateral derivative words,

origin.
is

word

Tamil

(2)

When
in

word

not to be found in any of the

allied to Sanskrit,

Indo-European languages
found only
Sanskrit.

but

is

Tamil, that

word does not belong

to

Words

of this

kind are very few and form too slen-

der a basis to prove the linguistic affinity or othrwise

between Sanskrit and Tamil.

now pass on to grammar. Orthography Sanskrit has 46

Let us
:

letters ov Variias

and 33 consonants or Vyanjanas, which occurs in the Vedas. Besides these there are annswara and annnasika, represented by a dot, and a crescent and a dot respectively. Thus
lo vowels or Svaras
or 47

mcluding

there are in

ail

49

letters.

Whereas we have

in

Tamil

only 12 vowels, 18 consonants and a semi-vowel.

these,

Of two vowels and four consonants (including oo) are peculiar to Tamil and are not to be found in the


156

TAMIL STUDIES

Sanskrit language; deducting these six

letters

we have 25

which are common to both; and Sanskrit has the sounds of which are not represented by any letter in Tamil. The possession of peculiar sounds and oo exhibits the physiological characlike if, /D,
24
letters
iSOT

teristics of

the

Tamil

people, differentiating
:

their
fact

language from the Aryan tongues

that

and the very

Tamil possesses and largely employs the short

ST

sounds
of

and 9 points to an origin, quite independent Sanskrit. The short ct and 9 are not peculiar to

Tamil, which every language except Sanskrit posesses

although
scholars,

Swaminatha
blindly

Desikar

and other
sel is to

native

following

Sanskrit

grammarians,
go,

seem
s&l is

to think otherwise.

In Tamil
is

and
i^

a kind of fish; niel

to

chew and
is

niel is
tgl

above;
the

kol is to kill

and

kol is a stick, tol

old and

skin, noy

is

softness

and ndy

Dr. Caldwell states

is sickness; and so on. that the diphthongs S and sgarr

had no place were placed

Sanskrit.

in the

Dravidian languages and that they

alphabets solely in imitation of

in their

He
CT

further asserts that

in

Tamil

is

com-

pound
<5T

@ ^ and ^ as in Sanskrit, and that it is an equivalent of si in Malayalam and of in Kanarese. As for e^arr he believes that it has no
of

and

but not of

place in the Tamil alphabet except for

Sanskrit derivatives only.

pronouncing

As against these observe

what Tolkapyar
^sir ^sir
r^&a
a_<55ir

says.

(oSiLDSiTaLDrr(^ua.

QLDeirsiTinDiT(^i}i.

I.

54.
I.

55.

U6sre!^0uS(Tr Qlditl^ qp^soit(^ld.

I.

59.

PLACE OF TAMIL
It is

IN

PHILOLOGY

157

thus unsafe to accept

Dr. Caldwell's
are

view

in

violation of the above rules, as there

pure

Tami
esijsiuso,

word

in

S
sj

and
in

^<sir^

as

^euesno,

e^/sinsSuuiM,

Q^msaoj,
=gy

es)u^&), QufsirsuLJo,

&c.

The Tamil S becomes

^'2e>j

but not

Malayalam; compare

and

^&),

3<osyrr

and

<j, S'Sev

and

/^su,

&c.
peculiarities of structure

Word
of

Formation:

The

Tamil words may be briefly noticed here. last essay something has been said of the initial, middle and final letters in words. That

In

the
will

doubtless help the reader to settle for himself which

words are

native,

additional rules are

(1).

and which foreign. The following worth his careful consideration.

at

Double consonants

the beginning, and triple

consonants of different
Sanskrit trayi, vaktram
(2)

Vargas or classes in
a Tamil word.
vastraui.

any

position are not allowed in

Compare

and

In the middle

of a

word double consonants

;

of different classes are not, as a rule, allowed

words
is

with

eiiLi,

Qjuj,

emtu,

essreij,

itu, lduj, woj,

&C., do not OCCur.

(3).

The doubling
in

of the

same consonant
In

very

common
we have
(4)
0<?^sff;

Tamil, but not so in Sanskrit.

Tamil
and
and

akka, attai, annan, attaii, appaii, ainmai, &c.

No

[Tamil

word can begin with

s=,

<ss)s=,

but Sanskrit allows these

initial letters as in -fLDLj,

s^lLl^

(S5)9^ajih
s^uDifi^GO

and

Q^erriTujui.

The Tamil words

can

are a later introduction.

(5)

Only the long

uj&jewrr,

tun

come

at

the

beginning
In

of a

Tamil word, while others do

a^s^, ^'-"^,
(^(J-ifrsm

not.

Sanskrit

we have

and

OajswOTru).


158
(6)
u.

TAMIL STUDIES

No Tamil words
in

will

end
are

in i,

s=,

lL,

^,

and

But

Sanskrit there

words

like

p/itakf

vach, rat, pat,

and yup.

As in Sanskrit, Tamil words are either simple Simple words are formed from or compound. roots, which are either nominal or verbal, by the
addition of formative particles, like o, *, , ^,
i-i

and
sm,
urrQ,

J2/,

J)l, Jljih,

^17, Jfjio,

jffasr,

e_LD,

S,

fflo,

0, 0, u, mLD,
^'^esr.

^, ^eo, ^6sr, @, ^su, a_, eSI, emsu and /^, and srr,
this

jtjfTSij

and

Nouns, verbs, adjectives and

way.

adverbs, might
hiatus
SI,
ii>

be formed in

To prevent

ox: &5T is

sometimes added.

From
kill,

the

verbal root Seo, to stand, the following words are formed,

iB'^, iS&)m,
fSeoeij

&c from V
;

^il, to

we have
&c;

=sy, <=gj, sjieS,

^(SuLj, j)jlL,

,jyi-ii),

j^ieo, ^i^ii(^,

from

'^ jij/b,

to cut,

we

get

=^j2/,

^eap^
;

^s)"ssi&i^ sjpu^,
fBil,

ji/^uLj, ^jbjSLD, j)f3)i0, ^/Dso,

&c
isi-,

and from V
tBi-^^&n,

to

walk or dance, are derived

isiims,
(elLl^ld,

rsiui-i, issai,

&c.

The nominal

root ssim (the eye)

becomes mem,
long

to see,

by lengthening the vowel.

vowel and a consonant.
these are either verbs or

in Tamil, roots are always monosyllabic, ending in

vowels, or in a short
single-letter

There are 42
tially

words, which must essen-

be monosyllabic, and

nouns.
Q^treo,

There are other monosyllabic

s&), mGrn, unasr,

nouns
u/fl-oj/r

like

&c.

Compound words
tor

are

made up of simple words; is a compound of Lj^=to

fiu/r(Zj

example,

(horse)

run,

and

LDrT=a.

beast, <-

(tiger)

from <s=rough or

cruel,

and

Q;/r(u=raouth.

Mostly such compounds are epithets or metaphors.


PLACE -OF TAMIL IN PHILOLOGY
It

159

will

be seen

from
that

the

examples

given above
all

that the formative

post-positions,

elements or terminations are

and

the roots rarely change their

forms, barring the shortening or

as in
sOT-/7-60OT,

lenthening of verbs
slight

eSQ-s^Q,
to

and the

consonantal

changes peculiar

Tamil euphony.

On
(1)

the other hand, the terminations used to form

derivative bases in Sanskrit are of

two

classes

Krt or primary affixes which are

verbs to

form nouns,

adjectives, &c.

added to For example*

;

karah (the hand)

(to steal)

jectival

is the noun form of kri, to do cluir becomes chorayat, stealing tikia is the adform of vach, to speak; and ishta from yaj,
;

to sacrifice, &c..

Prepositions are prefixed to roots to

as in a-kash, nis-chitya, vij-kri, &c.
affixes are

form nouns, &c.,

(2)

The taddhita or secondary

is

add-

ed to substantives to form secondary

nominal bases.
;

which

One studying vyakarana IS made by a

father of pita
is

vaiyakarani
is

that
;

kulala
;

kaiilalakani
is

pitamaha
is

son of Dakshi
;

DaksJiais

yanah

son of Agni

Agneyah

a herd of hasttit
is

hastikam;

belonging to

Panini

Panineya

one
to
in

possessing vakis vachalah, &c,

A comparison of the terminations or affixes used form words, and of the methods of forming them,
Tamil and Sanskrit
differ in

will

convince the reader that they

both languages.

The taddhita
and

class,
it

espe-

cially, is characteristic of Sanskrit,

was only
the
of

the lack of the historic sense, so

common among
author

Tamil grammarians,

that led the

Prayoka

160
vivekam to say
'

TAMIL STUDIES
S^iEms(^(3ui^uQuajQrreoeonih

^^^^mj*
structure

In consequence of the differences in the

and formation
(T.
i-jsmiTf^.)

of

words their coalescence or sandhi must also differ in the two landifference
is

guages.

This

observable chiefly
rule of sandhi
is,

in

vowel changes.
^.
ff:

The Tamil
LueueijLD

<3JL^

sj^^sTLLjuSiTQj i^

Qjojeifui.

Nan,
Ac^ITIT

The

short

&.

has the nature of a consonant.

LD6S3fj+ J)jL^^z=LDSsftuJLp<^
;

cording to

this rule,
g)}

^^g)! = ^!nTistjeer
LDITijJT60 j
f5rT(^

+ + J>jrfl^ = IB/TSffl^
ue\}fT

^?sw
;

=ue\)frisSl'2e\>'

imi

-f

&-!T&>=s

& gU +
usO/rSsw

Jt/SST

= & gVOlSSr
should
ldQ!TIT!T&).

Whereas according

to

svara-sandhi

they

become
tion of
is

LDSsaiLui^^^

^aams)!^

and

There are many other

peculiarities in the
in Sanskrit,

combina-

Tamil words not found

which

it

in possible to explain in this essay.

Simple

words join together

to

form compounds.
(1)

In Sanskrit there are six classes, or

(3)
^-LD(ss)LD^Qs!T(ssiSj{2)

namely,

Dvandva
or

Tatpurusha or
or

QaipgiKsiaLD^Q^nissis

Karmadharaya

usotl/^Q^/tsw*, (4)

Dvigu

(srssm^u^Q^TesiSy (5) Bahuvrihi

or

^ssrQLOfTL^^Q^rr^s

and

(6)

Avyayibhava or the adverbial compounds.

to these
as,

Corresponding

we have

in

Tamil a

set-

of six

compounds known

^mQuiiTL^ Qmesreij^
^.^esiLD^Q^rresis
is

Q^!TSS)S

njiT(7rf'(^ih.

Nan.
;
:

included in
or

the
of

and

erem^u^Q^irssiri

Dvigu

Karmadharaya Sanskrit (Ex

^jrnarr&ij umssfi(t^UL^s\)uD) is

contained

in ^ujeanL^Q^iTema,

uemLj^QsTsois and jtimQuorrL^^Q^rretss of Tamil.

Thus


PLACE OF TAMIL
eS^ear

IN

PHILOLOGY

161

^Q ^trsBs
is

alone remains to be accounted for and

that

peculiar only to Tamil.

peculiarities
of

The

structure

and formation

of

to words in Sanskrit have compelled the Tamils when borrowed, so as to suit the mormodify them,! The of the Tamil tongue. features phological

words thus borrowed

are of

two classes

the

iatsajiias

that and the tatbUavas. undergoes change in Tamil. At the time of Tolkapyar the Sanskrit words in Tamil were very few, and he felt no necessity to frame rules for their adoption.
It is

only the second

class

He was

content^by saying,

&a)^ih^m eirfl^ uSeauji^ssr

Qjes)!TiLiiTiT.

The

later

Tamil grammarians,

however,

observing the large influx of Sanskrit words and their

use
in a variety

of forms,

were constrained

to give
;

them; by providing authoritative rules and they are to be found explained in the ^^^I^uul^&)u>
fixity

to

of

Virasoliyam

and

in

the

ufisSiujeo

of

Nannul.

Their main
ties in

object was to evade

or

soften difficul-

pronouncing
a'l'^word

two

consecutive

consonants

in a

word, or

beginning with a consonant

not

allowed^ by the Tamil usage,

by introducing
o.raian-

vowels.

ThuslSanskrit ratna

is

changed mXo
;

am

or irattitiam, sakshi
laksJiana

into sakki or satchi

yaksha

into iyakkaii,

into

ilakkaua,

&c.

This

is

evidently'a stage-more advanced than the

labic Chinese

monosvl-

which converts

'Christ' into 'Ki-jisu-tu'

and 'Maharashtra'

inflectional Sanskrit,

below the which evinces 'the strength and directness^of character and scorn of difihcullies' in the Indo-Aryan race.
11

into 'Mo-la-cha,' but far

 ^
162

TAMIL STUDIES
:

Etymology
Qsjio in

There are four parts

of

speech or
(verb),

Tamil, namely Qutuir (noun),

sS^esr
It is

^sroi_ (particles)

and a.^

(attributives).

an acthat
all

cepted

principle

with Tamil grammarians

parts of speech are ultimately reducible to only

two

substantives and verbs

and

this

is

also the

view of

modern

philologists.

Says Tolkapyar,

Qs^aeoQleo&STU
Qj/'.aSlireaar

uu QuinQiT eSl'2esiQtjum Qu-mu eutBii,QQ QiGsy^a. II,

160.

Of these the noun and the verb require no explanation.

^5S)L^s=Qs=fr&)

part of
It

means the middle word that is a speech common to both nouns and verbs.
of all
particles,

consists

terminations or

post-

positions

which go

to

change or modify the meaning

reference to time, place,
it

of

nouns and verbs with

subject, action, &c.

Thus

embraces

the

particles

of tense, personal terminations, case endings,

strative letters, conjunctions, interjections,

demon-

euphonic

expletive particles,

and

in fact

every particle that has

no meaning by
verb to which

itself,

independent of the
verbs,

noun or
the
therefore

it is

attached.

^iBs^Qs^itso treats of

various qualities of

nouns and

and

it

includes adjectives and

adverbs.

The metaphysical
is,

explanation of
^^'osnnjueanrLji)

s^>f^3='^=ai^

given by .Sivagnanamuni

Q^

f7

i^ p u esm'^LDfr Si aj Qu^Q^LLuom^tauJLfsaarn

^(J5Q#7jo o_n9iO<rffsu.

Elsewhere, he goes on to say

Qfi3,S2isoSi^i
o^ifls^Qs^rrSo

that

i_,

<su/r,

QpsisSuj

Q^ffi^ pu^emssu
QeOiuiio.

u^63w/r^^@ QfirpaeaassSm

This
is

explanation seems to

me

very obscure,

and

it

the

PLACE OF TAMIL
merit of his

IN

PHILOLOGY
it

163

commentary

to

make

more abstruse
It will

and
and

unintelligible than the text

itself.

thus be

seen that the classification of words, other than Qutu,T

&9'2em,

into

^^i^fQ^rreo

and

p^fl^Qraso

was

neither definite nor phik)Sophic^I.

These words have

in

been variously

classified

and often

a conflicting

manner by
<si)'TLD

later

grammarians.

For instance,

the

author of Prayoga-Vivekam has said

&^ifls^ Qs^fre\)QsOujfr

that Q&neoQ&iio

Qldsst g ^ssafls.

The
(1)

differences between

the Tamil and

Sanskrit
:

parts of speech

may be

briefly stated as follows

has

Like

all

other classical languages

Sanskrit

three numbers, while Tamil has only two.

number
It

or ^Q^smu) must

have existed

in

The dual early TamiL

became mixed up with ussr^^o or the plural number and so vanished out of Tamil giaiUinar. g)f or which means 'two' was the dual termination, and srr for the plural. Now is reser'/ed
evidently
it
'T

as

an honorific termination for pluralising

'

'

high

caste
(2)

nouns and
All

verbs,

and sik

for

all.

nouns denoting

inanimate objects and

irrational

animals are of the neuter gender {^oo pS'^essr),

and those denoting r itional beings (like man, God, and Nagas) are of the high-caste or superior gender s_uj/f^3sOTr. Whereas in Sanskrit no such philosophic and sexnal distinctions are niade here the grammati;

cal

gender

is

only

'

a secondary

accident

of

speech

ornamental, perhaps from an aesthetic point of view,

but practically highly detrimental.'
could, therefore, be laid

No

definite rules

down

for the determination

IM
ruchi,
It
'

TAMIL STUDIES
is

of gender in Sanskrit; soma, the 'moon'

taste
'

masculine,.
is

is

feminine, and j^uiran,

'

son'

neuter..

will thus

be seen that gender in Sanskrit depends on

the peculiar structure of words, but not on the sex or

the intelligence of the objects expressed by them.

(3)

Tamil n^uns are inflected not by means

terminations, but
b^?

of

case

means

of suffixed

post-

positions

and sepaiaie
oblique cases
is

particles.
is

The

inflectional

base
in

ilie
it

the root in Sanskrit, while

the
first

Tamil

the

nominative, except
/s/rear^

and

second personal pionouns

alone ch nge their forms.

S, Sit

and

i<sSit

which

For example,
raj

in

Sanskrit

the roots vach (speech) and

(king)

become vak
in

and

rat in the

first

or

nominative case, while

ado

Tamil the roots

Gspnei'

(word) and

(stone) remain,

the sanie. In declining nouns the

tions are added to the root for the singular

plural terminations for the plural
(e. g.,

same case terminaand to the

aeu^,
A/bs'Setr),

But
tht

in

Sanskrit and otiier

IndoGermanic languages,
differ

the case

endings of the plural

from

those of

singul-:ir.

As Dr. Caldwell

rightly observes,

'the

imitation of Sanskrit was certainly an error, for whilst

in Sanskrit there

?re eight cases only,

is

the

number
of

of cases in Tamil, Telugu, &c.,

almost

indefinite,'

being

limited
that
this

only

by
be

the

number
to

post-

positions

may

attached

the

noun.

And

it is

indefiniteness that has given an endless

trouble to the Tamil grammarian Tolkapyar,

whohas
;

devoted three

complete chapters

for

cases only

and these have been supplemented by another by the

au thor of Ilakkanakkottu.


PLACE OF TAMIL IN PHILOLOGY
(4)

165

Tamil has no

relative

pronouns.
1st

The

exis-

tence of two pronouns of the

of

person plural, one

which includes and the other exxludes the person

is

addressed,

a peculiarity

ot

Tamil,

affiliating

it

to

Turkic and other agglutinating tongues and differentiating

(5)
it

from

Sanskrit.
in Sanskrit,

There are six tenses and four moods

existence of
a
is

while Tamil has only three tenses and

three

raoods^

The
being
'

negative
peculiar

and a passive voice

to

in the verbal

system

Tamil, the

latter

expressed- by

auxiliary

verbs

signifying

to

The subjunctive and the optative moods are expressed by means of suffixed particles, and the other three tenses by means of auxiliary verbs. There The structure of is no benedictive mood in Tamil.
suffer'.

the verb

is

strictly agglutinative,

the second person

singular of the imperative being

an exception.

The

view

of

Senavaraiyar and
~i'(m^(^'sbr(3

Sivagnana-muni that
&-sanr

QiusisT^t})

iBseai

^ot
to

ctott"

Sm pesr
accep-

&je\)Si>^
fSssr/DesT

Qp^ssfl'hso'iQetr

QiuiT'Sms^Qwgi

uirLLc^fTisaretjeiJfT^

Qojmu^
In

uirr^

does not seem

are

be

table.
(6)

Sanskrit,

adjectives

declined

like

nouns, which they

case.
In Tamil,

qualify in gender,

number, and
of

adjectives
),

which are only nouns

In

quality

(p^iBs^Q^ireo

have none.

Sanskrit

the

adjectives have degrees of

of

comparison,

while those
adjective
superlative

Tamil have none

is

at
its

all.

The

Sanskrit

priya

positive,

and

comparative and

are priyas

and

preshta.

166

TAMIL STUDIES

prepositions or conjunctions in (7) There are no Tamil except p-w which is only a continiiative particle.
It is

the peculiarity of Tamil derivatives that

none

of

them
are

are

formed by prefixed
in ^auesr,

particles.

But some
j)j,

might say that

prefixes.

^eudr, &c,,

the letters

But they are pronominal words or

roots, but not particles.

Rhetoric

The Tamil

rules

of

prosody relating
foot, stanza,

to the structure

rhyme, &c., are

Venba,
peculiar only to

and division of syllable, diff(^rent from those

Tamil.

of

Sanskrit.
are
ail

Asiriyappa, Kalippa

and Vanjippa
of

The treatment
and the division found in
to

Porul

matter) into again (subjective or amatory) and piirani

(objective,chiefiy warlike),
of

conduct
indepen-

into five ^'bssw

<<ic.,

are not to be

Sanskrit.

The foregoing arguments,

dence
of

show
as

the

Tamil fiom Sanskrit, may be

summed

up

in the

words

of

Sivagnanamuni

follows: ^tSu^

^LD

Qun(rp,LLunQ,unS(mU', (s^rSi(^^QisuLLS Qp^sSliu ^2sssru

U!T(^un(Si.i(smLDj

Qeuemurr

^su pfSeisr

U(^^s^ld

Qp^eSliu

Qi3=djii^eifl&)s3GSBrQfiiJD

^(smQ^iTissjsin

iS/osijLh

euiQLDiTLpj'jSIp

Qu/DuuL-fT.

Even

the author of

Prayoga Vivekam who

of that

has attempted

in the early

chapters

prove the identity of Tamil and Sanskrit

is

work to grammars

obliged to admit with candour the essential differ-

ences between the two languages thus: p'Bsmiq&soriT^^giju) Quemune^ pssojit^^ld <sSl'^esj(oS ia?@,J'(4U), ^esmuneo <a53E37


PLACE OF TAMIL
IN

PHILOLOGY

167

With such
be accepted,

authoritative admissions before us, the

complete independence of Tamil from Sanskrit must

in

spite

of the futile attempts of

later

Tamil grammarians
that

to trace
is

we can
in

say at present

one from the other. All that Tamil occupies the

Sanskrit

^ame
does
the

postition in ihe Dravidian family that

the Aiyan

that
of

is,

Tamil

is

the oldest

and

most

cultivated
ot

the Dravidian

or

South

Indian family

languages.
that

But
any

it

cannot altogether be denied

its

Tamil or

at

rate

Dravidian parent and the Aryan languages,

least

though they do not possess the

ieatuies in

morphological

common,

did not

influence one another

gives the followin

before their separation.

ing

Dr Caldwell

Indo-Europeanisms as
:

discoverable

the

Dravidian languages
(1)

The use
hiatus.

of

n, ek, as in
:

Sanskric and Greek to

prevent
in

Ex

Skt.

a + adi
the

anadi

Tam.
of the

+ a
(2)

ninci.

I'he existence of

gender

in

pronouns
^eueh

third person

and

in verbs,

and
:

in particular
jiteiissr,

the exist-

ence
(B)

of

neuter gender.

Ex

and ^^.
in

The existence of a neuter plural, as in Latin, short ^. Ex: T. euiB^sm, Lat. templa (temples).
(4)

The use

of

d or

(^)

as

the sign

of the neuter

singular of demonstrative
the third person.

pronouns, or pronouns of
;

Ex

Skt. iai

Tam. ^^. &c.

168
(5)

TAMIL STUDIES

The formation
jy,

of a

remote demonstrative from

a base in

the proximate from a base in ^.

;

Ex

Skt. adah,
(b)
/'/,

idmn

Tarn.

=gy#7,

@jp.
d.

The formation of preterites by Tam. 'sun^ o;^, &c. jita,

The formation of some Ex Skt. pash^ papacha
:

Ex

Skt.

(7)

preterites
;

by redupHca&c.

tion.
(8)

Tam

u^^, q^(5,

The formation

of verbal

nouns by lengthening

the vowel of the verbal root. Ex: Skt. nat-natya^ guh-

gildam,
It is

&c

Tam.

uSissr-i^^m

/Hi^-s^i^, &c.

said that the Drnvidian languages

if

thei*"

turn

exerted an equal,

nnt greater, influence on Sanskrit

and her North Indian dialects. This is what everybody might nauirally expect, considering that the
Prakrit dialects

came
the

into

existence

during

historic

times and that

they are, have,

peoples whose mother

tongue
in

from remote antiquity, been living

Moreover,
all

the midst of the Dravidian races.

those

who

speak them are not Aryans.

influence

The Dravidian
dwell as follows
:

on the grammar
of

of the

Indo-Aryan languages has been detailed by Dr Cal-

The inflection
particles
;

nouns by means
to the

of separate post-fixed

added
of

oblique

form

of the

noun

the

inflection

the plural by

annexing the same sign as for the singular; the use of

two pronouns for the first person plural the one including and the other excluding the party addressed;
the use of post-positions instead of prepositions
;

the
;

formation of verbal

tenses

by means

of particles

PLACE OF TAMIL IN PHILOLOGY

169

the situation or the relative sentence before the indicative

;

the situation of the governing

;

word

after the

governed

the

use

of

I,

err

and the preference of

cerebrals to dentals.

Affiliation of

Tamil
is

It

is

superfine us

to

mention here

that

Tamil

the oldest

member
scholar

of the

Dravidian group of languages.

No

has yet

attempted to construct the primitive Dravidian lan-

guage from which the modern Tamil, Telugu, Kanarese

and other

dialects

have sprung.

A comparison

of this hypothetical languai^e of the agglutinative

facts

with the other groups

family
its

might yield satisfactory

affiliation-

for

establishing

But

in

the

absence of such data we must take the aid of ethnology and such linguistic resources
as

may

at

present

be available.
In the chapter

on the origin
original

ol

the

Tamil

people
to

we have

said that the

Dravidians

came

India from Western Asia through the North-Western

passes on

the

Himalayas, and

that

they mingled the Negrito

with the aboriginal races of Nagas and

people after
of the

they had settled

in

the extreme south

the language of the

Indian Peninsula.

Hence
crude

Dravidians must have undergone changes as a result

of the

influence

of the

Australian

dialects

spoken by the Naga and Negrito autochthones.

however, the modern
Dravidian
it

As languages have
not possible at
the
aborigito

not yet been completely analysed,

present to separate the Dravidian

is

from

nal linguistic

elements.

But

this

much seems


170

TAMIL STUDIES

be certain, that the primitive Dravidian language was

influenced

by Semitic
side,

and

the

Aryan languages

on the one

on the
gical

other.

and by the Finno-Hungarian idioms And, but for some broad morpholothere
is

pecuharities,

no trace

of

the Auslan-

tralian influence to

be found in the Dravidian

has been said in the
it

guages.

From what

first

essay
the

and from what

follows,

will

be

plain

that

Dravidian languages must he

with

allied to the Uralo-Altaic

group, though they cannot be geneologically classed

It.

No

other theory

can

satisfactorily

account

for the presence of Greek, Keltic,

Hebrew and Finno-

Hungarian words

in

Tamil.
features are

The following grammatical

to the

common

languages of
:

the Dravidian family and the

Uralo-Altaic group
(1)

Words

are

never

formed by
isiis^,

prefixes

but
in-

always by

suffixes so that the principal

first.
is

root

may

variably stand
(2)

Ex

/Fi_,

isii^^, &c.

Declension
relational

effected

by agglutinating seconto

dary or

particles

the principal

root.

Suffixes are
that
is

added

to the root or to the plural element,

is

the plural sign

always mtercalated betw'een

the

noun and the

post-position.

Ex:

ssd, eD?sw; sjbs&r^

(3)

Consonantal system
in e^ound the

is

simple,
^^

and

letters

approaching

Tamil

will

be f(jund

in

some
(4)

languages of the Uralo-Altaic group.

which is ameie qualifymg noun comes always before the word it qualifies, except in

The

adjective

PLACE OF TAMIL

IN

PHILOLOGY

171

Basque, and the degrees of comparison are expressed

by words meanino 'more',

(5)

'less',

&c.

Tenses and

moods
:

are

formed by the

in-

sertion of certain elements

between the root and the

p-{-^ek=Qfm(7rj'm.
in

personal ending.
(6)

Ex

Qs=&)-\-

There are no

relative

pronouns

Basque

as

in Tamil.
(7)

The

existence of

son

plural,

one of

two pronouns of the first perwhich includes and the other

is

excludes the person addressed,

a peculiarity of the

Dravidian languages.
(8)

Use

of continuative particles

in

the

place of

conjunctions. Ex:
(9)
in

Qs^ir^ih Qs^aifi^th.

The crude
etc.

root

verb

is

capable of being used

the

imperative of the second

person

singular.

Ex:

iBi, Qj/7,

(10)

There are only two numbers

their

in

Turkish.

In

all

these languages the so-called cases are formed

by agglutination,
the

number being

limited only by

number

of post-positions that

may

be attached to

the noun.
Till

very recently

it

was usual with comparative

all

philologists to classify

languages which are neither

Aryan, Semitic nor

Scythian
or

Hamitic under the Turanian or

family.

Allophyiian

But

it

has

now

been proved that there cannot be such a family as

the Turanian or Scythian, as no
are

brought

under

it

bear the

two languages which same geneological

to Latin

relationship to each other as Sanskrit bears

or Greek in the

Aryan

family,

except that

they are

172
morphologically

TAMIL STUDIES
connected.

The

roots

of

each

are different; so are their grammatical elements.

The
fact

explanation
that

for

this

difference

lies

in

the

the

Aryan languages

Keltic,

&c

separated
perfect.

Sanskrit,

Greek,

Latin,

at

an epoch when their structure

the other hand, the
so call-

was already
parted

On

ed Turanian or Scythian languages seem to have

was in an imperfect them was obliged to depend on its own resources or on borrowed elements It available at hand to complete its inner structure.
their

when
;

structure
of

condition

and so each

has also been observed that in the course of formation

and growth some

Aitaic

of

the languages

of

the Uralo-

group made use of incorporation

feature

American languages. In the case of the Dravidian languages, their development and approach towards the incorporating stage must have
peculiar to the

been arrested
culture,

at a very early

period

by
to

their

literary

which was no doubt due

to

the

Aryan
systems

influence.

The

position assigned

the

Dravidian
they must

languages by M. Hovelacque in

tiie linjJuistic

seems
that

to us quite appropriate.

He

says,

'

be comprised
is

among the first in the ascending order, among those i'mmediately following the
and anterior
to

isolating system,

Turkish,

Magyar,

Basque and the American languages.'

So much
for the origin of

Tamil and

its

place in
to

the linguistic systems of the world.

the history of the Tamil language,
ently be divided
into three
it

Coming now

may

conveni(1)

periods, namely,

the

PLACE OF TAMIL
early
sixth

IN

PHILOLOGY
period

173
the
the

Tamil

comprising
before

the

between
;

century

and

after

Christ
interval

(2)

mediaeval
the
sixth

Tamil,

occupying the

between
;

century and the twelfth century

and
here

(3)

the
to

modern Tamil, extending from

the

the twelfth

down
to

present
it

day.

It

is

not

proposed

deal with

as completely

as the

importance of the
to
justify

subject demands.
the

We

shall, iiowever, briefly indicate

characteristics

of

each period
cla^^sification.

the

rationale of the

above

Early Tamil: During

the prevailing religion
of

the

first

half of this

period

the

spirit of

departed

was animism or the worship heroes and ancestors. It

was afterwards supplemented by Buddhism ;md lastly by Jainism. Brahmanism, though it had already been transplanted into the Tamil c( untry, was very
weak.

The

conflict of these religions for

supremacy
exist-

had not yet commenced. All the four religions ed side by side and were tolerated.
Early Tamil was the language used by the
of

writers

peculiarities of this

academic and the classic periods. And the Tamil may be observed in the literature of those times, the important of which being
the

Agananuru, the Purananuru, the Pattuppattu, the Padirruppattu, the Silappadikaram and the Manimekalai. The standard gram.mars of the epoch were the
the

Tolkapyam, Pannirupadalam,
review of Padirrupattu,
the early

Usimuri, &c.

In our

the special

characteristics of

TamU

We

shall,

will be described at some length. however, say a few words here concerning

174

TAMIL STUDIES
of vocabulary,

them under the four-heads style and matter.

According
to

gram na

the

late

Mr.

P.

calculation the percentage of Sanskrit

of the

Ten Poems

(Pattuppattu)

is

Sundaram Pillai's words in three between one and

but

two.

In the Nedunalva;lai there are altogether

in

twenty Sanskrit words, and

a

the Madnrai- Kanchi,

poem of 782 Hnes, the number does not exceed fifty And in fact the introduction of Sanskrit words is strongly condemned by the be^t writers of the
five.

academic period.

It

was considered by them

as

the

mark

of an imperfect education.

Two
it

of the earliest
'

Kanarese poets have characterized

union...' or
as

as

an unnatural'

the

'

stringing of pearls along with

pepper-corns.'

Words

of foreign

origin

were never

introduced,
the

notwithstanding the commercial

intercourse of

Tamils with the Greeks, Romans, and

they indiscriminately called the

Arabs,

whom

Yavanas.

Sanskrit

words were very sparingly used and even these were

mutilated
in their

form as

will

be seen
,

in the

following
fSjiuu),

examples:

(lpq^^^im, uns^ih,
(&c.

^^sm

^ss^sn,

^s^3=si>r,

^uSifi^j, p^<3!rQ, (j.T^,

Some Tamil
i)QJ,

roots were used

snio for
cufr

in sentences
arrpjpj,

without

formative particles as
a-ia/

Qsu^
^5a}(si]^

for QeuprS^ ^'Su,

s^smsn

and

for

^miw,
used

and

ujn'ss)^.

Some words were

in senses

For example,
'he-buffalo,'

Qs^suso

which have now beom-s obsolete meant a horse', sosmi^ meant a

*

meant a pig and Quirsbi was 'iron' &c. Relational words like CT-iyo-o)a/ = our younger sister,
sefflgv
'
'

PLACE OF TAMIL
^dr'2esT=my lord,
s7a,5

IN

PHILOLOGY

175

= our
is^dit,

lord or father, ^/5ro^=

^J'-^it,

your

father,

and ^mr,

have
like
'

all

become
to
'

obsolete.

Some

classical

words

>:-^iu,

die',

(ipsQ, to 'eat', ^ibslL, 'there', grojdj,

slowly', &c. have

now become

slang.

Sometimes post-positions were added directly to the roots without the euphonic particles or s^inflesnw
Por
example,
nufBiimii
for
t^erfl'uisisiruj,

=53537

for

^eS^r,
for
IT

^s\)eOfr(^s

for ^sU'Sewojrr^S;,

C^aretfti)

for

QslL
Qlduj&)

ifSQiufTixi, ^uaQiDesr

for s^iTQ^Qmssr, ^lLu for

^(Suu,

Quiujs^s^eo,

una for LBfrLLQ^Soc.

The

plural termination

is

very sparingly used

^lar^, &c.,

and

^rr

never, the

abstract

terms Qsuik^,

being perferred

to concrete

terms to avoid number.

The use
is

of distinctive termistrictly

nations for the seven cases

not

adhered

to,

one or two post-positional

being used for
all

particles like

@3t or ^^^

no finality concerning the uses ot case terminations was attained in practice. This ^^^ or g)sv) is a peculiar particle and it was used to express comparison also
the

seven

cases.

In

fact,

the expression
it

usm'smu.uSljh

Quiti^ meant, 'greater than

vsras

before.'

The

present tense did not

past

come

into

existence.

The

indehnite

and the

indefinite

future were the only tenses in use as in

Hebrew and
in

other languages.
ff, 22ai^

(5^

L/, -iLD,

Andst>me tSlm which

of the tense particles like u'ere then

witli
a-sij?

use
a_LD

have
(as in

become
to

obsolete, together
^(250).

for

f(^o.is^ for

The

post-position
in tiie

was added

nouns

to

form verbs
snmsiBfTLJk>si

second person singular.

'

The phrase

lueant

you who are the lord


176
of

TAMIL STUDIES
forest

the

country.'

The

formation of

some

causative verbs like

9(z^@-s?(i^i(a5,

Q^etfl-Q^erRji^ (to

cause to become

clear).

Some

verbal

nouns were

formed
ifi@

by adding

to

roots

the suffixes which are

used in modern Tamil to produce different senses,

(pit),

QfimLj

(strength),

ump

(flying),
'^'^H

^sv)m

(poverty),

t-jseo

(abode), GwriLut^ Cyuig)*

(noun),,

s^iTuu (brightness), and so on.

Some
were

of the
in

adverbial and other particles which

freely

use during this period have become

are ^so,
ld^,
Q/iiT<m'2esT,
(si

obsolete.

They
(dld:t^

p^,\L,ibgv,

mmp,

^(^a=LD^ (gswff,

@@"'j

@^^,
is

a-'5<^, etc.

The

literature of

this period

all

poetry

simple

blank verse in chaste classic

flourishes, figures of

style

devoid of rhetorical

speech, hyperbolic descriptions,

of later prosody which mar the exmodern Tamil poems; Asiriyappa, Kalippa,. Venba, and Kuratpa are the metres mostly used. The

and

intricacies

cellence of

descriptions of events and scenery are

true to nature.

all faithful

and

The

subject

matter of

most

of

these

works

is

the panegyric of reigning kings, descriptive of their

military prowess, their
tration.
liberality,

and

their

adminisof

Some
in

of

them

depict poverty, chiefly

bards,

very pathetic

manner.

Some

are

on

morality, while

only a few relate to religion.

We

subjoin
(1)

a few specimen of early Tamil.

^eo&^isas)^

^p^^&S

euBeisuMpk^smp^LD

3k.Q^(^ QfflT^lEl aiS3)i_^

^L^

^
PLACE OF TAMIL
^sirefflev suiiiEi3e\}i
LD/DUi-i&S

IN

PHILOLOGY
ssaai

177"

^pi^Lps

u^eenT^^ uj^iLna
(SfrirQ

3itlLi^uj
itjeirefflu

QiSTis^ssr

^isiD^eiaaj

QuiTi^i^iSosr QfsusS sitlLQu-Ost,

Puf.

160.

(No food
ed
in

in the

house

the soft-haired babies suck-

vain the dried-up breast of their mother.

Dis-

appointed, they turned up the empty pots, and cried.

The mother hushed them with tales of the cruel tiger, and pointed to them the moon. Wearied and troubled she told the starving ones to
their misery.)
(2)
SniTLDS6)Lp

let

their father

see

QfimtSp
(^Q^@

SOiSUffli

Q^(lp^0UD
Quit pui
QiQr^Q^sl'oliun

eurrasrwoeips

Q&5r<Siiifl

QiiT&jBSffl Ju iSlssiL^iBfl

Uoo^QT^p

Q(S''SiQsiiT ^L.iEi(^ Qsrts^ijjsSfr ev a

uQ ut sSI i

Qfsvsif'^u'R

fisaB^iSp

siTsmi

QLDmriQs.
flyi "g

Pad.

83.

(Like

the

white

paddy

birds

beneath
of

the

canopy

of dark winter clouds

was the march

your

army

the white

banners streaming from

above the

herd of deadly elephants, thick shielded-men

chariots.

and

So pleasing was the

:

sight.)

Medieval Tamil
and
the
sectarian
it

embraces the Brahmanic Tamil literature. periods of

It

The

early part of

was

one

of

struggle

for

pre-

dominence between Brahmanism on the

and Buddhism and Jainism on the other,
the former

one
in

hand which

came out triumphant, Buddhism being

time forward the Brahman's influence

deprived of following in this land and Jainism crippled.

From

this

became supreme; temples

12

were

erected

for

their

178
gods
;

TAMIL STUDIES
and they themselves
secured
fertile

villages

for subsistence.

Sanskrit puranas,

local as

well

as

general, were written

and translated
into

for the benefit of

the Tamils.

Then came

prominen ce

split

among
the

the Brahmans, which led to the formation of Vishnu and Siva cults. The latter with all its attendant horrors of death and destruction became

popular
of this

among

the

warlike Tamils.
of

The

literature

epoch consists
the accounts

hymns

to

Siva

and Vishnu

and adventures of Krishna, and Jina. The standard works on Tamil grammar during this period were Tolkapyam, Virasoliyam, Nambi's Agappcrul, Neminadam, &c.
and
of
of the life

Siva and Subrahmanya,

Rama and

Sanskrit words,
largely

chiefly relating

to

religion,

were

introduced,

and some

of the

Tamil

words

and rorms current in the preceding epoch gave way to new ones. Plurals in .^sir, double plurals in ijs&r and mseir, present tense particles Qmgv and

@^

and the use

of

distinctive

case

terminations
particles like

came

into existence.

Some

adverbial
&c.,

Qmm'^!tssT, ^(S^^ld^

^eo, Q^tuuj,

Completely went

out of use.

For poetry or metrical composition, which was

still

the only

form

of literary

production, Asiriyam

and Venba metres were not so much in favour as ihe Vrittam, Tandakam and others of Sanskrit
.prosody.

These were

introduced with their alan-

Maras or embellishments.

Rhyme and

antadi form

were introduced to render the

recital of sacred

songs

179

PLACE OF TAMIL
easier.

IN

PHILOLOGY

As

for

their

style,

the

pure simpHcity and

the natural beauty of the academic period were gone.

Affectation

and

artificiahty

even

in excess
it

were consiperiod of

dered a Hterary excellence.

As
rest

was a

struggle for religious supremacy everyone of the four

sects

attempted to excel the

its

by extoUing and ex-

aggerating
miracles
the

own

doctrines,

and

by

fabricating
in

to

support them.

Truth was thrown

place was
pieter-natural
in

back ground

and

its

taken up by
events,

mythological

accounts
mij:;ht

of

such

as

one

find

the
the

puranas

and
the

itiliasas.

Thus

Chintamani,

Ramayana,
to

Skandapurana, the Tiruvilayadalpurana, the Periya-

purana and the Mahabharata came

stories of this kind.

be replete with
spirit of
it

However, a true
writings

devo-

tion

and

piety,
us,

though blind or fanatical

pervaded the
of

might
very
:

appear to

this

troublous period.
(1)

We

give below

some

extracts

^s^iBT

tef^eaariT

UL^d^:BfT (enuSiT

Q JirrfisiT

(Sffli/JT

ufTsm<QLDjb

aiTisumiT i,ifl<omsu Qujsisi /06\)iTjb

SQ^Q^ok

Qsirir ljsjt

sir^ifiu

(2)

etjfr(^S)(Xissar(^m)Q sueffliurrQ Q<!i]iT<s(fliLi{TQ.

peir(es)Sl tLjuSlimS iLjssarsii>LO.LiLDiTiLi
uSesreiaLDiijLciTLLj

eijiT(eB)8

S^arfssiiu

<in^'siQfiT6\)oS

^iri^^^suQsw

T,V.

(3)

Qisuear/Sl luiris&i]

Qios^i euirds^ia

LiebjfSlu-\iS)

-a^'oiS QujiTL-Lfi arrdseinih

Gunm g)i(^

s^ira^^ i^djQ uir qTj&t QfJjtLjQLD.

180
(4)

TAMIL STUDIES
GurrmesB
(SSj^ti

QuTQ^usmi ujuusmu.
^/reBsfiaSp

^sksirfl i^(^(B

s/Tessfl

^sisi

ssx,(k

srr'^s iisi5T^^esr ^&)'^(ciu.

filTLD(3S)!T

Chili.
[.^^'

lb)

^3OTi_?Sy LLoSi^-iSiTfTL-Si

'sS SITSSIB^ITIEIsd

L^sOLDus fSsoiSrfldSSfT L9sisiQ(n/'L^j euih^fT&r.

Kain.
modern

Modern Tamil
period

To

the Tamils

the

which begms from the thirteenth century \simportant in every respect. The ancient kingdoms
of the

Cholas and the Patidyas were

banks
of

subverted.

powerful Telugu empire was coming into

existence

on the

the Tungabhadra, which

before
all

the close of the

fifteenth

century absorbed

the

Tamil kingdoms.

Then came

the Mahratta and the

Musalman hordes from the north, and lastly the Europeans from beyond the sea. Though the Telugus and the Mahrattas had come into the Tamil countries as
fortune seekers, they settled there permanently being

members of the same creed and nationality. TheMusahnans were not so they plundered the country, forcibly converted some of its people, and returned
;

with booty leaving behind their deputies

centres
of
strategic

at

certain

importance

like

Arcot

and'

Trichinopoly.

They farmed out

the desolate country

PLACE OF TAMIL
to renters,\vho oppressed

IN

PHILOLOGY

181

and tortured the ryots. Many had to sell their Jands for nominal prices to escape persecution. In this way the people had suffered till
the country passed into the

hands

of

the

British,

whose advent was a god-send to the poverty-stricken and down-trodden Tamils. 1 cannot better express the happiness and prosperity of the Tamils which
resulted

from

this

change

of sovereignty than

in the

words of Pugazhendi, strnQupp Q^rToSisQinrr assBtQupp

lirrQup
^'jjiTfB^

euiTsmQpsQLDiT

Sismpn&iQLDn

utrrrQupgu

(The king regaining

with his consort.

his

dominions enters the

what
Is

city

With

shall
il

compare the
joy
of the

universal joy of the people?

like the

peacock

at the sight of the

gathering
its

clouds,

or

of

the face that has got back

eyes, or of the withering

crop that quickens mto

Till

life

when
by
in

the rain

falls ?)

about the end of the seventeenth century

the

Tamil countries were ruled

Brahmanical influence was
learning of Sanskrit,

Hindu

governors.

the ascendent.

The

Tamil and Telugu was encourall

aged.

Several original works in

written,

these

languages

were

besides
in

innumerable commentaries
Sanskrit on

in Tamil as well as
-especially
to

ancient

works,
tending
tribal

on the Nalayira Prabhandam,

all

harden and aggravate the sectarian and the

period
of

animosities, until a reaction set in during the succeed-

ing

Musalman

despotism.

Then

for

182

TAMIL STUDIES
half-a-century
there

about

was

lull,

which

was
only

followed

by

the

production

of

anli-Brah-

manical, Christian and Islamic literatures.

And

it

was

during the

first

half of the last century that the

vernacular

literature

began

to

revive

under the

fostering care of the British administration.

social

With the change in government, religion and customs many Tamil words had gone out
use giving
as

of

way

to

new ones

-s/r,

s^ppn^
of

and
a

Qs.tlLild

the

administrative

divisions

country,

Qi?6\}eoiTUJth, sair

s^^sssuuffssi^^^ Qmearu)^ ^/SuSlsmp,

Qs=s8<sm/o, LDsmsmu), &c.,

as

names

of public

taxes,

^LCiT^^LULO,

SlJfTfflujih^

smsS^smm,
_^isssfl^

S'LCLSlfH^,

&C., aS official
SfreasBj

terms,

(^gliessS,

u^d(^,
of

Qpii^rfl,

i^(^*,

and other w^ords

fast

native weights and measures are

villages,

dying out except in out of the way

/T<*,

along

with

ueaarih,

^lL,

enniraim^

minations of old coinage. Most of

judicial terms,
stationery,

and Other denothe revenue and

furniture

names

relating to office

and

and generally most words

relating to the

administrative machinary are Arabic, Persian or English.

The

religious terms, of course, are

is

all

Sanskrit.

There

nothing

new

in the

gammar

of this period,

perhaps with the exception of a leaning towards a greater use of Sanskrit and foreign words by the
educated classes, and the unconscious
of

creeping in
of

several

English words

in

the home-speech

the English educated Tamilians.

Poetry was the only medium of

sion of

literary

expres-

thought

in

Tamil

till

about

the

begin-


PLACE OF TAMIL
rJng
the
of IN

PHILOLOGY
excepting
of

183
course,

the

last

century,

extensive commentaries and

copious notes on
natural

ancient

poems.
periods

However, the
the

ease

and
the
uj/tBso,

beauty of the writings of

liymnal

academic

and

were

gone
udsssB

The
and

ss\}}iljsjo,

^i^fT^,

lSsit'^^3lSIu^,

_'5ur

were

the

different kinds of poesv

adopted for shorter

litt^rary

compositions, and the Kavya(T j-9ij:i))f()rm for longer

and more

descriptive A'orks

hke

tiie
all

puranas.

For

these quasi-rehgious compositions

kinds of metres

enumerated
freely

in the

grammar books on prosody were

Learning was then confined
or relijous
fanatics,
to a iiad

made

use

of.

class of indolent

men

who

no other work than

gymnastics and
subsistence on

this sort of

ex-rcise in prosodial
for
their

who depended

precarious

the b junties of kings

and noblemen.
in versifying

Their object was to display their

skill

and

to scare the

ordinary readers by making their

of

stanzas

obscure by the use

obsolete

and amwill

biguous

words

as

the

following

examples

show:
(1)

iSljiDL^n^^os^pQuLOLon QsmtMLDaesr
l3 a LD'^ J

^ ^ss) p

QuLCLorr Q^ssruDLOTsisr

iSljLDLfCr^^SlSp GuLDLDfr QvSTLCLDCtaSr

l3!rLCjL^7^^SB)pQusiL>ir QsStLD

01^.

T. T.

^T^

D. A.

184
.

TAMIL STUDIES

word before closing

industrialism

this chapter.

The

evils of

competition are overtaking even the Indian people.

away the taste for healthy reading, while forcing him to work all day for the day's meal for hunself and his family.

Modern

and

city life are taking

Let

it

not be said that the scholars of this country

in

were responsible
which,
of the people,has
of

any way

for creating a literature

by being unsuited to
literature

the

needs and taste

weakened the people's appreciation

good life, and

to find

and the capacity to live a healthy a joy in it. The Tamilian of to-day

-can hardly find any time to rack his brains in wading

through the moth-eaten pages of the rigmarole puranas of a Kachiyappa or a Minakshisundram.

already had enough and more poetry

We

have

sonnets,

idylls,

dramas, ballads and epics; nay, even works on philosophy, religion, ethics, hisfory,

grammar, dictionary,
subject are
their
all

medicine
poetry.

and

on

every imaginable
versification

Poetry and
past,

had

value

in

and they may still be of use in some For our literary models let us go to the writings cat-es. of Sattanar or Ilango-adigal whose beauty, simplicity, smoothness and grace it is a pride and glory to But communication of approach in our efforts.
the

knowledge
not poetry.

in

these

days

is

best

di)ne

in

prose

We

want therefore plenty

and
little

of prose, but
literature.

not Asiaiic prose,

of

poetical

The

prose should be simple and idiomatic, free alike

from pedantry and baldness.

VIII

PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE

Among
earliest

the Dravidian
first

tribes

of

South India, the

Their
the Aga-n.inuru,
of

Tamils were ihe

to cultivate a literature.

poems, which are

now extant,

the Pura-nanuru and the anthologies

that

kind

show

that they were, like the

ancient Assyrians

and
is

the early

Germanic

tribes, a warlike race.

Here

type of the ancient Dravidian

to an enquiry about her son

woman who in
answered thus:
for

response
'I

know
her
'

not where
appear on
belly) this

my
the
is

son

is

but he will anv-h )w suddenly

(pointing
birth to that
to

battle-field,

the cave

that gave
STCTTLDSSST

ti-^er.

ujirsaurQsfr

iev)6l^ LD/SKetu

Q^0ih

Lj&9Q'3=iTts^ QuitSIlu S&}60'<isn(oUITeO

sSeST CD

<S>JUlSI(o(ir/'

iS^Qoj

(o^(T(Ssr^Qjm iorrQ^a QuT'TS'setr ^^nQsar.

Pur.

86.

The
scorn

dignity

they

attached

to

military

pursuits,

the chivalrous attitude towards their

for

women,

their

an uneventful

life

and

natural death,

and

i86
their spirit of
in

TAMIL STUDIES
independence and adventure are patent
collections.
All
these,

every song of the above

however, grew weaker under the influence of the

Buddhist and ]aina teachings, and were eventually

stamped out by the peace-loving Brahmans, who

those days

in

wielded such a mighty influence on

of

the

Tamil nation as to leave an indelible mark

Aryanism

on everything non-Aryan.
Yet
can
stiil

in

every department of Tamil literature

we

perceive a

slender vein of Dravidian thought

Its ground-work is purely nonAryan and its super-structure necessarily Aryan; because, it was not as conquerors that the Aryan Brah-

running through.

mans
Vedic

entered the Tamil country, but as teachers

religion

of

and philosophy. Unlike Islamism which carried fire and sword with it, wherever it
went, the Indo-Aryans established their spiritual su-

premacy by gentleness, refinement and persuasive manners. Musalmans were dreaded by the conquered, whereas the Aryans were honoured and
respected as the
der qualities, and
'

andaiiar

'

or the possessors of ten-

parpar' or the seers of the Vedas. find a

The

early

Musalman could not

while

place

for

anything foreign to his

rant militant religion,

less cultivated taste

and

intole-

the Aryan

assimilated

and absorbed whatever was good outside his racial culture and exalted it by associating it with his higher civilization. It is the characteristic of a conquering and
victorious

army which

is

not held in check by elevated-,

national traditional culture

and

refined

sense

of

PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE

187

honour to disregard, and even to destroy the Hterary and artistic treasures of the conquered people. Such was the attiiude of the Muhammadan invaders when
they
first

came

to

South

India.

So we

find

in

the

early part of the fourteenth century,

when

the Musal-

man hordes poured down

Tamils had
literature.

into

South India,
all

the
their

to

lament the loss of almost

libraries

All the
all

were ransacked

in

the
for

country, and

that the

Tamil genius had reared

age* were committed to flames.

On

the contrary the

Brahmans, the Jains and the Buddhists actively worked to found universities, literary academies and libraries,

and added refinement and

stability to the

Tamil

language and literature. And it was through the deep interest and tender care of those people that Tamilians
were inspired with new thoughts and ideas, and their
literature enriched with

new forms

of expressions.

Again, during modern times, the Musalmans

who had
and
South

learnt to live on friendly terms with the Hindus,

the Christian Missionaries

who had come

into

India as harbingers of western civilization have also in

a

way
the

affected,

though

in

an impt^rceptible

degree,

the Dravidian
of

life

and thought.
and

Thus, the influence

Aryans

both

Indian and European

philosophical.

was

eswill

sentially religious

All these

be explained later on in their proper places. Indian

literature
letters),

grammarians
three
classes,

have

divided

Tamil
(belles
this

into
Isai

namely

lyal

(Music)

and Nataka (Drama). As

essay

is

concerned mainly with the

literature of the

188
lyal Tamil,
it

TAMIL STUDIES
will

not be inopportune to
Isai

first

briefly

say something
kutln, before

about the
to

and the Natakam or

we proceed

our subject.

Tradition says that Agastya was the only

rian

gramma-

who
the

wrote
three
extant.

complete

treatises

on the grammar
but none of them
of

of

all

classes of Tamil,

are

now

During the early centuries

the

Christian era attention seems to have been paid by the

Tamils to

all

the three.

They had

their

own dances
the
art of

and music
with the

vocal and
a

instriimental. They, of course,

help of Brahmans,

developed

dancing to
treatises

high degree of perfection

this fine
art
;

and many
even
.

were written on
in

their

gods had
too,

their characteristic favourite

dances

Music

was

a state of

perfection,

and

their pans or

tunes were sui generis to the Tamil race.

ancient Tamil

The only
drama that
the stage,

work
to

of ihe nature

of the

has

come down
It

us

is

the Silappadikaram (third

of

century).

gives a vivid description

the actor, the singer,

the

drummer,
vari
{euift),

the

flute-player,

the yazh-player and others of the troupe; and contain

beautiful

specimens of
(@ja62j),

pattn
,

(uitlLSi),
(siss^su),

kuravai

ammaiiai

(jfjuoiMn'^est)

usal

kandukain (si^suo), vallai of musical songs.

{eustrHsfr),

and other classes

stringed

A brief description
ancient Tamils
four
kinds, viz

of the ydzh

musical

instrument, similar to the guitar, peculiar only to the

may

not be uninteresting.
manuurTiJ^,

It

was

of

(ouifliuiTLp,

s^Qsmiuni^
strings;

and

Qs=isiQaiTLLL^ajiTifi.

The Per-yazh had 21

aMakra-

PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE

yazh, 17
;

183

Chakota-yazh, 16

and Sengottu-yazh, 7^
in

Perhaps these were the instruments

days of llango-adigal.
is

use during the

And
been

the Per or big 'yazh'

in

which
of

supposed

to

have

use

in the

days

Agastya had
century A. D,

become
It is

extinct
said to

even before the third

have had one

thou-

sand

strings,

G^LoSsard/^L/L/ QiDiTLJuear

QanetrQe^.

But with ihe growing influence of the Jains and Brahmans, spiriluaHty received more attention, much
to

the

detriment

of

the

physical

side

of

his

development,

which

was

neglected

and

even

condemned. Self-mortification and abstinence from pleasure were advocated and recommended as the high road to saWation. And the works on music, dancing and the drama written by ancient
Tamils, such as
QuQ^rsTss^ir,

0013/5/(5(5(5, u^^s^umr^iuuci,
^B^tTSfrarFiujthf
uir^iJo,

^iT&reusts)s,Quurr^^^

U(^s=LD!ri-i^

(^em^

^^u/isLD,8iC., (on music)

and

Qpsneuio, s^-ui^ii)

iia6mrnsrTL.s^suSip^6\),

&c. (on dramaturgy) were negthemselves; and by the time-

lected
ol

and
lost.

left to shift for

(1200 A.D.) most of them. With them the Dravidian music and dances became extinct. No one can now say what those /)(377s and dances were like. Their places were gradually taken up by the Indo-Aryan raganis and;

Adiyarkunallar about

were

naiyains.

However, these

aesthetic

arts

were given a

religi-

190

TAMIL STUDIES
condition to

ous tone and allowed in that

their feeble

prolong

existence for upwards of ten centuries from about the seventh. Their sphere of exercise was The transferred from the house to the temple.' Saiva md Vaishnava hymns forming the Devaram

and the Nalayira Prabandam, were collected and set Diavidian music and sung in Hindu temto During festivals and processions of gods, ples.
dancing was encouraged and
plays

were acted
of

to

draw large crowds

girls cr

of devotees.

Hundreds

dancing
of

gandharvis were attached to every important

temple.

This was the origin of the institution

singing by Odnvans and Aralyans, and the

representation
of natakas,

public
in

pallns

and kuravanjis
alone

Hindu
vives.

temples.

Of these the
institution

first

now

sur-

The same
it

was carried

to the

West

Coast, and

now

survives in the
in

Chakkiyar kuttu.
were, as
ibitisldiIj

The persons concerned

Lu oTs>
y

this institution

given in the inscriptions of Raja-raja Chola,

s'fTS:saiS, sfTssTunis^y
lSIiititssj,

siTLDiruQucsairajssr,

ernr^^

ujiDfTif n Luesr
y

^ifliLnstun^sunfr,

sai^ffsSl^

&C.

It

was Only and

(A.D.

during the

eighteenth
to revive
;

century that

dram.a

music began
be
justly

and Arunachala Kavi

ot

1712-1779) the famous author

called

Rama Natakam may

modern
dramatic
of

the

father

of

literature,

and under the Mahratta Rajahs

Tanjore

Hindu drama, like that of the Greeks, was 1. It is derived from, and formed part of, their religious ceremonies. Lassen considers the Indian drama to be of native growth, while Weber thinks it was influenced by the Greek dramas performed at he court of Greek (Bactrian) kings.
said that the

PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE

a fresh impetus was given to music.
that both these arts flourished in

191

We

might say

highly developed

forms about the time

1830). Subsequently,
peare's

of Surfoji

Raja of Tanjore (1780Shakes-

plays in imitation of

dramas, Kirtans and Harikatas were written

for public

preciated
classes,

performances and music came to be apand patronized by the middle and lower
the British rule were rising in im-

who under

portance, and the arts themselves were being affec ted

by democratic
writer does

influences.
feel

This

is

a subject
to treat

which the

not
is

competent

adequately.

The
Mr.

reader

referred to the

interesting

book

of

Day and the illuminating contributions of Dr. Coomaraswamy. From the existing Tamil literature it is not possible
to

determine

its

exact range, as

it

situdes,

one

of w'lich

we

have already

was subje ct to vicismentioned.

Several

works by
not n

Jains

among
that

the earliest to encourage the

,nv

literature, are

and Buddhists, who were growth of Tamil forthcoming and it is believed

;

most

of

them were destroyed when

As

Buddhists

and

Jains were

persecuted during the seventh

and
*

eighth

centuries.
its

we have

said

elsewhere

good portion ot ages on palm

ed by
fire

e<tensive literature preserved for

leaves

had long ago been consumants...

and white

And

such as had
Mathadhipatis

escaped these destructive agencies remained locked up

in

the

dingy

cellars of the lascivious

and in the thatched hjuses of penniless pandits.' Even if all the writings of the early and mediaeval


192

TAMIL STUDIES
to us in full preserva-

Tamil authors had come down

tion
it is

extremely doubtful whether Tamil literature

as extensive as
its

would be
this

Sanskrit compeer.

And
very

has

been confirmed by Dr. Caldwell

a

who

truly observes that 'Tamil literature as

a whole will
literature as a

not

bear
oie.'

comparison with Sanskrit

wh

Of the

different
to

branches of knowledge the

early-

Tamils appear
literature.

have cultivated only the polite

They knew only so much of elementary arithmetic as was absolutely required for trading
purposes, and higher mathematics, science,

philoso-

phy

which the Indo. Aryans excelwere led all other civilized nations of antiquity unknown to the Dravidians. Some Tamil scholars

and theology

in

might say that astronomy was not unknown ancients and quote, 0<F@ (^rraSp^'S' Qs=6\)eii(i^ t^fTuSpgfiu
urftuLjuo urfluL-jS=(^t^id^ LCGoan^&JQ^LD

to their

eunS^ tS'^ ^lummuQp QLDmoSsiDQj

iAl'SesT^Q^oir QufTQi)

QpefiQa.

Pur.
purely

30.

One
original

or

two

of

them went even

was

to

the length of
religion in
its

asserting that 'Saiva

philosophy and

elements

Tamilian'.

Mr.

Kanakasabhai believes
classical works, the

that

'

in

the ancient Tamil

terms relating to

music, gram-

mar, astronomy and even abstract philosophy are of

pure Tamil origin', and that 'they
indicate

most

PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE

clearly

193

that

those sciences were cultivated by the

arrival

Tamils long before the

of
is

the

Brahmans or

other Aryan immigrants'.

This

not good logic, as

these terms might be later Tamil translations or adaptations from Sanskrit.

to ask,
It

would be more reasonable

these
far

Did the Tamils possess any literature on

Brahmans
?

subjects before the arrival of the

as

So

we know
these

they had none.

We

need not attempt to

but shall content
the

refute

statements seriatim,

ourselves for the present with quoting

Dr. Caldwell on

views
of

of

the pre-Aryan civilization

the

Tamils. 'They were without hereditary priests

idols

and
'

and appear
or
;

to

have had no idea of

'

heaven

or

*heir

the 'soul' or
...but

up

to 100

had numerals 'sin'. ..They no acquaintance with sculpture,

astrology,

architecture,

astronomy,

grammar

or

philosophy'.

The
are,

existing

Tamil works, most

of them,

are either

translations or adaptations of Sanskrit originals.

There
so.

however, certain compositions which are not

five

The

major and the

five

minor

epics,

the

eight

anthologies, the ten major and

the eighteen

minor

poems belong
'in
it

to this class. Dr. Caldwell thinks that

least, that of ethical

one department at

apothegms

is

generally maintained that Sanskrit has been out-

done

by Tamil.'

But, on the other

hand,

inclined to think that the existence of so

we are many works

Because

on

the ethics of daily

life is

an indication of the low

state of morality

among

the early Tamils.


194
it

TAMIL STUDIES
teeth were blunted

was the Dravidian whose

by the

eating of flesh,

Qaje\)'?0i}ij^ uSrr<sij

QpmfiSm^^

LD(ipiiQ.

Pat, II. ,117,

that required the advice,

QurrQ^etreOso ^eusiioaijSesrdo,

KuK
show
that

And
1.

the following extracts will

most

of

the Tamil kings were tyrannizing over their subjects:

isQsSsii Q^fTiP^'siusi!fle06\}iTe!!r eSl^esreijinEisd

2.

Q'fS^'-jSs QesrCc'Sijifim

Qsuk^gii^^
it

i-js\)uiQuiTe\).

Kal.

The

early
in

Tamilians considered
a military

an honour and
off

virtue

man

to

carry
fields,

other men's

wives, to devastate the enemy's

to destroy their
tribes.

houses and to

lift

the cattle of

neighbouring

A people
books on

with such principles of conduct really needed

practical morality.i

The

ethical

code of the Tamils

is

contained chiefly

in the eighteen

None

of

the

minor poems already referred to. works on morals which our learned

bishop makes so

much

of,

appear to have
Indo-Aryans,
It

been

written by the Tamils before they

tiie civilizing

had come under

be they
is

influence of the
Jains.

Brahmans, Buddhists or

even supposed
Sanskrit

that the Kural of Tiruvalluvar

and the Acharakkovai

or 'truth speakers'

of Peruvayil-Mulliyar are adaptations from

1.

The

fact that

Brahmans were

called

Qio^iuir

proves that lying was

tribes.

common among

the

early

Tamil speakin g


PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE
Mahabharata, Dharmasastras, &c., as
will

195
be seen

from the following extract Qu^^^iso ^0sueh(ei^eiJica)iT^th

:

Qji^^&dirrT

iM^LoupfS

^tSlLpiT

Q^^Q'asiQrj'

aiTuS^LD

^uSi^^6\)fs(D<striT(SLh

Qurr0ii^

QuiT(r^LL

uj(^uitlLu).'SioST

^pmQuiTQTf'SffissruQisKosr

eui^sdnlr

euLpi(^Ljup!]S

(cUJfr^'^eOfT!Ssr.

..-giip^^uufTeo

eSlsL^iiJias'Serr

ld^

Qi

pQ

(ri?(Slisi

(c)urr(TKii^ss)Sij^^

isui!^(Sf^suieo)iT

3^/01 ^ssrCol ireisr

u^

Thus
ture
is

it is

evident that the

whole

permeated with Aryan

there

Tamil literainfluence and that

of

practically

was

no

literature

worth

the

name among the Tamils before the migration of Brahmans to South India, and it has been boldly
asserted

by M. Hovelacque

that 'all the

works of
fragment
with
the

which

it is

composed, down
posterior

to the smallest

are long

to their first

contact

Aryans.'

and a history of literature is much more. They made no distinction between mythology, tradition and history.
science of history
is

The

foreign to the Hindus;

Periods of time were of no consequence

past

to

them
liter-

and present

in the

growth

of a

language or

ature were an eternal

now and

meaningless.

The

Tamil scholars, ancient as well as modern,

have had

no idea
fiers,

of the exact

range of their

literature.

The
versi-

average Tamil scholars were mostly

poets

or

and

their acquaintance with literature

was limi-

ted to some standard works on grammar, vocabulary

196

TAMIL STUDIES
ot

and

one or two epic poems

Karoban's

Rama-

yanam, Ativiraramapandya's Naishadam, Tolkapyam,. Pavanandi's Nannul, Amritasagarar's Karigai, Dandi Alankaram, Uivakaram and Chudamani Nigandu
together with one or two
aniadis and kalanihakams
versifiers.

met

all

the

requirements of these

This

easily earned scholarship

and consequent self-com-

placency, blinded
tant

them

to the merits of

many imporJains,,

Tamil works written by Buddhists and

disliked
left in

which were These were

eaten

on account of

their

authorship.

the sun and rain to decay or to be

up

in

course of time by white-ants; while

to

many

more were consigned

Adi (August)

the

floods of

the 18th of

But such
all

charge cannot be

laid at the

feet of

Nacchinarkiniyar, or Adiyarkunallar and generally of

the

erudite

commentators
extensive
;

of

the middle ages.

their

Their

study

was

and

exposition

thoroughly logical

and

yet the

critical

methods

of

research and investigation

inquisitive scholar of

which

characterize the

modern times were absolutely

as Dr. Caldwell, pertinently
is of

unknown
growth.

to

them

for,

reroarkSjthe critical spirit even in the west

modern
it,

The

ancient Hindus

did not cultivate

because they had the greatest, perhaps blind,

regard

and veneration
and

for their ancestors

and

their

works

implicitly believed as sacred truths whatever their

elders said, absurd

though they might

be.

Further,

the Science of Philology or the historical and scientific

study of languages did not

come

into

existence


PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE
then.
tions
;

197

Literary forgeries passed for genuine produc-

and the native scholars who have been duped by them owing to their creduhty are miserably incapable of detecting them. Even the so-called Tamil
scholars of the

present day

who

profess
in their

to

follow

the critical and historical methods

researches
of

cannot discriminate the famous

Brahman author
from
that

Kurinjippattu from the saintly composer of the Siva-

Peruman

Tiruvantadi,

or

even

recent

Dravidian writer of
the author of
writer
of

an

anti-Brahmanical song; or

Gnana
Kural.

Vettiyan

from the immortal

below
specimens

the

We

give

from three different poems wrongly attributed to one and the same Kapiiar by Tamil scholars of the old
orthodox school
:

(1)

j)jpiBis<oSi[ribi}

euujiwQuj

srrsSl pi^ piiQuj

eamir^iTeo QeusirsSl Qpisf.^^, Qs<^isSl

uuib^vSBT STQ^ikiseo

QiMjhu SitulL

Ljp^^&siap

(SuuSlifiuup

sfressflssr <sijeo(c&)

QiLioo(^ueaiL-

iu^^^

QsirdjSrQjp L^HisS

<ouiT(ev)d QsiTiarisioseo)iu.

Pad.

VII. 64.

(2)

Qurrsui^^ ^is^uS^riS SpiSir

i^^est

^ ^n f[Qfiiif.Q m

tss^s

uk^^

^ih^fBiretrui

Saa paSesi piu!T<ssruiuls ^

uotrsLDi?^^

^ih^Lorr LceiDipQuiTasT

p ld^^^ss^uQuit Qns^k^^


198
(3)

p
TAMIL STUDIES

Q^asrfSeaffu

L/Ssvujsar

Q/i_^sjD^<s

Qs@

uoDsp Q&HT^u

uiriTUUfT ^Qjireisr

oji^emsFU utTrfuuiKom QpmrBssiS^s QsiQasr

issaioj^ Qsiremflu
l/'Ssouj

^eurrm.

Agaval.

No doubt
spread of

judice, racial feelings,

must partly be attributed to preand mistaken faith. With the culture and the study of scientific Western
this

methods they seem

Mr.

to

be gradually

disappearing..
:

Damodaram

Pillai's Classification

Among
and other
profession,

the pandits of the old type

we must undoubtedly
the learned editor
Kalittogai

include Mr.
of

Damodaram

Pillai,

Tolkapyam,

Virasoliyara,

works.
his zeal

Though a lawyer and judge by

and admiration

for his native literature

and

his

also carried

Tamil race have not only blurred his judgment but him away from the sacred precincts of
he has attempted
literature,

historic truth. In a lengthy introduction to his edition

of Virasoliyam

to

give

brief

history

of

Tamil
for

besides

making some
in

uncalled
violent

remarks
style.

on the non-Saivites
His
reputation
as
a

his

Jaffnese

good

Tamil scholar and the valuable service he has rendered to the Tamil nation by his publications make it necessarv
to

notice

his

views along with those of Dr.

Caldwell and
eight

others.

According

to

him
Tamil

there

were

periods
:

the history

of

literature

namely
I,

jijQuiT^antsoih

Before Agastya. There was>

then

(Pre-historic).

no alphabet.

PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE

II.

199^

^si^trsneoiJD

(Alphabetic).

From Ihe date of theinvention of the alphabet by Agastya to the period of completion of his grammar.
of

III.

^&)ss6et!rsn&)u[i

(Grammatic),
IV. ffQp^rrujsn&LD

The period of composition Tamil grammar by his

twelve disciples.

(Academic).
V. ^iBrr^mraneoih
('Lethargic),

Period of the three Tamil academies(B.C. 10,150 to 150).

200 years. After the destruction of the third Sangam when the Tamil literature^ patronised (B. C. was not

150 A.
VI.
s=weaBrsrT&}LD

D. 50).

(Jain).

300 mani,

years.

When

Nannul,

ChintaVirasoliyam

and other Jain works were written (A. D. 50 350).

VI L

^^ms^meoiM
(Puranic).

800 years. In this Naishada, yana and other works kind were written (A.
Puranas,

period

Ramaof that

D. 350

1150),
VIII.

^^earsneoLD

(Monastic),

the Saiva Tiruvaduturai and other places encouraged. the study of Tamil literature (A. D. 110 1850).

monks

700 years.

When

of

The above
face of
is
it

classification

appears to

us on

the

unscientific

and

marked by a total historical acumen.

and historically monstrous. It want of a sense of proportion

Coming
Tamil

as
it

it

does from the

really pitiable.

pen of a lawyer of English training

In his opinion the age of

is

literature

must be

at


JOO
least

TAMIL STUDIES
12,000 years which
earliest
is

4 or 5 millenniums

older

than the

known civilisation. The history of Egypt commences from not more than 3,000 years
before Christ
to 2,700 years
;

that

of

the

Greeks ascends scarcely

It

from to-day.

serves no
its

good

to

enter into the details of his classification;

bilites

impioba-

and fanciful dates assigned

in the sequel.

to different

works

will

be brought out

Mr.

Stir yanaray ana's

classification

To

pass

on

from the dubious field of blind faith and tradition to the domain of reason and history, we find in Mr.
Suryanarayana
Sastri

saner views.

His
a

little

book

on the

history of Tamil

language
scale

is

useful attempt

worth imitating on a
trained in the

larger

by Tamil scholars

occidental

methods.
of

He

devotes a
literature
:

chapter to an outline history

Tamil

which he divides into the following periods

I.

Early.

B. C. 8000 to A. D. 100. This includes the age of the three academies or Sangams.
{a)

II.

Mediaeval.

First

half:

100600

A. D. The five major and the live minor epics, Tiru-

vachakam, Divakaram,Muttollayirara and other works were written during this

period.
(6)

Second half

6001400

Kalladam, A.D. Tevaram, Tiruvoymozhi, Agapporul, Ramayanam, Purapporul, Nala Venba and other works were written.

PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE

III.

201

Modern.

From A.D. 1400. Ativirararaa Pandiyan, Villiputturar, Arunagiri, Paranjoti, Sivaprakasar, Tatvarayar, Tayumanavar, Viramamuni and other poets jBourished.
though not open
wanting in
of the time to serious

The above

classification,

objections Hke the preceding one, seems to us some-

what unsatisfactory
perspective
;

in that

it is

historical

nor

is

each period sufficiently explana-

tory of

tiie spirit

and influence
with.
It is

which

it

professes to deal

strange

mixture

of

conflicting traditions with historical facts.

period,

His early

which covers a long

interval of

8100 years, no

historian of
his

any existing
account

literature

would make

up

mind

to believe.

He seems
of

to accept unreservedly

the

traditional

the

Tamil academies
with
the

which
critical

no

scholar

acquainted

modern
period

method
his third

would do.

His mediaeval
of
It is

extends over a pretty

while stood on

long period

1300 years,
not under-

occupies only 500.

what established data he has

based his

classification,

no distinguishing
Classification
'

land-marks being

assigned to
Dr.
to

it.

CaldivU's

In
of
at

his introduction

'A Comparative
Dr.

Grammar
He

the

DravicHan
a
brief

Languages',

Caldwell aims
literature.

giving
it

history of Tamil

divides

into seven

cycles or periods citing

representative of
I.

some authors each cycle. They are,

cycle

or

works

as

The

Jaina

or the cycle of

the

Madura


202

TAMIL STUDIES

Sangam
A. D.

or College, from the eighth or ninth century

twelfth
of or thirteenth
this

to the

century.

The
Kural,

important

works

period

were

Naladiyar, Chintamani, Divakaram and Nannul.

II.

tury.

The Tamil Ramayana cycle the thirteenth cenKamban, Pugazhendi, Ottaikkuttar and AuvaiThe
Saiva Revival
cycle

yar were the poets of this age.

III.

the

thirteenth

and

The Tevaram and the Tiruvachakam were composed during this period. about the same period.. IV. The Vaishnava cycle
fourteenth centuries.

To

this period

he

assigns the

composition of

the

Nalayiraprabandam.
V.

The

cycle of the Literary Revival centuries.

the fifteenth

and

sixteenth

The works and authors

were Vasishtam, the Saiva Siddhantam, Ativirarama-

Pandyan and Villiputturar. VI. The anti-Brahmanical

seventeenth century.
mular,
Bhadragiriyar,

cycle in

which the cominto existence

positions of the Siddhar School

came
Siva

Agastya,

Vakkiyar, Tiru-

and

all

the eighteen

Siddhas
nine-

flourished at this period.

VII.

The modern school

oi

the eighteenth and

Pattanattar,

teenth centuries in which

and the authors

lived]
It

Tayumanavar Prabhuhngalilai and Tembavani

above
classification

will

be seen from the

that

there was

no

literature

in

Tamil

before

the

eighth

century A. D.

Elsewhere, the same writer goes on to

say that 'the Tamil literature

now extant

enables us to

PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE

ascend, in studying the history of the
to the ninth or tenth century A.

203

language only
in

D.'

And

a third

place he assigns the eighth

of

century A. D. as the age

Tolkapyam with the following remark: 'Whatever antiquity may be attributed to the Tolkapyam it must
have been preceded by
culture,
it

many
rules

centuries
for

of

literary

lays

down

different

kinds

of

poetical

compositions, which

must have been

by
the
best
in

deduced from
authors whose
rule
is

examples
an

furnished

works were then

observed

existence.

simply

custom'.

Don't we

observe in these statements apparent contradictions ?

Whatever may be
authors

the

date

of

the

Tolkapyam,
ot

did he endeavour to learn the

names

the

best

who had furnished examples for that grammar? The truth seems to be that, when his great work was published nearly half-a-century ago, some of the
earliest

Tamil

classics

like

the

Silappadikaram,

and several others were unknown even to many Tamil pandits of those days. Moreover, his division of Tamil literature into cycles and his determination of the dates of certain important Tamil works were based upon some
doubttul
inscriptions of
a

Manimekalai, Pattuppattu, Purananuru

Rajendra Chola

or a

Sundara Pandya Deva and upon

reformer, Sri

a misconception that

the Alvars were the disciples of the great Vaishnava

Ramanuja Charya. But within

so

the

last

thirty years epigraphy has progressed

so far and has

facts, literary,,

brought to
social,

light

many important
as to

and

historical,

necessitate a

complete

204

TAMIL STUDIES
every

modification of almost

one

of his

statements

concerning the dates of Tamil authors. The learned Bishop has devoted several pages of his invaluable

grammar to a vain discussion of the age of >undara or Kun Pandya of Trignanasambandar's time, wrongly identifying him with the Sunder Bendi of the Muhammadan historians, in order to bring the authors of the Devara hymns down to the 13th century A. D.
His statement that
'the poetical

compositions of

seven of the twelve Alvars or Vaishnava devotees,

followers of

Nalayiraprabandam are
other Saiva
total

Ramanuja, which are included in the still more numerous than

be a clear proof of his

those of Manikkavachakar, Trignanasambandar and

devotees,' might

ignorance of the magnitude of any of these

sacred hymns.

And
in the

it

might be said with greater

language.

confidence that he had not seen or even heard of

several

works

Tamil

do not

propose to enter into any detailed examination of

his

views, as

they
the

have already been

late

sufficiently
Pillai

criticised

by

Mr.

Sundaram

of

Trivandram.
Classification of Sir

W. Hunter and
Hunter.

others

The
thus:

most prominent among the

literature
is

later writers

on Tamil

Sir

W. W.

He

writes

'The Saivite and Vaishnavite revival of the Brahman

apostles

in

Southern

India

onwards
part
of

stirred

up

counter

from the 8th century movement on the

literature

the

Jains.

The Dravidian Buddhists and

Tamil
anti-Brah-

Jains created

a cycle of

PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE

manical
century.
in

205

tone,
Its

stretching great

from the 9th

to the 13th

first

composition, the

Kural

of
is

Tiruvalluvar, not later than the 10th century A. D.

said
to have

from the Pariah or lowest caste. The Jain period of Tamil literature inchides works on ethics and language among them the Uivakaram literally the Day;
'

been the work of a poet sprung

making Dictionary'.

The period culminated

in the

Chintamani, a romantic epic of 15,000 Imes by an

unknown
the

Jain

author ...Contemporaneous with the

literature the great

Jain cycle of

Tamil

adaptation of
for the

Ramayana was composed by Kambar

...

Dravidian races

Between
Siva

that

period

and
of

the

16th century two encyclopaedic collections

Tamil

hymns

in

praise

of

were gradually formed...

During the same centuries the Vaishnavite apostles were equally prolific in Tamil religious songs...
After a period of literary inactivity

the Tamil genius

again blossomed forth

in the

16th and 17th centuries

revival.

with a poet-king as the leader of the literary

In the ]7th century arose an anti-Brahmanical

literature

Tamil

known

as the Sittar school

...

The Tamil

writers of the 18th

and 19th centuries

and
that

are classified as

modern. The hc^nours

ween
a pious

of this period are divided bet-

Sivaite

the

Italian

Jesuit, Beschi.'

The above

extracts

from Dr. W.

W.

Hunter's Gazet-

teer will clearly

show

he has simply followed Dr.

it

Cadwell's classification, paraphrasing

racy
style.
It

in

his usual
all

might be said here once for

that

all

other English writers on Tamil

literature,

including

206

TAMIL STUDIES
Professor
Frazer^, have

Dr. Grierson, Dr. Rost and

statements and

wittingly or unwittingly followed the learned Bishop's

propagated

the

obvious errors he
least trouble

had committed, and did not take the to correct them, on account of his high
of their total ignorance of the extent of Tamil language and added their instinctive
literature.

auth(>rity and and importance

To

these

may be

slight for a

non-Aryan race

and

culture.

Notwithstanding^ the

able

and trenchant

criti-

of some of Dr. Caldwell's theories by the late Mr. Sundaram Pillai in his Some Mile-stones in the His tory of Tamil Literature', some European scholars, still draw their statements largely from the works of Drs. Burnell and Caldwell. No doubt, European sch'>lars have done excellent service in the cause of Compara-

cism

'

tive

Philology and the Indians are deeply indebted

them for the study of their languages on critical and historical methods. But so far as a thorough and intimate knowledge of the Vernaculars and their idioms are concerned, we cannot expect them all to
to

be Beschis or Popes.

In

the days of Drs. Caldwell

of epigraphy
justified in

and Burnell the science fancy and they were not

in their
1.
I

was

in its in-

being dogmatic

assertions
glad to find

relating
Mr,

to historical questions.
has corrected most
researches in
of

am
(in

tliac

F'razer
latest

his

views

1912) agreeably to the

South Indian
is

Epigraphy

and early Tamil

is

literature;

and

believe he

the

only

European scholar who

-article

up

to date in his

Tamil

studies.

See his

on

'

Dravida' in the Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics.


PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE
207

Within the past quarter of a centurv epigraphy has

progressed by leaps and

bounds,

and the

facts

and

theories of these writers require considerable revision.

To

quote from

these

writers

would, therefore, be
the Imperial

exceedingly unsafe.
Gazetteer
of this

One example from

suffice.

(New Edition) will monumental work,

Tamil poets
of this

In

Volume

II

Mr.

R.

Sewell, while

speaking of the literature of the Tamils, writes thus:

*

Several

age,

e.,

about A.

D
be

600

50 are greatly renmvned,

among whom may

mentioned the Saiva devotees of Tirunavukkaraiyar, Tirgnanasambandar and Sundaram irthi Nayanar
;

Manikka Vasagar
330).

also

belongs to this

period

'

(p.

And

Dr. Grierson

who

has devoted three preci-

ous paragraphs
literature, says

in the

same volume tor this ancient 'The worship of Siviinthe Tamil

earliest literary

country found

its

expression in

the

Tiruvasagam or 'Holy word'

lived in the eleventh

of

Manikka-vas^gar
(p. 425)...

who
and
the

century

later
is

larger collection of

hymns addressed

to

Siva

Sambanda, Sundara and Appa (p. 426)... After the Jain period we have the great Saiva movement of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries to which we owe the hymnologies already described
of
(p.

Tevaram

435).' It is

not our object to

decry the
is to

labours

of these

that

European scholars; but it such paragraphs have found

be regretted

their

way

into the

pages of the Imperial Gazetteer

authority of the

published under the

Government
.-

of India.

Mr, Vinson's

Classification

The only

other

Wes-


208
tern student of

TAMIL STUDIES
Tamil
literature

whom we
Tamil
D'.
it,

should not
*

pass over unnoticed

is

M. Julien Vinson
'that

of Paris.

can hardly admit

',

he writes,

literary age

began before the seventh century A.

thinks that there were five periods in

He
which

further
for the

sake of brevity and distinctness

we subjoin

in a tabular

form:
I.

6th and 7th

centuries.

Period of essays, pamphlets

and short poems.

II.

8th century.
9th century.

III.

Period in which the Jains predominated. Period which saw at the same time the struggle between Saivas and
Jains,

and

in

Buddhists Ceylon.
IV. 10th century.

came

which from

Saivas
V. 15th and 16th
centuries.

Period in which the were the undisputed masters.

Period

in

which ap-

pear the Vaishnavas.

it is

This classification, though

a marked improve-'

ment on the previous one,

ing objections
(1)
:

is still

open

to the follow,

For the

first

period of essays and pamphlets

M. Vinson should have had in view Aingurunuru,. PadirrupattUjPurananuru and other anthologies which
were collected and arranged by the third academy.

He must

have either overlooked Tolkapyam, (fourth

C),
Kural
(first

or third century B.

century A. D.),

Silappadikaram and

Manimekalai

(third century), or

PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE

discredited the dates assigned to
lars.

209

them by Indian schoreason to doubt

But

now

see

no

sufficient

the chronology of these

ancient classical works on

of

grammar and

ethics,

some

which

in

scientific

accuracy, in originality

of design, in beauty

of

ex-

pression and thought^ and in

faithfulness

to

nature

would stand comparison with the best

similar kind in other languages.

works of

(2) The second and third periods,namely, the eighth and ninth centuries, are characterised by a bitter struggle between Jainism and Brahmanism. As will

be seen from the

lives

and works

of Tirumalisai

and

Tiruraangai Alvars, the Vaishnava Saints had an equal

share with the Saivas in the
It is

suppression of Jainism.
it

not, therefore, correct to call

a struggle

between

Jamism and Sivaism. It may be that very few Buddhists came from Ceylon to Chidambaram, and had religious disputations with Manikkavachagar about the middle of the ninth century. But this was only a minor incident which left no permanent impress on either the literature or

the religion

of

the

was Brahmanism not that had attamed its supremacy so early as Sivaism the ninth century, though Jainism had still a lingerAnd it was during these two centuing existence.
Tamil people.
Moreover,
it

ries that a great

number

of the Saiva

N ayanmars

and

Vaishnava Alvars flourished and did

zing work.
(3)

their proselyti-

During the fourth period (tenth century) not only

left

the Saivas but also the Vaishnavas were

14

undisput-

210

TAMIL STUDIES
field.
It

ed masters in the religious

also

witnessed

the collection and arrangement of the sacred

hymns

of Appar, Sambandar, Sundarar, Manikkavachakar and other Saiva saints into eleven Tirumurais by Nainbiyandar Nambi, and of the twelve Vaishanava Alvars into Nalayira Prabandam (Book of 4,000 Psalms) by Sri Nathamuni.
(4)

M. Vinson assigns
sixteenth
here,
of

to the fifth

period

and
of

centuries

the
tiiink,
is

fifteenth
of

appearance

the

Vaishnavas.
the

It is

we

that his ignorance

history

Tamil
religion,

literature,

especially

of

the Vaishnava

most marked.
the
sect

He
South
state-

has not studied or rightly

understood

origin

and
India.

growth
of

of

the

Vaishnava
that
of Sri

Perhaps he was misled by the incorrect

Dr. Caldwell,
the twelve

ment
saints

Vaishnava

were the disciples

that the

great reformer of the twelfth century.

tion
fifth

Ramanuja Charya, the We may menM. Vinson

scholarly
is

period of

distin-

guished for the best controversial literature on the

Vaishnava religion and

taries thereon,
in

for

the

commen-

the Manipravala or composite style

peculiar only to the Jains and the Vaishnava Brah-

man s.
Proposed Classification
bear a certain
criteria
:

None
they

of the

Tamil works
wanting
in

date

yet

are

not

to

enable the reader to

in

definite
first

period

the

literary

ihem a development. For

assign to

there exists a difference in language demarcating

;

the most important periods

and secondly the deve-

PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE

211

lopment

of the

literature
it

has been upon such lines

easy
to say of

(mainly religious) that

is

and method of treatment to which particular work might belong.

from content its epochs a

classification.

We
The
of

shall

now

come

to

our
a

following

table

gives

tolerably
in the

accuprogress

rate outline of the

important stages

Tamil
in

literature.

As has already been explained

litera-

religion pervades

almost the whole of every

table therefore

ture

India,

and the

exhibits

the

several periods of the religious history also.

Period.
Religion.
Literature.

Language

B. C. 600-200. B. C. 200-A. D
150.

I.

Animistic.

L Academic (Tolkappvam, K u r a
&c.)'
I.

II.

Buddhist.

Early

Grammar:
A. D. 150-500.
III.

Jaina.

II.

Classic

(Silap
i

Agastyam, Tolkapyam.
-

padikaram,
mekalai, &c.)

Man

Pattupattu

D. 500-950.

IV. Bratimanic

III.

Hymnal

(Tevaram, Tiruva chakam, Tiruvoy

moli, &c.)

II.Mediaeval

Grammar
Rama
I

A. D. 950-1200. V. Sectarian.

^Tolkapyam, IV. TranslationsKalladam,

(Kam ban's
yana,

Virasoliyam.
J

Kachiyappa's

Skantham, &c.)
A.D. 1200-1450 VI.

Reforma

V.

Exegetical

1
j

tory (Commentaries by III. Modern .\acchi-narkiniyar, Grammar Adiyarkunallar, &c ^Virasoliyam

:

and Nannul.
A.D. 1450-1850. VII.

Modem.

VI. Miscelianeous

212
I

TAMIL STUDIES
do not claim any logicalexactitude
But
it

for the
of,

above

and it represents the different stages in the growth of Tamil literature clearly and succinctly. No doubt one
division.
is

the best

could think

period overlaps the other, and

ble to

it

draw

a hard-and-fast line

would be impossibetween any two

periods.

Tamil
This

literature of course did not

begin only with

the table.

the founding of Academies as indicated in

was
will

preceded
be

pre-academic period.
of
it

by what may be called the But to attempt any account

groping
in

the

dark,
relates

as

all

literary

evidence

we

now
still

possess

either

to

the

academic or to the post-academic period.

scholars
believe

Some Tamil
invented
the

that
is

Agastya
certamly
like

Tamil
use

alphabet.
of

This

erroneous.
<sT(^^^f

The
sf-euujL

pure Tamil

words

and

by Agastya proves unmistakably the

days.

existence of the Tamil alphabet and the use of books

among

the Tamils long before his

of the first

And even
is

the compilation

grammar

for this langu-

age by this Aryan sage, after the Sanskrit model,

an

argument

in

favour of the pre-existence of literature

among

the Tamils of antiquity.

is

That

literature

al-

ways precedes grammar

a stern
later

philological

fact

recognized bv Agastya and

eretreffieaftsar

grammarians.

jr)6SBr2essr

Quu^LJU^QuiTeo
LSIeodsssariii.

^lecsSiu^^eaBm QnoQuQ

^eoa,Qiu!Si s<3ss\i^p 86\}dsesaruSiLiihu&).

Agat. Nan,

PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE

It

213

is

therefore

almost certain
also

that

some

sort

of

literature

and

good poets must have

;

existed

before the academic era

but nothing can at present

be asserted about
other records.

it

in the

absence of any

literary or

The Academic Period

Tamil
literature begins

The
the

real

history

of

with

Tamil academies

which lasted from B. C. 500 to A. D. 500. This millennium might perhaps appear to be a very long
period
;

but

during the

first

half

of

it

none

of the

extant Tamil works,

probably
or

with the exception of

others,

Tolkapyam and one

Further,

two

were written.
long

when we

consider

the

abnormally
almost a

period of 12,000 years allotted by native traditions to

the three academies, the above
is
trifle.

Of
less

the three

academies the second was more or

the
first,

continuous with

and both probably existed

fifth

sometime between
second century A.

the
;

century

B.

C.

and
most
A. D.

D.

while the third, and

the
till

important of them
500.

all

seems

to have lasted

Whether the three academies really existed whether they did any useful work in the cause of Tamil literature, how long they lasted, and what
poets flourished
questions
in a

during

this

period

all

these

are

which we have reserved

for consideration

subsequent essay.
aright

To understand
literary

the general
it

spirit

of

the

productions of this period

is

desirable that

there should be

some previous acquaintance with the

214
political,

TAMIL STUDIES
social,

and
Till

religious condition of the early

Tamil

people.

about

the

second

or

third

century A. D. there were only three principal Tamil

kingdoms, namely, Chera, Chola and Pandya each of

which had,
under
it

of course,

three

or four
chieftains.

protectorates

governed by feudal

They were
till

constantly at war with one another losing or annexing villages

last

and

districts

on every occasion,
a foreign race,

at

there

came on the scene

districts

called

the Pallavas, from the north-west, and

usurped the
illegiti-

northern Tamil

then belonging to an

mate branch of the Cholas.

Being intruders and

people of foreign extraction, the Pallavas were never

recognized as Dravidians by the Tamil nation, and

consequently they are not even mentioned

in
'

the

Tamil
lava
'

literature of those times.

Nay, the word

Pal-

had even acquired

u&}6\f<sviT sajeviT

bad sense,

u^siT iS-fiT.Ping.
to

Caste system

was unknown

them.

The Tamils
to
live.

were, however, divided into tribes according

the

nature of the soil in which they happened to

shepherd of the pasture land might

of the rice field or a fisherman of the eight kinds of marriages

become
beach.

tiller

Of the

mentioned by Manu, marriage by capture (Gandharvan), Asuram and Rakshasam, seem to have been adopted by them and yet their
;

women-kind had much freedom.

all

They

ate beef

and

sorts of

Thev used

animal food and drank fermented liquor. and to burv or burn the dead
;


PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE
while burying

215
deceased

them the weapons

jars

of

the

were put into big

(1) Qp^LDiTU
<Si_Sa)<5

along with the corpse.

(E^luldljiei

Qun ^^ p s^Qmeoj

(oSITL^ ILIIT^^

^aL^iLi

QuQ^msn

Ql^ili^uj (^am(S jd.

Pur. 364.

(2)

sfiKSs (^sSiQ luem 3" Qs'SiQ ^anu

s&r&ffiJjih

uaS(T^iEj

upih^^so.

Ihid. 240.
ancient Egyptians and
of

The

early Tamils, like the

Romans, worshipped the manes

their

ancestors,

who were
and
liquor.

also

propitiated

with

offerings of

meat

After the
this

advent of the

Aryans from

Upper India

animism
against

had

to

contend against

Buddhism and lastly against Jainism. Until Brahmanism came out triumphant all these four religions animism, Brahmanism
Brahraanism, then

Buddhism,
tence
this
in

and Jainism had been struggling for exisand

in

the Tamil country

struggle

the course
in

of

long

the

first

was merged

the
ex-

second, which from that time forward began to

pand absorbing every thing that was good and unobjectionable in the other two.

An

effective
ot

check

was .ilso given to the indiscriminate eating and habitual drinking of liquor. We may
these described in the literature of this epoch.

meat

find all

We know

nothing about the works of the

is

first

and

second academies except what

accounts given
of
will
in Iraiyanar's

contained in the brief

Agapporul.

works which passed through the be found given in the following oft-quoted
:

The names third academy

verses


216
(1)
ispfS'iisem
rB&ieo

TAMIL STUDIES
(^^mQ^neas
etauuia^gti^

Qqt^^^

u^ P^uu^

^^niEi(^u rflum6\)

(2)

Qp(Trj(^^U!j(7^

fBT^

uaesafiiresar'S

Qp6\)'^

(3)

IB!T<3dlS).

/BITeSruieSsfi

IBfTi^pU esi^i^i'bsssTQfU

LJiTe\)ssiB Qsneaieu

uj^Qllhl^ lluqp&ld

Besides the eight anthologies or collected works, the

ten major

and the eighteen minor poems mentioned

in

the above stanzas, at least two of the five major epics

Silappadikaram and Manimekalai

this period.
left

were written during

poets of
are

out of account, as they

These two most important works were were the productions of

Buddhist and Jaina authors.

this

The famous
principal

age together with their

:

works

given below
(1)

Tiruvalluvar
;

(Kural)

(2)

Sittalai

Sattanar
;

(Manimekalai)
(4)

(3)

Ilango-Adigal

(Silappadikaram)

Kapilar

(Kurinjippattu,
in
;

Inna Narpatu,
;

&c.); (5)

Paranar (5th Ten

vanar
padai,

Padirruppattu)
(7)
;

(6)

Nallandu-

(Kahttogai)

Nakkirar (Tirumurukarrup(8)

Nedunalvadai)
;

Mangudi
(11)

Marudanar

(Maduraikkanji)

(9)

Kalladanar; (10) Nallur Nattati)

;

tanar (Siru Panarruppada

Kadiyalur

Rudran

PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE

217

Kannanar (Perumpanarruppadai)
(Mullaippattu)
;

(12)

Napputanar
(Malaipadu-

(13)

Perurakausikanar

kadam);
(15)

Gotamanar (3rd Ten in Paddirruppattu); Mudattamakanniyar (Porunararruppadai) (16)

(14)
;

Peyanar (MuUai Tinai

in

Ainkurunuru) &c.
Mar-

To

these should

be added Pannirupadalaiiij

kandeyanar Kanchi, Purapporul Venbamalai, Usimuri

of Idaikkadar, Muttollayiram,

Nakkiiar's Naladi-nul,

Desikamalai, and the works on prosody

wara,

by

MahesKakkai-

Avinayanar,

Kaiyanar,

Palkayanar,
of these

patiniyar
lost

and Narrattanar. Most

works were
this

except a few quotations from them.

:

The Hymnal Period

Jainism.

During

period

Brahmanism came into conflict with Buddhism and The Brahmans were reinforced by bands
from Upper India, and the
all

of Sanskrit theologians

battle spread like wild-fire

over the peninsula and

raged

very

hot.

The

Brahmans and Dravidians

them, and
religious
all

made common cause

against

disputations took place at

the important

centres, especially Conjeeveram,

Brahman Chidambaram and

while
Tiru-

Madura. Tirunavukkarasu, Tirugnanasambandar and

Manikkavachakar fought
Malisai

for

Sivaisra,

Mannan and Vishnu Chittan defended Vishnuism. The combined attack of the sectarian leaders did not go in vain. Buddhism and Jainism were routed; and Brahmanism was left in entire mastery of the field. And to ensure its
Piran,

Tirumangai

stability

in

the Tamil country

Brahmans caused hundreds

of temples

and elsewhere, the to Siva and

218

TAMIL STUDIES
all

Vishnu to be erected
of

over the land.

Small bands

Brahmans from
made

Upper India were induced by

Tamil kings
lands were
in temples.

to settle here.
for their

Endowments of tax-free mamtenance and worship

Durmg
centuries
sixty-three

this

period which

lasted for

nearly

four

and

a half (from A. D. 500 to A. D. 950) the

of the Siva sect

Nayanmars

and the twelve

Alvars of the Vaishnavas flourished.

Some

of these

devotees who were also fine Tamil poets visited many of these temples, composed and sang extempore hymns before the deities. Each hymn consists of ten or eleven verses and
is

supposed to

instil

piety in the

mind
two

of

its

reader.

The prominent
left

poet-saints of the

behind them such hymns, Trignanasambandar and Sundarar, Tirumangaimannan and Nammalvar. Other p'oetical compositions of a secular and sectarian nature
sects,

who have

are lirunavukkarasu,

The best of its kind was written Manikka Vachakar; the other writers were Kaby
were not wanting.
raikal

Ammai, Kapila Deva, Parana Deva,

F'erumal, Kalladanar,
It

Nakkira

Deva, Cheraman

and Nambi-

yandar Nambi.
sacred

may

be remarked here that the

in

literature of the Saivas

Tamil poetry was

the

nearly thrice that of the Vaishnavas,

hymns

of
all

Sambandar alon

e being nearly as

voluminous as

the works of the twelve Alvars put together.

prove the greater popularity of Sivaism

AH these among the

Tamil people

of

South India.

PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE

In

219

the

above struggle the Buddhists and Jains

tried in their

were not quiet; they

larize their

own way

to

popu-

rehgion by

appeaHng

to the hearts of the

old as well as of the young.

on theology,
written

ethics,

The most useful works grammar and language were

by them.

Three of the major (Kundalakesi,

(Yesodarakavyam,

and Chintamani) and five of the minor NagakumaraUdayanakavyam, Chulamanii) epics, Naladiyar, kavyam, Nilakesi and Pazhamoli, Neminadam, Karigai (Prosody) and Chudamani Nigandu belong to this period. The Saivas compiled the Divakaram and Pingalandai lexicons.
Valaiyapati

Translations from Sanskrit

and
Buddhists

Now

that the Jains

field,

were

cleared off
to

the

the

Brahmans began
Poinding

to attend

their

own

religion.

more

leisure
set

and greater support from the

about separating the various
in

Tamil kings, they

sects w'hich lay

embedded

Brahmanism
and
in

in a

crude

form.

The

Sanskrit puranas

itihasas furnished

them with mighty weapons

then the different sects.

to develop

and streng-

And
it

order to popularize

each

-ect

among

the Dravidians, the Tamil scholars

and theologians found

of the

necessary to translate
as the Jains

some

and Budhad done before them to popularize their own. dhists The Mahabharata had already been translated by Perundevanar; Kamban and Ottaikuttan took up the
most important works,
1 This Jain work was composed by Tolamoli Devar probably in the reign cf the Pandya king Jayantan (A. D. 650) and named after his father Maravarman Avani Chulamani.

220
translation of

TAMIL STUDIES

Ramayana
;

Kacchiyappa translated the

Skandapurana

and Puliyui

Nambi and

Paranjoti

Muni turned
rian

into

beautiful Tamil verse the Haiasya

Mahatmya. Besides rhe translations of quasi-sectaworks Tamil versions or adaptations of other Pugazhendi Sanskrit poems were also undertaken. rendered Naishadam into excellent Tamil Venba

Dandi wrote for Tamil the Alankara Sastra, while Buddha-Mitra composed his Virasoliyam on Sanskrit model and Pavanandi wrote the celebrated iSlannui as an epitome of Tolkapyam. Again it was during this period which lasted from
metre
;

A. D.

50 to A. D. 1200 that the sacred

of Saivas

hymns and
till

poems

and Vaishnavas, which had

then

remained scattered, were collected and arranged. The

compiled

Nambiyandar Nambi (A. D. 1025) Devaram hymns, the Tiruvachakam and other poems into eleven tirutnurais, while the Vaishnavas assisted by Sri Nathamuni (A.D, 1025) gathered their hymns into a single volume and callSaivas assisted by

the

ed

it

the 'Nalayira

Prabandam' or the
it

great

'Book

of

4000 Psalms'.
while

Sekkilar (A.D. 1135) wrote the lives of

the Saiva saints and called

ttie

Tiruttondar

Puranam
All

Vaishnavas wrote their Divyasuri Charitai

temples

and Guru paramparai about that time.

dedicated to Siva or
visited

Vishnu were being regularly

and festivals and celebrated with scrupulous reguwere larity. Theapotheosis of pious votaries was made comand to plete and their images were set up in temples

by

the

respective sectarians,

instituted


PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE
221
in

enhance

their rehgious

importance Stala-puranas

Sanskrit were written

which were

deftly interpolated in

by learned Brahmans, some of one or the other of

the Eighteen Puranas.

It

was

also the period

of

the

Chola

ascendancy.
the

From
tenth

about the seventh to the begmning of

century the

Pandyas and the Pallavas were powerful in Southern India. With the decline of these dynasties the Chola kings from Aditya I (A. D.
895)

downwards not only regained their strength, but also became aggressive and carried on wars with
These formed the submatter of a class of war-chants called parani and

the neighbouring sovereigns.

ject

lUa, 'Farani' is a

poem

descriptive of a

campaign the
killed
at least
is

hero whereof being supposed to

have

one thousand elephants on the

battle-field.

'Ula'

poem
the

depicting the procession of a royal personage,

his country, flag,

war-drum, &c.
is

The

finest

poem
It

of

former

class

the Kalingattupparani.

was

written by Jayamkondan in honour of one Karunakara Tondaiman, who was probably the general of Kulottunga Chola I (1069-1118) that waged war successfully

with the Kalingas towards the close of his long reign.

The rhythm
best
that

of the

poem
:

is

rapid

and

stirring

and

suited

to the subject.

We

subjoin a stanza from

work

as a

specimen

iS70a) Oo) Qua&sT

Qeu ^^Q ^IT

iflsQ&)iT&S siQeOfT&S iiSsdsQeu,

eS(aSl<S

6j5 Ulft

Slfld(^LQITth


222

TAMIL STUDIES
the
best *ulas'

composed by the famous poet Ottaikkuttan on Vikrama Chola (1118These 1143) and Kulottunga Chola II (1143-1146). together with the one on Rajaraja Chola (1146-1163) The following oftare known as the Muvar-UJa. quoted stanza confirms what we have said above
are those
:

And

QeueaaruireiSjh Ljs(Sifii^ uiressfidd^fr

QiMa6mu(Ts>9 ^ijjiTSihusk

QsiT<ota^iLj&)fT

euii^fT^s QsitlLiS sk-^^^isr

seamuiTuj

seo^Dus^^jb

!T

LLsmt^njiT s<sir

(oiJ<SS)<fUITL^S <SntSfr\DLD3Ui

ueamufTsu usir^ii^m

uuf.ssrrs'

THE EXEGETICAL PERIOD

will

From

the

table

it

be

seen that this period of Tamil literature

was

co-extensive with the era of sectarian reformation and

that

from A. D. 1200 to A. D. 1450. The cleavage between the Saivas and Vaishnavas had become permanent and each of them crystallised
it

lasted

into a distinct sect.

Sri

Ramanuja Charya
the
Sri

rose

and
of

laboured

hard
Sri

to

strengthen

foundation

Vishnuism.

Vedanta Desika and two

Manavala
of
Sri

Mahamuni
different

constructed

enduring

edifices

designs

on the foundation

laid

by

Ramanuja. For Sivaism similar work was undertaken by Meykanda Deva, Arunandi Siva Charya, Maraignana Sambanda and Umapati Siva Charya. The Vaishnava Acharyas wrote mostly in Sanskrit

PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE

223

and their works are now being studied only by while the Saiva Guravas mentioned Brahmans above wrote only in Tamil as their writings were chiefly intended (or non-Brahmans. Further the same table will show that we have the mediaeval and entered the already crossed
;

threshold of modern Tamil.

From

the close of

the

academic to the beginning of the exegetical there was an interval of nearly seven hundred
In the course
of

period
vears.

such

long period,

it

is

almost

impossible for a living

it

language, cultivated though

in its

be, to

remain unchanged either

grammar

or

vocabulary.

Moreover, there had occurred immense

customs and manners of the Tamils on account of Brahmanical influence. The classical works of the academic period, especially the collected
changes
in the

writings,

couM

not be

easily

understood

even

by

scholars without the

this

help

of

commentaries.

And

want was supplied by Perasiriyar, Ilampuranar,

Parimelazhagar,
Nacchinarkiniyar,
annotators.

Senavaraiyar,

Adiyarku Nallar
difliculties

and

other

Similar

were
in

experienced

by
the

the

Brahman
of

Vaishnavas
Nalayira

understanding

Tamil

the

Prabandam.
Jiyar

from

Nam

The Vaishnava Acharyas down to Periya Jiyar wrote

which
difficult

elaborate commentaries on them,

to

lay

student of Tamil would be

original
itself.

more

than

the

These commentaries were not intendpeople,

ed

for

ordinary Tamil

but

only for the

orthodox Vaishnavas thoroughly conversant with the

224
Sanskrit

TAMIL STUDIES
Upanishads.
at

Itihasas

and

Puranas.

Any

one can

a glance perceive the

immense

diffeience

between the easy flowing chaste Tamil of Nachchinarkiniyar or Parimelazhagar and the mixed style of
Periyavachan
Pillai.
:

The
'

Modekn Period
of
it

The
interval

latest

stage

in

the history

Tamil

literature

has

been

called

modern', and

covers the

between A.D.,
the works

1450 and A.D. 1850.

During

this period to

produced were not contined

department
of
literature.

any one

subject

or

They embraced Hindu

theology, philosophy, ethics, traditions and grammar.

Islamism and Christianity also added their contributions to the

Politically
it

Tamil
this

literature, of

this period.

was an important epoch, because

total extinction of

witnessed the downfall and

the

ancient dynasties of Tamil kings and the occupation

Tamil nads successively by the Telugu speaking Nayaks, the Mahratta chiefs, and the Musalman Naturally these people had no sympathy generals.
ol the

for

Tamil
not

literature.

Though Tamil had thus

did

lost

state

patronage,

it

The Saiva monasteries richly endowed and managed by Tarabirans and Pandarams, learned in the Saiva Agamas and Siddhanand they served as tas, were coming into existence
want supporters.
;

seats of

tion of

Tamil learning and centres for the propogathe Saiva cult among the Tamil Dravidians.
Ilakkana

Ilakkana-kottu,

Vilakkam

and

Suravali

Tolkapya-sutra-Vritti,

Nanneri,

Nitmeri-Vilakkam,

PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE

Prabhulingalilai and Dravida
written during this period.

225
all

Mahabhashyam were

And
;

the famous

ascetic
religious

Tayumanaswami

composed

his

sweet

and philosophical songs Ativira Rama Pandyan published his Naishadam and Vetriverkai and translated the Linga and Kurma Puranas, while his brother and other works. Among the theM ahabharata and Pillaiperumal Aiyangar wrote his eight Prabhanwrote Kasikandam
Vaishnavas,
Villiputturar translated

das.

Among

the Sira

Muhamadans, Umaru Pulavar wrote Puranam, and Javvadu Pulavar composed

the

Muhiud-din Andavar Pillai-Tamil; while the celebrated Italian Missionary Constantius Beschi (Tam. Viramantuuni) rendered the biography
a
of Jesus Christ into

Tamil epic

(Tembavani),

after

the

fashion
it

of

Kamban's Ramayanam, and published

1769, together
titled

in

A. D.

with a work on Tamil

In

grammar

en-

Tonnul Vilakkam.

1895 Mr. H. Krishna

Pillai, a native

Christian poet of Palamcotta, translated

in fine

Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress

This period
krit learning
is

Tamil

verse.
of Sans-

marked by

the cultivation

by the Vaishnavas as well as the Smartas. on the fertile banks of the sacred rivers and streams, and congregating in agraharas around a Vishnu or Siva shrine hidden beneath shady groves
Settling

and surrounded by extensive rice fields, the Brahmans formed themselves into exclusive communities,
sometimes venerated, sometimes
administered
to
disliked, but

always

by

their

Dravidian

neighbours.

Tutored and encouraged by the Tambirans,

15

Pan-


226
TAMIL STUDIES
castes as the

darams an a such Tamil

Lingayats,
class,

Kammalas and
priestly

who claimed
of

equality

with the

some

question the superiority of the

authority in
all

the advent of

non-Brahmans began openly to Brahmans and their And social and religious matters. Musalmans and the appearance of
the

European Missionaries in the Tamil land during the 16th and 17th centuries, whose habits and social opinions were opposed to the social ideal and organisation of the Brahmans, only tended to aggravate this animosity. Such was the spirit and tendency
of the

people in South India

during the

early years

of the latter half of this eventful epoch.

The Anti-Brakmanical School

supremacy
earlier

The Brahman
of

and

vigorous exercise

the

powers,

which their aggressive culture had won

years

had

their

reaction

for them in and the circumrise of

stances

described above led to the

an

anti-

Brahmanical or the Siddhar school

rhyraists.

of

pnilosophical

They were Yogis as well as medical men. The number of Siddhas or men who attained siddhi or
the 'conquest
of
of

nature'

is

ordinarily reckoned

as

them were plagiarists and impostors, while some assumed the names of the great men of antiquity like Agastyar, Kapilar, and Tiruvalluvar. Being eaters of opmm and dwellers in the land of dreams, their conceit knew no bounds. On the supernatural powers of the Siddhas one of them
eighteen.

Most

writes thus

PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE

227

. .

LD&sari-.&)Qpp^iii
eSleoeoirdj

eiasiLiiTek

meiop^^QQ&jfTth,

eurresr^sm^

iLjuD

eu"^ ^^(BQeuiTLD,

... Qp6eBrQiifliijLDdSevfid(^<sir

^ireeBrt^eu(^Lh QenLDLje^etam^ ^(T dQe^QQeuirth ,

QsulkBili

np<sst

^s\)(5(^

Q,fL)QuiTiosriea)d(^(oeiirrLDy

Q^ims^eisiT^

^ssrs^aas^

Qfdj^eS(Sl(oisuiTUD,

^uQuifiuj

eijeos^iosi^ aSdoeomopQ^iuCo'SiirTih,

OT2/L_3r

s^LDLDiTS

!B(7<Gt^LD

Qj IT i^(^(o

sij IT ih

ismssiar

QfiLemsiiS^

Qouek(7i^L-iruj uitldQu.

The Siddhas

did not

like

the

Brahmans

and they

ridiculed in their writings the Brahmans' social institutions, religious observances

(1)
(BLLL^a&)'?i30

and Sanskrit Vedas.

Q^ireo^LDm^trQiD^iiT
1

Q aUUQjQlLD&ST ^

IB!T^L^lLU(^ <f!r^^Qaj

3i-piS<3iik^ Gldh ^uQmirQeaarek i)

^Q^SQiBiT

Qeu^Qp QLDQg^ssi^ujp QeuiT^^ih

L^Se^ti) iSl^jbjS^LD
iSlTlTSafllTITaSI.

QuQ^SSli^

eijiTaSQe\}(^i^^;gii<ois)!T

Qujs'&Q&)eisri/Qs=rr&)^/]'iT

euffoSQeo (^^UL^Qeufi Qij)<ssnjLJu.s si^euQ^rr?

^LLu^ioa)p^&

^issr p^eo'^jsn ilhsh giiLSlmrgtiixi

Qeu^uuir

^il.i^(oSips^& Lu&i&iQQjir LurrsSiaseir uem^n/jS'iT?

Siv,

(2)

^lLu^iuit LSlQe\)s^^^(oi5ariT Qisisefrir

^lLi^SS)L^S^

Qff-fT&STS,IT ILKSiJioSnT^ear ^^ITIT

upu&oir ibitlLi^^ld

ufriruuiTifl'^iujiTiso.

Kap.
can acquire

Their religion was theism; sometimes the stress they

laid

on the siddhis or the powers a

it

man

over nature gave

sionlly

for

it.

colour which occacomes very near atheism and may be mistaken The summiim bonum, the highest bliss or
a secularistic
of their existence

the

paramananda

was to apprehend


228

TAMIL STUDIES
that eternal light
*

and approach
'

which they termed

'

paranjoti',

'

peroli',

pazh-veli' or

vetta-veli.'

It

will
is

be seen trom the above extracts that their language

quite

modern and their style simple and at times slang Prose Literature: If we omit the commentaries
literature

on abstruse early poems, the whole Tamil

including theology, philosophy,
ary, is all poetry.

grammar and

diction-

ture prose

whole range of Tamil literaFor a long time the Tamils made no distinction between prose and poetry, the former being regarded as a form of poetry. It might
In the

had no

distinct place.

be

said

that the

early Tamils

did

not recognize

The prose. what we find

earliest
in the

form
A. D,

of prose

composition

is

Silappadikaram, an heroic drama

of the third century

style was adopMahabharata by ted later in the Tamil version of the Perundevanar and in the Tagadur Yattirai. Both of

The same

them

are

known
with

as

.s33jitfiL_

^lIl-lj-tlL or

poems

interspersed

explanatory prose.

To

these

may

be added the commentary on Iraiyanar's Agapporul

written by
as

some unknown author

believed)

(not by Nakkirar
early

hitherto

during

the

part

of

the eighth century.

And from

the excerpts subjoined

below
prose

it

will

be seen that they are a sort of poetic

like

in

pure Tamil, sweet and rhythmic

the

English of Hooker's 'Ecclesiastical Polity' or Ruskins'

'Modern

Painters'

aesaress^iT Qs^nft
ujiriiianLDLLj

^^ QprBoSusd QsuemQasBriLKT^siTeaLciLi
^ed3,^pgft
&j i^^gjiiih

UDpSQpiisiS

LDirsonoeaafi

eu^QiQ^ira


PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE
^<S!r uQpeaarQi^esr
Los'Befr

229
in&kressfieir

QiSfTsQ

u)&jnDajiEjarr(c^

LDfT^friasasHuuirQuj ssasiemQtifk^nmsrrissBr QjrrLUiTUin^uSQ&)(T^Loe!ir

p^^
(27'srr

LDirajQJ^isar

jD6ar(yj<es)L^tu

urreO'fifl&a^

ismsiEi^eitleo

speiaQJSssr^ ^tun

iisi(^9Qajesr(oSu.

Stl.
'Sl.q^^^'T sesrin

(2) ^sueiiiT &.LJL4^ffl(^i^

Q^STmuiTiobi y
smu!Sissatsrfvat(ssr

SlLprriT LDS{es)SuiT'sisr
t^'sisnrittS it issr

&ujiTLL<stDL^ULSlTiT!iJ^

QuaQ^^ssiiT ^^rr jh semsasFiT

ajrriTii^

QloiuldlduSit

'^&Sits(^lo

QmdjujiTuSesr S-faatrdQsLLu-sBi^^^.

A^Clp.

Till
ly

we come

to the exegetic period

we can

scarce-

hear of any prose work.

The

Vaishnavas had some of

Jains and the Brahman their Puranas and religious

in prose
;

works translated or written

purely sectarian

but they were

Sanskritto
it

and
in

in

a composite or

Tamil

style.

And
of

strange

contrast

the

commentaries
give
(1)

Gunasagara, Nachchinarkiniyar or

Adiyarkunallar were written in chaste Tamil.

We
uoj

below two extracts from these works

smtusrrQ LuiT iuu(^Quj

uit^^t ewsuDsrvj s^i^^tssr

esr^so)^ lueai^e^LC suiUseSsrr,f(y)ua

QsaQeo

QsiTe\)fr^sns\}QpL)

QstTLiirseuiTu.eSsi^anQp

lditSIlu

^^fajiks(Gi^'S(r<ci}!T(^QiD&5r^

^Q^&^^isr!T. Chi n
(2)
L^tjistvurr ^

p.

"27.

sQeo^

etutJauneuiG^mrs^eS^iTiJitTiL uir^uu
f8Se\)

^!T^

uffLDtresar

eS&}3i,^6i5BrLDrTiiS(T^i^<srr<s!r

Qeu^

^iT^^^d(^LD

Q&iQ^nu

LUTLDLDGSBiihseniTsar ewiM(7^^,QsifoiTewui!TrrsimisiS(ef^S(^ih

^6sBul9ssids.

Tat.

Sekh.

230

TAMIL STUDIES
to

Coming
such,

modern times works

written wholly

and

deliberately in prose, not reckoning

commentaries as

commence And we may even

the
last

with Beschi's Vediyar

say that a

Ozhukkam. new impetus was given

part of
of

to prose composition only during the early

century by the Tamil pandits

the

early

Madras University, of whom Tandavaraya Mudaliyar, Viraswami Chettiyar, and Saravanapperumal Aiyar
deserve special mention.
In the latter
of

part

of

the

nineteenth century a
translations as
well

number
as

Tamil prose works,

productions,

original

were

published by learned Tamil scholars. The labours of the late T. E. Srinivasa Raghava Chariyar and

Arumuga Navalar may

still

be

in

the

memory
the

of

every lover of Tamil literature.

And

foremost

among
V.

the living writers of Tamil prose and scholarly

is

commentaries

undoubtedly Mahamahopadhyaya
of

Swaminatha Aiyar Avargal

the

Madras

Pre-

sidency College,

who may be

styled the

Nachchinaronly a recent

kiniyar of the present day.

prose literature worth the

is

name

is

growth, which

sufficient to

account for the absence

influence of English

of prose classics in Tamil.

literature,

The

the great increase

in the
life

Tamil reading
with
its

public, and the conditions of

in this age
its

forms

of

popular

government,

commercialism

and

industrial activities favour the rapid expansion of

;

prose literature

and

a prose style also has

begun

to

form.

IX

THE TAMIL ACADEMICS

One
is

of the chief features of progressive civilisation

of
literary

the institution

and

scientific

societies.

In

Western countries they began to be established

after

only

the

Renaisance.

Even so

late as

A. D.

1599 'modern science had not yet been born, mathematics were in their infancy, the literatures of the
greai

made
in

modern languages were only beginning to be The eastern nations, on the contrary, were their own way so far advanced in civilisation as to
'.

found

literary

academies and

to

hold commercial inPhoeni-

tercourse with the highly civilized Greeks,

cians and
in

Romans.
India

And

the epigraphical discoveries

critical

Southern

and the

study of

early

Tamil

works have disclosed many

antiquity of
state of

facts

tending to
literature,

confirm the very high

Tamil

and the tolerably advanced

so
early

Tamil

civilisation

as

the

first

or

second

century

before

the Christian era.

The ancient
refer

classics of the

Tamil people frequently

of

to

sangams

or

societies

learned

men.

232

TAMIL STUDIES
saint

Tirumangai Alvar, a Vaishnava

who

lived about

the latter half of the eighth century, speaks of 'Sanga-

muka-Tamir and
Tirumoli

'

Sanga.mali-Tamir

in his

Feriya

(III. v. 10).

Manikka Vachakar, one of the

century, refers
at

four great Saiva Saints of the ninth

indirectly in his Tirukkovai
to

Tamil sangam

Madura.

Allusions to the Tamil

sangams may be

quoted from the works of other poets. One of the most trustworthy references to .the founding of a

Tamil academy prior to the eighth century will be found in the copper plates discovered at Chin-

Madura district. And lastly there are references to the Madura College in the Tiruvilayadal or Madura Stalapurana. The Tamil sangam is known to some English scholars as the Madura College' and to others as the Madura University.' In Sanskrit the word sangam means an association (of learned men), and it seems

namanur

in

the

'

to

have been introduced into the Tamil language by

Buddhists from

early

Northern

India,

no Tamil
idea.

word having

existed before to

express that
of

Some Tamil

scholars are, however,

the

opinion that

avai which was in use in

days of Tolkapyar to

denote such an association

or

assembly

is

pure

Tamil word.
Sanskrit word.

But avw, savai or sahhai

is

also a

college ordinarily
is

means
a

a teach-

ing institution, and a university

also

body

of

examiners.

The Madura sangam was an examining association, but it was never a teaching institute. To
this

designate

sort

of

society

another

word now

THE TAMIL ACADEMIES

widely current
is
'

233

academy'.

And

as the chief func-

tion of the sangam, like that of the

French Academy,
the

was the promotion 'academy and

is
'

of

Tamil

literature,

name

seems to be appropriate to
to

this institution

therefore used in the following pages.

According
sangams
After

Tamil writers there were three Pandya country at different periodsthe dissolution of the last of them spasmodic
in the

attempts were
Colleges
;

made
none

at

various times to establish n(?w

but

of

them were very

of their

successful.

These

later

academies did not attain the high

rank,

distinction

and influence

predecessors, nor

were they recognised by

of such

learned Tamil

scholars as

importance as to deserve mention.

account of the three academies, their dates,

full

the plaices where they were

founded,

the

Pandya
were

kings

who

patronised

them, the works

that

approved and sanctioned by their senatus academicus,

the

number and names

literature will

of the

influence they exerted in

guage and
rest

members and lastly the moulding the Tamil lanbe given below and of the
;

only a passing notice.

the

Before entering upon the discussion of

of the
at

ages

academies
outset

severally,
to

it

would be convenient
approximately
admitted both
the

the

determine

earlier

and the

later limits of the

It

period during which

is

the three academies existed.

by

Indian and European scholars that the civilisation of

the Tamil nation
was, in the main, due to the Aryan
first

colonists in the south, and that the

academy owed

234
its

TAMIL STUDIES
reputed
in

origin to Agastya, the

of

leader of the

first

band

Brahman immigrants
is

South India.

The
him
the

date of Agastya

lost

in

myth, and the

traditions,

which are
as
still

in

themselves

conflicting, represent
in

living

on the

Pothiya mountains

Tinnevelly
Let us

district.

therefore

turn
his

our attention to other

date.

sources to
of

discover

The introduction
afford

the Tamil alphabet seems to

to

us the best
to
it

clue

get

at

this

date,

because prior

no

society of learned

men

or any seminary
it

could have

come

into existence,

and because

would almost be
writing to

impossible for a race without a system of

possess a literature. Undoubtedly, the Sanskrit Vedas

had been
different

in existence
;

long before they were commitis

ted to writing

but the case of the Vedas

altogether
in the

from
J

that of the

Tamil poems, which

*

opinion of

Vinson,

were

essays,

pamphlets and

short poems.'
of the

The Vedas were

and
were,
to

the sacred scriptures

Aryans

therefore,

handed down
as

orally
trust

from generation

generation
in their

a sacred

and were preserved

memory.
resisted

Even
all

after the introduction

of writing

in

North India the

in-

conservative attitude of the

Brahmans

ducements to write down their Vedas for a longtime which have been, for that reason, known as the 'unwritten word', or the
eTQp^iraQefrsiS.

Whereas among
priestly

the

Dravidian

Tamils there was no such

of their

class,

and none

the earliest or

poems belonging the pre-academic period was held

earlier

to
in

THE TAMIL ACADEMIES

such veneration as to deserve handing
was,

235

down by

rote

hke the Vedas. Amongst the ancient TamiHans there

no

doubt,
{ufissarsar)

class

of

minstrels

called

the panans

more or
France,

less

resembling the

whose duty it was to recite songs or lays of fightmg and adventure before kings and nobles on festive and other occasions. But most of these men were illiterate mendicants and their poems and songs were in no sense religious. They had no interest in preserving in the memory of the people the heroic tales of temporal power and in transmitting them orally to their posterity. It is thus
troubadours
of mediaeval

pretty clear

'

that the

earliest literary
itself

activity

of

the the

Tamilians could

have shown

only after

introduction of writing in

South India, which must

have taken place long before the fourth century B. C.

We

shall not therefore be

first

foundation of the

wrong if we look for the Tamil academy or Sangam

sixth

somewhere between the

before the Christian era.

and fourth centuries

upper limit
of the

Having

tixed approximately the

we may now proceed give a detailed history of each of them separately. to In order to follow the arguments the reader is expected to possess some knowledge of the history of the early Pandya kings, a brief outline of which will be found in Appendix I.
age of the Tamil

academies,

Regarding the
lars

hrst

academy
in

the following

particu-

are

mentioned

Iraiyanar's

commentary on Agapporul, which, though meagre, is we

Nakkirar's

236
believe

TAMIL STUDIES
the

only

earliest

source
to

of
this

information

on

the

subject.

According

account the

members
dent),

of the

first

academy were

Agastya (Presiof

gods Siva and Subrahmanya, Mudinagaraya

Murinjiyur, Nitiyin Kizhavan

and 544 other

poets.

The number

of authors

who

obtained the imprimatur

of the College for their

works was 4449.

Dakshina
University,

or Southern Madura was the seat of the

and
in

it is

also stated that this city of

Madura submerged

the Indian

ocean.

Its

patrons were eighty-nine

Pandya kings from Kaysina-valudi or Ugra Pandya to Some Kadum-Kon, seven of whom were also poets of the works which were approved by the academy Mudu-kuruku and were Paripadal, Mudunarai, Kalariyavirai. Their grammar was Agastyam. It lasted
for 4,440 years.
If

the above

facts

be submitted to
will

strict

historical

criticism,

most

of

them

have to be rejected as pure

to

myths,
(either

there being nothing

in

corroborate

them

Tamil

literature or

in the

contemporary
of

annals of
of the

other countries.
of the

The number
kings

members
it

academy and

who
it

patronized

and the long period during which

lasted, are all incredible
list

is

stated to have

of

either

and cannot be verified. The eighty-nine Pandya kings is not to be found in the Puranas or in any other extant works
writings
attributed
to this

Nor have any of the academy come down to

and one
or

us in their entirety, excepting

probably a few doubtful quotations from

two

others.

Apparently

all

these

Agastyam had

THE TAMIL ACADEMIES

been
lost

237
or

long

before

the

tenth

eleventh

century.

The only authors

from Tamil

of this period about

it

whom

any

account, however scanty

literature

might

be, can be extracted

are

Agastya and

Murinjiyur

The rest of the members seem to be half mythical persons. The life of Agastya is clothed in myth but this much is certain that he was a Brahman of North India and that he led the first colony of Brahmans which settled in the Tamij
Mudinagarayar.
;

districts.

According

to another tradition he

was

member

of the Sanskrit

academy

at

Benares, which
of the Vedas,

was presided over by Vyasa, the compiler

and, after quarrelling with his colleagues there, he

wended

his

way down
first

to

the

Tamil country
at

and
It is

established the
said that the
its

Tamil Academy
is

Madura.

Tamil language

indebted to

him

for

of

grammar. He was the first to introduce the worship Siva and the science of medicme among the South
existing
are

Indian Dravidians.

now

Though most of the Tamil works on chemistry, physiology and medicine

attributed
to

which
art of

commonly

him

are pure

forgeries,

he might have been acquainted with the

first

medicine and the

said to

Rishi to teach

it

to

the

Tamil nation.

He

is

have had twelve students, namely,

Tolkapyan, Athangottasan, Duralingan, Semputchay,

Vaiyapikan,

Vayppiyan,

Panambaran, Kalaramban,

Avinayan, Kakkapatiniyan, Natrattan and

It is

Vamanan.
and

believed that they specialized

their

studies

238

TAMIL STUDIES

wrote works on music, dramaturgy and prosody, and

that the lost

work

of

Agastya embraced

all

the three.

The twelve

desciples wrote each a chapter on Purap-

porul which collectively was

or the 'Twelve Chapters'.
in
its

known
the
'

as

ussisffR(r^ui-.&)ih

Its

existence

is

doubted, but
of

place

we have now
is

Venba-Malai'

Aiyanaridanar which
the above work.

said to

have been based on

According to Adiyarkunallar Sik;

handiyar was a student of Agastya

and he

is

said to

have written

Isainunukkam,
lost.

treatise

on music,

which
works

is

now

Quotations from the grammatical

of his students Kakkapatiniyan, Natrattanar

and

Avinayanar may be found in the ancient commentaries on Agapporul, Tolkapyam, Yapparunkalam and
other standard books.
also a

Chief of them, Tolkapyar was

member

of

the

second

academy

like

his

renowned master.
tyar's

About tne

precise date of

Agas-

migration to the South nothing definite oan

it

be said, but as has been pointed out above,

cannot

be

earlier
It is

than the

fifth

or sixth century B. C.
first

believed that in the

Sangam

there

was a
of

poet by

name Vanmikiyar.
as

His work,

the

name

which
kiniyar

is

not known, was considered by

the
best
of
its

Nacchinar-

kind.
in

From
a

this

dubious statement and similarity

of the

names
to the

vi^riter

Neo.

Tamil school jumps

conclusion

that Valmiki,

Gautama, Kapila and

other

famous
birth

sages and Sanskritists of Upper India

were by

Tamilians, and that after they had

they were admitted as

become famous
Tamil acade-

members

of the


THE TAMIL ACADEMIES
mies.
with
It is

239
controversy
of

not worth entering into any

himself a
he
'

him

as he claims to

sense

truth

and

critical

acumen

'

which
is

may

not

be

so

charitable as to concede to
In Purananuru,
tion

his

opponents.

which

an

anthology or a collec-

of

third

400 lyrics compiled by some poet of the academy, there is a sang ascribed to Mudina-

garayar

This
here

who was a member of the first sangam. poem is a sort of epistle addressed to a Chera monarch named Udiyan Cheraladan. The poet
extols

the king

as

supplier of provisions to

commissary agent or the contending armies on

the
:

the battle

field of

Kurukshetra

(iQujIT

Qu0LOf

iSsDiB^'^d QairesoTL^ Quitsowlj^ib

^ihsmu

This informs us that the Chera king Udiyan Cheraladan, lived at the time
of the

Mahabharata war,

i.e.

about the 10th or 11th century B. C.

tions and
tribes

Among

the na-

who ^ught
;

in the great

war of the

Pandavas against the Kauravas, the Cherasand the Cholas did not actually fight but as allies helped them with armies or supervised other details of the company. Pandiya king Sarangadwaja, a friend of Sri Krishna and a devoted admirer of the Pandavas, drew only one contingent of troops from each of the other Tamil
tribes.

Another

tradition

says

that

Arjuna
of a

to

Madura and married the daughter

came Pandya

240
king.

TAMIL STUDIES

Some Tamil

scholars endeavour to
of

prove the
in

very hi^h
the

antiquity

the

Tamil

civilization

Pandya country by quoting such references from Valmiki's Ramayana and Vyasa's Mahabharata. In his Maduraikkanji (40, 41) Marudanar of Mangudi says that the Pandya country was in existence at the time of Ravana, king of Lanka, and that the Pandyas
checked his invasion with the help of
priest, the divine Rishi

their family

Agastya.

But
epoch.

it

must be remembered

that

neither
at

epic

wholly composed by any one person and

was any one

Both contain interpolations and accretions, judging from which the dates of their present edition
have been
fixed as the first century B.C.

and 350 A.D.

respectively.

Moreover, the Ramayana refers only to

the Sakhas
that
in

the Greeks (Yavanas) while the Mahabharata mentions

them

as well

as

(Scythians).

All

can be inferred

is,

that the three

Tamil

kingdoms

the South were in existence from very ancient times.

No

one doubts

this fact, as these countries are

menin the

tioned in the edicts of Asoka (B.

C. 250)

and

commentaries

of

Katyayana (fourth century B. C).

The
the

identilication of

Dakshina Madura, the

seat of

first

Academy

has been a controversial point. Re.

garding the destruction of this place there are certain

allusions both in the

Silappadikaram.

Madura Stalapurana and The learned commentator

in the

of the


THE TAMIL ACADEMIES
latter
:

241

work writes as follows Between the rivers Knmari and Pahruli there existed an extensive con'

tinent

occupying an area of 700 kavadams

miles).

(a

Kavadam
i

being equal to ten

This land consisting of

forty-nine Jiads (inclusive of

KoUam

and Kumari),

numerable forests, mountains and rivers had been submerged in the Indian ocean as far as the peaks of Kumari,' by a terrific convulsion which resulted in the upheaval of the Himalayan range. Geological,
ethnological and
linguistic

researches also

seem

to

confirm the above theory. But

who
it

can say with any

authority whether the submerged country had a

called

Madura

or Kudal, whether

town was governed by

the

precisely eighty-nine

Pandya

kings, or whether

Dravidian inhabitants of this terra incognita were so

far civilized as to establish

literary

academies?

What

seems to be reasonable
yar's days

is that the Madura of Agastmust have been destroyed by an unusual inundation of the Vaiga and the Kritamal rivers,

before the
locality.

modern town was built at The old Madura must have

the

present
five

situated

or six miles

south or south-east of the later one, and

about the same distance east of Tirupparamkunram

hill

which has been described

it-,

to

have situated exactly

west of

LDfTL^LoeSI

iDgtiQjb

<9s_/_ ff)@(_QyuJ?63r.

Nak.
of

This

hill
it is

is

now

four miles

south-west

Madura.

And

for the

above reason that the old city was

called the south or

Dakshina Madura.

About the second

16

academy

the

same authority

242

TAMIL STUDIES
:

furnishes the following information

of the college

The
;

members
Mosiyar,

were Agastya, Tolkapyar,

Sirupandarangan, Vellur Kappiyan, Tuvaraikkoman,

Kirandaiyar and
fifty-two other scholars

and the

works

of

about 3,700 poets were passed by this acaseat of

it

demy.

The

called Kapatapuram.

It

was another submerged town, was patronized by fifty-nine

to

Pandya kings from Venderseliyan

five

Mudatirumaran,
scholars.
Kali,

of

whom

were
ot

also

learned

The

standard works
Vendali,

this

period

were

Kuruku,

Mapuranam, Vyalamalai, Bhutapuranam,

It

Isainunukkam, &c.
It

lasted for 3,700 years.

will

be seen that the mterval between the

first

aboli-

tion

of the

and the founding

of the

second

academy could not have been long, as Agastya and some of his students were represented at the latter
College-board
also.

Consequently the second

first,

must
at

be considered a continuation of the

a different place

but held

after the destruction

of the original
is

Madura by the
ened by
able

flood.

This supposition

strengthhis valu-

the statement of Adiyarkunallar

in

the seven

commentary on the Silappadikaram, that one of Pandya poet kings of the first academy by
*

name
which

Makirti'

was

also at

Kapatapuram, as a patron

or royal visitor of the second academy. Kapatapuram

in Sanskrit

meant the 'gate

city'

must have
of

been a

village

situated

three or four

miles east

Madura,

occupied temporarily as
city of

the

king's resibuilt.

dence before the modern

Madura was
of

Out

of

the

questionable

mention

this Sanskrit

THE TAMIL ACADEMIES

243

name
think

as well as
to

of

Manalur (which Sanskrit scholars

interpolations)
in

be

later

the

Rama-

yana and the Mahabharata, some Tamil pandits are endeavouring to make much capital about the
great antiquity
of

Tamil culture and

than
facts.

civilization.
at

As

for the other particulars,

we may dismiss them

present as

more

fictions

To

arrive at the

date of the second

academy the

commentator

of Silappadikaram gives us an indirect

hint in his preface to that work.

While speaking of the story of Udayana he says that it was composed in imitation of the classical works of the second academy, and refers to it elsewhere as Perum-Kathai
(Skt. Brihat-Katha)-

Evidently

it

is

a Tamil rendering

of

Gunadhya's Brihat-Katha.
poets
of

It is

therefore obvious

that the

the

second Sangam

must have

flourished

Gunadhya.
A. D.
(A.

sometime before, or contemporarily with, In the opinion of Dr. Buhler the age of
to

Gunadhya goes back

the

first

or

second century
Paithan
it

He

served as minister under king Satavahana

at

D. 113) of the Andhrabhritya dynasty

the banks
of the

on
is

Godavari.

He

received,'

said, 'seven stories in the

language of the Paisa-

chas

(probably ancient

Telugu)

from

Kanabhuti

and
his

wrote them down in 100,000 slokas each with own blood.' One of the poets of this academy, Mosiyar, has
about
fourteen
lyrics

contributed

to

Purananuru.

Neither the kings alluded to by him, nor the incidents

described therein
afford

any clue to work out his

244
date.

TAMIL STUDIES

He was
of

a native of Uraiyur

and

lived in
If

the

reign of the Chola king Perunarkillilfather

Dittan the

PerunarkilH was identical with

Dathiya

the Tamil usurper of the Singhalese annals (B.C. 90),

it

may be said

that he flourished about B.C. 75.

Again
recas^

the present 'edition of the

Ramayana which was

in its

about 100 B.C. mentions

country and
is
its

geography the Pandya

capital

Kapatapuram. Nothing further

known about Tolkapyar, whose Tamil grammar is with us, than that he was a Brahman student of Agastya and that he lived m a village near Madura
during the reign of the Pandya king Makirti. All the

works
lost,

of this

except the

poems

academy have also been irretrievably grammar of Tolkapyar and a few which luckily found their way into the
at

anthologies compiled

the third academy.

it

From
first

the

foregoing

will

be seen

that

the
less

and the second academies were more or

continuous,

and

that

they
fifth

existed

occasionally

sometime between the

second century A. D.
irresistable

century

B. C.

and the

This conclusion seems to

the works

me

as

we

find ino of

references to the Yavanas

or

Romans

in

any

poets of these
that in the

academies, especially
of the

composed by the when we know

heyday

early

Pandyas there was a

or three miles east
fifth

colony of
of

Roman merchants two

to
for

Madura from the second

So much
1.

century A.D.

the

first

two academies.

We

shall

The

Killi
first

line of

Cholas appear to have reigned in Uraiyur

during the

century before and after Christ.

THE TAMIL ACADEMIES

245
far the

now

pass

on

to the third,

which was by

most

important,

and

about
all

which
the
the
of

we
best

are particularly

concerned.

Almost
possess are

Tamil classics
this last

we now
Sangam.
rials in

productions of
this

The

history

therefore be fully

gone

into, as

academy should there are ample mateliterary

the shape of innumerable

traditions,
difftculties

puranas, and casual references.

also proportionately increase,

But the

because unfortunately
asso-

no two

of

them

agree.

An academy being an
its

ciation of

men

of letters,

history cannot

be sepa-

rated from their biographies; and it would be our work

in the following

pages to collate such of the literary

traditions as have

any bearing on

their

lives

and

to

construct a tolerably trustworthy account of this third

Sangam.

We
as

shall first give the traditional

account

mainly

preserved

for

us

in the

scholarly

commentary
in

on
in

Iraiyanar's Agapporul,

and then discuss

latest

detail

every

point with reference to the

researches

epigraphy.

The members
nar,

of

this

academy

were

Nakkirar

(President), Sittalai-Sattanar, Kalladar, Kapilar, Para-

Ugra Pandya, Mangudi Maruthanar and fortytwo other scholars. Including them 449 poets obtain-

ed the sanction of the senate for their writings.

seat of this
It

The
from

Sangam was
by

Uttara (northern)
forty-nine

Madura.

was

patronized

kings
of

Mudattiru-maran to Ugra Pandya,

three

whom
period

were also poets-

The

classical

works

of this

246

TAMIL STUDIES
Nedumtokai, Kurumtokai, Natrinai, AinkuruPaditruppattu,
Perisai,

were
nuru,
Vari,

Kurumkali,

Paripadal, Kuttu,

Sitrisai,

Muttollayiram,

Akananuru
It

and Purananuru,

besides

many minor poems.

the
third

lasted for 1850 years.

Concernin<4 the foundation of

Sangam
that

nothmg
it

definite

can be

said.

Tradition

says

took place in the reign

this

of

one Mudattirumaran^
accepted

and

seems to have been

of

tacitly

by the

commentator
kunallar.

Iraiyanar's

Agapporul and Adiyar-

The name Mudattirumaran appears to be a synonym for Kun or Kubja Pandyan. If this identification be correct, the third academy must
have been established in the reign of Sundara Pandya;
that is about 670 A.D. But this is against ail tradition and facts. The Tiruvilayadal Purana tells us that it was established in the reign of one Vamsa Sekhara

Pandya,
the

who
is

is

also credited
after the

with

the founding

of

Madura city

'deluge'.
in

Neither of these
in
it

Pandyas

mentioned

the

literature or

the
is

inscriptions

which have been examined, and

therefore impossible to

ascertain the precise date

of

the establishment of the third academy.

It

has

been

said

that

Kalladar

Marudanar were members of this two poets have sung the military exploits
Seliyan of Talaiyalankanam fame.
If

and Mangudi academy. These

l

of

Nedum
were

these poets

contemporaries of
1.

this king, they

should have been

He was not

that Kalladanar

who wrote

'Kalladam' and 'Kannap-

par

Tirumaram' (See Appendix).

THE TAMIL ACADEMIES

living in the latter half

247

of the

second century A.D.

Again, Sittalai Sattanar another meinber of this acade-

and the author of Manimekalai also lived at about same time. Had all these poets been really members of the third academy, it must have been founded
the

my

during the

first

century A. D., or even long before that

time. This tradition thus militates against our conclu-

sion

that the

second academy existed

it

till

the second

century, and
fiction.

must, therefore, be rejected as a pure

Again according to the Tiruvalluvamalai one of the fortynme professors of the third Sangarn was Perundevanar, the famous translator of the Mahabharata;
as a

member
If it

of this

academv the compilation

is

of

the eight anthologies (CTilO^Q^/rea:*)

to him.

also attributed

was really so, a learned scholar and poet of this reputation must have been mentioned by Nakkirar (oi whoever he might be) in the account of San-

gams given
not in the
of the
third

in

iraiyanar's Agapporul.

As his name

is

list, it is

evident that he was not a

this inference
is

member
clinched

academy, and
in his

by an allusion

Bharatam

to the

Pallava king

Nandivarman who won the battle at Tellar. The poet Perundevanar must have thus lived at the latter part of the eighth century. With it the general belief that the compiler of tiie eight anthologies was the selfthat the third

same Perundevanar falls to the ground, unless it be academy actually jCxisted about* that
period and that
its

forty-nine professors together with

his

Tiruvalluvar

were

contemporaries

all

which

248

TAMIL STUDIES

are absolutely incredible and contrary to the testimonies of epigraphy

and

literary history.

The

list

of

the forty-nine
third

whose auspices the

given anywhere
;

Pandya kings under academy thrived is not

but the

name

of

the last (Ugra

Pandya

or

Ugra Peruvaludi) alone occurs both in the

and
in

stala'purana

Tamil

literature.

It

was

in

the

reign of this king, according to one tradition, that the

third

Sangam or the famous seminary of learning at Madura came to an end, when its members were
in a poetical

completely vanquished

contest with the

(A. D. 80)

low caste Tiruvalluvar.

lived at

But Tiruvaliuvar

the time

of the

second academy, and had

therefore nothing to do with the third

destruction.

Sangam
in

or

its

That he was instrumental

of

bringing
all

about the downfall of the third Sangam, that

forty-nine

the

members they were drowned

the

it

eulogized the Kural before

" golden
lily "

in the

tank, that

famous Kapilar of this academy was his brother, and that he was a Paraiya by caste all these are figments of the Dravidian imagination. In the early years of the Christian era there was no Paraiya caste

Kapilar was a

Brhaman poet

of

Tirnvadavur

in the

and was the author of Kurinchipattu, none of the and several other poems Innanarpatu forty-nine commendatory verses belong to the same period, nor were they composed by poets of the same nadu; and lastly it is not possible to believe that all these poets conferred with one another and agreed to extol the Kural in poems of the Venba metre and that in
district,
;

Madura


THE TAMIL ACADEMIES
the
first

249

century A. D.
attributed to
is

The subjoined
Auvai, the
to discredit

eulogistic verse
sister of

usually

renowned

Tiruvalluvar,

enough

the truth

and

antiquity of the Tiruvalluvamalai:

Qpoi/T

^uSqp QpssBQiDir L^iqisi

QsiretsiQi

QiDiT0eijrT

ssQiDsk ^emir.

In the above quotation

we

find references to

Appar,

Sambandar,
mular,
half of

Sundarar,
of

Manikkavachakar and Tiru-

the latest
the

whom
century.
sort

lived in

the
are the

second
several

ninth
of this

There
of

other

verses

in praise

Kural.

This stanza makes Tiruvalluvar a contemporary of

Manikkavachakar
is

What we

are

inclined to think

that the Tiruvalhivaraalai or the 'garland of Tiruval-

luvar', like

every other account relating to this famousa strange mixture of

fictions,

moralist,

is

doubtful
later

traditions

and absurd
author
of

written

by some

Dravidian
the

the

ninth
of

century to

popularize
it

celebrated

work

Tiruvalluvar.

Thus,

will

be

seen that the tradition which

tion of the third
in the reign
is

attributes the

destruc-

of

academy to poet Tiruvalluvar and the Pandya king Ugra Peruvaiudi,

but also contrary
in

not only absolutely unfounded,

the

to the statement

Madura Stalapurana which

first

ascribes to the

same

king the foundation of the

Sangam

or academy.
of

For the extinction

look elsewhere.
If

the third

the

compilation

academy we must of Purananuru

250

TAMIL STUDIES
this

was made by

Sangam, the date

In the

of

its

aboh-

tion could be easily determined.

above work

we find a poem addressed to the Chola king Kocchengannan by poet Poigaiyar i. The exact age of this
poet
is

not

known

but

the Chola

king has

been

by the saints Trignanasambanda and Tirumangai Alvar (A. D. 650-750) as the builder of
referred to
several temples to Siva

and Vishnu.

For

this

pious

act he has been canonized as a saint and included in

the hagiolugy of the Saivas.

Granting that a period

had elapsed between this Chola king and Sambandar, the probable date of Kocchenganan would be about A. D. 580. As there is no reference in Sambandar's work to the Tamil academy at Madura, where the Saiva saint must have stayed for some time before the Jains were impaled, and las a poem addressed to this king is found in Purananuru,
of about a century

there

is

every reason to believe that the

to

third

acad-

emy came
This

an end during the second

half of the

sixth century.

was the time when the struggle between and Brahmanism was very vehement. The kings and scholars of this transition period in
Jainism
the south were completely absorbed in religious controversies,

and they

hardly

had any time

it

to

de-

vote to literary pursuits.

And

period that the Pandya country was

was probably at this conquered and

till

temporarily held by the Kalabhras or Kalambras,

1.

This poet must not be confounded with the Vaishnava saint

Poigai Alvar

who

lived about A. D. 650,

THE TAMIL ACADEMIES

they were expelled by
of

251
the beginning
religious

Kadunkon about
All

the

seventh

century.

these
to

and

political disturbances contributed

the

extinction

of the third

academy.

The
it is

religion of the

members
all

of the three

academies

not easv to determine, as

the accounts

we now
or

have are from the Saiva source, and none from Buddhists

and

Jains.

However, so

late, as

the third

fourth century A.D. there was no Sivaism or Vishnu-

ism as understood now.

or
the
it

But there was Brahmanism

religion

of

the

Vedas

and

side

by side

with

there

were also
of

jainism

and Buddhism.
Sangams,

The members
have belonged

the

first

and second
persuasions.

which continued up
to

to

the second century,

must

different

Agastyar

and
luvar,

Tolkapyar
Kapilar
Saivas,

were

Hindus,

and

presumably

professed

Brahamanism.

The

writings of Tiruval-

were

and Paranar do not show that they while those of Nallanduvanar and
;

Nakkirar show that they were

Tiruvalluvar are given
Saivas,
of the
in

yet

ail

these, except

the

Saivite

accounts as

which

is

evidently unwarranted.
is

One

at least

forty-nine professors, that

Sattanar, was a

Buddhist.
At about the fourth or
struggle
fifth

century the religious

made

scholars
started

its first appearance. Buddhist and Jaina must have seceded from the Hindus and

Sangas or colleges

of their

own
of

at

Madura and
literature.

other places for the

advancement

Tamil

One was started by Vajra Nandi

in

A.D. 470

in

oppo-

252
sition to a

TAMIL STUDIES

Hindu college, probably the third Sangam, which was then conducted mainly by the Saivas. The five minor and the five major Kavyas and some of
the eighteen

minor

ethical

poems must have been

passed by these Buddhist and Jaina Sangams or institutions,

which, with the downfall of these religions,

must have come to an end. It might be noticed here that the word sangam (Sangha) was probably of
Buddhistic origin.
It

will

be well

at

this

stage

of

our enquiry to
of

examine the importance and value

traditional

the

earliest

account, which
all

is

attributed to Nakkirar

and upon which

ture enlighten us

the others are based,

so far

as

the facts revealed by epigraphy

and

early

Tamil

litera-

on the

subject.

of existence of the

three

The entire period Sangams or academies is

said

to

be 9990 years. This seems to us fabulous.

by.

They were patronised

First

Sangam
do

89
59
(A.D.

kings

from

Kaysinavaludi
600);

(A.D. 100) to

Kadunkon (A.D.
from
to

Second

kings
740)

Vendercheliyan

Mudattirumaran Mudattirumaran
to

(A.D. 650);

Third

do

49 kings from

Ugra Peruvaludi (A. D. 100). Of these Kaysinavaludi and Ugra Peruvaludi might be identified with Ugra Pandya of early Tamil literature. Mudattirumaran might be the same as Kun
or

Kubja Pandya, and

(A.

identified with

Nedumaran

of

Nelveli

D. 650),

Kadunkon

lived about A. D.

THE TAMIL ACADEMIES

600 and Ter cheliyan was a
san (A. D. 735).
tional account,
title of

253

Arikesari Paranku-

Thus

it

will be seen that the tradi-

which must have originated somenot

time after the second half of the eighth century,

only gives conflicting details
mies, but also

about the three acadetheir relative

throws serious doubts as to

ages and their very existence.

Again, the illustrative kovai or garland of

verses,

quoted

the so-called

Iraiyanar's

commentary on Agapporul, frequently refers to the same

Nakkirar's

Pandya king Arikesari Parankusan (Ter-cheliyan) and his military achievements. The commentator, or at any rate the author who committed it to writing,
unconsciously
betrays himself as Nilakantanar, the
supposititious

tenth in succession from Nakkirar the

writer of the
for

commentary.
as the

Allowing

twenty years
at A.

each generation of studentship, we arrive

D.

750

160 or 590

age of Nakkirar or

of the

composition of Agapporul by Iraiyanar. But even this

period seems to be too

modern

for Nakkirar,

because

the language and subject matter of Tirumurugarruppadai

show

that he

could not have lived

later
it

than the

fourth century A. D.

In this connection

must be
of these

observed that none of the

members

of

any

academies, (excepting a certain writer by the

Nakkirar) refers to
his

name
is

of

academy or Sangam.
of the

Thus
a

we

see that the

above account
all

academies
tales,

clear fabrication, like

other pauranic
kings,-

out

of the

names

of

some Pandya

poets and

254
institutions vaguely

TAMIL STUDIES

known

to the

Tamilians of those

times and foisted upon Nakkirar.

Several attempts in later times were

made

to estab-

hsh Tamil Sangams.

The one referred to in the Chinnamanur grant seems to have been the first and
It

the earliest endeavour after the dissolution of the fam-

ous third academy.

lasted for

was probably the

fourth,

and

one century and a half from about A. D.

600 to A. D. 750.
the third,
at least
it

Though
to

it

was not so famous as

preserving
rare

appears

have done some useful work

by way of collecting and

Tamil works which would otherwise have perished.

Perundevanar, the author of Bfiarata Venba must

have belonged to

this

academyi, as his name, famous

not appear in
Nakkirar's
list

though
of the
(A.

it

was, does
of

members

the third academy.

Naladiyar

D. 750) and some other poems included in the

I

eighteen minor works (u^Q'SST^Stfisa,6ms(^) should,

think, be attributed to this

Sangam.

From

the

exin

pressions
the

-fiEis^^iAii^

works of

and fiasQps^^uSi^ which occur Tirumangai Alvar, I am inclined

great Vaishnava

to

believe that the

apostle

knew

this
its

fourth

Sangam, though he was not probably

to the astronomical calculation
Pillai Avi,

member.
1.

According

made by Divan
in the Silappa*

Bahadur Swamikkannu
in the eighth century.

from a reference

dikaram, the poets Ilango-adigal and Sattanar must have flourished

If

so,

the latter author

must have been a

deepei
into

member

of the

above academy.

We

cannot

now go
Pillat's

this question or accept

Mr. Swamikkannu

theory, until

stronger and

more convincing evidences be forth-coming.

THE TAMIL ACADEMIES

255

Anotlier attempt in later times seems to have been

made by Poyyamoli Pulavar the author, of an erotic poem known as the Tanjaivanan Kovai. He lived, it is said, in the reign of oneVanangamudi Pandyan whose date cannot be determined at present. From the brief
account
of this poet given in the

Tamil Plutarch,

it

might be inferred that the poet's petition to the Pandya kinglto establish an academy
the royal approbation.

did not meet with

But

at the

time of Tiruttakka
it is

Deva (about 900

at

A. D.) there was,

said, a

Sangam

Madura, and one Poyyamoli was an admirer of

If

the reputed author of Chintamani.

this

Poyyamoli
have every
succeed in
fifth.

was the poet alluded

reason
to

to above,

we

shall

think that

he did
kings,

partially

founding an academy which was probably the

The Pandya and Chola

lovers
of

some

of

whom

were

Tamil

literature,

might have

assembled

societies of learned

men

at different

times; but no

them has come down to us, probably because none of them attained the high rank of the first three academies. Yet, most of the Tamil kings from Parantaka Chola (A. D. 906) downwards appear to have encouraged the growth of Tamil learning by
history of

patronising eminent poets

who adorned

their

courts

and by showering on them munificent presents. A few of them like Gandaraditya (tenth century) and Ati Vira Rama Pandya (seventeenth century) were themselves poets, and gave an impetus in later times to the advancement of learning in the Tamil
country.

256

TAMIL STUDIES

Before proceeding to consider the

work done by
it

the Tamil academies which existed at various times,

is

desirable to give a brief

early

summary

of their history.

Pandya kings were the foremost to enco.irage Tamil learning by establishing academies at Madura. Vague and exaggerated accounts of some of them appear to have been handed down in traditions, until they were committed to writing, first by the commentator of Iraiyanar's Agapporul, and then by the writer of the Madura Stalapurana, some time after A. D. 750. Some of their members seem to be fictitious persons, while others, probably
excepting a few, do not appear to be contemporaries.

The

Their constitution, function and age, as described

these

in

works are extremely unreliable.

say
is

All

what

we
a

can

now

that the

Pandya kings maintained

at their

Tamil academy

or

University

metropolis
550,

from about
that

B. C. 450 to about

A. D.

and

the
arily

tury

it was subject to varying fortunes. When Pandya country was invaded and temporoccupied by the Kalabhras during the sixth cenand when the religious struggle had already

commenced,
exist as a

had

their

Sangam or college ceased to From this time, the Jains corporate body. own Sangams, which were more or less
the last

like the Jesuit

seminaries of the middle ages

and the

Hindus had
in existence
It

their

own academy which might have been

Sangam that Perundevanar
translated

during the early part of the eighth century.

was

at this last

the

Mahabharata and wrote

his invocatory stanzas to

THE TAMIL ACADEMIES

the eight anthologies, and
that the eighteen

257

it was also at this college minor poems were collected. In the

face of the

above references to the Tamil Sangaros or academies throughout the ancient Tamil literature, it

would be impossible to deny their existence in some form or other before the eighth century A. D. Having said so much for the history of the various Tamil academies, we shall now proceed to consider
the

amount

of influence they exerted in giving shape-

to the Tamil language

The

object with

and literature. which the three academies were

(1)

founded was threefold, namely,

the purification of

the Tamil language by the writing

of a

grammar
its

for

it

and by enforcing

strict

adherence to

rules, (2)

the
the

gradual introduction

of
(3)

Aryan

civilisation

in

Tamil country, and

the regulation

of

literary

patronage so as to promote these ends.

This task

up by the Brahman sage Agastya, under the guidance and patronage of the of course, Pandya kings. With a view to carry out these plans was
first

taken

the

preliminary
of a

measures adopted
large

were,

first

the

body of literary men from assembling secondly, the forma different parts of the Tamil land tion of a literary academy with Agastya, the traditionand al priest of the Pandya family, as its president thirdly, the promulgation of a royal mandate prohibi;

ting the circulation of

any

literary

production before

it

was approved by the academy. Language has life and growth, and when
itself

left

to

sprouts out into divers dialects like the branches17

258

TAMIL STUDIES
'

of a living tree.

The
'

bit

and bridle
arrest

of

literature

'

says

Max

Muller,

will

natural
its

flow

of

language in the countless rivulets of

dialects,

and
have

give a permanency to certain formations of speech

which, without these external influences, could

enjoyed but an ephemeral existence.'

This linguistic

principle was clearly understood and fully recognised by the founders of the Tamil academies. To secure, "therefore, permanency to the Tamil language the boundaries of the country where it was current were roughly described and the particular locality in which pure Tamil (Q5=/5^(^Lp)was spoken was sharply defined; then the form and pronunciation of letters were settled rules were laid down to distinguish pure Tamil words from those of foreign origin, and to determine the structure and combination of words in sentences. These and many other restrictions on the free grovvth of the language were dealt with in the first Tamil grammar. Treatises were written on prosody, rhetoric and pond (details of conduct in matters of Jove and warfare). Poetical dictionaries or nikhandus were compiled in order to give fixity to the form and -meaning of words in the language, and to check the indiscriminate and unlicensed introduction of alien words m the Tamil vocabulary.
;

The canons
and were
there
"a

of

literary

criticism

were

severe

applied nnpartially.
a tradition pertaining

In
to

this

connection

is

Sittalai-Sattanar,

noted

member

of

the so-called third

academy and

author of the unrivalled epic Maniraekalai.

When

THE TAMIL ACADEMIES

259

new poem was

of his iron

recited

by

its

author before the learned

assembly, he used to strikeihis head with the butt-end

stylus

whenever

he found a flaw in

it.

The wound
Sittalai

thus caused by his constanf blows grew

into a purulent sore.

(He was on

this

account called

or

'

pus-head' Sattanar). This

wound,

it

is

said, defied all

self

curative treatment, but healed

of Tiruvalluvar.

of

it-

on hearing the Kural

p'^s,^^^^
In this

^rro^a^n^

^p(^.

way

the Tamil language,

of

which passed

through the crucible

refined

the

three academies,
as a

was and

and given
its

to the

Tamil land
of the

perfect ins-

trument for the expression

sentiments of
people.

best thoughts

The
in the

influence of these aca-

demies

is

markedly seen

received their approval, their style

choice of words differing

Tamil writings which and language arid much from that of the Tamil

works of the post-academic period. The reader may compare with advantage the Purananuru or Pattupattu with the

Tevaram

or the Tiruvoymoli.

For the advancement of literature and acadeLiberal preTamil kings did much. in the shape of money, elephants, palanquins, sents flowers of gold chariots with horses, lands and
mies the

were bestowed upon deserving

tmction
like
^^ffltuir

poets.
Ljeosuir

Titles of dis(pandit), a9<?-

(doctor),

260
ff-gi@s)h^^

TAMIL STUDIES
(emperor of
poets), etc.,

were also condid

ferred on them.

Poets were honoured and respected

to such a degree that

even kings

not

think

it

dishonourable to act as their palanquin bearers.

appease the wrath of a poet, a Pandya queen
to have
is

To
said

borne

his

palanquin one whole night in the

carrier.

disguise of a male

Instances

of the

Tamil

kings hontjuring poets, and of their indirectly encou-

raging learning are only too many.

ever,

might be noticed
Chera,
of

in this

One point, howconnection. The Tamil

Pandya were liberal In the Tamil work entitled Padirruppattu, the poet Kannanar of Kunnattur is said to have received, for having composed ten poems, a grant of five hundred villages and the
kings of

Chola

and

patrons

Tamil

literature.

revenues of the southern

districts

for

thirty-eight

years; the poet Kappiyanar obtained from the

Chera

king

gift

of

forty

lakhs of

pon

(a

gold coin
;

valued

at

Rs. 2-8-0

each) for his ten poems

and

the poetess Nacchellai

was given by another Chera

monarch
of gold for

nine

iulams

(Tulam=600
and
one
of
of a seat

Rs.

weight)
of

making jewels

lakh

gold

coins, besides the

honour

was the munificient patronage

kings.

Such poets by the Tamil

by his
side.

A comparison

of these ancient

institutions of

the

Tamil people with the modern Royal Academy of the French will be interesting, since both of them were
alike in their constitution,

work and

influence.

The

French Academy was established

in A.

D.

1635, that

THE TAMIL ACADEMIES

261

is nearly two thousand years after the first Tamil academy, and its members were fixed at forty. Its

object

was

to

cleanse

the

language
it
*

of

the

impurities,

which had crept into

people

through
to render

the
it

common
pure,
arts

who spoke
and
has

it

and
of

eloquent

capable

treating

the
its

and

sciences.... It
style

done

much
to

by

example for
of

and has raised the general standard

it

writing, ..though
It

has tended

hr.mper and

crush originality.'

has been remarked by a Danish

scholar that academies of the

kind described above

operate as a check to the liberty of speech and generally

to national

independence, and
of

quotes as an

example the absence

the liberty-loving

similar institutions
race.

among

British
:

continues as follows
is

'

In

and has been

free

to

The same author England every writer take his words where he
stock
of every

chooses, whether from the ordinary

day words, from native

or

dialects,

from old authors,

from other languages, dead or living. The consequence has been that English dictionaries comprise a larger number of words than those of any
other nation.'

The above remarks

are 34

of Dr. Jespersen apply with equal

force to the Tamil people. In the Tamil language there

synonyms

for the
for
'

word

'

wind,' 50 for 'water,'

35 for

'cloud', 62

earth,'

60 for

'

mountains
;

'

&c,

The
their

ancient Tamils were a war-like race

they

h ad

war songs and

lyrics.

Though

the blazing

fire of

independence and patriotism was put out by

262

TAMIL STUDIES

the magic influence of the peace-loving

Brahmans

of

South India, the native bellicose

Tamils makes
sent day
its

spirit of the

ancient
the pre-

appearance

at

times

among

Maravar, Kallar and Shanar tribes of the

districts,

southern

though

they have lost the grace

and dignity
Tamil
clans.

of the; real warrior.

The

war-like Nayars

of the west coast are also the descendants of ancient.

The Tamil

dictionary

is

very copious and the

it

numEven

ber of pure Tamil words in

Indian vernaculars.
slang terms acquired

exceeds that of any other

are plentiful.

Synonyms

classical merit

and were made

use of in

literature.

a concrete example.
poets, coined the

illustrate this usage by Kamban, the prince of Tamil word tumi {^lAl) in his Ramayana

We may

to

rhyme with

timi (^uS).

While

reciting his

work

at-

the royal court, Ottaikuttar, another poet of almost

equal ability and younger contemporary, took objection to

its

use and

demanded
replied that

his
it

authority for

its

was a cow-herd's slang; and Ottaikuthar required him to prove it.currency.

Kamban

Thereupon, Kamban invoked Sarasvati, the goddess

of learning,

who

in the disguise of in the

in

an Idaiya

woman
or

uttered the
'spray'

word Uwti

sense of

a 'drop'

from an apartment

a shepherd's house, so

loudly as to be heard by the two poets

when passing
the.

along the
coining of

street.

This story clearly shows that the

never tolerated, though

new words was

use of slang and obsolete terms was freely allowed.

So

far as the

Tamil language was

concerned,

the;

THE TAMIL ACADEMIES

growth
race.

2&Z^

influence of the academies was mainly conservative

but
or

it

never arrested
of

the

of

the imagination the contrary,

it

fancy

the Tamil

On

afiorded

them unlicensed freedom to indulge even in what would appear to a moderner as hyperboles and
anachronisms.

X THE TEN TENS

*

Padirruppattu
poetical

'

or the

'

Ten

tens'

is

the fourth of

the eight

anthologies, the
are
attributed

collection
to

and

arrangement of which

the third

As implied by the name it had originally ten books, of which the first and the last are now lost. The remaining eight books were composed by
academy.
eight different

authors in

commemoration
and other noble

of

the

military exploits, the liberality

ties of eight

qualisaid

Chera kings

of ancient times.

It is

that the authors of these

books were given enormous

Parts of this

presents by these kings.

work might

have been written, so early as

or
the

the end of the second

;

and Chera Kodun-Tamil countries according The work under to the early Tamil grammarians. review is, therefore, a museum of obsolete words and expressions, archaic grammatical forms and terminations, and obscure customs and manners of the
beginning of the third century
of

was one

the

early western

Tamil people

who were

the

ancestors

of the modern Malayalis.

THE TEN TENS

265

The second book which was

of

written by

Kannanar

Kunnattur

is

addressed to the Chera king Imaya

Varman Nedum Seraladan. In the epilogue to this book we are informed that this king was the nephew of Udiyan by Venmal Nallini and Veliyan, that
he engraved the 'bow' on the Himalayas and that he

conquered and subdued the far-famed Aryans and the hard-tongued Yavanas (lohians). He was the uncle of
Senguttuvan, a contemporary of Gajabahu
of Ceylon.
I

(169-191)
II

Regarding the Andhra king Viliyakura

Mr. V. A. Smith writes that
'

(113-138 A. D.)

he

prided himself on his prowess in expelling the Sakas,

Yavanas and Pahlavas from

West-coast.'

his

dominions on the
'

Further,

it is

said that

the Scythians

from the north raided

war.
In
is

southwards and there was

at

an inscription

Nasik the Andhra Gotami-

putra

stated to

have defeated the Sakas, Yavanas

and Pahlavas, the Saka chief being the Kshatrapa

Nahapana.

This was about A. D.

king of

Varman
with

a Chera
this

As Imaya the west coast and the

125.'
is

uncle of Senguttuvan
the

also boasts of having fought

there

Yavanas,
king

every

reason
a

to
in

believe that

might have had

share

the expulsion

of this

Greek or Ionian people from

Western
dan

India.

These

two kings

were probably
fifty-eight

contemporaries, as
is
it

Imaya Varman Nedum Seralayears.

stated to
will

have reigned for

Thus be seen that this Brahman poet Kannanar must have

the
first

Chera king and the

flourished during

half of the

second century A. D.

266

TAMIL STUDIES
third

The
nar

book was composed by Palai Gautama^emii^u^

uxsBpQiua&sr

(the

of

Ilango-adigal)

in honour of the Chera king Palyanai Chelkezhu Kuttuvan,a younger brother of Imaya Varman. He

was

a pious

king and renounced the world after a

years.

reign of 25

He

is

stated to have

performed

ten Yagas

or sacrifices for the sake of Gautamanar,

directed his purohit Nedura.Bharatayanar to

become
lo

an

ascetic,

and

to

have

given away
further
said

his king,

dom
Ayirai

to his relatives.

He

is

have

decorated
l

the temple
Hill.

of the

family

deity

on the
poet

Gautamanar was a Brahman

who

is

believed to have ascended the heaven with his

consort after completing the tenth sacrifice. All these

facts are also alluded to in the last

book

of Silappadi-

karam.

The Chera king Palyanaichelkezhu-Kuttu-

van and the poet Gautamanar must, therefore, have lived during the latter half of the second century.
Kappiyarru-Kappiyanar was the author of the fourth
book, which
is

addressed to the

Chera king Kalangto Serala-

kaykkanni Narmudi Cheral.

the
wife
of

He was born

He dan by conquered Puzhi- Nadu and defeated Nannan. He succeeded Cheral Adan and reigned for 25 years.
Velavikkoman Padman.

The

real

name
is

of the king

is

by which he
1.

known
of

is

not known, and the one nom-de-plume meaning

is

This

hill,

now known
taluk

as Aivar-malai,

near Aiyampalayam

in the Palani

the

Madura
(A.

district.

On

the

summit

of

this hill there are

many

Jaina images

and a
862).

temple containing ins-

criptions of

Varaguna Pandiya

D.

THE TEN TENS

'one

267

who wears
this
fifth
;

a garland of aefnasmb and a

crown
at

of

plantain fibre'.

Nothing further

is

known

present

about

king and the poet.

book is a production of the famous poet and the hero of the poem is Senguttuvan nephew of Nedum-Cheraladan by the Chola prince Manakkilli. This Chera king was a contemporary of
Paranar

The

Gajabahu
killi,

of

Ceylon, of the Chola kings

Uruva-

Pahrer Ilamset Senni and Vel-Pahradakkai-Perunar-

and
Verri

of

the

Pandya

kings

Nedu-Maran
an
ally

and
his

Vel-Seliyan.
of

He was
a

of

the

Satakarnis

the

Andhra dynasty,

and
of

with
the

assistance
chiefs

he defeated

confederacy

and others on the northern bank of the Ganges, and the nine rival princes of the Chola family at Nerivayil near Uraiyur and fought another at Viyalur with some
Aryan
Kanaka, Vijaya

unknown
was the
that

chief,

and subdued Palayan of Mokur. and the hero

of

He

elder brother of

Ilangko the reputed author

the third book of

of Silappadikaram

famous work.
collected

Paranar has contributed some 72 stanzas to the

other

works
is

of

this

period.

In

Tamil

literature his

name
of

found invariably connected with

age of these
poets
will

Kapilar, another

renowned poet and contemporary.

the

The

question

be

considered
present to
flourished

enough for the say that Senguttuvan, the Chera king between 150 and 225 A.D. His reign
later

on,

and

it

is

extended to

fifty-five years.

-268

TAMIL STUDIES
sixth

The
written

book
a

consisting of

over 210

lines

was

by

woman named

Kakkai-Patiniyar

Nacchellaiyar in honour of the Chera king

pattu Cheral Adan.

Adukot.

He was

the

nephew
to

of

Nedum

Cheral Adan, by the wife of Velavikoman.and a liberal

king

who gave away cows and

his

lands

Brahmans,
at

and ruled
Tondi,
district.

country

justly

from
in

his capital

the

modern

Kadalundi

the

Malabar

noticed
first

of Senguttuvan If he was a cousin brother above he must have flourished during the

quarter of the third century A. D.

He

reigned

for thirty-eight years.

The seventh book, addressed

was the nephew
of

to

Selvakkadungo-

Azhi-Adan, was composed by Kapilar. This Chera king

Anduvan Cheran by Porayan and Orutandai. He was a valiant king and pious devotee of Vishnu,for whose worship he granted the village of Okandur as devadahis wife Perundevi, daughter of

yam-

He

fought several battles and performed

many

sacrifices.

He

is

believed to have reigned 25 years.

Nothing further

is

known about

this

king except that

he was a predecessor of Senguttuvan, and that he rrlust have flourished before A. D. 150.
Kapilar was a

Brahman

of

Tiruvadavur

in

the

Pandya country. It is not known why he has not composed even a stanza in praise of any Pandya Perhaps sovereign in whose dominion he was born. he had migrated while young to the hill country and settled there, as all his extant poems are descriptive of upland scenery {(s/^(^^) and of hill kings and

THE TEN TENS

chiefs.

269'
this author are,

Other poems attributed to

one

book

in

Ainguru-nuru, Kurinjippattu, Inna

Narpatu, besides some poems in Narrinai, Kurungkah,

Agananuru and Purananuru.

any particular
deities
sect,

He

did not errbrace

all

as

he worshipped

the puranic
It is

Baladeva,
poems

Vishnu, Siva, Vinayaka, &c.

not therefore safe to ascribe the authorship of certain

sectarian

on Siva
is

or

Mutta

Nayanar

to

Kapilar.

Further, there
of these

much
sets of

difference in the style

and language

two

poems

(vide, p. 197).

He

has been

extolled

by his

contemporaries
lie

and

successors as one

who

never uttered a

{Quadjiurrmrr

eSpsSeom) and as one most upright

in his

conduct.
in praise of

The
a

eighth

was sung by one Arisilkizhar

of

the Chera king Perum-Cheral-Irum-Porai.

This king
of Kapilar's

was nephew book by the

Selva-Kadumko the hero

of

wife

Velavikkoman.

He

boasts

of

having overthrown Adigaman of Takadur, and defeated the Pandya and Chola kings of his period near the
KoUimalais.
of
It is

said that he

was

contemporary

Ugra Pandya and that he reigned for seventeen

years.

The ninth and last book is a production of Perungunrur Kizhar, and it eulogizes the military achievements of the Chera king Ilam-Cheral-Irum
Porai.

He was
Sellai.

the

nephew
boasts

of

Irum-Porai noticed
his

above, by Maiyur

Kizhan and
of

wife

Venmal
(father
chief,

Anduvan

He

having defeated the

Chola king Uruvap Pahrer Ilamchet Senni of Karikala) and Palayan Maran, a Pandya


270

hill

TAMIL STUDIES
five

and destroyed the

said that he

fortresses of Vicchi.
of

It is

was

a descendant
10)

Irumporai

(ix. 8,

and

of the

Mandaram Cheral kings who had thrown

lances to cross the ocean and decorated the patron

deity at Ayirai.

The author Perumgunrur Kizhar was contemporary of Kapilar and praises him in the fifth
:

agaval of this book as follows

a.ffl;'3swi,/r/r<5

seu'SeauSQesr (^&
iBs\)eSlsai^s

esTioweSjbum^uj

atSeom'.

We

shall

now

consider en semble
of the

the

dates of the

Chera kings and

famous poets Kapilar, Paranar, Palai Gautaraanar, Perumgunrur Kizhar and Arisil Kizhar. As may be gathered from the epilogues to this work the genealogies of the early Chera kings fall into
:

two branches thus

I.

II.

Udiyan Serai Adan

I

Anduvan

Serai Irumporai

(A) vSelva-Kadunko-Ali
I

(1)

Imaya Varman
alias.

(2) Palyanai Chelkelu

Adan
(B)

(r.
[

25

yrs.)

Kuttuvan

Nedum
I

Serai

Adan
\

(r.

58

yrs.)

Perum
porai
(r.
i

Serai Irum17 yrs.)

1
(3)

Kalankay- (5) AdukotKanni Nar~ pattu Serai

(i)

Sengu- Ilango. (C) Ham Serai Irumtuvan porai (r. 16 yrs.)

55
yrs.)

mudi
(r.

Serai
(r.

Adan
35 yrs.)
'

(r.

25 yrs)

by Padman Devi.

by Manakkilli Devi.
definiteI,

Of these the only king whose date has been

ly

fixed
1.
It is

is

Senguttuvani

(No. 4 in Table

A. D.

not our purpose to enter into the controversy whether the

to

Gajabahu alluded
second king
of that

in

the Silappadikaram
this question has

was the

first

or the

name, as

been already settled

by other scholars.

THE TEN TENS

175-225)
;

271

and the composition of Silappadikaram Ilango may, therefore, be placed between 200 and 225 A. D. In this work the exploits of the Chera kings Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in Table I, and of
by
his

brother

in

Table

II

are

narratad
all

(Book,

xxviii,

11.

135-148).

Consequently

the

kings referred

to in

the two genealogies must have

sors of Senguttuvan.

been the predecesParanar has sung

maternal

The
and

poet
his

Senguttuvan

(No. 4)

uncle

Nedum

Cheral Adan (No.

1)

besides

Uruva Paher,

Ilamchet Senni of Pukar, father of Karikala Chola of

Kaveripatam and Vel-Pahradakkai Perunar-Killi of

Uraiyur.
reigns

Summing up
1 to
to

the duration

of the various

from No.

No.

4,

as given in

Table

I,

the period

comes

more than
age

a century,
of

and

this
It

could

not

surely be the

Paranar.

is

therefore clear that the

length of

the reign of each

king includes the period of their viceroyalty in some

part of the

Chera country before

their accession to the

Chera throne, and ihat almost all kings given in the two tables must have reigned between A. D. 125 and
225.
This,
I

believe,

is

the period of Kapilar, Paranar

It

and

other poets mentioned above.

in these

was the custom

provinces as in the north, to appoint the sons

of the reigning kings, especially the heirs apparent, as

Nadus under them styled himself a Chera, a Chola or a Pandya king, we have a number of such kings ruling at the same period and there
Viceroys
of

different

provinces or
of

their sovereignty.

As each


272

TAMIL STUDIES

were as many as nine Chola princes at Uraiyur durii the time of Senguttuvan and this is one of th stumbling blocks in fixing the genealogy of the Tamil
;

kings.

Further,

this

difficulty is

enhanced

in

the

case of the Chera kings on account of the

Marumak-

katayam law of inheritance, which had been then as now in vogue in the Malabar coast and it has
;

become

a hopeless task to determine

their

relationof

ship on account of the temporary

patriarchal
yas,

unions

the

and matriarchal royal families of the PandCholas and Cheras. It was one of the causes for
of

constant wars between them, and for the eventual

separation
dynasties.

the

Cheras from the

other

Tamil
period

The genealogy
ago
is

of the

Chera kings of

this

given by Mr. Kanakasabhai in his Tamils 1800 years

as follows
:

Athan

(4055).
I

Athan II, m. Sonai, daughter of Kankala Chola (55-90)

Senguttuvan (90
I

125)

Ilango.

Yanaikkatchey (125135)I

Perumcheral Irumporai (135

It

150).
tally

will

be seen that
it is

this table

does not

with our

own, and

not possible to say on

it.

what authority
evident that he

he has based

But

at

any

rate

it

is

has forgotten the fact that succession in the Kerala.


jntry
;'iis

THE TEN TENS

to

273
law.

was according

Marumakkatayam
of

Senguttuvan was not the son

^hola princess Sonai as

and the he has given; but he was the

Athan
II

nephew

of

Athan

as the following lines will

show:

Q^fiTmesr LDosarsSeirbyfl uS&sr

*

Losear
*

L_6k) lS paQsaiLisf-uj

Qs=ia(^LL'il(oiJGsr

On

the other hand, the Silappadikaram informs us

that Senguttavan

was the son

of Seraladan

by a Chola
Qa^ia

princess
(gtleuair.

Q^uedtt ^p^a^ Qs^aLp^

m^s^i^ peauDii^ ear

And

elsewhere in the same work the Chola

is

king Valavankilli
of

spoken of as the brother-in-law

I

Senguttuvan

rSsisrstOLD^^earmajen-eu^Seirerft.

am
first

inclined to believe that

the

word

los&r in

the

quotation from Silappadikaram should

be

oiasoT-,

as

otherwise the parentage given to some of the Chera

kings in the Padirruppattu must
all

be

false,

which

is

improbable.

Tamil country the Aryan Brahmans had in small numbers. They were already settled patronized by kings with grants of land. Some of them were engaged as purohits or priests,while others
In the

occupied themselves in teaching the Aryan religion and philosophy to the Tamils. The Tamil poets Kapiwere Brahmans. There lar and Palai-Gautamanar Nacchellaiyar and educawere also poetesses like
;

tion of

women was

not

neglected

in

those

days.

Besides poets of both sexes

Vellalas,
18

among Brahmans and

class

there was a low

of

minstrels called

274

TAMIL STUDIES

Panans (female Patini), who lived by begging, and whose duty it was to recite songs before kings and chiefs. They were rewarded with elephants, chariots and garlands of golden flowers. And they used to accompany kings to battles and visit camps in the hope of sharing with the victorious soldiers the
booties taken in wars.

and ginger, varagu, kollu and tinai, cocoanut and palmyra were largely cultivated. Meat was eaten by all classes, not excepting even Brahmans, and the drinking of liquor was very common.
Rice, sugar

Soldiers used to wear garlands of ginger and flowers in

order to eat

that

pungent root
Rice
soldiers.

at

intervals while

quaffing liquor
the
favourite

(v. 2).

cooked

with

flesh

was

viand of

They

observed
or on

feasts

when

they returned after success in wars,

the birthday of kings,

(vi. 1).

and fasts on full-moon days The Brahmans performed Yagas or sacrifices for the benefit of kings. The God Vishnu at Tri. vandrum was worshipped by all people of higher
castes
(iv.

i\

Females, especially the class

knots

called

eSlp&SiuiT,

were in the habit of tying their locks of hair

five
(ii.

divided into

like

the

Toda women

of

modern time
extracts

8).

Compare with

this the following

from

Kalittcgai

which gives a graphic des-

cription of the coiffure in

vogue among the Dravi.

dian Tamil
(1)

woman

of antiquity.

6Too<srot_ Q^itlLl^

smrdsaSesr

Qu p pssiOJLOUrr&d,

(2)

^^iTS

QiBfiS^^<s5r(oQr ei]p&)eSa i'Ssfrihuir

eiesafi iBeas uSss)u.uSlLi-.

e^eastviEJsemesdl.

THE TEN TENS

275

Kalangu or the seeds of (guilandina bonduce) were

Tjsed for

counting (iv. 2). They believed in omens and auguries, the withering of leaves in the silktree

cotton
(iv.lO).

being considered an

evil

foreboding

They

believed in astrology and in the appeauniversal

rance of eleven suns to dry up the

(vii.2).

deluge
virtue

Chastity was considered the

of 'learning' in of

highest

and sign
the
story

women and
or

they believed in

QTihiSm

arundhati.

Among
of

the

Tamils the ordinary custom was the burial

bodies
(v. 4).

dead

They used

to be kept

in big

pots

and

buried under Vahni (Prosopis spicigera) trees.

Feudalism was prevalent.

their governors of

The Tamil
were

kings

and
at

provinces

constantly
the the
as

Each was bent upon subduing and becoming the overlord. Thus, at
war.
of

other
battle

Nerivayil
princes

near

Uraiyur

as

many
by

nine

Chola

were

defeated

Senguttuvan,

the Chera king.

the Puzhi

part of the

Chera country, called

lost

Nadu was conquered and

Pandyas.

alternately
chiefs

by the

Cheras and

These

had

small forts with deep ditches surrounded with forests,

one
of

tree of

mosa)

among which like the Nannan and the Qqjldlj

the vestiges of
first

sluJoli

(Eugenia raceThis

(Azadirachta indica)
to the ruler.

Palayan

was considered sacred

the
of

was one of In war the

Australian totemism.
to

business
trees

an enemy was
to

cut

down such

sacred

and

make war drums

to plunder

out of the wood, to burn

the villages,

276
their
cattle

TAMIL STUDIES
and
to destroy
their

with elephants.

When
in

a fort
fort

moats and ditches was besieged by an

used to
fight
of

enemy, the men

the

even

without taking food and write the number

thus passed on the fort-walls
(vii.8).

days

The battlements
the two
last

were

filled

with bows and arrows, swords, anklets

green
leaves
(vi. 3)
;

and

wreaths of

(worn by women) for distribution among the coward

soldiers

as
to

marks
pour

of
oil

shame.

It

was
of

also

the

custom
behind.

on

the

head

the

van-

quished leader and to drag him by both

hands from
to
6)

The

victorious kings

and soldiers used

field of battle (vi.

dance with raised swords on the

and then

give grand

feasts to their

men when
seirQ^umeS

the

severed heads and bodies of the departed heroes lay

strewn around
feast)

them.

This was

(camp

and

^smiimsss;^^^

(war

dance).

They

the

knew something of surgery and used to stitch wounds received in battles with needles called Nettai or Q Qeu&r^Q (v. 2). Thev had their
ov^n military rules of discipline, and

always prefer-

red winter for

military

operations

(ix. 2).

Plunder
wars

was not

their sole object, but a desire tor

power and
were

authority actuated the Tamil kings to carry on

with the neighbouring chiefs.

Naval

fights too

unknown to them. The standard authority on grammar for this period was Tolkapyam. The following peculiarities may be found in the work under consideration. The
not
plural of high caste

nouns had,

/f,

while

the

neuter

THE TEN TENS

nouns
was not
it

277
termination, s^,

had
in

no
use

plural at

all.

The

then

though
^st,

Tolkapyar

mentions

in his

grammar.
(?q;/5jp,

In the matter of
srjbpuDj

gender, neuters

like

^iasu,

&c.,

were mostly

in use,

though masculine and feminine

nouns
or

like

QtBi^Qiurresr

and

^tftiueir

are

met with occasionally. The

was
^sin'!&),

post-position for
for the dative

all

the six cases

but

(5

and

jy for the genitive

In QuirmssB^esTmeWy
6\)ti)Ly/r)jj;@-a)

were also used. S^esBpp^fi, iii(T^ui3ssiuj!T'2esT and

@oir stands for 2nd, 3rd, 6th

we find

and

7th cases; and in the phrase L3u^(U(^mgiJ the termination

=gy

is

a genitive particle.The formation of verbal-nouns

as in Q^n-soiu.
suffer, in

from Q^rr

to attach, in ^Tsu&i

from from

^/r

to

usssfli^

from uesS

to

bow,

in

ld&}iti-j

ld&iit

to blossom,in jy'PuL/from =gy to kill, in Quinuuui

from

Qu7iu to utter a
cut, in 67^

lie,

in jugVLj (separation)

from
to

stiI

to beat or throw,

from j>i^ to in ueap from

and
in
in uT/foysu
/5/f

up

to fly, in
ufTiT

^sap from
see
;

^^

to tarrv,

from
crete

of

personal
.a

nouns
and

from
con-

verbs ^t

{^(J^^it), usit (u^/f/B/f), jij

jy/fl {^rftsir};

nouns

from verbs ^^ ^Pf^, Qsjot

(piece
of cloth),

Q^tremis.

(booty),
.f j2/,

jij3)i<ss)eu

// sSp (powder)
as supiM

^jj/)

and

of abstract

nouns from verbs

are
all

{dryness*,

otpso,

Qeueusufr^ &c.,

now

obsolete.

Present tense was not in use

tenses which
future.

at this

period, the only

were frequently used are the past and

particles or signs of past tense

The
c/

much

in

use
i\iM,

were
<S(5,

and
l/

and those
(we

of the

future

were

u and

Q.f0st}>

will

go) ^iri(^,

^0U,

urrQuj

might be taken as examples.

Causative verbs

278
like

TAMIL STUDIES
e^Qpd^ (to cause to behave); infinitives in
in
fFiuir

as

in ^iP^LuiT (to give), imperatives in Qmir as

Q^mQinfr

and uSm
with

as in 'S-<^Llm

0)607,

adverbs of
poets.

gone out of use along Qsiresr, Qu sr and lomp which were the quality greatly used by the early Tamil
have
all

As
here

in
is

most works of
agaval.

this

period the

metre

used

Tolkapyar and Pavanandi have provided rules for

the going out of the old and the

coming
this

in

of

new

forms and words, so long as the language continues

to

have

life

and growth.

Ignoring

important

principle

Tamil poets
the the

of all ages

have slavishly adopt-

ed obsolete terms and expressions in their compositions.

This

is

chief cause

for the great

differ-

ence between
the obsolete

language

of

poetry

and

the

colloquial dialect.

We

are not concerned here with

as they

words and forms

by the
to those

have been
works.

fully explained

old commentators and in the

classical

glossaries

appended

We
but

give

below only such words

in

as are current

now

have undergone change

of

meaning by the influence

of

the

psychological

principles

contiguity,,
'

resemblance

and
kill,

contrast.

meant
'

victory

'

means a sheep 'or 'an (josarq meant 'strength' and now animal that frisks' it means 'front'; au@(G^aja) meant the 'people', now it means the 'green or fertile land;' ^ar^^&) meant
from
to
it
;

now

'thinking',

now

restricted only to 'measuring'

^ul^

meant 'withering or

dying,'

now

it

means

'that in

THE TEN TENS

;

279

which anything is cooked', hence an 'oven' euirt^ieias meant 'property', now it means 'living' \QiuiTmi meant 'iron', hence any useful metal, but now restricted to 'gold '; seif^sii meant also a 'pig', now only an 'elephant' L/sa) meant 'justice' rsQsiirS'ietxsio.D, now only 'mid-day'; below' 8Lfi3(^ meant a pit or a low groui id from Si^ and (^ the particle of direction, now it means the 'east/ which was believed by the early Tarailians as the
' ' '

low-lying land

in

reference to the Western Ghats

Qsn meant 'cruelty' or 'that which was bent' and now, it means a 'branch' of a tree; learning s/bi-i meant {s&)^i) and it is now restricted to chastity '; ^i-ij> in ussSliLD meant time, as no distinction was made by
'
'

'

the early Tamils between time (Skt.

(@t_ii))

sireouo)

and space
of
it

or they had

no term

to express the notion

time;

e^i^

meant

to 'spoil or injure' generally,

;

now

means 'to break or cut in twain' like a stick cSsmL^ULf meant 'death', now 'living' the opposite of it; Qetirnsoas meant wealth,' or that which is 'liked', and now it means 'hatred '; jifioseo meant 'staying or tarrying'
'

now

'leaving'; ^gui^

and ^^esioj (from

^ ^/b- to

cut) of

meant which

'separation' are

and

'a

piece of cloth',

both

now

obsolete, the latter

by another ^essR of similar 'begging', and it is no longer used in Qs=Lju is a very old word common
Telugu,
but
it

word being ousted origin; ^rreueo meant

that
to
in

meaning;

has

become
for 'iron'

classical

Tamil and Tamil and

Karum-

colloquial in Telugu.
1.

In Kanarese the

name

is

'Kabbonnu' or

'

ponnu', which means the 'black gold.'

280

TAMIL STUDIES
of this collection

The authors
relate

have used Sanskrit

derivatives (tadbhavas) very sparingly,

either
to

and even these

religion or

mythology.

They

are

^Q/,^ (sacrifice), usS (offering), mi^jih

(spell),

sireoar

(god of death),

utTsuD

or us^n^ih (devil), ^/tlc (garland),

jyai/6?Rjr/f

^(T-^ (purification),
^iftiuiT

(Rakshas or demons), and

of

(Aryas).

Thus

in a

work

about 1,800 lines only

a dozen words of Sanskrit origin are to be found, and

it

speaks of the purity of the

Tamil language.

It

can

exist

without the

least

help

from foreign languages,

as

it had and even now has sufficient elementary words of native origin, out of which compounds can,

with

little

attention

to

phonetic

principles,

be

formed

to express

modern thoughts and

ideas.

XI

THE VISHNUVITE
The study
beset
religious of the

SAINTS
is

azhvars or Vishnuvite saints

difficulties.

with several

On

the one

hand,
of

fanatics have gathered

together a

mass

legendary and superstitious accounts, often of a con-

the

and sometimes of an incredible nature on the European critics, perhaps aided by the sectarian opponents from the fold of the Saiflicting
;

other,

vas

who form the major portion of the Tamils, have done much to belittle the extent of their influence
lation.

results of their work among the Tamil popuForemost amongst them was Bishop Caldwell, whose opinion always carries that weight ana authority which a life-long and sincere devotion to the

and the

study of South Indian problems has secured for him.

But whatever claim

to

infallibility

his

conclusions
it,
il

on matters
religious

of

language
his

may

carry with

is

but

natural that

inferences

regarding social

and
an

movements should be biassed by

leanings.
In

his mis-

sionary

the

following

chapter

282
attempt will be

TAMIL STUDIES

made

to study the religious activities

historical

of the Vishnuvite

Alvars from a purely

care
will

stand-point,
stantiate

and

special

be taken to subepigraphical

statements from the

literary,

and other evidences. All over the contment of India Vishnu has been worshipped in some form or other; but mostly in his two latest incarnations as Rama and Krishna. He is an Aryan deity transplanted into the Dravidian soil by
successive bands of Aryan
settlers,

and

it

would thereof this cult

fore be highly interesting to give at the beginning a

brief outline of the origin
in the

and development

land of

its

origin.

The

mam

reasons for

pre-

facing this essay with such a resume are, (1) to compare its growth both in the Aryavarta and in the land
of the Tamils,
of the

and

(2) to

guard ourselves

in the

course

ensuing discussion against certain misapprehen-

sions that might be raised by the orthodox traditions

of the

Tamil Vaishnavas.
of

History
the

religions
of

in
is

India
as
this

tells

us

that

worship
that

Vishnu
at
least

old
sect

as

the

Vedas,

and

the

doctrines

of

had already

passed

through

two

stages

^the

Vedic
present
of

and the Puranic

form.

before

they attained the

religion

During the Vedic period the

the

Indo-Aryans consisted

in the adoration of the

elemen-

tal gods like Indra, Varuna, Agni and Marut, and in the offering of sacrifices to Agni or the lire-god. Vishnu was then a solar deity *and held an inferior

position as a fiiend or

comrade

of Lndra.

This epoch

THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS

283

was immediately followed by the rise of Buddhism and Jainism, which greatly influenced or modified the succeeding period of Puranic Hinduism, when the
elemental gods of the Vedic
period had

come

to

occupy an

inferior position, the foremost

rank having
Siva,

been taken up by

Brahma, Vishnu and

triple

which
of

were believed to be the

Being.

forms of the Supreme

And

to popularize this triad three classes to eighteen

Puranas araountmg
the

all

were written by
all

Brahman

sages.

They
with
is

narrate

sorts

of

legends

connected
of

each

of

the
to

above
praise
in

three deities.
of

Each Purana
these

devoted

the

One or another

gods

who

is

spoken of

that work as supreme, whilst other deities described in

other

Puranas are slighted and

their

worship even

forbidden.

They also prescribe rules for the worship of by means of prayers, offerings, festivals, and gods pilgrimages. The date of the oldest of these Puranas,
probably Vayu- Purana,
320 A. D. and the
It

is

believed to be

from about

latest to

be of the eleventh century.

idol-worship

was during

this period that

and the

building of temples for images

the Vedic sacrifices, which
to this
rites.

were substituted for

day

in a feeble
is

latter, however continue form among the Brahmanical:

This change

ordmarily attributed
of

to

the

overwhelming influence
which
their
at this

Buddhism and
state

Jainism,

period were

in a

of

decline

and

humane

but heretical doctrines had

ultimately

degenerated into mere idol-worship.

In

ancient times the

Dravidian Tamils

were a

284
fighting race.

TAMIL STUDIES

From

Purananuru,Kalittogai, Padirrupcollected

pattu

and other

works of

the

early

Sangams (academies) we further learn that great honour was done to brave men as is shown by a number of memorial stones or Virakkals still to be seen in some Tamil villages erected to commemorate their heroic deaths. The expressions like ^^sjS ^ir&srp
QjiuajiT, sir(ir,9

s^am pQs^Q^, etc. bear

testimony

to

the

martial spirit of the early Tamils.

of sickness

When

king died

without losing his

life

in battle his

body
up
as
in

used
with

to

be laid on a

bed of kusa grass and

that

split

sword believing

warriors could go to heaven.

battle

men who died Heroes who died

were buried on the road-side and tomb stones

set

were

names and
also

up with suitable inscriptions describing the the military achievements of these persons. Offerings of flower, cooked rice and liquor were

made by

iheir

relations

and friends.
the

Perhaps
sepulchres

small temples were also erected over

and worshipped,

h'ulan,

Katteri,

Nondi, Karuppan
the

and

other deities which

now form

objects

of

worship by low caste Sudras

probably to
ancient
this category.

and Paraiyas
in spirit

belong
worship

Thus, the religion of the

mainly

Tamils

consisted

and
all

in the

drinking and offering of liquor.

kinds of meat, including even beef, and

They ate mdulged

in alcoholic drinks.

According
marian,
mature of the

to Tolkapyar, the earliest

Tamil gram-

even gods
soil.

were

classified

according to the
fertile

Thus, Indra was the god of

THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS

and,
LDj^jsti) ;

285
;

Murugan
of

of the hills, (^13(^9

Durga
(josu^so

of
;

the desert,

u/t-^sw ;

Vasudeva
all

of pasture land,
It

and Varuna

the sea-coast, QiiL^io.

remembered
pantheon,

that

these deities belong to

first

must be the Aryan

and the last were purely god who might be called Vedic ^ods. The Dravidian was Muruga, as he was almost unknown under ihat appellation to the people of North India.
nay. the

only

Traces of

this

traditional

classification

migt?t

still

be found in some caste names like Devendra Pallan, Varunakulam (fishermen) and Vasudevakulam (shepherds). was in brief the condition of Such religion among the Dravidians when the early bands of Aryan immigrants settled in the Tamil country. Having ^aid something about the state of religion

among the Tamilians in the remote period, we shall now proceed to notice the changes that were brought about by their contact with the Aryans. The materials for this

section will
of the

be drawn chiefly

from the

Tamil works

Sangam

period, (A. D. 150

550)
He

and from the

inscriptions published

up

to date.

The

earliest

Tamil author whose date could be

Tiruvalluvar.
first

ascertained

approximately was

flourished probably about the end of the

century

A. D. and in his Kural

lection
to

we

find

no traces
or

of his predi-

any

particular
a

sect

religion.

He
now

was

no

doubt
both

monotheist

and

he

is

claimed
savant.

He

is

by the Jains and the Saivas as their even worshipped by the Saivas of to-

day as one of their saints or Nayanars.

We

shall

286
next take Kapilar.
in the

TAMIL STUDIES

He was

Brahman

of

Tiruvadavur

Madura
find

district

and Hved probably during the

century.

early part of the

second

Among

his

writ-

ings

we

Baladeva,

poems in praise of Tirumal (Vishnu), Murugan (Subrahmanya) and Siva. With

to

due difference

the

profound

scholarship

of

Mahamahopadhyaya Swaminatha Aiyar and of the we are of opinion that none of the Saiva poems included in the eleventh Tirumurai,
older commentators

with

the

single exception

of

Tirumurugarruppadi,

were
also

written by Kapilar, Paranar

and Nakkirar

of the

academic period.

Though

a Vedic deity

Indra was

worshipped

at this time.

From Silappadikaram
festivals

also celebrated in
(1)
(sSlesaressT^iT

and Manimekalai we learn that annual honour of this god.

^'^su'BeaT e^Qpii ittlLu^u

were

i3psiirr ujrTS(oS)iU QurftCoajfreisr QaofTuS&s

LDgfiQpS'f
eurreoaj'Serr

QfQjQev
Qldsi^

aressfi^si^

QstTuS^m
QsnuSl^

aa/zxaflG'aj/raar

Se\) (oLOSsft Q'Si^QiLifTesr

QsmiS^m.

Sil.

(2)

eu-f&iT^ ^ii(ssis Qmi^QujiT&si (d%ituS^lL

Qunnungui QpufikisptBis.

Pur.
Sangam

Another celebrity
kirar,

of the later

period, Nak-

informs us that during his time four gods of

as holding the

the

Aryan pantheon were considered

foremost rank
(Sj

among

the South Indian deities.

eireiSiTfeiBL-

pg^Qjeo ^ujrfliu QeufiSiDQ^

LDirjbp0iEl sessB^f^ LDessfluStjb

Q^'^iii

Q^ireon (ssoeSlsaf

iBireOSu (r^eir(ei^ih.

-Pur. 56,


THE VISHNUVITE
They were
In his later
Siva,
life,

SAINTS

2S7

Vishnu,

however,

Balarama ind Muruga. this writer became a Saiva

and composed a poem in praise of Murugan, for which he was canonized as one of the Saints of the
Saiva sect.

This was probably a period of eclecticism,

the Vedic and the Puranic gods had

since

not

yet

been

subjected to the process of separation, but were in a

nebulous form.

Besides the four

gods

mentioned

above the Vedic deities India, Yama, Varuna, Soma, Aditya, Rudra, Vasu and Marut had been adored or respected even at that time by the Aryan immigrants.
iMakkirar tells us that the
first

four were 'great gods'

{mjbQuQ^iB Q^Lueuua), while the rest

thirty-three deities as follows

were divided

into

Aditya, 12;

Rudra, 11;

Vasu, 8

and

Marut,

2.

increased to thirty-three crores during

period.

These were subsequently the Puranic

iBfTeoQeiJSii

(0^0)0 (Beo^^i^ &pui3n)

urreoQojsu Q^eu(j^

lduu^

uiitis^.

Mani.
to sacrifices

Greater attention

was also paid

both

by the Brahmans and kings, the

that the prosperity of

latter chiefly provid-

ing funds for their performance, as they had believed

the

country depended mainly

will

on such

sacrifices.

The following quotations

bear testimony to the prevalence of this belief:

(1) rSjiB^ uuis^sm iTQ^tsiSL^ eirft^S'^

Qp^^

eiS<sfrd(^,

Pur.


TAMIL STUDIES
(2) Qeu&reiS QpptB'jj &jrrujajfreir Qeuik^.
(3) (4)

Pur.
usvCsulISu).

SiTisnesgr Qisujeiii^iE}@LLi jQicemi^ssarLj

S-i5aiff<^iT60

Ib^

Q&ieireS

Qpuf.^^ Qa&rsS. Pad.

LJi^eu QiMrru^iuiT^

v(5)

uji^eoBriT

Qsi^eSKSstLQu
lb.

QeuareS QeuLLiJ2esT

The above

is

a brief account
it

of

the Tamil country as

existed

and was

Brahmanism known

in

to

the authors of the Purananuru and other classics of the

pre-Puranic period.

And an

outline of

the Puranic

Hinduism which follows will clearly show that none of the Saiva Nayanars or Vaishnava Alvars ever held
the religious v'iews explained
in

the

above works.
both

This one

fact will in itself suffice to

prove that

the Saiva and Vaishnava Saints,

probably with the

the

exception of one or two, flourished only during

Puranic period,

viz., after

A. D. 500.

The

essential features of the early of idols

Puranic period

were the setting up

and the construction of temples for them. The Tamil kings of this period chiefly the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Pandyas

whose purohits or|spiritual advisers were Brahmans, were imbued with devotion to Vishnu or Siva. It
appears that
scarcely

Brahma had no
in

votaries,

as his

name

occurs

the academic

works.

Later on,

however, he was united with Siva and Vishnu to make

up the triad; and Indra and Baladeva were ousted from the Hindu pantheon. Still Brahma has been occasionally referred to in both the Saiva and Vaishnava hymns, though he had no temples to reside
his friends Siva
in like

and Vishnu; and even now he has only


THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS
289

one temple in all India, and this is at Pushkaram in Vishnu and Siva alone were honoured with Ajmei". shrines, were regularly worshipped, and were given
offerings

three

or four

times a day.
fasts

To
were,

propitiate

them people observed

fore the sixth

and held

festivals.

Be-

century

A. D. there

however*

only very few templesi dedicated to

these deities and

Muruga,

as the following

extracts

from Pattuppattu,
will

Padirrupattu,

Purananuru, and Silappadikaram

iimQant^^ Q^eveu^LD Qsu&rQeir^

show

(1)

Lj&refressH

QpQswtS&sr QpQ^iQuu (ip!T6eETL^^

Qfeoeu^

^ p^uu^
(2)

^Q.iSuj

/5(T/_li_^jij

^^ueO

seatsiQuiTQT) ^Slffls SLDy?(^{rjb

giitpir^

ine\)Ei3jh Qs^e^JSuasT Qs=SiJL^ utrsS.

Pad,
Puf.

(3)

QpdscL

Qs^evsuiT tssirojeOt^ Qs=ujjb(^.

(4)

eSrfl^ssiad sfreSifJ eSlujiohQuQTfi ^(tfjSi^

^Q^QJLDIT
LDrJlfu<5Sr

@L^k^

Q}0SS! 6SSI (LplJb

^0LDrr6\}

(^m psi^ff-

0<f6i)(g eSlirnQeo

G)LiiTp0'LDes)n'Si ^fT(^<sn<sfTti>
1.

Qurr0is^ iSlm.

is

Sil.

Srirangam,

Tiruppati and Tirumal-kunram

(Kalla Alagar^

appear to have been the oldest and most famous of the Vaishnava
temples in the Tamil country.

The famous temple

of

Varadaraja
it

at

Conjeevaram
of

is

not sung

by any Vishnuvite Saint, as

one

modern

origin like those at

Mannargudi and Melkota.

19

290

TAMIL STUDIES
a large scale
sixth

was begun during and early part of the seventh centuries by Kocchengat Chola, Sundara Pandya Deva and Mahendra Varraa Pallava. They tolerated all sects and religions Saiva and Vaishnava, the last of which, however, was Jainn and Buddha
the

Temple building on
second half

of the

then

on the decline
kings were

at

least

in the

extreme south.
of

Though nominally worshippmg any one

gods, the
triad in
in

these

the habit of

invoking the

their grants.

In the

same family the father

might be a Saiva whilst his son professed Vishnuism

or very rarely even Jainism.

Thus

the Cheia
a

king

Senguttuvan (about A. D. 250) was

Siva
Jaina

worshipper of

and Vishnu, while

ascetic
;

his

younger brother was a

saint

the

Saiva

Tirunavukkarasu-

Nayanar was a Jain in his early days while his sister Tilakavati was a Saiva devotee and the Pallava king Simha Vishnu (A. D. 590) was a staunch worshipper of Vishnu, whilst his son Mahendra Varman was first It is no a Jama and then an orthodox Saiva. wonder, therefore, that when Hwen Tsang visited Conjeevaram in A. D. 640 there were in that city 100
;

and about 80 temples the majority

to

Buddhist monasteries, with about 10,000 Brethren of which belonged

the

Digambara Jains. And he goes on to say Molokuta (probably the Pandya territory) the people were ot mixed religions. There were many
that
in

remains
vation.

of old monasteries, very

'

few being

in preser-

There

were

hundreds of Deva temples

of various
sects,

and the professed adherents

especi-


THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS
ally

291

the

Digambaias,

were
the

numerous'-i

Wr
of

see

then, at the early half of

seventh century that

Buddhism was
ascendancy.

in its decline,

and the

sects

Siva
for

Vishnu and Jain were fighting with one another

The

later

history of the Saiva and the

in

Jaina cults will be

dealt with

the second volume.

As the subject matter for our immediate consideration is the development of Vishnuism we shall for the
present
part

company with our

Saiva

and Jaina

brethren.

For the separation of the Vaishnava cult and its development into a distinct sect in tlie Tamil country the Alvars were mainly instrumental. They were the Hrst to hymn the praises of Vishnu and to propagate His worship. It might be gathered from their hymns that allusions and reierencesto the miraculous deeds
of

Rama,

Krishna

and

other

incarnations

of

from the two great epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata and from the Bhagavata and Vishnu Puranas. Their hymns were
largely

Vishnu were drawn

collected, arranged

and compiled by
of
*

Sri

Nathamuni,
into a

probably under the editorship

single

Nammalvar

volume
of

called the

the

'

Book

4000 hymns
Tengalais)

',

Nalayira-Prabandam', or about the middle of the

the

tenth

century A.D.

Among

Tamil Vaishnavas
of

(especially the

poems
Vedas.
so

is

Tamil being regarded as sacred as the Sanskrit Why this work has come to be esteemed
conceive.
It
is

this

collection

we cannot
1.

neither
228.

a translation of

Walters' Hvven Tsang, Vol.

II, p.

292
the holy Vedas

TAMIL STUDIES
of

the

Indo-Aryans, nor

is

it

exposition of their contents, rather than

great
epics
is

of the
is

an two

and the Puranas

that

and what

more

surprising
positions
varieties
of

the four

kinds of poetical

comsix

or prahmidas of
of

Nammalvar and
work
are

the

Tirumangai-alvar's

spoken

by

the

Vaishnava Acharyas as the counterparts-

of the

four Sanskrit Vedas and their six Vedangas.

appear false when it could Nammalvar hved two centuries The Devara hymns which constitute after Kaliyan. a more voluminous collection of the non-Brahman Saivas are not so much valued by the Smartha Brahmans of the Tamil districts. i This disparity m the

This

theory

might

be proved

that

estimation of the two Tamil works of exactly similar

nature was probably due to the anxiety of

the early

Acharyas
lar

to

make
the

the religion of Vishnu

more popu-

among

Dravidians,

most

of

whom

were

followers of Siva.

The

collection of^

hymns and

religious

poems by

Appar, Sambandar, Sundarar, Manikka Vachakar and

other Saiva devoteesand their compilation into eleven
tirumiirais or series are usually ascribed to

Nambi-

yandar Nambi.
visaippa
1.

In|the ninth book entitled the Tiru-

we

find a
this

hymn composed by Gandaraditya

the

Concerning

follows:

"

Government

Epigraphist

writes

as

Ihe Saiva

creed. ..does not appear to

have paid much

without any
rendered

attention to Sastric karma, but taking

its

unsullied devotion to Siva as

classes of people

basis, it

received into

its

fold all

distinction of caste.
it

This catholicity of the Saiva faith

not very popular^ with the orthodox Brat'mans".

THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS

Chola
(A. D. 948-960)
at

29^3

Raja Chola's shrine

and another on the god Tanjore which was built

ot
to-

wards the close of the tenth century, while a third by Karuvur Devar refers to a temple built by

Gangaikonda Chola above tradition be

should have
lived

in

or about

1015 A. D.

If

the

trusted

Nambiyandar
As
it

Nambi
said
that

about 1025.

is

the Periyapurana of

the

poems

ot

Sekkilar is based upon one of Nambiyandar Nambi (^(5^3^/7 63ar/_'f

^Q^euissiT^), Sekkilar

should have been either his con-

temporary or his successor.

a Chola

He was
title

a minister

under

king

and had the

of

Pallavarayan conferred on
otttcial distinction.

him

as a

Uttama Chola personal mark of

us that the

Inscriptions inform

term Uttama was the

(A. D. 970-985)

name

of Rajaraja's predecessor
of his succes-

and one of the hirndus

(A. D.

sor Kajendra

I.

1012).

Several
first

shrines

are

said to have been built

Uttama Chola and by his mother Sembiyan Mahadevi (queen of Gandaraditya). But it is said that the Periyapurana was
by the
written under the

patronage of a Chola king

it is

named

Anapaya, which,
in the

understood from an inscription

title

Tiruvalur temple, was the

(A. D.

of

Kulottunga

Chola

1070 11 18). Taking

then the reign of

it

Kulottunga Chola as the

latest limit,

might be said

with tolerable certainty that the Saiva poets

Nambibetween
may have

yandar
1. It

Nambi and
be out

Sekkilari

flourished

will not

of place to

mention here that Chintamani, a

middle

Jaina work widely studied

during the time of Sekkilar

been written by
century A. D.

Tuuittakka

Deva about

the

of the tenth

294:

TAMIL STUDIES
and
A. D. 1150,
a

A. D. 1000

period

which

bad

immediately followed one of great Saiva

(A.D. 950990). Sri Natha
sect

activity

Muni

of the rival

Vaishnava
poet

was

also a

contemporary

of the

Saiva

and

compiler,

the sequel,

Nambiyandar Nambi, as will be showm in and he should have been inspired by the

Saiva revival of his time to render a similar service

to his sect.

And

the above conclusions

seem

to receive

support from the following statement of the Govern-

ment epigraphist
where the

'

We

do not know of any

Saiva

epiI

graphic evidence earlier than the records of Rajaraja

recital of the

sacred

hymns

of

the

Devaram
instituted

are

{sic)

referred to for the

first
I

time as being

by him.

Rajendra Chola

appears to have

supported the cause of Saivaism by going a step further than his father

and

setting

up the images
clear

of the

famous Saiva
at Tanjore.'i

vSaints in
It is

the temple of Rajarajesvaram

pretty

therefore

that

the

practice of setting up images of the Vaishnava Saints

in

Vishnu temples might have come into existence

after

some time

A. D. 1025.

The

Alvars,

who were

elevated by the

Vaishnava
in

Acharyas to the rank of canonized Saints, are twelve

number; and they are being worshipped by them with greater devotion than they would adore their god
Vishnu himself.
only ten, Andal
1.

Strictly

speaking, the

Alvars
left

were
out of

and Madhiirakavi being

of

Report dated 28th July 1900,

page 103. Even before the 29th

year of Rajarajachola images

Sundara, Sambandar, Rajarajachola

set

and

his

queen Lokamahadevi were

up

in the

Tanjore temple.


THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS
account.
at

295

From
the

an inscription

in

the

Vishnu temple
it

Kumaralingam
all

(Madura

district),

will

be seen

that

ten Alvp.rs

were canonized and

wor-

shipped as early as
offerings
to the

D. 1230.

And

for
set

making
up
in
in

images of these saints

the temple of Kalla Alagar at

Kil-lraniya
certain
(S. S.

Tirumalirum Solai

Mutta Nadu lands w-ere granted

in

by a

devotee

the reign of

Virarajendra Deva

The word alvar medns 'one deep in 1153). 1 wisdom/ and any Alvai is, therefore, respected as a mediator to secure Moksha or salvation for the worshippers of Vishnu. The following table gives the names of the Alvars. the extent of their contributions to the Nalayira Prabandam, their birth place and the number of Vishnu shrines celebrated by them
:

'1

Pallava

2 3

Poigaiyar Pudaltar

100 100
100

Peyar

Conjeeveram Mahabalipuram Mylapoie

Tirumalisai

4 Tiiumalisaivar
r"

216

14 13 20
2
1

5
6

Chola

<

(.7

10 Tiruppanalvar Tondaradippodi 55 Tirumangaivar 1361

Uraiyur

Tirumandangudi
Tirukkurayahir
Qui'.on
) )

88
8

Chera
r

8
9

Kulasekhara
Peiiyalvar

105

p t^andya
,

MO
^

Andal

^^

Nammalvar
Madhurakavi
of the

473 1/3 1296

11

ir
*

ff

16
o

l^-I

Tirunagari Tirukkolur
of Alvars

30

The arrangement
the above table
is

names

adopted

in

not in accordance with the traditional

earliest

chronology, which assigns to the

1.

saint

4203

Epigraphist's Report, No. 665 dated

28tti

July 1910, p. 17.

296

TAMIL STUDIES
to

and

the

latest

2706 B. C,

but
in

with special

reference to the four Tamil

kingdoms
believe

which they

were born.

The orthodox Vaishnavas

were the incarnations of the

that the Alvars

sacred

weapons, the
Vishnu.
will

sacred ornaments and the sacred vehicles of

Of these

saints
;

Tiruppan and
because, from

Madhurakavi

not

detain us long

a literary stand-point

their contributions are almost trifling.

The

respective
vi'ill

merits and

the ages

of the

remaining

Alvars

therefore be discussed in the following pages, leaving

the miraculous incidents connected with their birth

and

life

for the pious edification of the superstitiously

Vaishna\'^as.
this

orthodox

No

necessity for an essay ot

there been

kind should have

occurred, had
faithful

at least

one

reliable
;

and

biography of the Vishnava Saints

neither in

Sanskrit

nor

in

Tamil was there a single biographer

of the type of a Boswell or a Lockhart.

Legends

of

some

kind or other are, however, not wanting

among

the Vaishnavas.

One

of these

named
of

ramparai
fesses

or the
give
;

'Genealogy
of

the

to

the lives

the

the GuntpaGurus' proVaishnava Saints

of

and Acharyas
described in

and

the

accounts

the

Alvars

it

appear to have been

of

written after
Saivas,

the fashion of the Periyapurana

the

the

accuracy of the contents of

questionable,
as

both

being

highly

they are replete

with

miraculous

incidents and anachronisms.

We

cannot expect more

than these from the religious zealots of the combative


THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS
sects,\vho
traditions
to

297

seem

to have

compiled them from distorted

and hyperbolic accounts which had come them several centuries after the death of these saints. Some of these were based on the casual utterances which are to be found in the writings of the Alvars themselves. The admissions of the saints which were made out of modesty and humility were, m certain cases, taken for real facts, and afterwards woven into long stories with embellishments drawn

down

chiefly

from

their

imaginative

brains.

Wherever
lives

traditions or autobiographical statements

were wanting
the
of

the biographers also were silent.

Thus

Poigayar, Peyar and

there
are

Pudattar are

almost
in their

blank, as
antadis,

no personal references
Periyalvar

while those of

Tirumalisaiyar, Tirumangai-Mannan,

Tondaradippodi,
paratively
full.

and Andal are

com-

And yet
Vaishnava

to

impose upon the credulous disciples the

Acliaryas

have cooked

up

even

the

horoscopes of

their saints

The

asterisms in

which
in

PudattaU'ar and Poigaiyalvar were born, as given

the Guruparamparai, do not agree with those assigned

to

them by

the following inscription of

Vikrama Chola

(A, D. 1118) at

Kanchipuram

Q^IM

QufTiUSmS

LUTl^oUfT(V^LD

L3/oi^^Q^d

QsLLaaU-lStTsk S\([h

QuQ^i^Q^euQfi^^
later

Qs=uj^0sir

&c.

But

it

is

said

in in

works

that Poigaiyar

was born
at

at

Kacchi
in

Tiruvonam and Pudattar

Mamalla

Avittam.

298

TAMIL STUDIES
lines

The following

which we here quote from the

furnished

writings of the above saints seem to have

the data for their respective biographies

(1)

Tirumalisai

Alvar,

(^eomis&rnuj

^iH rrsmts^Qeomsk
mrreaBu-LD uiT'Ju.<osr.

p ^iih
Q^

l3 roiB^lQeO'sk

mirsQsiTem

(2) Tinimangai Alvar.

Qs^LDQinQ^smisf-s,
LDQFoiS
'

^e^2EsiQu(r^d

Q^iflsiosijLDfT(rF(TKiai](cLD

smi]Q<osr iev)(S<oar<ssr

(3)

Toiidaradippodi Alvar.

(^^^liissisrrsii^Q^
QUbmgu

^n^^
q/F^

ULLu.(Lpi^(o<stj'2ioBT

QufT^QfT

Qs^rreosSlu

(4)

Periyalvar
j)jsaisfl(c

(dsu^uulu^

Qsntsken- <si}eOoi)sSLL(ii& ^ ^s^

sinLis^uufr (csirewLSLDiresr^isia^,

(5)

Andal.

QumaQuj

uapst^p

u^erBsOsiri^surr^emu

(?6U637

ssmi^rriL LDmnDsQesr

ajirH'SsarixiniiSln'iii

&C.

Quotations
indefinitely.

of

this

nature

might

be
of

multiplied

In our opinion
in the

some

the historical

accounts given

Periya-purana are comparatively

as

more
stories

trustworthy,

the Saivas

do

not

assign
of

fabulous

ages

to

their

Nayanars.
life

Most

the

relating

to

the

of

Tirumangai-Aivar,

THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS

especially the offer of

299

treasure

by Varadaraja and
clear in-

the

making
of

of

arrangements by this Alvar for the

recital

Nammalvar's Tiruvoymoli, are

stances 05 gross anachronism.

The
It is

first Alvars.

common
is

belief

among Tamil
of

scholars that
{ldieis&) ^<ss>s').

'north'

the direction

prosperity

We
try,

shall

accordingly begin with the Pallava coun-

the northern-most
for

kingdom

of the
is

Tamil people
that
it

Another reason

this

procedure

was

from Tondai Nadu

that social

and religious reforms

extended gradually to the other Tamil kingdoms.

In this country of the Pallavas

were born the

first

three Alvars

Poigai, Pudam and Pey. Each of

the
of

them
three

was the author of an aniadi or a centum the Venba metre in praise of Vishnu,

of verses in

poems

forming a portion of

that

book

the

Divya Prabandam entitled the lyarpa.

pal tenet was,
(LpssoneiiiriT QpsufTuo ^suQfjisfri^Lo

Their princi-

Hence
of

the

miraculous 'sports' and

performances

Vishnu wrought during his incarnations as Vamana, Narasunha, Rama and Krishna form the

main theme

of iheir of

hymns.
Alvars
assert
is

The age
obscurity.

these

involved

in

hopeless

Traditions

th.it all

the three

were
they

contemporaries and that once upon a

time

300
all

TAMIL STUDIES
met
together
district.

at

Tirukkovalur
for
this

in

the

South
the

Arcot

But

one

incident

Guruparamparai gives no particulars regarding them. It is believed by some scholars that Poigai Alvar was no other than the author of Kalavazhi. If there was

any truth
must have

in

this

supposition, the
reign
to
is

first

three Saints

lived during the

of the

Chola king
century

Kocchengannan

that

is

prior

the

sixth

A.D. But the above hypothesis

not countenanc-

ed by other internal evidences. Of the two Poigaiyars

one was
saint

a saint

and the other

of

famous bard.
as

The

was no respecter

men

he has repeatedly

said that,
(1)
eiiiTujeu'2esr

in&is\)^ suiti^^^it^
ut(E)qjisji
;

(2)
(3)

uiTi3i.^mfSmi-js(cLp
LDiTujsh'2esr ujevsOiT6\)f

^}sa/D

Quu^

QiD^^aQ^ssTtsa.

On the

contrary the other Poigaiyar appears to have been a court poet under the Chera king Kodai Marpan

and earned
reader

his

livelihood

by eulogizing the Tamil

stanzas 48 and 49 in the

kings of the southern districts, in proof of which the

may

be

referred

to

the language of these two and we have no faith in the vague statements of the old commentators regarding their identity. For these and the following reasons we

Purananuru.

Again

writers differs;

are inclined to believe that the

name Poigaiyar was

borne by two

different

authors,

who

flourished at

different periods.

The
god

saints Poigai

of a place called

and Pey have celebrated the Vinnagaram:

THK VISHNUVITE SAINTS

(1)
Qeu/W'^L^Qpuo)
LiiEjQiiEjSleO

301
s

eSlssBtoemsQhLD

Qsuoosnei^LCiooSiT

limQsfTsu&i QunmssraQFfiJo

sBrrm

<STlir(fl^S0QsLD(TLlilL^!T.

Poi.

11
iB'T

(2)

eSsmesoT'KTLD QsuooSfrsSifl^'SisitT

Qsuibsild

inem sum s IT

ldit

LrnTL-Qeut&KSSisf.

Pcy. 62.

The word Vinnagaiam is a corruption of Skt. Vishnu Nagar and it may mean any house of Vishnu. But from the manner in which it is used along with Vengadam, Vehka, Koval, Agaram and Velukkai in
he above quotations,
only
it

must
in

refer

to

particular

shrine in the Pallava country or Tondai Nadu, There

is

one

Vinnagaram
is

the

whole

of

that

country and that

Poigaiyar and
saints

in

Conjeeveram.

Further,
less

Peyalvar

were more or
of

local

and

their

peregrinations
to

were confined

to

Tondai-Nadu and

some

the

most renowned

shrines in the further south, namely, Srirangam

Kumbakonam
solai

and Choladesam and Tirumalirumand Tirukkottiyur in the Pandyamandalam. For

in the

these reasons
referred to

we

are disposed to identify the Vinnagar

by these Alvars with the Paramesvara Vinnagar of Tirumangaiyar's hymns. As it is explicitly staetd that thegodof this place is in the sitting posture, it
cannot
refer to Tiru- Vinnagar (Uppiliyappan)

another

important shrine of the same

district.

name

in

the

Tanjore

According

to

Dr.

Hultzsch

the

Parames-

vara Vinnagarami was built by the Pallava king Para1.

Mr,

S.

Krishnasamy Aiyangar

finds fault with Dr. Hultzsch for

302

TAMIL STUDIES
II (A.

mesvara Varma

D. 690).

These three Alvars

interesting to
Hills

should, therefore, have flourished in the latter half of

the seventh century A. D.
It

would be
Tirupati
of

note here that the god on the

(Tiru-

vengadam) had the appearance Vishnu in the days of Peyalvar.

both

Siva and

Tipumalisai Alvar.
One
to

of saints

who

is

stated in the

Guruparamparai
to

have lived

in the

Dvapara Yuga and

the
first

have had

some acquaintance with

Tirumalisaiyar.

three
of

Alvars was
the

He was
his

a native

Pallava

country

and

Tiru-chanda-viruttam and Nan-

mugan Tiruvandadi are admired for. their harmonious versification. He was a poet, philosopher and ascetic His real name is said to have been Bhaktisara (yogi).
the above statement.
as

He

says that "this

is

not a necessary inference,

title

any other Fallava paramount sovereign might have had the

Pallava Paramesvara and the foundation

tiave

when contracted might

g.,

become Paramesvara Vinnagai am,

for

t;.

Vidya Vinita Pallava

Paramesvara m." Ind. Ant.

1906,
it is

p.

229.

We

cannot
the

quite

understand what he means, as

at issue.

not

explanatory of
like

point
is

As a

title

the term

Paramesvara

Maharaja
it

so

vague that none

proper name.
titles of

of the Indian kings

seem

to

have had

except as a
special

There were Brahman settlements known by

like

kings

Manabharana-chaturvedi-mangnlam,
while

Gangai-

kondan, Gunabharesvaram and Madhurantakam. In these cases

could say with certainty what kings had these
titles,
it

we

would

be next
the
title

to impossibility to hit
of

upon a particular sovereign

who had

'Paramesvara' or 'Maharaja.' Compare the names of the

following villages: Varaguna-manjjai, Gandaradityam,

Nandipuram
villages

Kulottunga Cholai.allur, &c. In

all

these

instances the

were

called after the

names, not

titles, of

kings.


THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS
which we think was only a
to
title

303
is

and he

beheved

have been the son of a Rishi named Bhargava, but

brought up by a
statement
IS

man

of the hunting tribe. This latter

his

borne out by

own admission which

:

occurs

in the

Tiru-chanda-viruttam

His writings, however,

show

that he should

have

acquired equal proficiency both in Sanskrit and Tamil

and a competent knowledge of the sacred books of His mastery of the the other sects and reHgions. Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Vishnupnranais
displayed
life

in

both his poems.

He was throughout
baivas,
Jains
:

his

a rancorous

opponent

to the

and

Buddhists, and a devout worshipper of Vishnu

(1) ^^(uiTiT fu.emiTijjiT^^niT ueij^^ir
QfSujrTIT

&S1JU

ULLlfTIT.

^esmQLL(Ssr pssiiibsp

eiiii(Lp

Lnir^rrsirea.

Tirumalisai Alvar was a

monotheist as he himself
while the

admits that Q^Q^iasaed Q^tsijQ^Q^sijQsmi^^usmiruuaiT^ and

preached that that one god was Vishnu

other

two

of

the
:

triad

Brahma

and Siva

were

created by

him

(sirmQps^esT

fBarriTLUossrisiT

usai^^iTssr lEinssrQps^uD

Further he was a pantheist and held that Vishnu

is

omnipresent and pervades the

whole universe,


304
as taught by
the

^
of

His

TAMIL STUDIES
etymological signification
:

name.
(1)

He

invokes Vishnu thus

semesBimQLDiLKSUiTeSS n-psaQLnfT^emirs^&ii

lurr

^ui[ tu ^esr nS QiuuolS irir ^uai^

nSn'mcQissr,

(2)

iQujUL^eoQse^&irrui issieor(Tf)Qefr iS jbuetsreuLX)

And

yet

this

all to,

powerful omnipresent
nor cognisable by, man.

Vishnu

is

neither visible

(2)

STiEi^&r Q-nkiseannoT^dso iuir<S}iTsn<5aar eusoeo'^iT ?

Then to whom is this God knowable and how are we to perceive Him ? Our Alvar says in reply
:

rBski-ieoeuL^

^/Vih^ (^Tayrrsp

<9?i-.pQsiTe^

^esnSleOesr/SijjfTL^ujfT'Sesi luiTGJiTsiTtmr isu&iei)Q [t,

(Vishnu

who

wields the

sacred disc will be

after

cognisthe

able only by

those
of

who,

having closed

the five senses and sealed their opened the broad way of intelligence litting the lamp of wisdom and mellowing their bones with a heart melted by the intense heat of piety.)

narrow paths
doors,

As regards the date of

nal evidence in his

this Alvar, there

is

no

inter-

writings to proceed

upon with

THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS

any degree
it

305

of certainty. that

But from

their general tenor

at a

might be inferred

he should have lived

for

period

when

the Jains, Buddhists

and Saivas were

supremacy.
the
of

fighting with

one another
it

religious

This age, so far as

the

could be ascertained was

seventh century A. D.,

Saiva
faith,

when

the great

champions

Tirunavukkarasu and Sarabandar,

in the
is

were busily engaged

ations.

work
a

of religious

disputas

Moreover, there

tradition,

which

we have pointed above, connects

first

him with

the

three Alvars.

It is

said that

during his

pilgri-

mage to Kumbakonam he stayed for some time at Chidambaram or Perumpuliyur. As he has not
celebrated the Vishnu god of that famous stronghold
of Sivaism,
it

is

almost

certain that

in his

days the

Govinda Raja did not come into existence. Tirumangai Alvar informs us that this god was set up and worshipped by a Pallava king who may have, in all probabihty, been Nandivarma I or Peramesvara
shrine of

Varma
fore,

II,

A. D. 690. Tirumalisai Alvar should, therelived at least half

is

have

century

before

Tiru-

mangai
century.

Alvar, that

in the latter half of the

seventh
our

Again

in the 93rd stanza of |his antadi

Alvar addresses Vishnu, thus.

The
title
still

expression

^(^emuuam'^

reminds

us of the

Pallava king

was
20

Mahendra Varma I whose binulit or Gunabhara and whose inscriptions are

',

to be seen

an the rock

at

Trichinopoly.

He

306

TAMIL STUDIES
also

was

the

builder of

the
is

Siva temple called

said

Gunabharesvaram.
part of the seventh

His date

to be the early

century A. D.i
it

Vishnuvite,

our Alvar

Being a stanch appears was also persevery likely

the
II

cuted

by a

Pallava king,
1

above
(A.

Mahendra

Varma

or

Narasimha Varma
devout followers

D.

675) both of

whom

were

of

Siva

and
all

builders of several temples to that deity.

Taking

these circumstances into our careful consideration

shall not

we

be unreasonable

if

we

assign the middle

of the seventh

century A. D. to our Alwar's active

work.

He

should, therefore, have been a contempoSaiva

saints

rary of the

Tirunavukkarasu Nayanar

and Sambandamurti Nayanar.

It is

said in the
all

Guruparamparai

that he

had enter
he
be-

ed into

the religions of his times before

came a Vishnuvite, and that when he was a Saivite he assumed the name of Sivavakkiyar. There is such a close resemblance in the metre and the harmonic
flow of the

poems

of Sivavakkiyar

and the

Tiruch-

make one believe that both the poems were composed by one and the same author. Further, some of the stanzas
chanda Viruttam of our Alvar, as to
occurring in both are almost identical, and had the
present
of

Copyright Act been

in

force

then,

either
it.

them
1.

should

have
of the

been

prosecuted

under

This was the date

It

Saiva saint Tirunavukkarasu Nayaof

this Pallava that he,

nar,

was during the reign

formerly a
Tilakavati

Jain, was converted to Sivaism by who was a Saiva devotee.

his

beloved

sister

THE VISHNUVITE

SAINTS

307

(Compare verses 1, 2, 3, 4, 17, 79 &c. in Tiruchchanda Viruttain with 308, 237, 266, 265, 264, 268 &c. But Sivavakkiyar was in the poem of Sivavakkiyar). a theist belonging to the Siddhar School and lived
at least eight or

nine centuries posterior to our saint.

is

The

style of Tirumalisaiyar

sublime and philosois

phic, while that

of

Sivavakkiyar

insipid

and

at

times vulgar.

The

story given in the

Guruparamparai
Piran with the

connecting the saintly Tirumalisai

iconoclastic Sivavakkiyar must, therefore,

interpolation.

be a later

Tipuppanalvap.

We
of a

shall

now

take Tiruppanalvar and TondaradipFirst of

podi Alvar for consideration.

them was born

Panan family

at

Uraiyur, while the second was a

Brahman of Tirumandangudi in the Tanjore The Panans were an inferior caste of mindistrict.
Soliya
strels frequently alluded to in the

Fuiananuru, Padir-

ruppattu and other works of the academic period. In

the

Census

of 1891

Panan was returned

as a sub-caste

of Paraiya

and was always considered very low in social scale. Like Nandan of the Saivites, Tiruppan Alvar was a devout worshipper of Vishnu. Yet he was not permitted to enter the Vishnu temple at Srirangam, as
he belonged to the lowest out-caste.
tradition 1o the effect

There is a Ranganatha commanded one Lokasaranga, a sage, to bring him to his shrine on his shoulders. In consequence of this story our
that

Alvar

is

known

also as

'

Muni Vahana.'


308

TAMIL STUDIES
tradition

The above

proves

the

superiority

of

Bhakti, and emphasizes the fact that a Vishnu bhakta

might belong was worthy of honour and veneration than a Brahman wellThe sanVe ider is conveyed versed in the four Vedas. in the following lines of the Brahman saint Tonto whatever caste he

greater

daradippodi Alvar

uaD^e\)fi Q<snn(Lgs&)iT

p^u

u&)SF^u

Qu^LDiriraeir

jlSI(^0O^ ^SurfsQefT&s QmLDLLisf.

QsifinsiL^lGi^iT

tu rr its err n Sled

QsiT(jSim QsiremuSear.

His

faith in the

root on his
sects.

god Vishnu had taken so deep a mind that he became intolerent of other
Jainism, thus

He

expresses his hatred against other religions

especially
(1)

Buddhism and

L-i'?ffciijp

LDfT@mro i-f^Qsn

s^LD6amQLD6\)eoiTLi

s'?e\iujpd

s ppiDnkfih s,n<osmuQ an '^slLuQ hit ^trek

LissinQ,;^s=iTQeu(5m s^^^Luiki sn'6miAl'2ioSiLurr

^'^cLigxu

(2)

QsugiiuQun(Sl
QuiT^uuifiLLi

g:LD(am^(ip6amiiT'6i^uSe\) ^irdSiuiTsessflesruiTex)

ewssaQuQeO QufnsuQ^

QisrTiSj^rrQ

^gjiuuQ^

SQFfLDikisessn^fT lusfiBiSLOT iBS(i^<sfrnQ(oBT.

There
the

is

no data

in the

songs of these

Alvars to

determine their age.

mark

if

But we shall not be far from we put them towards the close of the
A.

eighth or the beginning of the ninth century

It is,

D.

however, said that there are references to these

in

Alvars

the

Mukunda Mala

of Kulasekhara

Perumal.

THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS

309

The real name of Tondaiadippodi was Vipra Narayana and he does not seem to have worshipped or ever uttered the name of any Vishnu deity other than His Tirumalai and Ranganatha of Srirangara.
Tiruppalli Ezhucchi form
part
of

the

Nalayitaprathe

bandam

to

which Tiruppan

has

contributed

decad named Amalan Adippiran.

Kulasekhara Alvap.
The
next Alvar in our Hst
is

Kulasekhara Perumal.

He

calls

himself

king

of

Kolli.

Kudal (Madura),
sau&)m ,3k,L-&)

Kozhi (Uraiyur) and Kongu

.Brrtussin, (oSfTj^sCosiTssi).

(Qsrrs'js\^

the four

It is not known at what period Tamil kingdoms Chera, Chola, Fandya and

Kongu were under the sway of a smgle sovereign. But this much is certain according to the Kongu
:

and inscriptions the Cholas became powerful once more in A. D. 890, when Vijayalaya and Aditya I not only regained their lost kingdom but also annexed to it the Kongu country (Salem and
chronicle

Coimbatore
the Vishnu

districts).

Kulasekhara has celebrated

refers
viii.

god

of

Chidambaram and

to

the

shrine at Tiruvali {^sSltssirss^iu^CoLu,

7).

We
latter

have stated before that the Vishnu shrine at

Chidam-

baram should have come

vali

into existence in the

half of the seventh century;

was probably one of

extremely doubtful

and the temple at Tiruthose built by Tirumangai

Keralolpatti,

Alvar in his
of

own Nadu. From

work
that

authority,

we

learn

310

TAMIL STUDIES

Kulasekhara was one of the successors of Cheraman

Perumal who died about A. D.

825.
of

Again the same traditional history

the

the

Kerala

country says that Kulasekhara Perumal organized

kingdom
the

into small chieftainships to

protect

it

and that after a reign of eighteen years he went to heaven with his bodv^ Kulasekhara Alvar niust, therefore, have lived between
against

Mappillas

A. D. 780 and 890. But in

arises

accepting this date there

one

difficulty, that

is,

our Alvar

calls

himself

Kudal Nayakan or the Lord

ot

Madura. At

this period

the Pandyas were powerful as will be seen from

the
for

Chinnamanur

grants.

The only

reconciliation

this discrepancy

would be that

Kulasekhara

was a

scion of the Pandya family

who

inherited the Kerala

throne under the mantinahkaiayam system.

known

in

the Chera country as

He was Pandya Kulasekhara

Perumal.
Kulasekhara had equal proficiency in Tamil and
Sanskrit.

He was

the author of

Mukunda Malai

in

Sanskrit and 105 stanzas in Tamil which

of
tlie

form part

Nalayiraprabandam.

His Tamil

hymns on
like

Tirupati and Srirangam are exceedingly pathetic

the

Tiruvachakam

of Tvianikkavachagar
;

and can melt

is

even sceptic minds

equally so.

while his Alukunda Malai

The

similes

employed

by

huTi

in

the Vittuvakkodu

hymn

are

quite appropriate

and
give

convincing. Like the previous saints he was also an

uncompromising opponent

to other sects.

We

311
:

THE VISHNUVITE

SAINTS

below three stanzas from his poems as specimen

(1)
QisidjuSsx) sufTi^is5)%5anu (olLOiiiQajesi s

Q{ET(3fr(&^'^su

emmuj&)QsiT6ssr Qu.ijl^ieQ^

Qsarm pek mrrg^sCcS

(2)

tSismpQuj^ ^smiiufT^LD iSlfrLD^ lAhi^jT^LD

(y.es)piuiTuj QuQ^QsuisfTsSSs

(gaa popisf-uun sbr

LDSsipivrT

Q(B/6llUITLUS

Su.S(^LD

S'?l30'JL^fSa)lQinioS)QQjQoSr.

LDfTefTfT^

stTg^

QisiriuHTefr&siQuiTso mmv^d/S'JeO

Tipumang-ai Alvar.
The
or
all

third Alvar of the

Tirumangai
the

Mannan.
of

Chola country was Kaliyan He was the foremost of

left

Vaishnava saints and has

behind the
shrines.

greatest

number

hymns on Vishnu
greater certainty,

Further, there are sufficient materials in his writings

to

work out
of

his date with

and

to

arrive at the conclusion that he

was one

of the

most

learned

all

Alvars.

His

life

and work should,

therefore, be given here with fuller details.

Tirumangai
Tirukkurayaiur

Alvar was born of a

in the

Kalla family at

Tanjore

district.
It

His parents

named him Kaliyan

and
that

or Kalikanri.

appears that he

held the office of generalissimo under the Chola kings

he was the feudal chieftain

of a small district


312

TAMIL STUDIES
Ali

or a group of villages called

eastern
part
of

Nadu

in the north-

the

Chola

country.

His head-

quarters appear to have been Tirumangai, and from

which he speaks of this place (^^sjwr^/f LDirL^ias&r (^ifi^Q^LD^ssos) it must have been an important
the
in

way

town

in his days,

though

it

could not be

identified

with any of

the existing villages in the Shiyali taluk.

He married the who belonged

daughter of a certain Vishnu bJiakta

to

the

Vaidya

class,

caste

much

superior to his own.

By

her initiation and preaching

Kaliyan became a stanch worshipper of Vishnu.

Excepting Tirumalisaiyar and Satagopan

he was

saints.

undoubtedly the most learned of all the Vaishnava His contributions to the Nalayirapraban. dam amount to 1361 stanzas and consist of six
(1)

separate poems, namely,

d(^^.ijSiT63arL^sth^ (3)
(5) Quifliu ^(T^LDL^et)

QuiBiu^QTpLDnL^,

(2)

^q^

^(n^QisQi

^rresmL^su:),[4:) &fSluu^(iT)U:>i~io^

and

(6) ^Q^QsijQ^af^^/iS^'iems.

Even
great

in his

own

life

time he should have been admitted as

a famous poet, successful controversialist and

donor of
quotation

charities, as will
:

be seen from the following

^06mLDITfFluj!rLLl(lpdQuJSS)U.Uj!TIT '^UJua
Q3Tis!(^LDe\)iTd(^L0ioSiujiT

QeumtDiEisssQ suik ^im

At a poetical contest he was given the

a(sSuQu(i^LDrren

title

of

iBfrp

or

the

'

Master of the four kinds of

THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS

poetry';

313

and as

to the excellence of his

:

works Kurat^(^<9?<5

talvar

speaks thus

^l6Iu^

mm^ineo

^sispser

In his later days he resigned his office,

perhaps on

account of some misunderstanding between him and

Chola king, and set out on a tour of pilgnmage from the Himalayas to Cape Comorin. P'or the
the
diffusion
of

Vishnuism he

toiled

much and
of the

he

is

even said to hav'e had religious

with Trignansambandar,
the

disputations at Shiyali
greatest

Saiva

Nayanars.
in the

Some sort of

similarity

style

and composition
seems
a
to

of

which we observe Tirumangai Alvar

above
temples

and
and

his Saiva rival

countenance the
of
all

supposition.

Being

man

considerable wealth
the Vishnu

influence, Kaliyan visited

of his time

and sang hymns

left

in praise of the

Vishnu

gods.
as

Thus

out of the 108 Vishnu temples approved

holy by Acharyas he
these twenty shrines

only twenty

unvisited

and
or

including SriviUiputtur and

were
visited, a

Alvar Tirunagari

(Kurugur)

century

two afterwards, by one or the other of the later Alvars Vishnu Chittan and Satagopan.
shall revert to this question

two

We

when we come
beyond

to speak

of these saints.

The above
nabha
the
at

fact

proves

dispute

that

these twenty temples, with the exception of

Padma
at
S.

Trivandram, did not come into existence

time of Tirumangai Alvar. Nevertheless, Mr.

Krishnaswamy Aiyangar considers the celebration by Kaliyan of most of the Vaishnava temples, as a proof

314

TAMIL STUDIES
existence.

of the comparative lateness of this saint's

In spite

of our regard to

his sagacity,
is

we must
temples
the

say

with greater

assurance that he

far

from being
cele-

correct in this view.

The paucity
of the

ot

brated by these Alvars does not prove

of ihe

antiquity

one or the modernity

his

other.

Accordshould
be Hke

ing to

theory
earliest,

Tondaradippodi Alvar
of

have been the

temple
this:
;

because he visited only one

and the order

Pey,

precedence would
Tirumalisai,
;

Tondaradippodi, Tiruppan, Poigai, Kulasekhara,

Periyalvar,

Andal, Putam,

Namneither

malvar and Tirumangai Alvar

In

surely

it is

the traditional nor chronological order.

those

days

of

difficult

communication,

of

constant

wars between the Tamil kings and

their

feudatories,

and of the fear of robbers and dacoits on the forest-clad highways and foot-paths, the circumstances which could have afforded facilities to
in

a pilgrim

visiting a

larger

number

of

temples,

were wealth,
proclivities.

chiefly one's religious retinue and Tirumangai Alvar had all these, as he

was
or

the

ruler

of

small
a

but

fertile

province
;

he had plenty of money and a good many followers to The other Alvars, cater for him in his peregrinations. probably with the exception of Kulasekhara, had none of these accessories, and they were more or less local saints. Tirumalisai and Nammalvar were yogis and did not care to visit all the Vishnu temples
besides

nadn

being

robber

chieftain

of their days.

The former

did not mention

at

all

THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS

Tirumalirumsolai,
predecessors
not
to
visit

315

when

his
it
;

contemporaries

and

have praised

Tirumangai Alvar did

Trivandram the god

;

of

which place

is

alluded

in

Padirruppattu

and Nammalvar
earliest Alvars.

has not sung

Tirrukkottiyur, Tirukkovalur, and

Tiruvehka

which

were celebrated by the

to infer
in

Are we then
shrines were
these
saints
?

from
not.

this
at

that

the above

not

existence

the

time
of

of
S.

Certainly

The theory
*he
saints

Aiyangar
latest

that

of

the

Krishnaswamy (Tirumangai Alvar) was the is amply borne out by the

Mr.
if

fact that

he celebrates most,
to

not

all,

of the

well-

known temples
is

Vishnu
is

in India while others celeit

brate only a few,'i

therefore evidently absurd as

not supported by actual facts.

Tirumangai Alvar expended large sums

in

building

the ihird prakara or wall at Srirangam, which has been

day as Tirumangai Mannan Tirumadil or 'the sacred wall of Tirumangai Alvar while the
to this
',

known

inner two are those erected by

Dharmavarma and

Mahendra Varma, the

king

latter of

who

is

believed to

was a Pallava have ruled over the Chola

sacred

whom

country

also.
is

To

secure funds for this

work
image
days a

our Alvar
of

said to have demolished

at

a golden
in his

Buddha

Negapatam which was

of

deserted

seat

Buddhism. Like

his

predecessor

Tirumalisai

Piran

our Alvar was a bitter opponent

to the Saivas, Jains

and Buddhists as the following

:

quotations will
1.

show

Ind. Ant. for 1906, p. 229.


316
(1)

TAMIL STUDIES
LSemu^iLnrir

LDsmstoL-Qtai^ l3 /dit uo'Bsai ^ifl^k^ssm^uui

Qetiensfflajfjir tSeisar

S-6mi^ujfT<sk siTuih^iT^^ QeurTQ^su^jnfi', (2)

i^iuaiT
iiSls\)

Qurr^mnQ iTsisi fSenQira^Sl&sr p J

lj^^it;

sehetr^eo',

(3^

Ljii^

s^iMSsariT

He
is

taught that Vishnu alone was

all

God,

that

He
He

created Brahma, Siva and

self-existent, that

other

gods, that

He assumed
Siva,
:

three different

forms

of

Brahma, Vishnu and the whole Universe

and that

He

pervades

(2) ^<sm(GO)(oeo ^(ohr^Q^suLO uojih^

^ai^iL^

And

to realize

this

God one should

be
fix
is

righteous*
his

should subdue his five senses and on Him with love and devotion. Bhakti
dispensable
passport to
attain
in

mind

the only in;

salvation

and one

need not waste his energy

self-mortification.

austere
as

Thus,

penances and commentator has

rightly observed,

Tirumangai Alvar was one of those devotees who suffered their souls to endure the heat of the sun and their bodies to enjoy the coolness
of shade.

To understand aright the spirit and teaching of his poems, a thorough knowledge of the adventures of KrisHna and Rama and of the stories concerning the
earlier

incarnations of

Vishnu as narrated

in

the


THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS
Puranas and the two great epics,
reader.
is

317

expected of every

Now coming to the age of this Alvar^ we have ample references to the Pallava and the Chola kings and to the political events of their times. In his hymn
on the god of Paramesvara Vinnagaram our Alvar mentions that one Pallava king, Pallava Mallan, defeated the Pandyas,
nai
Q^asi^eii'2esT^

fought a battle

at

Man-

and another at Nenmeli, QiBmQuasSI. We have said above that the Vishnu shrine called Paramesvara

Vinnagaram was
(A. D. 690).

built

by Parameswara Varma
plates published
in

II

Further we gather from the Udayendthe

Vol.
part 3, that the

ram and Kasakudi copper

Soutli

Indian

Inscriptions,

II,

battles at

Nenmeli and Mannaikudi were fought by the Pallava king Nandivarman (A. D. 720 One 760).

of

of

them informs us that he was a devout worshipper Vishnu. Nandivarman who worships the feet of
'

Hari,

who

split

(the

head

of)

the

opposing Sahara

king, called

Udayana

in the terrible battle of Nelveli,

who

destroyed

Kalidurga

the goddess Kali,

which was protected by and defeated the Pandya army at

Again
at
in

the village of Mannaikudi.'

another

hymn
our

on

the

god
the

of to

Ashtabujam
a

Conjeevaram

Alvar

refers

king

whom
(eSiTissr

Pallava king did

named Vajra Meghan to homage Q^frememL-iufr

This was one

eusasTEii^ SemQfu^LDrr'SisoeutiSn- QtDseisr.

of
IJ,
1.

the

titles

(birudu)

of

Dantidurga or Dantivarma

a Rashtrakuta king of
Ind. Ant.
xii, p.

Malkhed A.D. 7551

and

17.


318

TAMIL STUDIES
is

he

said

to

have

completed

the

acquisition of

sovereignty by subjugating the Lord ot

Kanchi.'i

pura Vinnagaram.

Again our Alvar has a hymn on the god of NandiThis temple must have been built

by the same Nandi Varma, as among the South Indian kings hitherto brought to light there appears
to

have been before the time of Kaliyan only

one

sovereign of that

name. Other references

are
:

to Pallava

and Chola kings

(1) smULnQuiTsin ^LD

Qp^^ua

LastssflnfiEiQafreasririk^

(2)

^e<TiEi(^ rismQfiu^tLnrff^iT ^isi(^iB^eo

Q^nsssT'oSii LDsmeareusar

^ooaru^p QeOiTQ^ev jb(^

^IElQ sir's

ISITL^IoS)S

<o](LgL-ssfj(r^uu

(3)

^0dQeO(S](g ^Q^QiDiTL^euTQuwom

Q itr e^ S" /b(^

Q<fiEJSi^ss)osr

QarTS=Q-9=fTL^iom Qs='Tt5^QsrraSls\].

It

has been said in a previous section

there

that

at

the
to

time of Tirumalisai Alvar

was

no

shrine

Vishnu
dra

at

Chidambaram.
II

The Pallava king

been either
II

referred

to in (1) should, therefore, have

Mahenof

Varma

or Paramesvara

Varma
and

both

whom
great
II, is

were worshippers of Vishnu

charities; the first of

donors

of

them,
part
2, p.

Mahendra Varma
389.

said to have done meritorious acts for the benefit of

1

Bombay. Gas. Vol.

I,

THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS

temples and
builder of

319

Brahma ns, and

at

the

second was the

Vinnagaram
is

Conjeevaram.

And the

king

alluded to in^^) should have been

(A.

Mahendra Varma U
built the

D. 650) as he

stated to

have

second

prakara or wall at Srirangam. Lastly, the Chola king

referred to
in
(3)

was Ko-Chengannan who has been

Saivites,

canonized as a Saint by the

and described
also refers to
I

as Kocchengatchola Nayanar in the

Periyapuranam.

The
(Vira

Saiva saint
Like

Tirugnanasambanda
his

this king.

distant
of the

successor Parantaka

Narayana Chola

Kongu

chronicle)

he
in

may have been an

his early

ardent worshipper of

Vishnu
praise
p.

days and afterwards changed his faith to

apostles
of

Sivaism, as the
in

both

sects

him
250)

their works.

\u a

previous chapter {Vide,

the date of this

fixed as
l-n

Kocchengannan has been

tentatively

580 A. D.
Siriya

his

Tirumadal our Alvar speaks

This suggests that he
the
Sanskrit
the

of

one

Vasavadatta.

acquainted
written by

with

play

may have been of that name

of

Subandhu about

beginning

the

seventh century, which must be taken as the earliest

he has a hymn on the god of Tirumokur in the Madura district. Two miles near and at the foot of the Yanaimalai there is it another Vishnu temple, which as the following inscription will show, was built by a Pandya minister in A. D. 770 and endowed with a rich
limit of his date. Again,

agrahara for
ing
in

its

maintenance.
resident of

'Pre-eminently charm-

manners a

Karavandapuram

the

320

TAMIL STUDIES
illustrious

son of Maran and a learned and

of the

member

Vaidya family,

temple of Vishnu.
minister of the

Madhurakavi made this stone The same Madhurakavi the wise

Parantaka also gave
this

Pandya named

away
rich

to

the

first

born (Brahmans)

immensely
had passed
of

agraharam.
of of

When
the

3 871 years of Kali

in

on the day
this

sun

the

month
set

Kartigai
there'.

image
this

the

god
in

was duly

up

Had

temple been
surel}'

existence in our
it.

Alvar's are

time he must

have visited

As there

no

hymns on
at

this

god when he
it

has sung the deity

Tirumokur,

is

almost certain that our Alvar

part
of

must have visited sometime before

Taking
tion
all

this

the

Pandya country

A.

D. 770.
our
careful

these facts into

considera-

we cannot

help

concluding that Tirumangai

680 and

Alvar must have flourished between A. D.

760.

Pepiyalvap.
Let us

now

pass on to the Vaishnava Saints of

Periyalvar or

the

Pandya country.
a

Vishnu Chittan was

calls himself lj^sissij

Brahman
and

of Srivilliputtur.

He

mssi

Lj^^iTsQsfTi^; here turn

and Qsrrm mean simply

Srivilli-

an influential

man and
;

in

our Alvar's time

puttur was a newly created

the instance of Selva
hit of

Brahman

settlement.

At

Nambi

of Tirukkottiyur (a Puro-

the

Pandya

king), a

conference of theologians

was held at Madura. And in the religious controversy which took place there, Periyalvar is said to have


ccMTie out

321
in

THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS

succebsful

and

establislied

Vishnuism

his part of the

Tamil country.
life of Sri

His contributions,
Krishna, numberof the

mostly descriptive of the

ing about 416

stanzas

form
is

part

Nalayiralarge

prabandam.
admixture
of

His

style

modern and contains a

and
provincial

colloquial

many

Sanskrit tadbavas.

He

words and has not said one word

against the Jains or Buddhists, probably because

that time these

by

two

religions had

almost died out in

the

Pandya country.

Nor

did he use any unpleasant

fact

words against the Saivas, a

which proves that

firmly
in

it

had already established

reconciled.

itself

the

country and that the two

rival sectarians

Tamil had been

gives

The only harsh

:

sentiments he

vent to against the Saivas and which also explain his

religious views are

^Qa^

ffl;/7#(5^

Q,? uJtiJ i^mjD

,S(T^LCJ6\}',

(2)

ST0^^sQsfTlS

ILj'olSU.LUIT^Lh

tSlTLD^iAli^ir^

LD/bgHlif

sS(5^d!0 L^Ln3fDsS

To determine
extracts

the age of this Saint there

his

are

no

clear references in

works.

But

the

following

combined with the tradition that he lived at Pandya king Sri Vallabhadeva must throw some light on his date
the time of the
:

(1) Oa/r/E@/Ei ^iissa^(LjL

II, vi, 2.

(2) QtB^LDfT/ossr 3^.1 jbQsrr (SOT.

('d) QsrrLLL^iuirdsiTiosr

IV,

ii,

7.

^LS'icirear^/BaaJr,

IV,

iv

8.

(4)

uQ^uu^s^^d

suu&iQuiifSji^ utTesaL^uuiT,-W , iv 7,

21

322

TAMIL STUDIES

explains Oa'^(5S(g(_isa)^ as Kudandai

The Vaishnava commentator Periyavacchan Pillai (Kumbakonam)

to or

which belonged

was

in the

Kongu

country. In
I

a former section we have said that Aditva

conquered

in or about 890 A. D. We learn from other sources that Kumbakonam was a temporary capital of that newly conquered country from which the Chola prmce or the Yuva Raja ruled

and annexed Kongu

further

the

new

province.

The second quotation informs us

that the Pandya king was

Nedu Maran,
bore
of the

while

the

third tells us that his purohit or spiritual teacher

was
of

a pious Vaishnava

Brahman who
(It

the

title

Abhimana Tungan.
those days to give the

was one

customs

of

titles of

a king to his favourite

Manikka Vachagar had the title of Qjgt^ssreijm i3!TLDLD!i!Ttu(ssrj Sekkilar was called a-^^m Q3'frL^uus\)s\)s)jfriTnjesr.) The word Maravarman is no doubt a title borne by all kings of the Pandya dynasty; but this when combined with the name Sri Vallabhadeva and the eponym Abhimana Meru, does certainly refer to a particular Pandya king. From the Chinnamanur plates referred to above we are given to understand that Raja Simha II had the title of Abhimana Mera Mara Varman, that he was a grandson of Maravarman Sri Vallabha Deva, and that he was killed by Parantaka Chola in A. D. 910. Among the wellknown temples of the Pandya country Srivilliputtur is and one that was not visited by Tirumangai Alvar Tiruttangal, a village some eight or when the god of nine miles distant from our Alvar's birth-place, has
ministers and purohits.
;

THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS

been celebrated by Kaliyan, he has omitted
tant shrine.
this

323
impor-

Taking into account

should

all

these

facts

we

are inclined to believe that Srivilliputlur or the

village

'new

of Villi

'

have come into

existence

only after A. D. 750, and that our Vishnu C'hittan or

Periyalvar should have flourished between A. D. 840

and 915
of

that

is,

he might have been a younger conIt

is

temporary of
note
the prize

Kulasekhara Perumal.
Alvar

worthy
Madura,

that this
{Sl^])

who

is

said

to

have carried

in a religious contest held at

city,

has not celebrated Kudal Alagar of that

it

though
of

has been

referred

to

in

one
that

of

the

hymns

Tirumangai Alvar.
that this

We know

Madura has always

it

been a stronghold of Sivaism, and

is

quite

possible

Vaishnava temple was closed temporarily

city.

by the bigotted Saivites of that

On

the authority of

certain expressions
in

like un-m-

<siDoU(a!^s3B7ffl;OT(y>?>@

&c. which occur

Jatila

the

Madras
of
'

Museum
Tamil'
is

plates of

Varman, the Editor

a

Sen

inclined to put the date of Vishnu Chittan

before A.D. 770,

making him
I

contemporary

of Jatila

Varman
If

or Parantaka

of the

Yanamalai inbcriptions.

was so our Alvar should have been as well a contemporary of Tirumangai Mannan and a predecessor of Kulasekara and Nammalvar. But this was not
this

the case for the reasons that are given in the sections

dealing with the above saints.

One
Kodai.

of the

She

is

Vaishnava saints was a lady named also called Andal, and believed to
QuiBuunu^euniT

have been the daughter of Periyalvar,

324

TAMIL STUDIES
QuemtSI<ar'2err,

QupQ/oV^s

while others think that she

was a toundliag, but brouglit up by the saint Vishnu Her contributions to the NalayiraprabanChittan.

dam

consist of 173 stanzas

of these the Tiruppavai

finest

has been considered to be her

no doubt an ardent worshipper of poems are an exposition of Sri Krishna's stories. It appears that she remained a virgin throughout her short life and spent her days in ministering to the deities at Srirangam and Tirumalirumsolai.
In her

poem. She was Vishnu and all her

Varanamayiram she describes the dreams

this

of

her marriage with Vishnu, and

recited at
all

song

is

now bemg
It

Vaishnava Brahman marriages.

must

be remembered that her poems, which may have been largely influenced by the work of a contemporary the
Tirukkovaiyar oi Manikka Vachakar
significance.

have an esoteric
the

The marriage described by her was

Faraniatman or God and The devotion and attachment of the modern Vaishnavas to Andal is so great that the worship of the local deity adored by her at Srivilliputtur has been eclipsed. All the imporunion of the atuian with
final

absorption in the God-head.

tant festivals at this place

are

celebrated

chiefly in

honour

of this

lady Saint.

Nammalavap.
Conspicuous among the Vaishnava Saints was

Nammalvar

or Satagopan.

He

has been regarded as

the mythological

an incarnation of Senai Mudaliyar,

commander and

foremost devotee of Vishnu.

His


THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS
life

325

and writings deserve,

length.
of

therefore, to

be considered

at

some

He was born
to

a Vellala
in

family at Tirukkurukur
district

or 'Alvar-Tirunagari

the

of

Tinnevelly,

one Kari

of

that

place

Tiruvanparisaram
the
Sanskrit

in the

and Udaiya Nangai of Chera country. His parents

and Satagopan was given to him by his
;

gave him the name of

title

Maran
it

probably

spiritual Giini.

iMoreovcr,

was customary,
tlie

as

now,

to

have two names

one Tamil and

Tiruvasiriam,
of

other Sanskrit.

His Tiruvoymoli,
Tiruvandadi,
all

Tiruviruttam
a

and
antadi

which written with

plan
in

definite

purpose

on

pre- conceived

the

form and amounting

in

to

1296 stanzas, are included

the

Naiayiraprabandam.
to

His

songs or

hymns

relate

some thirty places, ot which twenty-four are in the Pandya and the Chera kingdoms. He was an ascetic or yogi and would seem to have retired from the world in his 35th year to; perform Yoga or meditation under a tamarind tree,
the
deities

of

which

exists to
is

this

day

in

Alvar-Tirunagari.
attained eternal
:

Ulti-

mately he

said

to

have

bliss or

beatitude, about

which he himself says

He had two
dhurakavi

disciples

Sri

Nathamuni and
heads the
list

Mathe
ele-

to

whom

he taught his Tiruvoymoli and

other prabandams.

The

first

of

Vaishnava Acharyas while the second has been

vated to the rank of a Saint.


326
Like
all

TAMIL STUDIES
other alvars Satagopan was a Vishnuvite of

the Visishtadvaitic School of Vedanta.

that

He

believed

Vishnu alone could

offer

Moksha

to

His worship-

pers, that

He

is

uncreated, that
Siva are

He

is

omnipresent and

that

Brahma and

only

His other forms

or manilestations assumed for the sake of conducting

different offices.

He

proves the existence of

God by
in

means

of

arguments, teleological and metaphysical,

the fashion of Descartes

and Spinoza, and gives us a

of the

clear description of His relationship with the world in

his
first

two padigams, and

in the third.

means

of

approachattributes

ing of
(1)

Him

About the nature and

God

he says
eueSlit!LD6\)e\)isin

^eamve\>esr QlLJSsai&sans^&iesreijeotT

(2)

SuniL Ssoss)iLi^ 0iurijji

si7e\)rTLU

QtsQeu^r bW)Lu

His idea

(f

fruition

or

communion
:

with

God

is

explained in the following stanza

^SB\Q p ojuQuaQ^

4S'i_js7(?au

a?

sSt-^frQu).


THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS
3'i7

He

did

not

recognise

caste

distinctions

and

held that di\ me knowledge alone could

make

man

high or low

in

the social scale

(^eviBsifrisiQ)

SFa^ssir isneSl^ixi

Si^L^m^

sr^^'Sesi

iseOii^T

insf)e\)fr^ .SFssaTL^iTeir

feeariiKsnrr s<3(riT@^uD

SSoi^'TIT

Jfll^lLifriT ^UDISLp-LUfT

G STLLLDl^S^efT.
age
of
this

The question

of

the

Saint

is

very

much
the

disputed.

Diverse

opinions are current.

to the

The
of

Vaishnava Acharyas take him

over the wide gulf of time
ciple

begmning

Kaliyug or B. C. 3102 and

attempt to

bridge
his dis-

between him and

Nathamuni
was

(tenth century A. D.) by asserting

his

that the Alvar

teacher
;

in

his

archavatar or
of the English,

'the idolic incarnation'

while

some
his

educated Vaishnavas would ascribe to him the opening years of the Christian
era as

probable

age.

As we have

in

the

writings of

Tirumangai
determine

Alvar

there are no allusions to any

king or political events

to

the works of
are,

Nammalvar
about

his date.

There
that

however, several other indications to prove

flourished

he

the

beginning

of

the

tenth century A, D., and that he

was the last of the Vaishnava Saints. We shall briefly give them below and leave the reader to judge for himself whether
the above conclusicjns are logical or otherwise
(1)

The Tamil language

of

from the Tamil of the poets of demic period. Our i4/2;(;ir makes a krit words and phrases like Sl^uS,

Nammalvar differs the Sangam or acafree

use of

Sans&.u

euirs^sih^

sesnuLD^


328

TAMIL STUDIES

Qe\)irf6sresr ^
(ssiisu(^^k^ua
;

mn^fj

lS^<sii,

LD^rrQuirsihy ^i^ir^jeoij},

ldits

while

none

of

these

will

be discovered
seir

in the early

Tamil writings.
plurals in ears&r

The

use of plurais in

and double
ratively

as in ssinmiSm-jD&nssfr
is

of the present tense in Sl^ as in (S^LL9(nj"^

and compa-

modern.
of

With regard
tense,

to the use of

S)^ as a

particle

present

the learned
:

commentator
204).

Nacchinarkiniyar observes thus

eiesru^ Ssu^iusi)

&,eam8(}/DQemsurd&^

(Lpssafr^^i\) '^i-%nso enLpii^. {Tol. II,

These were never used by the early Tamil authors

anterior to the seventh century A. D.

Philological

variations

of

the above nature in a

test to

living language like

Tamil afford us the crucial

has
often

determine the respective ages of literary works

different periods
;

of

and

yet,

this

test

been

completely ignored not only by Tamil pandits, but also by the early commentators of I'amil classics.
(2) At the time of

our Alvar most of the Puranas had

alre.idy

come
5).

into existence

and when he
Lin^a-Purana

speaks

of

the
(IV.

Saivas,
X.

he
It

refers

to

by

name
offer-

is

only the Puranas that contain rules

of

for the
ings,

worship of gods by means

festivals.

prayers,

and

Nammalvar

refers to

some

of these

observances in the following lines:

The above quotation

vance of piiranic

distinctly proves that the obser-

rites

had been

in its full swing,

and


THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS
that a large
deities

329

number

of temples to

Vishnu and other

before the

had already

come

into

existence

days of Nammalvar.

The chewing of betel-leaf (3) unknown to the Hindu populace prior

because, as one writer, observes
its

was

almost

to A. D.

500

use

is

not mentioned
A. D.

by any author before the

Alvar speaks of
sy/??isu

sixth

century

Our

Qeu/b^^ a more modern form

A. D,

of Qsneir

'

which we

find in the inscriptions of the ninth

The author of Silappadikaram (second century A.D does, however, refer

and
to

tenth

centuries

its

use thus,

But we doubt
Alvar's time.
(4)
It

whether

the

custom had been so

it

universal in the days of Ilango-adikal, as

was

in

our

seems

that

at

the

time of our

Alvar the
sects

struggle

between the

Vaishnava

and Saiva

on the one hand, and Jainism on the other had come to an end,

and
that

Buddhism Brahmanism

Siva and Vishnu

at least in the

cults

had

come

out triumphant

extreme south, and that a sort of reconeffected

had been Vaishnavas. While

ciliation

among

the

Saivas

and
and

Tirumalisai,

Tirumangai

Tondaradippodi Alvars speak very vehemently and pour forth their invectives a<:;ainst the non-Vaishnava
1.

F. R. A. S. for 1908, p. 910.

^j^upcrT/OssSlil.

Epig.

'nci.

Vol, IX,

p. 90.


330
sects

TAMIL STUDIES
and
religions,

Nammalvar only
as

casually

men-

tions in

one place the Jains and Buddhists, besides

Siva

Brahma and
Vishnu.

only

other manifestations of

A comparison
will

of the following

quotations
in

from Nammalvar's
previous sections

works

with those cited

the

clearly

prove that Jainisin and

regard

Buddhism had
and
that Saivas

already died out in the Tamil country

and Vaishnavas had come

:

to

each other as brethern

(2)

<SLS-SLDL^

Qsrrm&aps^

s=<oSiu.'^QoSiQiLi<ij^iJD idrresrQp^s

su.

Qjsms^(T^

eurrtwsCceurQiueur^ix)
li
j

(3)

jfjiEi(^iuii

QpaiLLL3.!TiT<ssT

LSlirLiQu(T^ifTesrei]em

(4)

LDira^sslefTLD^tLK^

(c^0(^

s^stai-^

(5)

It

has been said before that Tirumangai Alvar

the V'aishnava temples of his time.

visited

all

Those

shrines that are not sung by

him

are celebrated by

Nammalvar, the most important of which being (a) Tirukkuriigur, (6) Varaguna Mangai and (c) Sri varamangalam. If the traditional story of the orthodox Vaishnavas that Tirumangai Alvar made arrangements for the lecital of Tiruvoymoli at Srirangam be surely have visited the birth-place true, he must of a great Saint honoured and worshipped by him, and sung hymns in praise of the god of that village.
But we
see

nothing of this

in

his work.

Again,
village
far

Varaguna Mangai or Varaguna Mangalam is a named after the Fandya king Varaguna. So

as

THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS

331

the epigraphical researches have disclosed, there were

only two kings of that name, and the earher of

whom

reigned about A,D. 820. Further, Srivaramangalam or Vanamamalai, wherein there have been from tune immemoiial an impt^rlant Vishnu temple and a

Vaishnava Mutt, came inio existence

the

in the reign of

Fandya king

Ko-Maran-Sadaiyan
set

(A.D.

^HO)

under the circumstances

extract
*

forth

in

the following
of that

from a copper

plate

grant

king.

While the seventeenth year

of the reign, of

Nedum

Sadaiyan,...ihe most devoted follower of Vishnu, was

current... he gave with libations of

water the village

of Velangudi
its

in

Tenkalavalinadu,

having cancelled

former
it

on

the

name from old tunes and having bestowed new name of Srivaramangalam to Sujjata

Bhatta',..

From

the
it

description
is

of

the boundaries

given

in

the plates

clear that the shrine

built

and the
is

famous Mutt should have been end

of the ninth

towards the
only

century A. D.

This village

known

from Tirukkui ungudi another wellwhere Tirumangai Alvar spent the remaining years of his life. Yet, he has not said one word about this important temple anywhere in his
a short distance

shrine

hymns.

famous shrines of modern times in the Tinnevelly district was not visited either bv Tirumangai Alvar, because it was not in existence in his days, '>r by Nammalvar, as it did not come into prominence or was not
{(j)

Sri

Villiputtur

which

is

one

of the

known

to the

Vaishnavas outside the

village.

Peri-

332

TAMIL STUDIES

valvar should therefore have been an elder contem-

porary of Satagopan though

(7)

unknown

to

each other.
is

The Dravidian tune

to all the

or

pan {usm)

invariably

padigams (decads) of Nammalvar while m the case of the works of other Saints, especially of Tirumangai Alvar, it has been found wanting.
prefixed

Probably the names

of tunes assigned to theae padilost

gams must have been

and compilation by
Satagopan, as
Sri

during the course of the

long period that had elapsed before their collection

Nathamuni. Had Tirumangai

Alvar flourished three or four centuries later than

the Vaishnava biographeis allege the

pans of Tiiumangai Alvar's hymns should have been

/or//on with greater easiness. But the was otherwise. We cannot understand why \hese pans of Tirmangai Alvar were lost while those of his Saiva contemporaries and predecessors, Appar and Sambandar, were handed down to posterity.
preserved
fact

Perhaps the Aryan Vaishnavas

had not cared so

writings
ot

much

for the preservation of the sacred

the Dravidian Saints before the days of

Nammalvar

and perhaps

in imitation of the Saivas,

the Vaishnava

Acharyas may have got into

collecting the
intcj

their

head the idea of

works

of

Alvars and compiling

them

one sacred volume, probably subsequent to the laborious undertaking of Nambiyandar Nambi of
[O)

the Saiva sect.

From

the Elephant

Rock

inscriptions quoted

above we see that the builder of the Vishnu temple was one Kari or Madhurakavi, a son of Maran and

THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS

a
minister
the
of the

3i53

Pandya

king.

We

learn further

from

Guruparamparai that the name of Nammalvar was Maran, that he was a saint from his childhood, that he was the son of one Kari
by caste and that
Obviously,

a Vellala

one

of his disciples
in the

was

Madhurakavi, a Brahman of Tirukkoiur

velly
district.

Tinne-

confounding

the

names
in the

Kari,

Maran and

Madhurakavi,

which occur

inscriptions as well as in

the Vaishnava biography, a

recent writer in the Indian Antiquary jumps, like Fluellen, to the

conclusion

that

Kari or Madhurakavi

was the son of Nammalvar or Maran and that both of them were contemporaries of Tirumangai Alvar. According to this perverted view Nammalvar should
have lived prior to A.D. 770.

We

cannot understand
reviewer relies so

how much

the Koil-olugu, on which the

for
his

Guruparamparai. The

more trustworthy than the work unmistakably asserts that Madhurakavi Alvar was a Brahman and that Nammalvar was a celibate saint. Evidently this writer does not seem to have read either the Guruparamparai, or the works of Nammalvar, or even Mr. V. Venkayya's notes on the Triplicane Inscriptions of
data,
is

latter

Dantivarman

in the Ep. Ind. Vol. VIII. p. 290.

Nammalvar has one hymn on

and four or
rum-Solai
;

the

god

of

Tirumokur
Tirumali-

five

on the famous shrine

left

at

but he has

none on the Vishnu deity

at the foot of the

which lies must therefore have

Yanai Malai or the Elephant Rock between these two places. Our Alwar
lived

either

before

or

long

334
after A.

TAMIL STUDIES
D. 770
;

but the impossibility

of

the

first

has been proved in the previous pages.

The
should

rich Agrahara referred

to

in

the

inscription
itself

have been deserted and the shrine

at

almost neglected

the

time of

Nammalvar,
of

as

it

now
of

is,

owing
temple

to the

ominous death
its

the

builder

the

before

completion

and

the

unproductive rocky
It is

soil of the

surrounding country.
long period, say
at

evident that

sufficiently
half,
total

least

one century and a

its

should have elapsed

between
this

creation

and

abandonment;

that

is

shrine

and

Agrahara should have

fallen

into

ruins

only some time before A. D. 900. And this

must have been the period of our Alvar's existence.

(9)

The most important argument

is

in

favour of our

theory that Satagopan was the

Saints
his
life

last of all the

Vaishnava

furnished by the age of Nathamuni,

disciples.

one

of

two esteemed
this point.

Traditions relating to his

are conflicting

and even scholars do not agree

on

Mr. S. Krishnaswamy Aiyangar seems to

believe the statement of the orthodox Vaishnavas that

Nathamuni was born

922.

in

A.D. 582 and died in A.D.

'

He

goes on to say that

the

it

would certainly be
of

in

keeping with

most cherished tradition

the

Vaishnavas that arrangement

made by

the

Alvar

(Tirumangai Alvar, A. D. 750) for the recital of Tiruvoymoli of Nammalvar had fallen into desuetude
in the days of

Nathamuni and he had

to revive

it

at

Srirangam
1.

after

much

ado'

i.

And, Mr. T. Rajagopa-

Inci.

Ant. 1906,

p. 232.

THE VISHNUVITK SAINTS

lachariar says 'that the sage

335

the

first

quarter of

was born somewhere in the ninth century and lived just

^.

over a hundred years'

We

shall

now examine
(a)

these

statements.

Guru-

paramparai or the
informs us

lives of the

Vaishnava Aciiaryas

Nathamuni Was born in the agrahara of Vira Narayanapuram in the district of South Arcot, and (bj died at Gangaikoi\da Cholapuram in Trichinopoly, and (c) that he was the
that Sri

grandfather of Alavandar,

who

died

at

Srirangam
carefully

when

Sri

Ramanujacharya was about 25 or 30 years

of age.

Now, here

are three points to

be

sifted in arriving at

the

age of Nathamuni.

There

are

also other traditions

making him

contempo-

rary of

Kamban, but

these are not

trustworthy and

may
(a)

therefore be set aside for the present.

As regards Viranarayanapurm
'

the

Kongu

chro-

nicle says that

Viranarayana iParantaka 1,906-946

A.D.) was a great devotee of Vishnu in the early part

of his life

and he created

many
'

tax-free

settlements one of which was

called after his

Brahman own
this

name Viranaiayanapuram agrahara must have come

after 906 A.
(b) Sri

2.

In other

words

into existence

some time

D.
is

Nathamuni

believed to have died at Gan-

gaikonda Cholapuram
of the
1.

which was made the

(A. D. 1011-1044)

capital

Chola king Rajendra

1908,
p.

about

The hid. Rev,

Lit., Vol. xiv.

280.

2.

Salem Dt. Manual.

Vol. II. p.

375

and Madras journal of

Sc.

&

336
the year 1022.

TAMIL STUDIES
Admitting that our sage died about should have been born

1025 A.

D.,

he

about 915
This

A. D., and this gives

is

him an age
a

of 110 years.
is

sufficiently a

long age, and there

Yogi,

every reason to

believe that he, being

could have lived for

such a long period.

(c)

According

to the inscriptions of Bitti

Deva

or

Vishnuvardhana of Mysore, the great Vaishnava reformer Sri Ramanujacharya was living in 1134 A. D.

Even
years,

if
it

we
is

allow him an unusually long age of 115

certain that he

was about
he

thirty years old

in A. D. 1049,

which must be assumed as the year

;

of

Alavandar's death

that

is,

may have

survived his

grand-father Natharauni
ting

some 24

or 25 years.

Granof

that

Alavandar lived to an advanced age

eighty, he should have been born about A.D. 969 when Nathamuni was about 54 or 55 and it is not impro;

bable for a

man

of this age to beget a grandson.

We

are therefore inclined to believe that Nathau7uni was

a direct disciple of

Nammalvar and

studied Tiruvoy-

moli and Yoga philosophy when he was about 20 or 25 years of age under our most revered Saint. In
other words

Nammalvar must have

it

been

alive

in

A.D. 935. Moreover,

of

is

said

that about the writings

Nammalvar,

Sri

Nathamuni enquired one Paranis

kusadasa, a disciple of Madhurakavi Alvar (afterwards

his fellow student)
in the

who Dvapura Yuga

!

believed to have been born

Further he should have also been

Alvars, as one of our
early

the last

of the

Acharyas distinctly says


THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS
in his
QirTL^p^(ff)!h(TuiiJD

337
the 4000

that

Nammalvar taught
ibt^^s(^

hymns
(Suitl^Cdoj.

to
It

Nathamuni
escapes

[btreofniSuLoeiB^^irm

our understanding

how

in the

face of this clear statement

Tirumangai Alvar could

Chola
as

have lived after Nammalvar.

(10).

In one of the inscriptions of Rajaraja

dated about 1004 A.

D.

Kurugur appears

the

we are to infer that this village had by that time become famous as the birth place of Nammalvar. This we suppose was due to the propogandist work of Nathamuni who used to visit the royal courts of Chola kings. Further it was the custom of those times to give the names of famous villages, of renowned Saints and of reigning sovereigns to men and women, out of reverence or gratitude as the following proper names will show:
of a

name

dancing

girl.

From

it

^@(75<ss_/f,

^(T^rsrTisijssiTSr^

^/'gff'T^^

eSlQpuusajirujesr,

<3f-i^fr

urresan^iu ^s^rriflujeisr

and
life

this sort of

naming
these

first

took

place during

the

time

of

remarkable
inscription of

personages or when those noteworthy occurrences

were quite fresh in their memories.

the

An

same Chola king

at

calls the

name

of thedeily of the

temple

Ukkal asTiruvoymolidevar.
before
A.

From
But

this Dr.

Hultzsch seems to think that Nammalvar 'must have

lived

centuries

D. 1000.'

for

the

above reasons

this

Some

scholars

was not might think

really the case.

that a considerably

long time should have passed after the death of these

pious reformers before their deification could have
taken place.
22

But

this

was not

at all necessary,

when

338

TAMIL STUDIES
spirit

we consider the

and the rehgious movements of

reforms (A.D. 950-1150), and

this period of sectarian

the halo of divine glory which had shone

their

even in

own

life

time.

We

are told

in the

biographies
Sri

of the

Vaishnava Acharyas that copper images of

set

Ramanuja were
immediately
tence,

up, in obedience to his orders,

after

the termination of his earthly exis-

and

that

copper water pot

Manavalamamuni gave away his for the making of his image just on

the eve of his departure to the other world.

And

it

has been said above that the custom of setting up

images for these canonized saints came into vogue

only after 1000 A.D.

The above arguments must

unbiassed reader
to

irresistably

lead any

conclude that our Nammalvar

first

should have flourished in the

century A.D. which
ior to
is

half of the tenth

full

two hundred years posterIt is,

Tirumangai Alvar.

therefore, clear that

the traditional stories relating to these two Saints in

faith

which Mr. S. Krishnaswamy Aiyangar places so much and the fabulous difference of 3500 years between Nammalvar and his direct disciple Nathamuni, on which the archavatar theory of the Vaishnava Acharayas
coctions
devised
beliefs.
rests,

must be rejected
their

as

pure concherished

of
in

Manavalamamuni and
support of

his predecessors,

absurdly

To summarise

the

results

of
(1)

our discussions
the

regarding the Vaishnava Saints:

of the Vaishnava sect began
in

reformation

the Pallava country

THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS

and slowly but
desa in
the
Tirumalisaiyar,
steadily travelled as far as the

339 Pandya.

South;
all

of

and Nammalvar
latest; (3)

of

and Tondai Nadu, were the earliest, the Pandya country was the
(2)

the

'First

Alvars'

Tirumalisaiyar,

Tondaradippodi

Alvar

who
two

Tirumangai Mannan and were the bitterest

Jains
latter

opponents
flourished

to

the

Saivas,

and

Buddhists

when

the

struggling for existence in

Nammalvar, the
the
first

last

of

were Tamil country; (4) the Vaishnava Saints and

religions

the

of

the

Acharyas lived

when

the

two
the

atheistic religions

nearly died out in

Jainismand Buddhism the Tamil country and

had very
when
were the and lastly,

Saivas and

Vaishnavas had been

the

reconciled; (5)

Tirumalisaiyar, Kaliyan and

greatest
all

Nammalvar
(6)

of

Vaishnava Saints;

the Alvars flourished during the

is

that

between A. D. 550 and 950,

of the

pannmic period, when temples in

Siva,

honour

Brahmanic deities, Vishnu and were being built in all the Tamil districts.

XII

THE ORIGIN OF MALAY ALAM

The home-speech
in

of about seven millions of people

Southern India

is

Malayalam.

It is at

present an
;

important language of the Dravidian family

the exact
relationship

and

yet,

which

it

bears

to the

other

members of that family is a subject of some hot discussion among ihe Dravidian scholars. The solution of this problem
is

not

an easy matter.

Unless

one has made, an

ever

historical

study of the Tamil and

Malayalam languages
vague and
as a to be a sister of

his conclusion

must remain

for
it

indecisive.

Some

scholars believe

Tamil

like

Telugu or Kanarese, others

of Malabar are prone to
it

regard

it

highly developed dialect of old Tamil,

while a few Indian scholars

think that
it is

a dialect of Sanskrit and that

its

had

nothing to do with Tamil from

of patriotism ;*and the subject

very origin.

The

last^seems an extreme view prompted by a false sense

is

interesting

and imat

portant enough to
length.

deserve

an

examination

some

THE ORIGIN OF MALAYALAM

The etymology
obscure.
val
It

341

of the term 'Malayalam'

perly applies to the territory

which proand not language, seems

in early or

does not occur either

mediae-

The people of the West Coast call their home-speech as Malayazhma or Malayayma. These are compounds of two Malayalam or rather
Tamil
literature.

Tamil words mala, a

'

and dlam or dlma, government'. The latter are verbal nouns formed by postlixing the noun terminations am (jyti) and ma or
'

mountain

'

mai

(sld)

to the verb dl
*

{^^)
'.

to rule.

'

Azhma may
'

be a mistake for

alma

It is
is

not right to accept the

meaning
region'.

that

Malayalam

a *deep (=^teti)mountainous

The Chera

or Kerala country, called also the Malai-

nadu and Malai-mandalam in Tamil and Malayalam works, was known to the early Greeks as Dimurike or
Tamilakam and Kerobothros' or the Chera country, and to the mediaeval nationsjas Malabar (Skt. Mala' *
'

var, Ar. Mala-barr) or the 'region of mountains.'

From

about the beginning of the sixteenth up to the early

years
of the last century, Tamil was known to Europeans as the Malabar language. But it has been considered by Western scholars as an instance of
'
'

misapplication of the term 'Malabar' to Tamil.

ever,
I

How-

am
it

inclined to think otherwise, though with

reference to the present condition of

the

Malayalam

language
cation.
to

might be an undue extension of its signifiWhen the term Malabar was first applied
'
'

Tamil

by

the

early

European

travellers

or

missionaries there was not, as will be

shown

hereafter,


342
TAMIL STUDIES
difference in the colloquial or rather the vulgar
justified in

'

much

forms of the two languages, and they were

calling both as the
'

Malabar

'

language.
in

The people
it

of Kerala or

Chera Desa
that
: *

the third

century called themselves Tamilar and even thought

proud

to

be

known by

sweet

'

name

as

the

following quotation will

show

siTiuQeup pi^s<ss)&& sesrs^th eSeas^iu^iM

Qs^isi^lL Qj<S!rpear &ssieij^LJ uSsi^ih.

Sil.

The work which we have reviewed

essay
is

in

the

tenth

probably the

earliest literary

record relating to

the Chera kings

and
it

their subjects

whose home-speech

was Tamil.

And

might conveniently be taken as

containing the origins of the Malayalam language.

Another Tamil work of about the same period is the Ainkurunuru or the Five short Hundreds'. It was
*

written by live different poets of the Kerala country and compiled under the orders of the Chera king

Yanaikkat-chey-Mandaram-Seral-Irum-porai.

third

the

work of greater importance, but belonging almost to same period is Silappadikaram. It was composed

by Ilango-Adikal. a younger brother of the Chera forms one of the five king Senguttuvan, and
Tamil major
epics. All these

teem with

'

Malabaricms

or usages peculiar to Malayalam, but which are consi-

dered as slang or provincialisms

like
6p&)eorr

in

pure Tamil.

Words
<5s>siQ@iih

(must
(camp),

not),
euilisf.

Quir^^ (he-buffalo),
(basket), &c.,

or

6a)/^?sw

which occur

in

these

Tamil works

of

the

Kerala country, are

still

'

THE ORIGIN OF MALAYALAM

current in the spoken

343

language of Malabar and Train

vancore when they had become obsolete

Tamil.

The
nar,

later

Tamil authors

of Kerala

were Aiyanarita-

Cheraman Perumal and Kulasekara Perumalflourished

Aiyanaritanar
eighth

about

the

seventh
of

or
the

century A.

D,

He was
a

a prince

Chera
entitled

dynasty
the

and wrote

treatise

'Venba-Malai,'

The

on grammar other two were

eighth

kings of Malabar and flourished during the

or

ninth century.
refer

For

their

literary

remains

we

must
of the

the

reader to the eleventh 'Tirumurai,

Saivas, to

Mr, Govinda

Pillai's

'

History of

Malayalara Literature' and to our chapter on the Alvars.

It

must, however, be pointed out here that the proporSanskrit

tion of

words

in

the early

Tamil works of
comparaof the

the Chera country, namely,

pattu,
tively

Ainkurunuru, Paditrupis

Silappadikaram and Venbamalai

very small, while in the
later

writings

Kerala saints Cheraman and Kulasekara

tibly higher,

it is

percep-

mainly owing

to

Brahmanical influence.

was also a Sanskrit poet. The latest Tamil poet who, according to a current tradithe Ramalectured on tion, visited Kerala and yana before large audiances was the famous Kamban (A. D. 1145-1205). Lectures in Tamil on
Kulasekara
the

Ramayana were
in

evidently

popular
this

appreciated
it is

Kerala

during

period,

and much and

interesting to note that even today

is

Kambaramayaspecial minsfirst

nam

recited

and commented upon by

trels or a class of

wandenng

preachers,

The

works

344
in the early
'

TAMIL STUDIES

Malayalam language are accordingly the Ramacharitram and the Ramayanam which are more after the model of Kamban's great work.
'

'

'

In ancient

Tamil

literature

Chera or Kerala

is

in-

variably spoken of as a Tamil country; and from the

Tolkapyain
at least

it

might be inferred that

this

seven Nadus or provinces, namely

kingdom had Venadu,

Puzhinadu, Karka Nadu, Sitanadu, Kuttanadu,

Kuda
or

Nadu and Malayama Nadu,

vulgar Tamil was spoken.
or Malai-mandalam.

in all of

which

Kodum

In later

Tamil

literature

Malabar, Travancore and Cochin are called Malainadu

Hence

the Chera kings were also

called Puzhiyan, Kuttuvan,

Kuda-Nadan, Malayaraan
of the

and Kolli-chilamban (Lord

Kollimalais).

For

sometime the Kongu country (Salem and Coimbatore districts) was under them, and hence the people of the country were known also as Kongans. Two Tamil
inscriptions in

a Jain temple on the Tirumalai

hill

inform us that Adigaman Ezhini of Tagadur (Salem

district)

belonged to the Chera or Vanji family. Sita-

Nadu is the Nilgiris and it is needless to say that it was within the Chera dominion. The names of villages in Malabar and Travancore which have sufhxes like, seri, iir, angadi (a kadii or bazar), hodu or kod (summit of a hill),
kad
(a forest), tod or tottam (a

garden or canal), padi,

vayal,
erl, pattii,

karai, hirai, knlam, knricchi, kalam,

ktmdu,

tali,

irnppUy &c., are

all

pure Tamil words and

indicate that they were originally built

and occupied
villages
like

by the Tamils.

The names

of

Malabar

THE ORIGIN OF MALAYALAM

Mel (west or upper)-muri,
A/e/-attur,

345

Ja^m^V-kadu, and

Kazhaui-'^d.vd.mb'a. support the

theory that the ancient

inhabitants of Kerala were Tamil Dravidians. Again,

from the existence

of

Tamil words kizhakku

(east)

and

merku (west)
Tamil, and

in the
'

well argues that

that

Malayalam language, Dr. Caldthe Malayalam is an off.shoot from the people by whom it is spoken
of Tamilians'.

were originally a colony

This

argu-

ment confirms beyond a shadow of doubt the Tamil origin of the Malayalam people, though it seems to Mr. Logan fanciful and ingenious. Prior to the fifth or sixth century A. D. the Tamil words (^eaari^, (5L_i@j (aji_<5(5 and Q^/b(^ expressed the four directions, while Sli^d(^ and Qmp(^ then meant 'downward and upward.' In all these the particle is a dative case termination meaning direction.' Later @ssari@ and @_i(5 became classical or used on only in literature, and their place was taken by Qipsi^ and Qiop^ which acquired that significance with reference to the position of the Tamil country
'
'

'

lying east of the

Western Ghauts.

Notwithstanding
of

the strikingly reverse configuration

the

modern

Malayalam and Tamil countries, the Tamil word come to denote the 'east on both sides of This is no doubt the Ghauts and in both languages.
@Lps(^ has
'

an anomaly and can be explained only by accepting that the early inhabitants of the Malayalam country
were Tamil immigrants from the East coast
districts.

The word
yalam
its

QiDp(^ has,

however, retained in Mala'

ancient Tamil meaning

upward

',

and

its


346

TAMIL STUDIES

modern significance is expressed by a Tamil compound Liu^-i^rTuSI^ or the setting sun.' Doubting the correctness of Dr. Caldwell's argument Mr. Logan suggests that the terms Qtpi(g and Qio/bcg were coined with reference to the rise and setting of the sun. This seems to be very ingenious, because, if that had been the case, the words for 'east' and 'west' should be
'

cognates and

found

in all the

Dravidian languages;
a simple

and the necessity to coin a compound Tamil word

padi-jnayiru in Ithe place of
one,
merkii,.

should never have been

Kerala.

felt

by the

early inhabitants of

Among
frequently

the towns of the

West

coast

Tondi (modern
Vanji

Kadalundi),
in

Mandai,
early

Musiri

and
a

occur
the

Tamil

literature.

Tondi was
of

a famous sea-port and capital of

division

Chera country

ruled

by

Poraiyan,

while

Vanji
;

or Karur was the metropolis of the other division

Musiri (Gr. Mouziris) was a famous

emporium
Tamil

of the

West and
will
(1)
(2)

centre of the pepper trade in India.

The

following quotations from ancient

literature

be found interesting
Qs^iiiQsrr/b,

-.

(^LLQeuanQ^'emL^.

Ain, 178.
luit pS'SSi(TQsrri(^lB^

s<s\)ih^i^

QufT puiBs^iiy SL^^Q^rrsBsfl

in'^eo^^rTJQpik} su.pQTfnQp(s^
Hi5Si6\)iS)seir

^^suiJOuuJ^
(^LL<sijeor ^

(SUQ^iBjb^uLjib

eSesiQuir&diB^nir

(TpLp'a(gSLesr

QPlfisS&sr

Qpsr^.

Pur.

343.

(3)

^uj i)(S pas

(^iLQisum- euQ^L^ssreO eunuiSeoein^Q.

Pat.

3.

The above

are cities of commercial

and

political


THE ORIGIN OF MALAYALAM
importance.

347
replete with

Tamil

religious literature

is

descriptions of

Hindu shrines visited by the Saints, who composed on the spot hymns about them. Among the towns of religious celebrity come first Gokarnara and Tirucchengunrur (near Quilon). These are seats of famous Siva shrines which were visited by the Tamil saints Appar and Sambandar in
Tiruvanjaikulara seems to be a

the seventh century.

later one,

because only one saint, Sundarar, a contemporary of the Chera king Cheraman Perumal sang of it. Among the Vaishnava shrines of the

Tamil-Malayaiam

country Tirumuzhikalam,

Tiru-

navoy, and Tiruvallavazh, were visited by Tirumangai

Alvar about A.D. 750
tions
in
;

Nammalvar (A.D.
these

920)

men-

addition

to

Trivandram,

Tiruvan-

parisaram, Tirukatkarai, Tirupuliyur, Tiruchengunrur,

Tiruvanvandur,
Tiruvaranvilai.

Tiruvattaru,

Tirukkadittanam

and

Kulasekhara Perumal has sung only

The Vishnu shrine at Tiruchengunrur could have come into existence only after the time
Vittuvakkod.
of

Tirumangai Alvar, that

This
last

is

after A.

D. 750.

town which

was

built

on

the

Chittar

river

was an important Brahman

settlement in the

days of Nammalvar (A- D- 920) wherein, as described by him, 3,000 Brahmans lived. ^miri^ 9iT QfisunaSiTeuiT
Q&j^lLutTiseiT

;Sihu^ (VIII,

iv. 10.)

We

have therefore

every reason to believe that the

mbi-sri,
1.

Nambudri i (or NaNambi-tiru or Nambi, Tamil ulclSI meaning 'a

^LJoi^rrireisr

Compare

which has become

in

Malayalam

^thi^iriTeiir

and ^tJounmLi^.

MS

TAMIL STUDIES
in

noble man') Brahmans settled

Malabar and Tra-

vancore between the sixth and eighth centuries of the

Christian era. According to Keralolpatti, a mythological

account of the Malayalam country composed pro-

Brahman during the eighteenth century, Brahmans were brought down by Parasurama from the Punjab and made to settle first at Gokarnam in South Kanara, where they were made
bably by a Nambudri
to shave their

hind lock and

said, to

to

grow
their

it

on the

front,

perhaps as
their

it is

prevent

going

back to

origmal home. But

we

learn

from other sources

Mayurasarma the founder of the Kadamba family and not Parasurama. The date of Mayuravarma is about the early part of the sixth century. The Namburi Brahmans must, therefore, have settled in and around Gokarnam, during this period and their migration to the south from this centre must have taken place during the The example of Mayusixth and seventh centuries. ravarma was followed by the Chola and Pandya kings of the time, who invited small colonies of Brahmans now known as the Soliya Brahmans.
that this king was

But
lutely

this

does

not

mean

that there

were abso-

no Brahmans

in the

Tamil country before the

sixth century.

The country was deeply plunged in Buddhism and Jainism. The non-Brahman Saivas and Vaishnavas,
of course

instigated

were contending
were
not

against

these

by the few Brahmans,^ religionists. There

religious
institutions
;

many Brahman

THE ORIGIN OF MALAYALAM

nor were there many powerful
inducements
of turmoil.

349
for

Brahmans

to

migrate to the south.

in

Politically the

Tamil countries were

Kalabhras, the

state

The

Kadambas, the Pallavas, the Chalukyas, the Cholas, the Pandyas and the Cheras were Religion suffered from fighting with one another. the ills of political unrest. There was no definite
state religion
;

each king professed the religion which

caprices.

suited

Better days dawned when Brahmanism, i^e., the cult of Siva and Vishnu, came out triumphant in the religious struggle. The Tamil countries became more or less quiet. And the very Brahmans who
liis

whims and

during the seventh century

had served as messengers and domestic servants under the wealthy Dravidians, as now, became priests and 'purohits to the Tamil kings, thus securing for
themselves a wider
these
led to

influence

in

the countrj'.

All
of

the construction

of a large

number

temples to Siva and Vishnu, and to the invitation of

more Brahmans
for

from

the

Aryavarta

during the

seventh and the early part of the eighth century A. D.

purposes of worship in temples and to serve as

purohits to Dravidians.

fically
tries

These Brahmans have since been known honorias Nambis in all the three Tamil coun'
'

Chera, Chola

and Pandya

in

contradistinc-

tion to later
'Bhatta.'

Brahman immigrants usually styled as The former wear the tuft of hair in front,
latter

while the

keep

it

at

the back of

their head.

They

are called the Purva-sikhai or

Puraschudakula

350

TAMIL STUDIES

Brahmans. All the Brahman saints Vaishnava and Saiva and some of the Brahman ministers under the ancient Tamil kings belonged to this Purva-

sikhai

or the

'

front-locked'

Tamils were indebted to

Brahmans. them for their

The

early

civiHsation,

which
the

developed

steadily

later
later

Brahman

under the influence of immigrants from the north.

the

These

immigrants who were specially invited

eighth
distinct as a

Tamil kings from the middle of century downwards, kept themselves

by
class

and formed no

social alliance with

the

Dravi-

dians. They, therefore,

to the

came
i

to be considered superior

Nambis, Narabudris
of the

or the Soliya

Brahmans.

Most
or

land grants to the Bhatta or the later

colony of Brahmans belong to this period.

The

early

Narabi Brahmans

seem

to

have entered
the

the

Tamil-Malayalam

districts

from

north-west,
to

while the Bhatta or later

Brahmans appear
settled

have

taken the southern route through the Telugu country

When

the

Nambudri Brahmans

in Kerala

the country was not unmhabited.

All the lands

;

were

not wholly

theirs,

nor were they the solejeiimis

and

we see no special reason why it should be so only in Kerala when such has not been the case in the Tamil
or Telugu

country.

From

the

Paditruppattu.

learn that the Chera kings lavished presents Tamil poets and Brahmans of Malabar and Travan1.
It

we upon

is

said

that the

Cherumars

called

the

Narabudris as
a
of the

Chovvar' which

may be

a corruption of Sabhaiyar or Savaiyar

or plebeian

name
Tamil

usually applied to the ordinary

districts.

Brahmans

THE ORIGIN OF MALAYALAM

core.

351
given

Imayavarman

is

said

to

have
to

500

villages in the district of

Umbarkadu

poet Kannanar

Senguttuvan the
;

Brahman revenues of Umbarthe

all

kadu

to

Paranar

Selvakkadunko

the

country
to poet

within his view from the top of the

hill

Nanra

Kapilar

vi^hile

another king

gave a portion of his

could
then

country

to

Kappiyanar.

How

such

enormous land grants be made, had the country been the exclusive property of the Nambudri Brahmans ?
Moreover,
or
all

these had occurred

settled
in

before the

Nambis

Nambudris
fact

Malabar and Travancore.

The
of
it

seems
its

to be that the

whole
out

Kerala country
right to dispose
of reverence

belonged to
as

kings,

and they had a

they

pleased.

And
lands

to

learned Brahmans,

whom^ they brought from Upper

were granted
free ot

India from time to time,

tax as

Brahmadayam

for their maintenance.

But the total neglect of the native Tamil literature by the Dravidian inhabitants of Kerala, their general ignorance and their respect for Nambudri

Brahmans gave
in

the latter an

course

of time

showed
to

itself
all

undue advantage which in the Nambudri's

the

exclusive

ownership

Kerala

country.

And

to

support ihe theory of their ownership, the

fabricated false traditions.

Nambudris even

The Chera,
castes.

like the
all

Chola and Pandya countries,

the early Tamil
of
tribes

was inhabited by

The

identity

some
that

of

these

and minor
the

Malabar

castes
of

with

those

occur
985

in

inscriptions

Rajaraja Chola

(A. D.

1013)

352

TAMIL STUDIES

has been noticed before, Of the remaining castes

of

Kerala, the

numerically

most
to be

important are
the

the Nayars, the Tiyans, the Iluvans and

Cheru-

mans, none of which are now

found

in the east,

though

the

names

of villages like

Vellancheri, Ida-

puram

and PalliKunimbranad, Vailuvanad, Ponnani and other taluks of the Malabar district clearly prove that Kerala was once inhabited solely by the Tamils. Then, how did these castes come into existence and
cheri, Ayancheri, Valayanad, Parayancheri
in

the

how

are they ethnically related to the corresponding

castes of the

Tamil

districts

About a thousand or more years ago ail the modern Tamil castes were not in existence; the Tamil people
were divided into
soil in

tribes

according

to the nature of the

tribal

which they
like the

lived

and the conventional

Maravas,
to this

names

Vellalas,

Idaiyans, Mallars,

Pallars,
districts.

and Kuravas survive

day

in the

Tamil

The word Nayar, like Vellala which includes a number of cultivating castes, is a vague name, The present Nayar caste has grown by the gradual
large

accretion

to

it

of

Chakkan

(oil-presser),

Vaniyan
(Tamil

(trader or oil-monger),

Eruman

or Kol-ayan

shepherd), Kanisan and Panikkan (sub-division of the

Tamil
Pallis),

Iluvans),

of
of

Pallichan
the

and

Urali

(Tamil

and

lastly

Vellala

castes.

Among
no

the important sub-divisions of Nayars, 'Sudran' has

meaning
later

Agattucharna and Purattucharna are only

Hyder's invasion.

innovations introduced after

p
THE ORIGIN OF MALAYALAM
Attikkuricchi
i

353

and Vattakadan are only territorial names, Kiriyattils alone seem to be the descendants
the pure
late as

of

Velirs or

Vellaias 2 of the

West

Coast.
as the

As

A. D.

1320 we find the Vellaias

cultivating caste of Malabar.

cient

Thus, none of the an-

Nayars are of Telugu extraction as believed by

the Chera kings were recruited from

some scholars. The armies of

the people of the
fine stalwart
(2)

Kongu country who were

race of
;

warriors:

(1)

ir-irmusaL^^QsmEisfTQ^rrQeu
(^nuSjb^'<f

Q&i^n^p(^
Qsitesit

^a'^LpiTisffl

QfirL^mtoae^&sT

ea)LD,i^si!r

Qs^isJS'SfnhQaiiLL(Sd

seem QuitSlu

Qs'iEi(^LLisuesr.

siaaasuQuir

uufrn^s

Si I. xxix. 1-3.
fact

And

this is

confirmed by the

that

some

of the

and Travancore, like the Zamorin of Calicut, belonged to the Pogondan subdivision 01 the Coimbatore Idaiyans. 'Kunnala-kon', one of the titles of the Zamorin, is a pure Tamil expression {kuriinila-kon) meaning chief cr king of a
feudal chieftains of Malabar
'

small country,'

and

Konatiri

'

or Konan-tiru,

or

konan

is

title

of the Idaiyans of
districts.

Coimbatore, Madura
are

and Tinnevelly
called Kol-Ayan3

In Malabar, Idaiyans
;

and Eruman (bufalo-men)

and

these are
1.
'

among

the sub-castes of Nayars.

The name
to cut.

We

are not convinced of the correctness of the etymology of

Attikurichi'
2.

from Sanskrit Asti bone, and Tamil kura

or the natives of the soil address
precisely the

The Cherumars
which
is

the Nayars
'

as Ilankoil,

same

title

as

'

Ilankokkal

given

to the ancient Vellaias of

3.

the Tamil

districts.
is

Kol

is

contraction uf 'GoUa' which

caste,

the

name

of

the

Telugu shepherd
23

while 'ayan'

is

that of Tamil Idaiyans.

354

TAMIL STUDIES

niwm;i appears in the Tanj ore inscriptions of the e venth century. It is not surprising that the Tan
Idaiyars are treated as a sub-caste of Nayars,
find
triya

when w

some

of

Samantas.

them elevated even to the rank of KshaThe Siviyar (palankeen bearers) and

the Agattu-Charna sub-divisions of the Tamil Idaiyani

caste are note- worthy, as affording a connecting

Hnk
in

between Ihem and the Samantas and Nayars

bar.

of

Mala-

The words

(^^-^f

and

iTo/

and

Slirriis&r,

which

the Tamil districts signify the

'young ones

of cattle',

denote in Malabar 'children.'

Idaiyars held a

This shows that the

dominant place in the constitution of and the Samanta castes, Idaiyans, especially of the Kongu country, had their own chieftams and they were good cavalry men. They contributed soldiers and commanders to the Chera army after the
the Nayar

conquest of the Kongu country by the

about the
first

Chera kings

or second century.

an&i)<su&> L\iT(sS ojeemiQirnLLis^.

Pad'

88.

(Defeated

the Idaiya chieftains

who opposed him

and routed the Idaiyans of the swift-footed cavalry.) The word Cheruman or Chituvan means a small man, and the Cherumans were really so in comparison with the robust

Kongu Idaiyans
Nayar
or the

and

Vellalas

who

constituted the

Nayakar

caste.

In

a Malayalam deed of 1523 A.D. the

name

of this caste

appears as Valli-Alar or Valli-Sattanmar, but

1. It

not as

observe that in one sub-caste of Idaiyans in the Madura district, called the Pendukku -mekki, the Marumakkattayara law of inheritance is followed.
will to

be curious

THE
nerumars.
'

ORIGlisi

OF MALAYALAM
to

355
iui 'Villi',

Valli

'

seems

be a mistake
Idangai

'^ome
ike

interesting sub-divisions of this agrestic

tribe,

Eralan

(ploughmen),

(left-hand),

Kaladi (irrigators), Pallan, Paraiyan, Rolan (Irulan or

Villi),

VaJluvan and Vettuvan are found

also.

among

the

Tamil Pallans

Moreover, the

customs

and
agree
the

manners
districts,

of these tribes

both

in

Malabar and the Tamil

that

including

their laws of inheritance,

so completely that

one

might conclude

Cherumas and
tribe of

Pallans belonged to one and the

field

same

Naga-Dravidian
Tiyans and
are

labourers and soldiers.

of

As
of

for the

lluvans

Kerala, the latter

whom
feel

found

in the

we

some

difficulty.

Tamil districts as well, Whether they are strangers

it

or autochthones to
to discuss here.
of the

Southern India

is

not possible

That the great

strictly

numerical strength

Tiyans of Malabar as well as their homogeneto

ous

nature seem

point

to

the

latter.

oxogamous groups of the North Malabar Tiyans and the Izhavans of Madura and Tinnevelly are called illams, and one of the former goes by the name of Pazhayar which is a Tamil word meaning
Further, the
*

toddy drawers

'.

A note on Tiyan
volume and
it

has, however,
will

been appended

to this

give

some
need

interesting facts concerning this question.

We

not go further into this problem of ethnical

affinity

between the peoples

cient

of Kerala

Tamil provinces.

and the two other anNone of the early Malabar

whatever
quarters.

castes

had
is

any

connection

with

the

Telugus, as

believed in

some

3^6

TAMIL STUDIES
cii

all

(here

is

any Indian province

in

which
is

\itt\e

or no real

archaeological
of

work

is

done,

it

Kerala^

Besides the publication

a few copper-plate grants

irregular

and some
pillai

stone

inscriptions at

and long

intervals of time

by Burnell,

Gundert, P. Sundram

and others, no systematic explorations have yet

been made and no regular epigraphicali researches

undertaken.
disposal

With the
shall

very few

materials

at

our

we

attempt to trace the growth of the

Malayalam language.

Some
tracing
as

scholars

seem

to think that the

copper plate
utilised

grants from
the

Malabar

should not
of
in

be

for

growth
are

the

the

grants

Malayalam language, Tamil and the donors

of

were
invited

Perumals or kings
by
the .-iumbudri

foreign

extraction,
to rule

Brahmans

the

They are also of colloquial Malayalam was quite language of inscriptions and that
Kerala country
*

opinion
distinct

that the

from the

the early poets of

(Malabar) were no doubt

of the

school

much affected by influence early Tamil poets, who formed a literary and developed a court language'. The
between
the
literary

difference
colloquial
antiquity of

Tamil

and

the

Tamil a
its

difference due certainly

to the
of

literature

and the

settled

form

the

the colloquial language

language cannot be a reason for the disparity between and the language of public
For,

documents.
1. In

while

literature,

chiefly classical
to

Travancore the archreological Department seems

be.

doing useful work under the direction of Mr. Gopinatha Rau, M. A.


THE ORIGIN OF MALAYALAM
literature,
is

357
few,

intended only

for

the

educated

copper-plate grants, stone inscriptions

public records are meant
for
all

and similar

classes.

A com-

parison
(A.

of

the

inscriptions

of

Rajah Raja Chola

D.

985-1013)

with

the literature of that period

would

illustrate the

above principle.
an exception
Moreover,

The
to
this

Kerala
plain

inscriptions cannot be
philological truth.
in the

how

are

we

authorized,
colinquial

absence of any work written

in the

Malayalam
of

of that period, to say that

the colloquial

Malayalam was
inscriptions
literature
?

quite

distinct

from the
really

language
possess

Do

the

Malayalis
to

any
A.

anterior

the

tenth

century
?

D. written in the so-called Malayalam language

there be

If at all

any record written

in

colloquial

Malayalam it must be the inscriptions. As for the Perumals being foreigners to Kerala, we might say that, till about the ninth century A. D.,

some

at least of

the

Kerala

kings were

foreigners,

because they inherited the Kerala throne by right of

succession in
law,

accordance with the Marumakkatayam

never mvited by the Nambudri
believe, in order to
their authority

but

they were
as these

Brahmans
enhance
in the

would have us

their

importance and establish

Kerala country.

On

the contrary,

many Chola
:

and Pandya kings married Kerala princesses and their sons became lawful heirs to the Kerala kingdom
(1) QisQ^emQ'SareSlajii^QjpQsTnF^ihetS)^
to
eisT pLD3>iir

Qunseipojasr Qu^iQ^uS'esr/DiDsesr

Qfs\)Qjas(SiiB(DaiTiduiTL^!ijrT^ek.

Pad.

70,


358
(2)

TAMIL STUDIES
(^L^QjirQaTLDT
Qis5r(S(ir)

Qs^sr&ta^ p(^^

(3)

The Chola

king Parantaka

(A.

D. 907-946)
the

married a Kerala princess.

(4)

Kulasekhara Pandya took with him

... all

forces of the

his mother's

two Kongu countries that belonged to two brothers. Mahawanso, 239. Matrimonial alliances among the three Tamil
continued until about the

dynasties seem to have

down-fall and extinction of the ancient

Pandya and

Chola houses between the 11th and 13th centuries,

when
began
holds.

the

influence

of

the

Nambudri Brahmans
Kerala
royal

to extend even into the

house-

The

latest alliance of this

kind was between

Ravivarma
in

alias

Kulasekhara and a Pandya princess

A.D. 1299. This Kerala king defeated Vira Pandya

and was crowned on the banks of the Vaiga. He Pandya and Chola countries till about 1316. Probably this was the period when the communication between Kerala and the other two
ruled over Kerala,

Tamil countries began

period
dation

to

decline

and

this

was the
founof

when
stone

the

Nambudri Brahmans

laid the

for the ill-planned tottering

edifice

the Malayalam tongue, by their closer touch with the

Nayar and other high caste Dravidian

families.

The statement
affected

that the early

Malayalam poets were

by the
term
of

early

Tamil poets seems rather surprinot referring to the same age, as

sing, the

'early'

both are

unequal antiquity. Malayalam had scarce-

THE ORIGIN OF MALAYALAM

ly

359

any

literature

worth the name before the middle

century,

whereas Tamil literature from the opening years of the Christian era. Tamil has a grammar written three centuries before
of the thirteenth

dates

Christ,

whereas Malayalam had none

Tamil,
at least

till

so late as
it,

A. D. 1860.

the literary

phase of

had been well defined and formed two

ago, while

millenniems

Malayalam
literature

is

even to-day

in a state of for-

mation.

It is

inconceivable, therefore,

how

the early

Malayalam
ber that
all

could have been

particularly

the early Tamil poets,

influenced by when we remem-

social intercourse

between Kerala and the

Tamil country had ceased

the birth
that
early
of the

at least

one century before

unless
it

Malayalam
literature
also'.

literature,

be

Tamil

was the

literature

of the

early people of Kerala

The statements
of

of Dr. Caldwell that the separation

from Tamil evidently took place at a very early period, before the Tamil was cultivated and refined', and that Tamil 'bids fare to supersede the
Malayalam
*

Malayalam'
Returning

are thus

opinions which need stronger

evidence before they could be accepted.

now from

our digression to the copper-

plate grants of Malabar,

we

find

in the

Mamballi

in-

scriptions of Sri Vallavan Kodai

(A.

D. 973) the lan-

guage used
a few

is

pure colloquial Tamil interspersed with

like
esarsrr

Malabaricms
1

for

^&r<sfr,

s^fsitsiirek

for

s'lsisiTssr, sji-LD

for ^ild &c.

;

Verbs are

inflected as in
=gy(3o^

^iLL^sQsiTiS^^iTesr
1.

and the datives of

and

The word

jfjLLi^ in the expressions

^LLi^dQsfT(S^^e\) and


360
TAMIL STUDIES
jt/sum as =gy(i^^OT2;i@

and ^sums(^ but not as

^Qp^im^
plates of

and
is

j)j<sijm^ as

now.

And

in the

Kottayam

Vira Raghava Chakravarti

also

(A. D. 1320) the

language

Tamil

freely

intermixed with Malabar idioms

uisL(^(^rT^

like

eurr^eo for
e^smL^iTuiSleo

eijrruS6\)^

for ut^(^rruS gii

spsirsfr

and

for

p-en-'Sir

and
find

^owl-ZtSsu,

^(i^iiidn^sfr
;

for

^(75^0(3r,

<srQ^iBis&!Bifl

for

sjQp.i^Q^&fl

&c.
caste

and verbs

were

still

inflected.
ff-Lpsuir,

We
gis^a^rt

also
'^'uh.

names

like

Qsv<sir'SfnTsfnT,

and

All these will

be

made more
deals
of the

clear

in

the

following section

which

evidence of the growth Malayalam language. To illustrate the development of the Malayalam language and the peculiarities of each period of its growth, typical selections are given below from Panikwith the linguistic
kar's

Ramayanam,

Krishna-gatha,

nam and
the

Nala Charitam, each of which

period in

Adhyatma Ramayamay be taken

the

as representing a particular

growth of

Malayalam language together with natory and philological comments:

(1)
G)siT6aaru.&Si(cidrfl(7Fi6m(S

short expla-

^fQ^em

luefsoiQi^rrefft'SuniTii^
iAliBiss\)(currQs\)^

^likiiBjLD,

(^i^etruiTrrQiDn QpS)6\>(^s\)^,s)i

Ljsm

^iLi^uQugti
bar
Gazetteer
Prof.
rights'.

's

"ot correctly understood in Malabar.

The Mala'

explains jijLLts^uQugii (attiperu) as

a parcel of

Wilson thinks that

'

atti is the less

accurate reading

(s?^^) a mortgage. I think both are incorrect. Atti is a pure Tamil word meaning poured' and it corresponds to the Skt. Udagapurvam. Attiknduttal is to give by pouring water and atti pent is the acceptance of a gift made as above. During the 17th century its exact meaning was, however, forgotten and the redundant expressions like iQ a iT(B3f^is/. ^iLu^uQugjiuD ii(iT)ih Qsir^
of otti
^ftasT

came

into use.

^
THE ORIGIN OF MALAYALAM

361

fiTiT^^ SibQi5it0 Qisj^^-f

Q<fii&ieSliBfrm

lieossiTiT QeusasftLDiT QrreoeotrCSirrrQui.

euiTUJLJurriTih^

Sk^siiiar siriruuirewth QsiTeasim str

a^n uuiretvih
(3)

QiniSiiS&)

Q^it^Q^uQuitq^ld.
QurrssmiD

^(nj>uSlauD sl3 s^rriLDtrir

e^Qnit^&UL^

fsiTiLisiB

LDrrQiriTQu).

airQsi^

QfiQ'SuS^ sesarQ sSero

ldujiJdlissb' l^h sir

(g)^!i iTiT^QfBuQurTQe\}

u ^ p<omea a ^Q ^a L-

QufT^^QuDiri

iS&isSi iSQu.<sa6saiLDrT(Sfr

^IT^^

iBiS(^tJD euesaru^is s^nir ^^ld (^uSeo (geOenLn

^QaiistTe^ii)

asi^uurrSS ^UfTiwQTjQLDrt
is

(cS(em(ct3ir.

The

first

quotation

from the Rjimayana

It

of

Kan-

nassa Panikkar (A.

D. 1350).
of

does not

appear

that there was any real literature in

this period.

The language
and

Malayalam before this work is wholly

In this

Tamil, with of course Malayali pecuHarities.

extract (^i^sfrumriM
qsmii^Qs'Si^emeisr

are the onlv

all

two Sanskrit compounds, and the rest are words. The grammatical terminations ^ebr^
^eiT

Tamil

s?,

^^^,

and the tense particles are all Tamil. And the only Malayalam usages are euiriri^ for eunirih^, @i_ for @6a5i_, QuaQeo for Qune\) and ^ifiQs for j)j((f,Qs and
;

362
^lEits^uD

TAMIL STUDIES
(dense, thick)
is

only a vulgar form of Tarn. ^^}t

Most of the Tamil words used in this extract, which are still current in Tamil, have become obsolete in Malayalam giving way to words of Sanskrit origin. Here the verbs are always inflected and the practice
ii^.

of

dropping the personal endings has not yet come

It is

into existence.

a translation of a Sanskrit

work

and Sanskrit words and expressions are

throughout Tamil.

freely used to

the extent of about 50 per cent, though the

is

grammar

On

account of these peculiarperhaps

ities

which bring

it

closer to Tamil, the author has

rightly,

been styled by Malayalam scholars

wrongly, the Chaucer of Malayalam

literature.

The second extract is from the Krishnappattu of Cherusseri Namburi (A. D. 1550). The author uses only one Sanskrit word [Qeues!^) in the first quotation, which is written in pure colloquial Tamil. The only Malayalam peculiarities are ^mQm- for ^sarSisw, ^iiisj
for
jijiki(^

and

Qs^nios^i^'sir for Qs=!t^(SS)&t.

<=gyt^

Tamilian

and Qs^uaQto in poetry, because may not use they are colloquial and considered slang in Tamil. In the second passage, the writer uses two Sanskrit words s!TiTuurTerui}){cotton) and s^iruuirewi (coat), which no Tamil writer will ordinarily use. The rest are
Tamil words, some being
is

slightly modified. sruQuiTQffih

is

sTuQuTQfi^ixi,

^iri^

^iri^.

Though

the

author w^as a Brahman

Sanskrit

scholar he has not

used so many Sanskrit words as Kannassa Panikkar,

because the work was primarily intended for females

and ordinary

readers.

The Krishnagatha

is

written

THE
in the

ORIGIN OF MALAYALAM

363
the

colloquial

Kerala country

known

Tamil or a Tamil as Malayalam.

their

dialect of

In

this

work

verbs are mostly

invariably

inflected, while

neuter verbs have

dropped

inflexional

terminations.

The

clipping of personal endings in verbs

must have

commenced during the early part of the 16th century. And the forms of T amil words used here are mostly those that we find in the vulgar conversaalready
tion
of

the

uneducated
for

Tamilians.

Q.fuS.fSf-

for

Qs'iLsSl^^, us^Qs^iTiLb
Qsu^jiGiLDsirp

u-femfuutLDy

Qeii^ii&n<5w

for

&c.
like

He

has largely
lds^s!',

used
LnnLg.,

colloquial
Q^&snsmeo,
in

Tamil
Qssua;L,

words
^^oblh,

=sv@<9r,

&c. which have become obsolete

modern Malayalam.
has also

The dative
usage along

case in

sototj;

or is^

come

into

with

other

Tamil

grammatical forms.

The author is now gratefully remembered by all the non-Brahman classes of he was Kerala as the pioneer of liberal education the first Brahman who wrote for the benefit of the
;

Sudra castes
in

in

their
fact

own
that
is

tongue,

the Malayalam,

spite

of the
;

the

their dialect
Star' of

and he

justly

Nambudris despised Morning called the

'

modern Malayalam literature. The next author we have to consider

is

Tunjat
All

Ezhuttachchan

who

flourished about A. D. 1650.

"his works are translations from Sanskrit, and he has freely used Sanskrit words and expressions, more

abundantly than any other writer

who

preceded him
case endings as

He was

the

first

to use the Sanskrit

in orodisi,

sthalopante,

and adverbs

like

ittham, Hi,

364
pii7-a

TAMIL STUDIKS
&c.; relative pronouns like
tat,

mat, tava, &c.

to

He

has even

added Sanskrit case terminations

;

Tamil
their

nouns
rectly,
first

as in ^Qir, <^&iQl^
(H(5

and

locatives in ii^eo (cor-

+ ^eo

appearance.

in the place) make Awkward combinations of

like
&^^siiiJdl^^

Sans-

krit

and

Tamil

words
as to
,

amTQeusmeisslil,

Qj<T^Q6ij6wQs'iLiii^ &c.,

and the arbitrary construction

obscure their derivations as
s_^ujt,
erQpi^jbgti,

of Tamil

words so
by
or

in ^(giasjsjr, sTQ^iQiBsirsffl

&c., were

introduced

this writer.

He

followed no rules of
there

grammar grammar

vocabulary,

because

was

no
find

neither before nor after

It

him

in the

MalaoccaIt

yalam language.
uninflected
sionally

is

in

his

works
used,

that

we

verbs

largely

though

appear

verbs with

personal

endings.

would be difBcult for any one to read his works without a good knowledge of Sanskrit. To him the study of Malayalam meant the study of Sanskrit. We might boldly say that Ezhuttachchan was the first Malayalam writer who gave a death blow to Tamil his mother,
tongue.

For

this

act

of

vandalism he
'

is

admired
ol the

by the people of Malabar as the Malayalam classical literature.'

Father

The
is

latest

writer
lived

we have

to deal

with

is

Unnayj

Variyar

who

about A.D. 1750. His Nalacharitam

an admirable production. Though he was a good

Sanskrit scholar like Ezhuttachchan, he has not spoilt

his

work by introducing
is

into
is

it

too

much

Sanskrit.

His

setting of

Sanskrit slokas

choice and his use of the

In the

Manipravala style

graceful.

two passages

THE ORIGIN OF MALAYALAM

given

365-

above
negative

there

are

only about half

the
rest

dozen
Tamil.

Sanskrit

words,

while
particle

are

pure

The
]^eo,
LDiTsk,

^m,

ST

or S,

Qp
in

^, the case post-positions (a.<sroi_aj) and verbal endings

G'(63a;(2'sff)

unm, ^su

(cgjsfr

are
is

all

Tamil,

In

QLD(Si^isires)<es^Qsfr

the particle
or
^ssreoT-

wsar

only a contraction
is

of

Qsinir),

Sm^
if

which

sign

of

the

present tense; similarly

ff)^.

sototj/ is

an abbreviation of sir

rhus

the Sanskrit passages are not taken intO'

account, his vocabulary and the structure of his

position are mainly Tamil.
It

com-

may be assumed
The
early

that

grammar and

dictionary
of a

tend to contribute to the

fixity

and permanence
of

language.

Tamil inhabitants
literary

Kerala
,

were mostly merchants, cultivators and soldiers

they did not care
for

and
later

excellence or

even to

improve

their

mother-tongue.

Nor did
the

the

Malayalis care to write one,

because the Dravidians

were most of them

cared
little

uneducated and
tongue.

Brahmans

That work was reserved for a foreigner Dr. Gundert, who was at once their Agastya and Divakara. Owing to the curious
for a Dravidian

mixture of the agglutinative

tional Sanskrit, the

Tamil with the

a

inflec-

work

of bringing out a satisfactory

Malayalam grammar has become

task.

super-human
its

The language has not

and
it is

yet

reached
formation.
settled;

classic

stage;
its

still

in a state of

Neither

and the very fact that it still retains the peculiar Tamil letters and P proves its very late separation from Tamil.
its

grammar nor

vocabulary

is

ifi

S6Q

TAMIL STUDIES
:

Grammar
Tamil

To determine what words are of pure

and
what
not,

origin

we have
letters

definite

grammatical rules giving the

which should
end of words.

come
This

at the
is

beginning,

middle and

not possible in the case of Malayalam

which

has freely borrowed words from Sanskrit and foreign

languages and incorporated them in

its

vocabulary^

The coalescence of letters or sandhi in Malayalam, owing to the influence of Sanskrit, follows wholly neither the rules of Sanskrit nor of Tamil. Sometimes the one, sometimes the other is followed, and Sanskrit rules are sometimes in some cases neither. Tamil words. The expression sS&iQpiB(^applied to
Q^frs=s=,
if

the

Tamil

rules

are

applied, must
'^eoeo

be

eSlssi(ipfS<ir,(^(o)<suns'3'

and Q3'fT^&>+
Qs^rriosSeoeo,

will

become
they
will

Qs'iTeoeiaSeoso

and not

iior

are

acin

cording to the

Sanskrit

rules. Lja)4- ^i_Lb

uQe\)iLh

be

Tamil ueoeStm and not In the last example the

ed
to

as

in

Malayalam.

Sanskrit rules are appli-

pure

Tamil

words.

Many

sandhis which existed in early

Tamil Malayalam or Tamil

of

the

have

now become

obsolete, as in

sSssmteoiJD, sresati^ms',

{Qurre\)^^)i^), &c. (now + s becomes In Malayalam aar + # becomes @#=, tws, &r + ^ becomes sjr^^ or ^^, but these are not allowed by the Tamil rules of sandhi. The Malayafor ease and always tried to avoid lis cared more Hence, difficulties instead ot facing them boldly.

Qioppais)

QiO^^Jih),

Qurrpgui^

is

they have

abbreviated
Qsireirefr

several

Qfuj^ +

+ ^ud

thus, compounds has become Q'fuuQ^aefnTuD^

:

THE ORIGIN OF MALAYALAM

QsiJuuj

367
j)jisiiE/i^,

+ Qeiiem(BlLc = QfubQtju6m(Sy

c^/E3@

+ Seor^ +

Quas -j-Qeu6mm = (oUiTssmLD and SO on. Most of the differences between Tamil and modern
Alalayalam
as
of

regards

grammatical

endings

and

formation
of
of

words
or

are attributable to this principle

;

laziness

phonetic decay
in
finite

personal
this cause

suffixes

verbs

and the dropping is partly due

redundancy.
isfrem

to

and partly

to

their

In
sjosr

the Tamil sentence isnm ^i<i^(c^6w, either

in

or

^tsf-^Q^m
idea

may be

safely omitted without impair-

ing the

expressed

by
to

that

sentence.

Thus,

Malayalam may be said

English, the
will

be passing
In

through, like

analytical stage.

be vague without the

explicit.

Malayalam jtjisf.3=s? nominative which should

literature,

be made

From
extended

the

early

Malayalam

which
find that

down

to the sixteenth century,

we

verbs were inflected, and that

the pronominal termi-

nations disappear
years.

in

the

succeeding two hundred

sale

In

Malayalam

deed

of

1756 A. D.

expressions like STQp^sQssrrSl^^n-eisr

i!T<ssr

and

erQ^^s^^Qsireear

were

freely used. In

the
*I

Tamil
is

of the

infant

and the
to this

illiterate

the idea of
masr

beat'

expressed even
'

day by
jtji^s^Qs^

^t^s^Qs^

(Cor. jijis^.^Q^'m)^

you

beat

'

(Cor. ^u^^^irdS),

and he beat
'

'

^euear

^^li<F/T (Cor. ^tsf.^^!T<ssr)_

Thus, the subjects

ibtisst^ f

and

^QjsOT are clearly given out

and the personal endings

contracted or dropped.

^6sr,^uj

and ^dr

are, as a rule,

In the East coast, however, this

lace

Tamil of the poputo

has been constantly subjected

corrections


368

TAMIL STUDIES

and modifications with reference to the approved literary Tamil of the learned section. The same
process
early

was

certainly
of
;

in

operation

Tamils

the

Kerala

among the country who were

unrestrained

mostly

illiterates

but since these grammatical and

lexicographical

forms

were

left

by

any

fixed rules,

and since

this process of

phonetic
of the
of

decay was aided by the indifferent

attitude

Nambudri Brahmans who were

literary or classical

quite ignorant

Tamil, they had

come

to be even-

tually accepted as correct usages in their later corrupt

Sanskritized Tamil or Malayalani literature.

This was

how

the personal

terminations of Tamil

verbs were dropped in

Malayalam.

There are yet

second person
person plural as

some

traces of verbal inflexions in the

plural as in Q^.TaroS/sar
in ^anui

and

in the first
It is

we

will give,

&c.

not, therefore, cor-

rect to SHV, as

some Malayalam

scholars seem to assert,

that there are

no traces of inflexions in the colloquial Malayalam or that Malayalam verbs were never in-

flected.

We may explain the vagaries of

which
tions,
IS

Malayalam language,
inflec-

technically called the "levelling" of

its
:

and

grammar by

taking one or two specific

instances
(1)

riij^'S'S^ j^^isjseO ^(r^ik^..,^$l

(2)

^d6^i(5/5^
first

jSGfBiuiT^tftLDuiT,

Kcr,
is

In the

quotation the
;

termination *i^' serves

a modified

different purposes

i^

in

^(5/5^

form

of

THE ORIGIN OF MALAYALAM

Tamil .i^
(particle of

369

past

tense)

contraction of 6k(g (dative case suffix)

i^ in ^^is^ is a m^ in Qujis^ is an
;

abbreviation of
fication of

<sTesTjoi;2Hid

i^

in Qs^treo^ni^ is a

modi-

Qimpg), (^mear^ or a_arg (present tense).

is

In

the second example (^isfs^

the

same

as Qsbtjd^,
is

but here the neuter inflexional

ending

retained.
perin

We

have reasons to believe that the high-caste

endings
in

sonal

verbs

were gradually dropped

endings taking their
also in course of

Malayalam,
disappeared.
irregularities

the

neuter

place

regardless of gender;

and these
are

time
are

There

many such grammatical

few

and

fluctuations, but only a

quoted here as

illustrations.
:

Vocabulary

The same uncertainty

It

exists in the

matter of vocabulary also.

has no dictionary like

the Divakaram and the Pmgalandai of Tamil or like

the
of

Amarakosh

of Sanskrit.

The following

are

some

the irregularities

which might be noticed

in various

in the

Malayalam vocabulary.

The same word is used example, the Tamil word go(5

(1)

forms.

For
sq^
;

(areca-nut) appears in
;

Malayalam as
ffly/5,

<4(jp
;

and
muSSgn

seuwEi

<s(t^@ (vulture) as

sQps^

sQ^iBisj

(rope)

as

suu^ and

sl^ss

uQj)^^
(2)

(cotton) as uiFl^^

and

uir^^l &c.

form.

be

appear in the same becomes ^j which is apt to confounded with s^itld (margin) Tamil ^ivs/s
of different origin
s-qjit

Words

Tamil

as sjia,

while

szi-sii

means sighing
(to put)
'

Qqjs&oss

(heat)
;

as Qojs^
is

and
24

saeuds

also as Qeuds

^&ft

'

temple'

as well as to

sprinkle'

(Q^afi) &c.,


370
(3)

TAMIL STUDIES
Sometimes
^,

p and

ir

are indiscriminately used

a_irei/

as in j)\s^^s
is

and sj^pM"^, ^pe^ and very common in the vulgar Tamil

(4)

&c.

This

of to-day-

Compounds

gether that
tified.

and joined tonone of its component words can be idenTamil Q^uj + iSsiap becomes in Malayalam
are so contracted
ji/dQ

Q^Qjp
&c.
(5)

^^iB

is

'agnihotri', 'patteri'

is

'Bhattasri'

Vowels which necessitate the use

of the lips are

^(fl\
;

usually
S-ffl

changed or omitted;
?>-(flujn(Sl)
;

^0

becomes

^eear^
i-jpeii

(as in

^Ss, ^eo

^.uSituli,

e^irULj

pigeon)
(6)

uiTfieii ;

&c.

Probably for the same reason when two vowels

of

of the

same class come together either Thus sisn- becomes (SO)/ ; si altered.
&c.
In
all

them
;

is

it,

Qc^ireij
is

ueoir,

lSsu/tq/,

these examples the final

short or

(7) Sanskrit

words when adopted are so

it

far distortdiffi-

ed by the Dravidian Malayalis that

chattam,
'

would be
chite
is
'

cult to discover their correct forms:

'

jata

';

srarddham
chirta,
'

';

kotamba,

'

godhuma

';

chetu,

Sakatam';
'

Sridevi';

vakkanam, 'vyakyanam';

be ascertained on It cannot so forth. what principle mesham becomes niedam and vesham as vezham^ which in Tamil means an 'elephant'. The
z;^/i,

bali

'

unnatural partiality of the Kerala people to

Sanskrit

has induced them to derive some pure Dravidian words

from Sanskrit
derived

us^^eo or ua^&ouo ^'few

u>(S)

(green leaf)
u)lL(B

^is

from Sanskrit patram;

;

or

(honey)

from Sanskrit madhu

aom from

Sanskrit mashi &c.

THE ORIGIN OF MALAYALAM

(8)

371

Surds

in

most cases are changed into nasals.

<^ssigii,

(5(55

becomes @@g^ ;

(^m^

ibitwlj,

(s^itldli ;

U(G5(G^ ;'&C.

This change
of the Chera

is

noticeable in the early Tamil works

poets.

Malayalam has

softer
this

and

more
due

nasalized sound than Tamil-

And
116

may be
in

to the climatic conditions in the Kerala country,

rain-fall of

which has an unusual

year.

inches

The

peculiarities

of the
:

Malayalam language
the home-speech of
race,

may be
a

stated curtly thus

it

is

whose vocal Highly cultivated languages like Sanskrit or Tamil are always free from such confusions which characterize the
Brahman-oppressed Dravidian
organs were affected by an incessant
cold'.

lower stages of a

human

speech.

We
ment
of the
to

shall

conclude

this short

essay

with

a state-

of the

circumstances which led to the origin

It

Malayalam language.

must not be

difficult

determine them as the change has taken place

within the past six or seven hundred years.

(1)

Tne

natural facilities for

communication
of the

bet-

ween the East and the West coasts

Peninsula were
the impenetrable
sides cut off the
(2)

Indian

very

little.

The

lofty ranges of the

Western Ghats, with only a few passes between, and

and extensive two regions.

two
other

forests

down

the

The marriage
and
the

connections

between
dynasties
of

the

Chera

Tamil

had
the

ceased partly on account of the extinction

372

TAMIL STUDIES

ancient line of the Pandyas in the twelfth and of the

powerful Cholas in the thirteenth century, and partly

owing

to the

wars of succession which resulted from

ordinary and the
latest alliances

a conflict of the
inheritance.

nepotic

laws of

The
the

on record are the

marriages
(A.

of

father

of

Kulasekhara Pandya.

D.
of

1190)
ihe

with

and

Chera king
a

(A. D,

1300) with

Kongu or Chera princess Ravi Varma or Kulasekhara Pandya princess. To this

union
of

should

be

added

the

the

aggressive
to

Nambudris with the Chera

foreign
affairs. (3)

princesses
social

prevent
political

intervention

in

their

and

The study

of

Tamil

literature

was neglected

in^

the Chera country

of

owing to the dominating influence the Nambudri Brahmans, which kept the nonof the country perfectly ignorant

Brahman Dravidians
the ancient

of their rich literature,

and owing

t(3

the extinction of

Chera line of kings who patronized it. The introduction of Judaism, Christianity and (4) Muhamadanism direct from Western Asia at a very early period, the frequent internal troubles among the
feudal
chiefs of

Kerala,

and the constant wars be-

tween them and the Pandyas and Cholas for nearly

from the eighth gradually tended to diminish their intercourse. The Chola king Ko-Chengannan is said to have defeated the Chera Kanaikkal This forms the Irumporai and taken him prisoner.
four centuries
subject
of
'

Kalavali Forty

'

of the

poet

Poigaiyar.

During the middle

of the eighth

century the Pandya

THE ORIGIN OF MALAYALAM

"king

373

Parankusan or Ko-Maran Jatavarman defeated

other places.
of Ail

the Chera kings in a series of battles at Vilijnam, Pulandai, Kottar, Chevur and are mentioned by
the
these

commentator

Iraiyanar's

Agapporal.

We

need not enumerate here the other

defeat, as they are

wars

in

which the Cheras suffered

given in the South Indian Inscriptions.

The customs and manners of the Nambudri Brahmans and their sexual connection with the Su(5)

dras,

which

in

course of time

spoiled

both Sanskrit

and Tamil, were looked upon with disfavour by the East Coast Brahmans or BJiattas, who always regarded the former as an mferior class on that account,
though
to a lesser degree than they did the

Nambi

or the 'front locked' brethren of their

own

country.

For this reason none of the later religious re(6) formers Ramanuja, Madhva and others did not

care to introduce their reforms in Kerala.

In a vast

country of 14,250 square miles there were in the days

of

the Tamil

Samts (650-950 A.D.) only one Siva

there were at least 300 temples dedi-

shrine and thirteen Vishnu temples, whereas during

the

same period
miles

cated both to Siva and Vishnu in a small area of 3,259

square

we
it

mean

in

the

Tanjore

district.

Hinduism,
the North
in

as

was understood and practised

at a great

in

and East, was evidently

discount

Kerala during that period.

Even now pilgrims

in

from the Tamil land rarely visit these shrines Malabar and Travancore, exceptmg one or two,
they are praciically

as

unknown

to

Hindu

devotees.

374
(7)

TAMIL STUDIES
Last of
all

comes

the climate of Kerala with its

incessant rain throughout the year and its dampness and heat on account of the proximity of mountains, which make the country uninhabitable for the East

Coast people.

To summarize: Tamil, Vadugu(Telugu)and Karunatam (Canarese) are the only Dravidian languages which are mentioned in the early Tamil works. Malayalam as
a distinct language does not'appear in any Tamil
anterior to the fifteenth century.

work

From
to

the fact that

Tamil has not been influenced

like the

such an extent

other

two,

and that

it

alone has a
times,
is

and

literature

from the

earliest

grammar we have very

prepared to

strong reasons to believe

that

it

the oldest of the

South Indian vernaculars.

accept the

We

are not
'

opinion of

Mr. Rice that

all

Kannada was

the earliest to

be cultivated of

the South Indian

languages',

as he

himself says in another place that

none

of the extant

works
It is

in

Canarese go
natural

earlier

than

the ninth century.

quite

to scholars,

who liavemade
nacular,

a special study of

some

particular ver-

like Dr.

Gundert, Mr. Logan or Mr. Rice to

it

speak highly of

to the

disparagement of the other

languages of the same group.

rative estimate

of

them
of

it

But to get a compawould always be safer to

follow the views

critical

Dr. Caldwell,

who

has

made

study of

all

the

any bias towards any

Dra vidian languages without one of that group. The

order of migra-

map

will

explain
several

graphically the

tion of

the

Dravidian races and the decree

THE ORIGIN OF MALAYALAM

of relationship

375

among

their

languages.

The gram-

mar and vocabulary

different,

Tamil and Telugu are quite and the age when they had parted from each
of
sister lan-

other goes back to pre-historic times. These considerations

would favour our regarding them as

guages.

And
early

the greater affinities

exist

of

grammar and

vocabulary

which

between the early Canarese

to point out that the for-

and the

Tamil seem
first

mer was
gest

the

born
;

daughter or rather the youn-

sister of

Tamil

additional support
limit of

and this seems to receive an from the fact that the northern

Tamil (Tirupati) whicli

last
its

has for the

tered, while

is bounded by Telugu two thousand years remained unal-

north-western
century
A. D>

before the

fifth

boundary had even been encroached by

to

Canarese from

Dvarasamudram and Coorg down

in

the Coimbatore district.

As regards MaUyalam which was scarcely

her
say

womb

prior to the thirteenth century,

we might

without any fear of contradiction for the reasons set

forth above, that
it is

the latest dialect of Tamil

which
It

has
is

come

largely

under the influence

at

of Sanskrit,

to

be observed that
could

no period
so

in
it

historic
is

times

Sanskrit was a spoken language, and

that
it

have

been

among

most unlikely a non-Aryan

have

people as the inhabitants of Malabar and Travancore

Many

Sanskrit words and

;

idioms

they might

borrowed

but both in genius and in structure Malain spite of its Sanskritic

yaiam remains,

saturation, a

Dravidian tongue

in close alliance

with

other

chief

376

TAMIL STUDIES
of

non- Aryan languages

South

India.

And

in

the

words

of a

Travancore statesman 'one could

is

hardly

help concluding that Malayalam

nothing more than

might
dialect

old Tamil with a good admixture of Sanskrit words';

or, as Dr.

Caldwell has said

in

one

place,

'

it

perhaps be regarded rather as a very ancient

of the Tamil than as a distinct

language'.

This must

be the opinion of

all

impartial scholars,
of dispute

and
of

it

must

no longer be a matter much s an " old and

or
its

whether Malayalam

altered off-shoot"
it is

Tamil

sister

language, because

evidently neither.

CONCLUSION
A
ati

line

on the

drawn from Mercara on the west to Tirupeast marked the northern hmit of the
that

ancient Tamil country;

portion
line,

of

the Indian
sea

Peninsula to the south of this

the
three
sides

with the

on

was

called per excellence the TamilIt

akam

or Dravida-desa.
races

distinct

the

Nagas, the

was inhabited by three Dravidians and the

to this great

Aryans.

The non-Aryan Tamils belong

Naga-Dravidiati race.

Evidence points to Nagas as the aboriginal inhabitants

of

this

country.
earlier

They were divided

or the savage
section,

into

two sections
the later

the

or the semi-civilized section.

and The former

latter to

belonged to the Negrito race

and the

mixed one.
the

Apparently both migrated to India from

south

when
the

it

was connected by
tribes

land
to

with
the

Australia,
interior

earlier

being

driven

and the later immigrants occupying the east coast from Cape Comorin to Vizagapatam and extending as far as Nagpur in the Central Provinces. These were the vanaras and the
hills

and

forests

378
rakshasas
of

TAMIL STUDIES
the

Ramayana.

It

is

by no means

easy to say

when these races entered India. Then came the Dravidian Tamils, the
being
used in
to
this

word
in

'Dravidian'
a

work

chiefly

restricted sense
tribe

denote only the Velir or the

ancient Tamils,
or

Vellala

of

the

who were

regarded

as

Kshatriyas, Vaisyas
this

Sudras accor-

ding to their occupations, and

of an out-cast tribe
riya.

seems to be coun-

tenanced by Manu's definition of 'Draivda' as a

man

descended from a degraded Kshatlike the

the

The Dravidians were Todas a fine stalwart

extraction.

Brahuis and
the

race

probably of

Aryo-Mongolian
in

They were not dark

that
of

complexioned, but their colour has been described

early

Tamil

works

as

the

tender

mango
in

leaf.

Their original

home was somewhere

Asia Minor where the ancient Accadians lived. They had entered India by the North-western passes

long before the Aryan migration.

of the

During the time

fifteenth
in

Mahabharata War, say about the

lived
areas.

century before Christ, they

Upper

India,
after

occupying small detached

the

Immediately

the'Great War' the Dravidians trekked south wards by

way of western India halting for a time at Dwarasamudram in the Mysore (buffalo) Province. From
thence ihey proceeded
east,

in three separate

bands

to the

south and west,

kingdoms known as The Cholas and Pandyas had very

with the half-civilized

and established three small the Chola, Pandya and Chera.

often to contend

Nagas, while the Cheras seem

CONCLUSION

379

to have quietly taken possession of a country along the

West coast almost uninhabited by

section of the
tact of the

any semi-civilized
led to a fusion of

Naga

tribe.

In the east the close con-

Nagas and Dravidians

the west that could not

races. In

have happened
are

at

so early a period.

And

am
of

inclined to think that the

Nayars

of

Malabar and
of

Travancore
the early

not the

modern
hybrid

representatives

the ancient Nagas,

but

descendants

Naga-Dravidians

and Aryans.
like race of

The

original Dravidians were a war-

hunters and
buffaJo

cattle-breeders,

and
in tribe,

their

partiality to the

may

be

observed

the

Todas

of the Nilgiris, a pure

their

Dravidian

who
simultheir

must have found

way on these mountains

at the

taneously with the other tribes

time

of

dispersion from Dwarasamudram, probably about the

ninth or tenth century before Chrisi.

Lastly

mans.
sixth

came the Aryans, who were mostly BrahThe earliest band of them might have
country
or

migrated to the Tamil

century before Christ;

to the

about the fifth or and from this period

century
to

down

fourth

fifth

A. D. a thin

stream of

Aryan emigrants seems

it

have flowed

southward. Sometimes

assumed

larger proportions,

which

it

did

when

large

number

of

them came

from the north-west and spread evenly in all the These Brahmans are Tamil-Malayalam districts. known as Nambis in the Tamil districts and as
these

Nambudris in the Malayalam or Chera country. All Brahmans keep the lock ot hair on the top of

380
their head.

TAMIL STUDIES
Their migration took place between the

sixth and seventh centuries A. D., when Buddhism and Jainism were receiving mortal blows from the federal army of the Aryo-Dravidian theologians, and

when innumerable temples began

the Brahmanical gods in
latest

to

be erected for

the

Tamil

band

of the

Brahman

settlers

The were known as

districts.

and their migration from the northeastern Telugu country must have taken place between the eighth and tenth centuries, that is sometime
the

Bhattas,

after the

downfall

of the great

empire
the

of

Harsha-

vardhana. Before the arrival of the Bhatta Brahmans

the

Nambis

or

Namburis

of

west

coast

had

developed themselves into an exclusive and influential

community

the midst of the uncultured Kerala

Dravidians with peculiar social and religious customs.

The Bhatta Brahmans who had formerly

the banks of the

lived

on

sacred

Ganges, Godavari,
to cross the

Kistna

and Cauvery did not care

Western Ghats.
are
still

Few

families did, however, go.

They
latest

known

there as Bhattatiris,

while

the

Bhatta immi-

grants from
Pattar.

the

Tamil country are called simply

of

The Brahmans

the

East coast, though

in

they

consider

themselves

purer

blood,

are
of

generally darker in complexion (like the

Brahmans
due
to

Bengalj than the easy going

ous^
J.
I

wealthy and mfragam-

Namburis,

which
loose

is

no doubt

the

have called them

'infragamous' as there has been a kind of

marital

social sanction to the

connection of the younger

of

male members of the Aryan Brahmans with the women Dravidian castes in the Kerala country.

the

CONCLUSION
climatic conditions

38i

and the hardships they had been

resi-

subjected to during the previous ten centuries of

dence on the scorching

East.

plains of the unprotected

There was no caste system among the Nagas and

the Dravidians.
It is

an institution introduced by the

*COw-loving' Aryan settlers.

The Tamils

or the Naga-

Dravidians were

first

divided into tribes, not castes,

according to the territory wherein they happened to

live

when, the

earliest

Aryans colonized the Tamil

castes
of

country.
times,

The numerous Tamil

modern
Vellalas,

with the exception of a handful

of

must

have grown out of a few

territorial tribes

of

Nagas. The Velirs or Vellalas alone were Dravidians.

The Viswa-Brahmans and

no place in this system.

the Dravida Kshatriyas had

The home-speech
Brahmans,
is

of

all

these people, including the

Tamil.

It is

ignorance of the elemen-

tary principles of philology

on

the part

iof

Tamil
origin

pandits that has led

to their

them

to attribute
is

divine

mother tongue. Tamil

an ancient
the

member
Nagas
has no

of the Dravidian family.

What language
of

spoke we have no means to find out.

to the agglutinative

Tamil belongs
it

group

languages and

relation whatever with the inflectional Sanskrit.

We
it

may however
and the
the

find

some remote

affinities

between
in

Indo-European languages

both

their

grammar and vocabulary

Tamils
lived

fact

which indicates that

with the Aryans in

to the

Upper India
Tamil

before their

downward march

Dekhan.

382
is

TAMIL STUDIES
a living

slightly
it.

tongue and so the early Tamil differs from the mediaival and the modern forms of
;

Owing
so

to

its

great

antiquity

and
or

its

classic

perfection
ary,

with
early

a settled
as

grammar and vocabulsecond

third

the

century

B. C, literary
the colloquial
;

Tamil

differs

very

much
differs

from

and colloquial Tamil

from

the vulgar Tamil which gave birth to the Malayalam

language about the eleventh or twelfth century A. D.

The phonetic system

of

Tamil

is

very defective

and though defective, it has three sounds .*., p and which are peculiarly its own and which are not to be found in any other language. It had an alphaifi

betic writing called the Vatteluttu,

which the people

borrowed direct from the Phoenician or Himayaritic merchants six or seven hundred years before Christ and it was supplanted by the Grantha- Tamil charac;

ters

during the ninth or tenth

influence was
at
its

century A. D.
zenith
in the

when
Tamil
Tamil

Brahman
country.

The

first

extant

language was written by a

grammar of Brahman about

the

B. C. 350.

We have no data to settle what the religion of the Nagas and Dravidians was before the arrival of the Brahmans in Southern India. As early as the tenth
century
there were in

each village a

Pidari

or a
for

Sasta (Tam. fir^^&sr) temple besides one

or

more

some

of the puranic gods, then

known

as Sri Koil. All

the Siva and Vishnu shrines whose glories were sung

by the Nayanars and Alvars, belong

to the latter class.

to

The ancient Naga-Dravidians appear

have been

CONCLUSION
animists or demonolators

383
first

when they
Till

came

in

contact with the

Aryans.

about

the third or

fourth century A. D,

Brahmanism

of the Vedic type,

in

Vat-Jh'sm and Jainism were professed

districts.

the

Tamil

Or, as

Dr. Pope has 'said the prevailing

religion of this period

of

was

most remarkable mixture

Saivism,

Jainism,
I

Buddhism

and the ancient

demonolatry'.

must add

to these Indraism

and

Vishnuism.

During the puranic period when Brahout triumphant,

centuries,
that
cults
is

manism came
fifth

is

between the
of

and eighth
alone

the

Siva and
to

Vishnu

survived.
of

Siva

said

have
to
I

nipped the

head

Brahma,

given

kick

Yama, knocked out the teeth of the Sun, and so on Such was the fate of the Vedic deities. All the extant Tamil works on religion and ethics bear clear marks of Aryan influence, and it would be
obviously untenable to hold with
Dr,

Pope
their

that the

Tamils have

developed

religion of

own

in-

dependent of Brahmanism from

the earliest

period

and that 'Saivism

is

the old

pre-historic

religion of
times.'

South India essentially existing from pre- Aryan

It is

urged by the same scholar that

evil

spirits

and

blood-thirsty gods were worshipped by the early war.

like Naga-Dravidians with rude and cruel ceremonies; and before the time of Sankaracharya even human sacrifices seem to have been offered to them. But this shamanism or demonolatry was surely no Saivism, any more than hydrogen is water. Though it had some of
its

essential elements

similar to

those of the

Vedic

384

TAMIL STUDIES
Moreover, the words Siva and Siddhanta
Dravidian origin.

Rudraism.
are not
of

The Saivism

or

the

Saiva Siddhanta of the

modern non-Aryan Tamilians

may

therefore be defined as an eclectic rehgion cV,u^-

posed of the hydrogenous demonolatry of ancient

Naga-Dravidians and the oxygenous Rudraism Vedic Aryans colligated together by

later

of the

philosophic

Brahmanisra of the Pauranic period. The sixty-three Nayanars or Saiva Saints including

Appar and Trignana Sambandar seem to have flourished between the sixth and ninth centuries; and the
Saint

Manikka Vachakar, who

about

is

out-side that
It

bead-

roll flourished

A. D. 875.

twelfth century A. D. that

the was the Saiva Siddhantam of

after

the Dravidian Tamils

in imitation

was given
and
its

philosophic basis

of the

great
;

systems of

Sankaracharya
again

and

Ramanujacharya
cult of

authors were

Saiva Brahmans.

The
less

Vishnu was

equally powerful and not

It

ancient than Sivaism.

has been

in existence
religi-

since the Vedic times.

But

this

humanitarian

on did not attempt to take converts from among the demonolatrous Naga-Dravidian tribes of hunters and warriors, nor was it in their nature to embrace such a
catholic religion despite the teachings of the Vaishna-

va alvars or
actively

saints,

who

with the Saiva

Nayanars

worked for the expulsion of Buddhism and Nammalvar was Jainism from the Tamil country. tlie last of the Vaishnava Saints, A. D. 925; then came
a line of

Vaishnava acharyas or religious teachers

CONCLUSION

385

commencing from Sri Nathamuni (A. D. 905 1025) and ending with Manavala-Mamuni (15th century}. It is to Ramanuja and Vedanta Desika (14th century)
that

Vaishnavism owes
the

its

stability

and greatness,
popularized
it

while

other

acharyas

only

by

their lectures

statement that

and comments. Thus, Dr. Pope's the Vaishnava system has been a
'

formidable

rival of

Saivism since the twelfth century,'

assertion
that the
alvo.rz

and Dr.

Caldwell's

were

the disciples of
the true history
their

Ramanuja
of

are either

perversions of

Vaishnavism,

probably put into

heads by interested Tamil

Saivas, or hasty
to

and

one-sided views formed without regard

historical

accuracy.
In

Tamil there

is

no

literature
is

with ethics or religion

and there
Tamil
is

unconnected no ethics or

religion in India without the

earliest literary

Aryan influence.
to

The

work

in

which any

definite

date could be assigned

the Kural

of Tiruvalluvar^

which goes up to the opening years of the Christian era. There must have surely existed some works
anterior to
first

that

period,

since
is

the

age
to

of

*he
the

Tamil

grammar

believed

be

third or fourth

century B.

C,

and the Tamilians

art of

have been acquainted with the

writing at least
of the

from the
exception

sixth

or seventh.
are

Bat none

pre-

Tolkapyam works

now

extant, probably with the

of a few short poems included in the Agananuru and the Purananuru. The history of Tamil literature may be divided
25


386
TAMIL STUDIES
into six periods, namely,
A. D. 150)
(A. D.
;

the academic (B. C. 500

150500)
;

the classic (A. D.

;

the

hymnal
;

500950)

the translations

(A.D. 9501200)

the exegetic

(A. D.

1200

1450) and the modern

1850),
of
its

or

miscellaneous (A. D. 1450

Original works in

Tamil are not very many and they can be counted on

one's finger's ends.

The bulk

literature

rises metrical translations

from Sanskrit
like

compitihasas and
and
Tiri-

puranas.

Short ethical poems,

for

Eladi

kadukam, intended
mass
of religious

school children, and the huge

of the

hymns and songs

are

Saiva and
exceptions.

Vaishnava
the

devotees

honourable
ancient

There was no prose

if

literature before the last century,

prose

commentaries on
the

authors be

excepted.

Alone

among

Dravidian

languages
as

Tamil

possesses a literature, ancient as well

interesting.

Every Tamilian must esteem

heritage,

it

grand

and noble
all

which he can
it

call his

own
task

onlv by approachLet us
join

ing the study of

in a scientific spirit.

hands lovingly

in

the sacred

of reconstructing

the best history of this people and their language, and

tracing the continuity of their
this
let

development.

And

in
.

us follow the examples of Dr. Latham, Pro and others, whose work for their English language and literature stands unrivalled.

Skeat

APPENDIX
The
of

THE EARLY PANDYA KINGS

materials for writing a history of the
in (1) current traditions

Pandyas

will

(2) some which are distorted and interlarded with miracles in the local puranas, (3) in early Tamil literature, and (4)

be found

and legends,

inscriptions.

Of these the
to

first

chieliy

owing

their

antiquity

and second are unreliable, and the variety of

narrow channels through which they

they
attained
of

had passed before

local

the present

form.

The

puranas,

them being obviously mythical, put us on the wrong scent, and in some cases operate as counter-acting
most
agents
in

our researches.
;

The

third

is

entitled

to

credence

but on

account of the repetition

of dates,

of

some some

names and the absence

alone,

they have to be corroInscriptions

borated by other independent testimony.

when

they are not forgeries, yield accurate and

as

reliable data,
like

they

cannot easily

be tampered with

the puranic or other records.

It is

intended

in this

note to compare

and contrast

Tamil traditions, legends and local puranas with early literature and inscriptions and show their worthlessness
ior historical purposes.

As the annals of Tamil

literature

388

TAMIL STUDIES
is

prior to the eleventh century

it

shrouded

in

obscurity^

will

be useful to take for consideration the history of

the

Pandya kings from the earliest times up to A.D. 950. The earliest available information about the Pandya

is that which is contained in the Pattuppattu, the Agananuru and the Purananuru. From the various names of Pandyas which occur in these poems Mr,

kings

Kanakasabhai has constructed the following genealogical

table
:

Nedum

Seliyan

(50-75)
II

Verri
The

Vel

Seliyan

(75-90) Nedum Seliyan

(128-140)

(90-128) Ugra Peruvaludi

exact
relation-

Nanmaran

(140-150).

ship of these kings and the data on which this

table

is

based are not clearly understood. At any rate Ugra Peruvaludi in whose reign Tiruvalluvar and Auvai flourished could not have succeeded Nedum Seliyan II

who won

the battle of

Talai-Alankanan.

Further,

the

dates assigned to these

kings seem to be half-a-century

too early. His table has, therefore, been slightly modified

and improved as given below. It is only tentative and must remain so until epigraphy discloses new facts some day or other (1) Vadimbalamba Ninra Pandya, B.
:

450 (2)
Palsalai

Nilandaru

Tiruvir

Pandya,
B. C.

B.
25

C.

350 (3)
(4)

Mudukudumi Peruvaludi, Peru Valudi A. D. 125 (5) Nedum

Verrivel or

Ugra
150

Seliyan

I,

A. D.

Ham Seliyan, A. D. 175 (7) Nedum (6) D. 225 (9) II, A. D. 200 (8) Nanmaran I, A. Seliyan D. 250 (10) Nanmaran II, A. D, 275 Maran Valudi, A.
(11) Peruvaludi, A. D. 300. The name of the first king means he who survived the deluge'. According to the Mahawanso a tidal wave from the Indian ocean washed The above may off the southern shores about B.C. 450.
'

be a reference

to this. In the reign of the

second Pandya

APPENDIX

389"

the Tamil grammarian Tolkapyar lived. the most famous

The
great

third

and

among

the early

Pandyas was Palsalai

a

Mudukudumi
learning and
sacrifices.

Peruvaludi.

He was

patron of

Brahmans and performed many yagas or

the king

He might have been

to

who
;

sent

an

embassy

Augustus Caesar
to in the

in B.

C. 25

and
'

this fact

has been alluded

Velvikudi grant as

going as
said
to

ambassador
yan

to

the

gods'.

Ugra Peruvaludi

is

have engraved the

I

fish

on the Himalayas.

Nedum

Seli-

many tanks for irrigation, which fact has been commemorated in a poem by Kuda Pulaviyanar, He committed suicide for having, without a proper
constructed
enquiry, ordered the decapitation of Kovalan an innocent

merchant
goldsmith.
sati

of

Kaveripatam
deified as
tlie

at the instigation of a crafty

The merchant's wife Kannaki committed

a

and was

Goddess

of

Chastity.

To

appease her wrath

while yet a
chieftains

king's

son Verri Vel Seliyan

sacrificed one thousand goldsmiths.

Nedum

Seliyan II

boy defeated the two Tamil kings and five Sattanar the famous at Talaiyalamkanam.

author of Manimekalai and a stanch

the
reign
of

Buddhist lived
poet

in

Nanmaran

and the

Nakkirar
II.

flourished probably in the days of

Nanmaran

With
in 1906

ttie

discovery of the

Chinnamanur copper
in

plates

and

of the Velvikudi grant of the

1908, the mist that

enveloped the early history

1.

Pandyas may be said

ly Indo-Aryan.

on the head was pureno non-Aryan tribe or caste had Hence the early Brahman settlers were called OuShj Offsr^ajt it. This Pandya king was perhaps the first Dravidian who (Kal. 71). adopted this Aryan custom on account of his having performed many yagas or sacrifices like the Brahmans.

The custom

of

keeping a

tuft of hair

In Southern India

390
to

TAMIL STUDIES

be disappearing.

They have brought

to light several

facts hitherto unknown, and furnished valuable data to

fix

the different stages in the progress of Tamil Hterature.

The

genealogical table which has been constructed from

the materials supplied by

them goes up

to the

beginning

of the seventh century, causing a

lacuna of nearly three

hundred years between it and the one given above. Perhaps this was the period of the Jaina ascendancy;, and the Jains might have been instrumental to the occupation of the

Pandya country by the Kalabhras or the

of

Jaina rulers from the Carnataka country.

Before giving the actual pedigree

Pandya

kings, the

plates proceed to mention the achievements of the real or

mythic kings

in the past

without mentioning their names..

Among

these

may be stated,

the churning of the

ocean

for nectar, appearing on the throne of Indra, mastering,

the Tamil language, bringing back the sea, obtaining the

titles

of

Puzhiyan and Panchavan, founding the

in learning,

city of

Madura, excelling pandits

into the

leading elephants

Bharata country after the death of the great

absolving Vijaya from the
the
fish,

charioteer,

curse of Vasu,.

engraving

the tiger and the

bow on Mount
and
these

Meru, constructing many tanks, defeating two kings at

Talayalankanam, translating

the

Mahabharata

establishing the College of poets at Madura.

To

the Sanskrit portions of the bigger Chinnamanur plates

and the
to sue for to the

Velvikudi

grant

add

that

Agastya was their

family priest, that one of the Pandyas induced

peace, that one of

gods and that

Ravana them went as ambassador the god Brahma requested the

'deluge'
to take

Pandya who had survived the

protection of the three worlds.

up the

APPENDIX
Then comes

391

the following genealogy

Mudukudumi
I

Peruvaludi.

Kalabhra occupation.
I

1.

Kadungon
.

A. D. 600.
I

2.

Maravarman Avani Chulamani,

I

A. D. 620.

3.

Jayantan or Sendan, A. D. 650.

I

4.

Maravarman
I

Arikesari, fought at Nelveli, A. D. 680.

710.

5.

Jatavarman Ranadhiran A. D.
I

6.

Arikesari Parankusan Rajasimha

I

Seli\an or I, Ter Termaran, A. D. 735.

7. Jitila

Varman Parantakan
I

Srivara, A. D. 770.

8.

Rajasimha

II,
1

A. D. 785.

9.

Varaguna

I,
I

A. D. 810.

10.

Srimaran Sri Vallabha Deva, A. D. 835.

II.

Varaguna Varman

12.

Parantakan Viranarayana

A. D, 862

3.

A.D. 885
13.

a Kerala princess.
I

Rajasimha
a

III,

Abhiman-

Meru; defeated by Parantaka Chola in A. D. 910.

Among

these kings Palsalai

Mudukudumi Peruvaludi

was a remote ancestor of Kadungon. The name of Kadungon occurs in the commentary on Iraiyanar's Agapporul as the last king in whose reign the first Sangam was abolished. In the reign of Jayantan {Tarn,

^92

TAMIL STUDIES
classic
of

Sendan) Chulamani a Jaina Tamil by Tolamoli Devar in memory

(No.

was composed

the king's father

Maravarman Avani Chulamani. Maravarman Arikesari 4) who boasts of having won the battle of Nelveli
(QrBeoCDeueSla3&}

Sundara or 8000 Jains

Qeum piDir pm) must be identified with Kun Pandya. Had the impaling of by Trignana Sambanda art event so
and
described
with

much
in

exaggerated

pride
fact
it

the Saivapuranas

been

an accomplished

must have been referred to in the plates. Arikesari Parankusan had the title of Ter Seliyan a name which

occurs in the above commentary as Ven-Ter Seliyan and

as the founder of
the

second Sangam.
of

Jatila

Varman

Parantakan, known to the Tamils as Komaran Sadaiyan,

was

famous king and the donor

the

Velvikudi

grant.
village

He had
of

the

title

of

Srivara
in

and granted the

Suj-

Srivara-Mangalam
district,

the Nanguneri taluk,

Tinnevelly

to a

Magada Brahman named

worshipper
of

jata Bhatta.

He was
770
to

a devout

Vishnu.

His minister Marankari built a temple and an agra-

hara

in A. D.

God Narasimha

at

the foot of the

Elephant hill or Yanaimalai near Madura. Varaguna I might have been the builder of the Vishnu temple at

Varaguna-Mangalam.
Saivite, converted

His

grandson

probably

to that faith

was a staunch by his minister

and Saiva

saint

grandson Rajasimha

Manikka Vachakar, while his greatIII or Siivallabha Deva was a Vaish-

nava owing to the influence of the Vishnuvite Selva Nambi, his purohit and religious preceptor. In the reign of this last Pandya lived the Vishnuvite saints
Pe riyalvar and Andal.

Some

of these facts will

be found stated in early

APPENDIX
Tamil

393

The literature and in the Madura stalapurana. copper plates refer also to the founding of a college of poets at Madura and the translating of the Mahabharata. The first has been considered in our essay on the Tamil
academies.

As regards the Mahabharata which

its

in the

opinion of Prof. Macdonell attained

in Sanskrit

complete form

about A. D. 350. there appears

translation.

more than one Tamil

400.

All

to have been Tamil versions the

must have therefore been made subsequent

to

A. D.

The

first

of

these

versions

is

probably the one

name is at unknown and the very existence of the work is doubtful. Whether it was identical with the BharataVenba of Perundevanar (A.D. 750) or altogether differreferred to in the grants.
present

The

translator's

ent cannot be

ascertained

owing

to
it

the

paucity

of

information.
that the

Provisionally, however,

maybe assumed

Bharata-Venba

translation.

The

third

of Perundevanar was a second was by the Saivite Aranilai Visakan

of

Trailokyamallan Vatsarajan

Arumbakkam

(1)

in

the

reign of KulottungaChola III (11781215). This translation

of the epic,

though

it

does not survive to

this day,

might

have been undertaken when Kamban was engaged in translating the Ramayana. The fourth rendering of the
epic into Tamil

was by

Villiputtur
It is

Alvar, a Vaishnava

poet of the fifteenth century.

only

fragment or
A.D. 1732-

an epitome, but completed by Nalla

1744.

Pillai in

So

far the history of the early

Pandyas from Tamil

the sources the

literature
(1)

and inscriptions.

From both

Madras Government Epigraphist's

report, dated

2nd July

1906, p. 74.

394

TAMIL STUDIES
of

number
list of

Pandya kings does not exceed twenty.

Oil-

the other hand, the

Madura Stalapurana

gives

long

some seventy-three Pandyas beginning with Kulabesides another

sekara and ending with Madhuresvara,

list

of

some

forty-

one ^legitimate Pandyas.

The pur ana

to

narrates
deity.

miraculous events connected with the local

of the

Most

names

in the lists

seem

be fanciful

or mythical, corroborated
inscriptions.

neither by literature nor by

Before proceeding to compare and exit

amine them
of

will

be necessary to give an outline

the

the

salient

points
to

so far as they relate

early poets,
first

from the Halasya Mahatmya Tamil academies and the

'

according to the order of the

sacred

and secondly according to the succession of the Pandya kings. I. The 51st sport' was the establishment of the
sports' or the deeds of Siva
*

Madura Pandya
pride of

College
;

during
reign

the
of

reign

of

Vamsasekara
the
54)

(52),

in the

Champaka Maran
;

Nakkirar was subdued by Siva

(53

and

grammar to Nakkirar Nakkirar's commentary on Iraiyanar's (55) Agapporul recited before the dumb Brahman child, Rudra-Sarman (56) refers probably to Tiruvalluvar's contest with the members of the academy (57-61)
Siva directs Agastya to teach Tamil
;

miracles concerning Manikkavachakar which occurred in

the reign of Arimardhana

Jains

Pandya and (62, 63), the were persecuted by the Saivite apostle Trignana
;

Sambanda during
Pandya.
II.

the reign of Kubja,

Kun

or

Sundara

said to

fourth king was Ugra Pandya. He is have performed ninety-six Asvamedha or horse sacrifices, and he was the founder of a Sangam or

The

APPENDIX
academy.

395>

reign the elephant that

The seventh was Vikrama Pandya. came to destroy Madura

In his
at

the

machination of the fains was metamorphosed into a hill by Siva with the help of Narasimha. In commemoration of this event the

Vishnu God Narasimha

miT&fBs^(ssi^

Pandya king built a temple in the Yanamalai hill.

for the
'

Qlosuq^
in

aSa^^^i^issr (S&}LfiS(^mi3so'.

The

tenth

succession

was Anantaguna Pandya.

In this reign

Sri

Rama
The

visited

Madura while searching

Tanjcre
district

for his wife Sita.

to Tiruvidaihis

nineteenth was Varaguna.

in the

He went

marudur

to expiate

sin of

in was whose reign the third academy was established, NakkiNakkirar rar, Paranar, Kapilar &c, being its members. composed the <sias'^utT^ siretr^^uir^ujipiT^, Rudrasarma listened to Nakkirar's commentary on Iraiyanar's Agapporul. The sixty-first was Arimardhana. The The saint Manikkavachakar flourished in this reign. last but one and the seventy-second king in the list was Kubja or Kun Pandya. In his reign 8000 Jains were impaled by Trignana Sambandha.

hrahma-halti.

The

forty-sixth

Vamsasekhara

Stripping the above miraculous events of their mythological garb

and considering
has

them

together

it

will

be
;

seen that they are most of them

only the order of time
'sacred sports' of Siva at

stern

historical

facts

not been are

observed.

The

Madura

narrated in three

Maha Purana, Kadamba Vana Purana, Sundara Pandyam and Halasya Mahatmyam all which were composed sometime after
or four Sanskrit puranas namely, Uttara

the tenth century A. D. out of the current traditions

legends.

and
as

And

their

Tamil translations must have been

made long

after that period.

These accounts

differ

396

TAMIL STUDIES
'sports'.

regards the order and description of

the accounts are
conflicting
in

other

respects.

Some of The
seen
like

Tamil names arranged in

later
all

of

kings

are

sanskritized

and are not

will

chronological
the
is

order

as

be

on.

Thus,
puranas,

Tiruvilayadal
a

Purana,
of

other

compilation
all

traditions,

miracles and other stories,

less of

any time sequence

jumbled together regardand without any order. It

would, therefore, be extremely injudicious to use them

for historical purposes without

caution.
in

The
(salai)

only king

who

is

mentioned

Tamil

literature
is

as having

performed many Yagas or

Peruvaludi,

sacrifices

Palyaga

Mudukudimi

He was

an ancestor of

Nedum

Seliyam of the Talai Alanganam fame.

He

must therefore have flourished about the beginning of the Christian era. Nowhere is it laid down that Qgra

Pandya conducted any sacrifices but one Ugra Pandya or Ugra Peruvaludi is said to have attended a Rajasuya
;

sacrifice

lived about the

performed by the Chola king Perunarkilli who The fourth king in first century A. D.

the

list is

Vikrama Pandya

in

temple
the

at the foot of

the Anaimalai

whose reign the Narasimha hill was built. From

that temple, we learn Maran Kari, a minister of the that it was constructed by Pandya king Parantaka or Nedum Sadaiyan in A. D, 770 (No. 7). The age of Manikka Vachakar, who is

inscriptions

discovered in

said to

have lived

in the reign of the 61st

king Arimar-

dhana, but actually in the reign of Varaguna the 19th Pandya king, was the second half of the ninth century

and the date of Trignana Sambanda has been determined As he is believed to be the latter half of the seventh. to have been a contemporary of Kun or Sundara Pan-


APPENDIX
dya,
II

397

who is known in Tamil religious literature as Nedumara Nayanar of Nelveli, he might be identified with No. 4, Maravarman Arikesari (A. D. 680) given in our genealogical table. Thus, we find the paur ante accounts
of these historic

facts

variance

with those

early Tamil literature

anachronous and at which one might glean from and the epigraphical reports.
are

grossly

APPENDIX

II

NOTE ON AGASTYA'S GRAMMAR

Quite recently there has appeared a small book, entitled
Per-Agattiya-Tirattu, which profesesto be a collection of

aphorisms from 'the great grammar

tains, besides, a set of rules

of Agastya.'

It

con-

which Pandits believe were

at the

composed by Kazharamban
teacher Agastya.

bidding of his revered

of excerpts

Both these collections

seem

to

be for the following reasons forgeries foisted,

like so

many other works, upon that great mythical sage. 1. The style is simple and very modern it contains too many Sanskrit words; and the difference between the
;

language of this work and that of Tolkapyar,

disciple,
2.
is

his direct

patent in every one of

its

Sutras.

number of Sanskrit words been very small, and the necessity in Tamil must have for framing rules for the loan of Aryan words could not
In the days of Agastya the

have been

it was in the days of Buddhamitra and was on this account that Tolkapyar did not give any definite rule under that head, except in a vague manner thus

felt,

as

Pavanandi.

It


398

TAMIL STUDIES
the other

On

hand,
of

this

Per-Agattiya-Tirattu devotes
to

one whole chapter

some 24 Sutras

Sandhis and
in

word formation, which have been explained

Evidently
it

the

seventh essay as the pecuHar characteristics of Sanskrit.

includes in the Tamil vocabulary of Agastya's
desiya

age pure Sanskrit words and foreign or

words

borrowed by modern Tamil will show:

(1)

as the following

aphorisms

(^Srru)

(2)

ujsinh

j)j

^^ ^ &.

toT

6?Q7 QmrTL^ITUD.

sE ep

e^eir

siji^th.

With this compare the corresponding Tolkapyam and (b) Nannul.

(a) (1)
(2)
(j)
<:^
<ST

sutras

in (a)

6? S7OT2/ QpuSiT

(^sird^^rftuj.

^QeufTL^eOeO^ uusaQp^eorr^.

(1)
(2)

^^
j)j

CT

^(SjQsiJfr U.IT(^(^LD(ip^ei).

SL ^- 2J^

^
oo,

^ST

iuisiQp^eo,

3.

the Tamil letter

The author of this grammar seems to think that from Sanskrit is borrowed Aydam,

as will be inferred from the following sutras.

[a) QpjS^iiSliT QLodjiuirdj^ (ifiuuiTQiS)oSTQjr). (7)
(b)
'oT

e^susiiLD

Lppssreijih^iS

QL^(W^Q^esra. (54)

It is

usual to say that

tp,

w, /d,

and

sbt,

which are pur-

posely

placed

last in

the Tamil

alphabetic system to

and the letter which has neither the sound of visar^a nor that of jihvamulya but; a sound peculiarly its own, are the To call Aydam a Sansdistinguishing marks of Tamil. Moreover, the author of this work krit letter is absurd.
indicate their speciality to that tongue,
oo,

seems to derive Tamil from Sanskrit.

4.

The

Quifie<a^g=(^^^!!u>

attributed

to

Agastya's


APPENDIX
disciple

399
us an

Kazharamban purports
Tamil language.

to give
It is

outline

history of the

divided according
(1
)

to this writer into eight periods,

namely,

Pre-alpha(5)

betic, (2) Alphabetic,

(3)

Grammatic,
Pauranic,

(4)

Academic,
(8)

Monastic,

(6)

Jaina, (7)

and

Modern.
but slight
introduc-

This classification, which on the face of

modification by Mr.
tion to

it is

unhistorical

and anachronous, has been adopted with

Damodaram
;

Pillai in his

Virasoliyam

and

it

has been criticized at some

length in the eighth essay.

may

be taken to

century A. D.

The last or modern period commence in the fifteenth or sixteenth A classification, which refers to phases
of

of literary activity of the sixteenth century, to have been

made by

a disciple
is

Agastya
pill to

in the

second or third

century B. C.

hard

swallow,

come from
will readily

the

best of scholars.
it

even should it But Tamil Pandits

understand
that

believe

to

be the work of a disciple of

Agastya.
this

And
is

the

reader can easily

instance of
is

work

a clear

forgery.

What seems
is

probable and believable

position of a learned

that Per-Agattiyam
of

com-

member

one

of the Saiva mutts

district

or monasteries in

the

Tanjore or Tinnevelly

written for the use of the Saiva students of Tamil,

who
was

may have had

in the

beginning a prejudice against the

it

use of Nannul (being the work of a Jain) though

decidedly the best grammar, and that

into existence long after A. D.
5.

it

may have come

it is

12.50.

In the

prefatory sutra to
:

Tolkapyam

said of

its

author Tolkapyar as follows

^iSiy^sk.^

iBeo^&)s^^

400

TAMIL STUDIES

(ifii5^^s\}S6sin(B

Qpsapuui

Qiajessressflu

LfeoiQ^ir^^Q^rrasT

QsstTeosiTULSiLKsnr.

For the purpose of dealing with the Tamil letters, words and rhetoric as used in the ordinary speech and in poetry^
the
author clearly
says
that

he observed the usages

QewssSuuSs^LD)

of the Sen-Tamil men and carefully studied the

{Qs^i^uSL^iu/beiasJ:

early literature

{Qpi^^&isem)
facts for

before collecting, collating

thodical treatment in his
L^&)iQ^!T(^^Q^!T&sT)
after

and arranging

me-

grammar
the

{QpsapuuiQajesaressFlu

Aindram.

He

has not said

model of the Sanskrit anywhere in his grammar

been
his

one word about Agastya, his reputed teacher. It has at least the Tamil custom for an author to begin

work with

salutation

for his teacher

or Acharya.

In this case the teacher

posititious writer

was
same

a divine Rishi and the sup-

of the first

Tamil grammar.
period.
It
is

Both

of

them
stood

flourished at

the

not

undertrouble

why Tolkapyar

should have taken so

much

to observe the usages, to study the Tamil authors, and to deduce therefrom the grammatical rules, or why he

should have recited his work for the approval and ediAthanfication of the academy before a fellow student

it

gottasan

while Agastya was

in his

its

president.

Was

to pick

up flaws

master's great work, and

?

was he such an

ungrateful

that the two

Tamil pandits would easily believe rishis were always at loggerheadsBut, all these throw serious doubts as to whether Agastya had really written a Tamil grammar and whepupil

divine

APPENDIX
ther

III

401
disciple.

Tolkapyar
the

was ever

his

The com-

ment on
in

prefatory

sutra

by

Sivagnana Swami

confirmation

learnt his

facts of the that Agastya had Tamil from Siva, that he had been the author

of the

first

grammar
it

of

the Tamil language

lost, as

and

that

it

the model for all the works on grammar, seems to me very unsatisfactory and even fanciful. No man has ever seen the
later

had

served, betore

was

Agastya's

grammar
it

ram
ful

Pillai that

three kinds of

and the statement of Mr. Damodawas a jumble of rules relating to the Tamil is purely a creation of his power;

imagination.

What

am

inclined

to

believe

is

that every

myth and

tradition

connecting Agastya with

the Tamil language should

have come into existence

subsequent only

to the

seventh or eighth century A. D.

APPENDIX

III

THE AGE OF MANIKKA VACHAKAR

The only Tamil poet whose date has called forth a good deal of controversy from pandits and scholars is Manikka Vachakar. It is, in my humble opinion, mainly
due
to

their

sectarian bias,
stories,

their

superstitious belief
of

in the pauranic

their

want

confidence in
of the

epigraphy and

their

incorrect

understanding
that
to

historical trend of the

Tamil
thinks

language,

religion.

One
to a

writer

belonged
brings

period subsequent

and Manikka Vachakar the third academy,

literature
it,

another puts his date long anterior to

it

while a third
Dr. Pope, the

down

to the thirteenth century.

Editor and translator of Manikka Vachakar's

believes that he lived
'

works,

somewhere about

the seventh o;

26

402

TAMIL STUDIES
era,'

eighth century of our

writes that his date
'

while yet in another place he

tenth century.'

may reasonably be assigned to the Thus the age of Manikka Vachakar

It is

remains

still

unsettled.

not intended to waste

into any

some
their

more ink and paper by launching

discussion [or by
seriously

elaborate

attempting to

refute

arguments, but to briefly indicate certain grounds for a

correct determination of his date.
(1)

The

traditional

order of enumerating

the

four

famous Saiva saints Appar, Sambandar, Sundarar and Manild^a Vachakar and the position assigned to Tiruva-

chakam and Tirukkovai

lived later than Appar. the fact that

in the

Saiva tirumurais seem to

poet-saint

support the view that the last mentioned

And

this

theory

is

confirmed by

Manikka Vachakar and Kalladar have

that referred
to

described in their works a considerably larger number

of Siva's sports than

by Appar or

Sambandar,
far

who
South.

must

have

visited
a

Madura the
stronghold of

famed

capital of the

Paniyas and
annotator

Saivism
(2)

in the

As a

rule the best

trative

passages

from the

would quote illuscontemporary writers or

from those who preceded the author whose work he The commentator of Manikka Vachakar's annotates.
Tirukkovai

he

might

Perasiriyar, Nacchinarkiniyar authorities be from

cites

or

whoever
Appar's
of
all

Iraiyanar's

Agapporul,

Tolkapyam,
Naladiyar.

Kural,

Kalittogai,

Tevaram and
kar,

Since

the

authors

these works had lived

long

before

he must have

understood that

Manikka VachaAppar was his

of

predecessor.
(3)

In his Koil-padigam

Manikka Vachakar speaks


APPENDIX
III

403
at

Ponnambalam
According

or the 'Golden Hall'

this

to traditions

hall

was

Chidambaram. first built by

during the
believe that
to

Hiranya Varman, probably a Pallava

sixth century
this shrine
;

king,

and we have no reason

in existence before the

was

days of the Chola

built

king Kocchengannan

who

is

said to

have

several

temples to Siva and Vishnu, and also gilded the hall at

Chidambaram.
Q^fLoQu/resresressBi^

& p puoueo ;S^s> ^.

in

T. T.

82.

This Chola king lived probably

sixth century.
(4)

the latter half of the

ManiUka

Vachakar
earlier

refers

to

Pey

Ammaiyar,

the Saiva lady saint and poetess of Karaikal,

not have flourished

who

could
for

than the sixth century

the simple reason that the andadi form of Tamil poem, in

which her ^(n^^ iTLL<sisL^u)5sefftifT'?e\) and j>jpi-^^^^(f^eui5^rT^ were written, did not come into use before that period,
as explained by Nacchin irkiniyar in his

commentary on
of

the Tolkapyar's
(5)

siitra

^iQ^iQ^^n^ui,
candid
the

careful

and

study

the

present

work

will

convince

reader

that

the religious
in
his

doctrines

expounded

by

Manikka

Vachakar

Tiruvachakam, the general tenor of his writings and his contempt for other religions and sects may not enable

him
i.

to take the poet's

age beyond the

hymnal

period,

e,

A. D.

500950.
of the 'sacred sports' of Siva at

(6)

One

Madura was
His
loka

the send-off of the Pandya king Varaguna to

or heaven; and
to

this act of divine

grace has been alluded

by Manikka Vachakar:


404
Again
thus
:

TAMIL STUDIES
in his

Tirukkovaiyar he refers to
...

that king

6uj^e!rar(65)/5

Q^mesrOiQesr p^(^'^pp\s>ue<i^^tT&sr. (306)

..,

QppuaU6\}LLIS(lp

LDUjQeOfnEjQ0iEiaefflajrr2issTena3)<3SSfQir.

(327)

It

is

thus evident

that our saint lived in or after the

reign of

Varaguna Pandya.
name,
the
earlier of

Epigraphical

researches

have up to now brought

of that

to light only

two

Pandya kings
first

whom
And
the

lived in the

Varaguna alluded to by Manikka Vachakar must have been the Varaguna Varman mentioned in the Ambasamudram inscriptions
quarter of the ninth century.
{Ep. bid. Vol. IX., Pt.
ii).

He was
of

a devout worshipper
for his

of Siva

and granted donations

in

money and land

worship

many

Siva temples.

But the Halasya Mahatmya informs us that Manikka in the reign of one Arimardhana Pandya forty-second in succession from the only Varawho was

Vachakar lived

guna given

in the

Mahatmya

list.

This

is

one of

the

many shocking anachronisms which one may

above slala-purana.
(7)

find in the

In the sacred sports of Siva at

in

Madura

as narra-

ted

this

purana,

the

'jackal

miracle'

erroneously connected with

Manikka

which is Vachakar and

which is stated to have occurred in the reign of Arimardhana Pandya, the sixty- first in the list, comes after the sport of turning into rock the Elephant -that came
to destroy

Madura

in the reign of the

seventh

Pandya,

commentary on Iraiyanar's Agapporul by the dumb child, Rudra Sarman, in The slender data on the reign of the forty-sixth king.
and the hearing
of Nakkirar's

APPENDIX
which the
first

III

405
did actually

of

the above sports rests

reign
of
Jatila

Varman Parantakan A.D. 770. Nakkirar's commentary contains an illustrative kovai addressed to the Pandya king Arikesari Parankusan who reigned about A, D. 740.
take place in the
It
is

admitted

by Tamil

pandits

that

the
in

Tirukaccor-

kpvai of Manikka

Vachakar was

composed

dance with.the

rules given in

Iraiyanar's

Agapporul,

and
ary.

that our saint

The date

of

must have read Nakkirar's commentIraiyanar's Agapporid could not be

earlier than A. D. 650.

and

that

of the

commentary by

Nakkirar about A. D. 740. Manikka Vachakar must have

therefore lived after A.D. 740.
sports or miracles are
If,

now, we admit that the

the

narrated chronologically in
miracle
',

stalapurana,

the
of

'

Jackal

coming

after

the

metamorphosis
after A. D. 770.

the

Elephant,

must have happened

the

Madura
The

Stalapiirana,

Thus even according to the writers of Manikka Vachakar must have

propagandism
his

lived after A. D. 770.

(8)

religious

of

Manikka Vacha-

kar, his visit to

Ceylon and

conversion there of

many
the

Buddhists and their king which are narrated

in

Vadavur Slalapurana,
Ceylon.

are confirmed by Rajaratnakari of

This occurred in A. D. 819 or more correctly

about A. D. 869.
(9)

The language

of

Manikka

Vachakar

and

the

various metres employed by him do not take us so far

back

as the sixth or seventh century. Sanskrit

like ^'jumiresrmj
^^QhhldiI),
Qs=iTiriosrj

words and
siSld

phrases

Q^itujld,

and

LLiT^rreij^irLD

were not used by the poets

of the acade-

mic period.

The resemblance between

the

works

of


406
Periyalvar, Andal,

TAMIL STUDIES

Nammalvar and Manikka Vachakar

style

in thought, language,

and form

is

so

close
less.

as tO'

suggest their being contemporaries

more

or

The

above Vaishnava saints lived between A. D. 850 and 925.

(10) In the
of

Tiru-tonda-togai
last of
first

[^(j^^Q^fremi^Qstrecos)

Sundarar, the

the sixty-three Saiva saints,

who

lived

about

the

quarter

of

the

ninth

century

no mention is made of Manikka Vachakar, Yet like the Vaishnava acharyas who twisted and misconstrued texts to
fix

the

beginning of the Kaliyug as the

age of Nammalvar

last of their saints some more recent pandits and scholars have attempted

the

of the to put

the date of our Saiva saint long anterior to that of

Appar

and Trignana Sambandar,

QU!TUJUJI^<SS)1> tlS6\)e\)IT^
L/6UQJ/f

interpreting the expression

111

thC ^(TJ^O^ffSJOTi^O^ffSOS
it

as a reference to the saint,

and supporting
lines

by two vague
Appar's

allusions

found
:

in

the following

from

Tevaram
(1)

isifiesiujs (^^<oS)ir Q<Fuue)jiT^i}).

(2) @L_(jotg(5/5^.ySsaT QjiT<s=S'^&QsiTeaaiirTiT.

Here

the

first

quotation

proves nothing,

as

the

miraculous transformation of Jackals into 'horses' though

traditionally

connected

with

Manikka Vachakar,

is

an
It

old 'floating myth', like

many

others of that kind.

was one

of the

many

miracles performed by Siva, and to

thus,

which our

saint himself refers

There
also.

is

a reference to this miracle in

the

Kalladam

Had

Kalladanar,

its

author, lived posterior to

Ma-

nikka Vachakar, which seems to

me

to as

be more probable,

5he Jackal miracle should be taken

one of the

many

APPENDIX
floating

III

407
of

myths current during the hymnal period

in that connection.

Tamil

literature (A. D. 600_.950), as

he has not mention-

ed Manikka Vachakar

In the second quotation

the

word

6u(rs=sm has
in

been

misinterpreted as Manikka Vachakar, and

this fanciful

support of

meaning the pandits quote two Sanskrit puranas whose authority might be as questionable as Here that of Halasya Mahatmya and other puranas.
Qjrrs^aetr (Skt.

vachakaYmeans

'

servant

'

or 'messenger'

and nothing more.

Now

coming

to the Tiru-tonda-togai,

it

might be asked

Why should Manikka Vachakar

in this indirect

alone be referred to

one

saints,

and vague fashion while the other sixtysome of whom were comparatively less
been mentioned by
their

notable, have

names or

titles ?

There

is

no answer to

this question.

Both Sundarar and

the latter was the minister of a

religious disputant

Manikka Vachakar were Brahmans of the same sect; and Pandya king and a great

who

did

much
name

for the propagation of

Saivism.

If

Sundarar had
the

to refer to

him, he would have

this

with pride mentioned

of using
this

of

saint

instead

round-abont expression, which

may be
have also

applied to any sincerely pious poet.

He must
it

read Appar's

Tevaram and
well

noticed in
as

the

incident of
eun-^sesr.

the 'Jackal miracle' as

the

word

If

Manikka Vachakar had really lived before Sundarar and if the latter saint had interpreted eurrs^ssor to mean Manikka Vachakar, could he not have referred to our saint at least by that holy name in his Tiruttondattogai? This clearly shows that Sundarar had never heard of the

name

of

Manikka Vachakar

the fourth great saint of

408
the
Saivas,

TAMIL STUDIES
because he had not yet been born
the
in

this

world.

Nambiyandar Nambi,
<ss}LDaS6\)sorr^ ueosij IT

Vyasa

of

the Dravidian

Vedas, has correctly understood the expression Qurrdjujt^

to

mean

collectively
at

the

forty -nine

professors of the third

academy

Madura.
usOLfsoQeaair.

uiTsaariT rssSiTiTQfi^

(^pu^Q^iT(Ssru^

modern Tamil scholars 'claim to be more learned and better informed in this matter than Nambiyandar Nambi who lived within one hundred and fifty years after Sundarar or Manikka Vachakar ? It has been urged by a recent writer that Nambiyandar
the

Do

Nambi

has misunderstood the above expression, and that

total,

he has wrongly calculated the

'traditional sixty-three'

forgetting

that the

was the number

of the

of the individual
!

saints

sung by Sundara Murti. A grand discovery indeed

But was our poet so ignorant

metic as

rudiments of arith-

to merit the critic's condemnation ? Has Sundara Murti or any writer anterior to Nambiyandar

Nambi
tional'
?

stated that the

?

number

of individual saints

was

sixty-three

And,

if

not,

how

could he call

it

'

tradi-

Perhaps, he forgot that most of the names of

the Saiva saints were almost unknown before the time of Nambiyandar Nambi, who for the first time collected and arranged the Devara and other Saivite hymns, and If that their apotheosis was mainly due to his works. we add Sundara Murti, as our poet has rightly done, to
the 62 individual saints

enumerated

in the ^Q^iQ^rresmL^

^Q^aesis

we

get the now traditional 63.

the above expression to

in
all

64

which

is

not

But, if we take mean Manikka Vachakar, we get the traditional number of Saiva

APPENDIX
saints, as

III

409
Murti

we cannot by any means omit Sundara

list.

from the
It is

therefore plain

that the saint

beyond any shadow of doubt Manikka Vachakar must have been an

of

elder

contemporary

Periyalvar
in

and Andal
of

of

the

Vaishnava sect and lived

king Varaguna
II (A.

the

reign
that

the

Pandya

is two centuries Sambandar, half a century later than Sundarar and about one generation earlier than Nammalvar. And this is the view accepted by every student of epigraphy.

D.

870),

later

than Appar and Trignana

KALLADANAR.
The Kalladam
Madura.
poet
of
Its
is

an erotic

poem
'

of

some one hundred

agavals, describing mostly the

sacred sports' of Siva at

author Kallada Deva Nayanar was a Saiva

hymnal period. Tamil pandits very often confound him with Kalladanar, an earlier poet of the academic age. The former was a Saiva devotee and author of ^Q^sseamemuu Q^stiH^lQ^iMpLJa and
the pauranic or

a commentary on the Tolkapyam besides the Kalladam,

while the latter was a bard

eulogistic verses

and wrote

only a few

on the Pandiya king Nedum Seliyan, second century A. D. Thus Kallada Deva Nayanar and
Kalladanar were

two

distinct poets like Poigai

Alvar

and Poigaiyar.
Both must have been natives
the days of
of a
11,

of

Kalladam, once

flourishing sea-port near Ouilon on the

West

Coast.

In
seat
II.

Manikka Vachakar,

it

was probably the

Saiva shrine,

seiie\}iTu.^^-i seok^ssfl^(rF,etfl

T.V.
it

which must have come into existence during the

ninth century A. D., as

no mention

is

made

of

in the


410

TAMIL STUDIES
oi

Tevaram

Appar

or

a vain subterfuge of pandits

Sundara Murti. It would only be if it was said that their

been,
lost

hymns on that place had others at Chidambaram.

In the
valluvar,

along with several

Tiru-

Kalladam one may

Nakkirar,
last

find

references

to

Kannappar, Chakkiyar and Murti

it

Nayanar, Concerning the

says,

(oSTQ^sffs^firirk^ f<^sir(T^LLueasBijj0S)L-UU.

(57)
I^

This event happened, as we have said in Appendix about the beginning

of the seventh century,

which must
of

be taken as the earliest

limit of the

age
the

of

Kalladam.

Again

the

same work

refers

to

commentary
to the

Nakkirar on Iraiyanar's Agapporul and

commend-

atory verses of the forty-nine professors of the third

academy on the Kural

(1)

of Tiruvalluvai.
gH SU'hsO

LOIT p^UOL^'oiliilQ^ LDUJISI(^

su.&)QpQ^Q^^s
(2)

sssiiraSeOomsu^^^CcUaeo. (3)

^0rB^u9i^sS !T<om Qu(Ti^i^uSi^uu^eiJ6\)

eurrsSluSpdsLLisiT (sSitnaaetr^^ssr&sr.

(52)

(3)

^k^'^essmuQ^enn ^ suQufT^'siTQp^'Sems
(^gHQpesflQ ^ pei^iJo

QuQ^Qf^ pi-^eOQiirs

QiiHr(cL^(LpMlUUJ0lil QsiT

^ pUUQ^SS^LD.

(65)

(4)

SFLcajssemssff LO^QjL^3h.(frj'
^&)@uje03k.(BLJ Qu!T(f^effl^Qaj<oi!rp
eijisiT(&T)Sii<s5r

pema>(^

sijefriTsaSLii-jsOQjirQfi'oST

Qp^pssSuiTL^Lu QpsiLLQuQ^LDrr&sr. (15)

The above

quotations

show

clearly that the Kalladam'


APPENDIX
is

IV

411

a repertory

of

old

traditions, ghoulish [legends

and

mixed
ture,

miracles relating to the Saiva religion

and

litera-

narrated in such a torm as to allure the Dravidian

It
is

mind.

one

of those

religious
;

books which are

by the Tamil Saivas and it has given si50&)itl-ld s^jnenQies) m&i&njinQii. rise to the proverb (Venture not to argue with one that has studied the
highly valued

Kalladam).

They prove

further that the

author of Kalladam was

not unacquainted

with

Nakkirar's commentary on Irai-

yanar's Agapporul and that he

must have lived several

of

years after

Perundevanar, one

the forty-nine pro-

fessors of the

Madura
it

College.

In

our essay on the

Tamil academies
tary

has been sliown that this

after

commenA. D. 750

on Agapporul was written sometime

and that Perundevanar, the reputed author of the Tamil Mahabharatam, lived somewhere about A. D. 785.
Further, the

number
it

of sports

played by Siva
64

at

Madura

came

to

be definitely fixed as

during the time of

Kalladar, while

was not
is

so in the days of the last four

great saints

It

thus

pretty

evident

that

Kallada

Deva Nayanar lived between A. D. 850 and 950, and that he may have been a younger contemporary of Manikka
Vachakar whose Tirukkovayar served, according traditon, as the model for his Kalladam.
to

APPENDIX IV NOTE ON THE WORD

The word Tiyan designates
in

TIYAN.
is comwhich isIzhuvan,
it

a class of toddy drawers

Malabar, Travancore and Cochin, and

to

monly supposed

be a synonym for

412
the

TAMIL STUDIES
of another

name

caste

of palm-cultivators found in

the

Tamil

and

Malayalam

countries.

The

tradi-

Malabar represent them as immigrants from Ceylon, and in accordance thereto the words Tiyan and Izhuvan are derived by the old-school philologists
tions current in
of

Malabar and their European supporters,

like Drs.

Caldwell and Gundert and Mr. Logan, from 'dvipam'

(an island)

and Simhalam (Ceylon),

This etymology,

though advocated by such high authorites and confirmed also by Malabar traditions, seems to be rather
fanciful

and devoid
It is

of

any historical or ethnological

to

foundation.

needless

worthlessness of
historical records.

Keralolpatti

mention here the utter and Keralamahatmya as

investigations

For the purposes of ethnological no reliance can be placed on either of

compositions of the
of

these, because they are only later

de facto had in Chera kingdom. It is not the only instance in which the Malabar people have shown their primitive knowledge of the modern sciences of language and ethnology. 'Embran' is derived from hebrahman 'Nambi' from nainbu, to believe; 'Kuric'chan' from kun, to mark, 'Variyar' irom varuka to sweep and so on. Of course, these etymologies were supported by

Nambudri Brahmans

Malabar,
of the

who

their

hands the destiny

strange traditions, short or long, which the

Nambudri
the

Brahmans were ever ready

ries of

to invent.
is

For these vagatribes,

etymology the language

responsible, not

people.
of

The mother-tongue

of

the non-Aryan

Malabar was purely a Tamil dialect, and about fifty per cei?t. of the words found in the Malayalam vocabulary are of Tamil origin. As, however, Sanskrit had and even now/ have an undoubted preference in matters


APPENDIX
social

IV

413
has been to

and

religious, the

natural tendency

derive the Tamil words from SaRskrit.

The arguments advanced by

'Simhala' or 'Dwipa' theory are,
(1)

the upholders

of

the

ficers

'The Keralolpatti says that at one-time five artihaving provoked the Perumal's wrath emigrated,

and found refuge in Ceylon, from whence they were brought back by the intercession of foreigners, and in their train came the caste of cocoanut tree cultivators'.
(2)

The cocoanut

tree

is

not

indigenous

to

India

but was introduced by the southern islanders of Ceylon.

It is

suggested by some that the connecting link betthe

ween
of

words Tiyan and Dvipan survives

in

'Divar'

Canara.

tracing the

One writer goes even to the length of Kadamba chiefs of Humcha to the children
Logan
the

of the islanders, 'Divara Makkalu'. (3) Mr.

points
list

out that since cocoanut

is

not mentioned in

of

exports from Malabar given in the Periplus in

the

first

palm was introduced by theTiyans (Dvipans) and Izhuvans (Simhalese) from Ceylon before the sixth century A.D. As to the first argument it may be remarked tffat
century A.D.,
it is

probable that the

the South Indian Inscriptions inform

us that

the

toddy-

drawing classes of the country from Cape Comorin to Tirupati were called Izhuvans. In none of the ancient works Sanror or Shanan is used to denote the modern Granting then, that all caste of Tamil toddy-drawers. the Shanans of the Tamil country and the Tiyans and Izhuvans of Malabar and Travancore are the deecendants
of the original

immigrants from Ceylon,

we have
The

at pre-

sent nearly two millions of this guild following the

same

trade

and occupation

in

both the countries.

popula-

414
tion of

TAMIL STUDIES
Ceylon according to the Census of 1891 was near-

ly three millions.

Although there had been several

in-

vasions and occupations of

alternately by the Cholas
island

the northern part of Ceylon

of that

and Pandiyas, the annals

civil

from the

first

century to the ninth do not speak a

word about any

its

irruption or

war that could have

by nearly two-thirds
of

led to the evacuation of the island

useful inhabitants.

We

read in the Mahawanso that a

branch of the Pandiyans was ruling for a short period

in

Ceylon.

Moreover, the relationship

between the
little

Singalese

and Keralas
to

wa^',

in

fact,

so

that

it is

scarcely possible that such a large immigration directly

from Ceylon
Syrian

Malabar could have taken place during

the copper
plate grants of

that remote period. In

the

Christians the
;

names Izhuvan

occur

and

it is

evident that
(A.

and Tiya-alvan, the Tiyans (not Dwipans or

with

Tivans) were then

D. 132o) an organisedguild

headmen

or alvans^a.nd that the Izhuvans

were

iateri

m-

migrants from the Tamil country.

The

difference in the

customs observed by the two toddy-drawing castes confirms the truth of the statement.

The Izhuvans follow

while the
of

the

Makkatayam
Being
their
later

rule

of

inheritance

Tiyans of

North Malabar follow the nepotic law

regarded by the Tiyans as

Bhutal Pandiya.

immigrants, the Izhuvans of

Malabar are

of very interior status, just as

Tamil country

Cherumas and Pulayas hold the Paraiyas of the The name Izhuvan is in low estimation.

derived by Dr. Caldwell from Simhalam, Sihalam, on the

analogy of the Greek wordlndoi from Sindhu. There can

be no necessity for thus dragging a SansJirit word through

many

stages,

when

there

is

already in the Tamil langu-

age the simple word Singalam.

APPENDIX
With regard
that the
to the
in

IV
it

415

second argument,
is

may be
'

said

word
it

'Divara Makkalu'

not

Divara' or
title

Divar, but

is

'Deva or Devara' an ordinary

;

assum-

The Kadamba kings kings the Kalian and Marava castes of Madura still had it; have it; and a section of the Todas called the Palais style themselves *Der-mokh' or the sons of God. The Kadambas are said to have been toddy-drawers, because
ed by the South Indian
toddy-drawing was, and even
parts of India jects of the
tion of several primitive tribes

now is, the special occupawho are found in various

As subthe

bearing different local names.

kings,

Kadimba

palm

cultivators of

Canara assume with pride the name 'Devara makkalu;' the Kalians and Maravasare called Tevans or Devans,
because their ancestors are believed
to

have been kings,

their

and in the
caste
'

last

Census several

of

them have returned

;

name as 'Tevan' simply Dermokh because they are

*

the Palais are called

priests of the
all

the high

Todas. According
castes

to

the

'Dwipa'

theory

these

and

tribes

the

'

islanders

who
is

bear the

may be said to be the descendants of '! The important caste of toddy-drawers name of Tiyan or Dvipan in Malabar

considered in their land of nativity, Ceylon, as stran-

gers or 'Duravar',

How
?

then

palm

cultivators

and toddy drawers

It
is

can we say that the of South India are

probable
that a

immigrants from Ceylon

families of toddy-drawers

few

may have returned from Ceylon

large

with the

aitificers,

but

not in such
to

numbers
in

as to

give a territorial

name

an immense caste consisting of

living

two

millions

or

moie members and

the

various

parts of Southern India.

Now

coming

to

third argument,

it

may be urgad

416.

TAMIL STUDIES

might have been omitted tobe mentioned by an oversight, or might not have been an
article .of

that either the cocoanut

export.

In Southern India

it

was

certainly

valued and

much used by
first

the Tamils for drink and food

during the

century A. D.

At any rate
caste

this

argument
of the

port the theory

not strong enough to supmigration of such a numerous

is

from the

tiny island of Ceylon.

It is

also contrary
to south

to the general

law of migration from the north

the

India during the historic times.

The argument from

palm
found
is

Tamil name
real.

of

the cocoanut
letigu

more imaginary than

The word

in the

Dravidian languages, as tenkaya in Telugu

and
ten

tengina in Canarese, is derived

'

from the root

tern

or

,' sweetness.' which means Tengu is the sweet or honey tree and not the southern tree as some And ten-disai is the philologists would have us beheve. sweet direction where Tamil or the 'sweet' tongue is

honey' or

spoken.

This direction
kil (kilakku)

is

called

in

Tamil
just
east'

ten

with

reference to the habitat of

the

Tamihans,

as mel
re-

(merku) and

denote 'west and

their

with

ference to the lofty mountains of

ten
it
(/)

country.

Since
ten^

ku

and

tengu are derivatives of the

same root
is

is

not fight to say

terku

that

tengu

(cocoanut)

derived

and call it par excellence the 'southern tree',, as if there had been no cocoanut trees in India before the introduction of that useful palm from Ceylon by the
from
Tiyans,

then is the etymology of the terms Izham, IzhaandTiyan. 'Izham' means the land of Kubera or the van Indian god of gold (Izham) for which the island of

What

APPENDIX

JV

417

Ceylon or Lanka was renowned in the Puranas. This word is quite distinct from'Izham' which means 'toddy.' The latter is derived from'Izhu,' to draw, and it may be
found in Telugu as
'Izham' has
'Idiga'.
It is

highly probable that

also, as a

come

to

denote toddy
indicates

number
times
far

ot
of

synonyms
this

for toddy

the high
in

importance
early

beverage which was esteemed

as

valuable as gold.

On

these grounds

we

are

from

agreeing with
tracing the

Dr.

Caldwell and

other

scholars in

word 'Izham' or 'Izhavan' from 'Simhalam' which had already found its way into the Tamil language in the form of Singalam. Similarly we would derive Tiyan from ti-an, which means a 'sweet man,' or one whose occupation is the
manufacture
tional
class of
of

the //or 'sweet' drink.

a
territorial

It is

an occupato
this

but

not

name applied
most
carry
of the

toddy drawers.

When
to

Drvidian

castes, like Nayadi, Pulayan,

Cheruman, Kammalan and

pollution

Panikkan,

who

are supposed

with

them, possess Dravidian names,

why should Tiyant and

?

Izhavads alone

be called

by Sanskrit appellations

27

INDEX
(Names of Tamil authors and
Academies, account
Aborigines, 19, 377. the
<if

luorks are printed in Italics.

traditional

the,

252;

later,

Rama Pandya, a poet king, 225, 255. Atti-peru, meaning of, 359 f.n.
Ativira

254; work of the, 257. Accadian, its affinity with Tamil,

34, 121.

Augustus Caesar, an embassy

389.

to,

Ayirai

hill,

266,

Accent in Tamil, 135. Adiyarknnallar, annotator, 189.

Adjectives,
declined, 165. Agappornl, Nakkirar's commentary on Iraiyanar's, 253, 405.
not

Bedar_ a caste, 101. Beschi, Father, 225

on vowel

Agastya,

age of, 45, 150, 390 118; grammar, 188, 397; priest students of the Pandyas. 52 of, 237. Agglutinative languages, 147. Ainknruiniru an early CheraTamil anthology, 342. or prolation, 133. Alapedai Alphabet, the Tamil, 113 et seq.
;
;

signs, 131. Retel-leaf, use of, 329. Bharatam^ when tr.^nslated, 247 Bhatta or later colony of Brahmans, 349, 380.

Biographies of saints, 296.

Deva, of Mysore, 111, Brahma-Aryan, a title, 65.

Bitti

Brahmans.
42 59
; ;

civilizing the Tamils, invited by Tamil kings, their cxclusiveness, 89 ;

Alvars,

or

218

Vishnuvite saints, the names of, 295

;

'first,'

299.
caste, 69.

Ambalakkaran, a

Ambalavasis, a caste, 103. American languages, 172. Anaimalai inscriptions, 319. Andal, a lady saint, 323. Anthologies, Tamil, when compiled, 254, 257.

their influence in Tamil literin Malabar, 348 ature, 186 when migrated, 379. Brahmanism, early, 285-288; in Kerala, 373. used Brahmi characters, 115
;

by Brahmans and Buddhists, 126 and Vatteluttu comparIndian 123 all South ed,
;

Anthropometry, doubted, 14. Anti-brahman leal literature, 22 5.

Appar, a Saiva Saint, 2l7, 305. Archaeology, 16. Arisil ktzhar, a lamil poet, 209.
Ariuiachala kavi, 190. Aruniindi Sivacharya, a Tamil
poet and philosopher, 222. Artizans, social position of, 74. AryanSj-original home ol the, 35; conquest of South India, 51. Aryan theory of the Tamils, 20

alphabets traceable to, 127 except Vatteluttu, 128,

Brahuis, a Dravidian tribe, 50, 378 and the Dravidians, Dr. Grierson on, 37, 38. on the Bray, Mr. Denys, 33 Dravidians, 37 Brihat Katha, 243,
;

Buddhamitra, a Tamil grammarian, 119,128 on mispronun;

ciation, 137.

Buhler. Dr.
120, 243.

G.,

on Vatteluttu,

Asoka, 126.
Assyrians, 41

Burnell,

Dr.

A.

C, 116

on

Vatteluttu, 120.

420
Caldwell.

INDEX
Cox, Prof. H., quoted,
Critical spirit, 196.
15.
'

Dr. 33, 412; on the Dravida 5; on the aborigines, 19;onTamil civilisation, 50; on the Paraiyas,81; on the Tamil alphabet, 120; on Tamil diphthongs, 156; on Tamil literature, 201204; on the Alvars, 281; on Malavalam

word

',

Damodaram

Pillai's

division

of

345, 359.

Case terminations,

164. Castes, Tamil, 58; regional classification of, 62; in Kaja Raja Chola's time, 66; origin" of, 67;

Tamil literature, 198-200, 399, Dancing women, 190. Dandi, a grammarian, 220. Dead, disposal of the, 39, 214. Dependant letters in Tamil, 133. Der-mokh, 415.

Deva Nagari

alphabet, 29.

increase of, 7.S; disputes, 74; the right and left-hands. 95. system, 61 Caste Veilalar's position in, 61; introduction of, 75; among the Naga-Dravi;

Devar (Aryans), 10. Devara-makkalu, a title, 415. Devar a hymns, 190; and Divya prabandam, compared, 292. Divakaram of Sendan, a Tamil
dictionarv, 65,219. Dots, use of, in Tamil letters, 122. Drama, 187; works on the, 189, Dravida, explained, 1; Manu's definition, 5; Dr. Caldwell's use of 5; etymology of, 6; and Cauda contrasted, 3 Dravidas, the five, 2; the custom of, 3; proper, 4; Nambudries not included, 4/. . Dravidins, 61; in Upper India, dark race, 378; 36; not a civilisation of, 60 religion of various theories early, 283 concerning, 17 el seq; connection with Australians, 18. Dravidian, linguistic and ethnological applications, 37; family
, ; ;

dians, 381. Cattle-lifting, before a war, 40. Ceylon and Tiyans, 415. Chakkiyar Kuttu, 190. Chera custom?, early, 275.

Chera

kings, dates of certain, 265; genealogy of, 270.

Pallans,

Cherumars and
of
castes, 354.

names
at,

Chidambaram,

temple

318.

Chinese, 161. Chintadripetta, 93. Chijita,nani, a Jaina work, 219 293; age of, 255.

Chtidamani

Nigandu.

Tamil

dictionary, 219. Chulaviatu, a poem, 219, 392.

and

IJralo-AltaJc
;

languages,

Coimbatore, derivation

of, 31.

Combination of letters, 140. Commentators, Tamil, 196

languages, degree 170, 171 of relationship among the, 374 their influence in Sans;

names

of,

223;Vaishnava,

223.'

krit, 168,

169
;

Commentaries, need for, 223. Communication between the East and West Coasts, 371. Compound words in Tamil 158; and in Sanskrit, 161.
290. Consonants, Tamil, 134; softening of Sanskrit, 161. Copper plate grants, 115 early Malabar, 356.
at,
,

letters in, 151

by sea, 47 Drinking, 74. Dual termination, 163.

interchange of migration, not thought, 186.

;

Dvarasamudram,
Early

378.

Conjeeveram, religions

Tamil, 173-177.
Saint, 66.

Enadi Nayanar, a

Ethical literature, 193-195.

Cow,

its

importance, 73.

Etymology, Tamil, 162. Exegetical period, 222-224.

INDEX
Eyinas, an ancient tribe, 12, 76.
Ezhuttaccliaii, a poet, 361.

421
;

Idaiyan, history of, 71, 76, 103 in Malabar, 353, llakkaiia Vilakkam, 224.

llakkana Kottn, 224.

Faction disputes,
bar, 98.

not in

Mala-

Ilango-Adigal, a Jaina poet, 216.

Final letters in words, 139. First academy, described, 235

Images of Saints, 338. Indo-Europeanisms in

;

Tamil,

age

of,

239.

Food and

Forbes, Indian Nagas, 27. Frazer, Mr. J. G., 20(;.

the caste system, 73. Capt., on the North

167, 168. Inflection of lam, 368.

verbs

in

Malaya-

Initial letters in

words, 138.
;

French

academy,

compared

with Sati^aiu, 260.

Gait. Mr. G. A., quoted, 15. Gandaraditya, a king, 255, 292. Gandharvam, a form of marriage,

101

gandharvis,

dan-

190. Gatitnniaiiar, a poet, 217. 20(5. Gender, rational, 103.

cmg women,

Inscriptions, on social position castes, 75, 77 of certain giving a Paraiya's decision, 80; on the Kaikolas, S2 et. Vatteluttu and use of seq Grantha-Tamil in, 127. Interchange of letters in, 136. Ir or r, as plural suffix, 163. Irrigation tanks, 43 the system Babyborrowed from the lonians, 43. Islamism and Brahmanism, 186. Isolating languages, 147.
; ;

Geosraphy,
rance
of,

the

Tamil's igno-

lyakkan

or Yaksha,

Marava

142

Guana
197.

Vcitiyaii, a

Tamil work,

chieftain, 55. lyal Tamil, 187.

Grammars,

the Tamil, 114.

;

Grantha-Tamil characters, 114

introduced, 128 rules lor naturalisation of, 128, Grierson, Dr., 17, 39 on Tamil literature, 207. Gunabhara, a Pallava king, 305. Gunadhya, age of, 243. Giiniparamparai, or the lives of Vaishnava reformers, 220.
; ;

why

Izham, meaning of, 416. Izhavas, a caste, 66, 72, 77, 413. Izha-putchi, a tax, 72.
Jains, position of, in the caste right-hand dispute, 110 a caste, 112.
;

Jaina, Sangam, foundation 251 Tamil works, 219. Jespersen, Dr., quoted, 261. Johnston, Mr. C. J., 86 /. n.
;

of,

Haddon,

Dr., 19.

Haeckel, Dr.. 18.

Hill tribes, 68.

Kacchiyappa, a Tamil poet, 220. Kadars, a forest tribe, 13,22.56.

Kaikolan,

Hinduism, history of, 282, 285. Hiranya Varma, a king, 402. History, foreign to Hindus, 195. Hovelacque, Dr., 35, 172, 195. Hunter, Sir W. W., on Dravidian migration, 23, 108 on Tamil literature, 204.
;

Kadunkon, a Pandya king, 25?. temple 65, 95 as servants, 97 were Eyinas, not good 82; origin of, 82, 83
;
; ;

weavers, 83. Kalabhras, foreign invaders, 250.

Kalingam, meaning

of, 83.

Hymnal

Huxley, Prof. T., 18. period, 217.

Kaliiigaltnpayani, a poem, 221. Kalittogai, an anthology, 216. Kalladanar, 3, 216; age of, 409.

422
Kamban,

INDEX
Kurichan, a
hill tribe, 91.

Kalian, a caste, 29, 69. date of, 54 219, 262 lectured in Malabar, 343. Kammalas, thread wearing bj, in Malabar, 104 75, 77, 108 origin of the, 85,-88 their version of caste disputes, 97.
;
;

Kurumbas,

tribe,

13, 69.

Language, no safe test of race, 13; changes in its growth, 145; morphol jgical classification of, 147.

Kanakasabhai, Mr. V.,his etymology of the word Tamil, 7 his theory of Mongolian origin, 192 on Early Chera 13, 25,
; ;

Left-hand castes, 95.

Lemurian theory,
Letters,

the, 2i, 33.

number and order

in

kings, 272; on the Pandiya kings, 388. Kanchipuram, description of, 76; origin of caste disputes at, 99. Kannappa Nayanar, a saint, 29. Kaimassa Ramayanam, 360. Kapilar, 4 5, 216, z68, 270, 271; as name of three different poets, 197; not a Paraiya, 248. Kappiyanar, a poet, 266. Karaikk alaniinai a saint, 403.
,

Tamil, 132, 137; peculiar to Tamil, 134; combination; 117;

'levelling' in

Malayalam, 368.

Linguistic affinity, 153. Literary forgeries, very common

in

Tamil, 197.

Loan words, how to delect, 155. Locality and communities, 73.

Logan, Mr., on
of
'

the derivation Kizhakku,' 345, 412.

Long CT and 9, 51, 61. LydeUker, Prof., 18.

Macdonell, Prof. A. A., 118. M'Crindle, Mr. J. VV., 44 Madigas, leather workers, 101.

Karaiyan,

a fishing caste, 72.

Karanam, a
Katantra, a

caste, 75.

grammar,

118.

Kaveripatam, destruction of, 60. Kayslna Valudi, age of, 252.

Kazluirambliaii, a student of Agastya, 397. Keane, Dr., A.H., 19; on Tolka-

Madura,
seat of

the

Soulliern,

240;

Tamil learning, 256 ; Sangams, 232; purana, 394-6. interpolations Mahabharata, 1

;

pyam,

138.

Kerala, a Kodum-Tamil country, Nambudris owner264, 341 ship oi, 350Khonds, a hill tribe, 90. Kings, duties of Hmdu, 108. Kocchengannan,age of, 250,319. Kodum-Tamil, where used, 142. Kol-Ayan, a shepherd caste, 353.
;

popularity, 52; translated, 256, 393 ; date of the war, 239. Mahawanso, on the caste disin the, 51;
its

putes, 102. Mahishya'^, a mi.xed caste, 75.

Makkalpravidians),
try,

10.

Malabar, a Kodum-Tamil coun344;

castes

and

the

Koliyaiis, weavers, 80. Konatiri, meaning of, 353. K'jftayam plates, 360. Krishiiagata, a poem, 360. Kshatri\as, 59, 103. Kudumi'or tuft of hair. 389.

Tamils, 351; temples

in, a47.

Malaiman, a
Malaspir, a
9,

caste, 101. trmc, 56. Mala>alain, a dialect of Tamil,

hill

Kulabckliaralvdr,
saint. 309,'343.

Chera-Tamil

Kuji(ialakesi,n Jaina work, 219. Kunnalakon, meaning of, 353. Rural, 113; Sanskrit miluence in the, 194.

375; not an iiiflectiQnal language, 149; meaning of, 341; early literature in, 357 ; and vulgar Tamil, 367; grammar, 365, 366-369 ; levelling process in, 368 ; vocabulary, separated why 369-371 ; from Tamil, 371-6.

INDEX
Mamballi, copper plates, language of, 359. Manavalamainiini, a Vaishnava reformer, 22J, 385. Mangudi-kisliar, a poet, 78 ;
Nacchiiiarkiniyar,
a

423
Tamil
commentator, 45, 118, 123, 328 ; on Vowel-consonants,
129.

Marudanar,
Maniiiickalai,
epic, 39.

21(5.

Maiiikka Vachakar, 392;

:i

et seq.

Chera-Tamil

Manipravala, 229.

Maran, etymology of, 31. Maravas, a caste, 11, 70.

Maratgruinasiiinhauda, a Saivite philo^opner, 222.

Marayan,
Marriage,
of,

a caste, 00.
ti:e
;

10 f.n.] with the Cholas, 11; described, 27; in S. India, 28, G9; tribes, 61. Naga-Dravidians, 377. 'Nagakiimara kavyam, a Jaina work, 219. Naidatam, a Tamil classic, 225. Nakkirar, 216, 395; his account of Academies, 252. Naladiyar, date of, 69, 219, 254.
Pallis,

Nagas, 10 with the

their

connection

Rakshasa form
the
early

Nalayiiaprabandam, 291.
author of Nallandni'aiiar, Kalittogai, 216. early Nambis or Nambudris, Hrahmans of Tamil country,
349, 379.

55

among

214 ; connection amoiiiit the Tamil kings, 372.

Tamils,

Marumakkatayam hw,
Mauryan alphabet,

103.

Mathematics, Tamil, 192,

]25. Max Muller, quoted, 258. Mayura Varma, a king, 348. Medi.-eval Tamil, 177-180. Meykaiuia Deva, Saivite a

103; meaning of 347; not the sole Jenmis, 350; influence of, 358 ; and Bhatta Brahir.ans, 373. Nanihiyandar Nanibi, a .roet,

Nambudris,

philosopher,

22-2.

Middle

words, 140. Modern Tamil, 180-; 83; characletters in

ters, 129, why ;mgular, 131. Mo.iern, Tamil prose, 230. Molony, Mr.J.C, on Tamil, 135.

Monastic learning, 224. Mongolian theory, 24. Moods, 165. Mostyar, a Tamil poet, 243.

Mutattama Kaiitiiyar, 217. Mudukudumi Heravaludi,

220, 407; age of, 293. giving, 337. Naiiimalvar, a Vishnuvite Saint 65 ; Sanskrit words in his works, 128; life and writings age of, 327-338; on of, 324; the Chera temples, 347. Naiiiml,i\ Tamil grammar, 161. Napputanai', a poet, 217. Nasalisation in .Malayalam, 3'!. Nathamuni, 220, 291; 327, 334. Nattaltanar, a poet, 216.

Name

Pandiya king, 388, 391. Mudattirumarnn. a king, 252, Mukundamalai, a poem, 310. Mussalmans, attitude towards
foreign literature, 186, 187, Music, 187; works on, 189; history of, 189, 191. Musiri, an ancient town, 346. Muttatasa, feudal chiefs, 69. Muttiriyans, a caste, 69.

Nayadis, a low caste, 90. Nayanars or Saiva saints,

caste, 352.

218.

Nayars, 103; composition of the

Negritos, 56.
a grammar, 219. H., Ill, Nilakcsi, a Jaina or Buddhist work, 269. Nouns, 162; of quality, 162.

Neniinadam,
Nelson,
J.

Muttollayiram, a poem, 217.

'^acch'Jlaiyar, a poetess, 268.

Occupation and

castes, 73

424

INDEX
Polysynthetic languages, 147. Pope, Dr., on Saivism, 383, 401.

Orthography, Tamil, 113; Sanskrit and Tamil compared, 155.

Otiaikkutlau, a poet, 84, 220.

Poyyamozhi Piilavar,

a poet, 255.

Prabhtdmga
PadirruppatUi, work, 342.
a

lila,

poem, 225.

Chera-Tamil

Prayoga Viveliam, 153. Pre-academic period of Tamil

literature, 212.

Pall an, a low caste, 70, 71. Pallava, meaning of, 65, 69, 70, 214; not liked by Tamil kings, 105; downfall of their kingdom, 106. Palli, a caste, 70. Pansor Tamil tunes, 188, 332, Panans, 11, 54, 102, 235. Panchalas, the {see Kammalas) Pandya kings, 48 early, 387 ; genealogy of, 391. Panini, a grammarian, 117. PannJriipadalani, a work, 217.
;

Pie-Aryans, the three types of, 61 Presents to Tamil poets, 260. Pronouns, relative, 165. Pronunciation, of a-, 133; of to
(Zh), 134,

Prose literature, 228-230;

for, 184.

need

Pugazheiidi, a poet, 220.

Puranic Hinduism, 288. Purapporul Vcnbamalai^ a poem,

55, 217, 343.

Panntrupattiyal, 136.

Quantity in Tamil
;

letters, 133.

Paranar, a poet, 216, 267, 271. etymology of, 78 Paraiyas,

of the origin people, 77; their former greatness, 79-81; Dr. Caldwell on the, 81, 101. Parani, a war song, 221. Parts of speech, 162; difference in Tamil and Sanskrit, 163. Particles (Idai-chol), 162. Pattanavan, a fishing caste, 72.

Racial varieties, data for determination of, 13. Kajaraja Chola's inscriptions, 77,
83; castes of his time, 66.

Rakshasas, the, of Paraiyas,

9,

378; ancestors Pallas etc., 54;

Pavanandi, on letters, 113, Pazhamoli, a poem, 219.

,

128.

Rakshasam, a form of marriage, 55, 104. Rama, a tvpical Aryan, 53. Ramanuja Chary a, 111, 222.

Ramayana,

the, 51.

Per-arayan, a title, 65. Periyalvat 320; age of, 321. Periyavacchan Ptllai, a Vaish-

Rangacharya, Prof. M., on caste

disputes, 101. Ravanii, 52 not
;

Dravidian

nava commentator, 322.

Pcrnnipaiiarnippadai,
76.

Tamil, 53.
Relations,

Tamil

words

to

Perinuievatiar, a Tamil poet, 219; age of, 247, 254. Periingimrur Kizhar, 269. Perunkaiisikanar a poet, 217. Philology, principles of, 143. Phonetics, Tamil deficient, 134.
,

Pidaran, caste,
Pillai

()i>.

denote, 105. Religion, broke up castes, 73, 74 in the academic period, of the Tamils, 382. 251 Rhetoric, 166. Rhys Davids, Dr., on the Tamil alphabet, 119.
; ;

Pcrnmal Aiyangar, 225. Pingala Nigandii, a Tamil Dictionary, 219.

Rice, JMr. L., 102.

Right-hand faction, 92 ct- scq ; castes, 95; army mentioned in

inscription, 106, 107.

Poigaiyar, a poet, 250. Poli or change in letters, 136.

Poll-tax, 107.

Polluting castes, 65.

Risley,Sir H.H., 12,13, 17, 24,32. Roman colony at Madura, 48, 244. Rudran Kannaiiar, a poet, 217.

INDEX
Sacred hymns, collection of Tamil, 292. Saints, the Tamil, 218. Saiva activity, early, 292-294.
Saiva mutts, learning in 224. Saiva philosophy, not Dravidian.
192.

425

Saiva Siddhantam defined, 384.

Saivisro, 383. Sakkai, a caste, 66. Sakti workship, 96.

Tamil, the word explained, G; Mr.Kanakasabhai's derivation, 7; affinity with Uralo-Altaic an agglulanguages, 14, 34 tinative language, 148, 381 changes in, 145 the Divine origin of, 149; not the only its Dravidian language, 150 Sanskrit, with relationship
;

Sambandam

or marriage, 103.

Sandhi or coalescence, 160.

Sangam, references to, 231, 392; meaning of, 23; origin of, 234;
age of the second, 241, 243 Buddhistic origin, 2.52. Sankaracharya, 2.
;

Sanskrit compounds, 159; poets

and Tamil Sangams, 238 and Tolkapyam, 128. Saitanar, 2l6, 389 a Buddhist
;

152, 153; and Sanskrit compared, 163, 166; affiliation of, 169, 172; history of early, 173; mediaeval, 17 7; modern, 180; peculiarities of early, 267-280; Nambudris" attitude to, 368. Tamils, the three racial types among the, 10, 56; a warlike race, 41, 185, 261 ; their culture, 42; their foreign trade, 47-50; in Sanskrit epics, 51; probable date of their migration, 47;

poet, 251, 258.

their acquaintance with the Romans, 48; and the

Sekkilar, age of, 220, 293.

Selva Kamhi, a Brahman, 320.

Sembadavan,

caste, 72.

121 ; their comthe Egyptians, 121; rehgion of the, 215, 382.

Assyrians,

merce with

leather-workers, 8.5. Sen-Tamil, where spoken, 141. Sewell, Mr. R., on South Indian on the Tamil people, 20 alphabet, 124.
;

Semman,

Tamil-akam, boundaries of, 8. Tamil alphabet, history of, 114;

when introduced, 115; before Agastva, 122; Mr. R.Sewell on

124; defective, origin of, 136. Tamil castes, 67.
the,

124, 134;

Shanan, a caste, 71. Ship, Tamil words for the, 48. Siddhar school 226. Sil appadikaram an early Chera Tamil work, 342. Siva giianatpu 111, on letters, 133; on the origin on usage, 144 of Tamil. 149. Sivavakkfyar and Tirumalisai
,
;

civilisation, Tamil 240; Mr. Kanakasabhai on, 192; Dr. R. Caldwell on early, 19.3; due to Agastya, 237. Tamil Dictionary, copiousness
of.

261.

Alvar, 306.

Smith, Mr. Vincent, 39, 49, 265.

Social life in Kerala, 274. Soligas, a forest tribe, 56. Sourashtras, a weaver caste, 60. Srivaramangalam, 331. Sutidaraiiiiirti Nayanar, 407, Suryanarayana Sastri, 200.

Tamil kings, and the Mahabharata war, 44; are Kshatri\-as, 61 ; of Malabar, 357; none
in Rama's time, 54. Tamil learning,how encouraged,

255, 253.

Tamil ]etters,origin of, 136, 382. Tamil literature, extent of, 191;

Swaminatha

Desika, on Tamil and Sanskrit, 152; on Tamil

letters, 156.

Aryan
of,

division of. 187; posterior to Mr. contact, 195 Damodaram Pillai's division
;

198-200;

Mr.

Suryanara-

426

INDEX
Tondaradifpodi Alvar, 307. Topinard, Dr.. 18.
Toti,

yaiia's,200,201;Dr. Caldwell's 201 20i; Dr. Hunter's, 204 M. Juhen Vinson's, 207-210

211-213 periods of, 386, 399 ; preacademic period, 212 ; academic period, 213; hymnal period, 217; exegetical period, 222-224 ; modern period, 224, 226; and by Namhudri's, 372. Tamil research, the new School
division,
of, 46,

proposed

meaning of, SO. Trade with Babylon, iT f.ii,

43.

Traditions, 16; value ot, 3S7. Translations, Tamil, 219. Travancore, a Kodum-Tamil country, 344.

Turkic and Tamil, 165. Trignana Sambanda fJayanar a Saiva samt, 396, 207.

51.
self-sufficiency

Tamil Scholars,
of,

195.

Udayanakavyam, a poem, Ugra Peruvaludi, a king,

219. 249;

Tamil words inSanskrit, 154, 161. Tamil works, approved by the Sangam, 216.

age of, 252. Ula, a kind of poem, 221, 222. Umapati Sivacharya, a Saivite
divine, 222.

Tayamanaswami,

65.

Tembavatii, a poem, 225. Temple building begun, 290. Tengu or cocoanut, 415. Ten Tamil Idvlls, The, 88.

Umaru Pulavar,
poet, 361. Uralo-Altaic

a poet, 225.

Unnayi Variyar, a Malayalam

Ten Tens,

the, 264.

Ter-Chelian, age of, king, 253. Tevan, a title, 415. Third Sangam, described, 245
;

and languages Tamil, 14; group and the Dravidian family, 170. Usimuri, a work on Tamil prosody, 217.

248, 251. Thomas, Mr. E., on the Indian alphabets, ll9. Brahman Tiruchengunrur, a centre in Kcala, 347.
of,

dissolution

Vaidya, an

extinct caste, 64.

87.

Vaikhanasa Dharmasutra,

Vajra Nandi, a Jain teacher, 251. Valaiyapaii, a Jaina work, 219.

Vali and Sugriva, 56. Valluvas, Paraya priests, 99. Vanamamalai Mutt, 331. Vanniyan, a caste, 69. Vanaras, the, 51, 56, 377. Vannans, a caste, 77. Varagunamangai, 330.
Vatteluttu, 114

Tirumalisal Alvar, 302-307. Tirumangai Alvar, 29, 311 age of, 317. Tiriimurais, a collection of Saiva
;

religious

hymns, 220.

Tirunakkurasar, same as Appar.

Tiriippaii alvar, 307.

Tinittakka Deva, 255.

Tiriittonda-Togai, a list of Saiva Saints, 406. Tiruialluvar, an ethical poet, 216, 285; malai, 247-249. Tiyans, a Malabar caste, 103, 411. and Izhavans, oo5, 417. Todas, 13, 38, 379. Tolkapyar, age of, 116, 400; describes only Vatteluttu, 122, 126; Mr. A. H. Keane on, 138;

Variyan, a Malabar caste, 66. history of, 116 introduced, 119; Dr. Burnell on, 120; Drs. Buhler and and other Caldwell on, 120 alphabets compared, 123 ; independant origin of, 121; borrowed from Semites, 124; of, Tolkapyar's description borrowed from not 126 ;
; ; ;

on

final letters,

139.

Brahmi, 128, 131. Vedan, a hunting caste, 29,

Vedas, unwritten, 234.

101.

Tomb

stones,

40.

INDEX
Vedanta Desika, 222, 385. Velaikkarar (infanfrj'), 106.
Vellallas, the, 38, 61; etymology of tiie name, 42; their position in the caste system, 61 account of, 63-65; in Malabar, 353. Velirs (Vellalas), 61, 62.
;

427
129-

Vowel-consonantal signs,
131.

Vulgar Tamil and Malavalam,

367.

Wars with
West-coast

the Cheras, 372.

towns

in

Tamil

literature, 3-16.

a Veiibainahn, work. (See Piirapporul.) Venkayva, Mr. V., on the Tamil

Chera-Tamil

Whitney, Prof. W. D., on the growth of lanjjuage, 145-147. Word-formation in Tamil and

alphabet, 125.
VillifiUtiirar, a poet, 225. Vira Fukka Raya, 112.

Words,

Sanskrit, 157. rules for Tamil, 137-140 coining not allowed, 262.
54.

Virakkals or tombstones, 40. Vinson. M. Julien, 207-210.

Virasoiiyavi, 65 f. n.; 161, 220. Vishnuism, earlv history of, 288; Dr. Pope on, 385, Vishnu temples, ancient, 289. Vishnuvardhana, 4 king, 336, Vocabulary, Tamil, 153; Malayalam, 369-371.

Yakshas or Rakshasas,

Yanadis, a forest tribe, 88. Yavanas, 59/. ;/., 244, 265.

Yazh, described, IciS. Yesodarakavyani a poem, 219

,

Zh

(iP),

30, 134.

The End.

The Guardian

Press, Madras.

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