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POLITICAL  AND  GENERAL  HISTORY 


OF 


THE  DISTRICT  OF  TINNEVELLY, 


IN    THE 


PRESIDENCY  OF  MADRAS, 


FROM  TIIE  EARLIEST  PERIOD  TO  ITS  CESSION  TO  THE 
ENGLISH  GOVERNMENT  IN  A.D.  1801. 


BY 


The  Right  Rev.  R.  CALDWELL,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Bishop, 

HONORARY    MEMBER    OF    THE    ROYAL    ASIATIC    SOCIETY, 
FELLOW    OF    THE    MADRAS    UNIVERSITY. 


i      ,•      j  '  ,     , 

0  •        •        •      1  •  '  »         « 


MADRAS: 
PRINTED  BY  E.  KEYS,  AT  THE  GOVERNMENT  PRESS. 

1881. 


HEAIRY  MORSE  STEPHEN© 


■    '  >  •      •      • 

•   *     •  •      •       •      * 


«  • 


*'•*''•/•'•"  • ' 


___ 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 

*******  «*  WITHOUT  EESPEOTING  THE  EASIEST PERIOD 

*    tr-  ,  ,„    l       Aleanin"-  of    the  word    "history,     1. 
IntbdduCTION.- Paucity  of  sources  of  H tat o  »/, ■  J-     '    'j  t    »h   2      Historical  information 
lNReasons-hv  the  Hindus  eared  little  JrtojtagJ™.  made  a  good  beginning   2 
from  without,  2.     Learned  Natives  m  Noit ^mrn  ^.^         E    hesfc 

Information  from  inscnptionj .and  "gJ^J^  ^J  ^  Qrigi  lly  dtstwctfirom 
Tamil  works  have  disappeared  3.  i*«  A '*»  ^.  f  Madura  3.  Meaning  of  Ten- 
tfXtf  ilfa^ra,  3.     Tinnevelly  ongmu  lj a  poinon  beg'Qot  repre8entativeS  of 

'Audi,  3.  ArlM  ^J^'^Sir*  \h'e  lowest  castes  probably  aboriginal  4. 
the  earliest  inhabitants  of  r^^at  4  Stone  implements,  4.  Sepulchral wgo. 
The  Paraiyas  and  Pallas,  4.     Ihe  \  eiiaias,  *.  £  ,    g      Descripti0n  ot  the  lam- 

The  lESv*+  *«">  *.  Atte"S ^VSSffiR    The  mountain  Potigai,   6. 
.___■    a      rt.-^u,  ofi/i*  Tamraparni.—  -«0^a  %—**?«  „„  w^tv^'s   hill  and  in  th- 


ne 
to 


S^oibm  8      The  Cbittar,  8.    Meaning  of  the  name  of  ^  ^.^    men  m 

S        8      W.    0/  the    ™™«?aZ£hr^  ofte  mnu >   Tdmraparnl,   9.  .  <  The  tree 
Tinnevellv.     Where?  9.     ^f1?^      Later  namel    of   Ceylon,    9.     Identity   of    the 
•IV    v^T  leaves'    9.     Taprobane,  9.     i^ater  names  j         which  application   of 

Tlmraparn\  orTninevellyPwitb  the  oldest  ^me^^lO      Wbic^  PP^  rf 

the  mme  was  earlier,  10.  Greek  name  M  *MJ°™  mouth  of  the  Tamraparnl  11. 
Greeks,    10.     The   Chittar    11      The     hank near  the     ^  fijto 

The  Bettigo  of  the  Greeks,  11.  IM  ^[Tpdndvas  12.  Derivation  of '  P&ndya,  12. 
origin  of  the  three  Tamil  dynasties,  12.     The  Pandyas    l~  ^  ^^   u      ^    t 

Anna's  intermarriage  withthe  *1^J£JZ£  %  the  early  Singhalese  urth  the 
Pandya  Titles,  13.  The  Mftran'/3-s./!faleSe  princes  with  Pandya  names ',  14-  The 
Pdndyas,n.     Vijaya'smarmge^  J^es^pnn  crvili8ation  14      Th- 

ereat reservoirs  of  Ceylon,  14.  Date  of  Jfco^TNotiee8  0f  the  Pdndyas,  16.  Infonna- 
SS»Wl!-  ^r^neLtoHerSie^lS.  Pearls,- 16.  The  Pdndyas' 
tion  collected  by  Megasthenes.  ^-^t^e  I>,  formation  about  Korkat  furjnshed 
Embassy  to  Augustus  16.  W?Ij£2£  17.  Situation  of  Kolkhoi  17  Korkal, 
iv  tfe  Greeks,  17.     The  Kolkhoi  of  the  t-neeks u  ^0WM  to  ^e  Gmto,  19. 

18      Imuortance  of  this  identification,    18      tape  vo m  Kumari  in  Indian  liter- 

TV  JEn  of  Cape  Comorin  in  the  Penplus,  19      ^^V     Paumben  as  known,  to 
Sure  P20      KumaVi  not  a  river,  hut  an  ace  on  the  sea  coa^O   ^ 
*  flta*4  21.     Kory  iden  ibed  w^h  Koti,   2  ^  ^    ^      22 

of  Kolis  and  Kory    22      "  T/^f''™    J  Greek  intercourse  with  Southern  India,  22- 
Various  cities  «^_*^  "/L^S      Phenician  Trade,  23.     Courageous  act  of  a 
Greek  trade  with  the  Tinnevelly  boast,  z_.     t 
Greek  mariner,  23.     Cosmas  Indicopleustes,  23. 

CHAPTER  II. 

niuuu  u  ..     .    ,      _„,    04      The  northern  boundary 

Boundaries  of  the  Pandya  ^"^^^S^e™  boundaries,  25.  ^™^££T 
of  the  Pandya  country  24  Ih« ^"^  ^cnkotta  boundary,  25.  *£***»£  £ 
the  Cheras  and   the  Pand>as,  -'o.      AU„  o«      Indian  references  to  the  1  an 03 ;as,  -o. 

Nanies  of  the  early  Paridya  kings  unWn,     ^     ma  ^  ^  ,?      ^  ^ 

liTs  of  Pandva  kings  antrustyorthy,  26      Lists  01 _  t  27      B    endra  chol,,  s 

n;;m0Sr,,,ord,d.  27.     «J  <»*  gji;  •-;  ^X^,  28.  .  Temple  to  R«^» 
Sff  ST  SSSSSWS.  5:tPKarikala  ChCla,  29.     Pamanuja  .date,  30. 

511688 


IV  TABLE    OP    CONTENTS. 

Varddhana's  conversion,  30.  Kulasekhara  Deva,  30.  Singhalese  accounts,  30.  The 
ChGla-Pdndyas,  31.  Dr.  Burnell's  researches,  31.  Vlra  Chola,  31.  Sundara  Pandya 
ChOla,  31.  Dr.  Burnell's  succession  of  Cholas,  32.  Sundara  Pandya,  32.  Sources  of 
information  about  Sundara  Pandya,  32.  Sundara  Pandya'szeal  against  the  Jainas,  32. 
Sundara  Pandya  the  last  in  the  list,  32.  Muhammadan  influences  in  Sundara's  reign, 
33.  Reasons  for  Sundara  Pandya  s  patronage  of  Muhammadans,  33.  Sundara's  war 
with  his  brother,  33.  Sundara's  Muhammadan  ministers,  34.  Another  Muhammadan 
account,  34.  Malik  Kafur's  invasion,  34.  Marco  Polo's  Sonder  Bandi,  35.  Sundara's 
brothers,  35.  Sundara's  date  still  a  desideratum,  35.  Ma'har,  36.  Origin  of  the 
term  Ma'bar,  36.  Settlement  of  Muhammadan  Arabs  on  both  coasts,  36.  Kayal,  36. 
Kayal  visited  by  Marco  Polo,  37.  Portuguese  notice  of  Kayal,  37.  Meaning  of 
Kayal,  37.  Korkai  and  Kayal,  37.  Marco  Polo's  notice  of  Kayal,  38.  Trade  of 
Kayal,  38.  Horse  trade  at  Kayal,  38.  Use  of  the  horse  by  Indian  soldiers,  39. 
"Wassaf's  account,  39.  Marco  Polo's  arrival  in  India,  40.  Pearl  fishery  described,  40. 
Divers,  40.  Profits  to  the  king,  41.  Relics  of  Kayal,  41.  Remains  of  Chinese  and 
Arabian  earthenware,  41.  Kayalpattanam  a  different  place,  41.  The  Muhammadan 
Interregnum,  42.     The  Muhammadans  gain  the  upper  hand  for  a  time,  42.     Ibn  Batuta, 

42.  The  Kingdoms  of  Dwdra-xamudra  and  ]'ijaya-nagara,  42.  Paramount  powers,  42. 
Dwara-samudra,  43.    Kings  of  Dvara-samudra,  43.     Ramanuja's  flight  to  Dvara-samudra, 

43.  Defeat  of  the  Ballala  king,  44.  End  of  the  Ballala  dynasty,  44.  Canarese  traces 
in  Tinnevelly,  44.  List  of  Dvara-samudra  Kings,  45.  Vijaya-nagara,  45.  Origin  of 
Vijaya-nagara,  45.  Names  of  Vijaya-nagara,  45.  List  of  Vijaya-nagara  kings,  46. 
Dr.  Burnell's  list  of  Vijaya-nagara  kings,  46.  The  Nayakas,  47.  Differences  between 
the  two  lists  unimportant,  47.  Spread  of  Telugu  in  the  south,  47.  Krishna  Rayar,  48. 
Conquests  over  the  Cholas  and  Pandyas,  48.  Arrival  of  the  Portuguese  in  this  reign, 
48.  Kingdom  of  Narsinga,  49.  Overthrow  of  Vijaya-nagara,  49.  Origin  of  Ettaiya- 
puram  Zemindar,  49.  Last  days  of  the  Vijaya-nagara  dynasty,  50.  Grant  of  Madras 
to  the  English  by  the  Raja  of  Chandragiri,  50.  Succession  of  Paramount  Powers  in 
Southern  India,  50.     Pandyas,  Cholas,  50.     Pandyas  again,  Nayakas,  the  Nawab,  51. 


CHAPTER   III. 
From  A.D.  1365  to  1731. 

THE  PERIOD  OF  THE  SECOND  DYNASTY  OF  PANDYAS  AND 

OF  THE  NAYAKAS. 

Second  scries  of  Pandya  Kings,  52.  Tarakrama  Pandya,  52.  Kampana  Udaiyar,  52. 
Dated  inscriptions  of  the  later  Pandyas,  53.  Tcnkasi  inscription,  53.  Srivaikuntham 
inscription,  53.  Ati-Vira-Rama  Pandya,  53.  The  last  of  the  Pandyas,  54.  Value  of 
inscriptions  as  compared  with  oral  information,  54.  Vijaya-nagara  supremacy,  54.  The 
Nayakat  of  Madura,  55.  Sources  of  the  history  of  the  Nayakas,  55.  Letters  of  the 
Jesuits,  55.  Commencement  of  the  Nayaka  rule,  55.  The  "  Badages  "  of  Xavicr,  55. 
Origin  of  the  intervention  of  Vijaya-nagara.  55.  Visvan&thaN&yaka,  66.  Number  of  the 
Poligars,  56.  Origin  of  the  Pn/igarx  of  cite  South,  56.  Visvanatha's  policy,  56,  Parties 
to  be  conciliated,  56.  Visvanatha's  plan  of  conciliation,  57.  Investiture  of  the  Poligars, 
57.  Doubtfulness  of  these  traditions,  67.  Etymology  of  "Poligar,"  68.  Results  of  the 
appointment,  58.  Defence  of  the  Poligar  system,  58.  Krishnapuram,  59.  Rebellion  of 
Ettaiyapuram,  59.  Royal  representatives  in  Tinnevelly,  60.  Tigers  on  the  sea  coast,  60. 
List  of  the  Nayakas,  60.  Listof  the  Nayakas  of  Madura,  60.  Tirumalai  Nayaka,  61. 
Buildings  erected  by  him,  61.  Mangamma},  61.  NdyaLa  Titles,  61.  The  Nayakas  did 
n  t  style  themselves  kini^s,  61.  The  Kaittakkaj,  62.  Characteristics  of  the  Kdyafca 
Rule,  62.  Reputation  of  the  1'a.ndyas  as  rulers,  62.  Reputation  of  the  Nayakas,  62. 
Misrule  bidden  by  shows,  62.  Works  of  public  utility  almost  unknown,  63.  Adminis- 
tration of  laws,  03.  Aniouts  on  tAe  Tdmraparni,  63.  Legend  of 'the  Kannadian  Anai, 
64.  Date  of  this  anient,  64.  Another  form  of  the  legend,  64.  Ariyanayakapuram 
anient,  (ii;.  Stittamalli  anicut,  66.  Marudur  anicut,  66.  Puthugudi  anicut,  66.  The 
Portuguese  on  tin-  coast  of  Tinnevelly,  67.  Vasco  da  Gama's  information,  67.  The 
Portuguese  at  Cochin,  67.  Barbosa's  information,  67.  The  king  of  Travancoro  at 
Kayal,  67.  Tin <  first  expedition  of  t he  Portuguese,  68.  Embassy  of  the  Paravas  to 
Cochin,  68.     The  Portuguese  in  power  along  the  coast,  68.      Inroads  of  the  "  Badages" 

69,  Ravages  of  the  Badages,  69,  Who  wire  theyP  69.  Collectors  of  Vijaya-nagara 
taxes,  69.  Kavier's  appeal  to  the  king  of  Travancoro,  69.  Power  of  the  Travancore 
king,  70.      Designs  of   the    Nayakas  on   Travancoro,   70.     Motives  of  the    "Badages," 

70.  Explanation  "t"  the  hostility  of  the  Badages,  71.  The  policy  of  the  Portuguese,  71. 
Qovernmenl  of  tbe  coast,  71.  Profits  of  the  pearl  fishery,  71.  Portuguese  claim  aban- 
doned, 71.     I'vmnaikayal,    72.     Annals  of  the   Portuguese  on  the  coast,    72.     Printing 


Table  op  contents. 

v 

mg  of  the  name  Tutioorin   75      T  t;       ■     ,      ,    e  1  ort«g»ese  in  Tuticorin    75    Tr' 
Bea  shells  found  inl, nd 76       Fi,f  Tn  hilTho™>  ™-     Coral,  75.    S/i  ^fc 
corin,  76.     TutieoHnt'aken  l^afiS*?!  ***■"*  76.  ^vemVoi  £2 
Boats  8ent  to  the  islands,  77.    ^SLrtSffiL'J7*  ^T^8  cfforts  f«r   it"  reHef   77 
Iut.eonntak,nhvtheI)utch    7?    SI-* ?5uPV.Z.'    Later  notiwa   of  Tuticorin     78 
"«  AM,  78.     I)„t,h  factories   79  ^S^JSfS^T  time'  78"     ^S^Tj/er 
j9    Appearance  of  Tuticorin,  79^     The  hNhen       9  ^  7"     ^P^tion   of  Tuticorin 
MarHn  succour  of  the  Pear)  FisherviTirS,'  SO        v^1  m°?°P°ly  in  the  fishery,  8? 
lJutch  alliance  with   Poliaaw  aiwiiw  tfcl  v     v  X.         Fa,I«re8  in  the   pearl  fishevv    x" 
Tuticorin  during  the  Pol  Cw?rT?  thT°  ^^  82.     Dates  relating  toTuticori?  8"f 
»  1801,  84.    Tuticorin  at^eS,^.    rQ^ucbon  of  cotton  screwing,  BtTSSffifi 

CHAPTEK  IV. 

THE  PERIOD  OF  THE  NAWAB  OF  ARCOT    to  m™ 

YUSCIF  KHAN'S  A^^SlmiT^^^ 

^ffittiC^^ftn8^    ChrdaS^a^richinopoJv85     Cha . 
-9*.  86.     Arrival  of  Sata^mTs^V^r  -86"     EKS^  Sfifc 

the  founder    90      f^Y  df-lgnS'  89"     Mea™g  and  ori4  of  ^  stron&est  fort  south 
ine rounder    90.     Construction  of  the  fort    90      n  *  0I18m,  °}   tfle  name,  89.     Ag-e  of 

garrison    91.     First  Selp  rendered  buthek^t    Ii2      n  and  inner  forts-  W.     English 
""*  .«"  £»««»Sfc  B„rf  J^  English  E°d?t?on  ^^mpany  to  the  NawaV*  Govern- 

Poligar  Kat  aboma   Nayaia    93      pTtS  iT1^8'    93      Id<^  «Sd  off    93      t^ 
94.     Massacre  of  the  defines  J  the  fort     w"  ^7™°^  ^     CaP^re  o?  Nel  icotafa 
fete   96  "^  Hero/*  f™tlesS  delay%f '  The  M  dI^S  ^tt0»Me  «3Kg 

Defeit   nf    m  u?7,  t97-     Travancore  troops  retire    97        t»  t*       ^"government,  97. 
^eieat  of   Wahfuz   Khan's   troons    9S       ilVi,      j  J'       Mahfuz  Khan's    policv     98 
Eastern  Polio-ars   99       v      7i  pl\    ,        Another  defeat.  98       wM*»™    t>v     j»   ys- 

Plundering  habit*  of  the  E    ?07   grL  °"i?     "",""•••««'  its  adva,  taZ'    „?' 

;=:ioTPOrtiM,  108.  Hdfci^  ^^srS^ffi-j^ ;« 

CHAPTER  V. 

MUHAMMAD  YUSUF  khavs    i™.rv.Tr 

M^;vrDN^s T0  T,,E  CAr™E  °* 


VI  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 

Poligar  of  Sivagiri,  114.  Mahfuz  Khan  takes  the  field,  115.  Mahfuz  Khan's  attempted 
treachery,  115.  Mahfuz  Khan's  exactions,  115.  Siege  of  Palamcotta,  116.  Surrender 
of  Madura,  116.  Submission  of  the  Ettaiyapuram  Poligar,  116.  Yusuf  Khan's  successes, 
116.  Proposals  ahout  Mahfuz  Khan,  117.  Confederacy  against  Yusuf,  117.  Successes 
of  the  confederates,  117.  Yusuf  s  reprisals,  118.  Yusuf  called  to  help  the  English,  118. 
Palamcotta  besieged,  118.  Yusuf  Khan's  Return,  118.  Mahfuz  Khan's  expectations, 
118.  Confederacy  of  the  eastern  Poligars,  119.  Yusuf' s  expedition  against  the 
Poligars,  119.  Capture  of  Kollarpatti  fort,  119.  The  Poligar  of  Uttuinalai,  120. 
Travancore  troops,  120.  Alliance  of  the  king  of  Travancore  and  Yusuf,  120.  Vada- 
garai's  flight  at  Puli  Devar's  fears,  121.  Travancore' s  proposals,  121.  Attack  on  a 
subsidiary  fort,  121.  Yusuf  receives  supplies,  122.  Description  of  Vasudgvanallur  fort, 
122.  Attack  on  the  fort,  122.  Successful  defence,  123.  Yusuf's  return,  123.  His 
enforced  inactivity,  123.  Depredations  of  the  Poligars,  123.  Hostilities  of  the  31  y- 
soreans,  124.  butch  Invasion,  124.  A  Dutch  force  arrives  from  Colombo,  124.  Yusuf's 
preparation,  124.  Retreat  of  the  Dutch,  124.  Yusuf  Khan's  operations  renewed,  12o. 
Yusuf  and  the  Puli  Devar,  125.  Revenue  Administration  in  TinneveUy  by  the  Xawab,  125. 
Lushington's  letter,   125.     Succession  of  administrators,   125.     Yusuf's  administration, 

126.  Fluctuations  in  revenue,  126.  Muhammad  Yusuf  Khan's  Rebellion,  127.  Yu.-uf's 
offer  to  rent  the  province,  127.     Yusuf's  position,  127.     Dissatisfaction  of  Government, 

127.  Government  suspicions  of  his  designs,  128.  Yusuf's  reasons  for  rebelling,  128. 
Yusuf's  forces,  128.  General  Lawrence's  force,  129.  Yusuf's  negotiations  with  the 
French,  129.  Treachery  of  the  French  Commander,  129.  Yusuf  Khan's  death,  129. 
Results  of  Yusuf's  death,  130.  Yusuf's  successors,  130.  State  of  Madura  after  Yusuf 
Khan's  death,  131. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

TlNNEVELLY   ANNALS    FROM    1764-    TO    1799. 

PART  I. 

FROM  THE  DEATH  OF  YUSUF  KHAN  TO  THE  ASSIGNMENT  OF 

REVENUE  IN  1781. 

Events  following  the  death  of  Yusuf  Khan,  132.  Protection  of  Palamcotta,  132.  Retirement 
of  the  Travancore  troops,  132.  Armed  followers  of  the  Poligars  near  Palamcotta,  133. 
Complaints  of  Government  against  the  Nawab,  133.  Major  Flint  attempts  to  reduce 
Poligar  fort,  133.  Flint's  unsuccessful  campaign,  134.  Pdnjdlatnkuriehi,  134.  Mean- 
ing of  the  name  ranjalamkurichi,  134.  Succeeding  Events  of  the  Year,  135.  Assault  on 
Panjalamkurichi  a  failure,  135.  Determination  of  Government,  135.  Colonel  Campbell's 
campaign,  135.  Abandonment  of  Sett u r,  136.  Abandonment  of  Sivagiri,  136.  Attack 
on  Yasudevanallur,  136.  Colonel  Campbell's  care  for  the  people,  137.  Cantonment  at 
Nankaranaiyanarkovil,  137.  Cessation*  of  hostilities,  138.  Arrangements  made  by  the 
Nawab's  manager,  138.  Hyder  Ali's  communication  with  the  Poligars,  138.  Assem- 
blage of  Col laries,  138.  Behaviour  of  the  Poligars  towards  Hyder  Ali,  139.  Burning 
of  TinneveUy  Cutclierry,  139.  Postal  Communication  between  Madras  and  Bombay  in  the 
hitter  half  of  the  Eighteenth  Century,  139.  Letters  to  Bombay  how  sent,  139.  Overland 
Communications,  139.  Earliest  date  in  Palamcotta  church-yard,  140.  Expedition 
against  Sivagiri,  140.  Insults  offered  to  Hindus.  140.  Spices  in  Palamcotta,  141. 
Dutch  estimate  of  Hyder  Ali,  141.  Dutch  alliance  with  Poligars,  142.  Meditated 
Cession  of  TiiDuitlli/  to  the  Dutch,  142. 

PART  IT. 

FROM  THE  ASSIGNMENT  OF  REVENUE  IN   1781  TO  THE  COMMENCEMENT 
OF  THE  BANNERMAN-POElOAK  WAR. 

The  Assignment,  143.  Committee  of  Assigned  Revenue,  143.  Superintendents  of  Assigned 
Revenue,  lit.  Intentions  of  Government,  144.  First  Collector  of  TinneveUy,  144. 
Capture  of  Tutioorin,  144.  Complaints  of  die  Paravas,  146.  Dispute  between  the. 
renter  and  the  Collector,  146.  Dissatisfaction  with  Mr.  Proctor,  115.  Conduct  of 
European  functionaries,  146.  Commission  to  Mr.  Irwin,  146.  Instructions  to  Mr.  Irwin, 

116.      Tutioorin    Complaints,    147.      Mr.   Irwin    enters    on   bis  duties,  147.      Mr.   Proctor 

ordered  to  leave,  117.  Mr.  Irwin  invites  Colonel  Fullarton,  148.  Colonel  Fullarton'a 
expedition  as  related  by  himtelf,  148.    Strength  of  the  Poligars,  1 18.     Difficulties  of  the 

situation,    149.     Invitation  to  reduce  the  Poligars,  149.     March  into  TinneveUy,  149. 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS.  Vll 

Attack  on  Panjalamkurichi,  149.  Abandonment  of  the  fort.  150.  Attack  on  Sivagiri, 
151.  Abandonment  of  the  fort,  151.  Terms  offered  to  the  Poligars,  151.  Terms 
declined,  152.  Attack  on  the  stronghold,  152.  Capture  of  the  stronghold,  152.  Suc- 
cess of  the  expedition,  153.  The  Colonel's  threat,  153.  Conditions  of  peace  imposed, 
154.  Satisfaction  of  Government,  154.  Kattaboma's  treaty  with  the  Dutch,  154. 
Pearl  fishery,  154.  Mr.  Irwin's  policy,  154.  Instance  of  filial  duty,  155.  Swartz's 
visit,  155.  Tuticorin  given  up,  155.  Surrender  of  tke  Assignment,  155.  The  surrender 
of  the  Assignment  reluctantly  agreed  to  by  Government,  155.  Irwiu's  forebodings, 
156.  The  Nawab's  relations  with  the  Poligars,  156.  His  losses,  156.  The  Nawab's 
Administration,  157.  Effects  of  the  Nawab's  rule,  157.  Improvements  introduced  by 
Government,  157.  Board  of  Revenue,  158.  Fears  of  Tippu  Sultan,  158.  Cultivation 
of  spices,  158.  The  Period  of  the  Assumption,  159.  Difference  between  the  Assign- 
ment and  the  Assumption,  159.  Mr.  Torin  Collector  under  the  Assumption,  159. 
Puli  Devar  again,  160.  Torin's  opinion  of  the  results  of  Fullarton's  lenity,  160.  The 
Treaty  of  1792.  Conditions  of  the  new  treaty,  160.  New  appointments,  161.  Colonel 
Maxwell's  expedition,  161.  Colonel  Maxwell's  settlement,  161.  Mr.  Landon,  Collector, 
162.  Marudur  anicut,  162.  Troubles  at  Settur,  162.  The  Government  obliged  to 
temporise,  163.  Disorders  increasing,  163.  Proposed  disarming  of  the  Poligars,  163. 
Mr.  Powney,  Collector,  164.  Orders  of  Court  of  Directors,  164.  A  Poligar  shot  by 
another  Poligar,  164.  Rebellious  conduct  of  the  Sivagiri  Poligar's  son,  165.  Uttu- 
malai  Poligar,  165.  Mr.  Jackson,  Collector,  165.  Major  Bannernian,  166.  Mr. 
Lushington,  Collector,  166. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  BANNERMAN-POLIGAR  WAR. 

Sketch  of  the  Political  Position  between  1781  and  1801,  167.  The  Assignment  of  1781,  167. 
Treaty  of  1787,  168.  Assumption  1790,  168.  Treaty  of  1792,  168.  The  Nawab's 
debts,  169.  Lord  Hobart's  proposal,  169.  Final  determination  of  the  Government, 
169.  View  of  the  Political  Position  of  Tinnevelly  and  the  Poligar  Country  generally  taken  by 
the  Court  of  Directors  prior  to  the  commencement  of  the  last  Poligar  wars,  170.  Evils  of 
divided  authority,  170.  Small  amount  of  the  Nawab's  collections,  170.  Transfer  of 
tribute,  170.  The  Company's  obligations,  170.  Poligar  misgovernment,  171.  Antici- 
pated loss  to  the  Company,  171.  A  better  system  to  be  introduced,  171.  The  Nawab's 
refusal  anticipated,  172.  Conclusion  arrived  at,  172.  Kattaboma.  Ndyaka,  172.  Suc- 
cession of  the  Poligars  of  Panjalamkurichi,  172.  The  Poligar's  brothers,  173.  Ettai- 
yapuram,  173.  Events  preceding  Major  Bannerman' s  Expedition,  173.  Conduct  of 
Kattaboma,  173.  Orders  of  Government,  173.  Commencement  of  final  struggle,  173. 
Kattaboma  breaks  away,  174.  Mr.  Jackson's  proceedings  disapproved,  174.  Katta- 
boma defended,  174.  Kattaboma  condemned,  175.  Subsequent  letter  of  the  Board  of 
Revenue  to  the  Madras  Government,  175.  Extracts,  175.  Hopes  of  Government,  175. 
Collector  superseded,  175.  An  inquiry  to  be  instituted,  176.  Fresh  orders  from  Gov- 
ernment, 176.  Recapitulation,  176.  Disapproval  of  Jackson's  severity,  176.  Acquittal 
of  the  murder  of  Lieutenant  Clarke,  177.  A  new  arrangement  to  be  made,  177.  Con- 
clusion arrived  at,  177.  Mr.  Jackson's  character,  177.  Mr.  Lushington's  dealings 
with  Kattaboma,  178.  He  refers  to  Government,  178.  An  expedition  recommended, 
178.  Different  sides  taken  by  different  Poligars,  178.  Troops  set  free  by  the  taking  of 
Seringapatam,  179.  Major  Bannerman'' s  Expedition,  179.  Letter  of  Government  to  the 
Board  of  Revenue,  180.  Reasons  of  Government,  180.  Proclamation  by  the  Collector, 
180.  To  all  Poligars,  Landholders,  and  Inhabitants  of  every  description  within  the  coun- 
tries commonly  called  the  Tinnevelly  Pollams,  180.  Attempt  to  take  Panjalamkurichi,  181. 
To  the  Secretary  to  Government,  182.  Call  to  the  Poligar  to  surrender,  182.  The 
Poligar's  escape  anticipated,  182.  Failure  of  the  attack,  182.  Dissatisfaction  with 
Native  troops,  183.  The  fort  abandoned,  183.  The  Poligar's  end,  183.  Major  Ban- 
nerman to  the  Secretary  to  Government,  183.  Particulars  of  Major  Bannerman's  expedi- 
tion, 183.    Events  which  followed  the  Poligar's  escape,   184.     Assistance  of  Ettaiyapuram, 

184.  Capture  of  important  prisoners,    184.     Subrahmanya  Pillai's  guilt  and  sentence, 

185.  Two  principal  offenders  executed,  185.  Kattaboma  taken,  187.  Assembly  to 
witness  the  execution  of  Kattaboma,  187.  Sentence  on  Kattaboma,  187.  Address  to 
the  assembled  Poligars,  188.  Execution  of  Kattaboma,  188.  Disloyal  Poligars  dispos- 
sessed, 189.  Disarmament  ordered,  189.  Penalties  for  disobedience,  189.  Explanation 
of  reasons,  190.  Forts  to  be  demolished,  190.  Poligars  ask  for  help  to  demolish  their 
forts,  191.  Approval  of  Government,  191.  Results,  191.  Proclamations  inscribed  on 
brass,  192.  Leniency  to  certain  Poligars,  192.  Banishment  of  dangerous  persons,  192. 
Mapillai  Vanniyan,  193.  Reappearance  of  the  demolished  forts,  193.  Major  Banner- 
man's  success,  193. 


Till  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  Till. 

THE  LAST  POLIGAR  WAR,  194. 

Events  preceding  the  outbreak,  194.  General  Welsh's  account,  194.  Mr.  Hughes's  account, 
194.  The  two  Panjalamkurichi  brothers,  19.5.  Escape  of  the  prisoners  from  the  Falamcotta 
Jail  and  subsequent  events,  195.  Position  of  things  prior  to  the  outbreak,  195.  Escape 
of  the  prisoners,   195.     Unavailing  pursuit,  196.     Measures  adopted  by  the  authorities, 

196.  Attack  on  the  camp  by  the  Poligars,   196.     Arrival  of  troops  at  Panjalanikurichi, 

197.  Condition  of  the  fort,  197.  Retreat  from  Panjalamkurichi,  197.  Preparations  for 
resistance,  197.  Hughes's  opinion,  198.  Failure  of  attack  in  Kadalgudi,  198.  Defence 
of  Srivaikuntham,  199.  The  Native  Christians,  199.  Welsh's  error,  199.  Return  to 
Panjalamkurichi,  200.  March  to  Panjalamkurichi,  200.  Skirmish  on  the  way,  200. 
Description  of  fort,  201.  The  assault  on  the  fort,  201.  The  defence,  201.  Bravery  of 
the  enemy,  202.  Aid  of  E^taiyapuram,  202.  More  extensive  preparations,  202.  Help 
obtained  from  Ceylon,  202.  Sortie  from  the  fort  in  a  storm,  203.  The  final  assault,  203. 
A  breach  made  by  the  battery,  204.  Successful  assault,  204.  The  enemy  abandon  the 
fort,  204.  Killed  and  wounded,  204.  The  interior  of  the  fort,  205.  Description  of  the 
enemy's  defences,  205.  Destruction  of  the  fort,  205.  Reminiscences  of  the  Dumb  bro- 
ther, 206.  Veneration  in  which  the  dumb  brother  was  held,  206.  He  is  discovered 
amongst  the  wounded,  206.  His  concealment,  207.  Tombs — At  Ottapiddramont  mile  from 
Panjalamkurichi,  207.  In  the  Cemetery  at  Panjalamkurichi,  207.  The  Panjalamkurichi 
Epic,  207.      Victory  Canto,  208. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

CONCLUSION  OF  THE  POLIGAR  WAR,     CESSION  OF  THE  CARNATIC 
TO  THE  ENGLISH  GOVERNMENT. 

Transfer  of  the  war  to  Sivagangai,  209.  Armed  retainers  of  the  Poligars  still  at  large, 
209.  Welsh's  estimate  of  the  Poligars,  209.  Fort  of  Kamudi,  209.  Ramnad,  209. 
Colonel  Martinz,  210.  Junction  with  Colonel  Innes's  force,  210.  The  "  Murdoos"  and 
"  Sherewele,"  210.  The  two  Marava  States,  210.  Orme's  Nellicotah,  210.  Description  of 
Sivagangai,  211.  The  people  of  Sivagangai,  211.  Usurpation  in  Sivagangai,  211. 
Conditions  offered  to  the  rulers  of  Sivagangai,  211.  Death  of  the  chief,  212.  Colonel 
Stewart's  expedition,  212.  The  Murdoos,  212.  Origin  of  the  title  Marudu,  212.  The 
two  brothers,  213.  Vellai  Marudu,  213.  Chinna  Marudu,  213.  End  of  the  Marudus, 
214.  The  village  of  the  Marudus,  214.  Reasons  for  Kattaboma's  taking  refuge  in 
Sivagangai,  214.  Mr.  Lushington's  policy,  215.  Explanation  of  the  hostility  of  the 
Marudus,  215.  Smaller  forts  attacked,  215.  Small  naval  war,  215.  Success  of  Master 
Attendant  of  Paumben,  216.  The  Capture  of  Kdlaiydrkovil,  216.  Nature  of  the  enemy's 
resistance,  216.  Burning  of  Siruvayal,  216.  A  road  to  be  cut  through  the  jungle,  217. 
Attack  on  a  post,  217.  Another  post  taken,  217.  A  post  taken,  218.  A  redoubt 
erected,  218.  The  .attempt  to  cut  through  the  jungle  abandoned,  218.  Attempts  to 
convey  letters,  219.  The  force  moves  off,  219.  The  true  heir  proclaimed,  219.  Success 
of  the  measure,  220.  Capture  of  a  fortified  pagoda,  220.  Meaning  of  Kalaij  arkovil, 
220.  Attack  on  the  place  in  three  divisions,  220.  Success  of  the  advance  through  the 
forest,  220.  Meeting  of  the  attacking  forces,  221.  Description  of  Kalaiyarkovil,  221. 
Events  that  followed  the  capture  of  Kdlaiydrkovil,  221.  Advance  to  Mangalam,  221. 
The  rebels  disbanded,  222.  Execution  of  the  principal  rebels,  222.  Results  of  the 
victory,  222.  Minor  rebels  sent  to  Tuticorin,  222.  Fate  of  Panjalamkurichi,  222. 
Capture  of  Sivattaiya,  223.  The  Maravas  of  Nanguneri,  223.  Lushington's  dealings 
with  the  Kaval^ars,  223.  Remuneration  of  Kavalgars,  224.  Exception  of  the  Nangu- 
neri Maravars,  224.  Loyal  Poligars  rewarded,  225.  Cession  of  the  country  to  the  English 
Government,  225.  Results  of  the  cession,  225.  Proclamation,  226.  Consequences  of 
the  rebellion,  226.  Future  condition  of  Poligars,  226.  Kattaboma's  offence,  226.  Sup- 
} > i  •  s.sion  of  the  rebellion,  226.  Proofs  of  British  Government's  strength,  226.  Punish- 
ment of  rebellion  necessary,  226.  Loyalty  rewarded,  226.  Estates  of  rebels  not  appro- 
priated by  Government,  227.  Hopes  for  the  futuro,  227.  All  weapons  prohibited,  227. 
Arms  no  longer  necessary,  227.  Evil  custom  to  be  relinquished,  227.  Amnesty  to 
all  but  a  few,  227.  A  permanent  assessment  promised  to  the  Poligars,  228.  Concluding 
Remarks,  228.  Professor  Wilson's  anticipations,  228.  War  the  normal  condition  of 
the  country,  229.  Condition  of  things  getting  steadily  worse,  229.  The  Poligar  has 
become  a  Zamindar,  229.  Improvements  introduced,  229.  Good  government,  230. 
Proportionate  numbers  of  English  and  Natives,  230.  Prospects  for  the  future,  230. 
Note  on  the  Separation  of  Rdmndd  from  Tinnevtlly,  231. 


TABLE    OF    (  ONTEJCTS.  fX 

CHAPTER  X. 

Missions  in  Tinnevelly  prior  to  the  Cession  of  the  Country  to 

the  English,  1801. 

PART  I. 

ROMAN  CATHOLIC  MISSIONS,  232. 

Portuguese  expedition,  232.  Baptism  of  the  Paravas  on  the  Tinnevelly  coast,  232.  Xavier, 
232.  Francis  Xavier's  arrival  and  work,  232.  Estimate  of  Xavier,  233.  Visits  from 
village  to  village,  233.  Xavier's  administration,  234.  Xavier's  successor's  death,  234. 
The  period  after  Xavier,  235.  Missions  on  the  coast  in  1600,  235.  Tuticorin,  235. 
Kdmaiydndyakanpatti,  230.  Inscription,  236.  Date  of  inscription,  236.  Zemindar's 
name,  236.  Origin  of  the  troubles,  237.  Conduct  of  the  Dutch,  237.  Intolerance  of  the 
Dutch,  237.  Beschi,  238.  Beschi  as  a  Tamil  scholar,  238.  Memoirs  of  Beschi,  239. 
Errors  in  regard  to  date,  239.  Beschi's  stations,  240.  His  life  in  danger,  240.  Beschi 
acquired  his  Tamil  in  Tinnevelly,  241.  Dewan  to  Chanda  Saheb,  241.  Flight  of  Beschi 
on  the  approach  of  Mahrattas,  242.  Beschi's  last  days  at  Manapar,  242.  His  death, 
243.     Beschi's  grave,  243.     Period  after  Beschi,  243. 

PART  II. 

MISSIONS  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND. 

Swartz,  244.  Congregation  and  Church  in  Palamcotta,  244.  Jaenicke,  244.  Satyanathan, 
245.  Fever  caught  in  the  hills,  245.  Commencement  of  the  Ghristianization  oftheShan- 
ars,   246.     First  Shanar  convert,  246.     Establishment  of  Mudalur,  246.     Hough,   247. 


APPENDICES, 


APPENDIX  I. 

RELATIONS  BETWEEN  TRAVANCORE  AND  TINNEVELLY. 

Alternations  of  Government  in  the  Southern  Districts,  251.     Inscriptions  in  Tinnevelly, 

251.  Shermadevi,   252.     Gains  and  losses,  252.     Travancore  annals  when  historical, 

252.  Appeal  for  help  to  the  Ndyakas  of  Madura,  whose  head-quarters  were  at  that  time  in, 
Trichinopoly,   253.     Appeal  to  Trichinopoly  for  help,  253.     Trichinopoly  contingent, 

253.  Maravar  troops,  253.  A  rival  embassy  to  Tvirhinopoly,  254.  Help  obtained  from 
Tinnevelly  Maravas,  255.  Aid  from  Tinnevelly  Poligars,  255.  Annexations  in  Tinne- 
velly, 2b  f).  Irruption  of  Chmida  Sahib  and-  Bada  Sahib,  256.  Invasion  of  Chunda  Sahib, 
256.  The  enemy  bought  off,  256.  Collision  with  the  Naivab,  256.  Possessions  in  Tinne- 
velly lost,  256.  Negotiations,  256.  Travancorians  retreat  from  Kalakadu,  257.  Kala- 
kadu regained,  257.  Treaty  with  the  Nawab,  257.  Subsidy  to  the  Nawab,  258.  Maphuz 
Khan  a  nil  Yusuf  Khan,  258.  Battles  with  the  Muhammadans,  258.  Yusuf  Khan's  army, 
258.  Yusuf  Khan's  rebellion,  259.  The  Nawab  seizes  possession,  259.  The  claim  to 
Kalakadu,  259.  The  claim  to  Kalakadu  renounced,  260.  Travancore  contingent  sent  to 
assist  the  British  Forces,  260.  Travancore  aid  against  Hyder  Ali,  200.  Dangers  from  Poli- 
gars, 261.  Examination  of  public  works,  261.  Major  Banner  man,  the  first  Representa- 
tive of  the  British   Government  in   Travancore  in  1788  and  1789,  261.     Tippu's  proposals, 

261.  The  first  British  Resident  in  Travancore,  261.  New  treaty  signed  in  1805,  262. 
Insurrection  in  Travancore  ;  attack  on  the  Resident  ;  taking  of  the  Travancore  Lines  in  1809, 

262.  Causes  of  the  outbreak,  262.  The  Dewan  seeks  allies,  263.  Plot  to  assassinate  the 
B  sident,  263.  Failure  of  attack  on  the  Resident,  263.  Massacre  of  English  officers 
and  sepoys,  264.     The  Resident's  report  to  Government,  264.     Quilon  troops  attacked, 

Reinforcement,  205.     The  inhabitants  of  Tinnevelly  warned  by  the  Madras  Govern- 


X  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 

ment  not  to  take  part  in  the  rebellion,  266.  Proclamation  of  the  Madras  Government  to  the 
inhabitants  of  Travancore,  266.  A  force  to  be  sent  to  restore  order,  266.  Taking  of  the 
Travaneore  Lines,  267.  General  Welsh,  267.  Description  of  the  lines,  267.  Successful 
assault,  267.  March  towards  Trevandrum,  268.  Events  at  Trevandrum,  268.  Flight 
of  the  Dewan,  269.  Death  of  the  Dewan,  269.  Fate  of  the  rest  of  the  rebels,  269. 
Political  Results,  270.     Aitchison's  Treaties,  270.    Shenkottai,  270. 

APPENDIX  II. 

ACCOUNT  OF  THE  FLOODS  AND  PESTILENTIAL  FEVER  IN  TINNEVELLY 

IN  1810-12. 

Letters  from  Mr.  Hepburn,  the  Collector,  to  the  Board  of  Revenue  in  1811,  272. 


APPENDIX  III. 

TINNEVELLY  NATIVE  AUTHORS. 

Madura  College,  276.  Agastya,  277.  Namtndhdr,  277.  Alvar-tirunagari,  277.  Trans- 
lation of  the  Mahdbhdrata,  278.  Sri-villiputtUr,  278.  Parimelafagar,  278.  N'lti-neri,- 
vUakkam,  279.     Sri-vaikuntham,  279. 

APPENDIX  IY. 

SEPULCHRAL  URNS  IN  TINNEVELLY. 

Shape  of  urns,  279.  Mode  of  interment,  280.  Characteristics  of  the  human  remains,  280. 
Description  of  contents,  280.  Native  theories,  281.  Interpretation  of  names,  281. 
People  interred  not  pygmies,  281.     Not  Hindus  by  religion,  282. 

APPENDIX  V. 

EXPLORATIONS  AT  KORKAI  AND  KAYAL. 

ivnrk;ii  identified,  282.  Kayal,  283.  Retirement  of  the  sea  from  both  places,  2S3.  Exca- 
vations at  Korkai,  284.  Geology  of  Korkai,  284.  Recent  appearance  of  shells,  284. 
No  traces  of  the  Greeks,  284.  Image  of  Budha,  285.  Sepulchral  urns,  285.  Petrified 
human  bones,  285.  Explorations  at  Kayal,  285.  China  and  Arabian  pottery,  286. 
Superstitious  fears,  286.     Wonderful  occurrence  to  an  explorer,  286.     Discovery  of  Arabic 


HISTOEY  OF  TIMEVELLY, 

FROM  THE  EARLIEST  PERIOD  TO  ITS  CESSION  TO  THE 
ENGLISH  GOVERNMENT  IN  A.D.  1801. 


CHAPTER   I. 

INFORMATION  FROM  WITHOUT  RESPECTING  THE 
EARLIEST  PERIOD. 


Introduction. — Paucity  of  Sources  of  History. 

Very  little  is  known  with  certainty  of  the  early  history  of  most  Chapter  I, 
districts  in  India.     It  is  a  singular  fact  that  the  Hindus,  though  M    ~.       . 
fond  of  philosophy  and  poetry,  of  law,  mathematics,  and  archi-  the  word 
teeture,  of  music  and  the  drama,  and  especially  of  religious  or  "  hl9tory- 
theosophic  speculations  and  disquisitions,  seem  never  to  have  cared 
anything    for   history.        The    original    meaning    of     the    word 
"  history  "  is  investigation,  and  the  Hindus  never  appear  to  have 
cared  to  investigate.      There  is  hardly  anything  in  the  Indian 
Epic  poems  or  Puranas  that  can  be  dignified  by  this  name.     The 
only  histories,  properly  so  called,  India  has  produced  were  written 
in,  and  pertained   to,  regions  that  can  only  be  included  in  the 
general  name  of  India  with  some  qualification.     These  are  the 
Raja-tarangini1  of  Cashmere  and  the  Maha-wanso2  of  Ceylon. 
These  compositions,  it  is  true,  are  not  free  from  poetical  exagge- 
rations and  evince  much  carelessness  about  accuracy  in  details,  but 
on  the  whole  they  may  be  accepted  as  historical.     Can  it  be  that 
it    was    through    the    prevalence  in   India   of    a   succession    of 
dreamy  philosophies  that  history  became  virtually  an  unknown 
department  of  literature  ?     This  may  have  had  something  to  do 
with  it,  but  perhaps  the  chief  cause  was  the  fondness  of  the  mass 

1  Raja-tarangini,  stream  of  kings   written  in  A.D.  1148. 

2  Maha-wanso  (=  San.sk.  vamsa)  The   Great  Dynasty,    written  between    A.D. 
459  and  477. 


2 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEYELLY. 


Chapter  I. 

Reasons  w'xy 
the  Hindus 
cared  little 
for  historical 
truth. 


Historical 
information 
from  without. 


Learned 
Natives  in 
Northern 
India  have 
made  a  good 
beginning. 


Information 
from 

inscriptions 
and  coins. 


Facilities 
enjoyed  by 
Natives. 


of  the  people  in  all  ages  for  poetical  embellishment.  Ifc  seemed 
to  them  a  dull  thing  to  record  any  event  in  the  history  of  a  king 
or  a  country  exactly  as  it  happened.  It  could  be  made  to  appear 
so  much  more  interesting  if  the  poetical  narrator's  fertile  imagina- 
tion were  allowed  free  play.  Whatever  the  cause  may  have  been, 
the  fact  cannot  be  disputed  that  historical  certainty  with  regard 
to  the  early  history  of  any  part  of  India,  if  attainable  at  all,  is 
attainable  not  by  means  of  any  kind  of  historical  composition  in 
verse  or  prose  proceeding  from  Indian  literati,  belonging  to  the 
district,  but  solely  by  means  of  coins  and  inscriptions  and  the 
statements  contained  in  books  written  by  persons  belonging  to 
foreign  nations.  Light  is  thrown,  for  instance,  on  the  early 
history  of  the  Pandyas  and  Cholas  by  the  Singhalese  Maha-wanso, 
and  we  are  indebted  for  some  interesting  items  of  information 
respecting  the  history  of  Southern  India  to  the  Greeks,  to  the 
Muhammadans  of  the  North,  and  to  European  Christian  travellers. 

I  may   here   appropriately   quote   a   portion   of   my   Address 
delivered  at  the  Convocation  of  the  University  of  Madras  in  1879. 

"  The  study  of  the  history,   ancient  literature,   and  archaeology  of 
the  country  will  never  reach  anything  like  completeness  of  develop- 
ment or  realize  results  of  national  importance  till  it  is  sj-stematically 
undertaken  by  educated  Natives.     Learned  Natives  of  Calcutta  and 
Bombay,    trained   in  European   modes  of   thought  and  vieing  -with 
Europeans    in    zeal   for  historical    accuracy,    have    already   made   a 
promising  beginning  in  this  department  of  research.     I  trust  that  the 
Native  scholars  of  the  South  will  resolve  that  they  will  not  be  left 
behind  in  the  race.     The  most  important  aid  educated  Natives  can 
render  to  the  study  of  the  history  of  their  country  is  by  means  of  a 
search  after  inscriptions,    many  of   which,   hitherto    unnoticed    and 
unknown,  they  will  find  inviting  their  attention  on  the  walls  of  the 
temples  in  almost  every  village  in  the  interior.     The  only  ancient 
Indian  history  worthy  of  the  name  is  that  Avhich  has  been  spelled  out 
from  inscriptions  and  coins.     Popular  legends  and  poetical  myths,  by 
whatever'  name  they  are  dignified,  may  be  discarded,  not  only  without 
loss,  but  with  positive  advantage.     No  guide  but  our  own  intelligence 
is  better  than  a  faithless  guide.     Something  has  already  been  done 
in  the  direction  of  the  search  for,  and  decipherment  of,  inscriptions  by 
Europeans,  though  less   systematically  in  Madras  than  in  Calcutta 
and  Bombay,  but  much  remains  to  be  done,  and  will  always  remain, 
till  educated  Natives  enter  upon  this  branch  of  study  with  the  zeal 
with  which  so  many  people  in  Europe  have  devoted  themselves  to  it. 
Natives  possess  various  facilities  for  this  study  which  are  denied  to 
Europeans  living  in  India.     They  have  no  reason  to  fear  the  sun. 
They  can  genorally  stop  in  their  journeys  without  inconvenience  and 
examine  any  antiquity  they  see  ;  and  whilst  Europeans  must  be  content 
with  examining  only  the  inscriptions  on  the  outer  walls  of  temples, 
inscriptions  in  the  interior  ako  can   be   examined  by  Natives.     They 
will  also  be  allowed  to  examine   inscriptions  on  copper  plates  in  the 


EARLIEST    PERIOD.  o 

possession  of  respectable  Native  families  which  would  not  readily  be    Chapteb  I . 
allowed  to  pass  into  the  hands  of  Europeans. 

A  Immbler,  but  still  very   important,  branch  of  archaeological  work  Earliest 
lies    open   to    every    educated   Hindu  in  the   Tamil  districts  in  this  ramil  work* 
Presidency.     Let  him  set  himself,  before  it  is  too  late,  to  search  out  pGarod. 
and  discover  the  vernacular  works  that  are  commonly  supposed  to  be 
lost      The  names  only  of  many  Tamil  works  of  the  earlier  period 
survive,  and  many  works  must  have  been  composed  at  a  still  earlier 
period  of  which  even  the  names  have  been  forgotten.     Tamil  literature 
seems  to  have  known  no  youth.     Like  Minerva,  the  goddess  of  learn- 
ing amongst  the   Greeks,   it  seems  to  have  sprung,    full-grown  and 
fully  armed,  from  the  head  of  Jupiter.     The  explanation  of  this  is 
that  every  work  pertaining  to,  or  illustrative  of,   the  youth  of  the 
language  appears   to  have  perished.     Probably,  however,    a  careful 
search   made  by  educated  Natives  in    houses  and  mathas  would   be 
rewarded  by  some  valuable  discoveries." 

The  District  of  Tinnevelly  not  originally  distinct 
from  that  of  madura. 

Another  difficulty  under  which  the  early  history  of  Tinnevelly  Tinnevelly 
labours  is  that  in  early  times  this  district  had  no  separate  on&inall5'» 
existence,  but  formed  merely  the  southern  portion  of  the  Pandya  Madura, 
country,  and  this  was  the  position  it  occupied  under  the  Cholas, 
the  early  Muhammadans,  and  the  Nayakas,  as  well  as  under  the 
Pandyas  themselves.  It  was  not  till  the  incorporation  of  the 
kingdom  of  Madura,  including  its  various  districts  and  depend- 
encies into  the  territories  under  the  rule  of  the  Nawab  of  A  root, 
about  A.D.  1744,  that  the  district  of  Tinnevelly  came  to  be 
regarded,  at  first  for  revenue  purposes  alone,  as  independent  of, 
or  at  least  as  distinct  from,  the  District  of  Madura.  The  only 
name  in  classical  Tamil  which  looks  like  a  name  for  Tinnevelly,  Meaning  of 
as  distinct  from  Madura,  is  Ten-Pandi,  the  Southern  Pandya  r'311-13411'*'- 
country  ;  but  this  is  represented  as  the  name  of  one  of  the  twelve 
districts  in  the  Tamil  country  in  which  bad  Tamil  (Kodun-Tamil) 
is  spoken  ;  and  it  is  evident  that  it  could  not  have  been  intended 
that  the  whole  of  Tinnevelly  should  be  denoted  by  this  name. 
The  interpretation  of  some  persons  is  that  by  Ten-Pandi  is  meant 
that  portion  of  Tinnevelly  which  lies  to  the  south  of  the  Tamra- 
parni  river.  Others  are  of  opinion  that  the  term  denotes  only 
Nanji-nadu,  the  Tamil  portion  of  South  Travancore,  lying  to  the 
south-west  of  Tinnevelly  and  the  north- west  of  Cape  Comorin. 
Tamil  has  always  been  the  language  of  the  whole  of  Tinnevelly, 
and  Cape  Comorin  is  represented  in  the  Tamil  classics  as  the 
southern  boundary  of  the  region  in  which  Tamil  is  spoken.  The 
boundary  could  not  well  be  carried  fuiiher  south  without  being 
carried  out  to  sea,  but  Tamil  has  always  been  spoken,  as  I  know 
from  inscriptions,  in  Nanji-nadu. 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVET.LV. 


Earliest  Inhabitants  of  Tinnevelly. 


Chapter  I.        Nothing  is  known  as  yet  of  the  earliest   inhabitants  of  Tinne- 
Th"  hiiuribes  veily>  except  that  whoever  they  were  they  could  not  have  been 
not  represent- Aryans.     The  hill  tribes  called  in  Malaynlam  Malayarasas  (hill 
earliest    ^  kings),  and  in  Tamil  Kanikkaras  (hereditary  proprietors  of  land), 
inhabitants  of  are  not,  I  think,  to  be  regarded,  like  the  Tudas  of  the  Nllagiris, 
as  surviving    representatives  of   the  earliest   inhabitants   of  the 
plains  ;   but,  like  the  hill  tribes  of  the  Pulneys,  appear  to  be  the 
descendants   of  some  Hinduised   low-country    people  of  a  later 
period,  who  were  driven  to  the  hills  by  oppression  or  who  volun- 
tarily migrated  thither.     Probably  the  earliest  inhabitants  came  to 
be  mixed  up  so  completely  with  succeeding  immigrants  that  it  will 
be  impossible  now  to  distinguish  them.     Perhaps  the  best  repre- 
The  lowest      sentatives  at  present  of  the  earliest  race  of  inhabitants  are  those 
bly^aoonginal  long-oppressed  tribes  that  are  now  considered  the  lowest,  in  the 
social  scale,  the  Paraiyas  and  Pallas.     We  meet  occasionally  with 
traditions  of   a   more   or  less    reliable  character   respecting    the 
arrival  of  most  other  tribes  from  other  parts  of  the  country.     There 
can  be  no  doubt,  for  instance,  of  the  fact  that  the  Brahmans  came 
from  the  north.     There  can  be  no  doubt   also  about   the   arrival 
from   the   north  of  the  Nayakas  and   other  Telugu  castes.     It 
is  commonly  supposed  that  the  Vellalas  eame  from  the   Chola 
country,  the  Maravas  from  the  Paninad  country,  and  the  Shanars 
from  Ceylon.     Such  traditions,  it  is  true,  are  too  uncertain  to  be 
of  much  ethnological  value,   but  it  is  a  noticeable   circumstance 
The  Paraiy.iB  that  there  is  no  tradition  whatever  of  the  arrival  in  the   country 
and  Pallas.      a^.  any  ^^q  0f  the  Pallas  and  Paraiyas.     From  the  silence  of 
tradition  it  may  therefore,  perhaps,  be  inferred  that  those  tribes 
were  already  in  the  district  when  other  bunds   of  immigrants, 
represented  by  the  other  tribes  or  castes  we  now  find,   arrived. 
The  names  by   which  they  are  now  called   are  not  necessarily  of 
the  same  antiquity   as  the  tribes  themselves.     "Paraiya"   means 
a  drummer  ;    "  Palla  "  appears  to  mean  a  man  who  works  in  low- 
lying  lands,  and  both  these  names  connect  them  with  a  somewhat 
developed  state  of  society.     If  they  were  really  the  oldest  tribes 
that  settled  in  the  district,  they  must  have  subsisted  mainly  by  the 
chase,  like  the  rude  tribe  commonly  called  Vedas,   and  partly  by 
the  cultivation  of  dry  grains.     The  cultivation  of  rice  by  means  of 
irrigation  would  seem  from  etymological  reasons  to  have  been  a 
The  Vellalas.  specialty  of  the  Vellalas.  Vel,  the    root  of  Vellala,  seems  to  be 
identical  with  Vel,  the  root  of  Vellam,  water  used  for  irrigation. 
Stono  The  only  traces  of  the  earliest  inhabitants  of  Tinnevelly  that 

implements.  survive?  so  far  as  T  ara  aware  at  present,  are  certain  stone  imple- 
ments that  have  been  found  near  Shermadevi  (Cheran-ma-devI) 
and  Puthugudi.    They  were  taken  to  Berlin  by  Dr.  Jagor.     These 


EARLIEST    PERIOD.  D 

implements  betokened  some   little  progress  in  civilization,  as  the    Chapter  I. 

sides  were  rounded    and   the   curves  symmetrical.       This    would 

identify  them  with  what  has  been  called  the  '  neolithic  age.'     I  am 

unable  to  regard  the  sepulchral  urns  or  jars  found  almost  everywhere 

iu  Tinnevelly  as  relics  of  the  earliest  period,  notwithstanding  the 

interest  that  attaches  to  them  and  the  mystery  which  hangs  over 

them.     The  excellence  of  the  pottery  and  the  circumstance  that 

copper  ornaments  have  sometimes  been  found  in  the  urns  show 

that  the  people  who    buried  their  dead    in  those  urns,  whoever 

they  were,  and  at  however  early  a  period  they  may  have  lived, 

were  a  comparatively  civilised  race.1 

"Whatever  relics  of  the  oldest  period  still  survive  will  be  found,  Sepulchral 
I  think,  like  the  stone  implements  referred  to  above,  not  in  the  urns' 
valley  of  the  Tamraparni  itself,  which  must  have  been  too 
frequently  covered  with  water  and  too  marshy  to  allow  of  human 
habitations  being  erected  upon  it  at  the  outset,  but  on  the  gravelly 
slopes  on  either  side  of  the  valley,  constituting  the  primeval  banks 
of  the  stream.  One  place  of  this  description  called  Aditta-nallur, 
near  Puthugudi,  has  been  found  particularly  rich  in  sepulchral 
urns,  &c.  I  should  not  expect  to  find  relics  of  the  oldest  period 
anywhere  near  the  sea,  as  I  consider  it  certain  that  the  land  has 
been  slowly  but  steadily  rising  above  the  ancient  sea  level  for 
ages,  probably  even  before  man  made  his  appearance  in  the 
district.  The  rise  of  the  land  all  through  the  historical  period 
is  capable,  I  think,  of  proof.  Near  Kulasekharapattanam,  a  town 
and  port  of  some  antiquity,  pieces  of  broken  pottery  are 
occasionally  found  imbedded  in  the  grit  stone,  a  marine  formation 
abounding  in  sea  shells  of  existing  species,  found  all  along  the 
coast.  I  have  a  specimen  in  my  possession  found  about  a  mile 
from  the  sea-shore,  but  I  regard  this  as  proving,  not  the  immense 
antiquity  of  the  pottery,  which  does  not  appear  to  differ  in  the 
least  from  the  pottery  now  in  use,  but  rather  the  comparatively 
recent  origin  of  some  portions  of  the  grit  stone. 

The  Tamraparni  River. 

If  the  history  of  the  dawn  of  a  higher  civilisation  in  Tinnevelly  Attraction  of 
could  be  brought  to  light,  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  Tamraparni, tne  T&mra- 
the  great  river  of  Tinnevelly,  would  be  found  to  occupy  the  most 
prominent  place  in  the  picture.  It  must  have  been  the  facilities 
afforded  by  this  stream  for  the  cultivation  of  rice  which  attracted 
to  its  banks  family  after  family  of  settlers  from  the  north  of  a 
higher  class  than  the  rude,  black  aborigines.  This  river  like  the 
Kaveri,  but  unlike  most  Indian  streams,  is  fed  by  both  monsoons — 

1  See  Appendix. 


HISTORY    OK    I1NNEVF.I.LY. 


Chapter  I. 


Description 
of  the  Tamra- 
parni. 


the  south-western  and  the  north-eastern — and  is  seen  in  full  flood 
twice  a  year.  It  flows  through  a  narrow  but  very  rich  alluvial 
valley,  originally  formed  by  itself,  when  natural  forces  appear  to 
have  been  stronger  than  they  are  now,  by  the  process  of  denuda- 
tion, and  then  filled  up  by  itself  in  later  periods  by  the  process  of 
sedimentary  deposition.  It  flows  smoothly  to  the  sea  without 
torrents  and  along  a  bed  which,  instead  of  being  hollowed  deeper 
and  deeper  every  year,  and  thus  becoming  less  and  less  capable  of 
being  utilised  for  irrigation,  gets  silted  up  a  little  from  year  to 
year,  so  that  at  length  in  the  lower  half  of  its  course,  between 
Palamcotta  and  the  sea,  it  has  become  necessary  to  confine  it 
within  artificial  banks.  Such  a  river  would  necessarily  prove  an 
attraction  to  settlers,  if  not  from  the  very  first,  yet  at  least  from 
the  first  appearance  in  the  district  of  a  people  systematically 
practising  agriculture  and  acquainted  with  the  cultivation  of  rice 
by  irrigation. 


The  moun. 
tain  Potigai. 


•  Agaftier.' 


Supposed  to 
be  inaccessi- 
ble. 


Rainfall  on 
A^astj'H's 
hill  and  in 
the  plains. 


Origin  of  the  Tamraparni.  —  Agastya's  Hill. 

The  Tamraparni  rises  on  a  noble  conical  mountain  called  Potigai, 
more  commonly  called  Potiyam,  or  Potiya-ma-malai,  the  meaning 
of  which  is  probably  "  a  place  of  concealment,"  as  will  be  explained 
below.  Locally  it  is  called  Periya  Potigai,  the  great  Potigai, 
to  distinguish  it  from  a  smaller  mountain  adjoining  it  called 
Aindu-talai  Potigai,  the  Potigai  with  the  five  heads.  This 
mountain  is  the  highest  in  the  Tinnevelly  range  of  ghauts,  being 
6,800  feet  in  height,  and  is  regarded  by  Native  poets  as  the  distin- 
guishing mountain  of  the  Pandyas,  one  of  the  titles  of  the  Pandya 
king  being  '  lord  of  Potiyam.'  This  mountain  stands  back  nearly 
ten  miles  from  the  rest  of  the  mountains  of  the  range,  so  that  the 
Tamraparni  which  takes  its  rise  upon  it  drains  a  considerable 
extent  of  mountain  country  before  it  emerges  into  the  plains. 
Potiyam  is  visible  from  Palamcotta,  the  capital  of  Tinnevelly, 
and  is  still  more  distinctly  visible  from  Trevandrum,  the  capital 
of  Travancore,  on  the  western  side  of  the  range.  It  is  usually 
called  Agastyar's  Hill,  or  by  the  Euglish  simply  '  Agastier,'  from 
the  tradition  that  the  great  rishi  Agastya,  when  he  retired  from 
the  world  after  civilising  the  south,  took  up  his  abode  in  its  in- 
accessible recesses.  It  was  long  supposed  by  all  Natives  to  be  in- 
accessible, on  account  of  the  force  of  the  charms  with  which  Agastya 
had  fenced  in  his  retreat,  but  Europeans  have  frequently  found 
their  way  to  the  top,  and  some  years  ago,  a  meteorological 
observatory  was  erected  near  the  top  by  Dr.  Broun,  the  Astronomer 
of  the  Maharaja  of  Travancore.  The  rainfall  on  the  top  of 
the  mountain  was  found  to  amount  to  300  inches  in  the  year. 
The  rainfall  at  Palamcotta,  half  way  between  the  mountains    and 


EARLIEST   PERIOD.  / 

the  sea,  is  less  than  27  inches,  whilst  25  inches  is  the  general  Chapter  I. 
average  in  the  Tinnevelly  plains  ;  and  here  we  see  the  reason  why 
it  is  that,  though  the  plains  of  Tinnevelly  are  so  parched  and  dry, 
through  the  excessive  heat  and  excessive  evaporation,  and  though 
the  rainfall  is  so  insignificant,  the  Tamraparni  rolls  to  the  sea  its 
full  flood  of  fertilising  waters  twice  every  year,  and  twice  every 
year  enriches  the  beautiful  valley  through  which  it  flows  with 
abundant  crops.  In  consequence  of  this  Tinnevelly  stands  next 
to  Tan j  ore — yet  with  a  long  interval  — in  regard  to  the  amount  of 
revenue  its  land  assessment  yields. 

References  to  the  Tamraparni  in  Indian  Literature. 

Lassen  in  his  Indische  Atterthumskunde  (Vol.  I)  describes  the  Lassen's  refer- 
Tamraparnl  as  "an  inconsiderable  stream,  with  a  renowned  name."  Tamraparni. 
Looking  at  the  length  of  its  course  (only  70  miles  from  its  rise  to  - 
the  sea,  including  windings),  it  may  certainly  be   considered  an 
inconsiderable  stream,  but  it  holds  a   high   position  amongst  the 
Indian  rivers  in  regard  to   the  benefits  it  confers ;  and  its  name 
seems  to  have  become  famous  in  India  from  a  very  early  period. 
It   may   worthily    be   called   an   "  ancient    river,"    by   which   I 
understand  a  river  renowned  in  ancient   song.     It  is  mentioned 
amongst  the  rivers  of  India  in  the  geographical  sections  of  several 
of  the  Puranas,  and  seems  to  have  been  regarded  in  those  times 
as  a  particularly  sacred  stream.     It  is   represented  as  rising  in  the  The  Tamra- 
mountain  Malaya,  and  this  enables  us  to  identify  Malaya  with  the  Mahabharata 
Southern  Ghauts.     The  Sanskrit  Malaya  of  course  represents  the 
Dra vidian  mala,  a  hill.    The  earliest  and  most  noticeable  reference 
to  it  in  Sanskrit  literature  is  in  the  Mahabharata ; — "  Also  I  will 
remind  thee,   0  son  of    Kunti  (Yudhishtira,   the   eldest  of   the 
Pandava  brothers),  of  the  fame  of  the  Tamraparni,  in  the   hermi- 
tage connected  with  which  the  gods,  desirous  of  heaven,  performed 
austerities." — Aranya  Parva. 

There  is  an  interesting,  though  probably  much  later,  verse  in  in  the  Raghu- 
the  Eaghu-vamsa,  in  which  the  Tamraparni  is  mentioned.  It vamsa- 
6ays,  "  They  (the  Pandyas)  having  prostrated  themselves  before 
Raghu  presented  to  him  as  their  glory,  the  collected  excellence  of 
the  pearls  of  the  ocean  into  which  the  Tamraparni  flows,"  iv,  50. 
From  this  it  appears  that  it  was  even  then  known  that  the  Tam- 
raparni was  in  the  country  of  the  Pandyas,  and  that  pearls  were 
found  near  the  place  where  the  Tamraparni  fell  into  the  ocean. 
The  author  of  this  poem,  the  celebrated  Kalidasa,  is  generally 
supposed  to  have  lived  in  the  century  before  the  Christian  era. 
Some  make  him  several  centuries  later. 

Sacred  Bathing  Places  on  the  Tamraparni. 
Hindus  have  still  a  great  idea  of  the  religious  merit  of  bathing 
in    this  stream.     Every   portion   of   the    stream   is   sacred  ;  but 


8 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY, 


Falls  of  the 
Tamraparni 


Chapter  I.  bathing  at  the   waterfalls  in  the  upper  part  of  its  course  is  sup- 
posed in  these  times  to  be  specially  meritorious. 

There  are  two  of  these  waterfalls  on  the  main  stream,  one 
called  Vanatlrtham  (from  the  name  of  an  Asura  called  Vana)  on 
the  slope  of  Potiyaru,  and  another  still  more  frequented,  about  90 
feet  in  height,  at  Papa-nasakani  (destruction  of  sin).  The  latter 
is  commonly  called  Kalyanitlrtkam,  the  sacred  bathing  place  of 
Kalyani  (Parvati),  but  by  some  Kalyana-tlrtham,  the  wedding 
bathing  place,  that  is,  the  place  where  Parvati's  marriage  to  Siva 
was  exhibited  to  Agastya.  This  fall  is  at  the  place  where  the 
Tamraparni  leaves  the  mountains  and  enters  the  plains.  There  is 
another  celebrated  waterfall,  not  far  from  Vana-tirtham,  called 
Pamban-aruvi,  the  snake  waterfall,  so  called  on  account  of  its 
long  snake-like  appearance  when  seen  from  a  distance.  It  consists 
of  two  falls,  the  upper  500  feet  in  height,  the  lower  200  feet. 
This  remarkable  fall  is  not  on  the  main  stream,  but  on  a  tributary, 
which  rises  on  the  "  five-headed  Potigai." 


Meaning  of 
the  name  of 
Kuttralam. 


Falls  of  Courtallum. 

The  Chittar.  The  northern  tributary  to  the  Tamraparni,  which  does  not  join 
it  till  near  the  sea,  is  called  the  Chitra-nadi,  the  beautiful  river, 
vulgarly  Chittar,  the  little  river.  The  falls  on  this  stream,  at 
Courtallum,  are  much  celebrated,  and  Europeans  and  Hindus  are 
equally  fond  of  bathing  in  them,  though  for  different  reasons.  It 
may  be  asserted  without  risk  of  exaggeration  that  Courtallum  is 
the  finest  fresh- water  bathing  place  in  the  world.  Two  forms  of 
the  name  Courtallum  are  given  in  the  Courtallum  Sthala-purana, 
one  with  tt,  the  other  with  RR=ttr.  If  the  form  of  the  word 
adopted  be  Kuttalam,  the  meaning  will  be  "  the  wild  Atti  tree  " 
(BaiiJiinia  parviflora),  and  the  name  will  then  signify  the  temple 
or  village  near  the  Kuttalam  tree.  This  form  of  the  word, 
Kuttalam,  is  said  to  be  Sanskrit,  but  I  can  find  no  trace  of  it  in 
any  Sanskrit  dictionary.  If  the  form  adopted  be  Kuttralam,  which 
is  the  one  in  common  use,  it  will  mean  the  alam,  destruction, 
literally  poison,  of  Kuttru,  sin,  a  meaning  equivalent  to  that  of 
the  other  great  sacred  bathing  place  along  this  range,  viz., 
Pavanasam  (properly  Papanasakam,  annihilation  of  sin).  Alam 
is  from  the  Sanskrit  hala-hala  or  hiihala,  "  a  deadly  poison."  This 
is  the  meaning  generally  attributed  to  the  name  of  the  place  in 
the  Sthala-purana.  This  shape  of  the  word  Kuttru  is  not  found 
in  any  dictionary,  but  one  of  the  most  common  Tamil  words  for 
sin  is  Kuttram,  which  is  substantially  the  same.  The  lowest  of 
the  three  falls  of  Courtallum  is  commonly  called  by  the  Natives 
Vada-aruvi,  the  northern  fall.  It  consists  of  two  falls,  the  united 
height  of  which  is  about  180  feet.  The  upper  pool  of  this  fall 
they  call  Ponguruakadal,  the  boiling  sea,  the  depth  of  which  is  38 


Courtallum 
falls. 


EARLIEST    PERIOD.  y 

feet.     The  second  fall  is  called  Sembagatavi  tlrtham,  the   sacred    Chapter  I. 

bathing  place  of  the  Sembaga  forest.     Sembaga  is  the  Tamil  form 

of  the   Sanskrit  Champaka  (the  Miehclia  Champaka).     The  third 

is  called  Tenaruvi,  the  honey  fall.    A  poetical  name  of  Courtallum 

is  Tnkudam,  which  may  best  be  rendered,  the  three  plateaus  or 

platforms.     The  spices  cultivated  at  Courtallum  were  introduced 

by  Mr.  Casamajor  in  1800. 

Mouth  of  the  Tamraparni. 

The  early  Hindus  must  have  been  acquainted  with  the  mouth 
of  the  Tamraparni  long  before  they  knew  anything  of  its  inland 
course  or  of  the  falls  in  the  mountains,  so  that  I  conclude  that  it 
was  near  its  mouth,  and  probably  at  the  place  where  its  junction 
with  the  sea  took  place,  that  people  bathed  and  performed 
austerities,  as  the  gods  are  represented  to  have  done,  in  the  time  The  first  set- 
of  the  Mahabharata.     It  would  seem  probable  that  there  also,  at  tkroent  of 

r  ...  .     civilised  men 

Korkai,   was   formed   the   first    settlement   of    civilised    men   in  inTinnevelly. 
Tinnevelljr,  and  that  it  was  there  that  the  name  of  Tamraparni,  by  where? 
which  the  river  became  known,  was  first  given  to  it. 

Meaning  and  Origin  of  the  name  Tamraparni. 

The  meaning  of  the  name  Tamraparni,  considered  in  itself,  is 'The  tree  with 
sufficiently  clear,  but  its  application  in  this  connexion  is  far  from  re 
being  self-evident.  Tamra  means  red,  parni,  from  parna,  a  leaf, 
that  which  has  leaves,  that  is,  a  tree.  Tamraparni  might  therefore 
be  expected  to  mean  a  tree  with  red  leaves,  but  this  is  a  strange 
derivation  for  the  name  of  a  river,  and  the  idea  naturally  sug- 
gests itself  that  some  event  or  legend  capable  of  explaining  the 
name  lies  beyond.  It  is  especially  worthy  of  notice  that  tins  very 
name  was  the  oldest  name  for  Ceylon.  It  was  called  Tambapanni 
by  the  early  Buddhists,  three  centimes  before  Christ,  in  king 
Asoka's  inscription  at  Girnar,  and  when  the  Greeks  first  visited 
India  in  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great  and  began  to  inquire, 
with  their  usual  zeal  for  knowledge,  about  India,  the  countries 
and  peoples  it  contained,  and  the  neighbouring  countries,  they 
ascertained  the  existence  of  a  great  adjacent  island  which  they 
were  told  was  called  Taprobane — a  mispronunciation  of  Taniba-  Taprohane. 
pannT.  Lanka,  the  beautiful  island,  is  the  name  by  which  Ceylon  Later  names 
is  called  in  the  Ramayana,  and  ordinarily  in  the  Maha-wanso.  ot  Cevlon- 
Sinihalam,  however,  is  the  name  by  which  it  was  called  by  the  later 
Buddhistic  writers,  from  which  came  in  regular  succession  the  forms 
Sihalam,  Silam,  Selen-dib,  Serendib,  Zeelan,  Ceylan,  and  Ceylon. 
[Dib  is  the  Arabic  survival  of  the  Sanskrit  dvipa,  island.]  From 
the  form  Silam  comes  the  Tamil  Ilam.  Simha  means  a  lion, 
Simhala  the  lion  country,  that  is,  either  the  country  of  the 
lion-slayers  or  more  probably  the  country  of  the  lion-like  men. 
Tambapanni,   or  Tamraparni,    as    the   name  is    more    correctly 

2 


10  HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 

Chapter  i.    written  in  Sanskrit,  is  said  in  the  Maha-wanso  to  have  been  the 

name  of  the  first  settlement  formed  by  Vijaya  and  his  followers 

in  Lanka,  from  which  the  name  came  to  be  applied  to  the  whole 

Identity  of     island — see  Tumour's  Maha-wanso,  p.  57.     This   settlement  seems 

the  Tamra-     ^0    have    Deen    near    Putlam   on   the  western  coast   of   Ceylon, 

parni  of  I  in-  .  .  .  *         ' 

nevelTy  with  nearly  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  chief  river  in  Tinnevelly  ;  and  it 
name '  of  maJ  De  regarded  as  certain  that  the  two  names  had  a  common 
Ceylon.  origin,  one  being  derived  from  the  other,  like  Boston  in  the  United 

States  and  Boston  in  England.  The  name  of  the  river  may  have 
been  derived  from  the  name  of  the  settlement  ;  or  vice  versd,  the 
name  of  the  settlement  may  have  been  derived  from  the  name  of 
the  river.  The  only  question  is,  which  use  of  the  word  was  the 
Which  earlier  ?     It  may  be  supposed  that  a  colony  from  the  mouth  of  the 

the  namiTvas  TamraparnI  in  Tinnevelly  carried  the  name  over  with  it  to  a 
the  earlier,  settlement  founded  by  it  on  the  opposite  coast  of  Cej'lon.  Or,  on 
the  other  hand,  after  the  Aryan  adventurers  under  Vijaya  settled 
in  Ceylon,  they  may  have  formed  a  settlement  on  the  Tinnevelly 
coast  and  given  the  chief  river  on  the  coast  the  name  of  the  town 
from  which  they  came.  The  general  and  natural  course  of 
migration  would  doubtless  be  from  the  mainland  to  the  island  ; 
but  there  may  occasionally  have  been  reflex  waves  of  migration 
even  in  the  earliest  times,  as  there  certainly  were  later  on,  traces 
of  which  survive  in  the  existence  in  Tinnevelly  and  the  western 
coast  of  castes  whose  traditions,  and  even  in  some  instances,  whose 
names,  connect  them  with  Ceylon.  The  marriage  relations  into 
which  Vijaya  and  his  followers  are  said  to  have  entered  with  the 
Pandyas  would  also  make  them  acquainted  witli  Korkai  at  the 
mouth  of  the  TamraparnI,  the  oldest  capital  of  the  Pandyas,  which 
must  have  been  their  capital  at  that  time,  and  the  river  may  thus 
have  been  indebted  for  its  name  to  those  Singhalese  visitors.  At 
all  events  it  seems  more  natural  that  TamraparnI,  "  the  tree  with 
the  red  loaves,"  should  have  been  first  the  name  of  a  tree,  then  of 
a  town,  then  of  a  district,  then  of  a  river  (it  being  not  uncommon 
in  India  for  villages  to  receive  their  names  from  remarkable  trees), 
than  that  it  should  have  been  the  name  of  a  liver  at  the  outset. 
Lassen  interprets  TamraparnI  to  mean  "  a  tank  with  red  lotuses," 
but  this  derivation  seems  to  be  quite  unsupported.  In  Tamil 
poetical  literature  the  first  member  of  the  compound  is  omitted 
and  the  river  is  called  the  Porunei,  that  is,  the  Parni,  alone.  The 
English  sometimes  erroneously  write  and  pronounce  the  name  as 
Tamrapoorney,  but  the  error  is  derived  from  the  old  practice  of 
writing  the  second  part  of  the  name  Purni,  instead  of  Parni. 

Greek  Name  for  the  TamraparnI. 

Tho  Solon  of       The  Greeks  in  the  time  of  Ptolemy  called  the  river  by  the  name 
the  Greeks.     0f  the  Solen.     This  is  a  remarkable  circumstance,  because  they  had 


EARLIEST    PERIOD. 


11 


called  Ceylon  for  several  centuries  by  the  name  of  Taprobane,  and  Chapter  I. 
the  name  of  the  river  being  identical  with  this  name  of  Ceylon, 
one  would  have  expected  that  they  would  have  called  it  also  by 
the  name  of  Taprobane.  It  might  almost  be  supposed  that 
TamraparnI  was  not  the  name  of  the  river  in  actual  use  when 
the  Greek  merchants  arrived  in  Southern  India,  but  this  supposition 
is  inconsistent  with  the  use  of  the  name  in  the  Mahabharata,  for  the 
bulk  of  the  Mahabharata  is  probably  much  more  ancient  than  the 
commencement  of  Greek  commercial  relations  with  the  South, 
which  dates  only  from  the  Christian  era,  and  there  is  no  reason  to 
suppose  that  the  portion  of  the  Mahabharata  in  which  the  refer- 
rence  to  the  river  is  contained  could  have  been  inserted  at  a  later 
period  for  sectarian  purposes.  The  connection  in  which  the  name 
stands  in  the  geographical  lists  in  the  Puranas  is  also  unsectarian. 
It  seems  therefore  necessary  to  suppose  that  the  river,  though 
called  the  Solen  by  the  Greeks,  was  even  then  called  the  Tamra- 
parnI by  the  natives,  or  at  least  by  the  Brahmans.  How  is  this 
to  be  explained  ?  Lassen  supposes  that  the  old  name  of  the  prin- 
cipal stream  was  Sylaur,  which  also  he  supposes  to  be  the  present 
name  of  the  tributary  stream.  No  such  name,  however,  as  Sylaur 
is,  or  appears  ever  to  have  been,  in  use.  This  is  evidently  a 
mistake  for  Sytaur,  the  name  by  which  I  find  that  the  river  was 
called  by  English  officials  as  late  as  1810.  The  mistake  is  only 
of  t  for  /.  In  our  times  the  name  is  generally  written  Chittaur,  The  Chittar. 
and  this  stands  for  Sittar  or  Chittar,  which  means  the  little  river. 
It  is  evident  also  that  the  tributary  river  could  never  have  been 
the  principal  stream,  because  it  drains  a  much  smaller  extent  of 
hill  country.  "  Solen  "  has  a  meaning  in  Greek,  and  may  there- 
fore have  been  intended  to  be  a  Greek  word.  One  of  its  meanings 
is  a  shell  fish,  and  for  want  of  a  better  explanation  it  may  perhaps 
be  held  that  the  river  was  called  by  this  name  by  the  Greeks  on  The  chanks 
account  of  the  chanks,  then  as  now,  found  in  great  numbers  near  ncar  *he 
its  mouth.  The  chank  is  the  Turbinella  ra/pa.  Up  to  the  present  Tamraparni. 
time  the  greater  number  of  the  chanks  used  in  commerce  are 
found  in  the  sea  adjacent  to  the  mouth  of  this  river,  and  every 
field  in  the  neighbouring  country  bears  witness,  by  the  chanks 
found  imbedded  in  the  alluvium,  to  the  fact  that  they  abounded 
here  at  that  early  period  also,  when  the  delta  was  being  formed. 
Chanks  seem  always  to  have  been  used  throughout  India  as  instru- 
ments of  music  (or  rather  as  instruments  of  noise  ?)  and  in  Northern 
India  they  are  much  used  as  a  material  for  making  ornaments.  The 
Greeks  spoke  of  the  Solen  as  taking  its  rise  on  a  mountain  called  The  Botti^o 
Bettigo,  and  it  seems  conceivable  that  by  this  name  the}'  meant  to  tlle  Greeka- 
represent  "  Potigai,"  the  name  of  the  mountain  on  which  we  have 
seen  that  the  TamraparnI  rises.  This  enables  us  to  identify  the 
Bettigo  of  the  Greeks,  like  the  Malaya  of  the  Puranas,  the  mountain 
on  which  the  Tamraparni  rises,  with  the  Southern  Ghauts. 


12 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


The  Cheras,  Cholas,  and  Pandyas. 

Chapter  I.  The  Tamil  people,  or  as  they  are  called  in  Sanskrit,  the  Dravidas, 
Legendary  were  divided  in  ancient  times  into  three  great  divisions,  the  Cheras, 
origin  of  the  Cholas,  and  Pandyas.  The  arrangement  of  the  names  is  climactic, 
and  denotes  that  the  Pandyas  were  supposed  in  those  times  to  have 


dynasties. 


Derivation  of 
1  P&ndya.' 


the  preeminence,  a  supposition  which  appears  to  be  in  accordance 
with  the  facts  of  the  case.  According  to  Tamil  legends  Cheran, 
Cholan,  and  Pandyan  were  three  brothers  who  at  first  lived  and 
ruled  in  common  at  Korkai,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Tamraparni. 
The  lands  held  by  all  three  in  common  were  at  Mukkani  (the 
three  properties)  near  Korkai.  Eventually  a  separation  took 
place.  Pandiyan  remained  at  home.  Cheran  and  Cholan  went 
forth  to  seek  their  fortunes  and  founded  kingdoms  of  their  own  to 
the  north  and  west.  We  have  a  similar  representation,  perhaps 
merely  an  echo  of  the  Tamil  tradition,  in  the  Hari-vamsa  and 
several  Puranas  in  which  Pandya,  Kerala,  Kola,  and  Chola  are 
represented  as  the  four  sons  of  Akrida,  or  of  Dashyanta,  the 
adopted  son  of  Turvasu,  a  prince  of  the  Lunar  line  of  Kshatriyas. 
Who  the  Kola  referred  to  here  was  is  not  clear.  Was  he  supposed 
to  be  the  ancestor  of  the  Kolas  or  Kolarians  of  Central  India  ? 
This  is  very  improbable.  Kola  is  said  to  be  identified  by  the 
Kerala  Mahatmya  with  Kolam,  or  Kolattunadu,  North  Malabar. 
This  derivation  involves  difficulties,  but  it  is  the  only  reasonable 
one  I  have  met  with. 

The  Pandyas. 

The  Sanskrit  name  Pandya  is  written  in  Tamil  Pandiya,  but 
the  more  completely  Tamilised  form  Pandi  is  still  more  commonly 
used  all  over  Southern  India.  I  derive  Pandya,  not  from  the 
Tamil  and  Malayalam  Pandu,  ancient,  though  that  is  a  very  tempt- 
ing derivation,  but  from  the  Sanskrit  Pandu,  the  name  of  the 
father  of  the  five  Pandava  brothers.  This  very  form  Pandya,  in 
the  sense  of  a  descendant  of  Pandu,  is  mentioned,  as  I  am 
informed  by  Professor  Max  Midler,  by  Katyayana,  the  immediate 
successor  of  Panini.  It  is  evident  that  the  kings  of  this  race  by 
their  adoption  of  this  name  meant  to  claim  kindred  with  tho 
celebrated  Pandava  brothers,  and  the  marriage  of  Arjuna  with 
the  daughter  of  the  Pandya  king  seems  to  have  been  recorded, 
or  invented,  as  an  evidence  of  this  relationship.  The  earliest 
indubitable  reference  to  the  Pandya  kingdom  in  the  records  of 
Northern  India  is  in  one  of  Asoka's  inscriptions  about  B.C.  250. 


\  :!     OF 

Aijmia  to 
Madura. 


ArJI'Na's    INTERMARRIAGE    WITH    THE    PANDYAS. 

This  marriage  is  supposed  to  be  referred  to  in  the  Adi-parva 
of  the  Maha-bharata.  In  the  Sanskrit  original,  however,  the 
king  is  not  called  a  Pandya,  but  is  merely  mentioned  by  his  name 


EARLIEST    TERIOD.  13 

■as  Chitravahana,  and  his  city  is  called,  not  Madura,  but  Manipura.  Chapteb  I. 
This  city  is  placed  in  Monier  Williams'  Sanskrit  Dictionary  in 
the  Kalinga  country,  not  in  or  near  the  country  of  the  Pandyas. 
The  king's  daughter's  name  is  Chitrilngada.  Arjuna  marries  the 
damsel  and  remains  in  Manipura,  according  to  his  pledge,  till  a 
son  is  born,  who  is  called  Babhruvahana.  The  Tamil  prose 
translation  of  the  Mahabharata  boldly  identifies  Manipura  with 
Madura,  calls  Chitravahana  a  Pandya  king,  and  also  identifies 
him  with  Malayadhvaja,  the  second  king  in  the  Madura  lists  of 
Pandyas.  This  identification  might  be  concluded  to  be  a  wholly 
unwarranted  invention  of  the  Tamil  translator  were  it  not  for  an 
incident  related  in  the  South  Indian  edition  of  the  Sanskrit  text 
of  the  Maha-bharata.  It  is  therein  stated  (in  the  Sabha-parva) 
that  Saha-deva,  one  of  the  Pandava  brothers,  in  the  course  of  his 
dig-vijaya  tour,  visited  Manipura  and  greeted  his  sister-in-law 
Ohitrangada,  Arjuna's  wife.  In  this  narrative  Manipura  is 
described  as  the  residence  of  the  Tandy a  king,  and  Saha-deva 
receives  from  the  Pandya  king  himself  valuable  presents.  This 
statement  vindicates  the  honesty  of  the  Tamil  translator,  but 
unfortunately  the  doubt  is  only  removed  a  step  further  back,  for 
Professor  Wilson  states  that  this  incident  is  not  contained  in  the 
northern  copies  of  the  Maha-bharata.  It  was  not  in  his  own  copy, 
and  he  had  five  copies  in  Benares  examined,  in  none  of  which  was 
the  incident  mentioned.  This  seems  fatal  to  the  identification.  He 
mentions  also  that  in  the  Bhagavata  Purana  Arjuna's  bride  is 
represented  as  the  daughter,  not  of  the  Pandya  king,  but  of  the 
serpent  king  of  Manipura. 

Oldest  Pandya  Titles. 

The  Pandya  dynasty  may  have  existed  before  this  relationship  The  Maran. 
with  the  Pandava  brothers  was  thought  of,  for  Maran,  not  Pandi- 
yan,  appears  to  have  been  the  most  ancient  name  of  the  head  of 
the  dynasty.  In  the  titles  given  to  the  Pandya  king  in  old 
inscriptions  I  have  always  found  "  the  Maran"  stand  at  the  head 
of  the  list,  and  I  found  a  portion  of  Korkai  itself  called,  not 
Pandya-Mangalam,  but  Mara-Mangalam,  "  the  good  fortune  of 
the  Maran."  The  names  seem  to  have  gone  in  pairs,  Mara  and 
Korkai,  Pandya  and  Madura.  Korkai-ali,  ruler  of  Korkai,  is  a 
title  given  to  Kulasekhara,  the  supposed  founder  of  the  Pandya 
dynasty,  by  the  author  of  the  Vettri-verkai,  himself  a  Pandya 
king. 

0 

Intkucourse  of  the  early  Singhalese  with  the  Pandyas. 

Korkai,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tamraparni,  must  have  been  the 
residence  of  the  Pandyas  at  that  early  period,  six  centimes  before 


14 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Vijaya's  mar 
riage. 


Chapter  I.    Christ,  when  the  king  of  Tamraparnl  (Ceylon)  is  said  to  have  sent 
over  ambassadors  to  negotiate  an  alliance  by  marriage  with  the 
Pandyas.     "  The  Southern   Madhura "    is   the    place  where   the 
Pandyas  are  said  to  have  lived  and  reigned  at  that  time,  but  this 
may  have  been  an   anachronism,   the  very  existence  of   Korkai 
having  most  probably  at  the  date  of  the  composition  of  the  Maha- 
wanso  been  forgotten.     The  particular  Pandya  king  who  then 
.  reigned  is  not  mentioned,  and  the  name  as  written  in  the  Pali  of 
the  Maha-wanso  differs  slightly  from  the  form  current  in  India. 
He  is  called   sometimes  Pandawo,   which  is  evidently  meant  for 
Pandava,  and  Pandu,  which  stands  either  for  Pandu,  the  father  of 
the  Pandavas,  or  for  Pandi,  the  common  Tamil  form  of  Pandya. 
According  to  the  story  Vijaya  married  first  a  Yaksha,  or  demon- 
princess   (a  princess  of  the  aboriginal  Vedas  ?),   but  afterwards 
sent  over  to  the  continent  for  a  human  bride,  in  order  that  he 
might  get  himself  duly  inaugurated  as  a  sovereign.     The  Pandya 
king  gave  him  his  daughter,  as  requested,  and  she  was  accompa- 
nied to  Ceylon  by  a  great  retinue  of  maidens,  who  were  given  in 
marriage  to  Vijaya's  companions.     Vijaya,  according  to  the  story, 
had  no  son  of  his  own,  but  he  appointed  a  son  of  his  brother  to  be 
his  successor.     This  prince  is  called  in  Pali  Pandu-vasa-deva,  by 
which  we  are  probably  to   understand  Pandu- vamsa-deva,   and 
though  he   is  said   to  have  come   from   Sinihapura,   the  city  in 
Northern  India  from  which  Vijaya  himself  came,  we  can  scarcely 
err  in  concluding  that  he  was  really  a  prince  of  Pandya  extraction. 
The  fourth  prince  in  the  line  was  called  Pandukabhaya,  a  name 
which  evidently  also  betokens  some  connexion  with  the  Pandyas. 
It  is  worthy  of   notice  that  it   was  by  those  two  princes  with 
Pandya  names  (princes  from  Tinnevelly  ?)  that  the  three  great 
reservoirs  for  which  Ceylon  is  famous  are  said  to  have  been  made. 
May  it  hence  be  concluded  that  the  idea  of  making  reservoirs  for 
irrigation  was  borrowed  by  the  early  Singhalese  from  the  peoplo 
of  the  Tinnevelly  or  Madura  coast  ?     Vijaya   is   said   to   have 
bestowed  on  his  Pandya  father-in-law  annually  two  lakhs  worth 
of  chanks  and  pearls.     Does  this  mean  that  at  that  time   Ceylon 
was  tributary  to   the  Pandyas  ?     This  at  least  seems  certain  from 
these  statements  that  it  was  the  belief  of  the  earliest  Singhalese 
that  the  Pandya  kingdom  was  in  existence  before  the  arrival  in 
Ceylon  of  Vijaya  and  his  colony  of  adventurers,  that  is,  before  the 
introduction  into  Ceylon  of  Aryan  civilisation,   which  can  hardly 
have  been  later  than  550  B.C.     This  seems  to  carry  up  the    era 
of   the  first  introduction  of   Aryan  civilisation  into  the   Pandya 
country,  probably  at  Korkai,  to  a  very  early   period  ;  shall  we  say 
about  700  B.C.  ?   Ceylon  was  often  invaded  in    early  times  by 
Tamilians  (Damilos)  from  the  mainland,  but  the  invaders  seem 
generally  to  have  been,  not  Pandyas,  but  Cholas. 


Singhalese 
princes  with 
Pandya 
names. 


The  great 
reservoirs  of 
Ceylon. 


Date  of 
introduction 
of  Aryan 
civilisation. 


EARLIEST    PERIOD.  15 

TlNNEVELLTf    IN    THE   HaMAYANA. 

The  only  place  in  Tinnevolly  supposed  to  be  mentioned  in  the  Chapter  I. 
Ramayana  is  Mahendra.  This  is  generally  identified  by  Hindus  Mahendra. 
with  Mahendragiri,  the  loftiest  mountain  in  the  extreme  southern 
portion  of  the  range  of  ghauts,  south  of  Agastya's  hill ;  but  as 
the  legend  connected  with  it  represents  it  as  the  place  from 
which  llanuman,  flie  monkey-god,  jumped  over  into  Ceylon,  the 
attempt  to  identify  it  with  geographical  accuracy  with  any  parti- 
cular place  in  our  maps  is  not  likely  to  be  successful. 

Greek  Notices  of  the  Pandyas. 

Megasthenes,  who  was  sent   as  an   ambassador  from   Seleucus  information 

Nicator,  one  of  Alexander  the  Great's  successors,  to  the  court  of  ??llecte,d  by 

/-ti  i  •  t»       ••     /t»  Megasthenes. 

Saudracottus   (Chandragupta),    king   of  the   Prasu   (Prachyas  or 

easterns)  at  Palibothra  (Pataliputra) ,  near  the  modern  Patna, 
about  B.C.  302,  speaks  of  a  country  in  India  called  Pandaia, 
after  the  name  of  the  only  daughter  of  '  the  Indian  Heracles,'  that 
is,  of  Krishna.  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  country  his  informants 
meant  was  that  of  the  Pandyas.  A  writer  who  had  heard  of  the 
Calingae  and  Andarae  (the  Kalingas  and  Andhras)  could  not  but 
have  heard  also  of  the  Pandyas.  He  partly,  it  is  true,  misappre- 
hended the  legends  related  to  him,  but  he  was  right  in  deriving 
the  name  of  the  Pandya  country  from  that  of  its  rulers  and  in 
connecting  their  name  in  some  fashion,  however  erroneously,  with 
the  cycle  of  Krishna  myths.  Every  thing  related  respecting  the 
country  by  Megasthenes,  especially  the  statement  that  it  was  there 
that  pearls  were  procured,  serves  to  identify  it  with  the  Pandya 
country,  and  especially  with  the  southern  portion  of  the  Pandya 
country,  Tinnevelly,  along  the  coast  of  which  at  that  time  were 
the  chief  stations  of  the  pearl  fishery. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  give  here  in  Megasthenes'  own  words,  as 
quoted  by  Pliny,  the  strange  mixture  of  truth  and  error  he  accepted 
and  handed  down. 

"He"  (the  Indian  Heracles)  "  had  a  very  numerous  progeny  The  Indian 
of  male  children  born  to  him  in  India  (for  like  his  Theban  eiac  ea 
namesake  he  married  many  wives),  but  had  only  one  daughter. 
The  name  of  this  child  was  Pandaia,  and  the  land  in  which  she 
was  born  and  with  the  sovereignty  of  which  Heracles  intrusted 
her  was  called  after  her  name  Pandaia,  and  she  received  from  the 
hands  of  her  father  500  elephants,  a  force  of  cavalry  4,000  strong, 
and  another  of  infantry  consisting  of  about  130,000  men.  Some 
Indian  writers  say  further  of  Heracles  that  when  he  was  going 
over  the  world  and  ridding  land  and  sea  of  whatever  evil  monsters 
infested  them,  he  found  iu  the  sea  an  ornament  for  women,  which 
even  to  this  day  the  Indian  traders  who  bring  their  wares  to  our 


16 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Chapter  I.    markets  eagerly  buy  up  as  such  and  carry  away,  while  it  is  even 
more  greedily  bought  up  by  the  wealthy  Romans  of  to-day,  as  it 
Pearls.  was  wont  to  be  by  the  wealthy  Greeks  long  ago.     This  article  is  the 

sea  pearl,  called  in  the  Indian  tongue  (?)  margarita.  But  Heracles, 
it  is  said,  appreciating  its  beauty  as  a  wearing  ornament,  caused 
it  to  be  brought  from  all  the  seas  into  India  that  he  might  adorn 
with  it  the  person  of  his  daughter." 

Translation  from  Schwanbeck's  Megasthenes  by  J.    W.   McCrindlet 
Esq.,  Indian  Antiquary  for  September  1877.1 

The  exact  situation  of  the  country  of  Pandaia  and  some  parti- 
culars in  its  administration  are  given  in  another  extract  from 
Megasthenes  handed  down  by  another  Greek  writer  :  "  Heracles 
begat  a  daughter  in  India  whom  he  called  Pandaia.  To  her  he 
assigned  that  portion  of  India  which  lies  to  the  southward  and 
extends  to  the  sea,  while  he  distributed  the  people  subject  to  her 
rule  into  365  villages,  giving  orders  that  one  village  should  each 
day  bring  to  the  treasury  the  royal  tribute,  so  that  the  queen 
might  always  have  the  assistance  of  those  men  whose  turn  it  was 
to  pay  the  tribute  in  coercing  those  who  for  the  time  being  were 
defaulters  in  their  payments." — Indian  Antiquary  for  December 
1877. 

Pliny,  following  apparently  another  passage  of  Megasthenes,  in 
his  enumeration  of  Indian  nations,  mentions  a  nation  called 
Pandae.  We  cannot  doubt  that  the  Pandyas,  wherever  he  may 
have  supposed  them  to  be  located,  were  the  people  referred  to. 
His  statement  that  the  Pandae  alone  among  Indian  nations  were 
ruled  by  women,  though  not  correct,  so  far  as  is  known,  if 
supposed  to  relate  to  the  Pandyas  of  Madura,  may  be  regarded  as 
sufficiently  applicable  to  the  peculiar  social  usages  of  the  Malabar 
coast,  where  almost  every  inheritance  still  runs  in  the  female  line, 
and  where,  in  Pliny's  own  time,  at  least,  if  not  also  in  that  of 
Megasthenes,  the  Pandyas  of  Madura  had  colonies. 

Pliny  expressly  mentions  that  a  portion  of  the  western  coast 
was  in  his  time  (A.D.  77)  under  the  rule  of  king  Pandion,  "  far 
away  from  his  mediterranean  emporium  of  Modoura  ;"  yet  he 
remarks  that  this  name,  with  others  in  the  same  neighbourhood, 
was  new  to  him.  He  evidently  had  no  idea  that  the  people  of 
king  Pandion  were  identical  with  the  Pandae  he  had  already 
described. 


Porna  or 

l'uiuliuu  ? 


The  Pandyas  Embassy  to  Augustus. 

No  information  respecting  the  Pandya  country  in  general  or 
Tinnevelly  in  particular  is  supplied  to  us  by  the  Greeks  between 


Siuee  then  published  separately. 


EARLIEST    PERIOD.  17 

the  time  of  the  successors  of  Alexander  and  the  commencement  of   Chapter  I. 

Greek  commercial  intercourse  with  India,  in  the  early  years  of  the 

Christian  era,  when  we  begin  to  be  supplied  with  information  of 

an  interesting  nature.     I  regard  it  as  nearly   certain    that   the 

Indian  king  who  sent  an  embassy  to   the  Emperor  Augustus,  was 

not  Poms,  but  Pandion,  the  king  of  the  Pandyas,  called  in  Tamil 

"  the  Pandiyan."     The  earliest  account  of  the  embassy  is  given  by 

Strabo  (A.D.  20).     The  statement  generally  made  by  the  Greek 

and  Roman  historians  who  refer  to  this  embassy  is  that  it  was  sent 

by  the  Indi,  without  further   explanation   as  to  who  those  Indians 

were.      Strabo  says  "  the  embassy  was  from  king  Pandion  ;  or 

according  to  others  "  (whose  opinion  apparently  he  did  not  endorse) 

"  from   king   Porus."      One   of     those    "  others "    was   Nicolaus 

Damascenus,  quoted  by  Strabo,  who  says  he  saw  the   ambassadors 

himself.     The  name  of  Porus  had  been  known  in  Europe  for  several 

centuries,  through  the  historians  of  Alexander's  Indian  campaign, 

and  it  was   natural   that  Greeks   should   fall   into  the  mistake  of 

supposing  every  Indian  king  a  successor  of  Porus,  whereas  the 

name   Pandion  was  one  which   up  to   that  time    had  never  been 

known    and     could     not     have   been     invented.      This     Indian 

embassy  has  a  place  in  the  Chronicon  of  Eusebius  (320  A.D.),  but 

neither  in   the  ordinary   (defective)  Greek  text  of  the  Chronicon, 

nor  in  the  Armenian  version,  is  the  name  of  the  king  from  whom 

it  proceeded  mentioned.      Fortunately,    however,    the  name,  as 

written   by  Eusebius,    appears  in  the  Chronographia  of  Georgius 

Syncellus   (A.D.    800),  whose  work   has   been  used  to  restore  or 

complete  the  Greek  test  of  the  Chronicon,  and  who  says,  under  the 

head  of  the  185th  olympiad,  "  Pandion,  king  of  the  Indians,  sends 

an  embassy  to  Augustus,  desiring  to  become  his  friend  and  ally." 

This  incident  is  an  interesting   proof  of  the  advanced  social  and 

political  position  occupied  by  the  Pandyas,  probably  in  consequence 

of  the  foreign  trade  they  carried  on,  viz.,    at  Korkai,  in  connexion 

with  the  pearl  fishery,    and  also  on  the    Malabar  coast.     After  the 

termination  of  the  political  relations   that  subsisted   between  the 

successors  of  Alexander  and  the  princes  of  Northern  India  we  thus 

find  that  the  Pandyas  were  the  only  Indian  princes  who  perceived 

the  advantages  of  a  European  alliance. 

Information  about  Korkai  furnished  by  the  Greeks. 

More  is  known  about  Korkai  from  the  Greeks  than  from  Native  The  Kolkhoi 
writings  or  traditions.     It  is   mentioned  by   the  author   of  the  q  th? 
Periplus  Maris  Erythraei,  the  circumnavigation  of  the  Erythraean 
or  Red  Sea  (by  which  we  are  to  understand  the  whole  Arabian 
Ocean  from  the  mouth  of  the  Red  Sea  to  the  Bay  of  Bengal),  an 
intelligent   Greek   merchant    who  visited  India   probably   about  KoShcri*  ° 

3  " 


'■■■''fiff  tP^firriTiirtrttii-W-' 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Korkai. 


Chapter  I.  A.D.  80.  It  is  mentioned  also  by  Ptolemy  the  Geographer 
A.D.  130.  By  these  it  is  called  "  Kolkhoi  emporium."  It  is 
one  of  the  very  few  places  in  India  found  in  the  ancient  series  of 
maps  called  from  the  name  of  their  discoverer  the  Peutinger  Tables. 
The  date  of  these  tables  is  unknown,  but  on  examining  the  Asian 
segments,  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  author  could  not  have 
had  any  acquaintance  with  Ptolemy,  and  that  therefore  probably 
he  lived  at  an  earlier  period.  Some  of  the  European  segments 
seemed  to  me  to  belong  to  (or  to  have  been  brought  down  to)  a 
later  date.  Both  the  author  of  the  Periplus  and  Ptolemy  agree  in 
representing  Kolkhoi  as  the  headquarters  of  the  pearl  fishery  at 
that  time  and  as  included  in  the  dominions  of  king  Pandion. 
Ptolemy  places  it  immediately  to  the  north  of  the  River  Solen.  It 
was  the  first  port  visited  by  the  Greeks  after  rounding  Cape 
Comorin  and  the  fir.st  place  on  the  Tinnevelly  coast  whose  name 
was  recorded  by  them.  The  Gulf  of  Manaar  was  called  by  them 
from  the  name  of  this  place  the  Colkhic  Gulf,  from  which  it  may 
be  included  that  Kolkhoi  was  considered  by  them  a  place  of  much 
importance.  It  is  called  in  the  Peutinger  Tables  Colcis  Indorum, 
the  Colcis  of  the  Indians,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  better  known 
Colchis  on  the  Black  Sea.  The  Tamil  name  of  the  place  is  almost 
identical  with  the  Greek.  It  is  Kolkai,  and  though  this  is  now 
euphonically  pronounced  Korkai,  through  the  necessary  change  of 
/  into  r  before  k,  yet  it  is  still  pronounced  Kolkai  on  the  western 
coast,  and  I  have  found  it  written  Kolkai  in  an  old  Tamil  inscription 
in  the  temple  at  Tiruchendur.  This  place  is  now  three  or  four 
miles  inland,  but  there  are  abundant  traces  of  its  having  stood  at 
one  time  in  the  sea  coast  and  of  having  at  a  previous  period  been 
under  the  sea.  I  have  found  the  tradition  that  it  was  once  the 
centre  of  the  pearl  trade  and  the  principal  seat  of  civil  government 
in  the  south  still  surviving  amongst  people  in  the  neighbourhood. 
Afer  the  sea  had  retired  from  Kolkhoi,  in  consequence  of  the 
gradual  elevation  of  the  line  of  coast,  a  new  emporium  arose 
between  it  and  the  sea,  which  acquired  groat  celebrity  during  the 
middle  ages.  This  was  Kayal,  a  place  to  which  I  shall  presently 
refer.  This  identification  of  Kolchoi  with  Kolkai  is  one  of  much 
importance,  because,  being  perfectly  certain,  it  helps  forward 
other  identifications.  Kol  in  Tamil  means  to  slay,  kai,  hand  or 
arm.  Kolkai  therefore  would  seem  to  moan  the  hand  or  arm  of 
slaughter,  which  is  said  to  be  an  old  poetical  name  for  an  army,  a 
camp,  the  first  instrument  of  government  in  a  rude  age.  Kai  is 
capable  also  of  meaning  place,  e.g.,  Poti-kai,  place  of  concealment, 
the  name  of  the  mountain  from  which  the  river  of  Korkai  takes 
its  rise.  Compare  the  name  Coleroon,  properly  Kollidam,  the  place 
of  slaughter.     It   is   worthy  of  notice  that  in   so  far   as  the   two 


Importnnco 
of  this 
i'1'iitiGcation 


EARLIES1     PERIOD. 


10 


words  included  in  the  name  of  Kolkai  are  concerned,  the  Tamil   Chapter  I. 
language  does  not  seem  to  have  altered  from  that  day  to  this. 
The  junction  of  the  words  has  been  euphonised  by  Sandhi,  but  the 
words  themselves  remain  the  same. 

The  line  of  coast  including  South  Tinnevelly  and  South 
Travancore  was  called  Paralia,  by  the  author  of  the  Periplus.  It 
commenced  at  what  they  called  "  the  red  cliffs  "  south  of  Quilon, 
and  included  not  only  Cape  Comorin,  but  also  Korkai.  Paralia  is 
the  Greek  word  for  coast  ;  it  does  not  appear  to  me  to  be  the 
Greek  mode  of  writing  a  native  name,  for  Ptolemy  mentions 
several  Paralias.  The  coast  mentioned  by  this  name  included 
Ptolemy's  country  of  the  Aii,  South  Travancore,  and  that  of  the 
Kare'i,  South  Tinnevelly.  The  Kare'i  of  the  one  writer  inhabited 
the  Paralia  of  the  other.  Karai  in  Tamil  means  a  coast,  from  the 
verbal  root  karai,  to  be  melted  down,  to  be  washed  away,  and  is 
obviously  identical  in  meaning  with  the  Greek  Paralia.  It  is 
worthy  of  notice  that  up  to  the  present  time  several  portions  of 
the  Tinnevelly  coast  are  called  Karaichuttru,  the  coast  circuit, 
whilst  a  caste  of  fishermen  farther  north  are  called  Karaiyar, 
coast  people.  This  Tamil  word  for  coast  occurs  in  the  names  of 
several  places  mentioned  by  Ptolemy,  though  the  places 
themselves  have  not  been  identified,  e.g.,  Peringkarai.  If  this 
name  had  been  written  Perung  instead  of  Pering,  it  would  have 
been  identical,  letter  for  letter,  with  the  Tamil  of  the  present 
time.     The  meaning  would  have  been  "  great-shore." 

Cape  Comorin  as  known  to  the  Greeks. 

Cape  Comorin  is  not  now  in  Tinnevelly,  but  in  Travancore,  but  Description  of 
as  it  originally  belonged  to  Tinnevelly,  being  the  southern  extre-  Sf?JeCJJri"n 
mity  of  the  Pandya  country,  and  as  it  is  so  near  the  Tinnevelly  plus, 
boundary  and  is  so  celebrated  a  place,  it  seems  desirable  that  I 
shoidd  mention  here  what  is  said  about  it  by  the  Greeks.  It  is 
called  Komaria  Akron,  Cape  Komaria,  by  Ptolemy,  and  Komarei 
or  simply  Komar  by  the  author  of  the  Periplus.  The  latter  says, 
"  After  Bakare  occurs  the  mountain  called  Pyrrhos  (or  the  Red) 
towards  the  south,  near  another  district  of  the  country  called 
Paralia  (where  the  pearl-fisheries  are  which  belong  to  kingPandion), 
and  a  city  of  the  name  of  Kolkhoi.  In  this  tract  the  first  place 
met  with  is  called  Balita,  which  has  a  good  harbour  and  a  village 
on  its  shore.  Next  to  this  is  another  place  called  Komar,  where 
is  the  cape  of  the  same  name  and  a  haven.  Those  who  wish  to 
consecrate  the  closing  part  of  their  lives  to  religion  come  hither 
and  bathe  and  engage  themselves  to  celibacy.  This  is  also  done 
by  women ;  since  it  is  related  that  the  goddess  once  on  a  time 
resided  at  the  place  and  bathed.     From   Komarei  towards   the 


rs-J-j+aret.  fr,  ,ifi:  y  ft'M'iWl 


20 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEYELLY. 


Kumari  or 
Kumari  in 
Indian  lite- 
rature. 


Chapter  I.  south  the  country  extends  as  far  as  Kolkhoi,  where  the  fishing  for 
pearls  is  earned  on.  Condemned  criminals  are  employed  in  this 
service.  King  Pandion  is  the  owner  of  the  fisher}'.  To  Kolkhoi 
succeeds  another  coast  lying  along  a  gulf  having  a  district  in  the 
interior  bearing  the  name  of  Argalon.  In  this  single  place  are 
obtained  the  pearls  collected  near  the  island  of  Epiodoros." 

When  the  writer  says  "it  is  related  "  that  the  goddess  used  to 
bathe  there  it  seems  to  be  implied  that  he  had  heard  of  the  existence 
of  some  written  statement  to  this  effect.  Probably  however  he  only 
meant  that  a  tradition  to  that  effect  was  in  existence  and  was 
believed.  This  monthly  bathing  in  honour  of  the  goddess  Durga, 
called  also  Kumari,  is  still  continued  at  Cape  Comorin,  but  is  not 
practised  to  the  same  extent  as  in  former  times. 

The  place  has  derived  its  name  from  the  Sanskrit  Kumari,  a 
virgin,  one  of  the  names  of  the  goddess  Durga,  the  presiding 
divinity  of  the  place,  but  the  shape  which  this  word  has  taken  is, 
especially  in  Komar,  distinctively  Tamilian.  In  ordinary  Tamil 
Kumari  becomes  Kumari ;  and  in  the  vulgar  dialect  of  the  people 
residing  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Cape  a  virgin  is  neither 
Kumari  nor  Kumari,  but  Kumar,  pronounced  Komar.  It  is 
remarkable  that  this  vulgar  corruption  of  the  Sanskrit  is  identical 
with  the  name  given  to  the  place  by  the  author  of  the  Periplus  .  .  . 
Through  the  continued  encroachments  of  the  sea,  the  harbour  the 
Greek  mariners  found  at  Cape  Comorin  has  completely  disappeared  ; 
but  a  fresh  water  well  remains  in  the  centre  of  a  rock,  a  little  way 
out  at  sea. 

Kumari  in  Tamil,  Kumari  in  Sanskrit,  is  regarded  by  Puranic 
writers  as  the  name  of  a  river,  one  of  the  seven  great  sacred  rivers 
of  India.  The  southern  portion  of  the  peninsula  is  called  by  the 
same  name.  It  is  said  to  be  so  called  after  the  name  of  Kumari, 
a  daughter  of  Bharata,  the  first  Emperor  of  India,  who  was  made 
by  her  father  queen  of  the  south.  The  Pandya  king  is  called 
Kumari  (s)-serppan,  lord  of  the  Kumari  shore,  because  to  him  the 
lands  lying  along  the  banks  of  the  Kumari  belonged.  It  might  be 
supposed  that  by  the  Kumari  river  the  TamraparnI  was  meant, 
but  this  cannot  have  been  the  case,  for  the  name  Kumari  is  not 
ncluded  in  the  classical  list  of  the  names  of  this  river.  The  Native 
tradition  is  to  the  effect  that  there  was  originally  a  river  at  Cape 
Knman  not  a  Comorin,  a  real  river — a  sacred  river  where  people  went  to  bathe, — 

river    but  n, 

place' on  tho  but  that  this  river  has  been  swallowed  up  by  the  sea.  This  might 
perhaps  have  been  believed,  had  it  not  been  for  the  explicit  state- 
ment contained  in  the  Periplus.  No  Native  tradition  goes  back 
so  far  or  possesses  anything  liko  such  weight  as  this  statement  of 
an  intelligent  Greek.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  in  ancient 
times,  as  now,  it  was  in  the  sea,  not  in  a  river,  that  people  bathed. 


sea  coast. 


EARLIEST    PERIOD. 


21 


Besides  this,  the  title  given  to  the  Pandya  king  witnesses  against  Chapter  I. 
this  idea,  for  serppu  denotes  a  coast  of  the  sea,  not  the  banks  of  a 
river.  Knniari(s)-serppan  means  therefore  lord  of  the  Kumari  sea- 
coast.  It  is  certain  also,  that  the  Kumari  in  whose  honor  people 
bathed  at  Cape  Comorin  was  not  king  Bharata's  daughter,  but  the 
goddess  Durga,  also  called  Kumari,  whose  special  name  at  Cape 
Comorin  is  BhagavatI,  This  little  episode  about  Cape  Comorin 
shows  how  little  reliance  is  to  be  placed  on  Native  traditions,  when 
not  corroborated  by  information  derived  from  independent  sources. 


Paumben  as  known  to  the  Greeks. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  that  I  should  mention  what  the  Kory  identi- 
fied V  " 
Koti. 


Greeks  said  of  Paumben,  the  island  on  which  the  celebrated  temple  fi 


of  Ramesvarani  stands,  though  that  place  like  Cape  Comorin 
lies  beyond  the  boundary  of  Tinnevelly.  Cape  Comorin  is  in 
Travancore  ;  Paumben  in  the  zemindari  of  Ramnad  and  district 
of  Madura.  Ptolemy  describes  a  place  called  Kory  as  an  island  in 
the  Argalic  Gulf  or  Palk  Strait.  Elsewhere  he  describes  it  as  a 
cape,  and  correctly,  for  it  was  both,  if  it  is  to  be  identified,  as  I  have 
no  doubt  it  is,  with  Paumben,  a  long  narrow  island  terminating  in 
a  long  spit  of  sand.  The  entire  bay  between  Point  Calymere  and 
the  island  of  Paumben  is  called  poetically  Rama's  bow,  and  each 
end  is  called  Dhanush  koti,  the  tip  of  the  bow  or  simply  koti  (in 
Tamil  kodi)  the  tip,  end,  or  corner.  The  most  celebrated  of  these 
kotis  was  that  at  Ramesvaram,  at  the  extremity  of  Paumben,  and 
this  word  koti  would  naturally  take  the  shape,  especially  when 
pronounced  by  foreigners,  of  Kori.  The  ease  with  which  this 
change  might  take  place  is  shown  by  the  circumstance  that  this 
very  word  koti,  as  the  name  of  a  high  number,  is  written  and 
pronounced  crore.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  Portuguese,  without 
knowing  anything  of  the  Kory  of  the  Greeks,  called  the  same  spit 
of  land  Cape  Ramanacoru. 

The  island  of  Paumben,  "  snake-like,"  takes  its  name  from  the  The  Paumben 
channel  through  the  "  Adam's  Bridge  "  reef,  formerly  tortuous,  channel- 
though  now  straight,  by  which  ships  pass  from  the  Gulf  of  Manaar 
to  Palk  Strait  or  the  Bay  of  Tondi.  Ramesvaram,  the  name  of  the 
celebrated  temple  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  island,  means 
Rama's  Isvara,  Rama's  Lord,  that  is  Siva  recognised  and  worshipped 
by  Rama,  according  to  the  Saivas,  as  his  lord.  Isvara  at  the  end  of  a 
compound  generally  denotes  Siva.  A  name  identical  with  this  in 
meaning  is  Rama-natha,  Rama's  Lord,  the  first  part  of  Rama-natha- 
puram,  the  name  of  the  capital  of  the  Ramnad  (Rama-natha) 
Zemindari,  in  which  the  island  of  Paumben  is  included.  This 
recognition  of  Siva  by  Rama  is  supposed  to  have  been  made  on 
Rama's  return  from  Ceylon. 


&.FT)&&Xti!i£&J&ll&ii>^j*4 


22 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEYELLY. 


Identity  of 
Kolis  and 
Kory. 


Chapter  I.  In  the  various  Greek  and  Roman  geographical  works  prior  to 
the  time  of  Ptolemy,  the  name  Kolis  occupies  an  important 
place.  In  Ptolemy  Kolis  disappears  and  Kory,  a  name  pre- 
viously unknown,  comes  up  instead.  I  have  little  doubt  that 
Kolis  and  Kory  were  identical,  and  that  the  place  meant  by 
both  was  the  island  cape  of  Paumben  or  Ramesvaram.  This  appears 
from  the  circumstance  that  it  is  stated  by  Pliny  to  be  the 
promontory  of  India  which  was  nearest  Ceylon,  between  which  and 
it  there  was  only  a  shallow  sea.  As  it  was  regarded  also  as  the 
southernmost  point  of  India,  it  might  be  supposed  that  Cape 
Comorin  was  meant,  but  in  the  times  preceding  Ptolemy  Cape 
Comorin  was  not  known  to  be  a  cape.  Pomponious  Mela  described 
Kolis  as  an  "angle,"  a  meaning  which  corresponds  to  that  of  koti  in 
the  Indian  languages.  He  supposed  it  to  be  the  termination 
towards  the  east  of  the  southern  coast,  which  extended  according  to 
him  thus  far  nearly  due  east  from  the  Indus. 


Various  cities 

called 

Madura. 


"  The  Pandion"  and  Madura  as  known  to  the  Greeks. 

I  have  already  mentioned  that  the  Pandyan  king  was  called 
Pandion  by  the  Greeks.  They  called  the  people  also  Pandiones. 
In  this  they  were  correct,  for  the  people  have  always  been  called 
by  the  same  name  as  the  prince.  He  was  the  Pandi,  and  they 
the  Pandis.  Ptolemy's  name  for  Madura  is  Modoura,  described 
by  him  as  '  Basileion  Pandionis,'  the  royal  city  of  Pandion. 
Pliny  spells  the  name  Modura.  The  Sanskrit  mode  of  spelling 
this  name  is  Mathura.  It  is  called  the  Southern  Mathura  in 
Sanskrit,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  original  Mathura,  Krishna's 
birth-place  in  the  north-west,  called  Methora  by  the  earlier 
Greeks,  "the  Modoura  of  the  gods"  by  Ptolemy,  and  Muttra  by 
the  modern  English.  There  is  another  place,  of  the  same  name, 
Matura  in  the  south  of  Ceylon,  and  there  is  a  small  island  called 
Madura,  in  the  Eastern  Archipelago,  which  received  its  name  from 
Brahman  immigrants  from  India. 


Greek  trade 
with  the 
Tinnevclly 
Coast. 


Date  of  Greek  intercourse  with  Southern  India. 

The  arrival  in  India  of  the  Greek  merchants  from  whom 
Ptolemy  and  others  obtained  their  information  appears  to  have 
been  contemporaneous  with  the  conquest  of  Egypt  by  the 
Romans.  The  earliest  Roman  coins  found  in  India  are  those  of 
the  Emperor  Augustus.  A  large  number  of  Roman  Imperial 
aurci  (gold  coins)  were  found  some  years  ago  on  the  Malabar 
coast;  upwards  of  thirty  types  of  which,  commencing  with  the 
earlier  coins  of  Augustus  and  including  some  of  Nero,  were 
desoribed  by  me  in  a  paper  printed  at  Trevandrum  in  1851  by 
the   Slaharajft  of  Travancore,  to  whom  the  coins  belonged.     The 


EARLIEST    PERIOD;  -:>> 

Greek  word  for  rice,  '  oryza  '  dates  from  the  time,  whenever  that  Ohaptbb  I 
was,  when  rice  was  first  introduced  into  Europe,  and  it  cannot  be  pfcenician 
doubted  that  here  we  have  the  Tamil  word  '  an'si,'  rice  deprived  Trade, 
of  the  husk,  this  being  the  condition  in  which  then,  as  now,  rice 
was  exported.  Of  all  the  places  frequented  by  the  Greeks  the 
place  from  which  rice  was  most  likely  to  be  exported  to  Europe 
was  Kolkhoi,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tamraparni.  Prior  to  the  time 
of  the  Greeks  the  trade  with  India  was  mainly  in  the  hands  of  the 
Phenicians  and  Persians.  The  oldest  Tamil  word  found  in  any 
written  record  in  the  world  appears  to  be  the  word  for  peacock  in 
the  Hebrew  text  of  the  books  of  Kings  and  Chronicles,  in  the  list 
of  articles  of  merchandize  brought  fromOphir  (about  1000  B.C.)  in 
Solomon's  ships,  which  formed  a  portion  of  the  great  mercantile 
fleet  of  the  Phenicians.  The  old  Tamil  tbkai  becomes  in  Hebrew 
tilki.  The  oldest  Tamil  word  in  Greek  is  the  name  for  cinnamon 
learned  by  Ctesias  (about  400  B.C.)  from  the  Persians.  This  is 
karpion,  the  root  portion  of  which,  karpi,  is  no  doubt  identical 
with  the  Tamil-Malayalam  karuppu,  karppu,  or  karuva,  the 
common  name  of  cinnamon. 

I  cannot  quit  the  history  of  the  mercantile  intercourse  of  the  Courageous 
Greeks  with  Southern  India  without  mentioning  a  story  illustra-  Greek 
tive  of  their  courage  and  enterprise.  From  the  time  of  the  mariner. 
Phenicians  onwards  the  voyage  to  Ophir  had  taken  three  years, 
in  consequence  of  the  vessels  being  always  obliged  in  those  days, 
when  the  mariner's  compass  was  unknown,  to  hug  the  coast.  The 
voyage  from  the  mouth  of  the  Red  Sea  to  the  western  coast  of 
India,  though  not  so  long  as  this,  was  still  very  long  and  tedious. 
At  length  a  Grecian  mariner  called  Hippalus,  noticing  how 
steadily  the  south-west  monsoon  blew  for  many  months  together 
in  the  same  direction,  committed  himself  to  the  wind,  with  a 
courage  almost  equal  to  that  of  Columbus,  and  arrived  safely  on  the 
western  coast,  near  the  place  he  wished  to  reach.  The  rest  of  the 
seafaring  Greeks  gladly  followed  his  example,  and  in  comme- 
moration of  his  exploit  called  the  south-west  monsoon  the 
Hippalus. 

The  latest  Greek  who  interested  himself  in  Southern  India  was  Cosmas 
Cosmas  Indicopleustes,   who  in  A.D.  535,  in  his  book  entitled  Jengdicopleus* 
Christian  Topography,   mentions   many    interesting    particulars 
regarding  Ceylon    and  a    few  respecting  the   Malabar  coast,    or 
"  Male,  from  which  the  pepper  comes,"  but  unfortunately  says 
nothing  respecting  Tinnevelly  or  the  eastern  coast. 


-yaoett 


24  HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


CHAPTER    II. 

FROM  THE  COMMENCEMENT  OF  THE  RULE  OF  THE 
PANDYAS  TO  THE  PEEIOD  OF  THE  SUPREMACY  OF 
THE  VIJAYANAGAEA  KINGS. 


Boundaries  of  the  Pandya  Country. 

Chapter  II.  There  are  certain  geographical  stanzas  current  in  Tamil  which 
Geographical  give  the  boundaries  and  extent  of  the  three  Tamil  kingdoms — the 
stanzas.  Chera,  Chola,  and  Pandya.     These  stanzas  are  regarded  by  the 

Tamil  people  as  classical  and  authoritative.  According  to  the 
stanza  relating  to  the  Pandya  kingdom  its  boundaries  were  the 
river  Vellaru  to  the  north,  Kumari  (Cape  Comorin)  to  the  south, 
the  sea  (that  is  the  Gulf  of  Manaar  and  Palk  Strait  or  the  Bay  of 
boundary  of  Tondi)  to  the  east,  and  "  the  great  highway  "  to  the  west.  Of  these 
the  Pandya  boundaries  the  eastern,  viz.,  the  sea,  calls  for  no  remark.  The 
river  Vellaru,  which  is  represented  in  the  Pandya  stanza  as  the 
northern  boundary  of  the  Pandya  country,  is  also  represented  in 
the  Chola  stanza  as  the  southern  boundary  of  the  Chola  country. 
The  boundary  line  between  two  such  restless,  bellicose  nations  as 
the  Pandyas  and  Cholas  must  have  been  continually  shifting. 
We  know  indeed  that  at  one  time  the  whole  of  the  Pandya  country 
was  incorporated  into  the  Chola  country.  On  some  auspicious 
occasion,  however,  when  both  parties,  having  become  thoroughly 
exhausted  by  continuous  wars,  were  perhaps  cementing  peace  by 
a  marriage,  their  representatives  seem  to  have  been  able  to  agree 
in  fixing  on  the  Vellaru  as  their  common  boundary,  which 
settlement  having  been  arrived  at,  the  poets  of  both  sides  seem  to 
have  been  commissioned  to  perpetuate  the  remembrance  of  the 
boundary  in  verse.  The  Vellaru,  adopted  as  their  common  bound- 
ary, is  not  the  Vellaru  which  falls  into  the  sea  near  Porto  Novo, 
for  this  would  exclude  the  Cholas  from  Tan j  ore,  the  most  valuable 
portion  of  their  dominions.  The  Vellaru,  referred  to  rises  in  the 
hills  near  Marungapuri  in  the  Trichinopoly  District,  takes  a  south- 
easterly course  through  the  Native  state  of  Puducotta,  and  falls 
into  the  sea  in  Palk  Strait,  south  of  Point  Calymere.  This 
identification  of  the  Vellaru  is  confirmed  by  the  circumstance  that 
it  was  an  old  custom  prevalent  amongst  the  Nattukkottai  Chetties 
that  their  women  should  never  be  allowed  to  cross  the  Vellaru,  it 
beiug  considered  an  act  of  bad  omen  for  women  to  cross  boundaries. 


EARLY    HINDI      PERIOD.  25 

According  to  this  identification,  Trichinopoly  belonged  to  the  Chapter  ji. 
Cholas,  not  to  the  Pandyas,  which  was  doubtless  the  case  in  early 
times,  Uraiyur,  near  Trichinopoly  (the  Orthoura  of  Ptolemy), 
having  been  the  ancient  Chola  capital.  It  was  during  the 
Nayaka  period  that  Trichinopoly  became  a  portion  of  the  domi- 
nions of  the  kings  of  Madura.  Trichinopoly,  indeed,  not  Madura, 
was  regarded  by  the  later  Nayaks  as  their  capital.  The  southern  The  southern 
boundary  of  the  Pandyas  was  Cape  Comorin.  The  western  boundaries. 
boundary  of  the  Pandyas,  that  is,  the  most  westerly  point  their 
dominions  reached  at  the  time  the  stanza  was  written,  is  called 
Peruvali,  the  great  highway.  In  another  stanza  the  same  way  is 
called  Valuti-kal,1  that  is,  "  the  Pandya  king's  way."  This  was 
the  pass  leading  into  Travancore  through  the  hills  near  Courtallum. 
The  particular  pass  referred  to  was  the  Achchan-kovil  pass.  In 
later  times  this  pass  came  to  be  less  frequented,  and  the  principal 
pass  through  those  hills  now  is  that  at  Ariyankavu.  According 
to  this,  the  whole  of  Nanji-nadu,  the  district  in  South  Travancore 
lying  to  the  north-west  of  Cape  Comorin,  would  fall  within  the 
Pandya  boundary.  The  entrance  to  the  Achchan-kovil  pass  is 
further  to  the  west  even  than  the  town  called  Travancore,  the  little 
town  from  which  the  kingdom  of  Travancore  takes  its  name.  The 
accuracy  of  this  representation  is  confirmed  by  all  the  Nanji-nadu 
inscriptions. 

The  Cholas  and   Pandyas  agreed  as  we  have  seen  in  adopt-  Boundary 
ing    a  common   boundary.       The  Cheras   and  Pandyas    do    not  cheras  and6 
seem  to  have  been  equally  inclined  to  agree,  for  whilst  the  Pandyas  tne  Pandyas. 
represented  the  Achchan-kovil  pass  as  their  western  boundary,  the 
Chera  stanza  represents  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  Cheras  to  be, 
not  the  Achchan-kovil  pass,  but  Tenkasi.     This  would  make  over 
to   Travancore   a  considerable  slice  of  the   Tinnevelly   Taluk  of 
Tenkasi,  including  Courtallum    itself.     It   is  quite  possible  that 
Tenkasi  may  at  some  time  or  another  have  come  into  the  possession 
of  Travancore,  but  inscriptions  prove  that  in  the   loth   and  16th 
centuries  at  least  it  belonged  to  the  Pandyas.     The   adoption  of 
Tenkasi,  instead  of  the  Achchan-kovil  pass,  as  the  most  westerly 
point  of  the  Pandya  dominions,   would  save  to  Travancore   the 
ancestral  town  of  the  dynasty,  Travancore  itself,  but  Nanji-nadu 

would  remain  a  portion  of  the  Pandya  country  as  before.     Another  The  Shen- 

kotta 


1  Vakiti  is  a  poetical  name  for  the  Pandya  king  ;  kal  means  a  way.  Achchan- 
kovil  is  the  temple  of  Achchan,  that  is,  of  Appan,  father.  The  father  referred  to  is 
Siva.  It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  the  use  of  Achchan  for  Appan  is  given  by  the 
classical  Tamil  grammars  as  an  illustration  of  the  Tamil  of  the  Kuda-nadu,  the 
western  country,  that  is,  Travancore.  Ariyan-kavu  means  Aryan's  guard.  Aryan, 
or  Arva.  that  is,  Hari-hara-putra,  the  common  Tamil  equivalent  of  whose  name  is 
Aiyanar,  is  supposed  to  be  guardian  of  boundaries.  Kavu  is  the  Malayalam 
equivalent  of  the  Tamil  kaval,  guard. 

4 


boundary. 


26  HISTORY    OF   TINNEVELLY. 

Chapter  II.  Chera  stanza  makes  Shenkotta  the  western  boundary  of  the  Cheras. 
This  is  almost  exactly  in  accordance  with  the  present  arrangement. 
The  boundary  between  Tinnevelly  and  Travancore  passes  at 
present,  I  believe,  through  the  town  of  Shenkotta.  Formerly  it 
lay  a  little  to  the  eastward,  so  that  the  whole  of  the  town  belonged 
to  Travancore.  What  is  called  the  Taluk  of  Shenkotta,  that  is, 
the  district  between  Shenkotta  and  the  hills,  appears  to  have 
belonged  originally  to  the  Pandyas,  but  has  been  a  portion  of 
Travancore  for  centuries.  It  was  held  for  some  time  of  the  Nawab 
of  Arcot  by  the  Raja  of  Travancore  (see  Appendix),  but  was  finally 
incorporated  with  Travancore  in  1809.  Shenkotta  lies  about  due 
south  of  the  Achchan-kovil  pass,  so  that  it  would  be  equally 
suitable  to  be  regarded  as  the  most  westerly  point  of  the  Pandya 
country. 

The  extent,  that  is,  the  area,  of  each  of  the  three  countries  is 
represented  in  the  various  stanzas  as  follows :  the  Chera  country 
800  miles ;  Chola  240  ;  Pandya  560. 

Pandya  Kings. 

Names  of  the      The  existence  of  a  Pandya  kingdom  and  dynasty  can  be  traced 

Sn~sun-aya  back,  as  we  have  seen,  several  centuries  before  the  Christian  era  by 

known.  means  of  the  Asoka  inscriptions  and  the  notices  contained  in  the 

Maha-wanso,  the  Maha-bharata,  and  the  writings  of  Megasthenes. 

The  existence  of  the  dynasty,  however,  is  all  that  can  be  concluded 

with  certainty  from  these  notices ;   no  name  of   any  king  has 

survived.     We  learn  from  the  Greek  geographers  who  wrote  after 

the  Christian  era  that  the  Pandya  dynasty  not  only  survived  till 

their  time,  but  rose  to   special   importance  amongst   the   Indian 

Indian  refer-  states,  but  still  no  name  of  any  Pandya  king  appears.     The  next 

Pandyas* ie    authentic  reference  to  the  Pandyas  after  the  visit  of  the  Greeks 

and  before  the  composition  of  the  Maha-wanso,  is  that  which  is 

contained  in  the  Brihat-samhita,  one  of  the  astronomical,  or  rather 

astrological,  works  of  Varaha-mihira,  an  Indian  astronomer  who 

lived  in  A.D.  404.  (See  Dr.  Kern's  Translation  in  Journal  of  Royal 

Asiatic  Society.)     He  mentions  incidentally  "  the  Pandya  king," 

the  river  Tamraparni,  and  the  chank  and  pearl  fisheries.     When 

the  Dravidas  are  mentioned  as  distinct  from  the  Cholas,  as  they 

Lists  of  sometimes  are  in  the  Maha-bharata  and  the  Puranas,  the  Pandyas 

SSSj.""8*  must  be  meant.     I  should  be  delighted  to  be  able  to  supplement  the 

worthy.  deficiencies  of   the  Greeks  and  the   early    Indian   authorities  by 

supplying  a  list  of  the  Pandya  kings  from  Pandyan  sources,  but  I 

regret  to  say  that  I  can  place  no  oonfidenoe  whatever  in  the  lists  of 

Pandya  kings  furnished  by  local  poets  and  panegyrists.     I  should 

be  happy   to   avail    myself   of   any   information   respecting   the 

Pa n<h;i    and  their  affairs  coming  Erom  tlir  outside,  but  T  believe 


i   \KI.\     HINDI      PERIOD.  2( 

it  is  the  greatest  possible  error  to  trust  to  home-made  lists  of  Chapter  II. 
kings,  in  the  absence  of  reliable  contemporary  information  from 
coins  and  inscriptions.  Any  person  who  is  curious  on  the  subject 
may  consult  Professor  Wilson's  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Kingdom. 
of  Pandya  and  the  Abstract  of  the  Madura  Sthala  Purana  con- 
tained in  Nelson's  Madura  Manual  (Part  II,  p.  8),  together  with 
its  lists  of  kings  from  Kulasekhara,  the  supposed  founder  of  the 
djmasty,  to  the  last  Pandya,  Kubja  or  Sundara.  A  very  cursory 
perusal  of  that  composition  will  show  that  its  contents  are  almost 
entirely  mythical.  There  is  a  Tamil  version  of  the  Madura  Lists  of  the 
Purana,  called  the  Tiruvilaiyadal  Purana,  which  is  still  fuller  than  Madurai>ura. 
the  original  of  incredible  marvels.  This  translation  is  said  to 
have  been  made  at  the  request  of  the  poet-king  Ati-vira-rama 
Pandya,  and  if  so,  this  must  have  been  some  time  towards  the  end 
of  the  16th  century  A.D.  I  do  not  mean  to  assert  that  the  names 
of  all  the  kings  in  the  Madura  lists  are  to  be  regarded  as  purely 
inventions  of  later  times.  I  mean  only  that  until  they  have  been 
verified  by  inscriptions,  which  has  not  yet  been  the  case,  they  are 
of  no  conceivable  historical  value.  For  the  present  they  must 
take  rank,  I  fear,  with  the  long  roll  of  pre-Christian  Caledonian 
kings,  whose  pictures  ornament  the  walls  in  Holyrood  Palace, 
Edinburgh.  It  seems  better,  therefore,  that  I  should  leave  those 
lists  for  the  present  unnoticed.  One  name  only  in  those  lists  has 
hitherto,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  been  authenticated  by  a  coin  ;  that 
is  Samara  Kolahala  (din  of  war,  a  title,  rather  than  a  name),  which 
I  found  on  a  coin  belonging  to  Sir  Walter  Elliot.  The  date, 
however,  is  unknown ;  this  is  a  department  of  research  in  which 
very  little  has  yet  been  done. 

The  names  of  the  two  last  Pandya  kings  belonging  to  the  Two  last 
/  original  line  of  Pandyas  appear  in  an  inscription,  as  I  learn  from  nam^  d 
Dr.  Burnell,  at  Chillambaram  (Chidambaram).  These  are 
Vikrama  Pandya  and  his  son  Vlra  Pandya.  This  Vlra  Pandya 
was  conquered  by  Rajendra  Chola  (called  also  Vlra  Chola  and 
Kopparakesari  Varma).  As  we  know  that  this  event  happened  in 
1064,  we  now  know  also  that  the  two  reigns  of  Vikrama  Pandya 
and  Vlra  Pandya  preceded  that  date,  and  therefore  that  they 
preceded  the  Chola  occupation  of  the  Pandya  country.  Many 
Pandya  kings  seem  to  have  borne  this  name  of  Vlra,  but  probably 
one  of  them  was  more  famed  than  the  rest,  for  we  find  the  name 
given  to  various  villages  in  the  records,  e.g.,  Vira-Pandya-patta- 
nam  and  Vlra-Pandya-puram.  It  will  be  seen  also  that  there  was 
a  '  measuring  rod  of  Vlra  Pandya  '  used  in  subsequent  reigns. 

The  Ch5la  Occupation. 

The  occupation  of  the  entire  Pandya  country  by  the  Cholas  is  Rajendra 
not  even  alluded  to  in  the  Madura  Purana,  nor  is  the  name  of  any  Chola. 


28  HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 

Chaptek  II.   of  the  Chola  kings  contained  in  the  Madura  lists.     This  could  not 
have  been  owing  to  the  Purana  having  been  composed  and  the 
lists  completed  before  the  Chola  occupation  commenced,  for  the 
last  king  in  the  lists,  Kubja  or  Sundara,  reigned  long  after,  proba- 
bly 200  years  after,  the  reign  of  the  first  Chola  who  ruled  over 
the  Pandya  kingdom,  Rajendra  Chola,  who  commenced  to  reign 
in  A.D.  1064.     It  is  uncertain  whether  Rajendra  Chola  gained 
the  sovereignty  of  the  Pandya  country  by  conquest  or  by  volun- 
tary cession,  but  I  think  it  could  not  have  been  by  conquest,  for  in 
Rajendra        two  inscriptions  belonging  to  his  reign  which   I  found  in   an  old 
vict' r S  v       temple  near  Cape  Comorin,  one  dated  in  the  fourth  year  of  his  reign, 
Ahava-Malla.  and  the  other  in  the  fifth,  a  victory  said  to  have  been  achieved  by 
him  over  Ahava-Malla  (a  Jaina  king  of  the  Chalukya  race)  on  the 
banks  of  the  Tunga-bhadra,  is  recorded.     I  conclude,   therefore, 
that  if  he  had  acquired  his  sovereignty  over  the   Pandyas   in   a 
similar  way  by  war  and  conquest,  the   fact  would  certainly  have 
been  mentioned.     If  some  person  living  in  the  Chola  country   had 
asserted  that  Rajendra  Chola  had  annexed  the   Pandya  country 
to  his  own  territories,  the  assertion  would  have  been  of   no  value, 
for  it  is  customary  for  every  petty  sovereign  in  India  to  be  repre- 
sented by  his  poets  and  panegyrists  as  having  conquered  all  his 
neighbours.     The  value  of  the  assertion,  however,   becomes  widely 
different  when  we  find  it  in  inscriptions  on  temples  in  the  conquered 
or  annexed  country  itself,  recorded  by  persons  who  must  formerly 
have  been  subjects  of  the  old  dynasty,  but  who  now  set  themselves 
to  glorify  the  new. 

It  is  a  remarkable  circumstance  that  the  remembrance  of 
the  Chola  occupation  of  the  Pandya  country  has  entirely  disap- 
peared from  the  minds  of  the  people.  I  have  never  }ret  met 
with  any  Native  who  had  even  heard  of  it.  Yet  it  is  a  fact 
respecting  which  there  cannot  be  the  smallest  shade  of  doubt. 
The  country  is  full  of  inscriptions  testifying  to  it.  Rajendra 
Chola  has  also  been  shown  by  inscriptions  to  have  reigned  over  the 
Kalinga  country,  or  Northern  Circars,  in  succession  to  the  eastern 
branch  of  the  Chalukyas.  I  have  found  inscriptions  in  Rajendra's 
reign  in  every  part  of  Tinnevelly,  and  also  as  far  as  Kottar  in 
South  Travancore,  which  was  at  that  time  considered  a  portion  of 
the  Pandya  country.  Generally  he  is  called  simply  Rajendra 
Chola,  but  in  one  inscription  the  names  of  both  dynasties  are 
combined,  in  a  manner  very  common  in  subsequent  reigns,  viz., 
Rajendra  Chola-Pandyan.  Ee  is  supposed  to  have  reigned  49 
years.  One  of  my  Tinnevelly  inscriptions  is  in  the  80th  year  of 
his  reign. 
Date  of  the  Some   traditions  represent  Kambar,  the  Tamil  poet,  as  publish- 

Tamil  jng   \x[s    celebrated    poelical    version    of   the    Ramayana    in    this 

reign,  others  as    publishing    il  in  the  reign   of  Rajendra's  successor 


EARLY    HINDU    PERIOD,  29 

Kulotunga  Chola.  Possibly  the  work  may  have  been  commenced  Chapter  II. 
in  the  former  reign  and  finished  in  the  latter.  Supposing  it  were 
possible  to  depend  with  certainty  on  either  of  the  above-mentioned 
traditions,  it  would  show  that  the  memorial  verse  prefixed  to 
Kambar's  Rimayana,  and  which  represents  it  as  having  been 
published  in  A.D.  886,  could  not  have  been  authentic,  this  date 
being  too  early  by  more  than  250  years.  Kambar  is  quoted  by  the 
Buddhist  Grammarian  Buddhamitra,  who  also  appears  to  have  lived 
in  Rajendra  Chola's  time — if  indeed  Vlra  Chola,  to  whom  the 
grammar  was  dedicated,  and  Rajendra  Chola  were  one  and  the 
same  person,  as  Dr.  Burnell  believed.  Rajendra  Chola's  name  is 
identified  with  that  of  Siva  in  an  inscription  at  Kottar  in  South 
Travancore.  The  temple  is  said  to  have  been  "  erected  by  Kulotunga 
Chola,  in  Kottar,  the  good  town  of  the  triple-crowned  Chola,  to 
the  great  divinity  Rajendra  Cholesvara,"  that  is,  either  to 
Rajendra  Chola  considered  as  identified  with  Siva,  or  rather 
probably  to  Siva  as  worshipped  by  Rajendra  Chola.1 

I  found  several  records  of  gifts  in  this  and  other  temples  in  the  Temple  to 
south  dedicated  to   Rajendra  Chola,  one  of  which  was  by  Sundara  ^jendra 
Pandya,  a  clear  proof  that,  Sundara  Pandya   lived,    not    before 
Rajendra  Chola,  but  after,  and  therefore  that  as  Sundara  Pandya's 
name  is  in  the  Madura  list  of  kings,  the  names  of  Rajendra  Chola 
and  his  Chola  successors  ought  to  have  been  there  also. 

Kulotunga  Chola  appears  from  Chalukya  inscriptions  to  have  Kulotunga 
succeeded  Rajendra  in  A.D.  1112.  Dr.  Burnell  places  the  com-  oa' 
mencement  of  his  reign  in  1128.  He  also  must  have  had  a  long 
reign,  as  I  have  an  inscription  of  his  dated  in  the  44th  year  of  his 
reign.  The  Chola  or  Chola- Pandya  kings  that  followed  appear  to 
have  been  Karikala  Chola,  Vlra  Chola,  Yikrama  Chola.  Each  of 
these  is  in  some  inscriptions  styled  Chola- Pandya.  I  have  found 
nothing  which  throws  any  light  on  their  date,  except  that  they  were 
all  posterior  to  Rajendra  Chola  and  that  they  all  lived  before 
Sundara  Pandya,  the  last  king  of  the  old  Pandya  line. 

Karikala  Chola's  name  occupies  an  important  place  in  Chola  Karikala 
traditions  in  connection  with  the  life  of  Ramanuja,  the  great 
Vaishnava  teacher,  but  it  is  uncertain  whether  the  Karikala  Chola 
mentioned  in  Tinnevelly  inscriptions  is  the  same  person  or  another 
person  of  the  same  name.  Dr.  Burnell  places  the  Karikala  Chola 
of  Tanjore  somewhere  about  950  A.D.  This  would  be  too  early 
for  any  successor  of  Kulotunga  Chola,  as  the  Karikala  of  Tinnevelly 
seems  to  have  been.     It  is  also  too  early  for  the  date  of  the  Kari- 


1  Compare  the  Roimn  title,  Divus  Augustus,  that  is,  Augustus  regarded  as  deified 
after  his  death.     A  parallel  case   is   that  of    RamgSwara   or   R&man&tha,    Siva  as 
worshipped  by  Rama.     T  am  acquainted  with   a  temple  in   which   Siva  is   called 
lyesvara,  that  i>.  Siva  as  worshipped  by  th>'  Pandyas. 


30 


BISTORT    01     I  IVNKVEI.I.Y. 


Chapter  II. 


Ramanuja's 
date. 


Vishnu 

Varddhana's 

conversion. 


Kulasekhara 
Deva. 


Singhalese 
accounts. 


kala  Chola  by  whom  Ramanuja  was  persecuted.  Ranianuja  is  said 
to  have  fled  from  Karikala's  persecutions  to  the  Court  of  Bitti 
Deva,  the  Ballala  kiug  of  Dwara-samudra,  whom  he  converted 
from  the  Jaina  to  the  Vaishnava  faith.  The  king  on  his  conversion 
took  the  new  name  of  Vishnu  Varddhana,  and  this  event  has  always 
been  placed  in  the  beginning  of  the  12th  century.  Rice  in  his 
Mysore  inscriptions  places  it  in  A.D.  1117.  This  is  one  of  the  most 
important  eras  in  South  Indian  history,  as  it  gives  us  a  date  on 
which  we  can  depend,  and  from  which  we  can  calculate  backwards 
and  forwards.  For  instance,  as  Kambar,  the  author  of  the  Tamil 
poetical  version  of  the  Ramayana,  refers  to  Ramanuja  by  name  in 
his  Sadagopar  Antadi,  we  learn  that  Kambar's  date  must  have 
been  subsequent  to  A.D.  1100,  not  A.D.  886,  as  a  certain  verse 
prefixed  to  the  Tamil  Ramayana  states.  There  seems  no  room  for  a 
Karikala  Chola  in  the  Chola  country  in  the  beginning  of  the  12th 
century.  The  ground  seems  preoccupied  by  Vlra  or  Rajendra 
Chola,  Vikrama  Chola,  and  Kulotunga  Chola,  but  there  may  have 
been  a  local  prince  of  the  name,  an  ardent  Saiva,  between  Rajen- 
dra's  death  and  Kulotunga's  accession.  Anyhow  it  is  not  a  matter 
of  much  importance,  for  it  is  only  tradition  which  gives  the  name 
of  Ramanuja's  persecutor  as  Karikala  Chola,  whereas  the  date  of 
Vishnu  Varddhana's  conversion  rests  on  the  evidence  of  inscriptions. 
There  seems  reason  for  placing  at  this  period  in  this  list  of 
Chola-Pandya  kings  a  king  called  Kulasekhara  Deva,  who  may 
possibly  be  the  Kales  Dewar,  who,  according  to  the  Muhammadan 
historians,  immediately  preceded  Sundara  Pandya,  and  was  indeed, 
according  to  them,  his  father.  I  have  seen  many  of  Kulasekhara' 8 
inscriptions  in  Tinnevelly ;  there  is  one  on  the  walls  of  the  Tinne- 
velly  Temple.  There  are  also  two  in  Sir  Walter  Elliot's  collection, 
which  were  found  at  Tiruppuvanam  in  the  Madura  District,  but  in 
none  is  he  styled  either  Chola  or  Pandya,  but  always  simply 
Kulasekhara  Deva.  It  is  uncertain  whether  there  were  two  princes 
of  the  name  or  only  one.  One  person  of  the  name  is  represented 
by  the  Singhalese  as  having  been  conquered  by  thorn  about  A.D. 
1173,  another  as  having  conquered  them  and  earned  away  the 
sacred  tooth-relic  about  A.D.  1310.  The  impression  however  is 
left  on  my  mind  that  a  confusion  of  dates  has  taken  place  in  the 
Singhalese  records,  and  that  there  was  only  one  prince  of  this  name, 
who  must  have  been  a  great  prince  ruling  over  a  wide  extent  of 
territory,  seeing  that  Sir  Walter  Elliot  found  an  inscription  of  his 
in  the  Chalukya  country.  If  Kulasekhara  Deva  is  to  be  placed  in 
tie'  list  of  Chola- l'iindyas,  it  will  be  neoessary  to  give  a  still  earlier 
place  to  a  Vlra  Pandya,  one  of  the  many  prinoes  who  seem  to  have 
been  called  by  that  name.  In  an  inscription  of  Kulasekharars 
mention  is  made  of  the  use  in  the  measurement  of  land  of  '  Vlra- 
Pandya's  measuring  rod.'      i  liis  makes  Vlra   anterior  to   Kulase- 


EARLY    HINDI'    PERIOD.  31 

khara,  probably  for  a  generation   or  two  ;  but  whether  he  was  a  Chapter  II. 
Chola- Pandya  or  the   last   member  of  the  old  line  of  Pandyas 
preceding  Rajendra  Chola,  is  at  present  uncertain. 

The  ChSla-Panoyas. 

Dr.  Burnell  has  kindly  supplied  me  with  the  information  he  has  Dr.  Burnell's 
collected  in  Tan j ore  respecting  the  Chola-Pandya  dynasty.  In  researches- 
most  particulars  it  agrees  with  the  information  I  have  derived  from 
Tinnevelly  and  Madura  sources,  and  the  discrepancies  that  exist 
may  be  accounted  for  by  the  supposition,  which  there  is  every 
reason  for  believing  to  be  well  founded,  that  the  Pandyas  of  the 
old  line,  the  Cholas,  and  the  Chola-Pandyas  were  rival  dynasties, 
each  of  which,  as  occasion  offered,  was  represented  by  its  adherents 
to  be  supreme. 

The  name  of  most  importance  at  this  period  is  that  of  Rajendra 
Chola,  and  I  am  happy  to  find  that  Dr.  Burnell's  date  coincides 
with  mine.  The  name  itself,  it  is  true,  appears  in  various  shapes 
in  his  inscriptions  as  Vira  Chola,  Kulotunga  Chola  (the  first), 
Raja-rajendra  Chola,  Rajaraja  Chola,  Narendra  Chola,  and  Raja- 
rajanarendra  Chola.  He  is  also  said  to  be  called  Koppakesari 
Varma.  [For  this  read  Ko(p)parakesari  Varma.  I  regard 
Parakesari  as  a  title,  '  lion  of  foreigners, '  rather  than  a  name.  I 
find  it  given  to  many  kings.  Ko  means  king.]  Dr.  Bm'nell  con- 
siders it  proved  by  the  inscriptions  at  Tan  j  ore  and  at  the  Varaka 
Svami  temple  at  Seven  Pagodas  that  one  person  only  was  meant 
by  all  these  titles,  viz.,  the  Rajendra  Chola  of  tradition  and  of  the 
Tinnevelly  inscriptions,  and  that  his  reign  extended,  as  I  have 
represented  it,  for  49  years  from  1064  to  1113. 

He  adds  the  following  particulars  respecting  this  prince,  Vira  or 
Rajendra  Chola  : — 

"His  Abhisheka  took  place  in  1079.  He  must  have  restored  Tan  j  ore,  Vira  Chola. 
which,  according  to  Al-BirunT,  was  in  ruins  at  the  beginning-  of  the 
11th  century.  This  fact  confirms  the  earlier  Chalukya  boasts  of 
conquest  and  was  certainly  owing  to  them.  He  seems  to  have  been 
a  great  patron  of  Brahmans  and  of  Saivism,  but  he  must  have  been 
liberal  to  Buddhists,  for  Buddhamitra,  the  author  of  a  Tamil  Grammar, 
called  his  work  Viracholiyam  after  him." 

The  next  name  in  the  list  is  that  of  Sundara  Pandya-Chola.  He  Sundara 
is  stated  to  have  been  Rajendra  Chola's  brother,  and  to  have  been  chol'Z*" 
established  by  him  on  the  throne  of  Madura.  If  so  he  must  have 
been  more  properly  regent  than  king.  Still,  I  find  an  undated 
inscription  in  Tinnevelly  in  the  reign  of  Sundara  Pandya-Chola, 
who  may  have  been  this  person,  though  I  rather  think  he  belonged 
to  a  later  period.  This  Sundara  Pandya-Chola's  real  name  was 
Gangaikkonda  Chola  or  Gangaikkoridan,  the  latter  form  of  which 
name  survives  as  tho  name  of  a  village — a  station  on  the  Tinnevelky 


82  HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 

Chapter  II.  line  of  rail.    He  took  the  name  of  Sundara  Pandya-Chola,  according 

to  an  inscription  in  Karuvur. 
Dr.  Burneii's      Dr.  Burnell  makes  Vikrama  Chola  Rajendra  Chola's  successor 
Choias.  f°r  fifteen  years,  and  places  next  to  him  Kulotunga  Chola  II,  the 

Kulotunga  Chola  whose  name  appears  so  often  in  Tinnevelly 
inscriptions.  He  makes  him  succeed  Vikrama  Chola  in  1128, 
which  gives  an  interval  of  fifteen  years  between  Rajendra's  death 
and  Kulotunga's  succession.  According  to  the  Chalukya  inscrip- 
tions, as  we  have  seen,  Eajendra  was  immediately  succeeded  by 
Kulotunga. 

Sundara  Pandya. 

Sources  of  We  have  more  information  supplied  to  us  respecting  Sundara 

information    Pandya  Deva  than  any  other  of  the  sovereigns  of  Madura.     We 
Pandya.  have  not  only  the  legendary  accounts  contained  in  two   Puranas, 

the  Sthala  Purana  of  Madura  and  tlie  Tiruttondar  Puranam  (or 
Puranam  of  Siva's  sacred  disciples),  but  also  accounts  which 
profess  to  be  historical  contained  in  the  Singhalese  annals  and  in 
the  Indian  histories  of  the  Muhammadan  historians  Wassaf, 
Rashiduddin,  and  Amir  Khusru.  We  have  also  notices  contained 
in  the  memoirs  of  Marco  Polo,  the  Venetian  traveller.  Notwith- 
standing this  apparent  wealth  of  information,  the  accounts  we 
have  received  are  inextricably  confused.  It  might  indeed  be 
supposed  (as  it  has  been)  that  there  were  several  Pandya  kings  of 
the  name,  but  this  theory  does  not  seem  to  me  to  be  in  accordance 
with  the  facts.  It  seems  to  me  that  there  could  only  have  been 
one  Sundara  Pandya  of  sufficient  eminence  to  have  the  place  in 
history  he  has  received  and  to  be  mentioned  as  a  reigning  sove- 
reign in  so  many  inscriptions,  and  that  what  we  have  got  to  do  is 
to  endeavour  to  extract  from  the  various  statements  we  have  before 
us  some  particulars  respecting  him  which  may  safely  be  accepted. 
Sundara  1.  It  would  appear  that  he  was  originally  a  Saiva,  that  lie  then 

p*n.dyil's  zcal  became  a  Jaina,  and  that  he  was  finally  reconverted  to  Saivism 
Juiuas.  by  the  miracles   performed    by  Grnana-sambandha,  a  great    Saiva 

teacher  belonging  to  the  Chola  country,  who  was  invited  to 
Madura  by  Sundara's  wife,  who  was  a  Chola  princess.  On  this 
occasion  he  is  said  to  have  impaled  eight  thousand  Jainas.  Before 
his  reconversion  to  Saivism  he  was  said  to  have  been  a  hunch-back, 
and  hence  called  Kubja  or  Kim,  but  on  his  reconversion  he  was 
straightened,  and  hence  his  name  is  said  to  have  been  changed  to 
Sundara,  the  beautiful.  I  find,  however,  from  inscriptions  that 
he  was  called  Sundara  from  the  commencement  of  his  reign. 
Probably  Kubja  or  Kun  was  merely  a  niok-name. 
Sundara  2.  He  seems  to  have  been  the  last  sovereign  of  the  old    line  of 

Pandya  the     Pandya  or  Chola-Pandya   kings.     Sis  name  Btands  last  in   every 
list  :  and  even  if  all  the  other  names,  or  most  of  them,  had   been 


EARLY    H1M)\     PERIOD. 


33 


inventions,  it  is  probable  that  the  last  name  would  be  historical.  Chapter  II. 
This  probability  is  converted  into  a  certainty  by  the  statements 
of  the  Muhammadan  historians,  who  show  that  on  Sundara's  death 
the  Madura  kingdom  fell  into  the  hands  of  Muhammadans.  In 
this  particular  all  native  traditions  are  in  conformity  with  the 
Muhammadan  statements.  Even  during  Sundara's  life  it  is  evident 
that  the  Muhammadans  had  been  rising  to  power.  Pashiduddin 
writes,  "  Within  the  last  few  years  (written  towards  1300)  Sender 
Bandi  was  Dewar,  who,  with  his  three  brothers,  obtained  power  in 
different  directions  and  Malic-al-Taki-uddin,  brother  of  Shaikh 
Jumaluddin,  was  his  minister  and  adviser,  to  whom  he  assigned 
the  government  of  Fatan,  Male  Fatan,  and  Kail."  Here,  it  will 
be  seen  we  have  Marco  Polo's  Sender  Bandi  Dewar  and  his 
brothers.  "  In  the  year  692  A.H.  (A.D.  1293)  the  Dewar  died 
and  his  wealth  and  possessions  fell  into  the  hands  of  his  adversaries 
and  opponents,  and  Shaikh  Jumaluddin,  who  succeeded  him, 
obtained,  it  is  said,  an  accession  of  700  bullock-loads  of  jewels," 
&c.  The  Persian  historian  Wassaf  gives  precisely  the  same  account. 
There  is  a  difference  only  as  to  Sundara's  successor.  According 
to  Wassaf  he  was  succeeded  by  his  brother.  This  discrepancy  is 
not  serious,  for  both  statements  may  in  a  measure  be  true,  and  the 
brother's  accession  may  have  been  merely  nominal,  the  minister 
being  really  ruler  as  before.  We  learn  from  an  inscription  in 
Nelson's  "  Madura  Manual  "  that  in  A.D.  1573  Virappa  Nayaka 
confirmed  a  grant  originally  made  by  Kun  Pandi,  that  is,  Sundara 
Pandya,  to  a  mosque  in  Madura,  from  which  it  appears  that 
Muhammadan  influences  must  have  been  at  work  at  Sundara's  Muhammadan 
court.     In    those    days   the    power  of    the    Muhammadans    was  "^uences  m 

. ,-,  ,  .  .  Sundara s 

extending  so  rapidly  on  every  hand  that  where  it  received  an  inch  reign. 
it  would  not  be  slow  in  taking  an  ell. 

Reasons  for  Scndara  Pandya's  Patronage  or  Muhammadans. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know,  however,  what  led  to  Sundara  Sundara's 
Pandya' s  falling  so  completely  into  Muhammadan  hands  that  he  brother.  13 
made  over  to  them  the  principal  places  in  his  kingdom  even  in 
his  lifetime.  A  reason  is  mentioned  by  Wassaf,  which  would 
certainly  be  an  adequate  reason,  if  it  could  be  accepted  as  histori- 
cally true.  The  difficulty  in  accepting  it  arises  from  a  discrepancy 
in  point  of  dates,  but  this  difficulty  would  be  removed  if  we 
supposed  Wassaf  to  have  misapprehended  his  dates,  whilst  he  was 
correct  in  regard  to  his  main  facts.  His  statements  are  very 
circumstantial  and  have  about  them  an  air  of  truth.  According 
to  him  Kales  Dewar  (probably  Kulasekhara  Deva)  had  two  sons, 
the  elder  of  whom,  Sundar  Pandi,  was  legitimate,  the  younger,  Vira 
Pandi,  was  illegitimate.     As  Vira  Pandi  was  remarkable  for  his 

5 


34  HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 

Chaptek  II.  shrewdness  and  courage  his  father  nominated  him  as  his  successor., 
which  so  enraged  Sundar  that  he  killed  his  father  and  placed  the 
crown  upon  his  head.     Upon  this  Vlra   collected  an  army  and 
gave  battle  to  Sundar.     At  first  Vlra  was  beaten  and  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  enemy ;  but  at  length  he  received  assistance  from 
Perumal,   the  son  of   the   daughter  of  Kulasekhara,   whereupon 
Sundar  fled  to  Delhi,  where  he  placed  himself  under  the  protec- 
tion  of   Alauddin.     Vlra   Pandi   thereupon,   the   historian  says, 
became   firmly   established   in     the   kingdom.      The   Singhalese 
annals  give  also  some  account  of  these  affairs,  and  both  accounts 
agree  in  leaving  Vlra    on   the   throne.     Seeing,    however,    that 
Sundara  Pandya's  name  is  the  last  on  the  list  of  the  genuine 
Pandya  kings,    and  that  he  was  immediately   succeeded  by  the 
Muhammadans,  I  conclude  that  Sundara  must  have  returned  from 
Sundara's        Delhi  with  a  force  of  Muhammadan  allies  sufficient  to  re-establish 
•ministers.        himself  on  the  throne  —and  sufficient  also  to  reduce  his  authority  to 
a  mere  cipher.     It*  would  appear  notwithstanding  this  that  Vlra 
-also  continued  to  live  and  to   reign,  and  even  that  he   outlived 
Sundara,  seeing  that   it  is  stated  by   Wassaf  that  on    Sundara's 
death   immense  treasures  "  fell  to  the  share  of  the  brother  who 
■succeeded     him,"     and  also    that     "  Malik-i-'azam     Taki-uddln 
continued  'prime   minister   as   before,  and   in   fact   ruler  of   that 
kingdom."      He   was   succeeded   in    that    position    by   his   son 
Surajuddin  and  his  grandson  Nizani-uddin. 
Another  According  to  Amir  Khusru,  another  Muhammadan  historian, 

account.  Vlra  Pandya  and   Sundara  Pandya  were  both  kings  of  Ma'bar 

(the  Coromandel  Coast)  when  the  invasion  by  Ala-ud-din's  army 
took  place.  His  account  of  the  invasion  is  as  follows  :  "  Ala-ud- 
'din's  army  under  his  General  Malik  Naib  or  Malik  Kafur  left 
Delhi  in  November  1310,  and  reduced  Dwara-Samudra,  the 
capital  of  the  Ballala  kings.  While  on  his  march  to  Dwara- 
samudra,  it  is  said  that  he  arrived  at  a  place  called  Bandrl  where 
he  stayed  to  make  inquiries  respecting  the  countries  further  on. 
Here  he  was  informed  that  the  two  Pais  of  Ma'bar,  the  elder 
named  Blr  Pandya  and  the  younger  Sundar  Pandya,  who  had  up 
to  that  time  continued  on  friendly  terms,  had  advanced  against 
each  other  with  hostile  intentions,  and  that  Belial  Deo,  the  Rai 
of  Dwara-samudra,  on  hearing  of  this  fact,  had  marched  for  the 
Malik Tvafm's  purpose  of  attacking  their  two  empty  cities  and  plundering  the 
invasion.  merchants,  but  that,  on  hearing  of  the  advance  of  the  Muham- 
madan army,  ho  had  returned  to  his  own  country.  After  the 
capture  of  Dwara-samudra,  it  is  stated  that  Malik  Naib  marched 
to  Birdhul,  the  capital  of  the  elder  of  the  two  Rais — '  the  yellow- 
faced  Blr.'  He  took  the  city  and  destroyed  all  the  temples  there. 
From  Birdhul  lu-  advanced  to  Kham,  and  thence  to  Mai  lira 
(Madura),   the    dwelling   place    of   the  younger  brother,  Sundar 


EARLY    HINDU    PERIOD.  35 

Pandya.     He  found  tlie  city  empty,  as  the  Rai  had  fled  with  his  Chapter  H. 
Panis,  leaving  two  or  three  elephants  behind  him.     These  were 
captured   and    the   temple    in   which  they   had   been   left  burnt. 
Immediately  after  this  Malik  Kafur  returned  to  Delhi." — Elliot's 
Muhammadan  Historians. 

When  Malik  Kafur'sarmy  appeared,  the  king  of  Ma'bar,  accord- 
ing to  "Wassaf,  hid  himself  in  the  jungles.  According  to  Ferishta 
Malik  Kafur  conquered  the  whole  county  as  far  as  Ptamesvaram, 
where  he  built  a  mosque.  No  tradition,  however,  of  his  having 
done  so  survives  amongst  the  Muhammadans  of  Ramesvaram,  or 
Paumben. 

According  to  the  Muhammadan  historians   we  appear  to  have  Marco  Polo's 
two  rulers  in  Ma'bar  within  twenty  years  bearing  the    name  of  i'ondcrBan(w- 
Sundara  Pandya,  and  for  this  reason  principally  Colonel  Yule  was 
unable  to  accept  my  identification  of  the  Sonder  Bandi  of  Marco 
Polo  with  the  Sundara  Pandya  of  the  inscriptions.     In  the  second 
edition  of  my  Dravidian  Grammar  I  have   gone  fully   into  the- 
whole  subject  again  (see  Introduction  and  Appendix),  and  think 
I  have  answered  some  of   the  objections  that  were  put  forward. 
It  is  clear  from  both  the  Muhammadan  historians  that  at  the  close 
of  the  loth  century  there  reigned  in  Madura  a  Sundara  Pandya 
who    was  Dewar — that  is,  as  they  interpreted  the  title,  lord  para- 
mount of  Ma'bar,  the  Pandya-Chola  country.     He  was,  it  is  true, 
one  of  four  (or  five)  brothers  who  had  acquired  power  in  different 
directions,  yet  still  he  alone  was  called  Dewar,  and  is  said  to  have 
been  possessed  of  immense  wealth.     Marco  Polo  also,  though  he  Sundara's 
speaks  of  his  brothers  as  "  kings,"  yet  speaks  of  Sonder  alone  as  Drotners- 
"a  crowned  king,"  and  gives  him  distinctly  the  title  of  Bandi ;  so 
that  it  is  evident  that  in  some  respects  he  was  regarded  as  supreme. 
There  is  no  trace  in  Sundara's  inscriptions  of  his  brothers,  or  of  his 
power  being  in   any  degree   shared  by  them,  or  of  the  position  he 
and  they  heldbeing  one  that  they  had  "acquired,"  instead' of  being 
one  that  they  had  inherited  ;  but  these  are  particulars  which  would 
not  be  likely  to  make  their  appearance  in   inscriptions  ;   and  there 
is  nothing  in  the  inscriptions  or  traditions  inconsistent  with  the 
supposition  that  he  had  brothers  who  had  acquired  power  together 
with  himself.     All  that  is  necessary  to  stipulate  in  order  to  bring 
the  accounts  into  agreement  is  that  in  some  sense  he  alone  shoidd 
be  Pandi  Devar,  or  lord  paramount,  so  that  his  name  only  should 
appear  in  the  inscriptions,  and  in  this,  as  it  seems  to  me,  no  parti- 
cular difficulty  can  be  involved.     I  finally  arrive  at  the  conclusion  Sundara's 
that,  pending  the  discovery  of  a  dated  inscription  in  which  Sundara  ^^.a^,, 
Pandya    is   mentioned,   I    see    no   valid   reason    why   we    should 
hesitate  to  identify  the  Sundar  of  the  Muhammadan  historians  both 
with  Marco  Polo's  Sonder  and  with  the  Sundara  or  Kiin.  Pandya 


■■■HH^H 


36  HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 

Chapter  II.  of  the  Saiva  revival.    Mr.  Moore  gives  a  summary  of  this  discussion 
in  his  Trichinopoly  Manual,  and  adds — 

"  I  have  obtained  copies  of  a  considerable  number  of  inscriptions  in 
the  Trichinopoly  District  in  which  Sundara  Pandya  is  mentioned. 
They  show  clearly  that  he  ruled  over  this  part  of  the  country  as  well  as 
Madura,  but  they  throw  no  light  on  the  vexed  question  as  to  the 
time  at  which  he  lived,  as  they  are  not  dated." 

Ma' BAR. 

Origin  of  the  Ma'bar  means  literally  the  passage.  It  was  the  name  given  by 
the  early  Arabian  merchants  to  that  portion  of  the  Coromandel 
Coast  which  was  nearest  Ceylon,  and  from  which  it  was  easiest  to 
pass  over  to  the  island  from  the  continent.  It  was  afterwards 
taken  to  mean  the  whole  coast  from  Quilon  to  Nellore,  including 
both  the  Pandya  and  the  Chola  kingdoms.  Ma'bar  is  mentioned 
(Maparh)  in  the  Chinese  annals  as  one  of  the  foreign  kingdoms 
which  sent  tribute  to  the  Emperor  Kublai  Khan  in  1286,  and 
Pauthier  has  given  some  very  curious  and  interesting  extracts  from 
Chinese  sources  regarding  the  diplomatic  intercourse  with  Ma'bar 
in  1280  and  the  following  years.  Among  other  points  these  men- 
tion the  five  brothers  who  were  Sultans  and  an  envoy  Chamalating 
( Jumal-ud-din)  who  had  been  sent  from  Ma'bar  to  the  Mongol 
Court.— Colonel  Yule's  Marco  Polo,  II,  273. 
Settlement  of  Muhammadan  Arabs  seem  to  have  settled  first  on  the  Malabar 
^rabTon  both  Coast  in  the  9th  century,  and  thence  to  have  spread  to  the  eastern 
coasts.  coast  and  Ceylon.     Their  principal  settlement  on  the  eastern  coast 

is  Kayalpattanam  in  Tinnevelly.  Heathen  Arabs,  that  is,  the 
Sabaeans  of  Southern  Arabia,  frequented  the  coasts  of  India  long 
before,  following  the  lead  of  the  Greeks.  The  mixed  race  con- 
sisting of  the  descendants  of  those  Arab  merchants  are  called 
Mapillas  on  the  western  coast,  Lebbies  on  the  eastern.  By  the 
Tamil  people  they  are  generally  styled  Tulukkar  (Turks)  or 
Jonagar  (Yavanas  !) .  Their  ordinary  title  is  Maraikan  or  Marakfin, 
a  word  which  means  steersman,  implying  that  they  were  first 
known  as  sailors,  which  doubtless  is  correct.  They  have  no 
acquaintance  with  Hindustani,  but  speak  Tamil  or  Malayalam,  the 
vernacular  of  the  country  in  which  they  live.  The  Hindustani- 
speaking  Muhammadans — Patans  and  others — came  from  North- 
ern India  and  form  a  totally  different  class. 

Kayal. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  events  in  the  history  of  Tinnevelly 
during  the  middle  ages  was  Marco  Polo's  visit  to  Kayal,  which  took 
place  in  A.D.  1292.     What  and  where  was  Kayal  ? 

1  quote  Colonol  Yule's  Marco  Tolo,  Vol.  II.  307  :— 


EARL'S    HINDU    PERIOD.  37 

'  Kail,  now  forg-otten,  was  long  a  famous  port  on  the  coast  of  what  Chapter  II. 

is  now  the  Tinnevelly  District  of  the   Madras  Presidency.     It  is  men-  Tr     "    ;  .,   , 
i  onr'n        i  ,i       ■,  ,  -n     i'i      -,    ■>•       Kayal  visited 

turned  as  a  port  oi  Ma  bar  by  our  author  s  contemporary  lvashid-ud-dm,  })V  Marco 

though  the   name  has  been  perverted  by   careless  transcription  into  Polo. 

IPawal  andKabal  (see  Elliot,  I,  pp.  69-72).     It  is  also  mistranscribed 

as  Kfibil  in  Quatremore's  publication   of  Abdurrazzak,  who   mentions  Portuguese 

it   as  '  a  place   situated  opposito  the    island   of  Serendib,    otherwise  ?-otlrc<j  ° 

called  Cejdon,'  and  as  being  the  extremity   of  what  he  was  led  to 

regard  as  Malabar  (p.  19).     It  is  mentioned  as  Cahila,  the  site  of  the 

pearl-fishery,  by  Nicolo  Conti  (p.  7).     The  Eoteiro  of  Vasco  da  Gama, 

in  the  report  of  what  was  learned  on  his  first  voyage,  notes  it  as  Caell, 

a  state  having  a  Mussulman  king  and  a  Christian  (for  which  read 

Kafir)  people.     Here   were   many    pearls.     Giovanni  Empoli    notices 

it  (Gael)  also  for  the  pearl-fishery,   as  do  Varthema  and  Barbosa. 

From  the  latter  we  learn  that  it  was  still  a  considerable  sea  port, 

having  rich  Muhammadau  merchants,  and  was  visited  by  many  ships 

from  Malabar,    Coromandel,    and  Bengal.     In  the  time  of  the  last 

writers  it  belonged  to   the  king  of  Kaulam  (Quilon)   who  generally 

resided  at  Kail. 

1  The  real  site  of  this  once  celebrated  port  has,  I  believe,  till  now 
never  been  identified  in  any  published  work.  I  had,  like  others 
before  me,  supposed  the  still  existing  Kayal -pattanam  to  have  been  in 
all  probability  the  place,  and  I  am  again  indebted  to  the  kindness  of 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Caldwell  for  conclusive  and  most  interesting  information 
on  this  subject.     He  writes  : — 

'  "  The  Cail  of  Marco  Polo,  commonly  called  in  the  neighbourhood  Meaning  of 
old  Kayal,  and  erroneously  named  Koil  in  the  Ordnance  Map  of  India,  Kayal. 
is  situated  near  the  Tamraparni  river,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from 
its  mouth.  The  Tamil  word  kayal  means  '  a  backwater,  a  lagoon 
opening  into  the  sea,'  and  the  map  shows  the  existence  of  a  large 
number  of  these  kayals  or  backwaters  near  the  mouth  of  the  river. 
Many  of  these  kayals  have  now  dried  up  more  or  less  completely,  and 
in  several  of  them  salt  pans  have  been  established.  The  name  of 
Kayal  was  naturally  given  to  a  town  erected  on  the  margin  of  a  kayal ; 
and  this  circumstance  occasioned  also  the  adoption  of  the  name  of 
Punnaikkayal,  as  the  name  of  a  neighbouring  place,  and  served  to 
give  currency  to  the  name  of  Kayal-pattanam,  assumed  by  Sonagar- 
pattanam,  both  those  places  being  in  the  vicinity  of  kayals."  ' 

It  was  during  a  visit  I  paid  to  Korkai  in  1861  that  I  identified  Korkai  and 
it  with  the  Kolkhoi  of  the  Greeks,  and  the  interest  of  this  identi-  Kayal- 
fication  was  heightened  by  the  conclusion  at  which  I  arrived  at 
the  same  time  that  an  insignificant  place  called  Old  Kayal,  about 
half  way  between  Korkai  and  the  sea,  was  to  be  identified  with 
the  Cael  of  Marco  Polo,  the  most  important  city  and  sea  port  on 
the  eastern  coast  of  India  during  the  middle  ages.  It  was  not 
however  till  nearly  ten  years  afterwards,  when  Colonel  Yule  was 
preparing  his  edition  of  Marco  Polo,  that  these  identifications 
were   made  known  to  him  and  through  him  were  made  public. 


^^^^mmmmm 


38 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Marco  Polo's 
notice  of 
Kayal. 


Chapter  II.  Both  places  are  situated  on  the  delta  of  the  Taniraparni,  Korkai 
within  five,  Kayal  within  two,  miles  of  the  sea ;  hut  each  was 
originally  on  the  sea  coast.  It  seemed  remarkahle  that  the  sites 
of  two  such  famous  places  should  thus  have  been  discovered  in  the 
same  neighbourhood,  but  a  glance  at  the  geology  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood disclosed  the  reason  why  each  had  been  abandoned  in 
turn.  As  the  silt  accumulated  in  the  sea  near  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  or  as  the  line  of  coast  roser  or  from  both  causes,  Korkai  was 
found  at  length  to  be  too  far  inland  for  the  convenience  of  a  sea- 
borne trade,  and  Kayal,  meaning  "  a  lagoon"  rose  in  its  stead  on 
the  sea  shore  and  attained  probably  to  still  greater  dimensions.. 
Kayal  has  now  shrunk  into  a  petty  village,  inhabited  partly  by 
Muhammadans,  partly  by  Roman  Catholic  fishermen,  with  a  still' 
smaller  hamlet  adjoining  inhabited  by  Brahmans  and  Vellalas. 

The  following  is  Marco  Polo's  notice  of  Kayal — Colonel  Yule' 
II,  305,  "  Concerning  the  City  of  Cail  :"— 

'  Cail  is   a   great  and  noble  city,  and  belongs  to  Ashar  (Ishwara  ?),. 

the  eldest  of  the  five  brother-kings.     It  is  at  this  city  that  all  the 

ships  touch  that  come  from  the  west,  as  from  Hormus  (Hormuz),  and' 

from  Kis  (an  island  in  the  Persian  Gulf),   and  from  Aden,  and  all 

Arabia,  laden  with  horses  and  with  other  things  for  sale.     And  this- 

brings  a  great  concourse  of  people  from  the  country  round  about,  and 

so  there  is  great  business  done  in  this  city  of  Cail.     The  king  possesses. 

vast  treasures,  and  wears  upon  his  person  great  store  of  rich  jewels. 

He  maintains  great   state  and  administers  his  kingdom  with  great 

equity,   and  extends  great    favor  to   merchants    and  foreigners,   so> 

that  they  are  very  glad  to  visit  his  city.     The  king  has  some  300. 

wives,  for  in  those  parts  the  man  who  has  most  wives  is  most  thought 
0f>    *     *     # 

Kayal  having  been  the  principal  port  in  Ma'bar,  much  of  what 
Marco  Polo  says  about  Ma'bar,  its  trade,  &c,  really  applies  to  Kayal. 
The  king  of  Kayal  was  not  an  independent  prince,  but  the  deputy 
(and  brother)  of  the  real  king  of  the  whole  of  Ma'bar  at  that  time, 
Sundara  Pandya  Deva,  who  is  called  by  Marco  Polo  '  Sonder  Bandi. 
Davar,'  and  who  ruled  over  both  the  Pandya  and  the  Chola  countries. 
I  have  found  inscriptions  of  Sundara  Pandya  at  a  place  called  Mara- 
Mangalam,  just  outside  Kayal.     Polo  continues  : — 

'  Here  are  no  horses  bred  ;  and  thus  a  great  part  of  the  wealth  of  the 
country  is  wasted  in  purchasing  horses.  You  must  know  that  the 
merchants  of  Kis  and  Hormes,  Dofar  (Dhafar  on  the  Yemen  Coast), 
and  Soer  (Suhar  in  Oman)  and  Aden  collect  a  great  number  of  horses, 
and  these  they  bring  to  the  territories  of  this  king  and  of  his  four 
brothers.  For  a  horse  will  fetch  among  them  500  saggi  of  gold,  worth 
Horse tradcat  more  than  100  marks  of  silver  (that  is  about  2,200  rupees  !),  and  vast 


Trade  of 
Kayal. 


Kayal 


numbers  are   sold  there  every  year.     Indeed  this  king  wants  to  buy 
more  than  2,000  horses  every  year,  and  so  do  his  four  brothers  ■who 

The  reason  why  they  want  so  many  horses  every 


are  kings  likewise. 


EAUI.Y    HINDI'    PERIOD.  39 

year  is  that  by  the  end  of  the  year  there  shall  not  bo  one  hundred  of  Chapter  II. 

them   remaining,    for  they   all    die  off.     And   this  arises  from  mis- 

management,  for   those  people  do   not  know  in  the  least  how  to  treat 

a  horse  ;  and  besides  they   have   no  farriers.     The  horse-merchants 

not  only  never  bring  any  farriers  with  them,   but  also  prevent  any 

farrier  from   going  thither,  lest  that  should  in  any   degree  baulk  the 

sale  of  horses,   which  brings  them  in   every  year    such  vast  gains. 

They  bring  these  horses  by  sea  aboard  ship.' — Colonel  Yule's  Marco 

Polo,  Vol.  II,  285. 

'  Rashiduddin  and  Wassaf  have  identical  statements  about  the  Use  of  the 
horse-trade,  and  so  similar  to  Polo's  in  this  chapter  that  one  almost  horse  by 
suspects  that  he  must  have  been  their  authority.  Wassaf  says  :  '  it  soldiers, 
was  a  matter  of  agreement  that  Malik-ul-Islam  Jamaluddin  and  the 
merchants  should  embark  every  year  from  the  island  of  Kais  and  land 
at  Ma'bar  1,400  horses  of  his  own  breed '  ....  It  was  also  agreed 
that  he  should  embark  as  many  as  he  could  procure  from  all  the  isles 
of  Persia,  such  as  Katif,  Lahsa,  Bahrein,  Hurmuz,  and  Kalhatu. 
The  price  of  each  horse  was  fixed  from  of  old  at  220  dinars  of  red 
gold,  on  this  condition,  that  if  any  horses  should  happen  to  die,  the 
value  of  them  should  be  paid  from  the  royal  treasury.  It  is  related 
by  authentic  writers  that  in  the  reign  of  Atabek  Abu  Bakr  (of  Fars) 
10,000  horses  were  annually  exported  from  these  places  to  Ma'bar, 
Kambayat,  and  other  ports  in  their  neighbourhood,  and  the  sum 
total  of  their  value  amounted  to  2,200,000  dinars  ....  They  bind  them 
for  40  days  in  a  stable  with  ropes  and  pegs,  in  order  that  they  may 
get  fat ;  and  afterwards  without  taking  measures  for  training,  and 
without  stirrups  and  other  appurtenances  of  riding,  the  Indian 
soldiers  ride  upon  them  like  demons  ....  In  a  short  time  the  most 
strong,  swift,  fresh,  and  active  horses  become  weak,  slow,  useless,  and 
stupid.  In  short,  they  all  become  wretched  and  good  for  nothing  .... 
There  is,  therefore,  a  constant  necessity  of  getting  new  horses 
annually.'— (Elliot,  III,  34). 

'  The  price  mentioned  by  Polo  appears  to  be  intended  for  500 
dinars,  which  in  the  then  existing  relations  of  the  precious  metals  in 
Asia  would  be  worth  just  about  100  marks  of  silver.  Wassaf's  price, 
220  dinars  of  red  gold,  seems  very  inconsistent  with  this,  but  is  not 
so  materially,  for  it  woidd  appear  that  the  dinar  of  red  gold  (so  called) 
was  worth  two  dinars.'' 

Wassaf,  the  Persian  historian,  a  contemporary  of  Marco  Polo,  Wassaf's 
thus  describes  Ma'bar,  that  is,  as  I  believe,  Kayal,   the  port   of  account« 
Ma'bar  : — 

'  The  curiosities  of  Chin  and  Mftchln  {i.e.,  Northern  and  Southern 
China),  and  the  beautiful  products  of  Hind  and  Sind,  laden  on  large 
ships  which  they  call  junks,  sailing  like  mountains  with  the  wings  of 
the  wind  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  are  always  arriving  there.  The 
wealth  of  the  isles  of  the  Persian  Gulf  in  particular,  and  in  part  the 
beauty  and  adornment  of  other  countries,  from  Irak  and  Khurasan  as 
far  as  Pulm  and  Europe,  are  derived  from  Ma'bar,  which  is  so  situated 
as  to  be  the  key  of  Hind.'— Marco  Polo,  II,  269. 


40 


HISTORY    OF    TIXNEYELLY. 


Chapter  II. 

Marco 
Polo's 
arrival  in 
India. 


Pearl  fishery 
described. 


Divers. 


The  following  is  Marco  Polo's  description  of  the  pearl  fishery. 
The  term  Ma'bar,  as  used  at  that  time  both  by  Polo  and  by  the 
Arabs,  included,  as  we  have  seen,  the  greater  part  of  the  Coro- 
mandel  Coast ;  but  when  the  pearl  fishery  of  Ma'bar  is  referred  to 
we  are  to  understand,  I  think,  mainly  the  southern  portion  of 
Ma'bar,  from  Eamesvaram  to  Cape  Comorin,  constituting  the  eastern 
coast  of  the  Gulf  of  Manaar,  the  fishery  carried  on  on  the  Eamnad 
coast  being  of  less  importance.  The  port  mentioned,  but  not 
named,  by  Polo  must  have  been  near,  if  not  identical  with, 
Kilakarai ;  or  it  may  have  been  a  place  called  Periya  Pattanam, 
the  great  city,  a  place  now  some  miles  inland,  the  greatness  of 
which  has  entirely  passed  away.  [Was  this  the  place  which  Ibn 
Batuta  called  Fattan,  that  is,  the  Pattanam  ?].     Marco  writes  : — 

'  When  you  leave  the  island  of  Seilan  and  sail  westward  about  60 
miles,  you  come  to  the  great  province  of  Maabar  which  is  styled 
India  the  Greater ;  it  is  the  best  of  all  the  Indies  and  is  on  the 
mainland.  You  must  know  that  in  this  province  there  are  five  kmars, 
who  are  own  brothers.  I  will  tell  you  about  each  in  turn.  The 
province  is  the  finest  and  noblest  in  the  world.  At  this  end  of  the 
province  reigns  one  of  those  five  royal  brothers,  who  is  a  crowned 
king,  and  his  name  is  Sonder  Bandi  Davar.  In  his  kingdom  they 
find  very  fine  and  great  pearls ;  and  I  will  tell  you  how  they  are  got. 
You  must  know  that  the  sea  here  forms  a  gulf  between  the  island  of 
Seilan  and  the  mainland.  And  all  round  this  gulf  the  water  has  a 
depth  of  no  more  than  10  or  12  fathoms,  and  in  some  places  no  more 
than  two  fathoms.  The  pearl-fishers  take  their  vessels,  great  and 
small,  and  proceed  into  this  gulf  where  they  stop  from  the  beginning 
of  April  till  the  middle  of  May.  They  go  first  to  a  place  called 
Bettelar,  and  (then)  go  60  miles  into  the  gulf.  Here  they  cast  anchor 
and  shift  from  their  large  vessels  into  small  boats.  You  must  know 
that  the  many  merchants  who  go  divide  into  various  companies,  and 
each  of  these  must  engage  a  number  of  men  on  wages,  hiring  them 
for  April  and  half  of  May.  Of  all  the  produce  they  have  first  to  p  ay 
the  king,  as  his  royalty,  the  tenth  part.  And  they  must  also  pay 
those  men  who  charm  the  great  fishes  to  prevent  them  from  injuring 
the  divers  whilst  engaged  in  seeking  pearls  under  water,  one-twentieth 
part  of  all  that  they  take.  These  fish-charmers  are  termed  Abraiaman 
(Brahmans  ?)  ;  and  their  charm  holds  good  for  that  day  only,  for  at 
night  they  dissolve  the  charm  so  that  the  fishes  can  work  mischief  at 
their  will.  These  Abraiamans  know  also  how  to  charm  beasts  and 
birds  and  every  living  thing.  When  tho  men  have  got  into  the  small 
boats  they  jump  into  the  water  and  dive  to  the  bottom,  which  may  be 
at  a  depth  of  from  1  to  12  fathoms,  and  there  they  remain  as  long  as 
they  are  able.  And  there  they  find  tho  shells  that  contain  tho  pearls 
and  these  they  put  into  a  net  bag  tied  round  the  waist,  and  mount  up 
to  the  surface  with  them,  and  then  dive  anew.  Wlion  they  can't 
hold  theii  breath  any  longer  they  come  up  again,  and  after  a  little 
down  they  go  once  more,  and  so  they  go  on  all  day.     The  shells  are 


i:\lil\     i!  I  \  in      PERTOir. 

,11  fashion  like  oysters   or  sea-hoods.     And  in   theso  shells  are  found  Chapter  1L 

pearls,    great  and  small,  of  every  kind,  sticking  in  the  flesh   of  the 

shell-fish.     In  this  manner  pearls  are  fished  in  great  quantities,  for  kin 

thence  in  fact  come  the  pearls  which  are  spread  all  over  the  world. 

And  I  can  tell  you  the  king  of  that  state  hath  a  very  groat  receipt  and 

treasure  from  his  dues  upon  those  pearls.     As  soon  as  the  middle  of 

May  is  past  no  more  of  those  pearl-shells  are  found  there.     It  is  true,. 

however,  that  a  long  way  from  that  spot,  some  300  miles  distant,  they 

are   also    found ;    but  that  is   in   September   and   the   first  half   of 

October.' 

We  must  now  return  to  Marco  Polo's  Kayal.     Unlikely  as  the  Relics  of 

place  may  now   seem  to  be  identical  with  the  "  great  and  noble    aya  ' 

city  "  described  by  Polo,  its  identity  is  established  by  the  relics 

of  its  ancient  greatness  which   are  still  discoverable.     For  two  or 

three  miles  north  of  the  present  village  of  Kayal  and  a  mile  and  a 

half  inland,  as  far  indeed  as  Mara-mangalarn,  the  whole  plain  is 

covered  with  broken  tiles  and  remnants  of  pottery — evidences  of 

the  perfect  truth  of  Marco  Polo's  statement  regarding  Kayal  and 

its  trade  and  of   the  identity  of  Kayal  with  the  sea  port  of  Ma'bar 

mentioned  by  the  Muhammadan  historians.     According  to  those  Remains  of 

statements  Kayal  was    frequented  by  multitudes  of  vessels   from.  Chinese  and 

the  Arabian  Coast  and  the  Persian  Grulf,  and  also  by  vessels  from  earthenware. 

China — junks — in  one  of  which  Marco  Polo  himself  arrived  ;  and 

accordingly  I  picked    up  everywhere  on  the  open    plain  broken 

pieces  of  Arabian  pottery  and  of  China  porcelain  of  all  shapes, 

colours,    and   qualities.     I    could   easily,    if    I    had  chosen,    have 

collected   a  cart  load  in  a  single  day  ;  but   the  pieces  into   which. 

they  had  been  broken  by  the  plough  and  the  feet  of  bullocks  were 

so  small  that  they  could  not  be  put  together  so  as  to  assume  the 

shape  of  a  vessel.     I  set  a  band  of  excavators  at  work  one  day  in. 

digging  up  a  portion  of  the  plain  at  hazard.     At  a  depth  of  three 

feet  beneath  the  present    surface  they    came  on   the   chunamed 

floor  of  a  house,  but  found  nothing  of  importance.     The  extent  of 

the   site  of   Kayal  was  so  great    that  it   would  take    a   month, 

instead  of  a  single  day  merely,  to  explore  it  properly.     The  people 

of    Kayal,    Korkai,  and   the  neighbourhood   have    forgotten    the 

existence  of  any  trade  between   Kayal   and  China,   though  the 

broken  pieces  of  China  pottery  which  lie  all  about  might   have 

helped  them  to  keep  the  fact  in  their  remembrance.     I    found, 

however,   that  they  retained  a  distinct  tradition  of  the  trade  of 

Kayal  with  Arabia  and  the  Persian  Gulf,  probably  because  that 

trade  survived  to  comparatively  recent  times.     They  had  also  a 

tradition   of  European   merchants,  doubtless  Portuguese,    having 

lived  in  the  place  before  its  final   abandonment    as  a  sea  port. 

I  have  already  mentioned  that  care  must  be  taken  not  to  identify  K&yaT- 

Marco  Polo's  Kayal   with  Kayal  nattanam,  another  town  on  the  P.'l^11 
•;  ■/      r    ..    .        >  dittere 

coast,  a  modern  place,  but  now  very  large,  containing  about  7;000  place. 


!i;mi  a 

rent 


0' 


*&&£*&-. 


42 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Chapter  II.  Muhammadans.  There  is  another  small  port  in  the  same  neigh- 
bourhood a  little  to  the  north  of  Kayalpattanani  called  "  Pinnacael 
in  the  maps,  properly  Punnai-k-k;Vval,  but  this  also  is  a  place  of 
comparatively  recent  origin,  and  many  of  the  inhabitants,  as  of 
Kayalpattanam,  state  that  their  ancestors  came  originally  from 
Kayal,  subsequently  to  the  arrival  of  the  Portuguese. 


The  Muham. 
madans  gain 
the  upper 
hand"  for  a 
time. 


Itm  Batuta. 


The  Muhammadan  Interregnum. 

Ibn  Batuta,  a  Muhammadan  servant  of  the  Emperors  of  Delhi, 
visited  Ma'bar  in  1348-49  on  his  way  to  Quilon  for  the  purpose 
of  embarking  there,  on  his  master's  business,  in  one  of  the  Chinese 
junks  which  then  visited  that  port  annually.  He  found  the  whole 
of  Ma'bar,  including  both  the  Pandya  and  the  Chola  countries, 
under  the  government  of  Muhammadan  kings.  This  subjection 
of  the  country  to  the  Muhammadans  had  lasted  since  Kafur's 
invasion  in  1311.  The  couutry  had  been  governed  for  the 
Emperors  of  Delhi  by  governors  deputed  by  them  for  twenty  or 
thirty  years.  At  length  one  of  those  governors,  Jelal-ud-din 
Hasan,  a  Sherif  or  Seiad,  revolted  against  Muhammad  Toghlak 
and  made  himself  independent.  This  circumstance  is  mentioned 
by  Ferishta.  The  power  of  the  Muhammadans,  however,  does  not 
seem  to  have  been  very  firmly  established,  for  Ibn  Batuta  found 
that  there  had  already  been  several  internal  revolts,  and  on  land- 
ing in  Ma'bar  he  found  the  reigning  sultan  at  war  with  "  the 
heathen,"  that  is  probably  with  some  surviving  representatives  of, 
or  sympathisers  with,  the  expelled  Pandya  princes.  Possibly, 
however,  the  sultan's  foes  may  have  been  the  Maravas  of  Ramnad, 
for  as  Ibn  Batuta  was  wrecked,  on  his  voyage  across  the  Grulf  of 
Manaar  from  Ceylon,  in  the  shallow  part  of  the  sea,  the  place 
where  he  landed  and  near  which  he  found  the  sultan  must  have 
been  in  the  Ramnad  country,  the  country  of  the  Maravas,  a  war- 
like race  not  likely  to  remain  long  in  quiet  subjection  to  petty 
Muhammadan  princes.  This  Muhammadan  interregnum  is 
mentioned  in  Taylor's  Historical  Manuscripts.  It  is  therein  said 
to  have  lasted  from  1323  to  1370,  viz.,  for  47  years.  Probably 
this  was  meant  to  represent  the  period  of  the  independent  Muham- 
madan government.  It  is  also  said  therein  that  the  name  of  the 
Pandya  king  conquered  and  sent  to  Delhi  by  the  Muhammadans 
was  Parakrama  Pandya.  Ibn  Batuta  says  that  the  sultan  of 
Ma'liar  reigned  at  Maturah  (Madura).  The  king's  palace  was 
there.     He  says  it  was  a  large  city  and  not  unlike  Delhi. 


Paramount 
powers. 


The  Kingdoms  of  Dwara-samudra  and  Vijaya-nagaua. 

From  the   commencement    of  the   decay  of  the  power  of  the 
Pandyas  and  Cholas  in  the  12th  century,  the  kingdoms  of  Dwara- 


EARLY    HINDU    PERIOD.  43 

samudra  and  Vijaya-nagara  occupied  the  position  of  paramount  Chapter  II. 
powers  in  Southern  India.     It  seems  desirable,  therefore,  that  I 
should  mention  such  particulars  respecting  those  kingdoms  as  seem 
necessary    for  a  right  apprehension  of  the  mediaeval  history  of 
Madura  and  Tinnevelly. 

DwARA-SAMUDRA. 

I  have  not  met  with  the  name  of  Dwara-samudra  in  any  Tamil 
inscription  or  composition,  but  it  is  well  known  that  the  strong 
Telugu  dynasty  of  Vijaya-nagara  was  preceded  by  a  strong 
Canarese  dynasty.  This  is  sometimes  popularly  called  a  Mysore 
dynasty,  but  the  name  of  Mysore  belongs  to  a  much  later  period. 
It  is  properly,  and  still  more  commonly,  called  a  Kannada,  that  is, 
a  Canarese  dynasty,  the  English  word  "  Canarese"  being  intended 
to  represent  that  which  pertains  to  Kannada  or  Canara,  an  abbre- 
viation of  Karnata  or  Karnataka.1  The  later  name  is  identical 
with  our  term  Carnatic,  but  it  denoted  originally,  not  the  country 
below  the  ghauts,  as  it  does  now,  but  the  great  tableland  above 
the  ghauts,  including  Mysore.  The  capital  of  this  Canarese 
dynasty  was  Dwara-samudra,  a  place  about  the  centre  of  the 
Mysore  country,  and  about  105  miles  north-west  of  Seringapatam. 
D  vara- samudra  is  written  in  all  the  inscriptions  of  the  Mysore 
country  Dora-samudra.  Dora  for  dvara,  however,  is  merely  a  local 
dialectic  change.  The  modern  name  of  the  place  is  Halebldu,  or 
Haleyabldu,  the  old  abode.2  The  kings  of  the  Dvara-samudra  Kings  of 
dynasty  were  called  the  Hoysalas,  or  more  commonly  the  Ballalas,  Dvara-samu- 
from  bala,  prowess,  and  are  known  to  have  exercised  for  a  time 
some  sort  of  paramount  power  over  the  Pandya,  Chola,  and  other 
ancient  kingdoms  of  the  south. 

The  first  king  of  this  dynasty  who  acquired  sovereignty  over  Ramanuja'a 
an    extensive   range  of   districts  was    Bitti    Deva,   converted  by  ^Sht  to 
Ramanujacharya  from  Jainismto  the  Vaishnava  faith,  and  known  samudra. 
after  his  conversion  as  Vishnu  Varddhana.     His  conversion  dated 
probably  from  1117.     Ramanuja  had  fled  from  the  persecution  of 
Karikala  Chola,  an  ardent  Saiva.     Vishnu  Varddhana  became  ere 
long  the  most  powerful  monarch  of  his  time  in  Southern  India, 
and  he  is  expressly  stated  to  have  subdued  the  Cholas,  Pandyas, 
and  Keralas.     This  statement  would   not  perhaps  go  for   much 
were  it  not  for  the  traces  of  the  supremacy  of  this  Kannada  power 
which  made  themselves  manifest  from  about  this  time  in  the  south, 

1  Kamataka  probably  meant  originally  the  black  country,  that   is,  the  black 
cotton-soil  country. 

2  The  sculpture  of  the  old  temple  at  Halebidu  receives  from  Ferguson  the  highest 
praise. 


44  HISTORY    OF    TINM.WU.Y. 

'Chapter  II.  as  is  evident  especially  from    the  statements  of  the  Muhammadan 
historians. 

in?  l*  °kthe  ^ie  ^unammadans  appeared  in  the  Dekhan  in  1295,  when 
Ala-ud-din  took  Devagiri.  The  Ballala  dominions  were  invaded 
by  a  Muhammadan  army  under  Hazardinari,  commonly  called 
Malik  Kafur,  the  general  of  Ala-ud-din,  the  second  king  of  the 
house  of  Khilji  or  second  Pathan  dynasty.  A  great  battle  was 
fought  in  1311  in  which  the  Ballala  king  was  defeated  and  taken 
piisoner.  Dvara-samudra  was  sacked  and  the  enemy  returned  to 
Delhi  literally  laden  with  gold.  Kafur  was  sent  to  conquer  the 
whole  of  the  south  of  India,  and  the  capture  of  Dvara-samudra, 
at  that  time  considered  the  capital  of  the  south,  was  the  principal 
object  of  his  ambition.  After  the  taking  of  Dvara-samudra  Kafur 
descended  upon  Ma'bar,  which  he  regarded,  and  which  was 
regarded  by  Ferishta,  the  Muhammadan  historian,  as  a  feudatory 
dependency  of  the  Dvara-saniudra  kingdom.  General  Wilks 
End  of  the  could  not  make  out  what  place  was  meant  by  Ma'bar,  but  it  is  now 
dynasty  we^  known  to  have  meant  the  Chola  and  Pandya  kingdoms,  or, 

speaking  generally,  the  Coromandel  Coast.  Another  expedition 
sent  by  Muhammad  III  of  the  house  of  Toghlak  in  1326  com- 
pletely demolished  the  city  of  Dvara-samudra.  The  Ballala  kings, 
however,  were  not  totally  annihilated.  They  removed  their  seat  of 
government  to  a  place  called  Tonnur,  about  nine  miles  north  of 
Seringapatam.  Even  after  the  rise  of  the  Vijayanagara  dynasty 
(in  1336),  the  Ballalas  were  permitted  to  exercise  some  sort  of 
authority  up  to  the  year  1387. 

Thus  ended  the  rule  of  this  powerful  line,  consisting  of  nine 
chief  princes,  and  thence  called  the  Nava  Ballala  ;  which  from  a 
very  small  beginning  had,  by  the  valour  of  its  several  mem- 
bers, subdued  the  whole  of  Karnataka  \ip  to  the  Krishna,  with 
Tuluva  on  the  west,  Dravida  (the  Tamil  country,  including 
especially  the  Cholas  and  Pandyas)  on  the  east,  and  part  of 
Telingana  on  the  north-east. — Rice's  Mysore  Inscriptions. 
Canarese  Wherever  we  find  in  Tinnevelly  traces  of  any  important  position 

traces  in  having  been  occupied,  or  any  important  work  having  been  done, 
by  a  Kannadi  or  Canarese  man, — instances  of  which  we  have  in 
the  "  Canadian  anicut,"  that  is  the  Kannada  man's  anient,  and 
the  person  called  Palaiyan,  a  Canarese  man,  who  is  said  to  have 
built  the  oldest  portion  of  the  fort  at  Palamcottah — we  have  reason 
to  conclude  that  they  belonged  to  the  period  before  the  commence- 
ment of  the  rule  of  the  Nayakas  in  Madura,  when  paramount 
authority  over  the  south  was  claimed  by  the  Kannada  kings  of 
Dvara-samudra. 

The  following  is  a  list  oi  these   kings,  given  in   Rioe's  Mysore 
Inscriptions :  — 


K\R1.Y    HINDI      PKKIOD. 


45 


l'lsviiptaoBS, 


( lhanna 
Basavana 

Kala  jnana. 


Kongu  Uesa 
Rajakal 


1039-1047 

1065 
1117-1138 

1142-1191 
1191-1207 

1223 

1252 
1262-1287 

1310 


Sala,  Eoysala 

Vinay&dita 

Yereyanga,  Pereyanga,  Vlra  Ganga  . , 

Bitti    Deva,   Vishnu    Varddhana,    Tri 

bhuvana  Malla 
Vijaya  Narasimha,  Vlra  Narasimha 

Viia'1'..illala  

Vila  Narasimha 
Soma,  Vlra  Somesvara 
Vna  Narasimha 
Ballala  Deva 


984-1043 
1043-1073 
1073-1114 
1114-1145 

1145-1188 
1188-1233 
1233-1249 
1249-1268 
1268-1308 


-1068 

1099-1147 

1147-1174 
1174 

-1237 
1237-1283 
1283-1313 


Chapter  II, 


List  of  Dv&ra- 

samudra 

Kings. 


VlJAYA-NAGARA. 

Vijaya-nagara  arose  when  Dvara-samudra  fell.  This  city  and  Origin  of 
state,  the  most  famous  and  powerful  of  the  states  of  Southern  ^gara" 
India,  was  founded  in  1336  by  two  refugees  from  Warangal  (Oru- 
kallu,  a  single  stone),  a  place  included  in  the  Nizam's  country, 
after  its  capture  by  the  Muhammadans  in  1323.  Their  names  were 
said  to  have  been  Hakka,  who  assumed  the  name  of  Harihara,  and 
Bukka,  and  they  are  said  to  have  received  valuable  assistance 
from  the  sage  Madhava.1  The  capital  was  called  both  Vidya- 
nagara  and  Vijaya-nagara.  Rice  considers  Vidya-nagara,  the  city 
of  learning,  the  original  form,  and  supposes  this  name  to  have 
been  given  to  it  in  compliment  to  the  sage  Vidyaranya,  who  was 
chiefly  instrumental  in  its  foundation.  By  a  natural  transition 
Vidya-nagara  passed  into  Vijaya-nagara,  the  city  of  victory,  the  Names  of 
Bijanagar  of  the  Muhammadan  historians  and  the  Bisnagar  of  the 
early  Europeans.  It  is  also  commonly  known  as  Anegundi,  a 
Canarese  name — elephant  pit — which  is  properly  a  village  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river.  Vijaya-nagara  was  erected  on  the  banks 
of  the  Pampa  or  Tunga-bhadra,  in  what  is  now  the  district  of 
Bellary.  The  beauty  of  the  ruins  of  this  city,  near  Hampi,  show 
what  the  grandeur  of  the  capital  of  the  Rayas  must  have  been  in 
the  days  of  its  prosperity. 

The  succession  and  dates  of  the  Vijaya-nagara  kings  as  tradi- 
tionally handed  down  are  much  confused.  The  following  list, 
Mr.  Rice  says,  is  approximately  correct,  based  on  many  inscrip- 
tions he  has  examined  : — 


naga- 


ra. 


1  Madhava  is  generally  said  to  have  been  a  brother  of  the  still  more  celebrated 
Sayana,  and  is  sometimes  regarded  as  one  of  th<  authors  of  the  great  commentary 
on  the  Vedas.  By  others  he  is  identified  with  S&yana  and  as  such  is  said  to  have 
been  surnamcd  Vidyaranva.  the  forest  of  learning 


■HHMBnflEanOTOBHB 


46  HISTORY    OF    TINXEVELLY. 

Chapter  II.  A.D. 

j.     ~.  Harihara,  Hakka,  Hariyappa  . .  .  .  1336-1350 

Vijaya-naga>  Bukka,  Vlra  Bukkanna         ..  ..  ..  1350-1379 

ra  kings.  Harihara         1379-1401 

Deva   Raya,  Vijaya  Raya,   Vijaya  Bukka.  1401-1451 

Mallikarjuna,    Vlra     Mallanna,     Praudha  1451-1465 

Deva. 

Virupaksha     ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  1465-1479 

Narasa,  Narasimha  ..  ..  ..  1479-1487 

Vlra  Narasimha,  Immadi  Narasinga  .  .  1487-1508 

Krishna  Raya  ..  ..  ..  ..  1508-1530 

Achyuta  Raya  ..  ..  ..  ..  1530-1542 

Sadaslva     Raya     (Rama     Raja,     regent, 

usurps  the  throne  till  1565)  ..  ..  1542-1573 

Sri  Ranga  Raya  (Tirumala  Raja,   brother 

of  Rama  Raja,  1566)        1574-1587 

Vlra  Venkatapati,  &c.  ..  ..  ..  1587 

The  following  is  Dr.  BurnelTs  list  of  the  kings  of  the  Vijaya- 
nagara  dynasty.    See  Dravidian  Palaeography,  p.  55. 
Dr.  Burnell's       <<  iv_  The  Rayas  of  Vijayanagara  ;  from  about  1320  to  1565. 
naeara  ljaya"      "  The  following  is  the  list  as  I  have  been  able  to  correct  it  from 
kings.  several   sources   (see   my     '  Vamcabrahmana,'    p.    xvi) ;    the    dates, 

however,  are  only  approximate. 

Sangama  of  the  Yadava  family  and  Lunar  race  !  ! 


Hariyappa  (1336-1350). 


Bukka  I  (1350-1379)  m.  Gaurambika. 

Harihara  (1379-1401). 

I 
Bukka  II  (1401-1418)  m.  Tippamba. 


Devaraja,  Viradeva  or  Vlrabhupati  (1418-1434)  Krishuaraja 
married  Padamamba  and  MallSmba 
Vijaya  (?  1434-1454)  and  others  ? 
Praudha  Deva  (?  1456-1477) 
Mallikarjuna  (1481-1487) 
Ramacandra  (1487) 
Virflpaxa  (1488-1490)  Narasimha  (1490-1508) 

j  I 

Vlranarasimha  (Krishnaraja  (1508-1530.) 

Acyuta  (1534-42.) 

"  (Sad£L<jiva)  made  an  alliance  with  Viceroy  J.  de  Castro  in  154(i). 
"  (This  Sadiiqiva  succeeded  as  a  child  :  thirty  years  was  this  kingdom 
governed  by  three   brethren  which  were  tyrants,    the  which  keeping 


EARLY    HINDU    PERIOD.  47 

the  rightfull  king  in  prison,  it  was  their  use  every  yeere  once  to  show  Chapter  II. 

him  to  the  people,  and  they  at  their  pleasures  ruled  as  they  listed.         

These  brethren  were  three  captaines  belonging  to  the  father  of  the 
king  they  kept  in  prison,  which  when  he  died,  loft  his  sonne  very 
young,  and  then  they  tooke  the  government  to  themselves." 
(C.  Frederick  in  :  "  Purchas  His  Pilgrimes,"  ii.,  p.  1704.  efr.  canto, 
Dec.  vii.  5,  5  ;  f.  936). 

Virappa  Nayak. 


Ramaraja  (killed  in       Timma    (Tirumala  Bengatre  (Sic  in  Pur- 

1565.)  Bomma).   (Trans-  chas).  He  was  killed 

f erred  the  seat  of  in  1565.     According 

government        to  to      Conto,    Decada 

Pennakonda       in  vii.,  2,    8,    his  name 

1567.      Purchas,  was  Venkataraya. 
ii.,  p.  1705.) 


Rangaraja  Venkatapati  (?  1585-1614) 

(?  1572-1585.)  at  Chandragiri  (Purchas, 

ii.,  1746). 

"  Vlrarama  (?).     This  name  occurs  in  inscriptions,  but  Venkatapati 
was  the  last  of  his  race. 

"  The  earlier  kings  of  this  dynasty  had  conquered  all  Southern  India  The  Nayakas. 
before  the  end  of  the  14th  century  ;  but  they  left  many  of  the  original 
kings  (e.g.,  the  last  Pandyas)  undisturbed  for  a  time;  in  the  16th 
century  they  had  their  deputies  (called  Nayaks)  at  Madura  (from 
about  1540).  Tanjore  and  Gingee  (Sinji).  In  the  17th  century  these 
Nayaks  acted  as  independent  sovereigns  ;  the  last  Nayak  of  Tanjore, 
Viraraghava  {e.g.),  granted  Negapatam  to  the  Dutch  by  a  grant  on  a 
silver  plate,  now  in  the  Museum  at  Batavia.  These  predatory  chiefs 
and  the  rabble  they  brought  with  them  are  the  '  Badagas '  of  whom 
the  early  Portuguese  Missionaries  complain  so  much.  They  did  not 
reach  the  extreme  south  till  about  1544." 

It  will  be  seen  that  there  are  many  minor  differences  between  Differences 
these  two  lists.     They  both  agree,  however,  respecting  the  date  of  twtTifsts the 
the  most  distinguished  member  of  the  dynasty,  Krishna   Raya.  unimportant. 
Each  list  is  stated  by  its  author  to  be  only  approximately  correct. 

The  Vijaya-nagara  kings  are  always   styled,   not  Rajas,  but  Spread  of 
Rayas,    though   the   meaning   is    identical.1     Raya   in  Tamil   is  ^J5fu  m  the 
pluralised  as  Rayar,   in  Telugu  as  Rayalu,  and  the  plural,   as  is 
usual  in  the  Dravidian   languages,   is  used  honorifically   for  the 
singular.     Canarese    was   the    language    of    the    Dvara-samudra 


1  The  Rayas  of  Vijaya-nagara  having  long  heen  the  greatest  paramount  power 
in  Southern  India,  Rayar  is  used  in  the  Tamil  New  Testament  as  the  equivalent  of 
"  Caesar"  with  the  meaning  of  emperor. 


<^^f*m6S^^^^0^ 


48 


HISTOKV    ol      I  I  \  \  I   \  Kf.l.Y. 


Chapter  II. 


Krishna 
Rayar. 


Conquests 
over  the 
Chola  s  and 
Pandyas. 


Arrival  of  the 
Portuguese 
in  this  reign. 


dynasty,  but  the  founders  of  Vijaya-nagara  were  Telugus  and 
made  Telugu  the  language  of  administration  throughout  their 
dominions.  The  district  of  country  in  which  they  established 
themselves,  though  not  a  portion  of  Mysore,  was  a  portion  of  the 
Kannada  country  or  country  in  which  Canarese  was  spoken. 
Right  in  the  heart  of  this  Canarese  district  a  new  Telugu  dynasty 
set  up  a  Telugu  coru-t,  supported  by  a  Telugu  arm}7,  and  sending 
forth  Telugu  colonies  and  expeditions  into  all  parts  of  the  south 
This  explains  the  position  occupied  by  the  Telugu  lieutenants  of 
Vijaya-nagara  at  Madura,  and  also  in  part  the  position  occupied 
by  Telugu  Poligars  and  settlers  throughout  the  Trichinopolyr 
Madura,  and  Tinnevelly  Districts.  It  was  during  the  reign  of 
Krishna  Rayar  that  Vijaya-nagara  rose  to  its  greatest  importance. 
He  reigned  from  1508  to  1530.  It  is  certain  at  least  that  his 
reign  fell  between  these  two  dates.  The  state  of  Vijaya-nagara 
was  the  most  powerful  Hindu  state  that  ever  existed  south  of  the 
Krishna,  and  Krishna  Rayar  has  the  reputation  of  having  been 
the  ablest,  most  enlightened,  and  most  successful  of  the  riders  of. 
that  state.  He  is  celebrated  as  having  been  a  munificent  patron 
of  Telugu  literature.  About  1520  the  Muhammadans  sustained 
from  him  a  severe  defeat,  in  consequence  of  which  they  were  kept 
in  check  for  a  considerable  period.  After  his  time  the  kingdom 
began  to  decline.  Next  to  him  perhaps  in  fame,  but  prior  to  him 
in  point  of  time,  we  have  to  place  Narasimha,  or  Vira  Narasimha, 
Rayar,  whose  reign  commenced  in  1487,  and  who  is  said  to  have 
been  the  first  king  of  this  line  who  extended  his  conquests  into  the 
Chola  and  Pandya  countries.  The  forts  of  Chandragiri  and 
Velur  are  said  to  have  been  built  by  him.  By  some,  however, 
they  are  said  to  have  beeu  built  by  his  great  successor  Krishna 
Raya.  It  was  the  rise  of  the  strong  Hindu  kingdom  of  Vijaya- 
nagara  which  opposed  the  first  barrier  to  the  progress  southward 
of  the  Muhanimadan  arms,  and  for  nearly  two  centuries  this  barrier 
was  found  effectual.  After  a  time  the  Vijaya-nagara  kingdom 
ceased  to  keep  the  power  of  the  Muhammadans  in  cheek. 

It  was  in  Narasimha  Rayar's  reign  that  the  Portuguese  first 
arrived  in  India.  They  arrived  at  Calicut  in  1498.  As  in  1311 
the  Muhammadans  found,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Pandya  and  Chola 
kings  of  Ma'bar,  that  is,  the  Coromandel  Coast,  feudatories  of  the 
Canarese  king  of  Dvara-samudra,  so  on  the  arrival  of  the  Portu- 
guese the  only  kingdom  that  seemed  to  them  to  have  any  real 
independent  existence  was  that  of  Vijaya-nagara.  They  described 
the  Coromandel  Coast,  which  they  called  Choramandala,  as  the 
tilth  province  of  the  Rayar's  empire;  and  they  regarded  this 
province  as  extending  from  Quilon  to  Orissa,  an  extent  greater 
than  that  of  the  Ma'bar  of  their  Arab  predecessors.  One  of  the 
names  by    whieh   the    early   Portuguese    denoted    the    whole   of 


EARL'S     HINDI      PERIOD.  49 

Southern  India  was  the  kingdom  of  Narsinga,   doubtless  from  the  Chapter  II. 
name  of  the  great  Ray  a,  they  found  on  the  throne. 

Parbosa  in  1516  says  : — 

"  Beyond  this  river  commences  the  kingdom  of  Narsinga,  which  Kingdom  of 
contains  five  very  large  provinces,  with  each  a  language  of  its  Nar8mga 
own.  The  first  which  stretches  along  the  coast  to  Malabar  is  called 
Tulinate  (that  is  Tulu-nadu)  or  the  modern  province  of  South  Canara  ; 
another  lies  in  the  interior.  Another  has  the  name  of  Telinga,  which 
confines  with  the  kingdom  of  Orissa.  Another  is  Canari,  in  which 
is  the  great  city  of  Bisnaga  ;  and  then  the  kingdom  of  Charamendel, 
the  language  of  which  is  Tamul."  Colonel  Yule  and  Dr.  Burnell,  in 
Indian  Antiquary  for  June  1879. 

The  writers  state  that  the  text  of  this  notice  has  been  put 
together  from  three  versions  of  Barbosa.  The  Vijaya-nagara 
kingdom  was  sometimes  called  Karnataka,  the  Carnatic,  and 
sometimes  by  a  corruption  of  this  name,  Canara. 

Whilst  the  Muhammadans  were  growing  in  power  the  Hindu  Overthrow  of 
states  misspent  their  opportunities  and  wasted  their  strength  in  VlJaJ'a- 

rm°"m*u 

mutual  wars.  At  length  in  1564  Kama  Rayar,  the  reigning 
king  of  Vijaya-nagara,  whose  arrogance  had  provoked  the  hostility 
of  the  Muhammadan  powers  to  the  north,  was  defeated  and  put  to 
death  by  a  combination  of  those  princes.  The  great  battle  in 
which  he  fell  was  fought  at  Talikota,  on  the  25th  of  January  1565. 
Vijaya-nagara  itself  was  at  the  same  time  ruthlessly  destroyed. 
It  is  from  this  time  I  date  the  largest  influx  of  Telugu  settlers 
into  the  southern  districts  of  the  Tamil  country.  There  are 
probably  at  least  a  million  of  people  in  the  Tamil  districts  of 
Telugu  origin,  and  I  think  it  probable  that  the  ancestors  of  a  very 
large  number  of  these  fled  for  protection  to  the  Telugu  rulers  of 
Madura  and  Tan j ore  to  escape  the  oppression  of  the  Muham- 
madans to  which  they  had  been  exposed  in  their  Telugu  homes. 

The  account  traditionally  preserved  in  the  family  of  the  Zemin-  Origin  of 
dar  of  Ettaiyapuram  in  Tinnevelly  may  be  taken  as  an  illustration  Ettaiyapuram 
of  the  mode  in  which  these  emigrations  generally  originated   and 
were  carried   on.     The  following  is  a  summary  of  the  statements 
contained  in  the  native  history  of  the  family :  — 

On  the  defeat  of  Anna  Deva  Raja,  king  of  Vijayanagaram,  by 
Muhammad  Alauddin,  one  Kumaramuttu  Ettappa  Nayaka,  the 
ancestor  of  the  Ettaiyapuram  Zemindars,  fled  from  Chandragiri, 
in  company  with  64  armed  relations,  300  men  at  amis,  and  1 ,000 
dependents,  with  a  certain  number  of  accountants  and  others,  and 
took  refuge  with  Ati  Vira  Parakrama  Pandya  Raja  at  Madura,  who 
appointed  them  to  repress  outrages  in  the  country  of  the  Kaliars, 
and  gave  them  some  villages  therein  for  their  maintenance.  This 
is  represented  to  have  taken  place  between  1423  and  1443.  In 
process  of  time  they  moved  on   towards   the   south  and  became 

7 


■■^■■■i^MMBMHBWHBBMBaBB 


50 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY 


Last  days  of 
the  Vijaya. 
nagara 
dynasty. 


Chapter  II.  possessed  of  Yarious  villages  in  the  Tinnevelly  District,  one  of 
which,  to  which  they  gave  the  name  of  Ettaiyapurani,  they  made 
their  capital. 

There  are  some  historical  discrepancies  in  this  account.  Vijaya- 
nagara  was  not  taken  by  Alauddin.  The  reference  may  be  to  the 
taking  of  Dvara-samudra  by  Alauddin's  lieutenant  Kafur  in  1311. 
The  last  king  of  Vijaya-nagara  was  not  Anna  Deva  Raja,  but 
Ramaraja,  who  was  defeated  and  slain  by  a  combination  of  the 
Muhammadan  princes  of  the  Dekhan  in  1565.  Chandragiri  was 
taken  by  the  Muliammadans  in  1645.  The  general  outline  only  of 
the  story  can  be  accepted  as  in  the  main  correct. 

Notwithstanding  the  destruction  of  Vijaya-nagara,  the  dynasty 
was  not  entirely  destroyed.  The  family  had  still  strength  enough 
left  to  establish  themselves  afresh  in  another  place.  For  this 
purpose  they  fortified  Pennakonda  (or  Penugonda),  a  steep  hill  97 
miles  north  of  Bangalore,  situated  like  Vijaya-nagara  in  the  modern 
district  of  Bellary,  and  converted  it  into  a  hill  fort  of  great 
strength  with  a  fortified  city  at  the  foot,  where  they  continued  for 
about  a  century  to  keep  up  kingly  state  and  to  exercise  more  or 
less  authority  over  other  princes,  south  of  the  Krishna,  including 
especially  the  Nayaka  rulers  of  Madura  and  Tan j  ore,  in  accordance 
with  what  they  believed  to  be  their  ancestral  rights.  After  a  time 
those  various  feudatory  princes  made  themselves  independent  of 
the  feeble  survivors  of  the  Vijaya-nagara  dynasty,  both  in  reality 
and  in  name.  The  most  important  of  the  new  independent  princes 
that  arose  was  the  Raja  of  Mysore.  One  of  the  few  surviving 
lineal  representatives  of  the  ancient  family  was  the  Raja  of  Chan- 
dragiri, and  it  was  from  the  last  of  the  Chandragiri  Rajas  that  the 
English  obtained  a  grant  of  the  site  of  the  town  of  Madras  on  the 
Grant  of  1st  March  1640.  It  was  from  the  name  of  Chennappa,  this 
English  by  °  Raja's  lieutenant,  that  the  town  came  to  be  called  by  the  natives 
the  Raja  of  Chennapattanam,  Chennapa's  town.  The  Chandragiri  dynasty 
lagm.    was  finally  subverted  by  the  Muhammadans  in  1645. 


P&fldayas, 

Cholas. 


Succession  of  Paramount  Powers  in  Southern  India. 

The  outline  of  the  history  of  the  successive  dynasties  that  exer- 
cised supreme  power  in  Southern  India  is  clear  enough,  however 
doubtful  most  of  the  details  may  be.  First  the  Pandyas,  properly 
so  called,  who  bore  rule  in  Madura  and  Tinnevelly  from  the  firs 
establishment  of  civil  government  to  the  middle  of  the  11th 
century,  seem  during  the  greater  part  of  that  time  to  have  been  the 
paramount  power  in  Southern  India.  From  about  the  middle  of 
the  11th  century  the  Cholas  rose  to  the  position  of  the  paramount 
power  and  bore  rule,  directly  or  indirectly,  for  about  two  centuries 
and  a  half  over  the   whole  Ooromandel  Coast    from  Orissa  to  Cape 


EARL'S     HINDI:    PERIOD.  51 

Comorin,  including  even  the  Tamil  or  southern  port  ion  of  Travancore.  Chapter  II. 
During  the  later  period  of  the  Chola  or  Chola-Pandya  rule  para- 
mount power  over  all  the  southern  princes  was  claimed  by  the 
Ballala  dynasty  of  Dwara-samudra,  though  it  may  be  doubtful  in 
what  degree  the  power  so  claimed  was  really  exercised  or  sub-  Pandyas 
nutted  to.     After  a  short-lived  subjugation  of  the  south  by  the  jfagakas, 
Muhammadans,   from  the  beginning  to  the  middle  of  the  14th  the  Nawab. 
century,  the  paramount  power  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  kings  of 
Vijaya-nagara,  who  succeeded  to  all  and  more  than  all  the  posses- 
sions and  power  the  Ballalas  and  Cholas  had  acquired,  and  who  for 
nearly  two  centimes  exercised  the  power  they  claimed.     After  the 
middle  of  the  16th  century  no  one  power  can  be  said  to  have  been 
really  paramount  in  Southern  India  till  the  appearance  on  the  scene 
of  the  Nawab  of  Arcot  about  the  middle  of  the  18th  century. 


9SNH^9^^^BBBBIHBHBBBB^^^HBBOBBHDDDflOBHRIIIni^l^H^&H 


52 


HISTORY   OF    TINXEVELLY. 


CHAPTER   III. 

FROM  A.D.   1365  TO  1731. 
THE  PERIOD   OF  THE   SECOND    DYNASTY   OF    PANDYAS 

AND  OF  THE  N  A  YAK  AS. 


Secosd  Series  of  Pandya  Kings. 

Chapter  III.  The  Pandya  kings,  or  a  line  of  kings  calling  themselves  by  the 
same  name,  succeeded  after  a  time  in  getting  the  better  of  the 
Muhammadans  and  resumed  their  ancient  sway.  The  Muhamma- 
dan  rule  commenced  in  1311,  and  Ibn  Batuta  found  it  still  in  full 
vigour  in  1348  ;  but  I  have  found  an  inscription  of  one  of  the 
Pandya  kings  of  the  new  line — possibly  the  first  of  the  line — at 
Kottar  (now  in  South  Travancore,  but  formerly  considered  a 
portion  of  the  Pandyan  country),  dated  in  the  Saka  year  corre- 
sponding to  A.D.  1370,  in  the  fifth  year  of  Parakrama  Pandi  Deva. 

Parakrama  1365  must  have  been  the  year  of  Parakrama's  accession,  and  it 
supplies  us  with  a  date  from  which  the  commencement  of  the  new 
dynasty  may  safely  be  calculated. 

Whether  the  Pandyas  received  any  help  towards  thrusting  out 
the  Muhammadans  is  not  perfectly  certain,  but  it  may  be  presumed 
that  they  did.  It  does  not  seem  probable  that  they  could  have 
achieved  their  independence  alone,  and  tradition  represents  them 
as  receiving  help  from  Canarese  generals.  It  is  stated  in  one  of 
the  quasi-historical  documents  published  by  Mr.  Taylor  that  in 
1372  a  Mysore   (that  is,  a  Canarese  or  Kannada)  general  named 

Kampana       Kampana  Udaiyar  reduced  the  Muhammadan  invaders  of  Madura 

Udmyar.  ^0  submission,  and  it  is  further  stated  in  one  of  the  Mackenzie  MSS. 
that  this  general  was  an  agent  of  Bukka  Rayar,  the  first  Rayar  of 
Vijaya-nagara.  Bukka  became  king  of  Vijaya-nagara  in  1350.  It 
would  seem,  therefore,  that  Bukka  conceived  it  right  to  claim  in 
behalf  of  his  new  state  of  Vijaya-nagara  some  portion  of  the 
general  suzerainty*  said  to  have  been  exercised  over  the  various 
s!  atcs  of  the  south  by  the  later  kings  of  the  preceding  Canarese 
dynasty  of  Dwara-samudra.  It  may  be  concluded,  therefore,  that 
Erom  the  outset  it  was  in  some  degree,  through  help  received  Erom 
Vijaya-nagara,  that  the  second  line  of  Pandyas  succeeded  in  ousting 
the  Muhammadans  and  rising  to  power.  The  Muhammadans 
state  that  in  1374  Mujahid  Sha  overran  the  countries  between 
Vijaya-nagara  and  ( 'ape  Comorin,  and  advanced,  like  Malik  Kafur, 


I.WKK    HINDU    PERIOD.  53 

to    Uameswaram.     If  he  ever  did  so,  which  seems    to  me   very  Chapter  III, 
doubtful,  the  invasion  must  have  been  a  mere  plundering  expedi- 
tion which  left  no  trace  behind  it. 

I  have  not  been  able  to  work  out  anything  like  a  complete  list  Pated 

pit-»i         i.  oi  it  -ri  iii  inscriptions 

of  the  Pandya  kings  of  the  second  line.     Jb  ortuuately,  however,  0f  tne  later 
the  custom  of  dating  inscriptions,  not  merely  by  the  year  of  the  Pandyas. 
king's  reign,  but  by  the    Saka  or  some  recognised  era,  which  had 
almost  always  prevailed  in  Northern  and  Central  India  and  in  the 
Telugu  and  Canarese  countries,  but  had  been  unknown  in  the  old 
Pandya  country,  came  to  be  acted  upon  during  this  period,  so  that 
the  few  particulars  I  have  collected  may  be  regarded  as  historically 
certain.     All  the  inscriptions  here  referred  to  are  in  Tinnevelly, 
except  the  first  of  the  line  already  referred  to,  which  is  in  South 
Travancore.     The  next  prince,  after  the  one  mentioned  in  that 
inscription,  with  an  interval  of  sixty-six  years  still  to  be  filled  up, 
was  Ponnan  Perumal  Parakrama  Pandi,  whose  reign  commenced, 
as  I  find  by  an  inscription  on  a  pillar  in  Tenkasi  (the   Southern  Tenkasi 
Benares)  opposite  the  temple,  in  the   Saka  year  corresponding  to  u 
A.D.  1431.     This  inscription  of  Ponnan  Perumal  Parakrama  Pandi 
is  a  sort  of  proclamation  to  the  effect  that  the  work  of  the  temple 
having  been  finished  in  the  short  period  of  seventeen  years,  it 
should  be  concluded  that  it  was  not  a  work  of  man,  but  a  divine 
work  !     The  interval  may  partly  perhaps  be  filled  up  a  tradition 
related  by  the   people   at   Tenkasi,   who   say   that   the    Ponnan 
Perumal  Parakrama  Pandi  who  built  the  temple  was  preceded  by 
his  father,  Kasi  Kanda  Parakrama   Pandi,    i.e.,   the   Parakrama 
Pandi  who  visited  Benares.     The  next  prince  is  Vira  Pandi,  in 
whose  reign  I  have  found  two  inscriptions  at  Sri-vaikuntham  on  Sri-vaikun- 
the  northern  bank  of  the  Tamraparni.     They  are  dated  in  different  t^am 
years  of  his  reign,  but  both  agree  in  making  his  reign  commence 
in  1437.     His  predecessor's  reign,  therefore,  was  very  short.     It 
commenced,  as  we  have  seen,  in  1431  and  ended  in  1437.     The 
next  prince  noticed  in  inscriptions  is  another  Vira  Pandi,  who 
commenced  to  reign,  according  to  the  Mackenzie  MSS.,  in  1475. 
He  is  mentioned  in  an  inscription  as  reigning  in  1490.     The  next, 
whose  inscription  I  find  in  the  temple  at  Courtallum,  was  also 
called  Parakrama  Pandi  and  commenced  to  reign  in   1516.     The 
next,    probably  without  an  interval,  was  Vikrama  Pandi.     His 
reign  commenced  in   1543.     The  next  reign,  probably  without  an 
interval,  was  that  of  Vallabha  Deva,  called  also  Ati- Vira- Rama  Ati-Vira- 
Pandya,  who  commenced  to  reign,  according  to  an  inscription  in  p^dv-v 
Courtallum,  in  1565.     This  inscription  was  dated  in  his  fortieth 
year,    that  is,  in   1605.     Another  inscription  of  his  in  Tenkasi 
makes  his  reign   commence  in   1562.     In  this  inscription  he  is 
called  simply  Ati-Vlra-Pama  Pandya,  not  also  Vallabha  Deva. 
Dr.   Burncll    informs   me  that,  according   to  a  grant    in   copper 


■am 


54 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Chapter  III 


The  last  of 
the  Pamlyas. 


Value  of 
insertions 
as  compared 
with  oral 
information. 


Vijaya- 

nagara 

supremacy. 


belonging  to  a  Matha  in  the  Tanjore  District,  Ati-Vlra-Rama  must 
have  died  in  1610.  This  gives  him  an  unusually  long  reign,  but 
is  not  incredible.  The  same  grant  represents  him  as  succeeded  by 
a  Sundara  Pandya.  Dr.  Burnell  has  a  grant  of  this  Sundara 
Pandya  dated  in  the  thirteenth  year  of  his  reign.  This  must  have 
been  A.D.  1623.  So  far  as  appears  from  the  inscriptions  I  have 
found  in  Tinnevelly  itself,  Ati-Vlra-Rama  seems  to  have  been  the 
last  of  his  line.  As,  however,  he  was  a  man  of  learning  and 
culture,  and  a  poet  of  considerable  eminence,  his  line  may  be  said 
to  have  set  in  glory. 

The  unreliableness  of  popular  traditions  and  verbal  statements 
regarding  events  belonging  to  the  distant  past,  as  compared  with 
information  derived  from  inscriptions,  may  be  illustrated  by  a 
comparison  of  the  dates  given  above  with "  those  furnished  to 
Mr.  Tumbull,  a  surveyor,  who  was  making  inquiries  for  Colonel 
Mackenzie  about  1820.  See  his  Geographical  and  Statistical 
Memoir  of  Tinnevelly  printed  at  Palamcottah  in  1877,  p.  25. l  In 
giving  an  account  of  the  town,  temple,  and  ancient  fort  of  Tenkasi, 
Mr.  Tumbull  gave  the  names  and  dates  of  several  Pandya  kings 
who  were  said  to  have  been,  directly  or  indirectly,  connected  with 
the  place.  Ati-Vlra-Rama  Pandya  is  represented  in  this  account 
as  having  commenced  his  reign  in  A.D.  1099  ;  whereas  a  Tamil 
inscription  belonging  to  his  reign,  found  in  the  temple  at  that 
very  place,  states  that  his  reign  commenced  in  1562.  A  similar 
inscription  in  the  Court allum  temple  in  Sanskrit  makes  his  reign 
commence  nearly  at  the  same  date,  viz.,  in  1565.  So  also  Ponnan 
Perumal  Parakrama  Pandya,  in  whose  reign  the  Tenkasi  temple 
was  built,  was  stated  by  Mr.  Turnbull's  informants  to  have 
commenced  his  reign  in  1309;  whereas  the  inscription  on  the 
pillar  opposite  the  temple,  referred  to  above,  places  the  commence- 
ment of  his  reign  in  1431. 

Throughout  the  greater  number  of  the  reigns  of  these  Pandya 
kings  of  the  later  line,  the  kings  of  Vijaya-nagara  appear  to  have 
exercised  supreme  authority,  but  I  think  it  may  be  assumed  that 
they  did  not  interfere  much  in  the  internal  a  Hairs  of  the  country, 
that  they  contented  themselves  with  receiving  tribute  and  occasion- 
ally military  help,  and  that  the  principal  result  of  their  suze- 
rainty was  that  the  various  petty  states  included  within  their 
nominal  rule  were  protected  from  foreign  invasion,  and  then- 
propensity  to  spend  their  time  in  fighting  with  one  another  kepi 
in  check. 


'This  interesting  memoir,  compiled  apparently  about    L823,  was  discovered   in 
the  India  Office  by   H.  K    Puckle,  Esq  .  formerlj   Collector  of  Tinnevelly,    aftei 

it  had  lain  there  unnoticed  for  more  than  fiftj   yi 


LATER    HINDU    PF.Rl(U).  OO 

The  NaYAKAS  OF   MaDIjRA.  Chapter  III. 

The    history  of  the  Nayakas   of   Madura   is   fully   related  in  Sou^c.es  ofr 
Mr.  Nelson's  Madura  Manual,  but  there  are  very  few  particulars  in  the  Nayakas. 
that  history  connected  with  Tinnevelly,  and  it  is  very  doubtful 
how  far  the  particulars  mentioned  in  it  on  the  authority  of  native 
traditions  and  late  compilations  can  be  regarded  as  trustworthy. 
The  main  facts  in  the  history  of  the  Nayakas  related  therein  may 
be,  and  doubtless  are,  capable  of  being  accepted  as  correct,  but  the 
only  incidents  and  dates  that  seem  to  me  perfectly  reliable  are 
those  for  which  we  are  indebted  to  the  letters  written  at  the  time  Letters  of  the 
to    their  ecclesiastical  superiors  at  home  by  the  Roman  Catholic  Jesuits- 
Missionaries.     This  source  of  information,  however,  is  of  no  avail 
prior  to   1600.     The  narratives,  for  instance,  of  the  administration 
of  Visvanatha  Nayaka,  taken  by  Nelson  from  Taylor's  Historical 
Manuscripts    and  the  Mackenzie  Collection,   seem  to  me  to  fall 
beneath  the  level  even  of  tradition.     They  seem  to  me  little  better 
than  pure  inventions,  dating  from  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century,  attributing  to  a  half  mythical  Nayaka  the  characteristics 
and  aims  of  a  good  English  Collector. 

The  commencement  of  the  rule  of  the  Nayakas  is  generally  said  Commence- 
to  have  taken  place  in  1559,  but  this  date  depends  entirely  on  j^yaka  ^ 
very  late  native  authority,  and   as  at  that   date  the   power    of 
Vijaya-nagara  had  sunk   very  low,  it  would  seem  to  be   more 
probable  that  the  Nayaka  intervention  in  the  affairs  of  Madura 
took  place  earlier  than  that,  viz.,  in  Krishna  Kayalu's  reign,  about 
1520.     Nothing  can  be  clearer  from  the  letters  of  the  celebrated 
Francis  Xavier,  written  in  1543,  than  that  the  "Badages,"  that  is  The 
the  Vadugas,  or  Nayakas,  had  already  taken  possession  of  fchelfXavier8 
whole  interior  of  the  country,  and  that  they  were  then  endeavouring 
to  possess  themselves  of  the  sea  coast  as  far  south  as  Cape  Comorin. 
If  we  suppose  this  state  of  things,  as  we  fairly  may,  to  have  been 
gathering  head  for  twenty  years  or  so,  we  shall  trace  our  way  back 
to  the  reign  of  Krishna  liaya,  viz.,  to  about  1520. 

The  Vijaya-nagara  king's  intervention  in  the  affairs  of  the  south  Origin  of  the 
is  said  to  have  been  owing  in  the  first  instance  to  a  request  for  ^  Vtfaa-°n 
help  against  a  rival  preferred  to  him  by  the  reigning  Pandya.  nagara." 
The  king  of  Tan j  ore  had  dispossessed  the  Pandya  and  occupied 
his  country,    whereupon    the    latter    fled    to   Vijaya-nagara  (as 
Sundara  Pandya  had  previously  fled  to  Delhi)   and  begged  for 
protection.     The  king  of  Tan  j  ore  is  called  Vlra-sekhara,  the  king 
of  Madura  Chandra-sekhara.     I  regard  these  names,  however,  as 
quite  uncertain.     On  this  application,  it  is  said,  the  king  of  Vijaya- 
nagara  despatched  a  general  of  his,   one   Nagama  Nayaka,  to 
chastise  the  Chola  king  and  reinstate  the  Pandya  on  the  throne  of 
his  ancestors.     If  this  really  took  place,  as  stated,  the  Pandya 


5G 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Visvanatha 
Nayaka. 


Chapter  hi.  prince  referred  to  may  have  been  Parakraraa  Pandi,  who   com- 
menced to  reign,  as  we  have  seen,  in  1516. 

Nagania  is  said  to  have  declared  himself  independent,  where- 
upon his  son,  Visvanatha  Nayaka,  volunteered  to  go  and  reduce  his 
father  to  submission.  This  the  son  is  said  to  have  succeeded  in 
doing,  and  was  rewarded  for  his  loyalty  by  being  made  lieutenant 
or  governor  of  Madura  in  the  Vijaya-nagara  Raja's  interest.  It 
is  not  stated  that  he,  like  his  father,  made  himself  by  his  own  act 
independent  of  his  master  ;  but  the  result  was  not  dissimilar,  for 
the  power  and  dignity  that  had  been  conferred  upon  himself 
personally,  as  a  mark  of  royal  favour,  descended  to  his  posterity 
for  fifteen  generations.  Visvanatha  Nayaka  seems  to  have  been 
a  man  of  energy  and  administrative  power.  It  was  by  him  that 
Madura  is  said  to  have  been  fortified.  Trichinopoly  was  also  said 
to  have  been  acquired  by  him  from  the  king  of  Tan j ore,  in 
exchange  for  Vallam,  and  incorporated  in  the  Madura  country,  in 
which  it  continued  to  be  included  till  the  period  of  the  supremacy 
of  the  Nawab  of  Arcot.  He  also  quelled  a  formidable  insurrection 
in  Tinnevelly  headed  by  five  confederate  chiefs,  said  to  have  been 
brothers,  who  styled  themselves  the  five  Pandavas. 

As  the  number  of  Poligars  or  Palaiyakaras  in  Tinnevelly  is 
considerable,  though  not  equal  to  what  it  is  in  Madura — (there 
are  at  present  22  zemindaries  in  Tinnevelly  and  26  in  Madura, 
including  the  two  very  extensive  zemindaries  of  Ramnad  and 
Sivaganga), — I  here  cite  Mr.  Nelson's  account  of  the  state  of  things 
in  the  Pandya  country  generally,  which  is  said  to  have  led  to  the 
appointment  of  Palaiyakaras  (Poligars,  now  Zemindars)  by  Visva- 
natha Na}\aka  on  his  setting  himself  to  the  task  of  pacifying  the 
country : — 


Number  of 
the  Poligars. 


Origin  of  the  Poligars  of  the  South. 

Vi§vanatha's       '■  "Whilst  the  settlement  of  the  southern  districts  was  being  effected, 
policy.  Visvanatha  found  it  necessary  to  attempt  to  provide  for  the  stability 

of  the  dynasty  of  which  he  hoped  to  be  the  founder,  by  identifying  its 
interests  with  those  of  the  principal  men  of  the  country ;  and  by 
rendering  his  rule  equally  popular  with  all  classes  of  society.  But  the 
task  appeared  to  be  one  of  almost  hopeless  difficulty.  He  had 
brought  witli  him  to  Madura  crowds  of  dependents  and  adherents  of 
his  own  caste,  who  had  as  a  body  proved  themselves  to  be  faithful 
and  obedient  and  had  dono  his  work  excollently  well.  These  men  were 
all  of  them  greedily  looking  for  their  rewards  :  and  unless  provided 
Parties  to  be  for  with  lavish  liberality  would  very  soon  show  their  teeth.  Then 
there  wore  the  old  Tamil  hereditary  chieftains,  whom  he  had  found 
possessed  of  considerable  territories  and  power.  Their  good  will  it 
was  at  once  most  necessary  and  most  difficult  to  secure.  Accustomed 
from  generation  to  generation  to  perpetually  recurring  periods  of 
anarchy,  they  knew  only  too  well  how  to  draw  profit  from  misnde : 


conciliated. 


LATER    HINDU    TERIOD.  57 

and  as  they  sulkily  looked  on  at  the  doings  of  the  Telugu  intruder,  it  Chapter  III. 
seemed  ridiculous  to  expect  that  they  would  ever  acquiesce  in  the 
establishment  of  order  and  sovereign  power.     Moreover  they  could 
not  but  regard  with  feelings  of  the  bitterest  jealousy  and  hatred  the 
foreigners  who  surrounded  the  governor's   person,  and  who  seemed 
about  to  appropriate  to  themselves  all  the  highest  offices  and  emolu- 
ments  in   his   gift.     Then   again  there  were  the  impoverished  and 
discontented   adherents  of   the  Pandyas — men  who  could   hope   for 
eveiything   from   revolution  ;  from  peace    and   quiet   nothing.     And 
lastly  there  were  the  bold  and  turbulent  Telugu  and  Canarese  adven- 
turers, whose  ancestors  had  seized  with  a  strong  grip  the  northern  and 
western   divisions  of   the  country ;    who  paid  no  man  tribute ;    and 
whose  lawless  tempers  could  ill-brook  the  curb  and  spur  of  a  strong  visvanatha's 
government.     It   was  Visvanatha's  task  to  reconcile  the  conflicting  Plai?  oi  couei- 
interests  of  all  these  classes,  to  smooth  away  differences,  and  to  conci-    a 
bate  affection :  and  to  do  this  in  a  strange  country  and  with  an  empty 
\,  purse  !     At  last  he  contrived  a  scheme  by  which  it  seemed  possible  to 
attain  success.     Its  object  was  to  enrich  and  ennoble  the  most  power- 
fid  of   each   class,    and   at   the   same   time   secure   their   and   their 
descendants'  allegiance  to  himself  and  his  successors.     This  scheme, 
though  possibly  as  good  as  any  that  could  at  such  a  time  be  devised, 
was  nevertheless  fraught  with  all  the  elements  of  danger,  and  in  the 
end   contributed  largely,  as  we  shall  see,  to  the  subversion  of  the 
Nayaka  dynasty.     Its  details  were  as  follows.     There  were  seventy- 
two  bastions  to  the  fort  of   Madura,    and  each   of  them    was  now 
formally  placed  in  charge  of  a  particular  chief,  who  was  bound  for 
himself  and  his  heirs   to  keep  his  post  at  all  times  and  under  all 
circumstances.     He  was  also  bound  to  pay  a  fixed  annual  tribute  ;  to 
supply  and  keep  in  readiness  a  quota   of  troops  for  the  governor's 
armies  ;  and  to  keep  the  governor's  peace  over  a  particidar  tract  of 
country.     And  in  consideration  of  his  promise  to  perform  these  and  Investiture  of 
other  services,  a  grant  was  made  to  him  of  a  tract  of  country  consist-        Poligars. 
ing  of  a  certain  number  of  villages,  proportioned  to  his  rank  and  the 
favour  with  which  Visvanatha  and  Arya  Nayaka  respectively  regarded 
him,  together  with  the  title  of  Palaiyakaran  (Poligar).     In  addition 
to  this,   each  grantee  was  presented  with  valuable  gifts ;  titles  and 
privileges  were  conferred  upon  him  amid  much  pomp  and  ceremony, 
and  nothing  was  omitted  which  coidd  in  any  way  add  to  the  solem- 
nity and  importance  of  the  governor's  act.     Such  was  the  origin  of 
the  famous  Madura  Palaiyakaras,  of  some  of  whom  the  descendants 
are  still  possessed  of  their  ancestors'  feuds,   if  not  of  their  rank  and 
power." 

It  appears  to  me  very  doubtful  whether  all  the  Poligars  in  DouLtfulnes3 
Madura  and  Tinnevelly  were  appointed  in  this  manner  by  one  °.f  these  tratii_ 
Nayaka  ruler  alone,  whether  Visvanatha  himself,  the  supposed 
founder  of  the  dynasty,  or  any  other.  The  documents  on  which 
Mr.  Nelson  relied  seem  to  me  to  possess  little  or  no  historical  value. 
All  that  can  be  regarded,  I  think,  as  probable  is  that  the  existence  of 
the  Poligars  as  a  class  dates  from  the  period  of  the  commencement 

8 


^^^mm 


58  HISTORY   OF    TINNEVELLY. 

Chapter  III.  of  the  rule  of  the  Nayakas.  Very  few  of  the  Zemindars  (the 
principal  exception  is  the  Setupati  of  Ramnad)  can  claim  that  their 
estates  or  chiefships  were  conferred  upon  them  prior  to  the  Nayaka 
period  by  the  old  Pandya  kings. 

Etymology  of  The  title  of  Poligar  is  said  by  General  "Wilks  to  have  been  given 
t'oligar.  ky  ^e  yijaya_nagara  kings  (though  he  does  not  say  by  which 
of  them)  to  the  chiefs  of  the  Telugu  colonies  planted  in  the 
neighbouring  provinces  for  the  purpose  of  overawing  the  original 
inhabitants.  The  Tamil  name  is  Palaiyakkara,  the  literal  meaning 
of  which  is  the  holder  of  a  camp,  secondly  the  holder  of  a  barony  on 
military  tenure.  But  the  English  seem  to  have  taken  their  name 
Poligar,  not  from  the  Tamil  Palaiyakkara,  but  from  the  Telugu 
Palegadu,  or  the  Canarese  Palegara,  the  meaning  of  which  is  iden- 
tical. [Gadu  and  gara  are  equivalent  to  kara.]  In  like  manner  the 
English  seem  to  have  taken  their  word  Pollam,  a  Poligar's  holding, 
rather  from  the  Telugu  Palem-u,  than  from  the  Tamil  Palai}ram. 
The  Vijaya-nagara  Poligar  was  held  to  be  a  lord  over  thirty-three 
villages,  but  there  is  no  trace  of  any  such  rule  as  to  number  in  the 
Tamil  country.  The  Poligar  is  said  to  have  been  originally  in 
the  Kannada  country  called  an  Odeyar  (proprietor,  pronounced 
Wodeyar) .  The  Tamil  form  of  this  title  is  Udaiyar,  and  this  is 
often  used  by  Zemindars  in  the  Tamil  country.  I  have  found  it 
sometimes  in  inscriptions  included  amongst  the  titles  of  ancient 
kings. 

Results  of  the  Looking  at  the  result  of  the  appointment  of  Poligars  by  the 
rulers  of  Madura,  it  can  hardly  be  said  that  the  idea  of  governing 
the  country  by  means  of  an  order  of  rude,  rapacious  feudal  nobles, 
such  as  the  Poligars  generally  were,  turned  out  to  be  a  happy  one, 
for  down  to  the  period  of  their  final  subjection  and  submission  to 
British  authority  in  1801,  whenever  they  were  not  at  war  with  the 
central  authority  they  were  at  war  with  one  another,  and  it  was 
rarely  possible  to  collect  from  them  the  tribute  or  revenue  due  to 
the  central  authority  without  a  display  of  military  force,  which 
added  greatly  both  to  the  unpopularity  and  the  expense  of  the 
collection. 

See  an  account  of  the  position  occupied  by  the  Poligars  at  a 
later  period  in  Chapter  IV. 

Defence  of  Mr.  Stuart  in  his  Tinncvolly  Manual,  after  quoting  the  above 

system.lgir  estimato  of  the  results  of  the  appointment  of  Poligars  by  the  riders  of 
Madura,  endeavours  to  extenuate  the  evils  of  the  system.  He  says, 
"  this/  remark  would,  however,  apply  with  equal  force  to  feudal 
institutions  in  Europe  in  the  middle  ages,  and  as  these  served  their 
purpose  in  the  age  of  the  world  in  which  they  flourished,  it  is 
perhaps  reasonable  to  suppose  that  protection  from  foreign  foes  and 
internal  order  and  progress,  though  frequently  accompanied  by 


LATER   HINDU    PERIOD.  59 

oppression  and  misrule,  were  secured  by  this  means  to  an  extent  Chapteh  hi 
which  would  have  been  otherwise  impossible."  It  is  so  seldom 
that  one  hears  a  good  word  about  the  Poligars  that  I  quote  these 
remarks  of  Mr.  Stuart  with  pleasure.  He  does  not  question  their 
misdeeds,  but  endeavours  to  extenuate  them  by  a  historical 
parallel.  I  fear,  however,  that  the  misdeeds  of  the  Poligars  were 
more  systematic  and  audacious  than  those  of  the  feudal  nobles  of 
Europe  in  the  middle  ages.  Even  admitting,  however,  the  appro- 
priateness of  the  parallel,  not  much  seems  to  be  gained  by  it,  for, 
whether  in  Europe  or  in  Southern  India,  the  "  foreign  foes  "  that 
were  most  sedulously  guarded  against  were  not  foreigners,  properly 
so  called,  but  the  legitimate  rulers  of  the  country,  and  it  was  not 
till  the  Poligars  of  the  Highlands  of  Scotland  and  of  the  Rhine, 
like  the  Poligars  of  Tinnevelly,  had  submitted  to  the  dominion  of 
the  central  government  that  "  internal  order  and  progress  "  were 
in  any  degree  secured. 

The  only  other  incidents  connected  with  Tinnevelly  I  find  in  the 
history  of  the  Madura  Nayakas  are  the  following  : — 

Arya  Nayaka  Mudali  having  succeeded  in  quieting  the  country,  Krishna, 
the  Nayaka  ruler,  Kumara  Krisknappa  (or  Krishnania),  occupied  Pnnu" 
himself,  it  is  said,  in  building  a  town  to  the  east  of  Palamcottah, 
which  he  called  after  himself  Krishnapuram.  This  statement, 
however,  is  not  supported  by  local  evidence.  This  Krishnapuram 
appears  to  have  been  built  by  a  Mudali  called  Mayil-erum-perumal, 
who  being  originally  a  Saiva  became  a  convert  to  the  worship  of 
Krishna  and  afterwards  a  Tadar  (Dasa)  or  Vaishnava  devotee. 
The  work  of  this  temple  is  considered  to  be  particularly  beautiful. 
This  new  town  of  Krishnappa's  being  a  great  success,  he  is  said  to 
have  built  another  of  the  same  sort  to  the  westward  called 
Kadaiyam  Krishnapuram,  the  Krishnapuram  which  is  near 
Kadaiyam.  It  lies  between  Tenkasi  and  Brahmadesam.  Krish- 
nappa died  in  1573.     Nelson,  p.  105. 

"  During  the  rule  of  Tirumala  Nayaka,  for  some  reason  which  cannot  Rebellion 
now  be  discovered,  the  powerful  Polig-ar  of  Ettaiyapurani  in  the  Ettal>*a- 
Tinnevelly  District  put  himself  at  the  head  of  a  confederation  of 
Poligars  and  took  up  arms  against  the  king.  The  Setupati,  the  Poligar 
of  Eamnad,  being  the  chief  of  all  the  Poligars,  was  entrusted  with  the 
duty  of  quelling  the  rebellion  and  performed  it  most  satisfactorily. 
The  leader  of  the  rebels  was  put  to  death,  and  the  others  severely 
punished,  and  in  a  few  months  tranquillity  was  completely  restored. 
For  this  service  he  was  rewarded  by  the  gift  of  a  large  slice  of  land 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Maiiar  koil  and  entrusted  with  the  duty  of 
protecting  the  pearl  fishery,  which  yielded  considerable  sums  of  money 
to  the  royal  treasury."     Nelson's  Madura. 

The   latter   clause  means,  I  think,  that  the  pearl  fishery  to  the 
north  of  the  island  of  Paumben    was  now   admitted    to  be  the 


mm 


60  HISTORY    OF    TINKEVJ4LLY. 

Chapter  III.  property  of  the  Ranmad  Setupati,  whilst  the  rest  of  the  fishery, 
by  far  the  largest  portion  of  it,  extending  from  Pamnben  to  the 
neighbourhood  of  Cape  Comorin,  remained  as  before  in  the  king's 
own  hands. 

Koyal  re.  "Another  and  much  higher  official  (thau  the  Collector  of  Customs) 

presentatives   was  the  Administrator  or  Governor  of  the  Tinnevelly  country.     "When 

y"  the  king  lived  in  Madura  it  was  highly  necessary  to  place  a  man  of 

ability  in  charge  of  the  southern  districts  and  vest  him  with  large 

powers  ;  and  it  became  still  more  necessary  to  do  this  when  Trichinopoly 

was  made  the  capital." 

There  is  an  inscription  near  Sheranmadevi  in  which  one  Vlra- 
raghava  Mudaliar  is  described  as  the  Karya-kartta,  or  agent,  of 
Virappa  Nayaka  in  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

Tirumalai's  younger  brother,  Kumaramuttu,  claimed  the  right 
of  succeeding  to  the  throne.  In  virtue,  however,  of  some  negotia- 
tions he  consented  to  waive  his  claim  and  accepted  in  lieu  of  the 
crown  the  district  of  Sivakasi  and  other  territories  in  the  Tinne- 
velly province. 

Tigers  on  the  A  French  Missionary's  letter  written  in  1700  states  that  "for 
some  time  past  a  large  jungle  on  the  Tinnevelly  coast  had  been 
infested  by  tigers  to  such  a  degree  that  after  sunset  no  inhabitant 
of  any  village  situated  in  its  neighbourhood  dared  to  move  outside 
his  door.  Watch  was  kept  in  every  village  at  night,  and  large 
fires  were  lighted  for  the  purpose  of  scaring  the  monsters  away. 
Even  in  the  day  time  travelling  was  not  quite  safe  ;  and  numbers 
of  people  had  disappeared  who  had  without  doubt  been  seized  and 
devoured  in  lonely  places."  This  fact  is  noticeable,  inasmuch 
as  tigers  have  been  for  many  years  unknown  in  the  Madura  and 
Tinnevelly  Districts  (except  in  the  vicinity  cf  the  mountains) ;  and 
their  existence  in  large  numbers  on  the  sea  coast  in  1700  would 
seem  to  show  that  the  country  was  then  much  more  sparsely 
populated  and  contained  many  more  uncultivated  tracts  than  at 
the  present  day. 

List  of  the  Nayakas. 

List  of  the  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  Nayaka  rulers  of  Madura  with 

Nayakas  of     ^    j^es  of  their  accession,  according  to  the  authorities  followed 

Madura.  '  °  . 

by  Mr.  Taylor  and  Mr.  Nelson.    The  reader  is  requested,  however. 

to  remember  that  I  have  shown  that  the   commencement  of  the 

rule  of  the  Nayakas  is  probably  to  be  placed  at  least  thirty  years 

earlier  :-  — 

Visvanatha  Nayaka     ..  ..  ..  ..      1559 

Kumara  Krishiiappa  Nayaka  ..  ..      1563 

Periy a  Virappa  Nayaka  ..  ..  ..      1573 

Visvanatha  II  Nayaka  1573 


Lingaiya  Nayaka       "i 
Visvappa  Nayaka      j 


1595 


LATER    HINDU    PERIOD. 


61 


Mutfcu  Rrishnappa  Nfiyaka 1602  Chapter  ELI. 

Muttu  Virappa  Nayaka           ..          ..  ..  1009 

Tirumalai  Nayaka        ..          ..          ..  ..  1623 

Muttu  Alakadri  Nayaka          .  .          .  .  .  .  1659 

Choka  Natka  Nayaka              ..          ..  ..  1602 

Eanga  Kriskna  Muttu  Virappa  Nayaka  ..  1682 

Manganirual  (Queen  Eegent)              ..  ..  1689 

Vijaya  Eanga  Ckoka  Natka  Nayaka  ..  1704 

Mmakski  Annual  (Queen  Eegent)     ..  ..  1731 

Ckanda  Sakeb's  usurpation    . .          . .  . .  1736 

By  far  the  most  distinguished  prince  of  the  Nayaka  dynasty  was  Tirumala 
Tiriunalai  Nayaka  (from  1623  to  1659),  a  prince  whose  magnificent  ^ay"kl1- 
tastes   are   attested  by  the  remains  of  the  buildings  he  erected 
at  Madura,  especially  the  remains  of  his  palace,  a  Saracenic  structure, 
which  is  the  grandest  building  of  its  kind  in  Southern  India. 
What  is  now  called  the  palace  was  originally  little  more  than  the 
hall  of  audience.      He  erected  another  palace  of  much  smaller  Buildings 
dimensions,  but  in  the  same  style  of  architecture,  at  Srlvilliputtur  hhn." 
in  Tinnevelly,  where  it  is  said  he  liked  to  reside  occasionally. 
The  remains  of  the  Madura  palace  are  now  utilised  for  courts  and 
other  public  offices.     The  greater  part  of  Tirumalai  Nayaka's  reign 
was  disfigured  by  exhausting  and  impolitic  wars.      The  next  most 
noticeable  personage  in  the  Nayaka  line  was  the  Queen  Regent 
Mangammal   (from   1689  to   1704),  who  ruled  as  regent  during  Mangammal. 
the  minority  of  her  grandson.     She  eschewed  wars  and  cultivated 
the  arts  of  peace,  and  all  through  Tinnevelly,  as  well  as  in  Madura 
and  the  adjacent  districts,  she  achieved  a  reputation  which  survives 
to  the  present  day    as   the  greatest   maker  of  roads,  planter  of 
avenues,  digger  of  wells,  and  builder  of  choultries  the  royal  houses 
of  Madura  ever  produced.     It  has  become  customary  to  attribute 
to  her  every  avenue  found  any  where  in  the  country.      I  have 
found,  for  instance,  that  all  the  avenues  in   the  neighbourhood  of 
Courtallum  are  attributed  to  Mangammal.     Having  done  so  much 
she  is  supposed  to  have  done  all. 

Nayaka  Titles. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  the  Nayakas  never  called  themselves  The  Nayaka3 
kings  of  Madura.     They  professed  to  be  lieutenants  of  the  great  themselves  ° 
Rayalu  of  Vijaya-nagara  and  nothing  more  ;  and  even  when  they  kings, 
refused  the  tribute  due  to  their  lord  paramount  or  waged  war 
against  him,  they  do  not  seem  to  have  cared  to  clutch  at  a  higher 
title.     They  assumed  all    the  state  and  wielded  all  the  power  of 
kings,  but  seem  to  have  been  deterred  by  some  feeling  of  here- 
ditary loyalty  from  assuming  the  name.     "We  have  seen  also  that 
there  were  Pandya  kings  surviving  and  nominally  reigning  in  the 


62  HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 

Chapter  III.  Madura  country  at  least  down  to  1605,  notwithstanding  the  con- 
temporaneous existence  of  the  Nayakas.  Nayaka  in  Sanskrit 
means  a  leader,  a  chief,  but  as  used  in  Southern  India  it  is  the 
hereditary  title  of  certain  Telugu  castes.  In  Telugu  the  mascu- 
line singular  is  written  Nayudu,  in  Tamil  Nayakkan.  There  are 
several  divisions  among  the  Nayakas,  and  it  is  said  that  the 
Madura  royal  dynasty  belonged  to  the  division  of  the  caste  called 
Vaduga-Nayakas,  commonly  called  simply  Vadugas,  the  Badages 
of  Xavier.  The  ordinary  name  by  which  the  Nayaka  rulers  of 
Madura  are  styled  in  the  Tamil  country,  at  least  in  the  south,  is 

The  Karttak-  the  "  Karttakkal."  People  speak  of  such  and  such  an  event  as 
happening  in  the  days  of  the  Karttakkal.  This  is  the  Tamil  plural 
of  the  Sanskrit  Karta,  a  doer,  an  agent,  a  representative.  This 
title  seems  to  have  been  chosen  as  being  one  that  involved  less 
assumption  than  the  title  of  king,  and  yet  had  more  of  a  royal 
sound  than  Nayaka,  which  after  all  was  only  a  caste  title.  Perhaps 
the  best  rendering  of  the  title  of  Kartta  in  this  connection  would  be 
"  High  Commissioner." 

Characteristics  of  the  Nayaka  Eule. 

Reputation  of      It  is  unfortunate  for  the  reputation  of  the  Nayakas  as  rulers 

asridJi's^ l  th^  so  mucn  more  is  known  about  them  and  their  proceedings 
than  about  their  Pandya  and  Chola  predecessors.  The  Pandyas 
and  Cholas  left  behind  them  few  or  no  records  of  their  rule.  It  is 
often,  therefore,  taken  for  granted  that  their  rule  must  have  been 
characterised  by  an  unfailing  respect  for  justice.  The  age  iu 
which  they  lived  has  become  the  patrimony  of  the  poets,  who 
describe  it  as  a  golden  age  of  light  taxes,  of  freedom  from  oppres- 

Reputation  of  sion>  0f  rain  three  times  a  month,  and  of  universal  happiness.  On 
the  other  hand  the  Nayakas  lived  and  ruled  at  so  recent  a  period, 
and  so  much  was  written  about  them  at  the  time  by  European 
Missionaries  residing  in  their  territory,  that  the  entire  public  and 
private  character  of  most  of  them  stands  exposed  to  "  that  fierce 
light  which  beats  upon  a  throne."  Judged  therefore  not  merely 
by  modern  European  standards  of  right  and  wrong,  but  even 
by  the  standards  furnished  by  Hindu  and  Muhammadan  books  of 
authority,  the  Nayakas  must  be  decided  to  have  fallen  far  short  of 

Misruli  hid-  their  duty  as  rulers.  Their  reigns  record  little  more  than  a 
disgraceful  catalogue  of  debaucheries,  treacheries,  plunderings, 
oppressions,  murders,  and  civil  commotions,  relieved  only  by  the 
factitious  splendour  of  gifts  to  temples,  idols,  and  priests,  by  means 
of  which  they  apparently  succeeded  in  getting  the  Brahmans  and 
poets  to  speak  well  of  them,  and  thus  in  keeping  the  mass  of  the 
people  patient  under  their  misrule. 


LATER    HINDU    PERIOD.  63 

As  we  have  no  reason  to  suppose   the  Nayakas   worse  than  the  Chapter  III. 
dynasties  that  preceded  them,  we  cannot  safely  form   a  higher  Works  of 
estimate  of  the  characteristics  of  the  administration  of  the  P.indya  public  utility 
and  Ohola  kings.     Neither  during  the  period  of  the  Pandyas  and  Uj^_,wn, 
Cholas  nor  during  the  Nayaka  period  were  any  roads  in  existence. 
What  were  called   roads  were  merely  cross-country  tracks,  some- 
times   lined  with  trees.     Bridges  appear  to  have  been  unknown. 
There  were  no  magistrates  or  judges,  except  at  the  capital,  where 
the  king  himself  sat  in  judgment,  assisted  by  Brahman  advisers. 
There  were  no  schools,  except  for  Brahmans.     Trade  was  unpro- 
tected, and  merchants  did  not  dare  to  appear  to  grow  rich.     Hos- 
pitals were  unknown.     "When  any  question  came  up  for  decision, 
every  thing  was  determined  in  accordance  either  with  the  caprice 
of  the  monarch  or  the  iron  code  of  custom  and  caste  ;   and  it  does 
not  seem  to  have  entered  into  the  mind  of  any  person  that  it  was  Administra- 
possible  for   him    to  become   freer,   better,   or   happier  than  his 
ancestors.     It  was  not  until  the  British  Government  appeared  on 
the   scene    that    any    serious  attempt  was  made  to  lift  the  mass 
of  the  people  to   a  higher   level.     The  only  public   works  then 
carried  on  were  works  of  irrigation,  and  it  must  freely  be  admitted 
that  they  were  generally  carried  on  with  exemplary  vigour  and 
marked  success,  not  however,  so  far  as  appears,  by  the  rulers,  but 
by  the  people  themselves.     Anicuts,  or   weirs,  were  thrown  across 
the  principal    rivers,    especially   the  Tamraparni,    and   the  open 
country  was  covered  with   a  net -work  of  tanks. 

Anicuts  on  thf  Tamraparni. 

There  are  eight  anicuts x  on  the  Tamraparni,  seven  of  which  were  Anicuts 
constructed  before  the  arrival  of  the  English  in  Tinnevelly.  on  the 

1.  The  highest  of  these  is  rather  a  dam  than  an  anicut.  It  is 
called,  however,  by  the  Natives  talaiyanai,  the  head  or  first  anicut. 
The  river  after  descending  the  Papanasam  falls  passes  through  a 
narrow  gorge,  which  is  partially  blocked  up  by  huge  boulders  and 
a  reef  of  rock.  In  the  rock  holes  have  been  cut  in  which  posts, 
for  the  most  part  of  palmyra  trees,  have  been  inserted,  and  against 
these  cross  bars  with  brushwood  have  been  placed.  Water  is  thus 
supplied  for  the  channels  leading  off  from  either  bank. 

2.  Probably  the  most  ancient  of  the  anicuts,  properly  so  called, 
is  that  styled  the  Nadiyunni  anicut,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  above 
Ambasamudram.  It  is  made  of  large  uncemented  stones.  Nadi- 
yunni means  "  that  which  drinks  up  the  river."  An  inscription 
on  a  stone  belonging  to  this  anicut  now  in  the  bed  of  the  stream 
represents  it  as  having  been  made  at  a  comparatively  recent  time. 
'•This  Nadiyunni  anai  was  made,"  says  the  inscription,    "as  a 

1  Anaikkattu  is  the  cqui  valent  Tamil,  from  anai  a  dam,  and  kattu  a  construc- 
tion. 


64 


HISTORY   OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Legend  of the 

Kunnadian 
Anai- 


Chapter  hi.  charitable  work  by  Khan  Saheb,  in  the  years  of  the  Salivahana  and 
Quilon  eras  answering  to  A.D.  1759."  Khan  Saheb  means  the 
celebrated  Muhammad  Yusuf  Khan,  who  was  in  power  at  that 
time  and  about  whom  we  shall  hear  much  in  the  sequel.  The 
natives  in  the  neighbourhood  say  with  much  probability  that  the 
anicut  was  originally  made  by  the  ancient  Pand}Ta  kings,  but 
repaired  and  strengthened  by  Khan  Saheb. 

3.  The  most  famous  of  the  anicuts  is  that  which  is  called  by 
the  English  the  Canadian  anicut.  "Canadian"  stands  for  Kannadi- 
yan,  and  the  meaning  is  the  anicut  made  by  the  Kannadi  or 
Kannadiyan,  that  is,  by  the  Canarese  man.  This  is  opposite 
Anibasamudram.  Of  the  many  legends  current  respecting  this 
Kannadiyan  one  is  to  the  effect  that  he  was  placed, in  possession 
of  immense  wealth  by  a  local  divinity,  who  ordered  him  to  devote 
this  wealth  to  the  construction  of  an  anicut.  One  form  of  the 
legend  is  that  all  the  anicuts  were  made  by  the  same  person.  A 
cow,  it  seems,  was  sent  f  orth  as  a  guide,  and  wherever  the  cow  lay 
down  an  anicut  was  to  be  constructed.  The  cow  lay  down  six 
times  between  Ambasamudram  and  the  sea,  and  accordingly  six 
anicuts  were  made  by  the  Kannadi  out  of  the  same  supernatural 
supply  of  funds.  Another  and  milder  form  of  the  legend  is  that 
only  this  one  anicut  which  bears  his  name  was  made  by  the 
Kannadi,  and  that  the  cow  was  commissioned  only  to  mark  out  the 
channel  leading  from  this  one  anicut.  Wherever  the  cow  went 
a  channel  was  to  be  dug,  and  wherever  she  lay  down  they  were  to 
make  a  tank.  The  only  particular  in  these  legends  which  seems 
likely  to  be  true  is  that  the  maker  of  the  anicut  was  some  public- 
spirited  Kannadi  or  Canarese  man,  probably  a  representative  of 
the  Madura  government  for  the  time  being. 

The  date  of  the  construction  of  this  anicut  is  unknown,  but  it 
may  be  placed  any  time  between  the  commencement  of  the 
fourteenth  century  and  the  close  of  the  sixteenth.  There  are 
inscriptions  in  a  temple  near  the  channel,  one  of  which  is  dated  in 
the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century.  There  is  a  little  temple 
near  the  anicut  itself,  where  a  sacrifice  is  offered  yearly  to  the  local 
divinity,  on  the  5th  of  June,  on  which  occasion  the  sluice  is 
ceremonially  opened  and  the  water  allowed  to  enter  the  channel. 
There  is  a  choultry  at  Shermadevy  (Cheran-mfi-devI)  said  to  have 
been  built  by  the  same  Kannadi. 

Another  form  of  the  legend  is  given  in  Shungoonny  Mcnon's 
History  of  Travancore. 

"  It  would  soom  that  a  Telugu(?)  Brahman,  commonly  known  by 
the  name  of  Kunnadia,  received  a  donation  of  a  largo  number  of  gold 
coins  from  the  Maha  Rajah  Prathapa  Budra  of  Voloor  ;  that  this 
Brahman,  by  the  advice  of  the  sage  Agastyar,  who  resided  ou  a  hill 
in  Thiruadi  DCsam  (Travancore),   built  an  anicut  (still  in  existence) 


Date  of  this 
anicut. 


A  nother  form 
of  the  li  gt  ad. 


LATER    HINDU    PERIOD.  05 

across  tlio   Thambraverni  river,  and  opened  an  irrigation   canal  from  Chapter  III. 
that    spot   to    the    extent  of  about   twenty-one   miles ;  that  with  the 
surplus  money  he  built  a  sathram  at  ChSra  Maha,  Devi  for   feeding  a 
certain  number  of  Brahtnans  daily  ;  and  that  he  appointed  the  holder 
of  the  copper  plate  as  the  perpetual  manager  of  that  institution." 

The  writer  quotes  the  substance  of  the  language  of  the  plate 
itself  :— 

"  A  copy  of  the  copper  sasanum  in  question  was  procured  by  us.  It 
purports  to  have  been  executed  by  Narayanappaya  of  the  Kunnadian. 
family  of  Bharadwaja  Gothram  (line)  of  Brahmans,  professing  the 
Rig  Veda,  and  who  received  a  donation  called  Kalapurusha  Danum 
from  Maha  Rajah  Gajapathi  Prathapa  Rudra  Rayer,  who  reigned  at 
Veloor ;  that  he,  the  recipient,  resolving  to  perform  some  charity  with 
the  money  proceeded  to  Thrippathi,  and  on  invoking  Vencatachala 
Swamy  obtained  that  deity's  blessing,  and  in  accordance  with  the 
commands  of  the  swami  he  repaired  to  the  southern  kingdom  called 
Thiruadi  Desam  (Travancore  country)  where  on  the  Malayachala 
mountain,  he  met  the  sage  Agastyar  by  whose  order  he  excavated  an 
irrigation  canal  for  the  benefit  of  the  Brahmans  :  with  the  surplus 
money  he  resolved  to  institute  a  sathram  for  the  daily  feeding  of 
Brahmans  and  accordingly  constructed  a  building  on  the  southern 
banks  of  the  Thambraverni  and  on  the  western  side  of  Chera-Maha 
Devi  Alakiyappen  Swamy  Kovil ;  Narayana  Pillay,  the  son  of 
Gopala  Pillay,  Brahman  of  Sreevatsa  Gothram  (line),  professing  the 
Yajur  Veda,  and  residing  in  the  old  village  or  Brahman  hamlet,  built 
by  Cheren  Perumal  Rajah,  was  entrusted  with  the  management  of 
this  sathram,  a  perpetual  grant  being  made  to  Narayana  Pillay  by 
this  copper  plate  document,  executed  on  Thursday,  Shrawana  asterism, 
Punchami  Aushada  month,  Sowmmya  Nama  year  of  Kali  3342  (242 
A.D.)  for  the  maintenance  of  the  sathram  of  certain  lands  purchased 
for  2587  Kali  Yuga  Ramen  '  Madura  vella  fanams,  together  with 
nine  slaves  of  the  soil  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  fanams, 
accompanied  by  a  scale  of  the  daily  expenditure  to  be  made  and  men- 
tioning a  fixed  suni  as  remuneration  to  the  Superintendent  Narayana 
Pillay. 

"  To  this  sathram,  pepper  was  to  be  supplied  from  Travancore,  as 
that  spice  was  a  produce  of  that  country  and  could  not  be  obtained 
without  the  king's  permission.  It  was  given  gratis,  and  in  the  year 
970  M.E.  (1795  A.D.),  three  years  previous  to  his  death,  the  old 
Rama  Rajah  ordered  a  commutation  price  of  one  hundred  and  eighty 
Kali  fanams  to  be  paid  to  the  sathram,  which  sum  is  paid  to  the 
present  time." 

This  account  of  the  origin  of  the  anicut  is  evidently  as  legendary 
and  as  little  trustworthy  as  the  others.  It  throws  light,  however, 
on  the  personality  of  the  Kannadiyan.  It  may  be  regarded 
as  certain  from  the  plate  that  he  was  a  Brahman.  The  date 
assigned  to  the  transaction  in  the  plate,  viz.,  A.D.  242,  is  of  course  a 


1  "  One  Kali   Yuga  Ramen  fanam  ia  still  the  currency  of  Travancore. 

9 


66 


HKIORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Chapter  III 


Ariyanftyaka- 

puram  anient 


Suttamalli 
anicut. 


Palavur 
anicut. 


Marudur 
anicut. 


Puthugudi 
anicut. 


pure  invention.  I  have  never  found  the  use  of  the  year  of  the 
Kali  yuga  era  or  of  the  year  of  the  cycle  of  Jupiter  in  any  inscrip- 
tion in  Tinnevelly  older  than  the  fifteenth  century  A.D.  But  the 
date  is  contradicted  by  a  statement  contained  in  the  plate  itself. 
The  king  from  whom  the  Kannadi  or  Canarese  Brahman  received 
this  donation  was  not  one  of  the  ancient  Pandya,  Chola  or  Chera 
kings,  but  a  monarch  of  comparatively  modern  times,  a  member  of 
the  Velur  branch  of  the  Rayars.  When  the  Vijaya-nagara  empire 
was  overthrown  by  the  Muhammadans  in  1564  various  princes 
belonging  to  the  defeated  but  still  powerful  Rayar  family 
established  themselves  in  various  places,  one  of  which  was  Velur. 
Tirumalai  Nayaka,  the  greatest  of  the  Nayakas  of  Madura  (from 
1623  to  1659)  acknowledged  the  Rayar  of  Velur  as  his  feudal 
superior.  Prataba  Rudra  was  a  common  name  amongst  the  Telugu 
dynasties.  The  date  of  the  construction  of  the  anicut  is  thus 
brought  down  within  the  range  of  probability. 

4.  The  next  anicut  is  that  of  Ariyanayakapuram.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  Ariya-nayaka  was  a  person  of  great  importance 
in  the  earliest  period  of  Nayaka  history.  It  does  not  follow 
however  that  this  Ariya-nayaka  had  anything  to  do  with  the 
erection  of  this  anicut,  which  receives  its  name  from  the  name  of 
the  village  nearest  to  it. 

5.  The  fifth  anicut  is  that  of  Suttamalli.  This  important  anicut 
supplies  water  of  irrigation  to  the  town  of  Tinnevelly  and  the 
neighbourhood. 

6.  The  sixth  is  at  Palavur  and  supplies  Palamcottah  and  the 
neighbourhood.  The  channel  leading  from  the  latter  is  called 
Palaiyan's  channel,  and  is  attributed,  with  the  original  fort  of 
Palamcottah,  to  one  Palaiyan,  who  was  also  a  Kannadi.  The  latter 
Kannadi  is  said  to  have  been  a  descendant  of  the  former.  Palavur 
is  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  though  the  channel  which  leads 
from  it  runs  along  the  right  bank. 

7.  Of  all  the  anicuts  on  the  TamraparnI  the  one  which  supplies 
the  largest  extent  of  paddy  cultivation  is  that  at  Marudur,  some 
miles  to  the  east  of  Palamcottah.  This  anicut  was  almost  wholly 
rebuilt  in  1792,  during  the  Collectorship  of  Mr.  Torin  (as  an 
inscription  testifies),  and  great  improvements  were  again  made  in 
it  in  1807  by  Colonel  Caldwell. 

8.  The  last  of  the  eight  anicuts,  the  one  that  is  nearest  to  the 
sea,  between  Puthugudi  and  Srlvaikuntham,  was  constructed  only 
a  few  years  ago  by  Lieutenant  Shepherd.  The  river  is  here  800 
yards  broad.  The  anicut  cost  eleven  lakhs.  This  is  the  only 
anicut  on  the  TamraparnI  wholly  constructed  by  the  British 
Government.  All  the  anicuts,  however,  have  been  strengthened 
and  improved  since  the  country  came  under  British  rule. 


later  hindu  period.  67 

The  Portuguese  on  the  Coast  of  Tinnevelly.  Chapter  hi. 

The  Portuguese  arrived  at  Calicut  on  the  20th  of  May  1498.  Vasco  da 

They  came  iu  three  small  vessels  under  the  command  of  Vasco  da  p*ma  8 

J  ...  lntormation. 

Gama,  the  first  European  mariner  who  found  his  way  to  India  by 
doubling  the  Cape  of  (rood  Hope.  He  returned  to  Europe  the 
following  year,  when  he  presented  to  his  sovereign  a  summary  of 
the  events  of  his  voyage  and  of  his  discoveries.  Ho  therein 
mentioned  a  place  on  the  Tinnevelly  coast,  Cael  (Kayal),  where  he 
was  told  that  pearls  were  found,  and  which  he  was  informed  was 
under  a  Mussulman  king.  Not  long  after  we  find  a  king  of 
Quilon  living  at  Kayal,  but  it  may  have  been  true  that  in  Vasco 
da  Gama's  time  the  ruler  of  the  place  was  a  Muhammadan,  for  it 
was  from  the  Muhammadans  that  the  Paravas  shortly  after  asked 
to  be  protected  ;  we  know  from  other  sources  that  the  Muhamma- 
dans were  numerous  and  powerful  along  the  coast  at  that  time, 
and  I  have  found  in  Kayal  itself  a  tradition  that  the  last  king  of 
the  place  was  a  Muhammadan. 

The  first  settlement  of  the  Portuguese  in  India  was  at  Cochin,  The 
where  they  established  a  factory  in  1502.     In  the  following  year  Portuguese 
they  erected  a  fort  there.     From  that  time  they  became  virtually 
masters  of  the  whole  sea  coast  of  India,  and  ere  long  drove   all 
Moorish,  that  is,  all  Muhammadan,  vessels  from  the  sea,  except 
those  that  consented  to  receive  Portuguese   passes.     Barbosa,   a  Barbosa's 
Portuguese  Captain,  who  visited  many  places  in  the  east  shortly  information. 
after,  relates  that  in  1514  he  found  Cael  (Kayal)  belonging  to  the 
king  of  Quilon,  who  generally  resided  there.     By  the  king  of 
Quilon  we  are  to  understand  the  sovereign  who  at  a  later  period 
was  styled,  as  now,  the  king  of  Travancore.     Marco  Polo  in  1293 
distinguished  between  the  kingdom  of  Quilon  and  the  kingdom  of 
Travancore,  the  latter  of  which  he  called  the  kingdom  of  "  Coniari." 
At  the  time,  however,  of  the  arrival  of  the  Portuguese  Travancore 
was  found  to  have  absorbed  Quilon.     If  we  are  to  suppose  that  the 
king  of  Quilon  found  by  Barbosa  at  Kayal  was  the  reigning  king 
of  Travancore  himself,  he  must,  according  to  Travancore  authorities, 
have  been  Sri  Vira  Ravivarma.     It  does  not  seem  certain  however 
that  it  was  the  reigning  Raja  himself,  for  each  of   the  Raja's 
brothers  is  commonly  called  Raja,  and  a  little  later  on,  in  Xavier's 
time,  we  find  that  it  was  a  relative  of  the  king  who  was  residing  at  The  king  of 
Kayal.    However  this  may  be,  it  is  clear  that  Kayal  was  regarded  Travancore  at 
by  the  earliest  Portuguese  as  belonging  to  Travancore,  and  that  the 
king  of  Travancore  was  regarded  as  the  legitimate  sovereign  of  the 
whole  of  the  south  of  Tinnevelly.     This  is  quite  in  accordance  with 
Tinnevelly  traditions  and  inscriptions,  and  in  particular  with  the 
records  contained  in  the  temple  at  Trichendur.     At  that  time  the 
Pandya  Rajas  had  sunk  into  insignificance,  and  Hie  Nayakas  of 


68 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Chapter  III.  Madura  had  not  yet  consolidated  their  power.  It  was  natural 
therefore  that  the  king  of  the  adjacent  territory  of  Travancore 
should  take  the  opportunity  of  bringing  at  least  the  southern 
portion  of  Tinnevelly  under  his  rule. 

In  1517  the  Portuguese  established  a  settlement,  with  a  fort,  at 
Colombo  in  Ceylon ;  and  in  1522  they  sent  a  commission  from 
Cochin  to  Mailapur,  or  Saint  Thome,  near  Madras,  to  search  for 
the  body  of  Saint  Thomas,  which  was  supposed  to  have  been 
preserved  in  the  church  at  a  place  called  the  Little  Mount.  "We 
cannot  doubt  that  long  ere  that  date  they  had  explored  the  whole 
of  the  Tinnevelly  coast,  and  made  themselves  acquainted  with  the 
lucrative  pearl  fishery  to  which  their  attention  had  been  called  by 
Vasco  da  Grama,  and  which  had  been  carried  on  along  that  coast 
from  the  beginning  of  the  historical  period  to  that  time, 


Embassy  of 
the  Paravas 

to  Cochin. 


The 

Portuguese 
in  power 
along  the 
coast. 


The  First  Expedition  of  the  Portuguese. 

The  first   recorded   appearance,    however,    of   any   Portuguese 
exj>edition  on  the  Tinnevelly  coast  was  in  1532,  when  a  deputation 
of  Paravas,  people   of  the  fisher  caste,   came  to  Cochin  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  the  aid  of  the  Portuguese  against  the  Moors 
or  Muhammadans.     The  chief  place  along  the  coast  then  as  now 
inhabited  by  Muhammadans  was  Kayalpattanam,  a  town   not  to 
be  confounded,  as  it  has  often  been,  with  Kayal,  now  called  Old 
Kayal.     The  deputation  to  Cochin  is   said   to   have   comprised 
seventy  persons.     They  were  successful  in  their  application,  and 
an  expedition  was  fitted  out.     Father  Michael  Vaz,  the  Vicar- 
General  at  Cochin,  accompanied  the  fleet  with  some  priests,  and  is 
described  by  Xavier  some  years  afterwards  as   "  the  true  father  of 
the  Comorin  Christians."     The  application  of  the  Paravas  to  the 
Portuguese  at  Cochin  and  the  plan  they  adopted  of  securing  their 
help  by  promising  to  embrace  their  religion  were  owing,  it  is  said, 
to  the  advice  given  them  by  a  native,  himself  a  recent  convert, 
called   Joam   de  Cruz.     The   members   of  the  deputation    were 
baptised  at  Cochin  by  Father  Vaz,  and  on  his  arrival  on  the  coast, 
after  the  overthrow  of  the  Muhammadans,  20,000  Paravas,  inhabit- 
ing thirty  villages,  are  said  to  have  been  baptised.  Looking  at  these 
circumstances  I  think  we  cannot  err  in  setting  down  1532  as  the 
date   of  the   commencement   of   the    Portuguese   power   on    the 
Tinnevelly  coast.     Xavier  writes  that  the  chiefs  of  the  Saracens 
(Muhammadans)  were  slain  and  that    thoir   power   was  utterly 
broken.     By  1542,  when  he  first  visited  the  coast,  the  pearl  fishery 
had  fallen  entirely  into  Portuguese  hands.     The  places  where  the 
Portuguese  had   established   themselves   in    Xavier's   lime   were 
Manapadu,    Punnaikayal,   Tutioorin,   and   Vembar,   but    it    will 
appear   afterwards,    from   notes   from  early   Portuguese    writers 


LATER    TflNDTT    PERIOD.  69 

communicated    to    me    by   Dr.    Buruell,  that   till   about    1582  Chapter  III, 
Punnaikayal  was  their  principal  settlement  and  Tuticorin  a  place 
of  less  importance. 

Inroads  of  the  "  Badages." 

Between  1532,  the  date  of  the  expedition  against  the  "  Moors  ",  Ravages  of 
and  1542,  the  first  year  of  Xavier's  residence  on  the  coast,  a  new  theBadaSes- 
enemy  came  upon  the  scene,  an  enemy  much  more  formidable  than 
the  Moors,  and  one  with  which  even  the  Portuguese  found  it  more 
difficult  to  deal.  These  were  the  "  Badages  "  whose  ravages  are  so 
frequently  described  and  so  pathetically  deplored  in  Xavier's 
letters.  Xavier  represents  them  as  lawless  marauders  ;  by  another 
writer,  as  we  shall  see,  they  are  described  as  tax-gatherers;  and 
doubtless  both  representations  were  correct,  for  this  extraordinary 
combination  of  the  characters  of  tax-gatherer  and  marauder 
continued  to  be  common  in  the  south  till  the  cession  of  the  Carnatic 
to  the  East  India  Company.  In  one  village  near  Cape  Comorin 
Xavier  himself  was  a  witness  of  the  horrors  the  Badages  had 
inflicted,  and  it  will  presently  be  seen  that  even  the  Portuguese 
settlements  themselves  were  not  safe. 

Who   were  these  Badages  ?    I  have    already   mentioned  that  Who  were 
"  Badages  "  stands  for  Vadugas,  that  is,  Nayakas.     The  Canarese  they  ? 
form  of  the  name  is  Badaga,  the  literal  meaning  is  northern,  and 
the  Nayakas  are  so  called  in  the  Tamil  country  because  being 
Telugus  they  came  from  the  north.     The  division  of  the  Nayakas 
called  Vadugas  is  that  of  Tirumalai  Nayaka' s  caste.     Their  title 
as  a  caste  is  Nayaka  or  Nayudu,  but  the  name  by  which  they  are 
ordinarily  called  and  by  which  they  are  distinguished  from  other 
Nayakas  is  Vadugas.     A  Jesuit  writer  of  that  time  describes  the 
Badages  as  "  the  collectors  of  the  royal  taxes,  a  race  of  overbearing 
and  insolent  men,  and  commonly  called  Nairs."     Here  the  writer,  Collectors  of 
who  resided  on  the  western  coast,  inaccurately  uses  tha  Malayalam  the  Vijaya- 
term   Nair  (Nayar)  instead  of  the  corresponding  Tamil  Naik,  or 
Nayaka.     In  other  respects  his  definition  is  correct.     One  expres- 
sion he  uses  is  noticeable — "  the  royal  taxes."    This  meant  the  taxes 
claimed  by  the  Ray  as  of  Vijaya-nagara  (or  the  kings  of  Narsinga, 
as  they  were  generally  called  by  the  Portuguese),  which   were 
exacted  through  their  lieutenants  at  Madura  and  elsewhere,   who 
had  not  yet  succeeded  in  making  themselves  independent  of  their 
masters.     Xavier  used  a  variety   of   means  for    protecting    the 
Christian  villages,  that  is,  the  villages  of  the  Paravas  along  the  Xavier's 
coast,  from  the  violence  of  the  Badages,  one  of  which  was  his  appeal  to  the 
intercession  in  their  behalf  with  the  king  of  Travancore.     He  Travancore. 
calls  this  king  by  the  strange  name  of    "  Iniquitribirimus."     The 
onty  portion  of  this  name  which  seems  capable  of  explanation  is 


70  HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 

Chapter  III.  the  last,  birimus,  which  probably  stands  for  Varnia,  the  Kshatriya 
title  affixed  to  the  personal  name  of  each  Travancore  king. 
According  to  the  Travancore  lists  the  king  at  that  time  was  colled 
Udaya  Martanda  Varma  who  reigned  from  1537  to  1560.  No 
name  in  the  list  and  no  Hindu  name  I  know  seems  to  bear  any 
resemblance  to  Iniquitri.  The  copier  of  Xavier's  letter  probably 
mistook  his  writing.  Can  the  name  have  been  intended  for  that 
of  a  king  of  Travancore  who  reigned  some  time  previously,  Vira 
Ravi  ? 
Power  of  the  Xavier  describes  this  king  as  "  the  great  king  of  Travancore  " 
Travancore  an(j  Speaks  0f  hjm  as  having  authority  over  all  South  India.  Again 
he  speaks  of  the  oppressed  Paravas  as  the  king's  subjects.  He 
mentions  that  a  near  relative  of  the  king  resided  at  Tael1  (that  ia 
Cael  =  Kayal).  It  is  evident,  however,  that  the  power  of  the 
king  of  Travancore  along  the  Tinnevelly  coast  had  become  at  that 
time  little  better  than  nominal.  He  gave  his  sympathy,  but 
apparently  was  unable  to  render  any  real  assistance  ;  and  the  follow- 
ing year  we  find  that  Travancore  itself  was  invaded  by  the 
"  Badages"  in  greater  force  and  better  armed  than  when  they 
went  against  the  poor  fishermen  of  the  coast.  According  to  some 
accounts  the  Raja  was  more  indebted  to  Xavier  than  to  his  force 
Nayfkas°on  *  of  Nairs  for  deliverance  from  this  danger,  a  panic  having,  it  is  said, 
Travancore.  "been  produced  in  the  ranks  of  the  Badages  by  Xavier's  sudden 
appearance  in  the  front  of  their  host.  The  Badages  failed  in  their 
attempt  to  conquer  Travancore,  but  from  that  time  forward  we 
hear  no  more  of  the  power  of  the  king  of  Travancore  in  Tinnevelly, 
and  from  time  to  time  we  find  the  Nayaka  rulers  of  Madura 
claiming  the  right  of  levying  tribute  on  Travancore  itself.  It  is 
admitted,  however,  that  the  king  of  Travancore  paid  them  tribute 
only  when  compelled.  At  the  time  these  conflicts  were  occurring 
between  the  Badages  and  the  Paravas  the  Pandya  kings  of  the 
second  series  still  professed  to  reign  over  the  whole  country.  The 
Pandya  of  that  time,  according  to  an  inscription  of  mine,  was 
Vikrama  Pandya.  But  nobody  seems  to  have  cared  about  him 
or  taken  any  notice  of  him. 
Motives  of  the  What  can  have  been  the  motive  of  the  special  hostility  of  the 
"  Badages."  «  Tjadages, "  that  is.  of  the  Nayaka  emissaries  and  representatives  of 
the  Vijaya-nagara  Payas  and  their  Madura  deputies  against  the 
unwarlike  Parava  fishermen  along  the  coast  of  Tinnevelly  ?  They 
were  said  to  have  expressed   "  their  determination  to  expel  the 

1  The  name  nf  this  place  is  written  Tael,  Tale  or  Tala.  As  it  is  said  to  have 
been  two  leagues  from  Manapftdu,  Talai,  a  fishing  village  on  the  coast,  would  app<  u 
to  have  been  meant.  It  is  difficult,  however,  to  suppose  that  a  relation  of  the  king 
of  Travancore  would  he  living  at  a  poor  fishing  village,  when  it  was  so  much  more 
natural  tor  him  to  live  at  Kayal  where  Barbosa  net  long  hefore  found  the  king 
himsi  If.     Cael  would  easily  have  bet  D  written  by  mistake  Tael. 


LATEE    HINDI      PEEIOD.  71 

Christians,  both  natives  and  foreigners,  from  the  coast."     Whence  Chapter  in. 
this    determination  ?     The   Nayaka  rulers  of   Madura   tolerated  Explanation 
Robert  de  Nobili  and  his  Christian  converts  at  Madura  itself  of  the 
some  time  later.     Why  were  they  not  equally  willing  to  tolerate  t^|  Badages. 
the  Christian  Paravas  ?     The  reason    is  that  the    Paravas  had 
changed  their  nationality  as  well  as  their  religion.     Xavier  in  one 
of  his  letters  to  a  colleague  speaks  of  the  Paravas  as  "  subjects  of 
His  Portuguese  Majesty,"  and  nothing  can  be  more  evident  from 
all  the  letters  written  by  him  and  others  during  his  two  years'  stay 
than  that  the  entire  civil  and  criminal   jurisdiction   of  the  fishery 
coast  had  been  seized  upon  by  the  Portuguese,  and  that  all  dues  and 
taxes,  including  the  valuable  revenue  arising  from  the  pearl  fishery,  The  policy  of 
had  been  assumed  by  the  governors  appointed  by  the   Portuguese  guese. 
Viceroy.     The  Portuguese  had  not  asked  any  native  potentate's 
consent   to   the   formation    of    their    settlements.     They   seized 
possession   of   the    whole    fishery    coast,  established   settlements 
wherever  they  pleased,  and  conferred  on  the  Paravas  the  some- 
what dangerous  privilege  of  being  Portuguese  subjects.     Hence 
the  repeated  violent  efforts  of  the  Badages,  or  representatives  of  the 
Madura  Nayakas,  to  compel  the  Paravas  to  pay  tax  and  tribute, 
not  to  the  Portuguese,  but  to  themselves.     It  will  be  noticed  that 
amongst  the  expedients  adopted  by  Xavier  for  the  purpose    of 
protecting  his  flock  from  the  violence  of  the  Badages,  that  of 
advising  them  to  pay  the  taxes  demanded  of  them  and  submitting 
to  the  authority  of  Madura  had  not  a  place. 

The  coast  was  generally  called  by  Xavier  the  Comorin  Coast,  Government 
the  villages   along  the   coast   amongst   which   he  itinerated   the  of  the  cc>ast• 
Comorin  villages,  and  the  Christian  converts  the  Comorin  Chris- 
tians.    Later  on,  however,  the  coast  was  commonly  called   the 
Pescaria,   the  fishery,  by  which  the  pearl  fishery    was  denoted, 
and  the  principal  functionary  amongst  the  Portuguese  on  the  coast 
was  styled  the  Captain  of  the  Fishery.     The  Portuguese,  at  least 
in   that  early   period,    were   more   fortunate   in  relation   to  the 
profits  of  the  pearl  fishery  than  the  Dutch  were  afterwards,  for  Profits  of  the 
whilst  the  Dutch  had  always  to  pay  a  share  of  the  profits  of  the  peai     S  ery" 
fishery  to  the  Nayakas  of  Madura  or  the  Setupati  of  Eamnad, 
the  Portuguese  found  themselves  for  a  time  strong  enough  and  the 
Native  rulers  weak  enough  (or  distant  enough)  to  allow  of  their 
appropriating  the  whole  of  the  profits  to  themselves.     When  the 
Portuguese  grew  weaker  and  the  Nayakas  stronger,  a  different 
arrangement  had  to  be  submitted  to. 

In  Guerrero's  "Relation  "  of  the  Missions  on  the  coast  (1G04)  Portuguese 
the  Nayaka  is  spoken  of  as  "  Lord  of  those  lands,"  and  as  holding  doned*  ** 
his  court  in  Madura,  from  which  it  is  evident  that  the  sovereignty 
over  the  coast  had  ceased  to  be  claimed  by  the  Portuguese.     I 


72 


HISTORY    OF    TIXNEVEI.LY, 


Chapter  III, 


Punnaikaval. 


Annals  of 
the  Portu- 
guese on  the 
coast. 


Printing 
introduced. 

Printing  at 
Cochin. 


find  also  from  another  authority  that  in  1609  the  Paravas  paid 
their  dues,  not  to  the  Portuguese,  but  to  the  representatives  of 
the  Madura  Government.  Bishop  Barretto  in  1615  complains 
that  the  people  were  much  oppressed  by  the  Nayaka  of  Madura. 

The  principal  settlement  of  the  Portuguese  for  about  fifty  years 
after  their  arrival  seems  to  have  been  Punnaikayal.  Punnai  means 
the  Indian  laurel,  Kayal  a  lagoon  opening  into  the  sea.  Old 
Kayal  is  situated  to  the  north  of  the  TamraparnI  river,  Punnai- 
kayal to  the  south,  very  near  the  mouth  and  right  on  the  seashore. 
It  is  now  only  a  fishing  village,  but  some  traces  remain  of  its 
former  greatness.  The  foundations  of  some  European  bungalows 
and  warehouses  are  still  seen,  with  a  portion  of  an  encircling 
wall ;  and  a  distinct  tradition  survives  of  the  existence  of  a  fort 
during  the  Portuguese  period,  of  a  siege,  a  battle,  and  a  defeat. 
This  it  will  be  seen  is  quite  in  accordance  with  the  historical 
notice  which  will  be  found  beneath  under  the  head  of  1552. 
There  is  also  a  tradition  of  the  death  by  the  hands  of  the  enemy 
of  Father  Antonio  (Antonio  Criminalis),  Xavier's  successor. 

For  the  following  items  of  information  about  Punnaikayal 
subsequently  to  Xavier's  time,  I  am  indebted  to  Dr.  Burnell, 
who  has  taken  them  from  early  Portuguese  writers,  especially 
DeSousa : — 

1551.  Two  hospitals  and  a  seminary  founded  at  Punicale. 

1552.  At  Punicale,  the  chief  place  on  the  coast,  there  was  a  mud 
fort.  This  fort  was  taken  by  the  Badages,  Countinho,  Captain  of 
the  Fishery,  being  defeated. 

1553.  Punicale  retaken  by  the  fleet  from  Calicut. 
1560.  There  was  a  garrison  at  Punicale  of  fifty  men. 

1563.  Shortly  after  1563,  when  Cresar  Frederic  visited  the  coast, 
the  fishers  for  pearls  still  continued  to  pay  for  permission  to  the 
representative  of  the  King  of  Portugal.  The  Madura  Nayakas  had, 
therefore,  not  yet  succeeded  in  gaining  supreme  power. 

1570.  Great  famine  on  the  fishery  coast.  Father  Henriquez 
established  famine  relief  houses,  in  some  of  which  fifty  persons  were 
daily  fed. 

Don  Sebastian  limits  to  the  Christian  fishermen  the  tithes  on 
pearls. 

1578.  DeSousa  states  that  in  1578  Father  Joao  de  Faria  cut  Tamil 
types  and  printed  certain  religious  books  the  same  year  on  the 
Pescaria  coast,  that  is,  on  the  coast  of  Tinncvelly.  The  books  were 
the  Doctrina  Christiana,  the  Flos  Sanctorum  (an  epitome  of  the  lives 
of  the  Saints),  and  some  others. 

Paulinus  a  Sancto  Bartolomreo  seems  to  make  the  same  state- 
ment with  reference  to  Cochin.  He  says  that  at  Cochin  in  1577 
a  lay  brother,  Joannes  Gonsalves,  cut  Malabar-Tamil  types  and 
printed  a  Doctrina  Christiana,  and  that  the  next  year  a  Flos 
Sanctorum  followed.     It  certainly  looks  very  much  as  if  the  same 


LATER    HINDU    PERIOD.  73 

incident  were  referred  to  by  both  writers.  If  one  of  these  narra-  Chapter  III. 
tives  is  to  be  accepted  and  the  other  rejected,  the  one  which  has 
the  best  claim  to  be  accepted  is  the  one  which  relates  to  Tinnevelly, 
as  DeSousa  compiled  his  book  from  MSS.  in  Groa  in  the  seventeenth 
century,  a  century  before  Paulinus.  This  is  an  interesting 
incident,  as  being  the  first  introduction  of  printing  on  the 
Coromandel  Coast.  It  does  not  seem  to  have  been  carried  on  any 
further.  The  next  Tamil  printing  we  hear  of  is  at  Ambalakadu 
in  the  Cochin  country  in  1679. 

The  Pearl  Fishery. 

I  subjoin  here  Caesar  Frederic's  description  of  the  pearl  fishery 
as  earned  on  in  his  time.  It  seems  probable  that  his  observations 
were  made  at  Kayal  (or  Punnaikayal) ,  that  being  the  only  place 
on  the  coast  he  mentions.  Csesar  Frederic  was  a  Venetian  merchant, 
a  fellow-countryman  of  Marco  Polo.  He  spent  eighteen  years  in 
India  between  1563  and  1581,  and  his  visit  to  Tinnevelly  and  the 
scene  of  the  pearl  fishery  must  have  been  in  or  soon  after  1563  : — 

"  Of  the  Pearl  Fishery  in  toe  Gulf  of  Mannar. 

'■  The  sea  along  the  coast  which  extends  from  Cape  Comorin  to  the 
low  land  of  Kayal  and  the  island  of  Zeilan  (Ceylon)  is  called  the  pearl 
fishery.  This  fishery  is  made  every  year,  beginning  in  March  or 
April,  and  lasts  fifty  days.  The  fishery  is  by  no  means  made  every 
year  at  one  place,  but  one  year  at  one  place,  and  another  year  at 
another  place ;  all  however  in  the  same  sea.  When  the  fishing 
season  approaches,  some  good  divers  are  sent  to  discover  where 
the  greatest  quantity  of  oysters  are  to  be  found  under  water  ;  and 
then  directly  facing  that  place  which  is  chosen  for  the  fishery  a 
village  with  a  number  of  houses,  and  a  bazaar,  all  of  stone,  is  built, 
which  stands  as  long  as  the  fishery  lasts,  and  is  amply  supplied  with 
all  necessaries.  Sometimes  it  happens  near  places  already  inhabited, 
and  at  other  times  at  a  distance  from  any  habitations.  The  fishers 
or  divers  are  all  Christians  of  the  countiy,  and  all  are  permitted 
to  engage  in  this  fishery,  on  payment  of  certain  duties  to  the  king 
of  Portugal  and  to  the  churches  of  the  Friars  of  Saint  Paul  on  that 
coast.  Happening  to  be  there  one  year  in  my  peregrinations,  I  saw 
the  order  used  in  fishing  which  is  as  follows  : — 

"  During  the  continuance  of  the  fishery,  there  are  always  three  or 
four  armed  foists  or  galliots  stationed  to  defend  the  fishermen  from 
pirates.  Usually  the  fishing  boats  unite  in  companies  of  three  or  four 
together.  These  boats  resemble  our  pilot  boats  at  Venice,  but  are 
somewhat  smaller,  having  seven  or  eight  men  in  each.  I  have  seen 
of  a  morning  a  great  number  of  these  boats  go  out  to  fish,  anchoring 
in  15  or  18  fathoms  water,  which  is  the  ordinary  depth  along  this 
coast.     When  at  anchor,  they  cast  a  rope  into  the  sea,  having  a  great 

10 


74  HISTORY    OF    TIXXEYELLY. 

Chatter  III.  stone  at  one  end.  Then  a  man  having  his  ears  well  stopped,  and  his 
body  anointed  with  oil,  and  a  basket  hanging  to  his  neck  or  under  his 
left  arm,  goes  down  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea  along  the  rope,  and  fills 
his  basket  with  oysters  as  fast  as  he  can.  "When  that  is  full,  he 
shakes  the  rope,  and  his  companions  draw  him  up  with  the  basket. 
The  divers  follow  each  other  in  succession  in  this  manner  till  the  boat 
is  loaded  with  oysters,  and  they  return  at  evening  to  the  fishing  village. 
Then  each  boat  or  company  makes  their  heaps  of  oysters  at  some 
distance  from  each  other,  so  that  a  long  row  of  great  heaps  of  oysters 
are  seen  piled  along  the  shore.  These  are  not  touched  till  the  fishing 
is  over,  when  each  compan}'  sits  down  beside  its  own  heap,  and  falls 
to  opening  the  oyster,  which  is  now  easy,  as  the  fish  within  are  all 
dead  and  dry.  If  every  oyster  had  pearls  in  them  it  would  be  a 
profitable  occupation,  but  there  are  many  which  have  none.  There 
are  certain  persons  called  Chitini  (Chettis)  who  are  learned  in  pearls  ; 
and  are  enipkryed  to  sort  and  value  them  according  to  their  weight, 
beauty,  and  goodness,  dividing  them  into  four  sorts.  The  first  sort 
which  are  round  are  named  aia  of  Portugal,  as  they  are  bought  by 
the  Portuguese.  The  second,  which  are  not  round,  are  named  aia  of 
Bengal.  The  third,  which  are  inferior  to  the  second,  are  called  aia  of 
Canara,  which  is  the  name  of  the  kingdom  of  Bijanagur  or  Narsinga, 
into  which  they  are  sold.  And  the  fourth,  or  lowest  kind,  is  called 
aia  of  Cambaia,1  being  sold  into  the  country.  Thus  sorted,  and  prices 
affixed  to  each,  there  are  merchants  from  all  countries  ready  with 
their  money,  so  that  in  a  few  days  all  the  pearls  are  bought  up  accord- 
ing to  their  goodness  and  weight." 

The  author  of  the  Eeport  on  the  Tinnevelly  Census,  in  which 
the  above  is  included,  observes  of  this  description  of  the  pearl 
fishery  that  it  is  "  as  applicable  to  the  method  of  procedure  at  the 
present  day,  as  when  it  was  written  nearly  300  years  ago,  except 
that  from  some  causes  but  little  understood  the  banks  of  recent 
years  have  unfortunately  ceased  to  furnish  a  supply  of  the  valuable 
oysters  yielding  the  pearl  of  commerce." 

TuTICORIX    UXDER   THE    PORTUGUESE. 

The  first  appearance  of  the  Portuguese  in  force  in  Tuticorin  was 
in  1532,  when  the  fleet  despatched  from  Cochin  broke  the  power 
of  the  Muhammadans  along  the  coast  and  the  Paravas  were 
baptised  by  Father  Michael  Vaz  and  his  assistant  priests.  The 
number  said  to  have  been  baptised  Avas,  as  has  been  said,  20,000 
inhabiting  thirty  villages  from  Cape  Comorin  northwards.    Of  tins. 

1  It  is  not  oli  ai  what  word  was  meant  by  "ia.  Haya,  horse,  was  the  title  of  the 
first  of  eight  varieties  of  pearls  sent  hy  king  Devenipiatissa  in  B.C.  306  to  King 
Asoka.  .See  Emerson  Tcnnent's  Ceylon.  Each  of  C;esar  Frederic's  varieties. 
however,  was  called  the  aia  of  such  and  such  a  kingdom.  Can  the  ordinary  word 
Bya  (in  Tamil  ayam),  which  means  "tax"  have  been  int.  mlcd?  This  is  the 
impression  of  the  Tuticorin  traders-,  as  they  say  the  tax  to  the  Portuguese,  &c,  was 

paid  in  n.urls. 


LATER   HINDU    PERIOD.  75 

villages  Tuticorin  was  one,  but  it  is  uncertain  when  a  regular  settle-  Chapter  III. 


ment  was  formed  there  by  the  Portuguese.     In  1543,  when  the 

celebrated  Xavier  arrived,  Tuticorin  had  a  Portuguese  Governor. 

The  establishment  of  the  settlement  there  must,  therefore,   be  Date  of  the 

placed  somewhere  in   the  ten  years  between  1532  and  lc42,  but  establishment 

from  1532  for  some  fifty  years  the  inhabitants  of  Tuticorin  were  Portuguese 

regarded,  like  the  rest  of  the  baptised  Paravas,  as  Portuguese inl  utlcorm- 

subjects. 

Tuticorin  is  the  European  equivalent  of  the  Tamil  name  of  the 
place  Tuttukkudi.  The  cerebral  d  of  Tuttukkudi  became  r  in  the 
mouth  of  Europeans  by  that  rule  of  mispronunciation  by  which 
Manappadu,  another  place  in  the  neighbourhood,  became  Manapar. 
The  final  n  in  Tuticorin  was  added  for  some  such  euphonic  reasons 
as  turned  Kochchi  into  Cochin  and  Kumari  into  Comorin.  The  Meaning  of 
meaning  of  the  name  Tuttukkudi  is  said  to  be  the  town  where  ^wriii 
the  wells  get  filled  up  ;  from  tuttu  (properly  turttu),  to  fill  up 
a  well,  and  kudi,  a  place  of  habitation,  a  town.  This  derivation, 
whether  the  true  one  or  not,  has  at  least  the  merit  of  being 
appropriate,  for  in  Tuticorin  the  silting  up  of  old  wells  and  the 
opening  out  of  new  ones  are  events  of  almost  daily  occurrence. 
Tuticorin  was  not  only  a  village,  but  appears  to  have  been  a  place 
of  some  little  trade,  before  the  arrival  of  the  Portuguese  ;  but  the 
Portuguese  were  especially  attracted  to  it  by  the  advantages 
offered  by  its  harbour,  which  is  the  only  place  that  can  be  called 
a  harbour  along  the  entire  Coromandel  Coast.  The  harbour  is 
well  sheltered  from  every  wind  by  islands  and  spits  of  sand. 
Unfortunately  it  is  so  shallow  that  only  vessels  of  sixty  tons' 
burthen  can  load  in  it.  Had  it  not  been  for  this  disadvantage 
Tuticorin  might  have  eclipsed  Madras.  The  Portuguese,  as  we 
have  seen,  made  Punnaikayal  their  chief  station  for  a  time,  but  as  Tuticori 
there  is  only  an  open  road-stead  there,  without  any  thing  that  harbour, 
could  be  called  a  harbour,  they  made  Tuticorin  their  chief  settle- 
ment from  about  1580.  Probably  the  vessels  used  by  the  early 
Portuguese,  though  built  in  Europe,  were  not  much  larger  than 
good-sized  country  craft,  so  that  they  would  be  able  to  load  and 
unload  inside  the  harbour.  Probably  also  the  harbour  was  a  few 
feet  deeper  then  than  it  is  now.  This  indeed  may  be  regarded  not 
as  a  probability,  but  as  a  certainty,  for  there  is  abundant  evidence 
to  prove  that  the  whole  coast  has  been  steadily  rising  little  by  little 
out  of  the  sea  for  ages. 

The  principal  island,  that  on  which  the  light-house  stands,  is 
called  Pandiyan-tlvu,  the  island  of  the  Pandyan.  Coral,  called  in 
Tamil  nurai-kal,  foam-stone,  is  formed  abundantly  in  the  shallow  Coral, 
water  outside  the  islands.  Whenever  people  dig  in  the  town  of 
Tuticorin  they  find  about  two  feet  beneath  the  surface  a  thin  layer, 
generally  only  a  few  inches  in  thickness,  of  a  fine-grained  grit- 


rm 


76  HISTORY   OF   TINNEVELLY. 

Chapter  III.  stone,  called  by  the  natives  uppukal,  salt-stone,  formed  by  the 
induration  of  the  uj)per  surface  of  the  sea  bed  when  the  sea  covered 
the  place.  Underneath  this  stratum  we  find  sea  sand,  the  larger 
grains  above,  the  smaller  below,  as  is  usual  in  sedimentary  deposi- 
tions. Sea  sand  and  shells,  including  deep  sea  shells,  are  found 
lying  on  the  surface  of  the  ground  or  a  few  inches  beneath  the 
surface,  as  far  inland  as  Korampallam,  at  the  fifth  milestone  on 
the  road  to  Palamcottah.  The  grit-stone  formation  lies  beneath, 
as  elsewhere,  all  along  the  coast,  and  is  found  half  a  mile  further 
inland.  It  also  is  full  of  recent  shells ;  but  with  this  difference 
that  the  shells  in  the  grit-stone  are  fossilised  and  very  much 
comminuted.  The  shells  lying  on  the  surface  are  not  fossilised, 
many  of  them  are  nearly  perfect,  and  some  retain  traces  of  their 
original  colour.     I  found  the  open  country  near  the  Korampallam 

Grit-stone,  tank  covered  with  deep  sea  shells,  such  as  chanks,  pectens,  oysters, 
and  a  few  pearl-oysters.  I  found  in  places  also  large  quantities  of 
sea  shore  shells.  The  place  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Korampallam 
sluice,  where  I  found  these  chanks,  &c,  is  11  feet  above  the  present 
level  of  the  sea  at  Tuticorin.  Chanks  are  usually  found  in 
7-fathom  water,  but  we  may  take  a  minimum  depth  of  5  fathoms, 
and  reckon  30  feet  for  the  depth  of  their  habitat.  This  added  to 
11  gives  us  about  40  feet,  as  the  depth  of  the  sea  which  swept  over 

Deep  sea  shells  Tuticorin  at  that  early  period  when  these  shell  fish  were  living  in 

found  inland.  ^  sea  DOttoin  at  Korampallam.  The  natives  of  Tuticorin  confirm 
this  conclusion  by  a  so-called  tradition.  They  say  that  it  was  at 
Korampallam,  when  the  sea  came  up  to  that  place,  that  Tuticorin 
first  began  to  be  built,  and  that  as  the  sea  retired  they  built  their 
houses  further  and  further  to  the  eastward,  till  they  reached  the 
place  where  Tuticorin  now  stands,  and  where  it  has  stood  ever 
since  the  arrival  of  the  white  men.  This  seems  to  me  a  tradition 
invented  to  account  for  the  fact  which  people  could  not  help 
observing,  that  sea  shells  were  found  lying  on  the  surface  of  the 
ground  at  Korampallam.  I  do  not  think  it  probable  that  the  date 
of  the  commencement  of  the  elevation  of  the  land  was  so  recent  as 
this  tradition  would  make  us  believe,  though  probably  it  was  after 
Tinnevelly  began  to  be  inhabited.     Sec  Appendix  IV. 

First  Reliable  Notices  of  Tuticorin. 

Governor  of  The  first  reliable  notices  of  the  Portuguese  settlement  at 
Tuticorin.  Tuticorin  I  find  in  Xavier's  letters,  which  were  written  on  the  spot, 
or  in  the  neighbourhood,  in  1542-44.  Tuticorin  had  then  a 
Portuguese  Governor,  who  was  probably  also  the  Governor  of  the 
other  settlements  on  the  coast,  for  in  his  letters  to  his  assistant, 
Francis  Mancias,  Xavier  always  speaks  of  the  Governor  in  the 
singular.     It  is  probably  that  it  was  the  same  functionary    who 


LATER    HINDI:    PERIOD.  77 

was  afterwards  called   Captain   of    the    Fishery.     The   principal  Chapter  III. 

letter  relating  to  Tuticorin  is  one  which  records  a  disaster.     It 

was  dated  at  Alendale  (a  small  Parava  village  three  miles  south  of 

Trichendur,  properly  Alandulai),  5th  September  1541.     An  attack 

had  been  made  by  the  dreaded  B  adages  (Nayakas  from  Madura) 

on  the  Governor  of  Tuticorin.     Xavier's  letter  on  the  subject  was  Tuticorin 

addressed  to  Mancias  at  Punnaikayal.     He  says:   "I  have  just  ga(we^ 

received    the    most    terrible    news   respecting   the    Governor   (of 

Tuticorin),  that  his  ship  has  been  burnt,  and  his  house  on  shore 

also  destroyed  by  fire  ;  that  he  has  himself  been  robbed  of  every 

thing,  and  has  retired  to  the  islands  in  broken   spirits  and  utter 

destitution.     Fly  to    his   relief,   I    conjure   you   in  the  name  of 

charity ;  carry  with  you  as  many  as  you  can  get  together  of  your  Xavier's 

people  at  Punieale,  and  all  the  boats  which  are  there,  filled  with  rel°*f8 

provisions,  and  especially  with  a  supply  of  fresh  water.     Use  the 

utmost  despatch,  for  the  extremity  of  the  man's  distress  admits  of 

no  delay.     I  am  writing  to  the  Patangats1  (headmen)  of  Combutur 

and  Bembare2  in  the  most  urgent  terms,  to  render  you  every 

possible  assistance  in  discharge  of  their  bounden  duty  to  their 

Governor.     Let  them  load  as  many  boats  as  are  fit  for  the  service  Boats  sent  to 

with  provisions  and  fresh  water,  for  it  is  well  known  that  they  are 

deficient  in  that  necessary.     I  wish  many  boats  to  be  sent,  that 

these  may  be  the  means  of  carrying  over  to  the  mainland  the  crowd 

of  all  ages,  who  were  driven  to  take  refuge  in  these  inhospitable 

rocks  by  the  same  incursion  as  drove  the  Governor  thither."     He 

adds  :  "  The  same  calamity  has  overwhelmed  very  many  Christians 

also."     This  calamity  came  to  an  end  ere  long,  but  by  what  means 

does  not  appear. 

Two  months  later  Xavier  writes  to  Mancias  again  :  "  Tell  N. 
Barbosa  (the  Governor  or  Captain  of  the  Fishery)  from  me  not  to 
employ  any  person  in  the  pearl  fisheries  at  Tuticorin,  who  have 
taken  possession  of  the  houses  of  the  Christian  exiles  ;  as  the  King 
and  the  Viceroy  have  given  me  authority  in  this  matter,  I  positively 
forbid  it."  To  understand  the  style  of  language  employed  by 
Xavier  it  is  necessary  to  remember  that  he  had  been  made  a  Royal  Xavier's 
Commissioner  with  extraordinary  powers.  About  the  same  time  he  authonty- 
obtained  an  order  from  the  King  of  Portugal  that  the  pearl  fishery 
should  be  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  Christians. 

For  the  following  particulars  respecting  Tuticorin  I  am  indebted 
as  before  to  Dr.  Burnell. 

1  Patangat  means  Pattangkatti  (title- wearer),  the  title  of  a  headman  amongst  the 
Paravas. 

2  Bembare  is  easily  identified  with  Vembar,  but  it  was  a  long  time  before  I 
discovered  that  by  "  Combutur"  (confounded  by  some  with  far-off  Coimbatore)  we 
are  to  understand  Kombukireiyur,  a  small  fishing  village  near  Kayalpa^anam. 


78 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Later  notices 
of  Tuticorin. 


Tuticorin 
taken  by  the 
Dutch. 


Chapter  III.  Correa,  writing  about  1560,  says  that  in  15-14  (when  as  we 
have  seen  Xavier  himself  was  on  the  coast)  the  places  in  which 
there  were  most  Christians  were  Tuticorin  and  Manapadu. 

A  church  was  built  at  Tuticorin  in  1582  (DeSousa).  It  was 
dedicated  to  "  Nossa  Senhora  da  Piedade,"  and  600  persons  com- 
municated at  the  first  mass  said  in  it.  This  name  is  supposed  to 
be  an  error — See  in  the  chapter  on  Roman  Catholic  Missions  a 
quotation  from  Guerrero  in  1600  relating  to  the  name  of  this 
church. 

In  Lunchoten's  map  (1596)  Cael  appears,  but  not  Tuticorin. 
He  only  mentions  a  Captain  of  the  Fishery. 

I  find  the  following  names  of  places  on  or  near  the  coast  men- 
tioned in  Xavier's  letters  : — Tuticorin,  Manapadu,  Punnaikayal, 
Kombukiraiyur,  Alandulai,  Kayal,  Talai,  Virapandiyanpattanam, 
Vembaru,  Pudicurim  (Pudukudi),  Trinchandour  (Tiruchendur), 
Pattanani. 

Baldseus  mentions  that  the  Dutch  took  Tuticorin  from  the 
Portuguese  in  1658.  He  mentions  the  existence  of  churches  along 
the  coast,  but  says  nothing  of  Portuguese  settlements.  It  may  be 
assumed  that  by  that  time  Tuticorin  was  the  only  place  on  the 
coast  where  the  Portuguese  continued  to  bear  rule.  Baldseus  says 
that  Tuticorin  was  not  fortified,  and  this  appears  from  his  view. 
It  will  be  seen  that  a  fort  was  erected  in  Tuticorin  by  the  Dutch 
shortly  before  1700.  Prior  to  that,  however,  the  portion  of  the 
town  which  is  now  inhabited  by  the  higher  Hindu  castes  was 
called  Vadi,  the  enclosure.  Both  during  the  Portuguese  period 
and  during  that  of  the  Dutch  the  chief  trade  of  Tuticorin  was 
with  Ceylon. 

In  addition  to  the  Groanese  Church  at  Tuticorin  the  only  other 
relic  of  the  Portuguese  period  I  have  seen  is  a  tomb-stone  of  a 
Native  Roman  Catholic  female  with  a  Portuguese  name,  dated 
1618.  The  oldest  thing  in  Tuticorin  appears  to  be  a  great  Baobab 
tree,  near  the  church,  probably  planted  there  by  some  early  Arab 
merchants  and  said  by  tradition  to  have  been  standing  there  before 
the  church  was  erected.  The  Baobab  is  the  Adansonia  Diffitata, 
an  African  tree,  called  the  monkey-broad  by  the  Negroes.  The 
natives  of  Tuticorin  call  it  "the  tree  without  a  name." 


Relics  of  the 

1'oituguese 

time. 


Tuticorin  under  the  Dutch. 

The  first  mercantile  expedition  despatched  by  the  Dutch  to 
the  east  was  in  1595.  In  1602  the  first  Dutch  ship  was  seen  in 
Ceylon,  from  which  period  till  1658,  when  the  Portuguese  were 
expelled  from  Ceylon  and  the  Coromandel  Coast,  the  Dutch  and 
the  Portuguese  were  incessantly  at  war.  Colombo  was  taken  by 
the  Dutch  in  1655,  three  years  before  the  capture  of  Tuticorin. 


LATER    HINDU    PERIOD.  79 

The  Dutch  had  factories  also  at  Vembar,  Vaipar,  Punnaikiiyal,  Chapter  III. 
Old   Kayal,  Manapadu,  and  Cape    Comorin.     They   had   several  Dutch"~ 
t  rading   out-stations   also   in  places  in   the   interior   as  at  Alvar  factories. 
Tirunagari.     At  Tuticorin  they  had  latterly  a  Resident,  a  more 
important  functionary  than  Governor.     The  Dutch  did  not,  like 
the  Portuguese,  claim  civil  authority  over  the  Paravas,  the  caste  of 
fishermen  along  the  coast,  but  they  professed  themselves  to  be  their 
patrons  and  protectors,  and  it  was  to  the  interest  of  the  Paravas  to 
keep  on  terms  of  amity  with  their  Dutch  neighbours,   as  they 
thereby  gained  protection  from  the  exactions  and  oppressions  of  the 
Hindu    and  Muhammadan    rulers  of   the   interior.     Before    the  Head  of  the 
arrival  of  the  Dutch  the  residence  of  the  "  Jati-talaivan,"  the  head  caste- 
of  the  (Parava)  caste,  is  said  to  have  been  at  Virapandiyanpat- 
tanam,  but  as  the  Dutch  wanted  to  avail  themselves  of  his  local 
influence,  they  induced  him  to  take  up  his  abode  in  Tuticorin. 

A  letter  written  by  a  French  Missionary,  Father  Martin,  in 
1700,  quoted  in  Lockman's  Travels  of  the  Jesuits,  describes 
Tuticorin  as  a  flourishing  town  of  more  than  50,000  inhabit- 
ants. I  am  very  doubtful  about  the  accuracy  of  this  estimate  of 
the  population.  It  is  now  one  of  the  most  flourishing  towns  on 
the  coast,  is  a  railway  terminus,  and  is  governed  by  a  municipality, 
yet  its  population,  when  the  census  of  1871  was  taken,  was  under  Population  of 
11,000.  The  same  writer  describes  the  natural  harbour  of 
Tuticorin  as  the  only  one  on  the  coast  in  which  a  European  vessel 
could  attempt  to  pass  the  stormy  season,  from  which  it  would 
appear  that,  in  consequence  either  of  the  harbour  being  deeper  then 
than  it  is  now,  or  of  the  smaller  size  of  the  European  vessels,  or  from 
both  causes,  it  was  possible  for  European  vessels  at  that  time  (in 
1700)  to  ride  inside  the  harbour.  The  writer  says  :"  Tuticorin  Appearance 
appears  a  handsome  town  to  those  who  arrive  at  it  by  sea.  We 
observe  several  buildings  which  are  lofty  enough  in  the  two  islands 
that  shelter  it ;  likewise  a  small  fortress  built  a  few  years  since  by 
the  Dutch,  to  secure  themselves  from  the  insults  of  the  idolaters 
who  came  from  the  inland  countries  ;  and  several  spacious  ware- 
houses built  by  the  water  side,  all  which  look  pretty  enough.  But 
the  instant  the  spectator  is  landed,  all  this  beauty  vanishes ;  and 
he  perceives  nothing  but  a  large  town  built  mostly  of  hurdles. 
1  he  Dutch  draw  considerable  revenues  from  Tuticorin,  though  The  fish,  i  \ 
they  are  not  absolute  masters  of  it.  The  whole  fishery  coast 
belongs  partly  to  the  king  of  Madura,  and  the  rest  to  the  prince 
of  Marava,  who  not  long  since  shook  off  the  yoke  of  the  Madura 
monarch,  whose  tributary  he  was.  The  Dutch  attempted  some 
years  since  to  purchase  of  the  prince  of  Marava  his  right  to  the 
fishing  coast  and  all  the  country  dependent  on  it ;  and  for  this 
purpose  sent  him  a  splendid  embassy  with  magnificent  presents. 


so 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Dutch  mono 
poly  in  the 
fishery. 


Chapter  III.  The  prince  thought  fit  to  receive  the  presents,  and  promised  fine 
things,  but  has  not  yet  been  so  good  as  his  word. 

The  Dutch  had  already  obtained  from  the  king  of  Madura  the 
monopoly  of  the  fishery  of  the  Tinnevelly  coast,  and  drew  a 
considerable  revenue  from  licenses  to  fish,  which  they  granted  to 
all  applicants  at  the  rate  of  sixty  ecus1  and  occasionally  more  for 
each  vessel  employed,  the  number  of  licensed  vessels  amounting 
often  to  as  many  as  six  or  seven  hundred.  The  conch-shell  fishery 
was  also  theirs  within  the  same  limits  as  the  pearl  fishery,  and 
yielded  a  considerable  profit.  Their  ordinary  trade  was  in  cloths 
manufactured  at  Madura,  for  which  they  gave  in  exchange  Japan 
leather  and  Molucca  spices.  The  Jesuit  Missionary,  from  whose 
letters  these  particulars  have  been  obtained,  furnishes  an  account 
of  the  manner  in  which  the  pearl  fishery  was  carried  on  by  the 
Dutch  in  1700.  Though  I  have  already  quoted  the  descriptions 
of  Marco  Polo  and  Caasar  Frederic,  I  cannot  forbear  quoting 
this  description  also,  which  is  particularly  full  and  clear : — 

Martin's  Account  of  the  Pearl  Fishery  in  1700. 

"  In  the  early  part  of  the  year  the  Dutch  sent  out  ten  or  twelve 
vessels  in  different  directions  to  test  the  localities  in  which  it  appeared 
desirable  that  the  fishery  of  the  j^ear  should  be  carried  on  ;  and  from 
each  vessel  a  few  divers  were  let  down,  who  brought  up  each  a  few 
thousand  oysters,  which  were  heaped  upon  the  shore  in  separate  heaps 
of  a  thousand  each,  and  opened  and  examined.  If  the  pearls  found 
in  each  heap  were  found  by  the  appraisers  to  be  worth  an  ecu  or  more, 
the  beds  from  which  the  oysters  were  taken  were  held  to  be  capable 
of  yielding  a  rich  harvest  ;  if  they  were  worth  no  more  than  thirty 
sous,  the  beds  were  considered  unlikely  to  yield  a  profit  over  and 
above  the  expense  of  working  them.  As  soon  as  the  testing  was 
completed,  it  was  publicly  announced  either  that  there  would  or  that 
there  would  not  be  a  fishery  that  year.  In  the  former  case  enormous 
crowds  of  people  assembled  on  the  coast  on  the  day  appointed  for  the 
commencement  of  the  fishery  ;  traders  came  there  with  wares  of  all 
kinds  ;  the  roadstead  was  crowded  with  shipping  ;  drums  were 
beaten  and  muskets  fired  ;  and  everywhere  the  greatest  excitement 
prevailed,  until  the  Dutch  Commissioners  arrived  from  Colombo  with 
great  pomp  and  ordered  the  proceedings  to  be  opened  with  a  salute  of 
cannon.  Immediately  afterwards  the  fishing  vessels  all  weighed 
anchor  and  stood  out  to  sea,  preceded  by  two  large  Dutch  sloops, 
which  in  due  time  drew  off  to  the  right  and  left,  and  marked  the  limits 
of  the  fishery  ;  and  when  each  vessel  reached  its  place,  half  of  its  comple- 
ment of  divers  plunged  into  the  sea,  each  with  a  heavy  stone  tied  to  his 
feet  to  make  him  sink  rapidly  and  furnished  with  a  sack  in  which  to  put 
his  oysters,  and  having   a  rope  tied  round  his  body,  the  end  of  which 


1  The  writer  heing  a  Frenchman  mentions  a  French  coin  then  current.     The  ecu 
contained  five  francs.     The  name  is  now  obsolete. 


LATER   HINDU   PERIOD.  81 

was  passed  round  a  pulley  and  held  by  some  of  the  boatmen.  Thus  Chapter  IIL 
equipped  the  diver  plunged  in,  and  on  reaching  the  bottom  filled  his 
sack  with  oysters  until  his  breath  failed  ;  when  he  pulled  a  string  with 
which  he  was  provided,  and  the  signal  being  perceived  by  the  boat- 
men above,  he  was  forthwith  hauled  up  by  the  rope,  together  with  his 
sack  of  oysters.  No  artificial  appliances  of  any  kind  were  used  to 
enable  the  men  to  stay  under  water  for  long  periods  :  they  were 
accustomed  to  the  work  from  infancy  almost,  and  consequently  did  it 
easily  and  well.  Some  were  much  more  skilful  and  lasting  than  others, 
and  it  was  usual  to  pay  them  no  proportion  to  their  powers — a  practice 
which  led  to  much  emulation  and  occasionally  to  fatal  results. 
Anxious  to  outdo  all  his  fellows,  a  diver  would  sometimes  persist  in 
collecting  until  he  was  too  weak  to  pull  the  string  ;  and  would  be 
drawn  up  at  last  half  or  quite  drowned.  And  very  often  a  greedy 
man  would  attack  and  rob  a  successful  neighbour  under  water  :  and 
instances  were  known  in  which  divers  who  had  been  thus  treated 
took  down  knives  and  murdered  their  plunderers  at  the  bottom  of  the 
sea.  As  soon  as  all  the  first  set  of  divers  had  come  up,  and  their 
takings  had  been  examined  and  thrown  into  the  hold,  the  second  set 
went  down.  After  an  interval  the  first  set  dived  again,  and  after 
them  the  second  ;  and  so  on  turn  by  turn.  The  work  was  very 
exhausting,  and  the  strongest  man  could  not  dive  oftener  than  seven  or 
eight  times  in  a  day  ;  so  that  the  day's  diving  was  finished  always 
before  noon. 

"  The  diving  over,  the  vessels  returned  to  the  coast  and  discharged 
their  cargoes  :  and  the  oysters  were  all  thrown  into  a  kind  of  park 
and  left  for  two  or  three  days,  at  the  end  of  which  time  they  opened 
and  disclosed  their  treasures.  The  pearls  having  been  extracted 
from  the  shells  and  carefully  washed,  were  placed  in  a  metal  receptacle 
containing  some  five  or  six  colanders  of  graduated  sizes,  which  were 
fitted  one  into  another  so  as  to  leave  a  space  between  the  bottoms  of 
every  two,  and  were  pierced  with  holes  of  varying  sizes  ;  that  which  had 
the  largest  holes  being  the  topmost  colander,  and  that  which  had 
the  smallest  being  the  undermost.  When  dropped  into  colander  No.  1 
all  but  the  very  finest  pearls  fell  through  into  No.  2,  and  most  of  them 
passed  into  Nos.  3,  4,  and  5  ;  whilst  the  smallest  of  all,  the  seeds. 
were  strained  off  into  the  receptacle  at  the  bottom.  When  all  had 
staid  in  their  proper  colanders,  they  were  classified  and  valued  accord- 
ingly. The  largest  or  those  of  the  first  class  were  the  most  valuable  : 
and  it  is  expressly  stated  in  the  letter  from  which  this  information  is 
extracted  that  the  value  of  any  given  pearl  was  appraised  almost 
exclusively  with  reference  to  its  size,  and  was  held  to  be  affected  but 
little  by  its  shape  and  lustre.  The  valuation  over,  the  Dutch  generally 
1  nought  the  finest  pearls.  They  considered  that  they  had  a  right  of  pre- 
emption :  at  the  same  time  they  did  not  compel  individuals  to  sell  if 
unwilling.  All  the  pearls  taken  on  the  first  day  belonged  by  express 
reservation  to  the  king  or  to  the  Setupati,  according  as  the  place  of 
their  taking  lay  off  the  coasts  of  the  one  or  the  other.  The  Dutch  did 
not,  as  was  often  asserted,  claim  the  pearls  taken  on  the  second  da}-. 

11 


82  HISTORY    OF    TINXEYELLY. 

Chapter  III.  They  had  other  and  more  certain  modes  of  making  profit,  of  which 
the  very  best  was  to  bring  plenty  of  ca^h  into  a  market  where  cash  was 
not  plentiful  and  so  enable  themselves  to  purchase  at  very  easy  prices. 
The  amounts   of  oysters  found  in    different  years   varied   infinitely. 
Some  years  the  divers  had  only  to  pick  up  as  fast  as  they  were  able, 
and  as  long  as  they  could  keep  under  water  ;  in  others  they  could  only 
find  a  few  here  and  there.     In  1700  the  testing  was  most  encouraging, 
and  an  unusually  large  number  of  boat-owners  took   out  licenses  to 
fish ;  but  the  season  proved  most  disastrous.     Only  a  few  thousands 
were  taken  on  the  first  day  by  all  the  divers  together,  and  a  day  or  two 
afterwards  not  a  single  oyster  could  be  found.     It  was   supposed  by 
many  that  strong   under-currents  had  suddenly  set  in  owing  to  some 
unknown  cause  and  covered  the  oysters  with  layers  of  sand.     What- 
ever the  cause,  the  results  of  the  failure  were  most  ruinous.     Several 
merchants  had  advanced  large  svims  of  money  to  the  boat-owners  on 
speculation,  which  were  of  course  lost.     The  boat-owners  had  in  like 
manner  advanced  money  to  the  divers   and  others,  and  they  also  lost 
their  money.     And  the  Dutch  did  not  make  anything  like  their  usual 
profit." 
Failures  in  In  the  earlier  period   described   by  Marco    Polo   and   Csesar 

fishery!'  Frederic  the  pearl  fishery  seems  never  to  have  proved  a  failure.     It 

was  successfully  carried  on  on  some  bank  or  another  off  the  coast 
year  after  year ;  but  in  later  times  failures  frequently  occurred. 
The  first  of  these  failures  I  find  mentioned  took  place  about  thirty 
years  after  Caesar  Frederic's  visit  and  lasted  for  an  entire  genera- 
tion. I  have  learnt  from  Dr.  Burnell  that  Barretto,  Bishop  of 
Cochin,  in  an  account  of  the  Missions  published  in  1615,  says  that 
the  pearl  fishery  along  the  coast,  of  which  he  gives  a  description, 
had  failed  for  thirty-four  years.  It  commenced  again,  he  says, 
four  years  ago.  This  appears  to  have  been  the  commencement  of 
those  frequent  failures  which  have  formed  the  principal  characteristic 
of  the  fishery  in  modern  times.  In  1700  we  see  Father  Martin's 
account  of  the  failure  that  year.  The  first  time  the  fishery  was 
conducted  under  the  East  India  Company's  Government  was  in 
1784,  Mr.  Irwin  being  then  "  Superintendent  of  Assigned 
Revenue,"  or  Collector,  and  this  proved  a  failure.  The  cause  of 
these  failures  is,  I  understand,  still  involved  in  mystery. 

The  earliest   date   I    have    found   on  a  Dutch   tomb-stone   in 
Tuticorin  is  1706. 
nutrii  The  only  reference  to  the  Dutch  in  Tuticorin   contained   in 

alliance  with  Qrmo  ^y{\\  be   found  further  on  in   connexion  with  the  events  of 
roliflrars 

insi  the      1700.     It  would  appear  that  the  Poligars  were  frequently  receiving 

English  encouragement  and  assistance  from  the  Dutch. 

Later  on  we  learn  from  Colonel  Fullarton  that  the  Dutch  entered 
into  a  regular  alliance  with  the  refractory  Poligars  of  Tinnevelly 
against  the  English;  nor  was  this  an  empty  suspicion  on  the  part 
of  the  English  of  that  time,   founded  on  national  jealousy,  for  on 


LATER    HINDU    PERIOD.  83 

the  capture  of   Panjalainkuriohi  by  Colonel  Fullarton  in  1783  the  Chapter  III. 
original  of  a  treaty  between  the  Dutch  Government  of  Colombo 
and  Kattaboma  Nayaka  was  found  in  his  fort. 

I  append  the  principal  epochs  in  the  history  of  the  occupation  DatesrelatiDg 
of  Tuticorin,  though  some  of  these  come  down  to  a  later  date  than  to  lutlconn- 
that  at  which  it  was  intended  that  this  narrative  should  terminate. 

1.  The  Dutch  took  Tuticorin  from  the  Portuguese  in  1658. 

2.  It  was  taken  from  the  Dutch  by  the  English  in  1782. 

3.  It  was  restored  by  the  English  to  the  Dutch  in   1785,  in 

consequence  of  the  treaty  of  2nd  September  1783. 

4.  It  was  taken  again  by  the  English  in  1795. 

5.  And   was   again   given   back  to  the  Dutch   on   the   9th 

February  1818. 

6.  It  was  finally  ceded  peacefully  by  the  Dutch  to  the  English 

on  the  1st  June  1825. 

During  the  last  Poligar  war  Tuticorin   was   taken   from   the  Tuticorin 
English  and  held  for  a  short  time  by  the  Poligar  of  Panialam-  j™.mg  tne 

..__,..  .  roligar  war. 

kurichi.  This  was  in  the  beginning  of  1801.  A  young  subaltern 
was  in  command  of  the  fort  of  Tuticorin  with  a  company  of  sepoys. 
Unfortunately,  while  he  was  defending  the  fort  on  one  side  the 
native  officer  under  him  capitulated  and  admitted  the  enemy  on 
the  other.  The  rebels  disarmed  the  sepoys  and  then  set  them  at 
liberty,  and  permitted  the  English  officer  to  embark  in  a  fishing 
boat  for  an  English  settlement.  They  found  an  Englishman, 
Mr.  Baggott,  who  was  Master  Attendant  of  Tuticorin,  and  carried 
him  off  a  prisoner.  His  wife  followed  him  into  the  fort  where  the 
Poligar  had  taken  up  his  headquarters  and  petitioned  for  her 
husband's  life,  whereupon  the  Poligar  set  him  at  liberty  and 
restored  to  him  his  property.  There  were  many  Dutch  residents 
in  Tuticorin,  but  these  were  unmolested  by  the  Poligar.  He 
considered  them  neutrals,  or  indeed  friends,  for  the  sympathies  of 
the  Dutch  all  through  the  troubles  in  Tinnevelly  were  rather  on 
the  side  of  the  enemy  than  on  ours.  A  son  of  this  Mr.  Baggott 
was  well  known  in  Tuticorin  in  connection  with  the  cotton  trade 
many  years  afterwards. 

I  have  the  pleasure  of  adding  here  (though  they  belong  to  a  later  introduction 
period)  some  particulars  respecting  the  introduction  of  the  screwing  of  of  cott°n 
cotton  into  Tuticorin,  kindly  furnished  me  by  the  gentleman  by  whom  8Ciei 
it  was  introduced,  C.  Groves,  Esq.,  of  Liverpool,  now  of  New  Brighton, 
Cheshire.    This  was  in  1831,  nearly  fifty  years  ago.    Mr.  Groves,  who, 
with   his   brother,  had   then   a   house   in   Colombo,  came   across   to 
Tuticorin  for  the  purpose  of   seeing  whether   cotton  could  not   be 
screwed   there   and   shipped  directly  to  England.     Up  to  that  time 
Tinnevelly  cotton  was  either  sent  unscrewed  to  Madras,  or  it  was 
partially   screwed  in  Palamcottah  and   then    sent  from    Tuticorin  to 
Madras  to  be  properly  screwed.     Mr.  Groves  landed  at  Tuticorin  on 


84  HISTORY    OF   TINNEVELLY. 

Chapter  III.  the  1st  March.  1831  and  went  immediately  to  Palameottah  to  see  Mr. 
Hughes  (about  whom  we  hear  much  in  connection  with  the  Poligar 
wars),  who  at  that  time  had  all  the  cotton  business  in  his  hands.  He 
bought  200  bales  of  him,  and  after  he  left  his  agent  in  Colombo  sent  a 
vessel  to  Tuticorin  to  take  these  bales  to  London.  This  was  the  first 
shipment  of  cotton  ever  made  directly  from  Tuticorin  to  Europe,  and  it 
answered  well  financially.  The  following  year,  in  1832,  Mr.  Groves 
had  the  first  cotton  screw  erected  in  Tuticorin  in  connection  with  his 
Colombo  business.  Afterwards  other  screws  were  erected  by  Madras 
merchants  and  others.  At  first  Mr.  Baggott,  who  succeeded  his 
father  as  Master  Attendant  in  Tuticorin,  acted  as  Groves  and  Co.'s 
agent,  but  after  they  withdrew  he  carried  on  the  cotton  screwing 
business  on  his  own  account. 

Some  relics  of  Mr.  Hughes's  screw  may  still  be  seen  lying  about 
near  the  Court  House  in  Palameottah. 

Tuticorin  in        At  the  end  of  1801,   on  the  termination  of  the  Poligar  war, 
180 L  General  (then  Captain)  "Welsh  was  sent  to  command  Tuticorin  and 

superintend  the  transportation  to  Penang  of  seventy  of  the  princi- 
pal rebels.  He  describes  it  as  having  a  large  fortified  factory, 
washed  by  the  sea  and  as  a  neat  little  town,  the  front  street  of 
which,  on  the  sea-shore,  had  some  good  houses  in  it.  The  native 
inhabitants  were  about  five  thousand  in  number.  From  this  place, 
he  says,  the  passage  by  sea  to  Colombo  is  performed  in  one  or  two 
days,  the  gulf  always  having  strong  winds  blowing,  either  up  or 
down,  which  are  equally  available  going  or  returning.  He  describes 
the  Factory-house,  inhabited  by  the  Dutch  Governor,  as  a  very 
roomy,  well-furnished,  and  very  cool  habitation,  besides  which  he 
had  a  garden  house  about  three  miles  inland.  The  Tuticorin  fort 
was  destroyed  by  the  English  in  1810. 
Tuticorin  at  I  may  add  that  the  Tuticorin  of  the  present  is  not  only  the  chief 
present.  seaport   in  Tinnevelly,  but  the  principal  emporium  of  the  cotton 

trade  in  Southern  India.  It  was  always  a  thriving  place,  but  it 
has  recently  received  a  great  impetus  from  being  made  the  southern 
terminus  of  the  railway  connecting  Tinnevelly  with  Trichinopoly 
and  Madras.  It  is  one  of  the  few  towns  in  Tinnevelly  which  are 
under  municipal  government,  and  had  a  population  in  1871  of 
nearly  11,000. 


NAWAB    OF    AllCOT's    PERIOD.  85 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  PERIOD  OF  THE  NAWAB"t)F  ARGOT,  TO  MUHAMMAD 
YUSUF  KHAN'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


End  of  the  Rule  of  the  Nayakas  of  Madura. 

"We  must  now  return  to  the  closing  period  of  the  Nayaka  admini-  Chapter  IV. 

stration.     I  must  content  myself,  however,  with  a  brief  record  of 

facts,  as  Trichinopoly  had  now  become  the  capital  of  the  Nayaka 

dominions,  instead  of   Madura,  and,  this  place  being  still    more 

remote  than  Madura  from  Tinnevelly,  hardly   any  reference   to 

Tinnevelly  affairs  appears  in  the  records  of  the  time.    It  was  not 

until  the  contest  for  the  Nawabship  of  Arcot  arose  between  Chanda 

Saheb,  the  protege  of  the  French,  and  Muhammad  Ali,  the  protege 

of  the  English,  that  Tinnevelly  seems  to  have  been  regarded  as  a 

district  of  any  importance. 

In  1731,  the  last  of  the  Nayaka  kings,  Yijayaranga-chokka-natha, 
died  without  issue,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  queen  Mmakshi,  who 
adopted,  as  heir  to  the  throne,  the  son  of  a  member  of  the  royal 
family,  in  whose  name  she  ruled  as  regent.  A  party,  however, 
arose  who  endeavoured  to  depose  Mmakshi  and  set  up  instead 
VangaruTirumalai,  the  father  of  the  boy  she  had  adopted.  Mmakshi 
remained  in  possession  of  the  fort  of  Trichinopoly,  its  palace  and 
treasures,  whilst  most  of  the  country  outside  Trichinopoly  fell  away 
to  ber  rival. 

Chanda  Saheb  at  Trichinopoly. 

Hearing  of  these  disputes  the  Nawab  of  Arcot  sent  an  army,  in 
1734,  under  the  command  of  his  son  Safdar  Ali  and  his  relation 
and  Dewan  Chanda  Saheb,  nominally  for  the  purpose  of  collecting 
tribute,  but  really  to  seize  any  opportunity  that  might  offer  for 
getting  possession  of  Trichinopoly.  Chanda  Saheb  after  having  Chanda 
taken  an  oath,  it  is  said,  on  the  Koran  that  he  would  do  nothing  f1"b)'(']'1,',!> 
to  the  queen's  detriment,  was  admitted  with  a  body  of  troops  into 
the  city,  whereupon  he  soon  succeeded  in  usurping  the  entire 
government,  first  of  the  portion  of  country  which  remained  in  the 
queen's  possession,  then  of  Madura  and  the  districts  which  adhered 
to  Vangaru  Tirumalai. 

Chanda  Saheb  now  threw  off  the  mask  and  showed  himself  in 
his   true  colours.     His  schemes  had   all  succeeded ;  the  Madura 


86  HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 

Chapter  iv.  kingdom,  or  at  all  events  the  greater  and  more  important  portion 
of  it,  was  held  by  his  troops  ;  Vangaru  Tirumalai  was  a  refugee  ; 
and  Minakshi  was  a  helpless  woman,  living  in  a  building  which  he 
Chanda  Saheb  could  at  any  moment  seize  and  turn  into  a  prison.  Accordingly, 
kingdom.  *n  ^^6,  he  openly  proclaimed  himself  to  be  the  ruler  of  the  Madura 
kingdom,  and,  locking  up  the  queen  in  her  palace,  assumed  to 
himself  all  the  power  and  dignity  of  a  sovereign  prince.  And 
thinking  after  awhile  that  the  queen  might  find  means  to  do  him 
harm,  and  that  she  was  an  expense  to  him,  and  finding  perhaps 
that  the  presence  of  the  poor  woman  in  the  palace  was  productive 
of  unpleasant  action  on  the  part  of  what  he  supposed  to  be  his  con- 
science, he  began  to  take  into  consideration  the  advisability  of 
murdering  her.  But  he  was  saved  the  trouble  of  committing  this 
fresh  crime.  Her  misfortunes  were  more  than  Minakshi  could 
endure,  and,  weary  of  her  life,  she  took  poison  and  placed  herself 
beyond  the  reach  of  her  betrayer. — Nelson,  III.  260. 

Mahrattas  at  Trichinopoly. 

The  next  turn  of  fortune  brought  the  Mahrattas,  for  the  first  time, 
into  the  ancient  Pandya  kingdom.  According  to  Nelson's  account, 
which  seems  to  be  more  reliable  here  than  Orme's,  Vangaru 
Tirumalai  found  that  his  only  chance  was  to  call  to  his  aid  a  power 
stronger  than  that  of  Chanda  Saheb.  He  therefore  begged  the 
Arrival  of  the  Mahrattas  of  Sattarato  come  and  help  him.  Accordingly,  in  1739, 
*[4hyatta  Raghuji  Bhonslai  and  Futta  Singh,  the  Mahratta  generals, 
marched  southward  at  the  head  of  a  large  body  of  cavalry,  and  after 
defeating  the  Nawab  of  Arcot,  Daust  Ali,  laid  siege  to  Trichino- 
poly. They  were  assisted  by  the  King  of  Tan j ore  and  the  other 
Hindu  princes  in  the  neighbourhood,  who  were  anxious  to  see  the 
Muhammadans  expelled.  The  fortress  was  on  the  point  of  being- 
taken  when  Chanda  Saheb  surrendered  it,  with  himself,  to  the 
Mahrattas,  by  whom  he  was  sent  a  prisoner  to  Sattara.  This  took 
place  in  March  1741,  and  the  capture  of  Chanda  Saheb  had  been 
already  preceded  by  the  death  of  his  brother  Bada  Saheb,  who  had 
been  appointed  Governor  of  Madura.  After  taking  Trichinopoly 
the  Mahratta  leaders  appointed  Morari  Rau  to  be  Governor  tempo- 
rarily, and  the  latter  appointed  Appaji  Rau  to  be  the  Governor  of 
the  less  important  fortress  of  Madura.  The  Governor  of  Madura 
Mahrattas  in  was  doubtless  nominally  Governor  also  of  Tinnevelly,  but  there  is 
possession  of   n0tLjnO;  to  show  that  he  was  actually  in  possession  of  Tinnevelly  or 

sovereign  o  i-i-  m.  j 

powi  t  any  part  of  it,  though  he  may  have  made  incursions  into  it,  and 

it  may  be  assumed  without  hesitation  that  the  Poligars  paid  very 
little  attention  to  his  commands. 

Sir  Madhava  Rau,  in  his  History  of  Travancore  (which  I  have 
only  seen  in  the  vernacular),  mentions  some  additional  particulars 


NAWAB    OF    ARCOt's    PERIOD.  87 

(which  are  repeated  in  Shungoonny  Menon's  History  of  Travan-  Chapteh  ( \ 

core),  respecting  the  doings  of  Chanda  Saheb  and  Bada  Saheb  in 

the   southern   districts  prior   to  the  siege  of  Trichinopoly  by  the 

Mahrattas.   He  states  that  Danst  Ali,  in  order  to  obtain  a  kingdom  Muhammadan 

for  his  eldest  son  Safdar  Ali,  sent  Chanda  Saheb  and  his  brother  "lvasion  of 
.  .  .  .  Travancore. 

Bada  Saheb  to  seize  upon  the  Hindu  kingdoms  in  the  south.    In 

carrying  out  this  design  he  states  that  they  attacked  Travancore, 
a  circumstance  which  is  not  mentioned  by  any  other  writer,  but  in 
a  matter  of  this  kind  we  may  safely  trust  a  local  historian  in  pos- 
session of  local  records.  He  says  that  the  army  of  the  two  Sahebs 
entered  Travancore  by  the  Aramboly  Pass  in  February  or  March 
1740.  They  returned  on  hearing  of  troubles  in  their  own  country, 
and  also  because  the  King  of  Travancore  sent  them  presents.  The 
troubles  they  heard  o£  were  doubtless  those  that  were  owing  to  the 
approach  of  the  Mahrattas  to  Trichinopoly. 

Commencement  of  the  Rule  of  the  Nawab  of  Arcot. 

In  1743  the  Nizam  himself  entered  the  Carnatic  with  a  great  Approach  of 
army,  whereupon  Trichinopoly  and  Madura  were  at  once  sur- 
rendered to  him,  the  Mahrattas  not  being  able  to  cope  with  so 
formidable  an  antagonist.  About  this  time  Vangaru  Tirumalai 
died,  and  his  son  retired  to  Vellaikurichi,  in  the  Sivagangai 
country,  where,  it  is  said,  his  descendants  still  live  in  peaceful 
obscurity. 

From  the  time  of  the  expulsion  of  the  Mahrattas  by  the  Nizam  in  Anwar  u-din 
1744  until  1747  or  1748  the  Madura  country  appears  to  have  been 
held  by  officers  commissioned    by   Anwar-u-din   who   had   been 
appointed  Nawab  of  Arcot  by  the  Nizam  in  1744,   and  his  son 
Muhammad  Ali,  who  succeeded  him  in  1749.     "We  may  therefore 
take  1744  as  the  commencement  of  the  rule  of  Nawab  of  Arcot  in 
the  districts  heretofore  held  by  the  Nayakas,  that   is,  in  Trichino- 
poly, Madura,  and  Tinnevelly,  though  it  will  be  seen  that  till  the 
appearance  of  the  English  upon  the  stage  as  the  Nawab' s  allies  and 
helpers  his  rule  was  little  better  than  nominal.    In  1748  Chanda  The  rival 
Saheb  regained  his  liberty,  and  was  acknowledged  as  the  Nawab  of  Nawats 
Arcot  by  the  French,  whilst  the  cause  of  Muhammad  Ali  was 
espoused  by  the  English,  and  in  every  district  in  the  south  the 
rival  claims  of  these  two  princes  led  to  conflict  and  confusion.    We 
now  come,  for  the  first  time,  in  the  course  of  these  events  to  a  por- 
tion of  the  history  of  Tinnevelly  in  which  we  shall  be  able  to  avail 
ourselves  of  Orme's  valuable  help.  Before  commencing  this  portion 
of  the  history,  however,  it  will  be  desirable  to  mention  some  parti- 
culars respecting  the  town  of  Tinnevelly  and   the  fort  of  Palam- 
cotta,  to  each  of  which  reference  will  have  to  be  made  from  time 
to  time. 


88 


HISTORY    OF    TIXXEVELLY. 


Chapter   IV, 


Town  of 
Tinnevelly 
always  a 
place  of  im- 
portance. 


Meaning  of 
"  Tiru-nel- 
veli." 


Town  of  Tinnevelly. 

The  town  of  Tinnevelly  was  the  more  ancient  capital  of  the  dis- 
trict, as  Palamcotta  is  the  more  modern.  It  is  uncertain  whether 
Tinnevelly  was  anything  more  than  one  of  the  principal  towns  in 
the  district  during  the  time  of  the  Pandya  kings,  but  it  seems  to  be 
certain  that  during  the  greater  portion  of  the  period  of  the  rule  of 
the  Nayakas  at  Madura  it  was  regarded  as  the  capital  of  the  south- 
ern portion  of  their  dominions.  Its  only  rival  in  importance  was 
Strivillyputtoor  (Srlvillipputtur),  where  some  of  the  Nayaka  rulers 
liked  occasionally  to  reside.  It  is  strange  that,  though  the  capital 
of  a  district,  and  the  rich  centre  of  a  rich  neighbourhood,  it  seems 
never  to  have  been  fortified.  Probably  there  was  always  a  strong- 
hold at  Palamcotta,  only  about  three  miles  off,  and  this  may  always 
have  been  regarded  as  a  sufficient  protection,  as  we  know  it  was  at 
a  later  period,  to  the  town  of  Tinnevelly  and  the  towns  and  villages 
in  the  neighbourhood.  Tinnevelly  should  be  written  Tiru-nel-veli, 
and  the  meaning  of  this  name  is  "  the  sacred  rice  hedge,"  from  tiru 
(the  Tamilised  form  of  the  Sanskrit  srl),  sacred;  nel,  paddy,  rice  in 
the  husk ;  and  veli,  hedge.  The  Sthalapurana  of  the  Tinnevelly 
temple  represents  nel  as  meaning  "  bambu,"  as  well  as  rice  or  paddy. 
Hence  it  gives  also  the  meaning,  the  sacred  bambu  hedge.  This 
meaning  would  be  a  very  appropriate  one,  but  I  can  find  no  trace  of 
nel  having  the  meaning  of  paddy  in  any  dictionary.  The  absence 
of  this  meaning  in  the  dictionary  does  not  quite  settle  the  matter? 
but  it  renders  this  derivation  somewhat  doubtful.  The  ordinary 
legendary  derivation  of  the  name  is  founded,  not  on  any  reference 
to  a  bambu,  but  on  the  ordinary  meaning  of  nel,  paddy,  rice  in  the 
husk.  The  story  goes,  that  a  man  belonging  to  this  place  (which 
then  must  have  had  a  different  name,  bambu  hedge  ?)  went  to  the 
river  to  bathe,  having  previously  spread  out  a  quantity  of  paddy 
near  his  house  to  dry.  Whilst  he  was  bathing  a  heavy  shower  of 
rain  came  on.  He  left  the  river  and  ran  home  expecting  to  find  his 
paddy  wet  and  spoiled,  when,  behold  !  he  found  that  the  rain  had 
fallen  all  round  the  paddy,  but  not  a  drop  on  the  paddy  itself. 
Hence  he  praised  Siva  as  he  who  had  made  a  hedge  round  his  paddy, 
and  built  a  temple  to  his  honour,  whereupon  the  name  of  the  place 
was  altered  to  Tiru-nel-veli,  the  sacred  rice  hedge.  The  Sthala- 
purana gives  both  meanings  and  gives  the  legend  quoted  above  in 
confirmation  of  the  second.  It  identifies  Tiru-nel-veli  with  Daruka- 
vana,  where  the  rishis,  who  were  Siva's  opponents,  performed  sacri- 
fice, and  the  linga  here  with  the  linga  that  grew  there  out  of  a 
bambu.  Hence  at  a  certain  festival  a  young  bambu  plant  is  mad'' 
to  appear  to  be  growing  beside  the  linga.  Siva's  consort,  as  wor- 
shipped in  the  Tinnevelly  temple,  is  called  Kantimati  (fern,  of 
Kantimat),  the  lovely  one.  The  towna  of  Tinnevelly  is  now  a 
municipality,  with  a  population  of  20,000. 


NAWAB    OF    ARCOT's    PERIOD.  89 

PALAMCOTTA.  Chapter  IV. 


Palanicotta,  the  present  capital  of  the  district  of  Tinnevelly,  is  a 
municipality,  with   a  population  of  about  18,000.     It  is  situated 
about  a  mile  to  the  south  of  the  TamraparnI,  whilst  Tinnevelly  lies 
two  miles  to  the  north.     Intercourse  and  traffic  between  the  two 
towns  have  been  facilitated  since  1844  by  a  beautiful  bridge  over  the 
Tamraparni,  erected  by  Colonel  Horsley  at  the  sole  expense  of  a 
wealthy  native,  Sulochana  Mudaliyar.     Few  traces  now  remain  of 
the  fortifications  of  Palamcotta,  most  of  which  have  been  removed 
as  no  longer  necessary,  but  when  the  English  first  arrived  in  Tinne-  Palamcotta 
velly  they  found  it  the  strongest  fort  south  of  Madura.     It  was  a  ^l^tfol 
fortified  town,  as  well  as  a  fort,  and  was  defended  by  a  double  Madura, 
system  of  fortifications,  the  outer  line  lower  than  the  inner,  with  a 
complete  set  of  bastions  and  strongly  fortified  gates.     The  whole  of 
the  fortifications  were  cased  with  cut  stone.     It  was  the  only  stone- 
built  fort  in  the  Tinnevelly  District.     Madura  was  frequently  taken 
and  retaken,  but  Palamcotta  lay  so  far  to  the  south  that  it  was  never 
exposed  to   any  attack  from  Europeans,  and  never  sustained  any 
serious  assault  from  natives.     If  Tippu  Sultan  had   succeeded  in 
taking  the  northern  Travancore  lines  in  1789  and  bringing  his  forces  Tippu's 
round  by  Tinnevelly  and  Madura  for  the  purpose  of  taking  the  de81Sns- 
English  in  the  rear,  as  he  hoped  to  do,  the  strength  of  the  fort  of 
Palamcotta  might  have  been  put  to  the  test. 

Palamcotta  is  in  Tamil  Falaiyangkottai,  which  means  camp-fort, 
from  palaiyam,  originally  a  camp,  secondarily  an  estate  held  on 
military  tenure,  and  kottai,  a  fort.  The  Telugu  form  which  corre- 
sponds to  palaiyam  is  palem  (u),  from  which  it  might  be  concluded 
that  the  early  English  got  their  pronunciation  and  spelling  of  the 
word  from  their  Telugu  followers.  The  derivation  I  have  here 
given  is  that  which  accords  best  with  the  spelling  of  the  name  in 
actual  use,  but  the  derivation  of  the  name  almost  universally 
accepted  by  natives  requires  it  to  be  written,  not  Palaiyangkottai,  Meaning  and 
but  Palaiyankottai.  They  represent  Palaiyan  as  a  man's  name,  origia  of  the 
admitting  however  that  it  may  have  originally  been  a  title.  As  a 
title  it  would  mean  the  holder  of  a  camp.  This  would  virtually  be 
identical  with  the  more  common  title  Poligar,  and  it  is  noticeable 
that  tradition  represents  this  Palaiyan  as  aCanarese  man,  and  that 
the  ordinary  title  of  a  Poligar  in  Canarese  is  Paleya,  i.e.,  Palaiyan. 
This  derivation  is  confirmed  by  the  circumstance  that  the  water 
channel  which  brings  water  of  irrigation  from  the  Palavur  anicut  to 
Palamcotta  and  the  neighbourhood  is  always  called  Palaiyan-kal, 
that  is,  Pa  lai  van's  "channel.  The  native  idea  is  that  the  fort  of 
Palamcotta,  that  is,  the  old  fort,  or  the  oldest  portion  of  the  more 
recent  fort,  was  built  by  this  Palaiyan  about  200  years  ago.  This 
of  course  is  a  very  vague  estimate.     It  would  place  the  erection  of 

12 


name. 


90 


HISTORY    OF    TINXEVEI.I.Y 


Age  of  the 
founder. 


Chapter  IV.  the  fort  in  the  time  of  the  Nayakas  of  Madura,  whereas  if  the 
founder  of  the  fort  and  the  excavator  of  the  channel  were  really 
as  tradition  invariably  states,  a  Kannadi,  which  there  is  no  reason 
to  doubt,  it  would  appear  probable  that  he  lived  in  the  still  earlier 
period  when  the  Kannadi  kings  of  Dwara-samudra  held  supreme 
power.  Two  reasons  may  be  adduced,  on  the  other  hand,  for  adher- 
ing to  the  derivation  which  accords  with  the  ordinary  spelling  and 
consequently  regarding  the  first  part  of  the  name  of  Palamcotta  as 
denoting  a  camp.  One  is  that  Palamcotta  is  called,  it  is  said,  in 
some  old  documents  Vilangkulam  Palaiyam,  the  camp  of  Vilang- 
kulam  ;  another  is  that  there  is  a  large  village  to  the  westward 
called  Melapalaiyam,  the  western  camp.  Palaiyam,  however,  in  the 
latter  case  may  mean  merely  a  suburb. 

A  poetical  name  for  Palamcotta  is  Mangai-nagaram,  the  city  of 
the  maiden,  but  who  this  maiden  was  is  at  present  unknown.  A 
tradition  survives  of  the  existence  of  a  town  in  ancient  times  on 
the  site  on  which  the  fort  of  Palamcotta  was  subsequently  built- 
A  petty  king  lived  there,  it  is  said,  called  Pranda  Baja,  who  has 
given  his  name  to  various  places  in  and  about  the  fort,  including 
a  tank. 

It  had  always  been  noticed  that  many  of  the  stones  in  the 
walls   of  the   Palamcotta    fort   had  previously   been  portions  of 
some  Hindu  temple,  and  this  is  clearly  proved  by  the  carvings  and 
Construction   inscriptions  that  remain.     These  temple  stones  were  found  not  only 
in  the   outer  fort,  which  was  undoubtedly  built    in  the  Nawab's 
time,  but  also  in  the  walls  of  the  inner  fort,  which  is  said  to  have 
been  erected  by  a  Hindu.      One  explanation  of  this,  given   by 
natives,  is  that  Palaiyan,  though  a  Hindu,  did  not  scruple  to  avail 
himself  of  the  stones  of  abandoned  temples,  and  in  particular  that 
he  made  use  of  the  stones  of  a  great  wall  which  formerly  surrounded 
the  temple  at  Muttukrishnapuram,  a  place  about  five  miles  east 
of  Palamcotta,  a  temple  which  had  been  erected  about  a  hundred 
years  before  the  fort  by  one  Mayilerum  Perumal  Mudali,  a  convert 
from  the  Saiva  to  the  Vaishnava    religion.     Another   and   more 
probable  explanation  is  that,  not  only  was  the  outer  fort  wholly 
built  by  the   Muhammadan  commandant  during  the    period  of 
the  Nawab's  rule,  but  that  the  wall  of  the  inner  fort  also  was 
completed  and  strengthened  by  him,  when  he  not  only  made   use 
of  the  stones  of  dilapidated  temples,  but  also,  it  is  said,  pulled 
down  some  temples  for  the  purpose.     One  of  the  temples  said  to 
have  been  appropriated  in  this  manner  was  that  at  Murttiyapurani, 
a  placn  on  the  banks  of  the  river  near  Palamcotta.     The  outer 
and  lower  fort  used  to  be  called  the  Pillaikkottai,  or  child  fort. 
This  name  was  probably  given  to  it  on  account  of  it  being  the 
smaller  of  the  two,  but  some  natives  assert  that  it   meant  the  fort 
of  the  Pillai,  that  is,  of  Muhammad  Yusuf  Khan,  commonly  called 


Outer  and 
inner  forts. 


NAWAB    OF    A.RCOT's    PERIOD.  91 

simply  Khan  Saheb,  who  was  often  called  "  the  Pillai,"  in  conse-  Chapter  iv. 
qnence  of  his  having  originally  been,  not  a  Muhammadan,  but  a 
Vellala  Hindu,  a  caste  to  which  the  title  Pillai  pertains. 

During  the  time  the  East  India  Company  carried  on  trade  they 
had  a  Commercial  Agent  in  Palamcotta.  They  had  a  warehouse 
for  their  goods,  and  also  a  cotton-screw  near  the  Agent's  house  on 
the  banks  of  the  river.  See  in  page  83  the  account  of  the  first 
introduction  of  cotton  screwing  into  Tuticorin.  The  first  reference 
to  Palamcotta  in  Orme  is  in  1756,  in  which  it  was  stated  that  the 
ramparts  of  the  fort  were  in  ruins,  and  only  capable  of  resisting 
an  enemy  which  had  no  battering  cannon.  Muhammad  Yusuf 
Khan  was  appointed  to  command  the  troops  and  carry  on  the 
revenue  administration  in  Madura  and  Tinnevelly  in  the  same 
year,  soon  after  which  doubtless  he  commenced  to  make  the  fort  of 
Palamcotta  a  place  of  greater  strength.  It  appears  to  have  been 
garrisoned  by  the  English  from  1765.  The  first  reference  to  it  English 
in  the  journals  of  Swartz,  the  eminent  missionary,  is  in  1771,  garnson- 
when  he  speaks  of  it  as  a  fort  belonging  to  the  Nawab,  but  having 
an  English  garrison.  The  earliest  date  in  the  English  churchyard 
in  Palamcotta  is  1775. 

First  PIelp  rendered  by  the  East  India  Company  to  the 
Nawab's  Government  in  Tinnevelly,  and  First  English 
Expedition  into  Tinnevelly. 

Orme,  Vol.  I. — "  The  countries  lying  between  the  Coleroon  and  the 
extremity  of  the  peninsula  did  not  openly  throw  off  their  allegiance 
to  Muhammad  Ali,  but  were  lukewarm  in  his  interests  :  he  therefore 
(in  1751)  sent  2,500  horse  and  3,000  peons,  under  the  command  of 
his  brother  Abdul-rahim,  together  with  a  detachment  of  30  Europeans, 
to  settle  the  government  of  Tinnevelly,  a  city  lying  160  miles  to  the 
south  of  Trichinopoly,  and  capital  of  a  territory  which  extends  to  Cape 
Comorin.  Abdul-rahim  met  with  no  resistance  from  the  people  of 
the  country,  but  found  it  difficult  to  restrain  his  troops  from  revolt ; 
for  most  of  the  officers  being  renters,  were  indebted  to  their  prince  as 
much  as  he  was  indebted  to  their  soldiers,  and  expected  as  the  price 
of  their  defection  that  Chanda-saheb  would  not  only  remit  what  they 
owed  to  the  Government,  but  likewise  furnish  money  for  the  pay  of 
their  troops.  However,  great  promises,  and  the  vigilance  of  Lieutenant 
Innis.*  who  commanded  the  English  detachment,  prevented  them  The  first  En g- 
froru  carrying  their  schemes  into  execution  ;  but  the  same  spirit  of  lishman  in 
revolt  manifested  itself  more  openly  in  another  part  of  Muhammad  mneve  ?• 
Ali's  dominions. 

"  Alam  Khan,  a  soldier  of  fortune,  who  had  formerly  been  in  the 
service  of  Chanda-saheb,  and  afterwards  in  that  of  the  King  of  Tanjore, 
had  lately  left  this  prince  and  came  to  Madura,  where  his  reputation 

■   Probably  the  first  Englishman  who  was  ever  seen  in  Tinnevelly. 


92 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Madura. 


Chapter  IV.  as  an  excellent  officer  soon  gained  him  influence  and  respect,  which  he 
employed  to  corrupt  the  garrison,  and  succeeded  so  well,  that  the 
troops  created  him  governor,  and  consented  to  maintain  the  city  under 
his  authority  for  Chanda-saheb,  whom  he  acknowledged  as  his 
sovereign. 

"  The  country  of  Madura  lies  between  those  of  Trichinopoly  and 
Tinnevelly,  and  is  as  extensive  as  either  of  them.  The  city  was  in 
ancient  times  the  residence  of  a  prince  who  was  sovereign  of  all  the 
Importance  of  three.  Its  form  is  nearly  a  square  4,000  yards  in  circumference, 
fortified  with  a  double  wall  and  a  ditch.  The  loss  of  this  place,  by 
cutting  off  the  communication  between  Trichinopoly  and  the  countries 
of  Tinnevelly,  deprived  Muhammad  Ali  of  more  than  one-half  of  the 
dominions  which  at  this  time  remained  under  his  jurisdiction.  On 
receiving  the  news,  Captain  Cope  offered  his  services  to  retake  it.  He 
was  unsuccessful  and  had  to  march  back  to  Trichinopoly  with  a  greatly 
diminished  force.  This  occurred  in  1751.  In  1755,  we  reach  events 
in  the  history  of  Tinnesrelly  of  greater  interest  and  importance. 

"  At  the  request  of  the  Nawab  a  force  of  500  Europeans  and  2,000 
sepoys  was,  in  1755,  ordered  to  proceed  into  the  countries  of  Madura 
and  Tinnevelly  to  assist  in  reducing  them  to  his  obedience.  Mahfuz 
Khan  (the  Nawab's  elder  brother)  was  appointed  by  the  Nawab  his 
representative  in  those  countries,  but  from  first  to  last  was  found  to 
be  either  a  lukewarm,  useless  friend,  or  an  open  enemy.  The  Nawab 
himself  accompanied  the  expedition  as  far  as  Manapar  (Mana-parai), 
a  place  in  the  hands  of  a  rebellious  Poligar,  a  little  to  the  south  of 
Trichinopoly,  and  then  returned.  The  whole  force  was  commanded 
by  Colonel  Heron,  an  English  officer  recently  arrived  in  the  country, 
whilst  the  sepoys  were  under  the  special  command  of  a  native." 


Mahfuz 
Khan's 
expedition 


Career  of 
Muhammad 
Yusuf 
Khan. 


Colonel  Heron's  Expedition  and  Muhammad  Yusuf   Khan. 

The  commander  of  the  native  force  under  Colonel  Heron  was 
a  distinguished  native  soldier  called  Muhammad  Yusuf  Khan. 
I  give  here  some  particulars  respecting  this  person  not  mentioned 
by  Orme. 

For  some  time  prior  to  1754  Yusuf  Khan  had  been  employed 
as  Commander  of  the  Company's  Native  troops,  in  which  capacity 
he  showed  so  much  ability  and  zeal  and  gave  such  entire  satisfac- 
tion to  his  European  superiors,  that  at  the  recommendation  of 
General  Lawrence,  then  Commander-in-Chief,  the  Government,  on 
the  25th  March  1754,  conferred  upon  him  a  regular  commission 
as  the  "  Commander  of  all  the  Company's  Sepoys,"  and  at  the 
same  time  presented  to  him  a  gold  medal  as  a  mark  of  their 
favour 

We  have  seen  that  Yusuf  Khan  led  a  force  into  Tinnevelly  in 
1756  for  the  purpose  of  restoring  order.  The  Government  issued 
their  instructions  to  him  through  Captain  Calliaud  on  the  14th 
March  that  year,   from  which  it   appeared   that  he  was  entrusted, 


NAWAB    OF    ARCOT's    PERIOD,  93 

not  only  with  the  command  of  the  forces,  but  with  the  collection  Chapter  IV. 
of  the  revenue  and  the  settlement  of  all  difficulties  connected 
therewith.  The  only  condition  was  that  he  was  to  report  his 
proceedings  from  time  to  time  to  Captain  Calliaud  and  to  remit 
all  moneys  to  him.  His  success  as  civil  administrator  from  that 
time  till  1 763  appears  from  Mr.  Lushington's  statements,  which 
will  be  quoted  hereafter.  He  is  well  remembered  by  the  people 
by  the  name  of  Kansa,  a  local  corruption  of  Khan  Saheb.  His 
time  is  commonly  spoken  of  as  "  the  days  of  Kansa." 

"  Colonel  Heron's  force  took  Madura  without  opposition,  and  whilst  The  Raja  of 
there  they  received  an  important  deputation  from  the  Poligar  Marawar  p^o^g8 
(that  is,  from  the  Setupati,  the  Poligar  or  Raja  of  Ramnad)  whose 
country  adjoins  the  north-eastern  portion  of  Tinnevelly.  The  Poligar 
apologized  for  his  conduct  during  the  war  in  siding  with  Chanda-saheb 
and  the  Mysoreans,  desired  to  be  pardoned  for  that  offence,  and 
intreated  to  be  received  into  alliance  with  the  English,  under  whose 
protection  he  promised  to  remain  faithful  to  the  Nawab.  As  a  proof 
of  the  sincerity  of  his  intentions,  he  offered  to  give  the  Company  two 
settlements  on  the  sea-coast  of  his  country,  opposite  to  Ceylon,  which, 
as  he  justly  observed,  woidd  greatly  facilitate  their  future  commu- 
nications with  Tinnevelly,  for  they  had  at  present  no  other  way  of 
approaching  that  city  but  by  a  tedious  and  difficult  march  of  several 
hundred  miles  ;  whereas  reinforcements  might  come  by  sea  from  Madras 
or  Fort  St.  David  in  four  or  five  days  to  the  settlements  he  intended  to 
give,  from  which  the  march  to  Tinnevelly  was  no  more  than  fifty  miles. 
These  offers  Colonel  Heron  deemed  so  advantageous,  that  without 
consulting  the  Presidency,  he  entered  into  an  alliance  with  the  Poligar, 
and,  as  a  mark  of  the  English  friendship,  gave  his  deputies  three  Eng- 
lish flags,  with  permission  to  hoist  them  in  their  country,  wheresoever 
they  should  think  proper.  After  the  business  was  concluded  Colonel 
Heron  took  Kovilgudi,  a  fortified  temple  where  the  fugitive  Governor 
of  Madura  had  taken  refuge,  and  from  which  the  English  soldiers  Idols  carried 
unthinkingly  carried  off  with  other  plunder  those  little  copper  idols,  °  ' 
which  brought  upon  them  so  much  trouble  in  the  Nattam  Pass  on  their 
way  back. 

"  The  army  arrived  at  the  town  of  Tinnevelly  about  the  middle  of 
March.  The  renters,  both  of  the  capital  and  of  the  open  country, 
acknowledged  the  Nawab  without  hesitation,  but  many  of  the  neigh- 
bouring Poligars  made  pretences  to  evade  the  payment  of  the  tribute 
due  from  them.  The  most  considerable  of  these  was  Catabomonaig, 
whose  country  lies  about  fifty  miles  north-east  from  Tinnevelly,  and 
it  being  imagined  that  the  inferior  Poligai\s  woidd  not  hold  out  long 
after  he  should  have  submitted,  a  detachment  of  200  Europeans  and 
500  sepoys,  with  two  field  pieces,  was  sent  to  reduce  him." 

This   Catabomonaig    (properly    Kattaboma  Nayaka)    was   the  The  Poligar 
Poligar  of   '  Panialam  crutch '   (properly  Panjalani  kurichi)  a  fort  ^;a^oma 
near  the  present  taluk  town  of  Ottapidarum.     This  was  the  first 
of  many  expeditions  sent  against  this  place,  the  last  expedition, 


94 


HISTORY    OF    TIXXEVEEEY. 


Fate  of  his 
successors. 


Capture  of 
Nullicotah. 


Chapter  IV.  and  tlie  only  one  perfectly  successful  being  in  1801.  Each  of  the 
later  Poligars  was  also  called  Kattaboma  Nayaka,  this  name  being 
the  family  title.  The  chieftain  of  Colonel  Heron's  time  was  Jaga- 
vlra  Kattaboma  Nayaka.  He  died  in  1760.  His  successor,  who 
died  in  1791,  was  still  more  decidedly  hostile  to  the  English,  and 
this  hostility  culminated  in  the  next  two,  one  of  whom  was  hanged 
by  Major  Bannerman  in  1  799  and  the  other  by  Colonel  Agnew, 
together  with  the  Sivagangai  Poligar,  in  1801.  The  expedition 
sent  by  Colonel  Heron  against  Panjalam  kurichi  came  to  nothing, 
as  his  whole  force  was  almost  immediately  recalled  to  Trichino- 
poly. 

"  Some  days  after  the  despatch  of  that  expedition  another  detach- 
ment, consisting  of  100  Europeans  and  300  sepoys,  with  two  field 
pieces,  was  sent  to  attack  the  fort  of  Nelli-kotah,  situated  forty  miles 
to  the  south  of  Tinnevelly.  These  troops  set  out  at  midnight,  and 
performed  the  march  in  eighteen  hours  :  the  Poligar,  startled  at  the 
suddenness  of  their  approach,  sent  out  a  deputy,  who  pretended  he  came 
to  capitulate,  and  promised  that  his  master  would  pay  the  money 
demanded  of  him  in  a  few  days  ;  but  suspicions  being  entertained  of 
his  veracity,  it  was  determined  to  detain  him  as  a  pledge  for  the 
execution  of  what  he  had  promised,  and  he  was  delivered  over  to  the 
charge  of  a  guard.  The  troojis  were  so  much  fatigued  by  the  exces- 
sive march  they  had  just  made,  that  even  the  advanced  centinels 
coxdd  not  keep  awake,  and  the  deputy  perceiving  all  the  soldiers  who 
were  appointed  to  guard  him  fast  asleep,  made  his  escape  out  of  the 
camp,  and  returned  to  the  fort,  from  whence  the  Poligar  had  sent 
him  only  to  gain  time  in  order  to  make  the  necessary  preparations  for 
his  defence.  This  being  discovered  early  in  the  morning,  it  was  deter- 
mined to  storm  the  place,  of  which  the  defences  were  nothing  more 
than  a  mud-wall  with  round  towers.  The  troops  had  brought  no 
scaling  ladders,  but  the  outside  of  the  wall  was  sloping,  and  had 
many  clefts  worn  in  it  by  the  rain,  so  that  the  assault,  although 
hazardous,  was  nevertheless  practicable.  It  was  made  both  by  the 
Europeans  and  sepoys  with  undaunted  courage  in  several  parties  at 
the  same  time ;  each  of  which  gained  the  parapet  without  being  once 
repulsed,  when  the  garrison  retired  to  the  buildings  of  the  fort,  where 

the  defenders  they  called  out  for  quarter ;  but  the  soldiers,  as  usual  in  desperate 
assaults,  were  so  much  exasperated  by  a  sense  of  the  danger  to  which 
they  had  exposed  themselves,  that  they  put  all  they  met  to  the  sword, 
not  excepting  the  women  and  children,  suffering  only  six  persons  out 
of  four  hundred  to  escape  alive.  Sorry  we  are  to  say,  that  the  troops 
and  officers  who  bore  the  greatest  part  in  this  shocking  barbarity 
were  the  bravest  of  Englishmen,  having  most  of  them  served  under 
Colonel  Lawrence  on  the  plains  of  Trichinopoly :  but  those  who 
contemplate  human  nature  will  find  many  reasons,  supported  by 
examples,  to  dissent  from  the  common  opinion,  that  cruelty  is  incom- 
patible with  courage." 

For  many   years  T  was  unable  to  find   any  trace  of  this  Nelli- 


Massaore  of 


NAWAB    OF    AKroi's    PERIOD.  95 

cotah,  which  from  another  statement  seems  to  have  been  near  Chapter  IV. 
Kalakadu,  nor  any  tradition  of  its  sanguinary  capture.  I  began  to 
be  inclined,  therefore,  to  hope  that  this  story  was  not  altogether  true. 
At  length  I  discovered  the  place  —a  ruined  fort  in  a  lonely  situa- 
tion, about  36  miles  to  the  south-west  of  Palamcotta  and  6  to  the 
east  of  Aramboly.  The  correct  name  was  Nattakottai,  not  Nelli- 
kottai,  but  with  this  unimportant  exception  the  traditions  of  the 
place  agree  with  Orme's  account.  The  owner  of  the  fort  seems  to 
have  been  a  person  of  some  importance,  as  he  is  traditionally  styled 
a  Raja,  and  the  site  of  his  residence  in  the  fort  is  still  called  "  The 
Palace  Mound."  The  survivors  are  said  to  have  taken  refuge  in  a 
place  called  Panjalingapuram  in  Travancore. 

"  The  revenues  which  had  been  collected  during  this  expedition  did 
not  amount  to  the  expenses  of  the  army  :  part  of  the  tributes  were 
embezzled  by  Mahfuz  Khan,  and  part  was  likewise  diminished  by  the 
presents   which   Colonel   Heron,  with   too  much  avidity,  consented  to 
receive  from  those  who  had  accounts  to   settle  with  the  Government. 
In  tbe  meantime  Mahfuz  Khan,  in  concert  with  Colonel  Heron's  inter- 
preter, contrived  every  means  to  make  the  state  of  the  province  appear 
less  advantageous  than  it  really  was  ;  and  then  made  an  offer  to  take 
the  farm  of  the   Madura   and   Tinnevelly  countries  together  at  the  Colonel 
yearly  rent  of  15,00,000  rupees  :  this  proposal  was  seconded,  as  usual,  Heron's 
by  the  offer  of  a  considerable  present,  which  Colonel  Heron  accepted,  cjSEUraUe 
and  gave  him  the  investiture  of  the  countries. 

"  The  detachment  which  had  been  sent  against  Kattaboma  Nayaka 
had  been  as  far  to  the  north-east  as  Shillinaikenpettah,  the  principal 
fort  of  the  Poligar  (by  which  I  supposed  '  Yellanayakkanpatti 
must  be  meant).  The  Poligar  on  their  appearance  entered  into  a 
negotiation,  paid  some  money  in  part  of  the  tribute  due  from  him,  and 
gave  hostages  as  security  for  the  rest  :  some  money  was  likewise 
received  from  several  inferior  Poligars,  but  the  whole  collection  did 
not  exceed  70,000  rupees.  As  soon  as  the  troops  received  the  orders 
to  return,  they  summoned  Kattaboma  Nayaka  to  redeem  his  hostages  ; 
but  he,  knowing  that  they  would  not  venture  to  stay  any  longer  in  his  Colonel 
country,  made  some  trilling  excuses,  and  without  any  concern  suffered  Heron's 

T 1*  1 1 1  f"  1  P  H  ^ 

them  to  carry  the  hostages  away  with  them.  On  the  2nd  of  May  Colonel  delay. 
Heron  quitted  Tinnevelly,  but,  instead  of  proceeding  directly  to 
Trichinopoly,  suffered  himself  to  be  persuaded  by  Mahfuz  Khan  to 
march  against  Nellitangaville,  a  fort  situated  about  thirty  miles  to  the 
west  of  Tinnevelly,  belonging  to  a  Poligar  who  had  with  much  contu- 
macy refused  to  acknowledge  the  Nawab's  authority.  On  the  march 
he  was  joined  by  the  detachment  from  the  north-east." 

Thus  far  Orrne.  By  Nellitangaville,  a  name  which  occurs  very 
frequently  in  the  accounts  of  these  times,  we  are  to  understand 
Nerkattansevval  (Nel-kattam-sevval)  the  head-quarters  of  the 
"  Pulitaver,"  that  is,  the  Puli-devar,  the  hereditary  title  of  the 
Poligar  of  Avudeiyarpuram,  in  what  is  now  the  Sankaranainar 
Kovil  Taluk,  a  chief  whose  territories  were  of  small  extent,  but 


96 


HISTORY    OF    TINXEVELLY. 


The  Puli 

D§var's 

fort. 


Colonel 
Heron's  fate 


Chapter  IV.  whose  influence  at  that  time  throughout  the  whole  of  the  western 
part  of  Tinnevelly,  through  the  fame  of  his  abilities,  was  immense. 

"  It  was  the  misfortune  of  Colonel  Heron  to  place  the  utmost 
confidence  in  his  interpreter,  and  to  be  constantly  betrayed  by  him  ; 
for  before  the  army  arrived  in  sight  of  the  fort,  this  man  had  informed 
the  Poligar  that  they  had  no  battering  cannon,  and  that  they  would 
not  remain  long  before  the  place  :  the  Poligar,  therefore,  secure  in  his 
fort,  which  was  built  of  stone  and  very  strong,  answered  the  summons 
with  insolence  ;  upon  which  the  field  pieces  and  two  cohorns  fired 
smartly  upon  the  walls  for  several  hours  ;  but  this  annoyance  produc- 
ing no  effect,  another  message  was  sent,  offering  that  the  army 
should  retire,  provided  he  would  pa}'  20,000  rupees.  The  Poligar 
relying  on  the  information  which  he  had  received  from  the  interpreter, 
and  encouraged  by  this  relaxation  in  the  terms  which  were  at  first 
proposed  to  him,  answered  with  great  contempt,  that  such  a  sum  could 
not  be  raised  in  his  whole  countrv,  and  that  he  knew  the  value  of 
money  too  well  to  pay  a  single  rupee.  By  this  time  the  army  were 
much  distressed  for  provisions  of  all  kinds,  and  the  sepoys  ready  to 
mutiny  for  want  of  pay  ;  both  which  Mahf  uz  Khan  had  promised,  but 
had  neglected  to  supply.  It  was  therefore  determined  to  march  away 
to  Madura,  where  they  arrived,  accompanied  by  Mahf  uz  Khan,  on  the 
22nd  of  May." 

As  Colonel  Heron  now  disappears  from  the  history  of  Tinnevelly 
I  must  take  this  opportunity  of  adding  that  he  was  soon  after 
recalled  to  Madras,  tried  by  a  court-martial,  and  dismissed  the 
service. 

Renewed  Conflicts. 

"  It  soon  appeared  that  whatsoever  submissions  had  been  made  in 
the  provinces  of  Madura  and  Tinnevelly  during  the  expedition  of 
Colonel  Heron  had  proceeded  entirely  from  the  dread  of  the  English 
troops,  whose  intrepidity  as  well  as  the  efficacy  of  their  arms  far 
exceeded  the  modes  of  any  warfare  which  had  ever  been  seen  in  these 
countries  ;  and  they  were  no  sooner  depai  ted  than  the  Colleries  swarmed 
abroad  again  into  all  the  subjected  districts  that  lay  exposed  to 
their  depredations,  whilst  their  chiefs  confederated  to  prevent  by  more 
effectual  means  the  establishment  of  Mahfuz  Khan's  authority.  From 
this  time,  these  countries  became  a  field  of  no  little  conflict,  and  con- 
tinued so  for  several  years,  which  renders  it  necessary  to  explain  the 
various  interests  which  produced  the  present  confusions,  fertile  after- 
wards of  more. 

"  When  Alum  Khan,  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1752,  marched  from 
Madura  to  the  assistance  of  Chanda-saheb,  then  besieging  Trichino- 
poly,  he  left  the  countries  of  Madura  and  Tinnevelly  under  the 
Three  Pa  tun  management  of  three  Patan  officers,  named  Muhammad  Bavki, 
Muhammad  Mainach,  and  Nabi  Cawn  Catteck  (Nabi  Khan  Kattak)  ; 
the  first  of  these  was  generally  known  by  the  appellation  of  Mianah, 
the  second  of  Moodemiah  (Mohi-ud-din  Mian?),  but  Nabi  Khan 
Kattak  by  his  own  proper  name.     They  appear  afterwards  to  have 


leaders. 


NAWAB    OF    ARCOT's    PERIOD.  97 

acknowledged  the    sovereignty   of  tlio  Nawab,  but  it  is  certain  that  Chapter  IV. 
notwithstanding  that  acknowledgment  they  continued  to  act  only  for 
themselves  ;  granting  immunities,  remitting  tributes,  and  even  selling 
forts  and  districts  for  presents  of  ready  money.     This  venality,  coin- 
ciding with  the  spirit  of  independence  and  encroachment  common  to  all 
the  Poligars,  procured  them  not  only  wealth,  but  attachments.     In 
this  mode  of  licentious  government,  they  continued  agreeing  amongst 
themselves  in  the  division  of  the  spoil,  and   ruling  with  much  power,  Their  mis- 
until  the  expedition  of  Colonel  Heron  ;  when  Mianah,  who  commanded  g°vernment- 
in  the  city  of  Madura,  abandoned  it,  and  took  refuge  with  the  neigh- 
bouring Poligars  of  Nattam  ;  Moodemiah    and  Nabi  Khan   Kattak 
retired  from  Tinnevelly  to  the  Poligar  of  Nellitangaville,  better  known 
by  the  name  of  Piili  Devar.     All  the  three  only  waited  for  the  depar- 
ture of  the   English  troops   to  dispute    the   dominion  with  Mahfuz 
Khan  when  left  to    himself.     Amongst   other  alienations,  Moodemiah 
had  sold  to  the  King   of   Travancore  a  range  of   districts  extending 
thirty  miles  from  Kalakadu  to  Cape  Comorin,  and  lying  at  the  foot  of 
the  mountains  which  separate  Travancore   from  Tinnevelly.     The  fort 
of  Kalakadu   with  several  others  of  less  defence  were  sold  with  the 
districts.     With  the  assistance  of  a  Flemish  officer,  named  De  Lanoy,  Travancore 
the  King  of  Travancore  had  disciplined  in  the   method  of  European  army- 
infantry  a  body  of  10,000  Nairs,  the  military  tribe   of  Malabar  Coast, 
and  besides  these  Nairs  maintained  20,000  other  foot  of  various  arms." 

The  Travancore  King  to  whom  the  Nawab's  agent  Moodemiah 
is  said  to  have  sold  a  portion  of  Tinnevelly  near  Kalakadu,  in  or 
about  1752,  was  Martanda  Varma,  who  succeeded  to  the  throne 
in  1729  and  lived  till  1758. 

"  The  districts  which  the  king  had  purchased  of  Moodemiah  were 
maintained  by  about  2,000  of  his  irregular  foot,  who,  having  no 
enemies  to  oppose,  were  sufficient  for  the  common  guards  and  military 
attendance,  which  in  Hindustan  always  support  the  authority  of  the 
government  in  the  collection  of  the  revenues.  But  these  troops  on  the  Travancore 
arrival  of  the  army  with  Colonel  Heron  at  Tinnevelly  were  so  terri-  tr00P8  retire' 
fied  by  the  reports  of  their  exploits,  and  especially  by  the  sanguinary 
example  in  their  neighbourhood,  at  the  sacking  of  Nellicotah,  that 
they  abandoned,  not  only  their  districts,  but  the  fort  of  Kalakadu  like- 
wise, which  were  soon  after  taken  possession  of  by  a  detachment  of 
300  horse  and  500  foot  sent  by  Mahfuz  Khan  from  Tinnevelly.  As 
soon  as  the  English  troops  retired  from  before  Nellitangaville,  and 
it  was  known  that  they  were  recalled  to  Trichinopoly,  Moodemiah 
went  to  Travancore  in  order  to  encourage  the  king  to  recover  the 
districts  which  his  troops  had  abandoned  ;  at  the  same  time  the  Piili 
Devar,  besides  letting  loose  his  Colleries  to  plunder,  formed  a  camp 
ready  to  move  and  join  the  Travancores  as  soon  as  they  should  arrive. 
Mahfuz  Khan  received  intelligence  of  these  schemes  and  preparations 
on  his  return  from  Nattam  and  Madura,  and  immediately  proceeded 
to  Tinnevelly. 

"Besides  the  1,000  sepoys  belonging  to  the  Company  which  were 
left  with  him  by  Colonel  Heron,  he  received  600  more  raised  and  sent 

13 


98 


HTSTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Chapter  IV 


Mahfuz 
Khan's  policy 


Defeat  of 
Mahfuz 
Khan's  troops 


Another 
defeat. 


Western 

Poligars. 


to  him  by  the  Nawab  ;  but  these  were  in  no  respect  equal  to  the 
Company's,  who  had  been  trained  in  the  campaigns  of  Trichinopoly  ; 
and  Mahfuz  Khan  himself,  having  no  military  ideas,  excepting  that  of 
levying  troops,  had  augmented  the  force  he  brought  with  him  from  the 
Carnatic  to  2,500  horse  and  4,000  foot.  Five  hundred  of  the  horse 
and  a  1,000  of  the  foot  were  left  to  defend  the  city  of  Madura  and  its 
districts  ;  but  the  Company's  sepoys  proceeded  with  him  to  Tinnevelly. 
Before  he  arrived  there,  Moodemiah  had  returned  with  2,000  Nairs, 
and  the  same  number  of  other  foot,  which  the  King  of  Travancore  had 
entrusted  to  his  command.  They  were  joined  by  the  forces  of  the 
Puli  Devar  near  Kalakadu ;  where  the  troops  stationed  by  Mahfuz 
Khan  in  these  parts  assembled,  gave  battle,  and  were  routed.  Three 
hundred  of  the  Nawab's  sepoys  were  in  the  action,  who,  to  lighten 
their  flight,  threw  away  their  muskets,  which  were  collected  by  the 
Puli  Devar's  people,  and  regarded  by  them  as  a  very  valuable  prize. 
Immediately  after  this  success,  the  enemy  invested  the  fugitives  in  the 
fort  of  Kalakadu ;  but  before  they  could  reduce  it,  the  troops  of 
Travancore  returned  home,  pretending  they  were  recalled  by  the 
emergency  of  some  disturbances  in  their  own  country ;  however,  it  is 
more  probable,  that  they  retreated  from  the  dread  of  encountering  the 
army,  and  more  especially  the  cavalry  of  Mahfuz  Khan,  which  were 
approaching.  Moodemiah  went  with  them,  and  the  Puli  Devar  retired 
to  his  fort  and  woods,  against  which  Mahfuz  Khan  proceeded,  and 
encamped  near  the  fort,  which  he  could  not  take  ;  but  in  this  situation 
repressed  the  incursion  of  the  Puli  Devar's  Colleries  into  the  districts 
of  Tinnevelly,  and  content  with  this  advantage,  gave  out  with  osten- 
tation that  he  had  settled  the  country.  These  vaunts  were  soon  con- 
tradicted. In  the  month  of  September,  Moodemiah  returned  from 
Travancore,  with  a  large  body  of  troops,  and  again  defeated  those  of 
Kalakadu,  who  in  this  battle  suffered  more  than  in  the  former  ;  for 
200  of  their  horse  and  500  sepoys  were  made  prisoners ;  and,  what 
aggravated  the  loss,  it  was  the  time  of  harvest,  when  the  rents  are 
collected,  of  which  the  Travancores  took  possession,  and  maintained 
their  ground.  Mahfuz  Khan,  nevertheless,  continued  before  the 
Puli  Devar's  place ;  whose  troops  in  the  month  of  November  cut  off  a 
detachment  of  two  companies  of  sepoys  which  had  been  sent  to  escort 
provisions.  They  were  of  those  belonging  to  the  Company,  and  the 
cunimanders  of  both  were  killed. 

"  Mahfuz  Khan,  after  loitering  before  the  Pali  Devar's  place  until 
the  middle  of  November,  returned  to  Tinnevelly,  in  order  to  borrow 
money  for  the  payment  of  his  troops,  which  could  only  be  obtained  by 
giving  assignments  of  the  land  to  the  lenders.  Meanwhile  the  Puli 
1  >ovar  with  Moodomiah  and  Nabi  Khan  Kattak,  encouraged  by  their 
late  successes  extended  their  views.  The  Puli  Devar,  more  from  the 
Bubtilty  and  activity  of  his  character,  than  the  extent  of  his  territory 
and  force,  had  acquired  the  ascendance  in  the  councils  of  all  the 
western  Poligars  of  Tinnevelly.  Of  these,  the  most  powerful  was  the 
Poligar  of  Vadagherri  (Vadagarai).  The  Vadagarai  Pollam  was  identi- 
oal  with  that  of  Chokkampatti,  whose  districts  adjoin  on  the  west  to 
th.'  1'fdi  Devar's,  and  exceeded  them  in  extent  and  inhabitants.     He 


NAWAB    OF   ARGOT'S    PERIOD.  99 

nevertheless  conformed  to   whatsoever  the  Pali  Devar  suggested,    and  Chapter  IV. 
sent  his  men  on  every  call.     The  Poligars  to  the  eastward  of  Tinne- 
velly  were  under  the  direction  of  Kattaboma  Nayaka.  The  Piili  DSvar 
proposed  a  union  between  the  two  divisions  ;   but  Kattaboma  Nayaka, 
as  well  as  his  dependent  of  Ettaiyapuram,  having  given  hostages  to  Eastern 
Colonel  Heron,  who  were  in  prison  at  Trichinopoly,  feared  for  their  Poligars. 
safety,  and  refused.    The  Poligars  of  Madura,  whose  districts  lie  along 
the  foot  of  the  mountains  to  the  west,  were  solicited  with  more  success, 
and  promised  their  assistance.     Mianah,    the    fugitive   colleague    of 
Moodemiah.  and  Nabi  Khan  Kattack,  at  the  same  time  spirited  up  the 
Poligars  of  Nattam  to  join  the  league,  of  which  the  immediate  object 
was  nothing  less  than  to  get  possession  of  the  city  of  Madura.  Such  an 
extensive  confederacy  coidd  scarcely  be  kept  a  secret.    The  Presidency 
of   Madras    received    intelligence  of  it  from  Captain    Calliaud,    who 
commanded  in  Trichinopoly,   and  the  Nawab  from  the  Governor  of 
Madura.     They  were,  and  with  reason,  greatly  alarmed  ;  for  Madura,  Fears  for 
by  its  situation,  extent,  and  defences,  is  the  bulwark  both  of  its  own  Midura. 
and  the  territory  of  Tinnevelly,   over  neither  of  which  Trichinopoly 
could  maintain  any  authority,  if  Madura  were  wrested  from  its  depen- 
dence.    The  Presidency,  although  from  the  first  convinced  of  Mahfuz 
Khan's  incapacity,  had  hitherto,  from  deference  to  the  Nawab,  treated 
him  with  indulgence  and  respect :  but  seeing  now  the  whole  brought 
into  risk  by  the  successes  and  designs  of  the  Poligars,  they  determined 
to  take  the  administration  of  these  countries  into  their  own  hands. 

"A  native  of  Tinnevelly,  named  Moodilee  (Mudali)  came  about  this  A  Mudali's 
time  to  Madras,  and  made  proposals  to  take  the  whole  country  at  proposals. 
farm  ;  but  it  required  time  to  gain  the  knowledge  necessary  to  adjust 
the  terms."     [Mudali  is  not  a  personal  name,  but  a  caste  title.     The 
person  referred  to  was  one  of  the  Dalavay  Mudalis,  a  family  by  which 
this  office   was  held  for  a  long  series  of  years.     His  own  name  was 
probably  Tittarappa   (properly  Tirttarappa)   Mudali.      Dalavay  is   a 
hereditary  name  in  the  family].     "Meanwhile  it  was    immediately  Madura  to  be 
necessary  to  provide  for  the  defence  of  the  country ;  but  as  no  part  of  defended, 
the  European  force  could  be  spared  from  the  services  of  the  Carnatic, 
it  was  resolved  to  send  a  1,000  sepoys,  which  were  to  be  joined  by 
those   left   with   Mahfuz  Khan,   as  well  as  those  belonging  to  the 
Nawab,   and  to  put  the  whole  of  this  body  under  the  command  of 
Muhammad  Yusuf  Khan.      Yusuf  Khan  proceeded  to  Trichinopoly 
soon   after   the  English  army  returned   from   Vellore ;  and   Captain 
Calliaud  was  instructed  to  send  him  forward  with  the  appointed  force 
and  equipments. 

"  Meanwhile  the  Puli  DSvar,  Nabi  Khan  Kattak,  and  Moodemiah 
with  their  allies  had  proceeded  to  action,  and  in  the  middle  of  February 
entered  the  districts  of  Nadamundulum  (Nadumandalam)*  which 
occupy  a  considerable  extent,  about  midway  between  the  city  of 
Madura  and  the  Pfdi  DPvar's  place.  The  fort  which  commands  these 
districts  is  called  Chevelpetore  (Srivilliputtur),  and  is  situated  at  the  Srivilliputtur. 


•  Xadumandalam,  the  middle  circuit,  denoted  what  is  now  the  Taluk  of  Srivilli- 
puttur. 


100 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


The  cavalry 
beaten. 


Chapter  IV.  foot  of  the  western  mountains,  about  45  miles  south-west  of  Madura. 
The  troops  stationed  for  the  defence  of  the  fort  and  districts  were 
under  the  command  of  Abdul  Pahim,  a  half-brother  to  the  Nawab  and 
to  Mahfuz  Khan,  the  same  with  whom  Lieutenant  Innis  marched  into 
those  countries  in  the  year  1751,  and  of  Abdul-mally,  another  relation 
to  the  family.  The  foot,  excepting  200  sepoys,  were  the  usual  rabble 
allotted  to  the  guard  of  villages ;  but  there  were  500  horse,  esteemed 
the  best  in  Mahfuz  Khan's  service,  who,  proud  of  their  prowess,  and 
their  quality  of  Muhammadans,  held  the  enemy,  as  Indians  and  of  no 
military  reputation,  in  utter  contempt,  and  encouraged  their  own 
commanders  to  risk  a  battle  ;  in  which  tbey  were  surrounded,  but  with 
sufficient  gallantry  and  considerable  loss  cut  their  way  through,  and 
retired  to  Srlvilliputtiir.  Here  Abdul  Rahim  and  Abdul-mally 
intended  to  maintain  themselves  until  succours  should  arrive,  either 
from  Madura  or  Tinnevelly  ;  but  the  men  of  the  cavalry,  dissatisfied 
for  want  of  pay,  and  fearful  of  losing  their  horses  through  want  of 
provisions  during  the  siege,  marched  away,  and  many  of  them  joined 
the  enemy :  the  fort  was  immediately  invested  and  soon  after  reduced, 
but  the  two  commanders  escaped  again. 

"  This  success  encouraged  the  Madura  Poligars,  who  had  hitherto 
only  looked  on  to  join  according  to  their  promise  ;  and  the  whole 
camp  now  consisted  of  25,000  men,  of  which  1,000  were  cavalry. 
Their  chiefs,  animated  by  this  superiority  of  numbers,  determined  to 
give  battle  to  Mahfuz  Khan  at  Tinnevelly,  before  they  attacked  the 
city  of  Madura.  By  this  time  Mahfuz  Khan  had  prevailed  on 
Kattaboma  Nayaka,  by  the  cession  of  some  districts  and  the  promise 
of  other  advantages  to  join  him  with  the  forces  of  the  eastern  Poligars, 
and  had  likewise  levied  all  the  horse  and  foot  of  whatsoever  kind 
which  could  be  procured;  but  his  principal  strength  was  the  1,500 
horse  he  had  before,  and  the  body  of  1,000  sepoys  belonging  to  the 
Companj'-  under  the  command  of  Jemaul  Saheb,  whose  losses  had  been 
recruited  with  effective  men.  The  battle  was  fought  on  the  21st  of 
March,  within  seven  miles  of  Tinnevelly,  and  was  maintained  with 
more  obstinacy  than  usual  in  the  fights  of  this  country,   until  Moode- 


Mahfuz 
Khan's  vie 
tory  near 
Tinnevelly 


miah  fell ;  he  was  cut  down  charging  bravely  with  his  cavalry.  The 
rout  then  became  general;  2,000  Colleries  were  slain,  and  300  horse, 
with  all  the  cannon  and  elephants,  were  taken.  This  victory  saved 
Madura,  for  it  entirely  broke  the  army  of  the  confederates,  all  of 
whom,  and  the  Pfili  Devar  with  as  much  terror  as  any,  hurried  from 
the  field  to  the  shelter  of  their  respective  homes." 


Muhammad  Yusuf  Khan's  Administration. 

Yusuf  Khan's  "  The  news  of  the  victory  was  brought  to  Trichinopoly  on  the  24th 
approach.  Q£  ]yjarcj1)  Dy  whieh  time  Muhammad  Yusuf  was  ready  to  proceed. 
His  detachment  consisted  of  1,200  sepoys,  100  Caffries,  150  Colleries, 
and  4  field  pieces,  with  an  1 8  pounder  managed  by  Europeans.  For 
some  time  before  the  departure  of  the  detachment,  Kattaboma  Nayaka 
and  the  Poligar  of  Ettaiyapuram  had  been  treating  with  Captain 
Culliaud  for  the  redemption  of   their  hostages,  and  it  was  agreed  that 


NAWAB    OF    A.RCOT's    PERIOD.  101 

the  money  should  be  paid  on  their  being  delivered  to  Tondiinan.  Chapter  IV. 
Muhammad  Yusuf,  therefore,  took  the  hostages  with  him,  and  directed 
his  march  to  Puducottah,  the  principal  town  belonging  to  Tondiman, 
to  whose  care  they  were  surrendered.  On  the  6th  May  1756  he 
arrived  at  Madura,  from  whence  having  employed  some  days  in  refit- 
ting his  carriages  and  stores,  he  proceeded  to  the  fort  of  SiivilliputtOr, 
which,  notwithstanding  their  late  defeat,  remained  in  the  hands  of  the 
enemy  ;  but  they  abandoned  it  on  his  appearance.  Leaving  a  suffi- 
cient garrison  to  defend  it  in  future,  he  proceeded  across  the  Nada- 
munduluni  (Nadumandalam)  country  to  Cayetar  (Kaittar)  a  town 
about  25  miles  (18  miles)  north  of  Tinnevelly,  where  Mahfuz  Khan 
was  waiting  for  him  with  his  victorious  but  inactive  army. 

During   this    progress   Muhammad    Yusuf    had   not  been   able  to  Yusuf's  waut 
collect  any  money  from  the  revenues  for  the  maintenance  of  his  troops,  °*  muney- 
because  the  ravages  of  the  Poligars  had  ruined  most  of  the  villages 
and  cultivated  lands  of  the  country  through  which  he  passed  ;  and  the 
real  detriment  of  these  devastations  was  increased  by  the  pretences 
they  fui'nished  the  landholders  to  falsify  their  accounts,   and    plead 
exemptions  for  more  than  they  had  lost.     He  found  Mahfuz  Khan  in 
greater  distress  than  himself,  unable  either  to  fulfil  the  stipulations  at 
which  he  had  rented  the  country  from  Colonel  Heron,  or  to  supply  the 
pay  of  the  Company's  sepoys  left  with  him  under  the  command  of 
Jemaul   Saheb,   or  even  to  furnish  enough,  exclusive  of    long  arrears, 
for  the  daily  subsistence  of   his  own  troops.     This  distress  naturally 
deprived  him  of  the  necessary  authority  over  the  Jamadars,  or  officers 
of  his  cavalry,  who  in  Hindustan,  as  the  ancient   mercenary   Captains 
of  Italy,  hire  out  their  bands  and  gain  not  a  little  by  the  bargain. 
Every  kind  of  disorder  likewise  prevailed  in  all  the  other  departments  Mahfuz 
of  his  administration,  at  the  same  time  that  the  indolence  and   irreso-  Khan's  mis- 
lution  of  his  own  character  confirmed  all  the  evils  which  had  been 
introduced  into  his  government. 

From  Kaittar,  Mahfuz  Khan  and  Muhammad  Yusuf  moved  with  the  Kattaboma 
whole  army  to  the  woods  of  Ettaiyapuram,  which  lies  about  30  miles  Nayak;* 
to  the  east  of  Kaittar.  Kattaboma  Nayaka  and  the  Poligar  of  Ettaiya-  nates. 
puram  were  in  the  camp.     The  former  had  by  his  agents  redeemed 
his  hostages   at   Puducottah,    but  the  other  still  dela}ed  ;  and   this 
motion  was  made  to  excite  his  fears,  although  no  threats  were  used. 
He  nevertheless  still  procrastinated,  and  his  alliance  was  at  this  time 
deemed  too  valuable  to  compel  him   by  the  exercise  of  hostilities. 
From  Ettaiyapuram  they  crossed  the  country  to  Coilorepettah  (Kollar- 
patti,  commonly  called  Kollapatti)  a  strong  fort  situated  near  the  great 
road.     It  belonged  to  a  Poligar   named  Condam-Naigue  (Kandama 
Nayaka)   who   on  the  first  summons  promised  without  hesitation  to 
pay  the  tribute  demanded  of  him  ;  but  continued  day  after  day  to  send 
pretences  and  excuses  instead  of  the  money.     At  length  Muhammad 
Yusuf,  finding  himself  trifled  with,  battered  and  then  stormed  the  fort.  Capture  of 
It  was  well  defended.     The  serjeant  of  the  Coffres,  and  eight  of  that  Kollai'PaWi» 
company  wore  killed,  and  65  were  wounded  :  the  Colleries  suffered 


102 


HISTORY    OF    T1NNEVELLY. 


Chapter  IV.  still  more,  and  all  who  were  not  killed  were  made  prisoners,  amongst 
whom  the  Poligar  himself.  From  Kollarpatti,  the  whole  army  pro- 
ceeded to  Srivilliputtur,  and  encamped  under  this  fort  on  the  10th  of 
June,  where  most  of  the  neighbouring  Poligars,  terrified  by  the 
example  of  Kollarpatti,  made  their  submissions  either  in  person  or  by 
their  agents.  Even  the  Ptili  Devar  with  his  usual  duplicity  sent  one 
with  proposals  of  reconciliation,  and  the  Poligar  of  Elayirampannai, 
whose  place  lies  between  Kollarpatti  and  Srivilliputtur,  redeemed  his 
hostages.  But  the  Poligar  of  Calancandan  (Kollamkondan,  now 
included  in  the  Settur  Zemindary),  which  lies  13  miles  north-east  of 
Srivilliputtur,  paying  no  regard  to  the  usual  summons,  Muhammad 
Yusuf  marched  and  attacked  his  fort,  which  was  abandoned  after  a 
slight  resistance." 

The  Poligars. 

It  is  desirable,  before  going  further,  to  take  this  opportunity  of 
explaining  a  little  more  particularly  the  position  occupied  by  the 
Poligars  and  why  they  proved  themselves  on  all  occasions  so  trouble- 
some. See  also  the  account  of  the  first  introduction  of  this  class 
into  Tinnevelly  in  Chapter  III. 

A  palaiyam  or  pollam,  as  the  English  wrote  it,  was  not  merely 
a  jaghire  or  zemindary.  It  was  a  district  conferred  by  the  sover- 
eign on  a  chief,  the  holder  of  which,  the  Palaiyakaran  or  Poligar, 
was  bound,  not  only  to  pay  his  lord  annually  peishcush  or  tribute, 
but  also  to  help  his  lord  in  his  wars.  Palaiyam  literally  means 
Origin  of  the  a  camp,  Palaiyakaran  (as  has  been  shown  in  p.  58)  means  the  chief 
of  a  camp.  It  may,  therefore,  be  concluded  that  originally  the 
Poligar  was  the  leader  of  a  body  of  armed  men,  who  placed  his 
services  at  the  disposal  of  his  sovereign,  and  who  held  the  district 
he  received  in  return  for  his  services  by  a  military  tenure.  He 
was  always  to  consider  his  territory,  not  as  a  nadu,  a  country,  but 
as  a  palaiyam,  an  encampment.  Hence,  though  the  sovereign  may 
have  exercised  civil  and  criminal  rights  in  the  portion  of  country 
that  remained  in  his  own  direct  possession,  he  does  not  seem  to 
Relation  of  have  attempted  to  exercise,  or  even  to  have  claimed,  the  right  of 
the  Poligar  to  exercising-  any  civil  or  criminal  jurisdiction  whatever  within  the 
limits  of  his  Poligars'  domains.  If  his  tribute  were  paid  and  his 
feudatory  sent  him  assistance  in  his  wars  his  demands  were  satisfied. 
A  very  considerable  portion  of  Southern  India,  south  of  Trichi- 
nopoly,  had  passed  into  the  hands  of  Poligars.  In  Madura  and 
Dindigul  hardly  any  thing  remained  in  the  sovereign's  possession  ; 
and  in  Tinnevelly  the  greater  part  of  the  country  north  of  the 
Tamraparni  river  was  in  the  possession  of  Poligars. 

When  the  English  first  made  their  acquaintance  with  Tinnevelly 
they  found  the  whole  country,  whether  in  the  hands  of  the  Poligars 
or  nominally  in  the  hands  of  the  central  government,  in  a  state  of 


Poligars. 


NAWAB    OF    ARCOT's    PERIOD.  103 

anarchy  and  misery,  of  which  it  is  scarcely  possible  in  these  times  Chapter  iv. 
to  form  any  conception.  This  lamentable  condition  of  things  was 
partly  owing  to  the  feebleness  and  corruption  of  the  Nawab's  Gov- 
ernment, and  partly  to  the  chronic  lawlessness  and  incessant  wars 
and  rebellions  of  the  Poligars.  At  the  time  referred  to,  when  the 
Nawab  at  last  determined  to  call  in  the  help  of  the  English,  there 
were  thirty-two  of  these  hereditary  chieftains  in  Tinnevelly,  each 
of  whom  had  entrenched  himself  in  a  fort  and  surrounded  himself  Anarchy  of 

with  a  large  body  of  armed  retainers.     The  constant  endeavour  l}ie  Poligar 

districts. 
of  each  was  to  encroach  on   the  domains  of  his  neighbours,   and 

especially  to  swallow  up  any  villages,  revenues,  or  rights  that  still 

remained  in  the  possession  of  the  central  government. 

The  armed  retainers  of  the  Poligars  are  generally  called  "  Colle- 
ries"  by  Orme  and  the  writers  of  that  period.  This  word  had  its 
origin  in  Trichinopoly  and  Tan j  ore,  the  tribe  or  caste  of  free- 
booters living  in  that  neighbourhood,  with  whom  the  English  Who  were  the 
frequently  came  into  contact,  being  called  Kallars,  which  literally  "  Collenes  •  " 
means  "  thieves."  The  English  rendering  of  this  word  was  some- 
times "  Colaries,"  more  frequently  "  Colleries,"  sometimes  "  Collie- 
ries ;"  and  wherever  a  similar  class  of  people  were  found  they 
were  visually  called  by  the  English  by  the  same  name,  though  in 
Tinnevelly  the  armed  retainers  of  the  Poligars,  who  manned  their 
forts  and  went  on  their  marauding  expeditions,  did  not  belong  to  the 
Kallar  caste  properly  so  called,  but  were  generally  either  Maravas 
or  Nayakas.  Where  the  Poligar  was  a  Nayaka,  as  the  Poligar  of 
Panjalamkurichi,  his  retainers  were  doubtless  mostly  Nayakas ; 
where  he  was  a  Marava,  like  Puli  Deva  (Deva  is  the  caste  title  of  the 
Maravas)  his  retainers  were  chiefly  Maravas.  The  English  do  not 
seem  to  have  recognized  any  distinction  between  these  various 
castes  or  classes  of  "  Colleries,"  but  they  were  deeply  impressed 
with  the  manliness  and  audacity  of  all  they  encountered.  Orme 
describers  the  "  Colleries  "  of  the  western  districts  of  Tinnevelly 
near  the  mountains  thus — 

"  The    Colleries  of  this    side  of  the  Tinnevelly   country  possess 

nothing  of   the  ugliness  or  deformity  which  generally  characterize  the 

inhabitants  of  the  hills  and  wilds  of  India.     They  are  tall,  well-made, 

and  well-featured.     Their  arms  are  lances  and  pikes,  bows  and  arrows, 

rockets  and  matchlocks,  but  whether  with  or  without  other  weapons, 

every   man   constantly  wears   a   sword    and   shield.     In   battle   the  Description 

different  arms  move  in  distinct  bodies  :  but  the  lancemen  are  rated  the  ~  a.r,r!ed 

.  .  Collen 

most  eminent,  and  lead  all  attacks.  This  weapon  is  eighteen  feet  long. 
They  tie  under  the  point  a  tuft  of  scarlet  horse-hair,  and  when  they 
attack  horse,  add  a  small  bell.  Without  previous  exercise,  they 
assemble  in  a  deep  column,  pressing  close  together,  and  advance  at 
a  long,  steady  step,  in  some  degree  of  time,  their  lances  inclining 
forward,  but   aloft,    of   which   the   elasticity  and   vibration,  with   the 


nes. 


104 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Chapter  IV 


PifffTPTlt 

kinds  of 
kaval. 


Miscellaneous 
exactions. 


•  jingle  and  dazzle  scare  tke  cavalry  ;  and  their  approach,  is  scarcely  less 
foi-midable  to  infantry  not  disciplined  with  fire-arms." 

The  lance  referred  to  is  called  in  Tamil  a  "  Vallaiyam."  The 
name  survives,  but  it  is  Scarcely  possible  to  see  a  specimen  of  this 
formidable  weapon  now. 

Kaval. 

The  claim  of  kaval  was  a  favourite  device   employed  by  the 
Poligars  for  the  purpose  of  extending  their  power.     Every  village 
from  time  immemorial  had  its  Kaval-karas  (written  by  the  English 
Cauwalgars)  or  watchmen,  who  were  remunerated  for  their  services 
by  a  small  fee.     The  right  of   exercising   this   function   and  of 
levying  a  still  heavier  fee  was  in  time  claimed  by  the  Poligars  and 
their  dependents,  and  this  claim  had  been  so  generally  submitted 
to  that  Mr.  Lushington  found  in  1799  that  out  of  2,113  villages 
in  Tinnevelly  the  kaval  of  1,635^  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Poligars. 
Another  step  in  advance  was  taken   when  the  Poligars,  wherever 
they  found  they  could  not  appoint  their  own  dependents  to  the 
kaval  of  a  village,  rigorously  levied  an  annual  contribution  on  the 
Kaval-karas  appointed  by  others.    But  a  still  more  formidable  engine 
of  oppression   was  the  d/sai-kdval,  or  district  watch,  erroneously 
called  desa-kdval  by  the  Europeans  which  the  Poligars  managed 
in  time  to  add  on  to  the  village  kaval.    This  may  originally  have 
only  been  a  fee  for  the  exercise  of  a  wider  guardianship,  especially 
over  roads  and  wastes,   than   the  village  watchmen  were  able  to 
undertake.       Probably  also  the    amount  claimed  was    originally 
insignificant  and  was  paid   willingly.      Mr.    Lushington   said  in 
1799,  it   was  originally  only  one-tenth  of  the  amount   which  was 
claimed  in  his  time,  but  it  had  been  arbitrarily  increased,  especially 
between    1740  and  1760,    when    the  province  of  Tinnevelly    was 
convulsed  by  the  struggle  of  contending  interests.     This  contribu- 
tion was  levied  by  the   Poligars  from  the  defenceless  villagers  as 
the  price  of  their  forbearing  to  plunder  them,  and  was  confirmed 
by  the  strength  of  the  Poligars  and  the  inability  of  the  Nawab's 
Government  to  enforce  a  due  authority  over  them.     Mr.  Lushington 
adds,   that  "  when   this   contribution   is  not  quietly  submitted  to, 
torture  and  the   whip  are  applied,  the  whole  peorde  of  the  village 
put    into    confinement,   every  occupation    interdicted,  the  cattle 
pounded,  the   inhabitants  taken  captive  to,  and  not  unfrequently 
murdered  in,  the  pollams  (the  Poligar's  own  domains),  and  in  short 
every  outrage  of   violence  and  cruelty   is    committed    until  their 
purposes  are  obtained. 

"  The  influence  of  the  Poligars  is  also  used  in  calling  upon  the 
inhabitants  for  additional  assessments  on  various  pretences,  such  as 
hunting  batta,  marriage  oxpenses,  presents  for  vakeels,  &c,  undefined 
and   unlimited  ;  and  such  is   the-   dread  which   they   have  inspired  into 


NAWAB    OF    ARCOT's    PERIOD.  *l(Jo 

tho  cultivators  of  the  circar  lands  by  remaining  armed  in  the  midst  Chapter  IV. 
of  a  country  otherwise  in  profound  peace,  that  these  requisitions  are 
never  resisted." 

I  add  here  from  the  "  Tinnevelly  Mantlal  "  Mr.  Stuart's  account 
of  the  Poligars  aud  their  system  of  kaval  : — 

"  The  Maravar  or  Yannian  caste  peculiar  to  Southern  India  has  a 
history  of  its  own  of  considerable  interest.  To  this  class  belonged 
most  of  the  Poligars  or  feudal  chieftains  who  disputed  with  the  Eng- 
lish the  possession  of  Tinnevelly  during  the  latter  half  of  the  last  and 
the  first  years  of  the  present  century  ;  as  feudal  chiefs  and  at  the  same 
time  heads  of  a  numerous  caste  or  class  of  the  population,  and  one 
whose  characteristics  were  eminently  adapted  for  the  role  of  followers 
of  a  turbulent  chieftain,  bold,  active,  enterprising,  cunning,  and 
capricious,  this  class  constituted  themselves,  or  were  constituted  by  the 
peaceful  cultivators,  their  protectors  in  times  of  bloodshed  and  rapine 
when  no  central  authority  capable  of  keeping  the  peace  existed. 

"Hence  arose  the  systems  of  desha  (disai)  and  stalam  kaval,  or  the  Explanation 
guard  of  a  tract  of  country  comprising  a  number  of  villages  against  of  kaval  Pa>'" 
open  marauders  in  armed  bands,  and  the  guard  of  separate  villages, 
their  houses  and  crops,  against  secret  theft.  The  feudal  chief  received 
a  contribution  from  the  area  around  his  fort  in  consideration  of  protec- 
tion afforded  against  armed  invasion.  His  servants  of  the  same  caste, 
spreading  themselves  among  the  villages,  received  fees  and  sometimes 
rent-free  land  for  undertaking  to  protect  the  property  of  the  villagers 
against  theft,  or  to  restore  an  equivalent  in  value  for  anything  so  lost. 
Claims  to  desha  kaval  fees  as  well  as  to  village  kaval  fees  are  of  com- 
mon occurrence  to  the  present  day." 

It  wall  be  interesting  now  to  quote  and  compare  Mr.  Stuart's 
account  of  the  Zemindars  of  the  present  time  : — 

"  The  condition  of  the  tenants  under  the  different  zemindars,  or  the 
mittahs  into  which  some  ancient  zemindaris  have  been  divided  by  sale 
owing  to  improvidence  and  misfortune,  is  by  no  means  so  satisfactory 
as  that  of  the  ryots  in  Government  taluks.  The  assessments  are 
heavier  everywhere,  and,  as  a  rule,  the  system  of  dividing  the  crop 
prevails  for  the  wet  lands,  a  system  much  less  advantageous  to  the 
cultivators  than  that  of  fixed  money-rents  universal  in  Government 
taluks,  as  these  are  sufficiently  moderate  to  leave  the  ryots  ample 
encouragement  to  improve  their  lands. 

"  In  the  main,  however,  the  tenants  of  the  zemindaris  are  fairly  off,  Relation  of 
and,  especially  in  the  cotton  lands,  many  of  them  are  substantial  Zemindars  to 
farmers  well  out  of  reach  of  poverty.  The  exchange  of  puttas  and 
muchilkas  has  been  strictly  enforced  by  the  Courts  of  late  years,  and 
has  introduced  much  stability  and  independence  as  well  as  a  good  deal 
of  frivolous  and  vexatious  litigation  between  landlord  and  tenant. 
Money-rents  are  universally  assessed  upon  dry  lands,  but  numerous 
vexatious  cesses  are  still  a  fruitful  source  of  dispute  between  the 
zemindars  and  their  ryots. 

"  Of  the  whole  district  27  per  cent,  is  zemindari.     There  are  twenty  Number  of 
zemindaris  proper   and   thirty-six  mittahs,   most   of  them  portions  of  Zemindanes. 

11 


106  HISTORY   OF   TINNEVELLY. 

'huth;  [V.  zemindaris  broken  up  by  the  improvidence  and  misfortunes  of  ancient 
zemindars,  sold  for  debts  and  purchased  by  rich  Vellalars,  Natukottai 
Chetties,  and  other  moneyed  native  gentlemen. 

"  The  twenty  zemindaris  vary  in  size  from  863  acres,  with  a  peish- 
cush  of  25  rupees,  to  337,581  acres,  assessed  at  a  peishcush  of  88,376 
rupees. 

"The  thirty-six  mittahs,  in  like  manner,  vary  from  234  acres,  as- 
sessed at  213  rupees,  to  18,716  acres,  paying  Rupees  6,423  to  Govern- 
ment. 

"  The  principal  Zemindar  of  Ettiapuram  is  by  caste  a  Tottian.  His 
ancestors  supported  the  British  Government  in  the  wars  with  the 
Poligars,  and  received  in  recompense,  besides  other  gifts,  a  large 
share  of  the  confiscated  lands  of  the  principal  Poligar  rebel  chief  of 
ranjalamkurichi.  This  zemindari  is  situated  to  the  north-east  of  the 
district,  and  consists  chiefly  of  black  cotton  plains  sufficiently  fertile 
and  populous,  yielding  a  revenue  to  the  zemindar  of  about  three 
lakhs  of  rupees. 

"The  Zemindaris  of  Sevagiri  and  Seturcome  next,  and  are  situated 
at  the  foot  of  the  Western  Ghauts  in  the  north-west  portion  of  Tinne- 
velly.  They  contain  a  considerable  area  of  well-irrigated  land  supplied 
by  streams  from  the  mountains,  but  the  dry  lands  are  of  the  red  and 
sandy  series,  and,  except  under  wells,  are  of  little  value. 

"These  zemindars,  as  well  those  of  Uttumalai,  Singampatti,  and 
Arkad  (the  two  latter  under  the  Court  of  Wards)  are  all  of  the  old 
Poligar  Maravar  families.  Their  estates  are  carefully  managed  and 
their  ryots  in  the  main  contented.  Some  of  the  finest  of  the  ghaut 
forests  of  Tinnevelly  are  claimed  as  the  property  of  the  Zemindaris  of 
Sevagiri,  Setur,  and  Singampatti,  but  these  mountain  boundaries  are 
mostly  in  dispute  with  the  Government. 

"  The  ancient  Zemindari  of  Chokampatti,  having  a  peishcush  of 
Pupees  25,550,  came  under  the  hammer  in  1868,  and  fell  in  eighteen 
lots  to  various  persons  who  are  now  known  as  Mittahdars." 

Mr.  Stuart  then  gives  a  list  in  detail  of  the  various  zemindaris 
and  mittahs  in  Tinnevelly,  with  their  area,  population,  and 
peishcush. 

Colonel  Fuli.arton's  Description  of  Tinnevelly. 

I  cannot  do  better  than  give  here  the  description  of  the  condi- 
tion of  Tinnevelly  written  in  17b3,  at  the  time  when  misrule  was 
at  its  height,  by  Colonel  Fullarton.  This  account  derives  addi- 
tional interest  from  the  fact  that  it  is  the  first  description  of 
Tinnevelly,  as  far  as  I  am  aware,  which  ever  saw  the  light.  By 
inserting  this  account  here,  I  may  seem  somewhat  to  anticipate 
events,  but  I  think  it  will  be  found  that  the  narrative,  especially  in 
connexion  with  the  affairs  of  the  Poligars,  will  henceforth  be  more 
intelligible. 

"  The  last,  but  not  the  Least,  considerable  of  your  southern  territories 
is  Tinnevelly.     It  is  a  hundred  and  fifteen  miles  in  length  and  seventy 


NAWAB   OF   ARGOT'S    PERIOD.  10? 


miles  in  breadth.     A  ridge  of  inaccessible  mountains  divides  it  on  the  Cuaptbk  IV 
north  from  the  wild  valleys  of  Watrap  and  Outumpollam,  belonging  to 
Tipoo    Sultan.     It  stretches  to  the  confines  of  Madura  and  Ramnad 
on  the  north-east  and  east,   reaches  to  the  sea  upon  the  south,  and 
borders  on  the  west  with  the  RajShship  of  Travancore,  both  terminat- 
ing near  Cape   Comorin.     Nature  has  been  bountiful-  to  this  province.  Produc- 
[ts  surf ace  is  generally  flat,  from  the  sea-coast,  till  it  approaches  the  Jay61"288  ° * 
mountains  on  its  northern  boundary.     The  rivers  by  which  it  is  inter- 
sected ensure  luxuriant  crops  of  rice,  and  the  driest  parts  yield  cotton  in 
abundance.     The  productions   of  the  neighbouring  Island  of  Ceylon 
would  flourish  here,  and  thus  render  us  the  rivals  of  the  Dutch  in  the 
cinnamon  trade  ;  but  the  peculiar  tenure  under  which  the  country  has 
been  held,  the  convulsions  it  has  endured  from  the  first  intrusions  of 
the  Musselmen  in  the  course  of  this  century,  and  the  depravity  of  its 
rulers,  have  counteracted  the  benefits  of  nature.     Even  when  a  native  Bad  govern- 
rajsh     governed   Tinnevelly,     the    flat    and   open    country   only   was  j?bn*  Iiei!,n'" 
reduced.     This  was  let  for   specific  sums  to  great  renters,  who  were  ta.o-es. 
invested  with    despotic  powers,    and  harassed  tlie  peaceful  subjects  ; 
while  various  leaders,  who  possessed  considerable  territory,  maintained 
armed  forces,  and  withheld  their  stipulated  tribute  on  the  first  appear- 
ance of  disturbance.     These  chiefs,  as  well  as  their  subjects,  are  called 
Poligars  ;  they  amount,  at  present,  to   thirty-two,  capable  of  bringing 
thirty  thousand  brave,  though  undisciplined,  troops  into  the  field.  They 
have  also  fortified  towns  and  strongholds  in  the  mountains,  whither 
they  retire  in  cases  of   emergency.     Besides   the  territory  that  these 
Poligars   possess  under  the  range    of   hills   that  form   the    northern 
boundary  of  Tinnevelly,  many  of  them  hold  ample  tracts  in  the  flat 
and  cultivated  country.     Adverse  to  industry,  they   suffer  their  own  Plundering 
possessions  to  remain  waste,  while  they  invade  each  other,  and  plunder  p  ?.     ' 
their   industrious   neighbours.     Such  is  the  dread  of  these  ravagers, 
that  every  district  in  the  province  has  been  forced  to  purchase  their 
forbearance  by   enormous   contributions.     In  this  situation  }rou  have 
rather  cati.se  to  wonder  that  your  Superintendent,  Mr.  Irwin,  should 
have  been  enabled  to  procure  so  large  an   increase  of   revenue,  than 
that  its    produce  should,    in    no   recorded   period,   have    borne   any 
proportion  to  its  natural  advantages." 

It  would  be  unfair,  however,  even  to  the  Poligar  if  I  allowed  his  The 

rival  in  oppression,  the  "  renter,  "  to  pass  unnoticed,  and  here  I  must  "  Rente.t  s 
1  x  .  »  x  '  oppression* 

avail  myself  again  of  Colonel  Fullarton's  graphic  and  vigorous 
description.  The  Poligar  survives  to  our  time,  though  only  in  his 
peaceful  descendant,  the  Zemindar,  but  the  "  renter,"  who  in 
Colonel  Fullarton's  time,  as  all  through  the  period  of  the  Nawab's 
government,  was  such  a  formidable  reality,  has  left  behind  him  no 
representative,  and  has  passed  entirely  into  oblivion. 

"  It  was  not  possible  for  the  English  Government  entirely  to  repress 
the  misconduct  of  inferior  instruments*  who  are   eager  to  perpetuate' 

*  "  The.  black  agents   who   manage  the  whole  detail  of  collection  in  the  different 
districts." — Colonel  Fullarton's  Note. 


108 


history  of  tinneyelly, 


Chapter  IV. 


The  farmer's 
proportion. 


Helplessness 
of  the  ryot. 


Extraordi- 
nary powers 
of  the  renter 


oppression  and  to  enforce  unusual  measures  by  unprecedented  means. 
The  situation  of  the  country  rendered  it  necessary  to  continue  the 
practice  of  renting  extensive  districts  to  the  highest  bidder ;  although 
every  precaution  was  adopted  to  prevent  the  abuse  of  power,  still  the 
collections  could  not  be  enforced  unless  an  unrestrained  authority  were 
vested  in  the  renter.  His  object,  too,  frequently  is,  to  ransack  and 
embezzle,  that  he  may  go  off  at  last  enriched  with  the  spoils  of  his 
province.  The  fact  is,  that  in  every  part  of  India  where  the  renters 
are  established,  not  only  the  ryot  and  the  husbandman,  but  the  manu- 
facturer, the  artificer,  and  every  other  Indian  inhabitant,  is  wholly  at 
the  mercy  of  those  ministers  of  public  exaction. 

"  The  established  practice  throughout  this  part  of  the  peninsula  has 
for  ages  been  to  allow  the  farmer  one-half  of  the  produce  of  his  crop 
for  the  maintenance  of  his  family,  and  the  recurvation  of  the  land  ; 
while  the  other  is  appropriated  to  the  Circar.  In  the  richest  soils, 
under  the  cowle  of  Hyder,  producing  three  annual  crops,  it  is  hardly 
known  that  less  than  forty  per  cent,  of  the  crop  produced  has  been 
allotted  to  the  husbandman.  Yet  renters  on  the  coast  have  not 
scrupled  to  imprison  reputable  farmers,  and  to  inflict  on  them  extreme 
severities  of  punishment,  for  refusing  to  accept  of  sixteen  in  the 
hundred,  as  the  proportion  out  of  which  they  were  to  maintain  a 
family,  to  furnish  stock  and  implements  of  husbandry,  cattle,  seed, 
and  all  expenses  incident  to  the  cultivation  of  their  lands.  But  should 
the  unfortunate  ryot  be  forced  to  submit  to  such  conditions,  he  has  still 
a  long  list  of  cruel  impositions  to  endure.  He  must  labour  week  after 
week  at  the  repair  of  water-courses,  tanks,  and  embankments  of  rivers. 
His  cattle,  sheep,  and  every  other  portion  of  his  property  is  at  the 
disposal  of  the  renter,  and  his  life  might  pay  the  forfeit  of  refusal. 
Should  he  presume  to  reap  his  harvest  when  ripe,  without  a  mandate 
from  the  renter,  whose  peons,  conicopolies,  and  retainers  attend  on  the 
occasion,  nothing  short  of  bodily  torture  and  a  confiscation  of  the  little 
that  is  left  him  could  expiate  the  offence.  Would  he  sell  any  part 
of  his  scanty  portion,  he  cannot  be  permitted  while  the  Circar  has  any 
to  dispose  of  ;  would  he  convey  anything  to  a  distant  market,  he  is 
stopped  at  every  village  by  the  collectors  of  Sunkum  or  Gabella 
(transit  duties),  who  exact  a  duty  for  eveiy  article  exported,  imported, 
or  disposed  of.  So  unsupportable  is  this  evil,  that  between  Negapa- 
tam  and  Palghautchorry,  not  more  than  three  hundred  miles,  there  are 
about  thirty  places  of  collection,  or,  in  other  words,  a  tax  is  levied 
every  ten  miles  upon  the  produce  of  the  country ;  thus  manu- 
facture and  commerce  are  exposed  to  disasters  hardly  less  severe  than 
those  which  have  occasioned  the  decline  of  cultivation. 

"  But  these  form  only  a  small  proportion  of  the  powers  with  which  the 
renter  is  invested.  Ho  may  sink  or  raise  the  exchange  of  specie  at  his 
own  discretion  ;  he  may  prevent  the  sale  of  grain,  or  sell  it  at  the 
most  exorbitant  rates  ;  thus,  at  any  time  he  may,  and  frequently  does, 
occasion  general  famine.  Besides  maintaining  a  useless  rabble,  whom 
he  employs  under  the  appellation  of  peons,  at  the  public  expense,  he 
may  require  any  military  force  he  finds  necessary  for  the  business  of 


N  AW  A 11    OF    ARCOT's    PERIOD.  109 

oppression,  and  few  inferior  oflieers  woidd  have  weight  enough  to  Chapter  IV. 
justify  their  refusal  of  such  aid.  Should  any  one,  however,  dispute 
those  powers,  should  the  military  officers  refuse  to  prostitute  military 
service  to  the  distress  of  wretched  individuals,  or  should  the  Civil 
Superintendent  [the  '  Superintendent  of  Assigned  Revenues,'  the 
Collector  of  that  time]  remonstrate  against  s\ich  abuse,  nothing  could 
be  more  pleasing  to  the  renter  ;  he  derives,  from  thence,  innumerable 
arguments  for  non-performance  of  engagements,  and  for  a  long  list  of 
defalcations.  But  there  are  still  some  other  not  less  extraordinary 
constituents  in  the  complex  endowments  of  a  renter.  He  unites,  in  his 
own  person,  all  the  branches  of  judicial  or  civil  authority,  and  if  he 
happens  to  be  a  Brahmin,  he  may  also  be  termed  the  representative  of 
ecclesiastical  jurisdiction.  I  will  not  enlarge  on  the  consequences  of 
thus  huddling  into  the  person  of  one  wretched  mercenary  of  those 
powers  that  ought  to  constitute  the  dignity  and  lustre  of  supreme 
executive  authority." 


110  HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


CHAPTER    V. 

MUHAMMAD  YTJSUF  KHAN'S  ADMINISTRATION,  TO  THE 
CAPTUKE  OF  MADUEA  AND  HIS  DEATH. 


Further  Operations  of  Muhammad  Yusuf  Khan. 
Chapteh  y.       "We  must  now  return  to  Orme  and  to  1756. 


"Yusuf  Khan  with  Mahfuz  Khan,  and  their  respective  troops, 
remained  at  Srivilliputtur  during  the  months  of  June  and  July  till  all 
the  adjoining  Poligars  had  either  made  their  submissions  or  seemed 
willing  to  be  quiet.  He  then  requested  Mahfuz  Khan  to  march  out 
of  the  country,  and  proceed  with  his  troops  to  Areot,  according  to  the 
injunctions  of  his  brother  the  Nawab,  who  would  be  ready  to  settle 
accounts  with  him,  and  pay  what  arrears  might  be  due  to  his  soldiery. 
He  then  allotted  six  companies  to  garrison  Srivilliputtur,  and  guard 
the  adjacent  country;  and  with  the  rest,  about  2,000,  in  which  were 
included  those  levied  by  the  Nawab,  and  sent  to  Mahfuz  Khan,  he 
proceeded  from  Srivilliputtur  on  the  1st  of  August,  and  on  the  10th 
arrived  at  the  town  of  Tinnevelly. 

"  By  this  time  the  Presidency  of  Madras  had  made  arrangements  for 
the  management  of  these  countries,  and  concluded  an  agreement  with 
Mudali,  the  native  of  Tinnevelly,  who  came  to  Madras  on  this  purpose 
Financial         in  the  month  of  April.     The   district  of  Madura   proper  was  then  con- 
%.j   !',  sidered  exceedingly  unproductive.     It  had   shrunk  into   very    small 

dimensions  through  the  encroachments  of  the  territories  of  the  Poligars, 
and  what  remained  hardly  repaid  the  cultivation.  From  these  detri- 
ments and  defects,  the  annual  revenue  of  the  whole  territory  seldom 
exceeds  1,20,000  rupees  ;  at  the  same  time  that  the  maintenance  of  the 
city,  its  garrison,  and  other  military  posts  in  the  country  raise  the 
expenses  to  triple  this  sum.  On  the  other  hand,  the  country  now 
rated  under  Tinnevelly  is  of  much  greater  extent  and  fertility,  com- 
monly yielding  a  revenue  from  11  to  12,00,000  rupees  a  year;  but 
should  Madura  and  its  districts  be  in  the  hands  of  an  enemy,  the 
country  of  Tinnevelly  would  bo  constantly  exposed  to  the  most  ruinous 
attacks,  and  could  receive  no  support  from  Trichinopoly  ;  which  renders 
it  necessary  to  maintain  the  one  at  a  certain  loss,  as  the  only  means 
of  securing  the  advantages  which  may  be  derived  from  the  other. 
The  family  of  Mudali,  having  for  100  years  been  employed  in  farming 
districts  in  both  countries,  had  in  this  long  course  of  time  rented 
every  part,  and  knew  the  properties  of  each.     He  accordingly  refused 


MUHAMMAD   YUSUF   KHAn's    PERIOD.  Ill 

to  undertake  the  districts  of  Madura,  but  offered  to  rent  the  country  of  Chapter  V. 
Tinnevelly  for  three  years,  at  the   annual  rent  of    11,00,000   rupees, 
clear  of  all  expenses,   to  be  paid  at   three   periods  in  each  year ;  for 
which   purpose  he  was   to  be  invested  with  the  usual   authorities  of  Financial 
jurisdiction,    civil   and  criminal.     He  obliged  himself  to  maintain  not  Tinnevellv 
less  than  1,000  of  the  Company's  sepoys,  under  the  command  of  such 
officers  as  the  Presidency  should   appoint ;  and  engaged  to  produce, 
within  three  months  from  the  contract,  the  security  of  substantial  shroffs, 
or  money-changers,   for  the  regular  payment  of  the  stipulated   sums. 
The  agreement  was  concluded  in  the  beginning  of  July  ;   immediately  Agreement 
on  which  Mudali  appointed  agents,  and  sent  orders  to  place  flags  with  ^Y  ,  ,ie 
the  Company's   colours,    in  the  cultivated  lands  ;  and  soon   after  pro- 
ceeded himself  to  administer  his  office  in  person.     Muhammad  Yusuf, 
on  his  arrival  at  Tinnevelly,  found  that  the  agents  of  Mudali  had,  in  the 
beginning  of  their  occupations,  been  over-ruled   and  insulted  by  Meir 
Jaffier,   who  had  hitherto  managed    the   country  for  Mahfuz  Khan. 
The  dispute  indeed  had  ceased,  but  the  grudge  still  remained  :    and  to 
prevent  any   farther   effects,  Muhammad  Yusuf  ordered  Meir  Jaffier  Meir  Jaffier's 
to   depart  immediately  to  Madura,   but  permitted  him  to   take  three  behaviour. 
field  pieces  which  belonged  to  him,   and  whatsoever  retinue  he  chose  ; 
he  at  the  same  time  detached  five  companies  of  sepoys  to  reinforce  the 
garrison  of  Madura    and   ordered  them   to  protect  and    watch  Meir 
Jaffier  and  his  people  on  the  road.     In  the  meantime  a  sort  of  revolu- 
tion took  place  in  the  fort  of  Madura  in  the  interest  of  Mahfuz  Khan, 
who  thought  himself  injured  by  the  appointment   of  another  renter. 
On  the   13th  September  the  renter  Mudali  arrived  in  the   camp  with 
two  companies  of  sepoys  which  had  escorted  him  from  Trichinopoly 
through  the  countries  of  the   two  Maravars,    and  the  next   day   he 
continued  his  journey  towards  Tinnevelly. 

"  The  family  of  Mudali  by  their  occupation  of  renting  the  countries  Influential 
had  formed  connections  with  most  of  the  Poligars  dependent  on  p£91Vfnj°r 
Tinnevelly,  more  especially  with  the  Pali  Devar  and  Kattaboma 
Nayaka  ;  and  on  his  invitations  the  Pfili  Devar  and  several  others  met 
him  on  the  road.  Kattaboma  Nayaka  and  others  sent  their  agents  ; 
all  came,  as  usual,  with  considerable  retinues,  and  in  the  midst  of  this 
multitude  Mudali  entered  the  town  of  Tinnevelly  on  the  27th  of 
September  and  proclaimed  his  commission.  But  the  colleries  of  the 
Poligars,  whom  no  consideration  can  restrain  from  thieving,  committed 
night  robberies  in  the  town  and  adjacent  villages.  Several  of  them 
were  taken  and  punished  by  the  Company's  sepoys,  on  which  others 
stole  the  effects  of  the  sepoys  themselves,  who,  irritated  as  much  by 
the  insidt  as  the  loss,  transferred  their  resentment  on  Mudali,  because 
he  suffered  the  Poligars  to  remain  in  the  town,  and  continued  to  treat 
them  with  civility.  At  the  same  time  the  troops  of  Travancore 
renewed  their  incursions  into  the  districts  about  Kalakadu ;  and  Nabi  Xabi  Khan 
Khan  Kattak,  who  had  concealed  himself  ever  since  the  defeat  in  Kattak. 
which  Moodemiah  was  killed,  now  appeared  again,  made  overtures  of 
reconciliation  to  Mahfuz  Khan,  which  were  accepted ;  and  having 
enlisted  400  of  the  horse  which  Mahfuz  Khan  had  disbanded,  kept 
traversing  the  country  between  Madura  and  Tinnevelly. 


112 


HISTORY    OF    TIXXEYELLY. 


Chapter  V.  "Meanwhile,  the  dissension  between  the  Company's  sepoys  and  their 
renter  at  Tinnevelly  had  increased,  and  had  produced  evil  consequences. 
Mudali  by  his  contract  was  only  obliged  to  furnish  the  pay  of  the  sepoys 
employed  by  himself  ;  but  Muhammad  Yusuf,  by  a  wrong  interpreta- 
tion, imagined  that  Mudali  was  obliged  to  maintain  the  whole  number 
wheresoever  employed  ;  and  moreover  to  discharge  the  arrears  of  their 
pay,  of  which  two  months  were  due  on  his  arrival  in  the  country.  In 
consequence  of  this  mistake,  Jemaul  Saheb,  who  commanded  the  sepoys 
in  Tinnevelly,  demanded  the  amount,  and  on  Mudali's  refusing  to  pay 

The  Poligara   it,    confined  him  under  a  guard  for  several  days,  during  which    he 

T-dTv  H*  °f  orclered  the  Pali  Dgvar  and  tne  otlier  Poligars  to  quit  the  town  with 
threats  of  severe  punishment  if  they  remained  any  longer.  They 
departed  immediately ;  but,  instead  of  returning  to  their  homes,  the 
Pfdi  Devar  went  to  Nabi  Khan  Kattak  and  offered  him  his  assistance, 
both  in  men  and  money  ;  and  by  their  united  representations,  Katta- 
boma  Nuyaka  was  induced  to  join  their  league.  At  the  same  time  the 
troops  of  Travancore  kept  their  ground,  and  continued  their  depreda- 
tions in  the  districts  dependent  on  Kalakadu.  The  hopes  of  the 
advantages  which  might  be  derived  from  these  confusions  were  much 
more  agreeable  to  the  disposition  of  Berkatoolah  (Barakat-ulla)  than 
the  success  of  his  negotiation  with  the  English,  by  which  he  was  to 
obtain  nothing  more  than  the  pardon  of  his  offences  ;  and  in  the 
middle  of  November,  as  soon  as  the  ground  was  sufficiently  dry  to 
march,  he  went  from  the  city  and  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  500 
horse,  which  had  gone  out  before,  and  were  now  joined  to  those  of  Nabi 
Khan  Kattak  and  the  troops  of  the  Poligars.  The  whole  force  amounted 
to  10,000  men,  of  which  1,000  were  horse.  They  were  assembled  about 
forty  miles  to  the  south  of  Madura,  and  instead  of  proceeding  directly 
to  the  south,  in  the  open  country,  struck  to  the  east  into  the  districts  of 
Kattaboma  Nayaka,  a  part  of  whose  woods  extends  within  a  few  miles 
of  the  town  of  Tinnevelly.  Issuing  from  thence  at  night,  before  their 
approach  was  known,  they  entered  the  town  at  daybreak  by  several 
avenues,  which  were  weakly  guarded  ;  for  Mudali  a  few  days  before 
had  marched  with  the  greatest  part  of  the  sepoys  and  his  other  force 
about  twenty  miles  to  the  south-east,  in  order  to  protect  the  districts  of 
Alwar  Tinnevelly  (Alvar  Tirunagari),  against  which  he  had  been  led 
to  believe  the  enemy  designed  to  bend  their  attack. 

■p0Tt  0f  "  The  enemy  remained  two  days  in  Tinnevelly,  plundered  much,  but 

Palamcotta-  committed  no  cruelties  ;  and  during  this  delay  Mudali  regained  the 
fort  of  Palamcotta,  which  stands  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  about 
three  miles  from  the  town.  The  fort  is  spacious,  but  the  ramparts 
were  in  ruins,  nevertheless  capable  of  resisting  an  enemy,  which  had 
no  battering  cannon.  Matchlocks  and  musketry  were  fired  without 
any  mischief  for  two  days,  during  which  the  cavalry  ravaged  the 
country  round.  Muhammad  Yusuf,  who  still  continued  at  Secunder 
maly  (Skandar  malai),  before  Madura,  received  no  certain  intelligence 
of  the  enemy's  design  until  four  days  after  they  were  in  motion;  he 
immediately  struck  his  camp  and  proceeded  towards  Tinnevelly,  and 
they  hearing  of  his  approach  collected  all  their  parties  and  advanced  to 
him  hat  tie.     The  two  armies   mot  on  the   1st  of  December  at 


Battle  at 
Gangai  kon- 
dan. 


give 


MUHAMMAD    YUSUF    KHAn's    PERIOD.  113 

Gangadorain*  (Gangai  kondan)  about  twenty  (twelve)  miles  north  of  Chapter  V. 
Tinnevelly.  The  inferiority  of  numbers  was  much  more  than  compen- 
sated by  superior  skill;  the  Company's  sepoys  faced  the  enemy  on  every 
side  with  advantage  of  situation  and  discipline,  and  the  field  pieces 
were  firod  with  much  execution  against  the  cavalry,  whose  fortunes 
depending  on  the  preservation  of  their  horses,  they  quitted  the  contest 
and  the  field.  The  next  day  Muhammad  Yusuf  proceeded  to  Tinne- 
velly, and  from  thence  marched  into  the  desolated  districts,  in  order  to 
give  heart  to  the  inhabitants,  and  recall  them  to  their  occupations. 

"  The  Poligars  returned  to  their  woods,   and  Barakat-ulla  with  his  Self  sacrifice 
cavalry  to  Madura  ;  but  Nabi  Khan  Kattak  went  to  Srivilliputtur,  and  of  a  Brahmin 
not  having  means  to  attack    the  fort,   in  which  were   some   sepoys,  puttur. 
attempted  to  escalade  the  pagoda  in  the  town,  on  which  one  of  the 
Brahmins  went  to  the  top  of  the  high  tower  over  the  gateway,  and  after 
a  short  but  loud  prayer  of  execration,  threw  himself  headlong  to  the 
pavement,  which  dashed  out  his  brains  ;  the  enemy,  although  Muhani- 
madans,  were  so  much  afraid  of  incurring  the  general  detestation  of 
the  country,  if  their  attempts  against  the  pagoda  should  incite  any 
more  acts  of  such  enthusiastic  devotion,  that  they  immediately  retreated 
out  of  the  town. 

"  In  the  meantime,  Captain  Calliaud,  whilst  regulating  the  affairs  of  Captain 
the  renter  at  Tinnevelly,    acquired  intelligence  that  the  confederates  Calliaud's 
were   treating  with  the  Mysoreans   at    Dindigul  for  aid  against  the  p  ans' 
English  and  their  adherents,  the  Pali  Devar  offering  to  pay   down 
5,00,000  rupees,  and  the  Jamadars   of  Mahfuz  Khan  to  give  up  the 
districts  of  Sholavandan,  in  which  are  comprised  a  strong  pass  and  the 
only  road  between   Madura  and  Dindigul.     Nevertheless  it  was   not 
intended  that  the  country,  when  conquered,  should  be  given  either  to 
the  Mysorean  or  Mahfuz  Khan.     It  was  to  be  restored  to  a  descendant 
of  the  ancient  kings,  who  lived  in  concealment  in  the  country  of  the 
greater  Maravar :   and  Mahfuz  Khan  was  to  have  a  suitable  establish- 
ment  in   Mysore.     This   news   increased   the   necessity  of  attacking 
Madura  as  soon  as  possible  ;  but  the  arrangements  at  Tinnevelly  were 
not  finished  until  the  10th  of  April,   on  which  day  Captain   Calliaud 
began  his  march  from  thence  with  180  Europeans,    2,500  sepoys,   six, 
field  pieces,  and  500  horse:  Muhammad  Yusuf  commanded  the  sepoys, 
and  Mudali  what  horse  were  levied  by  himself.     Six  companies  of 
sepoys  were  left  for  the  defence  of  Tinnevelly,  and  the  same  number 
in  the  fort  of  Palamcotta. 

"  A  few  days  after,  Barakat-ulla  and  Nabi  Khan  Kattak  went  with 
500   horse  to   the   Pilli   Devar' s  place.     The  Commander  Muhammad 

*  Gangadaram.  This  stands  for  Gangai  kondan,  commonly  called  Gengundan,  a 
village  on  the  Chitra-nadi,  or  Chittar,  near  which  is  a  railway  station.  Gangai 
kondan,  receiver  of  the  Ganges,  is  a  name^of  Siva,  and  the  popular  notion  is  that  as 
Siva  is  worshipped  there  under  that  name  the  Ganges  reappears  in  that  place  as  in 
bo  many  other  places  in  various  parts  of  India.  The  Sanskrit  form  of  this  name  is 
Gangadhara,  which  Orme's  informants  seem  to  have  followed,  instead  of  the  Tamil, 
perhaps  hecause  there  is  a  town  of  that  name  in  the  Tanjore  country.  There  was 
a  Choja  prince  of  the  name  of  Gangai  kondan,  who  is  said  to  have  been  made  king  of 
the  Pandyas,  with  the  title  of  Sundara  Chola  Pandya. 

15 


114  HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 

Chapter  V.    Yusuf,  on  receiving  the  summons  of  Lieutenant  Rumbold,  had  returned 
.  from  the  districts  he  was  visiting  to  Tinnevelly,  where  leaving  as 

Kumbold's      before  1,000  sepoys,  he  proceeded  with  the  rest,  about  1,800,   towards 
movement.       Madura.     The  renter  Mudali,  naturally  timorous,  resolved  to  accom- 
pany the  greater  force,  and  besides  his  usual   retinue  was  attended 
by    100  good   horse    which  he  had  lately  levied.     They  arrived  on 
the   16th  of  December   at  (langadaram,    where  Muhammad    Yusuf, 
hearing  of  Lieutenant  Rumbold's  departure  from  Madura,  halted  to 
observe  the  motions  of  the  enemy,  and  remained  there  until  he  received 
information  that  Nabi  Khan  Kattak  and  Barakat-ulla  had  passed  to 
the  Pali  Devar's,  on  which  he  proceeded  te  Srivilliputtur,  and  encamped 
there,  in  order  to  awe  the  Poligars  in  this  part  of  the  country  from 
joining  the  enemy.     During  the  march  Mudali  sent  one  of  his  relations 
named  Algapa  (Alagappa)  to  negotiate  a  reconciliation  with  the  Puli 
Puli  Devar's  Devar,  and  offer  some  districts  as  the  fee  of  his  alliance.     The  Puli 
Devar,  who  never  refused  or  kept  his  word  on  any  occasion,  sent  an 
agent  with  Alagappa  to  the  camp  at  Srivilliputtur,  and  at  the  same 
time  sent  his  troops  to  join  Barakat-ulla  and  Nabi   Khan  Kattak. 
The  agent,  under  the  usual  pretext  of  doing  honour  to  his  embassy, 
was  accompanied  by  two  or  three  hundred  of   colleries.     Muhammad 
Yusuf  entirely  disapproved  of  the  intercourse,  as  he  knew  the  Pfdi 
Devar's  character,   and  that  some  of  his  people  were  at  this  very  time 
plundering   to   the  westward   of  Tinnevelly.     Unfortunately  during 
this  mood  of  indignation  five  of  the  agent's  colleries  were  taken  steal- 
Yusuf'aexcee- ing  horses  and  oxen  belonging  to  the  camp,  and  being  brought  to 
sive  seventy.    Muhammad  Yusuf  he  immediately  put  them    to   death  by  blowing 
them  off  from  the  mouth  of  a  cannon — a  sanguinary  execution,  not 
Pall  Devar's    infrequent  in  Hindustan,  and  in  this  case  atrocious.     The  agent,  with 
MflMnT  W*th  a^  n^s  retinue  of  colleries,  immediately  ran  away  from  the  camp  ;  and 
Khan.  their  injury   determined  the  Puli    Devar,  perhaps  for  the  first  time  in 

his  life,  to  act  with  some  good  faith  toward  those  with  whom  he  was 
connected.  But  knowing  the  irresolution  of  Mahfuz  Khan,  he,  with 
his  usual  cunning,  was  afraid  of  trusting  him  in  Madura  exposed  to 
the  overtures  and  negotiations  of  the  English,  and  insisted  that  he 
should  come  from  thence  to  Nellitangaville  and  remain  at  all  times 
under  his  own  ward.  In  consequence  Barakat-ulla,  who  was  with 
the  Puli  Ddvar,  sent  for  Mahfuz  Khan,  who  in  the  end  of  December 
went  from  the  city  with  500  horse." 

It  would  be  tedious  and  unprofitable  to  record  in  detail  every 
incident  that  occurred  from  month  to  month.  It  will  be  better  to 
content  myself  with  mentioning  anything  that  occurred  which 
seemed  to  have  some  special  features  of  interest. 

"  Barakat-ulla  and  Nabi  Khan  Kattak  set  off  from  Nellitangaville 
with  500  horse,  leaving  Mahfuz  Khan  with  the  Pfili  DCvar.  Skirting 
The  Poligar  along  the  hills  they  halted  one  evening  at  the  fort  of  tho  Poligar 
of  Sivagiri.  Vanjah  of  Shevagherry  ["Vaniah"  stands  here  for  Vanniya,  the 
casto  name  or  title  of  a  branch  of  the  Marava  caste,  to  which  the 
Sivagiri  Poligar  belonged.  The  Elayiram  pannei  Poligar  was  also  a 
Vanniya].     The  Sivagiri  Poligar  having  been  gained  over  by  Muham- 


MUHAMMAD    YUSUF    KHAn's    PERIOD.  115 

mail  Yusuf  sent  out  his  colleries,  who,   iu  the   middle  of  the  night,    Chapter  V. 
fell  upon  this  body  of  cavalry,  and  with  their  screams  and  fireworks 
dispersed  the  whole  and  took  40  of  their  horses. 

"  The  rebellious  Jamadars  who  had  seized  and  retained  possession  of  Mahfuz 
Madura  expected  assistance  from  Mahfuz  Khan  with  the  western  ?^f  i£ke8 
Poligars  of  Tinnevelly,  but  were  doomed  to  be  disappointed.  Five 
hundred  horse  and  a  thousand  foot  remained  with  Mahfuz  Khan  at 
Nellitangaville,  when  Barakat-ulla  left  him  and  came  away  to  defend 
Madura,  which  Calliaud  at  the  same  time  was  marching  to  attack  with 
the  main  body  of  the  English  troops  from  Tinnevelly.  As  soon  as 
Calliaud  was  out  of  sight,  Mahfuz  Khan  and  the  Puli  Devar  took 
the  field,  and  were  joined  by  other  Poligars,  which  all  together  made 
up  a  camp  of  ten  thousand  men.  This  army  marched  from  Nellitanga- 
ville in  the  latter  end  of  April,  and  advanced  beyond  Alvar  Kurichi 
within  fifteen  miles  of  Tinnevelly,  but  were  deterred  by  the  sepoys 
left  there  from  attempting  the  town  ;  nor  did  they  immediately  plun- 
der or  terrify  the  inhabitants  of  the  open  country,  because  the  harvest, 
from  which  they  intended  to  collect  money,  would  not  be  reaped  until 
the  middle  of  June  ;  however,  they  published  their  mandates  that  all 
who  were  accountable  to  the  renter  Mudali  should  then  become 
accountable  to  them.  In  the  meantime  Mahfuz  Khan  negotiated  with 
the  King  of  Travancore  for  assistance,  with  the  proffer  of  Kalakadu 
and  all  the  other  districts  to  which  the  king  had  ever  made  any  pre- 
tension ;  but  lest  this  should  fail  he,  with  his  usual  uncertainty,  renewed 
his  negotiations  with  the  English,  and  sent  off  an  agent  with  letters  Mahfuz 
to  Calliaud,  proposing  to  rent  the  country  from  them  on  the  security  ?  n.  s, 
of  substantial  shroffs.  Lieutenant  Rumbold  received  the  offers,  whilst  treachery. 
Calliaud  was  returned  to  the  relief  of  Trichinopoly,  and  thinking  them 
worth  attention,  sent  a  Jamadar  of  Sepoys  named  Ramanaig,  u;ith  an 
intelligent  Moorman,  to  confer  with  Mahfuz  Khan  in  his  camp.  They 
were  accompanied  by  an  escort  of  fifty  sepoys  ;  but  just  before  their 
arrival,  Mahfuz  Khan  had  received  information  that  six  companies  of 
sepoys  of  the  twelve  left  at  Tinnevelly  and  Palamcotta  were  ordered 
to  join  the  camp  at  Madura ;  which  changed  his  schemes  and,  instead 
of  negotiating,  he  surrounded  the  two  deputies  and  their  escort  with 
his  horse,  and  threatened  to  put  them  all  to  the  sword,  if  they  did  not 
send  an  order  to  the  sepoys  in  garrison  at  Palamcotta  to  deliver  the 
fort  to  him.  The  deputies  with  their  escort  stood  to  their  arms,  and 
said  they  would  rather  die  ;  but  just  as  the  fight  was  going  to  begin 
one  of  Mahfuz  Khan's  Jamadars  named  Alii  Saheb  declared  his  detes- 
tation of  the  treachery  and  joined  the  sepoys  with  the  horse  of  his 
command,  on  which  the  rest  recollected  themselves  and  retired ;  but 
Alii  Saheb  having  still  some  suspicions  for  the  safety  of  the  deputies 
and  their  escort  marched  with  them  to  Palamcotta  and  delivered  them 
safe  into  the  fort. 

"  Soon   after  the  six  companies  of  sepoys  began  their  march  from 
Tinnevelly  to  Madura,   and  the  harvest  began  on  which  the  enemy's 
army  entered  the  town,  where  Mahfuz   Khan  proclaimed  his  dominion  Khan's  exae- 
which  his  agents  and  dependants  exercised  with  much  violence   and  tions. 


116 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


CHArTER   V. 


Siege  of  Pa- 
lamcotta. 


Surrender  of 
Madura. 


Submission  of 
the  Ettaiya- 
puram Poligar 


Yusuf  Khan's 
successes. 


injustice.  Even  the  shroffs,  or  bankers,  did  not  escape,  although  the 
necessity  and  neutrality  of  their  occupation  protects  their  persons  and 
property  throughout  Hindostan  from  the  violence  either  of  the  despot 
or  the  conqueror.  The  main  body  of  his  army  invested  the  fort  of 
Palamcotta,  -which  the  sepoj-s  within  easily  defended,  and  with  loss 
to  the  enemy ;  but  there  was  danger  from  scarcity  of  provisions  ; 
to  prevent  which  Basappa  Nayaka,  the  commander  of  the  sepoys, 
solicited  the  assistance  of  the  Poligar  Kattaboma  Nayaka,  who  stipu- 
lated the  cession  of  some  lands  convenient  to  his  districts,  which 
being  promised,  he  took  the  field  with  his  own  troops  and  those  of 
his  dependant  of  Ettaiyapuram.  On  their  arrival  the  garrison  sallied 
and  in  a  slight  skirmish  obliged  the  enemy  to  raise  the  siege  ;  after 
which  the  two  Poligars  returned  to  their  homes,  and  Kattaboma 
Nayaka  from  his  came  and  joined  the  English  camp  before  Madura. 
Mahfuz  Khan  continuing  at  Tinnevelly,  neither  sent  money  nor  troops 
to  the  Jamadars,  but  suffered  the  incomes  to  be  dissipated,  notwith- 
standing Barakat-ulla  had  continually  represented  to  him  that  the 
scarcity  of  provisions  in  Madura  was  daily  increasing  from  the  want 
of  money  to  pay  for  them  and  of  parties  in  the  field  to  facilitate  their 
importation.  Shortly  after  the  Jamadar  surrendered  Madura  to  Cap- 
tain Calliaud  for  a  sum  of  money  claimed  by  them  of  Mahfuz  Khan's 
arrears  of  pay. 

(i  Muhammad  Yusuf,  returning  from  Madura,  sent  invitations  to  the 
cavalry  with  Mahfuz  Khan  and  whatsoever  other  bodies  were  acting 
as  plunderers  in  the  Tinnevelly  country.  Passing  along  the  districts 
of  Ettaiyapuram,  the  Poligar  redeemed  his  hostages  which  were  in 
the  camp,  paying  18,700  rupees,  the  balance  of  his  fine.  The  army 
arrived  at  the  town  of  Tinnevelly  about  the  middle  of  November, 
from  whence  Mahfuz  Khan  on  their  approach  had  retired  to  Nelli- 
tangaville.  He  had  during  his  residence  there  made  various  attempts 
to  get  possession  of  the  fort  of  Palamcotta,  but  had  taken  Kalakadu 
and  given  it  to  the  King  of  Travancore.  Muhammad  Yusuf  with  a 
part  of  the  army  marched  immediately  against  this  place,  which  the 
Travancores  abandoned  without  resistance,  and,  being  followed  by  him, 
retired  behind  their  walls  in  the  passes  of  the  mountains  at  the  foot  of 
the  promontory.  At  the  same  time  the  appearance  of  other  detach- 
ments drove  away  the  guards  which  Mahfuz  Khan  had  placed  in 
Papankulam,  Alvarkurichi,  and  Bermadats  (Bralmiadeeam),  and  those 
stationed  by  the  Poligar  of  Vadagherry  (Yadagarai)  in  Tirancourchy 
(Tarankurichi).  All  these  places  lie  to  the  north-west  of  Tinnevelly 
about  Nellitangaville,  and  parties  of  sepoys  were  left  to  maintain 
thorn.  Before  this  time  no  farther  expectation  remained  of  Mudali's 
abilities  to  manage  the  revenues  ;  and  ho  was  called  to  Madras,  in 
order  to  exhibit  and  explain  the  details  of  his  administration  ;  but 
remained  sick  and  settling  his  accounts  in  the  woods  of  Tondiman. 

"  Captain  Calliaud' s  porsonal  representations  convinced  the  Madras 
Crovernment  that  the  disturbances  would  never  cease,  nor  any  revenue 
bo  collected  adequate  to  the  military  expenses,  whilst  Mahfuz  Khan 
maintained  his  foree,  pretensions  and  alliances  in  thoso  countries.     It 


MUHAMMAD    YUSUF    KHAn's    PERIOD.  117 

was  therefore  proposed  to  the  Nawab,  who  still  continued  at  Madras,    Chapter  V. 

that  Mahfuz  Khan  should  be  assured  of  receiving  an  annual  income         

sufficient  for  his  decent  maintenance  out  of  the  revenues,  provided  he 

would  quit  the  country  with  his  cavalry,  and  disband  his  other  troops. 

By  this  plan,   if  nothing  should  bo  got,   nothing  would  be  lust ;  and  Proposals 

the  French,  frustrated  of  all  connexions,  would  find  it  impracticable  to  j}'^ut  iIutlfuz 

get  footing  in  these  provinces.     The  Nawab  approved  the  proposal 

and  sent  an  agent  to  treat  with  Mahfuz  Khan. 

"  The  agent  sent  by  the  Nawab  to  Mahfuz  Khan  arrived  atNellitan- 
gavillo  on  the  28th  of  February,  and  found  him  there  encamped  in 
paltry  tents   with  50   horse,   ostentatious  of  his  poverty,  pretending 
much  discontent  against  his  allies,  and  much  attachment  to  the  Nawab  ; 
but  when  terms  of  reconciliation  were  proposed,  nothing  less  would 
satisfy  him  than  the  government  of  the  whole  country  as  an  appanage 
in  fee  ;  indeed  he  was  never  master  of  his  own  opinion,  and  at  present 
not  of  his  will,  for  the  western  Poligars,  elated  by  the  rising  superi- 
ority  of  the  French   in  the  Carnatic,  took  the  field,  and  obliged  him, 
who  depended  upon  them  for  his  subsistence,  to  lend  his  name,  and  to 
appear  with  them  in  person  as  the  pretension  of  their  hostilities.    The 
army  was  composed  of  the  troops  of  the  Puli  Devar,  of  Vadagarai  of 
the  three  minor  Poligars,  Cotaltava,*  Naduvakuriehi,  and  Sorandai  ; 
and  from  the  eastern  side  of  Ettaiyapuram,  the  dependent  of  Kat(a-  Confederacy 
boma  Nayaka,  who  himself  continued  firm  to  his  new  connexion  with  a6amstiu8uf' 
the  Euglish.     The  confederates  had  likewise  persuaded  the  Poligar  of 
Shatore  (Settiir)  under  the  hills,  whose  fort  is  only  fifteen  miles  to  the 
south  of  SrTvilliputtur  to  enter  so  far  into  their  views  as  to    admit 
a  body  of  the  Puli  Devar's  colleries  into  his  fort,  with  whom   and 
his   own   ho   made    depredations  into  the    adjacent    country,    whilst 
Muhammad  Yusuf,  apprehensive  of  the  arrival  of  Haidar  Ali  and  the 
French,  kept  his  force  collected  in  Madura.     As  soon  as  the  news   of 
Haidar  Ali's  departure  was  confirmed,  Muhammad  Yusuf  took   the 
field  and  marched  againt  Settur.     The  Poligar   on   his   appearance 
made  submissions,  turned  out  the  Puli  Devar's  men,  and  paid  a  fine  in 
money  ;  but  as  soon  as  the  English  troops  returned  to  Srlvilliputtur 
he  renewed  his  depredations,  on  which  Muhammad  Yusuf  attacked 
the  fort  again,  which  the  Poligar,  after  a  slight  resistance  abandoned  ; 
and  one  of  his  relations  was  appointed  in  his  stead.     In  the  mean  Successes  of 

time  the  confederates  had  in  various  attacks  from    Nollitangaville  thf  confede- 

°  rates. 

taken  all  the  posts  between  this  place  and  Tinnevelly,  and  many  of 

the  men  placed  to  guard  them  were  put  to  the  sword ;  at  Taran- 

kurichi,    which  was  taken  by  assault  in  the  night,  27  horsemen  and  a 

greater  number  of  sepoys  were  killed.     The  confederates,  elated  with 

these  successes,  threatened  all  who  did  not  join  them,  and  attacked 

the  Poligar  of  Ootamaleo  (Uttumalai)  because  he  had  refused.    They 

likewise  prepared  to  take  possession  of  Tinnevelly,  and  boasted  that 

they  would   reduce  the  fort  of   Palamcotta.     But    the  approach   of 

Muhammad  Yusuf  from  Srivilliputtflr  stopped  their  progress,  nor  had 


*  A  sub-division  of  Maravas  arc  called  Kottali  Devan. 


118 


HISTORY    OF    TINNF.VELLY. 


Yusuf  a 
reprisals. 


Yusuf  called 
to  help  the 
English. 


Palamcotta 
besieged. 


Chapter  V.  they  courage  to  give  him  battle ;  but  having  strengthened  the  posts 
they  had  taken,  retreated  to  Nellitangaville,  sending,  however,  detach- 
ments to  harass  and  interrupt  his  operations,  but  without  success  ; 
for  all  their  parties  which  ventured  to  meet  or  could  not  avoid  the 
encounter  of  the  sepoys  were  beaten,  and  by  the  end  of  April  all  the 
posts  which  had  been  taken  were  recovered.  Muhammad  Yusuf  then 
resolved  to  carry  the  war  into  the  enemy's  country,  and  to  begin  with 
the  Poligar  of  Vadagarai,  although  the  most  distant,  because  the  most 
powerful  of  the  alliance.  His  villages  in  the  plain  were  in  flames,  and 
the  troops  had  begun  to  penetrate  into  the  wood  which  encloses  his 
fort,  when  Yusuf  received  advices  and  instructions  from  the  Presi- 
dency at  Madras  and  from  Captain  Calliaud  at  Trichinopoly,  which 
called  him  and  the  troops  under  his  command  to  services  of  much 
greater  necessity  and  importance.  This  service  was  to  help  the 
operations  of  the  English  in  Madras  and  the  neighbourhood,  whilst  the 
Biege  of  Madras  was  carried  on  by  the  French.  In  May  the  follow- 
ing year  (1759)  intelligence  was  received  that  the  garrison  of  sepoys 
at  Palamcotta  in  the  country  of  Tinnevelly  had  ventured  to  stand  an 
engagement  in  the  field  against  Mahfuz  Khan  and  the  Pali  Devar 
joined  by  most  of  the  other  Poligars,  and  although  the  enemy  quitted 
the  field,  so  many  of  the  sepoys  were  killed  and  wounded  that  the 
garrison  could  no  longer  appear  out  of  the  fort.  It  had  before  been 
resolved  to  send  Muhammad  Yusuf  into  the  southern  countries  as 
soon  as  the  army  in  the  field  could  be  diminished  without  risk. " 

Yusuf  Khan's  Return. 

"  Yusuf  Khan  arrived  at  Madura  on  the  4th  of  May,  and  had  been 
absent  ten  months.  The  force  he  left  in  the  country,  when  called 
away,  was  fourteen  companies  of  sepoys,  six  in  the  fort  of  Madura,  five 
in  Palamcotta,  and  three  at  Tinnevelly.  Nothing  more  could  be 
expected  from  either  of  these  bodies  than  to  defend  the  ground  in  sight 
of  the  walls  they  garrisoned.  Accordingly  all  the  districts  of  both 
provinces  from  the  forest  of  Nattam  to  the  gates  of  Travancore  lay 
subject  to  their  contributions  or  exposed  to  their  ravages.  The 
declension  of  the  English  affairs,  which  began  with  the  surrender  of 
Fort  St.  David  (on  which  Muhammad  Yusuf  was  recalled)  and  con- 
tinued until  the  French  were  obliged  to  raise  the  siege  of  Madras,  kept 
Mahfuz  Khan  in  continual  hopes  that  he  shoidd  be  joined  by  a  body 
of  French  troops,  and  established  with  their  assistance  in  the  govern- 
ment of  those  countries  ;  and  the  administration  of  Pondicherry  by 
their  letters  and  emissaries  encouraged  him  to  think  so.  Waiting  this 
fortune,  he  remained  with  the  Puli  Devar  styling  himself  and  styled  a 
sovereign,  but  without  any  other  means  of  subsistence  than  what 
the  Pilli  Devar  chose  to  supply,  who,  never  regulating  his  money  by 
words,  scarcely  furnished  him  with  common  necessaries.  The  return 
of  Yusuf  Khan  bettered  his  condition  ;  as  tho  Puli  Devar  was  afraid 
he  might  at  length  listen  to  a  reconcdiation  with  the  Nawab,  and 
Mahfuz  Khan,  always  governed  by  the  love  of  ease,  felt  no  resentment 
at  the  humility  to  which  he  had  been  reduced.     He  presided  at  least 


Mahfuz 
Khan's 
expectations. 


MUHAMMU)    YTJSIIF    KHAJi's    PERIOD.  119 

in  appearance  in  the  councils  of  the  eastern  Poligars,  who  resolved  to  Chapter  V. 
meet  Yusuf  with  their  united  force,   and  invited  the  western  to  the  Confederacy 
common  defence  ;  who,  having  joined  them  against  Palamcotta  in  the  of  the  eastern 
late  distresses  of  the  English  affairs,  expected  no  pardon  and   took  the  Poligars. 
field.     The    western    leaguo    consisted   of    six   Poligars ;  Kattaboma 
Nayaka,  their  former  leader,  was  lately  dead  and  had  been  succeeded 
by  a  relation,  who  took  as  usual  the  same  name,  and  bore,  instead  of 
the   indifference  of   his    predecessor,    an    aversion    to    the    English ; 
Ettaiyapuram  was  always  the  next  to  him  in  importance  and  now  in 
activity. 

"  The  force  which  accompanied  Muhammad  Yusuf  from  Conjeeveram 
consisted  only  of  six  companies  of  sepoys  and  sixty  horse,  but  he 
had  on  his  march  requested  troops  from  Tondiman  and  the  two 
Maravars,  with  whom  he  had  always  continued  on  good  terms ;  and 
3,000  men,  horse,  colleries,  and  sepoys  from  the  three  Poligars  joined 
him  on  his  arrival  at  Madui'a,  where  he  nevertheless  immediately  began 
to  make  farther  levies,  and  by  shifting  and  garbling  out  of  all  that  were 
with  him,  composed  a  body  of  300  horse  and  700  sepoys  who  had 
seen  service,  which  he  sent  forward  to  ravage  the  districts  of  Ettaiya- 
puram, where  they  were  to  be  joined  by  three  of  the  companies  of 
sepoys  from  the  garrison  of  Palamcotta,  which  had  restored  its  losses 
by  new  levies.  This  body  of  troops  were  to  maintain  their  ground 
until  the  last  extremity,  in  order  to  prevent  the  junction  of  the  western 
with  the  troops  of  the  eastern  Poligars  until  Muhammad  Yusuf 
himself  could  follow  with  the  main  body  from  Madura,  where  he  was 
under  the  necessity  of  remaining  a  while  longer. 

"  His  first  march  was  to  Kollamkondan.     He  had  taken  this  fort  in  Yusuf 'a 
1756;  but  after  his  departure  for  the  Carnatic  the  Puli  Devar  and  expedition 
Vadakarai  had  extended  their  acquisitions  thus  far  and  placed  their  Poligars. 
guard  in  Kollamkoadan.     It  was  a  mud  fort  without  cannon,  and  after 
a  slight  resistance  submitted  to  him.     From  hence  he  proceeded  to 
take  up  the  large  detachment  he  had  sent  forward  against  Ettaiya- 
puram, who,    by  continually   ravaging  the  districts  of  this   Poligar, 
kept  his  troops  on  their  own  ground  and  deterred  both   him   and 
Kattaboma  Nayaka  from  marching  across  the  country  to  join  the 
Puli  Devar.     Having  sufficiently  constrained  these  chiefs,  the  detach- 
ment proceeded  against  Kollarpatti,  which  stands  nearly  midway  in  Capt  ure  of 
the  straightest  road  between  Madura  and  Tinnevelly,  about  fifty  miles  Kollarpatti 
from  each.     This  fort  had  likewise  been  stormed  in  June  1756  by  ° 
Muhammad  Yusuf  and  carried  with  considerable  loss.     The  Poligar 
was  then  taken  prisoner ;  whether  restored  or  succeeded  by   another 
wo  do  not  find  ;  but  the  place  was  at  this  time  in  the  hands  of  one  who 
defended  it  as  well ;  for  100  of  the  sepoys  were  killed  and  wounded 
in  the  attack  which  lasted  three  days,  and  then  the  Poligar  made 
his  escape  by  night.     The  fort  was  immediately  razed  to  the  ground, 
after  which  the  detachment  joined  the  main  body  with  Muhammad 
Yusuf,  and  the  wholo  proceeding  by  the  way  of  Gangadaram  (Gangai 
kondan)  arrived  at  Tinnevelly   in  the  middle  of  July.     They   were 
scarcely    arrived  when  Mahfuz   Khan,  whose  mind  always  wavered 


120 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Chapter  V.  "with  every  change  of  circumstances,  wrote  a  letter  to  Muhammad 
Yusuf  offering  to  quit  his  allies  and  proceed  to  the  Carnatic,  pro- 
vided he  was  allowed  a  suitable  jaghire  for  his  maintenance.  He 
even  asked  a  safe  guard  to  come  to  Tinnevelly.  Muhammad  Yusuf, 
without  authority,  assured  him  that  his  requests  should  be  complied 
with,  and  recommended  them  to  the  Presidenc}r,  by  whom  they  were 
referred  to  the  Nawab. 


The  Poligar 
of  tJttumalai. 


Travancore 
troops. 


Alliance  of 
tho  King  of 
Travancore 
and  Yutuf. 


"  The  midland  country,  for  thirty  miles  to  the  north  of  the  town  of 
Tinnevelly,  is  open  and  of  great  cultivation,  and,  lying  between  the 
eastern  and  western  Poligars,  had  been  the  favourite  field  of  their 
depredations.  The  principal  station  from  which  the  western  made 
their  inroads  into  these  districts  was  the  fort  and  wood  of  Uttumalai, 
situated  thirty-five  miles  north-west  of  Tinnevelly.  The  Poligar, 
grown  rich  by  easy  plunder,  had  many  colleries,  who  were  well 
armed  ;  and  Muhammad  Yusuf,  soon  after  his  arrival  at  Tinnevelly, 
marched  against  him  with  the  greatest  part  of  his  force,  and  in  a 
few  days  reduced  his  fort,  in  which  he  placed  some  troops,  and 
stationed  a  guard  of  fifty  horse  and  some  peons  and  colleries  in  a 
place  called  Shorandah  (Sorandai)  as  an  intermediate  post.  He  was 
no  sooner  returned  to  Tinnevelly  than  a  multitude  of  colleries  belong- 
ing to  the  Puli  Devar  and  Vadagarai  surprised  the  guard  at  Sorandai, 
and  either  killed  or  took  all  their  horses  with  their  riders,  on  which 
Muhammad  Yusuf  detached  seven  companies  of  sepo}'S,  who  recovered 
the  post  and  remained  in  it,  in  order  to  protect  the  adjacent  country. 
Equal  confusion  prevailed  in  the  districts  to  the  south  of  Tinnevell}r. 
The  troops  of  the  Maliaver,  or  King  of  Travancore,  were  making 
incursions  from  their  wall  to  seize  tho  harvests  at  the  foot  of  the  hills 
from  Kalakadu  to  Cape  Comorin.  Tho  variety  of  distractions  which 
existed  on  every  side  coidd  not  be  all  opposed  at  the  same  time,  unless 
a  greater  army  were  embodied  than  all  tho  revenues  of  the  two  pro- 
vinces could  defray.  Put  the  king  was  the  least  inveterate  enemy  to  the 
English,  because  the  Poligar  of  Vadagarai  had  provoked  his  resent- 
ment by  continually  employing  his  colleries  to  make  depredations 
in  his  country  on  the  other  side  of  the  mountains,  through  the  pass  of 
Shencottah,  which  lies  fifteen  miles  to  the  south  of  Vadagarai.  On  this 
ground  of  common  enmity  Muhammad  Yusuf  opened  a  negotiation 
with  tho  king,  who  consented  to  a  conference  at  the  gates  of  his 
country  near  tho  promontory.  They  met  in  tho  end  of  August,  and 
tho  intorviow  passed  with  much  politeness  and  seeming  cordiality. 
Tho  king  at  least  publicly  demanded  nothing  and  agreed  to  desist 
from  his  inroads  into  the  districts  of  Tinnevelly  and  to  act  with  a 
considerable  force  in  conjunction  with  Muhammad  Yusuf  against 
Vadagarai  and  tho  Puli  DGvar.  On  the  3rd  of  September  Muhammad 
Yusuf,  still  remaining  at  tho  gates  of  Travancore,  was  joinod  by  1,000 
of  tho  king's  sepoys  armed  with  hoavy  muskets  made  in  his  own  coun- 
try, and  disciplined,  although  awkwardly,  in  the  European  manner  ; 
but  they  were  well  supplied  with  stores  and  ammunition.  He  then 
returned  to  Tinnevelly,  and  marching  from  thence  with  his  whole 
force,  in  deference  to  tho  king  proceeded   directly  against  Vadagarai, 


MUHAMMAD    YlsiF    KHAN's    PERTOD.  V21 

although  twenty  miles  beyond  Nellitangaville,  the  residence  of  the  Puli   Chapter  V. 

Devar.     When  arrived  near  Shencottah  he  was  joined  by  an  army 

full  as  large  as  his  own,  consisting  of  10,000  more  of  the  king's  troops 

of  various   kinds  of  infantry,   who   had  marched   through  the  pass. 

This  was  perhaps  the  greatest  force  that  had  been  assembled  for  some 

centuries  in  this  country.     Vadagarai  defended  his  woods  for  a  day, 

in  which  about  100  men  were  killed  and  wounded  on  both  sides  ;  but 

in  the  night  abandoned  his  fort,  and  escaped  away  to  the  Puli  Devar 

at  Nellitangaville. 

'  •  The  arrival  of  such  a  guest,  who,  for  the  first  time,  had  been  reduced  Yadagarai's 
to  such  distress,  frightened  the  Puli  Devar,  and  set  his  cunning  to  rjfvar'*  fears. 
work  to  divert  the  storm  from  himself.  The  repulse  of  the  English 
troops  at  the  attack  of  the  pettah  at  Vandiwash  on  the  30th  of  Septem- 
ber was  known  in  the  country,  and  was  believed,  as  the  French  had 
represented  it,  a  signal  defeat.  Mahfuz  Khan  had  received  letters 
from  Bassaulet  Jung  and  the  Government  of  Pondicherry,  which 
encouraged  him  to  think  that  they  should  very  soon  overpower  the 
English  in  the  Carnatic,  when  he  might  expect  to  be  substituted  for 
his  brother  Muhammad  Ali,  who  was  to  be  deposed  from  the  Nawab- 
ship.  This  correspondence  and  these  expectations  the  Puli  Devar  com- 
municated to  the  King  of  Travancore,  and  offered,  if  he  woidd  quit  the 
English  and  join  Mahfuz  Khan  against  them,  to  give  him  whatsoever 
districts  in  the  Tinnevelly  country  might  lie  convenient  to  his  own. 
The  king  immediately  exposed  these  documents  to  Muhammad  Yusuf, 
and  standing  on  his  importance,  demanded  the  cession  of  Kalakadu 
and  the  adjacent  districts,  for  which  he  had  so  long  contended  against 
the  Nawab's  Government.  He  said,  that  more  territory  than  he  claimed 
had  already  been  recovered  with  his  assistance  ;  that  what  might  be 
refused  by  one  would  be  readily  given  to  him  by  another  ;  and  that,  Travancore's 
if  he  should  join  the  Poligars,  the  Nawab's  authority  woidd  never  be  ProP0ha  8- 
established  in  the  Tinnevelly  country.  Muhammad  Yusuf,  whilst  per- 
plexed with  this  dilemma,  was  informed  that  the  two  eighteen-pounders 
with  500  muskets,  which  had  been  sent,  according  to  his  request,  from 
Madras,  were  lost  at  sea  ;  and  that  the  two  six-pounders,  although 
landed,  were  stopped  by  the  Dutch  agents  at  Tuticorin.  This  mis- 
chance gave  greater  weight  to  the  king's  arguments,  and  greater  value 
to  his  assistance ;  for  the  force  of  Muhammad  Yusuf  alone  was  not 
sufficient  to  reduce  the  Pfdi  Devar,  whom  all  the  best  colleries  in  the 
country  were  flocking  to  defend.  He  therefore  surrendered  the  dis- 
tricts which  the  king  demanded,  and  the  Presidency  approved  the 
cession  ;  but  the  Nawab  suspected  that  it  had  been  promised  by  Yusuf 
at  his  first  interview  with  the  king  in  order  to  secure  his  future  assist- 
ance to  his  own  ambitious  views. 

"As  soon  as  this  agreement  was  settled  the  Travancores  moved  again  Attack  on  a 
in  conjunction   with   his  troops.     On  the   16th  of  November  they  in-  subsidiary 
vested  the  wood  and  fort  of  Easaltaver  (probably  Isvara  DSvar),  which 
was  one  of  the  dependencies  of  the  Puli  Devar.    The  colleries  defended 
the  wood  three  days  and  then  abandoned  both,  and  retired  to  Nelli- 
tangaville.    After  this   success   the  want  of  ammunition   obliged  Mu- 

1G 


122 


HISTORY    OF    TINXEVELLY, 


Yusuf 

receives 

supplies 


Chapter  V.  hammad  Yusuf  to  remain  until  he  received  supplies  from  Madura, 
Palamcotta,  and  Anjengo.  The  army  of  Travancore,  to  prevent  dis- 
gusts from  disparity  of  customs,  encamped  separately,  but  in  sight  of 
Muhammad  Yusuf's ;  and  on  the  20th  of  November  a  body  of  5  or 
6,000  colleries  attacked  the  camp  of  the  Travancores  in  open  day, 
Muhammad  Yusuf,  on  the  first  alarm,  sent  his  horse  and  followed 
with  his  sepoys  and  other  foot ;  but  the  colleries  retreated  before  they 
came  up,  and  their  nirubleness,  with  the  ruggedness  of  the  countiy, 
rendered  the  pursuit  of  little  avail.  They  had  killed  and  wounded  100 
of  the  Travancores  before  they  went  off.  A  day  or  two  after  this  skir- 
mish Muhammad  Yusuf  received  three  howitzers,  with  some  stores, 
and  a  supply  of  ammunition  from  Anjengo ;  and  the  two  six-pounders 
with  their  shot  likewise  came  up  from  Tuticorin  ;  he  then  moved  with 
his  allies,  and  on  the  4th  of  December  set  down  before  AVashinelore 
(Vasudevanallur)  another  fort  dependent  on  the  Puli  Devar,  much 
stronger  than  any  he  had,  excepting  Nellitangaville,  from  which  it  is 
situated  twenty  miles  to  the  north-west  and  twelve  in  the  same  direc- 
tion from  Uttumalai. 

"  Vasudevanallur  stood  within  three  miles  from  the  great  range  of 
mountains,  at  the  foot  of  which  ran  a  thick  wood,  extending  two  miles 
into  the  plain,  and  within  1,300  yards  of  the  west  and  south  sides  of 
the  fort  ;  but  turned  to  a  much  greater  distance  on  the  north,  and  to 
the  east  the  plain  was  open,  and  everywhere  covered  with  profuse 
cidtivation.  A  very  extensive  pettah,  the  residence  of  some  thousand 
inhabitants,  commenced  within  forty  yards,  and  extended  1,200  to 
Description  of  the  north-east  of  the  walls  :  a  thick  thorn  hedge,  with  barriers,  sur- 
rounded both  the  pettah  and  the  fort.  The  extent  of  the  fort  was  650 
by  300  yards  ;  it  was  of  mud,  but  almost  as  hard  as  brick  ;  it  had  four 
large  square  towers,  one  at  each  angle,  and  several  smaller,  which 
were  round,  between.  Every  tower  was  a  separate  redoubt,  enclosed 
by  a  parapet,  to  command  within  as  well  as  without  the  fort.  The  access 
to  the  tower  was  a  steep  ramp,  only  two  feet  broad,  the  entrance  a 
narrow  wicket  in  the  parapet ;  the  curtain  between  the  towers  had  no 
parapet,  and  was  only  a  rampart  sloping  on  both  sides  from  a  base  of 
15  feet  to  3  at  top ;  but  the  slope  from  within  was  much  less  sharp 
than  from  without,  so  that,  if  assaidted,  the  defenders  might  easily 
run  up  to  the  top.  The  parapets  of  the  towers  have  circular  holes  for 
the  use  of  small  arms,  but  no  openings  prepared  for  cannon,  of  which 
there  was  not  a  single  piece  in  the  fort.  [See  the  account  of  the  cap- 
Attack  on  the  ture  of  this  fort  in  1767  by  Colonel  Donald  Campbell.]  This  descrip- 
tion only  suits  Vasudevanallur,  for  the  other  forts  in  the  Madura  and 
Tiunevelly  countries  have  parapets  with  loop-holes  to  their  ramparts, 
as  well  as  to  their  towers  ;  but  all  are  of  earth  excepting  Madura  and 
Palamcotta.  The  importance  of  Vasudevanallur,  ami  the  great  force 
which  was  come  against  it,  brought  some  thousands  of  colleries  to  its 
relief;  1  mt  all,  excepting  8  or  900  chosen  men  allotted  to  defend  the 
walls,  kepi  in  the  woods.  From  whence  every  day  and  night  parties 
sallied,  and  alarmed  or  attached  one  or  other,  and  sometimes  both  the 
camps  ;    and  greater   bodies    on   three    different   days    made    general 


Vasudeva 
nallur  fort 


fort 


MUHAMMAD   YUSUF    KHAn's    PERIOD.  123 

attacks  on  the  batteries,  of  which  these  continued  interruptions  retarded   Chapter  V. 
the   construction,  insomuch  that  they  were  not  finished   until  the  26th, 
twenty  days  after  the  arrival  of  the  armies;  but  the  howitzers  had  com- 
menced before.     The  only  efficacious  gun  was  the  eighteen-poundcr 
which  Muhammad  Yusuf  had  brought  from  Madura,  for  the  rest  were 
only  six-pounders  and  lower  ;    but  from  excessive  firing  the  eighteen- 
pounder  burst  the  day  after  it  was  mounted ;   and  by  this  time  all  the 
ammunition  as  well  of  the  batteries  as  troops,  excepting  the  quantity 
which  prudence  required  to  be  reserved  for  defence,  was  expended. 
However,  part  of  the  parapet  of  the  tower  fired  upon  was  beaten  down, 
and  Muhammad  Yusuf  resolved  to  storm  the  next  day.     Many  troops  of 
both  armies  waited  on  the  assault,   and  as  soon  as  it  began,  the  Puli 
Devar,  with   3,000   chosen  colleries,  who  had   marched  in  the  night 
from  Nellitangaville,   issued  from  the  wood  and  fell  upon  the  camp 
of  Muhammad    Yusuf,  drove  away  the  troops  that  guarded  it,   and 
began  to  commit   every  kind  of  destruction.     Muhammad  Yusuf  sent 
back  a  large  body  to  repulse  them,  and  continued  the  assault  ;  but  the 
garrison   within  received   double    animation   from   the   Puli  DSvar's  Successful 
success,  which  was  announced  to  them  by  the  usual  war  cry  and  the  defence, 
sounding   of  their  conchs.     All   the  other  colleries  collected  in  the 
woods  appeared  likewise,  as  if  on  the  same  notice,  and  in  different 
bands   attacked  the   troops  at  the  batteries  and  at  the  foot  of  the 
breach ;   and,  although  continually  repidsed,  continually  rallied,   and 
with  the  resolution  of  the  garrison  saved  the  fort  until  the  evening, 
and  then  waited  in  the  woods  to  interrupt  the  renewal  of  the  assault 
in  the  night  ;  but  so   much  of  the  reserved   ammunition  had  been 
expended  in  the  day  that  Muhammad  Yusuf  deemed  it  dangerous  to 
remain  any  longer  before  the   fort,  and  drew  off  his  artillery.     Two 
hundred  of  his  troops  and  of  the  Travancores  were  killed,  but  more  of 
the  enemy.     The  next  day  he  moved  to  a  distance,  and  dismissed  the  Yusuf  s 
Travancores,  who  proceeded  through  the  pass  of  Shencottah  to  their  return. 
own  country,  and  Muhammad  Yusuf  returned  with  his  own  troops  and 
those  lent  him  by  Tondiman  and  the  Maravars  to  the  town  of  Tinne- 
velly. 

"  No  events  of  great  importance  had  happened  during  the  course  of  His  enforced 

this  year  (1760)  in  the  country  of  Tinnevelly.      The  Commandant,  inactlvity- 

Muhammad  Yusuf,  after  the  repulse  before  Vasudevanallur  in  the  end 

of  the  preceding  year,  was,  from  the  want  of  battering  cannon,  no  longer 

in  a  condition  to  attack  the  stronger  holds  of  the  Poligars ;  and  contented 

himself,  until  supplied,  with  posting  the  greatest  part  of  his  army  in 

stations  to  check  the  Puli  Devar  and  the  western  Poligars  ;  but  remained 

himself  with  the  rest  at  Tinnevelly,  watching  Kattaboma  Nayaka  and 

the  eastern.     The  departure  of  Mahfuz  Khan  from  Nellitangaville  in 

the  month  of  January  left  the  Puli  Devar  and  his  allies  no  longer  the 

pretext  of  opposing  the  authority  of  the  Nawab  in  support  of  the  rights 

of  his  elder  brother  ;  and  they  debated  whether  they  should  treat  with 

Muhammad  Yusuf  or  wait  the  event  of  Mahfuz  Khan's  journey,  who  Depredations 

they  supposed  would  return  to  them,  if  not  received  on  his  own  terms  "f  ^c 
v     l-i      ir         -l       t     xi  >  ,    •  i         o  ■■  •  i  Poligars. 

by  the  JNawab.     In  tins  uncertainty  they  formed  no  vigorous  designs, 


124 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Chapter  V.  and  employed  their  colleries  in  night  robberies  'wherever  they  could 
elude  the  stations  of  Muhammad  Yusuf  ;  biit  attempted  nothing  in  the 
open  field  or  day.  Nevertheless  these  depredations  were  so  ruinous 
to  the  cultivation  that  Muhammad  Yusuf  thought  it  worth  the  expense 
to  draw  off  some  of  their  dependents  and  entertain  them  in  the  Com- 
pany's service  as  best  able  to  retaliate  the  same  mischief  on  those  by 
whom  they  had  been  emplo}*ed  ;  and  towards  the  end  of  April  several 
of  these  petty  leaders  with  their  followers,  amotmting  in  the  whole  to 
Hostilities^ of  2,000  colleries,  joined  him  at  Tinnevelly  and  faithfully  entered  on  the 
duties  for  which  they  had  engaged.  Nothing,  however,  like  regular 
fighting  happened  until  the  end  of  May,  when  Kattaboma  Nayaka 
appeared  at  the  head  of  two  or  three  thousand  men,  near  Ettai}'a- 
puram  and  stood  the  attack  of  seven  companies  of  sepoys,  drawn 
from  the  limits  towards  Nellitangaville,  by  whom  they  were  dispersed, 
but  with  little  loss.  In  May  Muhammad  Yusuf  received  intelligence 
of  the  hostilities  commenced  by  the  Mysoreans  from  Dindigul  and  the 
orders  of  the  Presidency  to  oppose  them  ;  in  consequence  of  which  he 
sent  the  detachment  we  have  mentioned,  of  1,500  sepoys,  300  horse, 
and  3,000  peons." 


the  Mysore- 
ans 


A  Dutch 
force  arrives 
from 
Colombo. 


Yusuf's 
preparations. 


Retri  it  of 
the  Dutch. 


Dutch  Invasion. 

"  They  were  scarcely  gone,  when  a  new  and  unexpected  alarm  arose 
in  the  Tinnevelly  country.  The  Dutch  Government  at  the  Island  of 
Ceylon  had  received  a  large  reinforcement  of  European  troops  from 
Batavia,  which  assembled  at  the  port  of  Colombo,  opposite  to  Cape 
Comorin,  from  whence  a  part  of  them  arrived  in  the  beginning  of  June 
at  Tuticorin,  a  Dutch  fort  on  the  continent  40  miles  east  of  Tinnevelly. 
Two  hundred  Europeans  with  equipments,  tents,  and  field  pieces  im- 
mediately encamped,  giving  out  that  they  should  shortly  be  reinforced 
by  more  than  their  own  number,  and  that  400  other  Europeans  had 
left  Batavia  at  the  same  time  with  themselves,  and  were  gone  to 
Cochin  on  the  Malabar  Coast,  in  order  to  join  the  King  of  Travancore. 
The  natives  were  frightened  and  pretended  to  have  discovered  that 
the  force  they  saw  was  intended  to  assist  the  Poligars  in  driving  the 
English  out  of  the  country  of  Tinnevelly,  and  to  begin  by  attacking 
the  town.  Muhammad  Yusuf  immediately  sent  to  the  Dutch  chief  at 
Tuticorin  to  demand  an  explanation  ;  who  answered  that  he  should  give 
none.  A  few  days  after  the  troops  advanced  inland  and  halted  at 
Alvar  Tinnevelly  (Alvar  Tirunagari),  a  town  in  a  very  fertile  district 
situated  20  miles  south-east  of  Tinnevelly  and  the  same  distance  south- 
west of  Tuticorin,  and  at  the  same  time  another  body  of  200  Europeans 
landed  from  Colombo  at  Mauapar,  20  miles  to  the  south-east  of  Alvar 
Tinnevelly.  Muhammad  Yusuf  had  previously  drawn  troops  from  the 
eastorn  stations,  and  marching  with  4,000  sepoys,  and  some  horse, 
appeared  in  sight  of  the  Dutch  troops  at  Alvar  Tinnevelly  in  the  even- 
ing of  the  18th  of  June,  who,  in  the  ensuing  night,  decamped  in  strict 
silence  and  man  hod  back  to  Tuticorin.  Those  atManapar  went  away 
thither  likewise  in  the  same  embarkations  which  brought  them;  and 
more  was  heard  of  this  alarm." 


muhammad  yusuf  kila.vs  period.  l25 

Yusuf  Khan's  Operations  renewed.  Chapter  v. 

"The  depredations  of  the  Poligars  continued;  but,  deprived  of  Yusuf  and 
Mahfuz  Khan,  and  hearing  how  closely  Pondicherry  was  invested,  they  jj^'v.u."  ' 
ventured  nothing  more.  The  Pali  Devar's  colleries  were  as  usual  the 
most  active  in  the  robberies;  and  to  repress  them  Muhammad  Yusuf 
again  stationed  the  greatest  part  of  his  force  towards  Nellitangaville, 
which  in  December  encamped  at  the  foot  of  the  hills  within  three  miles 
of  tins  place  and  Muhammad  Yusuf  joined  them  from  Tinnevelly  on  the 
12th;  he  had  purchased  several  eighteen-pounders  at  Tuticorin,  and 
had  the  two  mortars  sent  to  him  the  year  before  from  Anjengo,  but  no 
shot  or  shells  for  either,  and  was  moreover  in  want  of  gun-powder  and 
flints,  all  which  he  expected  from  Trichinopoly,  and  whilst  waiting  for 
them  made  such  preparations  as  the  country  afforded  to  attack  Nelli- 
tangaville in  form.  On  the  20th  of  the  month,  the  colleries  with  the 
PfQi  DSvar  at  their  head,  attacked  his  camp,  sallying  as  usual  on  all 
quarters  at  once  and  persisted  until  100  of  them  fell ;  but  they  killed 
ten  of  Muhammad  Yusuf's  men,  and  wounded  seventy,  and  some 
horses." 

Unfortunately  Orme's  narrative  here  breaks  off.  From  this 
time  I  have  to  depend  for  information  on  the  results  of  my  own 
examination  of  the  Government  records,  preserved  in  the  Govern- 
ment Office  and  Office  of  the  Board  of  Revenue,  Madras,  and  in 
the  Treasury  in  Tinnevelly. 

Revenue  Administration  in  Tinnevelly  by  the  Nawab. 

It  has  already  been  seen  that  the  rule  of  the  Nawab  of  the  Lushington's 
Carnatic  commenced  in  Tinnevelly,  as  in  the  other  districts  in  the  e 
Carnatic,  in  1744,  when  Anwar-u-din  Khan  was  appointed  Nawab 
by  the  Nizam.  The  various  districts  in  the  south  were  held  by 
officers  appointed  by  Anwar-u-din.  Anwar  Khan  was  appointed 
Fauzdar  and  Amil  of  Tinnevelly,  with  whose  appointment  the 
accounts  of  the  revenue  administration  of  Tinnevelly  commence. 
I  quote  here  from  a  letter  of  Mr.  Lushington,  Collector  of  Tinne- 
velly, to  the  Board  of  Revenue,  dated,  in  the  year  after  the  transfer 
of  the  Carnatic  to  the  Company,  28th  May  1802.  It  gives  the  names 
of  the  administrators  of  the  revenue  in  Tinnevelly  from  1744  to 
1783. 

Anwar  Khan  was  succeeded,  he  says,  by  Mir  Ghulam  Hussein  Succession  of 
Khan  and  Hussein  Mahomed  Khan,  their  joint  management  com-  Jorsimstra" 
prising  a  period  of  six  years  from  1744  to  1749.  He  mentions 
the  amount  of  the  jamabandi  for  each  year  in  chakrams,  but  this 
I  omit.  A\rhen  Anwar-u-din  Khan  was  slain  in  battle  an  Amil  (a 
native  revenue  officer)  named  Alam  Khan  was  deputed  by 
Chanda  Saheb  to  take  charge  of  Tinnevelly,  who  managed  the 
district  in  his  master's  behalf  in  1750  and  1751.  To  him  succeeded 
for  a  short  lime  Tittarappa  Mudali  and  Mundi  Miya  (Moodemiah), 


126 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Ytisuf's 
administra- 
tion. 


Chapter  V.  the  agent  of  Chanda  Saheb.  The  latter  was  slain  near  Tinnevelly. 
Upon  Moodemiah's  death  the  authority  of  Mahfuz  Khan  (the  elder 
brother  and  for  a  time  the  representative  of  the  Nawab  Mahomed 
Ali)  was  established  in  the  country.  This  was  for  1754  and  1755. 
He  formed  the  design  of  becoming  independent  of  the  Nawab,  but 
Issoof  (Yusuf)  Khan,  by  the  vigour  of  his  mind,  frustrated  this 
ambitious  design,  and,  re-establishing  the  power  of  Mahomed  Ali 
Khan,  delivered  the  management  of  the  province  for  a  year,  1756, 
to  Alagappa  Mudali.  The  distracted  state  of  the  country,  owing 
to  the  depredations  of  the  Poligars,  requiring  greater  energy  for 
their  reduction  than  Alagappa  Mudali  possessed,  Yusuf  Khan  was 
appointed  to  the  sole  administration  from  1757  to  1763.  He  ruled 
the  country  for  six  years. 

"  During  the  three  first  years  of  Yusuf  Khan's  management  he  was 
engaged  in  constant  struggles  with  the  Poligars,  with  very  various 
success  ;  the  necessities  of  the  Company  during  this  anxious  period  in 
the  Carnatic  demanded  the  employment  of  his  force,  and  of  his  extra- 
ordinary military  talents  in  more  central  parts  of  it.  Tinnevelly  was 
therefore  left  in  his  absence  a  prey  to  the  depredations  of  the  Poligars 
and  the  perfidious  machinations  of  Mahfuz  Khan,  aided  by  the 
adherents  of  Travancore  ;  the  latter  indeed  wholly  assumed  during 
this  period  the  most  fertile  taluk  of  the  province,  Kalakadu,  but  when 
Yusuf  Khan  could  be  spared  from  the  siege  of  Madras  to  return  to 
Tinnevelly,  he  had  the  address  not  only  to  detach  the  Raja  of  Travan- 
core from  the  league,  but  to  acquire  his  assistance  in  punishing  the 
Poligars.  Notwithstanding  the  disadvantages  (under  which  he 
laboured)  of  an  usurped  authority,  he  accomplished,  by  the  vigour  of 
his  mind  and  military  talents,  the  complete  subjugation  of  the 
province.  In  his  time  the  tribute  of  the  Poligars  was  regularly 
collected  ;  private  property  was  in  no  danger  from  their  depredations  ; 
and  the  revenue  of  the  Circa r  lands  was  very  largely  increased.  The 
effect  of  the  subordination  he  established  may  be  seen  in  his  jama- 
bandies  from  the  year  1761  to  1764." 

Dalavay  Alagappa  Mudali's  management  was  in  1764  ;  Raja 
Hukumat  Rani's  from  1 765  to  1769 ;  Sheik  Mahomed  Ali's  in 
1770.  The  administration  of  Syed  Mahomed  Khan  commenced 
in  1771  and  lasted  till  1775. 

Two  incidents  worthy  of  note  happened  at  this  time.  In  1771 
the  cutcherry  of  Tinnevelly,  with  all  the  records,  was  burnt  to  the 
ground,  and  in  1 774  there  was  a  famine  of  unusual  severity.  In 
1780  the  Poligars,  again  tempted  by  the  war  which  raged  in  the 
Carnatic,  threw  off  their  allegiance  and  nearly  overran  the  province, 
in  consequence  of  which  the  revenue  was  reduced  to  a  minimum  for 
several  years,  viz.,  from  an  annual  average  of  eight  lakhs  of 
chakrams  to  an  average  of  half  a  lakh.  In  1 783  commenced 
Mr.  Irwin's  or  t h«-  Company's  administration,  when  the  collections 


Fluctuations 
in  revenue. 


MUHAMMAD    YUSUF    KHAn's    PERIOD.  127 

rose  again  to  eight  lakhs.     Thus  far  Mr.  Lushington's  statements.   Chapter  v. 
I  now  return  to  Yusuf  Khan  and  his  fortunes. 

Muhammad  Yusuf  Khan's  Rebellion. 

In  1761  Yusuf  Khan  informs  the  Government  that  the  Yusuf  s  offer 
"  Circar  flag,"  that  is,  the  flag  of  the  Nawab  of  the  Carnatic,  had  S^l?" 
been  hoisted  by  him  on  the  forts  of  Madura  and  Palamcotta.  He 
also  offers  to  rent  the  Tinnevelly  and  Madura  provinces  for  four 
years  at  seven  lakhs  of  rupees  per  annum.  The  Nawab  was  unwill- 
ing to  give  his  consent,  Tittarappa  Mudali,  the  old  renter,  offering  a 
larger  sum,  but  the  Madras  Government  was  in  favour  of  Yusuf 
Khan's  offer,  on  account  of  his  position  and  military  fame  and  his 
ability  to  fulfil  the  engagements  he  entered  into.  They  warned 
Yusuf,  however,  that  his  letters  to  the  Nawab  were  not  sufficiently 
respectfid.  They  asked  him  for  information  with  regard  to  the 
pearl  fishery  and  the  extension  of  their  trade  in  cloths,  &c.  It  is 
evident  that  up  to  the  close  of  1761  the  Government  had  no 
suspicion  of  his  intentions  being  disloyal. 

The  following  remarks  of  Nelson  relate  to  this  period  : — 
"  The  taking  of  Pondicherry  by  the  English  in  January  1761  served  Yusuf  3 
to  awe  the  rebellious  Poligars  into  something  like  submission  ;  whilst  po' 
the  departure  of  Mahfuz  Khan  from  the  Tinnevelly  country  and  his 
apparent  reconciliation  with  his  brother  had  deprived  them  of  all 
pretext  for  disobedience.  The  country,  therefore,  became  more  quiet 
than  it  had  been  for  many  years  ;  and  there  seemed  to  be  some  grounds 
for  the  belief  that  it  woidd  so  continue.  Without  counting  troops 
employed  in  garrison  duty,  Muhammad  Yusuf  was  certainly  in 
command  of  a  large  force,  for  at  the  very  time  when  he  sent  the 
expedition  to  Madura  to  act  against  the  Mysoreans  he  was  able  to  put 
himself  at  the  head  of  4,000  sepoys  and  some  cavalry  and  march 
against  a  Dutch  expedition.  And  his  troops  were  well  disciplined  and 
well  chosen.  And  certainly  no  Poligar  and  no  combination  of  Poligars 
at  that  time  was  in  possession  of  so  considerable  resources.  Muham- 
mad Yusuf  continued  to  govern  the  Madura  country  for  some  time 
longer,  and  appears  to  have  made  himself  exceedingly  powerful." 

Notwithstanding  the  favour  with  which  Yusuf  Khan  had  been  Dissatisfac- 

4-*  f    f~* 

regarded  by  Government,  it  became  evident  in  1762  that  his  loyalty  el^ent 
was  doubtful.  The  Government  wrote  to  him  repeatedly  ordering 
him  to  come  to  Madras  at  once  and  promising  him  a  cowle  of 
protection,  but  he  only  sent  trifling  excuses  in  reply.  Not  only  so, 
but  he  had  the  audacity  to  make  war  on  the  King  of  Travancore 
without  their  knowledge  or  consent.  In  August  he  wrote  to  the 
effect  that  he  was  sorry  for  his  past  behaviour,  promising  obedience 
for  the  future,  and  repeating  his  offer  to  rent  Madura  and  Tinne- 
velly himself  for  four  years  at  a  rent  of  seven  laliks  of  rupees  per 
annum.     The  Government  regarded  this  letter  and  proposal  as 


128 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEYELLY. 


Chapter  V. 


Government 
suspicions  of 
his  designs. 


Yusuf's 
reasons  for 

rebelling. 


Yusuf's 
foices. 


merely  a  device  to  gain  time.  They  replied  that  they  could  not 
consent  to  allow  him  to  retain  the  management  of  those  provinces 
any  longer,  and  that  the  only  means  he  had  for  securing  his  life 
and  effects  was  to  surrender  himself  unconditionally. 

The  first  time  I  find  Government  expressing  their  suspicions  was 
in  October.  Some  European  troops  were  to  march  from  Anjengo 
to  Madras  by  land,  but  they  were  ordered  to  remain  at  Anjengo 
till  further  orders,  lest  they  should  be  intercepted  by  Yusuf  Khan 
"  as,  "  said  they,  "  we  are  very  uncertain  at  present  with  regard  to 
the  intentions  of  Yusuf  Khan,  who,  we  fear,  hath  some  thought  of 
departing  from  his  allegiance  to  the  Nawab."  In  December  it 
was  clearly  ascertained  that  he  was  enlisting  troops  in  Tanjore  and 
the  Tondiman's  country,  whereupon  letters  were  written  to  the 
various  Rajas  and  others  warning  them  not  to  render  him  any 
assistance. 

No  statement  of  Muhammad  Yusuf  Khan's  reasons  for  throwing 
off  his  allegiance  appears  in  record.  It  can  only  be  conjectured 
that  he  was  irritated  against  the  Nawab,  and  consequently  against 
the  Nawab's  upholders,  the  English,  by  the  refusal  of  his  offer  to 
rent  Tinnevelly  and  Madura .  Probably,  however,  his  chief  reason 
was  that  he  had  come  to  consider  himself  strong  enough  to  thrust 
both  of  his  masters  aside  and  set  up  for  himself,  as  had  been  done 
before  him  by  every  successful  lieutenant.  The  latest  examples 
of  this  had  been  Chanda  Saheb  and  Hyder  Ali.  Doxibtless  he 
would  have  succeeded  in  his  purpose  if  he  had  had  to  deal  only 
with  a  feeble  Nawab  of  Arcot  or  a  still  feebler  Raja  of  Mysore, 
but  it  was  with  the  English  that  he  had  to  deal,  and  notwithstand- 
ing his  long  service  under  them  he  quite  miscalculated  their  power. 

On  the  11th  April  1763,  General  Lawrence  wrote  to  the 
Government  recommending  that  a  strong  force  should  be  sent 
immediately  against  Yusuf  Khan.  He  stated  that  Yusuf  Khan 
had  at  last  declared  himself  independent.  He  had  provided 
the  forts  of  Pajamcotta  and  Madura  with  stores  and  heavy 
artillery,  and  put  many  other  forts  of  less  consequence  in  a  state 
of  defence.  His  forces  were  estimated  at  27,530  men,  including 
15,000  colleries  badly  armed.  The  rest  were  well  armed,  and  he 
had  succeeded  in  enlisting  200  European  foot  soldiers,  mostly 
Frenchmen,  and  30  French  troopers,  all  under  the  command  of  a 
Frenchman  called  Marchand.  His  force  was  equipped  with  twelve 
or  fourteen  light  pieces  of  field  artillery  and  two  howitzers,  most  of 
which  had  belonged  to  the  Company.  He  had  made  Madura  his 
head-quarters.  He  was  daily  receiving  reinforcements  from  the 
French  and  from  Hyder  Ali's  army,  and  General  Lawrence  consi- 
dered him  a  man  of  such  enterprising  genius  and  ambition  that  it 
Mas  necessary  to  proceed  against  him  at  once,  lest,  "  like  another 


MUHAMMAD    YUSUF    KHAN's    PERIOD.  129 

Chanda  Saheb,"  he  should  entail  on  the  Company  another  ten  ChaptebV. 
years'  war.  He  did  not  think  it  prudent  or  practicable  to  proceed 
against  so  dangerous  a  rebel  through  narrow  passes  and  intricate 
woods  with  a  small  force.  The  force  he  asked  for  was  as  follows  : — 
European  cavalry  163  ;  artillery  for  10  guns,  2  howitzers,  100  ;  General 
European  military,  rank  and  'file  600  ;  Coffres  or  Topasses  (the  ^fcnce'9 
latter  Eurasian  soldiers)  100  ;  Company's  sepoys  50  companies, 
including  officers,  5,000  ;  Nawab's  sepoys  2,000  ;  "  Black  horse  " 
2,000.  The  entire  force  he  applied  for  amounted  to  9,963  men.  He 
did  not  obtain  the  force  he  asked  for,  and  the  force  granted  him 
proved  insufficient.  In  particular  it  was  not  strong  enough  in 
cannon.  Battering  cannon  had  to  be  sent  for  from  Trichinopoly,  but 
even  after  its  arrival  the  operations  carried  on  were  not  successful. 
Colonel  Monson,  who  was  in  command  of  the  troops,  had  to  retire 
for  the  rainy  season  of  1763  to  a  place  where  the  troops  could  pass 
the  monsoon  with  greater  safety  and  comfort.  Swartz,  the  cele- 
brated missionary,  visited  the  camp  for  two  months  during  the 
siege  to  give  spiritual  comfort  to  the  sick  and  wounded. 

Whilst  the  siege  was  going  on  Yusuf  Khan  endeavoured  to 
obtain  the  help  of  the  French.     Peace  had  been  declared  between 
France   and  England,  so  that  the  Pondioherry  Government  could 
not  send  him  help  in  men  and  munitions,  but  they  called  upon  the 
English  Government  to  countermand  their  expedition  against  him,  Yusuf  s 
on  the  ground  that  he  was  their  ally,  and  that  to  wage  war  against  n®?w?tlons 
their  ally  was  virtually  to  wage  war  against  them.     The  English  French. 
Government  appear   to   have   made   no   reply   to  this   ingenious 
representation.     The  siege  continued  with  various  fortunes  till  the 
14th  October  1764,  when  another  assault  was  made.     The  assault 
failed,  but  Marchand,  the  Commander  of  the  French  contingent,  Treachery  of 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  now  his  best  policy  to  capitulate,  COmmander 
and  in  order  to  secure  the  most  favourable  terms  for  himself  and 
his  followers  he  traitorously  seized  his  commander,  Yusuf  Khan, 
and  delivered  him  up  to  Major  Donald  Campbell,   the  English 
officer  in  command. 

I  have  not  been  able  to  discover  any  written  record  of  the  Yusuf  Khan's 
manner  in  which  Yusuf  Khan  was  disposed  of.  Nelson  states  on 
native  authority  that  "  the  gallant  soldier  who  had  served  in  so 
many  campaigns,  always  with  marked  distinction,  was  seized  by  a 
confidential  servant  and  given  over  to  his  enemies,  who,  in  May 
1763  (error,  see  above),  with  a  want  of  mercy  which  at  this  time 
seems  all  but  inexcusable,  hung  him  like  a  dog."  This  termina- 
tion of  his  career  would  be  in  accordance  with  the  instructions 
issued  by  Government  in  the  previous  year  at  the  commencement 
of  the  siege  to  General  Lawrence.  They  say  that  if  Yusuf  Khan 
were  taken  alive  it  was  their  wish  that  he  should  be  sent  to  Madras, 
"  not  from  any  willingness  to  show  him  favour,  but  that  they 

17 


130 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Chapter  V.  might  in  their  cooler  hours  dispose  of  him  in  such  a  manner  as 
might  appear  proper."  "  We  confess  to  you,"  they  say,  "  that  we 
think  he  will  be  a  dangerous  man  to  be  entrusted  in  the  hands  of 
the  Nawab,  if  his  intentions  are  to  make  him  a  state  prisoner  ;  but 
if  it  be  agreeable  to  you  to  order  the  Commanding  officer  to 
execute  him  upon  the  first  tree  in  sight  of  the  army,  it  will  be  quite 
satisfactory  to  us."  Though  there  is  no  documentary  evidence  to 
be  found  I  regard  it  as  certain  that  the  latter  recommendation  was 
carried  into  effect.  It  seems  hard  that  such  a  man  should  have  come 
to  such  an  ignominious  end.  This  must,  however,  have  been  one  of 
the  alternatives  present  to  his  mind  from  the  commencement  of  his 
rebellion.  He  must  have  expected,  if  successful,  to  reign  as  a 
prince  ;  if  he  failed,  to  be  hanged  as  a  traitor.  Khan  Saheb  was 
hanged  near  the  camp  about  two  miles  to  the  west  of  Madura. 
He  was  buried  on  the  spot  where  he  was  hanged  and  a  small 
mosque  was  erected  over  his  tomb.  An  inscription  describes  it  as 
"the  Mosque  of  Khan  Saheb."  An  intelligent  old  Muhammadan 
inhabitant  of  Madura,  the  uncle  of  the  Cazi,  who  accompanied  me 
to  the  spot,  was  full  of  the  particulars  of  his  death,  as  handed  down 
to  him  by  his  ancestors.  He  was  seized  whilst  at  prayers  by 
"  Mussoo  Mursan  "  (Monsieur  Marchand)  and  his  Hindu  Dewan, 
Sinavasa  Row,  and  was  hanged,  he  said,  by  the  orders  of  the  Nawab. 
The  old  man  professed  to  be  85  years  of  age,  and  proved  to  me  the 
retentiveness  of  his  memory  by  correctly  repeating  to  me  the 
names  of  the  principal  rebel  Poligars  hanged  in  the  Madura  and 
Tinnevelly  countries  in  1&01.  He  confirmed  the  tradition  that 
Khan  Saheb  was  originally  a  Hindu.  As  there  is  no  account  of 
Khan  Saheb's  death  on  record,  we  may  perhaps  venture  to  con- 
clude that  the  order  for  his  execution,  as  the  old  man  stated,  pro- 
ceeded not  from  the  English,  but  from  the  Nawab  himself.  We 
may  give  the  English  Commander  the  benefit  of  the  doubt. 

On  the  capture  of  Madura  and  of  Yusuf  Khan  the  rebellion 
collapsed,  but  the  country  having  lost  one  of  the  most  vigorous 
rulers  it  had  ever  had,  its  financial  prosperity  rapidly  declined. 

"  To  Yusuf  Khan,"  says  Mr.  Lushington,  "succeeded  one  of  the 
family  of  the  Mudali's  ;  his  management,  however,  continued  but  for 
eight  months  when  he  was  displaced  by  a  Hindu  named  Rajah 
Hukumat  Ram.  The  jamabandy  of  his  management  fell  considerably 
short  of  those  of  Yusuf  Khan,  and  his  immediate  successor,  Shaik 
Muhammed  Ali,  who  was  in  charge  of  the  country  for  nine  months, 
reduced  it  still  more.  Tempted  by  the  imbecility  of  their  superin- 
tendence, the  Poligars  returned  to  their  former  licentiousness  and 
continued  in  the  indxdgence  of  their  inveterato  habits  of  encroachment 
and  violence  with  little  intermission  from  that  period  until  their 
transfer  to  the  Company's  authority  in  1792;  nor  did  even  this 
arrangement  produce  that  improvement  in  the  conduct  and  condition 
of  these  feudatories  which  had  been   hoped  from   it  j  the    fluctuating 


Results  of 
Yusuf  s 
death. 


Yusuf  8 
successors 


MUHAMMAD    YUSUF    KHAN's    PERIOD.  131 

administration  of  the  Nawab  had  given  such  confidence  and  success  to  Chapter  V. 
their  rebellious  character,  and  the  weak  policy  and  corruption  of  his 
Amils  had  encouraged  and  confirmed  in  the  Poligars  so  strong  an 
influence  over  the  minds  of  His  Highness'  subjects,  that,  under  the 
weakness  of  a  divided  authority,  a  solid  reform  was  impracticable. 
The  vigour  of  Yusuf  Khan's  measures  was  indeed  felt  for  some  time 
after  he  suffered  the  death  of  a  rebel,  but  the  Poligars  soon  forgot 
the  terror  of  his  name  and  relapsed  into  former  habits." 

"With  regard  to  Madura  Nelson  states  that  after  Yusuf  Khan's 
death  it  was  placed  under  the  administration  of  Abiral  Khan. 
He  adds  "  the  state  of  things  in  Madura  during  this  period  of 
Muhammadan  domination  may  be  imagined  from  the  following 
facts,  which  were  communicated  to  me  by  the  grandson  of  one  of 
these  officers,  and  the  truth  of  which  I  see  no  occasion  to  doubt. 
About  the  year  1772  there  were  only  two  substantial  brick  and  state  of 
stone  buildings  in  the  whole  town,  namely,  the  old  palace  and  the  Madura  after 
residence  of  the  Muhammadan  manager  ;  the  only  other  dwellings  death. 
were  mud  hovels  thatched  or  tiled."  Thus  far  Mr.  Nelson.  This 
state  of  things  was  not  peculiar  to  Madura.  I  have  sought  but 
have  been  unable  to  find  any  trace  of  the  existence  of  any  private 
house  in  Tinnevelly,  whether  in  the  towns  or  in  the  rural  districts, 
built  of  stone  or  burnt  brick  by  any  private  native  prior  to  the 
assignment  of  the  Nawab's  revenues  to  the  Company's  government 
in  1781.  This  fact  furnishes  us  with  a  most  telling  illustration  of 
the  difference  between  the  anarchy  that  had  prevailed  before,  and 
the  order  and  security  that  began  to  be  introduced  by  the  strong, 
peaceful  government  of  the  English. 


132  HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


CHAPTER    VI. 
TINNEVELLY  ANNALS  FEOM  1764  TO  1799. 


PART  I. 

FROM  THE  DEATH  OF  YTJSTJF  KHAN  TO  THE  ASSIGNMENT  OF 

REVENUE  IN  1781. 


Events  following  the  death  of  Yusuf  Khan. 

Chapter  VI.  Colonel  Donald  Campbell,  the  officer  in  command  in  Madura  and 
the  south,  was  anxious  to  march  into  Tinnevelly,  after  the  capture 
of  Madura  and  Yusuf  Khan  about  the  end  of  1764,  to  secure  it 
against  the  inroads  of  the  king  of  Travancore.  Government 
Protection  of  did  not  apprehend  that  the  king  of  Travancore  would  commence 
Palamcotta.  hostilities,  at  least  till  he  knew  their  determination  regarding  the 
Kalakadu  districts.  They  judged  it  necessary,  however,  that 
Palamcotta  and  any  other  post  in  that  neighbourhood  should  be 
reinforced  so  as  to  protect  the  Kalakadu  country  from  surprise. 

1765.  Accommodation  is  ordered  to  be  provided  at  Palamcotta 
for  troops.  The  king  of  Travancore  endeavours  to  recover  the 
Kalakadu  district.  The  Nawab's  sepoys  are  detained  to  defend 
Palamcotta.  Captain  Harper  sets  out  with  a  detachment  to  the 
relief  of  Kalakadu.  It  is  reported  on  the  25th  May  that  Kalakadu 
is  held  by  2,000  armed  Travancorians.  During  the  absence  of  the 
Company's  troops  three  or  four  hundred  Collaries  plunder  the 
town  of  Tinnevelly.  The  Nawab's  people  are  helpless.  Pana- 
gudi  and  Tirukurungudi  had  been  abandoned  to  the  Travancore 
army,  the  detachments  which  held  those  places  being  very  small. 
Those  who  capitulated  had  to  promise  to  retire  to  Palamcotta. 
Shencotta  also  had  been   abandoned  to  the  Travancorians  by  the 

Retirement  of  Nawab's  troops.  On  the  12th  of  June  the  Travancorians  retired 
core  troops!  ^rom  Kalakadu.  They  made  a  stand  at  Tirukurungudi,  and 
Colonel  Campbell  was  preparing  to  march  against  them,  when 
they  retired  within  the  Aramboly  lines.  A  complaint  being  made 
that  the  officers'  quarters  in  Palamcotta  are  incommodious, 
Government  order  improvements  to  be  made  at  the  Nawab's 
expense  ;  they  also  order  the  erection  of  a  new  magazine. 

1766.  Captain   Frisrhman  was  at    this   time  Commandant   of 
Palamcotta,   and  as  such  the  Company's  representative  in  Tinnc- 


PERIOD    OF    ENGLISH    INTERVENTION.  133 

velly.     The    good   effects  produced    by    Yusuf  Khan's    rigorous  Chapter  VI. 

administration  were  now  at  an  end,  and  to  add  to  the  difficulty 

always  felt  in  keeping  the  Poligars  in  check  and   getting  them  to 

pay  their  tribute,   most  of  the  troops  that  had  been  brought  down 

the  previous  year  to  act  against  Travancore  had  been  withdrawn, 

on  account  of  the  necessity  of  counteracting  the  designs  of  Hyder 

Ali   further     north.     All   this   was   laid   before  Government  by 

Captain  Frischman  in  a   letter  dated  4th  October,  from  which  it 

appears  that   within  fifteen  or  twenty  miles   of  Palamcotta  it  was  Armed  follow- 

estimated  that  there  were   20,000  armed  Collaries  roaming1  about  ^Vf  the 

'  m  p  roligars  near 

and  ransacking  every  village  they  came  to.  Captain  Frischman  Palamcotta. 
had  fitted  out  an  expedition  of  the  Nawab's  troops  under  "  the 
Buxy "  (the  Nawab's  Commander — Bakhshi,  a  Muhammadan 
Commander-in-Chief)  for  the  purpose  of  reducing  a  fort  to  the 
north-aest,  doubtless  Panjalanikurichi.  It  was  a  strong  force  with 
artillery  and  a  body  of  1,000  horse,  but  Captain  Frischman  com- 
plained that  it  did  nothing  but  merely  waited  outside  the  fort.  He 
complained  that  half  of  the  Nawab's  troops  were  "  mere  coolies  " 
and  that  their  arms  were  bad  and  incapable  of  repair.  There  were 
4,000  of  them,  but  half  the  number  would  suffice  if  they  were  paid 
and  disciplined  by  the  Company.  Such  was  the  state  of  the 
coimtry  that  the  tappal  had  ceased  and  he  found  it  very  difficult 
to  communicate  with  his  out-stations.  Ensign  Foulsum  of  the 
Nawab's  service,  who  commanded  at  Vadagarai,  had  attempted  to 
relieve  Vassa  Nellore  (Vasudeva-nallur)  which  was  besieged  by 
Poligars,  but  before  his  arrival  the  garrison  had  surrendered 
through  want  of  water,  and  had  leave  to  return  with  their  arms 
to  Tinnevelly.  Foulsum  had  a  skirmish  with  a  body  of  12,000 
Poligars  and  then  retired  to  his  fort.  The  Government  order  on  Complaints  of 
this  letter  is  to  the  effect  that  they  are  much  concerned  to  find  Government 

ft  op  h  i  n  s  i"   i  rif^ 

that  whenever  their  troops  are  withdrawn  every  petty  Poligar  Nawab. 
takes  the  opportunity  of  plundering.  They  have  often  represented 
to  the  Nawab  that  it  would  be  much  better  for  him  and  for  the 
country  if  he  would  consent  to  place  the  discipline  and  pay  of  his 
troops  in  their  hands,  and  though  he  had  never  yet  consented  they 
would  represent  to  him  again  the  necessity  of  this  arrangement. 

The  year  1766  closed  with  the  failure  of  an  attempt  on  the  part  Major  Flint 
of  Major  Flint  to  reduce  some  of  the  more  turbulent  Poligars  to  reduce  Poligar 
obedience.     On  the  23rd  of  December  he  marched  from  Srivilli-  fort. 
puttur  for  the  purpose  of  attacking  the  fort  of  Calacunda  (Kollam- 
kondan).     On  the  27th  an  escort  he  sent  back  to  Srlvilliputtur  for 
grain  was  attacked  by  the  Poligars.     A  strong  force  was  sent  out 
to  the  support   of  the   escort,   but  even  this   combined    force   was 
attacked  and  the  attack  was  continued  to  within  three  miles  of  the 
camp.     On  the  29th,  after  a  breach  had  been  effected  in  the  wall 
of  the  fort,  an   assault  was  made,  but  the  place  was  defended  by 


134 


HISTORY    OF    TIN'NEVELLY. 


cessful  cam 
paign 


Chapter  VI.  such  numbers  and  with  such  resolution  that  the  assaulting  party, 
after  holding  its  ground  for  half  an  hour,  had  to  return  with 
considerable  loss.  Captain  Painter  and  five  Europeans  were  killed 
and  several  Europeans  were  wounded.  The  Poligar  to  whom  the 
fort  belonged  had  not  got  above  200  men  of  his  own,  but  he  was 
reinforced  by  parties  sent  to  his  help  by  all  the  other  Poligars. 
On  his  retreat  Major  Flint  had  to  fight  his  way  through  the 
enemy.     Captain  Harper  was  in  command  of  his  rear  guard. 

"lint's  unsuc-  1767.  This  year  opens  with  another  unsuccessful  campaign 
against  the  Poligars.  Major  Flint  retired  first  to  Eaja  Palaiyam, 
then  to  Sitheath  (Sittuttu  ?),  then  to  Parambur,  where  he  joined 
the  camp  of  "  the  Buxy."  Subsequently  he  got  a  supply  of 
heavier  artillery  from  Captain  Frischman  at  Palamcotta  and  set 
out  to  attack  the  fort  of  Panjalamkurichi.  There  were  two  other 
forts  in  the  Ettaiyapuram  country  that  he  intended  to  attack  first, 
but  he  altered  his  intention  and  commenced  with  Panjfilanikurichi, 
as  being  the  most  important  place.  Government  were  very  anxi- 
ous for  his  success,  as  they  foresaw  that  the  Poligars  would  be 
greatly  encouraged  by  the  failure  of  his  recent  attempt  to  take 
Kollamkondan,  but  as  he  was  now  well  supplied  with  heavy  guns 
and  ammunition  they  hoped  his  future  attacks  on  the  forts  of  the 
Poligars  would  be  successful. 


Panjalamkurichi. 


Meaning  of 
the  name 
Panjalam. 
kurichi. 


The  importance  of  Panjalamkurichi  in  the  annals  of  Tinnevelly 
requires  that  a  few  words  should  be  said  about  it  here.  The  name 
has  come  up  already  in  Orme's  History,  Colonel  Heron  having 
led  an  expedition  against  it  in  1755.  That  expedition,  however, 
was  recalled,  and  it  does  not  appear  that  Panjalamkurichi  was 
then  really  attacked.  The  first  of  the  long  series  of  sieges  it  sus- 
tained from  the  English  was  from  Major  Flint  in  1767.  Panja- 
lamkurichi was  a  large  mud  fort,  situated  near  the  present 
taluk  town  of  Ottapidaram.  Being  the  headquarters  of  a 
Poligar,  the  whole  palaiyam  was  called  by  this  name.  Panchala 
means  anything  pertaining  to  Panchala, — now  the  Doab — the 
country  of  Draupadi,  the  wife  of  the  five  Pandava  brothers. 
The  name  must  have  been  given  to  the  place  by  some  person 
interested  in  the  stories  of  the  Mahabharata.  The  second  portion 
of  the  name  is  one  of  the  many  Tamil  words  denoting  a  village. 
It  especially  denotes  a  village  in  a  forest  or  amongst  the  hills. 
There  is  no  trace  of  a  forest  now  in  the  neighbourhood,  but  up  to 
the  time  of  the  last  Poligar  war  nearly  the  whole  black  cotton  soil 
country  in  the  north  of  Tinnevelly  was  covered  with  thick  woods. 
The  conqueror  that  has  cleared  away  those  woods  is  cotton.  But 
cotton  would  never  have  been  able  to  prevail  against  the  woods,  if 


PERIOD    OF    ENGLISH    INTERVENTION.  135 

the  rule  of  the  Poligars  had  not  come  to  an  end.     The  Poligar  of  Chapter  VI. 
Panjalamkurichi  was  a  Nayakan.     We  now  return  to   1767  and 
Major  Flint. 

Succeeding  Events  of  the  Year. 

On  the  15th  of  February,  Major  Flint's  preparations  being  Assault  on 
completed,  he  endeavoured  to  take  Panjalamkurichi  by  assault.  A  richi  a  failure, 
battery  was  opened  against  it  in  the  morning,  the  fire  of  which  was 
kept  up  all  day.  In  the  afternoon  the  assault  was  made,  but  it  had 
no  better  success  than  the  assault  on  Kollamkondan  a  short  time 
before.  The  killed  and  wounded  amounted  to  92,  including  8 
Europeans  killed  and  18  wounded.  Major  Flint  resolved  to  turn 
the  siege  into  a  blockade,  but  during  the  night — as  happened  so 
often  in  after  years — the  defenders  of  the  fort  made  their  escape 
from  it.  Some  took  refuge  in  Tuticorin,  some  in  Vypaur.  Ettaiya- 
puram  was  also  to  have  been  attacked,  but  it  was  found  to  have 
been  abandoned.     The  enemy  also  forsook  Vypaur  (Vaippafu). 

It  is  singular  that  the  remembrance  of  this  siege  has  entirely 
passed  away.  No  tradition  of  it,  or  any  trace  of  a  tradition, 
survives.  The  last  of  the  many  sieges  of  Panjalamkurichi  was 
immortalised  by  a  native  poet,  but  the  previous  sieges,  beginning 
with  Major  Flint's,  were  not  so  fortunate.  As  Horace  says,  "  they 
had  no  poet  and  they  died." 

Immediately  on  the  receipt  of  this  intelligence  Government  Cetermina. 
determined  to  despatch  a  sufficient  force  to  Madura  and  Tinnevelly  Government. 
for  the  purpose  of  repressing  the  irrepressible  Poligars.  They 
found  it  more  difficult  to  reduce  them  to  obedience  than  had  been 
anticipated,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  this  difficulty  never  ceased  till 
the  demoralising  influence  of  a  double  government  came  to  an  end, 
and  the  country  was  wholly  transferred  from  the  Nawab  to  the 
East  India  Company.  An  officer  was  chosen  for  this  command 
who  was  already  acquainted  with  the  disturbed  districts.  This  was 
Colonel  Donald  Campbell,  who  had  been  in  command  at  the  capture 
of  Madura  and  of  Yusuf  Khan  in  176  f ,  and  had  led  a  force  into 
Tinnevelly  in  1765. 

On  the  26th  of  April  1767  Colonel  Campbell,  who  had  marched  Colonel 
from  Eajapalaiyam  on  the  25th,  appeared  with  his  force  before  c^mpaijjn.8 
Kollamkondan,  where  Major  Flint  four  months  before  had  sus- 
tained a  repulse.  His  main  object  was  to  prevent  the  defenders  of 
the  fort  from  escaping,  but  notwithstanding  all  the  precautions  he 
took,  on  his  opening  fire  on  the  morning  of  the  1st  May  the  fort 
was  found  to  be  abandoned.  This  was  a  great  disappointment  to 
Colonel  Campbell,  for,  as  he  observed,  "  unless  the  ringleaders  of 
the  rebels  could  be  laid  hold  of,  the  only  effect  of  taking  and 
destroying  their  forts  would  be  to  oblige  them  to  rebuild,  which 
they  could  do  at  a  far  less  expense  than  we  could  level." 


136  HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 

Chapter  VI.  From  Kollamkondan  the  Colonel  marched  on  the  3rd  to 
Abandonment  Shattoor  (that  is,  Settur,  a  place  not  to  be  confounded  with  Sattur), 
of  Settur.  where  he  met  with  more  resistance.  A  considerable  force  of  the 
enemy  had  taken  up  a  position  outside  the  fort  from  which  they 
galled  a  portion  of  his  camp.  They  were  dislodged  with  some 
difficulty  and  driven  into  the  pettah,  but  in  this  service  two  officers 
and  46  sepoys  were  wounded  and  three  sepoys  killed.  Above  89 
of  the  enemy  were  killed  and  more  than  100  wounded.  Colonel 
Campbell  placed  batteries  and  posted  guards  all  round  the  fort,  but 
before  the  works  were  completed  the  enemy,  fearing  that  they  were 
about  to  be  hemmed  in,  made  their  escape  in  the  night.  As  soon 
as  he  had  notice  of  their  elopement  he  sent  after  them  Captain 
Harper's  battalion  and  the  Nawab's  horse,  but,  he  says,  "  they  were 
far  too  nimble  for  the  former,  and  as  for  the  latter  he  found  them 
generally  more  detrimental  than  useful.  They  consumed  a  great 
deal  of  provisions  and  did  no  kind  of  good."  Colonel  Campbell 
found  Settur  a  stronger  place  than  he  had  supposed.  The  fort 
seemed  to  him  almost  as  large  as  Palamcotta,  and  the  pettah  was 
encircled  with  a  strong  thorn  hedge.  He  found  in  the  fort  about 
1,000  bullock-loads  of  grain.  He  demolished  the  fort  before 
leaving  it. 
Abandonment  The  Colonel's  next  object  of  attack  and  his  next  disappointment 
nagin.  wag  Sivagiri.  On  his  arrival  there  on  the  10th  from  Settur  he 
found  the  fort  already  abandoned.  Its  defenders  on  hearing  of  his 
approach  fled  from  it  to  the  hills,  where,  however,  he  pitied  the 
deplorable  condition  they  must  have  found  themselves  in,  and 
concluded  that  they  must  have  become  truly  penitent  for  their 
resistance  to  authority  and  convinced  of  its  folly.  He  considered 
that  much  of  the  disloyalty  that  prevailed  was  owing  to  the  mis- 
government  and  oppression  to  which  the  Poligars  as  well  as  the 
rest  of  the  people  were  subjected  by  the  Nawab.  In  Sivagiri, 
which  must  have  been  inhabited,  he  thought,  by  20,000  people, 
neither  man,  woman,  nor  child  could  be  found.  He  found  the  fort 
of  Sivagiri  larger  and  stronger  than  that  at  Settur.  If  the  defences 
had  been  completely  finished  before  they  arrived,  the  taking  of  it 
would  have  been  attended  with  some  loss.  He  spent  five  or  six 
days  in  levelling  the  fort.  Colonel  Campbell  greatly  admired  the 
fertility  of  the  neighbourhood,  as  appears  from  the  conclusion  of 
his  letter  to  Government : — 

"I  heartily  wish  the  Nawab  would  fall  upon  some  method  to 
preservo  this  delightful  country  from  absolute  devastation.  It  is  really 
melancholy  to  rofloct  that  unless  a  speedy  and  an  effectual  remedy  is 
applied  these  fertile  fields,  the  most  beautiful  I  have  ever  seen,  will 
next  year  be  a  barren  waste." 
Attack  on  His  next  letter  was  from  Washinellore  (Vasudeva-nallur)  on  the 

nallor. V  28th  May.     He  arrived  there  on  the  13th,  leaving  Major  Flint  to 


PERIOD    OF    ENGLISH    INTERVENTION.  137 

finish  the  demolition  of  the  Sivagiri  fort.  He  was  joined  on  the  Chapter  vi. 
17th  by  Major  Flint,  and  on  the  night  of  the  18th  the  garrison 
attempted  to  get  away  by  Captain  Harper's  post,  but  were  beaten 
back.  On  the  19th  he  commenced  a  cannonade  of  the  fort  in  the 
hope  of  effecting  a  practicable  breach,  but  the  wall  being  constructed 
of  sunbaked  bricks  cemented  with  clay,  upwards  of  500  shot  were 
poured  into  one  place  without  effect.  Heavy  rain  now  commenced 
which  continued  without  intermission  till  the  25th — (the  south- 
west monsoon  had  evidently  commenced  that  year  some  weeks 
earlier  than  usual) — taking  advantage  of  which  the  garrison  forced 
their  way  out  at  three  different  places  about  4  o'clock  on  the 
morning  of  the  20th  and  made  their  escape  to  the  adjacent  hills. 
The  first  fire  of  the  besiegers  did  execution,  but  the  second  charge, 
owing  to  the  rain,  would  not  go  off.  Vasudeva-nallur  being,  he 
said,  "  a  fort  of  long  standing  and  commanding  as  fine  a  grain 
country  as  he  had  met  with,  he  resolved  not  to  demolish  it,  but  to 
garrison  it  with  all  the  Nawab's  troops  he  had,  under  one  Mr.  Peter 
Davidson,  who  had  the  appointment  of  captain  under  the  Nawab 
and  had  the  reputation  of  being  a  person  of  energy."  This  he 
considered  the  strongest  fort  he  had  seen  during  his  campaign — (see 
the  description  of  this  fort  in  the  account  of  its  siege  by  Yusuf 
Khan)  — and  he  was  astonished  at  the  contempt  of  death  the  Oollaries 
evinced  during  the  cannonade.  As  fast  as  a  breach  was  made,  in 
the  midst  of  shot  and  shell  they  went  on  quietly  repairing  it  with 
palmyras  and  straw.     He  concluded  as  before  by  recommending  Colonel 

more  reasonable  treatment  of  the  people  by  the  Nawab.     All  that  Campbell's 

o        A  •  care 

could  be  done  by  a  European  force  Government  might  depend  on  people. 

being  done  by  the  troops  under  his  command,  but  he  was  anxious 
that  some  accommodation  should  be  come  to  with  the  people,  for 
which  he  had  received  no  authority.  There  were  three  small  forts 
to  the  southward  of  him,  and  by  the  time  he  had  reduced  them  he 
hoped  to  receive  the  Government's  commands.  He  considered  that 
the  Nawab  had  no  time  to  lose,  for  without  some  agreement  the 
people  would  never  be  persuaded  to  return  and  cultivate  their 
fields.  The  Grovernment  were  glad  to  hear  of  the  reduction  of 
Vasudeva-nallur,  but  did  not  approve  of  the  Nawab's  troops  being 
left  in  so  important  a  place,  and  ordered  Colonel  Campbell  to 
garrison  it  with  the  Company's  troops. 

Pending  the  arrival  of  authority  from  the  Nawab  to  treat  with  Cantonment 
the  Poligars,  Colonel  Campbell  appointed  Captain  Harper  to  estab-  ^Jjjjj!*" 
lish  a  cantonment  in  Sankaranaiyanarkovil.     On  the   13th   June  kovil. 
he  wrote  him  an  excellent  letter  of  instructions  as  to  the  behaviour 
of  his  men,  whether  Europeans  or  sepoys,  pointing  out  the  neces- 
sity   of   their    acting   towards  the  people  with   justice    and    ten- 
derness.    Shortly   after  this  the    Nawab's  letters  authorising   an 
accommodation    with   the    Poligars  arrived,     wheieupon    Colonel 

18 


138  HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 

Chapter  VI.  Campbell   announced    a   cessation  of  hostilities  and  sent  for  the 
Cessation  of    vakils  of  the  various  Poligars,  with  whom  he  entered  into  arrange- 
hostilities.       ments  for  the  settlement  of  their  dues  and  the  punctual  payment 
of  their  tribute  in   future.       The  Government  recommended  the 
Nawab  to  leave  Colonel  Campbell  perfectly  free  to  act  as  he  should 
think  best. 
Arrangements      Colonel  Campbell's  pacification  of  the  country  was  very  short - 
Nawab's    °    lived.     Within  two  months   Captain  Frischman,  Commandant  at 
manager.         Palamcotta,  informed  the  Government  that  on  Colonel  Campbell 
leaving  the  country  with  his  troops  the  various  Poligars  began  to 
refuse,  as  they  had  always  done  before,  to  pay  the  tribute  they 
had  agreed  to.     In  this  contumacious    conduct  the    Poligar  of 
Sivagiri  was  the  leader.     Captain  Frischman  succeeded  in  induc- 
ing them  all  to   come  to   some  terms  again,  which   was  brought 
about   mainly  through  the   exertions  of   Baja  "  Hookoometron  ' 
(Hukumat  Ram),  the  Nawab's  manager  or  financial  administrator 
in  Tinnevelly  at  that  time.     He  was  also   materially  aided  by  the 
Poligar  of  Verdigarry  (Vadagarai),  who  had  been  deprived  of  the 
whole  of  his  pollam  some  time  before,  but  had  now  nine  villages 
restored  to  him  in  order  to  engage  him  to  the  Nawab's  interest. 
This  was  in  August   1767.      Among  other    arrangements   made 
during  this  time  the  Nawab's  manager  banished    the  Poligars   of 
Sivagiri   and   Panjalamkurichi    from    Tinnevelly    and    appointed 
Hyder  Ali's     others  in  their  places.     On  the  2nd  of  September  Grovernment  were 
communica-     informed  by  the  Commandant  that  Hyder  AH  had  written  to  all 
Poligars.         the  Poligars,   calling  upon  them  to  join  him  against  the  Nawab 
and  the  British,  and  assuring  them  that  if  they  joined  him  not 
only  would  all  their  ancient  possessions  be  restored  to  them,  but 
he  would  give  each  of  them  several  additional  villages. 

In  the  course  of  1767  95  English  recruits  who  had  landed  at 
Anjengo  were  ordered  to  stay  at  Palamcotta  till  further  orders. 

1768.  In  February  Lieutenant-Colonel  Frischman  is  ordered  to 
join  the  army  in  the  field  against  Hyder  Ali,  and  Captain  Browne 
is  appointed  Commandant  of  Palamcotta  in  his  room.  Colonel 
Frischman  is  to  supply  Captain  Browne  with  all  the  information  in 
his  power  relative  to  the  several  Poligars,  and  Captain  Browne  is 
to  afford  the  Nawab's  manager  all  the  assistance  in  his  power  to 
keep  them  in  proper  order. 

On  the  10th  Juno  Captain  Browne  reports  that  he  had  sent 
three  companies  of  sepoys  with  a  serjeant  to  destroy  a  fort  which 
a  Poligar  was  rebuilding.  The  name  of  the  fort  is  not  given.,  but 
the  name  of  the  Poligar  is  said  to  have  been  "  Cambo-Naig,"  that  is 
probably  Kamaiya-Nayaka.  In  August  he  is  ordered  to  send  troops 
and  guns  to  reinforce  Colonel  Wood  in  command  at  Trichinopoly,  but 
Assemblage  of  is  unable  to  comply  with  the  requisition  on  account  of  the  troubles 
CoUanes.        j^  apprehends  from  the  large  bodies  of  Collaries,  some  eight  or 


TERIOD    OF    ENGLISH    INTERVENTION.  139 

nine  thousand  in  number,  that  were  assembling  under  the  pretence  Chaptef  VI. 
of  settling  some  disputes  among  themselves,    but   really    for  the 
purpose  of  plundering  the  Sircar  districts. 

On  the  24th  October  he  reports  that  the  emissaries  of  the  dis- 
possessed Poligars  of  Sivagiri  and  Panjalamkurichi  were  raising 
disturbances  in  those  districts.  Both  these  Poligars  were  at  that 
time  living  in  the  Raja  of  Ramnad's  country,  and  it  was  supposed 
that  they  were  receiving  encouragement  in  their  plots  from  him. 
Government  accordingly  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Raja  of  Ramnad 
warning  him  against  this  line  of  action. 

1769.  Captain  Browne  engages   the    Poligars   to    act    against  Behaviour  of 
Hyder  Ali.     They  appear  to  act  loyally  at  first,  but  afterwards  J^^^1'8 
join  the  enemy.     He  complains  that  the  Nawab's  troops  behaved  Hyder  Ali. 
shamefully. 

1770.  Nothing  transpires  worth  recording. 

1771.  Captain  Browne  is  ordered  with  his  battalion  to  Madras, 
and  Captain  Cooke  is  appointed  in  his  place-  Mr.  Gumming  is 
Paymaster  and  Storekeeper. 

The   Tinnevelly  cutcherry  was  burnt  down  this  year  with  all  Burning  of 
the  records  it  contained.  Tinnevelly 

cutcherry. 

Postal  Communication  between  Madras  and  Bombay  in  the 
latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

In  1771  I  find  it  mentioned  that  a  packet  of  letters  from  Madras  Letters  fc° 

l  .  Bombay  how 

to  Bombay  was  sent  by  Government  to  the  Commanding  Officer  sent. 
at  Palamcotta  for  transmission  by  him  to  Anjengo,  a  small  town 
in  the  coast  of  Travancore  between  Trevandruni  and  Quilon,  then 
belonging  to  the  East  India  Company,  from  which  it  was  to  be 
sent  on  by  sea  by  the  earliest  opportunity  to  the  Bombay  Govern- 
ment. Packets  of  letters  were  sent  from  Bombay  to  Madras  in 
the  same  manner.  This  round-about  mode  of  communication 
lasted  right  into  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  normal  condition  of  the  districts  intermediate 
between  Madras  and  Bombay  being  one  of  insecurity,  through  the 
wars  and  commotions  caused  by  Hyder  Ali,  Tippu  Sultan,  and  the 
Mahrattas.  Though  inland  communication  was  at  that  time  so  Overland 
imperfect,  the  beginnings  of  an  overland  communication  had  ti 
already  been  developed.  Duplicates  of  urgent  letters  to  the  Court 
of  Directors  from  the  Madras  Government  were  repeatedly  sent 
home  rid  Bassorah  in  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  duplicates  of  left  pis 
from  home  arrived  by  the  same  route. 

Orrne,  the  historian,  is  said  to  have  been  born  at  Anjengo. 

The  first  reference  to  Palamcotta  in  the  journals  of  Swartz, 
the  eminent  Missionary,  is  in  1771. 


commuiui^- 
ona. 


140  HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 

Chapter  VI.  1772.  An  expedition  was  planned  for  the  reduction  of  the 
Poligars  in  Madura  and  Tinnevelly,  especially  the  Poligar  of 
Nalukottai,  that  is,  Sivagangai.  It  was  entrusted  to  the  com- 
mand of  Major  Braithwaite,  but  was  not  carried  into  effect  in  con- 
sequence of  troops  being  more  urgently  required  further  north. 

1773.  Nothing  happens  in  Tinnevelly  worthy  of  record. 

1774.  In  this  year  there  was  a  severe  famine. 

Earliest  date  1775.  The  only  incident  of  the  year  is  that  Captain  Cooke  is 
cottachui  h-  ordered  with  his  battalion  to  Madras  and  succeeded  by  Captain 
yard.  Hopkins  from  Vellore.     The    earliest    date  I  have  found  in  the 

English  church-yard  at  Palamcotta  is  in  1775. 

1776.  Captain  Hopkins  writes  on  the  7th  January  that  the 
Poligar  Kattaboma  Nayaka,  who  had  been  driven  from  Panjalam- 
kurichi  by  the  Nawab's  manager  Raja  Hukumat  Ram  in  1767, 
had  returned  and  put  to  death  the  Poligar  who  had  been  appointed 
in  his  room  by  Syed  Mahomed  Khan  in  1771,  and  that  he  was 
again  in  possession.  The  Nawab's  people,  in  Syed  Mahomed 
Khan's  absence,  had  collected  a  considerable  force  of  horse  and 
foot,  who  were  emcamped  near  Panjalamkurichi  and  were  ordered 
to  take  the  place.  Nothing  more  seems  to  have  been  heard  that 
year  of  that  attempt  to  take  Panjalamkurichi. 

1777.  On  the  16th  February  Captain  Hopkins  reports  that  two 
of  the  Nawab's  battalions  with  a  brigade  of  guns,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Captain  Pickard  of  the  Nawab's  service,  marched  from 
Tinnevelly  against  the  Poligars.  The  force  was  sent  out  to  collect 
the  Nawab's  revenues  from  the  Poligars,  who  as  usual  had  refused 
to  pay.     The  expedition  was   especially  directed  against  Sivagiri, 

Expedition      where  a  large  number  of  Collaries  had  collected.     Strange  to  say 
against  Siva-  ^he  NawaD's  force  was    joined  by  the  Poligar  of  Panjalamkurichi 
with  4,000  men.     This  was  in  consequence  of  his  having  made  his 
peace  with  the  Nawab's  manager. 

This  force  invested  Sivagiri  and  attempted  to  reduce  it.  It  is 
not  stated  what  the  result  was — probably  as  usual  a  failure  and  a 
compromise. 

Captain  Eidington  succeeds  Captain  Browne  and  soon  after  is 
ordered  to  resign  his  command. 

1778.  Captain  Barrington  is  appointed  to  the  command  of 
Palamcotta  in  supersession  of  Captain  Eidington. 

On  the  6th  April  Captain  Barrington  is  ordered  to  send  five 
companies  of  his  battalion  to  assist  the  Nawab's  manager  in  collect- 
ing the  peshcush  due  from  the  Poligars.  In  the  event  of  their 
resistance  he  was  not  to  use  force  without  express  orders  from 
Government. 
[nsults offered  1779.  Colonel  Braithwaite  whilst  passing  through  Tinnevelly 
reports  to  Government  the  violence  shown  to  the  Hindus  by  the 
Nawab's  people  at  the  Moharram.     They  had  broken  an   image 


PERIOD    OF    ENGLISH    INTERVENTION.  141 

to  pieces  and  killed  several  Brahmans.  This  had  led  to  the  aban-  Chapter  VI. 
donment  of  all  cultivation  and  manufactures  on  the  part  of  the 
Hindus,  who  insisted  on  justice  and  revenge.  He  feared  that  the 
Tinnevelly  Poligars,  who  were  a  resolute  people,  possessed  of  many 
strongholds,  might  take  the  opportunity  of  breaking  into  rebellion. 
He  reports  also  that  the  country  was  distracted  by  the  animosities 
of  the  Nawab's  late  Fauzdar,  the  present  one,  and  Dalavay  Mudali, 
the  Hindu  renter.  Colonel  Braithwaite  was  then  on  his  way  with 
a  considerable  force  to  Anjengo,  where  his  troops  were  to  embark 
for  Tellicherry  to  take  part  in  the  fruitless  operations  of  the  army 
on  the  Malabar  Coast.  Captain  Barrington  writes  from  Palamcotta 
that  he  found  it  very  difficult  to  obtain  supplies  for  Colonel  Braith- 
waite' s  force,  on  account  of  the  disturbed  state  of  the  country 
consequent  upon  the  insult  offered  by  the  Muhammadans  to  the 
Hindus.  Towards  the  end  of  the  year  Captain  Eidington  is 
reappointed  to  the  command  of  Palamcotta. 

1780.  Captain  Eidington  reports  that  there  had  been  an  engage- 
ment between  the  Nawab's  troops  and  the  Poligar  of  Sivagiri. 
All  the  Poligars  now  openly  or  virtually  threw  off  their  allegiance, 
so  that  there  was  a  great  diminution  in  the  revenue.  Captain 
Eidington  discovered  that  some  of  the  Poligars  were  in  correspond- 
ence with  Hyder  Ali.     At  this  time  the  Paymaster  at  Palamcotta 

was  Mr.  "William  Light,  by  whom  the  cultivation  of  spices  was  Spices  in 
first  introduced  into  Tinnevelly.  He  had  brought  two  young  Palamcotta. 
cinnamon  trees  from  Colombo.  The  state  of  the  Tinnevelly  country 
was  now  so  unsettled  and  unsatisfactory  that  the  President  of  the 
Madras  Council  was  requested  to  have  a  personal  interview  with 
the  Nawab  on  the  subject.  Fortunately  a  more  satisfactory 
arrangement  was  at  hand  and  was  introduced  at  the  close  of  the 
following  year. 

The  Tinnevelly  Mission  Register,  or  Register  of  the  Native 
Christians  resident  in  Palamcotta,  begins  in  this  year,  1780. 

1781.  Captain  Eidington  informs  Government  that  the  Sivagiri 
Poligar  had  invited  Hyder  Ali  to  send  troops  into  the  Tinnevelly 
country.  He  also  states  that  he  was  convinced  that  the  renter 
(Raja  Hukumat  Ram)  was  secretly  on  Hyder  Ali's  side,  being  a 
near  relative  of  the  "  Colt  Raja,"  who  had  been  appointed  by 
Hyder  Raja  of  Madura  and  Tinnevelly.  He  reports  that  he  could 
get  very  little  assistance  from  the  Raja  of  Travancore  towards 
protecting  the  country  from  Hyder.  The  Dutch  of  Tuticorin  Dutch  eeti. 
promised  the  assistance  of  their  Government  of  Colombo  against  mat<'  of 
Hyder  Ali,  whom  they  described  as  the  common  enemy  of  all 
Europeans.  It  will  be  seen  that  a  little  later  on  they  took  a  dif- 
ferent line. 

In  February  Captain  Eidington  despatches  Lieutenant  Halcott 
with  three  companies  to  get  possession  of  the  fort  at  Srlvilliputtur, 


142  HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 

Chapter  VI.  both  in  order  to  keep  the  restless  Poligar  of  Sivagiri  in  check  and 
also  to  secure  possession  of  a  place  which  he  considered  the  key  of 
Tinnevelly.  He  mentions  that  the  real  chief  of  Sivagiri  was  at 
that  time  in  Palamcotta  in  prison.  Lieutenant  Halcott  was 
attacked  near  Madura  by  3,000  Collaries  and  three  or  four  hun- 
dred horse,  whom  he  beat  off  with  loss  to  them  and  some  to  himself. 
Captain  Eidington  also  mentions  that  as  Hyder  Ali  had  sent 
messengers  to  the  Poligars  to  stir  them  up  against  the  Nawab  and 
the  British,  he  had  entered  into  negotiations  with  several  of  the 
principal  Poligars,  and  found  that  they  were  willing  to  enter  into 
Dutch  alliance  an  engagement,  provided  their  relations  who  were  in  prison  were 
with  Poligars.  reiea8e(j  jje  ag]-8  for  2j000  stand  of  arms  in  place  of  those  taken 
by  the  Collaries  in  the  Ramnad  country.  Later  in  the  year  the 
Dutch  were  strengthening  Tuticorin  and  apparently  preparing  for 
a  war  with  the  English.  They  were  rendering  great  assistance  to 
Kattaboma  Nayaka  of  Panjalamkiirichi,  who  had  actually  hoisted 
Dutch  colours.  This  Poligar  had  been  beaten  off  from  the  fort  of 
Comrah  (Kamudi),  in  the  Ramnad  country,  with  the  loss  of  a 
hundred  men.  In  October  on  account  of  complaints  made  against 
him  Captain  Eidington  is  superseded  by  Captain  Bilcliffe. 

Meditated  Cession  of  Tinnevelly  to  the  Dutch. 

In  1781  Mr.  Hastings,  then  Governor-General,  endeavoured  to 
enter  into  a  treaty  with  the  Dutch,  the  effect  of  which,  if  it  had 
proved  successful,  would  have  been  to  convert  Tinnevelly  into  a 
Dutch  province.  The  object  of  that  measure  was  to  obtain, 
through  the  GTovernors  of  Colombo  and  Cochin,  a  military  force  to 
assist  in  the  expulsion  of  Hyder  from  the  Carnatic.  But  as  these 
Governors  acted  under  the  authority  of  the  Government  of  Batavia, 
for  whose  sanction  there  was  no  leisure  to  wait,  a  tempting 
advantage  was  represented  as  necessary  to  prevail  upon  them  to 
incur  so  unusual  a  responsibility.  The  negotiation  was  carried 
on  through  the  medium  of  the  Director  of  the  Dutch  Settlements  in 
Bengal  ;  and  it  was  stipulated  that  for  1,000  European  infantry, 
200  European  artillery,  and  1,000  Malays,  who  should  be  paid  and 
maintained  by  the  Company  during  the  period  of  their  service,  the 
province  of  Tinnevelly  should  be  ceded  to  the  Dutch,  together 
with  the  liberty  of  making  conquests  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Cochin,  and  the  exclusive  right  to  the  pearl  fishery  on  the  whole 
of  the  coast  south  from  Pame&vavaram.  In  name  and  appearance 
the  sovereignty  of  the  Nawab,  Muhammad  Ali,  was  not  to  be 
infringed,  and  the  treaty,  framed  and  concluded  for  him,  was  to  be 
ratified  by  his  signature.  The  small  value  of  the  cession  and  the 
extreme  danger  of  the  Carnatic  were  urged  as  the  motives  to  induce 
compliance  on  the  part  both  of  the  Nawab  and  of  the  Government  of 


PERIOD    OF    ENGLISH    INTERVENTION.  143 

Madras.  The  ideas,  however,  of  the  Nawab  and  of  the  Government  Chapteb  V I . 
of  Madras  differed  very  widely  from  those  of  the  Governor- General 
respecting  the  value  both  of  what  was  to  be  given  and  what  was  to 
be  received.  They  not  only  set  a  high  estimate  on  Tinnevelly,  but 
treated  the  offer  of  a  body  of  troops,  when  they  were  much  less  in 
want  of  troops,  than  of  money  to  pay  and  maintain  those  which 
they  had,  as  a  matter  of  doubtful  utility.  In  consequence  they 
declined  to  forward  the  treaty,  transmitting  their  reasons  to  the 
Court  of  Directors.  And  the  accession  of  the  Dutch  to  the  side  of 
the  enemies  of  England,  of  which  Lord  Macartney  carried  out  the 
intelligence,  superseded  on  that  ground  all  further  proceedings. 
See  Mill,  Vol.  IV,  Book  5. 


PART  II. 


FROM  THE  ASSIGNMENT  OF  REVENUE  IN  1781  TO  THE  COM- 
MENCEMENT OF  THE  BANNERMAN-POLIGAR  WAR. 


The  Assignment. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  year  1781  a  treaty  was  concluded  Committee  of 
between  the  Nawab  of  the  Carnatic  and  the  East  India  Company,  Revenue, 
in  virtue  of  which  Tinnevelly,  with  the  other  districts  in  the 
Carnatic,  enjoyed  for  a  few  years  the  benefits  of  the  Company's 
civil  administration.  This  treaty  was  entered  into  and  all  the 
arrangements  necessary  for  carrying  it  into  effect  were  made  in 
October  1781,  but  the  treaty  itself  was  not  signed  till  the  2nd  of 
December.  The  Board  of  Revenue  was  not  then  in  existence 
(it  was  instituted  in  1786),  but  a  committee  was  appointed  by 
Government  on  the  16th  October,  called  the  Committee  of  Assigned 
Revenue,  consisting  of  six  gentlemen,  including  Mr.  George  Proctor 
(the  first  civil  officer  appointed  to  Tinnevelly)  and  Mr.  Eyles 
Irwin  (his  more  eminent  successor),  for  the  purpose  of  receiving 
and  administering  the  revenues  of  the  Nawab.  The  object  of  the 
treaty  is  thus  expressed  by  Government  in  their  first  letter  to  the 
Committee  : — "  His  Highness  the  Nawab  has  assigned  over  the 
revenues  of  the  Carnatic  to  the  Company  to  be  entirely  under 
their  management  and  control  during  the  present  war,1  on  the 
condition  of  allowing  him  one-sixth  part  of  the  revenue  to  defray 
the  expenses  of  himself  and  family."  At  the  same  time  a  copy  of 
the  instructions  of  Government  was  furnished  to  the  Committee  for 

1  The  war  with  Hyder  Ali,  subsequently  continued   and  intensified  under  Tippu 

Sultan. 


144  HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 

Chapter  VI.  its  guidance.     The  Governor  of  Madras  at  this  time  was  Lord 
Superin.  Macartney.     In  virtue  of  this  arrangement  functionaries  styled  at 

tendents  of  first  Receivers  of  Assigned  Revenue,  then  Superintendents  of 
Revenue.  Assigned  Revenue,  were  appointed  in  various  places.  A  shorter 
title  by  which  they  were  generally  known  was  Civil  Superin- 
tendents or  simply  Superintendents.  These  were  the  first  civil 
officers  appointed  for  the  administration  of  affairs  in  the  interior. 
Up  to  that  time,  as  we  have  seen,  the  only  civil  administration 
with  which  the  English  Government  had  anything  to  do,  that  is, 
the  enforcement  of  the  payment  of  the  Nawab's  revenue,  was 
carried  on  by  the  military  officers  in  command  of  the  troops  in  the 
various  districts. 
Intentions  of  The  Government  hoped  that  this  new  arrangement  would  contri- 
nme  '  bute  in  various  ways  to  the  prosperity  of  the  country.  In  the 
instructions  issued  to  the  Committee  they  conclude  by  saying, 
"  By  attending  to  these  points  the  Company  may  arrive  at  much 
useful  knowledge.  They  may  be  gradually  able  to  free  the 
country  from  oppression,  to  recover  the  lands  and  manufactures 
from  their  present  most  deplorable  state,  greatly  to  improve  the 
revenue,  and  finally  to  establish  wealth,  credit,  and  prosperity 
throughout  the  country."  This  view  of  the  objects  of  Government 
was,  I  need  hardly  say,  widely  different  from  that  entertained  by 
the  Government  of  the  Nawab. 
^ir8t  The  first  "  Receiver  of  Assigned  Revenue  "  appointed  to  Tinne- 

Tinnevelly.  velly — virtually  the  first  Tinnevelly  Collector — was  Mr.  George 
Proctor.  He  had  been  Auditor  of  Accounts  in  Madras,  and  then 
member  of  the  newly-appointed  Committee  of  Assigned  Revenue. 
Lord  Macartney's  letter  appointing  him  Receiver  in  Tinnevelly  was 
dated  8th  December  1781.  Another  letter  a  few  days  later  gave 
him  similar  authority  in  Madura ;  another  respecting  the  Ramnad 
peshcush.  The  Nawab  gave  orders  to  his  Fauzdars  and  Amildars 
in  Tinnevelly  to  obey  the  new  functionary,  whilst  the  Madras 
Government  ordered  Captain  Eidington  and  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Nixon  to  render  him  any  military  assistance  that  he  might  require. 
He  was  accompanied  by  Mr.  Orpen  as  his  assistant. 

1782.  APoligar  named  Sivarama  Talaivan  had  erected  a  fort 
Tirukurungudi  near  Tirukurungudi  and  was  plundering  the 
neighbourhood.  ""  The  commandant  sent  a  detachment,  which  took 
the  fort  and  destroyed  it.  "  Sivarama  Talaivan  "  is  the  hereditary 
name  of  the  head  of  a  powerful  Marava  family  in  that  place. 

War  having  broken  out  between  the  Dutch  and  the  English, 

Captain  Bilcliffe,  Commandant  at  Palamcotta,  sends  a  party  under 

Capture  of       Lieutenant    Wheeler  to  take  possession  of  Tuticorin.     The    small 

lutieonn.  •  «  rm_ 

Dutch  garrison  were  made  prisoners.  Seventeen  guns  taken.  There 
were  200  men  in  the  garrison  belonging  to  Panjalamkurichi,  who 
fled  on  seeing  the  approach  of  the  Company's  troops.     It  must  have 


PERIOD    OF    ENGLISH    INTERVENTION.  145 

been  because  they  did  not  care  to  fight  for  the  Dutch,   for  their  Chapter  VI. 
behaviour  at  their  own  fort  whenever  it  was  attacked  was  very- 
different .     The  Dutch  factories  at  Punnaikayal  and    Manapadu 
were  demolished.     The  outworks  erected  by  the  Dutch  at  Tuticorin 
were  also  destroyed,  and  it  was  ordered  that  if  a  Dutch  force  landed 
the  fort  of  Tuticorin  was  to  be  blown  up   and  destroyed.     The  Complaints  of 
native  inhabitants  of  Tuticorin,  especially  the  Paravas,  represented  the  paraA  a3- 
to  Mr.  Proctor,  and  Mr.  Proctor  represented  to  Government,  the 
injustice  done  by  the  party  under  Mr.  Wheeler  in  seizing  on  their 
property,  with  that   of  the   Dutch,   and  requiring   them   to  pay 
"  gratifications "   for  the  privilege  of  returning  to  the  town  and 
living   under   English  protection.     Government   considered   such 
conduct   most  culpable   and   ordered   the  commanding   officer    to 
confine  himself  to  his  duties  in  the  fort. 

In  April  1782  Mr.  Proctor  wrote  to  the  Committee  complaining  Dispute 
of  the  conduct  of  the  renter,  who  at  that  time  was  Trimolipa  renter  an(i  the 
(Tirumalaiyappa)  Mudali,  to  the  effect  that  he  was  unduly  raising  Collector. 
the  price  of  the  Government  grain,  listening  to  the  advice  of 
Captain  Gibbings  instead  of  his  own,  and  playing  into  the  hands  of 
the  Poligars.  He  proposed  that  a  new  renter  should  be  appointed, 
and  that  the  Receiver  of  Revenue  (that  is  himself)  should  have 
absolute  authority  over  him.  He  first  proposed  that  Tittarappa 
Mudali,  the  nephew  of  the  present  renter,  should  be  appointed,  and 
then  Ranga  Row,  a  stranger,  then  an  Amil  in  Madura.  The  then 
renter  (Tirumalaiyappa  Mudali)  at  the  same  time  complained  to 
the  Committee  of  Mr.  Proctor's  conduct;  a  complaint  was  also  made 
by  "  the  Company's  Sherishtadar,"  and  there  was  a  serious  mis- 
understanding between  Mr.  Proctor  and  the  commanding  officer. 
Captain  Gibbings  and  the  rest  of  their  servants  in  Tinnevelly  were 
ordered  by  the  Committee  to  refrain  from  all  interference  in  matters 
of  revenue,  but  in  other  particulars  the  Committee  were  not  disposed 
to  adopt  Mr.  Proctor's  recommendations.  On  the  contrary  they 
found  fault  with  him  for  interfering  in  the  rate  of  exchange,  and  for 
having  failed  to  send  them  any  account  of  his  receipts  from  the 
time  of  his  arrival.  He  was  ordered  to  send  them  his  accounts 
monthly  in  future. 

The  Committee's  dissatisfaction  with  Mr.  Proctor's  management  Dissatisfac- 
appears  from  the  conclusion  at  which  they  arrived,  that  "  some  p°n  ^h  Mr' 
further  regulations  were  necessary  to  fulfil  all  the  objects  of  the 
Assignment."     They,  therefore,  resolved  to  recur  to  the  directions 
at  first  given  them  by  Government  and  proposed  that  from  time 
to  time  as    should  appear  necessary  deputations   should  proceed, 
composed   of   members    of   the    Committee,   through  the   several 
assigned    countries.     The    superintendence   proposed    being   only  Conduct  of 
temporary    would    not,    they   thought,    prove    prejudicial.     The  1:'u"i.'0;in . 
language  they  used  bore  heavily  not  only  on  Mr.  Proctor,  but  on 

19 


146  HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY 

Chapter  VI.  the  other  European  functionaries  hitherto  employed  in  the  interior. 
They  say  this  temporary  superintendence  would  not  "  allow  any 
temptation  for  interfering  in  the  money  transactions  or  intrigues 
of  the  country,  nor  would  it  be  liable  to  the  objections  that  the 
Committee  are  of  opinion  lie  against  all  the  European  superin- 
tendence that  has  yet  been  established  under  the  Company's 
government."  The  gentleman  sent  to  Tinnevelly  as  a  deputation 
from  the  Committee  was  Mr.  Eyles  Irwin,  but  his  appointment 
falls  amongst  the  incidents  of  1783. 

In  December  1782  a  letter  was  written  during  Mr.  Proctor's 
absence  in  Madras  by  Mr.  Orpen,  his  Assistant,  Mr.  Light,  the 
Paymaster,  and  Captain  Bileliffe,  the  Commandant,  asking  per- 
mission to  use  strong  measures  against  the  renter. 

1783.  On  the  27th  January  the  Committee  replied  to  the  letter 
of  the  previous  month  from  Palamcotta,  to  the  effect  that  they  were 
to  wait  till  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Irwin,  as  they  intended  to  entrust  to 
him  the  management  of  all  their  affairs  in  Tinnevelly. 

On  the  28th  January  a  Commission  was  issued  by  Lord 
Macartney  to  Mr.  Irwin  to  proceed  to  Tinnevelly  with  full  authority 
from  the  Committee  of  Assigned  Revenue.  The  Commission 
begins  thus : — 

Commission  "The  state  of  the  Tinnevelly  province,  as  represented  by  the  Com- 
to  Mr.  Irwin,  mittee  of  Assigned  Revenue,  has  determined  us  to  send  a  person  in 
whom  we  can  confide  to  enquire  into  and  remove,  as  far  as  may  be 
practicable,  the  misunderstandings  and  dissensions  which  have  arisen 
there  to  the  prejudice  of  the  revenue,  and  we  have  appointed  you 
for  the  service,  not  only  from  the  trust  we  repose  in  your  zeal  and 
capacity,  but  in  compliance  also  with  an  early  recommendation 
preferred  to  us  by  the  Committee  for  employing  its  members  occa- 
sionally in  making  circuits  throughout  the  different  districts  of  the 
Carnatic,  agreeably  to  the  original  institution  of  the  Committee." 

Instructions  The  Government  were  unable  to  determine  which  of  the  complaints 
to  Mr.Irwm.  an(j  recriminations  that  had  come  before  them  from  Tinnevelly 
were  most  worthy  of  investigation,  but  they  recommended  Mr. 
Irwin  on  his  arrival  to  proceed  to  investigate  such  of  the  com- 
plaints as  appeared  to  him  to  have  any  probable  foundation, 
"  particularly  the  insinuation  thrown  out  by  the  late  renter  against 
Mr.  Proctor  concerning  undue  advantages  made  by  the  measurement 
of  grain  and  exchange  of  money."  Mr.  Irwin  is  recommended  to 
•arrange  that  a  fixed  tribute,  bearing  a  reasonable  proportion  to  their 
possessions  and  not  liable  to  alteration,  should  be  paid  by  the 
Poli gars  ;  also  that  the  complaints  of  the  renters  against  the  ryots 
:u id  of  the  ryots  against  the  renters  should  be  inquired  into  and 
equitably  settled.  He  is  directed  to  endeavour  to  acquire  as  much 
knowledge  as  possible  of  the  condition  of  things  in  general  in 
Tinnevelly,   in   order   that  the  welfare  and    improvement   of  the 


PERIOD    OF    ENGLISH    INTERVENTION.  147 

country  may  be  promoted.  He  is  to  inquire  whether  any  of  the  Chapter  VI. 
natural  productions  of  the  country  are  capable  of  being  improved, 
and  especially  whether  the  cultivation  of  spices  can  be  developed. 
He  is  to  endeavour  to  throw  light  on  the  prospects  of  the  pearl 
fishery,  as  also  on  the  commerce  of  Tuticorin  and  the  settlements 
in  the  Gulf  of  Manaar.  All  orders  relating  to  revenue  affairs  sent 
previously  to  other  persons  are  to  be  transferred  to  him,  including 
the  orders  sent  to  Mr.  Light  for  the  inspection  of  the  repairs  of 
tanks,  as  Government  do  not  wish  any  other  gentleman  in  Tinne- 
velly  to  have  the  least  pretence  for  interfering  in  the  affairs  of  the 
country.  He  is  directed  to  exercise  a  general  oversight  in 
Madura,  as  well  as  in  Tinnevelly,  there  being  no  other  person 
in  charge  there,  and  all  military  officers  are  ordered  to  obey  his 
requisitions.  They  are  to  furnish  him  with  a  suitable  escort  in  his 
tours  through  the  country.  The  Government  add  that  they 
wished  him  to  correspond  with  Mr.  John  Sulivan,  Tan j ore,  whose 
judgment  and  experience  could  not  fail  to  be  of  value.  Mr. 
Sulivan  was  at  that  time  "  Resident  of  Tanjore  and  Superinten- 
dent of  Assigned  Revenues  of  Trichinopoly  and  Marawar."  The 
latter  term  meant  Ramnad  and  Sivagangai.  Finally,  they  say  they 
allow  him  seven  pagodas  per  diem  for  his  expenses,  the  sum  that 
was  allowed  to  Mr.  Proctor,  "  Receiver  of  the  Revenues  in  the 
Tinnevelly  country,"  and  Captain's  pay  andbatta  to  his  Assistant. 

In  another  letter  he  was  instructed  to  inquire  into  the  complaints  Tuticorin 
of  the  Parava  inhabitants  of  Tuticorin.     He  was  also  instructed  to  comp  a 
present  an  honorary  dress  to  the  head  of  the  Paravas  (the  Jati- 
talaivar)  in  the  name  of  the  Madras  Government. 

Mr.  Irwin  landed  at  Anjengo  from  the  Company's  ships  going  on 
to  Bombay,  whence  he  proceeded  to  Palamcotta,  where  he  arrived 
on  the  4th  of  March.  Immediately  on  his  arrival  at  Palamcotta 
he  set  out  for  Tri  van  drum,  to  wait  on  the  king  and  present  him 
with  a  letter  with  which  he  was  charged  from  the  Madras  Govern- 
ment, requesting  his  assistance  in  the  operations  against  Hyder 
Ali. 

Mr.  Irwin  requested  that  another  Assistant  should  be  appointed  Mr.  Trwin 
instead  of  Mr.  Orpen,  who   had  been  removed.     Mr.  Torin  (after-  Jjjj  on  his 
wards  Collector)  was  appointed  his  Assistant,  then  Mr.  Kindersley. 

Soon  after  his  arrival  in  Tinnevelly  he  presided  in  a  court  of 

inquiry  held  by  the  authority  of  Government  to  inquire  into  Mr. 

Proctor's  proceedings.    The  court  considered  Mr.  Proctor's  accounts 

unsatisfactory.     It  was  found  that  he  had  entered  in  his  accounts 

many    items   of   expenditure  of   a   personal    nature    without   the 

authority  of    Government.     It   was  found  also  that  balances  of 

receipts  of  revenue  still  remained  in  his  hands.     In  consequence  of  Mr.  Proctor 

this  decision  of  the  court  he  was  relieved  from  his  duties  in  the  °rdere(i  t0 
.  ,  leave. 

district  and  ordered  to  proceed  to  the  Presidency.     Government 


148  HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 

Chapter  VI.  required  him  to  refund  what  he  had  improperly  received,  and  on 
his  delaying  to  do  this  ordered  a  suit  to  be  instituted  against  him 
in  the  Mayor's  Court,  Madras. 

In  April  Mr.  Irwin  in  a  letter  to  Government  states  the  obstacles 
he  finds  standing  in  the  way  of  every  plan  for  the  improvement  of 
the  country.  First  and  foremost  amongst  those  obstacles  he  places 
the  refractory  disposition  of  the  Poligars.  "  Their  licentiousness," 
lie  says,  "  not  having  been  curbed  or  checked  for  these  five  .years 
past,  they  are  now  become  so  hardened  in  their  contumacy  as  to 
render  it  impracticable  to  reduce  them  to  a  proper  sense  of  their 
interest  and  duty  but  by  force  of  arms."  It  was  evident  that 
things  were  getting  ripe  for  Colonel  Fullarton's  expedition.  The 
operations  to  which  he  refers  as  having  taken  place  five  years 
before  were  those  of  Captain  Pickard  in  1777  and  of  Captain 
Barrington  in  1778. 
Mr.  Irwin  Jn  August  the  Government  give  Mr.  Irwin  full  powers  to  rent 

C.ionel  the  revenues  of   Tinnevelly   to    the  best  of  his  judgment.     He 

Fullarton.  repeatedly  writes  to  Colonel  Fullarton  proposing  that  a  portion 
of  the  southern  army  should  be  employed  under  his  command  in 
settling  the  Tinnevelly  country.  These  letters,  with  the  sanction  of 
Government,  led  to  Colonel  Fullarton's  expedition.  Of  this  expe- 
dition Colonel  Fullarton  himself  gives  a  graphic  account.  His 
able  report  to  the  Madras  Government  entitled  "  A  View  of  the 
English  Interests  in  India,"  republished  in  Madras  in  1867,  will 
amply  repay  perusal. 

Colonel  Fullarton's  Expedition  as  related  by  himself. 

"  The  districts  of  Madura,  Meliir,  and  Pallemery  (Pallimadai)  were 
so  harassed  with  Colleries,  Poligars,  and  the  enemy,  that  your  troops 
and  subjects  were  often  attacked  within  range  of  forts,  and  the  sen- 
tries tired  at  on  the  works.  All  the  Poligars  of  Tinnevelly  were  in 
rebellion,  and  closely  connected  with  the  Dutch  Government  at 
Colombo,  from  whence  attempts  were  meditated,  in  conjunction  with 
them  and  with  Mapillai  Devar,  to  reduce  those  countries  and  the 
Strength  of  Marava  dominions.  Nearly  one  hundred  thousand  Poligars  and  Col- 
the  Fuligurs.  leries  were  in  arms  throughout  the  southern  provinces,  and  being  con- 
sidered hostile  to  Government,  looked  to  public  confusion  as  their  safe- 
guard against  punishment.  Your  southern  force  was  inadequate  to 
repress  these  outrages  and  to  retrieve  your  affairs.  The  treasury  was 
drained,  the  country  depopulated,  the  revenues  exacted  by  the  enemy, 
the  troops  undisciplined,  ill-paid,  poorly  fed  and  unsuccessfully  com- 
mand* d.  During  the  course  of  these  proceedings,  your  southern  pro* 
vinces  remained  in  their  former  confusion.  The  Poligars,  Colleries, 
and  other  tributaries,  ever  since  the  commencement  of  the  war  had 
thrown  oh' all  appearance  of  allegiance.  No  civil  arrangement  could 
be  attempted  without  a  military  force,  and  nothing  less  than  the  whole 
army  seemed  adequate  to  their  reduction.     While  such  a  considerable 


PERIOD    OF    ENGLISH    INTKKVKNTION.  149 

portion  of  the  southern  provinces  remained  in  defiance  of  the  Com-  Chapteb  71. 
pany's  Government,   it  was  vain   to  think  of  supporting  the   current     .     ""TT      . 
charges   of  the    establishment,   far  less  could  we  hope  to   reduce  the  the  situation. 
arrears,  and  to  prepare  for  important  operations,  in  the  probable  event 
of  a  recommencement  of  hostilities.     It  became  indispensable,  there- 
fore, to  restore  the  tranquillity  of  those  provinces  by  vigorous  military 
measures  as  the  only  means  to  render  them  productive  of  revenue." 

After  having-  reduced  the  Poligars  of  Melur  and  Sivagangei  to 
obedience,  Colonel  Fullarton  marched  southwards.  "There  next 
remained  a  more  important  undertaking.  The  numerous  Poligars 
of  Tinnevelly,  who  had  rebelled  on  the  commencement  of  the  war, 
committed  daily  ravages  from  Madura  to  Cape  Comorin.  They 
subdued  forts  and  occupied  districts  belonging  to  the  Circar,  or 
held  by  a  tenure  different  from  their  own.  I  had  been  repeatedly  Invitation  to 
urged  by  Mr.  Irwin,  Superintendent  of  Madura  and  Tinnevelly,  rcduce^the 
to  proceed  against  the  Poligars,  in  order  to  restore  tranquillity  and 
recover  the  revenues.  It  was  now,  for  the  first  time,  in  my  power 
to  direct  my  operations  towards  that  quarter,  at  a  moment  when  the 
most  powerful  of  the  Poligars  in  confederacy  against  your  Govern- 
ment, and  in  alliance  with  the  Dutch,  had  assembled  twelve  or 
fourteen  thousand  men,  and  were  actually  besieging  the  fort  of 
Chocumpatty  (Chokkampatti),  a  Poligar  place  of  some  strength, 
below  the  hills  that  form  the  north-west  boundary  of  the  province. 

"  When  it  was  determined  that  we  should  march  towards  Tinne- 
velly, during  the  interval  requisite  for  Colonels  Stuart  and 
Elphinstone's  detachments  to  reach  Dindigul,  my  object  was  to 
strike  an  unexpected  blow,  and  to  intimidate  the  Poligars  into  sub- 
mission. Of  all  the  Tinnevelly  chiefs,  the  principal  in  power  and 
delinquency,  excepting  Sivagiri,  was  Kattaboma  Nayaka.  He  was 
personally  engaged  at  the  siege  of  Chocumpatty,  from  whence  his 
fort  of  Panjalamkurichi,  on  the  south-east  quarter  of  Tinnevelly,  is 
distant  more  than  seventy  miles.  The  visual  route  to  Tinnevelly 
passes  by  Madura  ;  and  the  Poligars,  hearing  of  our  movement 
towards  Sivagangei,  looked  for  us  in  that  direction.  To  favour 
this  opinion,  I  ordered  provisions  for  the  army  to  be  prepared  at  March  into 
Madura,  kept  my  real  intention  perfectly  concealed,  and  moved  off  mneve  J- 
with  the  force  from  Sivagangei,  on  the  evening  of  8th  August,  to 
Tropichetty  (Tint  Pachetti),  a  place  twenty  miles  distant  on  the 
southern  border  of  the  Melur  country.  I  there  joined  the  remain- 
der of  the  army,  and  leaving  the  7th  battalion  and  some  irregulars 
to  restrain  the  Colleries  at  Melur,  we  proceeded  next  morning  by 
Pallemery  (Pallimadai),  Pandalgoody,  and  Naiglapore  (Nagala- 
puram),  and  readied  the  fort  of  Panjalamkurichi  on  the  fourth  day,  Attack  on 
being  one  hundred  miles  from  Sivagangei.1     As   soon  as  the  line  ,Fa"J:', -un" 

<->  O  O  kUM'    111. 

1  Fahrenheit's   thermometer    was  frequently  above   110  degrees  duiiny  these 
ma  relies. 


1oO  HISTORY    OF    TIXNEVELI.Y. 

Chapter  VI.  approached  the  fort,  a  flag  was  sent  desiring  the  headmen  to  open 
their  gates  and  hold  a  conference  :  they  refused.  The  18-pounders 
were,  therefore,  halted  in  the  rear  of  an  embankment,  facing  the 
north-east  angle  of  the  works  ;  a  hasty  battery  was  constructed, 
and  in  three  hours  we  were  ready  to  open  on  the  bastion.  The 
works  were  manned  with  several  thousand  people,  and  every  cir- 
cumstance denoted  an  intention  of  resistance.  It  was  material  to 
storm  without  delay,  in  order  to  strike  terror  by  despatch  and  also 
lest  Kattaboma  Nayaka,  with  his  confederate  chiefs,  might  hasten 
to  obstruct  our  operations.  We  opened  on  the  bastion,  but  finding 
ourselves  retarded  by  its  thickness,  we  resolved  to  breach  the 
adjoining  curtain,  and  to  render  the  defences  of  the  bastion  unten- 
able by  the  besieged.  They  kept  up  a  constant  and  well-directed 
fire,  and  notwithstanding  our  utmost  efforts,  it  was  dark  before  a 
practicable  breach  was  effected  ;  the  attack  was  therefore  deferred 
until  the  moon  should  rise.  The  storming  party  consisted  of  two 
companies  of  Europeans,  supported  by  the  13th  and  24th  Camatic 
Battalions,  and  continued  in  the  rear  of  the  battery.  The  cavalry, 
the  1st,  and  light  infantry  battalions,  were  posted  at  right  angles 
with  the  other  three  salient  angles  of  the  fort,  with  detachments 
fronting  each  gateway,  in  order  to  prevent  the  besieged  from 
receiving  supplies  or  making  their  escape,  while  the  other  troops 
remained  to  defend  the  camp,  which  was  within  random  shot. 

"  Our  next  object  was  to  remove  a  strong  hedge  fronting  the 
breach  and  surrounding  the  whole  fort,  as  is  the  practice  in  the 
Poligar  system  of  defence.  This  dangerous  service  was  effected 
with  unusual  skill  by  Ensign  Cunningham,  commanding  the 
Pioneers,  and  about  10  at  night,  with  the  advantage  of  bright 
moonshine,  the  storm  commenced.  Our  troops  after  they  gained 
the  summit  of  the  breach  found  no  sufficient  space  to  lodge  them- 
selves, and  the  interior  wall  having  no  slope  or  talus,  they  could 

Abandonment  not  push  forward  from  the  summit  as  they  advanced.  The  defen- 
ders  were  numerous  and  opposed  us  so  vigorously  with  pikes  and 
musketry  that  we  were  obliged  at  last  to  retire,  and  reached  the 
battery  with  considerable  slaughter  on  both  sides.  Immediate 
measures  were  taken  to  renew  the  charge,  but  the  Poligars, disheart- 
ened with  their  loss,  abandoned  the  place,  and  sallied  forth  at  the 
eastern  gate.  The  corps  posted  round  the  works  were  so  exhausted 
by  the  preceding  marches  that  the  fugitives  effected  their  escape; 
the  rest  were  taken  prisoners.  The  breach  was  covered  with  dead 
bodies,  and  the  place  contained  a  large  assortment  of  guns,  powder, 
shot,  arms,  and  other  military  stores,  which  were  of  course  applied 
to  the  public  service.  40,000  star  pagodas  were  also  found,  and 
immediately  distributed  to  the  troops.  Your  Board  was  pleased  to 
confirm  this  distribution  on  the  footing  of  prize-money,  than  which 
no  measure  could  more  effectually  tend  to  animate  the  army  in  our 


PERIOD    OF    ENGLISH    INTERVENTION.  151 

after  operations.     Some  other  facts  respecting  these  transactions,  Chavteh  VI. 
and  the  treaty  between  the  Dutch  Government  of  Colombo  and 
Ivattaboma  Nayaka  (of  which  the  original  was  taken  in  his  fort), 
were  referred  to  in  my  letters  of  the  1 3th  August  addressed  to  your 
Lordship  and  the  Board. 

"  Having  left  Captain  Jacobs  with  five  companies  of  the  25th  Attack  on 
Battalion  to  garrison  the  place  I  proceeded  to  Palamcotta,  in  order  yivaSm- 
to  inspect  the  state  of  that  fort,  and  from  thence  by  Sankaranainar- 
koil  to  Sivagiri.     It  was  hoped  that  the  reduction  of  that  strong- 
hold belonging  to  the  most  powerful  of  all  the  Poligars,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  fall  of  Panjalamkurichi,  would  intimidate  the  less  con- 
siderable offenders,  and  convince  the  whole  confederacy  that  their 
treatment   would  be   proportioned  to  their  misconduct.     Besides, 
the  outrages  committed  by  the  Sivagiri  chief  were  atrocious,  and 
could  not  be  forgiven  without  a  total  surrender  of  your  authority. 
He  had  barbarously  murdered  Captain  Graham  Campbell   and  cut 
off  a  detachment  under  the  command  of  that  officer.     On  former 
occasions  he  had  beat  off  considerable  detachments,  and  avowedly 
protected  your  enemies,  who  thought  themselves  secure  in  the  fort 
of  Shevigherry.     He  had  collected  magazines  sufficient  to  supply 
the  Dutch  force  that  was  expected  from  Colombo,   as  well  as  to 
resist  the  most   tedious  blockade,   for  he  did  not  conceive  his  fort 
could  be  stormed,  and  every  circumstance  in  his  conduct  marked  that 
he  held  himself  beyond  the  reach  of  military  power.      On  our 
arrival  before  the  town  of  Sivagiri  he  retired  to  the  thickets,  near  Abandonment 
four  miles  deep,  in  front  of  his  comby l  which  it  covers  and  defends.  of  the  fort- 
He  manned  the  whole  extent  of  a  strong  embankment  that  separates 
the  wood  and  open  country.    He  was  joined  by  Kattaboma  Nayaka, 
with  other  associated  Poligars  and  mustered  eight  thousand  or  nine 
thousand  men  in  arms.     In  the  present  instance  lenity  would  have 
been  accounted  imbecility,  but  the  approach  of  Colonels  Stuart  and 
Elphinstone  to  Dindigul,  and  Tippu  Sultan's  refusal  of  the  pro- 
posed accommodation,  rendered  me  extremely  anxious  to  finish  this 
Poligar  warfare,  in  order  to  proceed  towards  the  enemies'  frontiers. 
The  Sivagiri  chief  and  his  associates  were  therefore  informed  that  I  Terms  offered 
meant  immediately  to  attack  the  place,  unless  they  would  constrain  *°  ^e 
the  head  Poligars  of  Tinnevelly,  amounting  to  thirty-two  chiefs,  to 
liquidate  all  arrears  and  refund  the  amount  of  depredations  com- 
mitted since  the  commencement  of  the  war,   agreeably  to  authen- 
ticated vouchers  in  the  different  districts.     It  was  further  intimated 
that  if  they,  on  the  part  of  the  confederacy,  would  engage  to  pay 
£120,000  in  lieu  of  all  demands,  I  would  forward  their  proposal 
to  the  Superintendent  of  Revenue  (Mr.  Irwin),  and  on  his  accept- 

1  Tamil,  kdmbaJ ;  the  dictionary  calls  it  "  a  stronghold  in  the  mountains ;"  rather 
a  stockade  in  a  forest. 


152 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEYELLY, 


Terms 

declined 


Chapter  vi.  ance  that  the  troops  would  be  withdrawn,  and  that  they  would  be 
recommended  to  forgiveness.  They  wished  to  confer  with  me, 
but  refused  to  visit  me  in  camp.  As  their  distrust  arose  from 
various  outrages  committed  against  them  by  former  commanders, 
instead  of  increasing  their  apprehensions  by  any  appearance  of 
distrust  or  resentment,  I  proposed  to  meet  them  alone  and  unat- 
tended at  their  own  barrier,  adding  that  if  any  accident  befel  me, 
it  would  not  pass  unresented.  The  Sivagiri  Chief,  Kattaboma 
Nayaka,  and  the  deposed  Poligar  of  Chocumpatty,  with  a  large 
retinue,  met  me  in  front  of  their  embankment ;  before  they  finished 
their  explanations  it  was  dark,  and  a  musket  inadvertently  fired  in 
the  rear  alarmed  our  advanced  picket,  who  thought  it  was  aimed 
at  me.  To  prevent  the  ill-consequences  of  that  mistake,  I  took 
leave  of  the  Poligars  expressing  my  wish  to  hear  of  their  acceding 
to  the  terms  proposed.     We  refrained  from  hostility  next  day,  but 

rtrSiofd.the  findillS  that  they  trifled  witn  proposals,  the  line  was  ordered  under 
arms  on  the  morning  following,  and  we  made  the  distribution  of 
attack.  It  proved  as  desperate  as  any  contest  in  that  species  of 
Indian  warfare,  not  only  from  the  numbers  and  obstinacy  of  the 
Poligars,  but  from  the  peculiar  circumstances  which  had  acquired 
for  this  place  the  reputation  of  impregnability.  The  attack  com- 
menced by  the  Europeans  and  four  battalions  of  sepoys  moving 
against  the  embankment  which  covers  the  wood.  The  Poligars,  in 
full  force,  opposed  us,  but  our  troops  remained  with  their  firelocks 
shouldered,  under  a  heavy  fire,  until  they  approached  the  embank- 
ment ;  there  they  gave  a  general  discharge  and  rushed  upon  the 
enemy.  By  the  vigour  of  this  advance  we  got  possession  of  the 
summit,  the  Poligars  took  post  on  the  verge  of  the  adjoining  wood, 
and  disputed  every  step  with  great  loss  on  both  sides. 

"  After  reconnoitring  we  found  that  the  comby  could  not  be 
approached  in  front.  We  proceeded,  therefore,  to  cut  a  road 
through  the  impenetrable  thickets  for  three  miles  to  the  base  of  the 
hill  that  bounds  the  comby  on  the  west.  The  Pioneers,  under 
Ensign  Cunningham,  laboured  with  indefatigable  industry;  Captain 
Gardiner  of  the  102nd  supported  them  with  the  Europeans,  and 
Captain  Blacker  with  the  3rd  and  24th  Carnatic  Battalions 
advanced  their  field  pieces  as  fast  as  the  road  was  cleared.  These 
were  strengthened  by  troops  in  their  rear  forming  a  communica- 
tion with  those  in  front,  For  this  purpose  two  other  battalions 
were  posted  within  the  wood,  and  as  soon  as  we  gained  the  em- 
bankment the  camp  moved  near  it  and  concentrated  our  force. 
We  continued  to  cut  our  way  under  an  unabating  fire  from  eight 
thousand  Poligars,  who  constantly  pressed  upon  our  advanced  party, 
rushed  upon  the  line  of  attack,  piked  the  bullocks  that  were 
dragging  the  guns  and  killed  many  of  our  people.  But  those 
attempts  were  repulsed  by  perseverance,  and  before  sunset  we  had 


Capture  of 
the  e 

hold 


tin:  strong- 


PERIOD    OF    ENGLISH    INTERVENTION.  153 

opened  a  passage  entirely  to  the  mountain.     It  is  extremely  high,  Chapter  VI. 

rocky,  and  in  many  places  almost  perpendicular.     Having  resolved 

to  attack  from  this  unexpected  quarter,  the  troops  undertook  the 

service,  and  attained  the  summit.     The  Poligar  parties  posted  to 

guard  that  eminence  being  routed  after  much  firing  on  all  hands 

we  descended  on  the  other  side  and  flanked  the  comby.      The 

enemy  seeing  us  masters  of  the  mountain  retreated  under  cover  of 

the  night  by  paths  inaccessible   to  regular  troops,  and  we  took 

possession  of  this  wonderful  recess.     The  particulars  respecting 

ordnance,  stores,  and  provisions  found  in  the  place  are  stated  in  my 

letter  of  the  3rd  Se'ptember.     We  left  the  3rd  and  9th  Battalions 

to  secure  the  magazines  and  moved  the  army  to  Srivilliputtur  within 

four  marches  of  Madura  in   order  to  awe  the  Northern  Poligars  of 

Tinnevelly. 

"  It  was  little  more  than  a  month  since  we  had  left  Trichinopoly.  Success  of  the 
Your  authority  was  re-established  throughout  the  whole  track  that  expedition, 
we  had  traversed,   extending  more  than  three  hundred  miles  ;  and 
besides  the  arrangement  with  the  Sivagangei  Raja,  we  were  masters 
of  the  two  strongest  places  belonging  to   the  Poligars.     We  re- 
mained some  time  in   expectation  of  their  proposing  a  general 
accommodation,  but  they  knew  that  Tippu  still  invested  Manga- 
lore,  and  that  I  must  quickly  join  the  force  at  Dindigul.     This 
intelligence  corroborated  their  spirit  of  procrastination.     I  there- 
fore convened  the  Vakeels '  whom  the  chief  Poligars  had  sent  to 
treat  with  me  in  camp,  and  directed  them  to  inform  their  respective 
principals  that  I  should  leave  the  province  on  the  21st  September. 
I  added  that  if  they  did  not  return  to  their  allegiance,  I  should  The  Colonel's 
make  a  vow  to  Siven,  the  Grentoo  god,  whose  attribute  is  vengeance, tllreat> 
to  march  back  and  spread  destruction  throughout  every  possession 
of  the  defaulting  Poligars  :  this  declaration  alarmed  the   whole 
assembly.     I  wrote  to  Mr.  Irwin  expressing  my  regret  on  leaving 
the  province  before  any  settlement  was  concluded  with  the  Poligars. 
He  forwarded  to  me  the  terms  on  which  he  thought  it  expedient  to 
restore  their  forts  to  Kattaboma  Nayaka  and  Sivagiri.  Vakeels  from 
these  chiefs  waited  on  me  at  Trimungulam 2  (Tirmnangalam)  and 
stipulated  in  the  name  of  their  masters  that  they  would  pay  thirty 
thousand  chuekrums   each,  in  lieu  of  all  preceding  claims.     They 
likewise  gave  their  bonds  for  fifteen  thousand  pagodas,  or  £G,000 
each,  in  consideration  of  the  restitution  of   their  forts.     I  farther 
exacted   obligations  that  the  defences  of  Panjalamkurichi  should 
be  demolished,  the  guns,  stores,  and  ammunition  removed  to  Palam- 
eotta,  and  that  the  road  which  we  cleared  to  the  comby  of  Sivagiri 
should  continue  open ;  that  the  means  of  defence  should  be  removed 

1  Vakeels  are  deputies,  agents,  or  ambassadors. 

2  Trimungulam  (Tirumang-alam)  is  twelve  miles  south-west  of  Madura. 

20 


154 


HISTORY    OF    TIXXFVF.I.I.Y 


Chapter  VI. 


Conditions  of 
peace  im- 
posed. 


Satisfaction  of 
Government. 


Kattaboma's 
treaty  with 
the  Dutch. 


Pearl  fishery 


Mr.  Irwin's 


policy. 


from  the  place,  and  that  the  southern  commanders  and  the  Com- 
pany's troops  should  at  all  times  be  admitted  within  their  forts  and 
barriers.  I  concluded  with  injunctions  to  observe  a  more  submis- 
sive conduct  if  they  valued  their  lives,  property,  or  posterity.  As 
soon  as  the  restitution  of  the  forts  and  prisoners  1  could  possibly 
take  place,  the  3rd  and  9th  Battalions,  under  Captain  Mackinnon, 
were  directed  to  march  from  Sivagiri  and  to  join  me  at  Dindigul, 
whither  I  proceeded  by  the  route  of  Madura." 

In  the  beginning  of  the  following  year  Colonel  Fullarton  visited 
Tinnevelly  again,  but  only  for  the  purpose  of  expediting  the  col- 
lection of  money  and  means  of  transport  for  the  force  with  which 
he  was  preparing  to  cope  with  Tippu  Sultan. 

On  the  26th  October  LMr.  Irwin  mentions  that  Kattaboma 
Nayaka  and  the  Sivagiri  Poligar  had  submitted.  It  will  be  seen 
from  a  general  order  of  Government,  reviewing  the  position  of 
things  in  1875,  that  they  were  highly  gratified  both  with  the 
military  results  of  Colonel  Fullarton's  expedition  and  with  the 
financial  settlement  he  had  made. 

Mr.  Irwin  transmits  the  originals  and  translations  of  Kattaboma 
Nayaka's  correspondence  with  the  Dutch  and  their  treaty  with  him, 
found  in  his  fort  on  its  capture,  as  mentioned  by  Colonel  Fullarton 
in  his  narrative,  which  he  observes  will  fully  justify  the  severity 
with  which  he  was  treated.  He  recommends  also  that  if  the 
Dutch  should  return  to  Tuticorin,  peace  having  been  concluded,  as 
was  expected,  measures  should  be  taken  to  prevent  them  from 
giving  their  support  and  encouragement  to  Kattaboma  Nayaka  as 
before. 

1784.  The  first  pearl  fishery  carried  on  by  the  East  India 
Company  was  in  ]  784,  under  Mr.  Irwin's  superintendence,  but  the 
result,  as  has  so  often  been  the  case  since,  was  unsatisfactory. 

In  a  letter  to  the  Committee  in  May  Mr.  Irwin  represents  the 
advantages  that  have  accrued  to  the  province  from  the  combination 
of  severity  and  clemency  in  Colonel  Fullarton's  dealings  with  the 
Poligars.  In  carrying  out  this  policy  himself  he  states  that  he 
had  released  most  of  the  Toligar  prisoners  held  in  detention  in 
Palamcotta  jail,  in  the  belief  that  this  unexpected  act  of  clemency 
would  confirm  them  in  their  allegiance  to  the  Company.  The 
Poligar  of  Kollarpatti  had  been  imprisoned  for  more  than  twenty 
years.  His  son,  who  was  an  infant  when  his  father  was  committed 
to  prison,  had  succeeded  to  the  pollam  and  had  been  in  possession 
ever  since.  Notwithstanding  this  he  applied  for  his  fathers  release 
and  in  Mr.  Irwin's  presence  he  voluntarily  resigned  to  his  father 


1  Among  the  prisoners  there  was  the  daughter  of  Kattaboma  Nayaka,  who.  as 
well  as  all  the  others,  amounting  to  many  hundreds,  were  treated  with  the  utmost 
attention. 


rERIOD    OF    ENGLISH    INTERVENTION.  155 

the  authority  he  had  so  long  held.     Mr.  Irwin  was  much  struck  Chapter  VI. 
with  this  instance  of  filial  duty.     Hindu  readers  will  be  reminded  Instance  of 
of  Bharata's  behaviour  to  his  brother  Rama.  filial  duty. 

In  October  he  repeats  that  the  Panjalamkurichi  and  Sivagiri 
Poligars,  who  had  been  singled  out  for  punishment  by  Colonel 
Fullarton,  were  still  very  punctual  in  their  payments,  and  he  hopes 
that  the  rest  of  the  Poligars  will  learn  to  be  equally  punctual. 

1785.     Swartz  visited  Palamcotta  in  1785,  when  he  dedicated  Swartz'a 
the  church  that  had  been  erected  there.  V1S1  ' 

Captain  Bilcliffe,  Commandant  of  Palamcotta,  is  directed  to  make  Tuticoria 
over  Tuticorin,  with  the  stations  dependent  on  it,  to  Mr.  Meckern,  glven  up- 
the  Dutch  Governor,  in  behalf  of  the  Dutch.  The  treaty,  in  virtue 
of  which  this  cession  was  at  length  made,  had  been  entered  into  two 
years  before,  viz.,  in  1783.  Towards  the  end  of  the  year  Mr. 
Torin  acted  as  Paymaster  for  Mr.  Oakes.  The  appointment  of 
Paymaster  was  then  always  held  by  civilians. 

Surrender  of  the  Assignment. 

The  principal  event  of  this  year,  and  one  which  was  productive  The  surrender 
of  much  mischief  to  every  district  in  the  country,  Tinnevelly  °ls^*ent 
included,  was  the  surrender  to  the  Nawab  of  the  assignment  of  his  reluctantly 
revenues,  in  virtue  of  which  the  civil  administration  of  the  Com-  ^S^it. 
pany,  with  all  its  advantages,  ceased  for  seven  years.  The  sur- 
render took  place,  after  many  ineffectual  protests  on  the  part  of  the 
Madras  Government,  on  the  28th  of  June,  whereupon  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  Committee  of  Assigned  Revenue  came  to  an  end,  and 
the  Committee  itself  was  soon  after  dissolved.  They  were  to  cease 
receiving  their  special  allowances  from  the  5th  of  July,  but  were 
to  continue  to  meet  as  a  committee  till  all  the  balances  were  settled. 
They  were  thanked  by  the  Supreme  Government  for  their  zealous 
services.  On  the  24th  June  Mr.  Irwin  wrote  a  letter  to  Govern- 
ment earnestly  deprecating  the  surrender  of  "the  assignment,  as  a 
retrograde  measure  fraught  with  the  worst  consequences.  In  the 
event  of  the  surrender  appearing  to  be  inevitable  he  pleaded  that  a 
stipulation  should  be  inserted,  exempting  Tinnevelly  and  Madura 
from  its  operation  till  October.  He  argued  that  those  two  districts 
having  been  remodelled  by  himself  were  in  an  exceptional  posi- 
tion. Reforms  and  pacificatory  measures  had  been  introduced, 
but  there  had  not  been  time  to  carry  them  far.  His  wish  could 
not  be  acceded  to.  Before  his  letter  reached  Madras  the  surrender 
had  been  formally  made.  In  virtue  of  this  conclusion,  on  the  10th 
July,  Mr.  Irwin  reports  that  he  had  delivered  over  the  district  to 
the  Amildars  on  that  date,  with  the  balance  due  from  the  28th  of 
June.  In  doing  so  he  again  expressed  his  apprehension  of  the  evils 
that  were  likely  to  ensue.     In  September  Mr.  Irwin  on  his  way 


156 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Irwin's 

foreboding 


Chapter  VI.  from  Tinnevelly  to  Madras,  at  Melur  in  Madura,  writes  to  Govern- 
ment a  letter  in  which  he  highly  lauds  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Torin, 
his  Revenue  Assistant  in  the  Madura  District,  who  was  afterwards 
the  first  Collector  of  Tinnevelly  under  the  Assumption  in  1790  and 
the  Treaty  of  1792.  After  his  arrival  in  Madras,  in  October  he 
submitted  to  Government  in  an  able  letter  his  views  respecting  the 
condition  of  the  southern  districts  from  Triehinopoly  to  Tinnevelly 
that  had  been  under  his  charge,  reiterating  his  conviction  that  all 
the  old  evils  would  revive  and  gather  strength  through  the  with- 
drawal of  the  Company's  authority,  both  on  the  side  of  the 
Nawab's  agents,  who  would  now  be  able  to  misgovern  with  impu- 
nity, and  on  that  of  the  Poligars,  whose  habits  of  insurrection  and 
plunder  would  now  go  on  unchecked. 

The  Committee  of  Assigned  Eevenue,  in  resigning  their  func- 
tions, submitted  to  Government,  on  the  31st  of  December,  a  gene- 
ral statement  of  their  proceedings,  in  which  they  enlarged  on  the 
circumstances  of  the  Tinnevelly  Poligars,  the  impolicy  of  the 
dealings  with  them  of  the  Nawab's  agents,  and  the  principles  on 
which  their  own  method  of  dealing  with  them  had  been  grounded. 
They  describe  the  Poligars  as  thirty -two  in  number,  with  an  array 
of  followers  armed  with  pikes  and  matchlocks,  estimated  at  30,000 
men,  and  possessed  of  strongholds  which  the  Nawab's  troops  had 
often  found  it  difficult  to  reduce  and  from  which,  even  if  they 
were  taken,  it  was  easy  to  escape  into  the  woods.  When  the 
Nawab  was  strong  he  levied  as  much  tribute  from  the  Poligars  as 
The  Nawab's  f  ear  induced  them  to  yield  ;  when,  on  the  other  hand,  he  was  weak 
the^olig.irs.  he  nad  to  content  himself  with  their  gratuitous  offerings  and  wait 
for  a  more  favourable  opportunity  for  enforcing  his  demands. 

Mr.  Irwin  calculated  in  1783  that,  during  the  eighteen  years 
previous,  of  the  average  tribute  of  more  than  one  lakh  of  chakrams 
per  annum  due  by  the  Poligars  only  an  average  of  about  40,000 
chakrams  per  annum  reached  the  treasury,  in  consequence  of  which, 
if  they  balanced  against  this  small  gain  what  was  lost  by  depre- 
dations and  expended  on  military  expeditions,  it  would  appear 
that  the  Nawab  must  have  been  a  loser  of  several  lakhs  of  pagodas 
in  his  transactions  with  the  Poligars  during  that  time.  "  But 
this,"  they  say,  "  was  not  the  only  inconvenience  attending  the 
system.  A  state  of  frequent  warfare  and  perpetual  distrust  took 
place  of  that  mutual  confidence  which  ought  to  have  made  the 
Poligars  good  subjects  in  time  of  peace  and  useful  auxiliaries  in 
time  of  war.  The  consequence  was  naturally  that  when  Hyder 
Ali  invaded  the  Carnatic  in  1780  they  availed  themselves  of  that 
opportunity  to  withhold  the  payment  of  their  tribute,  to  plunder 
the  country,  and  commit  other  acts  of  violence  and  hostility  which 
obliged  the  Company  to  send  a  large  force  ngninst  them  in  the 
midst    of    the  war.     The   army   under   the   command   of   Colonel 


His  losses. 


_  m 


PERIOD    OF    ENGLISH    INTERVENTION.  157 

Fullarton  by  a  well-timed  expedition  against  two  of  the  principal  Chapter  VI. 
Poligars  brought  the  whole  to  a  sense  of  obedience,  and  the  equity 
of  the  subsequent  settlement  improved  that  obedience  into  a  real 
confidence  in  the  Company's  government." 

In  another  paragraph  they  expressed  their  regret  at  having  The  Nawab's 
learnt  that,  though  so  short  a  time  had  elapsed  since  the  Assign-  j^  ra" 
ment  had  been  surrendered  into  the  Nawab's  hands,  he  had  already 
commenced,  as  in  former  times,  to  "  anticipate  the  revenue  by 
borrowing  money  and  requiring  advances  from  the  different 
renters  as  the  price  of  their  confirmation."  This  practice  they 
deprecated  not  only  because  of  the  interest  that  would  have  to  be 
paid  on  the  sums  borrowed,  but  still  more  on  account  of  the  power 
it  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  renter  to  reimburse  himself  at  the 
expense  of  the  country. 

They  proceeded  also  to  compare  the  expensiveness  of  the  Nawab's 
government  with  the  inexpensiveness  of  theirs  during  the  Assign- 
ment. When  uncontrolled  authority  came  into  their  hands  they 
reduced  the  Nawab's  separate  disbursements  upon  the  peace 
establishment  from  thirteen  and  a  half  lakhs  of  pagodas  per  annum 
to  little  more  than  two  lakhs  ;  and  during  the  time  they  had  the 
collection  of  the  revenue,  even  in  time  of  war,  the  charges  did  not 
exceed  11  per  cent,  upon  the  gross  jumma  of  the  assignment. 

I  append  to  this  statement  the  following  description  by  Mr. 
Lushington  of  the  state  of  disorder  into  which  Tinnevelly  relapsed, 
after  the  Assignment  was  surrendered  and  Mr.  Irwin  left  the 
district  in  1785,  till  the  commencement  of  the  period  of  the  Assump- 
tion and  Mr.  Torin's  management  in  1790  : — 

"  With  the  knowledge  of  these  facts  it  will  appear  very  natural  Effects  of  the 
that  the  inhabitants  should  look  back  to  the  Company's  management  Nawab's  rule, 
as  an  era  of  comparative  happiness,  and  contrast  it  in  a  very  feeling 
manner  with  three  succeeding  years  of  extortion  under  Iktibar  Khan, 
when  the  system  of  mortgage  and  gadayom  (sale)  prevailed  in  its 
worst  rigours.  From  these  intolerable  oppressions  the  inhabitants' 
fled  in  numbers  to  Travancore,  and  the  ruin  of  the  country  was  fast 
approaching  ;  but  the  fears  of  the  Nawab  were  at  length  raised  to  the 
calamities  of  the  country  by  the  remonstrances  of  the  Eight  Honourable 
Lord  Hobart.  The  accuracy  with  which  the  evils  of  this  system  were 
developed,  the  determination  subsequently  shown  by  the  Company's 
Government  to  put  an  end  to  them,  and  especially  the  establishment 
of  the  Commercial  Investment  about  this  period  may  be  said  with  the 
strictest  truth  to  have  arrested  the  destruction  of  Tinnevelly,  for  the 
alarm  excited  at  His  Highness'  Durbar  and  in  the  breasts  of  all  those 
who  participated  in  these  enormities  materially  changed  the  nature  of 
His  Highness'  management.  The  system  of  usurious  mortgage  grew  Improvements 
from  that  period  into  disuse,  for  those  pernicious  transactions  which  introduced  by- 
had  before  covered  the  province  were  of  a  very  different  character 
from  the  inferior  advantages  that  a  few  adventurers  subsequently 
derived  from  a  partial  and  fearful  monopoly  of  grain." 


158  HISTORY    OF   TINNEVELLY. 

Chapter vl       Iktibar  Khan,  commonly  styled  "the  Cawn,"  was  the  Nawab's 

manager  in  Tinnevelly  during  most  of  this  period. 
Board  of  1786.     On  the  1st  May  1786  the  Board  of  Eevenue  was  consti- 

Revenue.  tuted  at  MadraS- 

The  Commandant  of  Palamcotta  places  five  companies  of  Captain 
Blacker's  battalion  at  Saakaranaiyanarkovil  at  the  "request"  of 
Iktibar  Khan,  the  Nawab's  manager. 

1787.  Mr.  Oakes  resumes  his  post  of  Paymaster  in  Palamcotta. 
A  dispute  takes  place  between  Major  McLeod,  an  officer  at  the  head 
of  a  detachment,  and  the  Paymaster,  respecting  the  loss  his  troops 
had  sustained  by  the  rate  of  exchange  the  Paymaster  had  fixed. 

Colonel  Bridges  is  Commandant  of  Palamcotta,  and  reports  in 
February  that  the  Nawab's  Fauzdar  had  assembled  a  considerable 
force  at  Tenkanji,  (properly  Tenkasi,  the  Southern  Benares,  com- 
monly Tenkanji,  the  southern  Conjeveram),  for  the  purpose  of 
operating  against  the  Poligar  of  Chokkampatti,  who  had  built  a 
fort  and  was  furnishing  it  with  arms  and  provisions.  Colonel 
Bridges  had  recommended  that  the  Fauzdar  should  not  commence 
hostilities  without  the  consent  of  the  Madras  Government. 
Fears  of  1788.     A  Dutch  detachment  marches  from  Tuticorin  to  Cochin, 

Tippu  Sultan.  ^th  0f  which  places  then  belonged  to  the  Dutch.  The  Madras 
Government  advises  that  they  be  warned  that  in  passing  through 
the  territories  of  Travancore  and  Cochin  they  should  take  great 
care  not  to  be  intercepted  by  Tippu  Sultan.  Tippu's  assault  on  the 
northern  Travancore  lines  was  in  the  following  year. 
Cultivation  of  1789.  In  January  Mr.  Oakes  resigns  and  Mr.  Torin,  who  had 
epues.  previously  acted  for  him,  is  appointed  Paymaster  and  Storekeeper 

in  his  room.  Mr.  Torin  requests  the  grant  of  a  piece  of  land  in 
Palamcotta  for  the  cultivation  of  cinnamon  on  a  larger  scale.  The 
piece  of  ground  he  asked  for  was  near  the  Nawab's  garden  and  the 
Company's  garden.  It  was  close  also  to  the  Paymaster's  house. 
According  to  tradition  this  cinnamon  garden  was  identical  with  a 
piece  of  land  now  cultivated  with  paddy  to  the  north-east  of  the 
Judge's  house.  The  commencement  of  this  cultivation  was  by 
Mr.  Light,  a  previous  Paymaster.  (See  1780).  The  experiment,  so 
far  as  it  had  gone,  was  a  promising  one.  It  was  from  the  two 
trees  brought  from  Ceylon  by  Mr.  Light  that  he  had  been  going 
on  propagating  more.  It  would  be  easy  to  make  cinnamon  trees 
grow  in  the  alluvial  soil  near  the  river  at  Palamcotta,  but  in  so 
hot  and  dry  a  climate  the  cultivation  would  not  be  found  to  pay. 
It  was  from  Mr.  Torin's  trees  that  cinnamon  was  introduced  into 
the  "  Spice  Gardens"  at  Courtallum.     See  1791. 

A  proposition  of  Mr.  Torin's  to  rebuild  the   Paymaster's  house 
(his  own)  at  a  cost  of  1,000  pagodas  is  sanctioned. 

1790.      All   the  Paymasters  south    of   the   Coleroon,   including 
Palamcotta,  are  ordered  to  be  ready  to  comply  with  all  the  requisi- 


PERIOD    OF    ENGLISH    INTERVENTION'.  159 

tions  of  Colonel  Musgrove,  the  Commander-in-Chief,  who  was  then  Chapter  VI. 
preparing  to  meet  an  expected  invasion  by  Tippu  Sultan.    Provin- 
cial battalions  were  being  formed  in  each  division. 

The  Period  of  the  Assumption. 

On  the  7th  August  1790  a  new  period  in  the  relations  subsisting  Difference 
between  the  Madras  Government  and  the  Nawab  of  the  Carnatic  between  the 

Assignment 

commenced.  The  Government,  finding  it  impossible  to  induce  the  and  the 
Nawab  to  consent  to  the  reintroduction  of  the  Assignment,  or  any  AssuD1Phon- 
similar  arrangement  placing  the  general  administration  of  affairs 
in  English  hands,  took  possession  of  the  management  of  the  country, 
without  treaty,  by  proclamation.  The  expression  they  use  is,  that 
they  have  "  assumed  the  management  of  the  Nawab's  country," 
and  the  period  came  to  be  styled  "  the  period  of  the  Assumption," 
lasting  from  1790  to  1792,  in  contradistinction  to  "  the  period  of  the 
Assignment,"  lasting  from  1781  to  1790.  From  1792  commenced 
the  period  of  a  new  treaty.  A  Board  was  at  the  same  time  insti- 
tuted called  at  first,  as  before,  the  Board  of  Assigned  Revenue  ;  but 
this  name  was  erroneous  ;  it  implied  the  Nawab's  consent  to  the 
arrangement ;  and  accordingly  on  the  28th  September  the  Govern- 
ment write  to  the  Board  :  "  The  management  of  the  countries  of 
the  Nawab  and  the  Raja  (of  Tan j ore)  having  been  assumed,  not 
assigned,  the  name  of  your  Board  must  henceforward  be  changed 
accordingly."  After  this  order  it  was  called  the  Board  of  Assumed 
Revenue.  This  Board  was  not  independent  of  the  Board  of 
Revenue,  but  was  simply  a  department  of  its  work. 

Before  the   proclamation  was  issued   various  necessary  arrange-  Sir.  Torin 
ments  are  made.      On  the  23rd  of  July  Collectors  are  appointed     j60^ 
for  the  management  of  the  various  districts,  who  are  to  report  their  Assumption, 
proceedings  to  the  Board.      Mr.  Benjamin  Torin,  previously  Pay- 
master of  Palamcotta,  is  appointed  Collector  of  Tinnevelly  and  the 
dependent  Poligars.     Mr.  Macleod  is  at  the  same  time  appointed 
Collector    of   Madura,   Melur,   and    the    Marawars.      On  the    7th 
August  orders  are  issued  to  the  Commandant  of  Palamcotta  "  to 
support   the    Collector    upon    his   written    requisition    with    such 
military  aid  as  he  may  from  time  to  time  require,  in  support  of  the 
trust  with  which  he  is  invested." 

Mr.  Marten  is  appointed  Paymaster  rice  Mr.  Torin.  Mr.  Torin, 
now  Collector  of  Tinnevelly,  under  the  Assumption,  proposes  to 
Government  that  the  Nawab's  troops  in  Tinnevelly,  now  left 
without  pay  or  discipline,  be  entertained  by  Government  and  put 
under  the  command  of  Captains  Dighton  and  Everett,  hitherto 
officers  in  the  Nawab's  service.     The  proposition  is  approved. 

Mr.  Meckern,  Dutch  Governor  of  Tuticorin,  obtains  permission 
to  march  400  men,  Europeans  and  Malays,  coming  from  Cochin 
through  Tinnevelly  to  Tuticorin,  there  to  be  embarked  for  Ceylon. 


160  HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 

Chapter  VI.  1791.  Specimens  of  the  cinnamon  grown  at  Palamcotta  are  sent 
to  Madras  and  approved.  Mr.  Torin  proceeds  to  cultivate  mulber- 
ries. Cinnamon  cultivation  is  extended  by  Mr.  Torin  to  Tenkasi. 
Probably  Courtallum  is  meant,  though  it  is  also  said  that  the 
cultivation  of  spices  was  introduced  into  Courtallum  in  1800  by 
Mr.  Casamajor. 

On  the  11th  October  Mr.  Torin  sends  to  Government,  for  the  in- 
formation of  the  Governor-General,  Lord  Cornwallis,  an  account 
of  the  conduct  of  the  Tinnevelly  Poligars.  He  states  that  the 
lenity  shown  to  two  of  them — the  Poligars  of  Sivagiri  and  Panja- 
lamkurichi — by  Colonel  Fullarton  had  only  encouraged  them  in 
their  rebellious  spirit,  and  recommends  that  more  decided  measures 
should  be  adopted,  especially  with  regard  to  Panjalamkurichi.  He 
mentions  that  a  military  guard  had  been  sent  to  occupy  the  fort 
Pali  Devar  of  Puli  Devar,  but  that  the  Devar' s  men  had  taken  up  the  men  of 
again.  ^e  guar(j  "bodily^  weapons  and  all,  carried  them  out  and  set  them 

down  outside  the  fort.     He  mentions  this  incident  as  showing  both 
their  dread  of  our  power  and  their  resolution  not  to  submit. 
Torin's  Mr.  Torin's  opinion  of  the  result  of  Colonel  Fullarton's  policy 

t^resultt  of  differed  widely,  we  see,  from  Mr.  Irwin's.  His  representations  led 
Fullarton's  to  Colonel  Maxwell's  expedition.  But  the  result  showed — as  the 
lemty.  result  of  every  similar  expedition,  whether  before  or  after  showed — 

that  no  permanent  pacification  would  be  brought  about,  whether 
by  "  lenity  "  or  by  more  "  decided  measures,"  so  long  as  the  double 
government  of  the  Nawab  and  the  Company  subsisted.  Having 
two  masters  the  Poligars  always  succeeded  in  defying  both.  The 
Government  are  so  much  gratified  with  Mr.  Torin's  zeal  and  dili- 
gence that  his  pay  and  allowances  are  doubled.  He  is  constantly 
endeavouring  without  success  to  induce  the  late  renter,  Tlttarappa 
Mudali,  to  refund  the  taxes  received  by  him. 

The  Treaty  of  1792. 

Conditions  of  1792.  This  year  occupies  a  still  more  important  place  in  the 
treaty  history  of  the  period  than  1781  or  1790,  for  the  treaty  entered  into 

this  year  between  the  Nawab  and  the  East  India  Company 
remained  in  force  for  nine  years — a  long  time  for  any  such  arrange- 
ment to  last — and  came  to  an  end  only  on  the  formal  and  final 
transfer  of  the  country  from  the  Nawab  to  the  English  Government 
in  1801.  The  treaty  was  signed  on  the  12th  July,  but  virtually  it 
dated  from  the  beginning  of  the  year.  By  this  treaty  the  Madras 
Government  undertook  to  collect  the  whole  of  the  Poligar  peshcush 
or  tribute  at  their  own  expense  and  risk.  The  Nawab  was  not  to 
be  responsible  either  for  any  deficiency  that  might  arise  in  the 
Poligars'  payments,  or  for  the  expense  incurred  by  any  coercive 
measures  which  it  might  become  necessary  to  adopt  to  enforce 
payment  from  them.     With  the  exception  of  a  few  districts  the  rest 


PERIOD    OF    ENGLISH    INTERVENTION.  161 

of  the  country  was  to  be  restored  to  the  management  of  the  Nawab  Chapter  VI. 
on  certain  conditions.  Amongst  the  excepted  districts  were  the 
districts  south  of  Trichinopoly,  including  Tinnovelly  and  Madura. 
These  were  to  remain  in  the  Company's  hands  till  the  revenue,  after 
deducting  the  charges  of  collection,  equalled  the  amount  of  the 
kist  that  had  fallen  into  arrears.  One  of  the  conditions  of  the 
treaty  was  that  in  time  of  war  the  entire  management  of  the 
country  was  to  be  in  the  Company's  hands. 

A  new  commission,  in  virtue  of  the  treaty,  was  issued  to  Mr.  New  appoint- 
Torin  on  the  same  date  as  the  treaty  itself,  the  12th  July.  lie  meu  s' 
was  hereby  appointed  "  Collector  of  the  Zemindar  and  Poligar 
peshcush  in  the  Tinnevelly,  Madura,  Trichinopoly,  Ramnadpuram, 
and  Shevigunga  Districts."  This  was  in  advance  of  the  special 
instructions  he  was  shortly  to  receive  from  "  the  Board  of  Assumed 
Revenue."  Those  instructions  related  especially  to  his  co-opera- 
tion with  Lieutenant- Colonel  Maxwell  in  the  expedition  on  which 
he  was  about  to  enter. 

In  accordance  with   Mr.  Torin's   representations  Government  Colonel 

had  determined  to  send  a  detachment,  under  Colonel  Maxwell,  into  Mar?£r 

....  .        expedition. 

Tinnevelly.  The  special  object  of  the  expedition  was  "  to  punish 
the  Poligar  of  Sivagiri,  who  in  contempt  of  all  authority,  and  of 
every  principle  of  justice  and  humanity,  had  made  a  violent  attack 
with  his  peons  on  the  Poligar  of  Settur  and  put  him  and  his 
family  to  death."  He  was  instructed  to  endeavour  to  apprehend 
the  Poligar  of  Sivagiri,  and  not  to  operate  against  the  other 
Poligars  except  in  the  event  of  his  finding  them  confederates  with 
him.  The  existence  of  this  confederacy  was  ere  long  clearly 
proved.  Colonel  Maxwell  set  out  on  his  expedition  in  July  and 
proceeded  from  Madura  to  Srlvilliputtur.  From  thence  he 
marched  on  Sivagiri.  He  attacked  and  reduced  the  "kombai"  (the 
hill  stockade)  of  the  Sivagiri  Poligar,  in  Which  service  Captains 
Steward  and  Torrens  greatly  distinguished  themselves.  See  the 
account  of  the  capture  of  this  stronghold  by  Colonel  Pullarton  in 
1783. 

Colonel  Maxwell  now  proceeded,  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Torin,  Colonel 
to  make  a  settlement  with  the  various  Tinnevelly  Poligars,  but  8ettiement. 
they  did  not  agree  in  some  particulars  as  to  the  course  that  ought 
to  be  taken.  Orders  were  issued  by  Colonel  Maxwell,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  instructions  of  the  Board,  respecting  the  arrears  due 
by  the  Poligars.  No  remission  was  to  be  made  to  Sivagiri.  The 
Chokkampatti  Poligar  refused  to  accept  Colonel  Maxwell's  offer 
and  was  deposed.  Chennalgudi  Pollam  was  temporarily  resumed. 
"iic  element  in  the  settlement  made  by  Colonel  Maxwell  was  that 
a  certain  Sankaralingam  Pillai  should  be  prohibited  from  receiving 
any  employment  or  encouragement  from  any  of  the  Poligars. 
This  Sankaralingam   Pillai  was   one  of  the  persons  who  subse- 

21 


162 


HISTORY    OF    T1NNEVELLY. 


Mr.  Landon, 

Collector. 


Marudur 
anicut. 


Chapter  VI.  quently  instigated  the  son  of  the  Poligar  of  Sivagiri  to  rebel 
against  his  father.  Mr.  Torin  disapproved  Colonel  Maxwell's 
policy  towards  this  man,  and  Colonel  Maxwell  complained  to 
Government  of  Mr.  Torin's  interference  with  his  authority.  He 
also  represented  Mr.  Torin's  dubash,  or  confidential  interpreter,  in 
whose  faithfulness  his  master  placed  implicit  reliance,  as  secretly 
in  league  with  the  Poligars.  On  a  reference  being  made  to 
Government  Mr.  Torin  was  ordered  to  dismiss  his  dubash  and 
Colonel  Maxwell's  authority  over  the  affairs  of  the  Poligars  was 
made  absolute.  Hereupon  Mr.  Torin  resigned,  and  his  dubash 
was  sent  to  Madras  under  a  guard.  Mr.  Torin's  Assistant  at  this 
time  was  Mr.  Thomas  Scott  Jackson.  His  resignation  was  accepted, 
and  Mr.  James  Landon  was  appointed  his  successor.  He  gave  over 
charge  to  Mr.  Landon  on  the  12th  November  1792.  Mr.  Landon 
was  to  receive  250  pagodas  per  mensem  and  1|  per  cent,  commission 
at  the  expiration  of  the  year.  Mr.  Torin's  name  is  chiefly  remem- 
bered in  Tinnevelly  in  connection  with  the  rebuilding  of  the 
Marudur  anicut.  An  inscription  on  the  anicut  records  his  name 
and  the  year  1792.  Colonel  Maxwell's  Secretary  or  Assistant 
throughout  these  expeditions  was  Captain  Bannerman,  afterwards 
in  command  of  a  similar  but  more  important  expedition  in  1799. 

1793.  Mr.  Balmain  is  Assistant  to  Mr.  Landon,  and  at  Mr. 
Landon's  request  receives  an  addition  to  his  salary  of  50  pagodas 
per  mensem. 

Mr.  Landon  states  that  the  Poligar  of  Woodoocaud  (probably 
Orkadu)  had  murdered  a  Tahsildar  employed  in  his  district  by  the 
Nawab's  manager. 

The  Settur  Poligar  being  a  minor  his  pollam  is  placed  under  a 
manager  by  Mr.  Landon,  but  the  manager  is  dispossessed  and 
imprisoned  by  a  usurper.  Government,  sensible  that  such  law- 
less acts,  if  allowed  to  pass  entirely  unnoticed,  would  lead  to 
greater  mischief,  now  directed  Captain  Dighton  to  proceed  with 
his  detachment  against  Settur  in  order  to  capture  the  usurping 
manager.  He  appeared  before  the  fort  in  July  1793,  but  the 
gates  were  closed  againt  him,  and  the  troops  of  the  Ootoomaly 
(TJttumalai)  and  Ovidiapuram  (Avudaiyarpuram)  Zemindars,  who 
were  within  the  walls,  threatened  to  open  fire  on  him  if  he  did  not 
withdraw.  He  withdrew,  but  the  Collector  ordered  Major  Stevenson 
to  proceed  with  his  troops  to  Captain  Dighton's  assistance  and  to 
apprehend  tho  two  Poligars.  Government,  however,  despatched 
orders  to  Major  Stevenson  forbidding  him  to  attack  the  rebels,  and 
desiring  him  to  content  himself  with  warnings  for  the  present. 
Government  also  interdicted  Mr.  Landon  from  interfering  in  the 
police  and  internal  management  of  the  pollams,  and  told  him  that 
he  was  to  confino  himself  to  the  duty  of  collecting  the  peshcush. 
They  held  that  no  further  right  but  that  of  collection  was  con- 


Troubles  at 
Settur. 


PERIOD    OF   ENGLISH    INTERVENTION.  1G3 

ferred  on  the  Company  by  the  treaty  of  1792  with  the  Nawab.  ChaptbkVI. 
Tho  Government  felt  obliged  to  temporise  from  want  of  troops,  but  The  Qovern- 
this  policy  would  necessarily  have  reduced  the  country  ere  long  to  mcnt  obliged 
anarchy.  These  counter  orders  of  GTovernment  were  sufficient  to 
embolden  even  the  most  inconsiderable  Poligars,  and  accordingly 
Major  Stevenson,  a  few  days  subsequently,  warned  Government 
against  a  general  rising,  at  the  same  time  announcing  that 
Kattaboma  Nayaka  was  plundering  the  eastern  parts  of  the 
province  and  murdering  the  people,  and  that  Puli  Devar  had 
thrown  himself  across  the  path  of  Lieutenant  St.  Leger  in  his 
pursuit  of  the  manager  of  Settur  and  closed  the  gates  of  his  fort 
against  him.  In  the  settlement  made  by  Colonel  Maxwell  shortly 
before  the  boundaries  of  the  several  pollams  were  rearranged, 
and  part  of  this  new  arrangement  was  that  two  villages  should  be 
transferred  from  Panjalamkurichi  to  Ettaiyapuram.  Kattaboma 
Nayaka,  however,  positively  refused  to  surrender  those  villages, 
and  the  Collector  was  unable  to  enforce  obedience.  Captain 
Dighton  commanding  Streevalapatore  (Srlvilliputtur)  also  informed 
Government  that  danger  was  approaching,  as  the  Poligars  had 
bodies  of  armed  peons  marching  about  daily,  but  the  Government 
had  no  troops  to  spare.  The  Poligars  regarded  the  inactivity  of 
Government  as  a  sign  of  weakness,  and  so  (in  1798)  Kattaboma 
Nayaka's  people  attacked  and  plundered  the  important  towns  of 
Alvar-Tinnevelly  (Alvar-Tirunagari)  and  Streeviguntam  (Sri-  Disorders 
vaikuntham)  and  carried  off  the  principal  inhabitants  of  each  town.  increasing- 

Notwithstanding  the  weakness  that  had  been  shown  by  Govern-  Proposed 
ment  and  their  inability  to  enforce  obedience,  they  requested  Mr.  ^p^jfj^* 
Landon,  in  conjunction  with  Major  Stevenson,  to  determine  how 
an  object  involving  the  greatest  possible  difficulty  should  be 
accomplished,  that  is,  how  the  Poligars  should  be  disarmed, 
whether  gradually  by  peaceable  means  or  all  at  once  by  force. 
This  subject  of  the  disarming  of  the  Poligars  occupied  from  this 
time  onward  the  attention  of  successive  Governments,  but  nothing 
was  actually  done  beyond  the  writing  of  paragraphs — no  measures 
were  adopted  for  carrying  their  wishes  into  effect — till  the  close  of 
Major  Bannerman's  campaign  in  1799.  Government  also  request 
Mr.  Landon  to  inquire  into  and  report  upon  the  claim  set  up  by 
the  Poligars  to  disai-kdml  (or  district  watch)  fees.  This  question 
assumed  larger  proportions  as  time  went  on,  but  it  was  not  finally 
settled  till  the  country  was  ceded  to  the  Company  in  Mr.  Lushing- 
ton's  collect  orate  in  1801. 

1794.  Colonel  Campbell  is  Commandant  of  Palamcotta.  The 
Board  of  Revenue,  alarmed  at  the  progress  of  rebellion,  recommend 
Government  to  order  detachments  of  troops  to  be  stationed  in 
various  parts  of  Tinnevelly  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  Poligars 
in  check.   This  recommendation  does  not  seem  to  have  been  acted  on. 


164 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Chapter  VI 


Mr.  Powney 
Collector. 


Orders  of 
Court  of 
Directors. 


A  Poligar 
shot  by 
another 
Poligar. 


Mr.  Landon  died  this  year  on  the  22nd  June.  Mr.  Balmain, 
his  Assistant,  took  temporary  charge.  Mr.  Landon's  successor  was 
Mr.  George  Powney,  who  had  been  Resident  at  TreYandram  from 
1788.  He  was  the  first  Resident  there.  At  this  time,  as  in 
Mr.  Torin's,  the  Collector  of  Poligar  peshcush  had  authority  over 
all  the  Pollgars  from  Trichinopoly  to  Tinnevelly,  including  the 
Manapara  Poligars,  the  Raja  of  Ramnad,  and  the  Poligar  of  Siva- 
gangai. 

Mr.  Powney  is  directed  by  Government  to  proceed  with  the 
inquiries  commenced  by  Mr.  Landon  into  the  claim  of  the  Tinne- 
velly Poligars  to  disai-kaval. 

1795.  The  Commandant  of  Srlvilliputtur  complains  of  the 
robberies  committed  by  the  dependents  of  the  Sivagiri  Poligar, 
and  Mr.  Powney  expresses  his  regret  that  detachments  of  troops, 
according  to  Colonel  Maxwell's  plan  and  the  Collector's  recommend- 
ation, had  not  been  located  in  various  places  to  keep  the  Poligars  in 
awe.  Mr.  Powney  receives  and  publishes  an  ordei  of  Government 
respecting  the  Poligar  districts,  in  which  the  Poligars  are  prohibited 
from  obeying  any  orders  of  the  Nawab,  except  such  as  are  com- 
municated to  them  through  the  channel  of  the  Company's  Govern- 
ment.    Tuticorin  is  taken  this  year  from  the  Dutch. 

The  Court  of  Directors  send  out  positive  orders  "  for  disarming 
the  Poligars,  for  punishing  the  refractory,  for  adjusting  their 
disputed  claims,  and  for  the  introduction  of  such  a  system  of 
internal  arrangement  as  shall  have  a  tendency  to  restore  these 
distressed  provinces  from  their  present  state  of  anarchy  and  misery 
to  a  state  of  subordination  and  prosperity."  Extracts  from  another 
letter  from  the  Court  of  Directors  dated  the  same  year  to  a  similar 
effect  will  be  found  further  on  in  the  sketch  of  the  political  position 
between  1781  and  1801. 

The  Board  of  Revenue  request  the  Collector  of  Tinnevelly  to 
report  on  the  best  mode  of  carrying  these  orders  of  the  Court  of 
Directors  into  effect.  It  seems  scarcely  necessary  to  repeat  here 
what  has  been  so  often  shown,  that  neither  recommendations, 
expostulations,  nor  "  positive  orders  "  could  produce  the  slightest 
improvement  so  long  as  the  double  Government  lasted.  It  would 
be  only  like  issuing  orders  for  oil  and  water  to  combine. 

1796.  Measures  are  adopted  by  Mr.  Powney  to  obtain  the 
voluntary  surrender  of  the  fort  of  Chokkampatti  to  the  Company. 

1797.  The  Nawab  complains  of  the  refractory,  disrespectful  be- 
haviour and  predatory  habits  of  the  Tinnevelly  Poligars.  Govern- 
ment order  the  Collector  to  inquire  strictly  into  these  complaints. 

Mr.  Powney  reports  to  the  Board  of  Revenue  that  the  Poligar 
of  Orkadu  had  been  shot  during  a  hunting  expedition  by  the 
Poligar  of  Singampatti,  whom  he  describes  as  a  drunkard  and  a 
man  of  violence,  but  laments  that  there  was  no  power  competent  to 


PERIOD    OF    ENGLISH    INTERVENTION.  165 

administer  criminal  justice  in  the  pollams,  so  that  it  seemed  impos-  Chapter  VI. 
sible  to  bring  the  offender  to  trial. 

In    another  paragraph  he  states  that  the  son  of   the   Poligar  of  Rebellious 
Sivagiii,  instigated  by  Mauply  Vanien    (Mapillai  Vanniyan)  and  ^^  C* 
Sankaralingam  Pillai,  had  conspired  against  his  father's  govern-  Sivagiri 
ment  and  taken  measures  to  wrest  the  management  of  the  pollams  Follou1' 8 
from  his  hands.     It  will  subsequently  be  seen  that  this  rebellious 
son   was  in  league  with  the  rebellious  Panjalamkurichi  Poligar. 
Before   Mr.  Powney   left  the  district  he  reported  that  the  rebels 
collected  by  the  Sivagiri  Poligar's  son  had  been  dispersed,  but  that 
the   son  himself  had  escaped  to  the  hills.     Sankaralingam    Pillai, 
however,  was  caught  and  sent  to  the  Presidency  to  be  transported 
to  Bencoolen  in  Sumatra — the  Andaman  Islands  of  that  period. 

The  following  paragraphs  in  a  letter  from  the  Board  of  Revenue 
to  the  Governor  of  Madras  in  1 797  throw  some  additional  light  on 
this  transaction.  They  also  seem  to  indicate  the  complicity  of  the 
Uttumalai  Poligar : — 

"  Should  the  operations  of  the  detachment  prove  successful  in  Uttumalai 
securing  the  person  of  Mauply  Vanien  and  Sankaralirigam  Pillai,  we  ■P°"8'ar- 
recommended  that  Mr.  Powney  should  be  authorized  to  send  them 
under  a  guard  to  the  Presidency.  Your  Lordship  in  reply  entirely 
approved  of  this  suggestion,  as  well  as  of  the  conduct  of  the  Collector 
under  the  circumstances  represented.  By  subsequent  information  from 
Mr.  Powney  we  were  advised  that  Captain  Dighton,  having  received 
intelligence  that  Sankaralingam  Pillai  had  taken  refuge  in  the  Uttu- 
malai Pollam,  despatched  a  guard  of  sepoys  with  some  of  the  Sivagiri 
peons  in  search  of  him,  who  seized  him  and  were  conducting  him  to 
the  Collector's  cutcherry  when  Uttumalai's  peons  assembled  to  the 
number  of  about  300  and  rescued  him.  It  was,  however,  satisfactory 
to  us  to  find  from  a  further  report  that  the  Uttumalai  Poligar  had  not 
so  far  lost  all  sense  of  his  duty  to  the  Company  as  to  hesitate  in 
delivering  up  the  person  of  Sankaralingam  Pillai  upon  his  requisition. 
But  as  the  attack  of  his  people  upon  the  Company's  sepoys,  if  done 
either  b}T  his  order  or  with  his  connivance,  must  be  considered  a  very 
flagrant  breach  of  his  allegiance,  we  have  informed  Mr.  Powney  that 
it  behoves  him  to  trace  by  every  possible  means  with  whom  it  origi- 
nated. We  have,  therefore,  directed  him  to  summon  the  Poligar  and 
all  the  parties  concerned  in  this  affair  immediately  to  his  cutcherry, 
and,  after  making  such  examinations  as  to  his  judgment  may  appear 
necessary,  to  transmit  the  whole  with  his  opinion  of  the  punishment 
that  should  be  inflicted  for  our  consideration." 

At  the  close  of  this  year  Mr.  Powney  is  succeeded  as  Collector  Mr.  Jackson 
by  Mr.  Jackson.     The  principal  events  of  his  time  will  take  their  ColIec 
place  in  the  account  of  the  Bannerman-Poligar  war,  which  will  be 
found  in  the  next  part. 

1798.  Kaittar  discontinued  as  a  station  for  troops,  and  Captain 
Bannennan  ordered  to  join  his  corps. 


166 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Chapter  VI. 

Major 
Bannerman. 


Mr.  Lushing- 

ton  Collector. 


1799.  In  the  beginning  of  this  year  Captain  (now  Major) 
Bannerman  was  not  permitted  to  accompany  his  battalion  to  the 
field  in  the  final  campaign  against  Tippu  Sultan,  but  was  charged 
with  negotiations  with  the  Kaja  of  Travancore  and  the  collection 
of  cattle  and  other  supplies  for  the  Bombay  army.  He  was  tempo- 
rarily appointed  Resident  of  Travancore  with  a  salary  of  250 
pagodas  a  month.  His  campaign  against  the  Poligars  in  Tinne- 
velly  commenced,  as  will  be  seen,  later  on  in  the  year,  shortly 
after  Tippu  Sultan's  fall. 

Mr.  Lushington  succeeds  Mr.  Jackson  as  Collector  of  Tinnevelly 
on  the  12th  January  1799.  The  events  of  his  period  will  be  found 
in  the  next  chapter. 


THE    BANNERMAN-POLIGAR    WAR.  167 


CHAPTER     VII. 
THE  BANNEEMAN-POLIGAR  WAR. 


Sketch  of  the  Political  Position  between  1781  and  1801. 

In  order  to  have  a  clear  idea  of  the  causes  that  led  to  the  various  Chapter  VII. 

Poligar  wars,  and  eventually  to  the  cession  of  the  country   to  the 

Company,  it  seems  necessary  that   I  should  endeavour  to  furnish 

the  reader  with  a  succinct  explanation  of  the  political  position,  that 

is,  of  the  relation  subsisting  between  the  Nawab  of  Arcot  and  the 

Government  of  the  East  India  Company  between  1781  and  1801. 

In  doing  so  I  may  have  to  repeat  some  particulars  already  more  or 

less  fully  mentioned  under  the  head  of  the  years  in  which  the  events 

occurred.     Though  the  connection  of  the  English  Government  with 

Tinnevelly  commenced  in  1781,  up  to  Mr.  Lushington's  Collectorate 

in    1799,  the   disorders   prevalent   in  the   country  had  not  been 

removed,  and  had  scarcely  even  been  mitigated.     One  cause  of  this 

inaction  consisted  in  the  necessity  for  massing  troops  north  of  Tri- 

chinopoly  and  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Mysore,  so  long  as  the 

safety  of  the  State  was  threatened  by  such  formidable  foes  as  Hyder 

Ali  and  Tippu  Sultan.     This  difficulty  came  to  an  end  by  the 

capture  of  Seringapatam  and  the  death  of  Tippu  on  the  4th  May 

1799. 

The  principal  reason  why  more  thorough  measures  for  the 
subjection  of  the  Poligars  of  Tinnevelly  were  so  long  deferred  is  to 
be  found  in  the  unsatisfactory  nature  of  the  relations  which  sub- 
sisted during  the  whole  of  that  period  between  the  English  Govern- 
ment and  the  Nawab.  On  the  2nd  December  1781  an  agreement  The  Assign- 
was  made  between  the  two  parties  to  the  effect  that  the  Revenues  mentof  '"si 
of  the  Carnatic,  including  of  course  those  of  Tinnevelly,  should 
be  assigned  by  the  Nawab  to  the  English  Government  during  the 
continuance  of  the  war,  one-sixth  of  the  revenue  being  paid  to  the 
Nawab  for  his  private  expenses.  In  virtue  of  this  arrangement  we 
have  seen  that  a  Committee  of  Assigned  Revenue  was  constituted  at 
Madras,  and  that  functionaries  styled  Superintendents  of  Assigned 
Revenue  were  appointed  in  various  important  centres  by  the 
English  Government,  one  of  them  in  Tinnevelly.  Though  this 
assignment  of  revenue  was  intended  to  last  during  the  continuance 
of  the  war,  the  Nawab  almost  immediately  endeavoured  to  get  it  set 
aside.     Accordingly  in  June  1785  the  assignment  was  relinquished 


168  HISTORY    OF   TTNNEVELLY. 

Chapter  VII.  by  the  Company  and  an  annual  payment  by  the  Nawab  out  of  the 
revenue  for  the  payment  of  his  debts  was  promised  instead,  with 

Treaty  of  territorial  security  for  punctuality.  Another  treaty  was  made  on 
the  24th  February  1787,  differing  but  little  from  the  preceding  one 
in  regard  to  the  amount  of  the  annual  payment  that  was  to  be 
made,  but  containing  an  important  proviso,  binding  the  Company 
to  supply  the  Nawab  with  troops  for  "  the  security  and  collection 
of  his  revenue,  the  support  of  his  authority,  or  the  good  order  and 
Government  of  his  dominions,  whenever  he  represented  to  Govern- 
ment the  necessity  of  such  a  force  and  the  objects  to  be  obtained 
thereby."  This,  as  we  shall  see,  was  naturally  disapproved  by  the 
Madras  Government  as  establishing  a  divided  authority  and  im- 
peding their  attempts  to  establish  order. 

Assumption  Negotiations  with  the  Nawab  for  the  assumption  of  the  revenues 
of  the  Carnatic  and  the  control  of  their  expenditure  having  failed, 
the  Madras  Government  took  the  management  of  the  country  into 
their  own  hands,  without  treaty,  by  a  proclamation  on  the  7th  of 
August  1790.  A  Board  of  Assumed  Revenue,  virtually  only  a 
department  of  the  Board  of  Revenue,  was  constituted  in  Madras. 
The  preceding  period  from  1781  to  1790  was  called  the  Period  of 
the  Assignment ;  the  period  from  1790  to  1792,  the  Period  of  the 
Assumption. 

Treaty  of  On  the  12th  of  July  1792,  a  new  treaty  was  concluded  with  the 

Nawab  which  provided  that  the  whole  country  should  be  garrisoned 
by  British  troops,  for  the  expenses  of  which  the  Nawab  should  make 
an  adequate  contribution.  In  the  event  of  war  the  Company  was  to 
take  the  entire  management  of  the  affairs  of  the  country  into  its 
own  hands,  but  in  time  of  peace  all  that  it  was  to  be  permitted  to 
do  for  the  good  government  of  the  country  was  to  collect  the  pesh- 
cush  or  tribute  of  the  Poligars  in  the  Nawab's  name  and  give  him 
credit  for  it  in  his  contribution.  See  further  details  under  the  head 
of  1792.  By  this  arrangement  the  Poligars  were  brought  more 
directly  than  before  under  the  control  of  the  English  Government. 
It  seemed  even  to  give  the  Government  a  distinct  and  definite 
right  to  reduce  the  Poligars  to  submission,  but  this  right,  as  we 
shall  see,  was  in  a  great  measure  neutralised  by  the  circumstance 
that  the  sovereignty  over  the  Poligars  was  still  allowed  to  remain 
in  the  Nawab's  hands,  so  that  the  measures  adopted  by  the  English 
Government  to  establish  order  were  more  or  less  thwarted.  The 
civil  officers  appointed  under  the  treaty  of  1792  to  represent  the 
Government  were  commonly  styled  "  Collectors  of  Poligar  Pesh- 
cush."  l     The  subsidy  due  by  the  Nawab  was  regularly  paid,  but 

1  This  functionary's  titles  seem  to  have  heen  very  various  and  indefinite.  Mr. 
Torin,  the  first  Collector  of  the  series,  was  generally  styled  "  Collector  of  Assigned 
Poligar  Peshcush  south  of  the  Coleroon,"  "  Collector  of  Poligar  Peshcush  south  of 
the   Coleroon,"    or  sometimes  simply  "  Collector  south  of  the  Coleroon."     In  the 


THE    BANNEllMAN-POLIGAR    WAR.  169 

to  enable  him  to  meet  his  liabilities  he  contracted  heavy  loans  and  CHArTEitVII. 
to  liquidate  those  loans  he  assigned  to  his  creditors  the  revenue  of  The  wawav8 
various  districts  of  the  country.     It  is  true  that  in  1781  an  assign-  debts, 
ment  of  revenue  had  been  made  to  the  Company  ;  but  the  assign- 
ment of  the  revenues  of  the  country  to  irresponsible  private  indivi- 
duals was  a  very  different  proceeding,  and  one  which  led  to  much 
oppression  and  misery. 

The  arrangements  introduced  by  the  treaty  of  1792  not  having 
been  found  to  work  well,  several  attempts  were  made  to  remedy 
their  defects,  one  of  which  was  a  special  arrangement  made  for  the 
regulation  of  the  collection  of  disai-kaval  and  talam-kaval  fees  in 
Tinnevelly.  In  1795  the  Madras  Government  endeavoured  to 
effect  a  more  satisfactory  arrangement  with  the  Nawab  with 
respect  to  the  southern  Poligars,  especially  those  of  Tinnevelly 
and  Madura.  The  right  of  levying,  receiving,  and  appropriating 
the  Poligar  Peshcush  possessed  by  the  Company  by  treaty  was 
found  to  contribute  little  to  good  government,  so  long  as  the  right 
of  sovereignty  remained  with  the  Nawab.  The  then  Governor  of  LordHobart's 
Madras,  Lord  Hobart,  on  the  failure  of  his  endeavours  to  obtain  P10Posa  ■ 
the  concurrence  of  the  Nawab  to  the  arrangement  he  proposed, 
intimated  his  intention  to  resume  the  district  of  Tinnevelly  for  the 
liquidation  of  the  debt  termed  "  The  Cavalry  Loan."  To  this, 
however,  the  Supreme  Government  refused  its  assent.  For  addi- 
tional particulars  respecting  each  of  these  arrangements  see  the 
notices  of  the  events  of  each  year. 

At  length  after  the  discovery,  on  the  capture  of  Seringapatam, 
that  a  treasonable  correspondence  had  been  carried  on  by  the  two 
late  Nawabs,  Mahomed  Ali  and  his  son,  with  Tippu  Sultan,  the  Final  deter- 
British  Government  determined  to  assume  the  entire  possession  th^Govern- 
and  government  of  the  Carnatic,  making  a  provision  for  the  family  ment. 
of  the  Nawab.     This  was  carried  into  effect  by  a  treaty  entered 
into  with  the  grandson  of  Mahomed  Ali  on  the  31st  July  1801. 
On  that   happy  day  results  were   achieved  by  a  single  stroke  of  a 

letter  of  Government  conferring  on  him  his  appointment  he  is  appointed  "  Collector 
of  Zemindar  and  Poligar  Peshcush  in  the  Tinnevelly,  Madura,  Trichinopoly, 
Ramnadpuram,  and  Shevigunga  Districts."  I  find  a  long  list  of  titles  given  to 
Mr.  Lushington  in  official  documents.  He  is  styled  Collector  of  Poligar  Peshcush 
and  Ramnad,  Collector  of  Ramnad  and  Poligar  Peshcush,  Collector  of  the  Assigned 
Peshcush,  Collector  of  Southern  Peshcush,  Collector  in  (not  yet  of)  Tinnevelly, 
and  sometimes  simply  Collector  for  short.  On  his  appointment  by  the  authority 
of  the  Governor  of  Fort  St.  George  in  Council  on  the  31st  July  1801,  on  the  final 
cession  of  the  Carnatic  by  the  Nawab,  ho  is  addressed  as  "  Collector  of  Southern 
Poligar  Peshcush,"  but  the  designation  in  the  body  of  the  document  of  the  appoint- 
ment then  conferred  upon  him  is  that  of  "  Collector  of  the  Province  of  Tinnevelly." 
From  this  there  was  but  a  step  to  the  later  title  still  in  use,  "  Collector  of  Tinne- 
velly." In  1781  the  title  of  "  Collector"  belonged  to  a  class  of  native  subordinates 
resembling  Tahsildars,  and  the  European  civilian  was  called"  Receiver."  The 
subordinate  "collected,"  the  chief  "  received." 

22 


170 


HISTORY    OF   TINNEVELLY. 


Chapter VII.  pen  which  fifty-seven  years  of  war  and  twenty  years  of  negotia- 
tion had  failed  to  effect.  See  Aitchison's  Treaties  and  Engage- 
ments. 


Evils  of  divid 

ed  authority. 


Small  amount 
of  the 

Nawab's  col- 
lections. 


Transfer  of 
tribute. 


The  Com- 
pany's obliga- 
tions. 


View  of  the*  Political  Position  of  Tinnevelly  and  the 
Poligar  Country  generally  taken  by  the  Court  of  Direc- 
tors prior  to  the  commencement  of  the  last  Poligar  Wars. 

''Extract  of  a  general  letter  from  the  Honourable  the  Court  of 
Directors,  in  the  Public  Department,  dated  10th  June  1795. 

"  55.  The  disastrous  consequences  of  the  hostile  conduct  of  the  Raja 
of  Ramnad  against  the  Cheroker '  or  Minister  of  Shivagangai,  as  men- 
tioned in  your  advices  and  proceedings,  but  more  particularly  in  the 
latter,  have  given  us  very  great  concern  ;  and  we  observe  what  is 
stated  in  your  subsequent  despatch  of  the  29th  of  September  last  that 
it  is  impossible  to  apply  any  effectual  remedy  to  the  general  evil,  so 
long  as  a  divided  authority  over  the  Poligar  countries  shall  be  per- 
mitted to  exist. 

"61.  But  what  in  reality  was  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  authority 
exercised  by  the  Nawab  over  these  Poligars  both  previous  and  subse- 
quent to  this  treaty  ? 

"It  was  scarcely  felt  among  them,  and  with  all  the  exertions  he  could 
make,  it  is  a  fact  recorded  and  incontrovertible,  that  the  sum  he  was 
able  to  collect  from  them  on  account  of  their  stipulated  peshcush,  in 
the  course  of  seven  years,  did  not  exceed  the  amount  collected  by  the 
Company  under  the  Assignment  in  less  than  two  years. 

"  62.  Under  this  shadow  of  authority  possessed  by  the  Nawab  over 
the  Poligars,  receiving  a  small  and  precarious  revenue  collected  at  a 
heavy  expense,  the  Nawab  by  the  5th  article  of  the  treaty  of  the  12th 
of  Jvdy,  1792,  most  advantageously  for  himself,  assigned  over  to  the 
Company,  the  tribute  or  peshcush  payable  by  certain  Poligars,  which 
was  taken  at  their  full  amount,  as  part  of  his  subsidy,  and  which 
peshcush  or  tribute  was  to  be  collected  by  the  Company  at  their  own 
expense  and  risk,  without  charging  the  Nawab  either  the  expenses 
attending  the  collection,  or  with  any  deficiencies  that  might  arise 
thereon.  The  Nawab's  sovereignty  over  the  said  Poligars  is  recog- 
nised by  the  6th  article,  and  the  Company  engage  to  the  utmost  of 
their  power,  and  consistently  with  the  realisation  of  the  tribute  or  pesh- 
cush from  them,  to  enforce  the  allegiance  and  submission  of  the  said 
Poligars,  to  the  said  Nawab  in  all  customary  ceremonies,  and  in 
furnishing  the  Poligar  peons  according  to  established  custom  for  the 
collection  of  revonue,  &c,  and  all  acts  of  authority  are  to  be  exercised 
in  the  Nawab's  name. 

"  It  is  difficult,  however,  to  conceive  for  what  purpose  the  words  '  and 
in  furnishing  the  Poligar  peons,  according  to  established  custom,  for 
the  collection  of  the  revenues,'   were  introduced  into  the  treaty,  since 


1  This  title  will  be  explained  further  on. 


I  UK     BANNKKM  \.\-l'(>l   ICAI!     WAR.  171 

the   collection   of   the  revenue  is   by  the   preceding   article  entirely  Chaftek  VI I. 
assigned  to  the  Company. 

"63.  Divested  of  the  sword,  and  relinquishing  the  power  of  collecting 
a  revenue,  it  is  not  easy  to  define  what  rights  of  sovereignty,  contended 
for  by  the  Nawab  with  so  much  zeal  and  jealousy,  remain  behind. 
They  cannot  perhaps  be  more  aptly  described  than  in  the  words  of  the 
treaty,  customarj"  ceremonies.  The  nominal  sovereignty  of  the  Nawab 
over  the  Poligars  we  do  not  attempt  to  deny,  at  the  same  time,  we  are 
only  bound  to  preserve  it  so  far  as  may  be  consistent  with  the  realiza- 
tion of  the  tribute,  which,  he  has  thus  assigned  over  to  us  ;  and  of  the 
many  circumstances  which  have  a  tendency  materially  to  affect  that 
object  in  the  districts  under  the  Poligars,  may  be  mentioned  the 
following.  Their  keeping  up  a  military  force,  by  which  they  are 
enabled  to  make  war  or  commit  depredations,  as  their  local  interests 
or  their  passions  may  lead  them,  upon  each  other.  Their  adoption  of 
means,  whether  of  finance  or  internal  regulation  which  have  a  natural  Poligar  mis- 
tendency  to  impoverish  their  treasuries  and  prevent  the  regular  pay-  government, 
ments  of  the  peshcush  made  over  to  the  Company.  Their  committing 
acts  of  cruelty,  and  oppression  on  the  inhabitants.  These  must  ever 
have  a  tendency  to  depopulate  a  country,  and  of  course  to  affect  the 
revenue  ;  and  if  we  have  not  the  power  of  applying  a  remedy  in  these 
and  similar  cases,  it  is  evident  that  we  shall  ultimately  lose  that 
revenue  which  we  have  acquired  the  right  of  collecting.  And  thus 
the  treaty  will  become  not  only  nugatory,  as  far  as  it  respects  the  pro- 
portion of  the  Nawab's  subsidy  to  be  received  from  the  Poligars,  but 
considerable  annual  loss  will  likewise  accrue  to  the  Company  so  long  Anticipated 

as  the  beforementioned  abuses  are  suffered  to  exist.  l°ss 

Company. 

"  64.  We  shall  here  collect  into  one  point  of  view  such  parts  of  your 
records  as  have  principally  led  to  the  present  discussion,  and  which 
have  convinced  us  of  the  necessity,  so  forcibly  urged  by  the  Bengal 
Government  and  by  yourselves,  of  adopting  some  decisive  measures 
for  the  better  government  of  the  districts  under  the  several  Poligars. 

"  66.  Upon  the  whole  therefore,  after  having  given  to  this  important 
subject  every  degree  of  deliberation  which  it  merits,  as  well  with  re- 
spect to  the  power  vested  in  us  under  express  stipulations,  as  with 
respect  to  the  degree  of  authority  reserved  to  the  Nawab  over  the 
Poligars ;  and  reflecting  also,  that  by  our  determination,  we  neither 
wrest  from  His  Highness  one  single  prerogative,  which  it  was  in  his 
power  to  exercise,  or  which  he  did  actually  exercise  over  these  people, 
in  virtue  of  his  nominal  sovereignty,  either  previous  or  subsequent  to 
the  late  treaty ;  nor  add  one  inch  of  territory  to  our  possessions,  or  a 
single  pagoda  to  our  treasury.  We  have  resolved  to  empower  you 
upon  the  sole  authority  of  the  Company  to  take  such  measures  from 
time  to  time,  with  the  approbation  of  the  Governor-General  and  Coun- 
cil, as  shall  be  deemed  expedient,  and  consistent  with  the  situation 
of  affairs  on  the  receipt  of  this  despatch,  for  disarming  the  Poligars, 
for  punishing  the  refractory,  for  adjusting  their  disputed  claims,  and 
for  the  introduction  of  such  a  system  of  internal  arrangement  as  shall  :^  better 
have  a  tendency  to  restore  those   distressed  provinces,  from  their  pre-  introduced 


172  HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 

Chapter  VII.  sent  state  of  anarchy   and  misery,   to  a  state  of  subordination  and 

'  prosperity. 

The  Nawab's      "  It  were  to  be  wished,  that  upon  your  representation  of  the  absolute 

refusal  antici-  necessity  we  are  under  of  prescribing  this  line   of  conduct  for  the 

Pa  e  '  Poligar  tributaries,  His  Highness' s  acquiescence   could  be  obtained 

herein ;   but  from  the  tenor  of  some  of  his  late  letters  upon  record, 

this  acquiescence  is  more  to  be  desired  than  expected.     AVe  can  only, 

therefore,  in  case  of  his  refusal,  direct  you  to  take  the  most  effectual 

means  to  counteract  his  endeavours  to  thwart  the  execution  of  these 

orders  ;  which  cannot  but  be  considered,  as  disinterested  on  our  part, 

as  highly  essential  to  the  happiness  of  thousands,  as  contributing  to 

the  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  country,  and  therefore  as  ultimately 

beneficial  to  the  real  and  permanent  interests  of  the  Nawab." 

Conclusion  It  is  evident  from  the  above  that  though  the  course  of  events  in 

arrived  at.  Tinnevelly  was  likely  to  vary  a  little  from  time  to  time  as  decisive 
or  -temporising  counsels  predominated,  yet  that  it  was  unreasonable 
to  expect  that  any  thorough  or  permanent  reform  could  be  effected, 
that  the  oppression  and  misrule  of  the  Poligars  and  renters  could 
be  brought  to  an  end,  that  peace  could  be  firmly  established,  or 
that  any  solid  foundation  could  be  laid  for  future  prosperity,  till 
the  entire  undivided  sovereignty  over  all  classes  in  the  country 
should  come  to  be  vested  in  the  English  Government,  and  the 
Nawab  be  allowed  to  retire  from  the  business  of  government  on  a 
pension. 

Kattaboma  Nayaka. 

Succession  of  The  Poligar  of  Panjalamkurichi  was  a  Nayaka  of  the  Kambala 
the  Poligars  of  division  of  the  caste.  The  name  by  which  he  was  known, 
kurichi.  Kattaboma  Nayaka,  was  not  his  personal  name,  but  a  title  appro- 

priated to  the  head  of  the  family,  though  a  personal  name  at  the 
outset.  The  first  of  the  line  mentioned  in  the  genealogical  list 
prepared  by  Mr.  Jackson,  the  Collector,  succeeded  to  the  palaivani 
in  1709.  I  find  four  persons  of  this  name  mentioned  in  the  annals 
of  the  time.  The  first  was  the  Kattaboma  Nayaka  against  whom 
Colonel  Heron  sent  an  expedition  in  1755.  The  second  succeeded 
in  1760,  the  third  in  1791,  the  fourth  in  1799.  Both  the  third 
and  the  fourth  were  hanged.  Boma  is  a  common  Telugu  name,  to 
which  in  the  Tamil  country  descriptive  Tamil  adjectives  are 
prefixed  as  Cliinna  Boma,  Little  Boma,  or  Katta  (properly  Kattai) 
Boma,  Short  Boma.  The  English  mode  of  writing  the  name  was 
Catatonia  Naig,  which  was  shortened  into  "  the  Cat,"  the  name  by 
which  he  was  ordinarily  called  by  the  English  soldiers.  The  last 
Kattaboma  Nayaka  was  called  Karuttaiya,  properly  Vira  Pandya 
Kattaboma.  He  had  a  dumb  brother,  a  celebrated  character,  of 
whom  some  account  will  be  given  in  the  sequel,  and  whose  name 
appears  as  "  Kumaraswami  Nayaka,  the  dumb-boy,"  in  the  list  of 


IHK    BANNERMAN-POLIGAR    WAR.  173 

prisoners  sent  to  Colonel  Agnew  at  the  close  of  the  war.     Another  Chapter VII. 
brother,  younger  than  "  the  dumb-boy,"  and  perhaps  the  real  head  The  poli     ,8 
of  the  party  during  the  two  last   rebellions,  was  Suppa  Nayaka,  brothers, 
commonly  called  Sivattaiya,  whose  name  we  shall  find  amongst  the 
last  list  of  prisoners.     Karuttaiya  and  Sivattaiya  mean  respectively 
dark-complexioned  and  fair-complexioned — literally  black  and  red. 

The  Panjalamkurichi  Poligar's  great  rival  was  the  Poligar  of  Ettaiya- 
Ettaiyapuram,  whose  palaiyam  was  situated  a  little  to  the  north. 
Ettaiyapuram  is  said  to  take  its  name  from  one  Ettappa  Nayaka, 
the  traditional  founder  of  the  family.  The  place  is  said  by  the 
Native  historian  of  the  family  to  have  been  founded  in  1565  during 
the  reign  of  Kumara  Krishnappa  Nayaka,  ruler  of  Madura. 
Ett'appa  and  Ett'aiya  are  equivalent  forms. 

Events  preceding  Major  Bannerman's  Expedition. 

What  Puli  Deva  was  in  Tinnevelly  in  the  middle  of  the  last  Conduct  of 
century,  that  Kattaboma  Nayaka  was  towards  its  close — the  centre 
of  all  disloyalty  and  misrule.  From  his  fort  of  Panjalamkurichi 
the  Poligar  used  to  sally  forth  at  the  head  of  his  armed  followers, 
and  making  incursions  into  Circar  villages,  as  well  as  into  the 
villages  of  other  Poligars,  sack  and  plunder  all  that  came  in  his 
way,  often  times  carrying  off  some  of  the  principal  inhabitants. 
In  1797  rebellion  broke  out  in  the  Ramnad  country,  and  many  of 
the  Tinnevelly  Poligars  joined  the  insurrection,  almost  all  of  them, 
with  Kattaboma  Nayaka  at  their  head,  refusing  to  pay  their  kists 
to  Grovernment.  Some  alarm  was  created  at  Madras  by  the  state  Orders  of 
of  things  in  the  south,  and  the  Collector  was  ordered  to  repair  to 
Ramnad  and  to  ascertain  from  the  Poligars  the  nature  and  extent 
of  their  demands.  See  Kearns's  Introduction  to  his  Account  of 
the  last  Poligar  War. 

The  Collector  here  referred  to  was  Mr.  Jackson,  who  was  Commence- 
Collector  of  Southern  Peshcush  and  Ramnad  at  the  time,  and  struggle, 
whose  head-quarters  were  at  Ramnad.  The  commencement  of  the 
final  struggle  with  Kattaboma  Nayaka  was  through  an  order  issued 
to  him  by  Mr.  Jackson  in  1798,  commanding  him  to  appear  before 
him  at  Ramnad  and  give  an  account  of  his  conduct.  After  many 
excuses  and  delays  leading  to  many  repetitions  of  the  command, 
he  made  his  appearance  at  Ramnad  on  the  9th  September  1798. 
At  an  audience  with  the  Collector  on  the  evening  of  the  same  day, 
whilst  the  correspondence  that  had  taken  place  between  him  and 
the  Collector  was  being  read  to  him,  he  pretended  to  get  alarmed 
and  rushed  away  from  the  Collector's  presence  and  out  of  the  fort, 
accompanied  by  his  armed  retainers.  At  the  gate  he  had  an 
encounter  with  the  guards,  headed  by  Lieutenant  and  Adjutant 
Clarke  whom  he  stabbed,  it  was  said,  with  his  own  hand.  Having 
thus  broken    away   he  returned   to  his  fort  at  Panjalamkurichi, 


174 


HISTORY    OF    TTXXEVEELY. 


Kattaboma 
breaks  away 


Mr.  Jackson's 

proceedings 

disapproved. 


Chapter VII.  plundering  all  the  Government  villages  that  lay  on  his  way.  The 
Madras  Government  hereupon  censured  Mr.  Jackson  for  mis- 
management, and  issued  a  proclamation  calling  upon  Kattaboma 
Nayaka  to  deliver  himself  up  to  Mr.  Jackson's  successor  in  the 
Poligar  administration,  Major-General  Floyd,  or  to  the  Collector. 
Of  this  order  the  Poligar  took  no  notice  but  continued  to  make 
raids  into  the  neighbouring  country,  especially  into  the  territories 
of  the  Poligar  of  Ettaiyapuram  as  before. 

The  following  extracts  from  letters  from  the  Board  of  Revenue 
to  the  Governor  of  Madras  will  throw  light  on  the  disapproval  with 
which  Mr.  Jackson's  proceedings  were  regarded  by  the  Govern- 
ment : — 

"201.  The  nature  of  Mr.  Jackson's  remarks  in  relating  the  circum- 
stances which  preceded  this  unhappy  event,  compelled  us  to  enter 
upon  a  very  full  explanation  of  our  motives  in  recommending  to  your 
Lordship,  under  date  the  31st  July,  that  a  last  effort  should  be  made  to 
save  this  young  man  from  ruin,  to  show  that  his  late  atrocious  act  did 
not  originate  in  any  mistaken  lenity  towards  him. 

"  202.  This  explanation  was  submitted  to  your  Lordship  on  the  27th 
ultimo,  as  well  as  the  manner  in  which  the  Collector  proceeded  to 
execute  our  orders  for  ascertaining  whether  the  Poligar  had  received 
and  understood  all  the  letters  he  had  written  him,  which  he  seemed 
to  have  considered  the  first  object  of  his  attention.  How  far  his 
conduct  was  judicious  in  executing  this  order  under  the  circumstances 
of  the  case  was  for  your  Lordship  to  decide.  Instead  of  the  mode 
observed  by  him,  we  thought  it  would  have  been  less  liable  to  any 
misconstruction  had  he  required  the  Poligar  to  produce  the  letters  he 
had  received  from  the  Collector,  and  Mr.  Jackson  would  then  have 
seen  whether  all  had  been  delivered  without  any  alteration.  This 
would  have  guarded  against  any  mistake  as  to  the  intentions  of  the 
Collector,  for  there  appears  too  much  reason  to  believe,  ignorant  as  he 
is  reported  to  be,  that  the  Poligar  might  have  construed  the  severe 
passages  in  the  Collector's  letter  of  the  23rd  May  to  be  the  sentence 
of  deprivation  of  his  pollam,  which  immediately  awakening  fears  for 
his  personal  safety,  seemed  to  have  impelled  him  to  the  atrocious 
act  that  ensued. 

"  203.  As  we  could  not  conceive  what  motive  could  have  governed,  or 
what  object  could  be  gained  by,  a  premeditated  plan  on  the  part  of  the 
Poligar  to  appear  at  the  Collector's  cutcherry,  within  the  fort  of 
Ramnad,  and  then  fly  from  it  with  the  precipitation  of  a  criminal,  we 
could  not  accede  to  the  Collector's  conclusion,  certain  as  he  must  have 
been  of  the  ruinous  consequences  to  himself.  The  appearance  of  4,000 
armed  men  the  moment  the  Poligar  had  quitted  the  fort  was  an 
extraordinary  circumstance  ;  but  we  apprehend  that  the  numbers 
must  have  been  greatly  overrated  in  the  accounts  obtained  by  the 
Collector,  and  it  was  not  probable  that  such  a  body  of  men  could  have 
accompanied  the  Poligar,  who  followed  the  Collector  the  whole  of  the 
way  to  Ramnad,  and  have  contrived  to  conceal  themselves  in  different 


Kattaboma 
defended. 


THE    BANNERMAN-POLIGAE   AVAR.  175 

places  so  as  to  be  ready  to  act  in  this  supposed  meditated  plan  the  Chapter  VII. 
day  succeeding  the  Poligar's  arrival  there.  But  upon  this  circum- 
stance we  intimated  our  intention  of  requiring  a  more  particular 
explanation,  and  we  suggested  the  propriety  of  calling  upon  the  com- 
manding officer  to  explain  by  what  means  so  large  a  body  of  men 
could  approach  unobserved  so  near  to  the  fort  and  conceal  themselves 
under  the  very  walls  of  it,  for  such  must  have  been  their  situation 
if  they  appeared  at  the  moment  when  the  Poligar  escaped. 

"  204.  Whatever  might  have  influenced  the  conduct  of  this  Poligar,  Kattaboma 
the  enormity  of  the  crime  of  which  he  had  been  guilty  appeared  to  condemned, 
call  for  exemplary  punishment.  With  regard  to  the  force  to  be 
employed  against  him  and  the  Collector's  proposal  of  offering  a  reward 
of  5,000  Rupees  for  his  apprehension,  we  submitted  these  points  to 
your  Lordship's  consideration  ;  but  so  strongly  were  we  impressed 
with  the  necessity  of  a  severe  example  being  made  on  this  occasion, 
that  we  further  recommended  the  pollam  shall  be  declared  sequestered 
for  ever,  that  it  may  become  the  interest  of  the  families  of  Poligars  to 
guard  them  against  crimes  and  rebellion  to  the  authority  of  Govern- 
ment, a  principle  which  the  Court  of  Directors  have  approved. 

"  205.  The  circumstances  stated  by  the  Collector  in  regard  to  the 
family  of  the  late  Lieutenant  Clarke  we  begged  leave  to  submit  to 
your  favourable  consideration  and  to  recommend  that  whatever 
pension  you  might  be  pleased  to  fix  should  be  declared  payable  out 
of  the  revenue  of  the  Pollam  of  Panjalamkurichi. 

Sicbsequent  letter  of  the  Board  of  Revenue  to  the  Madras  Government. 

Extracts. 

"  165.  We  noticed  in  our  last  general  report  the  unfortunate  affray  Hopes  of 
that  had  taken  place  in  the  fort  of  Eamnad,  and  the  consequent  flight  Government, 
of  the  Pandalamcoarchy  Poligar.  Under  date  the  3rd  October  your 
Lordship  informed  us  that  you  had  thought  it  advisable  to  take 
immediate  measures  for  assembling  a  detachment  of  troops  of  sufficient 
strength  to  assert  the  authority  of  the  Company's  Government  and  to 
enforce  the  submission  of  this  Poligar,  but  having  reason  to  hope 
from  advices  since  received  that  Cattaboma  Naigue  might  be  induced 
to  submit  himself  without  the  necessity  of  coercive  means,  you  desired 
that  no  time  must  be  lost  in  publishing  the  proclamation  which 
accompanied,  and  in  providing  that  it  might  be  conveyed  to  the  know- 
ledge of  the  Poligar,  for  which  purpose  we  immediately  transmitted  it 
in  duplicate  to  Mr.  Jackson. 

"  166.  Your  Lordship  afterwards  apprised  us  of  your  still  entertain-  Collector 
ing  the  hope  of  the  Poligar's  submission,  but  that  as  he  had  evinced  a  suPerseded- 
total  want  of  confidence  in  Mr.  Jackson  you  had  superseded  the  Col- 
lector's authority  and  directed  Major-General  Floyd  to  open  a  negoti- 
ation with  him,  and  to  prevent  the  collision  of  authority,  you  desired 
that  this  resolution  might,  without  delay,  be  made  known  to  the  Col- 
lector, which  was  done  on  the  same  day. 


176 


HISTORY    OF    TINXEYELLY. 


be  instituted. 


Fresh,  orders 
from  Govern 
ment. 


Chai-terYII.  "167.  Upon  a  consideration  of  the  impressions  under  which,  it  was 
.       r     ,    impossible  for  the  Pandalanieourchy  Poligar   to  have  acted,  we  were 

hfl  inatitntnri  further  informed  your  Lordship  had  judged  it  advisable  to  institute  a 
full  inquiry  into  the  circumstances  which  produced  and  which  attended 
the  late  unpleasant  affair  at  Raninad,  and  for  this  purpose  you  had 
been  pleased  to  appoint  a  committee  consisting  of  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Brown,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Oram,  and  Mr.  John  Casamayer.  You 
directed  that  the  committee  might  have  free  access  to  the  records  of 
the  Collector,  and  that  they  might  have  the  assistance  of  the  cutcherry 
in  conducting  their  business,  and  that  all  persons  in  the  Revenue 
Department  whose  attendance  might  be  required  should  be  ordered 
to  comply  with  the  summons  of  the  committee,  and  we  were  at  the 
same  time  apprised  that  as  the  communication  which  Major-General 
Floyd  had  been  desired  to  open  with  the  Poligar  of  Pandalanieourchy 
would  then  be  more  naturally  conducted  by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Brown, 
as  being  both  at  the  head  of  the  committee  and  of  the  eventual  expe- 
dition, General  Floyd  had  been  authorized  to  transfer  it  to  that  officer. 
A  copy  of  these  resolutions  was  transmitted  to  Mr.  Jackson,  and  the 
correspondence  that  passed  regarding  the  Pandalanieourchy  Poligar  in 
the  interest  of  the  Collector's  authority  over  him  being  suspended,  is 
noted  in  the  margin  under  date  2nd  March.  The  proceedings  of  this 
committee,  together  with  the  resolutions  of  Government  thereon,  were 
forwarded  to  this  Board,  and  agreebly  to  the  orders  we  received  they 
were  transmitted  to  the  present  Collector  for  his  information  and  guid- 
ance and  with  particular  directions  for  having  them  well  explained 
to  the  Poligar. 

"  168.  In  their  resolutions  Government  observed  that  after  having 
taken  into  consideration  all  the  circumstances,  it  appeared  in  conse- 
quence of  representations  and  complaints  of  the  Collector  against  the 
contumacious  conduct  of  Cattaboma  Naigue  that  he  was  ordered  by 
the  Board  of  Revenue  to  summon  that  Poligar  to  make  his  appearance 
at  Raninad  ;  that  on  this  order  being  communicated  to  the  Poligar, 
there  was  no  unnecessary  delay  on  his  part  in  preparing  to  proceed 
to  Eamnadapooram,  but  on  the  contrary  that  he  showed  an  earnest 
desire  to  take  the  first  opportunity  of  evincing  his  submission  to  the 
directions  of  Government  by  personally  attending  upon  the  Collector, 
but  that  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Jackson  to  him  upon  that  occasion  was 
unnecessarily  harsh  and  severe,  and  that  tho  manner  in  which  he  com- 
pelled the  Poligar  to  follow  him  for  twenty-three  days  was  subjecting 
him  to  a  mortifying  degradation  in  the  eyes  of  the  inferior  Poligars 
through  whose  pollams  he  was  passing  and  unauthorized  by  the  orders 
from  tho  Board  of  Revenue. 


Recapitula- 
tion. 


Disapproval 
of  Jackson's 
severity. 


"  169.  That  the  treatment  of  the  Poligar  after  his  arrival  at  Rainnad 
in  the  cutcherry  by  the  Collector,  and  those  acting  under  his  authority 
was  attended  with  circumstances  of  unusual  rigour  and  humiliation, 
and  that  such  treatment  could  not  fail  to  intimidate  him  and  alarm 
him  for  his  personal  security  ;  that  his  attempt  to  escape  was  a  natural 
consoquenco,  and  that  the  affray  which  happened  at  the  gate  did  not 
proceed  from  any  premeditated  Intention  in  the  Poligar  of  proceeding 


THE    BANNERMAN-POLIGAR    WAR.  177 

to  the  extremities  of   forcing  guard    and  resisting  the  authority   of  Chapter VII. 
Government. 

"  170.  That  from  the  whole  of  the  evidence  produced  before  the  Acquittal  of 
committee  it  was  doubtful  by  whose  hands  Lieutenant  Clarke  fell,  but  jin.e  murder  of 
that  as  the  committee,  who  had  the  fullest  means  of  investigation  and  ciarke. 
the  advantages  of  local  knowledge,  had  declared  it  to  be  their  unani- 
mous opinion  that  he  was  stabbed  by  a  pikeman  in  the  Poligar's  train, 
and  not  by  the  Poligar  himself,  it  was  resolved  that  Cattaboma  Naigue 
should  be  formally  acquitted  of  the  murder  of  Lieutenant  Clarke;  that 
as  the  Poligar,  however,  must  be  held  responsible  for  the  act  of  his 
followers,  and  as  Lieutenant  Clarke  fell  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty, 
and  acting  under  the  orders  of  the  Collector,    it   was  determined  to 
require  the  Poligar  to  make  a  provision  equal  to  the  pay  and  allow- 
ances of  the  deceased  Mr.  Clarke,  for  the  maintenance  and  support 
of  the  widow  and  children  of  that  deserving  officer. 

"171.  In  communicating  these  resolutions  to  Mr.  Lushington,  Anew 
Government  were  pleased  to  direct  that  he  should  be  instructed  to  arrangement 
acquaint  the  Poligar  that  he  was  accordingly  acquitted  of  the  charge  of 
the  murder  of  Mr.  Clarke,  to  settle  with  him  an  arrangement  for  the 
payment  of  the  provision  intended  for  the  widow  and  children  of  that 
officer,  to  point  out  the  great  security  which  he  enjoyed  under  the 
protection  of  Government,  which,  by  an  impartial  and  disj)assionate 
investigation  of  his  case  under  circumstances  apparently  most  unfavour- 
able to  him,  had  brought  it  to  this  conclusion,  to  admonish  him  of  the 
necessity  and  advantage  of  paying  implicit  obedience  to  the  orders  of 
the  Company,  and  finally  to  restore  him  to  the  full  and  complete 
possession  of  his  pollam." 

The  Government  could  not  but  acquit  the  Poligar,  in  accordance  Conclusion 
with  the  finding  of  so  respectable  a  committee  appointed  by  itself  ;  arnved  at- 
and  if  his  subsequent  conduct  had  been  fairly  loyal  and  dutiful  it 
might  have  been  taken  for  granted  that  Mr.  Jackson  had  erred  and 
that  the  finding  of  the  committee  was  right  ;  but  the  rebellious 
spirit  he  showed  to  Mr.  Lushington,  Mr.  Jackson's  successor,  not- 
withstanding his  friendly  advances,  tended  to  vindicate  the  pro- 
priety of  Mr.  Jackson's  opinions  and  policy.  The  native  author  of 
the  history  of  the  Ettaiyapuram  Zamindari  adopts  Mr.  Jackson's 
view  of  the  affair  and  represents  Lieutenant  Clarke  to  have  been 
killed  by  Xattaboma  Nayaka  himself.  He  attributes  the  decision 
of  the  committee  of  inquiry  to  the  Poligar's  clever  falsehoods.  It 
is  to  be  remembered,  however,  that  the  Ettaiyapuram  family  were 
the  chief  opponents  of  Panjalamkurichi  and  the  chief  gainers  by 
Kattaboma's  fall. 

Mr.  Jackson  appears  to  have  had  too  hasty  a  temper.     He  was  Mr.  Jackson's 
subsequently  taken  to  task  by  the  Board  of  Revenue  for  various  cnaractt'r- 
matters  and  was  dismissed  by  Government  from  employ  on  account 
of   the  insubordinate  spirit   he  displayed.     He  was  accused  also 
of  peculation,  but  was  acquitted  of  this  charge. 

23 


178 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


CkapterVII.      On  the   12th  January    1799   Mr.  Lushington  succeeded   Mr. 

Mr.  Lushing-  Jackson,  and  on  the  16th  March  he  wrote  to  Kattaboma  Nayaka  an 

t0^h  ^6alings  exceedingly  polite  letter,  informing  him  that  he  had  been  honourably 

boma.  exculpated  from  the  charge  of  murdering  Lieutenant  Clarke,  and 

restoring  him  to  the  full  possession  of  his  pollam ;  at  the  same 

time  desiring  him  to  attend  him  (Mr.  Lushington)  at  Eamnad  and 

bring  with  him  his  arrears  of  kist.     Kattaboma  Nayaka' s  letter 

in  reply  overflowed,  as  might  have  been  expected,  with  expressions 

of  gratitude  and  dutiful  obedience,  but  it   contained  also  reasons 

why  it  was  quite  impossible  for  him  to  pay  his  kist  just  then  or 

proceed  to  Pamnad,  till  he  had  received  everything  he  considered 

due  to  him  from  Government.     In  short  his  tone  had  changed,  but 

his  conduct  remained  the  same. 

All  Mr.  Lushington's  endeavours  to  induce  Kattaboma  Nayaka 
to  submit  to  his  authority,  appear  before  him  in  person  without  an 
armed  force,  or  pay  his  arrears  of  kist  having  proved  in  vain,  he  at 
length  referred  the  matter  to  Government.     The  following  is  the 
principal  paragraph  in  his  letter  : — 
He  refers  to         "In   bringing  before   you  the   flagrant  conduct  of   the   Poligars 
Government.   aiiU(je(j  to  in  this  letter,  I  mean  not  to  recommend  that  any  imme- 
diate  measures   should  be   taken  to  punish    those  who  have   been 
most  culpable.     I  am  clearly  of  opinion  that  no  coercion  should  be 
attempted  until  a  proper  detachment  can  be  formed  under  an  officer 
who  has  had  experience  of  these  countries,  whose  integrity  is  incor- 
ruptible,  and  until  some  general  system  for  the  future  government 
An  expedition  of   the  Poligars  has  been  determined  upon.     A  small  force  would 
recommended,  endanger  combinations  and  troublesome  resistance,  whilst  the  expense 
of  a  large  detachment  is  of  too  weighty  consideration  to  be  sacri- 
ficed to  the  sequestration  of  two  or  more  of  their  pollams.    The  radical 
reduction  of    their    barbarous  power    cannot  however  be  too    early 
undertaken,  and  until  it  be  effected,  the  inhabitants  of  these  countries 
will  not  be  secure  in  their   property  or  lives,  nor  will  the   Poligara 
be  otherwise  than  insolent  and  disobedient." 

Government,  on  receiving  this  communication,  resolved  to  tem- 
porise no  longer,  as  it  was  evident  that  a  rebellious  spirit  was 
spreading  amongst  the  rest  of  the  Poligars.  The  example  of  the 
Poligar  of  Panjalamkurichi,  who  had  never  consented  to  obey  a 
Collector,  and  who,  as  was  generally  believed,  had  slain  a  Euro- 
pean officer  with  his  own  hand  with  impunity,  was  sure  to  prove 
infectious. 

The   principal   Poligara   who   took   Kattaboma   Nayaka's   side 

against  Government  and  gave  him  assistance  were  the  Poligars  of 

Nagalapuram,  Kollarpatti  (called  also  Kolavarpatti  and  Kollapatti), 

and    Elayirampannai.     On  the  same  side  were   the  Poligars   of 

Different  sides  Kadalgudi  and  Kulattur.     He  was  joined  also  by  the  Puli  Deva 

different  r«.di-  °^  that  day,  the  Poligar  of  Avudaiyarpuram,  whose  fort  was  at 

gars.  Orme's  "  Nellatangaville,"  viz.,  Nelkattansevval.     Before  all  was 


THE   BANNERMAX-POLIGAR   WAR.  179 

over,  however,  the  latter  Poligar  went  over  to  the  side  of  ChapterVII. 
Government.  The  principal  focus  of  rebellion  amongst  the  western 
Poligars  was  in  Sivagiri.  The  old  Poligar  himself  was  loyal, 
but  his  son  had  been  endeavouring  to  set  him  aside,  with  the  help 
of  an  armed  force  sent  by  Kattaboma  Nayaka,  and  the  less  open 
assistance  the  rest  of  the  disaffected  Poligars.  The  son  was 
afterwards  pardoned  by  Major  Bannerman,  in  behalf  of  Govern- 
ment, and  allowed  to  succeed  his  father  in  the  Poligarship.  The 
principal  leader  of  rebellion,  however,  in  Sivagiri  was  not  the  old 
Poligar's  son,  but  a  member  of  his  family,  called  Mappillai  Van- 
niyan  described  as  a  daring,  popular  leader,  possessed  of  great  local 
influence.  [The  Sivagiri  family  are  the  only  Zemindar  family,  I 
believe,  in  Tinnevelly  who  belong  to  the  caste  of  Vanniyas.] 
Further  north  Kattaboma  Nayaka  was  aided  by  the  sympathy  and 
counsel  of  the  Marudu,  the  chief  of  Sivagangai.  The  strongest 
supporter  of  Government  in  the  struggle  was  the  Poligar  of  Ettaiya- 
purarn.  The  same  side  was  also  taken  by  the  Poligars  of  Uttu- 
malai,  Chokkampatti,  and  Talaivankottai  in  the  west,  and  in  the 
east  by  the  Poligars  of  Maniatchi  and  Melmandai.  The  only  real 
help,  however,  the  Government  received  was  from  the  Poligar  of 
Ettaiyapuram. 

Mr.    Lushington,   the   then    Collector,   had   the  confidence   of 
Government  (subsequently  he  became  Governor  himself),  so  that 
he  found  it  comparatively  easy  to  convince  the  Government  of  that 
time  of  the  necessity  of  fully  and  finally  vindicating  their  autho- 
rity in  Tinnevelly  and   quelling    the  rebellious  spirit    that  was 
beginning   to   spread.      They  temporised,  however,    a   little   till  Troops  set 
Seringapatam  was  taken ;  shortly  after  which  event,  their  chief  t^nJ  oi 9 
anxieties  being  at  an  end  and  their  troops  free  to  move,  they  came  Seringapa- 
to  the  conclusion  that  the   time  for  carrying  into   effect  the  inten-   am' 
tion  they  had  for  some  time  formed  had  arrived. 

Major  Banxermax's  Expedition. 

A  force  was  equipped  for  the  purpose  of  enforcing  obedience  in 
Tinnevelly  and  placed  under  the  command  of  Major  Bannerman, 
an  officer  of  great  ability,  whose  reports  and  memoranda,  preserved 
in  the  records  and  collected  and  published  by  Mr.  Keams,  furnish 
a  complete  account  of  everything  that  occurred.  Major  Banner- 
man's  instructions  were  dated  on  the  19th  August  1799,  and  by 
the  21st  of  October,  in  the  short  space  of  two  months,  he  had  suc- 
ceeded in  accomplishing  the  task  committed  to  him. 

I  shall  here  give  the  originals  of  the  most  important  documents 
relating  to  Major  Bannerman's  expedition.  The  originals  them- 
selves will  be  found  more  interesting  than  any  narrative  compiled 
from  them  could  be  : — 


180  HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 

Chapter  VII.  Letter  of  Government  to  the  Board  of  Revenue, 

Reasons  of  "  We  are   concerned  to    observe  from  the   late   requisition  of   the 

Government.  Collector  of  Poligar  Peshcush,  that  no  sense  of  the  indulgence  of 
the  Company's  Government,  nor  of  their  own  allegiance,  has  restrained 
the  Poligars,  during  the  late  temporary  absence  of  the  troops  from 
resorting  to  their  refractory  habits,  under  the  administration  of  the 
Nawab.  We  were  sanguine  that  the  spirit  of  forbearance,  concilia- 
tion, and  justice,  which  was  manifested  in  the  late  inquiry  and  deci- 
sion on  the  conduct  of  Kattaboma  Nayaka  would  have  inspired  the 
Poligars  in  general,  and  himself  in  particular,  with  a  better  sense 
of  the  mildness  and  equity  of  the  British  administration  ;  but  his 
refusal  to  attend  the  Collector  without  his  armed  followers,  his  delay 
in  the  discharge  of  his  peshcush,  and  his  present  actual  levying  of 
war  against  the  Sivagiri  Poligar  deprive  us  of  all  hope  of  beneficial 
consequences  from  the  farther  pursuit  of  conciliatory  measures.  We 
have,  therefore,  judged  it  expedient  to  assemble  a  sufficient  body  of 
troops  in  the  Southern  Provinces  to  assert  the  authority  of  the  Com- 
pany's Government,  and  to  punish  this  wanton  provocation  of  their 
resentment.  The  command  of  this  detachment,  we  have  judged  it 
expedient  to  intrust  to  Major  John  Bannerman  ;  and  in  order  that 
the  Collector  may  be  fully  apprised  of  our  intentions,  we  enclose  for 
your  information  on  a  copy  of  our  instructions  to  that  officer. 

' '  In  communicating  to  the  Collector  these  instructions,  we  desire  that 
you  will  direct  him  to  comply  with  any  applications  which  he  may 
receive  from  Major  Bannerman  for  the  furtherance  of  the  present 
service  ;  and  as  we  deem  it  indispensable  to  the  success  of  the  expedi- 
tion that  arrangements  and  orders  of  that  officer  should  be  carried 
into  effect  with  the  greatest  degree  of  promptness,  we  have  no  doubt 
that  Mr.  Lushington's  knowledge  of  that  necessity,  as  well  as  his  zeal 
for  the  public  service,  will  induce  him  to  give  the  most  effectual  sup- 
port to  the  powers  with  which  Major  Bannerman  has  been  invested." 

This  letter  was  signed  by  Lord  Clive,  then  Governor  of  Madras, 
son  of  the  celebrated  Clive. 

"  Proclamation  by  the  Collector. 

"  To  all  Poligars,  Landholders,  and  Inhabitants  of  every  description 

within  the  countries  commonly  called  the  Tinnevelly  Pollams. 

"  Whereas  repeated  admonitions  were  given  by  me  to  several  of  the 
Tinnevelly  Poligars  during  the  late  hostilities  against  the  deceased 
Tippu  Sultan,  that  by  persisting  to  withhold  the  peshcush,  and  to  be 
otherwise  disobedient,  they  woidd  draw  upon  themselves  the  severest 
displeasure  of  Government ;  yet,  notwithstanding  such  admonitions, 
and  unmindful  of  the  punishment  inflictod  upon  those  Poligars  who 
had  been  refractory  during  former  wars,  certain  of  them  had  the 
temerity  to  continue  in  their  contumacy,  and  to  set  the  Company's 
power  at  defiance  by  committing  depredations,  disturbing  the  tranquil- 
lity of  the  country,  and  wantonly  murdering  the  peaceable  inhabitants. 
New  be  it  known  that  these  admonitions,  and  the  total  disregard  of 
them,  having  been  made  known  to  the  Eight  Honourable  the  Governor- 


THE    BANNERMAN-POLIQAR   WAR.  181 

General  in  Council,  His  Lordship  has  observed  with  extreme  concern  Chapter  VTI. 

that  no  sense  of  the  indulgence  of    the  Company's  Government  nor  of         

their  own  allegiance  was  of  effect  to  restrain  the  Poligars,  during  the 
late  temporary  absence  of  the  troops,  from  resorting  to  their  refractory 
habits. 

"  The  Eight  Honourable  the  Governor-General  was  sanguine  that  the 
spirit  of  forbearance,  conciliation,  and  justice,  which  was  manifested 
in  the  late  enquiry  and  decision  on  the  conduct  of  Kattaboma  Nayaka, 
woidd  have  inspired  him  in  particular,  and  the  Poligars  in  general, 
with  a  better  sense  of  the  mildness  and  equity  of  the  British  admini- 
stration ;  but  his  refusal  to  attend  the  Collector  without  his  armed 
followers,  his  delay  in  the  discharge  of  his  peshcush,  and  his  present 
actual  levying  of  war  against  the  Sivagiri  Poligar,  in  conjunction 
with  other  contumacious  persons,  deprive  the  Right  Honourable  the 
Governor-General  in  Council  of  all  hopes  of  beneficial  consequence  from 
the  further  pursuit  of  conciliatory  measures  towards  him  or  them. 
His  Lordship  has  therefore  judged  it  expedient  to  assemble  a  suffi- 
cient body  of  troops  in  the  southern  provinces  to  assert  the  supremacy 
of  the  Company's  Government,  and  to  punish  the  wanton  provocation 
of  their  displeasure.  The  command  of  this  detachment  has  been 
intrusted  to  Major  John  Bannerman,  and,  in  order  to  render  his  author- 
ity more  efficient,  the  Right  Honourable  the  Governor-General  in 
Council  has  thought  it  expedient  to  vest  him  with  powers  to  use  mili- 
ary execution. 

"All  persons  are  therefore  solemnly  warned  to  forbear  from  acts  of 
disobedience  and  rebellion,  as  the  power  of  inflicting  death  will  be 
used  with  the  utmost  rigour. 

"It  is  hereby  declared  that  all  Poligars  are  held  responsible  for  the 
good  conduct  of  all  descriptions  of  people  belonging  to  their  respective 
pollams,  and  that  they  do  not  act  in  any  respect  against  the  Com- 
pany's authority,  or  in  any  manner  disturb  the  peace  of  the  country, 
after  the  publication  of  this  proclamation. 

"Be  it  further  known  to  all  Poligars,  Sherogars,  Landholders,  and 
Inhabitants  in  the  Pollams  of  Tinnevelly  that  Major  Bannerman  has 
authority  to  communicate  with  and  issue  such  orders  to  them  as  he 
may  judge  necessary  ;  these  orders  must  be  obeyed  with  the  utmost 
promptitude,  and  the  Collector  will  refuse  all  intercourse  with  such 
Poligars  as  have  already  proved,  or  may  hereafter  prove,  refractory, 
until  Major  Bannerman  shall  have  reported  to  the  Collector  their 
return  to  a  state  of  order  and  obedience." 

On  the  5th  September  Major  Bannerman  arrived  at  Panjalam-  Attempt  to 
kurichi,  and  attempted  to  take  the  fort  the  same  day  by  storm,  t^eP*11: 
without  waiting  for  the  arrival  of  the  European  portion  of  his  force. 
His  reason  for  not  waiting  for  the  arrival  of  the  Europeans  was  that 
he  was  afraid  the  Poligar  would  endeavour  to  make  his  escape 
during  the  night,  and  get  away  across  the  country  to  Sivagiri. 
This  apprehension  was  not  a  groundless  one,  for  this  was  the 
course  that  was  taken  by  the  father  of  this  very  Poligar  when  his 


182  HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 

Chapter VII.  fort  was  suddenly  taken  by  Colonel  Fullarton  in  1783.  The 
assault  was  unsuccessful.  I  give  the  account  in  Major  Banner- 
man's  own  words : — 

"  To  the  Secretary  to  Government. 

"  In  conformity  with  my  letter  of  yesterday's  date,  I  left  Palam- 
cottah  and  arrived  this  morning'  at  Panjalamkurichi,  where  I  was 
joined  by  the  troops  stationed  at  Coilpatti  and  Kaittar.  The  detail  of 
Europeans  and  the  two  12-pounders  not  being  sufficiently  advanced, 
were  ordered  to  Kaittar.  The  sudden  approach  of  the  troops  was  not 
looked  for.  Lieutenant  Dallas,  without  a  moment's  delay,  and  with 
much  judgment,  surrounded  the  fort  with  his  cavalry,  and  his  parties 
were  supported  with  every  possible  expedition  by  infantry.  Soon  after 
this  a  considerable  body  of  Poligar  peons  endeavoured  to  force  them- 
selves into  the  garrison,  but  were  repulsed  with  loss  by  Lieutenant 
Call  to  the       Dallas.     I  lost  no  time  in  ordering  the  Poligar  to  surrender  at  disere- 

Pohgar  to        ^ion  ^0  fae  Company.       If  I  would   grant  a  written  cowl,  he  said,  he 
surrender 

would  come  to  me  ;  but  not  without.     I  left  no  consistent  means  untried 

to  induce  him  to  give  himself  up  ;   however,  at  half  past  nine  o'clock 
I  gave  him  half  an  hour  more  to  determine  his  line  of  conduct. 
The  Poligar's       "  Having   attentively    and  deliberately   reconnoitered    the  fort,    it 
escape  antici-  appeared  in  my  judgment  that  the  south  gate  and  to  the  left  of  it 
could  be  stormed  with  almost  a  certainty  of  success  ;    and  that  the 
place  might  be  carried  with  a  trifling  loss  on  our  part.     I  consequently 
determined  on  the  measure  :    I  was  not  only  guided  by  this  motive, 
but  by  the   importance  of  getting  possession   of  the   person  of  the 
Poligar,   and  the  impossibility  with   safety  of  keeping  the  fort  sur- 
rounded during  the  night,  so  as  to  prevent  the  Poligar  from  escaping, 
which  I  was  confident  he  would  attempt.     I  then  carried  with  me 
Captains  O'Reilly  and  Bruce,  the  senior  officers,  who  were  to  command 
the  storming  troops,  and  communicated  my  orders  to  them.     Their 
opinions  with  regard  to  the  success  of  the  assault  corresponded  with 
mine. 
Failure  of  the       "At  ten  o'clock  the  Poligar  sent  me  a  message  that  in  four  hours 
attack.  ne  WOuld  attend  me,  if  I  would  send  him  a  regular  cowl.     The  troops 

were  then  posted  for  the  storm.  The  flank  companies  of  the  1st 
Battalion  of  the  3rd  Regiment  and  the  four  flank  companies  of  the 
13th  Regiment  of  Native  Infantry  were  allotted  for  the  assault,  with  a 
6-pounder  to  blow  open  the  south  gate  ;  this  party  was  covered  by 
three  field  pieces  and  the  battalion  companies  of  the  1st  Battalion  of 
the  3rd  Regiment  of  Native  Infantry  and  three  companies  of  the  1st 
Battalion  of  the  13th  Regiment.  At  the  same  time  an  attack  on  the 
north  face  of  the  fort  was  made  by  two  companies  of  sepoys  regulated 
by  Lieutenant  Dallas.  The  troops,  in  the  first  instance,  advanced  to 
the  attack  with  order  and  resolution ;  but  from  a  panic  could  not  be 
prevailed  on  to  ascend  the  breach,  or  to  enter  by  the  gate  which 
had  been  blown  completely  open  by  the  6-pounder.  The  attempt 
was  persevered  in  so  long  as  there  was  a  shadow  of  success,  and 
never   was  European  energy  more  gallantly  displayed  than  by  the 


THE    BANXERMAN-POLIGAR    WAR.  183 

officers  on  this  unfortunate  occasion.     Our  loss,  you  will  observe  by  ChavtbrVII 

the  accompanying  return,   is  very  severe ;    but    I   cannot    apply    to 

myself  any  share  of  censure.     However,  I  cannot  but  experience  great 

anxiety  until  I  find  my  conduct  held  free  from   it  by  His  Lordship 

in    Council.     I    have    ordered    the    detail    of    the   19th    Regiment  of 

Foot  and  two  12-pounders  to  join  me  immediately,  and  I  have  sent  to 

Palamcottah   for  a  24-pounder.     I  have   little  doubt   in  my  mind  but 

the  place  could  be  earned  so   soon  as  the  Europeans  arrive  without 

waiting  for  cannon  to  make  a  breach  ;  but  any  further  check  might  be 

attended  with  serious   consequences."    I  shall  therefore   proceed  with 

every  consistent  caution.     The  moment  my  time  will  allow  of  it,  I  shall  Dissatisfac- 

state  to  the  Commander-in-Chief  my  sentiments  relative  to  the  conduct  v°^-wl| 

of  the  native  officers    and  troops.     The   circumstance  of  one   native 

officer  being  only  wounded,    contrasted  with  four  European  Officers 

killed  and  two  wounded,  will  sufficiently  mark  the  want  of  energy  on 

the  part  of  the  natives." 

The  Poligar  did  not  wait  for  the  recommencement  of  the  attack  The  fort 
on  his  fort.  Two  days  afterwards,  late  in  the  evening,  the  European  abandoned- 
portion  of  the  force  arrived,  and  preparations  were  made  by  Major 
Bannerman  for  another  assault  the  following  day.  In  the  course  of 
the  night,  however,  the  fort  was  completely  evacuated  by  the  Poligar 
and  all  his  followers ;  soon  after  the  Ettaiyapuram  Poligar  started 
in  pursuit  and  came  up  with  Kattaboma  Nayaka  at  Kollarpatti, 
where  some  fighting  ensued  with  loss  on  both  sides.  Kattaboma 
effected  his  escape  and  fled  for  refuge  first  to  Sivagangai  and  then 
to  the  Tondiman  Raja.  Thirty-four  of  his  principal  adherents 
were  secured  at  Kollarpatti,  amongst  whom  his  principal  manager, 
Subrahmanya  Pillai,  who  was  taken  to  Major  Bannerman,  who  had 
now  proceeded  to  Nagalapuram,  where  he  was  hanged  and  his  head 
sent  to  Panjalamkurichi.  At  the  same  time  Saundara  Pandya 
Nayaka,  the  brother  of  the  Poligar  of  Nagalapuram,  who  had 
headed  his  brother's  plundering  and  murdering  expeditions  into 
the  Ramnad  country,  was  hanged  at  Gropalpuram.  Kattaboma 
Nayaka  himself  was  speedily  captured  by  the  Tondiman  Raja,  and 
sent  with  some  of  his  relations  to  Major  Bannerman,  by  whom 
he  was  tried  and  executed  on  the  16th  October  in  a  conspicuous 
place  near  the  old  fort  of  Kaittar,  in  the  presence  of  all  the  Poligars  The  Poligar's 
of  Tinnevelly,  who  witnessed  the  unwonted  sight  with  wonder  and  " 
silent  awe.  The  details  of  these  events  will  now  be  given  in  Major 
Bannerman's  own  words. 

"  Major  Bannerman  to  the  Secretary  to  Government. 

"  For  the  information  of  the  Right  Honourable  the  Governor-General  Particulars 

in  Council,  I  have  the  honour  to  acquaint  you  that  the  detail  of  His  °f  MaJor 

x  J  rSannerman  s 

Majesty's    19th  Regiment    and    the    two    12-pounders    reached    this  expedition. 

place  yesterday  afternoon,  about  six   o'clock,  which  was  too  late  an 

hour,  added  to  the  men  being  much  fatigued,  to  take   any  immediate 

measures  for  recommencing  an   attack  on  the  fort ;   and  in  the  course 


184:  HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 

Chapter  VII.  of  the  night  it  was  evacuated  by  the  Poligar  and  all  his  followers. 
It  is  some  satisfaction  to  me — though  but  a  small  one — to  report  for 
the  information  of  the  Right  Honourable  the  Governor-General  in 
Council  that  upon  a  minute  examination  of  the  points  of  attack  I  had 
chosen  it  now  appears  I  had  selected  the  most  eligible  places,  and 
such  indeed  as  to  leave  so  little  reflection  on  my  own  judgment  on 
the  occasion  that  they  must  have  been  carried,  and  the  place  got 
complete  possession  of  in  a  few  minutes,  had  the  native  troops  behaved 
with  the  energy  and  spirit  which  I  have  often  witnessed  them  exert 
on  less  trying  occasions." 

Events  which  followed  the  Poligar's  Escape. 

The  following  letters  describe  the  pursuit  and  capture  of  Katta- 
boma  Nayaka  and  his  principal  adherents : — 

"  Soon  after  the  dispatch  of  my  letter  of  the  6th  instant,  having 
obtained  intelligence,  on  which  I  could  depend,  uf  the  direction  in  which 
Kattaboma  Nayaka  had  moved,  I  lost  no  time  in  addressing  letters  to 
the  several  Poligars,  particularly  to  those  who  I  knew  were  his 
enemies,  informing  them  of  his  flight,  and  calling  upon  them  to  use 
every  exertion  in  their  power  to  secure  his  person.  On  the  letters  for 
the  Poligars  being  ready  for  dispatch  I  put  the  detachment  in  motion 
in  a  northerly  direction,  after  having  placed  the  wounded  men  in 
Panjalamkurichi,  where  every  means  had  been  taken  for  their  com- 
fortable accommodation,  and  where  a  sufficient  party  was  left  for  their 
pi'otection. 
Assistance  of  "On  my  march  I  threw  off  parties  to  my  left,  the  first  consisting  of 
Ettaiyapu-  the  two  troops  of  cavalry  under  Lieutenant  Dallas,  and  the  other  four 
hundred  grenadiers  under  Captain  O'Reilly,  in  order  that  they  might 
be  in  readiness  to  act,  as  I  should  see  occasion,  in  co-operation  with  the 
Poligars,  to  the  westward  of  the  tract  in  which  I  had  determined  to 
move  with  the  main  body.  I  had  not  proceeded  far,  when  I  received 
an  answer  from  the  Ettaiapuram  Poligar,  promising  faithfully  that 
no  exertion  on  his  part  should  be  wanting  to  carry  into  effect  the 
orders  of  Government,  which  he  had  received  through  me,  and  inform- 
ing me  that  he  had  assembled  a  party  of  his  people,  with  which  he 
would  himself  immediately  proceed  in  pursuit  of  Kattaboma  Nayaka, 
and  requesting  I  would  afford  him  the  assistance  of  some  sepoys,  and 
recommending  that  they  should  be  sent  after  him  without  delay. 
(  npturc  of  "Instructions  were  accordingly  sent  to  Lieutenant  Dallas,   with  a 

important        guide  to  conduct  him  in  the  track  of  the  Ettaiapuram  man,   and  to 
prisoners.  °  .  ,  ,  ■■       r  > 

Captain    O'Reilly   to  follow  in    support  of  the  cavalry  as    fast    as 

possible.     The    party  with  Ettaiapuram  came    up  with  Kattaboma 

Nayaka  at  the  fort  of  Kollarpatti  before  it  was  possible  for  it  to  be 

joined  by    the  cavalry.     Some   skirmishing  ensued,    in  which  both 

parties  sustained  considerable  loss.     Kattaboma  Nayaka's  followers 

were,  however,  dispersed  ;  but  he  effected  his  escape,  attended  by  only 

six  persons,  who  with  himself  were  mounted  on  horses ;  thirty-four  of 

Kattaboma  Nayaka's  principal  dependents  were  secured  ;  among  whom 

are  Subrahmanya  Pillai,   his  principal  manager,  and   Subrahmanya's 

brother.     I  conceive  the  seizure  of  these  two  men,   particularly  the 


THE    BANNERMAN-POI.IGAR    WAR.  18 


r 


former,  of  more  importance  to  the  future  success  of  my  operations,  and  Chapter  VII. 
the  consequent  re-establishment  of  order  and  tranquillity  in  these 
countries,  than  if  Kattaboma  Nayaka  was  my  prisoner  ;  for  they  are 
men  of  good  ability,  and  of  the  most  intriguing  dispositions  ;  and  the 
former  has  acquired  considerable  wealth,  which  I  have  every  reason  to 
believe  he  would  willingly  expend  in  mating  resistance  to  the  autho- 
rity of  Government.  There  can  be  no  doubt  but  this  Subrahmanya 
had  acquired  such  influence  over  Kattaboma  Nayaka  as  entirely  to 
regulate  every  public  act  in  which  he  engaged  ;  and  that  the  latter's 
conduct,  in  resisting  the  Company's  authority,  and  in  the  exercise  of 
independent   power,  contrary  to   his   allegiance,    was   the   effect    of 

Subrahnianya's  advice." 

*  *  *  * 

"  Subrahmanya  Pillai  is  this  instant  brought  a  prisoner  to  my  tent.  Subrahmanva 
I  have  given  directions  that  the  Ettaiapuram  man's  party,  which  Pillai' s  guilt 
came  in  charge  of  him,  may  be  handsomely  rewarded,  and  that 
Subrahmanya  Pillai  shall  be  hanged  in  the  most  conspicuous  part  of 
the  village  of  Nagalapuram,  and  his  head  afterwards  carried  and  fixed 
on  a  pike  at  Panjadamkurichi.  His  brother  and  the  other  prisoners 
will  be  kept  in  confinement,  in  order  to  their  being  disposed  of  as 
circumstances  may  hereafter  require.  By  having,  in  this  instance, 
determined  to  make  a  severe  and  melancholy  example  of  a  man  who 
has  been  the  author  of  the  late  disturbances  and  enormities  which 
have  provoked  the  resentment  of  Government,  I  trust  I  shall  not  be 
deemed  by  the  Right  Honourable  the  Governor-General  in  Council  to 
have  exceeded  the  bounds  of  that  authority  with  which  it  was  thought 
necessary  to  vest  me  ;  or,  in  exercising  it,  to  have  lost  sight  of  that 
caution  and  forbearance  which  have  been  recommended  to  me  in  my 

instructions,  which  shall  in  all  cases  be  the  guides  of  my  conduct." 

*  #  *  * 

"  While  the  parties  under  Captain  O'Peilly  and  Lieutenant  Dallas 
were  advancing  in  support  of  the  Ettaiapuram  Poligar,  I  moved  on 
and  took  possession  of  this  place  (Nagalapuram)  on  the  9th  instant. 
Soon  after  my  arrival  the  Poligar  came  and  sui'rendered  himself  to  the 
Company's  authority.  As  the  conduct  of  this  man  has  been  of  a 
nature  the  most  flagitious,  and  marked  by  acts,  in  the  Ramnad 
countr}',  of  murder  and  destruction,  which  shock  humanity,  I  shall 
detain  him  for  the  present  in  close  confinement,  and  am  not  without 
hopes  of  getting  hold  of  the  person  of  his  brother,  who  commanded 
his  parties  in  the  execution  of  his  barbarous  orders  during  his  irrup- 
tion into  the  Eamnad  country.  The  Ettiapuram  Poligar  is  still  in 
pursuit  of  Kattaboma  Nayaka  :  the  parties,  however,  which  I  had  sent 
in  support  of  him  I  deemed  it  necessary  to  recall  after  I  received 
intelligence  of  the  dispersion  of  Kattaboma  Nayaka's  followers,  and 

they  joined  me  in  camp  during  the  night  of  the  9th." 

*  #  #  # 

"  I  succeeded  in  securing  Saundara  Pandya  Nayaka,  brother  to  the  Two  principal 
Nagalapuram  Poligar,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  12th  instant,  and  kept  offenders 
him  prisoner  in  the  fort  of  Nagalapuram  till  yesterday  morning,  when  exccu  e  ■ 
I  assembled  all  the  Vakeels  of  the  different  Poligars,  who  attended  me, 
and  after  calling  their  attention  to   the  proclamation  by  the  Revenue 

24 


186  HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 

Chapter VII.  Board,  which  had  been  issued  through  the  Collector,  Mr.  Lushington, 
I  explained  to  them  the  nature  and  the  extent  of  the  powers  with 
which  I  had  been  vested,  and  the  urgent  reasons  which  Government 
had  for  ordering  a  strict  enquiry  to  be  made  into  the  cause  of  the 
disturbances,  which  had  so  lately  existed  in  this  country,  and  during 
which  such  scenes  of  murder  and  devastation  had  occurred,  which 
called  for  the  most  exemplary  punishment.  I  acquainted  them  that 
in  consequence  of  the  information  I  had  obtained,  I  shoidd,  in  the  first 
place,  be  under  the  painful  necessity  of  punishing  with  death  such 
of  those  individuals  as  had  been  most  actively  employed  in  these 
disturbances  which  had  provoked  the  Company's  resentment ;  and 
should  then  take  such  other  measures  as  I  thought  necessary  for 
securing  future  obedience  to  all  the  Company's  orders  which  might  be 
conveyed  through  the  Collector  to  their  masters,  and  for  preventing  a 
repetition  of  these  scenes  of  rapine  and  murder  which  had  desolated 
the  country  and  destroyed  the  inhabitants.  I  farther  informed  the 
Vakeels  that  the  result  of  my  enquiries  had  pointed  out  Subrahmanya 
Pillai,  the  head  manager  of  Kattaboma  Nayaka,  and  Saundara  Pandya 
Nayaka,  brother  to  the  Nagalapuram  Poligar,  as  the  most  active 
agents  in  the  atrocious  scenes  of  which  Government  complained ;  and 
that  I  had  in  consequence  determined  that  they  should  suffer  death. 
That  the  former  should  be  hanged  in  the  most  conspicuous  part  of  the 
Nagalapuram  village,  and  his  head  sent  to  be  fixed  on  a  pike  at 
Panjalamkurichi,  and  the  latter  I  should  send  to  be  hanged  at  the 
village  of  Gopalpuram,  in  the  taluk  of  Palamurrah  (Pallimadai)  in 
the  Eamnad  country,  which  village  a  party  under  his  command  had 
destroyed,  after  inhumanly  murdering  its  inhabitants.  After  both 
these  men  had  been  cai'ried  off  to  execution,  I  delivered  copies  of  my 
proclamation  to  the  different  Vakeels,  and  desired  that  they  would 
transmit  them  to  their  masters.  I  enjoined  them  to  write  also  a 
faithful  account  of  what  had  passed  at  our  meeting  that  morning  ;  and 
to  add  that  they  had  it  farther  in  command  from  me  to  say  that  the 
severe  but  necessary  examples  which  had  been  made  ought  not  to 
create  any  alarm  amongst  those  who  were  innocent  of  similar  crimes  ; 
but  on  the  contrary  should  seiwe  to  convince  the  inhabitants  that  the 
Company  had,  on  this  occasion,  been  forced  to  adopt  measures  of 
severity,  only  because  their  former  lenient  and  merciful  conduct 
towards  the  refractory  Poligars  had  failed  to  produce  the  wished-for 
reform.  Tho  Vakeels  were  now  dismissed,  and  I  have  reason  to 
believe  a  proper  impression  was  made  on  their  minds  by  what  had 
passed  at  this  interview." 

*  *  *  * 

"  I  have  learned  from  Mr.  Lushington  that  he  has  received  a  letter 
from  tho  Tondimaii  informing  him  that  he  had  succeeded  in  his 
exertions  to  seize  the  person  of  Kattaboma  Nayaka,  and  desiring  to 
be  furnished  with  orders  respecting  the  disposal  of  that  rebellious 
Poligar.  Mr.  Lushington  has,  at  my  request,  been  so  obliging  as  to 
write  to  tho  Tondiman  desiring  that  Kattaboma  Nayaka  might  be 
immediately  sent  prisonor  to  Madura,  and  delivered  over  to  the  com- 
manding officor  at  that  station,  if  no  orders  to  the  contrary  had  been 


THE    RANNERMAN-POLIGAR    WAR.  187 

received  from  Government.     I  shall  order  a  party  from  this  detach-  Chapter  VII. 
ment  to  escort  Kattaboma  Nayaka  from  Madura  to  camp,  in  order      U~T~ 
that  he  may  be  proceeded  against  agreeably  to  the  spirit  of  my  origi-  taken. 
nal  instructions,  which  authorise  me  to  use  '  military  execution  against 
such  of  the  rebellious  Poligars  and  their  followers  as  shall   be  found 
in  open  rebellion  and  in  arms  against  the  authority  of  Government.'  ' 


"  The  party  which  I  had  sent  to  Madura  to  receive  and  conduct  the  Assembly  to 

rebellious  Poligar    Kattaboma  Nayaka  to  camp   returned   with  the  wltnef? the 
°  \  *■  execution  01 

prisoner  on  the  forenoon  of  the  5th  instant.     There  were  also  brought  Kattaboma. 

prisoners  with  the  Poligar  six  of  his  nearest  relations,  including 
Kumara  Swanii  Nayaka,  his  dumb  brother.  With  a  view  that  the 
orders  of  Government  respecting  Kattaboma  Nayaka  might  be  made 
public  and  carried  into  execution  in  as  solemn  and  impressive  a  man- 
ner as  circumstances  would  permit,  I  summoned  all  the  head  Poli- 
gars to  attend  me  yesterday  forenoon  at  10  o'clock.  On  their  being 
assembled,  I  informed  them  that  I  had  called  for  their  attendance 
upon  that  occasion  that  they  might  be  present  while  I  communicated 
to  Kattaboma  Nayaka  the  awful  sentence  pronounced  upon  him  by 
Government  in  vindication  of  their  authority  so  grossly  injured  by 
the  late  contumacious  conduct  of  that  Poligar,  which  had  occasioned 
the  many  evils  to  the  country  which  they  had  all  witnessed,  and  by 
his  subsequent  daring  rebellion  in  resisting  by  force  of  arms  the  Com- 
pany's troops,  which  had  been  sent  under  my  orders  to  recall  him  to 
obedience  and  a  proper  sense  of  his  duty. 

"  I  then  directed  Kattaboma  Nayaka  to  be  brought  in  before  the 
assembly,  and  proceeded  to  take  the  examination  and  the  confession 
of  the  Poligar,  which  you  will  find  detailed  in  the  inclosed  paper 
marked  '  A,  '  bearing  my  signature,  and  those  of  Major  Robert 
Turing  and  of  Mr.  George  Hughes,  the  Tamil  Translator,  whom  I  had 
directed  to  attend  me  on  the  occasion. 

"  From  this  paper  the  Eight  Honourable  the  Governor-General  in 
Council  will  observe  that  the  rebellious  Poligar  Kattaboma  Nayaka 
confessed  or  could  not  deny  that  he  had  withheld  his  kists  ;  that  he 
did  refuse  to  wait  upon  the  Collector  Mr.  Lushington  on  his  sum- 
mons, unless  permitted  to  be  attended  by  a  party  of  armed  peons  ; 
that  he  did  receive  a  summons  to  attend  me  at  Palamcottah  on  the 
4th  of  September  last  for  the  purpose  of  having  explained  to  him  the 
orders  which  I  had  received  from  Government  respecting  him,  which  he 
refused  to  obey  upon  the  idle  pretence  of  its  being  an  unlucky  day. 

"Prom  the  paper  above  alluded  to  it  will  likewise  appear  clearly  Sentence  on 
proved  by  the  evidences,  independent  of  his  own  confession,  '  that  Kattaboma. 
Kattaboma  Nayaka,  in  contempt  of  the  Company's  authority,  did  send 
an  armed  force,  of  between  700  and  1,000  Peons,  under  the  command 
of  one  of  his  own  relations,  in  the  months  of  July  and  August  last,  to 
join  the  Sivagiri  Poligar' s  son  and  Mappillai  Vanniyan,  who  were  in 
open  rebellion  against  that  Poligar  ;  that  while  in  his  fort  of  Panja- 
lamkurichi,  on  the  morning  of  the  5th  September  last,  he  did  receive 
a   summons  to  wait  upon  me  at  a  small  distance  from  his  fort,  which 


188 


HISTOKY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Chapter VII.  he  refused  to  obey  ;  and  that  he  did  remain  in  his  fort  during  that 
day,  and  was  present  while  his  people  fired  upon  and  killed  many  of 
the  Company's  troops,  who  were  ordered  to  compel  his  submission  to 
the  authority  of  Government.  After  what  passed,  as  detailed  in  the 
paper  marked  '  A, '  I  proceeded  to  communicate  to  the  Poligar,  Kat- 
taboma Nayaka,  the  awful  resolution  of  Government,  which  sentenced 
him  to  suffer  the  punishment  of  death  in  vindication  of  the  injured 
authority  of  the  Company.  He  was  then  carried  off  to  execution  and 
hanged  on  a  conspicuous  spot  near  to  the  old  fort  of  Kaittar. 

Address  to  "  When  Kattaboma  Nayaka  was  led  off  to   execution,  I   addressed 

the  assembled  myself  to  the  Poligars,  who  had  witnessed  all  that  had  passed  in  silent 


Poligars. 


Execution  of 
Kattaboma. 


Dislnynl  Poli 

pnrs  dispos- 
sessed. 


awe  and  with  astonishment,  and  caused  to  be  clearly  explained  to  them 
that  the  Poligar,  Kattaboma  Nayaka,  had  compelled  Government  to 
inflict  upon  him  such  rigorous  punishment  by  repeatedly  acting  in 
contempt  of  the  Company's  authority,  and  by  being  guilty  at  last  of 
open  rebellion,  notwithstanding  he  had  frequently,  and  on  so  late  an 
occasion,  experienced  the  most  signal  lenity  and  justice  from  the 
Government,  of  which  none  of  the  Poligars  present  covdd  be  ignorant. 
I  then  dismissed  them  after  having  expressed  an  earnest  hope  that 
the  examples  which  had  lately  been  made,  and  the  measures  which 
had  been  adopted,  would  convince  them  and  their  posterity  that  no 
rank  or  condition  of  life  amongst  them  would  in  future  screen  from 
punishment  such  as  should  dare  to  act  in  disobedience  of  the  Company's 
orders,  or  in  contempt  of  the  authority  of  Government,  which  they 
must  ever  consider  it  their  duty  to  respect. 

"  It  may  not  be  amiss  here  to  observe  that  the  manner  and  behaviour 
of  the  Poligar  during  the  whole  time  of  his  being  before  those  who 
were  assembled  yesterday  at  the  examination  which  took  place  was 
undaunted  and  supercilious.  He  frequently  eyed  the  Ettiapuram 
Poligar,  who  had  been  so  active  in  attempting  to  secure  his  person, 
and  the  Poligar  of  Sivagiri  with  an  appearance  of  indignant  scorn  ; 
and  when  he  went  out  to  be  executed  he  walked  with  a  firm  and  dar- 
ing air,  and  cast  looks  of  sullen  contempt  on  the  Poligars  to  his  right 
and  left  as  he  passed.  It  was  reported  to  me  that  on  his  way  to  the 
place  of  execution  he  expressed  some  anxiety  for  his  dumb  brother 
alone  ;  and  said,  when  he  reached  the  foot  of  the  tree  on  which  he 
was  hanged  that  he  then  regretted  having  left  his  fort,  in  the  defence 
of  which  it  would  have  been  better  for  him  to  have  died." 

The  following  proclamation  by  Major  Bannerman  dispossessing 
five  of  the  Poligars  who  had  combined  with  Kattaboma  Nayaka 
against  the  Government,  together  with  that  Poligar  himself,  was 
published  nearly  a  month  before,  but  it  will  come  in  most  appro- 
priately at  this  juncture  : — 

Camp  at  Kaittar,   17th  October  1799. 

"  Bo  it  known  to  all  the  Tinnevelly  Poligars,  and  all  the  inhabitants 
of  the  pollams,  that  Major  John  Bannennan,  commissioned  by  tho 
Honourable  Company  to  make  enquiry  into  the  misconduct  of  the  Tin- 
nevelly Poligars  in  communication  with  the   Collector,  and  to  punish 


THE    BANNKKMAN-POI.IGAR    WAR. 


IS!) 


such  as  may  be  found  deserving  thereof  ;  and  having,  on  a  full  enquiry  Chapter  VII. 
into  the  conduct  of  the  several  Poligars  of  Elayirampannai,  Nagala- 
puram,  Kollarpatti,  Kadalgudi,  and  Kulattur,  discovered  that  they 
were  leagued  with  Panjalam  kurichi  in  the  late  levying  of  war  against 
the  Poligar  of  Sivagiri,  who  is  under  the  Company's  protection  ;  and 
that  the  conduct  of  all  these  Poligars  has  been  alike  disobedient  and 
rebellhuis  to  the  Government  of  the  Company,  in  disregarding  the 
authority  of  the  Collector,  refusing  to  pay  Company's  kists,  commit- 
ting depredations,  disturbing  the  peace  of  the  country,  and  oppressing 
and  murdering  its  inhabitants,  he  has  deemed  it  expedient,  by 
virtue  of  his  instructions,  and  the  powers  with  which  he  is  invested 
from  the  Company,  to  mark  in  the  strongest  manner  their  displeasure 
against  such  criminal  proceedings ;  and  therefore  proclaims  that  the 
Poligars  of  Panjalamkurichi,  Nagalapuram,  Elayirampannai,  Kollar- 
patti, Kadalgudi,  and  Kulattur  are  dispossessed  of  their  pollams. 
And  be  it  known  to  all  the  inhabitants  thereof  that  they  are  assumed 
by  the  Company,  who  have  accordingly  taken  possession  of  them. 

"  Be  it  further  known  that  all  the  forts  in  the  aforesaid  palaiyams 
being  deemed  useless  and  unnecessary  by  the  Company,  are  hereby 
ordered  to  be  destroyed.  And,  further,  as  the  carrying  of  arms  by  the 
peons  and  people  thereof  has  been  attended  with  much  mischief,  and  Disarmament 
violence  to  the  whole  country,  it  is  strictly  enjoined  that  no  peon,  shero-  orderecl- 
gar,  cowalgar,  inhabitant  or  any  other  person  of  any  description  what- 
ever shall  hereafter  use  or  keep  either  firelock,  matchlock,  pike,  or 
spear,  under  pain  of  being  put  to  death ;  and  any  person  whatever  found 
concealing  or  possessing  them  will  be  also  subject  to  the  same  punish- 
ment ;  and  it  is  therefore  strictly  commanded  that  every  peon  or  in- 
habitant of  the  aforesaid  pollams  possessing  arms  shall  immediately 
deliver  them  up  to  such  persons  as  Major  Bannerman  may  appoint  to 
receive  them,  and  every  head  inhabitant  will  be  held  subject  to  severe 
punishment  who  makes  not  the  fullest  enquiry,  and  gives  not  the  most 
speedy  information  of  all  arms  concealed  in  his  village  ;  and,  in  order 
more  effectually  to  preserve  the  tranquillity  of  the  assumed  pollams 
and  that  the  peaceful  inhabitants  may  pursue  their  cultivation  in 
safety,  all  head  inhabitants  of  villages  are  hereby  solemnly  warned 
that  in  whatever  village  resistance  may  be  made  to  the  Company's 
servants,  and  if  it  shall  be  discovered  that  any  firelock,  matchlock, 
pike,  or  spear  has  been  used  in  such  affray,  the  head  inhabitant  of  such 
village  will  be  liable  to  suffer  death,  unless  he  shall,  in  three  days 
after  such  affray  has  happened,  report  the  names  of  those  inhabitants 
who  were  engaged  in  such  resistance,  and  prove  that  he  has  done 
every  thing  in  his  power  to  seize  the  offenders.  And  be  it  also  most  Penalties  for 
fully  known  to  all  the  rest  of  the  Poligars  that  while  the  assumption  dlS0^edience. 
of  the  abovementioned  six  pollams  has  been  the  severe  and  necessary 
consequence  of  very  criminal  proceedings,  that  provided  all  the  rest 
conduct  themselves  hereafter  with  tho  most  respectful  and  submissive 
obedience  to  the  Company's  Government,  neither  more  of  the  lives  of 
their  people  will  be  taken,  nor  more  of  their  countries  assumed  ;  and 
being  duly  impressed  therewith  they  will  act  accordingly.  Under 
these  assurances  let  therefore  the  inhabitants  of  every  description,  and 


190 


HISTORY   OF    TINXEVELLY. 


Explanation 
of  reasons. 


ChapterMI.  particularly  those  sherogars  and  peons  who  have  been  accustomed  to 
carry  arms,  cheerfully  lay  aside  all  offensive  weapons  ;  and,  betaking 
themselves  to  the  cultivation  of  the  land,  increase  their  own  happiness 
and  merit  the  favour  of  the  Company,  who  will  protect  them  from  every 
danger." 

I  add  Major  Bannerman's  account  of  his  interview  with  all  the 
Tinnevelly  Poligars  at  Kaittar  on  the  27th  September,  when  he 
read  and  explained  to  them  his  proclamation  respecting  the  demo- 
lition of  their  forts  and  the  delivering  up  of  their  arms,  and 
induced  each  Poligar  to  volunteer  to  carry  this  work  of  demolition 
into  effect  himself  :  — 

"I  met  all  the  Poligars  who  had,  in  obedience  to  my  summons, 
arrived  at  Kaittar.  I  first  endeavoured  to  make  the  Poligars  sensible 
of  the  justness  of  the  punishment  which  had  already  been  inflicted. 
I  then  cautioned  them  against  believing  that  because  no  farther  ex- 
amples had  yet  been  made  I  was  ignorant  cf  the  many  acts  of  dis- 
obedience of  which  they  had  been  guilty,  of  the  refractory  disposition 
of  the  Poligars  in  general,  and  of  the  innumerable  evils  which  such 
causes  had  produced. 

"I  then  told  the  Poligars  that  there  were  two  modes  of  carrying  into 
effect  the  orders  of  Government  as  signified  by  the  proclamation.  The 
one  was  that  they  should  give  their  own  orders  to  destroy  the  forts 
and  collect  the  arms  and  deliver  the  latter  to  officers  whom  I  should 
send  with  small  parties  to  receive  them  and  see  that  the  forts  were 
pi-operly  demolished.  The  other  mode  was  that  I  should  march  with 
the  whole  of  my  detachment  through  their  pollams  and  see  the 
orders  of  Government  carried  into  execution.  I  acquainted  them  that 
I  was  prepared  for  either,  but  left  the  choice  with  them.  That  in  the 
event  of  the  detachments  marching  all  the  Head  Poligars  must  attend 
me  in  the  camp.  If  the  other  mode  were  to  be  adopted,  the  Poligars 
should  remain  with  me  at  Kaittar  and  send  their  managers  with  small 
parties,  which  I  should  direct  to  proceed,  and  superintend  the  execu- 
tion of  the  Company's  orders. 

' '  I  assured  them  that  as  soon  as  I  had  received  reports  that  the  arms 
had  been  surrendered  and  the  forts  demolished,  each  man  should  be 
permitted  to  return  in  peace  to  his  own  pollam.  Before  my  in- 
terview was  over  I  believe  I  may  venture  to  assert  that  I  obtained 
from  the  Poligars  their  fullest  consent  to  the  demolition  of  their  forts 
and  the  surrender  of  their  arms.  They  seemed  convinced  by  my 
arguments  that  it  would  be  more  creditable  for  them  to  destroy  their 
own  forts  than  to  have  the  business  done  b}r  our  pioneers  ;  and  they 
did  not  appear  insonsible  of  the  mischief  that  would  be  prevented  by 
keeping  so  large  a  detachment  out  of  their  pollams,  their  apprehen- 
sion of  which  I  did  not  fail  to  raise  as  much  as  possible. 

"  I  have  much  pleasure  in  being  able  to  report  to  you  that  the  last 
of  the  parties  which  I  found  it  necessary  to  detach  to  superintend 
the  demolition  of  the  forts  and  tho  collection  of  the  arms  left  Kaittar 
this  morning;  and  that  the  Poligars  have  sent  their  managers  and 
positive  orders,  with  the  different  parties,  to  see  that  the  orders  of 
Government  on  this  Bubject  be  strictly  complied  with. 


Forts  to  be 
demolished. 


THE    BANNERMAN-POLIGAE    WAR.  191 

"  The  Head  Poligars  themselves  have  agreed  to  remain  with  me  at  Chapter  VII. 

Kaittar  till  I  shall  be  satisfied  that  the  orders  which  they  have  sent  by  

their  managers  are  obeyed.  I  cannot  omit  reporting  in  this  place  that  for  m'ip  t0 
1  had  created  in  the  Poligars,  before  we  parted,  so  anxious  a  desire  to  demolish  their 
appear  forward  in  complying  with  the  orders  of  Government,  that  ° 
some  of  them  even  requested  that  I  would  obtain  for  them  the  assist- 
ance of  coolies  from  the  Circar  villages  in  their  neighbourhood  to  assist 
in  demolishing  their  forts  ;  and  that  I  have  in  consequence  applied  for 
the  necessary  orders  from  the  Nawab's  Kutchary,  which  shall  be 
immediately  forwarded  to  the  villages  most  contiguous  to  the  pollams 
in  which  such  assistance  has  been  required.  The  coolies  are  to  be 
paid  at  the  expense  of  such  Poligar  whose  fort  they  assist  to  demolish. 
I  have  much  reason  at  present  to  believe  that  by  the  plan  in  which  I 
have  got  the  Poligars  to  acquiesce  every  fort  in  the  pollams,  amounting 
to  forty-two,  will  be  effectually  destroyed  before  the  end  of  this 
month.  With  respect  to  the  arms,  I  am  not  so  sanguine  in  my  hopes 
of  their  being  all  surrendered  so  readily.  The  prejudices  and  long 
habits  of  the  Poligars  oppose  the  measure ;  but  the  carrying  into 
execution  the  threats  held  forth  in  the  proclamation,  in  a  very  few 
instances  at  first,  will  soon  overcome  their  partiality  to  the  custom  of 
carrying  arms,  and  convert  the  armed  Poligar  into  a  tame  and  peace- 
able cultivator  of  the  soil." 

The   Madras   Government    approved   of   the  disarming  of  the  Approval  of 
Poligars,  but,  in  order  to  facilitate,  as  they  supposed,  the  carrying  Government. 
of  the  measure  into  effect,  ordered,  in  opposition  to  Major  Banner- 
man's  judgment,  that  the  arms  should  not  be  seized,  but  that  a 
reward,  or  price,  should  be  paid  to  each  person  for  each  description 
of  arms  delivered  up. 

Within  a  month  Major  Bannerman  had  reason  to  believe  that 
all  the  Poligar  forts  in  Tinnevelly  had  been  demolished.  On  the 
21st  October  he  writes  : — 

"  I  enclose  the  returns  which  I  received  from  the  different  Poli-  Results. 
gars  showing  the  number  of  forts  each  had  in  his  pollam,  of  the  guns 
and  wall-pieces  of  each  fort,  and  the  number  of  peons  retained  in  each 
Poligar's  service,  specifying  the  number  and  description  of  arms  which 
they  used.  As  also  a  general  report  of  the  forts  which  have  been 
destroyed,  and  of  the  arms  already  collected,  made  out  from  those 
reports  which  I  have  received  from  the  officers  in  charge  of  the 
different  parties  which  I  had  detached  to  superintend  the  demolition 
of  the  forts,  and  the  surrender  of  the  arms  in  those  pollams  which 
have  not  been  sequestered.  I  likewise  inclose  a  copy  of  a  letter 
which  accompanied  the  reports  from  Captain  Bruce,  the  officer  placed 
in  the  general  command  of  the  parties  dispersed  in  the  western 
pollams,  from  which  it  is  satisfactory  to  observe  how  attentive  all  the 
managers  employed  b}r  the  Poligars  have  been  in  obeying  the  orders 
they  had  received  respecting  the  demolition  of  their  forts,  &c.  You 
will  also  find  a  copy  of  the  report  I  received  from  Lieutenant  Bagshaw, 
who  was  employed,  with  the  pioneers  under  his  command,  in  demo- 
lishing the  fort  of  Panjalamkurichi,  and  a  return  of  the  arms  col- 
lected in  the  six  sequestered  pollams. 


192 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Chapter  VII 


Proclamations 
inscribed  on 
brass. 


Leniency  to 
certain  Poli- 
gars. 


Banishment 
of  dangerous 
persons. 


"  As  the  purpose  for  which  the  Poligars  were  detained  at  Kaittar  has 
already  been  pretty  completely  answered,  I  summoned  all  of  them  to 
attend  me  this  morning  in  order  to  give  them  permission  to  return  to 
their  respective  pollams  ;  and  as  I  thought  it  of  consequence  fully 
to  impress  upon  their  minds  before  their  departure  that  Government 
would  hereafter  act  toward  them  in  a  strict  conformity  with  the 
measures  which  I  had  on  this  occasion  been  instructed  to  adopt,  I  had 
prepared  a  proclamation,  a  copy  of  which  was  delivered  to  each 
Poligar ;  and  they  were  informed  that  other  copies  inscribed  on  brass 
should  be  prepared,  and  one  sent  to  each  of  them  as  soon  as  possible, 
in  order  that  it  might  be  fixed  up  and  kept  in  a  conspicuous  place  in 
the  principal  village  of  each  pollam  for  the  general  information  of 
the  inhabitants ; '  and  that  each  Poligar  would  be  held  responsible  that 
this  order  was  strictly  complied  with." 

The  Poligars  of  Elayiramparmai  and  Nagalapuram  were  banished 
to  Madras,  where  they  died.  A  letter  of  Major  Bannernian's  will 
explain  his  views  regarding  these  Poligars  and  some  of  their  prin- 
cipal associates : — 

"  In  conformity  with  the  spirit  of  my  instructions,  I  had  determined 
to  send  all  the  Head  Poligars  of  the  sequestered  pollams  prisoners  to 
the  Presidency.  The  Nagalapuram  and  Elayiramparmai  Poligars  have 
been  placed  under  Lieutenant  Turner's  charge.  Kattaboma  Nayaka 
and  the  Head  Poligar  of  Kadalgudi  have  been  proscribed  by  my  pro- 
clamation of  the  1 8th  instant.  But  as  the  Poligar  of  Kollarpatti  is  a 
poor,  weak,  blind  youth,  and  the  Poligar  of  Kulattur  is  a  weak,  infirm 
man  of  between  60  and  70  years  of  age,  their  infirmities  seem  to  point 
them  out  as  objects  who  should  be  treated  with  as  much  lenity  as  due 
attention  to  the  public  good  will  admit  of,  and  as  there  is  no  danger 
to  be  apprehended  from  their  intrigues,  I  have  delivered  them  over  to 
Mr.  Lushington,  that  he  may  send  them  for  the  present  to  Ramnad, 
and  they  can  be  hereafter  disposed  of  as  Government  shall  be  pleased 
to  direct.  As  Satagopah  Pillai,  the  manager  of  the  Nagalapuram 
Poligar,  was  a  principal  adviser  of  his  master,  and  possesses  much 
influence  in  the  pollam,  I  have  judged  it  indispensably  necessary  that 
he  should  accompany  the  Poligar  into  banishment.  Saunderalinga 
Nftyaka  was  declared  by  his  blind  brother-in-law,  the  Poligar  of 
Kollarpatti,  to  have  been  his  adviser  on  all  occasions,  and  confessed 
himself  to  have  been  the  manager  of  all  the  public  concerns  of  the 
pollam.  Chinna  Vettoo  Nayaka,  son  of  the  Kulattur  Poligar,  is  also 
notorious  for  having  been  the  wicked  adviser  of  his  father ;  and  he 
and  Armogam  Pillai  were  the  sole  managers  of  his  public  concerns  ; 
and  Paradampermal  Pillai  possesses  much  influence,  as  having  been 
the  adviser  and  manager  of  the  Elnyirampannai  Poligar.  I  could  not 
therefore  hesitate  in  removing  individuals  of  such  description  from 
this  country. 

"  The  public  records  leave  no  doubt  of  Sivagiri  MSppillai  Vannij-an 
being  the  person  whose  influence  over  the  Sivagiri  Poligar's  son 
instigated  him  to  acts  of  rebellion  against  his  father,  and  produced 


1  These  brass  plates  are  said  to  be  still  in  existence,  but  are  kept  in  the  houses  of 
the  Zemindars. 


T 1 1 K    B  A  N  N  E  R  M  A.N-POLIG  A  R    W  A  R .  I  93 

those  horrid  scones  and  disturbances  in  the  Sivagiri  pollam  by  which  Chapter VII, 
not  only  that  country  but  the  neighbouring  pollams  have  suffered  so 
much,  and  to  quell  which  the  Company  have  been  repeatedly  obliged 
to  fit  out  an  armed  force.     This  man  possesses  talents  which  qualify 
him  in  a  very  superior  degree  for  being  a  public  incendiary,   and  is 
distinguished  among  the  Poligars  for   being  a  daring,    brave,    and  Mapillai 
active  fellow,   which  makes  him  a  favourite  leader,  whom  they  are  Vanniy«n- 
desirous  to  follow  upon  all  occasions.     Government  will,  I  think,  see 
the  propriety  of  taking  particular  care  that  such  a  character  is   not 
permitted  to  return  again  to  this  neighbourhood." 

Most    of  Major  Bannerman's   prisoners   were  sent    to    Palam- 
cotta  and  kept  in  confinement  in  the  jail  there,  with  the  prisoners 
that  had  surrendered  themselves  to  Captain  Davison,  the  officer  in 
command  at  Tuticorin.     The  most  important  of  the  prisoners  sent 
by  Major  Bannerman  to  Palamcotta  were  the  two  brothers  of  the 
recently    executed  Poligar    of   Paiijalanikuricki.     It    was   found 
after  a  time  that  the  fort  of  Panjalamkurichi,  which  was  supposed 
to  have  been  utterly  demolished,  was  ready  to  rise  again  from  the 
ground,  as  strong  as  ever,  the  moment  it  was  required.     Govern- 
ment  were  very  much  disconcerted  when  this  discovery  was  made, 
but  after  the  strictest  inquiry  it  was  ascertained  that  the  demolition 
both  of  Panjalamkurichi  and  of  the  other  forts  had  really  taken  Reappearance 
place— that  of  Panjalamkurichi  before  Major  Bannerman  left  the  j?^  J™" 
district — but  that  mud  forts,  however  completely  demolished,  could 
speedily  be  re-erected,  so  that  where  a  thousand  or  two  enthusiastic 
labourers  worked  day  and  night  there  was  nothing  incredible  in 
the  circumstance  that  such  a  fort  as  Panjalamkurichi  should  rise 
from  the  ground  again  in  a  day  or  two,  as  if  by  the  wave  of 
magician's  wand.     "Whatever  might  take  place  afterwards  there  is 
no   doubt  that  Major  Bannerman's  work,  so  far  as  it  went,  was 
very  completely  done  ;  the  voluntary  demolition  by  the  Poligars 
themselves  of  their  forty-two  forts  was  an  unparalleled  triumph  to 
the  cause  of  order,  and  it  was  achieved  as  much  by  tact  and  policy 
as  by  the  force  of  arms.     Having  thus  repressed  all  opposition 
to  Government,  and  restored  peace  to  the  district,  Major  Banner- 
man  left  for  Europe   on  furlough,    accompanied  by   the  cordial  Major 
thanks  and  congratulations  of  all  the  authorities.     The  peace  he  i^cesT™11'3 
established  lasted  for  more  than  two  years,  an  unusually  long  time 
for  peace  and  order  to  last  in  those  troublous  days,  but  this  state 
of  things  was  destined  to  be  rudely  disturbed  at  last  by  another 
Poligar  war— the  most  formidable  of  all,  but  fortunately  the  last. 


2d 


104 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 


THE  LAST  POLIGAE  WAR. 


Events  preceding  the  Outbreak. 


General 
Welsh's  ac- 
count. 


Chap.  VIII.  In  addition  to  the  information  respecting  the  last  Poligar  war 
supplied  by  the  reports  and  documents  contained  in  the  Tinnevelly 
records,  we  have  the  advantage  of  possessing  two  independent 
accounts  of  the  war,  written  by  persons  who  were  engaged  in  it 
from  its  commencement  to  its  termination.  The  first  of  these  is  con- 
tained in  the  "  Military  Eeminiscences  "  of  General  "Welsh,  a  very 
interesting  book  published  in  London  in  1830.  General  (then  Cap- 
tain) Welsh  was  staff  officer  to  the  officer  in  command  throughout 
the  campaign.  The  other  account  is  entitled  a  "  Narrative  of  the 
Mr.  Hughes's  last  Outbreak  and  final  Subjugation  of  the  Southern  Poligars,  by 
Mr.  George  A.  Hughes,  of  Tatchanallur,  Translator  to  the  force." 
This  was  published  in  1844,  nine  years  after  Mr.  Hughes's  death.1 


1  Mr.  Hughes's  name  is  so  well  known  in  Tinnevelly  that  people  would  probably 
like  to  know  some  particulars  about  him.  The  following  notice  is  prefixed  to  Mr. 
Hughes's  Narrative  by  the  Editor  of  the  Madras  Journal  of  Literature  and  Science 
in  which  the  narrative  appeared : — 

"  Mr.  Hughes,  an  Indo-British  gentleman,  well  known  for  his  commercial  enter- 
prise and  successful  speculations  in  the  southern  districts,  was  the  son  of  Mr. 
Hughes,  of  the  Madras  Civil  Service,  formerly  Paymaster  of  Madura.  He  was  sent 
to  England  at  an  early  age  and  received  an  excellent  education  under  the  charge 
of  his  uncle,  Dr.  Hughes,  Principal  of  Jesus  College,  Cambridge.  On  his  return 
to  India,  after  serving  as  a  clerk  under  the  Resident  of  Travancore,  and  in  the 
office  of  Mr.  S.  R.  Lushington,  Collector  of  the  Southern  Poligar  Peishcush,  he 
was  appointed  by  Colonel  Bannerman,  the  officer  entrusted  with  the  charge  of 
quelling  the  Poligar  insurrection  of  1799,  to  be  Malabar  and  Gentoo  Interpreter 
with  the  force  on  the  pay  and  allowances  of  a  Captain,  which  was  confirmed 
by  Government  on  the  26th  September  1799.  He  continued  in  the  same  situation 
under  Colonel  Agnew  in  1801,  and  afterwards  in  1808  he  accompanied  the  force 
under  General  St.  Leger  during  the  Travancore  war  and  received  the  thanks  of 
Government  for  lus  services  on  the  '27th  February  1809.  In  the  interim  he  had 
engaged  in  commercial  pursuits  and  entered  into  partnership  with  Mr.  Charles 
■Wallace  Young,  who,  between  L805  and  1808,  obtained  a  lease  of  a  large  extent  of 
waste  land  for  the  cultivation  of  coffee,  indigo,  and  cotton,  in  Tinnevelly,  at  an 
annual  rent  of  2,000  rupees,  to  continue  to  the  close  of  the  Company's  Charter. 

"On  the  death  of  Mr.  Young,  in  the  latter  part  of  1809,  Mr.  Hughes  succeeded  to 
the  lease,  as  assignee  of  that  gentleman  ;  and  on  the  expiration  of  the  Charter,  the 
grant  was  renewed  in  1811,  on  the  same  terms,  for  the  period  of  the  next  Charter. 
Mr.  Hughes  likewise  purchased  the  Kulattur  and  Kadalgudi  Mitlahs,  and  continued 
engaged  in  various  speculations  with  fluctuating  success  until  Lis  death,  which  took 
place  on  the  26th  February  1835." 

I  may  add  that  Mr.  Hughes  was  never  married,  though  he  had  several  children, 
whom  he  brought  up  as  Hindus. 


THE    LAST    POLIO AR    WAR.  195 

The  Poligar  of  Panjalamkurichi,  who  was  executed  at  Kaittar  Chap.  VIII. 
in  September  1799,  left  two  brothers,  as  has  been  mentioned,  both  The  two"  Pan 
of  whom  were  kept   in  confinement  in  the  Palamcotta  Jail.     One  jalamkurichi 
of  these  brothers,  the  elder,  was  described  as  a  feeble  person,  but  brothers- 
would  have  been  heir  to  the  palaiyam  if  it  had  not  been  confis- 
cated, and   was  regarded  by  his  sympathising  adherents  and  the 
natives  generally  as  the  true   heir  all  the  same,  and  called  accord- 
ingly by  the   family  title  Kattaboma  Nayaka.       The  other,  the 
younger,  though  dumb   and   a  mere  boy,  was  a  person  of  great 
energy  and  full   of  resources,  and  was  regarded  by  the  natives 
almost  as  a  divinity.      In  addition  to  the  two  brothers  there  were 
seme  other  persons  confined  with  them  in  the  Palamcotta  Jail  who 
had  been  implicated  in  the  outbreak  of  1799.     The  most  intriguing 
and  dangerous  member  of  the  deposed  family,  Sivattaiya,  a  near 
relation,  who  had  escaped  the  vigilance  of  the  authorities  and  was 
still  at  large,  was  the  leader  of  a  party  of   sympathisers  who  were 
waiting  for  an  opportunity  to  effect  the  escape  of  the  prisoners  and 
help  them  to  commence  the  struggle  afresh. 

Escape  of  the  Prisoners  from  the  Palamcotta  Jail  and 

subsequent  events. 

Mr.  Hughes  thus  describes  the  position  of  things  in  Tinnevelly  Position  of 
prior  to  the  escape  of  the  prisoners  and  the  recommencement  of  t^)1^s  pi7or 
hostilities : — "Major  Bannerman  left  the  detachment  to  embark  for  break. 
Europe  early  in  1800,  under  high  and  well-earned  encomiums 
from  the  Government.  The  command  devolved  on  Major  Robert 
Turing,  who,  having  preferred  a  high  situation  on  the  general 
staff,  left  us  about  February.  He  was  succeeded  by  Major  Colin 
Macaulay,  who  with  the  command  of  the  district,  held  also  the 
appointment  of  Resident  at  Travancore.  The  state  of  affairs  soon 
admitted  of  the  separation  of  the  detachment,  and  the  Governor- 
General  requiring  his  services  for  a  time  at  the  Travancore  Durbar, 
the  3rd  Regiment  N.I.  was  cantoned  at  Shenker  ninaur  Covil 
(Sankaranainarkovil)  (now  under  the  command  of  Major  Sheppard), 
a  few  companies  of  another  corps  were  left  at  Kaittar,  and  Palam- 
cotta was  garrisoned  by  Lieutenant  Knowle's  provincial  corps  and 
some  other  details.  The  main  body  of  the  force  returned  to  Trichi- 
nopoly  and  other  stations,  and  at  the  close  of  the  year  there  was  to 
all  appearance  the  most  prosperous  settlement  of  all  the  objects  of 
the  Grovernment,  combined  with  the  most  perfect  tranquillity  in 
the  country." 

The  following  is  General  "Welsh's  account  of  the  escape  of  the 
prisoners  : — 

"On  me  2nd  of  February  1801,  while  our  force  was  cantoned  at  Escape  of  the 
Sankaranainarkovil,  about  thirty  miles  to  the  eastward  (north-west),  prisoners. 
and  the  whole  of  the  remaining  community,  about  twenty  ladies  ami 


196 


HISTORY    OF    TIXXEYELI.Y. 


Chap.  VIII,   gentlemen,  were  dining  at  Major  Macaulay's  garden-house  at  Palam- 
cotta,  a  number  of  Poligar  prisoners  confined  in  the  fort  made  their 
escape  by  overpowering  their  own  guard   and  the  one   at  the   fort, 
whom  they  disarmed.     As  men  of  consequence  and  State  prisoners, 
they  had  been  hitherto  kept  in  irons  and  very  strictly  guarded  ;  but 
the  small-pox  having  recently  broken  out    amongst  them,  their  chains 
had  been  removed  a  few  days  before.     This  evening  a  number  of  their 
adherents  in  disguise,  and  with  concealed  weapons,  had  entered  the 
fort,  and,  at  a  preconcerted  signal,  forced  the  prison-gate,  whilst  the 
prisoners  attacked  the  two  sentries  in  front.     A  few  of  the  guard  were 
wounded,  and   the    whole    instantly  disarmed ;  when    the   prisoners, 
seizing  the  musquets  of  their  ci-devant  gaolers,  headed  their  adherents, 
and  rushing  on  the  gate-guard,  succeeded  in  overpowering  them,  when 
passing  through  the  gates,  they  made  such  good  use  of  their  heels  that, 
before  morning,  they  had  arrived  at  Panjalainkurichi,  a  distance  of 
thirty  miles  ;  having  surprised  and  disarmed  nearly  one  hundred  men 
at  different  stages  on  the  road,  and  at  one  place  an  entire  company 
under  a  native  officer.     In  their  haste  to  secure  a  safe  retreat,  they 
however  let  slip  the  fairest  opportunity  they  ever  could  have  enjoyed 
of  crippling  our  force,  for  the  party  assembled  at  our  commandant's 
included  the  civilians  of  the  station,  all  the  staff  officers,  and  several 
others  of  the  force  ;  the  house  was  protected  by  a  Naigue's  guard  only, 
and  not  above  a  mile  out  of  their  route  ;  and  there  we  must  all  have 
perished,  unprepared  and  unresisting,  since  they  were  several  hundred 
strong,  even  before  they  left  the  place.     Unaware  of  the  extent  of  the 
mischief,  small  parties  were  sent  out,  as  soon  as  they  could  be  collected, 
to  overtake  the  fugitives,  and  lucky  it  was  for  them  that  they  returned 
unsuccessful.     Indeed  all  the  sepoys  then  in  Palamcotta  would  have 
been  inadequate  for  that  purpose." 
Measures  Major  Macaulay,  the  Commanding  Officer   in  the   Tinnevelly 

authorities  District,  concerted  measures  at  once  for  the  recapture  of  the 
fugitives,  and  moved  off  with  all  despatch  to  Kaittar  the  disposable 
part  of  the  garrison  of  Palamcotta  and  a  few  of  the  Nawab's 
horsemen  drawn  from  his  establishment  of  Sivalaperai.  The  troops 
under  Major  Sheppard  at  SankaranainarkGvil  were  ordered  to 
march  to  Kaittar,  and  all  the  Palamcotta  officers  joined  at  that 
place  on  the  6th.  The  Nawab's  troopers  were  mounted  on  horses 
belonging  to  the  English  gentlemen  lent  for  the  purpose. 

"A  body  of  European  cavalry  had  originally  formed  a  part  of  the 
southern  field  force,  and  with  some  infantry  corps  had  been  only 
lately  removed,  under  an  appearance  of  perfect  tranquillity  being 
established  in  this  hitherto  turbulent  district.  Our  force  was  therefore 
consequently  now  roduced  to  nine  hundred  firelocks,  and  all  native, 
excepting  a  detachment  of  Bengal  artillery,  with  two  2  and  two  4 
pounders.  On  tho  morning  of  8th  February,  having  marched  half  way 
the  day  before,  the  detachment  reached  the  village  Kulayanalliir, 
nineteen  miles  from  Kaittar.  The  camp  was  formed  in  a  small  square, 
and  all  hands  were  preparing  to  enjoy  a  hearty  meal,  when  a  body  of 
Poligars  to  the  number  of  a  thousand  or  twelve  hundred,  armed  with 


Unavailing 
pursuit. 


Attack  on  the 
camp  hy  the 
Poligars. 


THE    LAST    POLIGAK    WAR.  197 

musquets,  pikes,  and  swords,  made  their  appearance  on  a  rising  ground  Chap.  VIII. 
in  front  of  the  line,  and  inclining  to  the  right  and  left,  made  a  simul- 
taneous attack  on  three  faces.  The  small  village,  situated  about  a 
mile  in  the  rear,  had  been  previously  taken  possession  of  by  our 
picquets ;  and  while  we  were  employed  in  front  by  the  first  assailants, 
a  body  of  the  enemy,  advancing  under  cover  of  a  deep  ravine,  immedi- 
ately attacked  it.  Although  many  of  our  men,  being  new  drafts  and 
recruits,  had  never  seen  a  shot  fired,  yet  the  whole  behaved  well, 
except  the  Nawab's  cavalry,  who  woidd  not  charge  even  a  small  party 
of  the  enemy,  and  we  began  to  wish  we  had  our  horses  back  again. 
In  about  an  hour,  however,  the  Poligars  withdrew,  leaving  forty  dead 
upon  the  field,  and  carrying  off  their  wounded  ;  they  were  not  pursued 
very  far,  and  all  was  quiet  again  in  our  little  camp  by  noon.  Our  loss 
was  not  more  than  six  men,  a  proof  of  the  bad  firing  of  the  enemy. 
The  post  in  the  village  was  strengthened,  being  a  kind  of  key  to  our 
position,  and  all  remained  perfectly  quiet  till  about  nine  o'clock  at 
night,  when  a  peal  of  musquetry  in  the  direction  of  the  village  again 
roused  us ;  an  attempt  being  made  to  surprise  that  post,  which  was, 
however,  completely  foiled  before  a  reinforcement  could  arrive  to  its 
relief.  After  a  sleepless  night,  we  marched  the  next  morning,  and  Arrival  of 
reached  a  plain  close  to  Panjalamkurichi  by  nine  o'clock,  when,  to  our  ^'00PS  at 
utter  astonishment,  we  discovered  that  the  walls,  which  had  been  kurichi. 
entirely  levelled,  were  now  rebuilt,  and  fully  manned  by  about  fifteen 
hundred  Poligars." 

Mr.  Hughes  says  they  found  the  Poligar  force  not  only  securely 
entrenched,  but  armed  far  beyond  expectation,  and,  to  crown  all, 
displaying  an  exulting  front,  in  consequence  of  the  success  which 
had  hitherto  attended  their  enterprise.  An  entrenchment  and 
breastwork  had  been  run  up  with  incredible  celerity.  All  the 
concealed  arms,  he  adds,  had  been  quickly  restored  to  light,  it 
having  been  the  policy  of  the  time  (imposed  as  we  have  seen 
by  the  Madras  Government  on  Major  Bannerman)  to  invite  the 
surrender  of  arms  by  the  payment  of  a  liberal  price  for  them,  Condition  of 
rather  than  to  adopt  a  vigorous  scrutiny  for  their  seizure.  The  the  ' 
population  of  the  sequestered  pollams  seemed  to  be  delighted  with 
the  opportunity  afforded  them  of  trying  their  strength  with  the 
English  once  more,  being  thoroughly  discontented,  no  doubt,  with 
the  peaceful  life  now  required  of  them. 

Retreat  from  Panjalamkurichi. 

I  return  to  General  Welsh's  narrative  : — 

"  Without  a  single  battering  gun,  and,  I  may  add,  without  even  a  Preparations 
few  Europeans  to  lead  the  storming  party,  to  have  attempted  to  take  for  resistance- 
the  place  in  open  day  would  have  been  next  to  madness  ;  a  spot  of 
ground  was  therefore  selected  near  the  village  of  Ottapidaram,  about 
a  mile  from  the  fort,  and  there  we  formed  our  camp,  in  a  square,  with 
high  grain  to  the  northward  ;  the  bund,  or  bank,  of  a  tank  to  the 
southward  ;  the  village  near  the  eastern  face,  and  Panjalamkurichi 
opposite  to  the  west.     After  taking  some  little  rest  and   refreshment, 


198  HISTORY    OF    TIXXEVELLY. 

Chap.  VIII.  it  was  proposed  to  form  the  detachment  into  two  storming  parties, 
and  to  escalade  the  "works  at  two  different  points,  as  soon  as  dark- 
ness should  conceal  our  approach  from  the  enemy.  A  short  time 
after,  some  of  our  scouts  came  in,  with  the  agreeable  intelligence  that 
the  Poligars,  now  amounting  to  five  thousand,  were  prepared  to 
assault  our  camp  at  nightfall.  Here  then  was  an  unlooked  for  occur- 
rence :  in  the  first  place,  we  were  opposed  by  a  strong  fort,  raised,  as 
it  were,  by  magic,  in  six  days ;  and  in  the  second,  its  defenders, 
increased  beyond  all  possible  calculation,  were  likely  to  become  the 
assailants.  It  was  decided,  therefore,  nem  con  that  we  had  no  business 
to  remain  there ;  and  as  both  men  and  officers  were  already  nearly 
exhausted  by  two  grilling  marches  and  a  sleepless  night,  it  was  doubt- 
ful whether  they  could  keep  awake  another,  to  receive  with  due 
alacrity  such  a  nocturnal  visit  as  was  in  contemplation.  The  troops 
were  therefore  warned,  and  at  two  o'clock  p.m.  being  formed  in  oblong 
square,  the  baggage  in  the  centre  and  field  pieces  distributed  in  front 
and  rear,  we  drew  out,  as  if  preparing  to  assault  the  fort.  In  an 
instant  every  part  of  the  works  was  manned,  and  we  could  plainly 
discern  a  body  of  fifteen  hundred  or  two  thousand  men  outside  of  the 
boundary  hedge,  their  long  spears  glittering  in  the  sun. 

"  As  soon  as  the  formation  was  completed,  we  commenced  our  march, 
not  for  the  fort,  but  for  Palamcotta,  and  had  actually  accomplished  a 
third  of  our  journey,  when  we  were  overtaken  in  the  dark  by  a  body 
of  the  enemy,  who  rushed  on  us  with  shouts  and  screams,  almost  to 
the  bayonet.  The  rear  face  of  our  column,  for  it  was  now  no  longer  a 
square,  was  luckily  composed  of  the  grenadiers  of  the  1st  Battalion  of 
the  3rd  Regiment,  with  the  two  6-pounders  under  Captain  Vesey. 
He  allowed  them  to  approach  without  molestation,  the  more  fully  to 
effect  his  purpose,  when  giving  the  word  himself,  a  couple  of  vollies, 
poured  in  with  grape  and  musquetry,  levelled  one  hundred  and  ten  of 
our  assailants  ;  the  astonished  remainder  made  a  very  precipitate 
escape,  and  we  were  no  more  molested  during  a  long  and  severe  march, 
which  lasted  all  night,  than  by  imagination,  which  placed  an  enemy 
behind  every  bush  on  the  road.  Our  loss  on  this  occasion  was  only 
two  men  and  a  woman,  and  we  safely  reached  Palamcotta  at  nine 
o'clock  a.m.  on  the  10th." 

Mr.  Hughes  says  that  the  question  for  consideration  was  whether 
the  attack  on  the  fort  should  be  made  forthwith  on  the  arrival  of 
the  troops  from  Palamcotta,  and  thus  in  the  event  of  a  check  being 
received  run  the  hazard  of  much  more  extensive  commotions,  or 
whether  it  were  more  advisable  that  the  detachment  should  with- 
draw for  a  time  and  await  reinforcement  from  Trichinopoly. 
He  adds  :  — 
Boshes1  "  Happily,  the  latter  alternative,   painful   as  it  seemed,  was  agx-eed 

opinion.  on  with  perfect  concurrence  by  Majors  Macaulay  and  Sheppard.     The 

steady  and  firm  conduct  of  the  3rd  Regiment  N.I.  carried  the  detach- 
ment tliniu-h  the  perils  of  the  night. 
Failure  of  "  I"  the  meantime  various  affairs  took  place,  most  of  which  were  to 

attack  in         the  advantage  of  the  rebels.     On  the  27th  February  an  attack  was 
Kftdalgudi. 


THE    LAST    POLIO  A  K    WAR.  199 

mado  by  a  detachment  on  the  fort  of  Kudalgudi,  supposed  to  be  weak,  Chap.  VIII. 
and  ill  defended.  Our  opponents,  however,  got  intelligence  of  the 
march  in  sufficient  time  to  send  a  body  of  two  thousand  men  to  assist 
the  defenders,  and  our  men  were  consequently  so  well  received,  that, 
after  every  exertion  that  bravery  and  discipline  could  oppose  to 
numbers,  they  were  compelled  to  retreat,  leaving  three  men  killed  and 
eighteen  wounded  on  the  ground  ;  the  loss  of  the  enemy  was  never 
ascertained. 

"  In  this  way  several  of  the  smaller  forts  belonging  to  Government  Defence  of 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Poligars,  by  which  means  they  gained  Snvaikun. 
possession  of  about  a  thousand  muskets  with  their  ammunition.  One  ' 
solitary  pagoda,  Srivaikuntham,  slightly  fortified,  on  the  bank  of  the 
river,  about  fifteen  miles  below  Palamcotta,  held  out  beyond  example 
or  expectation.  To  relieve  this  brave  handful,  Major  Sheppard 
marched  at  the  head  of  the  1st  Battalion  of  the  3rd  Regiment,  with 
two  6-pounders.  Arriving  at  Palamcotta,  on  the  13th  of  March,  the 
heavy  baggage  was  thrown  in  there,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  1 6th 
they  came  in  sight  of  the  Pagoda  of  Srivaikuntham,  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river,  and  were  immediately  attacked  by  swarms  of  the 
enemy  ;  through  whom  they  forced  their  way  to  their  comrades  on  the 
opposite  shore.  All  the  troops  behaved  well,  particularly  the  grena  - 
diers,  who  charged  a  large  body  of  the  enemy  and  put  them  to  flight. 
The  Poligars,  intent  on  capturing  the  place,  had  beset  it  on  every  side, 
and  raised  a  large  mound  of  earth  to  overlook  the  pagoda.  They 
were  also  busy  in  making  scaling  ladders  for  an  escalade,  when  our 
corps  relieved  them.  The  garrison  was  withdrawn,  and  on  the  march 
back  to  Palamcotta  the  enemy  annoyed  them  the  whole  way,  though 
repeatedly  charged  by  our  soldiers.  Our  loss  was  not  so  heavy  as 
might  have  been  expected,  and  the  corps  remained  resting  at  Palam- 
cotta till  the  stores  necessary  for  a  siege  coidd  be  collected." 

"Whilst  the  country  was  in  this  disturbed  condition,  the  Native 
Christians  of  that  time,  though  few  in  number,  had  to  share  in  the 
troubles  of  their  Christian  rulers.  We  learn  this  from  a  report  of 
the  Christian  Knowledge  Society  for  1802  : — 

"  The  congregations  in  the  south  suffered  severely  from  the  turbu-  The  Native 
lent  Poligars,  who  resisted  the  British  rule  and  seem  to  have  identi-  Christians. 
tied  the  Native  Christians  with  the  English.  In  their  incursions  into 
the  Company's  territories  they  plundered,  confined,  and  tortured  the 
Christians,  destroyed  some  of  their  chapels,  and  burned  the  books 
they  found  in  them.  As  there  appeared  to  be  little  prospect  of  the 
termination  of  these  troubles,  the  people  were  obliged  to  leave  their 
homes  and  flee  to  the  woods  for  refuge." 

General  "Welsh  gives  here  a  brief  account  of  the  Poligars  in 
general  and  of  the  Poligar  of  Panjalamkurichi  in  particular.  In 
doing  so  he  fell  into  the  error  of  confounding  together  two  different 
persons.      He  says  : — 

"Their  chief,   called  Kattaboma  Nayaka,  having  successfully  de-  Welsh's  error, 
fended  the  fort  against  a  force  under  Colonel  Bannerman  two  years 


200 


HISTORY    OF    Tl.NXEYELLY. 


Chap.  VIII.    before,  had  at  length  been  taken  prisoner,  with  the  rest  of  his  family, 

and  kept  in  close  confinement." 

We  have  seen  from  the  preceding  narrative  that  the  Kattabonia 
Nayaka  who  defended  his  fort  against  Major  Bannerman  had  been 
hanged,  and  that  the  Kattaboma  Nayaka  who  was  imprisoned  was 


his  surviving  brother. 


March  to 

Panjalam- 

kurichi. 


Skirmish  on 

the  way. 


Return  to  Panjalamkurichi. 

When  the  expected  reinforcements  were  on  the  advance  from 
Trichinopoly,  Major  Macaulay  moved  the  detachment  forward  to 
Kaittar  and  took  up  ground  in  such  a  position  as  to  allow  the 
reinforcements  to  join.  Having  no  opponents  out  of  our  camp, 
the  enemy  made  good  use  of  their  time  and  seized  on  Tuticorin. 
This  incident  has  been  described  already  in  the  account  of  Tuti- 
corin under  the  Dutch.  General  Welsh  gives  the  details  of  the 
force  assembled  at  Kaittar  for  the  reduction  of  Panjalarnkurichi. 
It  amounted  in  all  to  nearly  3,000  men,  with  nine  guns  : — 

"  Our  first  march  was  to  Otrampatti,  only  eight  miles;  the  second 
to  Pasuvandalai,  eight  miles  also,  on  the  road  to  which  we  first 
encountered  the  enemy ;  a  body  of  five  or  six  hundred  of  whom  ap- 
peared shortly  after  we  left  our  ground,  and  boldly  advanced  to  meet 
us,  on  which  the  Major  ordered  the  cavalry  to  charge  them.  The  two 
troops,  having  rear  and  flank  guards  out,  did  not  amount  to  more 
than  ninety  men,  if  so  many  ;  but  they  were  led  by  James  Grant,  one 
of  the  finest  and  bravest  fellows  I  ever  knew.  They  had  two  small 
galloper  guns  with  them,  which  were  fired  as  the  enemy  approached, 
and  this,  first  appeared  to  induce  them  to  retire,  which  they  did 
leisurely,  keeping  up  a  running  fight,  though  it  was  evident  that 
the  men  who  had  firearms  were  most  anxious  to  escape.  When  our 
cavalry  had  got  within  a  few  hundred  yards,  Lieutenant  Grant  gave 
the  words  '  Saint  George,  and  charge  : '  the  enenry  at  the  same  time 
halting,  faced  about,  and  presented  an  abatis  of  pikes  to  the  horses' 
breasts  ;  but  so  great  was  the  impetus,  that  in  an  instant  this  formi- 
dable phalanx  was  borne  down,  and  our  men  were  afterwards  engaged 
in  single  combat  with  these  brave  but  unskilful  pedestrians,  until  a 
thick  wood  luckily  intervened,  through  which  they  made  their  escape. 
The  ground  being,  what  is  called  in  India  '  black  cotton,'  with  the 
shrub  actually  growing  on  it,  was  very  unfavourable  for  our  men,  and 
so  determined  was  the  resistance  that  Lieutenant  Grant  fell,  wounded 
with  a  pike  through  the  lungs,  and  his  Subadar,  Sheik  Ebraum,  and 
four  troopei's  were  killed.  Lieutenant  Lyne  lost  his  Naigue,  and 
eleven  troopers  were  wounded ;  and  two  horses  were  killed,  and 
twelve  wounded.  Of  the  enemy,  ninety-six  dead  bodies  were  counted 
on  the  field  ;  what  number  of  wounded  they  carried  off  of  course  coidd 
not  be  ascertained.  Grant  killed  four  with  his  own  hand,  the  last 
after  he  had  received  his  desperate  wound  ;  and  his  Subadar  also 
killed  four  or  five  before  he  fell.  The  next  day,  the  31st  of  March, 
we  came  within  sito  of  the  Gibraltar  of  these  insurgents. 


THE    LAST    POLIGAR   WAR.  201 

First  Assault  and  Failure.  Chap.  VIII. 

We  found  the  fort  an  irregular   parallelogram,   two  sides  of  Description 
which  were  about  500  feet  and  the  other  two  about  300  feet  only,  ° 
built  entirely  of  mud  of  a  very  solid  and  adhesive  quality  : — 

"The  wall  was,  generally,  about  twelve  feet  high,  with  small  square 
bastions,  and  very  short  curtains.  A  few  old  guns  were  mounted  in 
these  bastions,  and  the  whole  was  surrounded  by  a  thick  hedge  of 
thorns,  but  no  ditch.  Arriving  before  it  at  eight  o'clock  a.m.,  prepara- 
tions were  instantly  made  for  breaching  the  north-western  bastion, 
with  the  two  iron  12  and  one  8  pounder,  from  a  bank  about  nine 
hundred  yards  distance  ;  and  at  hall  past  eight  we  opened  fire,  though, 
by  no  means  so  destructive  as  was  anticipated.  At  noon,  therefore, 
the  guns  were  moved  on  to  another  bank,  about  four  hundred  yards 
from  the  wall,  and  continued  playing  till  half  past  three,  when  the 
breach  appearing  practicable,  the  storm  was  ordered." 

It  was  found  afterwards,  however,  when  it  was  too  late,  that  the 
breach,  considered  to  be  so  by  the  artillery  officer,  was  no  breach 
at  all : — 

"  The  part}'  for  assaidt  advanced  with  alacrity  under  the  heaviest  The  assault 
fire  imaginable  from  the  curtains  and  five  or  six  bastions,  the  defences  on  t  e 
of  which  we  had  not  been  able  to  demolish.  Our  men  fell  rapidly, 
but  nothing  impeded  their  approach  ;  even  the  hedge  was  speedily 
passed,  and  repeated  attempts  were  made  to  surmount  the  breach,  but 
all  in  vain,"  so  daring  and  determined  was  the  garrison  and  so  difficult 
of  access  the  point  of  attack.  "Every  man  who  succeeded  in  reaching 
the  summit  was  instantly  thrown  back,  pierced  with  wounds,  from 
both  pikes  and  musquetry,  and  no  footing  could  be  gained.  At 
length  a  retreat  was  ordered,  and  a  truly  dismal  scene  of  horror  suc- 
ceeded ;  all  our  killed,  and  many  of  the  wounded,  being  left  at  the 
foot  of  the  breach,  over  which  the  enemy  immediately  sprung,  and 
pursued  the  rear,  while  others  pierced  the  bodies  both  of  the  dying 
and  the  dead.  The  immediate  defence  of  the  breach  was  with  pikes  The  defeace. 
from  eighteen  to  twenty  feet  long,  beyond  which  a  body  of  men  from 
an  elevated  spot  kept  up  a  constant  fire,  while  others  in  the  bastions 
took  the  assailants  in  flank.  In  the  confusion  of  the  moment  a 
howitzer  was  left  near  the  breach,  which  was  afterwards  rescued 
by  six  officers,  and  about  fifty  sepoys,  under  a  fire,  which  killed  one 
of  the  officers  and  several  of  the  men  and  wounded  two  other  officers 
and  five  or  six  men.  Of  the  enemy's  loss  we  had  no  account. 
No  sooner  had  we  gained  a  safe  distance  from  the  fort,  than  the 
line  was  formed,  and  encamping  ground  marked,  the  nearest  part 
being  at  a  distance  of  1,500  yards  from  the  walls.  We  had  a  high 
ridge  in  the  centre  of  the  line  running  parallel  to  the  fort,  and  our 
ammunition  and  stores  were  placed  in  the  rear,  out  of  sight  of  the 
enemy.  Our  pickquets  were  posted  on  the  bank  from  whence  we  first 
attempted  to  breach,  and  it  was  completely  dark  before  we  could  get 
under  cover.  As  all  had  alike  partaken  in  the  dangers  and  discom- 
fiture of  the  day,  a  dead  silence  reigned  throughout  our  line,  the  only 
tribute  we  could  then  pay  to  the  memory  of  our  departed  brethren  ; 

26 


202 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Chap.  VIII. 


Bravery  of 
the  enemv. 


AidofEttai- 
y&puram. 


More  exten- 
sive pre- 
parations. 


Help  obtained 
from  Ceylon. 


and  the  enemy  so  far  respected  our  grief,  as  to  allow  us  its  unmolested 
indidgence. 

"  Our  total  failure  this  day  was  perfectly  inexplicable,  and  how  the 
breach  was  defended  appeared  almost  miraculous  ;  for  none  of  the 
actual  defenders  ever  showed  themselves  above  the  broken  parapet, 
and  certainly  that  was  entirely  destroyed,  and  a  practicable  passage 
apparently  made  to  the  terreplein  of  the  bastion  long  previous  to  our 
attack.  Yet  here  a  grove  of  pikes  alone  presented  itself  to  our 
view  ;  and  the  enemy  appearing  in  every  other  part  of  the  works, 
exposing  themselves  without  the  smallest  reservation,  were  constantly 
shot  by  our  men,  who  were  covering  the  storm,  and  as  constantly 
replaced  by  others  ;  whilst  they  kept  up  a  most  unnatural  yell  the 
whole  time,  from  upwards  of  five  thousand  voices,  which  only  ceased 
with  our  retreat.  Of  one  hundred  and  twenty  Europeans  on  the 
storming  party,  only  forty-six  escaped  unhurt ;  and  including  officers 
and  artillery,  one  hundred  and  six  were  killed  and  wounded  of  the 
whole  force.  I  should  mention  that  a  body  of  one  thousand  Ettia- 
puram  Poligars,  heriditary  enemies  of  the  Panjalamkurichi  race,  had 
joined  us  on  the  march,  having  a  company  of  sepoj-s,  and  Captain 
Charles  Trotter  attached  to  them.  These  brave  and  faithful  allies 
made  some  unsuccessful  attempts  at  an  escalade  on  the  other  side  of 
the  fort,  whilst  we  were  on  the  west  face,  but  were  repidsed  with 
considerable  loss,  though  we  had  no  official  returns  of  their  casual- 
ties." 

It  was  evident  that  Major  Macaulay's  means  were  quite  inade- 
quate to  his  object,  the  guns  were  quite  useless  as  battering  pieces, 
and  a  repetition  of  the  attack  was  not  to  be  thought  of. 

"  The  Government  was  now  awakened  to  the  whole  severity  of  the 
service.  A  great  native  force  was  ordered  from  different  stations  of  the 
Carnatic,  an  European  corps,  H.M.  77th,  was  called  round  from  the 
Malabar  Coast,  a  corps  of  cavalry  was  put  in  motion,  and  a  powerful 
train  of  artillery  despatched  from  Trichinopuly,  the  command  of  the 
service  being  transferred  to  an  officer  of  higher  rank.  This  was 
Colonel  Peter  Agnew,  a  person  of  great  military  experience,  and  well 
known  as  the  Adjutant-General  of  the  Army  for  many  years." 

The  Collector  of  Tinnevelly  at  this  time  applied  to,  and  obtained 
from,  the  Government  of  Ceylon  a  detachment  of  troops  to  help 
forward  the  operations  against  Panjalamkurichi.  This  he  did 
without  authority,  and  his  action  in  the  matter  called  forth  a 
decided  expression  of  disapproval  from  the  Madras  Government. 

"  It  was  the  best  part  of  two  months,"  Hughes  says,  "  before  this  new 
formation  of  the  force  could  assemble  at  the  scene  of  action,  and  in 
the  interval  little  more  was  in  the  power  of  Macaulay  than  to  restrict 
as  much  as  practicable  the  range  of  the  enemy,  for  which  purpose  he 
kept  his  station  on  a  small  ridge,  a  mile  or  two  to  the  westward  of 
the  fort.  Their  night  annoyances  on  our  position  and  skirmishes  with 
our  foraging  parties  in  the  day  were  very  frequent,  and  they  seemed 
to  have  taken  up  the  notion  that  the  muskots  of  our  sepoys  were  of 
little  security  against  their  spears  during  the  fall  of  rain." 


CHE    LAST    Pol.K.vH    WAR.  20o 

I  quote  here  from  Welsh  an  aceount  of  the  incident  to  which  Chap.  VIII. 
Hughes  briefly  refers. 

"  On  the  22nd  a  heavy  thunder  storm,  accompanied  by  wind  and  Sortie  from 
rain,  suddenly  assailed  us  ;  and  as  such  a  time  was  the  most  favour-  s^vr^  m  a 
able  in  which  to  oppose  pikes  to  firearms,  we  began  to  fall  in  ;  when 
in  a  twinkling  the  thunder  was  succeeded  bjr  the  flash  and  sound  of 
our  6-pounder  on  the  most  distant  outpost,  and  a  strong  party  dashed 
towards  it  immediately.  This  consisted  of  a  company  of  sepoys,  with 
a  party  of  artillery,  and  one  gun  on  the  bund  of  a  large  tank,  five  or 
six  hundred  yards  to  the  southward  of  the  fort,  and  one  thousand  two 
hundred  from  our  nearest  post.  Lieutenant  H.  Dey  (noon  being  the 
time  of  removing  all  our  outposts)  observing  an  unusual  collection  of 
clouds,  and  sagaciously  auguring  therefrom  the  probability  of  a 
storm,  being  senior  officer,  had  very  sensibly  taken  upon  himself  to 
detain  the  other  company.  The  squall  approached,  beating  in  their 
faces,  and  was  immediately  followed  by  one  thousand  pikemen.  Our 
poor  fellows,  assailed  by  two  such  enemies  at  once,  strove  to  give  a 
fire,  but  hardly  a  musquet  would  go  off ;  and  the  gun,  after  being 
discharged  once  only,  was  in  the  enemy's  possession.  The  Poligars, 
more  intent  on  seizing  the  ordnance  than  on  injuring  its  defenders, 
wounded  only  eight  men  of  the  party,  and  were  pushing  off  with  their 
prize,  as  fast  as  the  wet  cotton  ground  would  permit,  when  our  rein- 
forcements appearing,  Lieutenants  Dey  and  Clason  rushed  back, 
accompanied  by  many  of  their  men,  and  we  succeeded  in  rescuing  our 
cannon  from  the  hands  of  the  Philistines,  although  many  hundreds 
more  rushed  out  of  the  fort  to  their  assistance  ;  and,  as  the  rain  ceased, 
they  poured  out  multitudes  with  firearms,  who  being  confronted  as 
readily  by  similar  parties  from  our  camp,  a  general  action  ensued, 
which,  I  may  well  say,  ended  in  smoke  ;  both  parties  making  much 
noise,  and  neither  doing  much  execution.  After  about  an  hour's 
fighting,  as  if  with  one  accord,  the  firing  ceased  ;  both  parties  retired 
to  count  their  casualties,  of  which  the  most  serious  tally  must  have 
been  ball  cartridges." 

The  Final  Assault. 

The  expected  corps  all  came  up  by  the  middle  of  May  and 
Colonel  Agnew  assumed  the  command  on  the  21st. 

"  From  his  arrival  to  the  24th  there  was  the  greatest  activity  in 
making  a  breach,  and  it  was  so  thoroughly  effected  by  that  day  that 
to  all  appearance  it  admitted  of  running  up  with  the  utmost  facility. 
The  enemy,  however,  had  thrown  a  very  wide  abatis  of  new  felled 
tborn  trees  all  along  the  approaches  on  every  side,  and  this  occasioned 
some  short  interruption.  On  the  morning  of  the  23rd  of  May,  at  sun- 
rise,  we  opened  two  batteries  at  once  on  the  south-western  bastion  of 
the  fort,  while  the  grand  battery  favoured  them  with  salvos,  which 
soon  demolished  the  southern  faces  and  salient  angle  of  the  bastion. 
By  noon  the  storming  party  was  ready  to  advance,  but  oiu*  old  com- 
mandant  took  Colonel  Agnew  a^ide,  and,  barked  by  another  old  friend, 


204 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Chap.  VIII. 

A  breach 
made  by  the 
battery. 


Successful 
assault. 


The  enemy 
abandon  the 
fort. 


Kilb-d  and 

woun 


persuaded  him  to  delay  the  assault  until  the  next  day,  much  against, 
what  appeared  to  him,  his  better  judgment.  The  firing  was  therefore 
kept  up  all  night  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  repairing  the  breach. 
The  next  morning  the  guns  were  all  turned  to  demolish  the  defences 
and  cut  off  the  breached  bastion,  which  being  completely  effected,  at 
one  o'clock  p.m.,  having  run  the  tower  guns  half  way  down  to  the 
fort,  the  storming  party  was  ordered  to  advance. 

"  Notwithstanding  the  strength  of  the  storming  party,  with  the  whole 
force  ready  to  back  them,  the  defenders  shrunk  not  from  their  dut}7, 
but  received  our  brave  fellows  with  renewed  vigour,  and  the  breach 
was  so  stoutly  defended,  that  although  the  hedge  was  passed  in  a  few 
minutes,  it  was  nearly  half  an  hour  before  a  man  of  ours  could  stand 
upon  the  summit,  while  bodies  of  the  enemy,  not  only  fired  on  our 
storming  party  from  the  broken  hi  stions  on  both  flanks,  but  others 
sallied  round  and  attacked  them  in  the  space  within  the  hedge.  At 
length,  after  a  struggle  of  fifteen  minutes  in  this  position,  the  whole  of 
the  enemy  in  the  breach  being  killed  by  hand  grenades,  and  heavy 
shot  thrown  over  among  them,  our  grenadiers  succeeded  in  mounting 
the  breach,  and  the  resistance  afterwards  was  of  no  avail,  although 
one  body  of  pikemen  charged  our  grenadiers  in  the  body  of  the 
place  and  killed  three  of  them." 

Mr.  Hughes  says  : — 

"  Arrived  at  the  top  of  the  breach, it  was  by  no  means  easy  to  descend. 
Here  the  garrison  had  excavated  the  bastion  or  ground  all  around  so 
deeply  as  not  to  be  easily  grappled  with,  and,  it  is  said,  had  carried  the 
excavation  so  cleverly  under  the  brink  of  the  breach  as  to  be  able  to 
strike  with  their  spears,  in  comparative  safety,  those  who  leant  forward 
to  fire  on  the  defenders  below.  These  were  a  good  deal  checked,  it 
was  imagined,  by  hand  grenades,  but  I  believe  the  place  was  at  last 
carried  by  entrance  at  the  flanks,  which,  however,  had  been  strongly 
palisaded,  and  moist  earth  was  in  constant  supply  to  repair  the  damage 
to  the  walls  on  each  side  of  the  breach. 

"A  general  panic  now  seized  the  enemy,  and  they  fled  from  their 
assailants  as  fast  as  possible  ;  but  no  sooner  had  they  got  clear  of  the 
fort,  than  they  formed  into  two  solid  columns,  and  thus  retreated,  beset 
but  not  dismayed  ;  but  our  cavalry  attacked  them  in  flank  and  rear, 
and  succeeded  in  cutting  off  six  hundred.  The  remainder,  however, 
made  good  their  retreat,  and  a  column  of  about  two  thousand 
ultimately  escaped.  Four  hundred  and  fifty  dead  bodies  of  the  enemy 
were  also  found  in  the  fort,  those  killed  on  former  occasions  having 
been  disposed  of  outside  to  the  eastward." 

Mr.  Hughes  says  : — 

"  The  whole  of  the  surviving  Poligar  body  retired  from  the  fort 
with  the  most  imposing  regularity,  unarmed  persons  and  the  women 
repairing  to  the  centre,  and  the  armed  men  closely  ranging  on  each 
side.  The  cavalry,  however,  made  dreadful  havoc  on  this  body,  which 
was  soon  broken  and  dispersed.  Our  loss  on  this  day  was  Lieutenant 
Gilchrist  of  the  74th,  Lieutenants  Spalding  and  Campbell  of  the  77th, 
and  Lieutenant  Fraser  of  the  4th,  killed  ;  Lieutenants  M'Clean,  Scotch 


THE    LAST   POLIGAR   WAR.  205 

Brigade,  Captain  Whitley  of  the  Malays,  Lieutenant  Valentine  Blacker  Chap.  VIIL 

of  the  1st  Cavalry,  Lieutenant  Campbell  of  the  74th,  and  Lieutenant 

Birch  of  the   4th,   wounded.     Lieutenant  Blacker  was  piked  in  two  or 

three  places  ;  but  emulating  James  Grant,  who  was  always  the  foremost 

in  danger,  he  would  not  desist,  until  our  trumpets  had   sounded    the 

recall.     Europeans  killed  nineteen,  and  wounded  seventy-six  ;  natives 

killed  twenty-four  and  wounded  ninety-six,  making  a  total,  including 

officers,  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-three. 

"  To  us,  who  had  suffered  so  severely  in  our  unsuccessful  assault  a  The  interior 
sight  of  the  interior  of  this  abominable  place  was  most  acceptable,  the  °  e  or 
more  so,  as  this  was  the  first  time  it  had  ever  been  taken  by  storm, 
though  frequently  attempted.  Nothing  coidd  equal  the  surprise  and 
disgust  which  filled  our  minds  at  beholding  the  wretched  holes  under 
ground  in  which  a  body  of  three  thousand  men,  and  for  some  time 
their  families  also,  had  so  long  contrived  to  exist.  No  language  can 
paint  the  horrors  of  the  picture.  To  shelter  themselves  from  shot  and 
shells  they  had  dug  these  holes  in  every  part  of  the  fort,  and  though 
some  might  occasionally  be  out  to  the  eastward,  yet  the  place  must 
always  have  been  excessively  crowded.  The  north-west  bastion,  our 
old  breach,  attracted  our  particular  attention ;  and  a  description  of  it 
will  therefore  serve  for  every  other  in  this  fort.  It  was  about  fifteen 
feet  high  on  the  outside,  and  nearly  square  :  the  face  we  breached  was 
thirty  feet  long,  and  a  parapet  of  about  three  feet  thick  at  the  summit 
gradually  increased  sloping  down  into  the  centre,  which  was  barely 
sufficient  to  contain  about  forty  men,  the  passage  in  the  gorge,  being 
only  wide  enough  to  admit  two  at  a  time.  The  depth  in  the  centre, 
being  originally  on  a  level  with  the  interior,  was  increased  as  the  top 
mouldered  down,  so  as  to  leave  the  defenders  entirely  sheltered  from 
everything  but  the  shells  and  shot,  which  we  had  latterly  used,  more 
by  accident  than  design.  These  were  of  course  thrown  over  from  the  Description 
outside,  and  nothing  else  could  have  secured  us  the  victory,  since  every  of  the  enemy's 
man  in  the  last  breach  was  killed,  and  the  passage  blocked  up  before 
our  grenadiers  obtained  a  footing  above.  Their  long  pikes,  used  in 
such  a  sheltered  spot,  must  be  most  powerfully  effective.  No  wonder, 
then,  that  every  man  who  got  to  the  top  was  instautly  pierced  and 
thrown  down  again.  He  could  never  get  at  his  enemy,  and,  indeed, 
could  scarcely  tell  from  whence  the  blow  was  inflicted.  The  system 
of  defence  adopted  by  these  savages  would  have  done  credit  to  any 
Engineer.  Nothing  could  surpass  it  but  their  unwearied  perseverance. 
Had  the  bastions  been  solid,  or  their  defensive  weapons  only  musquets 
and  bayonets,  we  should  not  have  had  the  mortification  to  be  before  it 
for  two  months  ;  and  had  our  eavahy  been  more  efficient,  we  should 
not  have  had  a  continuance  of  this  warfare  for  six  months  longer. 
The  fugitive  phalanx,  making  good  its  retreat  to  Sherewele,  was 
there  joined  by  twenty  thousand  men  of  the  Murdoos." 

"Where  Sherewele  was  and  who  the  Murdoos  were  will  appear 
in  the  sequel- 

"  The  three  companies  of  the  9th,  under  Captain   Hazard,  being  Destruction 
left  with  the  Pioneers  to  destroy  the  fort,  a  work  by  no  means  to  be  oi  the  fort- 
envied,  on  the  25th  of  May,  a  company  of  the  16th  under  Captain 


206  HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLS. 

Chap.  VIII.   M'Donnell,   was  sent  ten  miles  off  to  garrison  Tuticorin,    which  the 
enemy  had  abandoned." 

Reminiscences  of  the  Dumb  Brother. 

"  I  have  already,"  says  General  Welsh,  "  made  mention,  but  I  can- 
not close  this  account  of  horrors,  without  a  few  words,  in  memorjr  of 
one  of  the  most  extraordinary  mortals  I  ever  knew  ;  a  near  relation  of 
Kattaboma  Nayaka,  who  was  both  deaf  and  dumb,  was  well  known 
by  the  English  under  the  appellation  of  dumby  or  the  dumb  brother  ; 
by  the  Mussulmans,  as  Mookah,  and  by  the  Hindus  as  Umai — all 
having  the  like  signification.  He  was  a  tall,  slender  lad,  of  a  very 
sickly  appearance,  yet  possessing  that  energy  of  mind,  which,  in 
troubled  times,  always  gains  pre-eminence ;  whilst  in  his  case,  the 
vei'y  defect  which  would  have  impeded  another  proved  a  powerful 
Veneration  in  auxiliary  in  the  minds  of  ignorant  and  superstitious  idolaters.  The 
which  the  Umai  was  adored  ;  his  slightest  sign  was  an  oracle,  and  every  man 
was  held.  ^ew  to  execute  whatever  he  commanded.  No  council  assembled  at 
which  he  did  not  preside  ;  no  daring  adventure  was  undertaken  which 
he  did  not  lead.  His  method  of  representing  the  English  was 
extremely  simple ;  he  collected  a  few  little  pieces  of  straw,  arranged 
them  on  the  palm  of  his  left  hand  to  represent  the  English  force;  then 
with  other  signs,  for  the  time,  &c,  he  drew  the  other  hand  across  and 
swept  them  off,  with  a  whizzing  sound  from  his  mouth,  which  was  the 
signal  for  attack ;  and  he  was  generally  the  foremost  in  executing 
those  plans  for  our  annihilation.  Whatever  undisciplined  valour 
could  effect  was  sure  to  be  achieved  wherever  he  appeared ;  though 
poor  Umai  was  at  last  doomed  to  grace  a  gallows.  He  had  escaped, 
as  it  were,  by  miracle,  in  every  previous  engagement. 

"  On  the  24th  of  May  when  the  fort  was  wrenched  from  them,  and 
the  whole  were  retreating,  pursued  by  our  cavalry,  poor  Umai  fell, 
covered  with  wounds,  near  a  small  village,  about  three  miles  from 
Panjalamkurichi.  As  soon  as  our  troops  had  returned  from  the  pur- 
suit, Colonel  Agnew  instantly  ordered  the  Ettiapureans  to  follow  them 
till  night,  offering  rewards  for  any  men  of  consequence,  dead  or  alive. 
Our  allies,  consequently,  set  out  with  great  glee,  somewhat  late  in  the 
evening ;  and  in  the  meantime  an  appearance  of  quiet  induced  some 
women  of  the  village  to  proceed  to  the  field  of  carnage,  in  the  hope  of 
finding  some  of  the  sufferers  capable  of  receiving  succour.  Amongst 
Heisdiscover-  the  heaps  of  slain  they  discovered  the  son  of  one  of  the  party  still 
ed  amongst  breathing,  and  after  weeping  over  him  they  began  to  raise  him  up, 
when  exerting  his  little  remaining  strength,  he  exclaimed,  ;  0  !  mother, 
let  me  die,  but  try  to  save  the  life  of  Swamy,  who  lies  wounded  near 
me.'  The  word  he  used  fully  justifies  my  assertion  of  their  adora- 
tion, as  its  literal  meaning  is  a  deity.  The  woman,  animated  by  the 
same  feelings,  immediately  obeyed  her  dying  son,  and  speedily  found 
Umai  weltering  in  his  blood,  but  still  alive ;  and  these  extraordinary 
matrons  immediately  lifted  and  carried  him  to  the  mother's  house, 
where  they  were  busily  employed  stanching  his  wounds,  when  they 
wpvp  alarmed   by  n    <mddpn  shout   from  trip    Ettiapureans   in    pursuit. 


THE    LAST    POLIGAR    WAR.  207 

There  is  nothing  like  the  ingenuity  of  women  at  such  a  crisis.     They   Chap.  VIII. 

conceived  a  plan  in   an  instant,  which  not  only  proved  successful  but 

most  probably  saved  the  lives  of  several  others.     They   covered  the  ment. 

body  over  with  a  cloth,  and  set  up  a  shriek  of  lamentation  peculiar  to 

the  circumstances.     The  Ettiapureans,  on  their  arrival,  demanded  the 

cause,  and,  being  informed  that  a  poor  lad  had  just  expired  of  the 

small-pox,  fled  out  of  the  village,  without  even  turning  to  look  behind 

them.     How  he  was   afterwards  preserved   I  could  never  learn  ;  but 

certainly  he  was  present,  and  as  active  as  usual  on  the  7th  and  10th  of 

June ;  and  was  taken  alive  at  the   conclusion   of  the   campaign  and 

hanged  along  with  his  gallant  and  ill-fated  relation  on  the  tower  we 

had  erected  in    the   plain    before    Panjalamkurichi,  now    the     only 

monument  of  that  once  dreaded  fortress,   if  we  except  the  burying- 

ground  of  six  or  seven  hundred  of  our  slaughtered  comrades,  in  its 

vicinity." 

The  following  are  the  records  on  the  tomb  stones  of  the  officers 
who  fell  in  the  various  assaults  on  Panjalamkurichi  : — 

At  dttapkldram  one  mile  from  Panjalamkurichi. 

"  In  memory  of  Lieutenants  Douglas,  Dormieux,  Collins,  and  Blake, 
and  Gunner  Finny,  who  fell  in  the  attack  of  Panjalamkurichi,  5th 
September  1799." 

In  the  Cemetery  at  Panjalamkurichi. 

"  Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Captain  John  Campbell,  Lieutenants 
A.  Campbell,  D.  Gilchrist,  and  P.  Shank,  of  H.M.  74th  Eegiment. 
Lieutenants  J.  Spalding  and  A.  Campbell,  H.M.  77th  Eegiment. 
Lieutenant  M.  Egan,  1st  Battalion  3rd  Regiment  N.I.  Lieutenants 
W.  Fraser  and  K.  Mangnall,  1st  Battalion  4th  Regiment  N.I.,  and 
Lieutenant  C.  Torriano,  1st  Battalion  9th  Regiment  N.I.,  who  bravely 
fell  or  died  of  wounds  received  in  the  assaults  on  the  fort  of  Panja- 
lamkurichi, the  31st  March  and  24th  May  1801." 

Also 

"  Here  lie  the  remains  of  Dougald  W.  Gilchrist,  Lieutenant  of  His 
Majesty's  74th  Regiment.  This  gallant  youth,  who  had  not  attained 
his  one  and  twentieth  year,  was  killed  on  the  24th  May  1801,  in  the 
breach  of  the  fort  of  Panjalamkurichi  in  the  moment  of  victory. 
By  his  death  His  Majesty's  Service  lost  an  officer  of  great  enterprise 
and  valour,  and  society  a  beloved  and  valued  member." 

The  Panjalamkurichi  Epic. 

The  events  of  the  last  siege  form  the  subject  of  a  native  poem, 
called,  from  the  style  of  versification  employed,  the  Panjalam- 
kurichi Sindhu.  The  author  was  one  Namasivayam.  I  have 
already  mentioned  that  I  consider  Indian  poetical  compositions  the 
least  trustworthy  of  all  the  sources  of  historical  information  respect- 


208  HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 

(hap.  VIII.  ing  India  in  our  possession.  The  poem  referred  to  forms  a  striking 
illustration  of  the  accuracy  of  this  estimate.  It  relates  events  that 
took  place  within  the  memory  of  the  writer,  and  it  is  still  sung  and 
occasionally  acted  in  the  presence  of  people,  every  one  of  whom  has 
from  tradition  a  tolerably  correct  general  idea  of  the  facts,  especi- 
ally the  great  fact  of  the  final  capture  and  demolition  of  Panja- 
lamkurichi,  yet  we  find  every  event  falsified  in  the  most  unblush- 
ing manner.  Mr.  Kearns  gives  the  substance  of  each  Sindhu  or 
canto  of  the  poem.  It  will  be  sufficient  to  quote  here  the  sub- 
stance of  the  last  : — 

Victory  Canto. 

One  Vellai  Marudu,  a  Maravan,  now  arrived  to  assist  the  chief. 
Things  were  very  bad.  The  chief  was  in  great  fear,  he  saw  no 
way  out  of  his  fort  or  his  difficulties.  This  Vellai  Marudu,  how- 
ever, volunteered  to  attack  the  British  army,  as  it  then  was  in 
position,  and  this  he  insisted  upon  doing  alone.  Accordingly 
(contrary  to  fact  and  even  beyond  fiction)  he  sallied  out,  attacked 
the  British,  cut  up  the  cavalry,  routed  the  infantry,  and  captured 
the  battery  of  100,000  guns.  The  disordered  remnant  of  the 
British  fled  to  Palamcotta  and  the  Poligar  was  left  to  reign  ever 
after  in  happiness  and  splendour  ! 


CESSION    TO    THE    ENGLISH.  209 


CHAPTER    IX. 

CONCLUSION  OF  THE  POLIGAR  WAR. 

CESSION  OF  THE  CARNATIC  TO  THE  ENGLISH 
GOVERNMENT. 


Transfer  of  the  War  to  Sivagangai. 

We   now  reach  the  closing  scenes  of  the  Poligar  war  and  the  Chapter  IX. 
termination  of  Kattaboma  Nayaka's  career,    as   well  as   of   the  a     ~7~ 
history  of  Panjalamkurichi.     The  fort  which  had  so  long  defied  retainers  of 
all  the  efforts  of  the  Government  troops  had  at  length  been  taken  jj^  °t  \^l\ 
and  the  Poligar  and  his  surviving  adherents  had  fled  ;  but  so  long 
as  such  formidable  foes  were  at  large  there  was  no  prospect  of 
peace  being  restored.     Mr.  Lushington  estimated  the  number  of 
armed   men  still  openly  or  secretly  maintained  by  the   various 
Poligars  at  22,000,  all  ready  at  a  moment's  notice  to  follow  their 
masters  on  any  expedition.     General  Welsh's  opinion  was  that  an  Welsh's 
organized  force  of  20,000  Panjalamkurichi  men  would  have  been  [^^  °^a 
irresistible,  and  we  have  seen  that  a  considerable  body  of  those 
very  men,  including  the  Poligar  himself  and  his  dumb  brother,  had 
escaped  on  the  capture  of  the  fort  and  fled  northwards  to  Sivagan- 
gai.    They  were  received  by  the  usurping  Poligar  of  Sivagangai 
with  open  arms.     The  incidents  that  follow  belong,  it  might  be 
said,  rather  to  the  history  of  Madura  than  to  that  of  Tinnevelly, 
but  it  would  be  impossible  to  do  justice   to  this  portion  of  the 
history  of  Tinnevelly  without  following  the  war  into  the  Sivagan- 
gai country.     Besides  which,  both  Sivagangai  and  Ramnad  at  that 
time  were  included  with  Tinnevelly  in  Mr.  Lushington's  jurisdic- 
tion, as  Collector  of  Southern  Poligar  Peshcush. 

On  May  23th,  five  days  after  the  capture  of  Panjalamkurichi,  Fort  of 
the  whole  force  encamped  at  Nagalapuram,  from  whence  a  detach-  Kamudl- 
ment  was  sent  to  relieve  Comeri  (Kamuri,  properly  Kamudi ;  in 
the  Ordnance  Map  Kaumoory),  a  small  but  well  built  stone  fort 
belonging  to  Ramnad,  which  the  rebels  were  besieging.  This 
being  accomplished,  a  force  was  left  there  to  keep  the  rebels  in 
check  in  that  neighbourhood. 

On  the  2nd  June  the  forco  arrived  at  Tirupuvanam,  a  town  in  Ramnad. 
the  Sivagangai  coimtry,  where  the  enemy  first  made  his  appear- 
ance, from  which  time  till  the  14th  July,  whilst  the  troops  were 
marching   towards  Ramnad,  they  were  continually    exposed  to 
attacks.      The  country  was  then    very    jungly   and   difficult    to 

27 


210 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Colonel 
Martinz 


Chapter  IX.  traverse.  Ou  the  way  there  were  two  places  where  it  was  with  much 
difficulty  that  they  succeeded  in  forcing  their  way  through  the 
enemy,  and  where  they  suffered  considerable  loss,  including  many 
Europeans.  At  Raninad  Colonel  Agnew  had  the  benefit  of  much 
communication  with  Colonel  Martinz  (said  to  have  been  a  Euro- 
pean Portuguese),  who  had  in  his  earlier  days  seen  much  Poligar 
service.  It  was  here  found  that  Caliar  covil  (Kalaiyarkovil),  a 
fortified  pagoda  to  which  it  was  expected  that  the  Murdoos  would 
retire,  was  naturally  so  strong  and  had  been  placed  in  such  a  state 
of  defence  that  it  appeared  likely  that  there  would  be  a  renewal  of 
the  scenes  of  Panjalarukurichi.  It  was  found  also  that  the  eastern 
approaches  to  this  place  were  of  so  much  greater  extent  and  so  much 
more  difficult  of  access  than  the  western  that  it  was  necessary  to 
abandon  the  idea  of  endeavouring  to  take  the  place  from  the  east. 
Junction  -with  Accordingly  the  forces  marched  to  the  north-  west,  to  Tirukadaiyur 
Innes's  force  near  Tirupattur,  where  they  were  joined  by  another  force  from 
Dindigul  under  Colonel  James  Innes  (whom  Mr.  Hughes  calls 
Colonel  James),  which  had  recently  been  employed  in  putting  down 
the  Virupakshi  Poligar  and  his  adherents.  After  this  junction 
the  whole  force,  now  at  least  7,000  strong,  moved  forward  to  the 
attack  of  "  Sherewele"  which  lay  to  the  east. 


The  two 

Marava 

States. 


Orme's 

Nellicotah. 


The  "  Murdoos"  and  "  Sherewele." 

Sivagangai  was  originally  a  portion  of  the  great  Ramnad  palai- 
yam  or  zamindari.  The  ruling  race  being  Maravas,  and  the 
Marava  caste  being  predominant,  Ramnad  was  commonly  called  by 
the  early  Europeans  the  Marawa  country,  and  when  a  division  took 
place  between  Ramnad  and  Sivagangai,  and  Sivagangai  became 
independent,  the  two  districts  used  to  be  called  by  Europeans  the 
two  Marawas,  and  severally  the  Greater  Marawa  and  the  Little 
Marawa.  The  word  was  often  also  written  Mara  war.  The  separation 
appears  to  have  been  effected  in  the  early  part  of  last  century,  a 
sasanabeing  in  existence,  dated  in  1733,  in  which  Seshavarna  Deva, 
the  founder  of  the  separate  dynasty  of  Sivagangai,  then  living, 
was  represented  as  an  independent  sovereign.  The  partition  was 
a  peaceable  one,  two-fifths  of  the  territory  being  made  over  to 
Sivagangai,  whilst  three-fifths  remained  with  Ramnad.  Deva  is 
the  caste  title  of  the  Maravas,  but  the  chief  of  Ramnad  preferred 
to  be  called  by  his  special  hereditary  title  of  Setupati,  Lord 
of  Rama's  Bridge.  The  family  ritle  of  the  Sivagangai  Poligar 
was  Udaiya  Deva,  but  he  was  often  also  called  Nalukottai  Deva, 
not  in  consequence  of  there  being  four  forts  in  his  dominions,  but 
because  his  ancestral  village  was  called  by  this  singular  name 
Nalukottai,  the  four  forts.  This  is  the  title  which  Orme  writes  as 
Nellicotah,  a  name  which  might  easily  be  confounded  with  Nila- 
kottai.  the  name  of  a  totally  different   palaiyam   in  the   Madura 


CESSION    TO   THE    ENGLISH.  211 

District.     The  following  extracts  from  Colonel   Eullarton's  paper  Chapter  IX. 
will  show  how  ready  Sivagangai  had  always  been   under  all  its 
masters  to  resist  the  authority  of  the  English  Government : — 

"  The  territory  of  Shevigunga  (Sivagangai)  or  the  Little  Marawar,  Description  of 
stretches  from   the  sea-coast   on  the   east  to  the  Districts  of  Mellore  Sivagangai. 
(Molfir)  and  Madura  on  the  west,  and  from  the  country  of  Tondiman 
and  the   Nattam  Collieries   upon    the   north,  to  the  territories  of  the 
Great  Marawar  on  the  south,   containing  about  fifty  miles  in  length 
and  forty  miles  in  breadth.     The  soil,  in  general,  is  unfriendly  to  the 
growth  of  corn,   though  not  quite  destitute  of   running  streams  or 
artificial  reservoirs,   but  the  country  is   overgrown    with  thorns  and 
bushes.     The  woods  of   Calicoil  (Kalaiyarkovil),  nearly  forty  miles  in 
circumference,  are  secured  with  barriers  and   other  defences  around 
the  fort  of     Kalaiyarkovil,    which  is    situated  in  the  centre  of   the 
thickets,  and  considered  as  a  refuge  from  exaction  or  invasion.     These 
woods  and  the  surrounding  country  abound  with  sheej)  and  cattle  ;  the 
inhabitants  are  numerous,    and  can  bring  twelve   thousand  fighting 
men  into  the   field,   armed  with  swords,  pikes,    spears,  and  fire-locks. 
Though  less  barbarous  than  the  Collieries,  their  neighbours,  yet  arts  The  people  of 
and  industry  have  made  little  progress  among  them.     The  country  is  Sivagangai. 
capable  of  great  improvement,  but  at  present  hardly  yields  more  than 
five  lakhs  of  rupees  to  the   Rajah,   who   pays  1,75,000   rupees  to  the 
Nawab  of   Arcot.     The  Rajah  is  of  the  Taver  (Devar)  family,  and  a 
descendant  of  the  sovereigns  of  the  Great  Marawar,  from  which  Siva- 
gangai was   separated  at  no  very  distant  period.     At  the  reduction  of 
this  territory,  in   1773,  by  General  Joseph  Smith,  the   Rajah  having 
been   killed,   his  widow,   then    with  child,  and   some  of   the  leading 
people  of  the  country,   escaped  to  the  Mysore  dominions,  and  there 
lived  under  the  protection  of  Hyder  AH,  until   the   commencement  of 
the  late  war.     During  that  period  the  country  was  managed   by  a 
renter,  and  in  quiet  times   the  people  acknowledged  themselves  to  be 
tributaries  of  the  Nawab  Muhammed  Ali  ;  but  while  their  woods  and 
barriers  are  suffered  to   remain,  their  disaffection  may  be  dreaded  on 
the  first  prospect  of  their  profiting  by  disturbance." 

It  may  here  be  added  that  Rlmnad  was  reduced  by  General  Usurpation  in 
Joseph  Smith  in  the  same  year  (1773),  from  which  time  till  the  Sivagan§ai- 
final  cession  of  the  whole  country  to  the  English  Ramnad  was 
occupied  by  the  troops  of  the  Nawab.  In  1783,  when  Colonel 
Fullarton  marched  against  Sivagangai,  the  government  of  the 
country  had  passed  from  the  hands  of  the  ancient  family  into  the 
hands  of  usurpers.  On  the  death  of  the  chief  in  1773  his  ministers 
fled  to  Hyder  Ali  for  protection,  and  afterwards,  on  his  invasion  of 
the  Oarnatic,  returned  with  him,  governing  the  country  under  his 
authority,  and  ravaging  the  territories  of  the  Company  and  the 
Nawab.  They  had  been  more  than  once  in  arms  against  the 
Nawab,  and  had  as  often  successfully  bought  their  pardon. 

Colonel  Fullarton  says  : —  Conditions 

"With  the  remaining  troops    we  marched  on  the   4th  August  to  ^^J0  the 
Sivagangai,  about   twenty  miles  east ;  from  thence  the  two  Murdeeus  Sivagangai. 


212 


HISTORY    OF    TINXEVELLY. 


Chapter  IX.  (Murdoos),  who  rule  the  Little  Marawar,  fled  precipitately  with  their 
young  Rajah  to  the  woods  of  Kalaiyarkovil,  and  collected  there  a 
force  to  the  amount  of  10,000  men,  nor  could  they  be  prevailed  on  to 
return  to  their  habitations  and  trust  to  any  assurances.  Besides  the 
immediate  discharge  of  their  arrears  of  tribute,  I  demanded  from  their 
deputies  90,000  rupees  in  compensation  to  the  Company  for  the 
ravages  they  had  committed,  and  concluded  with  declaring  that  if 
these  conditions  were  not  fulfilled,  I  should  attack  their  woods,  storm 
their  fort,  and  drive  them  from  the  country.  Notwithstanding  the 
procrastinating  spirit  of  Gentoos  (Hindus),  they  paid  nearly  40,000 
rupees,  and  gave  security  for  their  remaining  debt.  I  felt  a  cordial 
satisfaction  in  contrasting  the  lenity  and  despatch  of  this  transaction 
(for  it  was  concluded  in  four  days)  with  the  circumstances  of  the 
expedition  in  1773  against  this  very  place.  On  that  occasion  the 
Rxjah,  trusting  to  the  woods  and  barriers  that  surrounded  the  fort  of 
Calicoil,  and  expecting  to  conclude  the  business  by  negotiation, 
conceived  himself  in  security,  when  the  place  was  surprised,  and  he 
was  killed  in  the  attack.  I  rejoiced  to  mitigate  the  vigorous  treatment 
which  the  delinquency  of  the  successor,  or  rather  of  his  ministers, 
merited,  in  consideration  of  the  severities  which  the  predecessor  had 
experienced." 

The  Murdoo's  submissiveness  did  not  last  long,  for  again  in 
1789  it  was  found  necessary  to  send  an  expedition  against  him 
to  reduce  him  to  some  degree  of  submission  to  the  Nawab's 
Government.  This  expedition  was  commanded  by  Colonel 
Stewart,  who  took  Kalaiyarkovil,  the  Murdoo's  citadel,  after  a 
resolute  resistance.  He  met  most  resistance,  it  appears,  on  the 
western  side,  whereas  it  was  on  the  southern  side  that  the  force  of 
1801  met  with  most  difficulty. 


Death  of  the 
chief. 


Colonel 

Stewart's 

expedition 


The  Murdoos. 


Origin  of  the 
titlo  M.'irudu. 


The  "  Murdoos,"  the  rulers  of  Sivagangai  at  that  time,  were  two 
brothers,  Vellai  Marudu,  commonly  called  Periya  Marudu,  and 
Chinna  Marudu.  They  belonged  neither  to  the  family  of  the 
ancient  Poligars  nor  to  their  division  of  the  caste,  but  were  re- 
tainers of  the  family.  Parivaras  is  the  Tamil  term  for  such — belong- 
ing to  a  lower  division  of  the  caste.  The  title  peculiar  to  this  class 
is  Servaikiira,  and  they  are  bound  to  do  service  to  their  Poligar 
masters.  Hence  in  all  English  letters  and  narratives  pertaining  to 
that  time  they  are  called  "  Sherogars,"  that  is,  Servaikaras,  never 
Devas  or  Poligars. 

Marudu,  or  Murdoo  as  it  was  written  by  the  English,  was  their 
family  title,  not  a  personal  name.  Marudu  is  the  name  of  a  tree, 
the  Terminal  in  alatn.  How  then  did  the  name  of  a  tree  become  a 
family  title?  At  the  temple  of  Nainarkovil,  in  the  Ramnad 
Zaraindari,  Siva  is  supposed  to  have  appeared  in  the  shape  of 
a  lingam  at  the  foot  of  a  Marudu  tree.     Hence,   as  worshipped  in 


CESSION    TO    THE    ENGLISH.  213 

that  place,  he  is   called  Marud'appa  or  Marudesvara.     This  being  Chapter  IX. 

the  family  divinity  of  the  Siruvayal  people,  each  of  them,  in  honour 

of  their  divinity,  took  the  title  of  Marudu.     Servaikaran  was  the 

caste  title,  Marudu  the  family  name.     Both  the  chiefs  were  called 

Marudu,  with  this  distinction  only,  that  one  was  Periya,  the  older, 

and  the  other  Chinna,  the  younger.   Periya  Marudu  was  the  nominal 

ruler  of  the  country.     It  is  he  that  is  meant  when  the  Sherogar  or 

the  Marudu  is  mentioned,  but  the  real  ruler  was  Chinna  Marudu.  The  two 

The  elder  brother  devoted  himself  wholly  to  field  sports  and  left  brothers- 

the  administration  of  affairs  in  his  younger  brother's    hands.     I 

cannot    refrain    from  availing    myself  here    of    General   "Welsh's 

warm  description  of  the  two  brothers.     It  will  be  seen  that  though 

he  knew  and  appreciated  their  kindness,  he  knew  nothing  of  their 

family  history  : — 

"  Of  the  two  brothers,  so  frequently  mentioned  in  this  narrative,  Vellai 
the  elder  brother  was  called  Wella  or  Velli  Murdoo,  but  he  had  Marudu- 
nothing  to  do  with  the  management  of  the  country.  He  was  a  great 
sportsman,  and  gave  up  his  whole  time  to  hunting  and  shooting. 
Being  a  man  of  uncommon  stature  and  strength,  his  chief  delight  was 
to  encounter  the  monsters  of  the  woods  ;  and  it  was  even  said,  that  he 
could  bend  a  common  Arcot  rupee  with  his  fingers.  Unencumbered 
with  the  cares  or  trappings  of  government,  he  led  a  sort  of  wan- 
dering life  ;  and  occasionally  visited  his  European  neighbours  at 
Tanjore,  Trichinopoly,  and  Madura,  by  whom  he  was  much  esteemed. 
If  any  one  wanted  game,  a  message  sent  to  Velli  Murdoo  was  sure  to 
procure  it ;  or  if  he  wished  to  partake  in  the  sports  of  the  field,  Yelli 
Murdoo  was  the  man  to  conduct  him  to  the  spot,  and  to  insure  his 
success,  as  well  as  to  watch  over  his  safety.  Did  a  royal  tiger  appear, 
while  his  guest  was  surrounded  by  hardy  and  powerful  pikemen,  Velli 
Murdoo  was  the  first  to  meet  the  monster  and  despatch  him.  The  minor 
game  was,  however,  politely  decoyed,  or  driven  in  front  of  his  European 
friend,  who  might  thus,  with  less  danger,  kill  hogs,  elks,  deer,  pea- 
fowl, &c,  in  abundance.  From  this  Oriental  Nimrod  I  had  received 
many  marks  of  attention  and  kindness  when  stationed  at  Madura  in 
the  year  1795,  and  then  one  of  the  youngest  subalterns  in  the  place,  a 
pretty  certain  proof  of  his  disinterestedness. 

"  The  Cheena  (Chinna)  Murdoo  was  ostensible  sovereign  of  an  Chinna 
extensive  and  fertile  country,  and  his  general  residence  was  at  Shere-  Marudu. 
wele  (Siruvayal).  Though  of  a  dark  complexion,  he  was  a  portly,  hand- 
some, and  affable  man,  of  the  kindest  manners,  and  most  easy  access  ; 
and  though  ruling  over  a  people  to  whom  his  very  nod  was  a  law,  he 
lived  in  an  open  palace,  without  a  single  guard  ;  indeed,  when  I  visited 
him  in  February  1795,  every  man  who  chose  to  come  in  had  free 
ingress  and  egress,  while  every  voice  called  down  the  blessing  of  the 
Almighty  upon  the  father  of  his  people.  From  a  merely  casual  visit, 
when  passing  through  his  country,  he  became  my  friend,  and  during 
my  continuance  at  Madura,  never  failed  to  send  me  presents  of  fine 
rice  and  fruit ;  particularly  a  large  rough-skinned  orange,  remarkably 


214  HISTORY    OI-     TINNKYE1.LY. 

Chapter  IX.  sweet,  which  I  have  never  met  with  in  such  perfection  in  any  other  part 
of  India.  It  was  he,  also,  who  first  taught  me  to  throw  the  spear 
and  hurl  the  Collery  stick,  a  weapon  scarcely  known  elsewhere,  but  in 
a  skilful  hand  capable  of  being  thrown  to  a  certainty  to  any  distance 
End  of  the  within  one  hundred  yards.  Yet  this  very  man  I  was  afterwards 
Marudus.  destined  by  the  fortune  of  war  to  chase  like  a  wild  beast  ;  to  see 
badly  wounded,  and  captured  by  common  peons  ;  then  lingering  with 
a  fractured  thigh  iu  prison  ;  and  lastly,  to  behold  him,  with  his  gallant 
brother,  and  no  less  gallant  son,  surrounded  by  their  principal 
adherents,  hanging  in  chains  upon  a  common  gibbet  '." 
The  village  of  The  village  to  which  the  Marudus  originally  belonged  was  not 
Sivagangai,  but  a  smaller  place  called  Siruvayal  (little  field).  This 
is  the  place  which  General  Welsh  calls  "  Sherewele  "  and  Mr. 
Hughes  "  She i e vail."  After  the  Marudus'  elevation  to  power 
they  attempted  to  turn  the  name  of  Siruvayal  (little  field)  into 
Sri-veli,  the  sacred  enclosure.  This  may  perhaps  account  for  the 
spelling  Sherewele  adopted  by  General  Welsh.  General  Welsh 
describes  it  as  a  handsome,  well  built  village.  The  collateral  heirs 
of  the  family  continued  to  reside  there  after  the  war  and  are  there 
still.  They  arecaLedthe  Marudappa  Servaikaras.  The  Marudus 
showed  their  determination  and  spirit  at  the  outset  of  the  final 
struggle  of  1801  by  setting  their  handsome  village  on  fire,  to 
prevent  its  being  made  use  of  by  the  English  force. 
Reasons  for  It  might  be  asked  why  the  Poligar  of  Panjalamkurichi,  on  the 
S^ngTfuge  caPture  of  his  fort>  fled  to  Sivagangai.  It  was  the  only  considerable 
in  Sivagan-  palaiyani  to  which  he  could  flee.  The  Tondiman  Rajah  had  always 
been  a  fast  friend  of  the  English,  and  had  surrendered  his  elder 
brother  to  them  two  years  before.  The  Ramnad  Setupati  was 
also  on  the  English  side.  Had  it  not  been  indeed  for  the  English 
his  territories  would  have  been  swallowed  up  ere  then  by  the 
Marudus.  He  had  also  a  rival  amongst  his  own  relations,  one 
Mulappan,  whose  plots  were  only  kept  in  check  by  the  energy 
and  vigilance  of  the  English.  In  addition  to  this,  Ramnad  had 
long  been  the  head-quarters  of  the  Collector  of  the  South,  and 
even  after  the  cession  of  the  country  it  continued  to  be  under  the 
Collector,  Mr.  Lushington,  whose  Head  Assistant  administered  its 
affairs.  What,  however,  especially  rendered  it  impossible  for  the 
Panjalamkurichi  Poligar  to  expect  any  help  or  sympathy  from 
Ramnad  was  the  circumstance  that  he  and  his  fellow  conspirator, 
the  Poligar  of  Nftgalapuram,  had  long  been  in  the  habit  of  sending 
plundering  expeditions  into  the  Ramnad  territory.  Only  two 
years  before  the  brother  of  the  Nagalapuram  Poligar  had  been 
hanged  for  the  atrocities  he  had  committed  in  those  expeditions. 
It  was  out  of  the  question,  therefore,  that  Kattaboma  Nayaka  and 
his  adherents  should  betake  themselves  to  Ramnad.  It  was 
natural,  on  the  other  hand,  that  Kattaboma  Nayaka  should  betake 
himself  in  his   emergency  to  the  Marudus,  because  it  was  mainly 


CESSION    TO   THE    ENGLISH.  215 

through  the  counsel  of  the  Marudus  that  he  had  been  instigated  Chapter  IX. 

to  rebel.     Mr.  Lushington,  as  we  learn    from   the  records,   had  „,    T     " 

.  ,      ,  Mr.  Lushing- 

become  acquainted  with  the  correspondence  that  had  taken  place  ton's  policy. 

between  Sivagangai  and  Panjalamkurichi,  but  he  was   obliged  to 

refrain   from  taking  any  notice  of  it  in  his  communications  with 

the  Marudu  till   Panjalamkurichi  had  been  taken,     lie   wisely 

concluded  that  it  was  sufficient  to   have   one  Poligar   war  on   his 

hands  at  a  time.     Neither   General  Welsh  nor  Mr.  Hughes  was 

aware  of  this  circumstance  ;  neither  were  they  aware  of  the  special 

reason  why  the  Marudu  was  so  hostile  to  the  English  Government 

and  so  ready  to  share  the  fortunes  of  its  enemies. 

On  Mr.  Lushington's  taking  charge  of  the  Southern  Poligar  Explanation 
administration  he  sent  for  the  Marudu  and  called  upon  him  to  °f.the  ^"^ 
produce  the  documents  which  proved  him  to  be  descended  from  Marudus. 
Seshavarna,  the  founder  of  the  family,  and  to  be  entitled  to  hold 
the  estate.  The  Marudu  promised  to  produce  the  documents,  well 
knowing  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  do  so,  seeing  that  no 
such  documents  existed,  as  he  did  not  belong  to  the  family  at  all, 
nor  even  to  the  same  caste,  but  was  an  outsider  and  a  mere 
usurper.  This  demand  of  Mr.  Lushington  was  sufficient  to  con- 
vince him  that  danger  was  in  store  for  him.  He  would  probably 
also  conclude  that  no  amount  of  submissiveness  on  his  part  would 
suffice  to  avert  the  danger,  and  that,  therefore,  his  best  policy 
would  be  to  set  his  back  to  the  wall  and  fight  it  out.  This 
accounts  for  the  eagerness  with  which  he  espoused  the  cause  of  the 
defeated  Poligar  of  Panjalamkurichi  and  the  resolute  courage  with 
which  he  fought  to  the  end.  Amongst  other  devices  he  wrote  a 
letter  to  the  Madras  Government  against  Mr.  Lushington,  denounc- 
ing him  as  the  stirrer-up  of  all  disturbances,  and  asking  for  his 
removal  and  the  appointment  of  a  better  Collector  in  his  room. 

After  the  English  force  left  Ramnad,  with  the  intention  of 
marching  on  the  Marudu's  capital  and  citadel,  he  took  the  oppor- 
tunity of  sending  a  force  into  the  Ramnad  country,  which  seized 
possession  of  the  northern  Ramnad  taluks  and  beset  and  threat- 
ened Ramnad  itself.  Mr.  Lushington  thought  it  best  to  leave  Smaller  forts 
those  taluks  unrelieved  till  the  termination  of  the  campaign.  ac 
The  fort  of  Kamudi,  garrisoned  by  an  English  force,  was  hardly 
pressed,  but  held  out  beyond  expectation.  The  fort  of  Tirupattur, 
which  was  occupied  by  a  party  from  Colonel  Martinz  '  Ramnad 
Corps,  was  seized  in  great  triumph  by  the  Marudus. 

Whilst  these  affairs  were  going  on,  a  naval  war,  on  an  exceed-  Small  naval 
ingly  small  scale,  was  being  earned  on  in  the  Bay  of  Tondy,  or 
Palk  Strait.  Though  the  Zamindari  of  Sivagangai  was  altogether 
inland,  it  had  been  agreed  by  the  Setupati,  when  the  territory 
was  partitioned,  that  a  town  on  the  sea-coast  should  be  given  to 
Sivagangai.  so  that   it   might   have  an   outlet    for    its    commerce. 


war. 


216 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY 


Chapter  IX.  This  was  the  sea-port  town  of  Tondy  (pronounced  Tondi,  but 
properly  Tundi) l  of  which  the  Poligar  of  Sivagangai  was  appointed 
lord.  The  Marudu  commissioned  a  number  of  dhoneys,  or  small 
coasting  country  vessels,  at  Tondi  to  seize  all  dhoneys  found  sailing 
in  the  bay  with  cargoes  of  rice.  The  rice  thus  seized  was  sent  into 
the  interior,  to  the  Sivagangai  country,  to  help  to  victual  the  forts 
that  were,  or  were  likely  to  be,  beleagured.  Thereupon  the  Master 
Attendant  at  Paumban,  by  Mr.  Lushington's  orders,  equipped  a 
superior  kind  of  country  vessel  as  a  cutter,  armed  her,  and  cruised 
along  the  coast  to  suppress  this  new  sort  of  piracy.  He  soon 
succeeded  in  his  object,  capturing  some  of  the  Marudu's  vessels 
and  burning  others.  Another  object  in  view  was  to  prevent  the 
escape  of  any  of  the  rebels  by  sea. 


Success  of 
Master 
Attendant 
of  Pauinben 


Nature  of  the 

enemy's 

resistance. 


Burning  of 
Siruvayal. 


The  Capture  of  Kalaiyarkovil. 

I  now  return  to  the  operations  of  Colonel  Agnew's  force  against 
the  Marudu.  The  first  place  attacked  was  Sherewele,  that  is 
Siruvayal,  the  Marudu's  capital,  called  in  the  Ordnance  Map 
Serravail,  situated  almost  due  north  of  Kalaiyarkovil  : — 

"  This  town  had  become  of  some  note  since  the  rise  of  the  Marudu's 
fortunes.  He  made  it  his  constant  residence,  and  it  was  conjectured 
that  he  might  here  make  some  vigorous  stand.  The  march,  not  more 
than  8  or  9  miles,  occupied  us  all  the  day,  though  the  main  road  was 
a  very  good  one  ;  it  lay  through  a  strip  of  country  of  the  general 
breadth  of  1,200  or  1,500  yards,  shut  in  on  each  side  by  high  and 
strong  jungle,  whilst  the  intermediate  space  was  everywhere  crossed 
or  flanked  by  the  banks  of  tanks,  close  palmyra  topes,  or  occasional 
patches  of  thin  and  common  jungle,  all  that  the  Poligar  could  covet 
for  his  desultory  warfare.  The  enemy  was  abundantly  armed,  and  he 
possessed  a  great  number  of  the  small  guns  of  his  own  particular 
description.  The  firing  on  his  part  was  incessant  all  the  day  through, 
and  a  distant  hearer  might  have  concluded  that  we  were  in  desperate 
conflict,  but  happily  it  was  all  noise  and  random  firing,  and  did  no 
serious  harm  ;  our  own  field-pieces  rarely  opened  but  when  the  Poli- 
gars  were  in  great  crowds  in  front  and  on  the  flanks.  Whenever  our 
parties  closed  in  upon  them,  they  retreated  to  other  points.  The 
country  to  the  left,  nurth  of  our  main  body,  seemed  that  in  which  the 
enemy  harboured  with  most  confidence,  and  on  this  side  was  stationed 
Major  Shephard  with  his  corps  as  a  flanking  column.  Our  equip- 
ments and  baggage  were  an  enormous  mass,  and  would  have  afforded 
much  temptation  to  a  more  enterprising  enemy.  At  sunset  we  reached 
our  grouud,  and  found  the  large  town  of  Sherevail  in  general  confla- 
gration." 

The  people  had  set  fire  to  their  houses  with  their  own  hands  and 
fled  into  the  jungles.     The  flames,   accelerated  by  a  high  wind, 


1  There  is  a  sea-port  town  also  on  the  Western  Coast  called  Tundi  or  Kadal-tundi, 
tbeTyndis  of  the  Greeks. 


CESSION    TO    THE    ENGLISH.  217 

spread  with  great  fury,  so  that  the  fine  extensive  village,  with  its  Chapter  IX. 
broad  and  regular  streets,  and  the  Marudu's  palace  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  troops  without  opposition.  This  was  on  the  30th  of 
July.  On  the  following  day  the  army  commenced  to  cut  its  way 
through  the  jungle  to  Kalaiyarkovil,  one  of  the  thickest  and  most 
impenetrable  jungles  in  the  Carnatic. 

"  Colonel  Agnew  entertained  a  sanguine  belief  that  the  opening  for  A  road  to  be 
the  force  of  an  entire  new  road  to  Kalaiyarkovil  would  be  a  far  more  °£*  j^3f 
eligible  operation  than  assaulting  strong  and  numerous  barriers  that 
were  known  to  be  constructed  with  all  the  care  and  ingenuity  the 
Poligars  show  in  such  defences,  and  which  at  that  moment  would 
certainly  have  cost  us  very  dear.  The  work  of  opening  this  road  com- 
menced with  considerable  alacrity,  though  it  indeed  proved  through- 
out a  most  laborious  undertaking.  The  line  that  was  to  be  opened 
was  estimated  at  not  less  than  5  or  6  miles  from  the  skirts  of  the  jungle 
opposite  the  encampment  to  the  pagoda  of  Kalaiyarkovil,  and  by  far 
the  larger  part  of  this  was  accomplished  when  sickness  spread  over  our 
camp  and  much  yet  remained  to  be  done.  The  enemy  too  had  now  for 
some  time  learnt  to  carry  on,  under  secure  cover,  a  very  harassing 
resistance  to  our  parties,  as  they  moved  up  each  successive  morning, 
exposed  in  the  open  space  or  avenue  they  had  made  for  themselves,  to 
pursue  the  work  of  approach  to  Kalaiyarkovil." 

General  Welsh  wrote  a  journal  of  each  day's  proceedings.  The 
following  extracts  describing  the  work  done  for  four  days  in  suc- 
cession in  cutting  a  road  through  the  jungle  under  fire  will  give 
a  clear  idea  of  the  nature  and  difficulty  of  the  undertaking. 

"  August  6th. — The  detachment  accompanying  our  working  party  Attack  on  a 
was  commanded  by  Major  Graham,  who  found  a  high  bank,  at  the  P 
end  of  the  road  cut  the  day  before,  had  been  scooped  out  and  formed 
into  a  cover  for  a  large  body  of  the  enemy,  where  they  had  thrown 
across  three  separate  hedges,  and  got  four  guns  to  bear  from  it  upon 
the  road.  This  post  they  defended  with  great  resolution,  and  killed 
and  wounded  many  of  our  men,  whose  determined  bravery,  however, 
nothing  could  repel,  and  their  opponents  were  at  length  put  to  flight. 
Their  constant  habit  of  dragging  away  their  dead  and  wounded  upon 
all  occasions  where  they  were  not  too  closely  pursued  led  us  to 
suppose  their  loss  to  have  been  considerable,  as  their  blood  could  be 
traced  in  every  direction  through  the  surrounding  jungle.  Our  loss 
was  also  very  great ;  but  after  the  bank  was  stormed  and  taken  the 
work  proceeded  without  opposition,  and  by  the  evening  we  had  cut 
two  hundred  and  thirty- seven  yards. 

"  Augiist  1th. — A  foraging  party  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Dahym-  Another  post 
pie  obtained  a  large  quantity  of  straw  without  opposition.  The  ea" 
working  party  under  Major  M'Leod  being  heard  firing  for  upwards 
of  an  hour,  Lieutenant  Little  was  sent  out  with  a  detachment  to  bring 
away  the  wounded.  He  returned  with  the  pleasing  intelligence,  that 
not  a  man  had  been  seriously  hurt,  though  the  bank  was  again 
defended  and  again  stormed.  It  was  at  length  taken  in  flank,  but 
the  enemy  succeeded  in  carrying  off   their  guns  and  all  their  killed 

28 


218 


HISTORY    Or    TIXXEVELI.Y. 


CiiAPTP.R  IX.  and  wounded.  The  jungle  was  so  impenetrable  that  only  one  party 
under  Lieutenant  King  gained  their  flank  in  time  ;  another,  despatched 
in  the  opposite  direction,  under  Major  M'Pherson,  did  not  arrive  till 
some  time  afterwards,  or  they  would  have  secured  the  enemy's  guns. 
No  further  opposition  was  offered,  and  the  party  returned,  after  having 
cut  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  yards. 

A  post  taken.  "On  the  8th  the  foraging  party  under  Major  Sheppard  again 
brought  in  a  considerable  quantity  of  straw  ;  and  by  the  covering  party 
under  the  command  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Lalrymple,  the  bank  was 
found  again  raised,  hedged,  and  defended,  and  was  again  gallantly 
taken  in  flank.  The  right  party  alone,  however,  under  Lieutenant 
Fletcher,  put  the  enemy  to  flight ;  since  the  left  division  did  not  arrive 
in  time,  on  account  of  the  thickness  of  the  jungle.  The  Poligars,  on 
finding  themselves  likely  to  be  out-flanked,  fired  a  volley  down  the 
road,  which  did  no  damage,  and  absconded.  Considering  the  strength 
of  their  position,  our  loss  was  very  small.  The  pagoda  of  Kalaiyar- 
kovil, to  which  we  were  working,  was  this  day  distinctly  seen  by  the 
covering  party,  who  returned  after  cutting  five  hundred  yards. 

A  redoubt  "  On  the  9th  our  working  party  was  commanded  by  Major  Sheppard, 

ereUed.  ^q    clianged   his   mode    of   attack,    by  opening   all  the   guns,    and 

throwing  a  few  shells  into  the  work,  by  which  plan  he  took  possession 
without  the  loss  of  a  man.  In  consequence  of  the  very  powerful  and 
repeated  impediments  to  our  speedy  advance,  which  this  bank  had 
already  thrown  out,  we  were  to-day  ordered  to  fortify  it  as  a  post  ;  and 
by  the  evening  therefore  a  tolerable  field  redoubt  for  three  hundred 
men  and  three  guns  was  completed  and  occupied  before  we  came 
away,  by  a  fresh  party  from  the  camp  under  Colonel  Lines.  It  was 
a  square  of  thirty  yards,  the  south  face  being  on  the  bank  towards 
Kalaiyarkovil  with  an  enormous  tamarind  tree  of  such  dimensions  that 
we  could  not  cut  it  down,  close  to  it ;  from  whence  both  Sherewele 
(Siruvayal)  and  Kalaiyarkovil  were  clearly  visible. 

"  This  turned  out  a  very  irksome  and  dispiriting  warfare,  as  the  hand 
that  dealt  the  blow  was  rarely  seen,  and  to  return  it  on  our  part  with 
any  effect  was  next  to  impossible.  Our  supplies  too,  from  the  extreme 
closeness  of  the  country  and  the  crowds  of  peons  about,  became  very 
precarious,  and  at  last  they  coidd  be  brought  up  only  by  the  movement 
of  whole  corps  at  a  time  for  their  protection." 

An  entire  month  was  spent  in  this  arduous  endeavour  to  reach 
Kalaiyarkovil  by  cutting  away  to  it  through  the  jungle.     Accord- 
ingly General  Welsh  says  : — 
The  attempt        "  To-day,  August  30,   it  was  resolved  to  quit  this  place,    without 
th^unef       further   prosecuting   our   attempt  to   roach    Kalaiyarkovil  from    the 
abandoned.      Sherewele   side  ;  and  the  rejoicing  was  unanimous,  at  the  prospect  of 
leaving  a  place  which  had  been  the  grave  of  so  many  of  our  brave 
comrades.     Even  the  honour  which  we  lost,  in  abandoning  the  Labours 
of  a  whole  month,  was  forgotten,  in  viewing  the  comparative  facility 
which  the  opposite  direction  held  out.     Our  camp  had  become    sickly, 
and  many  were  suffering  from  diarrhoea  and  dysentery ;  indeed,  both 
officers  and  men  had  died  of  this  vile  scourgo  ;  while  even  those  who 


CESSION    TO   THE    ENGLISH.  219 

continued  to  enjoy  good  health,  were  heartily  sick  of  a  standing  camp,  Chapter  IX. 
in  a  spot  where  the  only  green  that  met  the  eye  was  the  impenetrable 
forest  in  which  we  had  been  foiled  by  cowards,  of  such  a  persevering 
nature,  however,  that  although  beating  them   every   hour,  they  had 
succeeded  so  completely  to  surround  us,    that  we  could  neither  send  a 
letter,  nor  receive   one,  even  from  Palamcotta,   for   a  whole   month. 
Many  attempts  had  been  made  to  elude  their  vigilance,  but   I  believe  Attempt*  to 
every  one  failed.     I  had  myself  given  a  friendly  Poligar,  who,  knowing  convey  letters. 
the  people  and  every  inch  of  the  country,  had  volunteered  the  adven- 
ture, an  advance  of  five  pagodas,  with  one  small  letter  ;   and  he  was 
on  delivery  to  have  received  a  similar  sum,  equal  in  the  whole  to  four 
pounds  sterling  ;  I  afterwards  learned,   that   though  he   set   out  in  a 
dark  night,  he  was  discovered  and   put  to   death  within  a  few   miles 
from  our  camp. 

"  On  the  1st  of  September,  a  working  party  was  sent  out,  with  the  The  force 
usual  escort,  to  destroy  all  our  thirty-two  days'  handiwork  in  the  jungle  moves  otf. 
which  they  fully  accomplished,    by    demolishing  the    redoubts    and 
burning  all    the   brushwood  in  their  neighbourhood ;   and   returned 
with  the  out-guards  to  camp  without  opposition." 

The  force  now  moved  off  to  make  a  detour  by  the  western  and 
northern  approaches,  which  were  ascertained  to  be  more  open  to 
attack. 

This  period  was  marked  by  a  proceeding  that  had  a  most  bene- 
ficial influence  on  our  affairs. 

"  The  Collector  of  the  Poligar  Peshcush  had  with  great  judgment  The  true  heir 
sought  out  the  heir  to  the  pollam,  and  under  the  authority  of  the  proclaimed. 
Government,  this  personage  now  received  in  camp  an  investiture  of 
his  country  with  great  ceremony  and  publicity.  He  had  in  his  child- 
hood been  adopted  by  the  last  representative  of  the  proper  family  of 
the  pollam,  but  had  been  compelled  to  forego  his  expectations,  to  fly 
for  his  life  and  remain  in  deep  obscurity,  the  Marudu  in  his  early 
days  being  much  too  powerful  a  chief  to  allow  him  to  entertain  any 
hope  of  restoration.  His  adherents  now,  however,  pressed  his  claims 
with  much  zeal,  and  the  Government  with  very  seasonable  justice  and 
consideration  determined  on  their  entire  recognition  of  them,  and  his 
elevation  was  hailed  by  the  population  in  general  with  the  highest 
satisfaction." 

The  person  thus  elevated  was  described  by  Mr.  Lushington  as 
collateral  heir  on  the  failure  of  direct  heirs.  He  did  not  rest  his 
claim  on  his  having  been  adopted  in  his  childhood  by  the  last 
Poligar.  There  was  a  still  nearer  collateral  heir,  who  was  rejected 
by  Mr.  Lushington  on  account  of  his  having  married  a  daughter 
of  Vellai  Marudu  and  being  attached  to  his  cause.  The  new 
Zamindar  was  called  Permattoor  Odeya  Tavar  (properly  Paura- 
Vallaba-Udaiya-Dova  of  Padamattur).  On  his  appointment  he 
was  made  Zamindar,  not  Poligar,  and  in  this  case,  as  has  been 
shown  elsewhere,  the  difference  in  name  denoted  a  real  difference. 
General  Welsh  gives  an  animated  account  of  Udaiya  Deva's 
institution.      The    effect   his    appointment    produced    in   thawing 


220 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY, 


Success  of  the 
measure. 


Capture  of 
a  fortified 
pagodat 


Meaning  of 
Kalaiyar- 
kovil. 


Chapter  IX.  away  at  once  from  the  Marudus  many  of  their  followers  vindicated 
the  wisdom  of  Mr.  Lushington's  policy.  It  was  a  measure, 
however,  which  sooner  or  later  he  would  have  carried  into  effect 
all  the  same,  for  he  did  not  wish  so  high  a  hereditary  dignity  as 
that  of  Zamindar  of  Sivagangai  to  remain  in  the  hands  of  a 
usurper. 

1 '  Colonel  Agnew  about  this  time  made  a  night  movement  with  the 
cavalry  and  some  native  details  to  attack  Peramally,  which  was 
surprised  and  taken  possession  of  without  any  material  occurrence. 
It  was  judiciously  chosen,  and  it  had  been  reported  that  the  garrison 
was  collecting  stores  for  some  ulterior  object,  and  its  situation  also 
allowed  of  parties  from  it  much  disturbing  our  communication  with 
Trichinopoly,  which  led  to  this  visit.  The  post  itself  consisted  of  a 
handsome  pagoda  situated  on  the  brow  of  a  hill,  from  whence  ran  a 
wall  enclosing  a  small  village  below.  The  garrison  seeing  our  move- 
ments to  turn  their  rear,  escaped  by  a  close  passage  in  that  direction 
leading  to  jungles  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  hill.  The  resistance  it 
offered  was  very  feeble." 

By  Peramally  (Prawmullay  in  the  Ordnance  Map)  we  are  to 
understand  Piramalai,  properly  Piran-malai,  a  shrine  sacred  to 
(Piran)  Vishnu.  I  may  mention  here  that  Kalaiyarkovil  is  a  Saiva 
shrine  of  considerable  celebrity.  Kalai  is  the  Tamil  word  for 
a  bull,  and  stands  here  for  Siva's  Vrishabha  or  sacred  bull.  Siva  is 
worshipped  there  as  Kalai-isvara. 

On  the  1st  of  October  the  whole  force  advanced  upon  Kalaiyar- 
kovil in  three  divisions,  converging  on  the  place  from  three  direc- 
tions. One  of  these  divisions  marched  the  previous  night  so  as  to 
endeavour  to  reach  Kalaiyarkovil  under  cover  of  the  darkness  by 
the  road  cut  through  the  jungle.  The  other  divisions  met  with 
considerable  opposition,  but  at  length  succeeded  in  forcing  their 
way  to  the  citadel.  The  fortunes  of  the  division  which  started 
the  previous  night  shall  be  told  by  Mr.  Hughes  himself  : — 

"  During  the  critical  period  he  (Mr.  Hughes)  had  watchfully  fixed 
his  attention  on  the  state  of  the  road  that  had  been  opened  by  the 
force  from  Sherevail.  All  his  intelligence  went  to  corroborate  the 
account  that  this  point  was  now  left  entirely  unguarded,  the  enemy 
seeming  to  view  it  as  far  too  remote  from  our  main  body  to  need  any 
precaution.  The  distance  indeed  was  something  to  be  considered 
by  ourselves,  but  it  was  certain  that  the  enemy  would  be  sharply 
employed  everywhere,  and  Colonel  Agnew  therefore  approved  of  the 
movement  of  a  small  column  in  that  direction.  It  was  arranged  that 
it  should  proceed  in  such  deep  secrecy  overnight  that  even  our  own 
camp  should  not  be  apprized  of  its  movement,  since  we  had  now  many 
of  the  inhabitants  about  us  who  might  play  us  false,  and  it  was  urged, 
as  equally  desirable,  that  in  its  passage  forward  it  should  carefully 
avoid  every  hamlet  that  no  alarm  might  bo  given.  It  met  not  with 
the  smallest  impediment,  and  from  the  end  of  the  excellent  road  that 
had  been  abandoned  a  month  before  as  altogether  unavailable,  paths 


Attack  on  the 
place  in  three 
divisions. 


Success  of 
the  advance 
through  the 
forest. 


CESSION    TO    THE    ENGLISH.  221 

were  found  which  had  been  traversed  by  the  enemy  whilst  opposing  Chapter  IX. 

our  working  parties,   quite   open   to  tho   very  walls  of  Kalaiyarkovil. 

The  surprise   and  panic    by    our   sudden    appearance    in    this   most 

unlooked-for  quarter,   caused  an  instantaneous  abandonment  of  the 

place,  and  as  rapid  an   escape  of  every  soul  to  the  contiguous  jungle  ; 

Colonel  Agnew  was  kept  at  a  stand  for  a  short  time  from  the  numerous 

obstacles  thrown  in  the  way   of  his  attack — there  was   of  course   the 

usual  incessant  firing  and  much  general  uproar — but  the  first  barrier 

being  penetrated  at  the  flank,  the  flight  of  the  enemy  became   general 

through  the  numerous  narrow  paths  about,  and  they  had  been  apprized, 

it  is  palpable,  of  the  fall  of  their  stronghold,  which  must  have  much 

enfeebled  their  resistance.    Every  point  of  defence  from  the  interior  one 

to  Kalaiyarkovil  was  found  deserted,  and  on  discovering   the  pagoda, 

our  Commandant  had  the  high  satisfaction  of  perceiving  our  sentinels  Meeting  of 

on  the  walls.     The  meeting  indeed  was   alike  happy  to  every  one,  f0^8aC  mg 

since  here  was  an  end  to  this  irksome  service." 

"The  pagoda  of  Kalaiyarkovil,"  says  General  "Welsh,  "  is  a  Description  of 
very  large  and  handsome  building,  surrounded  by  a  strong  stone  kaiaiyar- 
wall  about  eighteen  feet  in  height  and  forming  one  angle  of  the 
fort,  which  was  nearly  dismantled.  The  enemy  seemed  quite 
disheartened  and  bewildered  by  our  different  attacks  at  the  same 
moment,  and  hardly  a  soul  appeared  during  the  remainder  of  the 
day.  We  found  here  twenty-one  guns,  mostly  mounted,  and  a 
great  quantity  of  stores  ;  there  were  also  many  articles  of  European 
furniture,  and  amongst  them  two  clocks  and  several  pier-glasses. 
The  fort  had  been  well  built  and  was  extensive,  but  the  town, 
covered  by  a  thick  hedge  only,  formed  one  face  of  it  and  contained 
many  excellent  houses.  It  had  indeed,  never  been  a  place  of  very 
great  strength,  but  our  local  information  was  never  such  as  could 
be  relied  upon,  and  no  European  in  the  camp  knew  anything 
about  the  state  of  the  country.  I  had,  myself,  to  my  shame  be  it 
mentioned,  actually  passed  through  it  a  few  months  before,  and 
been  entertained  by  Vellai  Marudu  in  his  palace  at  Sherewele  ; 
but  had  not  then  the  slightest  idea  of  ever  again  entering  it,  much 
less  as  a  foe." 

Events  that  followed  the  Capture  of  Kalaiyarkovil. 

Kalaiyarkovil  was  taken  on  the  1st  of  October  (1801),  and  from 
that  day  all  resistance  in  the  field  was  abandoned  by  the  rebels  as 
hopeless.  General  Welsh  gives  the  details  of  the  hunt  after  the 
refugees. 

"  On  the  3rd  a  division  under  Major  Sheppard  marched  from  camp  Advance  to 
at  sunrise,   with  orders  to  proceed,  via  Kalaiyarkovil,  to  Mangalam,  Mangalam. 
where  it  was  understood  we  were  to  meet  a  large  body  of  the  enemy. 
We  arrived  there,  however,  without  opposition,  at  half  past  2  p.m., 
and  formed  our  camp  with  the  rear  to  the  village  and  an  immense  tank 
in  our  front,  on  the  bund  or  bank  of  which  our  quarter-guards  were 


222 


HISTORY    OF    TIXXEYELLY. 


Chapteu  IX. 


The  rebels 
disbanded. 


Execution  of 
the  principal 

rebels. 


Results  of  the 
victory. 


Minor  rebels 
sent  to 
Tutiioiin. 


posted.  The  villagers,  on  seeing  a  white  flag  at  our  approach,  came 
out  to  meet  us,  saying,  that  Marudu  with  two  thousand  men  had 
been  lately  there,  but  had  retreated  into  the  jungle  ;  and  in  the 
evening  the  headmen  from  nine  villages  came  in  to  take  cowle  from 
Major  Sheppard.  The  road  from  Kalaiyarkovil  to  this  place  was 
entirely  through  jungle,  in  some  parts  very  thick,  and  though  hardly 
wide  enough  for  carriages,  was  in  other  respects  very  good  when  we  had 
removed  the  thorns  and  milk -hedges  which  were  occasionally  thrown 
across  it.  There  was  only  one  barrier  on  the  skirt  of  the  jungle, 
about  six  furlongs  from  Mangalam,  intended  to  defend  the  approach 
from  Eamnad,  and  this  our  Pioneers  demolished  in  about  two  hours,  and 
then  returned  under  an  escort  to  Kalaiyarkovil.  Colonel  Agnew  hav- 
ing returned  to  Madras  on  the  4th  of  October,  we  were  again  put  under 
the  orders  of  Major  Colin  Macaulay,  and  remained  inactive,  waiting 
to  hear  from  him.  The  headmen  of  fifty  villages  came  in  to-day  to 
take  cowle,  and  brought  intelligence  that  the  Marudus  had  disbanded 
their  forces  ;  and,  with  only  two  hundred  followers,  had  secreted  them- 
selves in  the  Shangrapoy  jungle.  This  we  considered  as  very  good 
news,  for  we  were  not  a  little  weary  of  such  a  tedious  and  unprofitable 
warfare.  What  followed  afterwards  was,  indeed,  of  little  importance, 
the  enemy  nowhere  making  head  against  us  ;  parties  were  sent  to  hunt 
them  down  in  the  different  jungles. 

In  a  few  days  both  the  Marudus,  with  their  families,  Kattabonia 
Nayaka,  Dalavay  Pillai,  and  the  Dumb  Brother,  were  all  taken,  and 
the  men  all  hanged,  excepting  Dora  Swamy,  the  youngest  son  of 
Chinna  Marudu,  and  Dalavay  Pillai,  who,  being  of  less  consequence, 
were  transported  for  life  to  Prince  of  Wales'  Island,  with  seventy  of 
their  devoted  followers  ;  and  thus  ended  this  most  harassing  warfare, 
in  which  the  expenditure  of  life  had  been  profuse  and  the  result 
any  thing  but  honourable  to  the  survivors." 

When  General  Welsh  speaks  of  the  result  of  the  campaign  as 
dishonourable,  he  speaks  from  the  point  of  view  of  a  military 
critic.  He  meant  that  the  English  force  gained  no  honour  by 
the  loss  of  time,  life,  and  treasure  it  incurred  in  putting  down  so 
uncivilized  a  foe.  From  the  point  of  view  of  Government,  of  the 
civil  community,  and  of  posterity,  the  results  of  the  war  were 
highly  satisfactory.  This  Poligar  war  achieved  the  distinction  of 
being  the  last  of  its  kind. 

The  Marudus  were  hanged  on  the  highest  bastion  of  the  fort  of 
Tirupattur,  a  town  and  fort  in  their  own  territory  already  referred 
to.  Kattaboma  Nayaka  and  his  dumb  brother,  the  persons  chiefly 
responsible  for  all  this  loss  of  life,  were  brought  back  to  Panjalam- 
kurichi,  and  there  hanged  on  the  mound  near  the  fort  which  had 
been  erected  for  the  use  of  the  breaching  battery.  The  mound  is 
still  visible.  Colonel  Agnew,  leaving  a  corps  in  Sivagangai, 
returned  to  Palamcotta,  and  Captain  Welsh  was  detached  to  com- 
mand Tuticorin,  where  he  superintended  the  transportation  of 
seventy  of  the  convicted  rebels,  including  Chinna  Marudu's  younger 


CESSION    TO    THE    ENGLISH.  223 

son,  a  youth  whom  he  treated  with  the  greatest  kindness  con-  Chapter  IX. 
sistent  with  his  duty  to  the  State.  Strange  to  say,  eighteen  years 
afterwards  he  met  his  former  prisoner  in  Penang.  Not  only  was 
the  fort  of  Panjalamkurichi  pulled  down  and  levelled  to  the 
ground,  but,  to  make  assurance  doubly  sure  and  to  produce  an  Fate  of 
impression  on  the  popular  mind,  the  site  was  ploughed  over  and  uaInj^lam" 
cultivated.  It  was  ordered  also  that  the  name  of  Panjalamkurichi 
should  be  removed  from  all  maps  and  accounts.  Notwithstanding 
this  it  found  a  place  afterwards  in  the  Ordnance  Map,  where  it 
appears  as  "  Panjalamkurichi  in  ruins."  Nothing  now  remains  to 
mark  the  spot  but  a  few  traces  of  the  mound  erected  as  a  breach- 
ing battery,  on  which  the  Poligar  and  his  dumb  brother  were 
hanged,  and  the  enclosure  in  the  neighbourhood  containing  the 
tombs  of  the  officers  and  men  who  fell  in  the  last  two  assaults. 
The  remains  of  those  who  fell  in  the  first  assault  are  just  outside 
Ottapidaram. 

During  Colonel  Agnew's  absence  and  up  to  the  end  of  the  year 
the  Collector,  Mr.  Lushington,  had  been  strenuously  exerting 
himself  in  hunting  down  those  rebels  that  were  still  at  large, 
apprehending  their  friends  and  sympathisers,  and  restoring  to 
Sivagangai  and  Kamnad,  as  well  as  to  Tinnevelly,  a  feeling  of 
protection  and  security. 

The  principal  rebel  then  captured  was  Sivattaiya   Nayaka,  who  Capture  of 
was  regarded  by  many  as  the  real  author  of  the  rebellion,  though    ua  ai}fl" 
he  had  always  managed  to  escape  conviction.     An  amnesty  was 
proclaimed,  on  the   Government   passing  from  the   Nawab   to  the 
East  India   Company,  from   which,  however,   two    persons    were 
excepted.     One  of  these  exceptions  was  Sivattaiya   Nayaka,   who 
was  captured  near  Srlvilliputtur  and  brought  by  a  strong  military 
escort  to  the  fort  of  Palamcotta.     Another  person  excepted  from 
the  amnesty,  also  captured,  was  the  Mitppan  of  Kulasekharapatta- 
nam.     Another  was  one  Dalavay  Pillai,  who  led  the  authorities 
a  long  chase,  but  was  at  last  caught.     The  Maravas  of  Nanguneri  The  Maravas 
gave  him   an  asylum,  and  got  up  a  little  rebellion  on  his  account,  °     ftns,men- 
as  well  as  on  their  own,  so  that  it  was  found  necessary  to  send  a 
force  of  100  sepoys,  under  a  European   officer,   to   reduce   them  to 
submission.      Some    of   these   petty   rebels   were  sent  off  to  be 
imprisoned  in  the  fort  of  Kamudi,   in  the  Ramnad  country.     The 
most  formidable  of  their  ringleaders  were  sent  to  Madras. 

I    quote   the  following  from   Mr.  Lushington's   letter   to   the 
Madras  Government  already  cited. 

"Upon  the  transfer  of  Tinnevelly  in  July  last,  the  condition  of  the  Lushington's 
Kavalgars,  the  nominal  protectors  of  the  villages,  urgently  demanded  dealings  with 
my  consideration.     During  the    rebellion    of    Panjalamkurichi   they  garg> 
fomented  and  aided  the  disturbance  in  every  quarter  ;   and  after  the 


224  HISTORY    OF    TIXNEVELLY. 

Chapter  IX.  reduction  of  the  place  many  of  them  continued  to  wander  about  the 
country  in  armed  bodies  plundering  the  villages,  robbing  the  people, 
and  intimidating  the  Mahajens  (Brahmins)  and  principal  inhabitants 
to  obtain  their  pardon  from  the  Circar.  As  the  peace  and  prosperity 
of  the  country  demanded  immediate  measures  to  arrange  these 
disorders,  and  as  I  apprehended  no  ill-consequence  from  the  return  of 
the  Kavalgars  to  their  villages,  they  were  invited  to  come  in  peace  to 
their  habitations  with  the  exception,  however,  of  those  whose  conduct 
had  been  particularly  atrocious.  Their  long  connection  with  the 
Poligars  and  occasional  sufferings  from  a  faithless  administration 
created  at  first  in  their  minds  a  distrust  of  my  intentions ;  but  when  I 
succeeded  in  convincing  them  of  the  sincerity  of  the  pardon  offered  to 
the  obedient,  they  returned,  and  have  remained  from  that  period 
regardless  of  the  endeavour*  made  by  Dalavoy  Pillai  to  seduce  them 
Remuneration  from  the  strict  performance  of  all  their  duties.  The  regular  enjoyment 
-kavalgars.  Q£  ^g^  ruSg00m  (fees)  and  privileges  seems  to  have  converted  them 
from  plunderers  to  the  submissive  servants  of  the  Circar,  and  there 
appears  to  me  to  be  nothing  wanting  to  destroy  the  influence  of  the 
Poligars  over  them,  and  to  fix  their  attachment  to  the  Company  upon 
the  solid  ground  of  self-interest,  but  formally  to  relinquish  all  claims 
upon  them  to  kaunikai  or  peshcush,  which  they  were  always  compelled 
to  pay  to  the  Poligars,  nominally  from  their  rassooms,  but  really  from 
their  depredations.  The  amount  in  the  whole  Province  is  as  shown  in 
No.  16,  and  I  have  given  them  hopes  of  a  remission  of  these  sums, 
which  I  trust  you  will  find  it  just  and  politic  to  confirm.  The  use 
which  they  made  of  the  Poligar's  name,  whilst  they  remained  at  his 
devotion,  rendered  the  acquirement  of  this  amount  a  matter  of  perfect 
facility  to  them  at  that  period,  but  now  that  every  effort  is  made  to 
keep  them  rigorously  to  the  performance  of  their  watching  duties  the 
whole  of  their  privileges  are  no  more  than  sufficient  for  their  subsist- 
ence. 
Exception  of  "From  the  satisfaction  given  by  the  Kavalgars  in  general,  you  are 
ne-ri  Mart""  aware,  that  I  have  to  except  the  Marava  Kavalgars  of  Naugancherry 
vars.  (Nanguneri).     The    notorious    profligacy    and    savageness    of    their 

character  always  checked  any  sanguine  expectation  of  retaining  them, 
but  no  effort  was  omitted  to  accomplish  their  reform  by  convincing 
them  of  the  justice  of  the  Company's  Government.  But  their  obsti- 
nate concealment  and  protection  of  rebels  proscribed  by  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Agnew  and  their  refusal  to  tender  any  surety  of  their  submis- 
sion and  allegiance  compelled  the  exercise  of  that  coercion  which  was 
explained  in  my  correspondence  of  October  last.  Upon  mature 
investigation  Lieutenant-Colonel  Agnew  conceived  their  conduct  to 
have  been  of  so  heinous  a  tendency  and  of  such  dangerous  example  as 
to  make  them  fit  objects  of  transportation  and  banishment  from  the 
country.  The  eight  principal  Kavalgars  of  Nangancheri  were  accord- 
ingly sent  as  convicts  from  Tnticorin,  and  the  duties  have  been  since 
very  satisfactorily  performed  by  the  original  possessors  of  the  kaval  of 
the  village,  the  Shanar  inhabitants." 

"Whilst  the  disloyal  Poligars  suffered  the  punishment  duo  to 
them  for  their  rebellion,  Government  did  not   forget   to  reward 


CESSION    TO    THE    ENGLISH.  225 

those  Poligars  that  remained  loyal,  especially  those  that  were  near  Chapter  IX. 
neighbours  to  Panjalamkurichi  and  who  might  have  been  expected 
to  take  the  rebel  chief's  side.     The  Poligar  of  Maniyatchi,  whose 
refusal  to  join  in  the   rebellion  brought   down  upon  him  a  great 
deal  of  local  odium,  fled  for  refuge  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  to 
Palamcotta,   where    he    remained,  with     the    permission   of     the 
Collector,  till  its  close.     The  Poligar  of  Melamandai  also  refused 
to  join   in   the  rebellion   and   fled  to   llamnad.     The  Board   of 
Revenue   warmly    eulogised    his    conduct.     They    observed   that, 
"  though  of  the  same  caste  with  the  family  of  Panjalamkurichi,  he 
resisted  every  artifice  and  threat  that  was  made  use  of  to  force  him 
into  the  league."     Both  these  Poligars  were  liberally  rewarded  for  Lojal 
the  service  they  rendered  to  the   State   by  keeping  out  of   the  ^V^rded. 
rebellion.     At  the  close  of  the  war  the  two  southern  "  Maganams  " 
of  Panjalamkurichi  were  conferred  on   the  Maniyatchi    Poligar, 
whilst  the  Poligar  of  Melamandai  was  rewarded  by  a  present  of  a 
portion  of  the  lands  of  the  deposed  Poligars  of  Kadalgudi  and 
Kulattur.     The  Ettiapuram  Poligar  had  already  been  liberally 
rewarded  by  a  gift  of  four  out  of  the  six  Maganams  into  which 
the   forfeited   estate   had  been  divided.     The    Government   were 
anxious  to  avoid  even  the   appearance  of  wishing  to  derive  any 
pecuniary  advantage  from   the  punishment  inflicted  on  the  rebel- 
lious Poligars,  and  therefore  in  every  instance  of  the  forfeiture  of 
a  palaiyam  for  rebellion,  instead  of  appropriating  the  palaiyam,  or 
any  part  of  it,  to  itself,  the  only  use  it  made  of  the  forfeited  lands 
was  to  divide  them  as  rewards  amongst  its  loyal  adherents.     It 
will  be  seen  from  the  proclamation  issued  by   Government  at  the 
close  of  the  rebellion  that  this  was  its  fixed  line  of  policy  in  such 
cases. 

Cession  of  the  Country  to  the  English  Government. 

Tinnevelly,  together  with  the  rest  of  the  Carnatic,  had  now  been  Results  of  the 
peaceably  ceded  by  treaty  to  the  East  India  Company,  a  cession  ce881on- 
which  brought  with  it  not  merely  a  change  of  rulers,  but  a  change 
of  principles,  a  change  in  the  objects  and  methods  of  government, 
a  change  out  of  which  an  infinite  number  of  beneficial  changes 
were  sure  to  be  developed  as  time  went  on.  The  act  of  cession 
was  dated  on  the  31st  July  1801,  and  on  the  same  day  an  order 
was  issued  by  the  Nawab  to  his  principal  Amildar  in  Tinnevelly 
to  transfer  all  his  accounts  to  the  Company's  representative  and 
by  the  Madras  Government  to  Mr.  Lushington,  appointing  him 
their  Collector,  to  be  responsible  to  them  alone  in  future  for  all 
matters  of  administration.  One  of  the  first  works  that  occupied 
Mr.  Lushington's  attention  after  the  close  of  the  war  'was  the 
"  settlement  "  of  Sivagangai. 

29 


^G 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEYELLY. 


Chapter  IX.      I  here  give  the  principal  portions  of  the  important  proclamation 
of  the  Madras  Grovernment  issued  at  the  close  of  the  last  Poligar 


war 


Consequences 
of  the  rebel- 
lion. 


Future 
condition  of 
Poligars. 

Kattaboma's 
offence. 


Suppression 
of  the  rebel- 
lion. 


Proofs  of 
British 
Government's 
strength. 

Punishment 
of  rebellion 
necessary. 


Loyalty 
rnwarded. 


Fort  St.  George,  1st  December  1801. 

PROCLAMATION. 

1.  By  a  Proclamation  bearing  date  the  9th  day  of  December  1799,  the  Right  Honor- 
able Edward  Lord  Clive,  Governor  in  Council  of  Fort  St.  George  and  all  its 
dependencies,  proclaims  to  all  the  Poligars  of  the  Province  of  Tinnevelly,  the  conse- 
quences of  the  rebellion  of  Kattaboma  Nayaka  of  Panjalamcourchy  which  has 
terminated  in  the  ignominious  death  of  that  chieftain  and  of  two  of  his  confidential 
ministers. 

2.  By  the  same  Proclamation,  the  Governor  in  Council  further  proclaims  a  defi- 
nition of  the  future  condition  of  Poligars,  and  of  the  system  of  government  which 
it  was  the  intention  of  the  Governor  in  Council  to  introduce  for  the  administration 
of  the  affairs  of  the  Poligar  countries. 

3.  Before  the  Governor  in  Council  could  proceed  to  carry  into  execution  the 
current  system  of  measures  described  in  that  proclamation,  the  brother  of  Katta- 
boma  Nayaka,  instigated  by  the  evil  advice  of  Vellai  Marudu  and  Chinna  Marudu, 
Servaikaras  of  Sivagangai,  was  induced  to  disregard  the  awful  example  which  had 
recently  been  exhibited  to  the  Poligars  of  the  Southern  Provinces  and  to  place  the 
happiness  and  securit5r  of  himself  and  of  his  adherents,  not  on  the  protection  of  the 
Honorable  Company,  but  on  the  desperate  hazard  of  defying  in  arms  the  power  of 
the  British  Government. 

4.  The  consequences  of  those  infatuated  councils  were  anticipated,  and  proclaimed 
to  the  Poligars  and  inhabitants  of  the  Southern  Provinces,  at  the  time  when  the 
Right  Honorable  the  Governor  in  Council  assembled  the  British  troops  for  the 
purpose  of  suppressing  the  rebellion  excited,  and  maintained  in  arms,  by  the 
Poligars  of  Panjalamcourchy  and  of  Virapakshi,  and  by  the  Servaikaras  of  Siva- 
gangai. 

5.  At  the  same  time  that  the  Right  Honorable  the  Governor  in  Council  regrets 
that  the  desperate  resistance  opposed  to  the  British  troops  should  have  been 
attended  with  so  great  a  loss  of  life  to  the  deluded  inhabitants,  His  Lordship  feels 
it  to  bo  his  duty  to  impress  on  the  minds  of  the  Poligars,  Servaikaras  and  inhabi- 
tants of  the  Southern  Provinces,  the  danger  of  provoking  the  just  indignation  of 
the  British  Government,  and  the  fruitless  attempt  of  opposing  the  united  strength 
of  the  Poligars,  to  the  steadiness,  valour  and  discipline  of  the  British  troops.  The 
people  of  the  Southern  Provinces  have  now  witnessed,  that  the  difficulty  of  resist- 
ing the  force  of  the  Company's  Government  in  open  arms  is  not  greater,  than  that 
of  evading  the  perseverance,  vigilance  and  activity  of  the  Company's  troops,  in  the 
native  woods  of  the  Poligars. 

6.  From  the  centre  of  those  woods,  the  authors  of  the  late  rebellion  have  been 
brought  before  the  tribunals,  erected  by  the  Government  in  Council,  for  tho  trial 
of  that  hateful  and  desperate  offence  ;  and  the  infatuated  obstinance  of  those  chief- 
tains, in  neglecting  the  warning  voice  with  which  the  Governor  in  Council  had 
announced  to  them  the  danger  of  rebellion,  has  rendered  indispensably  necessary 
the  signal  punishments  of  their  crimes  :  and  the  Governor  in  Council  encourages  a 
well-founded  expectation,  that  the  ignominious  manner  in  which  those  misguided 
chieftains  have  terminated  their  ambitious  and  criminal  career,  will  indelibly  fix  on 
the  minds  of  their  surviving  families,  and  of  the  inhabitants  of  Tinnevelly,  the 
danger  of  defying  the  British  Government  to  arms. 

7.  At  tho  same  time  that  tho  Right  Honorable  the  Governor  in  Council  directs 
the  attention  of  tho  Sherogars,  Poligars  and  people  of  the  Southern  Provinces  to 
the  just  punishment  of  unprovoked  rebellion,  His  Lordship  contemplates  with 
just  pride  and  satisfaction  the  examples  of  steady  attachment  and  honorable  fidelity 
which  the  British  Government  has  experienced  from  many  of  its  dependants  in  the 
course  of  this  unnatural    and  unavoidable    warfare.     As  in  the  former    case,  the 


CESSION    TO    THE    ENGLISH.  22? 

Governor  in  Council  has  been  reluctantly  compelled  to  exhibit  a  memorable  example  Chapter  IX. 

of  the  crime  of  sedition,  so  in  the  latter  instance,  His  Lordship  in  Council  has  had  

the  pleasure  of  augmenting  the  security,  wealth  and  happiness  of  those  whose 
zeal  and  loyalty  have  entitled  them  to  the  distinguished  favor  and  protection  of  the 
British  Government. 

8.  It  will  not  escape  the  observation  of  the  Poligars,  Sherogars  and  inhabitants  Estates  of 
of  the  Southern  Provinces,  that  the  decisive  success  which  has  attended  the  progress  rebels  not 
of  the  British  troops  has  created  no  deviation  from  the  principles  stated  in  the  Pro-  appropriated 
clamation   bearing  date  the  9th  December  1799.     They   will  have  observed  that  „?lnt 
although  the  necessity  of  preserving  tranquillity  and  regular  government  has  com- 
pelled the    Governor  in  Council   to  punish  the  authors  of  rebellion,  His  Lordship 

has  abstained  from  appropriating  to  the  Company  the  lands  forfeited  by  that 
dangerous  crime ;  they  will  have  had  the  satisfaction  of  noticing  the  confidence 
reposed  by  the  British  Government  in  its  subjects,  by  applying  those  forfeited  lands 
to  the  means  of  augmenting  the  Pollams  of  the  faithful  Poligars,  and  from  these 
examples  they  may  derive  the  certain  means  of  appreciating  the  principles  of  the 
British  Government. 

9.  On  the  foundation  described  in  this  Proclamation,  the  Right  Honorable  the  Hopes  for 
Governor  in  Council  encourages  a  reasonable  hope  that  the  causes  of  future  com-  the  future, 
motion  in  the  Southern  Provinces  have  been  supjjressed,  and  the  Poligars,   Servai- 
karas and  inhabitants  will  rely  on  the  protection  of  the  British  Government  in  the 
assurance   of  enjoying   their    civil    rights  and   the  religious  institution  of  their 
ancestors. 

10.  Wherefore  the  Right  Honorable  Edward  Lord  Clive,  Governor  in   Council  All  weapons 
of  Fort  St.  George,  with  the  view  of  preventing  the  occurrence  of  the  fatal  evils  prohibited, 
which  have  attended  the  possession  of  arms  by  the  Poligars  and  Servaikaras  of  the 
Southern  Provinces,  and  with  the  view  of  inforcing  the  conditions  of  the  Proclama- 
tion published  by  Major  Bannerman   on  the  2nd  day  of  October  1799,  formally 
announces  to  the  Poligars,  Servaikaras  and  inhabitants  of  the  Southern  Provinces, 

the  positive  determination  of  His  Lordship  in  Council  to  suppress  the  use  and 
exercise  of  all  weapons  of  offence,  with  the  exception  of  such  as  shall  be  authorized 
by  the  British  Government. 

11.  The  military  service  heretofore  rendered  by  the  Poligars  having  been  sup-  Arms  no 
pressed,  and  the  Company  having  in  consequence  charged  itself  with  the  protection  longer  neces- 
and  defence  of  the  Poligar  countries,  the  possession  of  fire-arms  and  weapons  of  sary€ 
offence  is  manifestly  become  unnecessary  to  the  safety  of  the  people ;  the  Right 
Honorable  the  Governor  in  Council  therefore  orders  and  directs  all  persons,  whether 

Poligars,  Colleries  or  other  inhabitants  possessed  of  arms  in  the  Provinces  of 
Dindigul,  Tinnevelly,  Ramnadpurarn,  Sivagangai  and  Madura,  to  deliver  the  said 
arms,  consisting  of  Muskets,  Matchlocks,  Pikes,  Gingauls  and  Sarabogoi  to 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Agnew,  the  Officer  now  commanding  the  forces  in  those  Pro- 
vinces, or  such  persons  as  he  may  appoint  to  receive  them. 

12.  The  Right   Honorable  the  Governor  in  Council,  in  the  determination  of  Evil  custom 
carrying  this  resolution  into   effect,   is  governed  by  no  other  motives  than  those  to  }>e  ralin- 
connected  with  the  sacred  duty  of  providing  for  the  permanent  tranquillity  of  those  (lmsned- 
countries.     His  Lordship  disclaims  ever}'  wish  for  subjecting  the  chiefs  and  heredi- 
tary  landlords  to  any  humiliation,   but  the  discountenance  of  the  general  use  of 

arms,  according  to  the  prevailing  habits  of  those  countries,  being  indispensably 
necessary  to  the  preservation  of  peace  and  to  the  restoration  of  prosperity,  the 
Governor  in  Council  expects  that  the  chieftains  will  with  cheerfulness  sacrifice  a 
custom,  now  become  useless,  to  the  attainment  of  those  important  objects. 

16.  The  Right  Honorable  Edward  Lord  Clive,  Governor  in  Council  of  Fort  St.  Amnesty  to 
George  and  its  dependencies,  having  now  laid  the  foundation  of  a  future  perma-  a^  Dut  a  ^evr- 
nent  tranquillity  in  the  Southern  Provinces,  by  the  entire  suppression  of  the  late 
united,  extensive,  and  flagrant  rebellion,  and  being  further  enabled  to  corroborate 
those  foundations  by  the  establishment  of  the  undivided  authority  of  the  Company's 
Government  in  those  Provinces,  His  Lordship  in  Council  is  desirous  of  relieving 
the  minds  of  the  Poligars,  Servaikaras  and  people  of  the  Southern  Provinces  from 
further  solicitude  or  apprehension  of  the   punishment  provoked  by  the  late  rebel- 


228 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Chapter   IX.  bon,   wherefore  the    Right  Honorable  Edward  Lord  Clive,  Governor  in  Council 

aforesaid,  proclaims  to  the  said  Poligars,  Servaikaras  and  inhabitants  that,   with 

the  exception  of  Virapapdya  Nayaka  and  Mookat  Nayaka  of  Panjalamkurichi, 
Mulapen  of  Ramnad,  and  the  persons  now  under  restraint,  whom  it  is  the  intention 
of  His  Lordship  in  Council  to  punish  by  banishment  beyond  the  seas,  the  British 
Government  now  extends  to  all  other  persons  who  may  have  been  induced  to  follow 
the  desperate  fortunes  of  the  principal  rebels,  a  free  and  full  pardon  of  the 
offences  which  they  have  committed  against  the  Company.  The  Governor  in 
Council,  therefore,  assures  such  persons  as  may  have  been  implicated  in  the  crime 
of  the  late  rebellion,  that  His  Lordship  in  Council  has  relinquished  every  inten- 
tion of  prosecuting  the  punishment  of  that  rebellion,  deeming  the  examples  already 
exhibited  to  their  observation  to  convey  a  sufficient  impression  of  the  power  of  the 
British  Government. 
A  permanent  x  "•  ^n  the  confident  expectation  of  redeeming  the  people  of  the  Southern  Provinces 
assessment  from  the  habits  of  predatory  warfare,  and  in  the  hope  of  inducing  them  to  resume 
promised  to  the  arts  of  peace  and  agriculture,  the  Right  Honorable  Edward  Lord  Clive, 
the  Poligars.  Governor  in  Council  of  Fort  St.  George  aforesaid,  announces  to  the  Poligars 
and  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  their-  Pollams,  that  it  is  the  intention  of  the  British 
Government  to  establish  a  permanent  assessment  of  Revenue  on  the  Lords  of  the 
Pollam  upon  the  principles  of  Zemindary  tenures,  which  assessment,  being  once 
fixed,  shall  be  liable  to  no  change  in  any  time  to  come,  that  the  Poligars,  becoming 
by  these  means  Zemindars  of  their  hereditary  estates,  will  be  exempted  from  all 
military  service,  and  that  the  possession  of  their  ancestors  wTill  be  secured  to  them 
under  the  operation  of  limited  and  defined  laws,  to  be  printed  and  published,  as 
well  for  the  purpose  of  restoring  its  own  officers  to  the  regulations  and  ordinances 
of  the  Government,  as  of  securing  to  the  people  their  property,  their  lives,  and 
the  religious  usages  of  their  respective  castes. 

(By  the  order  of  the  Right  Honorable  Governor  in  Council.) 

(Signed)         P.  A.  AGNEW,  Lieutenant-Colonel, 
Camp  Palamcottah,  Commanding  S.  M.  Districts. 

26tk  December  1801. 

This  Proclamation  forms  as  a  very  suitable  termination  of  one 
period  of  the  history  of  Tinnevelly  and  an  equally  suitable  com- 
mencement of  another. 


Concluding  Remarks. 


Professor 
Wilson's 
anticipations. 


A  mixed  government,  partly  carried  on  on  English  principles 
and  partly  controlled  by  the  Nawab's  prejudices,  came  thus  to  an 
end  and  was  succeeded  by  a  government  purely  English,  at  unity 
with  itself,  and  as  just  as  it  was  powerful.  The  results  of  this 
change  have  been  most  important  and  valuable.  Professor  Wilson 
in  his  "  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Kingdom  of  Pandya  "  places  in  a 
striking  light  the  course  things  would  have  taken  if  the  English 
Government  had  not  been  enabled  to  interpose  with  authority. 

"  It  may  be  concluded,"  he  says,  "  that  had  not  a  wise  and  powerful 
policy  interfered  to  inforeo  the  habits  of  social  life,  the  fine  districts  to 
the  south  of  the  Kaveri.  most  admirably  fitted  by  nature  to  support 
an  industrious  population,  would  have  reverted  to  the  state  in  which 
tradition  describes  them  long  anterior  to  Christianity,  and  would  once 
more  have  become  a  suitable  domicile  for  the  goblins  of  Havana  or 
the  apes  of  Hanumiin." 


CESSION    TO    THE    ENGLISH.  229 

The  first  reflection  that  arises  in  one's  mind  on  reading  the  Chapter  IX. 
foregoing  sketch  of  the  history  of  this  district  is,  that  war  seems  to  War  the 
have  been  the  normal  condition  of  Tinnevelly,  as  of  the  rest  of  the  normal  condi- 
old  Pandya  country,  and  doubtless  also  it  may  be  said,  as  of  the  country. 
rest  of  Southern  India  from  the  beginning  of  man's  abode  in  these 
regions  till  A.D.  1801.     A  district  that  never  from  the  beginning 
knew   peace   for   80    months  together — probably   never   even  for 
80  weeks — has  now  enjoyed  profound,  uninterrupted  peace  for  80 
years  !  and  in   consequence  of  this  all  the  arts  of  peace  have  had 
time  to  be  developed  and  to  approach  something  like  perfection. 

Another  conclusion   which  we  seem  to   be  entitled  to   form  is  Condition  of 
that  prior  to  the  cession  of  the  district  to  the  English,  the  admini-  steadily6  mg 
stration  of   public  affairs  and  the  condition  of  the   country  and  worse, 
people,  instead  of  improving  as  time  went  on,  in  virtue  of  the  lessons 
taught  by  the  accumulated  experience  of  the  past,  were  steadily 
getting  worse  and  worse.     Things  were  worse  under  the  Nayakas 
than  under  the  Pandyas,  worse  still  under  the  rule  of  the  Nawab, 
and  worst  of  all — as  the  night  is  at  its  darkest  just  before  the  dawn 
— during  that  deplorable  period   immediately  before  the  interfer- 
ence of  the  English — when  the  Nawab's  power  had  become  merely 
nominal  and  the  only  real  power  that  survived  was  that  of  fierce 
Poligars  and  avaricious  "  renters." 

Of  the  many  beneficial  changes  that  have  taken  place  since  then  The  Poligar 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  is  that  which  we  see  in  the  Poligars  zemindar*6  a 
themselves.  The  Poligar  has  become  a  Zamindar,  and  has  changed 
his  nature  as  well  as  his  name.  One  can  scarcely  believe  it  possi- 
ble that  the  peaceful  Nayaka  and  Marava  Zamindars  of  the  present 
day  are  the  lineal  descendants  of  those  turbulent  and  apparently 
untameable  chiefs,  of  whose  deeds  of  violence  and  daring  the 
history  of  the  last  century  is  so  full.  One  asks  also,  can  it  be 
really  true  that  the  peaceful  Nayaka  ryots  of  the  present  day  are 
the  lineal  descendants  of  those  fierce  retainers  of  the  Poligars,  who 
were  so  ready,  at  the  merest  word  of  their  chief,  to  shed  either  their 
own  blood  or  that  of  their  chief's  enemies  ?  The  change  wrought 
amongst  the  poorer  class  of  the  Maravas  is  not  perhaps  quite  so 
complete,  but  many  of  them  have  merged  their  traditional 
occupation  of  watchmen  in  the  safer  and  more  reputable  occupation 
of  husbandmen,  and  it  may  fairly  be  said  of  the  majority  of  the 
members  of  this  caste  that,  though  once  the  terror  of  the  country, 
they  are  now  as  amenable  to  law  and  reason  as  any  other  class. 

The  whole  aspect  of  things  in  Tinnevelly  has  changed  for  the  Improve- 
better  in  a  wonderful  degree  since  the  assumption  of  the  govern-  men*f  intro- 
ment  of  the  district  by  the  English,  and  beneficial  changes  of  all 
kinds  are  still  in  progress.     The  thick  impervious  jungles  which 
covered  most  of   the  plains  and  which  had  for  generation  after 
generation  furnished  the  haunts  and  hiding-places  of  banditti  have 


230  HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 

Chapter  IX.  disappeared  (perhaps  only  too  completely),  and  cotton  and  food 
grains  cover  those  tracts  instead.     Good  roads   have  been  made 
wherever   they   were   required,  all   the  rivers    and  the  principal 
nullahs  have  been  bridged  over,  carts  have  to  a  large  extent  taken 
the  place  of  pack-bullocks,  and  transit  duties  have  been  utterly 
abolished.    The  whole  district  has  been  twice  surveyed  and  mapped. 
Courts  and  cutcherries  for  the  settlement  of  civil  disputes  and  the 
repression  of  crime  have  succeeded  to  the  arbitrary  awards  of 
irresponsible    Pandits   and    illiterate    Poligars.     "Well-considered 
legal  codes  have  been  introduced.     A  police  force  has  been  organ- 
ized.    Hospitals  and    dispensaries — institutions  unknown   before 
even  by  name — have  been  established  in  populous  places.     The 
Government  in  the  great  recent  famine  of  1877  has  not  left  the 
people  to  perish,  as  they  would  have  been  left,  and  could  not  but 
have  been  left,  in  former  times,  but  has  set  itself  at  whatever  cost 
to  preserve  them  from  dying  of  hunger.     Education   has  made 
great  progress,  not  only  amongst  the  Brahmans  and  the  class  of 
officials,  but  even  amongst  the  poorer  classes.     The  benefits  of 
postal  communication  have  been  widely  extended,  and  in  our  own 
day  we  have  seen  introduced  the  wonders  of  the  railway  and  the 
Good  govern-  telegraph.     A  truly  paternal  government  has  not  only  helped  the 
people   in   every   emergency,   but   it   has   helped   them   to   help 
themselves.     It  has  not  only  governed  them  better  than  they  were 
ever  governed  before,  but  has  taught  and  encouraged  them,  as  far 
as  is  possible  at  present,  to  govern  themselves.     It  has  endeavoured 
not  to  raise  a  few  classes  only,  but  to  lift  the  whole  community  to 
a  higher  level.     So  quiet,  peaceful,  and  contented  has  the  district 
become  that  it  is  governed  by  the  merest  handful  of  Europeans. 
The  population  amounts  (roughly)  to  seventeen  lakhs  (17,00,000), 
whilst  the  number  of  Europeans  directly  engaged  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  district,  including  the  commanding  officer  of  a  single 
company  of  sepoys,  themselves  natives,  does  not  exceed  ten.     We 
have  thus  the  extraordinary  spectacle  of  seventeen  hundred  thou- 
Proportionate  sand   natives    submitting   to  be  governed   by  ten   Englishmen ! 
EnMish'and    ^or  w011^  ft  be  sufficient  to  say  merely  that  they  submit  to  be 
Natives.  governed,   they  accept   our  government  readily  and  willingly  as 

the  best  government  they  have  ever  had  and  the  best  they  are 
likely  to  have  in  this  age  of  the  world.  This  might  almost  be 
called  a  miracle,  but  it  is  at  any  rate  a  striking  proof — and  so  I 
believe  it  is  regarded  by  the  natives  themselves — that  a  strict  admi- 
nistration of  justice  and  unselfish  efforts  for  the  public  good  will 
ever  ensure  the  loyal  obedience  of  the  best  portion  of  the  people 
and  the  approbation  of  the  Supreme  Rider  of  the  world.  Race 
after  race  of  rulers  has  risen  up  in  this  country,  has  been  tried  and 
Prospects  for  found  wanting,  and  has  passed  away.  Can  it  then  be  expected 
the  future.       that   the   ^   of  the  j^gUs^  is  to  last  for  ever?  perhaps  not ; 


CESSION    TO    THE    ENGLISH. 


231 


"  for  ever"  is  a  strong  expression  ;  but  this  I  think  may  safely  be  Chapter  IX. 

predicted,  that  their  rule  will  be  allowed  to  continue  as  long  as 

they  rule,  as  on  the  whole  they  have  ruled,  or  at  least  endeavoured 

to  rule,  hitherto,  not  for  their  own  selfish  ends  merely,  or  for  the 

benefit  of  a  particular  class  merely,  but  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole 

people  of  the  land. 

Note  on  the  Separation  of  Ramnad   from  Tinnevelly. 

Ramnad,  together  with  Sivagangai,  though  never  considered  a 
portion  of  Tinnevelly,  was  always  included  with  Tinnevelly  for  the 
purposes  of  government  under  the  same  head,  from  the  first  intro- 
duction of  English  control,  in  the  person  of  a  Superintendent  of 
Assigned  Revenue  in  1781,  to  1803.  During  Mr.  Lushington's 
Collectorote,  Mr.  Parish,  his  Head  Assistant,  took  special  charge  of 
Ramnad  affairs.  On  the  introduction  of  the  permanent  settlement 
into  Ramnad  that  year  and  the  establishment  of  a  Zillah  Court 
therein,  Mr.  Parish  was  appointed  Collector  of  the  Ramnad  Zillah, 
including  the  districts  of  Madura  and  Dindigul.  Mr.  Cochrane, 
who  was  appointed  Collector  of  the  now  diminished  "province" 
of  Tinnevelly,  took  charge  of  the  district  on  the  5th  November 
1803.  Thus,  whilst  Mr.  Parish  was  the  first  Collector  of  Ramnad 
with  Madura,  &c,  Mr.  Cochrane  was  the  first  Collector  of  Tinne- 
velly alone.  Even  then  his  authority  did  not  extend  over  the 
whole  district,  for  the  "  Pollams "  or  Zamindaris  in  Tinnevelly 
remained  for  some  years  in  connexion  with  Ramnad  as  before. 

Ramnad  occupied  the  place  of  honor  in  the  new  arrangement. 
The  Board  of  Revenue  say,  "  the  Zillah  of  Ramnad,  which  includes 
the  Zamindari  of  Shevagungah  and  the  Zemindaries  of  Tinne- 
velly, and  the  districts  of  Dindigul  and  Madura,  with  their  depen- 
dent Pollams  and  those  of  Manapara,  form  one  Collectorate  under 
the  charge  of  Mr.  Gr.  Parish."  The  shorter  title  generally  used 
was  "  Zillah  Ramnad,  Dindigul,  and  Madura,"  and  sometimes 
"Zillah  Ramnad"  alone.  In  1808  the  Zillah  of  Ramnad  was 
abolished,  and  the  twenty-nine  small  Zamindaris,  formerly  deno- 
minated "  the  Tinnevelly  Pollams,"  were  incorporated  with  the 
district  of  Tinnevelly. 


232 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


CHAPTER    X. 

MISSIONS  IN  TINNEVELLY  PEIOR  TO  THE  CESSION  OF 
THE  COUNTRY  TO  THE  ENGLISH,   1801. 


PART  I. 


ROMAN  CATHOLIC  MISSIONS. 


Portuguese 
expedition. 


Baptism  of 
the  Paravas 
on  the  Tin  ne 
velly  coast. 


Chapter  X.   It  has  already  been  mentioned,  in  our  account  of  the  settlements  of 
the  Portuguese  on  the  Tinnevelly  coast,  that  the  commencement  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  Mission  in  Tinnevelly  dates  from  1532,  when 
certain  Paravas,  representatives  of  the  Paravas  or  fishing  caste, 
visited  Cochin  for  the  purpose  of  supplicating  the  aid  of  the  Por- 
tuguese against  their  Muhammadan  oppressors,  and  were  baptized 
there  by  Michael  Vaz,  Vicar  General  of  the  Bishop  (not  yet  Arch- 
bishop) of  Groa.      The  same  ecclesiastic,  with  other  priests,  accom- 
panied the   fleet  which  sailed  for  the  purpose  of  chastising  the 
Muhammadans,  and  as  soon  as  that  object  was  accomplished,  set 
about  baptizing  the  Paravas  all  along  the  coast,  in  accordance  with 
the  agreement  into  which  their  representatives  had  entered.      The 
entire  Parava  caste  adopted  the  religion  of  their  Portuguese  deliver- 
ers, and  most  of  them  received  baptism.     Some,  however — probably 
in  the  villages  on  the  Ramnad  coast — did  not  receive  baptism  from 
some  cause  till  Xavier's  time,  ten  years  afterwards.     The  Paravas 
thus   Christianized — called   generally  at   that   time  the   Comorin 
Christians — inhabited  thirty  villages,  and  numbered,  according  to 
the  most  credible  account,  twenty  thousand  souls.     These  villages 
extended  all  the  way  along  the  coast  at  irregular  intervals  from 
Cape  Comorin    to  the  island-promontory  of  Ramesvaram,  if  not 
beyond,  and  the  coast  itself,  called  at  first  the  Comorin  coast,  came 
to  be  more  commonly  called,  on  account  of  the  pearl  fishery  for 
which  it  was  famed,  the  "  Fishery  Coast,"  or  simply  "  the  Fishery." 
It  does  not  appear  that  any  village  in  the  interior  joined  in  the 
movement ;  and  even  in  the  fishing  villages  on  the  coast  Vaz's 
work  seems  to  have  been  very  superficial,  for  though  he  is  described 
as  a  kind  protector  of  the  Paravas,  they  appear  to  have  continued 
totally  uninstructed  till  Xavier  appeared  on  the  scene. 


Francis 
Xavier's 
a  nival  and 
work. 


Xavier. 

This  celebrated  Missionary,  Francis  Xavier,  commenced  his 
labours  amongst  the  Paravas  on  the  Tinnevelly  coast  towards  the 
close  of  1542,  and  laboured  amongst  them  for  about  two  years.     He 


MISSIONS. 


233 


himself  explains  his  own  plan  of  procedure.  Immediately  after  his  Chapter  X. 
arrival  on  the  coast  he  had  the  Creed,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the  Ave 
Maria,  and  the  Decalogue  translated  into  the  vernacular.  He  then 
committed  the  translations  to  memory.  Four  months  were  occu- 
pied in  this  work,  during  which  he  resided  in  one  of  the  Christian 
villages.  Thus  furnished,  and  accompanied  by  young  Native 
interpreters,  trained  at  Goa  and  able  to  speak  Portuguese  as  well 
as  Tamil,  their  mother  tongue,  he  commenced  his  labours  in  the 
villages.  Going  about  bell  in  hand  he  collected  in  every  village  a 
large  concourse  of  people,  whom  he  proceeded  to  instruct. 

It  seems  a  pity  that  a  man  of  such  mental  powers  and  devoted-  Estimate  of 
ness  as  Xavier  should  have  expended  his  strength  and  nearly  the  a%ier- 
whole  of  his  brief  Indian  life  in  the  very  rudimentary  work 
described  in  his  letters,  and  especially  amongst  people  so  ignorant 
and  so  destitute  of  influence  in  the  Hindu  community  as  the  fisher 
people — that  is,  the  Paravas  on  the  eastern  coast  and  the  equivalent 
caste  of  fisher  people,  the  Mukkuvas  on  the  western  coast — must  then 
have  been.  It  is  to  be  remembered,  however,  that  though  a  man  of 
pre-eminent  ability  and  of  pre-eminent  devotedness,  he  was  not  also 
a  learned  man.  Up  to  the  last  he  seems  never  to  have  been  able  to 
speak  Tamil,  but  was  always  obliged  to  use  the  services  of  inter- 
preters. In  this  particular  he  was  less  fitted  to  labour  successfully 
as  a  missionary  amongst  Hindus  than  some  of  his  successors  of  the 
same  Society  in  Southern  India,  such  as  Robert  de  Nobili  and 
Beschi  (Italians)  in  the  Tamil  country,  and  Stephens  (an  English- 
man), Arnold  (an  Italian),  and  Hanxleden  (a  German),  on  the 
western  coast.  On  the  other  hand  a  Christian  cannot  but  remem- 
ber that  Christ  himself  represented  it  as  an  evidence  of  the  truth  of 
His  religion,  that  "  to  the  poor  the  Gospel  was  preached." 

In  one  of  Xavier's  letters,  written  to  the  Jesuit  Society  at  Pome^ 
of  which  he  was  a  member,  he  gives  a  detailed  account  of  his 
proceedings  which  has  often  been  quoted.  I  here  quote,  however, 
only  the  conclusion. 

' '  How  great  is  the  multitude  of  those  who  are  gathered  into  the  fold 
of  Christ  you  may  learn  from  this,  that  it  often  happens  to  me  that  my 
hands  fail  through  the  fatigue  of  baptizing ;  for  I  have  baptized  a 
whole  village  in  a  single  day  :  and  often,  by  repeating  so  frequently  the 
Creed  and  other  things,  my  voice  and  strength  have  failed  me." 

Xavier  adds  that  when  he  had  sufficiently  accomplished  his  work  Visits  from 
in  one  village  he  removed  to  another,  till  all  those  thirty  villages  ^Ua|e  *** 
had  been  visited. 

"  All  being  thus  surveyed,  my  labour  comes  over  again  in  the  same 
order.  In  each  village  I  leave  one  copy  of  the  Christian  Instruction. 
1  appoint  all  to  assemble  on  festival  days,  and  to  chant  the  rudiments 
of  the  Christian  faith  ;  and  in  each  of  the  villages  I  appoint  a  fit  per- 

30 


234 


HISTORY    OF    TIXXEYEI.LY, 


Xavior's 
administra- 
tion. 


Chapter  X.  son  to  preside.  For  their  wages  the  Viceroy,  at  my  request,  has 
assigned  4,000  gold  fanams.1 

The  low  moral  condition  of  the  Parava  Christians  at  that  time 
must  have  been  a  still  greater  trial  to  a  man  like  Xavier  than  even 
their  ignorance.  The  following  extracts  from  a  letter  written  in 
1544  to  his  Assistant,  Francis  Mancias  at  Punnaikayal,  nearly  two 
years  after  his  labours  amongst  them  commenced,  will  speak  for 
themselves. 

"  To  proceed  to  other  matters.  As  both  reason  and  precedent  teach 
us  that  it  is  often  useful  to  employ  force,  in  order  to  crush  the  obstinacy 
of  the  more  rebellious  among  these  people,  who  are  subjects  of  His 
Portuguese  Majesty,  I  send  you  an  apparitor,  whom  I  have  obtained 
from  the  Viceroy.  I  have  ordered  him  to  inflict  a  fine  of  two  silver 
pence,  which  is  the  amount  of  the  coin  they  call  a  fanam,  upon  any 
woman  who,  in  defiance  of  the  public  regulations,  shall  drench  herself 
with  the  intoxicating  drink  they  call  arack  ;  besides  which,  he  shall 
imprison  for  three  days  all  who  are  found  guilty  of  such  intemperance. 
You  must  see  to  the  rigorous  execution  of  this  law  in  all  the  villages, 
and  have  it  published  in  all  the  assemblies,  so  that  no  drunken  woman 
when  punished  may  plead  ignorance. 

"  I  cannot  yet  say  when  I  shall  be  able  to  come  to  you  ;  but,  till 
then,  you  must  enjoin  the  Patangats'-  to  correct  their  wicked  manners. 
Tell  them,  that  if  I  find  them  still  plunged  in  their  old  vices,  I  have 
made  up  my  mind,  in  virtue  of  the  power  which  I  hold  from  the 
Viceroy,  to  have  them  apprehended,  and  carried  in  chains  to  Cochin  ; 
and  they  must  not  flatter  themselves  with  the  hope  of  being  soon 
released  with  a  slight  punishment,  for  I  am  thorougldy  resolved  to 
employ  every  means  in  my  power  to  prevent  their  ever  returning  to 
Punicael.  It  is  quite  evident  that  the  fault  and  blame  of  all  the  crimes 
and  villanies  of  which  there  are  too  many  which  disgrace  this  country 
rests  with  them  alone. 

"  Take  the  greatest  pains  to  discover  the  workshops  where  the  idols 
are  secretly  made  and  carved." 

Notwithstanding  the  shortcomings  of  the  Taravas  nothing  could 
exceed  the  devoted  zeal  with  which  Xavier  laboured  for  their 
welfare.  We  had  many  illustrations  of  this  in  the  account  of  the 
Portuguese  Settlements  contained  in  a  preceding  chapter,  especially 
in  connection  with  his  efforts  for  the  protection  of  his  people  from 
the  Badages  or  Nayakas.  His  mantle  also  seems  to  have  fallen  on 
some  of  his  successors,  for  it  is  said  that  his  immediate  successor, 
Antonio  Criminalis,  when  his  people  were  attacked  by  the  Bada- 
ges, threw  himself  into  their  midst,  covered  his  people's  flight,  and 
perished  under  the  darts  of  the  enemy.  This  event  is  said  by 
some  to  have  taken  place  at  Manapar,  by  others  at  a  place  called 


Xavier' 8 

successor's 

death. 


1  Three  and  a  half  gold  fanams  were  equivaL  at  i<>  a  rupee. 
2  Pattangkatti,  the  title  of  a  headman  amongst   the   Paravas  ami  a   Eew  "th<r 
tea. 


MISSIONS.  235 

Vedalai  near  Paumben,  but  there  is  a  much  more  distinct  and  Chapter  X. 

oredible  tradition  of  its  having  taken  place  at  Punnaikayal,  where, 

as  we  have  seen,  the  Portuguese  suffered  a  defeat  in  1552,  eight 

years  after  Xaxier  left  the  coast.     Criminalis  is  regarded  by  the 

Jesuits  as  the  first  martyr  of    their  Society.     A  martyr  to  his 

people's  welfare  he  certainly  was,  but  hardly  a  martyr  to  the  faith, 

He  is  said  by  some  to  have  died  in  1502. 

The  Period  after  Xavier. 

There  is  much  in  the  letters  of  the  Jesuit  Missionaries  in  the 
century  subsequent  to  Xavier  respecting  the  mission  established  in 
Madura  in  1606  by  the  celebrated  Robert  de  Nobili,  his  proceed- 
ings, and  the  discussions  caused  by  his  peculiar  modes  of  work. 
Much  light  is  also  thrown  by  their  letters  on  the  political  condition 
and  history  of  the  Madura  country  and  Ramnad,  as  may  be  seen 
in  Nelson's  Madura  Manual ;  but  unfortunately  little  has  been 
found  for  almost  an  entire  century  respecting  the  progress  of  the 
mission  in  Tinnevelly,  whether  on  the  coast  or  in  the  interior. 
The  principal  exception  is  a  notice  of  the  condition  of  things  in  the 
missions  on  the  coast  contained  in  a  book  published  in  Spain  in 
1604  ;  from  which  Dr.  Burn  ell  has  been  so  kind  as  to  furnish  me 
with  an  extract. 

(Guerrero,  Eelacion  Annal,  Valladolid.)  It  states  that  there  Missions  on 
were  then  (in  1600)  twenty  members  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  in  the  16o0c. 
mission,  viz.,  seventeen  fathers  and  three  brothers.  The  fathers  were 
distributed  over  twenty-two  parishes,  sixteen  of  which  were  on  the 
coast,  six  inland,  including  the  residences  at  Madura,  the  court  of 
the  Navaka,  the  lord  of  those  lands.  Besides  these  there  are  others 
in  the  island  of  Manar.  There  are  in  all  that  coast  more  than 
90,000  Christians  (Barrello,  Bishop  of  Cochin,  puts  down  their 
number  as  above  60,000),  and  the  fathers  visit  all  the  parishes  and 
churches  there,  going  from  one  to  the  other  according  to  necessity, 
though  the  principal  residences  are  in  seven  chief  places. 

The  college  of  Tuticorin  was  the  chief  ;  in  it  resided  three  fathers  Tuticorin. 
and  three  lay-brothers.  They  did  not  attend  to  parochial  work,  as 
there  was  a  Vicar  with  two  Curates.  The  festivals  were  celebrated 
with  much  zeal,  especially  that  of  N.  Senora  de  la  Nieves.  The 
church  is  still  called  by  this  name.  The  corresponding  Tamil 
name  is  "  Pani-maya-Mata,"  "  dew  "  (pani)  re] uacing  "  snow."  See 
Tuticorin  under  the  Portuguese.  "  This  year,"  1600,  "  more  than 
700  communicated."  Father  Henrique  Honriquez  was  buried  in 
the  church  there  and  was  commonly  regarded  as  a  saint.  [Tt  will 
be  remembered  that  relief-houses  were  established  by  this  mission- 
ary during  a  famine  in  1570.] 

He  mentions   the  following  statistics   for   1600.     Seventy-four 


236 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVET.lt 


Chapter  X. 


were  baptized  iu  the  college  last  year,  300  in  Manar,  100  iu  Vypar, 
15  in  Priaparan  (Periapattanam  in  the  Ramnad  country  ?),  100  in 
Vembar,  4  in  Madura,  45  inland.  In  all  547,  with  about  50 
others  in  other  places.  More  attention,  he  says,  was  given  to 
instructing  converts  already  made  than  to  making  new  converts. 

The  next  notice  I  find  is  of  the  establishment  of  a  congregation 
at  Kaittar  in  the  interior  in  1640.  There  were  probably  congre- 
gations in  the  interior  before  this,  seeing  that  45  persons  in  inland 
places  were  baptized  in  1600,  but  this  is  the  first  inland  congrega- 
tion the  name  of  which  I  find  mentioned. 


Inscription. 


Pate  of 

inscription. 


Zomindir's 
name 


Kamaiyanayakanpatti. 

The  next  record  I  find  is  of  the  establishment  of  a  congregation 
at  Kamaiyanayakanpatti  in  1660.  In  the  same  year,  it  will  be 
seen,  that  Tuticorin,  which  had  lately  passed  from  the  hands  of  the 
Portuguese  to  those  of  the  Dutch,  was  visited  by  Baldens,  whose 
statements  show  that  the  Paravas  up  to  that  time  continued  firmly 
attached  to  the  religion  taught  them  by  Xavier. 

Kamaiyanayakanpatti  is  a  village  in  the  Ettaiyapuram  Zemin- 
dari.  The  following  inscription  cut  on  a  stone  preserved  in  the 
church  at  this  place  forms  an  interesting  memorial  of  the  period  : — 

"  Year — year  865,  the  19th  day  of  the  month  Chitra.  We  Jaga-vTra- 
Ettappa  Nayakar  Avargal  (make  proclamation  as  follows)  :  As  in 
our  father's  days,  twenty-five  years  ago,  this  church  of  God  in  our 
territory  and  the  Matha  of  the  ascetics  of  the  city  of  Rome  were  pre- 
served from  harm,  so  also  now  we  being  resolved  to  do  the  same  have 
visited  this  church  and  the  priests  and  have  given  and  set  up  this 
stone.  Wherefore  if  any  person  should  do  any  harm  to  this  church 
of  God  or  the  priests,  or  their  disciples,  not  only  will  he  become  a  traitor 
to  us,  but  let  him  also  incur  the  guilt  which  would  ensue  from  slaying 
a  black  now  and  Brahmans  on  the  banks  of  the  Gauges.  Thus  we 
have  ordained  as  long  as  sun  and  moon  endure.  Jaga-vira-Ettappa 
Nayakar.     May  the  Lord  preserve  (us)." 

The  era  according  to  which  time  was  calculated  then  in  Tinne- 
velly  was  the  Malabar  or  Quilon  era,  of  which  the  h05th  year 
synchronized  with  A.D.  1689-1590.  The}rear  commences  in  August 
— September.  Consequently  the  early  part  of  the  following  year, 
including  Chitra  (April — May)  belonged  to  1690.  The  year  of  the 
Malabar  era  was  preceded  in  the  inscription  by  the  year  of  the 
cycle  of  60,  but  unfortunately  the  name  of  the  year  has  been 
obliterated,  only  the  letter  p  remains.  The  year  of  the  cycle  of  60 
corresponding  to  the  Malabar  year  865,  and  commencing  with  the 
month  of  Chitra,  was  the  fourth  year  of  the  cycle,  Piramotutha 
(Brahmoduta). 

Jaga-vira-Ettappa  Nayaka  is  not  a  personal  name,  but  a  family 
title  of  the  Poligars  or  Zemindars  of  Ettaiyapuram.     The  Poligar 


MISSIONS.  2'j7 

oi  this  inscription,  that  is  of  1600,  according  to  the  family  historian  Chapter  X. 
was  Jaga-vlra-lifima  Kechila  Ettappa  Nayaka.  His  father  to 
whom  he  refers  was  Jaga-vIra-Rama  Ettappa  Nayaka.  The 
troubles  referred  to  as  having  taken  place  about  1600  and  those 
which  took  place  twenty-five  years  before  (about  1665)  appear  to 
have  been  owing  to  the  violence  of  the  common  people  of  the 
neighbourhood.  On  both  occasions  the  Poligar  himself,  who  was 
the  only  ruler  in  his  territory,  gave  his  help  and  sympathy  to  the 
Mission  priests. 

The  first  troubles  appear  to  have  taken  place  soon  after  the  Origin  of  the 
establishment  of  the  congregation.  The  Portuguese  had  lately trouble8- 
been  expelled  from  Tuticorin  by  the  Dutch  and  the  priests  of  the 
coast  congregations  had  been  obliged  to  take  refuge  in  the  interior. 
This  may  have  incited  some  of  the  people  in  the  Poligar's  territory, 
which  was  not  far  from  Tuticorin,  to  take  advantage  of  the  downfall 
of  the  European  friends  of  the  priests  and  endeavour  to  drive  them 
away  from  their  stations. 

It  will  be  seen  that  later  on,  in  1715,  the  celebrated  Beschi,  who 
then  ordinarily  resided  at  Kamaiyanayakanpatti,  was  exposed  to 
serious  danger  from  the  hostility  of  some  people  in  the  same  Poli- 
gar's territory  at  a  place  a  little  further  to  the  west. 

Conduct  of  the  Dutch. 

In  a  letter  written  by  Father  Martin  in  1700,  from  which  I  have 
already  made  a  quotation,  illustrative  of  the  condition  of  the  town 
of  Tuticorin,  I  find  some  reflections  on  the  hard  treatment  the 
Paravas  received  at  that  time  from  the  Dutch. 

"Though  the  Dutch  are  not  masters  of  the  coast,  they  yet  have 
often  behaved  in  such  a  manner  as  if  it  had  been  entirely  subject  to 
them.  Some  years  since  they  dispossessed  the  poor  Paravas  of  their 
churches,  which  they  turned  into  magazines  (warehouses),  and  lodged 
their  factors  in  the  houses  of  the  missionaries.  The  fathers  were 
then  forced  to  withdraw  into  the  woods  and  there  build  themselves 
huts,  in  order  that  they  might  not  abandon  their  flocks  at  a  time  when 
their  presence  was  so  necessary." 

This  statement,  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  toleration  generally  Intolerance 
prevalent  at  the  present  period,  seems  so  extraordinary  that  one  oi  Uutch- 
would  naturally  wish  to  hear  the  other  side  of  the  story.  The 
other  side  has  been  given  us  by  Baldaeus,  an  able  Dutch 
Minister  and  Missionary,  who  visited  Tuticorin  in  1660,  two  years 
after  it  had  been  taken  from  the  Portuguese  by  the  Dutch.  Unfor- 
tunately this  other  side  is  confirmatory  of  Martin's  statement  ! 
Baldaeus  says  he  found  the  priests  of  the  Paravas  very  numerous. 
They  were  principally  natives  of  Goa,  and  so  absolute  was  their 
influence  over  this  untutored  people  that  they  were  able  to  coun- 
teract   all  his  efforts   to  gain  their  attention.     The  Dutch    had 


238  HISTORY    OF    TTNNEVELLY. 

Chapter  X.  expelled  the  priests  from  the  towns  of  Negapatam  and  Tuticorin, 
but  they  remained  near  enough  to  control  the  Paravas,  who  durst 
not  enter  the  church  when  Baldaeus  preached,  though  he  preached 
in  Portuguese.  From  another  incident  he  mentions  it  appears  that 
the  Dutch  had  removed  the  images  and  other  ornaments  from  the 
church  and  converted  it  to  their  own  use,  so  that  the  Paravas  would 
not  enter  it  and  preferred  to  say  their  prayers  in  the  street.  Later 
on  we  find  that  the  Dutch  had  become  more  tolerant  and  erected 
churches  for  themselves.  The  date  of  the  erection  of  their  church 
in  Tuticorin,  now  used  by  the  English,  is  1750. 

Beschi. 

The  Tinnevelly  coast  was  the  scene  of  the  commencement  of  the 
missionary  labours  of  Xavier.  It  was  also,  about  200  years  after- 
wards, the  scene  of  the  termination  of  the  labours,  and  also  of  the 
life,  of  Beschi,  another  celebrated  missionary  of  the  Society  of  Jesus. 
It  now  also  appears  that  it  was  the  scene  of  the  commencement  of 
his  labours. 

As  a  missionary  Beschi  belonged  to  the  Koman  Catholic  Church. 
As  a  Tamil  scholar  and  poet  Protestants  have  always  taken  as 
much  interest  in  his  career  as  Roman  Catholics,  perhaps  even  more. 
A  list  of  Beschi's  numerous  works,  in  verse  and  prose,  in  Tamil 
and  Latin,  will  be  found  in  the  Madras  Literary  Journal  for  April 
1840.  The  following  estimate  of  his  position  in  the  Tamil  world 
of  letters  is  taken  from  the  Introduction  to  my  Comparative 
Grammar  of  the  Dravidian  Languages. 
Beschi  as  a  "  The  post  of  honour,  not  only  in  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth 

Tamil  scholar,  century,  when  they  flourished,  but  throughout  the  entire  modern 
period,  is  to  be  assigned  to  two  contemporary  poets,  one  a  native,  the 
other  a  foreigner.  The  second  of  these,  whose  poems  occivpy  a 
still  higher  place  in  literature,  was  the  celebrated  Beschi,  not  a  Tamil- 
ian, like  every  other  Tamil  poet,  but  an  Italian,  a  missionary  priest 
of  the  Jesuit  Society,  who  acquired  such  a  mastery  over  Tamil, 
especially  over  its  classical  dialect,  as  no  other  European  seems  ever 
to  have  acquired  over  that  or  any  other  Indian  language.  His  prose 
style  in  the  colloquial  dialect,  though  good,  is  not  of  pre-eminent 
excellence ;  but  his  poems  in  the  classical  dialect,  especially  his  great 
poem,  the  Tembavani,  a  long  and  highly  wrought  religious  epic  in  the 
style  of  the  Chintamani,  are  so  excellent— from  the  point  of  view  of 
Hindu  ideas  of  excellence  ;  that  is,  they  are  so  elaborately  correct,  so 
highly  ornamented,  so  invariably  harmonious — that  I  have  no  doubt 
he  may  fairly  claim  to  be  placed  by  the  votes  of  impartial  native  critics 
themselves  in  the  very  hrst  rank  of  the  Tamil  poets  of  the  second 
class  ;  and  when  it  is  remembered  that  the  first  class  comprises  only 
throe,  or  at  the  utmost  four  works — the  Kural.  the  Chintamani,  the 
L'amavanam,  the  Naladiyar — it  seems  to  me.  the  morel  think  of  it,  tho 
more  wonderful  that  a  foreigner  should  have  achieved  so  distinguished 


MISSIONS.  239 

a  position.  Though  the  Tembavani  possesses  great  poetical  merit  and  Chapter  X. 
exhibits  an  astonishing  command  of  the  resources  of  the  language, 
unfortunately  it  is  tinged  with  the  fault  of  too  close  an  adherence  to 
the  manner  and  stylo  of  '  the  ancients ' —  that  is,  of  the  Tamil  classics 
— and  is  still  more  seriously  marred  by  the  error  of  endeavouring  to 
Hinduise  the  facts  and  narratives  of  Holy  Scripture,  and  even  the 
geography  of  Scripture,  for  the  purpose  of  pleasing  the  Hindu  taste. 
It  is  a  remarkable  illustration  of  the  difference  in  the  position  occupied 
in  India  at  present  by  poetry  and  prose  respectively,  that  Beschi's 
poetry,  however  much  admired,  is  now  very  little  read,  whilst  his 
prose  works,  particularly  his  grammars  and  dictionaries  of  both  the 
Tamil  dialects,  are  in  great  demand." 

It  is  surprising  that,  notwithstanding  Beschi's  great  eminence,  Memoirs  of 
both  as  a  missionary  and  as  a  Tamil  scholar,  no  memoir  of  his  life  Beschl- 
seems  ever  to  have  been  written  by  any  member  of  his  own  Society 
or  by  any  European  competent  to  do  so.  Many  notices  of  his  life 
are  in  print  in  English,  but  I  have  traced  them  all  to  one  source, 
a  Tamil  memoir  drawn  up  by  a  Roman  Catholic  native,  who 
worked  up  all  the  traditions  he  found  surviving  amongst  natives 
respecting  Beschi  seventy  years  after  his  death.  He  made  some  use 
of  a  meagre  Tamil  memoir  published  in  Pondieherry  in  1796  by  one 
Saminatha  Pillai,  but  seems  never  to  have  consulted  any  European 
records.  The  native  here  referred  to  was  A.  Muttusami  Pillai, 
"Manager  of  the  College  of  Fort  St.  George,"  who  in  1816-17 
undertook  a  tour  to  the  south,  at  the  instance  of  Mr.  Ellis,  the  cele- 
brated Tamil  scholar,  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  a  collection  of 
Beschi's  works.  In  the  course  of  this  tour  he  states  that  he  col- 
lected from  the  children  of  Beschi's  disciples  and  others  many  parti- 
culars respecting  his  life.  In  1822  at  the  request  of  Mr,  Babing- 
ton  and  Mr.  Clarke,  members  of  the  College  Board,  he  published  in 
Tamil  the  life  of  Beschi  to  which  I  have  referred,  with  a  catalogue 
of  his  works  and  extracts  from  some  of  the  principal ;  and  at  the 
request  of  Mr.  (now  Sir  Walter)  Elliot,  a  somewhat  abbreviated 
translation  of  this  Tamil  memoir  was  made  into  English,  by  the 
author  himself,  helped  by  two  English  Roman  Catholic  Mis- 
sionaries, and  published  in  the  number  for  April  1840  of  the 
Journal  of  the  Madras  Literary  Society.  We  have  every  reason  to  Errors  in 
suppose  that  the  author  of  this  memoir  was  right  in  regard  to  the  regard  to 
principal  facts  of  Beschi's  life,  but  it  seems  certain  that  he  was  in 
error  in  regard  to  the  dates  both  of  Beschi's  arrival  in  India  and  of 
his  death.  This  would  very  naturally  happen  in  the  case  of  a  native, 
however  intelligent,  who  had  no  access  to  records,  or  who  did  not 
think  it  necessary  for  his  purpose  to  consult  such  as  were  to  be 
had. 

For  the  dates  and  other  particulars  which  follow  I  am  indebted 
to  extracts  From  letters  to  the  Society  at  Rome  and  other  authentic 
records  kindly  supplied  me,  through  the  good  offices  of  the  Rev. 


240 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Cuapteu  X.   Paul  Rottari,  S.J.,  by  the  Rev.  N.  Pouget,  S.J.     They  have  never 
yet,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  appeared  iu  English. 

Coustantius  Beschi  was  born  at  Castiglione  in  Italy  on  the  8th 
November  1680.  On  the  21st  October  1698,  being  eighteen  years 
of  age,  he  entered  the  Society  of  Jesus. 

His  native  biographer  states  that  he  arrived  in  India  in  1700, 
but  Fr.  Pouget  shows  that  this  was  impossible.  He  must  have 
passed  two  years  in  novitiate  and  then  engaged  in  theological 
studies  for  four  years.  No  member  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  is 
ordained  priest  before  he  is  twenty-five  years  of  age.  He  cannot, 
therefore,  have  sailed  for  India  before  1706.  The  voyage  at  that 
time  occupied  at  least  six  months;  and  after  he  reached  Goa  it 
would  be  considered  necessary,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  time, 
that  he  should  remain  there  one  or  two  years  learning  Tamil,  the 
language  of  the  district  to  which  he  was  to  be  appointed.  It  seems 
probable,  therefore,  it  is  said,  that  he  did  not  commence  his 
missionary  career  in  Tinnevelly  before  1710.  For  my  own  part, 
accepting  the  data  that  have  been  mentioned  1708  seems  the  latest 
date  that  can  be  assigned  for  his  arrival  in  Tinnevelly.  His  Tamil 
biographer  says  that  he  spent  five  years  in  learning  Tamil.  It 
might  be  said,  doubtless,  with  still  greater  truth  of  so  devoted  a 
scholar  that  he  was  learning  Tamil  as  long  as  he  lived.  In  what- 
ever year  his  career  as  a  missionary  actually  commenced,  it  cannot 
now  be  doubted  that  it  commenced  in  Tinnevelly,  and  it  is  equally 
certain  that  it  was  to  Tinnevelly  that  he  came  to  breathe  his  last. 

"We  pass  out  of  the  region  of  probabilities  into  that  of  certainties 
when  we  mention  that  Brandolini,  who  founded  the  congregation 
at  Vadakankulam  in  Tinnevelly  in  1714,  states  that  in  the  years 
3714,  1715,  and  1716  Beschi  was  stationed  at  Kamaiyanayakan- 
patti in  Tinnevelly,  from  which  place  he  often  visited  Kaittar. 
Kaittar,  then  a  more  important  place  than  it  is  now,  is  situated  on 
the  road  from  Palamcotta  to  Madura,  18  miles  from  Palamcotta. 
Kamaiyanayakanpatti  lies  to  the  north-east,  in  the  Ettiapuram 
Zemindari.  Beschi  was  imprisoned  by  the  Brahmans  at  Guruk- 
kalpatti, and  they  were  about  to  put  him  to  death,  when  he  was 
rescued  by  the  Christians  of  Kaittar.  Gurukkalpatti  is  a  village 
near  Alankulam  in  the  Sangaranainarkovil  Taluk.  .  Beschi  himself 
relates  this  incident  in  a  letter  to  the  General  Superior  of  the 
Society  dated  Kamaiyanayakanpatti,  12th  January  1715.  I  felt 
doubtful  at  first  whether  it  could  be  true  that  Brahmans  could  have 
really  intended  to  put  him  to  death,  but  I  find  that  there  is  a 
distinct  tradition  to  that  effect  surviving  amongst  the  Native 
Christians  in  all  these  villages.  The  village  of  Gurukkalpatti 
belongs  to  Brahmans  and  is  inhabited  partly  by  Brahmans.  Thoy 
themselves  admit  that  they  have  heard  that  their  forefathers  pulled 
down  a  matha   erected  by  Beschi  and   drove  him  out  of   their 


Beschi's 
stations. 


His  life  in 
danger. 


MISSIONS.  241 

village,  together  with  a  Brahman  convert  he   had   made.     They   Chapter  X. 

show  the  ruins  of  the  matha  he  erected.     Shortly  after  this  event 

Beschi  seems  to  have  left  for  the  north.     In    1716    he  was   in 

Madura,  but  there  is  no  record  of  his  stay  there;  and  in   1720  we 

find  him,  where  we  ever  find  him  afterwards,  near  Trichinopoly. 

The  place  where  he  then  was  stationed  was  Vadugarpatti.     The 

annual  letters  between  1720  and  1729  were  unfortunately  lost, 

but  in  1729  we  find  him  at  Avfir,  near  Trichinopoly,  where  he 

seems  generally  to  have  resided. 

It  has  always  been  known  from  Muttuswami  Pillai's  memoirs  Beschi 
that  Beschi  terminated  his  course  in  Tinnevelly,  but  it  was  never  Tamiiln^9 
known  till  now  that  it  was  in  Tinnevelly  also  that  he  commenced  Tinnevelly. 
his  career.  We  now  know  that  Tinnevelly  can  claim  him  for  the 
first  five  years,  probably  for  the  first  seven,  of  his  missionary  life  ; 
and  as  it  was  necessarily  during  those  years  that  he  laid  the  found- 
ation of  his  marvellous  knowledge  of  Tamil  and  his  still  more 
marvellous  skill  in  making  use  of  the  knowledge  he  acquired, 
Tinnevelly  might  almost  seem  to  have  the  right  of  classing  him 
amongst  her  literary  celebrities.  Unfortunately  for  this  claim, 
however,  it  does  not  appear  that  any  of  his  compositions,  whether 
in  prose  or  in  verse,  was  written  in  Tinnevelly.  His  greatest  work, 
the  Tembavani,  was  published  in  1726,  to  which  the  explanation 
of  the  same  by  himself  was  added  in  1729.  His  Vediarolukkam, 
an  excellent  prose  work  for  the  use  of  catechists,  was  written  in 
1727. 

'  According  to  the  custom  then,  as  now,  prevailing  amongst  Jesuit 
Missionaries,  Beschi  adopted  a  native  name.  This  was  Dhairya- 
natha  Svami(yar),  a  translation  of  his  own  Christian  name 
Constantius.  After  the  publication  of  his  Tembavani  he  received, 
we  are  told,  from  the  poets  of  the  Tamil  country  the  title  by  which 
he  is  now  universally  known  amongst  natives.  This  was  Vlra- 
maha-muni  (in  Tamil  Vlramamunivar) ,  the  "  Great  Champion 
Devotee."  This  name  is  not  by  any  means  so  well  suited  to  one 
who  was  above  all  things  a  scholar  as  that  of  Tattvabodhaka  Swami, 
"  the  Philosophical  Doctor,"  was  to  the  metaphysical  tastes  of 
Robert  de  Nobili. 

During  four  of  the  later  years  of  his  life,  from  1736  to  1740,  Dewan  to 
Beschi  seems  to  have  been  employed  as  Dewan  to  Chanda  Saheb,  g^g^ 
whose  treacherous  seizure  of  Trichinopoly,  and  therewith  of  autho- 
rity over  the  whole  Madura  country,  has  been  mentioned  in  the 
political  history  as  the  event  by  which  the  Nayaka  dynasty  was 
brought  to  an  end.  Chanda  Saheb  became  by  this  stroke  of  state 
a  Nawab  and  virtually  a  rival  to  the  Nawab  of  the  Carnatic. 
Beschi's  native  biographer  states  that  in  order  to  fit  himself  for 
an  interview  with  Chanda  Saheb,  Beschi  learned  the  Persian  and 
Hindustani  languages  in  the  short  space  of  three  months,  and  that 

31 


242  HISTORY    OF    T1NNEVBLLT. 

Chapter  X.  Chanda  Saheb  was  so  much  struck  with  his  attainments  and  ability 
that  he  presented  him  with  the  revenues  of  four  villages  and 
appointed  him  to  be  his  Dewan  or  Prime  Minister.  I  do  not  see 
any  reason  for  doubting  the  substantial  truth  of  this  statement, 
which  is  confirmed  by  the  circumstance  that  Beschi's  visit  to 
Chanda  Saheb  in  1736  is  mentioned  in  a  letter  to  Europe.  In 
1740  he  paid  a  visit  to  Daust  Ali  Khan,  the  real  Nawab  of  the 
Carnatic  at  that  time,  at  Vellore,  to  whom  he  presented  some 
European  curiosities  and  a  letter  addressed  to  him,  the  Nawab,  by 
the  General  Superior  of  the  Jesuits,  dated  at  Rome,  29th  October 
1739. 

Chanda  Saheb  was  besieged  in  Trichinopoly  in  1740  by  the  Mah- 
rattas  under  their  two  Generals  Eaghuji  Bhonslai  and  Futta  Sing. 
He  surrendered  the  fortress  to  them  in  March  1741,  and  was  by 
them  sent  prisoner  to  Sattara.  Beschi's  native  biographer  repre- 
sentsBeschi  as  escaping  from  Trichinopoly  on  his  master's  surrender, 
but  letters  written  at  the  time  to  Em-ope  state  that  before  that 
event,  as  soon  as  the  Mahrattas  arrived  in  1740,  all  the  mission- 
aries, Beschi  apparently  included,  had  to  leave  the  districts  which 
the  Mahrattas  occupied  and  flee  to  the  south.  On  Chanda  Saheb's 
surrender  the  Mahrattas  appointed  one  of  their  Generals,  Morari 
Eow,  Governor  of  Trichinopoly,  and  another,  Appaji  Row, 
Governor  of  Madura,  and  therefore  of  Tinnevelly.  The  whole 
country,  except  in  so  far  as  the  Poligars,  who  cared  little  for  any 
rulers,  were  concerned,  was  now  in  the  hands  of  the  Mahrattas, 
who  were  zealots  for  Hinduism,  and  enraged  against  Chanda 
Saheb,  both  as  a  Muhammadan  and  as  a  usurper.  The  mission- 
aries were  supposed  to  be  on  the  side  of  Chanda  Saheb,  and  the 
Mahrattas  were  not  likely  to  show  much  consideration  for  Chanda 
Saheb's  Dewan  if  he  fell  into  their  hands.     Naturally,  therefore, 

Flight  of        lie  would  endeavour  to  make  his  escape  at  the  earliest  opportunity. 

?eSroac}TofhC  Xt  is  stated  ^  the  letters  to  EuroPe  tliat  Beschi  fled  first  to  the 

the  M-ih-        Marava  country,  that  is,  to  Ramnad,  and  then  to  the  sea-coast. 

rattas.  The  place  in  the  Marava  country  where  he  lived  for  a  time  is  not 

known,  but  both  his  native  biographer  and  the  letters  written  at 
the  time  to  Europe  agree  as  to  the  place  on  the  sea-coast  where  he 
took  up  his  abode.  This  was  Manapar  (Manapadu)  on  the  Tinne- 
velly coast  (literally  Manal-padu,  the  sandy  lagoon),  then  a  Dutch 
possession,  a  small  fishing  and  trading  town,  with  a  considerable 
Roman  Catholic  population,  and  Ear  away  from  the  reach  of  hosti- 
lities.    It   is   certain    from    authentic    records   that    Beschi    was 

Beschi's  last    "Rector"  of  Manapar  in  1744  and  that   he  died  there  in   1746. 

days  at  Ma-  rphis  was  in  the  66th  year  of  his  age  and  the  4<>th  of  his  residence 
in  India.  It  is  very  probable  that  Manapar  was  the  first  place  in 
the  Tamil  country  where  Beschi  resided  after  he  left  Goa,  in 
ooneequenoe  of  which  he  might   naturally  wish  to  end  his  days 


rapar. 


MISSIONS.  243 

there  ;  in  addition  to  which  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  the  Dutch,  Chapter  X. 
to  whom  Manapar  belonged,  were  always  more  or  less  inclined  to 
range  themselves  on  the  side  opposed  to  that  espoused  by  the 
English,  and  therefore  likely  to  be  willing  to  take  under  their 
protection  a  friend  of  Chanda  Saheb's,  who  had  fled  to  them  from 
the  Mahrattas.  The  Dutch  were  Protestants,  it  is  true,  but  they 
had  learned  by  that  time  to  be  tolerant.  It  has  been  supposed  by 
sonic  that  the  Manapar  where  Beschi  died  was  the  Manapar,  pro- 
perly Manaparai,  near  Trichinopoly.  For  this  idea  however 
there  is  no  foundation.  The  people  of  Manaparai  themselves, 
including  the  Roman  Catholic  Missionary  of  the  place,  admit  that 
Beschi  died  at  Manapar  in  Tinnevelly. 

Beschi  did  not  long  survive  his  arrival  in  Manapar.  He  resided  His  death. 
there,  his  native  biographer  says,  in  the  niatha  of  the  Society  of 
Jesus,  occupying  his  time  in  expounding  his  works  and  giving 
instruction  in  divine  things.  The  exact  date  of  his  death  is  un- 
known, but  it  is  certain  it  was  in  1746.  Thus  peacefully  ended 
the  career  of  the  most  learned,  if  not  the  most  renowned,  of  the 
great  Jesuit  missionaries  of  former  times. 

He  is  said  to  have  been  buried  in  the  chancel  of  the  church  at  Beschi'a 
Manapar,  but  the  oldest  of  the  churches  is  now  completely  buried  &'rave- 
in  the  sand.  There  must  be  at  least  fifteen  feet  of  sand  over  it, 
and  the  people  say  that  no  tomb-stone  was  erected  to  mark  the 
place  where  Beschi's  remains  lay,  and  that  in  the  same  chancel 
other  missionaries  also  were  buried.  Some  again  say  that  when 
the  second  church  was  erected  two  sets  of  bones  were  taken  from 
the  chancel  of  the  older  church  and  interred  in  the  chancel  of  the 
later  one,  but  without  any  record  to  show  whose  bones  they  were. 
One  may  safely  say,  I  think,  that  Beschi  was  not  much  appreciated 
by  the  fishery  people  at  Manapar.-  If  he  had  cared  to  acquire  the 
reputation  of  a  worker  of  miracles,  doubtless  his  tomb  would  have 
been  carefully  preserved. 

Period  after  Beschi, 

Some  years  after  Beschi's  death  troubles  began  to  gather  round 
the  Missions  of  the  Jesuits  all  over  the  world.  In  1755  the  sup- 
port of  the  missionaries  from  Europe  ceased.  In  1760  the  Jesuits 
at  Groa  were  deported  to  Lisbon  by  Pombal's  orders.  The  Jesuits 
that  remained  in  Tinnevelly  at  Vadakankulam,  Talai,  Manapar, 
Virapandiyanpattanam,  &c,  died  one  by  one,  and  their  places 
were  supplied  by  native  priests  from  Goa.  In  1773  the  Society 
of  Jesus  was  formally  suppressed  by  the  then  Pope,  Clement  XIV. 
In  1814  the  Society  was  restored  by  Pope  Pius  VII,  and  in  1838 
two  Jesuit  Missionaries,  Fathers  Martin  and  Duranquet,  arrived 
in  Palamcotta  to  recommence  their  ancient  mission  in  Tinnevelly, 


244 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Chapter  X. 


"  Tinnevelly  has  always  been  attached  to  the  Madura  Mission,  the 
history  of  which,  associated  with  the  names  of  Fathers  Eobert  de 
Nobili,  de  Brito,  Banchet,  Arland,  from  1616  to  1718  is  of  much 
interest.  At  the  latter  date  it  was  estimated  that  there  were  385,000 
Christians  in  the  eastern  part  of  India ;  then,  as  above  stated,  there 
followed  the  suppression  of  the  Jesuits,  by  which  the  Madura  Mission 
was  for  the  time  destroyed.  About  the  year  1831  the  restoration  and 
return  of  the  Jesuits  to  Madura  took  place  and  the  Mission  recom- 
menced afresh." — Stuart's  Tinnevelly  Manual,  page  62. 


PART  II. 


MISSIONS  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND. 

SWARTZ. 

A  mission  had  been  commenced  in  Tinnevelly  before  the  close 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  but  very  little  had  occurred  to  warrant 
any  expectation  of  the  progress  the  mission  was  destined  to  make. 
At  first  the  Tinnevelly  Mission  was  merely  an  offshoot  of  that  in 
Tan j ore.  The  first  reference  to  missionary  work  in  Tinnevelly  in 
connection  with  the  Missions  of  the  Church  of  England  appears  in 

Swartz.  the  memoirs  of  the  celebrated  Swartz,  a  man  of  apostolical  simpli- 

city, devotedness,  and  zeal.  This  was  in  1771.  Swartz  notices 
Palamcotta  in  his  journal  of  that  year  as  "  a  fort  and  one  of  the 
chief  towns  in  Tinnevelly,  belonging  to  the  Nawab,  but  having  an 
English  garrison."  He  mentions  the  fact  that  there  were  a  few 
Christians  there  then.  Swartz  first  visited  Palamcotta  in  1778, 
when  the  widow  of  a  Brahman  was  baptized  by  him.  Her  name 
(Clorinda)  appears  at  the  head  of  the  small  list  of  40  persons 

Congregation  constituting  the  Palamcotta  congregation  in  1780.     Soon  after  she 

and  Church  in  8e{.  herself  to  erect  a  small   church  in  the  fort,  and  this  she  suc- 
Palamciitta.  .  ' 

ceeded   in  doing  through  the  help   of  two   English  gentlemen. 

This  was  the  first  church  connected  with  the  Church  of  England 

ever  erected    south  of  Trichinopoly.      It  was  dedicated  to  the 

worship  of   God  by  Swartz  in   1785,   when  he   found    that   the 

little  congregation  had  increased,  in   consequence  of  which  he  sent 

from  Tan  j  ore  an  able  catechist,  Satj^anathan,  to  take  care  of  it. 


Jaenioke. 

The  congregation  in  Palamcotta  continuing  to  increase  and 
openings  presenting  themselves  in  the  surrounding  country  Swartz 
became  desirous  of  sending  a  Europonn  Missionary  to  take  charge 
of  the  infant  mission.  This  desire  he  was  able  to  gratify  in  1791, 
when  Jaenicke,  a  German  like  himself,  but  like   himself  a  mission- 


M ISSIONS.  245 

ary  of  an  English  Society,  the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Chapter  X. 
Knowledge  (the  precursor  in  India  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation 
of  the  Gospel),  arrived  in  Palamcotta  and  commenced  his  labours. 
By  that  time  the  number  of  Native  Christians  in  Palamcotta  and 
the  neighbourhood  had  increased  to  403.  Even  at  this  early 
period  education  had  not  been  neglected.  From  the  time  of 
Swartz's  visit  in  1784,  as  they  have  done  ever  since,  the  congre- 
gation and  the  school  went  hand-in-hand.  Satyanathan,  the  Satyanathan. 
Palamcotta  catechist,  had  now  been  ordained  in  Tan j ore,  and 
returned  to  Palamcotta  a  few  months  before  Jaenicke's  arrival. 
He  was  a  man  of  ability,  who  left  his  mark  in  the  district.  He 
was  the  first  Native  Minister  ever  located  in  Tinnevelly,  and  it  was 
through  him,  as  will  be  seen,  that  a  Christian  movement  amongst 
the  Shanars  commenced.  Jaenicke,  though  not  so  distinguished  a 
man  as  Xavier  and  Beschi,  the  two  great  Roman  Catholic  mission- 
aries referred  to  in  the  previous  pages,  would  have  been  quite  able 
to  hold  his  own  with  any  of  the  rest  of  the  Roman  Catholic  mission- 
aries in  Tinnevelly  of  that  period.  His  journals  show  that  he  was 
a  devout,  zealous,  and  prudent  man,  well  fitted  in  every  way  for 
laying  the  foundations  of  a  mission,  but  unfortunately  his  stay  in 
Tinnevelly  was  short.  In  the  beginning  of  January  1792,  only  a 
few  months  after  his  arrival  in  Palamcotta,  he  went  out  on  a  tour 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  hills,  in  company  with  Mr.  Torin,  the 
Collector,  who  was  then  making  his  first  official  visit  as  Collector 
of  the  Nawab's  Revenue  in  the  East  India  Company's  behalf,  in 
virtue  of  the  Treaty  of  1792.  The  party  visited  Kalakadu,  Papa- 
nasam,  and  other  places  along  the  range  of  the  hills,  besides 
penetrating  into  the  hill  country,  as  far  as  the  falls  of  Bana- 
tirttam.  On  the  12th  of  February  Jaenicke  visited  Courtallam, 
and  on  the  25th  returned  to  Palamcotta.  On  the  1st  of  March  Fever  caught 
jungle  fever  of  a  severe  type  set  in.  Many  other  members m  the  hlUs" 
of  the  party  were  attacked  by  the  same  fever,  of  which  several 
died.  Apparently  it  was  not  then  known  to  Europeans  that  it  was 
unsafe  to  be  much  amongst  the  hills  at  that  season  of  the  year. 
Yet  only  a  few  years  later  (in  1800),  General  Welsh  mentioned 
it  as  a  well  known  fact  that  the  hills  were  safe  to  Europeans  only 
during  the  rains  of  the  south-west  monsoon.  Jaenicke  struggled 
on  with  the  fever  for  many  months,  carrying  on  his  work  at  the 
same  time  indefatigably  and  with  considerable  success.  In  the 
course  of  the  year  he  visited  Tuticorin  and  Manapar,  both  of  which 
places  then  belonged  to  the  Dutch,  in  each  of  which  he  found  a 
Native  congregation  under  the  care  of  a  Catechist.  The  congre- 
gation at  Manapar,  consisting  chiefly  of  weavers,  was  at  that  time 
the  largest  in  Tinnevelly.  The  Governor  of  Tuticorin  at  that 
time  was  a  Mr.  Meckern,  who  was  very  friendly  to  Jaenicke  and 
desirous  of  helping  him  in  all  his  plans.     As  the  fever  continued 


246 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


Chatter  X.  and  became  aggravated,  Jaenicke  found  it  necessary  in  the  end  of 
1792  to  leave  Tinnevelly  and  return  to  Tan j ore  for  a  time.  He 
arrived  in  Tanjore  after  an  absence  of  one  year  and  two  days. 

From  this  time  till  his  death  in  May  1800  Jaenicke  generally 
resided  at  Ramnad,  where  he  erected  a  church,  or  at  Tanjore, 
making  occasional  visits  to  Palamcotta  as  his  strength  allowed, 
but  he  kept  up  a  regular  correspondence  with  Satyanathan,  the 
Native  Minister. 

Commencement  or  the  Christianization  of  the  Shanars. 


First  Shanar 
convert. 


Establish- 
ment of 
M  tidal  ur. 


The  most  important  event  of  the  time  was  the  commencement, 
in  1797,  of  that  movement  towards  Protestant  Christianity  amongst 
the  Shanars  in  Tinnevelly,  which  has,  directly  or  indirectly, 
contributed  so  largely  to  the  improvement  of  the  district,  and 
which  has  been  the  precursor  of  so  many  similar  movements  in 
different  parts  of  the  country. 

It  had  long  been  known  that  a  certain  Sundaram,  alias  David, 
had  been  the  first  Shanar  catechist,  but  I  have  ascertained  also 
that  he  was  the  first  Shanar  Protestant  Christian,  and  that  it  was 
through  him  that  Christianity  was  introduced  amongst  the  Shanars 
in  Tinnevelly.  David's  birth-place  was  Kalangudi,  a  small 
village  near  Sattankulam,  but  he  wandered  off  in  early  youth  as 
far  as  Tanjore,  and  there  became  a  Christian  and  was  baptized 
and  instructed  by  Mr.  Kohlhoff.  In  1796,  in  consequence  of 
of  Satyanathan's  application  for  an  assistant,  Swartz,  knowing 
that  David  belonged  to  that  neighbourhood,  sent  him  to  Palam- 
cotta as  a  catechist.  Jaenicke  was  in  Palamcotta  when  David 
arrived  and  entered  upon  his  work.  After  a  short  time  David 
went  to  visit  his  relatives,  who  had  long  given  bim  up  as  dead, 
and  told  them  all  the  wonders  he  had  seen  and  heard.  On  his 
return  to  Palamcotta  he  brought  with  him  a  young  nephew,  whom 
Jaenicke  proceeded  to  instruct.  Shortly  after  this  David  was  sent 
out  to  Vijayaramapuram,  a  village  near  his  birth-place,  to  labour 
amongst  his  relations  there  and  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  some 
Tanjore  cateehists  also  rendered  their  assistance  from  time  to  time. 
In  March  1797  Satyanathan  visited  the  place  himself,  when  four 
families  of  Shanars  placed  themselves  formally  under  Christian 
instruction  and  under  his  pastoral  care. 

In  a  subsequent  visit  some  converts  belonging  to  the  same  class 
were  baptized  at  a  place  called  Shaiimukhapurani,  near  the  place 
now  called  Kadatchapuram.  These  were  the  first  Shanars  bap- 
tized. The  Vijayaramapuram  people  were  also  baptized  during 
the  same  year.  Two  years  afterwards  the  first  Christiau  village 
was  founded  in  connection  with  the  Tinnevelly  Mission.  The 
new  Christians  in  Vijayaramapuram   found  themselves  exposed  to 


MISSIONS.  247 

many  annoyances  from  their  non-Christian  neighbours.  Their  Chapteh  X. 
little  prayer-house  was  twice  pulled  down,  and  they  were  obliged 
to  assemble  for  worship  under  the  shade  of  a  tree.  At  length 
they  determined  to  abandon  the  village  where  they  had  been  so 
unkindly  treated.  A  piece  of  land  was  purchased  for  them  by 
David  a  few  miles  off,  near  the  village  of  Adaiyal,  where  a  well 
was  dug  and  a  little  church  erected,  chiefly  through  the  help 
obtained  from  a  Captain  Everett  in  Palamcotta.  The  land  was  pur- 
chased in  August  1799  in  Mr.  Jaenicke's  name.  As  this  little 
settlement  was  the  first  place  in  Tinneveily  which  could  be  called 
a  Christian  village,  it  received  the  name  of  Mudalur,  "  first- 
town."  The  population  of  the  village  at  the  commencement  of 
the  century  amounted  to  only  twenty-eight  souls.  It  now  con- 
tains upwards  of  1 ,200.  These  interesting  facts  about  the  com- 
mencement of  the  movement  towards  Christianity  amongst  the 
Shanars  in  Tinneveily  and  the  founding  of  Mudalur  had  well 
nigh  passed  into  oblivion.  I  discovered  them  in  Tan j ore  in  a 
bundle  of  Tamil  letters  that  had  been  addressed  by  Satyanathan 
and  others  to  Jaenicke.  lie  had  been  regularly  informed  by 
Satyanathan  of  every  thing  that  occurred,  and  the  answers  to  his 
queries  with  which  Satyanathan's  letters  are  filled  show  that, 
though  absent  in  body,  he  was  present  in  spirit.  He  was  per- 
mitted to  see  this  new  field  of  labour  from  a  distance  only,  nad 
though  it  was  then  but  a  day  of  small  things,  he  must  have 
rejoiced  to  see  this  confirmation  of  the  opinion  he  was  led  to  form 
on  first  commencing  his  labours  in  the  south,  that  of  all  the 
districts  with  which  he  was  acquainted,  Tinneveily  was  that  in 
which  Christianity  was  most  likely  to  prevail. 

The  revival  of  Jaenicke's  Mission,  after  years  of  neglect,  by  the  Hough. 
arrival  of  missionaries  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel,  and  the  establishment  of  the  missions  of  the  Church  Mis- 
sionary Society  in  Tinneveily,  were  mainly  owing  to  the  represent- 
ations and  efforts  of  the  Rev.  J.  Hough,  Chaplain  at  Palamcotta 
from  1816  to  1820  ;  but  this  portion  of  history  falls  far  behind 
the  date  of  the  cession  of  the  province  to  the  English  in  1801, 
the  date  at  which  these  annals  cease. 

Additional  information   on  this  subject  will  be    found  in   the 
author's  "  Records  of  the  Early  History  of  the  Tinneveily  Mis- 


sion." 


APPENDICES 


32 


APPENDIX   TO    HISTORY    OF    T1NNEVELLY.  251 


APPENDICES. 


APPENDIX  I. 

RELATIONS  BETWEEN  TRAVANCORE  AND  TINNEVELLY. 

Adjacent  districts,  like  Tinnevelly  and  Travancore,  must  necessarily  Appexdix  I. 

have   stood  at  different  times  in  different  relations  to  one  another.         

Generally,  however,    those  relations  seem   to  have  been   peaceable.  Alternations 
During  the  early  Pandya  and  Chola  period  the  southern  Tamil-speak-  of  Govern- 
ing district  of  Travancore,  called  Nanji-nadu,  together  with  Purattaya-  southem 
nadu,  the  district  in  which  Cape  Comorin  is  included,    appear  to  have  districts, 
belonged  to  the  Pandya  kingdom.     At  a  later  period,  during  the  decay 
of  the  Paridyas,  this  state  of  things  was  reversed  and  the  southern 
portion  of  Tinnevelly  seems  to  have  been  included  in  what  is  now  called 
the  kingdom  of  Travancore,  but  which  was  then  generally  called  in 
Tinnevelly  merely  Kuda-nadu,   the  western  kingdom,  a  synonym  for 
Malayalam  in  general.     Each  of  these  changes  rests  on  the  evidence 
of  inscriptions,  but  in  neither  case  is  there  any  trace  or  tradition  of 
the  change  having  been  effected  by  force  of  arms.     The  weaker  side 
for  the  time  being  seems  to  have  quietly  given  place  to  the  stronger. 

I  have  mentioned  already  from  time  to  time  such  particulars,  illus- 
trative of  the  relation  subsisting  between  Tinnevelly  and  Travancore, 
as  seemed  to  be  necessary  for  the  comprehension  of  Tinnevelly  history, 
but  I  here  subjoin  the  notices  I  find  in  P.  Shangoonny  Menon's  His- 
tory of  Travancore,  in  which  events  are  narrated  from  a  more  distinc- 
tively Travancorian  point  of  view.  In  a  few  cases  I  may  seem  to  go 
over  the  same  ground,  but  it  will  be  found  that  the  Travancore  accounts 
are  fuller  and  more  numerous. 

Travancore  Possessions  in  Tinnevelly  in  the  loth  and  \%th  Centuries  proved 

by  Inscriptions. 

"  1 .  An  inscription  on  the  inner  stone  wall  of  the  (Shermadevy)  Chera 
Maha-Devi  Pagoda,  dated  Malayalam  or  Kollumyear  614  (1439  A.D.), 
commemorating  a  grant  by  the  Travancore  king  Chera  Oodiah  Mar- 
thanda  Yurmah  to  the  pagoda  at  that  place  while  the  grantor  was  resid- 
ing in  the  Chera  Maha-Devi  Palace. 

"  2-  1469  A  D  ®n  thelarge  bell  at  Thrikanankudy  (Tirukurungudi), 
denoting  that  the  bell  was  presented  by  the  Travancore  king  Adithiya 
Yurmah. 

"3.  ^k)  a'd'   Commemorating  a  grant  to  the  pagoda  by  king  Mar-  Inscriptions 

thanda   Yurmah   while   residing   in   the   Yeera  Pandyan  Palace   at 
Kalacaud. 


852 


APPENDIX   TO 


Appendix  I. 


Shermadevy 


Gains  and 
losses. 


Travancorc 
annals  when 
historical. 


688  M.E.    _. 
4-  1513  a.D.  Commemorating  a  grant  of  land  to  the  pagoda  at 

Mannarkovil  by  the  same  king  Marthanda  Vurniah,  and  also  making 
provisions  for  lighting  a  lamp  in  the  palace  where  the  king's  uncle  died. 

"5.  --32  A'D'   Commemorating  a  grant  of  land  to  the  pagoda  of 

Chera-Chola  Pandyeswaram  in  Thrikaloor  near  Alwar  Tinnevelly,  by 
Marthanda  Vurmah,  Rajah  of  Travancore." — Shangoonny  Menon's 
History  of  Travancore,  pp.  34,  35. 

The  Mannarkovil  mentioned  in  the  fourth  inscription  is  a  village  in 
the  Ambasamudram  Taluk. 

Shermadevy  is  properly  Cheran-Maha-d§vi,  that  is,  (the  temple  of) 
the  Maha-clevT,  that  is,  Parvati,  worshipped  by  the  Cheran,  the  king 
of  the  Western  or  Malay alam  State.  It  is  stated  by  the  Travancore 
historian  that  the  king  of  Chera  occasionally  resided  there. 

"In  Chera-Maha-Devi,  Thencasi,  Kalacaud,  Thrikanankudy,  Val- 
liyoor,  &c,  the  Travancore  Rajahs  resided  up  to  the  seventeenth 
century,  a  fact  clearly  proved  by  documents  and  inscriptions." — p.  34. 

Referring  to  the  reign  of  Chera  Udaya  Martanda  Varma,  who 
reigned,  it  is  said,  for  62  years,  from  1382  to  1444,  the  historian 
says  :  — 

"  During  the  reign  of  this  sovereign  all  the  south-eastern  possessions 
of  Travancore  on  the  Tinnevelly  side  were  regained,  and  the  sovereign 
often  resided  at  Yalliyoor  and  Cheran-Maha-Devi. 

' '  In  consequence  of  the  mild  and  unwarlike  disposition  of  this  king, 
some  of  the  subordinate  chiefs  in  the  east  became  refractory,  and 
there  was  constant  fighting,  and  latterly,  while  this  sovereign  was 
residing  at  Trevandrum,  the  chief  of  Eettiapuram  invaded  Valliyoor, 
and  the  king's  nephew  being  defeated  in  battle,  fearing  disgrace, 
committed  suicide. 

"  In  these  places,  several  grants  of  land  made  by  this  Kulasekhara 
Perumal  remain,  some  of  which  we  have  already  noticed.  ChSra- 
Maha-DSvi  was  his  favourite  residence,  and  consequently,  this 
sovereign  was  called  Chera  Udaya  Marthanda  Vurmah. 

"Towards  the  close  of  his  reign,  suspecting  unfair  proceedings  on 
the  part  of  the  chief  men  of  the  Pandyan  State,  the  residence  of  the 
Royal  family  was  removed  to  Elayadathunaud  Ilottarakaray  ;  and  a 
Governor  was  appointed  to  rule  Valliyoor  and  other  possessions  in 
the  east. 

"This  sovereign  died  in  619  M.E.  (1444  A.D.),  at  the  ripe  age  of 
seventy-eight  years." — p.  95. 

From  the  commencement  of  the  18th  century  the  Travancore  annals 
become  historical.  Prior  to  that  time  they  are  evidently  more  or  less 
legendary. 

The  author  admits  that  "  from  1458  to  1680,  a  period  of  about  two 
and  a  quarter  centuries,  no  detailed  accounts  of  the  reigns  of  the 
sovereigns  can  be  found,  except  a  list  of  their  names,  the  dates  of 
their  accession  to  the  musnud,  and  the  period  of  their  reign.  " 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY.  253 

Appeal  for  help  to  the  Nayakm  of  Madura,  whose  headquarters  were  at      Appendix  I. 

that  time  in  Trichinopoly. 

"  His  Highness  was  a  close  observer  of  the  difficulties  and  dangers 
to  which  his  nephew  was  subjected  by  the  Ettu  Veetil  Pillamar  and 
Madempimar,  and  he  was  determined  to  punish  them  fur  their  disloy- 
alty and  rebellious  conduct. 

"  His  Highness,  in  consultation  with  his  intelligent  nephew,   pro-  Appeal  to 
ceededin901    M.E    (1726  A. D.)   to  Trichinopoly   with  some  of   the  Trichinopoly 
officers  of  the  State.     He  entered  into  a  treaty  with  the  Madura  Govern-   '      L  p* 
ment  and  secured  its  support  by  offering  to  renew  the  lapsed  attach- 
ment to  that  crown,  and  to  bind  himself  to  pay  a  certain  sum  of  money 
annually.    At  the  same  time,  a  suitable  force  was  applied  for  to  punish 
and  bring  to  their  senses  the  Madempimar  and  other  refractory  chiefs. 
After  some  discussion  and  preliminary  enquiries,   the   sovereign  was 
successful  in  obtaining  a  force  consisting  of  one  thousand  cavalry, 
under  the  command  of  M.  Vencatapathy  Naiken,    and  two  thousand 
Carnatic   sepoys,   headed  by  Thripathy  Naiken,  and  others,  in  charge 
of  fifty  sirdars,  including  Eaghava  Iyen  and  Subba  Iyen,  &c. 

"On  the  arrival  of  this  force  in  Travancore,  all  the  Madempimar  and 
other  refractory  chiefs  and  insurgents  fled,  and  consequently  there 
was  no  work  for  the  army,  which  was  however  retained  for  the  purpose 
of  overawing  the  insurgents." — History,  p.  109. 

"  The  late  Eama  Vurmah  Eajah  was  compelled  in  901  M.E.  to 
proceed  to  the  Pandyan  (Nayaka)  capital  (Trichinopoly),  and  to  enter 
into  an  agreement  with  the  Pandyan  Government,  by  which  he 
promised  to  pay  an  annual  tribute  of  about  3,000  rupees  and  obtained 
from  the  Governor  a  force  of  1,000  horse  and  2,000  foot,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  overawing  the  turbulent  chiefs  and  nobles. 

"  The  pay  of  this  contingent,  as  well  as  the  annual  tribute,  was  in  Trichinopoly 
arrears  for  a  few  months,  when  the  Maha  Eajah  ascended  the  throne,  Contingent, 
and  on  the  demand  of  the  troops  for  their  pay  and  the  tribute,  His 
Highness  referred  them  to  his  Dalawah,  Arumugam  Pillay,  who,  on 
delaying  paj'inent,  was  seized  and  removed  to  Thrikanamkudy  hy  the 
force,  whereupon  he  borrowed  money  from  the  Kottar  merchants  and 
others,  and  adjusted  most  part  of  the  pressing  demands.  The  Dala- 
wah was  however  still  detained  by  the  force  at  Thrikanamkudy.1 

"In  the  meanwhile  His  Highness  commissioned  Cumai-aswamy 
Pillay,  the  Commander-in-Chief,  and  Thanu  Pillay,  his  assistant,  to  raise 
an  army  of  Maravers  and  a  few  hundred  horse,  to  raise  up  barriers  in  the 
shape  of  mud  walls  between  Kadakaray  and  Mantharamputhur  Arain- 
boly,  and  Cape  Comorin  ;  to  construct  special  gates  for  passages,  and  to 
guard  them  by  companies  of  Maravers  and  troopers.  These  arrange- 
ments were  effectually  carried  out  in  the  course  of  a  few  months,  and 
Travancore  was  secured  against  the  attacks  of  foreign  invaders. 

"  Cumaraswamy  Pillay,  with  a  force  of  Maravers,  was  then  ordered  Maravar 
by  the  Maha  Eajah  to  proceed  to  Thrikanamkudy  for  the  purpose  of   100P8, 
releasing  the  Dalawah,  and  that  brave  officer  executed  the  command 

1  Tirukurungndi,  a  town  in  the  south  of  Tinnevelly. 


254  APPENDIX   TO 

Appendix  I.  with  promptness  and  vigour.  The  Maha  Rajah  was  extremely  pleased 
with  him,  as  he  had  by  this  exploit  extricated  the  Dalawah  from  a 
painfully  embarrassing  position,  and  removed  the  burden  of  care  and 
anxiety  that  weighed  upon  his  head. 

"  The  Maha  Rajah  then  thought  that  he  could  safely  do  away  with 
the  Trichinopoly  force  and  ordered  it  to  march  back  to  that  town.  His 
Highness  communicated  his  resolution  to  the  Pandyan  Government, 
and  requested  the  Governor  to  release  His  Highness  from  the  condi- 
tions entered  into  with  the  former  by  the  late  Maha  Rajah. 
A  rival  "  The  feudatory  chiefs  and  nobles,  after  the  withdrawal  of  the  Trichi- 

embassy  to  n0p0ly  contingent  force,  began  to  rebel  again,  and  as  they  had  always 
been  striving  to  get  their  independence,  they  combined  and  formed  a 
confederacy  as  before,  and  were  joined  by  the  two  sons  of  the  late 
sovereign,  known  by  the  names  of  Kunju  Thambies  alias  Papu 
Thamby  and  Ramen  Thamby,  who  held  high  rank  among  the  nobles 
during  the  lifetime  of  their  father  and  were  in  affluent  circumstances. 
But  they  were  now  reduced  to  the  level  of  the  ordinary  nobles  of  the 
country  and  they  felt  their  degradation  keenly.  The  confederates 
sympathised  with  them,  and  considering  them  proper  instruments  for 
overthrowing  the  royal  authority,  they  persuaded  them  to  claim  their 
father's  throne  ;  and  one  of  them  (Papu  Thamby)  being  furnished 
with  sufficient  means,  proceeded  to  Trichinopoly  in  905  M.E.  (1730 
A.D.),  and  represented  to  the  Pandyan  Governor  his  imaginary 
grievances,  saying  that  great  injustice  was  done  to  him  by  the  king- 
dom being  forcibly  usurped  by  Marthanda  Vurmah.  He  entered  into 
certain  terms  with  that  chief  to  put  him  in  possession  of  the  kingdom. 
The  Governor,  annoyed  by  the  refusal  of  pajmient  of  the  peishkush 
and  the  dismissal  of  the  contingent  forces  by  Marthanda  Vurmah 
Maha  Rajah,  readily  listened  to  Papu  Thamby's  false  representations. 
"  The  Governor  ordered  one  of  his  agents  Alagappa  Moodelliar  to 
proceed  with  a  sufficient  number  of  men  and  horses  to  Travancore, 
and  institute  enquiries  into  the  claims  of  Papu  Thamby,  giving  him 
authority  to  enforce  the  same  if  found  valid. 

"  The  Moodelliar  set  out  from  Trichinopoly,  accompanied  by  Papu 
Thamby  and  arrived  at  Udayagherry,  where  he  commenced  to  institute 
the  enquiry  into  the  claims  of  the  Thamby.  The  Maha  Rajah,  on 
learning  this,  deputed  the  State  Secretary  Rama  Iyen  and  his  assistant 
Narayana  Iyen  to  the  Moodelliar,  and  they  were  furnished  with  valid 
documents  to  prove  the  absurdity  and  fictitious  character  of  Papu 
Thamby's  claims. 

"  While  Papu  Thamby  was  utterly  unable  to  produce  any  document- 
ary evidence  in  support  of  his  pretended  rights,  Rama  Pyen  fully  proved 
the  claims  of  the  Maha  Rajah  to  his  uncle's  throne.  The  Moodelliar 
was  very  indignant  with  Papu  Thamby,  and  his  false  complaint  was 
at  once  rejected.  He  was  told  that  he  should  be  loyal  and  obedient 
to  his  king  in  accordance  with  the  customs  of  the  country. 

"  The  Maha  Rajah  informed  the  Moodelliar  of  the  renewed  outbreak 
of  a  rebellious  spirit  among  his  chiefs,  and  asked  him  to  place  one 
half  of  his  force  at  nis  Highness'  disposal.  The  Moodelliar  complied 
with  this  request  and  returned  to  Trichinopoly  loaded  with  presents. 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY.  255 

" Though,  the  Maha  Rajah  was  enraged  with  the  conduct  of  the  Appendix  I. 
Kunju  Thambies  and  the  chiefs  and  nobles,  yet  His  Highness  pre- 
tended to  be  indifferent  about  the  matter.  As  His  Highness  had  the 
strong  support  of  the  Trichinopoly  force,  besides  his  own  Maraver 
troops,  he  directed  his  attention  to  certain  important  affairs  of  govern- 
ment in  which  he  was  engaged  before  the  peace  of  his  kingdom  was 
menaced  by  the  plots  of  his  enemies." — History  of  Travancore,  pp. 
115-118. 

Help  obtained  fr 07)i  TinneveUy  Maracas. 

"  Notwithstanding  the  death  of  the  Rajah,  the  spirit  of  the  Kay  em-  Aid  from 
kulam  army  was  not  thoroughly  broken,  for  the  fallen  Rajah's  younger  TinneveUy 
brother  succeeded,  and  he  being  more  obstinate  and  courageous  than 
his  late  brother,  the  war  was  continued  with  redoubled  vigour.  The 
Maha  Rajah  repaired  to  Quilon,  accompanied  by  the  heir  apparent, 
who  infused  fresh  courage  into  the  Travancore  army.  A  special  body 
of  recruits  was  raised  for  the  war  with  Kayemkulam.  Secretary  Rama 
Iyen,  finding  that  the  army  in  the  field  could  not  successfully  with- 
stand the  Kayemkulam  force  without  sufficient  reinforcement,  pro- 
ceeded to  Tmnevelly,  brought  a  regiment  of  Maravers  under  the 
command  of  Ponnam  Pandya  Deven,  procured  a  thousand  mounted 
sepoys  from  some  of  the  Palayapattucar  (Poligars),  and  marched  the 
reinforcement  by  the  hill  roads  through  Kottarakaray.  After  holding 
a  consultation  among  the  officers,  including  the  Dalaway  and  the 
Sthanapathy,  Rama  Iyen  assumed  the  chief  command  of  the  army. 
In  the  battle  the  next  day  he  distinguished  himself  with  signal  success, 
and  the  Kayemkulam  force  met  with  a  defeat  for  the  first  time.  But 
the  war  continued,  and  Rama  Iyen's  army  began  to  gain  ground 
slowly  and  to  advance  into  the  Kayemkulam  territories  day  by  day." 

Annexations  in  TinneveUy. 

"In  909  M.E.  (1734  A.D.)  the  Maha  Rajah  annexed  Elayada 
Swaroopam,  embracing  Shencottah,  Clangaud,  Kerkudi,  Valliyoor,  on 
the  TinneveUy  side,  and  Kottarakaray,  Pathanapuram,  &c,  on  the 
northern  limits  of  Travancore.  The  Rajah  Veera  Kerala  Vurmah, 
who  was  in  charge  of  those  territories,  was  a  relative  of  Travancore 
and  died  leaving  as  his  successor  a  princess.  The  administration  of 
the  State  was  conducted  by  a  Sarvadhikariakar,  a  very  unscrupulous 
person,  and  anarchy  began  to  prevail  in  the  province.  The  Maha 
Rajah  called  the  minister  to  Trevandrum  and  pointed  out  to  him 
various  instances  of  rnal-adininistration  and  banished  him  from  the 
country  in  disgrace.  A  proper  and  fit  man  was  appointed  to  the  res- 
ponsible post  of  Sarvadhikariakar  to  the  State,  and  the  Maha  Rajah 
took  the  government  of  the  principality  into  his  own  hands,  advising 
the  Ranee  to  come  and  reside  at  Trevandrum,  or  to  remain  at  Kottara- 
karay in  her  own  palace  as  she  pleased.  The  Ranee  preferred  the 
latter  course." — p.  129. 


256 


APPENDIX    TO 


Invasion  of 

Chunda 

Sahib. 


The  enemy- 
bought  off. 


Appendix  I.  Irruption  of  Chunda  Sahib  and  Bada  Sahib. 

"  About  this  time,  a  strong  party  of  marauders,  headed  by  Chunda 
Sahib  and  Bada  Sahib,  relatives  of  Dost  Ali  Khan,  the  Nabob  of 
Arcot,  who  were  permitted  to  wander  about  for  the  purpose  of  securing 
a  principality  for  the  Nabob's  son,  and  also  to  plunder  for  themselves 
in  the  dominions  of  the  native  princes,  entered  the  territories  of 
Travancore  by  the  Aramboly  gate.  They  took  possession  of  Nager- 
coil,  Sucheendrum,  and  the  rich  town  of  Kottar  :  they  plundered  the 
shrine  at  Sucheendrum  ;  burnt  the  great  car ;  mutilated  many  of  the 
images  of  the  pagoda ;  and  perpetrated  many  other  deeds  of  atrocity 
and  devastation,  the  favourite  process  generally  adopted  by  the 
Mussulman  chiefs. 

"  Rama  Iyen  Dalawah  was  ordered  to  march  an  army  and  drive  the 
marauders  out  of  Travancore,  but  on  meeting  them  he  found  them 
powerful  in  horse,  and  his  own  force  no  match  for  the  Mussulmans. 
However,  the  Dalawah  challenged  them  and  commenced  a  battle,  but 
his  exertions  were  not  attended  with  his  usual  success.  But  the 
Dalawah  had  reason  to  know  that  the  object  of  the  party  was  princi- 
pally to  secure  pecuniary  gain,  and  consequently  they  were  made  to 
retreat  without  offering  resistance  to  his  army." — p.  138. 

Collision  with  the  Nawab. 

"  During  the  continuance  of  war  in  North  Travancore,  several 
changes  took  place  in  the  government  of  the  Pandyan  provinces, 
including  Madura,  Trichinopoly,  &c,  and  the  sovereignty  finally  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  Nabob  of  the  Carnatic.  The  Maha  Eajah's 
attention  having  been  directed,  for  a  long  time  past,  to  the  manage- 
ment of  the  internal  affairs  of  his  kingdom  and  the  suppression  of  the 
rebellion  in  the  north,  he  had  neglected  adopting  measures  for  the  pro- 
tection and  maintenance  of  his  eastern  possessions,  including  Valliyoor, 

Possessions  in  Kalacaud,  &c.  The  Nabob's  Governor  at  Trichinopoly  took  advantage 
of  this  opportunity  and  annexed  those  tracts  to  the  Madura  province, 
and  thus  the  Maha  Rajah  was  deprived  of  those  places  for  a  long 
time. 

"In  927  M.E.  (1752  A.D.)  Moodemiah,  the  Nabob's  Viceroy  at 
Trichinopoly,  growing  powerful,  established  himself  as  an  independent 
chief,  and  being  a  very  covetous  man,  disposed  of  villages  and  terri- 
tories on  receiving  sufficient  consideration  for  them.  The  Maha 
Rajah,  understanding  this  disposition  of  Moodemiah,  deputed  Rama 
Iyen  Dalawah  to  Tinnevelly,  where  Moodemiah  had  arrived  on  a  visit. 
The  Dalawah  represented  the  Maha  Rajah's  ancient  claims  to  the 

Negotiations,  territories  in  the  east.  Possession  of  the  country  lying  between  Cape 
Comorin  and  Kalacaud,  to  the  extent  of  about  30  miles,  including 
Valliyoor,  wras  obtained  for  a  sufficiently  large  consideration.  Rama 
Iyen  Dalawah  returned  to  Trevandrum  after  stationing  about  2,000  of 
the  Travancore  Maha  Rajah's  force  at  Kalacaud,  for  the  protection  of 
the  districts  thus  purchased  by  Travancore. 

"  In  930  M.E.  (1755  A.D.)  Mahomed  Ali,  the  Nabob  of  the  Carnatic, 
wished  to  supplant  Moodemiah,  who  had  proved  refractory  and  had 


Tinnevelly 
lost. 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY.  257 

proclaimed  himself  the  sole  ruler  of  the  Pandyan  empire.     The  Nabob  Appendix  I. 
appointed  his  General,  Maphnz  Khan,  to  supersede  Moodemiah,   and 
sent  him  with  a  small  force  requesting  the  Nabob's  allies,  the  English 
at  Madras,  to  send  a  detachment    to  assist  the  Khan,  not  only  in 
assuming  his  office,  but  also  in  bringing  the  inhabitants  into  sub- 
jection.    Colonel  Heron,  with  500  Europeans  and  2,000  Natives,  was 
ordered  to  Trichinopoly  under  the  pretext  of  assisting  Maphuz  Khan, 
but  probably  the  English  too  had  an  eye  on  the  beautiful  and  highly 
productive  Pandyan  empire,  comprising  the  rich  countries  of  Madura, 
Trichinopoly  and  Tinnevelly.     The  allied  forces  arrived  at  Tinnevelly 
Kumbham  930  M.E.  (March  1755  A.D.)  after  having  reduced  Madura 
on  their  way.     When  this  intelligence  reached  Kalacaud  the  Travan- 
core  garrison,  consisting  of  2,000  sepoys  stationed  in  that  fort,  was 
alarmed  and  finding  that  they  were  no  match  for  the  combined  forces 
of  the  Nabob  and  the  English,  the  Travancore  commandant  abandoned  Travancori- 
the  fort  and  Kalacaud,  and  withdrew  the  garrison  to  Thovalay.     In  ans  retjeat 
Meenam-madom  (April)  Maphuz  Khan,  after  taking  charge  of  the  kadu. 
fort  and  establishing  his   authority  there,    went  to   Tinnevelly  and 
Colonel  Heron  returned  with  the  English  force  to  Trichinopoly. 

"  Moodemiah,  who  fled  from  Tinnevelly  after  his  defeat,  found  an 
asylum  under  the  protection  of  Pulithaver,  a  Poligar,  and  on  the 
departure  of  the  English  troops  from  Tinnevelly  to  Trichinopoly,  he 
applied  to  the  Maha  Rajah  for  assistance  and  urged  on  him  to  take 
back  the  lost  territory  of  Kalacaud.  Pulithaver  also  offered  his 
resistance,  as  that  Poligar  was  for  a  long  time  dependent  on  Travan- 
core. A  strong  force,  consisting  of  2,000  infantry  and  an  equal 
number  of  cavalry,  was  despatched  from  Travancore,  accompanied  by  Kalakadu 
the  prince  and  Moodemiah,  and  without  much  resistance  Kalacaud  regained, 
was  taken.  The  Maha  Rajah,  however,  thinking  that  such  a  proceed- 
ing would  offend  the  English  Government,  ordered  the  withdrawal 
of  his  troops  for  some  time,  and  postponed  all  operations  till  he  made 
himself  sure  that  the  retaking  of  his  usurped  territories  would  not 
offend  the  English.  The  Maha  Rajah  subsequently  ordered  back  a 
sufficient  force,  under  the  command  of  Captain  D'Lanoy  assisted  by 
the  Poligar  Pulithaver.  Maphuz  Khan's  troops  were  defeated,  the 
Kalacaud  fort  captured,  and  the  500  infantry  and  200  cavalry,  who 
defended  it,  were  taken  prisoners.  Thus  the  Maha  Rajah  once  more 
recovered  Kalacaud  and  all  the  territories  appertaining  to  it.  The 
Travancore  kingdom  now  extended  from  Periar  in  the  north  to  Kala- 
caud in  the  south." — p.  162. 

treaty  with  tht  Nawab. 

"  It  has  been  already  said  that  during  the  reign  of  the  former 
Rajahs,  Travancore  had  made  an  agreement  with  the  Governor  of  the 
Pandyan  empire  at  Trichinopoly,  promising  to  pay  a  nominal  annual 
tribute  for  obtaining  military  aid,  but  subsequently,  the  Nabob  of 
the  Carnatic  having  taken  the  direct  government  of  that  empire,  the 
Maha  Rajah  considered  it  wise  and  prudent  to  renew  this  treaty 
directly   with  the   Nabob,   which   was  accordingly  done  upon  more 

33 


258  APPENDIX    TO 

Appexi.ix  I.  favourable  terms  and  conditions.  By  this  treaty  the  powerful  aid  of 
one  of  the  greatest  potentates  of  Southern  India  was  secured  to 
Subsidy  to  Travancore,  which  was  bound  to  pay  to  the  Nabob  6,000  rupees,  and 
the  Nawab.  a  tribute  in  the  shape  of  an  elephant  annually,  the  Nabob  promising 
to  afford  every  protection  to  Travancore  from  foreign  and  local 
enemies.  Thus  Travancore  became  perfectly  secure,  having  two  power- 
ful allies  to  guard  and  protect  her,  the  Nabob  in  the  east  and  the 
Dutch  in  the  west,  while  the  English  merchants  at  Anjengo  were  also 
read)'  to  assist  her  when  needed." — p.  172. 

Maphuz  Khan  and  Yiisuf  Khan. 

"  Maphuz   Khan  Sahib,  the   Governor   of  the   Pandyan    empire, 
under  the    Carnatic    Nabob,    who   was    stationed   at     Trichinopoly, 
rebelled  against  his  master  and   made  a  descent  on  Kalacaud,    the 
eastern  possession  of  the  Maha  Rajah,   at  the  western  frontier  of 
Tinnevelly.     He  attacked  the  Travancore  garrison  stationed  there  and 
drove  them  into  the  Aramboly  lines,   following  them  up  with  the 
Khan's  forces.     The  Maha  Rajah  hearing  this  ordered  one  of  his 
native  commandants  named   Thamby    Kumaren   Chempaka   Ramen 
Pillay,  who  was  then   stationed  at  Trevandrum,   to  march  with   his 
force  to  meet  the  invading  army.     He  started  at  once  and  the  battle 
Battle*  with    which  took  place  when  this  worthy  warrior  met  the  enemy  was  so 
the  Muham-     severe  and  decisive,  that  the  Mahomedan  chief  was  obliged  to  beat 
madans.  &  retreat  from  the  Aramboly  lines  ;  but  the  Khan  not  only  retained 

possession  of  Kalacaud,  but  assumed  possession  of  the  district  of 
Shencottah  and  all  the  other  eastern  districts  belonging  to  Travan- 
core. 

"  The  Maha  Rajah  represented  this  matter  to  the  Nabob,  who  was 
already  so  seriously  displeased  with  the  Khan,  on  account  of  his 
disobedient  and  refractory  conduct,  that  he  had  it  in  contemplation 
to  appoint  a  new  Governor  in  the  room  of  Maphuz  Khan.  A  very 
able  man  named  Yusuff  Khan  was  appointed  and  sent  as  successor  to 
the  rebellious  Maphuz  Khan. 

'•  Yusuff  Khan  on  coming  to  Trichinopoly  found  it  difficult  to  subdue 
the  refractory  Governor  and  sought  the  Maha  Rajah's  assistance. 
The  Carnatic  Nabob  and  the  English  East  India.  Company  at  Madras 
rerpiested  His  nighness  at  the  same  time  to  co-operate  with  Yusuff 
Khan  in  the  subjection  of  the  refractory  Khan,  and  the  Maha  Rajah 
gladly  acceded  to  their  wishes. 
Yusuf  Khan's  "  Eive  thousand  men,  under  the  command  of  Thamby  Kumaren 
:m".v  Chempaka  Ramen,  then  stationed  at  Thovalay,  were  ordered  to  join 

Yusuff,  and  10,000  men  from  Quilon  were  sent  through  the  Ariencavu 
Pass  to  Shencottah.  Yusuff  was  now  at  the  head  of  a  powerful  army 
consisting  of  20,000  men,  which  enabled  him  to  drive  away  the  Poligar 
of  Wadakaray,  and  subsequently  Maphuz  Khan  fled  from  the  position 
lie  hitherto  held  and  Yusuff  established  his  power. 

"As  a  grateful  acknowledgment  of  the  readiness  with  which  the 
Maha  Rajah  lent  his  assistance,  Yusuff  Khan  restored  all  His  High- 
n.-ss'  eastern  possessions,  and  Kalacaud  again  became  a  part  of  His 
Highness'  dominions. 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY.  200 

"  The  Maha  Rajah,  however,  did  not  retain  possession  of  Kalacaud  Appendix  I. 
for  any  lengthened  period  ;    for  His  Highness  lost  this  portion  of  his 
territories   under   very    peculiar    circumstances.     Ynsnlf    Khan,    the  Yusuf 
Nabob's  Governor,  in  his  turn  became  disobedient  to  his  master  and  r^|!j|i(8jn 
began   to  endeavour  to  shake  off  the  Nabob's  authority  and  establish 
himself   as  an  independent  chief ;   to  accomplish  this  object  Yusuff 
secured  aid  from  the  French  in  India. 

"In  937  M.E.  (1762  A.D.)  a  joint  force  of  the  Nabob  and  the 
English  was  sent  against  Yusuff,  and  the  Travancore  Maha  Rajah  was 
also  requested  to  co-operate  with  his  army,  which  was  to  take  possession 
of  Madura  and  Tinnevelly  and  capture  Yusuff  Khan.  The  Khan  had 
already  applied  to  the  Maha  Rajah  for  assistance,  offering  all  the 
territories  west  of  the  town  of  Tinnevelly,  including  Palamcottah, 
which  had  once  belonged  to  Travancore,  in  return  for  the  help  His 
Highness  woidd  give  him  towards  the  retention  of  the  Pandyan  pro- 
vinces under  Yusuff' s  independent  possession  ;  but  the  wise  Maha 
Rajah  declared  that  whatever  may  be  the  prospect  of  gain  before  him 
by  aiding  Yusuff,  His  Highness  would  not  go  against  his  old  ally  the 
Nabob,  and  would  not  take  arms  against  the  English. 

"  The  Maha  Rajah  sent  a  strong  force  to  Trichinopoly  to  co-operate 
with  the  combined  force  against  Yusixff,  and  that  rebel,  finding  that 
resistance  would  be  of  no  avail,  gave  himself  up  and  was  hanged  by 
the  Nabob's  order  in  1762  A.D. 

"  Yusuff  Khan's  successor  thought  it  proper  to  assume  possession  of 
all  the  countries  lying  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  ghauts,  as  belonging 
to  the  Pandyan  empire,  and  accordingly  not  only  Kalacaud,  but  also 
Shencottah  and  all  the  other  eastern  possessions  of  Travancore  were 
annexed  to  the  Nabob's  dominions. 

"  The  Maha  Rajah  despatched  a  special  messenger,  Manik  Lalla  by  The  Nawab 
name,  to  Madras,  and  represented  the  injustice  of  the  Nabob's  officers  s?lzes  posses- 
in  unlawfully  annexing  territories  belonging  to  Travancore,  but  the 
Mussulman  potentate,  intoxicated  with  his  recent  victories  and  the 
punishment  awarded  to  Yusuff,  would  not  listen  to  the  representations 
of  the  Maha  Rajah's  agent,  and  His  Highness  was  therefore  under  the 
necessity  of  seeking  the  mediation  of  the  Governor  of  Madras,  who, 
though  he  once  confirmed  the  claims  of  the  Maha  Rajah  to  the 
districts  of  Kalacaud  and  other  eastern  possessions,  now  wavered  in  his 
opinion.  After  a  good  deal  of  discussion,  the  Nabob  agreed  to  restore 
some  of  the  Travancore  territories,  including  Shencottah,  Cape  Com- 
orin.  &c. 

"  The  Mahamedan  chief  did  not  appear  to  be  satisfied  with  the  Tho  claim  to 
unlawful  annexation  of  the  Kalacaud  District,  which  was  the  legiti-  Iv;lli,k;illu- 
mate  possession  of  Travancore  from  time  immemorial,  and  was  recently 
acquired  by  purchase  from  Moodemiah.  That  purchase  was  confirmed 
by  two  of  his  successors,  the  Nabob  himself,  and  by  the  Honourable 
East  India  Company.  The  Nabob  now  pressed  a  demand  for  the  few 
previous  years'  revenue  on  the  Kalacaud  District. 

"  A  settlement  was  effected  by  the  inforcpssion  of  the  Governor  of 
Madras,  Mr.  Robert  Palk.  who,  after  arranging  matters  with  the 
Nabob,  wrote  to  His  Highuoss  in  17fi.s  AD.  in  reply  to  a  communica- 


260 


APPENDIX    TO 


The  claim  to 

Kalakadu 

renounced. 


Appendix  I.  tion  from  the  latter,  to  the  effect  that  the  English  Company  had  taken 
some  steps  in  restraining  the  victorious  Nabob  from  further  hostilities, 
in  putting  a  check  to  his  demands,  and  also  in  advising  him  to 
conclude  the  treaty.  For  such  services  Travancore  was  reminded  of  the 
debt  it  owed  to  the  Honorable  East  India  Company,  and  the  Governor 
hoped  that  the  Company  would  be  amply  rewarded  for  their  assistance. 

"  The  sagacious  Maha  Rajah  saw  the  desirability  of  adopting  the 
Governor's  suggestion  and  the  necessity  of  entering  into  a  treaty  with 
the  Nabob,  against  whom  resistance  was  at  that  critical  period  almost 
impossible. 

"  The  principal  conditions  of  the  treaty  with  the  Nabob  were,  that 
Travancore  should  renounce  all  claims  to  the  Kalacaud  District ;  that 
His  Highness  should  increase  the  tribute  to  15,000  rupees  ;  that  he 
should  pay  two  lakhs  of  rupees  in  liquidation  of  some  pretended 
demands  on  the  Maha  Rajah  in  connexion  with  the  Kalacaud  District ; 
that  he  shoidd  never  assist  any  of  the  Poligars  against  the  Nabob  ; 
that  the  Maha  Eajah  shoidd  assist  the  Nabob  with  an  army  in  his  war 
against  Madura  and  Tinnevelly  ;  and  that  the  Nabob  shoidd  assist 
Travancore  against  all  her  enemies,  foreign  as  well  as  internal." — 
p.  197. 

Travancore  Contingent  sent  to  assist  the  British  Forces. 

11  Intimation  of  the  unwarrantable  proceedings  of  Hyder  Ali  Khan 
was  given  by  the  Maha  Kajah  to  the  Governor  of  Madras,  as  also  to 
the  Bombay  and  Bengal  Government,  and  a  general  war  against 
Hyder  resulted. 

"  The  Maha  Eajah  was  asked  by  the  Government  of  the  Honourable 
East  India  Company  to  co-operate  with  the  Company's  army,  and  His 
Highness  most  willingly  consented  to  do  so,  entailing  thereby  great 
loss  of  money  and  life. 

"  The  war  was  continued  by  the  East  India  Company  and  the  Maha 
Eajah  assisted  them  to  the  extent  that  lay  in  his  power.  Travancore 
regiments  of  infantry  and  cavalry  placed  at  the  disposal  of  divisional 
commanders  of  the  Company  were  taken  to  distant  places,  such  as 
Calicut,  Palghaut,  Tinnevelly,  &c,  &c,  and  they  were  '  universally 
allowed  to  have  behaved  remarkably  well.' 

"  After  strongly  fortifying  the  northern  and  eastern  frontiers  of 
Travancore,  the  Maha  Eajah  sent  a  portion  of  his  army  under  ablo 
officers  to  the  north,  to  co-operate  with  the  Bombay  army,  under 
Major  Abington  at  Calicut.  His  Highness'  troops  were  engaged  in 
tho  war  and  were  successful  in  thoir  united  actions.  Another  portion 
of  the  Travancore  army  which  was  despatched  to  co-operate  with  tho 
British  army  in  Tinnevelly  against  Hyder  was  stationed  at  that  town 
for  a  period  of  two  years." — p.  205. 

Journey  of  the  Maha  Rajah  through  Tinnevelly,  frc,  to  Rdmesvaram. 

•  En  the  year  959  M.E.  (1784  A.D.)  His  Highness  the  Maha  Eajah, 
partly  to  perform  a  religious  ceremony  and  partly  to  satisfy  his 
curiosity  to  see  some  other  parts  of  the  country  in  the  east  and  south 
of  Travancore,    proposed  making  a  pilgrimage  to  Ramaswaram  and 


Travancore 
aid  against 
Hyder  Ali. 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY.  2G1 

seeing  the  districts  of  Tinnevelly  and  Madura  on  las  way  to  and  from  Appendix  I. 
that  renowned  resort  of  Hindu  pilgrims. 

"  But  before  starting  from  Trevandrum  on  tins  pilgrimage,  His 
Highness  had  to  take  the  precaution  of  effecting  some  arrangements 
through  tho  means  of  His  Highness'  allies,  the  English  East  India 
Company  and  the  Nabob  of  the  Carnatic.  The  districts  through  which 
His  Highness  had  to  travel  to  Ramaswaram,  viz.,  Tinnevelly  and 
Madura,  though  subject  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  Nabob,  were 
divided  and  were  in  the  possession  of  Palayapattacars  (roligars),  the  Dangers  from 
majority  of  whom  Avere  rude  and  lawless  chieftains.  ongars. 

''  His  Highness  obtained  the  assistance  of  a  few  companies  of  sepoys 
of  the  English  East  India  Company  and  some  responsible  officers  from 
the  Nabob's  Government  to  escort  him  to  Ramaswaram.  With  these 
and  a  large  portion  of  His  Highness'  own  army  and  a  number  of 
followers,  he  set  out  with  all  the  pomp  and  grandeur  usually  attending 
the  movements  of  Indian  sovereigns  of  the  rank  and  celebrity  of  the 
Maha  Eajah. 

"  His  Highness  took  great  care  to  inspect  and  examine  all  the  Examination 
important  irrigation  works,  roads  and  bridges,  sathrums  or  choultries  of  Public 
built  for   the  comfort   and  convenience   of  the   public  in  Tinnevelly 
and  Madura,  this  being  the  chief  object  for  which  he  undertook  the 
tour. 

"  His  Highness  reached  Ramaswaram  in  good  health  and  performed 
the  ablutions  and  other  ceremonies  there  :  and  after  spending  a  large 
sum  in  ceremonies  and  charities,  returned,  taking  care  to  visit  every 
place  of  note,  to  his  own  capital  (Trevandrum),  quite  delighted  with 
all  he  saw  during  a  very  agreeable  journey. 

"  His  Highness  lost  no  time  in  turning  to  account  the  knowledge  of 
irrigation  works,  &c,  he  had  acquired  during  the  tour,  and  introduced 
improvements  in  several  works  of  this  description  in  the  southern 
districts  comprising  Nanjenaud,  &c." 

Major  Banner  man,  the  first  Representative  of  the  British  Government  in 
Travancore,  in  1788  and  1789. 

"  The  Maha  Rajah,  with  his  usual  prudence  and  faithful  attach-  Tippu's 
mcnt  to  his  allies  the  English,  resolved  to  see  no  messenger  of  the  proposals. 
Sultan  or  receive  any  communication  from  him,  except  in  the  presence 
of  a  British  officer.  His  Highness  wrote  to  the  Governor  of  Madras, 
Sir  Archibald  Campbell,  to  depute  an  officer  of  integrity  and  ability 
to  the  Maha  Rajah's  court,  with  whom  His  Highness  might  consult 
on  some  important  points  connected  with  the  Sultan's  mission.  The 
Governor  was  quite  delighted  with  the  Maha  Rajah's  prudence  and 
w  risdom  and  ordered  Major  Bannerman,  then  stationed  at  Palamcottah, 
to  proceed  to  the  Maha  Rajah's  court  with  a  small  detachment  under 
his  command." —  p.  211. 

TI>-  first  British  Resident  in  Trwancwe. 

■  According  to  the  agreement,  two  regiments  commanded  by 
Captain  Knoz  wen     tatkw  ■  Aycottah  in  the  northern  frontier 


262  APPENDIX   TO 

Appendix  I.  of  Travancore  in  the  year  964  M.E.  (1788  A.D.).  At  the  same  time, 
as  a  medium  for  communicating  between  the  Maha  Rajah  and  the 
Madras  Government,  Mr.  George  Powney,  a  civil  officer  under  the 
English  East  India  Company,  was  also  stationed  in  Travancore.  He 
may  he  reckoned  as  the  first  Political  Resident  and  British  representa- 
tive in  the  Maha  Rajah's  Court." — p.  219. 

Mr.  Powney  was  Collector  of  Tinnevelly  from  1794.   The  celebrated 

Colonel  Macaulay  was  Resident  of  Travancore  from  1800. 

New  treaty  In  1805  a  force  was  suddenly  collected  in  Tinnevelly  under  General 

1805°    m         MacDowel  for  the  purpose  of  compelling  the  Rajah  to  sign  a  new 

treaty  with  the  British  Government.     The  Rajah  at  length  consented 

to  sign  the  treaty  and  the  force  was  countermanded. — See  pp.  310-323. 

Insurrection  in  Travancore  ;  attack  on  tiie  Resident  ;  taking  of 
the  Travancore  Lines  in  1809. 

The  commotions  in  Travancore  out  of  which  the  war  arose  com- 
menced in  1808.  The  management  of  affairs  in  Travancore  had  been 
for  some  time  in  an  unsatisfactory  state,  whereupon  the  British 
Resident  interfered.  The  Dewan  was  irritated  and  dragged  his 
master  into  hostility  to  the  English.  He  intrigued  with  the  Dewan 
of  Cochin  and  with  the  French.  A  vessel  with  thirty-one  privates 
and  a  surgeon  belonging  to  the  1 2th  Regiment  put  into  Allippie.  The 
men  were  decoyed  on  shore,  tied  in  couples  back  to  back,  and  with 
stones  tied  round  their  necks  were  thrown  into  the  backwater.  This 
massacre  was  perpetrated  by  the  Dewan's  brother.  The  Resident's 
house  at  Cochin  was  attacked  and  he  escaped  with  difficulty.  Sir 
G.  Barlow  was  then  Governor  of  Madras  and  took  prompt  measures  to 
suppress  the  rebellion  and  restore  the  authority  of  the  English  Govern- 
ment. A  considerable  force  was  sent  to  enforce  obedience,  and  the 
forces  of  the  Travancore  State  were  assembled  for  the  purpose  of 
preventing  their  entrance  into  the  country.  The  rebellion  was 
disowned  by  the  Raja  of  Travancore  of  that  time,  Rama  Varum,  who 
attributed  the  whole  blame  to  his  ministers,  but  the  forces  of  the 
State  were  sot  in  motion  in  resistance  to  the  authority  of  the  English 
as  completely  as  if  the  Raja  himself  had  been  the  leader  of  the 
rebellion. 

I  here  quote  the  information  given  us  in  Shungoony  Menon's 
History  of  Travancore  :  — 
Causes  of  the  "  Paliathu  Monon  deputed  a  private  messenger  to  Quilon,  with  a 
outbreak.  secret  despatch  to  Valu  Thamby  Dulawah  and  the  leaders  of  the 
disaffected  military,  proposing  to  them  the  massacre  of  the  British 
Resident  and  his  small  garrison  in  the  fort  at  Cochin,  and  offering  his 
co-operation  in  the  affair. 

"  These  officials  were  delighted  at  such  a  desirable  proposal  from  the 
Cochin  minister,  and  Valu  Thamby,  from  his  own  vanity,  thought- 
lessness, and  desiro  of  revenge,  agreed  to  the  proposal,  and  a  pro- 
gramme was  arranged  between  the  two  ministers.  A  short  account  of 
this  has  been  thus  recorded  by  Lieutenant,  now  Colonel,  Horsley  : 
■  We  are  unable  to  trace  the   successive   step-  that  led  to  the  war,  or 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


203 


more  properly  the  insurrection,  which  took  place  in  1808;  but  it  is  Appendix  I. 
perhaps  to  be  attributed  less  to  the  people  in  general,  who  had  every- 
thing- to  lose  from  any  change  which  should  extinguish  British 
influence,  than  to  the  Rajah  and  to  his  principal  native  servants, 
provoked  as  they  were  at  a  control  that  threatened  to  moderate  their 
excesses.  The  Cochin  minister  seems  to  have  been  implicated  in 
those  transactions.  The  character  of  this  personage  and  the  cautious 
manner  in  which  he  conducted  these  measures,  countenance  suspicion, 
that  he  was  one  of  the  most  zealous  and  artful  promoters  of  the 
troubles  that  ensued.' 

"  The   Dewan  now  determined  to  resort  to  hostilities,  though  in  a  The  Dewan 
covert  way.     He  issued  secret  orders  for  the  recruiting  of  Nairs  and  see  s  a  ies 
people  of  other  castes  and  the  strengthening  of  fortifications  and  the 
storms;  of  ammunition.     He  wrote  to  the   Isle  of  France  and  the 
Zamorin  of  Calicut  for  aid,   and  warlike  preparations  were  made  by 
the  Cochin  minister  Paliathu  Menon. 

"The  Resident  little  knew  of  these  internal  arrangements.  He 
continued,  as  usual,  to  press  the  Dewan  and  the  Maha  Rajah  for  the 
payment  of  arrears.  The  Madras  Government  continued  their  demand 
upon  the  Maha  Rajah  for  immediate  payment. 

"  The  Dewan  had  by  this  time  formed  the  resolution  of  assassinating  pi0t  to 
the  Resident.  But  he  still  feigned  that  he  was  using  all  his  endea-  ^g^*3 
vours  to  cause  the  early  payment  of  arrears,  and  on  the  Resident's 
demanding  either  the  liquidation  of  the  amount  or  a  change  in  the 
ministry,  the  Dewan  pretended  that  he  was  on  the  point  of  retiring, 
and  wrote  to  Colonel  Macaulay  that  he  would  start  for  Calicut  and  take 
up  his  residence  there  on  a  pension,  and  asked  him  for  a  party 
of  British  troops  to  escort  him  thither,  his  object  being  to  draw  the  best 
part  of  the  Resident's  escort  from  Cochin  to  Alleppey,  where  the 
Dewan  was  then  located. 

"Yalu  Thamby  issued  orders  to  the  garrison  at  Alleppey  and 
Paravoor  and  sent  a  detachment  from  Quilon  preparatory  to  making  a 
sudden  descent  upon  the  fort  at  Cochin  for  the  massacre  of  the 
Resident  together  with  Cunju  Krishna  Menon,  arranging  at  the  same 
time  for  the  attack  on  the  British  garrison  at  Quilon,  which  was 
stationed  there  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Chalmers. 

"  The  detachment  moved  from  Quilon  and  Alleppey  in  covered  boats,  Failure  of 
accompanied  by  Vycome  Padmanabha  Pillay,  an  intimate  friend  of  the  2***™  °" the 
Dewan,  who  acted  as  his  chief  secretar}r,  and  the  troops  collected  in  the 
northern  districts  under  the  command  of  Cunju  Cuty  Pillay  Sarvadhi- 
kariakar,  stationed  at  Alangaud,  also  moved  in  covered  boats  to 
Cochin,  and  both  the  forces  effected  a  junction  at  Calvathi,  at  about 
midnight  on  the  28th  December.  The}-  surrounded  Colonel  Macaulay's 
house  and  opened  fire.  The  sudden  report  of  musketry  at  an  unusual 
hour  surprised  Colonel  Macaulay,  and  with  the  assistance  of  a  confi- 
dential Portuguese  clerk  he  managed  to  conceal  himself,  and  in  the 
morning  got  on  board  a  pattimar  at  first,  and  subsequently  on  board 
the  British  ship  "  Piedmontese,"  which  had  just  reached  the  Cochin 
roads  ;  Cunju  Krishna  Menon  also  effected  his  escape  uninjured,  and 
joined  Colonel  Macaulay  on  board  the  ship. 


264 


APPENDIX    TO 


Appendix  I. 


Massacre  of 
English 
officers  and 
sepoys. 


The  Resi- 
dent's report 
to  Govern- 
ment. 


"  The  Travancore  sepoys  overpowered  the  few  British  sepoys  who 
formed  the  Resident's  escort,  killing  many  who  resisted,  and  after- 
wards entered  Colonel  Macaulay's  residence,  ransacked  the  house, 
murdered  the  domestic  servants  and  others  whom  they  found  in  the 
house,  and  afterwards  returned,  considerably  chagrined  at  not  finding 
the  Resident  and  Cunju  Krishna  Menon. 

' '  The  disappointment  consequent  on  this  attempt  to  murder  Colonel 
Macaulay  had  cast  a  great  gloom  and  dread  among  all  the  Travancore 
officials.  Nevertheless,  they  prepared  themselves  for  a  defence 
against  the  attack  which  they  expected  every  moment.  They  com- 
mitted depredations  in  the  town  of  Cochin,  and  returned  to  Travan- 
core the  next  day.  Valu  Thamby  foresaw  the  result  and  quitted 
Alleppey  at  once  and  proceeded  to  Quilon. 

"  During  this  interval,  three  European  military  officers,  including 
Surgeon  Hume,  together  with  a  lady  in  one  party,  and  twelve 
European  soldiers  of  His  Majesty's  12th  Regiment,  and  thirty-three 
sepoys  forming  another  party,  were  proceeding  from  Quilon  to  Cochin, 
and  on  coming  near  Poracaud,  they  were  taken  up  by  the  military 
who  had  been  scattered  over  those  parts  in  large  bodies,  and  who 
now  began  to  exhibit  a  declared  enmity  towards  the  Company's 
people.  In  consultation  with  the  ministerial  officials  stationed  at 
Alleppey,  all  these  were  confined,  the  first  party  in  the  Poracaud 
bankshall,  and  the  second  at  Alleppey.  Subsequently  the  matter  was 
reported  to  Valu  Thamby  Dalawah,  with  an  application  for  his  sanc- 
tion for  the  immediate  execution  of  those  unfortunate  and  innocent 
men.  The  hard-hearted  minister,  who  was  a  perfect  stranger  to 
mercy,  sanctioned  the  wholesale  murder  of  the  helpless  party  without 
the  least  hesitation,  and  the  unfortunate  and  unoffending  men  were 
all  cruelly  murdered  there.1  The  three  officers  were  butchered  in  cold 
blood  at  the  sea-beach  at  Poracaud,  and  the  European  soldiers  and 
sepoys  were  consigned  to  the  bottom  of  the  Pallathurthee  river,  on 
the  eastern  side  of  Alleppey.  The  lady  was  allowed  to  proceed  to 
Cochin  unhurt,  it  being  contrary  to  the  laws  of  Travancore  to  kill 
women,  and  she  was  besides  in  bad  health,  and  many  of  the  local 
officials  pitied  her  weak  and  helpless  condition. 

"  The  Resident  lost  no  time  in  despatching  a  report  to  the  Madras 
Government  on  the  subject,  and  the  following  is  an  abstract  of  the 
report  with  which  we  were  kindly  furnished,  together  with  a  copy  of 
the  proclamation,  issued  under  date  the  loth  January  1809,  by  the 
Government,  by  Mr.  Ballard,  the  late  British  Resident  in  Travan- 
core : — 

"  '  For  some  days  past,  I  had  been  engaged  in  negotiation  with  the 
Dewan  at  his  own  earnest  solicitation,  and  had  concluded  everything 
to  his  own  entire  satisfaction,  and  was  waiting  only  his  arrival  from 
Alleppey  to   carry  into  execution   the  measure  upon   which  ho  had 


1  "This  information  was  given  to  us  by  one  Ramalingum,  Major  Sobudar  of 
M.N. I.  Regiment   VI,  who  accompanied   these   three  unfortunate  gentlemen  and 

the  sickly  lady,  and  was  present  when  they  were    murdered.     He  was  then  a  dress, 
ing  boy  under  Colonel  Chalmers." — p.  337. 


HISTORY    OF   TINNEVELLY.  265 

resolved  on  removing  to  Calicut,  and  had  at  his  earnest  request  weak-  Appendix  I. 
ened  the  party  with  me  to  provide  for  his  security,  and  had  at  his 
suggestion  placed  my  boats  and  palanquins  in  convenient  places  to 
take  him  on  with  comfort  and  expedition.  When  a  little  past  mid- 
night, a  party  of  Nayrs  to  the  number  of  about  one  thousand,  headed 
by  the  Dewan's  confidential  friend  Pulpnabha  Pillay  and  by  the 
Minister  of  the  Rajah  of  Cochin,  surrounded  my  house  to  prevent  all 
escape,  and  commenced  a  smart  fire  of  musketry  at  every  opening, 
first  disarming  the  guard  and  killing  a  few  who  attempted  resistance, 
and  then  broke  into  the  place  to  destroy  me  ;  their  design  was  provi- 
dentially and  somewhat  miraculously  defeated,  and  after  having 
broken  open  every  place  and  package,  pillaging  the  house  of  the 
whole  of  my  effects,  they  withdrew  at  break  of  day.  The  chief  incon- 
venience at  present  attending  this  proceeds  from  the  loss  of  books  of 
record  and  official  papers,  but  as  the  Dewan  has  now  broken  out  into 
open  rebellion,  and  will  be  likely  to  assemble  his  followers  on  every 
side  in  the  hope  of  producing  an  impression  on  the  subsidiary  force, 
I  have  sent  to  Colonel  Cuppage  a  request  to  embark  without  delay 
for  Quilon  all  force  that  he  can  spare.'  There  had  been  a  simul- 
taneous attack  on  the  subsidiary  force  at  Quilon  on  the  morning  of  the 
29th  December  1808.  The  Dewan  arrived  at  Quilon,  and  encouraged 
the  Travancore  force  concentrated  thereabouts,  and  then  proceeded  to 
Kundaray,  east  of  Quilon,  whence  he  issued  a  proclamation." — p.  335. 
See  this  proclamation  in  History  of  Travancore,  p.  339. 

"  By  the  Dalawah's  strongly  worded  and  powerful  proclamation, 
the  whole  populace  of  Travancore  was  incensed  and  disaffected,  and  a 
revolt  against  the  British  force  stationed  at  Quilon  took  place  at  once. 
The  cantonment  was  attacked  by  large  bodies  of  militia,  assisted  by  Quilon  troops 
the  Travancore  regular  troops  stationed  about  Quilon,  but  they  were  attacked- 
repulsed  as  often  as  they  attacked  by  the  able  Commandant  Colonel 
Chalmers.  The  failure  of  the  attempt  to  murder  Colonel  Macaulay 
had  not  totally  disheartened  the  Sarvadhikariakar  of  Alangaud,  as  he 
appears  to  have  entertained  hopes  of  success  again.  About  2,000 
men,  consisting  of  regular  infantry  and  militia  and  the  rabble,  were 
kept  up  in  the  vicinity  of  Cochin,  and  the  town  was  visited  by  them 
now  and  then.  The  Cochin  minister,  Paliathu  Menon,  had  also  col- 
lected a  force  of  about  2,000  men  and  kept  them  also  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood to  attack  the  town.  The  Judges  and  other  Company's 
officers  closed  their  offices  and  many  of  the  inhabitants  and  merchants 
left  Cochin  for  Calicut,  and  the  fear  of  a  combined  rebellion  in 
Travancore  and  Cochin  against  the  English  East  India  Company  now 
became  general.  But  the  arrival  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Cuppage  on 
the  northern  frontier,  and  of  Major  Hewitt's  detachment  at  Cochin, 
with  whom  the  Travancoreans  had  fought  and  failed,  discouraged  the  Reinforce- 
northern  Travancore  force  entirely,  and  they  retreated  to  the  south,  ment. 
thus  leaving  Cochin  safe  and  secure  in  the  hands  of  the  Company. 

"  At  Quilon  the  action  under  Colonel  Chalmers  was  decisive,  for  on 
the  18th  January  the  Dewan's  force  was  completely  defeated  during 
a  contest  which  lasted  six  hours." 

34 


266  APPENDIX   TO 

Appendix  I.    The  inhabitants  of  Tinnevelly  warned  by  the  Madras  Government  not  to  take 

part  in  the  Rebellion. 

"  The  Madras  Government  published  the  following  proclamation 
in  Tinnevelly  and  Malabar,  which  completely  quieted  the  population 
of  those  districts  : — 

"  '  PROCLAMATION. 

"  '  The  Honourable  the  Governor  in  Council  of  Fort  St.  George  having  been 
informed  that  the  Dewan  of  Travancore  has  been  endeavouring  by  artful  intrigues 
to  excite  the  inhabitants  of  Tinnevelly  to  rise  in  arms  against  the  British  Govern- 
ment, the  Governor  in  Council  thinks  it  proper  to  caution  the  inhabitants  of  Tinne- 
velly against  listening  to  the  delusive  insinuations  which  the  Dewan  of  Travancore 
has  endeavoured  to  disseminate.  The  Governor  in  Council  has  no  doubt  that  the 
inhabitants  of  that  province  will  be  sensible  of  their  own  interests  and  will  continue 
to  enjoy  in  tranquillity  the  advantages  which  they  possess  under  the  protection  of 
the  British  Government. 

"  '  Dated  in  Fort  St.  George,  the  15th  day  of  January  1809.'  " 

—Page  345. 

Proclamation  of  the  Madras  Government  to  the  inhabitants  of  Travancore. 

"  The  Government  published  the  following  proclamation  on  the 
17th  January  1809  for  the  information  of  the  people  of  Travancore  : — 

"  '  PROCLAMATION. 

"  '  It  is  known  to  the  inhabitants  of  Travancore  that  during  many  years  the  closest 
alliance  has  subsisted  between  the  British  Government  and  the  Government  of  the 
Travancore  country  ;  that  the  British  troops  have  long  been  employed  in  defence  o 
Travancore,  and  that  it  was  by  the  exertion  of  the  British  armies  that  Travancore 
was  saved  from  subjection  to  the  power  of  Tippoo  Sultan. 

"  '  Under  these  circumstances,  the  Honorable  the  Governor  in  Council  of  Fort  St. 
George  has  heard  with  extreme  surprise,  that  military  preparations  of  great  extent 
have  lately  taken  place  in  Travancore  for  purposes  hostile  to  the  interests  of  the 
British  Government ;  that  the  person  of  the  British  Resident  has  been  attacked  by 
the  Travancore  troops  ;  and  that  an  assault  has  been  made  on  the  subsidiary  force 
stationed  at  Quilon. 

"  '  The  Honorable  the  Governor  in  Council  has  reason  to  believe  that  these  unprece- 
dented outrages  have  proceeded  from  the  desperate  intrigues  of  the  Dewan  of  Tra- 
vancore, who  has  been  also  endeavouring  by  injurious  insinuation  to  excite  rebellion 
in  the  territories  of  the  Honourable  Company.     In  order  that  the  daring  plans  of 
A  force  to  be    the  Dewan  may  be  defeated,  the  Honorable  the  Governor  in  Council  has  directed  a 
sent  to  restore  iarge  body  of  troops  to  move  into  Travancore,  who  will,  in  a  short  time,  put  an  end 
or(*er.  to  the  power  of  the  Dewan,  and  to  restore  order  and  peace  in  the  country  of  Tra- 

vancore. The  Honorable  the  Governor  in  Council  thinks  it  proper  at  the  samo 
time  to  make  known  to  the  inhabitants  of  Travancore  that  the  approach  of  the 
British  troops  need  occasion  no  alarm  in  the  minds  of  those  inhabitants  who  conduct 
themselves  peaceably.  The  British  Government  has  no  other  view  in  directing  the 
movements  of  troops  than  to  rescue  the  Rajah  of  Travancore  from  the  influence  of 
the  Dewan,  to  put  an  end  to  the  power  of  that  dangerous  minister,  and  to  re-estab- 
lish the  connection  of  the  two  Governments  on  a  secure  and  happy  foundation. 

"  '  The  Honourable  the  Governor  in  Council  calls  on  the  inhabitants  of  Travancore 
toco-operate  in  accomplishing  these  objects,  and  such  of  the  inhabitants  as  shall  not 
oppose  the  advance  of  the  British  troops  may  be  assured  of  the  entire  protection  of 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY.  207 

their  persons  and  property  ;  particular  orders  will  also  be  given  to  give  no  disturb-    Appendix  I, 
ance  to  the  Brahmins  and  religious  establishments  throughout  the  Travancore  country.  

"  '  Dated  in  Fort  St.  George,  the  17th  day  of  January  1809. 

"  '  Published  by  order  of  the  Honourable  Governor  in  Council. 

(Signed)     C.  BUCHAN, 
Chief  Secretary  to  Government.''  " 

—Page  346. 

"  The  Travancore  minister  and  his  colleagues,  as  well  as  the  military 
officials,  had  not  to  wait  long  for  their  fate,  for  a  British  force,  under 
the  command  of  the  Honorable  Colonel  St.  Leger,  arrived  at  the 
southern  frontier  of  Travancore  and  commenced  an  attack  on  the 
Araniboby  lines  and  forced  an  entrance  into  the  forts  on  the  10th 
February  1809. 

"  Yalu  Thamby  Dalawah,  who  was  at  that  time  near  the  Aramboly 
garrison  to  support  the  operations,  found  it  impossible  to  resist  the 
British  soldiers,  and  therefore  had  escaped  to  Trevandrum  hastily." 
—Page  347. 

Taking  of  the  Travancore  Lines. 

Our  information  with  regard  to  the  principal  event  of  the  war,  the  General 
taking  of  the   Travancore  Lines,    is  derived   mainly   from   General  Weleh# 
Welsh's  Military  Reminiscences.     General  (then  Major)  Welsh  was  the 
officer  by  whom  the  lines  were  stormed,  and  it  will  be  remembered 
that  it  is  to  the  same  soldier  and  author  that  we  are  indebted  for  the 
fullest  account  of  the  last  Poligar  war. 

The  force,   assembled  for  the  purpose  of  asserting  the  authority  of 
the  English  Government,  was  under  the  command  of  the  Honorable 
Colonel  St.  Leger.     When  Major  Welsh  joined  the  force  on  the  5th 
February  1809  it  was  encamped  six  miles  from  Aramboly  (properly 
Aravay-moli)  on  the  Tinnevelly  side  of  the  pass.    The  lines  by  which  Description  of 
the  entrance  into  Travancore  through    the  pass   was  defended  were  the  lines, 
about  two  miles  in  length,  stretching  across  the  gap  from  one  range 
of  mountains  to  another.     They  included  a  rugged  hill  to  the  south- 
ward, strongly  fortified,  and  a  sti'ong  rock  about  half  way  called  the 
northern  redoubt.     The  works  consisted  of  small  well-built  bastions 
for  two  and  three  guns,   joined  at  intervals  by  strong  curtains,  the 
whole  cannon-proof  and  protected  by  a  thick  hedge  of  thorn  bushes, 
the  approach  to  which  was  difficult  from  the  wildness  of  the   country. 
Major  Welsh  proposed,  and  the  Commanding  Officer  reluctantly  con- 
sented, that  an  attempt  should  be  made  to  take  the  lines  by  escalade  ; 
and  on  the  10th  of  February  this  daring  feat  was  accomplished.     The 
southern  fortified  hill  was  escaladed  during  the  night,   and  though 
defended  by  fifty  pieces  of  cannon  and  ten  thousand  men  the  whole 
lines  were  in  the  possession  of  the  English  force  by  eight  o'clock  a.m. 
The  approach  was  so   difficult  that  it  took  six  hours  scrambling  to 
reach  the  foot  of  the  walls,  but  the  troops  had  escaladed  the  southern 
redoubt  before  their  approach  was  suspected.     As  soon  as  it  was  seen 
that  Major  Welsh  had  secured  a  footing  in  that  commanding  position  succ„ssfui 
a  detachment  was  sent  to  his  aid,  whereupon  he  stormed  and  carried  assault. 


268 


APPENDIX    TO 


March 

towards 

Trevaiidium 


Appendix  I.  the  main  lines,  including  the  fortified  gate.  The  northern  redoubt 
was  then  abandoned,  and  the  Travancore  troops  fled  in  all  possible 
directions,  leaving  the  English  in  possession  of  the  whole  of  the  lines, 
the  arsenal,  and  the  stores.  Before  evening  the  English  force  was 
encamped  two  miles  inside  the  Ararnboly  gate. 

On  the  17th  the  army  commenced  its  march  for  Trevandrum,  the 
Travancore  capital.  The  only  resistance  they  met  with  was  on  the 
morning  of  the  same  day  at  a  village  where  they  had  to  cross  the 
Susendram  river,  on  the  further  side  of  which  a  portion  of  the  Travan- 
core force  was  posted  in  a  strong  position  on  a  high  bank.  The 
Travancoreans  were  routed  and  dispersed  with  much  loss  to  them  and 
some  to  our  troops.  Nine  guns  were  taken  and  the  large  villages  of 
Cotaur  and  Nagercoil  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  English.  This  was 
the  last  action  fought  and  the  last  blood  shed  in  this  brief  war.  The 
English  marched  steadily  forward,  taking  possession  in  their  way  of 
the  abandoned  forts  of  Oodagherry  and  Palpanavaram,  but  before  they 
reached  the  capital  an  armistice  was  proclaimed.  On  the  arrival  of 
the  troops  at  the  capital  it  was  found  that  within  the  Raja's  palace 
walls  an  arsenal  had  been  provided  containing  140  pieces  of  service- 
able cannon,  14,000  stand  of  arms,  and  abundance  of  ammunition,  all 
which  the  Raja  was  obliged  to  deliver  up  to  the  English.  The  late 
Dewan,  the  author  of  the  rebellion,  was  speedily  traced  to  the  interior 
of  a  pagoda  with  brazen  doors,  and  while  the  troops  were  breaking 
open  the  doors  he  killed  himself.  His  brothers  and  six  accomplices 
were  taken  alive  and  hanged  at  Quilon  in  front  of  the  12th  Regiment, 
in  the  murder  of  the  men  belonging  to  which  they  had  participated. 
Colonel  Macaulay,  the  Resident,  had  now  landed  from  a  vessel  of  war 
in  which  he  had  some  time  before  made  his  escape  from  Cochin  when 
the  rebellion  broke  out.  Immediately  on  his  arrival  at  the  capital  a 
new  Dewan  was  appointed  and  new  arrangements  made  for  securing 

Trevandrum.  the  peace  of  the  country.  Whilst  the  British  force  was  approaching 
from  the  eastward  through  the  Travancore  lines  the  subsidiary  force  at 
Quilon  was  by  no  means  idle.  Shut  up  in  the  heart  of  a  difficult  coun- 
try, with  the  inhabitants  all  in  arms  against  them,  they  had  had  several 
severe  actions,  in  which  they  were  invariably  victorious.  Nevertheless 
their  situation  was  daily  becoming  more  critical  until  the  news  of 
the  capture  of  the  Aramboly  lines  reached  the  masses  by  which  they 
were  surrounded,  when,  giving  up  every  hope  of  further  success,  they 
dispersed  in  all  directions. 

General  Welsh  states  that  those  lines  had  up  to  that  time  been 
deemed  impregnable,  and  that  Tippu  Sultan  in  the  zenith  of  his  power 
had  been  repulsed  from  them  with  considerable  loss.  He  adds  that 
it  was  natural  therefore  that  the  report  of  their  capture  should  at  once 
decide  the  fate  of  the  kingdom.  The  capture  of  the  Aramboly  lines 
was  a  brave  achievement  and  undoubtedly  decided  the  fate  of  the  king- 
dom, but  the  General  was  mistaken  in  supposing  that  these  were  the 
lines  from  which  Tippu  was  repulsed.  The  lines  he  failed  to  take 
were  those  on  the  northern  frontier  between  Travancore  and  Cochin. 
This  event  occurred  long  before  in  December  1789. 


Events  at 


HISTORY    OF   TINNEVELLY.  269 

The  following  particulars  are  from  Shungoonny  Menon's  History  : —  Appendix  I. 

"  The  Colonel  afterwards  marched  to  Trevandrum,  and  on  reaching 
the  neighbourhood,  encamped  at  a  place  called  Pappenecode,  when 
the  Malm  Rajah  sent  a  deputation  headed  by  His  Highness'  favourite 
Ummany  Thamby  alias  Marthanden  Eravy,  who  conveyed  to  the 
Colonel  His  Highness'  extreme  regret  at  the  occurrence  of  the  insur- 
rection created  by  Dewan  Valu  Thamby,  and  of  the  adoption  of 
measures  for  the  Dewan's  apprehension  and  delivery.  Colonel 
Macaulay  arrived  in  the  camp  on  the  3rd  March.  Arrangements 
were  made  for  the  apprehension  of  the  minister.  A  party  of  Travan- 
core  and  British  officers  was  despatched  in  pursuit  of  the  Dalawah, 
and  a  reward  of  (50,000)  fifty  thousand  rupees  was  offered  for  his 
apprehension. 

"Ummany  Thamby,  the  head  of  the  deputation,  was  appointed  Flight  of  the 
Dewan  on  the  18th  March  1809  with  the  full  concurrence  of  the  British  Dewan. 
Government,  and  he  at  once  sent  persons  in  pursuit  of  the  Dalawah. 
The  runaway  Dalawah  wandered  in  the  jungles  about  Vallicote  in  the 
Kunnathoor  district.  He  was  hotly  pursued  by  the  officers  even  here. 
From  this  place  he  came  to  Munnady,  in  the  same  district,  and  took 
refuge  in  a  vacant  house  belonging  to  a  Potty.  The  servant  of  Valu 
Thamby,  who  wandered  in  the  streets  there  with  his  master's  silver 
and  gold  utensils,  was  seen  by  the  officers  and  apprehended,  and  he 
revealed  to  them  the  Thamby's  hiding-place.  He  then  fled  to  the 
Bhagavathi  pagoda  at  Munnady  with  his  brother  Padmanabhen 
Thamby  and  determined  to  put  an  end  to  his  existence.  He  asked 
his  brother  to  stab  him.  This  the  brother  refused  to  do  at  first,  when 
the  Dalawah  plunged  his  own  dagger  in  his  bosom.  But  as  the  self- 
inflicted  wound  did  not  prove  mortal,  he  cried  out  to  his  brother  '  cut 
my  neck,'  which  request  the  brother  complied  with,  and  in  one  stroke 
severed  the  neck  from  the  body.  By  that  time  the  pursuers  reached  Death  of  the 
the  pagoda  and  forced  open  the  door,  when  they  found  the  lifeless  body  Dewan. 
of  Valu  Thamby  and  his  brother  standing  close  to  it  with  a  drawn 
sword.  The  brother  was  seized  and  the  body  removed  to  Trevandrum, 
where  it  was  exposed  on  a  gibbet  at  Kunnammalay  for  public  execra- 
tion. Lord  Minto,  the  then  Governor-General,  most  strongly  con- 
demned this  insult  offered  to  the  body  of  such  a  great  man  as  Valu 
Thamby. 

"  The  deceased  Dalawah's  brother  Padmanabhen  Thamby  was 
hanged  on  the  10th  of  April,  in  the  presence  of  the  12th  Regiment  at 
Quilon,  on  the  supposition  that  he  took  part  in  the  assassination  of 
Surgeon  Hume,  and  also  in  the  most  cruel  and  inhuman  act  of  the 
drowning  at  Pullathurthee  of  a  detachment  of  the  12th  Regiment. 

"  Ummany  Thamby  Dewan  was  dreaded  by  the  relatives  of  the  late 
minister,  and  his  house  was  razed  to  the  ground  and  plantain  and 
castor  trees  planted  thereon. 

"  Most  of  the  relatives  were  transported  to  the  Maldives,   but  after  Fate  of  the 
going  a  certain  distance  stress  of  weather  compelled  them  to  touch  at  rest  of  tne 
Tuticorin.     Some  appear  to  have  committed  suicide,  some  died  in 


270 


APPENDIX    TO 


Appendix  I.   prison,  while  the  rest  were  flogged  and  banished.     All  these  were  done 
by  Valu  Thamby's  successor  Ummany  Thaniby. 

"  Several  of  the  promoters  of  the  insurrection,  chief  among  whom 
was  Vycome  Padmanabha  Pillay,  the  murderer  of  the  Europeans  at 
Poracaud,  Alleppey,  &c,  were  punished  by  being  publicly  hanged 
at  Quilon,  Poracaud  and  Pallathurth.ee,  the  spots  where  the  Europeans 
were  massacred." — p.  349. 


Aitchison'a 

Treatits. 


Political  Results. 

The  political  and  financial  results  of  the  rebellion  appear  in  Aitchi- 
son's  Treaties,  Vol.  V.  The  Raja  was  obliged  to  pay  the  expenses 
incurred  by  the  British  Government  in  this  expedition,  and  a  brigade 
was  left  at  Quilon  as  a  subsidiary  force,  agreeably  to  the  treaty  con- 
cluded in  November  1795.  The  debts  thus  incurred  were  but  tardily 
discharged,  and  the  British  Government  were  about  to  assume  the 
internal  administration  of  the  country  as  the  only  means  of  insuring 
their  satisfactory  settlement  when  the  Raja  died  in  181 1.  The  Raja 
was  succeeded  by  Latchmi  Rani,  who,  according  to  the  peculiar  custom 
of  the  family  of  Travancore,  assumed  charge  of  the  Government  until 
a  male  heir  was  born.  She  held  it  till  1814,  during  which  time  the 
British  Resident,  Colonel  Munro.  acted  also  as  Minister,  and  by  his 
judicious  measures  completely  relieved  the  conditio  a  of  the  country. 
Latchmi  Rani  was  succeeded  by  her  eldest  son,  and  the  country  was, 
during  his  minority,  successfully  managed  by  her  sister  as  Regent, 
under  the  counsels  of  the  British  Resident. 


Shenkottai. 

I  subjoin  some  particulars  respecting  Shenkotta. 

On  the  cession  of  Tinnevelly  to  the  British  Government  by  the 
Nawab  of  the  Carnatic  in  1801  it  was  found  that  the  Nawab  claimed 
the  district  of  Shenkottai,  a  portion  of  Travancore  situated  to  the  east 
of  the  ghauts,  as  one  of  his  Zemindarifis.  It  was  asserted  also  that 
this  claim  was  admitted  by  the  Rajah  of  Travancore,  who  had  regu- 
larly paid  peshcush  as  Zemindar  of  Shenkottai  to  the  Nawab's  Govern- 
ment. 

The  Travancore  authorities  do  not  admit  that  Shenkottai  was  ever 
a  Zemindary  under  the  Nawab,  and  the  following  is  Sir  Madava 
Row's  statement  of  the  case  in  his  manuscript  history.  Some  of  the 
facts  have  already  been  quoted  from  Shungoonny  Menon :  — 

"  Mahomed  Yusuf  Khan,  generalissimo  of  the  forces  of  the  Nawab 
of  the  Carnatic,  incurred  his  master's  displeasure,  in  consequence  of 
which  by  the  assistance  of  the  English  he  was  captured  and  hanged. 
Travancore  having  befriended  Yusuf  Khan,  though  only  as  the  gene- 
ral of  Mahomed  Ali,  the  Nawab  in  revenge  annexed  Kalakadu  and 
Shenkotta  again  to  the  Carnatic. 

"  But  an  ambassador,  Manika  Bhatta,  was  sent  to  Madras  to  the 
Nawab,  and  with  the  assistance  of  the  English  succeeded  in  obtaining 
the  restoration  of  Shenkotta.  not  however  till  Kalakadu  was  ceded  and 


HISTORY    OF   TINNEVELLY.  271 

the  Nawab,   flushed  with  victory,   exacted  a  tribute  of  3,000  Vella  Appendix  I. 
fauams  a  year  as  a  compensation  to  his  Government  for  the  restora- 
tion of  Shenkotta. 

"  This  continued  to  be  paid  to  the  Nawab  till  the  Carnatic  was  ceded 
to  the  British.  Thereafter  the  payment  was  made  to  them  instead, 
and  to  this  day  it  is  incorporated  with,  and  is  a  component  part  of,  the 
subsidy  of  8,00,000  rupees  paid  to  the  British  Government." 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  statement  that  the  only  real  discre- 
pancy between  the  two  representations  relates  to  the  use  of  one  word, 
the  word  "Zemindar."  Muhammad  Yusuf  Khan  was  executed  in 
1764,  so  that  the  relation  described  above  as  subsisting  between  Shen- 
kottai  and  the  Nawab  lasted  for  37  years. 


APPENDIX  II. 

ACCOUNT  OF  THE  FLOODS  AND  PESTILENTIAL  FEVER  IN 
TINNEVELLY  IN  1810-12. 

TnERE  was  a  very  severe  flood  in  Tinnevelly  on  the  6th  Decern-  Appendix  II. 
ber  1810,  "the  like  of  which,"  Mr.  Hepburn  the  Collector  says, 
"  has  not  occurred  within  the  memory  of  man."  The  river  bank  was 
breached  in  many  places,  and  most  of  the  tanks  and  water  channels 
were  breached.  500  houses  were  carried  away  in  the  town  of  Alvar 
Tinnevelly. 

In  March  1811  the  Collector  reports  that  there  had  been  another 
very  heavy  fall  of  rain  for  ten  days  in  the  end  of  February.  This  was 
a  very  unusual  season  for  heavy  rain  and  floods.  He  adds  that  this 
unusual  rain  has  rendered  the  season  unhealthy,  particularly  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  hills  and  along  the  sea-coast,  where  the  mortality 
amongst  the  natives  had  been  excessive. 

On  the  6th  of  April  the  Collector  reports  that  rain  had  set  in  again 
in  March  and  was  continuing  till  the  date  of  his  letter.  There  was 
almost  continuous  rain  for  nearly  three  months,  in  February,  March 
and  April.  The  pestilential  fever  also  had  greatly  increased  and  the 
mortality  was  frightful.  In  one  village,  that  of  Selvamarudur,  in  the 
Calcaud  Taluk  (near  Edeyengoody)  visited  by  his  assistant  Mr.  Han- 
bury,  50  houses  were  found  entirely  empty,  and  in  every  house  in  the 
village  some  had  died.  In  other  villages  he  found  that  a  few  of  the 
inhabitants  had  fled  and  that  all  the  rest  were  dead.  A  peon  was  sent 
to  a  village  to  make  a  demand  for  assessment  and  found  the  whole  of 
the  village  officers  and  all  the  respectable  inhabitants  dead.  In  many 
places  the  grain  rotted  in  the  ground  for  want  of  hands  to  reap  and 
gather  it  in. 

Two  causes  for  the  fever  had  been  suggested.  One  was  that  it  arose 
from  exhalations  from  the  salt  marshes  near  the  sea,  the  smell  arising 
from  which  was  very  dreadful.  The  other  that  it  had  travelled  to 
Tinnevelly  from  Coimbatore,  Dindigul  and  Madura,  where  it  was  said 
to  have  broken  out  first.     The  latter  was  tho  general  opinion  of  the 


272 


APPENDIX    TO 


Appendix  II.  natives.  They  said  every  individual  amongst  the  pilgrims  who  went 
to  Pulney  and  other  sacred  places  in  that  region  died  on  his  return  to 
his  village.  This  origin  of  the  fever  was  confirmed,  they  thought,  by 
the  circumstance  that  the  fever  was  particularly  fatal  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  mountains. 

A  Medical  Committee  was  convened  to  consider  the  condition  of  each 
of  the  districts  affected  by  the  pestilence.  It  assembled  at  Bhavany 
8th  May  1811.  All  that  they  could  do  was  to  prescribe  the  use  of 
such  preventives  and  such  remedies  as  would  naturally  suggest 
themselves.  They  could  not  make  the  pestilential  air  wholesome,  and 
the  natives  generally  would  be  found  too  poor  and  too  much  attached 
to  custom  to  avail  themselves  of  most  of  the  recommendations.  The 
Committee  recommended  that  the  natives  should  build  better  houses, 
that  the  floor  of  their  houses  should  be  raised  above  the  ground,  that 
the}'  should  sleep  on  cots,  with  mattresses  of  twisted  straw  and  cover- 
lets, that  they  should  clothe  themselves  more  warmly,  that  they  should 
use  a  sort  of  sandal  for  the  feet,  that  they  should  not  go  out  in  the 
morning  till  the  heavy  fogs  had  been  dispelled  by  the  sun,  and  that 
they  should  eat  better  food.  Amongst  the  remedies  they  recom- 
mended the  only  febrifuge  was  the  bark  of  the  Nim  or  Margosa. 

In  Dindigul  the  number  of  persons  who  fell  victims  to  the  pestilence 
in  the  course  of  nine  months  was  not  less  than  34,000.  Another 
authority  estimates  the  number  at  one  in  thirteen  of  the  population, 
but  the  calculation  seems  hardly  reliable,  seeing  that  in  some  places 
half  the  population  were  said  to  have  died.  In  Madura  the  worst  of 
the  epidemic  was  before  May  in  1811.  Tire  epidemic,  however,  broke 
out  again  with  great  violence  in  1812,  and  in  the  town  of  Raninad, 
during  the  three  months  between  December  1812  and  February  1813, 
one  in  six  were  reported  to  have  died. 

Letters  from  Mr.  Hepburn,  the  Collector,  to  tlie  Board  of  Revenue,  in  1811. 

"2.  The  epidemical  disease  which  forms  the  subject  of  these  letters 
first  became  of  sufficient  importance  in  the  month  of  February  to 
attract  attention  and  to  impede  the  usual  regularity  of  the  collections. 
At  first  it  was,  however,  principally  prevalent  in  the  Streevilliputtilr 
District,  which  joins  the  taluks  of  Madura  and  lies  near  the  hills,  the 
course  of  which  it  followed  to  the  southward,  where  it  has  since  pre- 
vailed very  universally.  Soon  afterwards  it  broke  out  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  sea-coast  and  committed  great  ravages  in  the  Punjamahl  and 
Calacaud  Taluks.  To  enable  the  Board,  however,  the  better  to  trace 
its  progress,  I  have  the  honor  to  enclose  a  small  sketch  of  the  province 
with  the  different  taluks  marked  out,  which  will  make  the  subject  more 
easily  understood. 

"  3.  When  the  Medical  Committee  which  is  ordered  here  shall  have 
investigated  the  subject  they  will  no  doubt,  with  the  aid  of  the  science 
which  they  possess,  be  able  to  account  satisfactorily  for  the  mortality 
which  has  occurred  ;  yet  it  is  to  be  apprehended  that  the  principal 
cause  of  it  is  to  be  looked  for  in  the  very  uncommon  circumstances  of 
the  season.  The  Board  recollect  the  great  destruction  of  houses 
reported  in  consequence  of  the  inundation   in  December  last,  and  the 


HISTORY    OF     IINMA'ELLY.  273 

loss  of  huts  was  still  greater.  After  that  fall  of  rain  the  weather  still  Appendix  II. 
continued  hot  and  close,  in  the  early  part  of  the  nights  in  particular, 
attended  with  very  heavy  dews  towards  morning.  The  heat  of  the 
early  part  of  the  night  indeed  caused  many  of  the  natives  who  had 
houses  to  sleep  in  the  open  air,  by  which  they  became  exposed,  while 
their  bodies  were  still  hot,  to  the  chilling  damps  towards  morning, 
which  in  all  probability  was  the  cause  of  the  fever  which  succeeded, 
and  of  those  whose  houses  had  been  destroyed  many  were  obliged  to 
do  so  from  having  no  shelter  to  cover  them.  The  rain  soon  after  com- 
menced and  continued  for  three  months,  and  generally  the  people  were 
found  totally  unprovided  against  it ;  and  to  such  as  had  no  houses  was 
added  the  misfortune  of  worse  than  ordinary  food,  as  they  often 
could  not  dry  their  grain  to  convert  it  into  rice,  having  no  place  to 
preserve  it  in  from  the  rain,  in  consequence  of  which  they  were 
deprived  of  almost  every  comfort  they  are  in  the  habit  of  enjoying. 
That  these  causes  operated  in  a  considerable  degree  appears  from 
the  mortality  having  been  much  greater  amongst  the  lower  classes  of 
people,  particularly  toddy-drawers,  who  live  in  temporary  cabins 
made  of  cadjan  only,  most  of  which  were  destroyed  in  the  monsoon, 
than  amongst  the  better  description  of  the  inhabitants  who  live  in 
good  houses. 

"  4.  Whether  in  addition  to  these  causes  the  disease  was  infectious 
and  imported  from  Madura  and  Dindigul  it  is  impossible  for  me  to 
say.  The  natives  have  a  strong  impression  that  it  was,  which  certainly 
seems  in  some  degree  confirmed  by  the  mortality  amongst  the  pil- 
grims who  have  returned  from  Pulney  in  the  Dindigul  District ;  but 
to  decide  the  question  requires  the  exercise  of  a  professional  know- 
ledge, which  can  only  be  expected  from  the  report  of  the  Medical 
Committee  upon  the  subject.  At  first  the  disease  was  very  rapidly 
fatal.  The  patient  was  seized  with  it  on  one  day,  had  often  a  sort  of 
fit  or  convulsion  the  second  day,  and  generally  died  on  the  third.  If 
he  survived  the  ninth  day  he  generally  got  over  it,  but  was  left  in  a 
state  of  great  debility  from  the  fever,  which  lasted  from  a  fortnight  to 
a  month  afterwards.  At  first  the  return  of  the  fever  was  diurnal,  but 
afterwards  it  only  recurred  once  every  other  clay,  and  in  the  cases 
where  it  proved  fatal  was  often  attended  with  a  bloody  flux.  Such  is 
the  account  which  I  have  been  able  to  obtain  of  this  awful  visitation, 
and  whether  the  opinions  formed  are  correct  or  not  will  hereafter  be 
seen  from  the  report  of  the  medical  men  soon  expected  here.  I  can 
however  say  with  great  truth  that  they  have  been  stimulated  by  the 
greatest  interest  and  anxiety  in  the  subject  and  that  they  have  occu- 
pied my  best  attention. 

•••"..  Within  these  last  ten  days  the  land  winds  have  set  in.  which 
hold  out  the  most  anxious  hope  that  the  change  of  weather  will 
produce  an  alleviation  of  the  disease  ;  as  yet  it  is  still  however  repre- 
sented to  be  very  prevalent,  and  although  there  are  instances  of  speedy 
deaths  from  it,  yet  I  hope  that  there  is  room  to  think  the  general 
features  of  it  are  beginning  to  change,  and  that  of  those  taken  ill  the 
number  of  deaths  is  smaller,  although  the  patients  are  still  left  in  a 
state  of  great  weakness  from  the  wasting  of  a  long-continued  periodi- 

•35 


274  APPENDIX    TO 

Appendix  II.  cal  fever,  which  renders  them  unahle  for  a  length  of  time  to  attend  to 
their  usual  duties  and  occupations  ;  and  from  the  protracted  nature  of 
the  disease,  it  is  frequent  that  the  whole  numbers  of  a  family  are  to  he 
found  in  one  or  other  of  the  stages  of  the  disease.  The  season  is  also 
still  very  extraordinary,  as  the  land  winds  which  in  general  blow  with 
considerable  violence  are  remarkably  mild  with  frequent  lulls  and  a 
heavy  thick  oppressive  atmosphere.  Had  there  not  been  a  very 
violent  squall,  although  of  short  duration,  on  the  29th  ultimo,  the 
6tate  of  the  weather  is  such  as  to  give  rise  to  the  apprehension  that  the 
whole  will  conclude  with  some  violent  convulsion  of  nature. 

"6.  On  enquiring  of  the  people  whether  such  a  calamity  was  ever 
experienced  here  before,  they  state  that  they  remember  a  very 
unhealthy  season  about  thirty-four  years  ago,  but  that  its  effects  were 
not  so  general  nor  so  fatal  as  in  the  present  instance.  This  assertion 
is  corroborated  by  a  passage  in  Orme's  History  of  Hindustan,  in  which 
the  Board  will  find  it  mentioned  in  paragraph  2nd,  page  201,  old  edi- 
tion, that  in  the  month  of  March  1757  a  very  unusual  fall  of  rain  had 
taken  place  in  the  province  of  Tinnevelly,  which  lasted  for  two  days, 
and  in  addition  to  the  damage  done  to  the  crops,  had  brought  on  an 
epidemic  sickness  which  carried  off  numbers  of  the  inhabitants  by 
sudden  deaths.  The  whole  description,  which  is  of  some  length,  bears 
a  strong  resemblance  to  the  present  season,  only  that  the  calamity 
was  not  of  the  same  extent.  If  two  days  rain,  however,  at  that  time 
could  produce  the  effects  recorded,  some  estimate  may  be  formed  of 
those  arising  from  three  months  of  such  frequent  and  equally 
unseasonable  rains. 

"7.  As  before  stated  the  disease  was  first  reported  in  February  to  be 
so  general  in  the  district  of  Strivaleputtur  as  to  cause  considerable 
interruption  to  the  collections.  It  was  then  however  principally 
confined  to  the  villages  near  the  hills,  in  which  it  prevailed  so  gene- 
rally that  the  peons  could  not  go  to  demand  the  revenue,  most  of  those 
who  had  been  in  the  villages  near  the  hills  being  laid  up  by  the  fever. 
To  the  end  of  February  the  fever  still  continued  in  this  district  and 
had  spread  all  over  it  on  the  26th  March  ;  the  Tasildar  reported  that 
in  many  instances  the  crops  were  left  uncut  upon  the  ground  for  want 
of  people  to  reap  them,  and  that  from  the  number  of  those  whose 
business  it  was  to  collect  and  remit  the  revenue  being  sick  great 
interruption  was  at  present  experienced  in  the  collections. 

"  8.  From  Strivaleputtur  the  disease  followed  the  course  of  the  hills 
to  Tenkashee,  which  has  suffered  in  a  very  severe  degree  from  it.  as 
also  the  intermediate  pollams  shown  in  the  accompanying  sketch. 
Towards  the  end  of  February  or  beginning  of  March  it  had  become 
very  prevalent,  and  in  the  course  of  that  month  the  Tasildar  reported 
the  number  of  deaths  in  the  cusbah  was  from  10  to  15  daily,  and  in 
the  other  villages  in  proportion,  and  that  many  people  had  left  tho 
district  for  fear  of  the  infection.  He  also  represented  that  the  crops 
were  left  standing  on  the  ground  for  want  of  people  to  cut  them,  and 
that  there  were  not  people  enough  who  were  free  from  fever  to  attend 
tho  sick  and  hum  the  dead,  and  if  he  senl  his  peons  to  demand  the 
revenue  they  generally  found  the  people  in  a  state  rendering  them 


HISTORY    01     IINMA  Kill  275 

entirely  incapable  of  attending  to  their  concerns.     Oi'  all  the  taluks  Appenmx  II. 

this  one  has  suffered  most    in   proportion  to  its  population  from  the 

fever. 

"  9.  In  Brummadaspuram  the  people  were  represented  to  have  been 
rather  sickly  since  the  month  of  November  last,  hut  the  epidemical  fever 
does  not  seem  to  have  made  a  very  alarming  progress  till  the  beginning 
of  March.  Since  that  time  the  Tasildar  represents  the  people  to  have 
suffered  much,  and  he  mentions  many  of  the  villages  where  there  are 
not  people  enough  to  attend  the  sick  and  to  burn  the  dead.  The 
Board  will  observe  a  village  of  the  name  of  Kuddyum  in  this  neigh- 
bourhood. In  this  village,  which  was  a  very  fine  one,  it  is  computed 
that  about  a  thousand  people  have  been  carried  off  by  the  fever.  Of 
these  there  were  forty  families  of  Brahmans,  of  whom  twenty-six  are 
entirely  swept  away,  eight  have  deserted,  and  of  the  others  about 
one  half  of  the  numbers  of  each  family  are  dead. 

"10.  In  Sharrinmadavy  the  fever  was  later  in  commencing,  and  no 
representations  of  its  having  reached  a  serious  height  were  made  till 
the  beginning  of  April.  A  great  many  people  have  had  the  disease, 
but  as  far  as  can  be  learnt  the  mortality  does  not  aptpear  to  have  been 
so  great  as  in  some  of  the  other  districts. 

"11.  In  Nellumbalam,  with  the  exception  of  the  town  of  Tinnevelly, 
the  disease  does  not  appear  to  have  commenced  so  early  as  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  hills.  In  the  month  of  April,  however,  it  was  repre- 
sented as  very  generally  prevalent,  most  of  the  people  being  sick 
and  many  having  died.  In  the  town  of  Tinnevelly,  as  before  reported, 
the  deaths  are  estimated  for  a  considerable  time  to  have  amounted  to 
fifteen  or  twenty  people  a  day.  The  town  is  still  unhealthy,  but  the 
cases  of  sudden  death  are  decreased,  as  is  also  the  number  of  casual- 
ties. 

"12.  In  the  districts  of  Vedoogramem,  Streeviguntam,  Gungundam 
and  Alwar  Tinnevelly  the  disease  has  been  much  less  destructive  than 
in  the  others,  although  there  has  been  a  considerable  degree  of  sick- 
ness, which  has  incapacitated  the  people  from  attending  to  their 
business. 

"13.  It  has  already  been  stated  that  the  disease  early  began  to  make 
its  appearance  on  the  sea-coast.  How  this  is  to  be  accounted  for  it  is 
difficult  to  say,  unless  it  arose  from  that  part  of  the  country  having 
suffered  much  from  the  inundation  in  December  and  the  houses  of  the 
people  not  being  so  good  or  durable  as  in  the  interior.  There  are 
also  a  great  number  of  toddy-drawers  who  reside  in  huts  made  of 
cadjans  only  on  the  coast,  most  of  which  were  destroyed  in  the  monsoon 
and  the  people  left  exposed.  Many  of  the  salt  marshes  were  also 
overflowed  in  the  monsoon,  the  exhalation  from  which  is  very  offensive. 
The  mortality  therefore  all  along  the  coast  to  Cape  Oomorin  has  been 
very  great,  and  the  district  of  Calcaud  being  bounded  by  the  hills 
upon  the  other  side  has  from  these  two  causes  suffered  most  severely 
from  the  fever.  The  Tasildar  mentions  many  villages  which  are 
nearly  depopulated,  and  almost  all  his  peons  have  been  sick.  In  addi- 
tion to  these  misfortunes  the  small-pox  has  lately  made  its  appearance 
iu  the  Punjamahl  Taluk,   but  it  has  not  yet  done  much  mischief. 


276  APPENDIX    TO 

Appendix  II.  This  disease  is  probably  imported  from  Travancore  where  I  have  been 
informed  it  is  now  raging,  but  it  does  not  appear  that  the  fever  which 
has  committed  such  ravages  here  has  extended  itself  to  that  country, 
where  the  seasons  are  remarkable  for  their  regularity. 

"14.  The  taluk  of  Shankaranainarkovil  is  the  only  one  which  now 
remains  to  be  noticed,  and  although  surrounded  by  those  parts  which 
suffered  most  severely  from  the  fever,  it  is  extraordinary  that  till  near 
the  end  of  April  it  was  only  experienced  in  a  comparatively  slight 
degree  and  the  deaths  very  few.  On  the  22nd  of  that  month,  however, 
it  was  represented  as  having  become  very  general,  and  that  a  number 
of  people  were  dying  suddenly  as  in  the  other  districts  where  it  first 
broke  out.     The  last  accounts  state  it  still  continues. 

"  15.  The  above  is  a  statement  of  the  progress  of  the  disease  in  the 
different  parts  of  the  province,  as  reported  to  me  by  the  public  officers 
and  ascertained  as  correctly  as  possible  from  the  best  information 
which  it  has  otherwise  been  in  my  power  to  collect  and  in  compliance 
with  the  Board's  orders.  Instructions  have  been  sent  to  endeavour  to 
ascertain  as  near  as  possible  the  actual  number  of  people  who  have 
fallen  victims  to  this  calamity.  There  has  not  yet,  however,  been  time 
for  a  compliance  with  these  orders  from  the  state  in  which  the  people 
are  whose  duty  it  is  to  furnish  them,  and  also  from  the  dislike  which 
the  people  of  this  country  have  in  general  to  all  enquiries  of  this 
nature,  and  they  consequently  evince  much  unwillingness  to  furnish 
Hny  information  respecting  it.  Independent  of  these  circumstances  it 
ie  to  be  apprehended  that  any  account  recorded  just  now  would  be 
liable  to  inaccuracy,  as  in  many  places  where  the  fever  began  the 
people  left  their  villages  until  the  disease  should  subside.  As  soon, 
however,  as  any  return  is  obtained  which  can  be  depended  upon,  the 
Board  shall  immediately  be  furnished  with  it." 


APPENDIX  III. 


T1XNEVELLY  NATIVE  AUTHORS. 


App.  III.  The  Pandya  country,  especially  as  was  natural  Madura  itself,  the 
capital  of  the  country  and  the  abode  of  its  kings,  abounded  in  authors. 
It  might  with  equal  propriety  be  said  to  have  abounded  in  poets, 
almost  every  ancient  Tamil  composition  having  been  in  verse.  Ma- 
dura became  celebrated  in  Tamil  literary  circles  for  its  so-called 
"  college."  This  college,  however,  was  not  a  teaching  institution,  but 
an  association  of  poets,  who  gave  their  imprimatur  to  works  they 
considered  classical  by  giving  the  writer  a  place  on  their  board,  which 
was  literally  a  board,  viz.,  the  board  on  which  they  sat  when  they 
met,  represented  afterwards  to  have  been  a  miraculous  diamond  bench 
capable  of  expanding  and   contracting.     The  name   for  this  college, 

Mrulura  Sangam   (Sanskrit),    has   the   same  meaning   as  the  Latin    collegium. 

College.  \'\z.,  an  association  or   society  of  learned  men.     Tradition   says  that 

there  were  three  such  colleges  at    Madura  at  different  times,  and  that 


HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY.  277 

it  was  to  the  last  of  them  that  Tirurvalluvar,  the  celebrated  author  of  App.  III. 
the  Rural,  was  admitted.  Another  of  the  accepted  poets  was  the 
author  of  the  Naladiyar.  Tiruvalluvar  (a  name  which  means  the 
sacred  Paraiya  priest)  is  esteemed  the  prince  of  Tamil  poets  ;  but 
having-  been  a  Paraiya,  it  was  not  without  a  miracle  wrought  in  his 
favour  that  he  was  allowed  a  place  on  the  much-coveted  bench.  All 
this  passes  current  freely  in  popular  tradition,  but  it  is  impossible 
now  to  ascertain  how  much  truth  these  legends  contain.  It  is  the  less 
necessary  for  our  present  purpose  to  endeavour  to  ascertain  this, 
seeing  that  none  of  the  great  writers  of  that  time  is  said  to  have 
belonged  to  Tinnevelly.  It  is  true  that  Tinnevelly  boasts  in  the 
possession  of  Agastyar-malai,  the  place  to  which  the  great  rishi 
Agastya,  styled  "  the  Southern  Sage  "  and  "  the  Tamil  Sage,"  retired  Aga&tya. 
alter  having  not  only  invented  Tamil  grammar  but  the  Tamil  lan- 
guage itself,  and  also  that  works  are  still  extant — grammars  and  books 
of  medicine,  alchymy,  and  mystic  theology — which  are  commonly 
attributed  to  him.  When  I  have  mentioned,  however,  that  all  this 
is  related  and  believed  without  a  particle  of  evidence  in  its  favour, 
and  against  every  conceivable  probability,  I  think  I  have  done  enough. 
A  considerable  number  of  Tamil  compositions  of  some  degree  of 
merit  are  attributed  on  sufficient  evidence  to  persons  who  are  known 
to  have  belonged  to  Tinnevelly,  but  there  are  only  four  of  these  which 
could  fairly  claim  a  place  in  a  history  of  Tamil  literature. 

Ncmmalvdr. 

I.  The  first  and  probably  the  oldest  of  these  is  a  portion  of  the 
great  Yaishnava  composition  called  the  great  Prabandham  or  Tixu- 
vay-moli,  the  words  of  the  Sacred  Mouth.  The  whole  work  contains 
4,000  verses,  1,000  of  which  are  attributed  to  a  native  of  Tinnevelly- 
This  was  Nammalvar,  one  of  the  twelve  Alvars  or  disciples  (Alvar 
means  one  who  profoundly  humbled  himself)  of  Eamanuja  Acharya, 
the  founder  of  the  Sri-vaishnava  or  Visisht-advaita  school  of  Hindu 
theosophy.  The  Brahman  adherents  of  this  school  are  called  in  the 
Tamil  country  Aiyangars.  The  age  of  the  Alvars  is  not  certainly 
known,  but  it  must  have  been  subsequent  to  the  age  of  their  master  Alvar-tiruna- 
Ramanuja,  who  flourished  about  the  beginning  or  middle  of  the  12th  gari. 
century  A.D.  The  Tinnevelly  Alvar  gave  his  name  to  Alvar  Tiruna- 
gari,  a  place  called  also,  but  erroneously,  Alvar  Tinnevelly.  The 
oldest  name  of  this  place  is  Kurugur  or  Kurugapuri.  In  later  times 
the  name  which  I  have  found  in  inscriptions  is  Tenkarai  (the  South- 
bank,  equivalent  to  the  English  Southwark),  a  name  which  survives 
as  the  name  of  the  taluk  in  which  this  place  is  included.  It  was 
called  by  this  name  in  contradistinction  to  Srl-vaikuntham,  a  still 
more  considerable  town  on  the  northern  bank.  Alvar  Tirunagari, 
the  name  by  which  it  is  now  called,  the  meaning  of  which  is  the  holy 
ei  y  of  the  Alvar,  is  one  of  the  principal  Vaishnava  holy  places  in 
Tinnevelly,  with  a  population  of  5,600.  The  real  name  of  the  Alvar 
of  this  place  is  said  to  have  been  Jadakopa,  a  common  name  now 
amongst  Vaishnavas,  and  his    father  is  said  to  have  been  one  Kari 


278  APPENDIX   TO 

App.  III.  Maran,  a  scion  of  the  Pandya  dynasty.  Maran  means  Pandyan. 
Nammalvar  means  onr  Alvar,  and  this  title  is  said  to  have  been  con- 
ferred upon  him  by  Vishnu  himself,  as  a  mark  of  special  confidence 
and  favour.  Though  only  one  in  twelve  of  the  Alvars,  his  share  in 
the  hymns  of  the  great  Prabandhani  was  one  part  in  four. 

Translation  of  the  Mahabharata. 

II.  The  second  important  composition  attributed  to  a  native  of 
Tinnevelly  is  the  Tamil  poetical  translation  of  the  Maha-bharata,  or 
at  least  of  the  greater  part  of  it,  which  is  believed  to  have  been  wait- 
ten  at  Srl-villiputtur,  by  a  Vaishnava  Brahman  called  Sarva  Bhauma1 
Aiyangar.  From  the  name  of  the  place  to  which  he  belonged  he  is 
commonly  called  Villiputtiirar.  Possibly  at  the  time  the  poem  became 
famous  Sri,  sacred,  had  not  been  commonly  prefixed  to  the  name  of 
the  place.  At  present  if  the  Sri  were  omitted,  the  name  would  not 
be  recognised.  The  poet  is  sometimes  called  an  Alvar,  but  this  is 
only  out  of  respect,  as  the  title  is  also  sometimes  given  to  Kambar, 
the  author  of  the  Tamil  poetical  version  of  the  Ramayana.  The 
Tamil  Maha-bharata  is  not  considered  by  any  means  equal  in  beauty 
to  the  Tamil  Ramayana,  which  stands,  with  the  Ohintamani  and  the 
Kural,  in  the  very  first  rank  of  Tamil  poems,  but  it  is  considered 
notwithstanding  a  very  fine  composition.  Portions  of  it  have  fre- 
quently been  prescribed  for  the  study  of  candidates  for  University 
distinctions. 

The  date  of  the  author  of  this  work  is  unknown,  but  it  is  never 
Sn-villiput-  supposed  to  be  very  early.  Pandits  generally  suppose  that  he  lived 
tur-  two  or  three  hundred  years  ago,    which  seems  probable  enough  and 

would  place  him  in  the  age  of  the  Nayaka  rulers  of  Madura.  Villi- 
puttfir  means  the  new  town  of  the  bow-man,  and  of  course  a  legend — 
several  legends  indeed — are  related  to  account  for  this  name  and 
explain  who  the  bow-man  was.  It  has  received  the  title  of  Sri, 
sacred,  on  account  of  its  Vaishnava  temple,  which  is  a  holy  place 
of  some  celebrity,  ranking  perhaps  with  that  at  Alvar  Tirunagari. 
Tirumalai  Nayaka,  the  celebrated  ruler  of  Madura,  had  a  palace  in 
this  place,  which  is  still  shown.  In  the  Government  Records  the 
name  of  the  place  appears  as^Nachiyar  Kovil,  with  a  population  of 
over  14,000. 

Pwrimelalagor. 

III.  The  third  literary  character  belonging  to  Tinnevelly  whose 
name  claims  to  occupy  a  place  in  the  literary  history  of  the  Tamil 
country  is  a  commentator  on  the  Kural  called  Parimelalagar.  I  should 
hardly  have  thought  of  placing  a  mere  commentator  in  this  rank, 
were  it  not  that  his  urai  or  commentary  is  considered  the  first  of  its 
kind.  According  to  the  opinion  of  the  Tamil  people  the  best  of  all 
poems  is  Tiruvalluvar's  Kural,  and  the   best  of  all  commentaries  is 

1  Sarva  Bhauma  means  possessing  tho  whole  world  or  known  throughout  the 
whole  world. 


HISTORY   OF   TINNEVELLY.  279 

Parimelalagar's  commentary  thereon.  The  date  of  this  writer  is  App.  III. 
unknown,  but  he  is  believed  by  some  to  have  lived  in  the  Karisal- 
Kadu,  or  black  cotton  soil  country,  in  the  northern  part  of  Tinnevelly. 
In  the  Northern  Tamil  country  I  have  always  heard  Parimelalagar 
represented  to  have  been  a  Brahman,  but  some  Pandits  in  Tinnevelly 
— not  themselves  Shanars — maintain  that  he  was  a  Shanar  guru. 
Others  assert  that  he  was  neither  a  Brahman  nor  a  Shanar,  but  a 
Vellala. 

Niti-nen -v ifakkam . 

IV.  Perhaps  the  latest  of  the  Tinnevelly  literary  celebrities  was 
the  author  of  the  Niti-neri-vilakkam,  a  work  consisting  of  ethical 
stanzas,  arranged  more  or  less  after  the  fashion  of  the  Kural  and  the 
Naladiyar.  These  stanzas  have  secured  themselves  a  good  place  in 
general  estimation,  but  few  of  them  rise  to  the  highest  order  of 
originality  and  merit.  They  are  frequently  made  use  of  in  University 
examinations.  The  author  was  a  Saiva  ascetic,  a  Vellala  by  caste, 
called  Kumara-guru-pai-a-Tambiran.  Tambiran,  his  lordship,  is  the 
usual  title  of  the  head  of  a  Saiva  monastery.  Our  author  however 
was  not  the  head  of  any  monastery,  but  seems  to  have  had  the  title 
conferred  upon  him  as  a  term  of  respect.  Compare  the  use  of  Abbe 
amongst  the  French.  He  is  sometimes  called  also  Kumara-guru-para- 
Swamigal.  Swamigal  is  the  honorific  plural  of  Swami,  lord.  KumS- 
ra-guru-para  belonged  to  Sri-vaikuntham,  a  well-known  town  on  the  Sri-vaikun- 
northern  bank  of  the  Tamraparni.  This  has  always  been  a  place  of  *ham' 
some  importance,  and  is  now  the  capital  of  the  Tenkarai  Taluk.  The 
name  by  which  it  is  called  denotes  that  it  is  a  holy  place  amongst  the 
Vaishnavas.  Vaikuutham  is  the  name  of  Vishnu's  heaven.  The 
population  of  the  place  is  upwards  of  7,000.  Kumara-guru-para- 
Tambiran  is  said  to  have  nourished  during  the  reign  of  Tirumalai 
Nayaka,  the  celebrated  king  of  Madura.  If  so,  he  is  to  be  placed 
between  A.D.  1623  and  1659. 


APPENDIX  IV. 

SEPULCHRAL  URNS  IN  TINNEVELLY. 

I  am  anxious   to  obtain  some  information  as  to  the  extent  of  the  area     App.  IV. 
within  which  sepulchral  urns,  like  those  to  which  I  am  about  to  refer, 
are  found. 

The  urns  I  refer  to  are  large  earthenware  jars  containing  fragments 
of  human  bones,  generally  in  a  very  decayed  state.  They  are  of 
various  sizes,  corresponding  with  the  age  of  the  person  whose  remains 
were  to  be  disposed  of.  The  largest  I  have  found  was  eleven  feet  in 
circumference,  and  the  smallest  have  been  between  four  and  five. 
The  shape  varies  a  little  within  certain  limits,  so  that  I  have  not 
found  any  two  urns  perfectly  alike,  but  the  type  generally  adhered  to 
is  that  of  the  large  earthen  jars  (in  Tamil  kunai)  with  which  the  Shape  of  urns, 


280 


APPENDIX    TO 


Mode  of  inter- 
ment. 


App.  IV.  peojile  in  tins  neighbourhood  draw  water  from  wells  for  their  cultiva- 
tion. The  urn  is  without  handles,  feet,  or  cover.  It  swells  out 
towards  the  middle  and  terminates  in  a  point,  so  that  it  is  only  when 
it  is  surrounded  with  earth  that  it  keeps  an  upright  position.  The 
urns  do  much  credit  to  the  workmanship  of  the  people  by  whom  they 
were  made,  being  made  of  better-tempered  clay,  better  burnt,  and 
much  stronger  than  any  of  the  pottery  made  in  these  times  in  this 
part  of  India.  They  would  contain  a  human  body  easily  enough  in  a 
doubled-up  position,  if  it  could  be  got  inside,  but  the  mouth  is  gene- 
rally so  narrow  that  this  would  present  some  difficulty.  One  opinion 
is  that  the  bones  were  denuded  of  flesh  and  separated  before  they 
were  packed  into  the  urns.  Generally  decay  is  found  to  have 
advanced  so  far  that  theories  respecting  the  mode  in  which  the  body 
was  put  in  can  neither  be  verified  nor  disproved.  Fragments  only  of 
the  harder  bones  remain,  and  the  urn  seems  to  contain  little  more 
than  a  mass  of  earth.  In  one  instance  I  found  the  bones  partially 
petrified,  and  therefore  almost  perfect,  though  they  had  fallen  asunder  ; 
but  this  was  the  large  eleven-feet  urn  referred  to  above,  dis- 
covered at  Korkai,  so  that  in  this  instance  it  was  conceivable  that  the 
body  had  been  placed  in  it  entire.  The  skull  was  nearly  perfect— a 
skull  of  a  low  type.  At  Ilanji,  near  Courtallum,  on  opening  an  urn 
distinct  traces  of  the  shape  of  a  skeleton  were  discovered.  The  skull 
was  found  resting  on  the  sternum,  and  on  each  side  of  the  sternum 
was  a  tibia.  It  appeared  clear,  therefore,  in  this  case,  that  the  body 
had  been  doubled  up  and  forced  in  head  foremost,  though  it  was  not 
clear  how  the  shoulders  could  have  got  in.  The  bones  were  of  the 
consistence  of  ochre,  and  crumbled  to  pieces  when  they  were  taken 
out.  Nothing  could  be  preserved  but  a  piece  of  the  skull  and  the 
teeth,  which  were  those  of  an  adult.  Dr.  Fry,  Surgeon  to  the  Eesi- 
dent  of  Travancore,  who  was  present  at  the  find,  pointed  out  that 
the  molars  had  been  worn  down  by  eating  grain,  and  that  the  edges  of 
the  front  teeth  also  had  been  worn  down  by  biting  some  kind  of 
parched  pulse.  Afterwards,  on  examining  the  mouths  of  some  natives, 
I  found  their  front  teetli  worn  down  a  little  in  the  same  manner,  and 
as  they  admitted,  from  the  same  cause.  I  have  not  noticed  any  trace 
of  the  bones  in  these  urns  having  been  calcined.  I  believe  they  were 
not.     Cremation,  I  think,  was  not  then  in  use. 

In  addition  to  human  bones  a  few  small  earthen  vessels  are  found 
in  most  of  the  jars.  Sometimes  such  vessels  are  arranged  outside 
instead  of  being  placed  inside.  These  vessels  are  of  various  shapes, 
all  more  or  less  elegant,  and  all  appear  to  have  been  highly  polished. 
At  first  I  supposed  they  had  been  glazed,  but  I  have  been  informed 
by  Dr.  Hunter,  late  of  the  Madras  School  of  Arts,  that  what  1  noticed 
\v;is  a  polish,  not  a  true  glaze.  Whatever  it  was,  I  have  not  noticed 
anything  of  the  kind  in  tho  native  pottery  of  these  parts  and  these 
times.  In  many  cases  the  polish  or  glaze  is  black,  and  the  decay  of 
these  blackened  vossels  seems  to  have  given  rise  to  the  supposition 
that  the  bones  had  sometimes  been  calcined. 
Description  On  the  accompanying  plate  (see  Indian  Antiquary  for  October  1877) 

of  contonts.      ar0  sketches  of  five  of  these  little  vessels.     "When  these  have  been 


Character- 
istics of  the 

human  re- 
iii.iius. 


HISTORY   01    iinnkvei.lv.  281 

shown  to  natives,  the}'  say  that  one  appears  to  have  been  an  oil  vessel,  Apr.  IV. 
and  another  a  spittoon !  The  use  of  the  vessel  with  the  lid  is 
unknown.  In  these  times  such  vessels  would  be  made  of  bell-metal, 
not  of  pottery.  We  may  conclude  that  the  object  in  view  in  placing 
these  vessels  in  the  urn  was  that  the  ghost  of  the  departed  might  be 
supplied  with  the  ghosts  of  eatables  and  drinkables,  together  with  the 
ghosts  of  suitable  vessels  for  eating  and  drinking  out  of,  in  the  other 
world.  Small  stones  about  the  size  of  a  cocoanut  are  generally  found 
heaped  round  the  mouth  of  the  urn,  and  the  discovery  of  such  stones 
ranged  in  a  circle,  corresponding  to  the  circular  mouth  of  the  urn,  will 
be  found  to  be  a  reason  for  suspecting  the  existence  of  an  urn  under- 
neath. 

The  natives  of  these  times  know  nothing  whatever  of  the  people  by 
whom  this  singular  mode  of  sepulture  was  practised,  or  of  the  time 
when  they  lived.  They  do  not  identify  them  with  the  Samanas — 
that  is,  the  Jainas  and  Buddhists  lumped  together — about  whom 
tolerably  distinct  traditions  survive,  nor  does  there  appear  to  be  any- 
thing in  or  about  the  jars  distinctively  Jaina  or  Buddhistic.  There  is 
a  myth  current  amongst  the  natives,  it  is  true,  respecting  the  people  Native 
who  were  buried  in  these  jars,  but  this  myth  seems  to  me  merely  a  con-  theories, 
f  ession  of  their  ignorance.  They  say  that  in  the  Tretayuga — that  is, 
about  a  million  of  years  ago— people  used  to  live  to  a  great  age,  but 
that  however  old  they  were  they  did  not  die,  but  the  older  they  grew 
the  smaller  they  became.  They  got  so  small  at  length  that  to  keep 
them  out  of  the  way  of  harm  it  was  necessary  to  place  them  in  the  little 
triangular  niches  in  the  walls  of  native  houses  in  which  the  lamp  is 
kept.  At  length  when  the  younger  people  could  no  longer  bear  the 
trouble  of  looking  after  their  dwarf  ancestors,  tbey  placed  them  in 
earthen  jars,  put  with  them  in  the  jars  a  number  of  little  vessels 
containing  rice,  water,  oil,  &c,  and  buried  them  in  a  sort  of  cemetery 
near  the  village. 

The  name  by  which  these  urns  are  called  in  the  Tamil  country  does  Interpreta- 
not  throw  much  light  on  their  origin.  This  name  assumes  three  tlon  of  names, 
forms.  In  the  Tamil  dictionary  it  is  madarnadakkattali.  A  more 
common  form  of  this  is  madamadakkan-dali,  the  meaning  of  both 
which  forms  is  the  same,  viz.,  the  tali  or  large  jar  which  boils  over. 
The  meaning  attributed  to  this  by  some  natives  is  rather  far-fetched, 
viz.,  that  the  little  people  who  were  placed  in  them  used  sometimes 
to  come  out  of  the  jars  and  sit  about,  as  if  they  had  boiled  over  out 
of  them.  The  form  of  this  word  in  use  amongst  the  common  p  eople 
seems  capable  of  a  more  rational  interpretation.  This  is  madamat- 
tan-dali,  or  more  properly  madonmattan-dfdi.  Madonmatta  (Sansk.) 
means  '  insane,'  but  it  is  sometimes  used  in  Tamil  to  mean  '  very 
large,'  as  in  the  Tamil  version  of  the  Panchatantra,  where  it  is  used 
to  denote  a  very  large  jungle.  The  great  size  of  the  urn  being  its 
principal  characteristic,  it  would  seem  that  the  name  in  use  amongst 
the  common  people  is,  after  all,  better  warranted  than  that  which  is 
used  by  those  who  are  regarded  as  correct  speakers. 

Who  the  people  were  who  buried  their  dead  in  these   urns  is  a  peopie  jntci._ 

problem  yet  unsolved.     The  only  points  that  can  be  regarded  as  cer-  red  not 
1  op  pygmies. 


282  APPENDIX    TO 

App.  IV.  tain  are  those  which  have  been  ascertained  by  the  internal  evidence 
of  the  urns  and  their  contents  themselves.  From  this  it  is  clear  that 
the  people  buried  in  them  were  not  pygmies,  but  of  the  same  size  as 
people  of  the  present  time.  How  they  were  put  in  may  be  mysterious, 
but  there  is  no  doubt  about  the  size  of  their  bones.  The  skulls  were 
similar  to  those  of  the  present  time.  The  teeth  also  were  worn  down, 
like  those  of  the  existing  race  of  natives,  by  eating  grain.  In  a  jar 
opened  by  Mr.  Stuart,  then  Acting  Collector  of  Tinnevelly,  and  Dr. 
Jagor,  of  Berlin,  at  Aditta-nalliir  near  Pudugudi,  a  head  of  millet  was 
found.  The  grain  had  disappeared,  but  the  husks  remained.  In  one 
opened  by  myself  at  the  same  place  a  small  copper  bangle  was 
found.     Copper  is  not  now  used  for  this  purpose. 

The  unknown  people  must  have  lived  in  villages,  the  jars  being 
found,  not  one  here  and  another  there,  but  arranged  side  by  side  in 
considerable  numbers,  as  woidd  naturally  be  done  in  a  cemetery  or 
burial-ground.  They  were  also  a  comparatively  civilized  people,  as  is 
evident  from  the  excellence  of  their  pottery,  and  the  traces  of  iron 
implements  or  weapons  which  have  sometimes  been  found  in  the  jars. 
The  conclusion  from  all  this  which  seems  to  me  most  probable  is  that 
they  were  the  ancestors  of  the  people  now  living  in  the  same  neigh- 
bourhood. If  this  were  the  true  explanation,  it  is  singular  that  no 
relic,  trace,  or  tradition  of  such  a  mode  of  sepulture  has  survived  to 
the  present  day.  And  yet,  if  we  were  to  adojit  the  supposition  that 
they  were  an  alien  race,  it  would  be  still  more  difficult  to  conjecture 
who  they  were,  where  they  came  from,  and  why  they  disappeared. 
Whoever  those  people  were,  judging  from  the  rites  of  sepulture 
prevailing  amongst  them,  I  think  it  may  be  regarded  as  certain  that 
Not  Hindus  they  were  not  '  Hindus  ; '  that  is,  that  they  were  not  adherents  of  the 
by  religion.  Brahmanical  religion  commonly  called  Hindiiism.  If  so  they  must 
have  lived  at  that  early  period  when  Brahmanical  Hinduism  was  as 
yet  unknown,  or  at  least  when  it  had  not  yet  become  the  religion  of 
the  country.  This  supposition  would  carry  the  urns  back  to  a  high 
antiquity,  possibly  even  an  antiquity  higher  than  the  Christian  era. 

I  have  myself  seen  these  urns  both  in  the  Tinnevelly  and  Madura 
Districts  and  in  Northern  and  Southern  Travancore,  that  is.  on  both 
sides  of  the  Southern  Ghats,  and  I  am  anxious  to  ascertain  in  what 
other  districts  of  India  they  are  found.  If  the  area  within  which  they 
aro  found  can  be  accurately  traced,  some  light  may  be  thrown  thereby 
on  their  history. 


APPENDIX  V. 

EXPLORATIONS  AT  KOKKAI  AND  KAVAL. 

Aiiindix  V.  I  quote  here,    in  confirmation  of  statements  made  in  various  places 

in  the  body  of  the  work,   an  article  which  appeared  in  the  Indian 

Antiquary  for  March  1877. 

identified  "  *  v'^'t'''1'  Korkai  once  many  years  ago,  and,  though  my  visit  was 

a  hurried  our,  yet  from  what  I  saw,  and  from  the  inquiries   I  made,  I 


HISTORY   OF   TINNEVELLY.  283 

camo  to  the  conclusion  that  Korkai  (in  Tamil  properly  Kolkai,  euplio-  Appendix  V. 
nized  into  Korkai),  though  now  so  insignificant,  was  to  be  identi- 
fied with  the  KoA^ot  of  the  Greeks,  which  Lassen  had  identified 
with  Kllakarai,  a  place  on  the  Ramnad  or  Madura  coast.  The  Greeks 
came  to  KoA.^01  to  purchase  pearls,  certainly  soon  after  the  Chris- 
tian era,  probably  many  years  before,  and  represented  it  as  the 
headquarters  of  the  pearl  trade  between  Capo  Kumarl  and  the  place 
they  called  Kwpu,  properly  Koti,  now  Ramesvaram,  which  was  also 
an  emporium  of  the  same  trade.  It  must  have  been  regarded  as  a 
considerable  place  at  that  time,  seeing  that  from  its  name  they  called 
the  Gulf  of  Manar  the  Kolchic  Gulf.  This  was  the  Korkai  to  which 
all  native  traditions  pointed  as  the  cradle  of  South  Indian  civilization, 
the  place  where  the  three  brothers  Cheran,  Cholan,  and  Pandiyan 
were  said  to  have  been  born  and  brought  up,  and  from  whence  they  set 
forth  to  form  dynasties  and  kingdoms, — or,  as  might  more  readily  be 
admitted,  the  place  where  the  rule  of  the  Pandyas  commenced,  and 
from  whence  they  afterwards  migrated  to  Madura.  The  meaning  of 
the  name  Korkai  is  '  an  army,  a  camp.'  The  interest  of  this  identi-  Kayal. 
fication  was  heightened  by  the  conclusion  at  which  I  arrived  at  tho 
same  time,  that  an  insignificant  place  called  Old  Kayal,  about  half- 
way between  Korkai  and  the  sea,  was  to  be  identified  with  the  Cael 
of  Marco  Polo,  the  most  important  city  and  seaport  on  the  eastern 
coast  of  India  during  the  Middle  Ages.  (See  Colonel  Yule's  Marco 
Polo.)  The  sites  of  two  famous  places  were  thus  discovered  in  the 
same  neighbourhood,  and  a  glance  at  the  geology  of  the  neighbour- 
hood disclosed  the  reason  why  each  had  been  abandoned  in  turn. 
Both  places  are  situated  on  the  delta  of  the  Tamraparni, — Korkai 
within  five,  Kayal  within  two,  miles  of  the  sea, — and  each  was  origi- 
nally on  the  sea-coast.  As  the  silt  accumulated  in  the  soa  near  the 
mouth  of  the  river,  or  as  the  land  rose,  or  from  both  causes,  Korkai 
was  found  at  length  to  be  too  far  inland  for  the  convenience  of  a  sea- 
borne trade,  and  Kayal  (meaning  a  'lagoon  opening  into  the  sea') 
rose  in  its  stead  on  the  sea-shore,  and  attained  perhaps  to  still  greater 
dimensions.  Kayal  carried  on  an  immense  direct  trade  with  China 
and  Arabia,  the  evidences  of  which — broken  pieces  of  China  and 
Arabian  pottery— are  found  lying  all  over  the  open  plain  on  which  the  Retirement  of 
city  stood.  In  time,  however,  through  the  continuous  operation  of  the  sea  from 
the  same  causes,  Kayal  came  to  be  too  far  from  the  sea  ;  and  accord-  a 

ingly,  shortly  after  the  Portuguese  arrived  on  the  Coromandel  Coast, 
they  abandoned  Kayal,  and  established  themselves  instead  at  Tuticorin, 
which  has  ever  since  been  the  principal  seaport  of  Tinnevelly,  there 
being  no  river  near  to  silt  up  the  harbour  and  roads.  It  would  seem 
as  if  Korkai,  though  probably  never  so  important  an  emporium  of 
trade  as  Kayal,  must  at  one  time  have  been  nearly  as  large.  This  is 
proved  by  tho  relics  of  pottery,  &c,  scattered  about  the  country  for 
miles,  and  especially  by  tho  circumstance  that  places,  such  as  Akka- 
salai  ('the  mint'),  which  are  now  at  a  distance  from  Korkai,  are 
ascertained,  by  the  inscriptions  I  have  found  on  the  walls  of  tho 
temples,  to  have  been  portions  of  Korkai  originally 


28i 


APPENDIX   TO 


Excavations 

at  Korkai. 


Geology  of 

Korkai, 


AiiiMux  V.  "  Whilst  in  Korkai  and  the  neighbourhood  I  employed  ten  or  twelve 
coolies  for  four  days  to  niake  excavations  here  and  there,  under  the 
superintendence  of  one  of  my  assistants  ;  whilst  it  was  made  the  duty 
of  the  choir  boys — much  more  a  pleasure  to  them  than  a  duty — to 
examine  every  shovelful  of  the  earth  that  was  thrown  up,  to  see 
whether  it  contained  any  objects  of  interest.  The  Collector  of  the 
district  kindly  sent  me  a  peon,  to  let  the  people  of  the  place  see  that 
nothing  illegal  or  improper  was  going  to  be  done,  and  in  return  I 
sent  him  a  list  of  the  articles  found,  though  unfortunately  they  were 
of  no  particular  interest. 

"  The  geology  of  the  place  seemed  to  me  more  interesting  than  its 
antiqxuties.  The  whole  of  the  country  in  this  neighbourhood  is 
included  in  the  delta  of  the  Tamraparni,  the  great  river  of  Tinnevelly  ; 
and  this  place  is  situated  in  the  last  formed  portion  of  the  delta. 
lowest  and  nearest  the  sea,  so  that  the  mode  in  which  the  delta  was 
formed,  which  is  doubtless  more  or  less  the  mode  in  which  all  deltas 
have  been  formed,  could  be  easily  studied.  The  upper  stratum  is 
composed  of  stiff  alluvial  clay,  which  had  been  brought  down  by  the 
river  and  deposited  in  the  bed  of  the  adjacent  sea.  Every  portion  of 
this  alluvium  contains  sea-shells  in  great  abundance, — not  merely  sea- 
shore shells,  but  deep-sea  shells,  such  as  the  chatd-  and  the  pearl 
oyster.  So  abundant  are  they  that  in  places  where  the  surface  of  the 
ground  has  been  washed  away  by  rain,  and  cultivation  has  not  been 
carried  on,  the  white  shell-covered  surface  glitters  almost  like  water 
in  the  moonlight,  and  in  some  places  as  you  walk  along  the  roads, 
especially  near  Maramangalam,  the  shells  go  crackling  under  your 
feet,  as  they  would  by  the  sea-shore  when  the  tide  is  out.  This  being 
the  last  formed  portion  of  the  delta,  the  alluvial  stratum  is  very 
shallow.  The  average  depth  cannot  be  more  than  six  feet,  and  at  the 
bottoms  of  tanks  I  have  found  it  no  more  than  three.  Underneath 
this  I  invariably  found  a  layer  of  grit-stone  (called  by  the  people 
1  salt-stone  '),  rarely  more  than  a  foot  in  thickness,  composed  of  the 
larger  grains  of  sea-sand,  such  as  lie  on  the  surface,  mixed  with  com- 
minuted shells.  This  had  evidently  been  the  surface  of  the  ancient 
sea-bed,  for  underneath  I  invariably  came  upon  beautiful  white  sea- 
sand  in  smaller  grains,  containing  great  quantities  of  unbroken  shells. 
Doubtless  the  grit-stone  had  been  formed  by  the  infiltration  of  the 
alluvium  from  above.  I  found  it  impossible  to  ascertain  the  depth  of 
the  sand,  or  what  it  rested  on,  for  after  digging  into  it  for  a  few  feet 
the  hole  always  got  filled  with  water,  and  tho  water  flowed  in  so  fast 
that  baling  out  was  useless.  Strange  to  say,  some  of  the  shells  I 
found  in  this  ancient  sea-bed  retained  a  portion  of  their  original 
Recent  colour.     One  in  particular — a  Conus — looked   as  if  it   had  been  alive 

appearance  of  0H]V  a   few  years  ago.     What  makes  this  so  remarkable  is  that  this 
portion  of  tho  delta  must   have  been  inhabited  at  least    2,500  years 
ago,  and  it  must  have  been  many  ages  earlier  when  the  deposition  of 
the  alluvium  commenced. 
No  traces  ol         "  1  hoped  by  making  excavations  in  Korkai  and  the  neighbourhood 
thoGreeka.      tQ  fin(j  Bome  ira,  r.,  ,,f  )],,   Greeks,  but   in  this  I  was  doomed  to  be 


HISTORV    OF    TINNEVELLY. 


285 


disappointed.  The  ancient  level  of  the  village  is  about  eight  feet  Appendix  V. 
below  its  presenl  level,  which,  of  itself  is  a  proof  of  great  antiquity. 
When  the  diggers  reached  this  depth  they  invariably  found  traces  of 
human  habitations,  shreds  of  Indian  pottery,  Arc,  but  nothing  of  the 
nature  I  hoped  to  find.  On  the  surface  we  found  two  Singhalese 
copper  coins  (I  conclude  them  to  be  Singhalese  from  the  management 
of  the  drapery),  but  the  inscriptions  were  quite  obliterated.  I  also 
found  two  images  of  Buddha,  sitting,  in  his  usual  attitude  of  contem- 
plation. One  of  them  was  out  in  the  fields,  the  other  in  the  village.  *ma£f  of 
I  suspected  that  the  latter  was  worshipped,  though  it  was  known  to 
belong  to  a  different  religion.  The  people  strenuously  denied  this, 
but  one  morning  when  I  happened  to  pass  I  saw  a  garland  of  flowers 
which  had  been  placed  by  some  person  round  its  neck.  The  person  who 
did  so  evidently  thought  that  if  ever  Buddha  got  his  head  above  water 
again,  he  had  a  chance  of  being  remembered  for  good!  The  most 
interesting  things  that  were  found  were  three  of  those  mysterious 
sepulchral  urns  which  have  hitherto  puzzled  everybody.  The  natives 
know  nothing  about  them,  and  the  common  opinion  amongst  Euro- 
peans is  that  they  pertained  to  a  race  which  died  out,  but  of  which 
no  relic  remains  except  these  urns.  The  urns  are  made  of  a  pecu- 
liarly good  variety  of  the  ordinary  pottery  of  the  country,  but  there 
are  always  some  little  vessels  found  inside,  some  of  which  are  beauti- 
fully shaped,  with  a  polish  or  glaze  which  the  potters  of  these  days 
cannot  imitate.  Two  of  the  urns  I  found  contained  no  bones,  but  only 
traces  of  bone-dust ;  but  one,  a  monster  urn,  1 1  feet  in  circumference  Sepulchral 
— unfortunately  found  broken — contained  a  complete  set  of  entire  ums- 
human  bones,  including  a  perfect  skull.  The  circumstances  in  which 
this  urn  was  found  were  very  interesting.  The  people  to  whom  it 
belonged  had  dug  down  through  the  alluvial  soil  of  the  delta  and  the 
grit-stone  till  they  came  to  the  white  sea-sand,  and  in  this  they  had 
deposited  the  urn.  The  grit-stone  had  then  partially  reformed  all 
round,  and  I  found  the  cavity  of  the  skull  filled  up  with  grit-stone. 
All  the  bones  were  more  or  less  petrified.  The  notion  "invariably 
entertained  by  the  natives  of  these  days  is  that  the  people  buried  in  Petrified 
these  urns  were  a  race  of  pygmies,  but  the  bones  found  in  this  urn  human  o01108- 
were  admitted  by  the  natives  who  were  standing  about  when  it  was 
opened  to  be  those  of  a  full-grown  man  of  the  usual  size.  Strange 
to  say,  a  deputation  of  women  came  to  my  tent  one  day  for  the 
purpose  of  seeing  the  bones. 

"  I  visited  Old  Kayal  (Marco  Polo's  Gael)  twice,  and  set  my  excava-  Explorations 
tors  at  work  for  a  day  in  a  place  about  two  miles  from  the  present in  K&yal. 
village,  which  represents  only  the  western  boundary  of  the  ancient 
city.  At  a  depth  of  three  feet  beneath  the  present  surface  they  came 
on  the  ehunammed  floor  of  a  houso,  but  found  nothing  of  importance. 
The  extent  of  the  site  of  Kayal  was  so  great  that  it  would  take  a 
month,  instead  of  a  single  day  merely,  to  explore  it  properly.  I 
found,  however,  the  whole  surface  of  the  ground,  literally  for  miles, 
covered  with  evidences  of  the  perfect  truth  of  Marco  Polo's  statements 
respecting  the  trade  of  the  place,  confirmed  by  those  of  the  Muham- 
madan    historians       According     t<     thosi     statements,    Kayal    was 


286 


ArPENDIX    TO 


China  and 
Arabian 
pottery . 


Superstitious 
fears. 


Appendix  V.  frequented  by  great  numbers  of  vessels  from  the  Arabian  coast  and 
from  China — {junks) — in  one  of  which  latter  Marco  Polo  himself 
arrived  ;  and  accordingly  I  picked  up  everywhere  on  the  open  plain 
broken  pieces  of  China  porcelain  of  all  qualities,  and  broken  pieces  of 
Arabian  pottery.  I  could  easily,  if  I  had  chosen,  have  collected  a 
cart-load,  but  the  pieces  had  been  broken  again  and  again  by  the 
plough  and  the  feet  of  bullocks,  so  that,  though  the  material  in  each 
case  was  obvious  enough,  all  trace  of  the  shape  of  the  article  had 
disappeared.  Old  Kayal,  or  what  remains  of  it,  is  now  inhabited 
almost  exclusively  by  Labbis  (native  Muhammadans)  and  Eoman 
Catholic  fishermen. 

"  The  people  of  these  parts,  as  generally  throughout  India,  have  not 
the  remotest  notion  of  the  object  Europeans  have  in  view  in  searching 
for  antiquities.  Whatever  we  may  say,  they  think  our  real  object  is 
to  endeavour  to  discover  hidden  treasures ;  and  this  they  consider  a 
very  risky  business,  for  all  hidden  treasures  are  in  the  custody  of 
demons,  who  will  not  allow  them  to  be  rifled  with  impunity.  At 
Korkai,  before  my  explorations  commenced,  many  of  the  people 
expressed  an  earnest  hope  that  I  woidd  not  make  any  excavations 
near  any  temple  or  image,  because,  although  very  likely  there  might 
be  treasure  underneath,  the  demons  in  charge  would  be  so  enraged 
that  they  woidd  destroy  the  village  outright.  I  assured  the  rjeople 
that  I  would  take  care  not  to  come  near  any  temple  or  image,  and  I 

scrupulously  kept  my  word.     My  old   friend  M of  Arumuga- 

mangalam  professes  to  have  received  a  dreadful  fright  some  }rears  ago 
from  the  demons  that  watch  over  hidden  treasure,  when  he  helped 
the  then  Collector  of  Tinnevelly,  Mr.  Packle,  to  make  some  explora- 
tions near  Kayal.  The  night  after  the  first  day's  exploration  a  she- 
demon  appeared  to  him  in  a  dream,  and  asked  him  in  terrible  tones 
how  he  dared  to  meddle  with  her  treasures.  In  the  morning  when  he 
awoke,  he  found — dreadful  to  relate — that  his  feet  were  fastened 
round  the  back  of  his  neck  in  such  a  way  that  he  was  unable  to  loose 
them  without  assistance !  I  need  scarcely  add  that  no  further  part  in 
the  exploration  was  taken  by  him.  I  wanted  him  to  tell  me  the  story  ; 
but  he  was  afraid,  I  suppose,  I  should  laugh  at  him.  and  so  I  failed  ; 
but  he  told  it  quite  gravely  to  my  assistants,  and  has  told  the  story  so 
often  that  he  evidently  believes  it  himself  now.  Even  Europeans,  it 
seems,  are  not  quite  so  free  from  danger  as  they  suppose.  Many 
years  ago  there  was  a  Collector  of  Tinnevelly,  it  is  said,  who  deter- 
mined to  dig  for  the  treasure  which  was  believed  to  have  been  hidden 
in  a  certain  place  by  a  woman  who  intended  to  make  use  of  it  in  some 
subsequent  birth,  and  which  for  the  time  being,  of  cotirse,  was  under 
the  custody  of  demons.  lie  was  warned  that  something  dreadful  would 
happen,  but,  being  a  European,  he  did  not  care.  lie  pitched  his  tent 
near  the  place,  and  the  whole  of  the  first  day  was  occupied  by  himself, 
his  peons,  and  his  coolies  in  digging.  At  length,  as  night  drew  on, 
they  came  to  a  carefully  built  stone  receptacle;  and.  justly  concluding 
that  this  was  the  place  where  the  treasure  was  hidden,  the  Collector 
861  a  watch  over  it  and  went  to  Bleep  in  his  tent,  with  the  intention  of 
opening  the    -tone  receptacle  the  next   morning.     The  next  morning 


Wonderful 
occurrence  to 
an  explorer. 


HISTORY    OF   TINNEVELLY.  287 

came,  and  the  Collector  found  himself,  not  in  his  tent,  but  in  bed  in  Appendix  V. 
his  own  bungalow  many  miles  away  at  Palamcotta  ;  the  tent  was  found 
pitched  at  the  other  side  of  the  river,  and  of  the  excavations  that  had 
been  made  the  previous  day  not  a  trace  remained !" 

Discovery  of  Arabic  Coins. 

Some  years  ago  a  considerable  quantity  of  Muhammadan  gold  coins 
was  discovered  in  Tinnevelly  near  an  old  road  leading  from  Kayal. 
So  far  as  appears  all  the  coins — which  with  one  exception  are 
Arabic — belonged  to  the  13th  century  A.D.  and  probably  therefore 
were  brought  to  India  by  Arab  merchants  some  time  before  Marco 
Polo's  visit  in  1292.  They  were  discovered  by  coolies  engaged  in 
digging  the  southern  channel  leading  from  Pudugudi,  at  the  southern 
end  of  the  Srivaikunthani  anicut,  in  the  direction  of  Tiruchendur. 
The  nearest  village  to  the  spot  was  Tentirupati  or  Tentiruperai,  the 
nearest  town  Alvar  Tirunagari.  The  channel  was  being  carried 
through  a  road  when  the  vessel  containing  the  coins  was  discovered 
several  feet  beneath  the  surface.  Kayal  lies  to  the  north  of  the 
Tamraparnl  near  the  sea,  and  this  place  lay  to  the  south  some  distance 
inland,  but  as  the  road  under  which  they  were  found  led  from  Kayal 
to  Kayalpattanam  and  Kulasekharapattanam,  places  where  Arab 
merchants  resided  and  traded  even  then,  I  think  we  are  warranted  in 
connecting  the  find  with  Marco  Polo's  Kayal.  Doubtless  the  treasure 
was  buried  in  the  hurry  of  some  alarm  of  robbers  or  local  war, 
and  we  may  conclude  from  the  owners  never  having  returned  and 
taken  it  away  that  the  alarm  proved  only  too  well  founded,  and  that 
the  owners  lost  their  lives  as  well  as  their  treasure. 

I  here  quote  the  account  of  the  discovery  furnished  to  the  Board  of 
Revenue  by  Mr.  E.  K.  Puckle,  Collector  of  the  district,  on  the  25th 
October  1873  : 

"  On  the  25th  December  (1872)  last  a  gang  of  labourers  while 
engaged  on  cutting  a  channel  connected  with  the  Strivaiguntam 
Anicut  Project  came  upon  a  large  copper  pot  filled  with  gold  ingots 
and  coins.  The  pot  was  of  large  size,  capable  of  holding  six  Madras 
measures  of  grain,  and  from  the  marks  inside  it  must  have  been  filled 
with  treasure. 

"  2.  The  probable  value  of  the  treasure  is  estimated  at  a  lakh  of 
rupees. 

"3.  The  labourers  divided  the  spoil  and  made  off  with  it,  but  the 
matter  soon  became  public  and  the  Tahsildar  succeeded  in  recovering 
Rupees  8,000  worth  of  coin  and  ingots.  This  was  mostly  recovered 
from  a  little  girl  who  ran  away  from  her  house  with  a  chatty  which 
fell,  broke,  and  scattered  the  gold  in  front  of  the  officials  who  were 
coming  to  search. 

"  4.  The  rest  was  quickly  buried  or  melted  down,  and  all  traces  of  it 
were  lost.  I  am  told,  however,  that  the  share  of  one  of  the  labourers, 
which  he  deposited  with  a  kavalgar,  who  afterwards  denied  having 
received  it,  was  worth  900  rupees,  so,  as  there  were  twenty  labourers 
besides  headmen  to  share  the  spoil,  the  find  must  have  been  very 
extensive. 


288  APPENDIX    TO    HISTORY    OF    TINNEVELLY. 

Appendix  V.  "  5.  On  hearing  of  the  discovery  I  notified  the  course  to  he  pursued 
under  the  Act,  hut  nothing  was  given  up.  The  treasure  recovered 
was  deposited  with  the  Civil  Court,  and  the  case  was  inquired  into 
after  due  notification.  The  Court  has  decided,  as  per  proceeding 
enclosed,  that  the  terms  of  the  Act  were  sufficiently  observed  and  that 
the  treasure  should  he  restored  to  the  finders. 

"  6.  This  treasure  was  buried  in  the  sandy  tract  between  the  coast 
and  the  large  town  of  Alwartirunagari,  some  fifteen  miles  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Tambrapurni.  It  was  found  near  an  old  avenue  leading- 
inland  from  what  was  once  the  city  of  Kayal,  and  this  treasure  was 
probably  buried  some  hundreds  of  years  ago. 

"  7.  The  coins  are  principally  Arabic,  but  one  is  European.  This, 
as  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  is  a  coin  of  Joanna  of  Castile,  A.D.  1236. 
Some  of  the  Arabic  coins  are  still  older  :  one  hears  the  impress  of  the 
Mahomedan  year  71,  and  another  bears  the  name  of  Sultan  Salaudeen, 
who  may  be  the  Saladin  of  history." 

I  here  add  the  description  of  the  coins  sent  to  the  Madras  Govern- 
ment Museum  by  Mr.  Puckle,  kindly  furnished  to  me  by  Dr.  G.  Bidie, 
Superintendent  of  tho  Museum. 

"  The  coins  are  31  in  number,  and  the  inscriptions  are  in  Arabic  or 
Kufic,  with  one  exception,  viz.,  that  of  a  coin  of  Peter  of  Aragon,  the 
legend  on  which  is  Latin  in  Gothic  character.  All  the  Kalifat  coins, 
with  the  exception  of  nine,  have  been  deciphered  and  belong  to  the 
13th  century.  So  of  course  does  that  of  Peter  of  Aragon,  it  being 
after  1276.  There  is  a  doubt  about  some  of  the  dates,  but  none  are 
apparently  later  than  1300." 


INDEX. 


Page 
100 
91 


37 

260 

131 

25 

21 

78 

25 1 


Ahdul-mally 
Abdul-rahim 
Abdurrazzak,  Quatremere's  publication 

of  

Abington,  Major,  App. 

Abiral  Khan 

Achehan-kdvil,  pass 

Adam's  Bridge    . . 

Adansonia  Digitate  at  Taticorin 

Adithiya  Nurmah,  App. 

Aditta-nallur,  5  sepulchral  urns  at,  App.  282 

'  Agastier,'  Agastya'a  hill        ..  6,  15 

Agastva,  App.      . .  . .  . .  . .   277 

Agnew,  Colonel 94,  203 

Ahava  Malla,  Rajendra  Chola's  victory 

over 
Aiyangars,  App. 
Akrida 
Alam  Khan,  a  soldier  of  fortune 

—  deputed  by   Chanda  Saheb  to  take 

charge  of  Tinnevelly 
Alandulai 
Alangaud,  App. 
Alauddin,  his  army 
Algapa  (Alagappa)  Mudali 

—  126,  App.     " 

Alleppey,  App. 
AHi  Saheb 
Alvar  Kurichi 

—  Tirunagari 
Alvar  Tinnevelly    (Alvar  Tirunagari), 

the  Dutch  troops  proceed  to 

—  plundered  by  Kattaboma's  people  . . 

—  named  after  the  Tinnevelly  Alvar, 

App-  

Ambalakadu         . .  . . 

Ambasamudram 

Amir  Khusru,  the  Muhammadan  histo- 
rian 

Aneguudi 

Anicuts,  list  of  those  in  Tinnevelly  on 
the  Tamraparni 

Anjengo,  Yusuf  receives  help  from    . . 

—  letters  from  Madras  to  Bombay  sent 

through 

—  Orine  said  to  have  been  born  at 
Anna  Deva  Raja,  king  of   Vijayanaga- 

ram 
Antonio  Criminalis,  Xavier's  successor, 

his  death 
Anw  ir-u-din 

—  appointed  Nawab 
Arabic  coins,  discovery  of,  App. 
Aramboly,  pass 

—  App 

Argalic  Gulf,  the,  or  Palk  Strait 

Argalon,  a  district 

Ariyankavu 

Ariyanayakapuram,  anient 

Arjuna,    his    intermarriage    with    the 

Pandyaa  ..         ..         ,.         ..     1! 


28 

277 

12 

91 


125 
.  78 
.  263 
34,  49 
.  114 
.  254 
.  263 
.  115 
.  115 
.     79 

124 
163 

277 
73 
63 


32 
45 

63 
122 

138 
138 

49 

234 
87 

125 

287 
87 

254 
21 
20 
26 
66 


Page 

Arnold,  Father 233 

Arumugamangalam,  App.         . .          . .  286 

Arumugam  Pillay,  App.            . .          . .  253 

Arya  Nayaka       . .          . .          . .          . .  67 

Aryans      . .          . .          . .          . .          . .  1 

Asoka,  his  inscription  at  Girnar          . .  9 

Atabek  Abu  Bakr           39 

Aitchison,  his  Treaties,  App.    . .          . .  270 

Ati-Vira-rama  Pandya              . .          . .  27 

Ati-Vira  Parakrama  Pandya    . .  49 

Augustus,  the  Pandyas  embassy  to     . .  16 

Avudeiyarpuram,  Poligar  of     . .  95 

Avur          241 

Aycottah,  App.  ..  ..  ..261 


Babhruvahana     . .  . .  . .  ..13 

Bada  Saheb  87 

Badagas    . .  . .  . .  . .  . .     47 

—  motives  of  the  . .  . .  . .     70 

—  inroads  of  the  . .  . .  69 

—  ravages  of  the  . .  . .  69 

—  explanation  of  the  hostility  of  the.     71 

Baggott,  Mr . .  . .     83 

Bahrein,  one  of  the  isles  in  the  Persian 

Gulf 39 

Baldaeus,  a  Dutch  Missionary  . .   237 

Ballalas,    the,    kings  of   Dwara-samu- 

dra  30,  34 

—  defeat  of  . .  . .  . .  . .      44 

—  end  of  the  dvnasty  of  . .  44 

Ballard,  Mr.,  App.    " 264 

Balmain,  Mr 162 

Bannerman,  Major         ..  ..         94,  166 

—  events  preceding  his  expedition     . .    173 

—  his  letter  to  the  Secretary  to  Gov- 

ernment       . .  . .  .  ,  . .    183 

—  particulars  of  his  expedition  ..    183 

—  his  success      ..  ..  ..  ..    193 

—  the  first  representative  of  the  Bri- 

tish Government  in    Travancore, 

App.  

Baobab,  an  African  tree  at  Tuticorin 
Barbosa,  a  Portuguese  Captain 

—  his  information 
Barlow,  Sir  G.,  App.     .. 
Barretto,  Bishop  of  Cochin 
Barrington,  Captain 
Bassorah,  letters  sent  home  vid 
Batavia,  the  Museum  at 
Berkatoolah  (Barakat-ulla) 
Beschi,  Father     . .  . , 

—  a  Tamil  scholar 

—  memoirs  of 

—  his  stations 

—  his  1  if . -  in  danger 

—  acquired  his  Tamil  in  Tinnevelly 

—  his    flight  on    the  approach  of  Mah- 

ratt-iB 

—  his  last  days  at  Manapar 

—  his  de  ith 

37 


261 

78 

17 

67 

263 

82 

140 

139 

47 

112 

238 

238 

239 

240 

240 

241 

24  2 
243 
242 


290 


INDEX. 


Page 
Beschi,  his  grave  . .  . .  . .   243 

—  period  after     . .  . .  . .  . .   243 

Bettelar 40 

Bettigo,  the,  of  the  Greeks      . .         . .      11 

Bhagavati  . .  . .  . .  ..21 

Bharadwaja  Gothram  . .  . .     65 

Bharata,  his  behaviour  to  his  brother 

Rama  an  instance  of  filial  duty  155 
Bidie,    Dr.  G.,  Superintendent  of  the 

Madras  Museum,  App 288 

Bilcliffe,  Captain  142 

—  Commandant  at  Pal amcottah         ..    144 

—  directed  to  make  over  Tuticorin    . .    155 
Birch,  Lieutenant  . .  . .  . .   205 

Birdhul ..  ..34 

Blacker,  Captain  ..  ..  ..152 

—  his  battalion  placed  at  Sankaranai- 

yanarkovil    . .  . .  . .  . .    158 

—  wounded         . .         . .  . .         . .  205 

Board  of  Revenue  constituted  at  Mad- 
ras in  1786 158 

—  Letter  to  the  Madras   Government 

from  the       ..  ..  ..  ..175 

Bombay,  learned  Natives  of    . .         . .       2 

—  postal       communication       between 

Madras  and  ..  ..  ..    139 

Brahmans  from  the  north         . .  . .       4 

—  self-sacrifice  of  one  at  Srivilliputtur  113 
Braithwaite,  Major        ..  ..  ..140 

Brandolini,  Father,  founder  of  the  con- 
gregation at  Vadakankulam         . .   240 

Bridges,   Colonel,   Commandant  of  Pa- 

lamcottah     ..  ..  ..  ..    158 

Brihat-samhita,   one  of   the   works   of 

Varaha-mihira         . .  . .  . .     26 

Broun,  Dr.,  Astronomer  . .  . .       6 

Browne,  Captain  ..  ..  ..138 

—  engages  the  Poligars  against  Hyder  139 

—  ordered  to  Madras     . .  . .  . .    139 

Buddhamitra,  the  Buddhist  Gramma- 
rian   . .  . .  . .  . .  29 

Bukka  Rayar,  the  first  Rayar  of  Vija- 

yanagara       . .  . .  . .  52 

Burnell,  Dr 27,  29 

—  his  researches  . .  . .  . .     31 

—  his  succession  of  Cholas        . .  32 
Buxy  (Bakhshi)  a  Muhammadan  Com- 
mander-in-Chief     ..          ..          ..133 


c. 


Calancandan  (Kollamkondan),  the  Poli- 

gar  of  102,  133 

Calcutta,  learned  Natives  of     . .  . .       2 

Caldwell,  Colonel  66 

Caliar  Covil  (Kalaiyarkovil)     ..  ..210 

Calliaud,  Captain  ..  .,  ..100 

—  his  plans  . .  . .  . .  ..113 

"Cambo-Naig"  (Kamaiya  Nayaka)  ..    139 
Campbell,    Colonel   Donald,    his   cam- 
paign . .  . .  . .  ..135 

—  his  care  for  the  people  . .  . .    137 

—  Sir  Archibald,  App.  ..  ..    261 

—  Captain  Graham         ..  ..  ..151 

"  Canadian, "anicut        ..  ..  ..44 

Cape  Comorin       .  .  .  .  . .  .  .        3 

—  as  known  to  ihr  Greeks         ..  ..      10 

—  its  description  in  the  Pcriplus         . .      19 


Page 
Casamajor,   Mr.,    introduced  spices   at 

Courtallura  . .  . .  . .  9,160 

Cashmere,  Raja-taranginl  of    . .  . .        I 

"  Cawn,  the,"  the  Nawab's Manager. .  156 
Ceylon,  Maha-wanso  of  . .  . .        1 

—  the  Shanars  from       . .  . .  . .       4 

—  later  names  of  . .  . .  . .       9 

—  the  great  reservoirs  of  . .  14 

—  help  obtained  from  . .  . .  202 
Chalmers,  Colonel,  App.  . .  . .  263 
Chalukya,  the  country  . .  . .  28 
Chanda  Saheb  at  Trichinopoly            . .     85 

—  his  treachery  . .  . .  . .     85 

—  seizes  the  kingdom    . .  . .  86 

—  invasion  of  the  south,  App.  . ,  256 
Chandra-sekhai'a,  king  of  Madura  . .  55 
Chandragiri,  the  forts  of  Velur  and   . .     48 

—  grant  of  Madras  to  the  English  by 

the  Raja  of  . .  . .  50 

Chennappa,  the  name  of  the  founder  of 

Madras  50 

Cbera-Maha  Devi,  Sathram  at  . .     65 

Cheras,  the  legendary  origin  of  the    . .      12 

—  boundary  between  the  Pandyas  and 

the     . .  . .  . .  . .  . .     25 

Cheran  Perumal  Rajah  . .  65 

"  Cheroker  "  (Servaikar),    or   Minister 

of  Shivagangai         . .  . .  ..170 

Chera-Chola  Pandyeswaram,  App.      . .   251 
Chin  and  Machin  . .  . .  39 

Chintamani,  the,  App.    ..  ...  ..   278 

Chitrangada,  Arj  una's  wife      ..  ..      13 

Chittar,  the  8,  1 1 

Chokkampatti      . .  . .  . .  98 

—  siege  of  the  fort         . .  . .  . .    149 

—  support  given  to  the  Government  by 

the  Poligar  ot  1 79 

Cholas,  the  history  of  the         . .  . .        2 

—  legendary  origin  of  the        . .  . .      12 

—  their  occupation         . .  . .  27 

—  conquest  over  the      . .  . .  . .     48 

Cbola,  Rajendra  . .  . .  27 

—  Karikala         29 

—  Vlra 29 

—  Vikrama  . .  . .  . .  29 

—  Pandyas  . .  . .  . .  30 

—  Sundara  Pandya         . .  . .  30 

Christians,  the  Native  . .  . .  . .    199 

Clarke,  Lieutenant,  the  murder  of  . .  177 
Clason,  Lieutenant         . .  . .  . .   203 

Olive,  Lord  180 

Clorinda  244 

Cochin,  the  Portuguese  at         . .  68 

—  embassy  of  the  Paravas  to  68 

—  printing  at  . .  . .  72 
Cochrane,   Mr.,    the  first  Collector  of 

Tinnevclly  alone     ..  ..  ..231 

Colchic  Gulf,  the  18 

Coleroon,  properly  Kollidam     . .  . .      18 

Colombo,  a  Dutch  force  from  . .    124 

—  spices  brought  to  Tinnevelly  from.  141 
Columbus  . .  . .  . .  23 

Colt  Raja,  the 14  1 

"  Collerics,"  who  they  were     ..  ..   103 

—  description  of  armed  ..         ..103 

—  assemblage  of  ..         ..         ..    138 

Oomari,  kingdom  of        . .  . .  . .      67 

"Combutur"      ..  ..  ..  ..77 

Comftri  (properly  Kamudi)       ..         ..  209 


INDEX. 


291 


University    of 


Casa- 

9, 


Comrah  (Kamudi) 
Convocation     of     the 

Madras  in  1879 
Cooke,  Captain 

—  ordered  to  Madras 

Cornwallis,  Lord,  Governor-General, 
an  account  of  the  conduct  of  the 
Tinnevelly  Poligars  sent  to 

Cosmas  Indicopleustes 

Courtallum,  falls  of 

—  spices  introduced  at,  by   Mr. 

major 

—  Trikudam,  a  poetical  name  of 

—  temple  at 
dimming.  Paymaster 
C  unningham,  Ensign 
Cuppage,  Colonel,  App. 


D. 

Dallas,  Lieutenant 
Dalavay  Mudali 

—  the  Hindu  renter 
Dalrymple,  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Darukavana 

Daust  Ali 

David,    the     first    Shanar    Protestant 

Christian 
Deva,  caste  title  of  Maravas     . . 
Dey,  Lieutenant  H. 
Dhairyanatha     Svami     (yar),     Native 

name  adopted  hy  Beschi 
Dhanush  koti 
Dighton,  Captain 
D'Lanoy,  Captain,  App. 
Doctrina  Christiana 
Donald  Camphell,  Major 

—  officer  in  command  in  Madura 
Draupadi 

Durga,  the  goddess 

Dushyanta 

Dutch,  Tuticorin  under  the 

—  factories 

—  Tuticorin  taken  by  the 

—  monopoly  in  the  fishery 

—  alliance   with  Poligars  against  the 

English         

—  invasion  of  the 

—  force  from  Colombo 

—  their  estimate  of  Hyder 

—  their  alliance  with  the  Poligars 

—  meditated  cession  of  Tinnevelly  to 

the     , .  . .  . , 

—  intolerance  of  the 
Dwara-Samudra 

—  the  kingdom  of 

—  Ramanuja's  flight  to 

—  list  of  the  kings  of    . . 

—  the  Kannadi  kings  of 


Page 

.    142 


2 
139 
140 


160 

23 

8 

1G0 
9 
53 
139 
150 
265 


185 

99 

141 

217 

88 

86 

246 
210 
203 

241 

21 

162 

257 

72 

129 

132 

134 

20 

12 

78 

79 

78 

80 

82 
124 
124 
141 
142 

142 
237 
30 
42 
43 
45 
90 


Easaltaver  (probably  Isvara  Devar)    . .    121 
Edeyengoody,    pestilential  fever  near, 

App.       .."        271 

Eidington,   Captain,    succeeds  Captain 

Cooke  . .  . .  . .  , .    140 


Page 

Elayirampannai.  the  Poligar  of  . .    178 

Elliot's  Muhammadan  Historians        . .     35 
Elphinstone,  Colonel     . .  . .  . .    149 

English,  the  Dutch  alliance  with  Poli- 
gars against  the       . .  . .  . .     82 

—  garrison  . .  . ,  . .  . .  91 
Epic  poems  or  Puranaa  . .  . ,  l 
Epiodoros,  the  island  of  , .  20 
Ettaiyapuram,  Zemindar  of      . .          . .     49 

—  origin  of  49 

—  rebellion  of  . .  . .  . .      59 

—  the  Poligar  of  ..  ..  ..100 

—  the  great  rival  of  Panjalamkurichi.   173 

—  assistance  of  ..  ..  .,  ..184 
Ettappa  Nayaka  173 


P. 


Ferishta    ..  ..  ..  .,  ..44 

Flint,  Major,  attempts  to  reduce  Poli- 
gar fort  133 

—  his  unsuccessful  campaign  ..  ..134 
Flos  Sanctorum  . .  . .  , ,  72 
Foulsum,  Ensign  ..  ..  ,.  133 
Francis  Mancias              . .          . .  . .     76 

—  Xavier's  letter  to  , .  . .  234 
Eraser,  Lieutenant  . .  . .  . ,  204 
Frederic,  Csesar,  a  Venetian  merchant.  73 
French,  the,  Yusuf's  negotiations  with.  129 

—  treachery  of  their  commander  ..  129 
Frischman,   Captain,    Commandant   at 

Palamcotta  ..  ..  ..       132,  138 

Fry,  Dr '  280 

Fullarton,   Colonel,  his  description  of 
•Tinnevelly 106 

—  invited  by  Mr.  Irwin  to  reduce  the 

Poligars        . .  . .  . .  . ,    148 

—  marches  into  Tinnevelly       . .  . .    149 

—  attacks  Panjalamkurichi      . .  . .    149 

—  attacks  Si vagiri  ..  ..  ..151 

—  success  of  his  expedition      . .  . .    153 

—  his  threat         ..  ..  ..  ..153 

—  Torin's  opinion  of  the  results  of  his 

lenity  160 


G. 

Gangadaram         . .          . .          . .  ..113 

Gangaikkondan,  a  station  on  the  Tinne- 
velly line  of  rail      . .          . .  . .     31 

—  battle  at           . .          . .          , .  ..112 

Gardiner,  Captain          ..          ..  ..152 

Gibbings,  Captain           ..          ..  .,    145 

Gilchrist,  Lieutenant     . .          . .  . .    204 

Gnana-sambandha,      a      great  Saiva 

teacher  . .  . .  . ,  . .     32 

Goanese  Church  at  Tuticorin  . .      78 

Gopala  Pillai         65 

Graham,  Major   ..  ..  ,.  ..217 

Grant,  Lieutenant  James  . .  . ,    200 

Greeks,  first  visited  India         . .  . .        9 

—  the  Solen  of  the         . .  . .  . .      10 

—  the  Bettigo  of  the      . .  . .  . ,      \  1 

—  information  about  Korkai  furnished 

by  the        _ 17 

—  Cape  Comorin  as  known  to  the       . .      19 

—  Paumben  as  known  to  the  ..      21 


292 


INDEX. 


Page 

and  Madura 


Greeks,  "  The  Pandion 

as  known  to  the 
—  courageous  act  of  a  mariner  of  the. 
Groves,  Mr.,  landed  at  Tuticorin 
Guerrero,  his  "Relation"  of  the  Mis 

sion 
Gurukkalpatti,  Beschi  imprisoned  at  . . 


H. 

Halcott,  Captain 

Haleyabidu,    "  the  old  abode  "   of  the 

Ballalas         

Han  bury,  Mr.,  App. 

Hanuman 

Hanxleden,  Father 

Harper,  Captain,  sets  out  to  the  relief 

of  Kalakadu 

—  in  command  of  Major  Flint's  rear 

guards 

—  appointed  to  establish  a  cantonment 

in  Sankaranaiyanarkovil 

Hastings,  Governor-General,  endea- 
vours to  enter  into  a  treaty  with 
the  Dutch 

Hazard,  Captain 

Henrique  Henriquez,  Father,  buried  at 
Tuticorin 

Hepburn,  Mr.,  Collector,  App.  ., 

Heracles,  the  Indian 

Heron,  Colonel,  his  expedition 

—  took  Kovilgudi 

—  his  dishonourable  conduct   . . 

—  his  fruitless  delay 

—  his  fate 
Hewitt,  Major,  App. 
Hindus,  insults  offered  to 
Hippalus,  a  Greek  mariner,  his  coura- 
geous act 

Hobart,  Lord 

"  Hookoometron,"  Raja  (Hukumat 
Ram)  

Hopkins,  Captain,  from  Vellore,  suc- 
ceeds Captain  Cooke 

Horslcy,  Colonel 

Hough,  Chaplain  at  Palamcotta 

Hughes,  Mr.,  his  screw 

—  his  account  of  the  last  Poligar  war. 
■ —  his  opinion 

Hume,  Surgeon,  App. 

Hunter,  Dr.,  App. 

Ilurmuz,   one  of   the  isles  of    Persian 

Gulf  

Hussein  Mahomed  Khan 

Hyder  Ali,  his  communication  with  the 

Poligars 

—  behaviour  of  the  Poligars  towards . . 

—  Dutch  estimate  of 

—  Travancore  aid  against,  App. 

—  Hazardinari,  a  Muhamniadan  army 

under 


22 
23 
83 

71 
240 


141 

43 
271 

15 
233 

132 

134 

137 


142 

205 

235 

271 

15 

92 

93 

95 

95 

96 

265 

140 

23 
169 

138 

140 
89 
247 
84 
194 
198 
264 
280 

39 

125 

138 
139 
111 
260 

44 


Ibn  Batuta,  Commissioner 
Emperor  of  Delhi  . . 


from    the 


42 


Page 
Iktibar  Khan,  the  XawaVs  Manager  in 

Tinnevelly    ..  .,  ..  ..156 

Ilanji,  urns  discorered  at,  App.  . .   280 

Innes,    Colonel,    junction    of    Colonel 

Martinz  with  his  force        , .  . .    210 

Innis,  Lieutenant  ..  ..  ..91 

Irwin,  Mr.  . .  . .  . .  . .     82 

—  Mr.  Proctor's  successor        . .  . .    143 

—  commission  to  . .  . .  . .    146 

—  instructions  to  . .  . .  . .    146 

—  enters  on  his  duties   . .  . .  . ,    147 

—  invites  Colonel  Fullarton     . .  . .    148 

—  his  policy         ..  ..  .,  ..154 

—  his  forebodings  . .  . ,  , ,    156 


J. 


Jackson,  Mr.,  Collector  ..         ..   165 

—  his  proceedings  disapproved  . .    174 

—  his  severity     . .  . .  . .  . .   176 

—  his  character  . .  . .  . .    177 

Jacobs,  Captain  ..  ..  ..151 

Jaga  Vira  Ettappa  Nayakar     . .  . .   236 

Jagor,  Dr.,  stone  implements  taken  to 

Berlin  by  . .  . .  . .       4 

App.  282 
Jainas,  Sundara  Pandya's  zeal  against 

the 32 

Jesuits,  letters  of  the     . .  . .  55 

Joannes  Gonsalves,  printer  of  Tamil  . .     72 


K. 


Kadalgudi,  failure  of  attack  on  ..  198 
Kafur,  his  invasion  in  131 1  ..  ..42 
Kaittar 160 

—  Kattaboma  executed  at         ..  ..183 

—  force  assembled  at  . .  . .   205 

—  proclamation  of  Major   Bannerman 

written  from  . .  . .  . .    188 

—  interview  with  the  Tinnevelly  Poli- 

gars at  . .  , .  . .  . .    190 

—  R.  C.  congregation  at  . .  . .  236 
K&laiyarkovil,  the  capture  of               ..   216 

—  meaning  of  .  .  . .  .  .    220 

—  attack  on  the  place  . .  . .   220 

—  description  of  . .  . .  . .    221 

—  events  that  followed  the  capture  of.  221 
Kalakadu,  incursions  of  the  Travancore 

troops  into  the  districts  about      . .    Ill 

—  taken  by  Mahfuz  Khan        . .  ..116 

—  wholly  assumed  by  Travancore       ..    126 

—  protection  of  the  country  of  . .    132 

—  Captain  Harper  sets  out  to  the  relief 

of 132 

—  held  by  Travancorians         ..  ..132 

—  tho  Travancore  troop6  retire  from. .    132 

—  Vira  P&ndyan  Palace  at,  App.  ..  251 
— regained,  App.  ..  ..  ..    257 

—  Travancorians'  retreat  from,  App  . .    257 

—  the  claim  to,  App.     ..  ..  ..   259 

Kallars,  country  of  the  ..  ..49 

Kales  Dewar,  the  30 

Kalhatu,  one  of  the  isles  of   Persian 

Gulf  39 


INDEX. 


293 


Page 

K&lidftsa  7 

Kalinga,  country,  or  Northern  Circara.  28 
Kamaiyanayakanpatti  . .  . .   236 

Kambar,  the  Tamil  poet  . .  28 

—  his  Ramayana  . .  . .  29 
Kampana  Udaiyar  . .  . .  52 
Kamudi,  fort  at 209 

—  attack  on         ..  ..  ..  ..215 

Kanikkaras  (hereditary  proprietors  of 

land),  hill  tribes     ..  ..  ..        4 

Kannadian  anicut  . .  . .  . .     64 

—  its  legend 

Kantimati  88 

Karikala  Ch&la  29 

—  Chola,  an  ardent  Saiva  . .  . .  43 
Kamataka            . .          . .          . .  44 

Karttakkal  62 

Karuttaiva,  the  last  Kattaboma  Naya- 
ka   ". .  ..  .".  ..  . .    172 

Kattaboma    Nayaka,    history    of    the 

family  172 

—  his  treaty  with  the  Dutch   . .  . .    154 

—  conduct  of       . . 173 

—  breaks  away  from  the  Collector     ..    174 

—  defended  by  Government  ..  ..174 
— condemned      ..          ..          ..          ..   175 

—  Mr.  Lushington's  dealings  with     . .    178 

—  taken 187 

—  assembly  to  witness  the  execution  of  187 

—  sentence  on  read       ..  ..  ..    187 

—  execution  of  . .  . .  . .    188 

—  reasons   for  his  taking  refuge    in 


Sivaprani'ai 


214 


Katyayana,  the  immediate  successor  of 

Panini  . .  . .  . .  12 

Kaval,  different  kinds  of  . .  . .    104 

Kavalgars,  the,  Lushington's  dealings 

with  224 

—  remuneration  of         . .  . .  . .   224 

Kayal        18 

—  visited  by  Marco  Polo  . .  37 

—  Portuguese  notice  of  . .  . .     37 

—  meaning  of  . .  . .  37 

—  trade  of  38 

—  Marco  Polo's  notice  of         . .  38 

—  the  principal  port  of  Ma'bar  . .     39 

—  relics  of  . .  . .  . .  ..41 

—  the  king  of  Travancore  at   . .  . .     67 

—  explorations  at,  App.  . .  . .  285 
Kayalpattanam  . .  . .  41 
Kearns,    Mr.,    his  account   of    Major 

Bannerman's  expedition    ..  ..179 

—  substance  of  the  last  canto  of  the  Pan- 

jalamkurichi  Sindhu  as  given  by  208 

Kgrak 12 

Khan   Saheb,   see   Muhammad   Yusuf 

Khan 
Khurasan,  Irak  and       . .  . .  39 

Kilakarai  . .  . .  . .  40 

Kis,  an  island  in  the  Persian  Gulf      . .     38 
Knowle,  Lieutenant        . .  . .  . .    195 

Knox,  Captain,  App.      .  .  .  .  . .    261 

Kola  12 

Kulotunga  Chola  29 

Kollamkondan     ..  ..  ..  ..119 

Kollarpatti,  capture  of  ..  ..    101 

—  imprisonment  of  tbe  Poli^ar  at       . .    154 

—  assistance  given   to  Kattaboma  by 

the  Poligar  of         178 


Paok 

77 

27 

76 

284 

284 


Kombukireiyrtr 

Kopparakesara  Varma 

Korampallam 

Korkai,  excavations  at,  App. 

—  geology  of 

—  the  first  settlement  of  civilized  men 

in  Tinnevelly 

—  Cheran,  Cholan  and  Paudyan  at 

—  information  about  it   furnished    by 

the  Greeks    . . 

—  situation  of 

—  Kayal  and 

—  discovery  of  a  large  urn  at,  App. 

—  explorations  at,  App. 

—  identified,  App. 
Korkai-all,  ruler  of  Korkai 
Kory,  identity  of  Kolis  and 
Kottar,  in  South  Travancore 

—  capture  of,  App. 
Kovilgudi,  Heron  took 
Krishna  Rayar     . .  . .  . .  48 

Krishnapuram 

Kshatriyas 

Kubja,  or  Sundara,  the  last  Pandya 

—  or  Kun 
Kuda-nadu,  App. 
Kulasekharapattanam 
Kulasekhara,  the  supposed  founder  of 

the  Pandya  dynasty 
Kulasekhara  Deva 
Kumaramuttu  Ettappa  Nayaka 
Kuinara  Krishnappa  Nayaka  i. 
Kumara  Krishnappa  Nayaka  : . 
Kumara-guru-para-Tambiran,  App. 
Kumaramuttu 
Kumari  or  Kumari,  in  Indian  literature. 

—  not  a  river,  but  a  place  on  the    sea 

coast 
Kumaraswami  Nayaka,  the  dumb  boy 
Kunti,    the    mother   of    the    Pandava 

brothers        . .  . .  . .  . .       7 

Rural,  the,  App.  . .  . .      277,  278 

Kurugur  (or  Kurugapuri),  old  name  of 

Alvar  Tirunagari,  App. 
Kuttralam,  meaning  of  the  name  of 


9 

12 

17 

17 

37 

280 

282 

282 

13 

22 

28 

268 

93 

55 

59 

12 

27 

32 

251 

4 

13 
30 
49 
59 
173 
279 
60 
20 

20 
172 


277 
8 


Landon,  Mi-.,  Collector             ..  ..   162 

Lawrence,  General         . .          . .  93 

—  his  force          . .          . .          . .  ..129 

Light,    Mr.    William,    Paymaster  at 

Palamcotta               ..          ..  ..141 

—  spices    introduced   into  Tinnevelly 

by ..  ..141 

Lockman,  his  travels  of  the  Jesuits  . .     79 

Lunchoten,  his  map       . .          . .  78 

Lushington,  his  letter   ..          ..  ..125 

—  Collector         166 

—  his  dealings  with  Kattaboma  . .    178 

—  his  policy        . .          . .          . .  . .   215 

—  his  dealings  with  the  Kavalgars  . .   223 
Lyne,  Lieutenant            . .          . .  . .   200 


294 


INDEX. 


Page 

Page 

M. 

Mannar,  settlements  in  the  Gulf  of    . . 

147 

—  baptisms  in 

236 

Macartney,  Lord 

143 

Mannftrkovil,  the  pagoda  at,  App. 

251 

—  commission  issued  by 

146 

Mapillai  Vanniyan         . .          . , 

193 

Macaulay,  Major 

196 

—  Dgvar 

148 

—  moves  to  Kaittar 

200 

41 

■ —  Resident  in  Travancore,  App. 

262 

Maran,  the 

13 

Ma'bar,  origin  of  term 

36 

Maravas,  the,  caste  peculiar  to  Southern 

MacDowel,  General,  App. 

262 

India 

105 

Machln  and  Chin 

39 

—  from  the  Ramnad  country 

4 

Mackenzie,  MSS. 

53 

—  of  Nangungri 

223 

Macleod,  appointed  Collector  of  Madura 

159 

—  exception  of  them 

224 

Madhava  Rau,  Sir 

86 

Marchand,  a  French  Commander 

128 

Madras,  postal  communication  between 

Marco-Polo,  the  Venetian  traveller     . . 

32 

Bombay  and 

139 

—  his  Sonder  Bandi 

35 

Madura,  Tinnevelly  originally  a  por- 

— Kayal  visited  by 

37 

tion  of 

3 

—  his  notice  of  Kayal    . . 

38 

—  visit  of  Arjuna  to 

12 

—  his  arrival  in  India 

40 

—  as  known  to  the  Greeks 

22 

Marten,  Mr.,  appointed  Paymaster 

159 

—  Purana 

27 

Martin,  Father,  a  French  Missionary . . 

79 

—  the  Sthala  Purana  of 

32 

—  his  account  of  the  pearl  fishery  in 

—  mosque  in        . .          . .          . .          . . 

33 

1700 

80 

—  the  Nayakas  of 

55 

Martinz,  Colonel 

210 

—  list  of  the  Nayakas  of 

60 

—  his  junction  with   Colonel    Innes's 

—  end  of  the  rule  of  the  Nayakas  of    . . 

85 

force              . .          . .          , . 

210 

—  importance  of 

92 

Marudappa  Sgrvaikaras 

214 

—  fears  for 

99 

Marudu,  origin  of  the  title 

212 

—  to  be  defended 

99 

—  Velli                 

213 

—  financial  value  of 

110 

-  -  Chinna 

213 

—  surrender  of 

116 

Marudur,  anicut             . .          . .         66, 

162 

—  College,  App. 

276 

Marudus,  the  village  of  the 

214 

Maha-wanso,  of  Ceylon 

1 

—  explanation  of  the  hostility  of  the . . 

2!5 

Note   . . 

1 

—  end  of  the 

214 

Mahabharata,  the  Tamraparni  in  the. . 

7 

Max  Muller,  Professor 

12 

Maha  Raja  Prathapa  Rudra  of  Velur  . . 

64 

Maxwell,  Colonel,  his  expedition 

161 

Mahendra  (Mahgndragiri) 

15 

—  his  settlement 

161 

Mahfuz  Khan,  his  expedition  . . 

92 

Mayilfirum  Perumal  Mudali 

90 

—  his  policy 

98 

Mayil-erum-perumal 

59 

—  defeat  of  his  troops 

98 

McLeod,  Major,  disputes  between  him 

• —  his  victory  near  Tinnevelly 

100 

and  the  Paymaster 

158 

—  his  misgovernment 

101 

M'Donell,  Captain 

206 

—  Puli  Devar's  dealings  with 

114 

Meckern,  Mr.,  the  Dutch  Governor  at 

—  takes  the  field 

115 

Tuticorin 

155 

—  his  attempted  treachery 

115 

Megasthenes,      information     collected 

—  his  exactions 

115 

.by     ••    .   •• 

15 

—  proposals  about 

117 

Meir  Jaffier,  his  behaviour 

111 

Mahrattas,  at  Trichinopoly 

86 

Melmandai,  the    side   of   the  Govern- 

— arrival  of  the  army  of  the 

86 

ment  taken  by  the  Poligar  of 

179 

—  in  possession  of  sovereign  power     . . 

86 

—  flight  to  Ramnad  of  the  Poligar  of. . 

225 

Mailapur,  or  St.  Thome 

68 

—  reward  to  the  Poligar  of 

225 

Malayarasas  (hill  kings) 

4 

Melur,   district,   harassed   with    Colle- 

Malik  Naib,  or  Malik  Kafur     . . 

ries     . . 

148 

—  his  invasion 

34 

—  Mr.  Irwin  at 

156 

Malik-ul-Islam  Jamaluddin 

39 

Mianah 

96 

Manapar  (Manapadu) 

68 

Michael  Vaz,  Father 

68 

—  demolition  of  the  Dutch  factory  at.. 

145 

—  Paravas  baptised  by 

232 

Manapar   . . 

92 

Mlnakshi 

85 

—  the  Dutch  force  landed  at 

124 

Mir  Ghulam  Hussein  Khan 

125 

Mangalam,  advance  of  forces  to 

221 

Missions,  Roman  Catholic 

232 

Mangammal 

61 

—  on  the  coast  in  1600 

235 

Mangai-nagaram 

90 

—  of  the  Church  of  England 

244 

Manika  Bhatta,  App. 

270 

Monson,  Colonel 

129 

Maniyatchi,   the   side  of  the   Govern- 

Moodemiah 

96 

ment  taken  by  the  Poligar  of 

179 

Mooro,  Mr. 

36 

—  flight  to  Palamcotta  of  the  Poligar 

Morari  Rau 

89 

of 

522 

Mudali  the  renter,  his  proposals 

96 

—  roward  to  the  Poligar  of 

225 

Mudali.  the  agreement  with  the 

111 

Mannar,  the  pearl  fishery  in  the  Gull 

—  influential  position  of  the 

111 

of 

73 

Mudalur,  establishment  of 

246 

INDK  X. 


295 


Page 

Muhammad  AH,  Nawab  of  Arcot,  the 

protege  of  the  English         . .  . .     85 

—  Toghlak  42 

—  Yusuf  Khan,  career  of  . .     92 

—  called  to  help  the  English  ..    118 

—  his  expedition  against  the  Poligars.    1 1 9 

—  alliance  of   the  king  of  Travancore 

and  120 

—  receives  supplies        ..         .,         ..122 

—  his  return        . .  . .  . .  .  .    123 

—  his  enforced  inactivity  ..  ..123 

—  his  preparation  against  the  Dutch.  .    124 

—  his  operations  renewed         . .  . .    125 

—  with  the  Puli  Devar  . .  . .    125 

—  his  administration     . .  . .  . .    126 

—  his  rebellion  ..  ..  ..    127 

—  his  offer  to  rent  the  province  . .    127 

—  his  position     ..  ..  ..  .  ,~127 

—  suspicions  of  the  Government  of  his 

designs  . .  . .  . .  . .    128 

—  his  reasons  for  rebelling       ..  ..128 

—  his  forces         ..  ..  ..  ..128 

—  his  negotiations  with  the  French   . .    129 

—  his  death         129 

—  results  of  his  death    ..  ..  ..130 

—  his  successors  . .  . .  . .    130 

—  state  of  Madura  after  his  death      . .    131 

—  events  following  his  death  . .  . .    132 

—  Mosque  of 130 

—  Barki 96 

—  Mainach  . .  . .  . .  . .     96 

Muhammadan,    invasion    of    Travan- 
core   87 

Muhammadans,  their  historians  . .     32 

—  interregnum    . .  . .  . .  42 

—  pain  the  upper  hand  for  a  time       . .     42 

Mukkani   . .  . .      12 

Mukkuvas,  the  . .  . .  . .   233 

Munro,  Colonel,  App.  . .  . .   270 

Murdoos,  the        210,212 

Musgrove,  Colonel  ..  ..  ..115 

Mu8Soo  Mursan  (Monsieur  Marchand) . .    130 
Muttukrishnapuram,  the  temple  at     . .      90 

Muttusami  Pillai,  A 239 

Mysoreans,  hostilities  of  the     . .  . .   294 


Nabi     cawn    catteck    (Nabi     Khan 

Kattak)         96,  111 

Nachiyar  Kovil,  App.  . .  . .   278 

Nadamundulum    (Nadumandalam)      . .      99 
Naduvakurichi  ..  ..  ..    117 

Nagalapuram,  assistance  given  to  Katta- 

boma  by  the  Poligar  of     ..  ..178 

— Major  Bannerman  takes  possession  of.  185 
Nagama  Nayaka  . .  . ,  55 

Nagercoil,  App.  . .  . .  . .   256 

—  capture  of,  App.         . .  . .  . .    268 

Naglppore      (Nagalapuram),      Colonel 

Fullarton's  march  through  .  .    149 

N&ladiy&r,  App.  ..  ..  ..   277 

Naluknttai,  an   expedition  planned  for 

the  reduction  of  the  Poligar  at  . .  140 
Namasivavam.    author  of    the     Panja- 

hmkurchi  Sindhu  , .  . .   207 


Page 

Nammalvftr,  App.  ..  ..  ..    277 

Nanguneri,  the  Maravars  of     .  .  . .    223 

—  exception  of  the  Maravars  in 
Nanji-nadu,   the  Tamil  portion  of 

South  Travancore  . .  . .  3,  25 

—  App.     . .  251 

Narasinga,  kingdom  of  . .  49 

Nattukkdttai  Chetties,  an   old   custom 

prevalent  amongst  the       . .  24 

Nattam 97 

Nawab,  the,  of  Arcot  . .  61 

—  commencement  of  the  rule  of  the.     87 

—  the  rival  Nawab         . .  . .  87 

—  revenue  administration  in  Tinne- 

velly  by  the  ..  ..  ..125 

—  complaints  of  Government  against 

the 133 

—  his  relation  with  the  Poligars         . .    156 

—  his  debts         169 

—  effects  of  his  rule       ..  ..  ..    157 

Nayakas    . .  . .  . .  . .  .  .4,47 

—  sources  of  the  history  of      . .  55 

—  commencement  of  the  rule  of  55 

—  list  of   the       . .  . .  . .  . .     60 

—  did  not  style  themselves  kings        . .     61 

—  titles  6i 

—  reputation  of   the      . .  . .  . .     62 

-    characteristics  of  the  rule  of  62 

Nellicotah  in  Tinnevelly,  capture  of  . .     94 

—  in  Sivaganga  . .  . .  ..214 

Nellitangaville  (Nelkattan  sevval)        . .     95 

—  the  Poligar  of  . .  . .  . .     97 

—  Mahf uz  Khan  retired  to      . .  ..116 

—  the  Colleries  retired  to         ..  ..121 

—  Yusuf's  force  stationed  towards     . .    125 
Nelson,  his  Madura  Manual     . .  . .     27 

—  remarks  of 127,  130 

Nicolans  Damascenus     . .  . .  . .      17 

Niti-neri-vilakkam,  App.  . .  . .   279 

Nixon,  Lieutenant-Colonel       . .  . .    144 

Nizam,  approach  of  the  . .         . .     87 


Oakes,  Mr.           . .         . .          . .         . .  155 

—  resumes   his  post  of   Paymaster  in 

Palamcotta               . .          . .          . .  158 

Oodagherry,  taken  possession  of  by  the 

English,  App 268 

Ootoomaly  (Uttumalai)             . .          . .  162 

Orme,  his  valuable  help             . .          . .  87 

Orpen,  Mr 144 

Otrampatti           . .          . .          . .          . .  200 

Ottapidarum,  the  present  taluk    town 

of" 93 

—  concealment  of  the  dumb  brother  at.  207 
Ovidiapuram  (Avudaiyarpuram)          . .  162 


P. 


Painter,  Captain,  killed  ..  ..134 

Palamcotta,  the  rainfall  at        . .  . .        6 

—  the  strongest  fort  south  of   Madura.     89 

—  meaning  and  origin  of  the  name  of.     9s 

—  fort  of  112 


296 


INDEX. 


to,    in     Swartz's 


Palamcotta,  the  besieged 

—  protection  of 

—  armed    followers    of    the    Poligars 

near 

—  first     reference 

journals 

—  earliest  date  in  the  church-yard  at. 

—  spices  in 

—  congregation  and  church  in 

—  escape  of  Poligars  from  jail 
Palavur,  anicut 
Palghautcherry 

Palk,  Mr.  Robert,  App. 

—  Strait,  the,  or  Argalic  Gulf 
Pallas,  the 

Pallemery  (Pallimadai) 

Panagudi 

"  P&ndion,"   "the,"  as  known  to  the 

Greeks 
Pandiyan-tlvu,  the  island  of  the  Pan- 

dyan 
P&ndu-vasa-deva 
Pandukabhaya     . . 
•  Pandya,'  derivation  of 

—  Kulasekhara  is  the  supposed  founder 

of  this  dynasty 

—  list  of  kings 

—  Ati-vlra-rama 

—  Vlra 

—  Vikrama 

—  Sundara 
Pandyas,  the 

—  legendary  origin  of  the 

—  Arj  una's  intermarriage  with  the    . . 

—  intercourse  of  the  early  Singhalese 

with  the 

—  Greek  Notices  of  the 

—  their  embassy  to  Augustus 

—  boundaries  of  their  country 

—  boundary  between  the   Chgras  and 

the     ..       _  .. 

—  names  of  their  early  kings  unknown. 

—  Indian  references  to  the 

—  conquests  over  the 

—  dated  inscriptions  of  the  later 

—  the  last  of  the 

—  reputation  of 

PandyeSvara,  Siva  so  called,  Note 
Panialam    crutch   (Panjalam  kurichl), 

the  Poligar  of 
Panjalamkurichi 

—  meaning  of  the  name 

—  assault  on 

—  succession  of  the  Poligars  of 

—  attempt  to  take 

—  the  two  brothers  of 

—  arrival  of  troops  at 

—  retreat  from 

—  return  to 

—  march  to 

—  epic  of 

—  fate  of 

—  concealment  of  the  dumb  brother  in 

—  the  cemetery  at 
Papa-nasakam,  one  of  the  falls  of  the 

Tamraparnl 
Paraiyas,  the 


Page 
.  118 
.    132 


133 


140 
141 
244 
195 

66 
108 
259 

21 

4 

148 

132 

27 

75 
14 
14 
12 

13 
26 
27 
27 
27 
29 
12 
12 
12 

13 
15 
16 
24 

25 
26 
26 
48 
53 
54 
62 
29 

93 
134 
134 
135 
172 
181 
195 
197 
197 
200 
200 
207 
222 
206 
207 

8 
4 


Parftkrama  PftnHya 
—  his  accession  . . 


42,  52 


Parakrama  Ponnan  Perumal 

—  Kasi  Kapda 
Paralia,  Greek  name  for  coast 
Paravas,  complaints  of  the       . .       145, 

—  baptism  on  the  Tinnevelly  coast  of 

the 

Parimelalagar,  App. 

Parish,  Mr.,  Head  Assistant  Collector 

—  appointed  Collector  of  Ramnad 
Pattanam 

Paulinus  a  Sancto  Bartolomaeo 
Paumben,  as  known  to  the  Greeks 

—  the  channel 

—  naval  success  of  Master  Attendant 

of 
Pennakonda 
Peramally,  capture  of  a  fortified  pagoda 

at 

—  meaning  of  . .  . . 
Periplus  Maris  Erythraei,  the 
Permattoor  Odeya  Tavar 
Peutinger  Tables,  the 
Pickard,  Captain 
Poligars    or  Palaiyakaras,  Dumber  of 

the     .. 

—  origin  of  the 

—  investiture  of  the 

—  etymology  of 

—  defence  of  the  system  of 

—  the  western     . . 

—  the  eastern 

—  relation  of  Poligar  to  his  lord 

—  plundering  habits  of  the 

—  anarchy  of  their  districts     . . 

—  ordered  out  of  Tinnevelly  town 

—  of  Sivagiri 

—  submission  of  Ettaiyapuram 

—  confederacy  of  the  eastern 

—  \usufs  expedition  against  the 

—  of  Uttumalai 

—  depredations  of  the 

—  armed  followers  of  the,  near  Palam 

cotta 

—  Hyder  Ali's  communication  with  . 

—  their  behaviour  towards  Hyder 

—  Dutch  alliance  with 

—  strength  of  the 

—  terms  offered  to  the 

—  the  Nawab's  relations  with  the 

—  proposed  disarming  of  the 

—  political  position  of  their   country 

prior  to  the  commencement  of  the 
last  Poligar  wars 

—  armed  retainers  of  the 

—  Welsh's  estimate  of  the 
— .  future  condition  of  the 

—  a  permanent  assessment  promised  to 

the 
Ponnam  Pandya  Devan,  App. 
Portuguese,  notice  of  Kayal  by  the 

—  missionaries 

—  arrival  of  the 

—  at  Cochin 

—  on  the  coast  of  Tinnevelly 

—  the  first  expedition  of  the    . . 

—  the,  in  power  along  the  coast 

—  the  policy  of  the 

—  claim  of  ownership  of   pearl  fisher 

abandoned 


Page 
.     53 
.     53 
19 
147 


232 

278 

231 

231 

78 

72 

21 

21 

216 
50 

220 

220 

17 

219 

17 

140 

56 

56 

67 

58 

58 

98 

99 

102 

107 

103 

112 

114 

116 

119 

119 

120 

123 

133 
138 
139 
112 
148 
151 
156 
163 


170 
209 
209 
226 

228 
255 
37 
47 
48 
67 
67 
6S 
68 
71 

71 


1  N  I>  E  X. 


29? 


P.vGK 

Portuguese,  annuls  of  the         . .  72 

—  Tuticorin  under  the  . .  73 

—  date  of  their  establishment  in  Tuti- 

corin            . .          . .         . .  75 

Porus  or  Pandion            . .          . .          . .  16 

Potigai,  the  mountain               . .          . .  6 

Powney,  Mr.  George,  Collector           . .  164 

—  the   first    Resident   in    Travancore, 

App.              . .  262 

Proctor,    Mr.    George,   the   first    civil 

officer  appointed  to  Tinnevelly  . .  143 

—  dissatisfaction  with   ..          ..  ..  145 

—  ordered  to  leave         . .          . .  . .  147 

Ptolemv,  the  Geographer         ..  ..  18 

Puckle,  Mr.  R.  K.,  Note           ..  . .  54 

—  coins,  App.     . .          . .          . .  •  •  287 

Puli  Dfivar,  his  fort        . .          . .  . .  96 

—  his  character  ..  ..114 

—  his  dealings  with  Mahfuz  Khan  . .  114 

—  Yusuf  and  the            . .          . .  . .  125 

—  a  military  guard  sent  to  occupy  the 

fort  of           160 

Punnaikkayal      . .  37 

—  demolition  of  the  Dutch  factory  at.  145 

—  Xavier's  letter  to  Francis  Mancias 

at . .  234 

—  Criminalis  supposed  to  have  died  at.  236 
Puraaaa.  or  Epic  poems             . .          . .  1 

—  lists  of  kings  in  the  Madura            . .  27 

—  Tiruvilaivadal           . .          . .          . .  27 

—  Sthala              32 

—  Tiruttondar                32 

Purattaya-nadu,  App.  ..  ..251 

Puthugudi,  stone  implements  near      . .  4 

—  anicut               . .          . .          . .          . .  66 


QuatremSre  . .  . .  . .  . .     37 

Quilon  — "  eras "  ..  ..  ..64 

Quilon,  attack  on  the  troops  at,  App. .   265 
—  the  brothers  of  the  rebellious  Dewan 

of  Travancore  hanged  at,  App.    ..    268 


R. 


Raghuvamsa,  Tamraparnl  in  the         . .        7 

Rais  of  Ma' bar    . .  34 

Raja-tarangini,  of  Cevlon,  Note  . .        1 

Raja  Hukumat  Ram  '    ..  ..       126,140 

Raja  Palaiyam,  Major  Flint  retires  to. 
Rajendra  Chola   . . 

—  his  victory  over  Ahava-malla 

—  temple  to         . .  . . 

—  various  shapes  of  his  name 
Rama,  Bharata's  behaviour  to  . . 
Ramanuja,       the       great      Vaishnava 

teacher 

—  his  date 

—  his  flight  to  Dvftrasamudra 

—  founder  of  a  school  of  Hindu  Theo- 

sophy,  App. 
R&m&yana.  date  of  the  Tamil 


134 
27 
28 
29 
31 

154 

29 
30 
43 

277 
28 


Paof. 
Ramnad,  Zemindari  of  . .  56 

—  Raja  of  . .  93 

—  note  on  its  separation  from  Tinne- 

velly   231 

—  the  Maravas  of  . .  . .  42 

—  epidemic  in,  App.       . .  . .  . .   272 

RamSSvararn,  in  the  island  of  Paumben.     21 
Rashiduddin,  the  Muhammadan  histo- 
rian   . .  . .  . .  . .  32 

Rayar,  Krishna   . .  . .  . .  . .     48 

Renter,  the,  his  oppressions      . .  . .    107 

Rice,  his  Mvsore  inscriptions   . .  . .     44 

Robert  de  Nobili  ..  ..         71,233 

Rumbold,  Lieutenant     ..  ..  ..115 


s. 


Sadag6par  Antadi 

Safdar  Ali 

Saha-dgva,  one  of  the  Panda va  brothers 

Salivahana 

Samara  Kolahala 

Sandracottus  (Chandragupta) 

Sankaralingani  Pillai 

Sankaranaiyanarkovil    . . 

—  cantonment  at 

—  Major  Sheppard  at     . . 
"  Seilan,"  the  island  of 
Seleucus  Nicator 
Selvamarudur,    a   place   near    Edeyen- 

goody,  visited  by  Mr.    Hanbury, 

App.      .        

Sembagatavi  tlrtham 

Seringapatam,  troops  set  free  by  the 
taking  of 

Seshavarna  Deva,  founder  of  the  sepa- 
rate dynasty  of  Sivagangai 

Settur,  abandonment  of 

—  troubles  at 

Setupati,  the,  the  Poligar  of  Ramnad. . 

Shaik  Jumaluddin 

Shanars,  the,  from  Ceylon        . .  . . 

—  commencement  of  the  Christianiza- 

tion  of 

—  first  convert  among 
Shangoonny  Menon,  P.,  his  history  of 

Travancore,  App. 
Shattoor  (Settur,  not  Sattur)    . . 
Shencottah,  the  Travancorians  proceed 

to  their  own  country  through  the 

pass  of  . .         •  • 

—  particulars  respecting,  App. 

Shepherd,  Lieutenant 

Sheppard,  Major 

ShfermadSvi     (Cheran-ma-dfivi),    atone 

implements  near 
"  Sherewele,"  the  "  Murdoss  "and 
Singhalese,  accounts       . .  .  ■  . . 

—  the,  their  intercourse  with  the  PaQ- 

dyas   . .         . .  • •         • •         • • 

Siruvayal,  the  village  of  the  Marudu3. 

—  burning  of 

Sitheath  (Sittuttu  ?)        

Sivagangai,  Zemindari  of 

—  transfer  of  the  war  to 

38 


30 

87 

13 

64 

27 

15 

165 

95 

137 

196 

40 

15 


271 
9 

179 

210 

136 

162 

59 

33 

4 

246 

246 

251 
136 


123 

270 

06 

196 

4 
21u 

30 

13 
214 
216 
134 

66 
209 


298 


INDEX. 


Page 
Sivagangai,  description  of         ..  ..211 

—  the  people  of  . .         . .         ..211 

—  usurpation  in  ..  ..  ..211 

—  reasons    for     Kattaboma's    taking 

refuge  in      . .  . .  . .  .214 

— ■  conditions  offered  to  the  rulers  of  . .   211 
Sivagiri,  abandonment  of  . .         ..136 

—  expedition  against    . .         . .         . .   140 

—  attack  on         . .         . .         . .         ..151 

—  Maxwell's    expedition  against    the 

Poligar  of     ..  ..  ..  ..    161 

—  rebellious  conduct  of  the  Poligar's 

son  at  . .         . .         . .         . .    165 

Sivarama  Talaivan         . .  . .  . .    144 

Sivattaiya  Nayaka         ..  ..         ..173 

—  capture  of       . .         . .         . .         . .  223 

Solen,  the,  of  the  Greeks  . .         . .     10 

—  the  river  . .         . .         . .         ..17 

Sonagarpattanam  . .  . .  37 

Sorandai  ..         ..         ..         ..         ..117 

Spalding,  Lieutenant     . .         . .         . .   204 

Srivilliputtur,  palace  at  . .  . .     61 

—  Yusuf  Khan  and  troops  at   . .  ..110 
— •  self-sacrifice  of  a  Brahman  at         ..113 

—  capture  of  Sivattaiya  near  . .  . .   223 

—  epidemic  in,  App.      . .         . .  . .   272 

—  the  translation  of  the  Mahabharata 

at,  App 278 

Srivaikuntham,  inscriptions  at  . .     53 

—  Flint  marches  from   . .  . .  . .    133 

—  defence  of        . .  . .  . .  ..199 

—  plundered  by  Kattaboma's  people  . .   163 
Srl-Vlra  Bavivarma       . .  . .  . .     67 

Sfl-vaikuntham,  App.    . .         . .  . .   279 

Stevenson,  Major  ..         ..         ..   162 

Sthala  Puiana  of  Madura         . .         . .     27 

Strabo 17 

Stuart,  Mr.  A.J.  59 

—  his  account  of  the  Poligars  and  their 

system  of  Kaval      . .  . .  ..105 

—  his  account  of  the  Zemindars  of  the 

present  time  . .         . .  . .   105 

Subrahmanya  Pillai,  his  guilt  and  sen- 
tence . .         . .  . .         ..185 

Sulivan,  Mr.  John  147 

Sundara  Pandya,  sources  of  informa- 
tion about     . .  . .  . .  32 

—  his  zeal  against  the  Jainas  . .  . .     32 

—  the  last  name  in  the  list       . .  32 

—  his  war  with  his  brother      . .  33 

—  his  Muhammadan  Ministers  . .     34 

—  his  brothers     . .  . .  . .  35 

—  his  date  still  a  desideratum   . .  35 
Sundara    Pandya   Nayaka  hanged    at 

Gopalpuram  ..         ..         ..183 

Suppa  Nayaka,  head  of  the  Panjalam- 
kurichi  Poligars  during  two  rebel- 
lions ..  ..  ..  ..173 

Sin -jjuddin  . .  . .  . .  34 

Suttamalli,  anient  . .  . .  66 

Swartz,  his  visit  . .         . .       155,  244 


T. 


TaUi,  a  fishing  village,  Note    . .  ..70 

—  Jesuits  in         . .  ..  . .  . .    243 

Tahivankottai,  the  side  of  the  Govern- 
ment taken  by  the  Poligar  of       . .   179 


Page 

Talikota 49 

Tamraparni,   the,  the   great    river  of 

Tinnevelly   . .          . .          . .          . .  5 

—  attraction  of  the         . .          . .          . .  5 

—  description  of  the       . .          . .          . .  5 

—  origin  of  the    . .          . .          . .          . .  6 

—  in  Indian  literature  . ,          . .         . .  7 

—  Lassen's  reference  to  the     . .         . .  7 

—  in  the  Mahabharata  . .         . .         . .  7 

—  in  the  Baghuvamsa   . .          . .          . .  7 

—  sacred  bathing  places  on  the           . .  7 

—  falls  of  the       . .          . .          . .          . .  8 

—  mouth  of  the              . .          . .          . .  9 

—  meaning  and  origin  of  the  name     . .  9 

—  Greek  name  for  the              . .         . .  10 

—  the  chanks  near  the  mouth  of  the  . .  11 

—  anicuts  on  the            . .          . .          . .  63 

Taprobane,  Ceylon         . .          . .          . .  11 

Taylor,  his  Historical  Manuscripts     . .  42 

Tembavani,  the,  Beschi's  poem           ..  238 

Tenkarai,  App.                . .          . .          . .  277 

Tenkasi,  inscription  at  . .         . .         . .  53 

—  ancient  fort  of            . .          . .          . .  54 

—  cinnamon  cultivation  extended  to  . .  160 
Ten-Pandi,  meaning  of             . .          . .  3 

Tentirupferai,  App.         . .          . .          . .  287 

Tinnevelly,    originally    a    portion    of 

Madura         . .          . .          . .          . .  3 

—  earliest  inhabitants  of           . .          . .  4 

—  Korkai,  the  first  settlement  of  civil- 

ised men  in               . .          . .          . .  9 

—  in  the  Rara&yana       . .          . .          . .  15 

—  Greek  trade  with  the  coast  of          . .  22 

—  Canarese  traces  in     . .          . .          . .  44 

—  Royal  representatives  in      . .  60 

—  the  Portuguese  on  the  coast  of         . .  67 

—  town  of            . .          . .          . .  88 

—  always  a  place  of  importance          . .  88 

—  meaning  of      ..  ..  ..  ..88 

—  first  help  rendered  by  the  East  India 

Company  to  the  Nawab's  Govern- 
ment in         . .          . .          . .  91 

—  Pollams,     proclamation     by       the 

Collector     to    all    Poligars,    &c, 

within  the 180 

—  first  English  expedition  into            ..  91 

—  the  first  Englishman  in        ..          ..  91 

—  Colonel  Fullarton's  description  of  . .  106 
<— productiveness  of       ..          ..          ..  1q7 

—  bad     government     neutralises     its 

advantages  ..  ..  ..  ..107 


—  financial  value  of 

—  revenue     administration       by     the 

Nawab  in 

—  burning  of  the  cutcherry  at  126, 

—  meditated  cession  of 
■ —  first  Collector  of 

—  Colonel  Fullarton's  march  into 

—  its    political    position  prior    to  the 

commencement  of  the  last  Poligar 
wars 

—  note  on  the  separation  of   Ramnad 

from  . . 

—  inscriptions  in,  App. 
— floods  and  pestilential  fever  in,  App. 

—  sepulchral  urns  in,  App. 
Tippu  Sultan 

—  his  designs 

—  fears  of 


111 

125 
139 
142 
144 
149 


170 

231 

251 
271 
279 
89 
89 
158 


INDEX. 


299 


Jtage 
Tippu,  his  proposals,  App.       ..  ..261 

Tirancourchy  (Tarankurichi)  ..  ..116 
Tiruvadi  Desam  . .  . .  65 

Tirukurungudi    ..  ..  ..  ..132 

—  fort,  erected  by  Sivarama     ..         ..144 

—  the  large  bell  at,  App.  ..  ..  251 
Tirumalai  N&yaka         ..         ..         ..60 

buildings  erected  by  . .  61 

Tirumangalam     ..  ..  ..  ..    153 

Tiruppuvanam,  in  the  Madura  District.     30 

Thuttondar,  Purauam 

Tiruvalluvar,  the  author  of  the  Kural, 

App.  277 

Tiruvilaiyadal,  Purana  . .  . .  27 
Tittarappa  Mudali  125 

—  Mr.  Torin's  endeavours  to    induce 

him  to  refund  the  ta  xes    . .  . .    1 60 

Tondi,  the  Bay  of,  or  Palk  Strait   ...     21 

—  small  naval  war  in     ..  ..  ..215 

Tondiman,  country  of    ..  ..  ..128 

Torin,  Mr.  66 

—  Collector  under  the  Assumption      . .    159 

—  his  opinion  of   the  results  of  Fullar- 

ton's  lenity  ..  ..  ..    160 

Travancore,  proposals  of  . .  . .    121 

—  retirement  of  the  troops  from         . .    132 

—  its  possessions  in  Tinnevelly,  App. . .   251 

—  insurrection  in,  App.  . .  . .   262 

—  king  of  . .  . .  . .  26 

—  power  of  the  king  of  . .  67 

—  designs  of  the  Nayakas  on  70 

—  Xavier's  appeal  to  the  king  of  69 

—  army     . .  . .  . .  . .  97 

—  troops  retii'e  ..  ..  ..97 

—  troops  . .  . .  . .  ..120 

—  alliance  of  Yusuf  and  the  king  of  . .  120 
Trevandrum,     march     of     the    army 

towards,  App.  . .         . .         .     268 

—  events  at,  App.  . .  . .  . .   268 

Trichendur,  the  temple  at        . .  . .      18 

Trichinopoly        . .  . .  . .  36 

—  Chanda  Saheb  at         . .  . .  . ,     85 

—  Mahrattas  at   . .  . .  . .  . .     86 

—  a  rival  embassy  to,  App.  . .  . .  254 
Trimolipa  (Tirumalaiyappa)  Mudali  . .  145 
Tundi  or  Kadal-tundi,  a  sea-port  town 

on  the  Western  Coast,  Note  . .   216 

Tunga-bhadrft,  the  banks  of  the  Pampft 

or       . .  . .  . .  . .  . .     45 

Turnbull,  Mr.,  a  surveyor         ..  ..54 

Tuticorin,  under  the  Portuguese  . .     73 

—  date    of    the    establishment  of    the 

Portuguese  in  . .  . ,  75 

—  meaning  of  the  name  of       . .  75 

—  harbour  . .  . .  . .  75 

—  first  reliable  notices  of         . .  76 

—  governor  of  . .  . .  76 

—  taken  by  the  "  Badages  "     ..         ..     77 

—  later  notices  of  . .         . .  78 

—  taken  by  the  Dutch 78 

—  under  the  Dutch        . .  . .  78 

—  population  of  . .  . .  79 

—  appearance  of  . .  . .  79 

—  dates  relating  to         . .  . .  83 

—  during  the  Poligar  war         ..  ..83 

—  Mr.  Groves  at  83 

—  in  1801  84 

—  at  present         . .  . .  . .  84 

—  capture  of       . .         . .  ..Ill 


Page 
Tuticorin,  complaints  of  the  Paravas 
at  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..    145 

—  given  up  ..  ..  ..  ..    155 

—  minor  rebels  sent  to  . .  . .      222,  235 


u. 


Udaiya  Deva,  the  family   title  of  the 

Sivagangai  Poligar  ..  ..210 

Udaya  M&rt&nda  Varma,  who  reigned 

from  1537-1560 70 

—  App.  252 

Umai         . .  . .   206 

ITttumalai,  the  Poligar  at         . .  . .    165 


V. 


Vadagherr y  ( Vadagarai)  ..  ..116 

Vadakankulam,   congregation  founded 
by  Brandolini  at  . .  . .  . .   240 

—  the  Jesuits  in  . .  . .  . .    243 

Vadugarpatti       . .  . .  . .  . .    24 1 

Vadugas  . .  . .  . .  62,  69 

. .  79 
..  135 
..153 


Vaipar 

—  forsaken  by  the  enemy 
Vakeels,  the  (Note  1) 
Valuti-kal,  "  the  Pandya  king's  way  " 

"  Note  ..       ' 25 

Vallabha  Dfiva 53 

Vanatirtham,  one  of  the  falls  of   the 

Tainraparni 
Vangaru-Tirumalai 
Vanniyan  caste 
Varaha-mihira,  Brihat-Samhita,  one  of 

the  works  of 
Varma,  Kshatriya  title 
Vanatirtham,    one  of  the  falls  of  the 

Tamraparni 
Varthema,  Barbosa  and 
Vasco  da  Gama,  the  Rote'iro  of 

—  his  information 
Vasudevanallur,  attack  on 

—  Ensign  Foulsum's  attempt  to  relieve 

it  from  the  Poligars 

Vedalai,  Antonio  said  to  have  died  at . . 

Vsdiarolukkam 

Vellai  Marudu 

Vellalas,  the 

Vejjaru,  the  river,  the  northern  boun- 
dary of  the  Pandya  country 

Velur,  the  forts  of  Chandragiri  and     . . 

Vembar     . . 

—  baptisms  in 
Vesey,  Captain 
Vettri-Verkai 
Vijaya      „  11,  12, 

—  his  marriage 
Vijaya-Nagara,  the  kingdom  of 

—  names  of 

—  origin  of 

—  list  of  the  kings  of     . . 

—  Dr.  Burnell's  list  of  the  kings  of     . . 


—  overthrow  of 

—  supremacy  of 


—  on. 


tin  of  the  intervention  of 


85 
105 

26 
70 

8 

37 

37 

67 

136 

133 
235 
241 

208 
4 

21 
48 
68 
236 
193 
13 
13 
14 
42 
45 
45 
46 
46 
49 
54 
55 


300 


I  X  D  T.  X. 


Page    i 
Vijaya-Nagara    ..         ..         ..         ..61 

—  Rayas  of  . .  . .  . .  . .     70    | 

—  Collectors  of  the  taxes  at  69  i 
Vijayaranga-Chokka-natha  . .  . .  85  < 
Vikrama  Pandi 53,  70 

—  Pandya  27 

Virach&liyam,  a  tamil  work  . .  . .  31 
Viramaha-muni,  title  of  Beschi  . .  241 
Vira  Narasimha  Rayar  , .  . .  48 
Yirapandiyanpattanam              . .  78 

Vira  Pandya  27 

—  his  palace  at  Kalacadu,  App.  . .  251 
Vira  Pandya  Kattaboma  ..  ..172 
Vira-Pandya-puram  . .  . .  27 
Virappa  Nayaka  . .  .  •  33,  60 
Viraraghava  Mudaliar  . .  . .  60 
Vira-sekhara,  the  king  of  Tan j  ore       . .     55 

Virupakshi  Poligar         210 

Vishnu  Varddhana         . .  . .  43 

Visvanatha  Nayaka         ..  ..  ..55 

—  his  policy        . .  . .  . .  56 

—  his  plan  of  conciliation         . .  . .     57 


w. 

Walter  Elliott,  Sir,  a  coin  belonging 

to        27 

Warangal             . .          . .          . .          . .  45 

Washinelore  (Vasudfivanallur)             ..  122 

Wassaf ,  the  Muhammadan  historian . .  32 

—  his  account     . .          . .          . .  39 

Welsh,  General,  his  account  of  the  last 

Poligar  war             . .          . .  ..194 

—  his  error          ..          ..          ..  ..199 

— ■  his  estimate  of  the  Poligars  . .   209 

—  his   account   of   the   taking   of  the 

Travancore  Lines,  App.     . .  . .    267 

Wheeler,  Lieutenant      . .  . .  . .    144 

Wilks,  General   . .  . .  . .  . .     44 


Page 

Wilson,  Professor,  his  anticipations   . ,    228 
Wood,  Colonel,  in  command  at  Trichi- 

nopoly  ..  ..  ..  ..138 

Woodoocaud  (Orkadu)    ..  ..  ..162 


Xavier,  The  "  Badages  "of     . . 

—  his  appeal  to  the  king   of   Travan- 

core  . . 

—  his   efforts   for    the    relief   of   his 

people 

—  his  authority  . . 

—  his  arrival  and  work 

—  estimate  of 

—  visits  from  village  to  village 

—  his  administration     .  . 

—  his  successor's  death 

—  the  period  after 


T. 

Yajur  Veda 

Yaksha,  demon  princess 

Yudhishtira,  son  of  Kunti 

Yule,  Colonel 

Yusuf  Khan,  Muhammad 

See  under  Muhammad  Yusuf  Khan. 


Z. 

Zeilan  (Ceylon),  the  island  of 
Zemindar  of  Ettaiyftpuram 

—  of  Uttumalai 

—  of  Singampatti 

—  of  Orkad 
Zemindaries,  number  of 


oa 

69 

77 
77 
232 
233 
233 
234 
234 
235 


65 
14 
7 
38 
64 


73 
49 
106 
106 
106 
105 


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