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TAMIL  STUDIES 


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MAP      OF    Ind|/\  W        *|/       a         u<-7        '^'^Ti 

(  .h^'t^^iitu^yh  D)  \    \    /"**"" 


TAMIL  STUDIES 

OR 

ESSAYS  ON  THE   HISTORY  OF  THE  TAMIL 
PEOPLE,  LANGUAGE,  RELIGION 
AND  LITERATURE 


BY 

M.  SRINIVASA  AIYANGAR,  M.A. 


FIRST  SERIES 


WITH  MAP  AND  PLATE 


MADRAS 
AT  THE  GQARDIAN  PRESS 

'  1914 
J[All  rights  reserved"} 


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


D3 
T3S7 


To 

Tbe   VConourable 

SIR  HAROLD  STUART,  k.cy.o.,  C.s.i.,  i.c.s, 

/Aerober  of  Qouncil,  /AadraS 

Tb'S  9olun)e 

3s  by  Hind  pern))SSion  roost  reSpectfutty 

Pedicatecf 

By  ^bs  ^utbor 

(Cs  a  bu")bte  tribute  of  gratitude 


2n5ien5io 


PREFACE 

A  popular  hand-book  to  the  history,  from 
original  sources,  of  the  Tamil  people  has  been  a 
want.  In  these  essays  an  attempt  has  been  made 
for  the  first  time  to  put  together  the  results  of 
past  researches,  so  as  to  present  before  the 
reader  a  complete  bird's-eye  view  of  the  early 
history  of  Tamil  culture  and  civilisation.  The 
several  topics  have  been  treated  from  the  stand- 
point of  modern  criticism,  traditions  and  legends 
being  discarded  or  utilized  with  great  caution. 
They  are  based  chiefly  upon  materials,  which 
have  been  gathered  in  the  course  of  my  study 
of  Tamil  literature,  ethnology  and  epigraphy 
begun  while  working  under  Sir  Harold  Stuart 
and  Mr.  W.  Francis,  both  of  the  Indian  Civil 
Service,  in  connection  with  the  Madras  Censuses 
of  1891  and  1901  and  the  revision  of  District 
Gazetteers.  Some  of  the  theories  explained 
here  might  be  open  to  corrections  and  altera- 
tions  in   the   light   of   further  discoveries    and 


Vlll  PREFACE 

investigations.  Any  criticism  calculated  to 
enhance  the  accuracy  and  usefulness  of  the 
book  will  be  thankfully  received. 

My  obligations  to  published  works  especially 
to  the  contributions  in  the  Indian  Antiquary 
and  Epigraphia  Indica  are  extensive.  A  list  of  the 
English  books  consulted  in  the  preparation  of 
this  work  is  given  separately  to  avoid  numerous 
foot-notes  and  references.  My  sincere  thanks 
are  due  to  Rao  Bahadur  M.  Rangacharyar,  M.A.^ 
Professor  of  Sanskrit  and  Comparative  Philology, 
Presidency  College,  Madras,  for  the  introduction 
to  this  volume,  and  to  Mr.  P.  Subba  Rao, 
B.  A.,  of  the  Madras  Record  Office,  for  valuable 
suggestions  while  revising  the  manuscript  and 
correcting  the  proofs  for  the  press. 


ENGLISH  WORKS  CONSULTED 


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


Caldwell, Bishop. — 

Chitty,  Simon  Casie. 
Colbrooke,  H.  T. 
District    Gazetteers 
Epigraphia  Indica. 
Farrar,  Canon  F.W. 
Forbes,  Capt. — 
Francis,  W. — 
Gesenius,  Dr. — 
Grierson,  Dr. — 


The  Brahui  Language. 
Indian  Palasography. 
Elements      of     South     Indian 

Palaeography. 
On    the      Aindra     School     of 

Sanskrit  Grammarians. 
A    Comparative     Grammar    of 
the  Dravidian  Languages. 
The  Tamil  Plutarch. 
Miscellaneous  Essays. 
(New  Edition.^ 


Gundert,  Dr.  H. — 


Language  and    Languages. 

The  Languages  of  Further  India. 

Madras  Census  Report,  1901. 

Hebrew  Lexicon. 

The  Languages  of  India. 

The  Linguistic  Survey  of  India. 

The  I\Ialayalam  Grammar. 

Malayalam  Dictionary. 
Hasting's  Encyclopcedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics. 
Hovelacque,  M. —        The  Science  of  Language, 
Hultzsch,  Dr.  E. —       South  Indian  Inscriptions. 
Hunter,  Sir  W.  W.       Non-Aryan  Languages  of  India, 

Imperial  Gazetteer. 

Ethnology. 

of  India  (New  Edition). 


Haberlandt,  Dr.  M. 
Imperial    Gazetteer 
Indian  Antiquary. 
Journal  of  the  Royal 
Liddei  and  Scott. — 
Kanakasabhai,  V. — 
Keane,  A.  H. — 
Letourneau,  C — 


Asiatic  Society,  London. 

Greek  Lexicon. 

The  Tamils  1800  years  ago. 

Ethnology. 

Sociology. 


ENGLISH    WORKS    CONSULTED 


Macleane,  Dr. — 
Madras   Christian 
Max  Muller,  F. — 
M'Crindie,  J.  W.— 
Nagamiah,  V. — 
Nelson,  J.  H. — 
Nesfield,  J.  C— 
Oppert,  Dr.  G. — 

Pope,  Dr.  G.  U.— 

Quatrefages,  A. — 
Rangacharya,  M. — 

Rhys  Davids,  Dr. — 
Rice,  L. — 

Risley,  Sir  H.  H.— 
Sayce,  A.  H. — 

Seignohos,  Ch. — 
Seshagiri  Sastri,  M. 

Smith,  Vincent  A. — 
Stuart,  Sir  H.  A.— 
Taylor,  Meadows. — 
Thurston,  E. — 

Tylor,  E.  B.— 
Vaidya,  C.  V.— 
Wallace,  A.  R.— 
Whitney,  W.  D.— 

Wijesinha,  L.  C. — 
Williams,  Monier, 
Wilson,  Prof.  H.  H. 


Manual  of  Administration. 

College  Magazine,  The 

The  Science  of  Language. 

Ancient  India  &c. 

The  Travancore  State  Manual. 

The  Madura  District  Manual. 

Theory  of  Indian  Castes. 

The  Aboriginal    Inhabitants  of 

Bharatavarsha. 
The  Kural  of  Tiruvalluvar. 
The  Tiruvachakam. 
The  Human  Species. 
A      descriptive     Catalogue    of 

Tamil     Manuscripts,  Vol.  I. 
The  Buddhist  India. 
The  Mysore  Gazetteer. 
Epigraphia  Carnatica. 
The  Peoples  of  India. 
Principles      of       Comparative 

Philology. 
History  of  Ancient  Civilisation. 
Report  on  Sanskrit  and  Tamil 

Manuscripts,  Nos.  1  and  2. 
Early  History  of  India  ;  Asoka. 
Madras  Census  Report,  1891. 
History  of  India. 
The      Tribes      and    Castes   of 

Southern  India. 
Primitive  Culture. 
The  Riddle  of  the    Ramayana. 
The  Malay  Archipelago. 
The    Life  and      Growth        of 

Language. 
The  Mahawanso. 
Sanskrit  Dictionary. 
Glossary  of  Indian  Terras. 


INTRODUCTION 

It  is  with  very  great  pleasure  that  I  have,  in 
compliance  with  the  wish  of  the  author,  written  this 
short  introduction  to  this  volume  of  really  interesting 
essays  on  subjects  relating  to  the  history  of  the  Tamil 
people  and  their  culture  and  civilisation.  The  history 
of  the  famous  inhabitants  of  the  ancient  Pandya,  Chola 
and  Chera  kingdoms  is  in  no  way  less  edifymg  or 
Jess  valuable  as  a  source  of  inspiration  than  the  history 
of  the  inhabitants  of  any  other  part  of  India,  which 
is  throughout  highly  historic.  The  progress  of  Tamil 
civilisation  from  its  primitive  rude  restlessness  and 
wild  aggressive  valour  to  its  ordered  sense  of  huma- 
nity and  exalted  moral  and  religious  aims  of  a  later  day 
is  undoubtedly  the  result  of  the  operation  of  various 
momentous  influences,  the  chief  ones  among  which 
have  naturally  been  religious  in  origin  and  character. 
It  is  a  fact  well  known  to  the  students  of  the  history 
of  civilisation  that,  in  some  of  its  earlier  stages  of  deve- 
lopment,nothing  acts  so  powerfully  as  an  advancingly 
ethical  religion  in  stimulating  and  sustaining  progress 
in  human  communities.  Accordingly  the  virile 
vitality  and  undecaying  vigour  of  the  Tamil  people, 
subjected  to  the  mellowing  influences  of  Buddhism, 
Jainism  and  earlier  as  well  as  later  Brahmanisra 
gave  rise  in  due  time  to  their  sweet,  practical  and 
in  more  than  one  respect  heart-enthralling  culture,  of 
which  the  great  Tamil  classics,  together  with  their 
noble    Saiva    and    Vaishnava     hymnology — not     to 


XU  INTRODUCTION 

mention  their  mighty  and  majestic  God-aspiring 
temples — constitute  even  today  the  enduring  monu- 
ments of  beauty  and  glorious  divine  enthusiasm.  To 
construct  and  to  explain  the  history  of  such  a  people, 
characterised  by  such  a  noteworthy  progress  in  civili- 
sation and  possessed  of  such  an  enduringly  valuable 
and  edifying  culture,  must  indeed  be  always  fascinat- 
ing; and  innumerable  avenues  of  enquiry  and  research 
are  certain  to  open  out  before  the  watchful  eyes  of  the 
trained  and  sincerely  earnest  student  trying  to  help  on 
this  work  of  historic  up-buildingand  exposition.  Here 
in  this  field  of  research,  criticism  and  construction, 
there  is  ample  scope  for  ethnological,  anthropological, 
and  sociological  investigations  of  more  than  one  kind; 
there  is  abundant  room  for  the  work  of  antiquarian 
discovery  and  illumination  in  which  all  the  various 
types  of  archaeologists  may  take  part  to  their  heart's 
content  •  and  written  records  of  various  kmds  are 
also  available  in  quantities  large  enough  to  satisfy 
the  hunger  of  many  voracious  enquirers  after  historic 
truth,  or  literary  beauty  or  linguistic  development. 
The  field  for  cultivation  is  both  wide  and  well 
endowed;  but  earnest  and  capable  labourers  are 
unhappily  as  yet  too  few. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  these  essays  will  act  as  an  eye- 
opener  to  many  inhabitants  of  the  Tamil  land  who 
take  a  true  and  cultured  pride  in  the  history  of  their 
own  country.  I  am  far  from  saying  that  all  the 
various  opinions,  which  Mr.  Srinivasa  Aiyangar  has 
expressed  on  so  many  topics  in  this  volume,  will   be 


INTRODUCTION  XIU 

found  to  be  absolutely  faultless  and  acceptable  to  all. 
It  is  invariably  the  fate   of    opinions,    relating  to  the 
elements  of  what  may  be  called  constructive  history, 
to  undergo  more  or  less  rapid    modifications  as  more 
and  more  materials  become  available    for   examina- 
tion and  subsequent  structural  utilisation  and  employ- 
ment.    Moreover,  in  dealing  with  problems  of  cons- 
tructive history,  there  arise  very  often  peculiar  tempta- 
tions to  base  conclusions  on  insufficieni  or  inaccurate 
data  as  well  as  to  adjust  the  scantily  available  evidence 
to    preconceived    conclusions.    My     reading   of  the 
essays,  comprised  in  this   volume    of    Tamil   Studies, 
has  led  me  to  feel  that  their  author  has  earnestly  end- 
eavoured to  avoid,  as  far  as  possible,  all  such  pitfalls, 
and    has    calmly    and    courageously    exercised    his 
judgment    in  the  free    and  clear  light  of    unbiassed 
reason.     That    he  has  had  adequate  equipment    for 
dealing    with  the  various    problems,  which  he    has 
handled  in  his  essays,  comes  out  well  enough  from 
the  essays  themselves,  seeing  that    they  are  so     well 
calculated  to   stimulate  thought  and  bring  into   exist- 
ence that  curiosity  which  is  the   necessary    precursor 
of  all  true  love  of   scholarly  investigation,  enquiry  and 
research.     The    way,     in   which  he  has   sought  and 
gathered   his  varied  materials    and   endeavoured    to 
put  them    together  in    the  spirit  of   the  architect  and 
the  interpreter,  is  assuredly  worthy    of    imitation    by 
many    more  students    of  the    history    of  the    Tamil 
people  and  their  culture  and  civilisation. 

M,  RANGACHARYA 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PAGE. 

Preface       ...  ...  ...  ...  vii 

Introduction  ...  ...  ...    xi 

Essay  I. — The  Tamil  People. — Introduction — the 
name  '  Dravida  '  explained — its  ethnological 
meaning — its  social  significance — Dravida  and 
Cauda  contrasted — Dr.  Caldwell's  use  of  the 
term  Dravidian — linguistic  sense — etymology 
ot  the  word  '  Dravida' — the  word  Tamil  ex- 
plained— the  Tamil  country — its  ancient  limits 
— the  Tamils  a  mixture  ot  three  races  according 
to  Tamil  literature — Risley's  theory  examined — 
data  lor  determining  racial  varieties — (1) 
language — (2)  anthropometry — (3)  archaeology 
— and  (4)  literary  traditions         1 

Essay  II. — The  Tamil  People  (continued). — The 
place  of  the  Dravidians  in  the  human  family — 
different  views  of  ethnologists — Kisley,  Hasc- 
kel,  Topinard  and  Keane — Caldwell's  abori- 
gines-— theories  concerning  the  Dravidian  mi- 
gration—(1)  the  early  Aryans — (2)  the  Lemu- 
rian  theory — (a)  evidence  from  ethnology — (b) 
from  philology — (c)  from  geography — Dr.  Hun- 
ter's theory — (4)  the  Mongolian  or  North- 
Eastern  theory — Kanakasabhai's  arguments 
examined — the  Nagas — (3)  conclusion...  ...     17 

Essay  III. — The  Tamil  People  (continued). — (5)The 
North-Western  origin — (a)  evidence  from 
philology — Mr.  Bray's  views  about  the  Brah- 
uis — the  Brahuis,  the  Todas  and  the 
Vellalas — (b)  archaeological  evidence — the 
Dravidians  and  Assyrians — the  word  Vellala 
explained — (c)  literary  evidence — probable 
date  of  migration — sea  route  improbable — 
commercial  relation  with  the  West — no  early 
Tamil  words  lor  the  ship — the  Aryan  conquest 


XVI  TABLE   OF   CONTENTS 

PAGE. 

of  the  South  according  to  the  Sanskrit  epics — 
the  theories  of  the  neo-Timil  School — the  Rak- 
shasas  and  the  Vanaras' — their  social  and 
religious  customs — Summary       ...         ...         ...     33 

Essay  IV. — The  Tamil  Castes. — Tne  Tamil  speak- 
ing castes — the  Brahmans  and  the  non- 
Brahmans — the  three  types  of  pre-Aryans — 
the  caste  system  introduced  by  the  Aryans — 
but  it  was  regional — the  Vellalas  not  included — 
their  occupations — the  occupational  castes — 
Tamil  and  Malayalam  castes  compared — how 
the  modern  castes  sprung  from  the  territorial 
tribes — the  hill  tribes — the  Naga  tribes  — the 
Maravas  and  Eyinas — the  Parayasand  Idaiyas  — 
the  Pallas  and  Shanars — the  fishing  castes — the 
dissolving  factors — the  Kammalas — the  caste 
svstem  created  disputes — the  tribal  quarters  in 
ancient  towns — origin  of  the  Paraiyas — their 
former  greatness — origin  of  the  Kaikolas — the 
Tamils  not  good  weavers— the  Panans  and 
other  castes — origin  of  the  Kammalas — the  food 
of  the  Eyinas — origin  of  caste  pollution  ...     58 

Essay  V. — The  Tamil  Castes. — 'continued). — The 
caste  system  bred  discontent  and  quarrels — the 
right  and  left  hand  disputes — castes  enumerat- 
ed— the  caste  privileges — Kammalas  and  Kaiko- 
las— traditional  origin  of  the  division — the  social 
position  ot  the  Kammalas  and  Kaikolas — 
and  Pallis  or  Vanniyas — suggested  origins — 
Prof.  M.  Rangacharya's  theory  examined — 
the  distinction  not  found  in  Malabar — (1)  poli- 
tical origin — (2)  supported  t5y  social  disputes — 
and  (3)  confirmed  by  religion — Summary         ...     92 

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


TABLE    OF   CONTENTS  XVll 

PAGE. 

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

Essay  VII. — The  Place  of  Tamil  in  Philology. 

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

Essay    VIII. — Periods   of    Tamil    Literature 

Tamil  literature  characteristic  of  race^ — insepa- 
B 


XVlll  TABLE   OF   CONTENTS 


rable  from  religion — the  three  classes  of  Tamil 
literature — music  and  the  drama — the  extent 
of  polite  literature — mostly  translations — the 
ethical  literature — no  Tamil  literature  without 
the  Aryan  influence — history  of  literature  wan- 
ting— absence  of  critical  spirit  among  the 
Tamils — examination  of  Damodaram  Pillai's 
classification — of  Suryanarayana's — of  Cald- 
well's cycles — of  other  western  scholars — of 
M.  Julien  Vinson — proposed  classification — (1) 
the  pre-academic  period — (2)  the  academic 
period — (3)the  hymnal  period — (4)  translations 
trom  Sanskrit — (5)  the  exegetical  period — and 
(6)  the  modern  period — the  anti-Brahmanical 
School — prose  literature  ...         ...         ...  185 

Essay  IX. — The  Tamil  Academies. — Introduction 
— references  to  Tamil  academies — explanation 
of  the  terms  Sangam  and  aval — the  scope  of 
the  essay — the  upper  limit  of  the  Sangam 
period — the  first  academy — described — Agasl- 
yar  and  his  students — their  works — the  date  of 
the  academy  discussed — the  location  of  Dak- 
shana  Madura — the  second  academy  described 
— a  continuation  of  the  first — its  date — the 
importance  of  the  third  academy — described 
— when  established — and  where — its  members 
— (Thiruvalluvamalai,  a  forgery) — how  and 
wtien  broken  up — religion  of  its  members — 
the  value  of  Nakkirar's  account — later  aca- 
demies— literature  encouraged  by  Tamil 
kings — summary  account  of  the  acade- 
mies— refinement  of  the  Tamil  language — how 
poetical  works  passed — liberal  presents  to  poets 
— the  French  academy  and  the  sangams 
compared  -..         ...         ...         ...  ...     231 

Essay  X. — TheTenTens. — Description  of  the  work 
— the  dates  of  the  several  books — of  the  Chera 
kings — difficult  to  get  their  dates — description 
of  certain  ancient  [Tamil  customs — the  political 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS  xix 

PAGE. 

condition  ot  the  country — the  style  and  lan- 
guage of  the  work.         ...  ...  264 

Essay    XI The  Vaishnava   Saints Introduction 

— religion  of  the  early  Tamils — Brahmanization 
of  the  Tamils  —  growth  of  Brahmanism  among 
the  Tamils — the  beginning  of  the  Vaishnava 
sect — the  Vaishnava  saints — the  Guruparampa- 
rai — the  first  Alvars  or  Saints — iheir  dates — 
Tirumalisai  Alvar — his  age — Tiruppan  Alvai 
and  Tondaradippodi  Alvar — Kulasekhara  Al- 
var and  bis  date — Tirumangai  Alvar — his  date — 
Periyalvar  and  his  date — Andal  —  Nammalvar, 
the  last  of  the  Vaishnava  saints — the  age  of 
Nammalvar — conclusion  ...  ...  ...     281 

Essay  XII. — The  Origin  of  Malayalam. — Introduc- 
tion— etymology  of  the  terms  Malayalam  and 
M^dabar — people  of  Kerala  were  Tamils— the 
early  Tamil  poets  of  Kerala — which  was  a 
Tamil  country — (1)  geographical  evidence— (2) 
from  religious  literature — the  Nambis  Or  Nam- 
budris — and  the  Bhatta  Brahmans — (3)  ethno- 
logical   evidence — (4)    archaeological    evidence 

— (5)  literaryevidence — Kannassa  Ramayanam 

Krishnappattu — Eluttacchan — Unnayi  Variyar 
— (tt)  linguistic  evidence — (a)  grammar — (b) 
vocabulary — formative  causes — conclusion     ...    340 

•Conclusion. — The  Tamil  people — the  Tamil  Brah- 
mans— the     Tamil    alphabet    and    language 

religion  ot  the  Tamils — Tamil  literature — Ex- 
hortation       377 

The  Early  Pandya  kings  ...  387 

Note  on  Agastya's  Grammar  ...  397 

Tlie  Age  ot  Manikka  Vachakar  ...  401 

Note  on  the  word  Tiyan  ...  411 

Index     419 


Appen 

dix.  I. 

») 

IL 

i> 

III. 

,, 

IV. 

ABBREVIATIONS 


Agap. — Agapporul  of  Iraiyanar. 
Agat. — Agattiyam. 
Akam. — Akananuru. 
Cher. — Cheraman  Peruinal. 
Chin  — Cintamani. 
D.  A. — Dandi's  Alankaram. 
Ep.  Ind. — Epigraphia  Indica. 
Ind.  Ant. — Indian  Antiquary. 
Ind.  Rev. — Indian  *' eview. 
J.  R.  A.  S.— Journal  of  the  Royal 
Asiatic  Society,  London. 
Kal. — Kalittogai  or  Kalladam. 
Kam. — Kamban's  Ramayanam. 
Kap. — Kapilar. 
Kur. — Kural. 
Mani. — Manimekalai. 
Mut. — Muttanayanar  Antadi. 
Nak. — Nakkirar. 
Nan. — Nannul. 
Ned. — Xedunalvadai. 
Nig. — Chudamani  Nigandu. 
Pat. — Pattuppattu  or  Pattinappalai. 


P.  T. — Periya  Tirumozhi. 

Pey. — Peyalvar. 

Ping, — Pingalandai . 

Poi. — Poigai  Alvar. 

P.  A. — Porunararruppadai. 

Pur. — Purananuru. 

P.  V.   M. — Purapporul    Venba- 

malai. 
Sik. — Sikandiyar. 
Sil. — Silappaciikaram. 
S.  F.  P.  or  Sir. — Sirupanarrup- 

padai. 
Siv. — Sivavakkiyar. 
S.    I.  I. — South    Indian     Inscrip- 
tions. 
Tat.  Sek.— Tatva  Sekharam. 
T.  T. — Tirugnana  Sambaiidar's 
Tevaram,   or  Tiruttondar 
Tiruvandadi. 
T.  v.— Tiruvachakam. 
Tol. — Tolkappiyam. 
Vil.— Villiputtur  Alvar. 


I 

THE  TAMIL  PEOPLE 

Who  are  Dravidians  ?  Whence  and  how  did  they 
come  to  South  India?  These  are  some  of  the  outstanding 
problems  in  Indian  ethnology.  During  the  past  fifty 
years  various  theories  have  been  put  forward  from 
the  point  of  view  either  of  philology  or  anthro- 
pology or  literature,  and  it  cannot  be  said  that  the 
last  word  has  been  pronounced  on  the  subject.  It 
is  not  intended  in  these  short  papers  to  put  forth 
any  new  hypothesis,  but  to  bring  together  all  the 
existing  theories  bearing  on  the  subject,  and  to  ex- 
amine them  in  the  light  of  the  evidence  furnished  by 
ancient  Tamil  literature  and  the  labours  of  reputed 
scholars  and  savants. 

The  word  Dravida  is  widely  used  as  a  synonym 
for  Tamil  and  at  the  outset  it  is  desirable  to  explain 
its  origin  and  meaning.  According  to  Sanskrit  pandits 
'Dravida'  was  the  name  of  a  particular  tract  of  coun- 
try in  Southern  India ;  and  it  is  so  defined  in  the 
Sabdakalpadruma  on  the  authority  of  the  Mahabha- 
rata.    The    country  called    'Dravida'  extended    along 


2  TAMIL   STUDIES 

the  east  coast  of  India  from  Tirupati  (near  Madras) 
to  Cape  Coraorin  and  for  about  sixty  miles  to  the 
interior.  The  name  is  also  loosely  applied  to  the 
south  of  the  Peninsula. 

Prof.  Wilson  and  Sir  Monier-Williams  give 
three  senses  in  which  the  word  is  used —  (1)  the 
country  in  which  the  Tamil  language  is  spoken;  (2) 
an  inhabitant  of  the  country;  and  (3)  a  class  of  Brah- 
manical  tribe  calledthe  '  five  Dravidas  '.  In  accepting 
the  first  meaning  western  scholars  and  Indian  pandits 
seem  to  agree.  As  regards  the  second,  differences  of 
opinion  exist.  Whether  the  name  Dravida  was 
applied  to  all  the  peoples  living  in  that  country 
or  only  to  a  particular  caste  or  tribe  remains  to 
be  settled.  The  Tamil-speaking  non-Brahmans  have 
always  called  themselves  Tamilar  but  never  Dravidas. 
And  the  Tamil  Brahmans  who  called  themselves 
the  mahajanaiii  or  the  *  great  men  '  were,  and  even 
now  are,  known  to  the  other  Brahmans  of  India 
as  Dravidas.  Sankaracharya  (A.  D.  820),  who  was 
a  great  Sanskrit  scholar  and  religious  reformer,  refers 
to  Trignanasambanda,  a  Brahman  Saivite  Saint  and 
Tamil  poet,  as  Dravida  Sisii  (Dravida  child).  This 
use  of  the  word  obtains  even  to-day.  A  Tamil- 
speaking  Brahman  who  has  settled  down  in  the 
Bombay  Presidency  is  spoken  of  as  a  'Dravid'  and 
the  word  is  affixed  to  the  name  of  the  person,  e.  g., 
Chintaman  Dravidy  Natesa  Dravid.  But  the  Tamil- 
speaking  non-Brahmans  are  known  by  their  caste 
titles — Mudaliyar,  Pillai,    and    so    on.    Similarly,    the 


THE   TAMIL   PEOPLE  3 

Teliigus  of  the  north  call  the  Tamil  Brahmans 
VDravidlu'  Or 'Dravidas' while  the  Tamil  non-Brah- 
mans  are  called  Sudralu  or  Dakshanadi-Sudralu.  These 
clearly  show  that  in  practice  the  ethnological:  appli- 
cation of  the  name  Dravida  was  restricted  and  limited 
to  a  particular  class,  namely,  the  Tamil-speakin« 
Brahmans. 

The  significance  of  the  word  Dravida  in  the 
expression, Pancha  Dravida  has  now  to  be  explained. 
At  a  very  early  period  in  the  history  of  the  Indo- 
Aryan  people,  the  Tamil-speaking  Brahmans  had 
developed  a  system  of  social  and  religious  customs 
and  practices  which  became  a  marked  feature  of 
that  community.^  They  had  3  separate  ritualistic 
system  ;  their  social  code  was  different  from  that  of 
the   northern  Brahmans  ;  ^   and  their  laws  also  were 

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

2.  The  religious  ceremonies  of  the  five  Dravida  Brahmans  are 
more  numerous  and  elaborate.  Omission  to  perform  any  of  them 
entails  degradation  or  even  excommunication.  A  Dravida  Brahman 
cannot  eat  fish  or  meat,  and  cannot  accept  food  or  water  from 
the  hands  of  a  non-Brahman  without  losing  his  caste.  A  married 
woman  cannot  wear  white  cloth,  and  when  tying  it  she  must  pass 
it  between  her  legs.  A  widow  should  remove  not  only  her 
ornaments  but  also  her  hair,  a  custom  prevalent  in  the  Tamil 
country  at  least  from  the  second  or  third  century  A.  D.  as  will  be 
seen  from  the  following  lines  of  Kalladanar  : — 

OjuSinrsi  s®d(giJ)u:)Qm(oBr 

[Trans  : — Observed  the  cutting  of  the  fair,  soft,  black-sand-like 
hair  of  the  bright-faced  women  to  enforce  their  widowhood.) 


4  TAMIL   STUDIES 

different.  These  were  generally  known  as  Dravi- 
dasampradaya.  So  far  as  these  habits  of  life,  customs,, 
practices  and  rituals  tended  to  higher  spirituality,  they 
were  adopted  by  the  other  Brahman  communities 
of  the  peninsula— the  Andhras,  the  Karnatakas,  the 
Maharashtras  and  the  Gurjaras.  This  accounts  for 
peoples  speaking  Sanskritic  dialects  like  Marathi  and' 
Gujarathi  and  people  speaking  non-Sanskritic  dialect 
like  Tamil,  Telugu  and  Kanarese  being  grouped  to- 
gether as  Pancha  Dravidas  or  the  five  Dravidas. 

The  Dravidas  proper  were  the  Tamil-speaking 
Brahmans.  The  use  of  the  name  for  other  Brahman 
communities  is  an  instance  of  extension  of  its  mean- 
ing and  application.  The  term  was  extended  to  all 
Brahmans  observing  the  Dvaviddchdrains,  or  Dravi- 
dnsampradaya. 

In    North     India   the    Brahmans,    who    did    not 

On  the  contrary  in  these  matters  the  Gauda  or  northern 
Brahmans  are  more  lax.  The  Dravida  Brahmans  n,re  generally 
very  conservative  and  the  strictness  in  the  observance  of  the  above 
customs  is  attributed  to  tfieir  natural  desire  to  maintain  the  purity 
of  their  Aryan  blood. 

Among  the  Dravida  Brahmans,  the  Nambudris  ot  Malabar 
form  an  exception.  They  seem  to  have  retained  some  of  the 
original  trans-  Vindhyan  or  Gauda  customs  and  resisted  the  healthy 
reforms  of  Sankara,  Ramanuja  and  Ananda  Tirtha.  Their  en- 
forced polygamy,  their  free  intercourse  with  the  non-Aryans » 
and  a  few  of  their  nnacharas  or  unaryan  customs  raise  some 
doubl  as  to  the  pur-ty  of  their  Aryan  descent,  a  doubt  which 
occurred  to  our  minds  in  spite  of  the  somewhat  rigorous  social 
customs  obtaining  among  them  to-day  and  their  fair  complexion, 
which  are  no  doubt  due  to  climatic  conditions  and  their  ways 
of  living. 


Yi 


THE   TAMIL    PEOPLE  •'> 

accept  these  more  rigid  social  rules  and  practices 
developed  by  the  Dravida  Brahmans  of  South  India, 
came  to  be  distinguished  as  Pancha  Gaiidas.  From 
the  fact  that  the  Malayalam-speaking  Brahmans, 
the  Nambudris,  are  not  mentioned  in  this  classifica- 
tion, it  may  be  inferred  that  the  division  of  Brahmans 
into  Pancha  Dravidas  and  Pancha  Gaudas  had  taken 
place  long  before  the  evolution  of  the  Malayalam 
language  in  the  thirteenth  century. 

From  what  has  been  said  above  it  would  be  clear 
that  the  term  Dravida  had  no  ethnological  signifi- 
cance at  first,  but  this  it  acquired  later  on.  The 
definition  of  the  word  *  Dravida '  quoted  by  Dr.  Cal- 
dwell from  Sanskrit  lexicons  *  as  a  man  of  out-cast 
tribe  descended  from  a  degraded  Kshatriya  '  is  open 
to  question.  The  genesis  of  the  Dravida  castes 
and  tribes  given  here  and  that  given  by  Manu  cannot 
be  accepted  as  literally  true.  It  is  one  of  those 
fictions,  familar  to  Indian  sociologists  dealing  with 
the  question  of  the  origin  of  caste  by  which  the 
Brahmans  got  over  the  troubles  and  conflicts  between 
themselves  and  the  numerically  stronger  and  socially 
more  influential  sections  of  the  non-Brahmanical  tribes 
on  whom  they  imposed  their  culture  and  civilization 

To  Dr.  Caldwell  is  due  a  further  extension  of  the 
meaning  of  the  term  Dravida.  When  the  comparative 
study  of  the  South  Indian  languages  was  first  started  by 
him,  the  glossarial  and  grammatical  affinities  between 
them  were  so  marked  as  to  lead  him  to  the  conclusion 
.that  they    were   allied    languages    of   the   non-Aryan 


6  TAMIL   STUDIES 

group.  He  called  these  languages  of  South  India 
Dravidian  and  the  people  speaking  them  Dravidians. 
His  extension  of  the  word  as  a  generic  term  for  the 
South  Indian  group  of  languages  is  convenient  and 
has  been  accepted.  Linguistic  evidence  alone,  however^ 
cannot  be  sufficient,  and  by  itself  is  unreliable  to 
establish  any  theory  about  the  origins  of  castes  or  the 
ethnic  affinity  of  peoples.  Thus  the  application  of  the 
name  Dravidian  or  Dravida  to  all  tribes,  Brahman  as 
well  as  non-Brahman,  inhabiting  the  extreme  south 
of  the  Peninsula  is  unwarranted,  inaccurate  and  mis- 
leading. 

Tlie  derivation  of  the  word  Dravida  is  doubtful. 
It  is  purely  of  Sanskrit  origin  and  may  be  a  com- 
pound of  two  roots  dra,  to  run,  and  vid,  a  piece  (of 
land).  It  might  mean  a  place  to  which  one  runs  as 
a  place  of  retreat,  the  extreme  south  of  the  peninsula 
being  the  last  place  to  which  any  race  could  betake 
itself  when  driven  by  a  stronger  race  from  the  north 
of  India.  This  is  only  a  plausible  suggestion.  Sanskrit 
pandits,  however,  think  Dravida  is  a  corruption  or 
Sanskritised  form  of  Tamil.  But  whether  this  bold 
derivation  could  be  supported  by  any  linguistic  pro- 
cesses known  to  philology  seems  doubtful. 

The  origin  of  the  word  Tamil  is  not  very  clear,, 
and  native  grammarians  are  silent  on  this  points 
Agreeing  with  certain  Tamil  and  Sanskrit  pandits.  Dr. 
Caldwell  derives  it  from  Sanskrit  Dravida.  Mr.  Da- 
modaram  Pillai>  however,  questions  the  correctness 
of   this   etymology    and    asks — Is   it    possible    for    a 


THE   TAMIL   PEOPLE  7 

language  to  have  no  native  name  until  one  was  given 
to  it  by  Aryans,  especially  when  it  was  the  mother 
tongue  of  a  tolerably  civilised  race  which  had  a  fairly 
cultivated  literature  and  which  had  commercial  rela- 
tionship with  the  ancient  nations  of  the  West  ?  He 
derives  Tamil  from  the  root  Tami  i^i^)  lonely,  and 
believes  that  Tamil  means  the  '  peerless '  language. 
In  the  Pingalandni  it  is  explained  thus  : — 

(Tamil  means  sweetness  and  mercy). 

We  find  tantil  used  only  once  in  the  sense  of 
'sweetness'  in  Tamil  literature,  and  that  was  by  the 
author  of  Chintamani  (about  A.  D.  950)  ;  but  we  do 
not  see  it  used  in  this  sense  in  the  earlier  Tamil  works. 
Ot  course  the  expressions  ^i^tdltp  (the  sweet-),  QsrrQ^ii 
^L^i^  (the  fat-),  Q^^mp^i^^  (the  honeyed-)  and  ^esm 
i_uJ75f.  (the  cool-Tamil)  very  often  occur;  but  the 
word  Tamil  is  not  by  itself  used  in  this  sense  except 
in  the  solitary  instance  above  noted.  However,  fol- 
lowing the  Pingalaudai,  the  author  of  the  Dravida 
Prakasika  and  a  few  other  Indian  scholars  explain 
Tamil  as  meaning  the  sweet  language.  This  conno- 
tation ot  sweetness  seems  to  have  long  lingered  among 
Tamil  writers,  for  the  royal  author  of  Naishadam 
speaks  of  his  heroine  as  one  the  sweetness  of  whose 
speech  was  sweeter  than  Tamil,  ^uSl^^  uSeafliu^(^ 
QisFnpoapiueon&r.  Mr.  Kanakasabhai  thinks  it  to  be  an 
abbreviated  form  of  Tamra-litti,  but  this  etymology 
seems  to  be  rather  fanciful.  It  may  not  perhaps  be 
rash  to  suggest  here  what  appears  to   be  a  reasonable 


.8  TAMIL   STUDIES 

derivation.  The  word  Tamil  may  be  taken  as  a  com- 
pound of  ta)n  +  izh  ;  tain  is  a  reflexive  pronoun  which 
has  given  rise  to  a  very  interesting  class  of  words 
like  tain-appan  (father),  tay  or  tam-ay  (mother),  iam- 
aiyaii  (elder  brother),  tani.kai  (younger  sister),  tani- 
akkai  (elder  sister),  iajn-pi  (//),  iam-piran  &c.  ;  izJi 
(which  is  the  root  of  Izhm  or  Izhum,  Izhudu-&c.) 
means  sweetness.  Hence  Tamizh  or  Tamil  is  "  that 
which  is  sweet  "   or  the  sweet  language. 

It  may  be  observed  that  this  word  is  used  in  early 
Tamil  w'orks  to  denote  the  language,  the  people  and 
their  country. 

That  part  of  the  Indian  peninsula  which  the 
Indo-Aryans  called  the  Dravida  was  known  to  ancient 
Tamils  as  the  Tamil-akain  or  the  '  abode  of  the 
Tamils'.  The  extent  of  this  Tamil-akam  was  not, 
however,  alwa3's  the  same.  Tolkapyar,  a  Tamil  gram- 
marian, probably  of  the  fourth  century  B.  C,  Ilango- 
adigal,  the  royal  ascetic  and  reputed  author  of  Silap- 
padikaram,  and  Sikandiyar,  a  pupil  of  Agastyar  and 
the  author  of  a  treatise  on  music,  roughly  fix  the 
boundaries  of  the  Tamil  country,  as  may  be  seen 
from  the  following  quotations  : — 

(1)  suL—  Qeuihai—k  Q^skc^LXufl  ujnuSss>i—^ 
^iA)i^  <9S-^  tBsO^  eosij). — Tol. 

(The  good  world  of  the  Tamils  which  lies 
between  the  northern  Venkatam  and  the  southern 
Kumari.) 

(2)  QiBis^QtuiT(oisr    (^m pQfi    Q^nt^Qojn&r    QueireuQfiii 


THE  TAMIL  PEOPLE  9 

(The  cool  country  ot  the  Tamils  bounded  by 
Vishnu's  hill  and  the  bangled  lady's  sea— Kumari). 

(3)     (cQjias!—iii  (^LDtf!  ^LDL^esr jb  QusfreuQinesT 

i^ismGS)^    Qseo'ieo  ^lSIl^^  qji^sCcS. — Stk. 

(Tamil  prevails  within  the  four  limits  ot  Ven- 
katam,  Kumari  and  the  seas.) 

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

The  Tamils  in  the  west  coast  who  were  cut  off 
from  the  main  body  and  who  were  much  under  the 
control  of  the  Brahman  hierarchy,  developed  a  dialect 
of  their  own,  a  patois  of  Kodum-Tamil  and  Prakritic 
Sanskrit,  which  has  been  known  as  Malayalam  since 
the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century.  And  this 
isolation  accounts  also  for  some  of  the  ancient 
customs  and  manners  of  the  Tamils  bemg  better  pre- 
served to  this  day  m  the  west  coast  than  in  the 
eastern  districts. 

The  loss  of  this  western  strip  from  the  Tamil- 
akam  was,  however,  soon  made  up  ;  for,  new  districts 
were  added  to  it  by  the  colonisation  by  the  Tamils  of 
the  northern  portion  of  Ceylon,  beginning  from  the 
time  of  Parantaka  Chola  lA.  D.  907-946)  or  even 
•from  an  earlier  date.  They  may  be  found  also  in 
Burma,  Sumatra,  Java  and  wherever  they  could  lind 
food  and  labour. 


10  TAMIL   STUDIES 

All  the  Tamil  speaking  inhabitants  of  the 
southern  districts  do  not  belong  to  one  and  the  same 
race.  Any  layman  can  easily  distinguish  the  Dravi- 
dian  Tamils  from  the  Aryan  Brahmans.  The  physical 
characteristics  of  the  hill  and  forest  tribes,  such  as  the 
Kadars,  the  Soiigas  and  the  Kurumbas  differ  from 
those  of  the  Vellalas  and  the  Todas.  Dr.  A.  H.  Keane 
and  other  ethnologists  recognise  at  least  three  distinct 
races  in  the  population  of  Southern  India.  This 
hypothesis  seems  to  receive  some  countenance  and 
support  from  ancient  Tamil  literature  and  tradi- 
tions. The  well-known  classification  of  rational 
beings  {^ujit^^ssst)  by  the  Tamil  grammarians  into 
inakkal  (^mss^),  devar  (Q^qjit)  and  narakar  {(bctsit)  or 
7 1  a' gar  (iB  IT  sit)  points  to  the  existence  of  three  types  of 
people  in  the  Tamil  land,  namely,  the  Dravidian 
Tamils  (Makkal),  the  Aryan-Brahmans  (Devar)  and 
the  aboriginal  tribes  (Na'gar).  'Na'ga'  is  a  word  loosely 
applied  to  all  the  aborigines  who  used  to  inhabit  the 
forests,  the  low  regions  and  other  unknown  realms 
(Narakam).  Even  so  late  as  the  eleventh  century  when 
the  process  of  the  capture  and  absorption  of  the 
aboriginal  peoples  by  the  superior  Dravidians  was 
going  on,  the  more  powerful  of  the  Na'ga  tribes  seem 
to  have  struggled  hard  to  maintain  their  sturdy  inde- 
pendence and  to  preserve  their  racial  integrity."  For 
1.  With  this  compare  the  remarks  of  the  Madras  Government 
Epigraphist  ;  ''  The  mythical  account  of  the  Epic  hero  Arjuna 
marryinj;  a  Nag:t  queen  and  similar  stories  current  about  the  early 
Chola  kings  in  Tamil  liteiature,  combined  with  what  is  stated  of 
the  Naga  connections  with  the  first  Pallava  kingt;     .    .     .     contirrti 


THE   TAMIL   PEOPLE  11 

we  find  in  the  early  Tamil  works  that  the  Nagas  are 
described  as  a  race  of  dark  people  with  curly  matted 
hair.  The  ancient  Tamils  were  acquainted  also  with 
a  tribe  of  naked  nomads  (jBsas^irn&mn)^  probably  a  sec- 
tion of  the  Nagas  living  in  an  eastern  Island.  They 
were  cannibals  and  spoke  an  unknown  language. 

(1)  eua(Siu&iLiLpi^  SmssBQ^LDQuQarTsa^Q&oa®. — P.  A. 
(With  your  starving,  dark  and  large  relations) 

(2)  eij&S(ifi<5srL3<osr<s>J60  Q&)mpiu!TS<ss)SLj  u^eSQiBirsQ p 

jfjppuo  urriT^^ev  (^fEJs(SiEj  ssmLDp(Si}iT. — Kal. 
(The    cruel-eyed,    curly-haired     and     able-bodied 
Maravas  (robbers)    with    tiger-look   and    banded    bows 
waiting  on  the  roads  to  harass  the  travellers). 
i^i)  QonmrSQeup  Sleir&fld(g  iBiTsiBiri—ireir  Qsutrdsr 
pair  LDSofT  iSs^eu^efi^iresrunjih^ 
L\ejsB  pfSlefriB(^LfieSL — Maili. 
(The  tender  infant  which  Pilivalai,    the  daughter  of 
the    ruler    of    Naganadu,  bore    for    Killi     (Chola)    who 
wields  the  victorious  lance). 

From  the  first  quotation  we  learn  that  the  Panans 
— the  ancestors,  or  rather,  a  sub-caste  of  the  modern 
Paraiyas — were  an  aboriginal  tribe  of  dark  men  ;  from 
the  second  that  the  Maravas — not  the  present  caste 
of  that  name — w'ere  a  tribe  of  hunters  and  robbers 
with  tiger-look  and  curly  matted  hair  ;  while  the  third 

the  accepted  belief  that  the  Nagas  were  the  original  indigenous 
rulers  of  Southern  India  and  that  they  were  subdued  in  course  of 
time  by  the  powerful  kings  from  the  north,  eventually  losing  their 
individuality  by  intermarriages  with  the  foreigners''.  Report  dated 
28-7-1911.  1 


13  TAMIL   STUDIES 

points  to  the  fusion  of  the  Tamils  with  the  aboriginal 
tribe  of  Nagas  even  so  early  as  the  first  or  second 
•century  of  the  Christian  era.  It  might  also  be  learnt 
from  Pattuppattu  or  the  Ten  Tamil  Idylls  and  the 
Mahabalipuram  inscriptions  of  Rajendra  Chola  (A.  D. 
1012-1044)  that  there  were  among  the  Nagas  at  least 
four  sub-divisions,  viz.,  Oli-Nagan,  Mugali-Nagan, 
:Sanka-Nagan  and  Nila-Nagan.  The  Paraiyas,  who 
•constitute  nearly  a  seventh  of  the  Tamil  population 
and  who  will  be  shewn  hereafter  to  be  the  descendants 
of  the  ancient  Eyina  tribe  dislike  to  call  themselves 
Tamils,  thus  suggesting  that  they  belong  to  a  different 
race  altogether.  Further,  the  various  modes  of  dispo- 
sing of  the  dead  prevalent  among  the  Tamils  of  anci- 
ent times,  namely,  cremation,  interment  and  exposure, 
could  not  have  been  practised  at  the  same  time 
by  one  and  the  same  race.  These  facts  clearly  go  to 
prove  that  there  were  in  the  Tamil  country  at  least 
three  distinct  races  namely,  the  aborigines  (whatever 
may  be  their  names),  the  Dravidian  Tamils  and  the 
Aryan  immigrants.  Though  there  was  a  free  inter- 
mixture of  the  aborigines  and  the  Dravidian  Tamils 
and  though  some  isolated  instances  of  the  fusion  of 
the  second  and  third  are  noticeable,  the  existence  of 
three  different  types  is  clear. 

Sir  Herbert  Risley,  however,  considers  that 
all  the  South  Indians  are  Dravidians — a  dark-com- 
plexioned, short-statured  people  with  long  head, 
broad  and  thick-set  nose  and  long  fore-arm.  Doubtless 
this    description    applies    to  some   of   the    hill    and 


THE   TAMIL   PEOPLE  13 

forest  tribes  and  some  low  caste  Hindus,  but  it 
cannot  apply  to  the  population  of  Southern  India  as 
a  whole.  It  will  be  admitted  that  three  types  of 
physical  character  are  observable  in  the  Tamil 
districts  corresponding  to  the  three  different  races 
already  noticed.  First,  there  are  the  Aryans  with  a 
somewhat  fair  complexion,  tall  stature,  aquiline  nose,. 
small  lips,  smooth  and  flowing  hair.  Secondly,  the 
pure  Dravidian  like  the  Todas  of  the  Nilgiris,  tall, 
brown  complexioned,  with  thick  prominent  nose,^ 
hairy  body,  well-proportioned  limbs,  receding  fore- 
head and  of  Jewish  appearance.  And  thirdly,  we  have 
the  aborigines  like  the  Kadars,  with  African  face, 
flatfish  and  broad  nose,  thick  lips  and  dark  com- 
plexioned; and  the  pot-bellied  Kurumbas  with  wild 
matted  hair,  large  mouth,  prominent  outstanding 
teeth,  thick  lips  and  prognathous.  Although  there 
must  have  been  intercrossing  and  shuffling  of  races 
from  a  time  long  anterior  to  the  Christian  era,  it  is 
extremely  doubtful  whether  any  tribe  of  the  pure 
Mongolian  race  had  at  any  time  found  its  way  into 
the  Tamil  country,  as  Mr.  Kanakasabhai  seems 
to  think. 

The  only  data  available  for  determining  the 
racial  varieties  are,  (a)  Language,  (b)  Anthropometry, 
(c)  Prehistoric  arch;^eology  and  (d)  Traditions  and 
customs.  None  of  these,  however,  can  independently 
prove  the  racial  type  oneway  or  the  other. 

(a)  No  comparative  philologist  will  now  admit 
that  language  is   a  safe  test  of  race.    Languages    have 


14  TAMIL    STUDIES: 

their  rise,  growth  and  decay,  and  languages  once  well 
known  are  entirely  forgotten,  foreign  languages 
taking  their  place  as  though  they  were  native.  Thus 
Keltic  IS  extinct  in  Cornwall  ;  Sclavonic  has  disap- 
peared in  Prussia  ;  Accadian,  the  home  speech  of 
a  highly  civilised  Turanian  race  in  Asia  Minor,  was 
completely  rooted  out  by  the  conquering  Semites. 
Coming  to  our  own  country,  we  find  the  Brahman 
settlers  in  the  Tamil  land  speak  only  a  Dravidian 
language  forgetting  their  Sanskrit  dialects.  The  entire 
native  population  of  the  Tamil-akam — aborigmes, 
Dravidians  as  well  as  Aryans — speak  either  Tamil  or 
an  allied  language  of  the  Dravidian  family.  No  suc- 
cessful attempt  has  yet  been  made  to  analyse  the 
Tamil  language  and  to  write  its  history  in  a  purely 
philological  spirit.  Dr.  Caldwell  was  the  first  to  trace 
some  distant  affinity  of  Tamil  with  the  Uralo- Altaic 
languages.  Some  philologists,  however,  seem  to  think 
that  he  was  not  quite  successful  in  the  attempt.  We 
shall  discuss  this  question  more  fully  in  its  proper  place. 
(b)  Anthropologists  place  rather  too  much  confi- 
dence m  the  absolute  certainty  of  the  nasal  and 
cephalic  indices,  of  hair  and  colour  as  permanent 
tests  of  racial  distinction.  Sir  Herbert  Risley,  Sir 
William  Turner  and  Dr.  Topinard  rely  on  the 
constancy  of  cranial  measurements,  assuming  the 
form  of  the  head  as  a  persistent  character  that  is 
not  liable  to  be  modified  by  the  action  of  artificial 
selection.  These  scientists,  however,  do  not  agree 
among   themselves      in    certain    important    respects. 


THE   TAMIL   PEOPLK  15 

Professors  Flower,  Lydekker  and  Huxley  classify 
mankind  according  to  the  smoothness  or  roughness 
of  the  hair,  while  others  like  Quatrefages  add  to 
these  colour,  odour  &c.  Nevertheless,  the  value  of 
all  these  data  is  being  seriously  doubted  by  equally 
eminent  scientists.  Professor  Cox  has  brought  to- 
gether all  their  objections  forcibly  in  a  very  interesting 
articlethat  appeared  in  the  Modern  Revieiv  {Calcuita) 
for  1911.  He  says  'the  cephalic  index  separates  races 
closely  allied  and  is  almost  identical  for  races  widely 
apart/  '  In  almost  every  nation  we  find  almost  every 
cephalic  index.'  As  for  the  nasal  index,  M.  Colignon 
after  elaborate  researches  thinks  it  of  minor  impor- 
tance. Professor  Sergi  of  Rome  says  'the  method  of 
indices  is  a  method  only  in  appearance  and  it  inevita- 
bly leads  to  errors  and  can  produce  no  satisfactory 
results.'  Professor  Ridgeway  thinks  '  these  osteologi- 
cal  differences  are  but  foundations  of  sand.'  And 
above  all  a  writer  in  the  Miienschener  Medizinische 
(quoted  by  Mr.  G.  A.  Gait,  I.C.S.,)  asserts  that  the 
numerous  head  measurements  collected  with  endless 
assiduity  by  anthropologists  have  been  shown  to  be 
worthless.  Thus  we  see  that  neither  the  cephalic 
nor  the  nasal  index  is  of  much  value  in  determining 
race.  The  same  may  be  said  of  hair  and  colour,  as 
these  can  be  changed  in  course  of  time  by  climate, 
food  and  other  artificial  means  and  methods.  It 
would  therefore  be  unwise  on  the  part  of  anthropolo- 
gists to  think  they  could  correctly  interpret  these 
physical  differences   as    indications  of     inferioritv    or 


IG  TAMIL   STUDIES 

otherwise  of  a  race,  especially  in  a  country  like 
India,  where  there  has  been  for  ages  past  an  inter- 
mingling of  diverse  races — autochthonous,  Turanian, 
Semitic  or  Aryan. 

(c)  The  evidence  of  pre-historic  arch^eology  con- 
sists of  weapons,  implements,  and  human  bones 
which  are  found  buried  in  the  earth,  and  the  megali- 
thic  monuments  like  the  dolmen,  cromlech  {and  the 
kistvaens.  Such  remains  abovuid  in  Tamil  districts. 
But  in  India  the  science  of  archaeology  has  not  yet 
advanced,  and  no  excavations  on  a  large  scale  have 
till  now  been  undertaken.  The  finds  hitherto  brought 
to  light  are  therefore  very  limited  and  do  not  afford 
data  for  any  reliable  inference  concerning  ethnic 
problems. 

(d)  The  fourth  source  from  which  we  may 
derive  some  help  for  determining  racial  varieties 
consists  of  traditions  and  ancient  customs  described 
in  early  Tamil  works.  Some  of  them  may  have  been 
distorted,  exaggerated  or  even  wrongly  stated.  The 
Ramayana  and  the  Mahabharata  in  Sanskrit,  the 
Tolkapyam,  the  Purananuru,  the  Pattuppattu,  the 
Kalittogai  and  other  works  in  Tamil  furnish  plenty  of 
evidence.  But  all  these  will  have  to  be  sifted  and 
considered  in  the  light  of  other  evidences.  And  this 
will  be  attempted  in  the  next  chapter. 


II 

THE  TAMIL  PEOPLE— (continued). 

The  original  home  of  the  Dravidians  and  their 
place  in  the  human  family  are  still  subjects  of  discus- 
sion. The  various  views  that  have  been  held  by 
anthropologists  in  this  connection  will  be  passed 
in  review. 

'  The  Dravidian  race,'  says  Dr.  Grierson,  '  is 
commonly  considered  to  be  the  aborigines  of  India 
or  at  least  of  Southern  India,  and  we  have  no 
information  to  show  that  they  are  not  the  aboriginal 
inhabitants  of  the  South.'  Sir  Herbert  Risley  says, 
*  Taking  them  as  we  find  them  now  it  may  safely  be 
said  that  their  present  geographical  distribution^ 
the  marked  uniformity  of  physical  characters  among 
the  more  primitive  members  of  the  group,  their 
animistic  religion,  their  distinctive  languages,  their 
stone  monuments  and  retention  of  a  primitive 
system  of  totemism  justify  us  in  regarding  them  as  the 
earliest  inhabitants  of  India  of  whom  we  have  any 
knowledge.' 

It   will   be  seen  from  the  above  extracts  that  Dr. 


18  TAMIL   STUDIES 

Grierson  and  Sir    H.  Risley    do    not  take  the    ques- 
tion deeper   than  saying   that  the  Dravidians  are  the 
aboriginal  inhabitants  of  Southern  India.    The  former 
as  a  linguist  says  that  the  question   of  the  origin  and 
migration  of  the  Dravidian   race  cannot  be  solved  by 
the  philologist  ;   and  the    latter  as    a  leading    Indian 
ethnologist  tries  to  6nd  out  some  connection  between 
the  Dravidians  and  tlie  Australians;  but  he  is  opposed 
in  his  conclusion  by  Sir    W.  Turner,  who  has  found 
no  cranial  connection  between  the  two  races.     After 
criticising  the  other  theories    concerning    the    origin 
and  dispersion  of  the  Dravidians,  Sir  H.  Risley  comes 
back  to  the  same  ground  on  which  his  colleague  stood. 
According  to  H deckel,  the  Dravidians,  the  Cauca- 
sians, the  Basques    and  the  Indo-Germanic  races  re- 
semble one  another  in  several  characteristics,  especially 
in  the  strong  development  of   the   head,  which  sug- 
gests a  close  relationship   between    them.      Professor 
Huxley  includes  ihem  in  the  smooth-haired   division 
with  the  North   Africans  and   South    Europeans,    as- 
suming Australia  as  the  land  of  their    origin.     While 
agreeing  with  them  generally  Professors  Flower  and 
Lydekker  put  the  Dravidians  in  the  white  division  of 
man  and  observe  that    in    Southern    India  they   are 
largely  mixed  with  a  Negrito  element. 

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


THE   TAMIL   PEOPLE  19 

between  a  ieiotrichi  race  from  outside  and  a  Negrito 
autocthonous  race. 

Lastly,  Dr.  Keane  thinks  that  he  is  able  to  prove 
that  the  Dravidians  preceded  the  Aryan-speaking 
Hindus  and  that  they  are  not  the  true  aborigines  of 
the  Deccan,  they  being  themselves  preceded  by  dark 
peoples  probably  of  an  aberrant  Negrito  type. 

The  question  now  is  '  who  are  the  aborigines  ?  ' 
The  tirst  Scholar  who  discussed  this  problem  from  the 
stand  point  of  philology  was  Dr  Caldwell;  and  he 
arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  even  the  lowest  castes 
including  the  Paraiy;is  are  Dravidians  and  that  they 
were  reduced  by  conquest  to  tlie  condition  of  serfs 
and  jungle  tribes.  He  held  also  that  the  Dravidians 
entered  India  from  the  North-West.  These  two  hy- 
potheses of  Dr.Caldweli's  seem  to  conflict  each  other, 
as  it  is  extremely  improbable  that  a  very  large  body 
of  the  so  called  Dravidians  consisting  of  the  dark 
complexioned  Paraiyas,  Pallis,  Kallas  and  the  several 
hill  and  forest  tribes  could  have  come  from  north- 
western Asia,  which  has  been  peopled  by  the  fair 
complexioned  Semitic  tribes.  There  is  no  philological 
evidence  to  show  who  the  aborigines  v.'ere.  Dr.  Cald- 
well does  not  tell  us  that  there  were  no  people  m 
Southern  India  before  the  advent  of  the  Dravidians. 
If  there  were  no  people,  the  Dravidians  should  be 
regarded  as  the  aborigines  ;  otherwise  they  are  not. 
He  leaves  all  this  an  open  question.  It  was,  however 
taken  up  by  ethnologists.amongst  whom  Drs.  Haddon 
and    Keane    are    decidedly     of    opinion    that     the 


20  TAMIL   STUDIES 

Dravidians  are  not  the  aborigines,  but  that  they   were 
preceded  by  a  Negrito  race  akin  to  the  people  of  the- 
Malay  Peninsula  and    the    Australians,  the    remnants 
of   whom    may    be   found   among    the    jungle  and 
mountain  tribes  of  Southern  India.     And    this   is   the 
view  accepted  by  scholars  intimately  acquainted   with 
the  South  Indian  people,  notably  by  Mr.R.  Sewell,  who 
says  that  '  at  some  very  remote  period  the  aborigines 
of    Southern    India    were    overcome    by    hordes   of 
Dravidian  invaders  and    driven  to    the  mountains  and 
desert  tracts  where  their  descendants  are  to  be  found.' 
If  the  Dravidians    are  not   the  aborigines,    then 
what  was  their    original  home  and  by  what  route  did 
they    come    into     Southern    India  ?      According    to 
one  theory,  they  were  the  earliest  or  the  first  Aryan 
settlers.     Another   theory  places  their    home   some- 
where in  the  **  submerged  Continent"  in  the  Indian 
Ocean  whence  they  are   supposed   to    have    migrated 
northward     to     India.     According     to    some,    their 
original    home  was   somewhere  in    Central    Asia   and 
they    entered    India  (a)    by   the     north-east   through 
Assam  and  Burma,  or    (b)  by  both  the    north-eastern 
and  north-western   gales.     Yet  another  makes  them 
immigrants  from  Western-Asia  either  by  (a)  the  north- 
western   mountain    passes,    or    direct  by    (b)  the    sea 
route.     Each  of  these   may    be   considered   at   some 
length. 

The  Eaply  Aryan  Theory  :  Like  the  Celts 
and  Cymri  in  Ireland,  the  Tamils  were  supposed  by 
some  to  be  the   representatives  of  the  earliest  band  of 


THE  TAMIL   PEOPLE  21 

the  Aryan  immigrants  in  India.  So  far  as  we  are 
aware  this  theory  was  never  seriously  advanced  or 
advocated  by  any  ethnologist.  Dr.  Caldwell  traces 
some  affinity  between  Tamil  and  the  Indo-European 
languages,  even  though  their  grammar  and  vocabulary 
are  radically  different.  Further  it  was  believed  for  a 
long  time  that  the  megalithic  tombs  found  in  some 
parts  of  India  and  England  belonged  to  the  ancient 
Gauls  or  Celts,  which  had  led  to  a  mistaken  idea  that 
the  original  inhabitants  of  India,  to  whom  these 
monuments  (dolmens)  were  attributed,  were  Aryans 
akin  to  the  Celts  of  Europe,  But  the  fact  remains  that 
the  Tamils  themselves  called  the  Aryans  Mtechchas  or 
foreigners  ((i?(?6\)i^^j/r//?aj/f.  Ping,  797)  in  spite  of  any 
social,  linguistic  and  other  influences  each  might  have 
received  from  the  other. 

The  Lemurian  op  Selater's  Theory  : 
Accordmg  to  this  theoiy.the  original  home  of  the 
Dravidians  was  the  now  submerged  continent  of 
Lemuria,  which  was  somewhere  in  the  Indian  Ocean 
before  the  formation  of  the  Himalaya  Mountains. 
This  continent  is  supposed  to  have  extended  from 
Madagascar  in  the  west  to  the  Malay  Archipelago  in 
the  east,  connecting  Southern  India  with  Africa  on 
the  one  side  and  Australia  on  the  other.  If  so,  the 
Dravidians  must  have  entered  India  from  the  south 
long  before  the  submergence  of  this  continent.  In 
support  of  this  theory  the  following  arguments  have 
been  adduced: — 

Ethnology  :     The  system    of    totems     prevailing 


42  TAMIL   STUDIES 

among  the  half-civilized  castes  and  tribes  of  India, 
and  the  use  of  the  bomerang  bv  the  Kalians  of 
South  India  are  found  nowhere  except  among 
certain  Australian  tribes;  Dr.  R.  Wallace's  description 
of  tree  climbing  by  the  Dyaks  of  Borneo  applies 
equally  \ve!l  to  the  Kadars  of  the  Anamalai  hills  ; 
and  the  chipping  of  all  or  some  of  the  incisor  teeth 
by  the  Kadars  and  Mala-Vedans  may  be  found 
among  the  Jakuns  of  the  Malay  Peninsula. 

Philology  :  Linguistic  afSnities,  especially  some 
doubtful  resemblance  between  the  numerals  in  Mun- 
dari  and  in  certain  Australian  dialects  have  been 
noticed  by  Bishop  Caldwell  and  Sir  H.  Risley.  But 
it  may  be  pointed  out  that  the  Munda  language  is 
quite  independent  of  the  Dravidian  tongue  and  it 
mav  be  doubted  whether  the  poor  similarity  in  respect 
of  the  numerals  alone  will  be  enough  tC)  establish  the 
theory   under  discussion. 

Geography  :  The  argument  under  this  head  has 
already  been  stated  and  more  will  be  said  about  it 
further  on.  However,  it  may  not  be  out  of  place 
to  mention  here  in  support  of  it  a  tradition  which  had 
currency  among  the  early  Tamils  and  has  been  pre- 
served in  their  literature.     That  is, — 

(^  riflsQsrrQfsi  0srT(SrEJ^L^6\)  Qaam&r. — Sil. 

(The  cruel  sea  swallowed  up  the  P.ihruli  river 
and  the  Kumari  peak  with  the  chain  of  mountains). 

And  the  commentary  of  Adiyarkunallar  on  the 
above   lines    runs   thus  :  {^)  ^ssneoi^    ^eufr     miL®^ 


THE   TAMIL   PEOPLE  23 

Qpisbr  Ui7'2e\)  iBir^iMSji^  iSleir  ut^so  isrT®iM  S7tp  (^sisrp  istrQiii  (5ji^ 
(g,vsarsfT<5S)J  iBfT®!})  <s]i^  (^^iiMu'^esT  [btQu)  sKok^iLD  @/5^  isrrpu^ 
Q^ni,bru^  ihfi(Slih  (^LDtFloia,iTs\)s\).Jj  (tppsSlm  ussr  LD'2e\)  iBrrQiii  strQih 
'B^iLjih  u^iLjti)  <suSiT<s(^uD!fl  (oUL-Q LJ(ir)rEjQ an LLisf.€sr  srrpiLo  slSo 
QanmsrQi—rriSl^oOfrp  (^LDrfliutrQuj  QuofrojQLDvSTQr/'Qfri^a — S//, 
198.  Cape  Comorin  is  spoken  of  in  early  Tamil 
literature  as  a  river,  a  mountain  and  even  as  a  sea. 
And  the  ancient  Tamils,  who  weie  acquainted  with 
the  Island  of  Java  and  generally  with  tiie  Eastern 
Archipelago,  appear  to  have  had  some  vague  notions 
about  the  existence  in  the  remoter  past  of  a  vast 
country  in  continuation  of  Cape  Comorin.  But,  the 
geography  of  this  submerged  continent  as  given  in 
the  above  excerpt  looks  very  suspicious.  And  their 
tradition  about  the  change  of  capital  of  the  Pandya 
country  from  South  Madura  to  North  Madura  (the  mo- 
dern Madura)  seems  to  indicate  the  Tamilian's  theory 
of  an  early  migration  of  some  race  from  the  South. 

Hunter's  Theory  :  In  his  account  of  the 
non-Aryan  races  Dr.  W.W.  Hunter  thinks  '  there  are 
two  branches  of  the  Dravidians — the  Kolarians  and 
the  Dravidians  proper.  The  former  entered  India  by 
the  north-east  and  occupied  the  northern  portion  of 
the  Vindhya  table  land.  There  they  were  conquered 
and  split  into  fragments  by  the  main  body  of  Dravi- 
dians who  found  their  way  into  the  Punjab  through 
the  north-western  passes  and  pressed  forward  towards 


2i  TAMIL   STUDIES 

the  south   of   India'.    Yet  in  another   place  the  same 
scholar    writes    as    follows  :     *  It   would   appear  that 
long  before  the  Aryan    invasions,   a   people  speaking 
a  very  primitive  Central  Asian  language,    had  entered 
by  the  Sind  passes.     These  were  the  Dravidas  or  the 
Dravidians  of     later  times.     Other  non-Aryan  races 
from  the  north  pushed  them  onwards   to    the    present 
Dravidian  country  in  the  south    of    the    peninsula... 
The    extrusion     of    the     Dravidians    from    northern 
India    had    taken  place    before    the    arrival    of    the 
Aryan-speaking   races.      The    Dravidians  are    to    be 
distinguished    from  the  later  non-Aryan  immigrants, 
whom  the  Vedic  tribes    found    in    possession    of    the 
valleys  of  the  Indus  and    Ganges.     These   later    non- 
Aryans    were     in     their  turn    subjugated  or    pushed 
out     by   the    Aryan     new  comers;  and    they    accor- 
dingly appear  in  the    Vedic  hymns    as    the    'enemies' 
(Dasyus)    and    'serfs'    (Sudras)    of     the    Indo-Aryan 
settlers.     The  Dravidian  non-Aryans  of  the  south,    on 
the  other  hand,  appear  from  the  first  in  the   Sanskrit 
as  friendly  forest  folk,  the  monkey  armies  who  helped 
the    Aryan    hero     Kama    on     his     march     through 
Southern  India  against  the  demon  king  of  Cevlon.' 

As  Sir  H.  Risley  has  remarked,  the  basis  of  this 
theory  is  obscure  ;  and  neither  philology  nor  ethnology 
supports  it.  It  will  be  shown  in  the  sequel  that  the 
Dravidians  were  not  driven  from  Northern  India  bv 
later  non-Aryan  immigrants  and  that  they  were  not 
the  monkey  armies  who  helped  the  Aryan  hero  Rama. 

The   Mongolian  Theory :     According   to 


THE   TAMIL   PEOPLE  25 

this  theory  the  Dravidians  had  hved  somewhere  on  the 
plateau  of  Central  Asia  along  with  the  Mongolians 
before  they  entered  India  by  the  North-eastern  passes 
from  Tibet  or  Nepal,  or  by  the  way  of  Assam  and  the 
Tennaserim  provinces.  This  theory  has  been  very 
strongly  supported  by  Mr.  Kanakasabhai  in  his  Tamils 
Eighteen  Hundred  years  ago.  According  lo  him  the 
aboriginal  inhabitants  of  Southern  India  were  the 
Villavas  and  Minavas.  They  were  conquered  by  a 
highly  civilised  race  called  the  Nagas  who  hailed 
from  Central  Asia.  They  were  very  good  weavers 
and  from  them  the  Aryans  learnt  their  alphabet  which 
thencefortli  was  known  as  Deva-Nagari.  He  is  of 
opinion  that  the  Maravas,  Eyinas,  Oliyas,  Oviyas, 
Aruvalas  and  the  Paratavas  mentioned  in  the  Tamil 
works  of  the  academic  period  belonged  to  the  above 
Naga  race,  and  that  they  had  always  been  hostile  to 
the  Dravidian  Tamils.  Subsequently,  these  Nagas 
were  in  their  turn  conquered  by  a  Mongolian  race 
called  the  Tamralitti.s  or  the  Tamils  who  had 
migrated  from  the  Tibetan  plateau.  They  came  to 
the  south  of  India  along  the  east  coast  in  four  bands 
the  earliest  of  whom  he  considers  to  be  the  Marar 
who  founded  the  Pandya  kitigdom.  The  second 
were  the  Thirayar  tribe  of  the  Cholas  and  the  third 
the  Vanavar,  a  mountainous  tribe  from  Bengal,  who 
were  the  ancestors  of  the  Chera  kings  ;  and  the 
fourth  and  last,  the  Kosar  tribe  of  the  Kongu  country, 
In  this  way  he  accounts  for  the  origin  of  the  four 
ancient  Tamil  kingdoms. 


26  TAMIL   STUDIES 

Further  on,  the  same  writer  observes  as  follows: — 
'As  the  Tamil  immigrants  came  into  Southern  India 
at  distant  intervals  of  time  and  in  separate  tribes  and 
were  fewer  in  number  than  the  aboriginal  Nagas  and 
DravidianS;  they  had  to  adopt  the  ancient  Dravidian 
language  and  in  course  of  time  they  modified  and 
refined  it  into  the  language  now  known  as  Tamil. 
The  peculiar  letter  zli  (i-g)  which  does  not  exist  in 
the  other  Dravidian  languages  was  doubtless  brought 
in  by  the  Tamil  immigrants.  This  letter  occurs  in  the 
Tibetan  languages.  It  indicates  most  clearly  that  the 
primitive  home  of  the  Tamil  immigrants  must  have 
been  in  the  Tibetan  plateau'.  And  in  support  of  his 
theory  that  all  the  Tamils  are  of  Mongolian  origin  he 
goes  on  to  say  that  the  existence  of  very  many  words 
in  gn  (a),  jn  (gj)  atjd  n  (soar)  in  Tamil,  Burmese 
and  Chinese,  and  tlie  siinilarity  between  Malayalam 
and  the  Mongolian  languages,  clearly  confirm  the 
North-eastern  or  the  Mongolian  origin  of  the  Tamil 
people. 

In  attributing  a  Mongolian  origin  to  the  Tamils 
Mr.  Kanakasabhai  relies  partly  on  literary  evidence 
and  partly  on  the  similarity  of  sound  in  certain  words. 
He  seems  to  misinterpret  some  passages  in  Tamil 
works  and  distorts  current  traditions  so  as  to  support 
his  preconceived  theories  ;  and  it  would  be  fallacious 
and  unwarrantable  to  draw  any  inference  from  words 
like  Tamra-litti  and  Tamil,  Mranmar  and  Maran, 
Koshan  or  Kushan  and  Kosar  &c.,  which  are  similar 
only  in  sound.     He  has  entirely  ignored  the  testimony 


THE   TAMIL    PEOPLE  27 

of  archaeology,  philology  and  anthropology.  It  is 
necessary  to  examine  his  statements  more  fully. 

He  says  the  Villavas  and  the  Minavas  were  the 
aborigines  of  Southern  India,  citing  the  Bhils  and  the 
Minas  of  Central  India  in  support  of  his  assertion. 
Villav^an  is  a  bowman  and  Minavan  is  a  fisher-man 
and  these  are  some  of  the  titles  applied  honorifically 
to  the  Chera  and  Pandya  kings.  There  is  no  caste  or 
tribe  bearing  either  name  in  the  Tamil  districts. 
Further,  the  Bhils  and  the  Minas  do  not  speik  a 
Dravidian  language.  How  they  were  ethnically 
related  to  the  Tamils  and  to  what  race  they  had 
belonged  he  quie'ily  passes  over. 

Again,  he  says  that  the  Nag'is  were  a  highly 
civilised  aboriginal  race  from  whom  the  Aryans 
learnt  their  Sanskrit  alphabet.  Before  entering  upon 
any  criticism  of  these  statements  we  shall  enquire 
who  these  Nagas  were.  There  were  Nagas  in 
Northern  India  as  well  as  in  Southern  India,  About 
the  former  Capt.  Forbes  writes  as  follows  in  his 
Languages  of  Further  India: — 'It  is  now  acknow- 
ledged that  prior  to  the  irruption  of  the  Aryans 
into  India  from  the  west  across  the  Indus,  the 
valley  of  the  Ganges  was  occupied  by  various  races 
of  Turanian  origin.  The  Arvans  came  in  contact 
with  two  races  :  one  of  fierce  black  degraded  savage 
tribes  whom  they  called  Asuras,  Rakshasas,  &c. ;  the 
other  a  people  who  lived  in  cities  and  possessed 
wealth,  and  whose  women  were  fair,  whom  they 
termed  the  Nagas  or  serpent  worshippers,    and    who 


28  TAMIL   STUDIES 

doubtless  belonged  to  the  great  Takshak  or  '  Serpent 
race '  of  Scythia.  Under  the  continued  pressure  of 
the  advancing  Aryan  invaders,  these  Turanian  tribes 
were  driven  back  carrying  before  them  in  their  turn 
the  feeble  and  scattered  remnants  of  the  black 
aboriginal  race,  who  were  either  exterminated  or 
found  a  last  refuge  in  the  most  inaccessible  forests 
and  mountams.'  Nothing  definite  is  known  about 
the  South  Indian  Nagas  except  what  is  mentioned  in 
the  Aianimekalai  and  the  occasional  references  in  the 
Pattuppattu  and  in  the  inscriptions.  In  the  early 
Buddhistic  'Jamil  literature  the  name  of  this  tribe 
occurs  very  often. 

(The  four  hundred  yojanas  of  the  good  country  of 
the  Nagas  will  be  destroyed  by  sinking  into  the  broad 
netherworld). 

iBSS  S^ITITSamiT  I'STSIT   •SJfTL^LD'^eO. — Sll. 

(The  mountain  inhabited  by  the  naked  nomads  and 
the  Nagas.) 

The  Naga  Nadu  or  tlie  country  of  the  Nagas  is 
described  as  a  vast  island  situated  in  the  east  or  rather 
south-east  of  the  Tamil  country  ;  and  the  Nagas  were 
a  half  civilised  tribe,  some  of  whom  were  naked 
nomads  while  others  were  cannibals.  They  spoke  a 
language  not  understood  by  the  Tamil  people.  From 
this  description  it  might  be  easily  surmised  that  the 
country  referred  to  was  Ceylon  and  that  the  people 
were  the  Veddas  or  Vedas.     Nilan  and    Nagan    were 


THE  TAMIL   PEOPLE  29 

names  quite  familiar  among  the  Kalian  and  the 
Vedan  or  Vettuvar  tribes  of  the  Tamil  districts.  Nilan 
was  the  name  of  the  Vaishnava  saint  Tirumangai 
Alvar,  a  Kalla  by  caste,  and  of  the  donor  of  the  fine 
cloth  to    Ay  a  hill  king  ; 

rieo  iSfTssar  ibsoSlu  ssSlihsii.  — S.P.P. 
(The  fine  cloth  presented  by  Nilan  of  the  Naga  tribe.) 
Nagan  was  the  name  of  a  Veda  chieftain  and 
the  father  of  the  famous  Saiva  saint  Kannappa 
Nayanar.  From  these  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Nagas 
were  not  so  highly  civilised  as  is  represented  by  Mr. 
Kanakasabhai  ;  but  doubtless  they  were  a  martial  tribe 
of  hunters  from  whom,  as  we  have  shown  else- 
where, the  Pandyas,  the  Cholas  and  the  Pallavas 
recruited  their  armies.  It  seems,  therefore,  that 
'Naga'  was  the  name  given  by  the  Aryans  to  any 
aboriginal  tribe  in  Southern  India  and  Ceylon,  and 
it  might  be  remarked  that  the  Nagas  of  the  south 
were  distinct  from  the  Nagas  of  Northern  India  who 
are  described  by  Capt.  Forbes  in  the  above  extract. 
The  South  Indian  Nagas  were  probably  the  abori- 
gines, while  their  North  Indian  namesake  were 
Turanian  or  Scythian  immigrants  from  Central  Asia 
belonging  probably  to  the  Mongolian  race. 

As  regards  the  origin  of  the  Nagari  alphabet  the 
conclusions  of  Dr.  G.  Buhler  and  other  eminent 
authorities  on  Indian  Paleography  are  certamly 
opposed  to  the  bold  assertion  of  Mr.  Kanakasabhai 
that  the  Aryans  learnt  it  from  the  Nagas.  The  v/ord 
Nagari'    is  derived    from    nagar,  a  city,  but  not  from 


30  TAMIL   STUDIES 

^  Naga  '  the  name  of  a  tribe,  as  he  seems  to  think 
and  the  Nj^gari  or  the  Deva  Nagari  was  the  alphabet 
formerly  used  by  the  Aryan    city  folk. 

Again,  Mr.  Kanakasabhai  says  the  Tamil  immi- 
grants were  a  Mongolian  tribe  quite  independent 
of  the  '  aboriginal.  Nagas  and  Dravidians  '  ;  and  in 
suppoit  of  his  theory  he  cites  the  existence  of  the 
peculiar  letter  tp  (zh)  in  Tamil  and  in  some  of  the 
Tibetan  languages,  but  which  '  does  not  occur  in 
the  other  Dravidian  or  Sanskrit  languages.'  Elimi- 
nating the  Nagas  and  the  Mongolian  tribe  of  Tamils 
from  the  population  of  the  Tamil  districts,  one 
would  be  anxious  to  know  who  these  Dravidians 
were.  Were  they  his  Villavar  and  Minavar  abori- 
gines or  some  other  tribe  which  had  its  existence  only 
in  his  imagination?  Then,  adverting  to  the  peculiar 
letter  tp  we  must  say  that  it  did  exist  in  the  ancient 
Kanarese  and  Telugu  languages  though  it  had 
disappeared  owing  to  the  continuous  Sanskrit  influ- 
ence for  centuries.  In  modern  Kanarese  and  Telugu 
it  has  been  dropped  or  its  place  taken  by  m  (1)  and 
i_  (d).  As  Dr.  Caldwell  has  rightly  said  this  letter  has 
sometimes  the  sound  of  err  (1)  or  tu  (y)  or  is  even 
omitted  as  in  modern  colloquial  Tamil.  And  it 
might  further  be  remarked  that  ^e  which  has  the 
sound  approaching  the  English  zh  (as  in  pleasure)  or 
the  French  J  (as  in  J'ai)  may  be  found  in  some  of 
the  languages  of  the  Uralo- Altaic  group.  The  mere 
fact  therefore  that  it  is  found  to  prevail  equally  in 
Tamil  and  throughout   the    aboriginal    Indo-Chinese 


THE   TAMIL   PEOPLE  31 

tongues  of  the  Himalayas  and  Tibet  is  by  itself 
insufficient  to  establish  an  ethnic  relationship  be- 
tween the  two  races,  especially  when  there  are  so 
many  and  so  strong  arguments  to  the  contrary. 
Further,  there  is  not  the  slightest  affinitv  between 
Tamil  and  the  Tibetan  tongues,  nor  the  least  resem- 
blance in  the  physical  characters  of  the  Tamil  people 
and  the  Mongolian  tribes. 

We  have  already  stated  that  '  Tamra-litti  '  had  no 
connection  with  'Tamil'.  Kosar  seems  to  have  been  a 
hill  tribe  more  or  less  akin  to  the  Koyas  and  the 
Eyinas  (Paraiya)  of  the  Tamil  districts,  which  name 
is  still  preserved  in  the  word  Koyan-puttur  (Coimba- 
tore)  meaning  the  new  village  of  the  Koya  or  Kosar 
sribe.  It  is  not  connected  with  that  powerful  and 
civilized  race,  the  Cushites  of  antiquity,  as  Mr.  Kanaka- 
sabhai  seems  to  think,  but  rather  allied  to  the  Telugu 
speaking  hill  tribe  of  that  name.  Maran  is  he  who 
barters  ;  it  is  a  title  assumed  by  the  Pandya  kings  on 
account  of  their  earliest  commercial  relationship  with 
the  Egyptians,  Chaldeans,  ancient  Arabs  and  other 
Western  nations.  The  traditional  origin  of  this  word 
from  Mani  (to  beat  with  a  tamarind  swdtch)  given 
in  the  Madura  Tiruvilayadal-Purana,  in  order  to 
connect  it  with  one  of  the  Siva's  'sacred  sports' 

betrays  the  imaginative  flights  of  the  Brahman  Purana 
writers.  And  we  may  say  that  this  word  Maran  has 
greater  connection  with  the  Hebrew  Mara  to  sell  or 
barter,  than  with  the  Burmese  Mran-mar. 


32  TAMIL   STUDIES 

The  weightiest  of  all  objections  to  Mr,  Kanaka- 
sabhai's  theory  seems  to  come  from  the  pen  of  Sir 
H.  Risley.  He  says  'It  is  extremely  improbable  that 
a  large  body  of  a  very  black  and  conspicuously  long_ 
headed  type  should  have  come  from  the  one  region 
of  the  earth  which  is  peopled  exclusively  by  races  with 
broad  heads  and  yellow  complexion.  With  this 
we  may  dismiss  the  theory  which  assigns  a  trans- 
Himalayan  origin  to  the  Dravidians,'  This  objection 
seems  sound,  although  it  is  too  much  to  admit  that 
all  the  inhabitants  of  Southern  India  belonged  to  a 
*  very  black  and  conspicuously  long  headed-type'  of 
the  human  species. 

Of  the  several  theories  set  forth  above,  those  of 
the  Early-Aryan  and  Mongolian  origins  may  be  dis- 
missed as  altogether  untenable,  as  they  are  supported 
neither  by  tradition  nor  by  science.  The  feeble 
support  which  Sir  William  Hunter's  theory  has 
received  at  the  hands  of  scholars  in  spite  of  his  magic 
name  shows  what  little  substratum  of  probability 
there  is  under  it.  The  Lemurian  theory  can  cover,  if 
at  all,  only  a  very  small  part  of  the  problem  and 
apply  only  to  the  primitive  aboriginal  sections  of  the 
people.  The  bold  conclusions  of  Mr.  Kanakasabhai 
seem  to  be  based  on  fanciful  philological  musings 
and  a  feverish  desire  to  show  originality.  In  the 
following  chapter  an  attempt  will  be  made  to  collect 
together  a  few  facts  and  ideas  that  may  constitute 
what  appears  to  be  a  more  probable  solution  of  this 
interesting  question. 


Ill 

THE  TAMIL  PEOPLE.— (continued ). 

The  one  other  theory  that  remains  to  be  con- 
sidered is  that  a  large  number  of  emigrants  from 
Western  Asia  came  into  the  country  either  by  a 
direct  sea-route  or  by  land  through  the  Western 
mountain  passes,  and  became  superimposed  on  the 
aboriginal  stock,  probably  of  the  Lemurian  origin, 
before  there  was  any  Aryan  influence  in  South  India. 
The  original  home  of  these  people  should  have  been 
Assyria  and  Asia  Minor  and  they  should  have  lived 
with  the  ancient  Accadians  and  other  Turanian  races 
before  they  migrated  to  India  through  the  North- 
western passes.  This  theory  seems  to  have  much 
to  be  said  in  its  favour,  although  apparent  objections 
have  been  raised  against  it  by  Mr.  D.  Bray,  Sir  H. 
Risley  and  other  scholars.  We  shall  as  in  the  case 
of  the  other  theories  collect  together  all  the  argu- 
ments regarding  it  under  the  three  main  heads  of 
philology,  archaeology  and  literary  tradition. 

Lingttistic    evidence  :     Dr.  Caldwell    thinks   that 


34  TAMIL   STUDIES 

the  Dravidian  languages  may  be  affiliated  morpho- 
logically to  the  Uralo-Altaic  or  the  Finno-Tartaric 
family  of  tongues  which  comprise  the  Samoyedic, 
the  Finnic,  the  Turkic,  the  Mongolian  and  the  Tungu- 
sian  groups.  To  the  same  family  belonged  Accadian 
— a  fully  developed  language  spoken  by  a  highly 
civilised  Turanian  race  that  had  lived  in  Assyria, 
Chaldea,  Susiana  and  Media.  The  learned  bishop 
after  indicating  the  pomts  of  resemblance  in  grammar 
and  vocabulary  between  Accadian  and  the  Dravidian 
languages,  comes  to  the  conclusion  'that  the  Dravidi- 
an race  though  resident  in  India  from  a  period  long 
prior  to  the  commencement  of  the  Christian  era, 
originated  in  the  Central  tracts  of  Asia — the  seed  plot 
of  nations — and  that  from  thence  after  parting  com- 
pany with  the  Aryans  and  the  Ugro-Turanians,  and 
leaving  a  colony  in  Baluchistan, they  entered  India  by 
way  of  the  Indus.' 

In  the  language  of  the  Behistun  tablets 
(Accadian)  we  find  largely  used  the  consonants 
of  the  cerebral  class,  /,  d,  n\  the  genetive  termination 
a  j>i  as  in  na^  nina,  or  inna,  and  dative  ikka  or 
ikki  (Tarn,  o,  kn)  ;  ordinals  ending  in  im  (Tam.  =^ii) 
mw);  and  the  second  person  pronoun  ni,  nin  (Tam. 
i,Sasi),  There  are  other  points  of  linguistic  affinity 
between  Tamil  and  the  Altaic  languages  and  the 
reader  is  referred  to  Dr.  Caldwell's  invaluable  Com- 
parative  Grammar  which  ought  to  be  in  the  hands  of 
every  student  of  the  Dravidian  languages.  The  con- 
nection  of    the  Tamils   with   Asia  Minor   is  further 


THE   TAMIL   PEOPLE  35 

confirmed  by  the  identity  in  form  and  meaning  of 
•several  important  words  in  the  Semitic,  Altaic  and 
Tamil  languages.  For  example,— Tam.  akkan,  Ugr. 
iggcn  =  t\dQv  sister  ;  Tam.  aiinai,  Fin.  anya  =  moihtT\ 
Tam.  appan,  Fin.  appl,  Hung.  //)«=  father  ;  Tarn. 
amma,  Samoy.  /7;;i)«a=  mother  ;  Tam.  attaly  Fin. 
^^/^z  =  mother  ;  Tam.  am,  Vogoul.  am=yes  ;  Tam. 
4itivai,  Mordvin.  ava=moihQx  ;  Tam.  kattn,  Hung. 
*o/=to  bind,  to  tie  ;  Tam.  kel,  F"in.  kitl-en=to  hear  ; 
Tam.  ko,  Behistun  tablets,  ko=3.  king  ;  Tam.  kozhi^ 
Vogoul.  kore=3.  cock;  Tam.  ti,  Samoy.  /i=Hre  ;  Tam. 
tol,  V';goul.  towl=skin  ;  Tam.  jnayiru  (the  sun) 
Hung.  ;i_yar=summer;  Tam.  pidi,F\n.  pidan=to  catch; 
TBm.pira,  Fin.  pera=iiiter;  Tam.  uianai,  Sam.  maii= 
a  house;  Tam.  may-am,  Lap.  i«o/'=a  tree  ;  Tam.  velich- 
am,  Hung.  velega=\\gh\.  &c.  We  may  trace  similar 
affinities  with  Turkic  languages  also,  both  in  gram- 
mar and  vocabulary. 

Of  course,  we  must  bear  in  mind  the  axiom 
that  no  account  should  be  taken  of  mere  resemblan- 
ces in  sound  and  meaning  of  words  for  linguistic 
considerations  ;  but  in  the  above  case  such  coinci- 
dences do  not  seem  to  be  so  purely  accidental  as  to 
vitiate  our  conclusions,  as  there  are  other  collateral 
evidences  to  strengthen  them,  notwithstanding  the 
opinion  of  M.  Hovelacque  that  *  Dr.  Caldwell  has 
not  been  more  successful  with  his  assumed  Dravidi- 
an  affinity.' 

It  was  for  a  long  time  supposed   that  the  cradle  of 
the  Aryans  was  somewhere   in  Central  Asia,which  was 


86  TAMIL   STUDIES 

likewise  considered  the  original  home  of  the  Dravi- 
dians.  Dr.  Caldwell  must  have  held  this  view  when 
he  said  that  the  Dravidians  '  after  parting  company 
with  the  Aryans  in  the  Central  tracts  of  Asia  entered 
India  by  the  way  of  the  Indus'.  He  has  also  proved 
some  Dravidian  influence  in  Sanskrit  and  vice  versa  in 
order  to  support  his  theory  that  the  Dravidians  and 
Aryans  lived  together  before  their  dispersal  from 
Central  Asia.  But  scholars  are  now  agreed  that  the 
original  home  of  the  Aryans  was  somewhere  in  the 
Scandinavian  Peninsula  and  that  no  traces  of  any 
Aryan  influence  can  be  found  in  the  Accadian 
language. 

And  this  must  afford  us  a  clue  to  determine 
the  approximate  date  of  the  Dravidian  migration  to 
Southern  India.  As  pomted  out  by  Dr.  Caldwell*- 
the  Dravidian  languages  have  had  some  influence 
from  the  Aryan  languages.  It  should  have  taken 
place  only  after  the  Dravidians  had  left  Central  Asia 
and  settled  in  the  Punjab,  before  the  arrival  of  the 
Aryans.  The  migration  of  the  Tamils  to  Southern 
India  should  have  taken  place  long  after  their 
sojourn  in  Upper  India  with  the  Sanskrit-speaking 
Aryans  ;  and  it  will  be  shown  in  the  sequel  that  the 
Dravidians  had  separated  from  the  Aryans  in  the 
trans-Vindhyan  Aryavarta  sometime  after  the  Maha- 
bharata  war  about  the  eleventh  century  B.  C. 

The  North-Western  origin  and  migration  of 
the  Dravidians  receive  an  additional  support  and 
confirmation   from  the   Brahui   language   which  has 


THE    TAMIL   PEOPLE  37 

been  the  home  speech  of  a  Dravidian  tribe  in  Balu- 
chistan. The  latest  verdict  on  that  language  is  that 
of  Mr.  Denys  Bray,  I.  C.  S.  In  his  monograph  on 
that  tongue  he  says  that  'it  is  sprung  from  the  same 
source  as  the  Dravidian  language  group;  it  has  freely 
absorbed  the  alien  vocabulary  of  Persian,  Baluchi, 
Sindhi  and  other  neighbouring  languages ;  but  in 
spite  of  their  inroads  its  grammatical  system  has 
preserved  a  sturdy  existence,'  Mr.  Bray  goes  on  to 
give  us  a  word  of  advice  so  that  we  may  not  identify 
the  Brahuis  with  the  Dravidians.  He  says  '  We  can 
no  longer  argue  with  the  child-like  faith  of  our  fore- 
fathers from  philology  to  ethnology,  and  assume 
without  further  ado  that  this  race  of  Baluchistan 
whose  speech  is  akin  to  the  languages  of  the  Dravi- 
dian peoples  of  Southern  India  is  itself  Dravidian  ; 
that  it  is  in  fact  the  rear  guard  or  the  van-guard 
according  to  the  particular  theory  we  may  affect 
of  a  Dravidian  migration  from  North  to  South  or 
from  South  to  North.' 

The  term  *  Dravidian  '  means  one  thing  for  an 
ethnologist  and  another  for  a  philologist.  Sometimes 
both  are  confounded.  The  peoples  whose  home- 
speech  at  the  present  day  is  a  Dravidian  language,  are 
not  necessarily  Dravidians  by  race  ;  and  there  are 
non-Aryan  tribes  who  speak  an  Aryan  language. 
To  avoid  further  confusion  and  misapprehension 
which  have  unnecessarily  led  to  conflicting  theories, 
it  must  be  said  once  for  all  here  that  the  term  *Dra- 
A^idian  '  does  not  include  the  very  black  hill  and  forest 


38  TAMIL   STUDIES 

tribes,  the  low  castes  of  Southern  India  who  had 
migrated  thither  from  the  submerged  continent  and 
the  Tamil  speaking  Aryan  Brahmans,  but  only  the 
hi^h  class  Tamils— the  Veilalas  and  the  Chetti  castes 
— who  were  more  or  less  brown  complexioned,  fairly 
civilized,  of  good  physique  and  of  martial  habits  like 
the  Semitic  or  Iranian  tribes  of  North-Western  Asia. 
These  people,  we  presume,  are  now  represented  by 
the  Todas  of  the  Nilgiris,  though  there  had  been  on 
the  plains  a  complete  fusion  with  the  aboriginal  races 
and  the  later  Aryan  immigrants,  as  the  proverb  says,. 

Quxsnetr  OiCOTsrr  G)eusir(ofrfT&r<our, 

(A  Kalian  became  a  Maravan,  the  Maravan  be- 
came an  Agambadiyan,  and  the  Agambadiyan  be- 
came a  Vellalan.) 

F'urther.the  mental  and  physical  characteristics  of 
the  Brahuis  as  described  by  Mr.D.  Bray  agree  so  well 
with  those  found  in  the  literature  of  the  early  Dravi-^ 
dian  Tamils,  that  one  will  be  justified  in  regarding 
both  as  ethnically  related  to  each  other.  Thus,  we  see 
that  this  theory  is  supported  by  philological  as  well 
as  ethnological  evidences,  and  we  cannot  observe  any 
contradiction  between  them.  The  Brahuis  must, 
therefore,  be  regarded  as  the  rear  guard  in  the  Dravi- 
dian  migration  and  the  Todas  its  van-guard.  We  may- 
say  that  the  connection  between  Brahui  and  Tamil  is 
so  great  that  no  other  inference  than  that  of  the  ethnic 
relationship  between  the  two  peoples  seems  possible, 
in  spite  of   Dr.  Grierson's  assertion  that  the  Brahuis 


THE   TAMIL   PEOPLE  3^ 

do  not  belong  to  the  Dravidian  race  but  are  anthro- 
pologically     Iranians.     And   the   existence    of  such 

words  as  ba,  eumii,  vay,  (mouth)  ;  pii,  Lj(Lp,  puzhu, 
(worm)  ;  bei,  emoj,  vai  (straw);  khal,  sdo,  kal, (stone)  ; 
bil,  <a5<rj,  vil  (bow);  kh'in,  ssm,  kan,  (eye)  ;  inits,  Qp^(St 
mukku  (nose):  ielli,  (?^srr,  tel  (scorpion)  ;  palh^  urreo, 
pal,  (milk);  ingh,  M^^iS,  tungu,  (sleep);  gcil,  ■^eir,  kal- 
(plural  termilnation)  ;  irat,  i^iT'sm'Si,  irandu,  (two)  ; 
&c.,  and  the  sentences  like,  /  nnrnto  bareva,  fsrrasr  ^ih 
QmrrQ  sii(i^Q<siim,  irresistably  lead  us  to  the  same  con- 
clusion. 

Arachceologlcal  Evidence  :  'The  Indian  oblong  sar 
cophagi,'  says  Mr.  V.  A.  Smith,  'discovered  at  various 
places  m  the  Madras  districts  of  Chingleput,  Neliore, 
North   and    South   Arcot.  are  practically  identical  in 
form  with    sunilar   objects   found   at  Gehrareh  near 
Bagdad.     This  fact  is  one  of  many  indications   con- 
necting archaic  Indian  civilization  with  that  of  Baby- 
lonia and  Assyria,which  suggest   tempting  ethnologi- 
cal speculations.'  The  author  of  Manimckalai  enume- 
rates five  methods  of  disposing  of  the  dead  as  preval- 
ent in  his  days  among  the   Tamils,  that  is  about  the 
third  century  A.  D.  They  were  (1)  cremation,  (2)  ex- 
posure in  an  open  place  to  be  eaten  by  jackals  and  vul- 
tures, (3)  burial,  (4)  stuffing  the  corpse  in  natural  pits, 
and  (5)  covering  it  up  with  big  earthen  jars,  {^"i^). 
■m-®Qisu!T  ffKSQeuira  Q^it(S(^l^u  uQuQuair 

^ITipQJuS  (SST'SSiL-LJ^Uljir   ^ITL^uS/b    SisS uQ UlT IT . 

So  far  as  we  know,  the  only  early  nation  who  ex- 
posed   the    dead    in     this   fashion    was  the  ancient 


40  TAMIL  STUDIES 

Persians.  The  Tamil  Dravidian,  in  his  march  towards 
India,  must  have  lived  in  Persia,  and  moved  with 
Persians  sufficiently  long  to  adopt  the  above  custom. 
Again  some  of  the  Tamil  districts  abound  with 
peculiar  tomb  stones  called  *  Virakkals.'  They 
were  usually  set  up  on  the  graves  of  warriors  that 
were  slain  in  battle,  chiefly  in  skirmishes  following 
cattle  raids.l  The  names  of  the  deceased  soldiers  and 
their  exploits  are  found  inscribed  on  the  stones, 
which  were  decorated  with  garlands  of  peacock 
feathers  or  some  kind  of  red  flowers.  Usually  small 
canopies  were  put  up  over  them. 

(1)  &-^ld(?u... 

uS i-.ldl9  nriiT  QsiT&refrrT^  QgU'SuL^u 

(2)  ulLQl^itit  Quaj0  LDtTjD/D^   Qldqp^ 

We  give  below  a  specimen  of  such  an  epitaph 
dated  936  A.  D.  'Prosperity!  In  the  twenty-ninth  year 
of  King  Parakesari  Varman  who  conquered  Madura 
when  cattle  were  lifted  at  Muttukur  by  the  Peru- 
manadigal,  Vadunavaran  Varacian  Tandan  having 
recovered  them  fell.' 

A  careful   study  of   the   Purapporul    Venbamalai 

will  doubtless  convince  the  reader   that  the  ancient 

1.     In  ancient   India  the  lifting   of    the  enemy's  cattle  usually 

a  nnounced  the  commenceuient  of  hostilities  between  neighbouring 

tribes  or  provinces. 


THE   TAMIL   PEOPLE  41 

Tamils  were,  like  the  Assyrians  and  Babylonians,  a 
ferocious  race  of  hunters  and  soldiers  armed  with 
bows  and  lances  making  war  for  the  mere  pleasure  of 
slaying,  ravaging  and  pillaging.  Like  them  the  Tamils 
believed  in  evil  spirits,  astrology,  omens  and  sorcery. 
They  cared  little  for  death.  The  following  quotations 
from  the  above  work  will  bear  testimony  to  the 
characteristics  of  that  virile  race: — 

(2)  Qmaa^uij  euenisfTLLemL-s 

(3)  3k.i—fTiT  Qp'^emQairen'^Fv   s'lrp^ 

(4)  Qpisf.^  3,'^iu  QuiSlp  \3i—h^Si%sci^^ni^^ 
Q^rru^^  QsifTLL®  (SuiSn)  ^esiLp^iu  &imQs=iT^ 
LD/DuQuiL  euiT^suesi  euuSisaifjSih  ^lLl — — Sil. 

(l)  Garlanded  with  the  entrails  of  enemies  they 
danced  with  lances  held  in  their  hands  topside  down. 

(2)  They  set  fire  to  the  fertile  villages  of  their  enemies; 

(3)  and  plundered  their  country  and  demolished  their 
houses.  (4)  The  devil's  cook  distributed  the  food 
boiled  with  the  flesh  of  the  slain,  on  the  hearth  of 
the  crowned  heads  of  fallen  kings  and  stirred  with 
the  ladle  of  the  bangled  arm. 

With  these  compare  some  passages  from  the 
Assyrian  stories  of  compaigns.  '  I  had  some  of  them 
flayed  in  my  presence  and  had  the  wall  hung  with 
their  skins.  I  arranged  their  heads  like  crowns  and 
their  transfixed    bodies   in  the    form  of  garlands  ...  I 


42  TAMIL  STUDIES 

raised  mountains  of  bodies  before  his  gates.  All  his 
villages  I  destroyed,  desolated,  burnt  ;  I  made  the 
country  desert.  I  changed  it  into  hills  and  mounds  of 
debris'. 

And  yet  the  early  Dravidians  are  considered  by 
Dr.  Caldwell  as  the  framers  of  the  best  moral  codes, 
and  by  the  new  school  of  non-Aryan  Tamil  scholars 
as  the  inventors,  independent  of  the  sliahtest  Aryan 
or  other  influence,  of  grammar,  philosophy,  theology 
and  in  fact  of  every  science  and  art.  It  is  enough  for 
the  present  to  remind  them  that  the  earliest  gram- 
marians of  Tamil  were  Brahmans,  their  first  spiritual 
instructors  were  Brahmans,  and  iheir  first  teachers  of 
philosophy  were  also  Brahmans. 

The  first  Tamil  grammarian,  an  Aryan  sage, 
found  the  customs,  polity  and  even  thought  of  the 
ancient  Tamils  so  completely  at  variance  with  those 
of  the  Aryans  that  he  thought  it  prudent  to  leave 
a  description  of  them  for  the  information  of  their 
posterity  ;  and  with  a  view,  no  doubt,  to  satisfy  the 
incorrigible  and  refractory  early  Tamils  and  to  give 
them  a  permanency  at  least  in  books,  he  codified  and 
varnished  them  with  a  thin  veneer  of  Aryan  religious 
sanction.  These  now  form  the  subject  matter  of  the 
third  book  of  the  Tolkapyam. 

We  have  said  that  the  Vellalas  were  pure  Dravi- 
dians and  that  they  were  a  military  and  dominant 
tribe.  If  so,  one  would  naturally  ask  *  How  could 
the  ancestors  of  peaceful  cultivators  be  a  warlike 
race  ?'     The  term  '  Vellalan  '  is  ordinarily  derived  by 


THE  TAMIL  PEOPLE  43 

some  from  vellam,  flood,  and  alaii,  a  ruler,  hence  a 
cultivator  ;  while  others  derive  it  from  vdlanmai, 
cultivation.  Neither  seems  to  be  quite  correct,  for  the 
right  form  of  this  word  is  Vellan  and  it  occurs  in 
early  Tamil  inscriptions.  In  Tamil  the  words  allied 
to  it  are  vcl,  the  god  of  war  ;  vel-ir,  the  ruling  class 
among  the  ancient  Tamils  ;  vel-akkaraii,2i  foot-soldier 
(now  obsolete,  but  found  in  the  inscriptions  of 
Raja-raja  Chola)  ;  vcly  help  ;  vel-anmai,  truth  ;  and 
Vell-alan,  a  cultivator.  The  last  two  are  rarely  to  be 
met  with  in  early  Tamil  literature,  while  m  the  others 
we  hear  the  sound  of  the  war-drum.  Compare  the 
word  padai  [usmiJ)  which  meant  an  army,  a  weapon  of 
war  and  a  plough  ;  and  to  distinguish  'a  plough'  from 
the  other  implements  it  is  now  called  a-(z^us3)i_  or  a 
ploughing  weapon.  Audit  may  be  pointed  out  that 
all  the  modern  cultivating  castes — the  Bants,  the 
Nayars,  the  Pallis  and  the  Telagas  or  Velamas — were 
formerly  martial  tribes  like  the  ancient  Vellalas. 

Literary  evidence:  {(i)  The  artificial  irrigation  of 
the  soil  by  constructing  large  reservoirs  and  canals 
on  an  extensive  scale  was  encouraged  by  the  early 
Tamils. 

^ilSoi—T [Tilt  LBsSi'SuLLL-LLQi^nQ rr , — Piir. 

(Verily,  he  who  has  turned  the  bent  (low)  land  into  a 
reservoir  to  arrest  the  flow  of  the  running  water  is  one 
who  has  established  a  name  ip    this  world.) 
This    system,  says   Meadows  Taylor,    'existed  probably 
in  no  other  country  except  Babylon.' 


44  TAMIL   STUDIES 

(b)  The  kings  of  all  the  three  Tamil  dynasties 
traced  their  ancestry  to  one  or  the  other  of  the 
North-Indian  kings.  The  Pandyas  claimed  to  be  an 
offshoot  of  the  Pandavas  and  styled  themselves  the 
*  Panchavans';  and  the  Chobs  called  themselves 
'Sembyan'  or  the  descendants  of  Sibi,a  North-Indian 
Emperor.  These  kings  are  said  to  have  assisted  the 
Pandavas  in  the  Great  War, 

L^wLj€isrjb  ULpsGiu  LjSfTiTiBsiT  Qisuis,m. —  Sil. 

(The  king  of  Pukar — Cauveripatnain — the  city  of 
lovely  gardens  and  sweet  water,  who  from  on  his  throne 
of  audience  distributed  the  '  great  food  ') 

QuQ^(^QfiTpgn  tAl(^u^u)6uesi!rLurr^QsiT(S)^Q ^mu. — Pur. 

(Thou  art  the  king  that  gave  the  'great  food' 
hberally  at  the  battle  field  till  the  '  one  hundred  '  fell.) 

This  they  could  have  done  (jnly  when  they  were 
reigning  over  small  districts  somewhere  in  Upper 
India  ;  because,  it  would  be  improbable  and  impos- 
sible that  the  Cheras,  Cholas  and  Pandyas,  had  they 
actually  been  in  the  south  at  the  time  of  the  war, 
could  have  sent  their  large  contingents  all  the  way  to 
Kuruksheha  in  the  Punjab  through  impenetrable 
forests,  rivers  and  mountains.  And  in  support  of  the 
above  statement  we  may  quote  an  extract  from  Mr.  J. 
W.  M'Crindle's  Ancient  India.  '  The  kingdom  of 
Pandion, which  was  situated  on  the  southern  extremi- 
ty of  the  Indian  peninsula,was  founded  by  an  Aryan 


THE  TAMIL  PEOPLE  45 

race  whose  ancestors  had  occupied  the  regions 
watered  by  the  Jamna.  This  may  be  inferred  both 
from  the  name  of  the  king  and  that  of  his  capital 
which  was  called  Madura  after  the  celebrated  city 
which  adorned  of  old,  as  it  does  still  the  banks  of 
that  great  tributary  of  the  Ganges.'  The  kingdom  is 
mentioned  by  Pliny  (A.  D.  77),  by  the  author  of  the 
Peripins  of  the  Eryihnvan  Sea  and  by  Ptolemy. 

'In  his  commentary  on  the  prefatory  sutra  to  the 
Tolkapyam,  Nacchinarkiniyar  describes  a  tradition 
relating  to  the  migration  of  the  Dravidian  race,  which 
is  as  follows: — The  sage  Agastya  repaired  to  Dwarka 
(Tatn.  Tuvarapati)  and,  taking  vvith  him  eighteen 
kings  of  the  line  of  Sri  Krishna,  eighteen  families  of 
Vels  or  Velirs  and  others,  moved  to  the  South  with 
the  Aruvalari  tribes.  There,  he  had  all  the  forests 
cleared  and  built  up  kingdoms  settling  therein  all  the 
people  he  had  brought  with  him.  One  of  the  princi- 
oalities  thus  founded  bv  him  was  Dwarasamudram  in 
the  Mysore  State.  Kapilar,  a  Brahman  poet  probably 
of  the  second  century  A.  D,,  addresses  the  reigning 

1.  The  Aruvalars  seem-  to  have  been  the  ancestors  of  the 
Kummbas.  They  were  not  Hked  by  the  Vehrs  or  Vellalas  as  will  be 
evident  from  the  bad  meanings  which  these  Tamil  words  acquired 
in  later  times  and  from  the  following  quotation. 

f^gu^fT  irrSs^  esii—tuirfr. 

(The  wise  will  not  approach  the  Vadugas,  Arnvalas,  Karnatas 
the  burning  ground,  the  devil  and  the  buffalo.) 


46  TAMIL   STUDIES 

chief  of  this  place  as  the  forty-ninth  in  descent    from 
the  original  founder  of  that  dynasty. 

S-Qjuit  eSstsis^  ^eussnT  luiremQ 

iBfT pu^  Q^iTiSsru^  suip](Lpssip  eurs^ 

Qeue(fl(rf,<3(r  QeuQetr. — Pur. 

(O  !  The  Velir  of  Velirs  that  governed  Tuvarai — 
Dwarasamudram — for  forty-nine  generations.) 
Allowing  the  usual  twenty-five  years  for  each  genera- 
tion, the  above  kingdom  must  have  been  established 
about  B.'J.  1075  ;  and  this  may  be  assumed  as  the 
probable  date  of  the  migration  of  the  Tamils  to 
Southern  India. 

Within  the  hst  fifteen  years  a  new  school  of 
Tamil  scholars  has  come  into  being,  consisting  mainly 
of  admirers  and  castemen  of  the  late  lamented  pro- 
fessor and  antiquary,  Mr.  Sundaram  Pillai  of  Tri- 
vandram.  Their  object  has  been  to  disown  and  to 
disprove  any  trace  of  indebtedness  to  the  Aryans,  to 
exalt  the  civilisation  of  the  ancient  Tamils,  to  distort 
in  the  name  of  historic  research  the  current  traditions 
and  literature,  and  to  pooh-pooh  the  views  of  former 
scholars,  which  support  the  Brahmanizalion  of  the 
Tamil  race.  They  would  not  even  admit  that  the 
early  Tamils  had  ever  lived  in  Upper-India  by  the 
side  of  the  Aryans.  One  of  them  writes  thus  :  '  It  is 
my  view  that  Tamilians  were  not  derived  directly 
from  the  settlers  in  the  north  during  the  Indian  Vedic 
days,  and  that  the  Tamilians  did  not  immigrate  from 
the  north  of  India  to  the  south  by  choice  or  by  force  ; 
that  they  are  not  to  be  identified  with  the  people  whom 


THE   TAMIL   PEOPLE  47 

the  Vedic  settlers  encountered  and  called  Dasyus  ;  that 
if  they  did  settle  in  the  south  from  outside,  they  did 
so  by  the  sea  and  not  by  land  and  through  mountain 
ranges,  and  that  they  came  from  Assyria  and  Asia- 
Minor,  the  oldest  seat  of  ancient  civilisation.  I  further 
think,  that  once  they  entered  India  by  the  Western 
sea-gate  they  spread  themselves  rapidly  over  the  whole 
of  South  India  up  to  the  Dandakaranya  and  the 
Vindhya,  which  at  that  time  must  have  been  impas- 
sable, and  that  they  developed  their  letters,  and  arts, 
and  sciences,  and  law,  and  government  which  at  the 
time  they  came  in  contact  with  the  Northern  settlers 
must  have  been  in  a  sense  perfect'. 

If  the  above  theory  be  correct,  the  migration 
must  have  taken  place  earlier  than  the  twelfth  century 
B.  C;  and  to  accomplish  such  a  huge  undertakmg 
the  Dravidian  Tamils  must  have  had  an  immense 
naVy.  But  we  know  of  no  ancient  nation  who  had 
it  at  this  remote  penod.i  The  Egyptians  were  an 
agricultural  race  ;  the  Assyrians  were  mountaineers; 
the  Hebrews  were  shepherds  and  the  Phoenicians 
alone,  but  of  later  date,  were  a  maritime  race  of 
merchants.  As  a  matter  of  fact  we  know  that  these 
last,  the  lonians  and  the  Romans  and  very  lately 
1.  Prof.  Sayce  believes  he  has  proved  the  existence  of  com- 
merce by  sea  between  India  and  Babylon  bo  early  as  3000  B.C.  by 
the  finding  of  Indian  teak  in  the  ruins  of  Ur.  But  this  conclusion 
is  not  accepted  by  all  si-holars.  Mr.  J.  Kennedy  has  deci- 
sively shown  in  a  very  learned  paper  that  he  can  find  no  archaeo- 
logical or  literary  evidence  for  a  maritime  trade  between  India  and 
Babylon  prior  to  the  seventh  century  B.  C. 


48  TAMIL   STUDIES 

the  Arabs  had  commercial  intercourse  with  the  early- 
Tamils.  Their  ships  came  to  South  India  with  gold, 
wine  and  lamps  and  bartered  them  with  the  Tamils 
for  pepper,  pearl,  peacock-feathers  and  agil  as  the 
following  quotations  will  show: — 

cueuissriT  ^i^  <sS^esr  LDrremasr  sgOld 

(The  stately  vessel  of  the  Yavanas  (lonians)  will 
come  with  gold  and  go  with  pepper.) 

LUQjssr  SajpfSiu  eSl^esr  LofTsm  unssisu 
easQiLii^  sssfleoi/Diu  Q:?ajQs^iTifli^. — Ned. 

(Poured  oil  in  the  lamp  held  by  the  statue  made  by 
the  Yavanas.) 

(BasTseotJD  ^k^  ^eaarsLDj^  Q^jsso, — Pur. 

(The  cool  sweet-scented  wine  brought  by  the  fine 
ship  of  the  Yavanas.) 

When  their  acquaintance  with  the  ^Tamils  had  be- 
come closer  the  Romans  began  to  settle  in  some  of 
the  principal  Tamil  cities.  A  Pandya  king  in  return 
sent  an  embassy  to  Augustus  Caesar  in  B.  C.  20.  He 
might  have  been  Mudu-Kudumi-Peruvaludi  whose 
name  occurs  both  in  Tamil  hterature  and  inscriptions. 
The  Roman  settlement  in  Madura  probably  continued 
till  about  4.50  A.  D.  There  was  also  a  Greek  colony 
at  Kaveripatam  in  the  second  century  A.  D. 

The  words  used  in  ancient  Tamil  literature  to 
denote  the  '  ship  '  are  navay  {iBrranTih),  Gr.  Naus,  Lat. 
Navis,     Skt.  Nav,  and    kalam   or  kalan  {ssoim).  Ion.. 


THE   TAMIL    PEOPLE  49 

Kalon  (a  wooden  hou^e).  These  are  not  Tamil  words, - 
and  tliey  might  have  been  borrowed  from  the  lonians 
or  Greeks  who  had,  as  already  stated,  commercial 
relationship  with  the  ancient  Tamils.  We  know  that 
foreign  nations  carried  on  trade  with  the  Tamils  and 
settled  in  The  Tamil  countries  ;  but  we  do  not  find  it 
said  anywhere  that  the  Tamils  ever  visited  any  foreign 
countries  for  the  purpctse  of  commerce,  though  in 
later  times  they  had  ships  and  were  experts  in  navi- 
gation. Their  voyages,  however,  seem  to  have  been 
confined  mostly  to  the  East  as  the  following  extract 
will  show  : — 

ia£_LO?s«  ulSIjdibs  insmfiiLjil)  QuiTisar^iEi 

@i_LD?lsy   UlS/DIS^   (SUlTITQp    ldQ^ib 

QaeisrsL-eo  Qp^^w  (^ssarsL^p  ^Qq^isi 
sfSjioiDS  tsufrfftiLjisi  aaeSfflu  ulu^ 
iBi^^^emei^isi  aiTLpt^  ^a&s(LpLD, Pat. 

(The  gold  and  gems  of  the  Himalayas,  the  sandal 
and  agil  of  the  Western  ghats,  the  pearls  of  the 
Southern  ocean,  the  coral  of  the  Eastern  sea,  the  pro- 
ductions of  the  Ganges  and  the  Cauvery,  the  eatables, 
from  Ceylon  and  the  spices  from  Burmah). 

As  Mr.  Vincent  Smith  has  rightly  observed, 
*  Ancient  Tamil  literature  and  the  Greek  and  Roman 
authors  prove  that  in  the  first  two  centuries  of  the 
Christian  era  the  ports  on  the  Coromandal  or  Chola 
\.  The  Tamils  had  words  to  signify  a  boat,  but  not  a  ship- 
Patai,  padakti  (Gael.  bata)*2mnai,  a  catamaran,  iollai  (that  which 
is  made  hollow),  &c.  The  Tamil  lexicographers  made  no  distinc- 
tion between  a  raft,  a  boat  and  a  merchantman. 
4 


50  TAMIL   STUDIES 

coast  enjoyed  the  benefits  of  active  commerce  with 
both  the  West  atid  East.  The  Chola  fleets  did  not 
confine  taemseives  to  coasting  voyages,  but  boldly 
crossed  the  Bay  of  Bengal  to  the  mouths  of  the 
Ganges  and  the  h-rawaddy,  and  the  Indian  Ocean 
to  the  islands  of  the  xMalay  Archipelago'.  Dr.  Caldwell 
thinks  that  the  ancient  Tamils  '  had  no  foreign  com- 
merce, no  acquaintance  with  any  people  beyond  the 
sea  except  Ceylon,  and  no  word  expressive  of 
geographical  idea  of  island  or  continent'.  We  might 
say  that  Dr.  Caldwell  was  not  altogether  just  in  his 
estimate  of  the  ancient  Tamil  civilisation.  But  he 
might  be  correct  with  regard  to  the  Tamils  before 
they  had  come  in  contact  with  the  Aryans  either  in 
Upper  India   or  in  the  extreme     South. 

In  this  connection  it  may  be  observed  that  most 
of  the  capitals  of  the  a-icient  Tamil  kingdoms  were 
inland  towns,  a  fact  which  militates  against  the 
theory  of  their  having  been  of  a  daring  sea-faring 
slock. 

Again  if  we  believe  in  the  theory  that  the  Tamils 
migrated  to  Southern  India  by  the  sea  and  not  by  the 
land,  how  are  we  to  account  for  the  location  of  the 
Brahuis — a  tribe  allied  to  the  Dravidian  Tamils — in 
Baluchistan?  And  how  are  we  to  explain  the  Aryan 
elements  in  the  early  Tamil  language?  History  and 
traditions  are  against  it,  philology  is  against  it,  and 
in  fact  everything  is  against  it. 

Some    glimpses   of    the     Aryan   conquest    and 


THE   TAMIL    PEOPLE  51 

colonization  of  Southern  India  will  be  obtained  from 
the  two  great  Sanskrit  epics  the  Mahabharata  and  the 
Ramayana.  The  evidence  furnished  by  thetn  on 
minute  details  is,  however,  extremely  questionable. 
Neither  of  them  has  come  down  to  us  in  its  original 
form.  Additions,  interpolations  and  alterations  seem 
to  have  been  made  from  time  to  time  to  the  Maha- 
bharata till  the  tenth  or  eleventh  century  A.D.,  and 
to  the  Ramayana  at  least  up  to  the  second  or  third 
century,  which  have  given  rise  to  many  contradictory 
statements  and  anachronisms.  It  would,  therefore, 
be  hazardous  to  start  any  theories  from  incoherent 
statements,  or  to  cite  them  in  support  of  one's  pre- 
conceived theories  concerning  the  civilisation  of  the 
aboriginal  tribes  and  the  geography  of  the  tracts  they 
inhabited,  as  has  been  done  recently  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  New  School  of  Tamil  Research  whose 
love  of  their  language  is  more  than  their  regard  for 
historic  truth. 

The  present  writer  cannot  preten  d  to  have  the 
boldness  or  the  requisite  scholarship  in  Sanskrit  to 
derive  the  name  *  Rama '  from  Tam.  Inil,  darkness 
to  say  that  the  Rakshasas  and  Vanaras  were  more 
civilized  than  the  Aryans,  to  call  the  ancient  Tamilians 
Asuras,  to  assert  that  Svayamvaram  was  the  form, 
of  marriage  prevalent  among  the  aborigines,  and  to 
proclaim  from  the  house-tops  that  '  the  Rakshasas 
were  monotheists'  and  worshipped  Siva  and  Siva  only 
with  incense  and  flowers  ;  while  '  the  Aryan  worship 
of  natural  phenomena  and  their  unmeaningsacrifices 


52  TAMIL   STUDIES 

appeared  to  the  philosophical  Tamils — Rakshasas  of 
the  Ramayana — to  be  sacreligious.' 

Leaving  these  theories  severely  alone,  it  is  our 
duty  in  the  interest  of  scientific  truth  to  set  forth 
what  we  have  gleaned  from  the  two  great  epics  and  the 
writings  of    the  ancient  Tamils. 

Of  the  two  grand  epics,  the  Mahabharata  alone 
seems  to  have  been  widely  known  and  regarded,  in 
the  Tamil  country,  as  a  sacred  work.  Som.e  of  the 
Mahabharata  stories  and  the  divine  personages  men- 
tioned therein  like  Sri  Krishna  and  Bala  Rama  occur 
very  often  in  the  early  Tamil  works  of  the  academic 
period  prior  to  the  hfth  or  sixth  century  A.  D.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  Ramayana  was  almost  unknown 
to  them,  except  probably  to  certain  Tamil  poets  of 
that  period  as  a  quasi-historical  composition.  The 
author  of  Silappadikaram  (A.D,  220)  while  describing 
Kaveripatam,  after  it  was  left  by  Kovalan  and 
Kannaki,  compares  it  to  Ayodhya  after  its  desertion 
by  Rama  and  Sita  as  in  the  following  lines  : — 

And  Ravana  is  mentioned  by  the  author  of  Madurai 
Kanji  (A.  D.  150).  He  says  that  owing  to  the  diplo- 
matic skill  of  Agastya,  the  royal  priest  of  the  Pandya, 
their  Tamil  country  was  saved  from  being  conquered 
by  Ravana. 

Q(yrj>m  (i/>^  si—ei\L-  LS(5sr6miT  Qldlu 


THE  TAMIL  PEOPLE  53 

Again  both  the  names  Rama  and  Havana  occur 
•in  an  example  for  the  logical  method  of  immediate 
inference  cited  by  Sattanar. 

(To  infer  that  'Ravana  suffered  defeat'  from  the  pro- 
position '  Rama  won  '  is  what  is  called  mitchi) 

Thus  we  see  that  Ravana  was  not  a  TaraiHan 
and  that  he  and  Rama  had  been  regarded  by  the 
early  Tamils  as  pure  historical  personages,  till  we 
come  to  the  Puranic  period,  when  the  Vaishnava 
Saints  {^u^suirn)  following  the  impetus  given  to 
Brahmanism  in  Upper  India,  began  to  deify  Rama 
as  an  Avatar  of  Vishnu.  And  the  Ramayana  of 
Valmiki,  in  which  Rama  is  described  as  a  great 
national  hero — a  typical  Aryan  of  noble,  pure  and 
sublime  life  worthy  of  divine  respect — appears  to 
have  been  recast  with  vast  additions  in  imitation  of 
the  Mahabharata,  probably,  during  the  third  or  fourth 
century  A.D.  Even  so  late  as  the  seventh  century, 
the  Ramayana  did  not  secure  such  a  hold  on  the 
Tamil  mind  as  the  Mahabharata.  The  following 
extract  from  the  Kuram  grant  of  the  Pallava  king 
Paramesvara  Varma  I. (AD.  660)  will  be  to  the  point  : 

(One  share  to  the  reader  of  the  Mahabharata   at  this 
matitapam.) 

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


54  TAMIL  STUDIES 

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

Now  the  Ramayana  is  a  quasi-historical  epic 
poem  which  describes  the  migration  of  the  Aryans 
to  Southern  India  prior  to  the  fifteenth  century  B.C. 
It  gives  an  account  of  the  tribes  that  were  living  in 
the  various  regions  of  the  Indian  Peninsula.  The 
description  of  the  Pandya  and  other  countries  given 
in  the  modern  recensions  of  that  epic  are  only  later 
interpolations.  The  Tamil  kingdoms  did  not  come 
into  existence  during  Rama's  time.  These  provinces 
were  then  dense  forests  inhabited  by  wild  and  savage 
tribes,  whom  Valmiki  called  Rakshasas,  Yakshas  and 
Vanaras  (monkeys)  on  account  of  their  strange,  un- 
familiar non-Aryan  physical  features  and  customs. 
In  later  Sanskrit  works  the  Asuras  are  sometimes  con- 
founded with  the  Rakshasas  ;  but  it  is  not  correct,  as 
the  Asuras  were  a  section  of  the  fair-skinned  Aryans, 
now  represented  by  the  Parsis,  while  the  Rakshasas 
were  a  dark-complexioned  cannibal  race  of  hun- 
ters and  fisherman  like  the  modern  Andamaners  and 
the  Australian  aborigines.  The  Yakshas  of  Ceylon 
and  the  Rakshasas  ot  Southern  India  belonged  to  the 
same  race  of  people  called  Yatudanas  in  the  Vedas 
and  Nagas  in  the  later  Buddhistic  and  other  lite- 
ratures. They  might  have  been  the  ancestors  of  the 
modern  Paraiyas,  Pallas,  Idaiyas,  Maravas  and 
Kallas.     It  will  be  interesting  to  note  that  one  of  the 


THE   TAMIL    PEOPLE  55 

Marava  chieflains    under  a    Pandya  king    was    called 
lyakkan  or    Yakshan. 

They  were  demonalators  and  hated  Siva,  an 
Aryan  deity,  and  their  king  Havana  who  treated  Siva 
with  contempt  had  his  ten  heads  cut  off  by  that  deity, 

Q^rrOieiriT®     ud^eumLjih  QsiT^e\}^^i—  esiQcihsisi^'oai/iS 
tLirrememixLqLiD    £u&9LL!i  ^iruumrsLiT  £ii6\)ixii-i!reiiieu)Qir. 
The   custom    of  carrying   off  women   for    wives  was 
prevalent  among  them  ;  hence  this  kind  of  marriage 
lias  come  to  be    known  as  Rakshasam.    This  form  of 
j^CAual  alliance  which  is  very  common  among  some  of 
the     modern   hill    tribes     and    largely    practised    by 
the  ancient  Tamils  has  left  its  trace  in  tl  e  social  rules 
called    the  'be.eging    for  a   girl  '  ira^l  L.ff^<5/7(g^    and 
*  refusal  to  give  a  girl'  Lcsemws)'^^  Qu n l£^ ^&}.Thty  c^ve 
explained  in  the  Venbamalai  thus: — 
sjiB^asLQ  ujitlLi—0    Qsesi^LD 

(To  see  an  enemy  in  the  king  who  begged  the  gift 
of  a  jewelled  maiden.) 

QeutMQpo'  (emani-D'SBSfr  Qeuemi— 

(They  in  the  fort  refusing  the  hand  of  a  damsel  to 
a  bitter  foe.) 

This  kind  of  marriage  by  capture  seems  to  have 
led  to  frequent  bloody  quarrels  between  neighbour- 
ing villages.  As  to  their  cannibalism  and  excess  of, 
flesh-eating  and  drinking    of  liqucr  more  will  be   said 


56  TAMIL   STUDIES 

in  the   following  pages.     So    much  for  the  Rakshasa 
ancestors  of  our    non-Aryan  friends. 

We  shall  now  enquire  who  the  Vanara  or  mon- 
key allies  of  Rama  were.  Even  the  early  Tamils  of 
the  second  or  third  century  believed  that  they  were 
actually  monkeys.     A  poet  of  that    period  has  said, — 

Qs=LbQpsLj   QuQ^iEiSi'^. — Piir. 
In  reality  they  were  not  monkeys,but  only  an  aborigi- 
nal race,  darkcomplexioned,  short  statured,  but  strong 
and   of  monkey-like    appearance  like    the  Negritos. 
They  lived  upon  roots  and  fruits;  and  they  used  only 
stones  and  clubs  in  their  fights    with    the  Rakshasas 
whom    they   ahviys    disliked.     This    description  of 
the  Vanaras    leads  us  to   infer  that  they  should  have 
been    the   ancestors    of    the    modern    hill  and  forest 
tribes    like     the      Malasars,  Soligas,  Paliyas,  Kadars 
and  the  Irulas.     We  have   said  before  that  these  hill 
and  forest  tribes  had  their  own  kings    like    Vali    and 
Sugriva,  the  monkey  chieftains  of  the  Ramayana. 

All  that  we  have  discussed  in  the  preceding  pages 
may  be  summarized  thus.  The  present  population  of 
the  Tamil  districts  is  composed  of  four  distinct  races, 
namely  (1)  the  Negritos,  (2)  a  mixed  leiotrichi  race 
allied  to  the  Veddahs  of  Ceylon  and  the  aborigines  of 
Australasia,  whom,  for  the  sake  of  brevity,  we  may 
€all  the  Nagas,  (3)  the  Dravidian  race,  and  (4)  the 
Aryans.  The  first  two — the  Vanaras  and  the  Kakshasas 


THE    TAMIL   PEOPLE  57 

of  the  Ramayana — had  had  their  original  home  in 
the  submerged  continent  before  they  entered  India 
from  the  south.  Of  these  the  Negritos  must  have 
been  the  earlier  immigrants,  and  they  must  have  been 
driven  to  the  hills  and  forests  by  the  mixed  race  of 
Nagas  who  came  after  them  and  occupied  mostly  the 
maritime  districts.  Tiie  date  of  their  migration  cannot 
be  given  as  we  have  no  data  for  it.  Thirdly,  came  the 
Dravidians  from  Upper  India  about  eleven  hundred 
B.C.,  who  carved  out  three  or  four  small  kingdoms  by 
subduing  the  petty  chieftain?  of  the  Naga  tribes.  Their 
original  home  Seems  to  have  been  Asia-Minor, 
and  Ihey  entered  India  by  the  North-Western  gate 
long  before  the  arrival  of  the  Aryans;  and  before  they 
marched  southward  both  the  races  should  have  lived 
together  in  Northern  India  at  least  for  some  cen- 
turies. And  lastly,  came  the  Aryans  not  as  con- 
querors but  as  teachers  of  religion  and  philosophy 
to  the  semi-civilized  Dravidians,  mostly  on  the 
invitation  of  their  kings. 


58 


TAMIL   STUDIES 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  PRINCIPAL  TAMIL  CASTES. 
(In  Thousands). 
Tamil  popiiIalion~16,  647. 


Pallava. 

Chola. 

Pandya, 

Kongu. 

"3 

— 

Castes. 

"3 
.S 

o 
< 

"o 
< 

O 

adura. 
imnad. 

> 

a 

c 

1 
E 

a 

u 
O 

re 

Si 

g 

OiO 

re 

c 

u 

u 

CJ 

iz;' 

c« 

H 

H 

s  1  tS 

H 

C/3 

"5 

"o 

04 

I.       Aryan. 

1.     Brahmans* 
JI.      Dravidiaii. 

26 

26 

26 

135      44 

1 

24      34 

49 

12 

22 

480 

3 

2.     Vellalas 

93 

217 

125 

223 

331 

234 

116 

168 

269 

640 

2,535 

15 

III.  Naga  (mixed) 

3.  Valaiyan  t 

5 

7 

17 

125 

2 

89 

62 

... 

7 

22 

423 

3 

4.  Pailan        |  c 

... 

... 

160 

145 

137 

144 

193 

20 

37 

8ri6 

5 

5.  Slianan      j  1 

22 

16 

14 

38 

]3 

32 

106 

271 

43 

77 

612 

4 

6.  Idaiyan 

69 

102 

9£ 

75 

48 

58 

110 

97 

21 

17 

735 

5 

7.  Maravan.  !  « 

... 

•  •• 

37 

135 

177 

3e'5 

2 

8.  Again-       1-  S 

badiyan      S 

... 

17 

121 

59 

88 

11 

29 

c50 

2 

9.  Paraiyati  \ 

351 

303 

£91 

336 

169 

100 

59 

98 

150 

70 

2,364 

14 

10.  Kaikolan     re 

34 

52 

38 

22 

40 

12 

9 

22 

41 

61 

368 

2 

11.   Kamma-     h: 
Ian/ 

26 

36 

46 

64 

51 

71 

66 

79 

se 

55 

559 

3 

12.  Palli  or 

292 

4S-2 

758    257] 

189 

25 

7 

4S: 

6 

2820 

17 

Vanniyan 

o  «■ 

13.  Kalian 

re  C 

... 

•  •• 

... 

202 

28 

192 

57 

535 

3 

14.   Amba- 

r  >    5 

re   r* 

laka- 

HP. 

27 

•  •• 

13 

33 

215 

14 

... 

334 

2 

ran  §1'^'^ 

IV.    Nagii  (Pure). 

15.  Kuravan  ** 

3o 

88 

29 

... 

38 

18    ... 

... 

34 

53 

317 

2 

S2 

*  Includes  36  Tamil  Brahmans  in  Malabar, 
t  Includes  Sembadavan. 
§    Includes  Multiriyan  and  Urali. 
*  *    Includes  Vedan,  Vettii\an,  Iiulrn  rr.d  clhcr  hill  and  forest  tribes. 


IV 

THE  TAMIL  CASTES 

An  examination  of  the  South  Indian  inscriptions 
shows  that,  from  time  to  time,  small  bands  of 
Brahmans  from  Northern  India  were  invited  by  the 
Tamil  kings  and  made  to  settle  in  their  countries. 
Even  at  that  remote  period  the  Dravidians  were 
snfliciently  civilized  and  the  Brahmans  felt  no  neces- 
sity to  bring  with  them  either  the  Kshatriyas  or  the 
Vaisyas.  We  have  neither  heard  nor  read  of  any 
extensive  immigrations,  within  historic  times,  of 
other  races  from  outside  the  Tamil  country.  Of 
course,  we  leave  out  of  consideration  the  handful  of 
'Skilled  artisans  from  Magadha,  mechanics  from  Ma- 
ratam,  smiths  from  Avanti  and  carpen'ers  from  Ya- 
vana  (Ionia  or  Europe)'i  who  were  found  in  the  city 

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


'60  TAMIL   STUDIES 

of    Kaveripatam    before  its  destruction  which   occur- 
red in  the  early  part  of  the  second  century  A.   D. 

We  do  not  nickide  in  this  all  later  immigrants  of 
comparatively  recent  times  such  as  the  Telugu 
castes  and  Sourashtra  weavers  who  followed  the  Vija- 
yanagar  Governors,  the  stray  Kshatriyas  and  Vais- 
yas  v.'ho  hailed  from  the  North  during  the  Mogul 
rule,  and  the  Mahratta  Sudras  who  came  in  the 
train  of  the  Mahratta  leaders.  We  are  concerned 
here  only  with  the  Tamil  speaking  castes  and  tribes 
of  an  earlier  period.  It  is  therefore  certain  that  even 
those  Tamil  castes  who  trace  their  ancestry  straight 
to  the  Vedic  and  Pauranic  gods,  calling  themselves 
'  Viswa-Brahmans,'  '  Dravida  Kshatriyas'  and  '  Arya 
Vaisyas,'  must  have  grown  out  of  the  Tamil  tribes 
and  castes  which  are  described  in  ancient  Tamil 
literature  and  inscriptions. 

Broadly  speaking,  the  Brahmans  and  the  Sudras 
■of  the  Tamil  country  belong  each  to  a  distinct  race. 
In  a  way  each  had  its  own  system  of  thought,  religion, 
and  ethical  and  social  rules,  so  that  an  attempt  to 
engraft  the  one  on  the  other  must  look  strange  and 
preposterous.  This  fact  has  rightly  been  grasped  by 
the  English  educated  portion  of  the  non-Brahman 
castes,  who,  as  already  pointed  out,  have  been  endea- 
vouring to  assert  an  indigenous  Dravidian  civili- 
^sation.     This  is  only   natural  ;    and    they    merit    the 


THE   TAMIL   CASTES  61 

sympath}'    and  suppoit    of  scholars    if  they    confine 
themselves  to  a  rational  scientific  enquiry. 

It  has  been  said  in  the  last  essay  that  there  were 
at  least  three  distinct  types  of  pre-Aryans  in  the  Tamil 
country,  namely,  (1)  <lie  Hill  and  Forest  tribes,  (2) 
the  Nagas  and  (3)  the  Vtlir  or  the  Vellala  tribes.  For 
want  of  a  better  name  these  are  called  collectively 
Dravidians,  though,  strictly  speaking,  '  Dravidian  ' 
should  be  applied  only  to  the  Vellalas,  who  were 
the  latest  of  the  pre-Aryan  mimigrants  in  Southern 
India.  Sometimes  the  moie  significant  compound 
*  Naga  Dravidians'  has  also  been  used. 

Before  the  arrival  of  the  Aryans  there  was 
no  caste  system  in  the  Tamil  country.  The 
earliest  Brahman  settlers  tried,  however,  to  intro- 
duce their  four-fold  division  of  people,  and  before 
they  could  succeed  in  it  they  met  with  much  oppos- 
ition. No  Dravidian  was  considered  worthy  of  being 
classed  as  Brahmans.  The  Tamil  kings  alone  were 
elevated  to  the  rank  of  Kshatriyas  in  spite  of  their 
marriage  connections  with  the  ancient  Velir  or  Vellala 
tribes.  These  Velirs  were  on  that  account  called 
Ilangokkal  or  the  'minor  kings'.  The  Brahmans  got 
up  for  them  very  decent  geneologies  which  traced  their 
ancestry  to  the  sun,  the  moon  or  the  tire.  This  rendered 
the  position  of  the  Vellalas  who  had  to  oscillate  bet- 
ween the  Vaisya  and  the  Sudra  castes  dubious  and 
unsettled.  Their  greatest  difficulty,  however,  was  with 
the  hill  and  forest  tribes  and  the  Nagas,  who  constitu- 


■52  TAMIL   STUDIES 

ted  the  bulk  of  the  South  Indian  population.  They  could 
not  put  these  earlier  Naga  inhabitants  in  the  Sudra 
division  along  with  the  Diavidian  Vellalas  for  fear  of 
injuring  the  feelings  of  the  Tamil  kings  and  the  Velir 
nobility.  To  get  over  this  difficulty  they  had  to  devise 
a  new  scheme  of  classification  on  an  altogether 
different  principle,  which  depended  on  the  nature  of  the 
soil  or  region  i  in  which  the  tribes  happened    to  live. 

REGION.  TRIBE. 

1.  Neijtal  or  maritime,  j  Paravas,  Nulayas 

t      and  Valaiyas. 

2.  Marutam  or  fertile.       Mallar  (Pallar)  &  Kadaignar. 

3.  Mnllai  or  pasture.         Idaiyar  and  Toduvar. 

4.  Palai  or  desert.  Maravar  and  Eyinar. 

5.  Knriujl  or  hilly.  f  Kuravar,  Irular,  Savarai , 

1      Vedar  and  Villiyar. 

This  regional  classification  of  the  non-Aryan 
Tamil  tribes  is  conspicuous  by  the  absence  of  the 
Velir  or  the  Vellala  caste.  It  must,  therefore,  refer 
only  to  the  pre-Dravidian  tribes  mentioned  in  Groups 
I  and  II  given  above.  Palai  is  sometimes  omitted  or 
amalgamated  with  Kurinji  ;  and  the  tribes  of  these  two 
regions  consequently  interchange. 

The  earliest  Tamil  works  inform  us  that  there 
were  two  sections  among  the  Velirs  or  pure  Dravidi- 
ans,  namely  the  cultivating  and  the  non-cultivatmg. 
As  a  rule  the  latter  section    furnished    statesmen  and 

1.  Tlie  i  amil  grammarians  and  lexicographers  have  classified  the 
Soil  as  five  ^/w/v.—Neytal,  Marutam,  Mullai,  Palai  and  Kurinji,  or 
as  four  iiilaiiis  making  Palai  common  to  the  other  four. 


THE   TAMIL   CASTES  63 

generals    to   the    Tamil     kings.    Its     members    were 
generally     recipients     of     high    titles     like     Kizhan, 
Udaiyan,  Rayan  or  Arayan,  Vel  or  Velan  and   Kaviti  ; 
and     such     Tamil     names    as     Kudal-udai.      Arisil 
kizhan  and    Kalinga-rayan  appear  now    as  the   go  trie 
names  ot  the  Karkatta  Vellalas.     They    have   ninety- 
six  gotras  or  exogamous  septs,    thirteen  ot  which  end 
in  Thirai,  or  Thiraiyan,  fourteen    in  Rayan  and  sixty- 
nine  in  Udai  or  Udaiyan.       The    first    designates  the 
clan  or    tribe   to  which   that   section  of  the    Vellalas 
originally  belonged  ;  the  second    is  the  title  conferred 
on  them  by  the  Chola  or    Pandya   kings  ;    while  the 
third  appears  to  have  been  the  names    of   villages   of 
which    they     were    the    chieftains.     Kaviti     was     a 
special     distinction    bestowed     upon    the    ministers 
of  state.  Most    of   these  gotric   names    may   be  found 
in  the  ancient  Tamil    inscriptions.    No  traces  of   the 
Tamil  kings  are  to  be  found  at  present  in  this  country, 
and  it  is  highlv  probable  that  they  should  have  merged 
in  the  pure  Vellala  caste.     We  say   pure   because    the 
Vellala  caste  as  a  whole  appears  to  have  been  receiving 
additions  from  time  to  time  from  other    tribes    as  the 
following    extract    will     show  :    QwiL^surflio    Qsustrrrssr 
srHi!jtT(eu)€sr  L0(3^-E/«G'QjswyT53r.i    Most  of  the  Konga  Vellalas 
were  formerly    Vettuvans.     The  preceding   statement 
will  show   that  the  Coimbatore   District   contains  an 
unusually    large    number   ot  Vellalas — a   fact    which 
casts  a   serious  doubt   on    their     pure     Dravidian  or 
Vellala  origin. 

1.    .^outli  Indian  Iiircriptions,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  i5. 


64  TAMIL   STUDIES 

The  occupations  of   the     cultivating    section  were 
as  given  below, — 

S-Qp^  LJiumQsrrem  Qi^rr&9iSss3!r  QiurrmLSu 
u(ips)e\}iTU  u^mi—LD  usri^ — QpQp^essnT 

(SS)^  su'SsiSsfT.i  srrs?, — P.  V.  M, 

(1)     tilling,     (2i     cow-breeding,     (3)     trade,  (4) 
studying     the     Vedas,     (5)     worship     of     sacrificial' 
fire,     and    (G)  giving    aims.     Here  the    Vellalas    are 
spoken  of  as  Bhu-Vaisyas.     These  occupations  were, 
however,  never  confined  to  particular  castes.     Tilling 
was  and  has  been    done   by   the    Mallars    (Pallars)^ 
Maravas  and  others;  cow-breeding  by  the  Idaiyas  and 
Kurumbas  ;  trade  in    grains    was   formerly  followed 
by  a  class  of  Vellalas  called  Kuia-Vanikar  or   Vellan- 
Chettis   and    now  by  any  caste  ;   and  giving  alms   by 
all  the     non-polluting     castes.       Vedic    study     and 
worship  of  sacrificial   fire  do   not  appear   to  have  at 
any  time  been  practised  by  the  non-Brahman  Tamils, 
except  probably  by  an  extinct  section    of  the  Vella- 
las known     as    the     '  Vaidyas.'     This    name     which 
occurs  in   a  Vatteluttu   inscription    dated    7  70    A.D. 
should  not  be  confounded  with  the   Boidya  caste  of 
Bengal    or  with  the  class  of    native  physicians  called 
'  Vaidyan  '    as   is  sometimes     done.     '  Pre-eminently 
charming    in  manners,  a  resident  of    Karavandapura, 
theson  of  Maran,  and  a  learned  and  illustrious  mem- 
ber   of  the  Vaidya  family,    Madhurakavi    made    this- 
stone    temple  of  Vishnu'.     The    Vaidyas  were    minis- 


(  Vatteluttu  ) 


"^  o  3  l7  r) -tb  t(  d:p + ^ V 

U«  -^     *»T        L»fr        <»W       M^         »^  ^J         9>     GO       ^*    \ 

0'p!>_'^C)  ly  J5  7  3  3*^ 

S3-  :r7. 


THE    TAMIL    CASTES  65 

ters  under  the  Chola  and  Pandya  kings  and  were 
good  Sanskrit  scholars  well  versed  in  the  Vedas. 
Their  royal  title  as  ministers  was  '  Per-Arayan,'  while 
that  of  a  Brahman  minister  was  '  Brahma- Arayan.' 
It  will  be  interesting  to  observe  that  the  great  Vaish- 
nava  Saint  Nammalvar  and  probably  the  Saiva  ascetic 
Tayumanswami  also  belonged  to  this  section  of  the 
Vellala  caste. 

In  the  Sendan-Divakaram,  a  work  probably  of 
the  eleventh  or  twelfth  century,  the  occupations  of 
the  Vellalasi  are  given,  as  (1)  tilling,  (2)  cow-breedings 
(3)  trade,  (4)  playing  on  drums  and  musical  instru- 
ments, (5)  weaving,  &c.,  and  (6)  service  to  Brahmans. 
Obviously,  many  inferior  castes  like  the  Kaikolas  and 
Pallis  are  mcluded  here  in  tiie  great  Vellala  tribe. 
And  agreeably  to  it  the  word  'Kaikolan'  makes  its  first 
appearance  m  this  work  as  a  caste  name,  and  'Pallava' 
is  expunged  therefrom,  taking  in  the  word  'Kavandan' 
to  denote  a  man  of  the  servile  class.  The  Brahmans 
depended  upon  the  Idaiyans  for  the  supply  of  milk, 
ghee  and  butter,  which  were  necessary  for  their  sub- 
sistance  and  sacrificial  oblations,  and  they  were  conse- 
quently elevated  to  the  rank  of  V^^isyas,  though  they 
were  never  granted  the  privilege  of  wearing  the  sacred 
thread,  to  perform  the  Vedic  rituals  and  to  live  within 
their  villages.  They  had  to  live  in  a  Clieri  far  remov- 
ed  from   the    village   like  the  Paraiyas,    Izhavas   and 

1.    About  the  end  of  the  eleventh  century  the  occupations  of  the 
Vellalas  were, — giving  ahns,  tilling,  cow-breeding,  trade,  music  and 
sei'vice  to  Brahmans. — Virasoliyam,  85. 
6 


66  TAMIL   STUDIES 

Kammalas.  What  a  strange  fitting  of  these  non- 
Aryan  tribes  to  the  procrustean  bed  of  the  Brahmani- 
cal  caste  system  ! 

Turning  once  more  to  the  early  Tamil  literature 
and  inscriptions,  we  find  the  following  names  of 
occupational  castes  mentioned: — Ambattan,  Izhavan, 
Kammalan  or  the  five  artizans,  Kani  or  Kaniyan, 
Kaviti,  Kusavan,  Marayan,  Navisan,  Panan,  Panikkan, 
Pidaran,  Sekkan,  Sakkai  {Mai.  Chakkian),  Uvaichan, 
Vannan,  Vannattan,  Valluvan,  Variyan  and  Velan. 
All  these  castes  now  exist  in  Makibar  though  their 
occupations  have  since  undergone  slight  change ; 
while  in  the  Tamil  districts  Kani,  Kaviti,  Marayan, 
Sakkai,  Vannattan,  Variyan  and  Velan  have  altogether 
disappeared.  Most  of  these  occur  in  the  Tanjore 
inscriptions  of  Rajaraja  Chola  (A.  D.  985—1013). 
Kani  or  Kaniyan  was  an  astrologer  ;  Kaviti,  an 
accountant  (but  formerly  a  minister)  ;  Marayan,  a 
title  conferred  on  the  royal  musician  of  a  temple  ; 
Pidaran  is  the  reciter  of  the  Devara-hymns,  audit 
corresponds  to  the  present  day  O'duvan  ;  Sakkai  is  a 
temple  actor  ;  Vannattan  is  a  high  class  washerman  ; 
Variyan  an  overseer  in  temples  ;  and  Velan  a 
•dancer  in  honour  of  Subrahmanya  the  hill  deity  ; 
Ambaltan  was  a  medicine  man  and  now  a  barber  ; 
Panan  was  a  low  caste  minstrel  and  now  a  tailor  ; 
Panikkan  was  a  teacher  or  instructor  in  gymnastics 
and  now  the  name  of  a  mure  advanced  section  of 
the  Izhava  or  Shanan  caste  to  which  also  belonged 
Enadi  Nayanar  the  famous  Saiva   saint    and    athletic 


THE   TAMIL   CASTES  67 

teacher  of  a  Chola  king.  Shanan  has  taken  the  place 
of  Izhavan  in  the  Tamil  districts,  for  reasons  which 
have  not  yet  been  ascertained. 

Many  of  our  readers  must  no  doubt  be  faraihar 
with  the  tribes  enumerated  in  the  regional  classifica- 
tion given  above.  For  a  better  understanding  of  the 
process  of  formation  and  growth  of  the  numerically 
strongest  Tamil  castes  which  account  for  more  than 
80  per  cent,  of  the  Tamil  population,  we  shall  exhibit 
them  in  the  subjoined  table. 

Original  trihes.  Modem  castes. 

(1)  Paravan  and  [  ParaVan,    Valaiyan, 

Valaiyan.  \  Sembadavan,  P'atlanavan, 

(  Karaiyan  &c. 

(2)  Mallar  (Pallar).  Pallan,  Shanan,  Panikkan. 

(3)  Idaiyan.  Idaiyan. 

Maravan,       Agambadiyan, 

il\  Maravan  and  '  P^i'-^'Y''^"'  Kaikolan,    Kam- 

■^^    Fvimn  <  ™^''^"'     Kurumban,     Palli 

^y^"^"-  j  or  Vanniyan,  Kalian,  Mutti- 

J  riyan  and  Ambalakaran. 

(5)  Kuravan,  Irulan,  \^TT''  J'h^''"'    J","^^"' 

^        Vedan^ndVilliyan.^^^l'^y'^"'    Kadai,      Malasar 
•^        ^and  mmor  hill  tribes. 

The  other  important  castes  like  Ambattan,  Vaniyan 
and  Vannan  were  originally  occupational  guilds 
consisting  of  peoples  from  various  tribes,  which  have 
in  course  of  time  hardened  into  distinct  castes* 
Even  now  in  Malabar  the  Brahmans  have  their  own 
barbers  and    washermen,  while  the  Nayarsand  Tiyars 


.68  TAMIL   STUDIES 

have  each  their  own.     *  Vaniyan  '  is  another  form   of 
'  Vanijyan  '  which  means  a  *  merchant.' 

All  the  hill  and  forest  tribes  of  the  present  day,  do 
not  belong  to  the  Negrito  race  alluded  to  in  Group  I, 
Some  of  them  like  the  Kurumbas,  the  Malaiyalans 
and  the  Malayamans  are  emigrants  from  the  plains. 
During  the  dynastic  convulsions  and  terrible  civil 
wars  of  the  early  Tamil  period,  several  bands  of  the 
Naga  tribes  who  were  driven  from  the  low  lands  took 
shelter  on  high  mountains  and  in  inaccessible  forests, 
which  had  from  the  earliest  times  been  under  the  rule 
of  petty  refractory  chieftains  called  Kuru-nila-Mannar. 
Early  Tamil  literature  tells  us  that  there  were  feuda- 
tory chiefs  on  the  Vengadam  (Tirupati)  hill,  Kolli- 
malais,  Malainad,  Tomimalai,  Kudirai-malai  and 
Mudiram.  Some  of  them  are  eulogized  by  ancient 
Tamil  poets  as  the  most  benevolent  of  rulers  ;  while 
of  the  seven  third-ratei  Vallals  {<sumsfr&))  or  grantors 
of  docenr  some  were  hill  chiefs.  They  had  always 
been  the  allies  of  one  or  another  of  the  three  Tamil 
kings,  like  their  remote  monkey  ancestors  who  had 
helped  Sri  Rama  in  his  war  with  Havana. 

A  study  of  the  various  sub- castes  returned  during 
the  Census  of  1891  supplemented  by  the  latest  ethno- 
logical researches  should  lead  one  to  the    irresistible- 

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


THE   TAMIL   CASTES  69 

inference   that     Ambalakkaran,    Muttiriyan,    Kalian, 
Kurumban  and  Vanniyan    belonged    to    the   race  of 
Nagas  who  inhabited  the    Northern   Tamil  districts, 
which  constituted   the    ancient    Pailava   country    or 
Tondaimandalam,     When  the  power  of  the  Pallavas 
was  in  its  zenith,  that  is.  about  the  sixth  and   seventh 
-centuries  A.    D.,    their   conquests  extended   to    the 
south  as  far  as  Trichinopoly ,  and  it  must  have    been 
then  that  the  Kalian  and    the  Muttiriyan    sections    of 
the  great  Pallava,  Palii  or  Malla  tribe  migrated  to  the 
Chola    country — Tanjore   and    Trichinopoly.     As   a 
caste    name    neither    Palii    nor     Kallani     occurs  in 
early  Tamil  literature  or  inscriptions,    but  this  exten- 
sive tribe  was  known  as  Pallava,  and  Mallava    (uajevjaj/f 
Qmm,  P.  T.).    The    Pallava   army  was  recruited  from 
this  martial  tribe  of  Pallis  or  Kurumbas,  and  some  of 
them  were  also  feudal    governors  under   the  Pallava 
kings.     Like  the  Paraiyas  some  of  them  claim    their 
descent  from  Sambu  or    Siva,  while    all    Pallis    style 
themselves    Vahni    Kshatriyas,     One    section   of    the 
Palii  or    Pallava    tribe,    called  the    Muttarasar    (Tel. 
Mutracha)  ruled  in  the  Chola  country,  first  as  feudato- 
ries   of  the    Pallava   and  then    of    the  Pandya  kings 
during  the  eighth  century  A.D.    It    was    during    this 
period  that  Naladiyar  was  composed  under   the  aus- 
pices   of    the    Muttarasa  governors.     The     Pallavas 
were    the    hereditary    enemies    of   the   three    Tamil 
kings — Chera,  Chola  and  Pandya — and  their  subjects 

1.  There  is  a  doubtful    reference  to  the  kalvars  or  kallar  in  the 
Agananuni,  and  it  corresponds  to  the  'Dasyus'  of  the  Indo-Aryans, 


70  TAMIL   STUDIES 

were  regarded  as  intruders  in  the  southern  districts^ 
Hence,  the  term  Pallava  has  come  to  mean  a  *  rogue' 
in  the  Tamil  language,  while  a  section  of  the  Pallava. 
subjects  who  settled  in  the  Chola  and  Pandya  coun- 
tries received  the  undesirable  appellation  of  Kallaj. 
or  thieves.  All  these  doubtless  belonged  to  the  Naga 
race,  as  one  subdivision  oi  the  Palli  caste  called  the 
agavadam,  Nagapasam  or  Nagavamsam  and  the  oc- 
currence of  such  names  as  Mugali-Nagan,  Oli-Nagan 
and  Sanka-Nagan  in  the  Mamallapuram  (the  Seven 
Pagodas)  inscriptions  will  show;  and  they  must  have 
migrated  from  the  Telugu  and  Canarese  districts  as 
soldiers  of  the  early  Pallava  kings  during  the  second 
or  third  century  A.  D.  For  this  reason  the  Pallavas 
were  always  considered  as  strangers  to  Tamil  districts 
and  were  never  mentioned  favourably  m  ancient 
Tamil  works.  As  regards  their  connection  with  the 
Kurumbas  and  Pallars  enough  has  been  said  by  Mr. 
(now  Sir)  H.  A.  Stuart  in  the  iMadras  Census  Report 
of  1891. 

Maravan  and  Eyinan  occur  very  often  in  ancient 
Tamil  works,  and  they  are  said  to  have  been  skilful 
bowmen  and  soldiers^  The  Maravas  were  and  even 
now  are  very  numerous  in  the  Pandya  country,  and 
the  habitat  of  the  Eyinas  appears  from  time  imme- 
morial to  have  been  the  Pallava  and  Chola  countries. 
Prior  lo  the  tenth  century,  the  Kaikolas  and 
Agambadiyas  did  not  come  into  existence  as  dis- 
tinct castes,  and  the  origin  of  the  former  will  be- 
given  presently. 


THE    TAMIL    CASTES  71 

Mdaiyan'  literally  means  a  'Middleman,'  because 
in  the  regional  grouping  he  came  to  occupy 
the  middle  or  the  pasture  land.  He  had  to  live 
next  to  the  Eyinas  on  whom  he  depended  for  the 
supply  of  cows  and  buffaloes.i  As  late  as  the  tenth 
century  A.  D.  a  man  ot  any  other  tribe  might  become 
an  Idaiyan  or  cowherd  by  following  that  profession. 
The  Kallaand  Samban  sub-divisions  of  this  caste  con- 
nect them  with  the  Kalians  and  Paraiyans.  The 
latter  sub-division  which  is  by  far  the  most  numerous 
not  only  bears  out  their  origin  from  Sambu  or  Siva, 
but  also  justifies  the  proximity  of  their  residence  to 
the  Cheri  of  the  Eyinas  or  Paraiyas  in  ancient  Dravi- 
dian  villages.  The  following  description  of  atypical 
Idaiyan  of  old  is  very  suggestive: — 

LDiT'Sf^U^dsms  LD u^ <su ij uS SO) I— Lu ear. — Pui'. 
(The  shepherd  with  his  thick  (turned  down)  lips,  dirty 
cloth  and  garland  of  green  leaves.) 

There  was  no  such  caste  as  Pallan,  but  in  its  stead 
we  tind  in  early  Tamil  literaluie  IV'allan  and  Kadai, 
gnan,  the  latter  appearing  as  a  sub-division  of  the 
Pallan  caste.  They  are  found  chiefly  in  the  Pandya 
country  and  correspond  in  their  traditional  occupaticn 
to  the  Palli  or  Vanniya  caste  of  the  Tondainadu.  These 
people  were  agricultural  labourers  and  soldiers. 

The   origin  of  the  lei  m  Shananismuch  disputed  and 
it  is  found  nowhere  in  Tamil  literature  in  that    form» 

1.  In  this    CLrnection    lines   130-180   of   the   Penimlavarnip^ 
fadai  might  be  read  with  advantage. 


72  TAMIL  STUDIES 

As  late  as  the  13th  century  the  Shanans  were  known 
as  Izhavans,  and  a  tax  called  tlie  Izha-piitchi  was 
levied  by  Tamil  kings  on  all  toddy-drawers.  They 
were  surely  a  polluting  caste  in  those  days  as  now, 
and  it  would  therefore  be  absurd  to  derive  it  from 
Sanron,  the  sun,  as  the  educated  section  of  the 
Shanar  caste  is  attempting  to  do.  According  to  a 
tradition  current  in  Malabar,  the  toddy-drawers  are 
considered  immigrants  from  Izham  or  Ceylon.  If  this 
theory  be  correct,  they  may  be  regarded  as  a  more 
civilised  section  of  the  Veddahs.  And  if  Izham  is 
taken  to  mean  *  toddy,'  the  Shanars  must  be  a  class 
of  Pallars,  allied  t  >  the  Vedar  c-v  Vettuvar,  leading 
the  settled  life  of  palm  cultivators,  wuiie  the  other 
continues  a  nomadic  huntmg  tribe.  In  either  case, 
it  is  to  be  observed  that  the  Pallar  and  the  Shanar 
castes  are  most  numerous  in  the  Tamil  districts  which 
are  adjacent  to  Ceylon— the  abode  of  the  Veddah, 
Yaksha  or  Naga  tribes. 

The  caste  names  Valaiyan  (net-man),  Sembadavan, 
Pattanavan  and  Karaiyan  do  not  occur  in  early 
Tamil  books.  Sembadavan  is  a  boatman,  Patta- 
navan is  an  inhabitant  of  a  sta-coast  vilhige,  and 
Karaiyan  is  a  man  o^.  the  beach.  The  absence  of  any 
of  these  fishing  castes  from  the  maritime  district  of 
Tinnevelly  is  noteworthy.  Probably  they  must  have 
returned  their  caste  name  as  '  Native  Christian  ' 
in  the  census  of  1911.  All  these  hshing  castes  form 
part  of  the  great  Naga  race  who  lived  on  the  South 
Indian  sea-board. 


THE   TAMIL   CASTES  73 

About  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century  there 
were,  it  seems,  only  eighteen  principal  castes  or 
tribes  among  the  non-Aryan  Tamils  as  might  be 
inferred  from  the  saying  usfr(^uusiap  u^QesriL®  ^it^u^ld 
(the  18  castes  inclusive  of  the  Pallas  and  Paraiyas). 
Within  the  last  five  hundred  years  they  have  increased 
tenfold,  on  account  of  various  causes  which  will  be 
explained  below. 

The  elements  which  contributed  to  the  break  up 
of  the  few  Dravidian  tribes  into  iiinumetable  castes 
were,  (1)  food,  (2)  occupation,  (3)  religion,  and  (4) 
locality.  The  Dravidians  of  antiquity  like  the  Vedic 
Aryans  used  to  eat  beef,  pork,  venisjn,  mutton  and 
fish,  and  as  late  as  250  A.  D.  even  Brahmans  of 
South  India  appear  to  have  been  meat-eaters.  But 
under  the  humane  influence  of  Jainism,  the  Brahmans 
had  ceased  long  before  the  Pauranic  period  to  eat 
any  animal  ford,  and  some  of  their  Dravidian  neigh- 
bours followed  suit.  This,  by  the  way,  may  be  ob. 
served  as  a  remarkable  case,  quite  unique  in  the  socio- 
logy of  a  whole  people — the  Brahmans— changing  its 
habit  from  meat  eating  to  vegetarianism.  Killing  of 
animals  was  condemned  as  a  sin,  the  gravity  of  which 
increased  according  to  their  usefulness  to  the  Brah- 
man's personal  comforts  and  religious  offerings. 
Thus,  the  cow  became  the  most  sacred  animal,  because 
of  her  five  products,  panchagacyain,  which  were 
necessary  for  their  food  and  sacrifice,  and  the  killing 
of  such  an  animal  was  and  is  still  being  considered 
one  of  the  greatest  of  sins.    It    has  given    rise    to    an 


74  TAMIL  STUDIES 

imprecatory  saying  usually  appended  to  all  grants, 
VIZ,  SEJGmsdssmn'uSleo  smrfTihusfisaieiis  Qi£n(S5T pu!TQi^^i&)  Qufreu 
jrrrs&^m  (may  he  incur  the  sin  of  having  slaughtered  a 
black  cow  on  the  banks  of  the  Ganges).  The  Dravi- 
dians,  chiefly  the  fighting  classes,  indulged  very  freely 
in  intoxicating  drinks  and  the  manufacture  and  sale  of 
liquor  was  not  considered  a  mean  occupation  by  the 
ancient  Tamils.  The  simple  fact  that  the  word 
*  toddy '  has  at  least  eighty  equivalent  words  in  the 
Tamil  language  proves  the  extensive  use  of  that 
beverage  throughout  the  Tamil  land.  It  was  only 
after  the  advent  of  the  Jains  and  Brahmans  that 
drinking  was  condemned,  and  its  sellers  and  produ- 
cers came  to  be  shunned  as  polluting  castes. 

The  five  artizans,  potters  and  weavers  were 
much  requisitioned  by  all  castes  high  and  low,  and 
these  industries  consequently  tended  to  bring  them 
in  closer  contact  with  the  Brahmans.  And  with  the 
rise  of  temples  and  other  religious  institutions,  the 
social  status  of  these  classes  began  to  improve. 
The  Brahmans  conferred  on  the;n  flattering  distinc- 
tions, high  titles,  and  fabricated  for  tiiem  divine 
origins,  which,  besides  elevating  their  social  status, 
humoured  them  and  made  them  willing  workers  in 
the  new  social  organisation.  Thus,  the  seeds  of  all 
subsequent  quarrels  and  dissensions  were  sown.  All 
these  Dravidian  castes  were  granted  the  privilege  of 
wearing  the  sacred  thread. 

The  power  of  a  religion  to  rend  asunder  large 
tribes  and  races  is  too  well  known.  The  want  of  easy 


THE   TAMIL    CASTES  75 

and  quick  communication  of  any  kind  in  the  Tamil 
country  at  the  time,  and  the  geographical  conditions 
of  the  country  accelerated  this  splitting  up  of  larger 
castes  and  favoured  the  crystallisation  of  the  smaller 
communities. 

The  introduction  of  the  Indo-Aryan  caste 
system  in  the  Dravidian  country  produced  severe 
social  troubles  for  many  centuries.  If  the  Brah- 
mans  of  olden  time  were  responsible  for  the  super- 
imposition  of  their  own  social  organization,  the 
measure  was  one  of  doubtful  expediency.  As  already 
pointed  out  it  had  been  the  cause  of  serious  and 
unceasing  disputes,  particularly  among  the  artizan 
classes,  which  those  Br  ah  mans  had  to  decide  with 
reference  to  their  Dharmasastras.  An  inscription' 
of  Kulottunga  Chola,  dated  1118  A.  D,,  records  the 
decision  of  a  curious  question  w^hether  the  Kam- 
malas  are  entitled  to  wear  the  sacred  thread.  In 
support  of  their  decision  allowing  the  Rathakaras 
(Kammalas)  to  perform  '  only  the  Upauayana  (thread 
wealing  ceremony)  without  quoting  the  mantras", 
the  Brahmans  had  first  to  grant  that  they  were 
the  sons  of  Mahishyas  by  Karani  women.  A 
Mahishya  is  the  offspring  of  a  Kshatriya  male 
and  a  Vaisya  female,  and  Karani  of  a  Vaisya 
male  and  a  Sudra  female.  In  the  Dravidian  country 
whence  did  the  Brahmans  get  so  many  Kshatriyas 
and  Vaisyas  as  to  bring  forth  by  illicit  unions  about 
650.000  Kammalas  ? 

1.   The  Madias  (jovernment'Epigraphist's    Report,    dated  the 
28th  July  1909,  p.  95. 


'76  TAMIL   STUDIES 

It  will  be  a  huge  task  to  attempt  to  trace  the  origin 
and  development  of  every  Tamil  caste.  We  shall 
therefore  take  only  the  Eyinas  or  Paraiyas,  which  is 
perhaps  the  third  largest  of  Tamil  castes,  and  examine 
■what  other  castes  have  evolved  from  them  and  how 
they  managed  to  secure  their  present  social-position. 
But,  by  way  of  introduction,  it  is  highly  desirable  to 
present  before  the  reader  a  description  of  the  consti- 
tution of  an  ancient  town  or  village,  in  which  the 
regional  classification  of  tribes  explained  above  is 
clearly  discernible. 

We  shall  first  take  the  city  of  Kanchipuram  as  des- 
cribed in  the  Perum-panarruppadai^  a  Tamil  work  of 
the  third  or  fourth  century  A.  D.  In  the  heart  of  the 
town  were  the  Brahman'  quarters  where  neither  the 
dog  nor  the  fowl  could  be  seen';  they  were  flanked 
on  the  one  side  by  the  fishermen's  {sn'^js^^ff)  streets  and 
on  the  other  by  those  of  traders  (susssflaiT),  and  these 
were  surrounded  by  the  cheris  of  the  Mallas  or  Pallas 
(&,L^e>jiT)  and  toddy-drawers  {amea^Suoiefflir).  Then,  far 
removed  from  them  were  situated  at  one  extremity 
of  the  city  the  pallis  of  the  Idaiyans;  and  beyond 
these  lay  the  isolated  piini-clietis  of  the  Eyinas  and 
their  chiefs.  Next  to  th.e  Malla  {^.l^suit)  streets  were 
the  temple  of  Tiruvehka  and  the  royal  palace  of  king 
Ilam.Tiraiyan. 

By  the  end  of  the  tenth  century  the  social  position 
of  certain  tribes  was  somewhat  changed.  The  Idai- 
yans had  come  to  occupy  a  higher  rank  on    account. 


THE   TAMIL   CASTES  77 

of  the  diffusion  of  the  Krishna  cult,  while  the  toddy- 
drawers  and  the  live  artizan  castes  were  still  regarded 
as  polluting  castes  and  assigned  separate  sites 
by  the  side  of  the  Paraiyas.  And  these  may  be 
illustrated  by  a  few  extracts  from  the  Tanjore  inscrip- 
tions of  the  great  Rajaraja  Chola  (1004  A.D.):— 

*  The  village  site,  the  pond,  the  sacred  temples,  the 
burning  ground,  the  Vannaracheri,  the  pool  of  the 
Paraiyas  (S,/./.,  II.  i-L).  The  village  site,  the  ponds, 
the  sacred  temples,  the  burning  ground,  the  Kammala- 
cheri,  the  Izhacheri,  Paraicheri  (lb.  50).  The  temple 
of  Pidari  and  its  Court,  the  village  pond  and  its  banks, 
the  temple  of  Aiyanar  and  its  court,  the  village 
granary,  the  burning  ground  of  the  Vellalas,  the 
burning     ground     of    the  Paraiyas,    the  Paraicheri, 

the    Izhacheri   '  (lb.  55).     What    relative    social 

rank  each  of  these  castes  held  we  carinni  now 
definitely  say.  But  it  is  tolerably  certain  that 
the  Paraiyas,  Kammalas,  Izhavas  and  Vannans  were 
all  considered  polluting  castes  as  these  are  at  present 
in  Malabar  and  Travancore.  Thus,  the  above 
arrangement  in  the  constitution  of  a  Dravidian  village 
is  specially  noteworthy,  as  it  combined  with  the 
circumstances  described  below  to  degrade  the  social 
position  of  the  Paraiya  descendants  of  the  Eyina  tribe. 
Of  the  six  servile  tribes — Paraiya,  Pulaiya  or 
Cheruma,  Mala,  Holaya,  Palla  and  Madiga — which 
constitute  nearly  one-sixth  of  the  population  of  the 
Madras  Presidency,  the  Paraiya  is  by  far  the  most 
important  and  interesting.     They  are    found   chiefiy 


78  TAMIL  STUDIES 

in  the  districts  of  Arcot,  Chingleput  and  Tanjore 
where  the  Eyina  tribe  had  formerly  hved  and  where 
numberless  cromlechs  and  kistvaens  abound  to  this 
very  day.  The  term  Paraiyan  as  a  caste,  or  more 
correctly  an  occupational,  name  first  occurs  in  a 
poem  of  Mangudi  Kilar,  second  century  A.  D. 

^L^iLKSsr  urremeisr  ussipiussr  si—ihuQsmek 

fBiBiBiT&sr  s&)&.)^  (^u^u^uSe\)'2e\}. — Pltr. 
Here  *  Tudiyan  '  means     one   who    plays    on     the 
Tudi  or  a  kind  of  drum  peculiar  to  the  hill    or  jungle 
tribe;  'Panan'  is  a   minstrel  ;   'Paraiyan' is  a  drum" 
mer  ;  and  'Kadamban'  is  a  hill   man.     All    these   are 
occupational  names  and  seem  to  refer  to  four  sections 
of  the  Kurinji  (hill)  or    Palai  (jungle)  tribes.    Besides 
this   casual    reference,     we    do    not    find   the    name 
Paraiyan  mentioned  either  in   early    Tamil   literature 
or  in  the  inscripti(3ns,  until    we    come   down    to    the 
time  of  the  great    Rajaraja  Chola  (A.  D.  10.13),   from 
which!  period   it   evidently    obtained   currency  as    a 
caste  denomination.      It    is   commonly  derived  from 
parai,  a  drum    by    Dr,  Caldwell  and    native   writers. 
This  etymology  though  plausible  and  tempting  seems 
unsatisfactory,  as  it  is   inconceivable  that  the   beat- 
ing of  drums  could  be  the  occupation  of  nearly  two 
and  a  half  millions  of  labourers,  while  the  Murasu  or 
the   drum-beating   section     of     that    comprehensive 
caste   forms   only  j}^ih    part  of  it.  The  more  accu- 
rate derivation  seems  to  be  that  of  Col.   Cunningham, 
M.  Letourneau  and    Dr.     Oppert    from  the  Sanskrit 
pahariyn,  a  hill  man,  or  from    Tamil  Poraian,  which 


THE   TAMIL   CASTES  79 

is  more  in  keeping  with  the  regional  division    assign- 
ed to  the  Eyinas  by  the  ancient  Tamil    grammarians. 
According   to    the  inscription    already  referred  to, 
the    Paraiyas    were  divided  in    ancient    times  into  at 
least    two    sub-divisions  the   Ulavu  (ploughing)  and 
Ncsavu  (weaving)  ;  and  there  probably  existed  many 
more   occupational   groups  among  them,  like  Panan 
&c.     Some  of  the  most  significant  of  the  sub-divisions 
returned  by  them  in  the  Census  of  1891  were, — Valluva, 
Kottai,  Kottakara,  Jambu,  Virabahu,  Panikka,  Koliya, 
Saliya,    Kurava   and   Ambu.     The   Valhivas   are  the 
priests  to  the  Paraiyas,  and  were  formerly  superinten- 
dents   of   religious   ceremonies  (more    probably  con- 
ductors of  funeral  obsequies)  in  a  kmg's    household  : 

This  may  not  look  strange  if  we  only  remem- 
ber that  the  Marayans,  (a  barber  caste)  officiate  as 
pnroliits  at  the  funeral  rites  of  the  Nambudri  or  '  Vedic' 
Brahmans  of  IMalabar.  The  Valluvas  were  also 
heralds  under  the  Tamil  kings. 

!Bmusap  ujsmnoiB^eariT. — Kci^ll. 
(The  Valluvan   proclaimed    the    news        beat  of 
drum  from  the  back  of  an  elephant.) 

KottiU  is  a  fort  ;  Kottakarmn  is  a  granary,  for  in 
ancient  days  the  land-tax  was  levied  in  kind  as  well 
as  in  money  ;  Saiiibn  is  Siva  and  Virabahu  is  one  of 
the  mythical  commanders  of  Siva  ;  Panikkan  is  a 
teacher  ;  Koliyan  and  Saliyiin  are  weavers  ;    Kunivan 


80  TAMIL  STUDIES 

is  a  hill  man  ;  and  Ambit    is   an  arrow.    The    Eyinas- 
were  considered  good  archers. 

All  these  point  to  their  former  greatness,  the 
vestiges  thereof  still  survive  in  the  form  of  rights 
and  privileges  which  cling  to  them  in  the  village 
organization.  The  settlement  of  a  land  dispute  by 
one  Vesali  Paraiyan  and  his  councillors  regarding 
the  ownership  of  a  field  belonging  to  a  temple  at  the 
village  of  Mudepakavar  is  mentioned  in  an  inscription 
of  the  eleventh  century;  and  the  Paraiyar's  decision 
was  deemed  final  and  absolute.i 

The  Eyinas  or  hunters  of  the  above  districts 
were  the  earliest  of  the  Naga-Dravidian  tribes 
to  clear  the  forests  of  Dandakaranya  and  Shada- 
ranya  for  purposes  of  cultivation  and  to  build 
small  forts  therein  for  their  safety.  Such  of  them 
as  had  been  employed  in  the  clearing  of  jungles 
came  to  be  called  the  Vettiyan  (hewers),  while  others 
engaged  in  the  sinking  of  wells  and  the  digging  of 
tanks  for  irrigation  grew  up  into  the  tdii  {tondit,  to 
dig)  or  digger  caste.  As  early  as  the  third  or  fourth 
century  A.  D.  they  had  their  chieftains  reigning  at 
Ambur,  Vellore  and  other  places.  The  Eyinas  had 
well  supplied  granaries  {kotlakaram)  and  strong  forts 
{eyil)  with  deep  ditches  and  lofty  walls  ;  they  had 
musicians  and  dancers  (Panans)  to  amuse  them  when 
out  of  work;  they  had  priests  (Valluvans),  carpenters, 
masons,   weavers    (Koliyans),   gymnastic   instructors 

1.  The  Madras    Government  Epigraphist's  Report,  dated  the 
25th  July  1910,  p.  94. 


THE   TAMIL  CASTES  81 

(Panikkans),  shoe-makers  (Semman),  barbers,  washer- 
men and  what  not.  The  Paraiyas,  or  the  modern 
representatives  of  the  ancient  Eyinas,  as  Dr.  Caldwell 
rightly  observes,  thus  constituted  'a  well  defined,  dis- 
tinct ancient  caste  independent  of  every  other'.  The 
high  honour  of  founding  villages  in  the  south  during 
the  remote  period  belonged  to  the  sylvan  ancestors 
of  the  despised  Paraiyas.  They  were  the  mayors  and 
aldermen  of  the  villages  they  had  established,  and 
this  is  even  now  recognized  by  all  other  castes  in  the 
old  custom  of  referring  any  boundary  dispute  to  a 
Paraiya,  Toti  or  a  Holeya  Kulavadi,  And  in  almost 
all  tlie  ancient  village  ceremonies  of  a  communal 
nature,  the  Paraiyas  play  an  important  part.  For 
example,  on  the  occasion  of  any  festival  of  Siva  at 
Tiruvalur  in  the  Tanjore  district,  a  Paraiyan  has  an 
hereditary  right  to  precede  the  god's  procession 
holding  a  white  umbrella.  A  detailed  account  of 
the  existing  customs  observed  in  various  places 
cannot,  however,    conveniently  be  given  here. 

So  much  for  their  forgotten  greatness.  But  with 
the  advent  of  the  Indo-Aryans  about  the  second 
century  A.D.  there  came  a  change  in  the  constitution 
of  the  Paraiya  tribe,  their  food  and  occupation 
contributing  largely  to  their  self-degradation.  It  lias 
been  said  above  that  there  were  amongst  them  people 
following  all  sorts  of  pursuits.  The  social  standing 
of  those  men  w^ho  had  been  following  occupaaons 
indispensible  to  the  well-being  of  the  Brahmans  rose 
high    in    the  long  run   and   they  now  pass  for  high 


^2  TAMIL, STUDIES 

caste  Hindus.  Of  course,  learned  Brahmans  dis- 
covered decent  Hindu  pedigrees  for  the  low  but 
highly  serviceable  tribes  and  stamped  them  with  the 
seal   of   sanctity  in  the  name  of  pnmnas. 

The  Kaikolas,  who  trace  their  descent  from 
Virabahu,  one  of  the  nine  commanders  of  god 
Subrahraanya,  seem  to  have  been  originally  (before 
the  tenth  century  A.D.)  Eyina  weavers  like  the  Koliya 
Paraiyas,  though  some  of  them  have  very  recent- 
ly caught  the  infection  of  wearing  the  sacred  thread 
to  claim  an  equal  position  with  the  high  caste  Hindus. 
Five  reasons  may  be  adduced  in  favour  of  this  origin: 

(1)  They  are  chiefly  found  in  the  districts  where 
the  Paraiyas  and  Brahmans  are  most  numerous — S. 
Arcot,  Tanjore,  and  Trichinopoly. 

(2)  The  word  Kaikolan  is  simply  the  Tamil 
equivalent  of  the  Sanskrit  '  Virabahu',  a  mythological 
hero  from  whom  both  the  Kaikolas  and  a  section  of 
the  Paraiyas  claim   descent. 

('.'))  It  is  said  that  they  were  formerly  soldiers 
like  the  Eyinas  and  Paraiyas,  under  a  monkey-faced 
king  named  Muchukundan;  and  that  the  art  of  weav- 
ing was  taught  to  them  by  Tiru-Valluvar  at  the  com- 
mand of  Subrahmanya,  the  patron  deity  of  the  Kaiko- 
las and  other  Xaga  trioes.  Two  of  the  Tillaistanam 
(Neyltanam)  inscriptions  of  Gandaraditya  (A.  D.  960) 
record  the  gifts  made  by  '  Samara  Kesari-terinja  Kaiko- 
lar,  Vikrama-Singa-terinja  Kaikolar  and  Virachola 
terinja-Kaikolar'.i  They  were  natives  of  Tanjore  and 
1.  The  Madias  Government  Epi^jraphisl's  Report  dated  the 
■29th  July  1912. 


THE   TAMIL   CASTES  83 

served  as  soldiers  under  the  Chola  king  Parantaka  I. 
(A.  D.  90G-949).  Other  inscriptions  of  a  later  date 
speak  of  the  Rajaraja-termja-Kaikular  and  the  Kaikola- 
Perumpadai.  All  these  clearly  prove  that  the  word 
•*  Kaikolar,'  like  '  Velakkarar  '  and  '  Viliiyar '  (archers), 
which  occur  in  the  inscriptions  of  Rajaraja  Chola  I, 
was  the  name  of  the  regiment  enlisted  or  selected 
(terinja)  by  Parantaka,  whose  titles  were  Samara  Kesari 
(the  war-lion),  Vikrama-Singa  and  Vira  Chola  and  by 
Rajaraja  I.  One  of  the  soldiers  of  the  above  regiment 
was  a  Kadikavan  Kalian.  They  were  known  also  as 
Sengundar  or  the  '  Red  Lancers.' 

(4)  In  the  inscriptions  of  Rajaraja  Chola,  (A.  D- 
1013)  the  loom  {iarJ)  of  the  Kaikolas  does  not  occur 
though  the  Parai-tari,  Tusa-tari  (washerman)  and 
Saliya-tari  are  given. 

(5)  In  ancient  Tamil  literature  the  weavers  w^ere 
called  Kammiyan,  a  term  which  also  included  the 
present  Kammaias. 

simjSujit  luQJssr  QjirsSujIr  eS^^siT 

SLDUiiTefriT  ^u^iuiT  QufT^uQuLuiT  ^LLQstaiT. — pi/i<^.     788. 

It  Will  be  interesting  to  learn  that  the  earjy 
Tamils  were  never  good  weavers.  They  had  to 
depend  upon  their  Telugu  neighbours  for  cloths  of 
finer  texture.  Thus  superior  cloths  have  come  to  be 
called  in  Tamil  kaUngam,  In  the  Tamil  country 
coarse  weaving  was  done  by  a  section  of  the  Paraiyas 
or  Eyinas.  Dissatisfied  with  the  quality  of  the  work 
.turned    out    by    the  Tamils,  probably  Rajaraja  Chola 


84  TAMIL  STUDIES 

brought  the  Saliya-weavers  from  Kalingam,  the  moderm 
Telugu  districts  of  Vizagapatam,  Godavariand  Kistna. 
From  them  probably  the  Eyina  weavers  or  Kammi- 
yans  learnt  during  the  eleventh  century  A.  D.  how 
to  weave  finer  cloths.  Since  the  earliest  mention  of 
Kaikolan  as  a  caste  name  is  found  in  a  Conjeevaram 
inscription  of  the  fourteenth  century,  it  is  highly 
probable  that  this  class  of  weavers  began  to  be 
recognised  as  a  distinct  Hindu  caste  of  some  stand- 
ing, between  the  eleventh  and  fourteenth  centuries, 
when  the  greatest  Kaikola  poet,  Ottaikuttan,  com- 
manded a  great  influence  at  the  court  of  Kulottunga 
Chola  (1150  A.  D.)-  And  it  happened  probably  a  few 
years  after  the  Kamnialas  were  granted  the  privilege 
of  wearing  the  sacred  thread- 

Again,  to  take  another  instance,  the  Panans- 
were  minstrels  under  the  ancient  Tamil  kings, 
and  with  the  extinction  of  the  latter  in  South  India  their 
profession  as  bards  ceased  to  exist,  most  of  them  find- 
ing their  way  into  Kerala.theLand  of  Charity,  for  a  live- 
lihood. The  descendants  of  these  emigrants  are  now 
found  in  Malabar  and  Canara  as  devil-dancers  and 
basket-makers.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Panans  of  the 
Tamil  country,  especially  those  living  in  Madura  and 
Tinnevelly  style  themselves  Pandya  Vellalas  and  earn 
their  bread  as  tailors.  They  are  also  called  Mestris,. 
which  is  a  Portuguese  word  introduced  by  the  early 
Roman  Catholic  Missionaries,  under  whom  the  Paraiya 
Panans  served  as   workmen.     The   low  origin  of  th& 


THE   TAMIL   CASTES  85 

Panans  is,  however,  betrayed  by  about  5  per  cent,  of 
that  caste  who  Hve  in  out-of-the-way  villages  of  the 
Madura  district  returning  Paraiya  as  the  name  of 
their  main  caste. 

The  Semman  is  anotbef  important  sub-division  of 
theParaiyas,  whose  existence  is  almost  unknown  out- 
side the  districts  of  Madura  and  Tuineveily.  It  was 
once  a  numerous  caste  of  Tamil  leather-workers, 
{Ljs<sfrnoQ^fr/r)_^^esriT  Q^s^imld.jit. — Nig.).  Since  the  immig- 
ration of  the  Telugu  and  Canarese  Madigas  or  Chak- 
kiliyans,  sometime  after  the  fifteenth  or  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, the  Semmans  have  almost  entirely  given  up 
their  traditional  occupation,  and  adopted,  like  the 
Panans,  menial  services  in  villages  and  tailoring  and 
lime  selling  in  towns. 

We  shall  content  ourselves  with  one  more  instance 
furnished  to  us  by  the  artizan  castes,  whose  social 
status  has  undergone  within  the  past  nine  centuries  a 
thorough  change  which  never  could  have  been 
dreamt  of  by  their  humble  ancestors. 

The  Kammalas  assert  that  they  are  the  descend- 
ants of  Visvakarma  the  architect  of  the  gods,  and  in 
many  parts  of  the  country  they  wear  the  sacred 
thread  calling  themselves  Visva-,  Deva-,  or  Devagna- 
Brahmans  and  deliberately  refuse  to  give  precedence 
to  the  Brahmans.  Without  going  into  the  details  of 
their  origin  we  shall  simply  indicate  a  few  reasons  to 
prove  that   they    are    one    of  the    undoubted  Naga 


86  TAMIL   STUDIES 

tribes,  i  forming  an  advanced    section    of,  or  closely 
allied  to,  the  Eyinas  of  the  Tamil  country. 

(1)  The  Dharma  Sastras,  a  social  code  common 
to  all  Hindus,  assign  no  place  to  the  Kammalas  in  the 
Hindu  caste  system,  purely  because  they  stood  out  of 
the  Aryan  pale  ;  and  this  fact  has  been  clearly  brought 
out  by  the  author  of  the  Ramayana.  Further,  it  is 
said  that  the  artisans  were  supplied  by  the  mixed 
classes — a  theory  strongly  confirmed  by  the  ancient 
decision  already  quoted. 

(2)  It  is  generally  supposed,  even  in  Upper 
India,  that  all  the  artisan  castes  and  weavers  were 
begotten  of  a  Sudia  woman  by  the  celestial 
architect  Visvakarma,  from  whom  also  the  Kolis 
of  the  United-Provinces,  a  weaver  caste  allied  to 
the  Koliya  Paraiyans  of  Madras,  trace  their  descent. 
^  They  worship  Sakti  and  village  deities  and  are,  as  a 

rule,  considered  undesirable  neighbours  in  a  village.' 

(3)  Tamil  inscriptions  prove  that  as  late  as  A.  D.. 
1013  the  Kammalas  were  regarded  as  a  polluting 
caste  like  the  Izhuvans  and  Paraiyans  and  were  not 
allowed  to  live  within  the  villages,  or  to  blow  con- 
ches and  beat  drums  on  the  marriage  and  funeraJ 
occasions,  or  to  plaster  their  houses  with  mud  or 
chunam,  or  even  to  wear  shoes.     And  it  appears  that 

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


THE  TAMIL  CASTES  87 

they  were  regarded  as  slaves  and  given  from  time  to 
time  certain  privileges  since  the  twelfth  century  A.  D.i 
(4)  In  Kerala  (Malabar  and  Travancore),  a  country 
first  colonized  largely  by  the  Tamils,  a  country  where 
caste  rules  and  observances  have  been  scrupulously 
maintained  for  several  centuries,  the  Kammalas 
occupy  a  low  position  in  the  social  scale  and  are 
regarded  by  the  other  people  of  that  district  (probably 
on  the  authority  of  the  Vaikhanasa  Dharmasura)  as 
a  polluting  caste  like  the  Tamil  Kammalas  of  the  ele- 
venth century.  They  are  allowed  neither  to  wear  the 
sacred  thread  as  in  the  other  parts  of  the  Presi- 
dency, nor  to  enter  the  houses  of  castemen,  except 
during  construction,  which  when  completed  undergo 
purification,  a  custom  still  followed  in  the  Tamil 
districts.  As  late  as  the  fourteenth  century  the 
Kammalas  and  the  Vaniyans  (oil-pressers)  were  con- 
sidered as  slaves  in  Malabar.  This  we  learn  from  the 
Kottayam  plates  of  Viraraghava  Chakravarti  wherein 
it  is  stated  thus  : — 

(We  have  given  the  Vaniyas  and  the  five  Kam- 
malas as  slaves.) 

The  Kammalas  of  Malabar  and  of  the  Tamil  dis- 
tricts must  h^ive  descended  from  the  same  stock  of 
the  Naga-Dravidian  artisans  mentioned  in  the  early 
Tamil  literature  and  inscriptions  already  referred  to, 
though,  on  account  o-f  difference  in  circumstances 
which  will  be  explained  hereafter,  the  former  have 
1     South  Indian  Inscriptions,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  47. 


^8  TAMIL  STUDIES 

retained  their  original  '  distance  pollution/  while 
the  latter  have  risen  so  far  in  social  scale  as  to  claim 
equality  with  the  Brahmans. 

(5)  The  custom  of  burying  their  dead,  partiality 
to  the  worship  of  Kali  anrl  other  village  deities,  and 
the  entire  absence  of  Vishnu  worship  seem  to 
connect  them  with  the  pre-Dravidian  or  aboriginal 
Naga  tribes. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  claims  of  the  Kam- 
malas  for  Brahmanhood  are  not  based  upon  any  re- 
cognised Veda,  Sastra,  Itihasa  or  Purana,  and  that 
their  arguments  in  its  favour  are  opposed  toto  ccelo 
to  customs  and  usages  prevalent  at  any  period  of 
Indian  history. 

Now  with  regard  to  the  fo-)d  of  the  Eyina  tribe  of 
hunters,  the  'Ten  Tamil  Idylls'  and  the  Purananuru 
say  that  they  ate  pork  and  the  flesh  of  the  wild  cow 
and  freely  indulged  in  spirituous  liquors. 

sruSismiT     ^i^  QiSuiLLcrTQssrjjS^sms^u 

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

^The  new  white  rice  boiled  with  the  flesh  of  the 
swine  just  killed  by  the  Eyinas.) 

^maesr  (^lLl^sst  <ss)LDSu(ruQu^i^(sSliT^ — Sir. 

(Thou  shall  get  the  hot  rice  cooked  by  the 
Eyina  women  with  sweet  tamarind  and  roasted  beef.) 
Even  after  a  lapse  of  nearly  fifteen  centuries  we  see  no 
change  in  the  food  of  their  Paraiya  descendants.  Some 
of  them  are  said  to  eat  frogs,  a  strange  habit  which 
connects  the.ii  with  the  V'anadis  of  Nellore. 


THE  TAMIL  CASTES  89 

To  the  Hindus  the  cow  is  a  sacred  animal  as 
well  as  the  bull,  the  Vahana  of  Siva,  the  killing  and 
eating  of  which  are  abominable.  Not  less  hateful  is 
the  use  of  intoxicating  drinks.  It  was  therefore 
natural  that  the  people  who  ate  beef  and  drank  liquors 
should  be  treated  by  Brahmans  as  a  filthy  polluting 
Caste.  From  the  Brahmanical  standpoint  the  best 
recommendation  for  a  non-Aryan  tribe  to  rise  higher 
in  the  social  scale  was  the  giving  up  of  the  above 
practice.  The  Kaikolans,  Panans,  Semmans  and 
Kammalas  did  so,  and  we  can  see  the  good  relation 
between  ihem  and  the  Brahmans. 

But  above  all,  the  primary  cause  of  the  revolution 
in  the  organisation  of  the  Paraiya  tribes  seems  to 
have  been  the  Brahman  exclusiveness.  They  did  not 
allow  the  Paraiyas  and  the  polluting  castes  generally 
even  to  enter  their  agmharams  and  villages.  A 
careful  perusal  of  *  Nandan's  Life'  will  give  our 
readers  some  idea  as  to  how  these  Paraiya  labourers 
were  treated  by  the  Tamil  Brahmans.  The  influence 
of  the  Brahmans  is  now  gone  ;  and  their  power  is 
crippled  by  the  stronger  Anglo-Saxon  race,  who 
have  assumed,  as  Leyden  naively  remarked,  the 
character  of  Kshatriyas  in  the  estimation  of  the 
subdued  Brahmans,  while  the  beef-eating  Paraiyas 
are  still  looked  down  as  being  outside  the  Hindu 
social  system  thougii  admitted  to  be  Hindus  in 
religion. 

Among  the  Paraiyas  the  sub-division    that  first  suf- 
fered from    the  Brahman  domination  was  the  Ulavu 


90  TAMIL   STUDIES 

Paraiyans,  who  now  form  about  50  per  cent,  of  that 
labouring  class.  They  had  to  work  in  the  fields 
all  day  long  without  having  any  access  to  the 
Brahman  lord.  They,  toiling  and  moiling  on  the 
fields,  which  were  once  their  own  but  were  wrested 
from  them  by  the  Tamil  kings  to  encourage  and 
support  the  Brahman  advisers  and  their  religious 
institutions,  became  as  it  were,  a  part  and  parcel  of 
their  rice  fields.  Their  masters  changed  with  the 
change  of  ownership  of  land.  Thus  arose  the  predial 
slavery  which,  however,  was  put  down  when  the 
country  passed  luckily  into  the  hands  of  the  British. 

With  the  exception  of  the  dog-eating  Navadis- 
of  Malabar,  the  Paraiyas  are  supposed  to  carry 
with  them  a  high  degree  of  pollution,  so  that 
even  the  Pulaiyas  and  Holayas  of  the  West  Coast 
and  the  Khonds  of  Vizagapatam  think  they  will 
be  defiled  by  the  mere  touch  of  a  Paraiya. 
What  is  pollution  then  according  to  the  Hindu 
notion  ?  It  is  something  imaginary,  flowing  out  of 
the  social  gravitation  which  exists  between  an  Aryan 
and  a  non-Aryan  Hindu.  The  degree  of  the  pollu- 
tion varies  mversely  with  the  degree  of  adoption  of 
the  Brahmanical  customs  and  manners.  The  Parai- 
yas were  stubborn  and  the  least  inclined  to  adopt 
them,  and  consequently  their  approach  within  a 
radius  of  thirty  yards  has  been  considered  polluting 
to  a  high  caste  Hindu.  The  hatred  which  existed 
between   the   early  Dravidians   and   Aryans  is   best 


THE    TAMIL    CASTES  91 

preserved  in  the  Kuricchan's  (a  hill  tribe  in  Malabar, 
corresponding  to  the  Kuravas  of  the  Tamil  country) 
custom  of  plastering  their  huts  with  cow-dung  to 
remove  the  pollution  caused  by  the  entrance  of  a 
Brahman.  During  the  past  three  centuries  the  Jesuit 
and  other  Missionaries  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
Siddhar  School  of  Tamil  philosophers  on  the  other, 
we  are  glad  to  observe,  have  been  working  to  elevate 
these  classes  and  alleviate  the  evils  arising  out  of 
their  social  degradation,  which  has  rendered  their 
position  anything  but  happy. 


THE  TAMIL  CASTES— (continued). 

In  the  last  chapter  it  has  been  shown  that  among  the 
ancient  Tamils  there  was  no  caste  system  similar  to 
that  of  the  Aryans  ;  that  most  of  the  Tamil  castes  of 
modern  times,  probably  with  the  exception  ot  the 
Vellalas,  could  be  traced  to  the  ancient  Nagas  and 
to  some  of  the  hill  and  forest  tribes  ;  that  it  took 
at  least  five  centuries  for  these  castes  to  attain  their 
present  position  in  the  social  economy  of  the 
•country  ;  that  the  present  diversity  of  castes  was 
caused  by  the  differences  in  food,  occupation,  religious 
beliefs  and  the  physical  condition  of  the  countries 
inhabited  by  them  ;  and  that  the  Brahmans  were  in- 
strumental in  bringing  about  this  result,  though  the 
precise  extent  to  which  their  influence  prevailed  is  a 
matter  not  easily  determmable.  This  applies  to  all 
the  non-Aryan  castes  and  tribes  of  Southern  India. 

The  introduction  and  expansion  of  the  caste  system 
;among  the  Dravidian  Tamils  had  in  course  of  time 
bred  discontent,  jealousy  and  mutual  hatred  in  their 
social  life,  which  in  the  end  culminated  in  the  dis- 
putes of  the  '  right  and  left  hand  factions,'  into  which 
the  whole  Dravidian  society  was  divided.  A.nd  this 
division  has  been  the  cause  of  endless  feuds  and 
mischief  from  the  time  of  its  inception. 

About  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century 
i(1449  A.  D.)  the  inhabitants  of  the  kingdom  of 
Padaividu    in  the     North    Arcot    District    appear  to 


THE  TAMIL   CASTES  93 

have    been    divided  into    three  factions    irrespective 
of   their    nationality,     creed   or   occupation — isjeoiisias 
LLju)      ^L^iKiss)3iLjii)      LDsrr^sisr(ip}i — (the     right-hand,     the 
left-hand    and    the    mahajanam,  t.  <?.,  the  Brahmans). 
Again,  on  the  5th  November  1G52,  that  is   within    fif- 
teen years  after  the  foundation    of    Fort    St,   George,, 
the  inhabitants  of    Madras   were  fighting   for   certain 
privileges     and     disturbing    the    public     peace   and 
safety  to    such  an    extent  that   the  authorities  of  the 
East  India    Company   were    obliged    to   call    on  the 
heads  of  the  respective  factions  to  draw  up  an    agree- 
ment settling    all  the  diflferences   between   the    right- 
hand    and  left-hand  castes.     Some    sixty    years    after 
this,    the  same    tragedy  was   enacted    once    more   at 
Chintadripetta,    a  suburban  colony  of    artizans   and 
merchants,  the  dispute  arising  out  of  the  right  claim- 
ed by   certain  Chetties  or  traders   to    recite    Sanskrit 
Mantras  before  the  idol  of  Vignesvara.    Now  coming 
to  the   last   century,    the    contest   was    fought    with 
renewed  vigour  among  the  impoverished   inhabitants 
of  Seringapatam.     This   town,    shortly    after   it   had 
fallen  into    the    hands   of    the    English,    was   found 
divided  into  two  portions,   one   occupied    mainly    by 
the  adherents  of  the  right-hand  faction  and  the  other 
by  the  upholders  of  the  left.     And  it  is  also  said  that 
the  faction   feuds  were    so  rampant   there,   that   the 
British  Government  was  driven  to    the   necessity    of 
prohibiting   for  a  time    marriage   and  other  proces- 
sions   within    the   Fort   in  order  to   preserve   public 
peace  and  tranquillity.  About  thirty  years  ago  another 


-94  TAMIL  STUDIES 

quarrel  ensued  at  Dummagudam  in  the  Godavari 
district,  which,  however  was  immediately  put  down. 
It  was  on  the  occasion  of  a  marriage  in  the  Kamsali 
caste,  the  ring-leader  being  a  Madras  Paraiyan. 
Moreover,  this  jealousy  in  guarding  the  rights  under- 
lying the  factious  feud  has  very  often  led  to  painful 
litigation  and  prosecutions  in  the  Civil  and  Criminal 
Courtsof  Chittur,  Salem  and  Chingleput.  Unlike  other 
segregating  forces  it  extended  its  evil  influences 
even  among  members  of  the  same  families  while  the 
caste  system  has  only  divided  the  people  into 
ethnic,  territorial,  professional  or  sectarian  classes.  It 
is  no  wonder  then  that  it  has  attracted  the  attention 
of  ethnologists  ;  but  none  has  yet  been  able  to  throw 
sufficient  light  on  its  origin  or  subsequent  history. 

An  enquiry  regarding  the  probable  date  of  the 
genesis  ot  the  faction  and  its  subsequent  growth  will 
not,  it  is  hoped,  be  uninteresting  to  the  reader  ;  and 
it  is  not  without  some  confidence  that  the  following 
explanation  based  on  a  rather  prolonged  and  careful 
study  of  the  subject  is  offered,  in  the  belief  that  it 
carries  with  it  at  least  the  merit  of  historic  probabili- 
ty. And  in  order  to  get  a  correct  idea  of  the  minute 
details  of  this  curious  distinction,  an  accurate  his- 
torical account  of  each  and  every  caste  comprised 
within  the  division  is  highly  desirable.i    But  the  lists 

1.  Brief  historical  notices  of  some  of  the  most  important  castes 
which  are  given  in  the  statement  will  oe  found  in  Chapter  X  of  the 
Madras  Census  Report  for  1891,  and  in  the  Caste  Glossary  appended 
to  the  Report  on  the  Census  of  1901. 


THE  TAMIL  CASTES 


95 


we  have  examined  <*ive  conflicting  accounts  of  the 
several  castes,  which  will  be  noticed  later  on. 
Nevertheless,  we  subjoin  a  tolerably  correct  state- 
ment which  exhibits  the  names  of  important  caste 
^nd  the  traditional  occupations  followed  by  the 
members  thereof  prior  to  their  division  into  these 
social  factions  : — 

Left-hand. 


Occupation  :  Right-hand. 


Traders. 


Weavers. 


Artizans. 


Balija, 
Banajiga, 
Komati, 
Vellan  Chetti. 

Jandra, 
Saliyan, 
Seniyan. 

Nil. 


f  Beri  Chetti, 
I  Vaniyans 


(who  yoke  two 
(^bullocks). 

Devanga 

and 
Kaikolan. 

Kammalan, 

Kamsali, 

Panchalas. 


Leather- 
workers 


Field 
labourers 

and 
soldiers. 


r  Madiga  or 

J        Chakkilian.  (Males.) 

[       (females) 

f  Malaiman, 

I  Nattaman, 

J  Falh    (females),      f  Bedar, 

]  Vedan  or  Vettuvan^  Palli  (Males) 

[  Paraiyan,  Mala        [  Pall  an, 

(_and  Holeya. 


Of  these  the  Mala,  Holeya  and  Paraiyan  were  raost- 
iy  held  labjar^rs  ;  and  the  Kaikolans  were  soldiers. 
As  a  rule,  m  )st  of  tue  lab  jurin4  classes  and  hunters 
were  enlisted  as  sepoys  by   the  Tamil  kmgs.     All  the 


96  TAMIL  STUDIES 

other  South  Indian  castes  not  mentioned  in  the 
above  table  belong  either  to  the  right-hand  faction 
or  to  the  left,  or  hold  with  the  Brahmans  a  neutral 
attitude  in  the  dispute.  It  will  be  curious  to  note 
that  later  immigrants  in  South  India  such  as  the 
Musalmans,  Guzaratis,  Marwaris  and  Patnulkars  are 
classed  with  right-hand  castes.  This  strange  dissen- 
sion, which  is  confined  only  to  South  India,  exists 
in  no  other  part  of  the  country.  Similar  distinctions 
may  still  be  found  among  the  Sakti  worshippers  of 
Bengal  ;  but  this  religious  sect  does  not  seem  to 
have  any  connection  whatever  with  the  social  division 
of  the  non-Brahmanical  castes  of  the  Madras  Presi- 
dency. The  members  of  the  two  divisions  struggle 
for  certain  honorary  distinctions,  such  as  the  use  of 
twelve  pillars  in  the  marriage  pandal.  the  beating  of 
five  big  drums  on  certain  ceremonial  occasions,  the 
ride  on  horse-back  or  the  carrying  of  a  monkey  flag. 
These  privileges  are  claimed  by  the  right-hand  castes 
on  all  public  and  festive  occasions,  and  whenever 
any  of  these  privileges  are  exercised  by  a  member  of 
the  left-hand  faction,  fights  usually  occur. 

The  Pancham  Banajigas  of  the  Canarese  pro- 
vince, the  Paraiyas  of  the  Tamil  districts  and  the 
Malas  of  the  Andhra  country  are  the  strenuous  sup- 
porters of  the  right-hand  division.  They  are  assisted 
by  the  Holeyas  in  Mysore  and  Canara,  and  by  the 
weavers  in  the  Tamil  and  Telugu  districts.  The  left- 
hand  division  is  commanded  throughout  the  presi- 
dency by  the  Kammalas^  Kamsalis  or  Panchalas  with 


THE   TAMIL   CASTES  97 

the  indefatigable  assistance  of  the  Madigas  or  Chakki- 
lians.  But  for  the  zealous  support  of  these  degraded 
classes,  this  enemy  of  public  peace  would  have  dis- 
appeared from  the  land  several  centuries  ago.  J 

Yet  SLich  a  distinction,  notwithstanding  Dr.  Mac- 
leane's  statement  to  the  contrary,  is  not  maintained 
with  so  much  zeal  and  pertinacity  in  the  Tamil  dis- 
tricts as  in  the  Canarese  and  the  Telugu  parts  of 
Southern  India.  The  Pallis  or  Vanniyas  have,  in 
their  fond  hope  of  becoming  Kshatriyas,  forgotten  all 
about  the  feuds  ;  many  Kaikolas  have,  in  order 
to  wipe  off  the  so-called  tribal  or  rather  the  social 
indignity  still  clinging  to  the  left-hand  faction,  be. 
come  within  the  last  six  centuries  dancers  and  singers 
in  Hindu  temples  as  the  following  Kanchipuram 
inscription  will  show  : — 

Qsii'SirsfTS  SL^euiT  ^ssiju). — (S.  /.  /.  I.  122.) 

[May  sell  or  mortgage  the  head-ship,  the  right  of 
lease,  service  to  god  (dancing,  &c.),  and  weaving.] 

Again  the  Kammalas  in  asserting  that  they  are 
the  Deva-or  Visva-Brahmans  not  only  try  to  conceal 
their  Naga  origin  but  also  take  shelter  in  a  tradition 
that  all  the  above  privileges  were  granted  to  them 
by  Kali,  and  that  'they  are  of  the  highest  rank  hav- 
ing been  placed  by  that  goddess  on  her  left-hand 
side  which  in  India  is  the  place  of  honour.'  Further, 
before  the  introduction  of  this  distinction  in  iVIalabar 
by  the  later  settlers  from  the  surrounding  Tamil  and 
T 


98  TAMIL   STUDIES 

Canarese  districts,  this  inter-caste  dispute  was  a  thing 
quite  unknown  to  the  Malaiyahs,  and  even  now  it 
exists  only  among  the  weavers  and  Canarese  immi- 
grants. Thus  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  dispute  is  practi- 
cally confined  only  to  the  lowest  castes — Paraiyas, 
Holeyas  and  Madigas — occasionally  encouraged  by 
the  Kammalas. 

The  origin  of  this  distinction  is  involved  in  obscur- 
ity; but  it  is  clear  that  it  is  purely  a  Dravidian  schism, 
though  countenanced,  and  even  sometimes  fomented 
covertly,  by  the  later  Aryan  immigrants  in  the  south. 
Many  traditions,  however,  have  been  manufactured 
either  by  the  Brahmans  to  elevate  the  status  of  the 
low  but  serviceable  tribes  of  the  Dravidian  race,  or 
by  the  busy  and  ingenious  artizans,  who  scarcely  let 
slip  an  opportunity  to  elevate  their  low  position. 
And  in  proof  of  it  we  give  below  a  story  current 
among  the  Kammalans.  The  tradition,  perverted  and 
mutilated  though  it  be,  so  as  to  support  their  chimeri- 
cal claims  for  a  higher  social  status,  is  not  alto- 
gether devoid  of  an  historical  interest,  as  it  seems 
to  suggest  the  probable  age  and  origin  of  this 
endless  dispute.  '  The  Panchalas  (artizans)  say  they 
were  the  hereditary  priests  for  the  royal  family 
of  the  Cholas.  During  the  reign  of  Parimalan, 
Vedavyasan  waxed  jealous  of  their  influence  in  the 
kingdom  and  devised  a  scheme  to  oust  them  from 
their  spiritual  office.  Accordingly  he  murdered  the 
king  while  out  hunting  and  raised  his  illegitimate  son 
to  the  throne.     This  event  was  followed  by  unpleas- 


THE   TAMIL   CASTES  99 

ant  results.  The  people  refused  to  cultivate,  and 
tumult  and  disorder  ruled  everywhere.  The  king 
therefore  declared  that  ;iU  people  who  supported  him 
should  be  called  the  right-hand  people.  A  neigh- 
bouring Rajah  hearing  of  this,  invaded  Kalingam  and 
carried  off  its  king  as  captive,  for  dismissing  the 
Panchalas  and  appointing  Vyasan,  and  for  dividing 
the  people  into  the  right-hand  and  left-hand  castes.' 
Another  old  tradition  of  equally  historical  value  says 
that  the  division  into  the  right-hand  and  left-hand 
castes  took  its  origin  from  the  command  of  the  god- 
dess Kali  at  Kanchipuram  (the  seat  of  so  many  religi- 
ous and  political  changes)  where,  it  is  said,  exists 
to  this  day  special  halls  for  the  two  parties  call- 
ed the  eueosaasLDsmi—ULD  and  ^L-iW'SSiSLDsmL^ULh.  It 
is  further  stated  that  the  pagoda  at  Conjeevaram 
has  a  copper-plate  bearing  inscriptions  which  give 
the  origin  of  this  queer  distinction  of  castes. 
Though  both  parties  referred  to  it,  neither  of  them, 
it  appears,  could  produce  this  important  document 
before  the  Zillah  Court  of  Salem  or  Chittur  in  the 
course  of  litigation  between  the  two  irreconcilable 
factions.  It  appears,  however,  that  the  Kammalas 
have  forged  a  series  of  copper  plates  (dated  1098  SS.) 
in  favour  of  the  left-hand  faction  to  justify  its  prefer- 
ence over  the  right-hand  in  matters  social,  l 

All  that  we  can  infer  at  present  from    the    above 
stories   is,   that  some    Dravidian  castes   such  as   the 
Valluvas,  were  priests   or  pnrohits  to  tha   Tamil  kings 
1.  The  Madras  Govt.  Epigraphist's  Report  dated  July  1910. 


100  TAMIL  STUDIES 

before  the  arrival  of  Brahmans,  and  that  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  Dravidian  castes  into  two  grand  divisions 
(the  right  and  left  hands)  took  place  at  Kanchipuram 
under  the  royal  command  of  a  Chola  king.  In  this 
connection  it  would  be  well  to  remember  the  origin 
and  former  social  position  of  the  Valluvas  which  have 
already  been  explained. 

Various  suggestions  have  been  made  concerning 
the  probable  origin  of  the  dispute  between  the  right- 
hand  and  left-hand  factions.  One  writer  in  the  Indian 
Antiquary  (Vol.  V)  says  *  it  does  appear  to  have  been 
caused  by  some  person  or  persons  who  were  strang- 
ers to  South  India  '.  But  who  that  person  or  persons 
could  have  been  he  does  not  say.  Another  writer 
tells  us  that  it  is  a  dispute  between  the  principal 
artificers  and  the  agricultural,  mercantile  and  other 
classes  ;  while  a  third  observes  that  tlie  '  distinc- 
tion arises  primarily  from  the  land-owners  and  their 
serfs  being  the  heads  of  one  class,  and  the  Brahmans, 
the  artisans  and  other  interlopers,  form  the  other  '. 
The  last  view  is  maintained  by  the  Superintendent  of 
Census  in  Mysore  (1891)  who  goes  on  to  say 
that  the  origin  of  this  irreconcilable  faction  is  due 
to  the  professional  jealousy  that  existed  between  the 
indigenous  mercantile  community  and  the  larger  and 
more  powerful  traders.  This  is,  no  doubt,  borne  out 
by  the  alternative  names  of  the  factions,  Desa 
(foreign)  and  Peta  or  Nadu  (native)  which  are  cur- 
rent only  in  the  Mysore  State.  But  the  quarrel 
is    fqund   throughout   the     presidency    and  is    not 


THE   TAMIL  CASTES  101 

confined   to   the   circumscribed   limits   of  that  pro- 
vince ;    and  there   are    no   grounds   to  assign    to    it 
a  western  origin.     Since  co-operation  and  combined 
effort  are  necessary  to  the  wellbeing  of  a  nation   why 
should   the    cultivating  classes  be  always    at  enmity 
with  the  Kammalas  ?     We    leain  from    the    inscrip- 
tions already  referred  to  that  the  Brahmans    adhered 
to  neither  side,  though  some  lists  erroneously  mention 
them  as  partizans.  The  serfs  of  the  cultivating  castes, 
namely,  the  Pallis,  Pallars  &c.,  were  included  in  the 
left  while  their  masters,    the  Vellalas,   espoused    the 
right-hand  division.     The  very  fact  of    the  inclusion 
of  the  Telugu  and  Canarese  Madigas  and  Bedarsand 
the  Tamil  Pallars  and  Pallis  in    the  left-hand  faction 
goes  to  confirm  the  origin  of  this  dispute    from  out- 
side  the    Kalinga,    Karnataka,    Pallava    and  Pandya 
countries  ;  and  the  exclusion  from  it  of   the  corres- 
ponding Tamil  castes — Malaiman,  Vedan  and  Paraiya 
— seems  to  point  out  the  Chola  kingdom  as  the  land 
of  its  origin. 

To  call  into  existence  such  a  powerful  and 
wide-spread  social  division,  a  single  cause  of  smal^ 
magnitude  would  never  suffice.  It  has,  therefore,  been 
suggested  by  Rao  Bahadur  M.  Ranga  Charyar  that 
this  division  originated  from  the  Dravidian  family 
organization  during  its  passage  'from  the  matriarchal 
to  the  patriarchal  state'.  He  says  that  'in  their  families 
...the  mother  seems  to  have  been  the  head  thereof 
and  property  seems  to  have  descended  from  the 
mother   to    the   daughter '.       And    in    proof  of    the 


102  TAMIL  STUDIES 

universal  existence  of  this  matriarchal  system  among 
the  early  Dravidians  he  adduces  two  facts  :  (1)  In 
the  Dravidian  languages  '  the  name  for  the  father- 
in-law  and  the  maternal  uncle  is  the  same  ;  for 
the  mother-in-law  and  the  paternal  aunt  is  the  same  '. 
(2)  'The  division  is  unknown  in  Malabar,  because  its 
people  never  passed  from  the  matriarchal  to  the 
patriarchal  condition'.  '  The  eighteen  communities 
of  the  right-hand  side  seem  to  have  approved  of  the 
change,  while  the  nine  communities  of  the  left-hand 
side  seem  to  have  opposed  it'.  Mr.  Rice  also  observes 
that  there  is  a  'doubtful  passage  in  the  Mahawanso 
which  may  be  supposed  to  refer  to  it,  and  if  so,  the 
institution  would  seem  to  be  of  great  antiquity  ';  and 
in  support  of  it  he  quotes  a  tradition  that  '  when  the 
Pand5'a  princess  was  sent  from  Madura  to  Ceylon,  in 
response  to  an  embassy  from  Vijaya  soliciting  her 
hand  in  marriage,  she  is  said  (according  to  one  version) 
to  have  been  accompanied  by  a  thousand  members 
of  the  eighteen  castes  and  five  different  clans  of 
workmen  '. 

With  due  deference  to  the  two  high  authorities 
quoted  above,  I  doubt  very  much  the  tenability  of 
their  arguments  in  support  of  the  origin  and  antiquity 
of  the  dispute  for  the  following  reasons  : — 

It  has  been  shown  in  the  last  essay  that 
there  was  no  caste  system  among  the  ancient  Dravi- 
dians like  that  which  we  find  amongst  them  in 
modern  times.  Then  how  did  the  18  panas  or  castes 
of  the  right-hand  and  the  9   panas  of   the    left  come 


THE   TAMIL   CASTES  103 

into  existence  so  early  as  the  sixth  century  B.  C.  ? 
The  above  tradition,  therefore,  seems  to  us  a  post  facto 
concoction  of  the  Canarese  people;  and  in  the 
whole  range  of  Tamil  literature,  especially  of  the 
early  period,  there  is  no  reference  to  this  'ancient' 
social  division,  though  it  was  of  such  vital  importance. 
Further,  there  is  not  the  slightest  vestige  of  the 
matriarchal  system  in  South  India  except  in  Kerala 
and  in  the  Pendiikkii  Meykki  sub-caste  of  the  Idaiyans 
of  the  Madura  District. 

In    the    Dravida  country,  as    everywhere    else, 
the  lowest  castes  and  the  hill  and  forest  tribes  are  the 
least  affected  by,  or  are  very  slow  to  adopt,  the  Aryan 
civilisation,  and  even    amongst  them  the  matriarchal 
system  was  unknown.     Malabar  and  Travancore  are 
no  exceptions  to  this  principle.     Here  the   transition 
from     the      patriarclial    to    the  matriarchal  state   is 
in  various  stages.     Most  of  the  polluting    castes    and 
all   the    aboriginal    tribes     follow    the    Makkatayam 
system  as    in    the    other    parts  of    India,    while    the 
Ambalavasis,    Saliyans,  Tiyans  and  others,  who    may 
be  said  to  be  in  a  state  of  transition,  follow  both  the 
Makkatayam  and    the  Marumakkatayam   system    of 
inheritance.     This  is  doubtless  due  to  the  influence 
of  the  Nayars  and  to  a  desire  to  imitate   the  custom 
of    higher     castes.     Among   the    non-polluting     (by 
distance)  castes  it    is   only  the    so-called    Kshatriyas 
and  the  Nayars,  whose  females    had    and    still    have 
Sanibandani   or  marital   relationship  with  the  Nam- 
budri  Brahmans,  that  have  adopted   completely   the 


104  TAMIL  STUDIES 

Marumakkatayam   system.     It  is  thus  clear    that  the 
matriarchal  system   of   Malabar    should    have    come 
into  existence  only  after  the  arrival  of  the    Brahmans 
into  the    Kerala   country,    and    that  the    patriarchal 
system  alone  has  been  in  vogue  for    ages  everywhere 
in    South  India     since    the   earhest    historic    times. 
Whether  the  matriarchal  system  was   entirely    due  to 
the    influence    of    the      Nambudri      Brahmans     or 
whether  there  had  been  other  causes  at    work  in  that 
direction,    it  is   beyond  the    scope    of    this  essiy  to 
determine. 

As  for  the  absence  of  this  division  from  Kerala, 
it  may  be  said  that  this  disaffection  did  not  find  its 
way  amongst  the  non-Brahman  castes  of  that  country 
on  account  of  the  iron-hand  of  the  Nambudris, 
which  kept  them  down  under  its  strong  grip.  Fur- 
ther, the  people  of  Kerala  led  a  comparatively  simple 
life,  as  at  present  ;  there  was  no  building  of  large 
temples;  and  there  was  no  such  demand  for  skilful 
labour  of  the  artizans  and  weavers  as  in  the  Tamil 
districts.  The  Kammalas,  therefore,  never  aspired  for 
Brahmanhood,  nor  did  the  Nambudris  invest  them 
with  the  sacred  thread  as  the  Brahmans  in  the  other 
parts  of  India  did. 

The  forms  of  marriage  prevalent  among  the 
ancient  Dravidians  weie  gandharvaut  (Tarn,  sotraii) 
and  rakshascim  or  marriage  by  capture  as  we  have 
shown  in  a  previous  essay.  And  the  marriage  tie 
was  so  loose  that  it  could  be  broken  at  tlie  will  of 
either  party  as  we  now  see  among  the    lowest   castes. 


THE   TAMIL   CASTES  105 

In  this  state  of  connubial  relationship  there  was  no 
need  for  terms  to  express  the  idea  of  a  'father-in-law' 
or  a  'mother-in-law.'  The  early  Dravidians  had  no 
words  for  father's  sister,  mother's  brother,  &c., 
their  relationship  being  confined  only  to  father, 
mother,  brother  and  sister.  Thus  the  term  niaina 
(Tam.  miTLDrr)  was  borrowed  from  Sanskrit,  and  the 
meaning  of  aitai  (Tamil,  ^^ew^),  which  is  also  not  a 
Dravidian  word,  is  so  vague  and  indefinite  that  it 
meant  in  Tamil  mother,  elder  sister,  mother-in-law, 
father's  sister  and  the  teacher's  wife.  Similarly  akka 
and  aminai  are  both  mother  and  elder  sister  ;  aiyan, 
father-in-law,  mother's  brother,  etc.  Then,  these 
words  do  not  help  us  in  the  least  to  infer  one  way  or 
the  other  regarding  the  matriarchal  or  the  patriarchal 
theory,  except  that  the  Dravidians  were  in  a  very 
primitive  state  destitute  of  terms  to  express  any  rela" 
tionship  other  than  father,  mother  and   children. 

Turning  now  to  the  origin  of  the  dispute,  we  find 
from  a  careful  study  of  the  Tamil  inscriptions  and  the 
history  of  the  South  Indian  castes  that  there  are  three 
obvious  causes.  The  first  and  the  most  important  is 
the  political  dissension  which  led  to  the  final  over- 
throw of  the  powerful  kingdoms  of  the  Pallavas(wliich 
besides  other  provinces  then  embraced  the  modern 
state  of  Mysore)  and  the  Pandyas.  They  were  the 
hereditary  enemies  of  the  Cholas  ;  the  very  name 
Pallava  was  hateful  to  them  ;  and  the  Pallava  gods 
of  Kanchipuram  shared  the  miserable  fate  of  the 
Pallava    kings  and    their  subjects.     As   the    Kanchi- 


106  TAMIL   STUDIES 

puram  inscriptions  of  Kampana  Udaiyar  will  show, 
the  Pallava  temples  were  closed  for  a  long  period  of 
nearly  three  centuries,  and  their  lands  alienated  by  a 
Choliyan  edict.  About  the  ninth  century  A.  D.  the 
Pallavas  were  defeated  by  the  Chola  and  Chalukyan 
kings  in  a  series  of  battles,  after  which  the  vast  em- 
pire   was   broken    up    into  small    principalities   such 

as  Gangaipadi,  Nulambapadi,  Tadigaipadai,  &c. 

Agam,  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  eleventh  century 

Rajaraja  Chola,  the  richest  and  one  of  the   mightiest 
of  the  Chola  sovereigns,  invaded  and  conquered  Vengi 
Nadu,     Rettaipadi,   Gangaipadi,    Kollam,    Kalingam, 
11am    (Ceylon),   Madura  and    other    countries.    To- 
wards the  close  of  his  prosperous  reign  he  seemed  to 
have  marshalled  his  extensive  armies,  which  he    had 
posted  at  different  quarters  to  defend  his  newly  con- 
quered dominions,  into  two  grand  divisions — the  one 
consisting  of  those  men  who  had  won  for    him    vic- 
tories in  all  his  foreign    campaigns,    and    the    other 
composed  of  new  soldiers    from   the    Pandya,     the 
Telugu  and  Canarese  countries,  who    had    formerly 
fought  against  him  from  his  enemies'  camps.     The 
former,  recruited  chiefly  from  the  Vedan,    Nattaman, 
Malayaman  and  Paraiya  castes,  he  called  the  right-hand 
d-rrny  (sijeviaeins  Qt^'SefrdamriT — the    right-hand    infantry), 
while  the  latter  made  up  of  the  Pallans,    Pallis,  Madi- 
gas  and  Bedars  was  called   the  left-hand  army.     This 
alone,  we   think,   could  account    for   the   anamolous 
grouping  of  the  Bedars  (Canarese  hunters)  in  the   left, 
while  their  Tamil  brethren,  the  Vedans,  were  placed  in 


THE   TAMIL   CASTES  107 

the  right-hand  division.  The  Pallans,  correctly 
Mallar,  formed  the  Pandiyan  army,  the  PalHs  consti- 
tuted the  Pallava  army,  while  the  troops  of  Kalingam 
and  other  countries  were  recruited  chiefly  from  the 
Bedars  and  Madigas  or  Chakkiliyans.  The  male  mem- 
bers of  these  military  classes  were  put  in  the  left- 
hand,  but  their  females  who  could  not  have  naturally 
taken  up  arms  against  Rajaraja  were  treated  as  belong- 
ing to  the  right-hand  faction.  The  inscriptions  of  Ra- 
jendra  Chola  prove  that  this  distinction  was  observed 
by  his  army  though  not  so  strictly  as  in  his  father's 
time.  The  expression  £us\)iiiss)suuifiLbusioL-si&r  which  oc- 
curs therein  means  the  'old  troops  of  the  right-hand'  as 
opposed  to  the  new  soldiers  of  the  conquered  domi- 
nions. And  by  the  time  of  Adhirajendra  Chola  (A.  D. 
1065)  a  poll-tax  i  was  levied  on  all  the  male  members 
of  both  factions  who  were  in  a  position  to  use  the 
implements  of  war.  All  these  clearly  prove  that  the 
origin  of  the  division  was  purely  of  a  military  or 
political  nature. 

Again,  the  tradition  already  referred  to  informs  us 
that  the  distinction  originated  in  the  reign  of  a 
Chola  king  of  the  Kalinga  country,  and  we  know  of 
no  earlier  Chola  kings  than  Rajaraja  and  Rajendra 
Chola,  v^rho  invaded  and  temporarily  subjugated 
Kalingam.  For  these  reasons  the  present  writer  is 
strongly  mclined  to  assign  to  this  social  distinction 
a  date  not  earlier  than  A.  D.  1010. 

The  second  agent,  also  in  the  order  of  time,  which 

1.  South  Indian  Inscriptions,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  115. 


108  TAMIL   STUDIES 

tended  to  swell  the    ranks  of   the  two    factions,    was 
the  aspiration  of  certain  castes  to  rise    higher    in   the 
social  scale.    One  of    the  six  principal  duties  of   the 
ancient    Hindu     kings    being    the    preservation    of 
caste  rules  and  observances  as  dictated  by  the  Sastras, 
it  is  very  likely  that  any  violation    of    the  established 
custom  by  any  member  of  a  caste  or  tribe  would  have 
met  with  tl:e  severest   punishment.    The    Kammalas 
were,  as  stated  above,  a  guild  of    Dravidian    or   Naga 
origin,  holdmg  a  place  outside  the  pale  of   the  Aryan 
caste  system.     They  were,  however,  skilful    artificers 
and  as  such  their  services  were  in  constant  demand  by 
the  Brahmans  and  other    classes.    During   the   great 
temple-building     epoch — the      tenth    and      eleventh 
centuries — the    Hindu    kings    not    only    patronized 
these  people,  but  also  appointed    them    permanently 
for  the  extension  and  repair  of  the  temples  they  had 
built.  In  this  way  their  connection  with  the   religious 
institutions    and    consequently   their   closer  contact 
with  the    Brahmans   contributed    largely   to    elevate 
their  social  position.     And    as    Sir  W.     W.     Hunter 
observes,  '  the  Brahmanical  element  here  finds    itself 
so  weak,  and  so  accustomed  to  compromise  with  the 
original  population,  that   the  priests  have  invented  a 
legend,  to  give  a  semi-Aryan    descent  to    five    castes, 
which  everywhere  else  rank  as  Sudras'.     But    with- 
out being  content  with  the  concessions  and  privileges 
granted  to  them,  they    began   to    clamour    for  a  still 
higher  status,  nay,  even  claimed  an  equal   rank  with 
the  Brahmans.     This  offended  the  Chola  king,  pro- 


THE   TAMIL   CASTES  109 

bably  Rajendra,  the  reputed  conqueror  of  Kalingam 
and  other  northern  countries  ;  many  were  persecuted, 
many  were  ordered  to  be  destroyed,  and  the  rest  were 
classed  along  with  other  hostile  tribes  in  the  left-hand 
division. 

The  other  castes  which  strive  for  a  higher   social 
position    are   the    Kaikolas    and   the    Devangas,    the 
former   of  whom    claim    direct   descent   from    Vira- 
bahu,  one  of  the    nine  commanders  of  god  Subrah- 
manya,  and  the  latter,  wearing  the  sacred  thread,  fight 
for   Brahmanhood.     This   kind  of  struggle  for  Brah- 
manical    rank    is    strongest     in    Mysore    and    South 
Canara,    but   it   is    almost    unknown    in    the   neigh- 
bouring district  of  Malabar.    For  example^  the  potters 
of    South    Canara   returned    their   caste  name  at  the 
Census     of    1891    as    Gnnda    (pot)    Brahmana  ;    the 
artisans  as  Visva-,   Deva-,  Surya-,   and  Snhrahnicinya 
Brahmana  ;  the    Kshatriya   and    Vaisya    Brahmana  ;. 
and  the  Madigas  (leather-workers)  as  Mafanga  Brah- 
mana.    Encouraged    by   the    novel    and    anti-Brah- 
manical  doctrines  of  Basava,  which  did  away  with  all 
the    caste    distinctions,    the    servile     classes    styled 
themselves  Brahmans  ;  and  in  so  doing  have  adopted 
uncouth  nomenclature  from  the  Sanskrit  and  Canarese 
vocabularies.     The  names  of   the  Lingayat   septs   are 
legion,  but   some  may  be  given    here  : — Chikkamane 
Sampradaya    Brahmana,    Dhuli    Pavada    Brahmana, 
Gaudalike  Jangama  Brahmana,  Hirihasube    Banajiga 
Brahmana,    Sthavara   Jangama    Brahmana,    &c.     It 
is  this,    we    believe,   that   has     misled     Sir    W.    W. 


110  TAMIL  STUDIES 

Hunter  when  he  speaks  of  the  non-Brahmanical  ryot 
class  of  Mysore  as  "the  peasant  Brahmans."  Thus,  the 
high  aspirations  of  certain  low  castes  had  provoked 
the  Aryan  Brahmans,  who  out  of  jealousy  and 
anger  managed  with  the  assistance  of  their  kings,  to 
class  such  men  in  the  left-hand  division,  so  that  there 
might  crop  up  unceasing  quarrels,  in  almost  all  of 
which  they  were  requested  by  the  heads  of  respective 
factions  to  sit  as  judges  for  settling  disputes.  It  is 
significant  that  this  feud  is  very  strong  in  the 
districts  where  there  is  a  large  number  of  Lin- 
gayats. 

In  addition  to  the  two  sources  already  explained. 
Dr.  Oppert  suggests  a  third  one.  He  says  '  the 
imminent  decay  of  the  Jaina  power  opened  a  fair 
prospect  to  the  Brahmans  of  which  they  were  not 
slow  to  take  advantage.  They  gathered  round  them 
their  followers,  while  their  opponents,  who  represent- 
ed in  certain  respects  the  national  party  did  the  same 
,  .  .  The  influence  of  Jains  was  perhaps  strongest  in 
towns,  where  the  artizan  classes  form  an  important 
portion  of  the  population,  while  the  Brahmana 
appealed  to  the  land  owning  and  agricultural  classes'. 
This  is  a  cause,  but  not  the  cause  of  the  dispute. 
Because  firstly,  the  struggle  for  Brahman  supremacy 
had  almost  been  over  in  the  south  before  the  tenth 
century  A.D.  ;  and  had  this  been  the  only  cause  for 
the  division  into  rival  hands,  it  would  have  taken 
place  prior  to  that  period.  But  it  is  not  mentioned 
in    any  work    or  inscription  of  that  date.     Secondly, 


THE  TAMIL  CASTES  111 

granting  that  the  struggle  between  Brahmanism  and 
Jainism  was  the  essential  cause  of  this  curious 
division,  the  logical  inference  would  be  that  most  of 
the  artizans  would  have  adopted  the  Jaina  faith,  and 
the  Brahmans  and  Jains  would  have  respectively 
espoused  the  right  and  left  hand  factions.  But  the 
census  statistics  of  1891  clearly  showed  that  only 
40  artizans  were  Jains,  and  even  these  belonged  to  the 
right-hand  faction,  while  the  Brahmans  occupied,  as 
already  stated,  a  neutral  position.  Jainism  was  on  the 
decline  in  the  south  during  the  eighth  and  ninth  cen- 
turies, but  it  had  not  lost  its  strong-hold  in  the  Pallava 
andKadamba  kingdoms.  The  Periyapuranim  and  the 
Tiruvilayadalpuranam  give  graphic  descriptions  of 
constant  struggles  between  the  Brahmans  and 
Jains,  and  of  the  zeal  and  enthusiasm  evinced  by 
the  Chola  and  Pandya  sovereigns  in  putting  down 
Jainism  in  their  countries.  And  we  know  how  long 
Sri  Ramanuja  had  to  struggle  with  the  Jains  before  he 
succeeded  in  converting  Bitti  Deva  (Vishnu  Vardhana), 
the  Jain  king  of  Mysore  (A.  D.  1138).  It  is  therefore 
possible  that  Jainism,  an  anti-Brahmanical  religion 
professed  by  the  enemies  of  the  Chola  kings,  might 
have  acted  as  a  third  cause  for  the  division  into 
the  right-hand  and  left-hand  factions.  The  supposition, 
therefore,  of  Mr.  Nelson  that  religious  difference  has 
little  or  no  connection  with  this  remarkable  feud 
cannot  be  accepted,  though  he  is  very  near  the  mark 
in  suggesting  that  the  obstinacy  of  the  Panchalas  in 
disputing  the  supremacy  of    the   Brahmans  and  their 


112  TAMIL  STUDIES 

adoption  of  the  Brahmanical  customs  must  have  laid 
the   foundation  for  this  social  distinction. 

We  have  said  above  that  the  Jains  belong  to  the 
right-hand  division,  although  one  would,  on  the 
contrary,  expect  to  find  them  in  the  left-hand. 
The  reason  for  the  change  is,  says  a  Mysore  inscrip- 
tion of  A.  D.  1368,  that  the  Brahmans  and  Jains 
were  fighting  for  the  use  of  the  five  big  drums 
and  the  Kalasa,  a  privilege  usually  exercised  by  the 
right-hand  castes,  when  in  the  same  year  the  then 
king  of  Mysore,  Vira  Bukka  Raya,  effected  a  com- 
promise between  the  Jains  and  the  Brahmans,  and 
ever  since  that  time  the  Jains  have  been  admitted  as 
belonging  to  the  right-hand  party. 

To  summarise:  the  distinction  into  right-hand  and 
left-hand  castes,  now  mamtained  by  the  agricultural 
classes  on  the  one  side  and  by  the  artizans  on  the  other, 
originated  in  the  Chola  country  about  1010  A.  D.,  the 
cause  which  led  to  it  being,(l)  the  enmity  that  had  exis- 
ted between  the  Cholas  and  the  neighbouring  kings,(2) 
the  aspirations  of  certain  low  castes  to  attain  a  higher 
social  status,  stimulated  by  the  newly  inculcated  anti- 
Brahmanical  doctrines  of  Basava,  and  (3)  the  struggle 
between  the  Jaina  and  the  Hindu  religions  for  exis- 
tence in  the  Pallava  and  the  Kadamba  countries.  Or, 
to  put  it  more  briefly,  this  faction  dispute  is  the  out- 
come of  the  political,  social  and  religious  jealousies 
amongst  the  Hindus  of  South  India  during  the 
eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries  of  the  Christian 
era. 


VI 

THE  TAMIL  ALPHABET 

In  that  classic  of  Tamil  literature — the  Kiiral — Tiru- 
valluvar  describes  "  Numbers"  and  "  writing"  as  the 
two  eyes  of  humanity. 

SoemQemr&sru  euiTQ^  QpiiSlir<i(^, — Klir. 

So  high  was  the  importance  attached  to  these  two 
"  Rs."  hi  Tamil  '  ezhuttu'  includes  letters  as  well  as 
picture,  and  as  a  mark  of  distinction  writing  or 
alphabetic  letters  have  been  called  semQssmQp^^  or 
signs  for  the  eye.  It  is  also  called  Qii®iis6ms(^  or  the 
*  long  account'  in  contra-distinction  to  numbers,  ctsot 
or  ssms(^.  Kanakhi  is  a  vague  term  meaning  account, 
letters  or  knowledge,  as  in  '  Samaya-kanakkan',  a 
thelogian. 

Pavanandi,  the  popular  grammarian  of  the  thirteenth 
century  treats  the  subject  of  Tamil  letters  or  ortho- 
graphy under  twelve-heads,  namely, — number, 
name,  order,  origin,  form,  quantity,  initial,  middle 
and  final  letters  (in  words),  similarity  in  sound, 
8 


114  TAMIL   STUDIES 

wordbuilding    and    combination,  i     Including    his 
famous  Nannul  there  are  about  half.a-dozen  authori- 
tative treatises  on  grammar  which  were  written  at  dif- 
ferent times  ;  but  in  every  one  of  these  the  history  of 
the  Tamil  alphabet  has  been  studiedly  avoided.     The 
fact  seems  to  be  that  the  native    grammarians    knew 
little  of  it,  and  their  ignorance    has  led  some  of    their 
commentators  to  bungle  as  regards  certain  points   of 
historical  import.     It  is  therefore  proposed  to  deal  at 
the  outset  with  the  historical  side  of  the  Tamil  alphabet 
at   some   length,    touching  very  briefly  on    the  other 
points  connected  therewith  in  the  concluding  part  of 
the  present  essay. 

The  Tamil  alphabet  now  in    use   is    not    what    it 
was  a  thousand  years  ago.     Its  form  appears  to  have 
undergone    changes  from    century  to     century  until 
•about    the  fourteenth,    when  it  reached     the    present 
stereotyped    condition.     There    were,    however,  two 
different  kinds  of  writing  in  use  in  the  Tamil  country 
— the  one  introduced  by  the  Brahmans  and  the  other 
indigenous  to  the  Tamil  race.     The  former  is  known 
as  the  Grantha-Tamil  alphabet,  and  it  was  the  parent 
stock  from  which  some  of  the  modern  Tamil  charac- 
ters have  sprung,    while  the  latter  is  called    by  pal?e- 
ographists    as   the  Vatteluttu    or   the    Chera-Pandya 
alphabet.     The  Tamil  districts  including;  Malabar  and 
Travancore  abound  in  inscriptions  of  both    varieties, 

1.  The  classification  of  letters  by  some  early  Tamil  Scholars 
into  (1)  graphic  (c-tifoj),  (2)  Nominal  (Quiuf),  (3)  phonetic  (9«^)  and 
i\)  conceptual  (tyi^ei)  seems  to  rne  unpsychological. 


THE   TAMIL   ALPHABET  115 

Very  recently  writings  in  the  Asoka  or  Brahmi  cha- 
racters also  have  been  discovered  in  the  districts  of 
Madura  and  Tinnevelly. 

But  the  introduction  of  all  these  did  not  take  place 
at  one  and  the  same  period.  The  Vatteluttu  or  the 
original  Tamil  alphabet  was  supplanted  by  the  Gran- 
tha-Tamil  or  the  modern  Tamil  characters  in  the 
Tamil  kingdoms  at  different  periods,  which  were  per- 
haps conterminous  with  the  migration  and  settlement 
of  the  Brahmans  in  these  countries.  In  the  Pallava 
province  (Tondaimandalam),  where  they  settled  first 
before  proceeding  to  the  southern  districts,  the 
Pallava  characters — an  off-shoot  of  the  Brahmi  or 
the  North  Indian  script — were  in  use  prior  to  A.  D. 
650.  We  have  no  documentary  evidence  to  prove  at 
what  period  the  Vatteluttu  was  in  use  there.  The 
earliest  Chola  inscriptions  belong  only  to  the  tenth 
century,  and  all  of  them  are  in  the  Grantha- Tamil 
characters,  which  appear  to  be  a  later  development 
of  the  Pallava-Tamil  used  in  the  Kuram  and  Kasakudi 
copper-plates  of  the  seventh  and  eighth  centuries. 
Occasionally,  Vatteluttu  inscriptions  may  alSo  be  met 
with  in  the  Chola  country,  but  most  of  these  belong 
to  the  Pandya  kings.  It  is  not  therefore  possible  in 
the  absence  of  the  earlier  Chola  records  to  state  when 
the  Vatteluttu  was  ousted  by  the  Grantha-Tamil 
characters  in  the  Tanjore  District.  In  the  Pandya 
country,  on  the  other  hand,  we  have  inscriptions 
in  both  scripts  going  up  to  the  eighth  century  A.,D., 
and  from  these  it  will  appear  that    Vatteluttu  came 


116  TAMIL   STUDIES 

nto  desuetude  sometime  after  the  conquest  of 
that  country  by  the  Choia  king  Parantaka  I  during 
the  first  quarter  of  the  tenth  century.  In  Travancore 
and  Malabar  the  Vatteluttu  survived  some  centuries 
longer. 

The  two  main  questions  u'e  have  now  to  consider 
in  connection  with  the  earlier  Tamil  alphabet  or 
Vatteluttu  are, — (1)  the  date  of  its  introduction  into 
the  Tamil  country;  and  (2)  whether  it  was  borrowed 
by  the  Tamils  direct  from  the  north-western  Semi- 
tics,  or  was  only  an  earlier  modification  of  the  Asoka 
or  Brahmi  characters  as  some  scholars  seem  to  think. 

The  earliest  Vatteluttu  inscriptions  known  to  us  be- 
long to  the  eighth  century  A.  D.  and  do  not  go  fur- 
ther back  ;  and  the  earliest  description  of  that  alpha- 
bet is  what  we  find  in  the  grammar  of  Tolkapyar. 
It  is  said  that  Agastya  was  the  first  Tamil  gramma- 
rian ;  but  we  know  nothing  about  his  date  or  the 
existence  of  his  grammar,  except  that  Tolkapyar  was 
his  student,  even  which  seems  extremely  questiona- 
ble. The  date  of  the  introduction  of  the  Vetteluttu 
alphabet  cannot  for  the  present  be  carried  earlier 
than  the  age  of  Tolkapyar.  In  his  monograph  '  On 
the  Aindra  School  of  Sanskrit  Grammarians ',  Dr, 
Burnell  assigns  the  eighth  century  A.D.  as  the  proba. 
ble  date  of  Tolkapyar,  assuming  that  there  was  no 
Tamil  literature  before  that  period  and  that  Tolka- 
pyar professed  Jainism  or  Buddhism,  the  predomi- 
nant religions  at  the  time,  according  to  this  writer^ 
in  Southern  India.     Both    these  premises   have  since 


THE   TAMIL  ALPHABET  117 

been  proved  to  be  false.  Tolkapyar  was  a  Brahman 
Rishi  and  belonged  to  the  Jamadagni  tribe  ;  and  the 
contemporary  scholar,  Athangottasan  who  passed 
his  work  at  the  royal  court  of  the  Pandya  king  was 
also  a  Brahman  deeply  versed  in  the  four  Vedas. 

In  the  Colophon  to  the  Tolkapyam  the  author  says 
that  he  has  mastered  the  Sanskrit  grammar  of  Indra. 

When  the  epoch-making  work  of  Panini  had  long 
been  considered  the  highest  authority  on  the  sub- 
ject in  Sanskrit,  why  Tolkapyar  should  study  and 
follow  Indra's  work  in  his  grammar  of  the  Tamil 
language  is  inexplicable,  unless  it  be  that  Panini  was 
not  known  to  the  Southern  Hindus  of  Tolkapyar's 
time.  One  of  the  sixty-four  predecessors  quoted  by 
Panini  in  the  field  of  grammatical  science  was  Indra, 
and  he  should  therefore  have  flourished  before  him. 
Thus,  Tolkapyar  must  have  lived  anterior  to  .B.C.  350 
which  is  the  date  assigned  to  Panini  by  the  best 
authorities. 

Again,  it  will  be  seen  from  the  following  sutras 
that,  at  the  time  of  Tolkapyar,  there  were  in  use 
some  Tamil  words  in  the  middle  of  which  letter 
combinations  like  {eouu)  lya,  {&tiij)  lya,  (@«ij)  jnya,  (iBtn) 
nya,  {ldiu)  mya,  {<suuu)  vya  and  [imsu)  mva,  could  occur, 

&)sn oosn(cir  Qpssresiir  ujoysj/i  Q ^n&srgviJo.  J,  24. 

iLSooSireafl p pm  QunLQupmQp.  I,  27. 
LDoosiresr  Lj&reffl  Qp&saieue^is  Q^tnssrjinu),   I,  28. 


1-18  TAMIL  STUDIES 

Commenting  on  these  sidras  Nacchinarkiniyar  writes 
thus, — ^ikiEiesTLD  ^SiflujiT    (^p^rrisi    Qs^iL^sSm   j^ssireo^^ 

Not  a  single  word  of  the  kind  referred  to  in 
the  sutras  is  to  be  found  in  the  whole  range  of 
the  existing  Tamil  literature.  The  earliest  work 
of  any  magnitude — that  is  the  Kural  of  TiruvaL 
luvar — goes  back  to  the  first  century  A.D.,  and  the 
period  when  such  words  w^ere  current  should  have 
been  at  least  three  or  four  centuries  before  the  age  of 
that  work.  For  these  reasons,  it  would  not  be  too 
much  to  suppose  that  Tolkapyar  flourished  before 
B.C.  350,  that  is  five  centuries  earlier  than  Apollonius, 
the  Stoic  philosopher  and  the  first  grammarian  of 
the  Latin  language.  A  fortiori  Tolkapyar's  teacher 
and  first  Tamil  grammarian  and  divine  rishi,  Agastya 
must  have  lived  before  the  fourth  century  B.  C. 
When  these  two  In  do- Aryan  scholars  began  to  write 
their  grammars,  Tamil  had  already  become  a  written 
language. 

It  is  said  by  Prof.  Macdonell  of  Oxford  that  the 
Katantra  of  Sarvavarman,  the  famous  minister  of  the 
Andhra  king  Satavahana,  served  as  a  model  for  the 
native  grammar  of  the  Dravidians.  As  this  is  a  work 
of  the  second  century  A.D.,  Tolkapyar  could  not  have 

1.  This  view  las,  however,  been  questioned  by  the  authors  of 
Q^fejsiuiSiui:  (s^^!r(^(54^  and  ^jt reSi—uiSirsfrSerisloWowing  the  Com- 
mentaries of^sTiAyir  sozr/f    and  G*®a(SB>/riu/r.     But   we  are  inclined    te 

follow  B^Sif^rsQafiinir, 


THE  TAMIL  ALPHABET  119 

followed  it,  and  if  he  had  done  so  he  would  have 
plainly  said  sn^i^iriBesipiB^  instead  of  ^i^aSisapih^^ 
It  is,  however,  believed  by  Tamil  scholars  that 
Sarvavarman's  work  was  imitated  by  Buddha-Mitra 
(A.D  1075)  in  his  Virasoliyam.  And  the  difference 
in  the  treatment  of  the  subject  adopted  by  the  authors 
of  Tolkapyam  and  Virasoliyam,  appears  to  favour 
the  view  that  Katantra  was  not  imitated  in  the  former 
work. 

Thus  then  the  introduction  of  the  Vatteluttu 
alphabet  must  have  taken  place  long  before  the  fourth 
or  fiftlj  century  B.  C,  and  this  approximates  the 
earliest  date  assigned  by  European  scholars  to  the 
introduction  of  writing  in  India,  which  was  the 
seventh  or  eighth  century  before  the  Christian  era. 

As     to    who    first    brought  the  alphabet  from  the 
western    Semitics — whether  the  Southern  Dravidians 
or  the  Northern  Aryans — it  is  not  quite  easy  to  settle* 
On     this    point    western     scholars     hold    contrary 
opinions,  Dr.  Rhys   Davids,  the  learned    Bhuddhist 
scholar,  thinks  *  that  all  the  present  available  evidence 
tends  to  show  that  ihe  Indian  alphabet  is  not  Aryan  at 
all  ;  that   it  was  introduced  into  India  by  Dravidian 
(Tamil)  merchants  in  the  eighth  or  seventh  century'. 
And  the    same    writer  goes  on  to  say  that  'after  the 
merchants  brought  the    script  to    India,  it  gradually 
became  e<ilarged  and  adapted  to  the   special  require- 
ments of  the  Indian  learned  and    colloquial  dialects.' 
This  is  also  the  view  taken  by  that  pioneer  orientalist 
and    antiquary,  Mr.  E.  Thomas.     Dr.  Burnell   seems 


120  TAMIL  STUDIES 

to  think  that  Vattehittu  had  an  independent  source 
and  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  Brahmi  alphabet  of 
Northern  India.  This  alphabet,  he  says,  'was  formed 
and  settled'  before  the  Indo-Aryan  grammarians  of 
the  Tamil  language  came  to  Southern  India. 

In  opposition  to  this  view  Drs.  Caldwell,  Buhler 
and  Grierson  maintain  (and  on  insutficent  ground 
as  will  be  shown  later  on)  that  the  Vatteluttu 
alphabet  was  borrowed  or  rather  adapted  from 
the  Brahmi  or  Asoka  alphabet  of  Upper  India. 
'The  older  Mauryan  alphabet',  says  Dr,  Buhler, 
'was  used  over  the  whole  of  India.'  He  says 
further  'from  a  palaeographical  point  of  view, 
the  Vatteluttu  may  be  described  as  a  cursive 
script  which  bears  the  same  relation  to  the  Tamil 
as  the  modern  alphabets  of  the  clerks  and  merchants 
to  their  originals  ...  Perhaps  it  may  be  assumed  that 
the  "  round  hand  ''  arose  already  before  the  seventh 
century,  but  was  modified  in  the  course  of  time  by 
the  further  development  of  the  Tamil  and  the 
Grantha  scripts.  Owing  to  the  small  number  of  the 
accessible  inscriptions,  this  conjecture  is,  however, 
by  no  means  certain.'  Dr.  Caldwell  asserts  '  that 
the  Tamil  characters  were  borrowed  from  the  earliest 
Sanskrit,  and  the  language  of  the  Tamilians  was 
committed  to  writing  on  or  soon  after  the  arrival  of 
the  first  colony  of  Brahmans.'  He  even  goes  to  the 
length  of  confirming  this  hypothesis  by  saying 
that  the  '  oldest  known  Dravidian  alphabet  (he  means 
the  Vatteluttu)    makes    no    difference    between    long 


THE   TAMIL   ALPHABET  121 

and  short  e,  srand  o,  9  which  is  one  of  the  arguments 
that  may  be  adduced  in  favour  of  the  theory  of  the 
derivation  of  that  alphabet  from  the  Sanskritic 
alphabet  of  Asoka.'  All  these  are  mere  theories.  So 
far  as  we  are  aware,  neither  Dr.  Caldwell,  nor  Dr. 
Buhler,  nor  even  Dr.  Grierson  has  disproved  the 
other  hypothesis  by  any  crucial   instances. 

In  support  of  the  theory  advocated  by  Mr.  E. 
Thomas,  Drs.  Rhys  Davids  and  Burnell — on  whose 
side  the  balance  of  authority  seems  to  rest — that  the 
Tamilians  had  introduced  the  Vatteluttu  and  deve- 
loped it  independently  of  the  Asoka  or  the  Brahmi 
alphabet,  the  following  arguments  may  be  adduced : — 

It  has  been  shown  in  a  previous  essay  that  the 
Tamil  people  or  rather  the  early  Dravidians  were  a 
civiized  race  allied  to  the  ^ancient  Accadians,  with 
whom  they  lived  in  Babylonia  and  Assyria  before 
their  migration  to  Hindustan.  They  were  acquaint- 
ed with  the  Phoenicians  and  Egyptians  as  early  as 
the  14th  jr  15th  century  B.  C.  It  would,  therefore, 
be  highly  probable  that  these  early  Dravidians  might 
have  brought  with  them  the  alphabet  when  they 
migrated  to  India.  And  it  is  also  probable  that  the 
Indo-Aryans  borrowed  it  from  their  Dra vidian 
neighbours. 

Long  before  the  settlement  of  the  Aryans  in 
South  India,  the  Tamils  had  commercial  inter- 
course with  the  Egyptians  and  oiher  Western  nations, 
as  will  be  inferred  from  the  existence  of  Tamil 
words  like  ^o^m  (peacock)  and  agil  (a  fragrant  wood) 


132  TAMIL  STUDIES 

in  the  Hebrew  Bible,  and  arisi  (rice)  in  Greek.  Like 
the  Banyas  or  the  Aryan  merchant  caste  of  Upper 
India,  the  Tamils  had  no  caste  scruples  prohibiting 
them  from  sea-voyage.  In  fact,  among  the  Dravi- 
dians  of  the  remote  past  there  was  no  caste  system^ 
and  they  were  expert  seamen. 

Although  the  Tamilians  owed  their  grammar  to 
Agastya  and  to  Tolkapyar,  it  should  not  be  inferred 
that  they  were  indebted  to  them  for  the  art  of  writing 
also.  The  existence  of  pure  Tamil  words  like  ezliuttii 
(letters),  siwadi  (book)  &c,  before  they  came  to  the 
south  disproves  the  theory  that  Agastya  brought  the 
alphabet  with  him  from  Upper  India.  The  gratuitous 
assertion  of  Dr.  Caldwell  that  '  the  language  of  the 
Tamilians  was  committed  to  writing  on  or  soon  after 
the  arrival  of  the  first  colony  of  Brahmans',  therefore,, 

falls  to  the  ground. 

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

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


THE   TAMIL   ALPHABET 


123 


carefully  distinguished  from  that  of  ni,  ld  (Vatteluttu  ^  ) 
which  received  an  inner  dot.  Here  the  right  hand 
tail  of  u  was  joined  in  later  times  with  the  inner  dot, 
which  was  quite  natural  in  cursive  writing  on  palm 
leaves  with  an  iron  stylus,  as  Nacchinarkiniyar  has 
rightly  observed — lls!TiJd  ■s^ilQugn  i^en-efflssuju  laSsrr^^  '^Q^^ 
(ev)iT.  In  the  Brahmi,  Asoka  or  Mauryan  alphabet  u 
and  LD  were  written  as  b  and  )6.  There  was  a  letter  in  the 
Asoka  script  which  in  form  approached  the  Vatteluttu 
LD,  but  that  was  ph.  and  not  in.  It  will  thus  be  seen 
that  there  is  not  the  least  resemblance  between  the 
Vatteluttu  and  the  Asoka  p  and  ;;;,  nor  can  we 
perceive  any  appreciable  similarity  in  the  other  letters 
of  both  alphabets  except  in  the  case  of  k,  p,  r,  I,  t, 
and  cli,  which  may  after  all  be  only  accidental,  both 
being  borrowed  from  the  same  Semitic  source,  as 
will  be  seen  from  the  comparative  table  of  the 
ancient  alphabets  given  below  :  — 


English 

k 

P 

r    1     1 

t 
c 

ch 

th 

Asoka 

+ 

b 

1 

•i 

d 

- 

Vatteluttu 

?■ 

z> 

1 

<o 

o 

s- 

O 

Phoenician 

-7 

^ 

n 

S 

- 

O 

Hebrew 

1 

' 

1 

^ 

- 

- 

.    - 

Arabic 

- 

■ 

f  . 

J 

C/ 

- 

- 

Tamil 

a 

u 

a 

eo 

i_ 

•f 

^ 

124  TAMIL   STUDIES 

If  Tamil  borrowed  and  developed  its  alpha- 
bet from  Brahmi  of  North  India  like  the  other 
cultivated  languages  of  the  Dravidian  family,  it 
should  have  taken  place  before  its  grammar  was 
written.  And  in  that  case,  the  tendency  should 
have  shown  itself  in  an  efficient  and  complete 
alphabetic  system  as  in  the  sister  languages, 
Telugu  and  Kanarese-  On  the  other  hand,  the 
simplicity  of  the  alphabetic  and  the  deficiency  of 
its  phonetic  systems,  and  their  stationary  charac- 
ter for  nearly  2,000  years  point  to  a  different 
source  for  its  origin.  We  are  glad  to  observe 
that  this  is  also  the  view  taken  by  Mr.  R.  Sewell,  I.C.S. 
He  writes  thus  :  '  The  meagre  character  and 
simple  forms  of  the  Tamil  alphabets  almost  certainly 
derived  from  a  Semitic  source,  perhaps,  Araroic  or 
Himayaritic,  point  to  its  having  been  adopted  and 
having  become  fixed  before  the  Kharoshti  was  known'. 

Among  the  Dravidian  races  of  South  India  the 
Tamils  alone  made  use  of  the  Vatteluttu  alphabet  from 
time  immemorial,  whilst  their  Telugu  and  Kanarese 
neighbours  have,  so  far  as  epigraphical  researches  re- 
veal, been  using  some  alphabet  or  other  which  had 
its  origin  from  the  Brahmi  of  Upper  India.  The  prin- 
ciple of  adding  a  dot  for  consonants  is  peculiar  only 
to  Tamil,  and  is  found  in  no  other  alphabetic  systems 
adopted  from  Brahmi.  It  is  possible  that  the  Tamils 
might  have  borrowed  it  from  the  Semitics  of  Western 
Asia  and  used  it  for  consonants  instead  of  for  vowel 
signs,  as  in  the  Hebrew  and  other  Semitic  alphabets. 


THE   TAMIL  ALPHABET  125 

The  vast  difference  that  exists  between  Tamil  and 
the  Aryan  languages  in  their  vocabulary,  between  the 
Tamils  and  the  Indo-Aryans,  the  contempt  which  the 
one  had  for  the  other,  and  the  great  antiquity  and  the 
divine  origin  which  the  Tamils  claim  for  their  *  sweet' 
language  and  its  grammar — all  these  seem  to  favour  the 
indigenous  origin  of  the  Tamil  Vatteluttu  alphabet. 

The  latest  epigraphical  researches  have  brought  to 
light  the  existence  in  the  Pandya  country  of  tht 
Brahmi  or  Asoka  inscriotions,  Rai  Bahadur  V.  Ven- 
kayya,  Epigraphist  to  the  Government  of  India,  be- 
lieves that  this  discovery  '  in  the  Madura  and  Tinne- 
veliy  districts  proves  beyond  doubt  that  the  Mauryan 
alphabet  was  in  use  all  over  India',  and  that  this 
seems  to  him  '  to  militate  against  the  theory  of  the 
indigenous  origin  '  of  the  Vatteluttu  alphabet.  We 
do  not  for  a  moment  question  Dr.  Buhler's  state- 
ment '  that  the  older  Mauryan  alphabet  was  used  over 
the  whole  of  India';  but  it  is  extremely  doubtful 
whether  this  alphabet  was  used  in  the  Tamil  country 
by  the  literates  of  all  castes  and  creeds — Buddhists, 
Jains,  Hindus  and  Animists  alike.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  we  know  that  the  English  alphabet  is  at  present 
in  use  from  the  Himalayas  to  Cape  Comorin  among 
the  educated  classes,  and  even  English  inscriptions 
are  found  almost  everywhere  in  India.  And  yet, 
do  we  not  see  side  by  side  with  it  scores  of  Indian 
alphabets?  The  ubiquity  of  an  alien  alphabet  in  a 
particular  country  cannot,  therefore,  be  a  proof  for 
the  non-existence  of  other  alphabetic   systems  and  of 


126  TAMIL  STUDIES 

its  necessity  for  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  that 
soil. 

History  informs  us  that  Emperor  Asoka  sent  Bud- 
dhist Missionaries  to  the  three  Tamil  countries  about 
B.C.  250,  and  there  is  very  little  evidence  to  show 
that  there  were  Buddhists  in  these  lands  prior  to 
that  date.  The  Brahmi  inscriptions  alluded  to  above 
are  believed  to  belong  to  the  Asoka  or  post- Asoka 
•period.  It  has  been  shown  above  that  Tolkapyar 
flourished  anterior  to  B.  C.  350,  that  is,  at  least  a 
century  before  Asoka.  As  it  has  been  proved  that 
the  description  of  the  alphabet  given  by  Tolkapyar 
in  his  grammar  is  applicable  only  to  the  Vatteluttu 
characters,  but  not  to  the  Brahmi  or  Asoka 
alphabet,  it  is  evident  beyond  any  shadow  of  doubt 
that  Vatteluttu  alone  was  in  use  among  the  Tamils 
before  the  introduction  ot  Buddhism  in  their  country. 
The  Brahmi  was  evidently  used  only  by  the  Buddhist 
monks  and  missionaries,  and  perhaps  by  Brahmans 
also.  This  theory  should  hold  its  own  against  any 
others,  until  it  could  be  established  from  inscriptional 
sources,  that  the  Brahmi  alphabet  was  universally  used 
by  all  classes  in  the  Tamil  country  before  the  days  of 
Tolkapyar  (B.C.  350). 

The  mere  fact  that  the  Brahmi  alphabet  was  in  use 
all  over  India  proves  nothing  concerning  the  origin  of 
Vatteluttu,  any  more  than  the  use  of  the  English  alpha- 
bet regarding  the  source  of  the  Indian  alphabets. 
The  Moplahs  of  the  West  Coast  use  the  Vatteluttu 
;(Koleluttu)    characters    to    this  very  day,    while    the 


THE   TAMIL   ALPHABET  127 

Hindus  there  gave  it    up  three  or  four    centuries  ago. 
That  is  to  say,  the  VatteUittu  and  the  Grantha-Malaya- 
1am  alphabets  have  been  in  existence  side  by  side   for 
at  least  the  last  three  or  four   centuries  in  a  particular 
part  of  the  ancient  Tamil  land,  the  former  being  used 
by  the  pure  Tamilians  (Malayalis)  and    the    latter   by 
the  Aryanized  Dravidians.     Again,  we  observe  in  the 
Vatteluttu  copper  plate  grants  of  Jatila  Varman,  Ravi 
Varman,  Sri  Valiuvan  Kodai  and  others,  that  Grantha 
characters  were  used  freely  to  express  pure  Sanskrit 
words  and  Vatteluttu  for  the  Tamil  ones.  All  the  South 
Indian  alphabets,  not  excepting  the  modern  Grantha- 
Tamil,  may    be    traced     to    the      B  rah  mi    script    of 
Upper    hidia.     Had    Vatteluttu    been  borrowed    and 
developed    from  the    Brahmi,    like    the  Grantha  and 
other  alphabets  of    India   from    the    earliest    times,  it 
would  be    difficult  to  account   for  the    Tamils  alone 
using    both  the   characters   simultaneously    in    their 
inscriptions.     This  anamoly  is  nowliere  to  be    found 
outside  the   Tamil  country.     And  this  one  fact,  com. 
bined  with  the  other  considerations   set  forth    in    the 
previous  paragraphs,  must  lead  one  to  conclude   that 
Vatteluttu  had  an    indigenous  origin,   and    that   the 
Brahmi  characters    might  have    been  understood  and 
even  largely  used  by    the    Brahmans,  Buddhists   and 
Jains,  while  the    rest  of    the  people  in    rhe  Chera  and 
Pandya  countries  marie  use  of  the  Vatteluttu  alphabet 
And,  notwithstanding     the    divergence    of    opinion 
among  high  authorities,  the  above  arguments  compel 
us  to     accept  the   theory  that    the    Tamil    alphabet 


128  TAMIL   STUDIES 

(Vatteluttu)  was  not  borrowed  from  the  Brahmi  or  any 
other  Upper  Indian  alphabet,  but  had  been  introduced 
directly  from  Western  Asia  by  Tamil  merchants, 
during  the  eighth  or  seventh  century  B.C.,  who  deve- 
loped it  independently  of  the  northern  alphabets  until 
it  was  partially  supplanted  by  the  Grantha  charac- 
ters in  or  about  the  tenth  century. 

But  for  the  mighty  influence  of  the  Aryan  Brah- 
mans,  such  an  ancient  and  original  alphabet  might 
have  survived  among  the  Tamils  as  amongst  the 
Musalman  Moplahs  of  Malabar.  Before  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  Grantha-Tamil  characters,  the  influx  of 
Sanskrit  words  in  the  Tamil  language  was  extremely 
limited  ;  and  even  those  words  appeared  in  the  Tamil 
garb  or  in  the  form  of  tadbhavas.  Thus,  we  find  in 
the  Tirtivoymoli  of  Nammalvar  tamilized  Sanskrit 
words  like  ujbursiruesTy  ^/j^^treir,  ^q^is^^s^Sw ,  sSiSIq^^lo^ 
^ffrTss^&nr,  isSi^LDiMj  s^eeWy  ld^s^it,  &LLL-&STy  ^.(i^^^iiT&sr,  &c.- 
But  with  the  large  influx  of  Sanskrit  words  and 
phrases — tadbhavas  and  tatsamas — in  consequence 
of  the  importation  of  the  Aryan  religion  and  philoso- 
phy among  the  Tamils,  the  introduction  of  the 
Grantha-Tamil  characters  in  the  Pandya  and  Kerala 
countries  became  a  matter  of  necessity.  And  new 
rules  for  tlie  adoption  and  nataralisation  of  Sanskrit 
words  in  Tamil,  not  given  by  Tolkapyar,  v;ere  added 
in  the  grammars  of  Buddha  Mitra  and  Pavanandi,. 
the  former  of  whom  flourished  in  the  eleventh  and 
the  latter  at  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century. 

Of  the   thirty-one  Tamil   letters  of   the   Grantha- 


THE   TAMIL   ALPHABET  129 

Tamil  alphabet,  the  consonants  em, ^,15  and  lu  only  ap- 
pear to  have  been  adopted  or  borrowed  from  the 
Pallava  characters,  the  rest  being  moditied  survivals 
of  the  defunct  Vatteluttu.  In  the  Yanaimalai  ins- 
criptions of  the  Pandya  king  Jatavarman  (A.  D.  770), 
we  find  some  of  the  Pallava-Grantha  characters 
mixed  up  with  the  Vatteluttu.  For  example,  in  the 
Tamil  word  Loirpm  the  Vatteluttu  imit,  m,  is  used,  and 
in  the  Sanskrit  word  wk^iB  the  Pallava  or  the  Brahmi 
^  ;  and  the  y,  uj  of  the  earlier  Vatteluttu  appears 
like  the  Telugu  «>,  while  in  the  Museum  plates  of 
Jatavarman  like  the  modern  tripartite  letter  uj,  r^. 
Minor  differences  in  the  forms  of  the  Vatteluttu 
themselves  may  be  noticeable  in  inscriptions  from 
different  quarters. 

The  tacking  of  vowel  signs  to  the  consonants 
was  regular  in  Vatteluttu,  but  not  so  in  the  Grantha- 
Tamil  which  is  doubtless  due  to  the  mixture  of  the 
two  alphabets.  The  vowel-consonants  of  Grantha- 
Tamil  are  exactly  after  the  formation  of  the  Nagari 
characters,  excepting  that  most  of  the  vowel  signs, 
as  for  ^,  <ST,  <5j,  S,  9,  55  and  f^en-  stand  detached  from 
the  Tamil  consonants.  This  may  be  made  intelligi- 
ble by  commenting  on  the  following  note  of 
Nacchinarkiniyar  ; — 

QupgUih  QanCSl   QupguiJo  i^msffl    Qup^ih    Lji^brftu^iEi    Qs!t®iJd 

Quppmr.  (5,  <si_  (ip^s^aj<oBT  Q !^!sSle^iEj(^  QuppesT.  Qs,  Qs 
Qp^&Sujesr  QsrrQ  Quppesr.  sit,  isiti  (Lp^(S^ujicST  L\&r<siB  Quppesr. 


130  TAMIL    STUDIKS 

LDSIILD  &.LLQugil   L^SasiBsGitJU    Qj'^eTT^^  STQ^0^:T.  QaiTjQarr^  QlSllTy 

Qiwrr  Qp^s\9tassr  Ljsirsfffi^ii  Q.sa'S^-^i^mQuppsm. — 'Tol-  I.,  17. 
Here,  <oSlsow(^  means  a  curve,  Qm®  is  a  loop  or  curl, 
L/sffafl  is  a  dot,  and  saec  is  a  vertical  stroke.  Thus  in  @ 
the  consonant  i  has  received  the  upper  curve  and 
in  o  a  nether  one.  The  letter  Qs  is  formed  by  pre- 
fixing a  loop  or  coil  to  it.  In  the  early  stage  the  loop 
which  was  only  the  first  half  of  the  vowel  ot  was  at- 
tached to  the  consonant,  though  now  separated  from  it. 
The  case  of  Qsa  and  «»«  is  peculiar, and  it  clearly  proves 
that  the  Grantha-Tamil  system  of  forming  vowel-con- 
sonant has  been  adopted  instead  of  the  old  Vatteluttu 
system.  The  letter  Qsa  is  formed  by  the  addition  of  a 
]oop  and  a  vertical  stroke  (originally  the  sign  of  long 
.^),  the  one  preceding  and  the  other  succeeding  the 
consonant.  But  the  doiov  i-\^€ffl  was  never  used  for 
this  purpose,  either  in  the  Grantha-Tamil  or  in  the 
Vatteluttu  characters.  The  statement  of  Nacchinar- 
kiniyar  that  j^iq^Qs  Qlupp  L/»ffsr/?a»aj  ^dsireo^^rrir  siredirs 
eiQ^0(es)iT  seems,  therefore,  purely  unauthorized.  In 
the  Vatteluttu  the  stroke  was  horizontal,  and  it  always 
stood  for  a  long  vowel  ;  but  in  the  Grantha-Tamil  it 
is  vertical  and  does  not  always  indicate  a  long  vowel, 
except  in  the  case  of  =g.  The  long  vowel  ^  and  the 
vowel-consonants  (sw),  (y,  ''^nd  @  have  received  a 
nether  curve,  while  a  perpendicular  stroke  is  put  after 
the  other  consonants.  This  is  surely  un^yrametrical, 
though  not  more  anomalous  than  the  joining  of  such 
parts  of  a_  to   consonants  (as  in  o,  #,  and  ^)  as  fit  in 


THE  TAMIL   ALPHABET  131 

with  their  form.  All  these  afford  unimistakable  evi- 
dence for  the  mixed  character  of  the  modern  Grantha- 
Tamil  alphabet.  Long  aai  and  ^m  were  originally 
written  with  a  vertical  stroke  added  to  a.  and 
9  thus  &-],  s?]  which  in  the  course  of  a  few 
centuries  assumed  the  shape  of  a  «rr.  The  short  or 
the  long  s?  was  formerly  distinguished  by  means  of 
a  dot  over  it.  As  late  as  A.  D.  1740,  no  distmction 
was  made  between  the  short  and  long  vowel -co  nso. 
nantal  signs  of  ct  and  »?,  Q,  Q-fr.  Beschi  seems  to  have 
been  the  first  to  make  this  reform  by  rounding  the 
upper  end  of  the  loop  for  the  long  sound.  The  sign 
for  S  in  sa)s  is  a  double  loop  or  curl  as  in  the  Gran, 
tha  but  joined  together  in  later  Tamil  ;  and  the  two 
loops  were  originally  placed  sometimes  one  above 
the  other  and  sometimes  side  by  side.  The  letter 
r^iJu^iM  is  written  with  three  dots  like  the  English 
symbol  for  'therefore  '  and  it  is  neither  a  vowel  nor 
a  consonant. 

The  Vatteluttu  or  the  Tamil  archaic  alphabet  is  so 
called  on  account  of  its  round  or  circular  form  like 
the  modern  Telugu  alphabet,  while  its  modern 
development  has  assumed  the  angular  or,  as  some 
would  say,  square  shape.  This  angularity  was  due  to 
the  facility  in  writing  on  palm  leaves  with  an  iron 
stylus,  or  in  cutting  on  stones  or  copper  plates 
with  a  chisel.  Further,  the  left-hand  vertical  line  or 
stroke  which  goes  to  form  an  angle  with  the  top 
horizontal  stroke  in  letters  like  a,  <?,  ^,  m  and  j  is  a 
later  meaningless    addition    not    found  in   the  Tamil 


132  TAMIL   STUDIES 

inscription  prior  to  A.  D.  1050.  The  letters  /_,  u,  m^ 
iu,  a;  and  tp  had  no  angles  on  either  side,  because  each 
of  them  had  only  a  curve  at  the  bottom  like  c,  ^,'^ , 
(j;,  ID  and  £P.     In  the  Vatteluttu    the  vowel  s.,  z^   was 

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

So  much    for    the    form  of  Tamil  letters.     Let  us 
now  take   their    number,   order,  and    pronunciation. 
There  are  thirty-one  letters  ;  twelve  vowels    and  eigh- 
teen   consonants    and    one   semi-vowel.      Tolkapyar 
adds  to    these  the    shortened  @  and  s_  making  them 
thirty-three.     As  there   are   no  separate    signs  to  ex- 
press these  two  sounds,  the  number    of  Tamil  letters 
should    be    taken    as   onjy  thirty-one.     Of  the  twelve 
vowels,  =gy,  g),  a.,  ot,  9,  are  short  (@/zJ^)  and  ^,  it-,  sss, 
67   ge,  S  and  e^eir  are  long  (O/sif  a')  ;    strictly  speaking  S 
and  epsfT  are  not  long  vowels  but  only   diphthongs  or 
s^i^ajsarrio  ;  and  they  maybe  represented  by  =gy+@  or 
^  +  Lu  and  =gw  +  2-  or  +=gyia/.     The  letters  <=gy,  ^   and  ©. 
are  called  primary  vowels,  hence  they  are  placed  first 
with  their  cognate  long  sounds,   ct,  sj  and  S,  9,  ^  and 
e^efT  are  considered    in    Sanskrit    secondary  or   com- 
pound vowels  formed    by  the  union  of  ^  and  ^  and 
^  and  a-  respectively.     With  this  compare  the  exam- 
ple,      [BIT  +  ^iB^!iiok  =  fBQMii^!reisr  ;     i5[r  +  s^^^LDasr=i5Qa!T^ 
^inm.     It  Will  thus    be  seen  that  there    are   no    short 
CT  and  9  in  Sanskrit.    The   arrangement  of  Vowels  in 
Tamil  is,  therefore,  exactly   after  the  Sanskrit  model. 
There  are  eighteen    consonants  in   Tamil.     Of  these 


THE   TAMIL   ALPHABET  133 

s,  ■9=,  I—,  ^,  u  and  p  are  surds  ;  ra,  (Sj,  em,  (?,  ld  and  esr 
are  nasals  ;  and  (u,  a,  so,  en,  tg  and  an-  are  liquids. 
The  order  followed  in  their  arrangement  is  also  that 
of  Sanskrit.  To  shew  that  l^,  sir,  p  and  m  are  letters 
peculiar  to  Taiuil  they  are  placed  last. 

Quantity  or  LDiTaSl<ssyiT  is  different   from  pronuncia- 
tion ;  the  one  relates  to    music    in    poetry,  and   the 
other  to  the   enunciation    of    letters   and    words    in 
speech.     We  are  not,  therefore,  concerned  here  with 
j)jsfrQuss)u.,   prolation    or    the    increase    in    quantity, 
which    is    applicable     only     to     poetry.     However, 
among  Tamil  vowels  ^   and    e.    have    sometimes  a 
lesser  quantity  even  in  ordinary   speech.     Sivagnana 
Swami,  the  uncompromising  critic  of  ^^MssemeSlmssiM 
says,  the  shortened  ^  and  a.  are  indicated  by  a  dot  ; 
but  the  truth  of  his  statement  is   questionable.     The 
dot  was  never  used  either  in  the    Tamil    inscriptions 
or  in  the  ordinary  writing.  Now-a-days  a  dot  is  used 
in  Malayalam  to    denote    a    final    short  q_  which    in 
this  language  approacfies  a  sound    mid-way  between 
=gy  and  &-  as  in  6)QJcaicw   S  and  epsir  being  diphthongs, 
their  quantity  is   shortened  at  times,    the   first   in    all 
the  three  places    and  the   second  only  at    the    begin- 
ning   of    words.      But    this  does    not    satisfactorily 
account  for  their  existence.     The   semi-vowel    ^iL^ld 
gets   decreased  in    quantity    when    words    beginning 
with    ^    combine    with    words  ending  in    sd    and  ek. 
All  these  are  called  s^aaQuQg^^   or  dependant  letters 
as  the    changes    in    quantity    occur    only    in    words, 
but  never  in  isolated  letters  themselves 


134  TAMIL    STUDIES 

Coming  to  consonants,  we  find  the  Tamil  alphabet 
very  defective,  and  in  some  cases  redundant  also. 
Surds  coming  after  nasals  lose  their  hard  sounds  as- 
in  0^157(5,  ^®^»  (Sjeaw®^  sih^sih  and  Q.rLDL9iusar ;  and  in 
Malayalam  they  are  changed'  into  nasals  as  in  mainarr 
for  LDrrihsiTtL^  (3;^(^  for  ©igj^,  ^(^i^  for  ^Q^i^  and  so 
on.  Sometimes  <«  and  <?  even  when  not  preceded  by 
nasals  get  the  soft  sound  similar  to  the  Arabic 
gliayii  and  the  Sanskrit  (y^  as  in  Qs'(^^3,  and  u^^^ 
respectivel3^  Thu*  for  the  thirty-one  letters  w^e  have 
fifteen  vowel  and  twenty-five  consonant  sounds,  or 
forty  in  ali.  This  is  certainly  a  defect.  But  some 
might  say  that  when  the  alphabet  was  first  introduced, 
the  Tamil  language  had  only  thirty-one  sounds,  and 
that  the  remaining  nine  explained  above  crept  in 
during  later  times  owing  to  the  influence  of  the  Indo- 
Aryans-  This  may  be  accepted  as  partly  correct,  as 
we  find  to  this  day,  if  one  is  careful  enough  to  ob- 
serve, slight  variations  in  the  pronunciation  of  the 
Jaffna  Tamils  and  the  Tamil  Brahmans. 

The  letters  peculiar  to  Tamil  are  oo,  ip,  p  and  ear. 
The  sound  of  oo  is  midway  between  the  Arabic  ghayn 
and  the  Sanskrit  pm.  It  is  found  in  no  other 
Indian  or  European  languages,  and  it  seems  to 
suggest  some  connection  of  the  Tamil  race  with 
the  Semitic  or  Western  Asiatic  nations.  The  letter  tp 
is  equally  a  private  property  of  Tamil  and  a  terri- 
ble bugbear  for  Europeans  to  pronounce.  It  has 
been  variously  transliterated  in  some  of  the  European 
languages  by  Ij,  zj,  zh,  rl,  1,  zy,  &c. ;    Dr.  Pope's  rule 


THE   TAMIL   ALPHABET  135 

for  its  pronunciation  is  to  *  apply  the  tip  of  the 
tongue  as  far  back  as  you  can  to  the  palate  and  pro- 
nounce a  rou<^h  r  in  which  a  sound  of  2  will  mingle.' 
This  is  only  an  English  rendering  of  the  Nannul 
siUra^ — 

Even  the  Tamils  cannot  pronounce  this  letter 
correctly,  and  in  some  districts  they  substitute  srr,  lu, 
and  enj  for  it  or  omit  it  altogether.  In  Madras  uj  and 
ew  are  used  by  the  lower  classes,  while  in  Madura 
and  Tinnevelly  en-  is  preferred.  I  presume  that  it 
was  this  letter  which  frightened  Mr.  J.  C  Molony 
and  led  to  his  remark  on  the  Tamil  language,  which 
any  Tamilian  would  resent,  notwithstanding  his  in- 
direct compliment  to  the  people  that  speak  it.  '  Few 
would  call  Tamil  beautiful  ;  yet  its  great  harsh  words, 
that  one  can  almost  bite  as  they  pass  the  teeth,  the 
stubborn  inelasticities  of  its  construction,  suggest  a 
certain  doggedness  in  the  people  who  have  subdued 
such  an  untractable  organ  to  tlieir  daily  use.'  (C.R.p.7) 
The  letter  p  has  the  sound  of  a  rough  r  and  jb  p  that  of 
tr.  The  sounds  of  m  and  sot  are  almost  identical  and  it 
may  be  supposed  that  the  second  m  is  redundant.  But 
their  origin  shows  a  slight  variation  and  justifies  the 
necessity  for  the  existence  of  both,  because  /5  is  a 
dental  while  iot  is  a  palatal  letter. 

In  Tamil  no  distinction  is  made  between  an  accent, 
and  an  emphasis  or  intonation.  There  is  only  one 
word  in  the  Tamil  language  which  changes  its  mean- 
ing   by  the   accent  or    intonation,   that  is  ^q,    iapii^ 


136  TAMIL   STUDIES 

When  the  accent  falls  on  the  first  it  means  to  'die' 
and  if  it  falls  on  the  second  it  means  to  'kill'.  In- 
tonation is  of  three  kinds, — rising  tone  or  CT®^^si), 
falling  tone  or  u(Si^^&)  and  level  tone  or  is-sSl^eo,  Of 
these,  only  the  first  two  are  in  use.  In  fsu.  when  the 
accent  falls  on  i-,  that  is  when  it  is  uttered  in  a 
rising  tone,  it  denotes  a  command,  and  when  the 
accent  falls  on  «  or  pronounced  in  a  falling  tone  it 
becomes  a  simple  root.  In  phrases  and  sentences, 
emphasis  on  particular  words  alters  their  meanings. 
Thus,  the  phrase  ^/iS^BevT^sijek  may  mean  either  *a 
stupid  man'  or  *aman  as  intelligent  as  the  sun'. 

Concerning  the  origin  of  Tamil  letters  enough  has 
been  said  in  the  Tolkapyam  and  Nannul.  The 
Panniru-pattiyal  —  u^suflQ^ufTLLis^uj6\) — a  grammatical 
compilation,  assigns  a  divine  origin  to  all  the  letters 
except  o°o.  It  says  the  twelve  vowels  were  created  by 
Brahma  and  the  eighteen  consonants  by  Siva,  Vishnu, 
Muruga,  Indra,  the  Sun,  the  Moon,  Kubera,  Yama 
and  Varuna  at  the  rate  of  two  each.  This  is  a 
curious  piece  of  information  to  a  modern  philologist. 
It  shows  that  these  were  the  only  important  deities 
known  and  worshipped  by  the  Tamil  Hindus  of 
Poigaiyar's  time  i.  e.  about  A.  D.  500. 

In  Tamil  the  interchange  of  letters  which  have 
almost  similar  sounds  is  allowed.  This  is,  perhaps,  due 
to  wrong  pronunciation  and  defective  hearing.  It 
occurs  mostly  at  the  end  of  words,  sometimes  at 
the  beginning  and  middle  also.  These  letters  are, — 
cgy    for    S    as    in    ^amsk     for    j)jsa) [t ojisst  ;  ^    for  is    as 


THE   TAMIL   ALPHABET  137 

in  Q(^5SBr®  for  ^smd^  ^jsk  for  ,^jdr  ;  ^  for  ^  as  in 
lSIs^st  for  l3^^  ;  m  for  <5^  as  in  Qsojld  for  QiB.3=ua  ;  ssr, 
6\J  for  LD,  /f  and  err    as    in     .4<5\)^-a6AJ:ii,    ^pio-^ piJo,    uo^e^- 

Ln^m  &c.  The  Malayalam  languaj^e  wliich  may  be 
taken  as  a  highly  differentiated  dialect  of  Tamil 
affords  plenty  of  instances  of  this  sort  of  interchange 
in  letters,  technically  called  QufrsSI.  But  the  reader 
must  be  warned  against  confounding  it  with  the 
iingrammatical  or  vulgar  usages  pointed  out  by 
Buddha-Mitra  as  prevalent  in  different  parts  of  the 
Tamil  country  even  in  his  days  : —  /f/tsi/?  QsneiB 
^^6s(t  &-efrd(^  eun^Setr  ewsif^  GT.5srei\i£i,  eSii^ii^  ul^]ej(^  ^L^sms 
^L^ss)LD  ei€meijLD...S(^£leo^<9^/b/iSear  Q^^^^ff^  S&)it  eui^iEi(^£U!T. 
Q'Sjs^iFi'2ei>  Qp^&i£t  <s#'5ij)#  sresrisijLD^  i^prSiUiJoQuir^  srssrei^uD^ 
Lcjh/iSujuD  iS paap^aiBjSicSl p(irj>^  iiTsme^ih.  ..s^reSifluadjiBii  S&)^ 
^<f  &&)IT  QJL^'5J(^^IT.  Qf5S\)e^<isiT  SiSST p^  (cSiL^isa  S^p^ 
eresT^  uueorr^  U'TiLi^  £le\)^^,f  Se\}iT  qji^ieii^ouit.  mp^ih 
^Qi'2eaTLJUiTSs  ^iisrrss  jfjisisirasi  sresreijtx)^  ^uutsf.sQsn pp 
^ uUis^sQsrT p p    <si &5r iSi^LD y  Q-f^^Seaui     ^^^ssfr&i    (sresrei^iitf 

eulTSSiUUUlUUO   QsfT'dSQfii-LsSiU.    STSSTeijlMy     ^QlT   LdSiT     OTSSrai/LO,    iSp 

Vir.  p.  64. 

Rules  are  given  in  Tamil  grammar  books  to 
determine  what  'words  are  of  pure  Tamil  origin 
and  what  are  borrowed.  They  are  highly 
important  to  a  Dravidian  philologist.  There  are  247 
letters,  both  single  and  compound  ;  but  all  are 
not  used  in  the  building  up  of  Tamil  words.  Some 
letters  may   come  at    the     beginning,    while    some 


138  TAMIL   STUDIES 

others  at  the  end  of  words.  The  grammarian  l 
Tolkapyar  took  only  the  Tamil  words  and  framed 
his  rules  accordingly,  while  other  grammarians  have 
included  in  them  such  of  the  Sanskrit  words  as  have 
been  adopted  in  the  Tamil  vocabulary.  The  differen- 
ces between  the  Tamil  and  Sanskrit  words  will  be 
pointed  out  as  we  go  on. 

INITIAL  LETTERS  :  In  the  Tamil  language  there 
are  forty-two  one-letter  words,  and  they  are 
either  long  vowels  or  long  vowel-consonants. 
Short  vowels  cannot  form  single  letter  words 
except  with  consonants.  Among  words  of  two 
or  more  letters,  any  word  may  begin  with  any 
one  of  the  twelve  vowels  or  the  twelve  vowel- 
consonants  tf,  «,  /5,  u  and  LD.  The  letters  <?=,  s3j<?=  and 
O^sp- will  not  come  at  the  beginning  except  in  words 
of  Sanskrit  origin.  According  to  Tolkapyar  (ejt,  (J^ 
and  0@/r  may  commence  a  word  ;  but  to  this 
Bhavanandi  adds  (gj.  The  letters  etj,  g^,  Qisui  and  Qeutr 
are  not  allowed  at  the  beginning,  ujit  is  the  only  let- 
ter in  the  lu  series  that  can  come  at  the  commence- 
ment of    pure  Tamil    words.     The   first    three    short 

1.  Mr.  A.  H.  Keane  writes  about  Tolkapyar  as  follows: — 
'The  first  in  Tamil,  known  as  the  Tolkapyam,  dates  from  about  the 
eighth  century  of  our  era,  and  is,  perhaps,  thft  very  oldest  Tamil 
work  extant, ..The  Tolkapyam,  itself,  however,  is  rather  a  treatise 
on  grammar  composed  in  Tamil,  than  a  Tamil  grammar  in  the 
strict  sense  ;  and  though  not  written  in  Sanskrit  must  still  be  cov.- 
sidered  as  an  Aindra  work,  that  is  the  work  of  a  disciple  of  the 
Aindra  School  of  Sanskrit  grammarians'.  This  is  clearly  derived 
from  a  wrong  source. 


THE   TAMIL   ALPHABET  139 

vowels  jij,  @  and  ?>-  are  called  */-lQi_(^^^  or  demon- 
strative prefixes  ;  and  g/  is  the  only  letter  in  the 
series  which  may  begin  a  word  with  them  as  jiii'rsmih 
^itsEimti)  and  ^isiiEii^ LD  ;  but  these  words  have  no  inde- 
pendent existence  without  this  combination.  Thus, 
there  are  in  all  94  letters  wilh  any  one  of  which 
a  pure  Tamil  word  may  begin. 

FINAL  LETTERS  I  Any  vowel  except  ct,  9  and  gssrr 
either  by  itself  or  combined  with  consonants  will 
come  at  the  end  of  a  Tamil  word  ;  usually  a-  and  ^jm 
will  not  unite  with  «  and  ©j,  <S7  and  ep  widi  (sj  ;  and  sjar 
will  join  only  with  «  and  qj.  There  are,  however,  ex- 
ceptions to  these  rules.  According  to  Virasoliyam, 
Tamil  words  may  end  with  the  following  letters,  em, 
ii),  uj,  IT,  So,  /^,  <iff,  and  ek^  and  all  vowels  except  ct  and  5?. 
To  these  may  be  added  (ct,  i  and  eu.  There  is  only  one 
word  in  (Cj  (s_//?(^),  two  words  in  i  (Qun^i  and  QeurFlii) 
and  four  words  in  eu  (^<aj,  ^<su,  ^eu  and  Gis&j).  These 
words  are  all  now  obsolete.  Among  the  words  which 
end  in  esr  there  are  only  nine  in  the  neuter  gender, 
but  are  not  moc'ifications  or  QufTe\9    of    th.     They   are 

CT©SD7,     Q^SioSr,   sSLfiSSTj    (^uSlsSl  ^   IMuS'Sk ,    ^tgOT^    ULpi^ ,    <«/_/r(Ssr, 

and  eumnm.  In  the  @  series  all  except  Q(^^Q(^,  G(^a, 
Qi^rr,  and  0@srr  may  be  at  the  end  of  words.  Generally, 
^,  sn',  <a/  and  e/,  may  not  be  final  letters.  There  are 
only  two  words  ending  in  ^,  namely,  s_5f  (©.(srj)  and 
(2/3*  ((g5-/B@),  and  only  one  word  ending  in  l/  which  is 
^4  (to  kill  or  to  die)  ;  the  &-  in  the  other  words  ending 
in  Lj  is  the  shortened  a_  or  (^n)r5!uje^siTu>.  Thus  ac- 
cording to  Tolkapyar  there  are  IGl  letters  that  may 


140  TAMIL   STUDIES 

come  at  the  end  of  Tamil  words.  But  as  Nacchinar- 
kiniyar  has  observed  the  examples  for  eighteen  of 
these  (namely,  Qt~,  Qi—ir,  Qssm,  Q(^,  Q^,  Qld,  ui/,  u?,  nj,  Qtu, 
QjTj  Q&),  Qip,  GigT,  Q&r,  "Seir,  Q/d,  and  Q^rt;)  are  not  to  be 
found  in  any  Tamil  dictionary. 

MIDDLE  letters:  In  the  middle  of  Tamil  words  the 
letters  «.  -sf,  ^,  u,  ra,  (Gj,  is  and  ld  coming  after  the  con- 
sonants uJ,  IT  and  ifi  mast  double.  Of  these  it  and  tg  will 
not  come  after  short  vowels  or  consonants,  nor  can 
they  double  in  any  position.  In  poetry  isor  and  ld  may 
join  together  as  in  Qufrmuo.  The  letters  «,  <?  and  u 
will  follow  lL,  p,  «k)  and  <ar  ;  and  lu  and  <a;  may  come 
after  &>  and  srr.  After  nasal  consonants  will  come 
their  corresponding  surds.  The  seven  letters  «,  ■?=,  (Gj, 
u>,  lu  and  £11  may  join  with  em  and  sot.  Combinations 
of  letters  like  @aj,  iiu,  ldiu,  &)iu,  enm,  diuj  and  Loau  were 
tolerated  in  Tamil  words,  but  are  now  obsolete.     And 

the  consonants  lu,  it  and  tp  may  precede  «,  ra,  <?,  (Cj,  dj, 
/5,  u,  Lo,  uj  and  su. 

The  remaining  two  subjects,  namely,  the  word- 
building  and  word-combination  {QeneiSujiTdsLh  and 
i^6miTs9i\  will  be  dealt  with  in  the  next  essay. 


VII 

PLACE  OF  TAMIL  IN  PHILOLOGY 

Tamil  is  the  language  of  a  section  of  the  Dravidian^ 
race  inhabiting  the  extreme  south  of  the  Indian 
Peninsula.  The  area  within  which  it  is  now  spokei> 
has  been  given  in  a  previous  essay.  Owing  to  its 
antiquity  and  its  high  culture  at  a  very  early  date,  this 
language  long  ago  assumed  two  forms,  the  one  called 
the  kodum  or  colloquial,  and  the  other  the  scm  or 
good  literary  Tamil. 

The  locality  in  which  the  Sen-Tamil  was  spoken  is 
not  described  by  Tolkapyar  ;  and  his  commentators 
are  not  unanimous  on  this  point.  Senavaraiyar  and 
Nacchinarkiniyar  give  its  boundaries  thus, — Qs=i^iSl^^ 
SeOLDireu^,  <ssi<Sii<oSiuuujiT p^^  fijyi_<5@u3  wQ^^iua jbfS'SsrQ pjb(^iJD 
S(7^siirflsir  QLps(^LD  iBQ^siiiBrnQisi p(^ld(tui.  ( The  "pure 
Tamil"  was  spoken  in  the  tract  bounded  by  the 
Maruta-yar  on  the  north,  the  Vaiga  on  the  south, 
Maruvur  on  the  east  and  Karuvur  on  the  west). 

According  to  Tamil  saints  and  poets  the  Sen-Tamil 
land  seems  to  have  been  the  modern  district  of 
Madura  ;  this  seems  to  me  to  be  more  accurate  in  as. 


.142  TAMIL   STUDIES 

much  as  the  Punal  Nadu  or  the  Tanjore  district  and 
Ten-Fandi  Nadu  or  the  Tintievelly  district  have  been 
included  in  the  twelve  Kodum-Tamil  nadus  or  dis- 
tricts which  are  enumerated  in  the  following  stanza  : — 

Qit^lSIso  ueis! 51^01? ml.  Qi—esor. 

An  earlier  list  gives  Podunga-Nadu  and  Oli-Nadu 
instead  of  Venadu  and  Punal-Nadu.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  the  ancient  districts  of  Kuttam, 
Kudam,  Karka,  Ven  and  Puzhi  were  in  the  Travan- 
core  State  and  in  the  modern  district  of  Malabar  ; 
Aruva  and  Aruva-vadatalai  were  in  the  Chingleput 
and  North  .^rcot  districts  ;  Sitam  was  the  Nilgiris  ; 
Maladu  or  Malai-Nadu  was  in  South  Arcot  ;  Panri 
was  on  the  north-west  of  Madura ;  and  Podunga 
and  Oli  were  probably  somewhere  in  the  ancient 
Ramnad  country.  It  cannot  therefore  be  said  that 
either  the  Cheta  country,  or  the  Tondaimandalam, 
or  even  the  Chola  Desam  was  the  land  of  pure  or  Sem- 
Tamil,  in  spite  of  the  claims  put  forward  by  some 
patriotic  scholars  for  that  honour. 

The  media3val  Tamils  were  entirely  ignorant  of 
the  Indian  Geography,  and  their  ignorance  is  betrayed 
in  the  description  of  the  countries  which  surrounded 
the  Tamil  Nadu.  Nacchinarkiniyar  mentions  twelve, 
namely,  Singalam,  Pazham-divu  (the  Laccadives),  Kol- 
lam,Kupam,  Konkanam,  Tulu,  Kudagam,  Karunatam, 
Kudam,  Vaduku,  Telugu  and  Kalingam.  According  to 


PLACE   OF   TAMIL   IN    PHILOLOGY  143 

Keralolpatti,  Kapaiii  was  the  M.ilayalam  speaking 
country  lying  between  Kunnatii  and  Cape  Coinorin. 
KoUam  (Ouilon)  and  FCupam,  which  formerly  consti- 
tuted the  modern  State  of  Travancore,  must  have  se- 
parated from  the  Kodam-Tamil  Nadus,  before  the 
time  of  our  commentator  ;  and  yet,  without  knowing 
the  geography  of  the  West  Coast,  he  has  given 
Kuttam,  Kudam,  Ven  and  other  Nadus  which  formed 
part  of  that  province  in  the  list  of  Kodum-Tamil 
Nadus,  following  the  division  of  nadus  or  districts 
that  existed  in  Tolkapyar's  days.  But  his  ignorance 
of  geography  is  not  so  great  as  that  of  later  Tamil 
scholars  who  have  included  in  the  list,  countries  like 
Arabia,  Bengal,  Burma,  China,  Java,  Orissa,  etc.  as 
described  in  the  following  stanza  : — 

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

Philology  is  mainly  an  historical  science,  because  lan- 
guage which  is  its  subject  matter  is  the  work  of  man, 
and  it  implies  change  and  progress.  It  is  the  property 
of  a  society  and  not  of  an  mdividual  ;  and  its  object 
is  to  trace  the  development  of  human  thought  as  ex- 
pressed in  the  speech  of  that  society.  It  cannot 
therefore  be  the  creation  of  any  individual.  It  has  life, 
growth  and  death,  co-extensive  with  the  state  of 
the  society  or  race  that  uses  it.  A  living  language 
like  Tamil  is  in  a  condition  of  constant  change, 
which  cannot  be  arrested  by  a  scholar,  poet  or  gram- 


144  TAMIL   STUDIES 

marian  by  means  of  his  writings.  The  condition  of 
Tamil  (or  any  other  Hving  language)  one  thousand 
years  ago  was  not  what  it  had  been  a  thousand  years 
still  earlier.  And  its  grammar,  which  is  essentially  an 
empirical  or  inductive  science,  necessarily  varies  with 
the  conditions  of  that  language.  In  any  language^ 
literature  always  precedes  grammar  ;  and  this  funda- 
mental principle  was  not  unknown  to  the  early  Tamil 
grammarians,  who  have  explained  it  in  unmistakable 
terms  thus  : — 

^eodSujisi  ssaaii^^jr)  Ssvssesm  lAliviMueo. — N ail. 

(Literature  yields  the  grammar  ;  grammar  follows 
the  literature.) 

They  have  also  recognised  the  principle  of  change 
in  a  living  language,  and  provided  for  popular  accepta- 
tion of  innovations. — 

(Usage  sanctifies  any  new  word.) 

euQpeueo  saeo  eustssaS  (^Q<ssr. — Ncin. 

(The  order  of  things  is  for  the  old  to  give  place  to 
the  new.) 

Thus  the  statement  of  Sivagnanaswami  that,  Q^rreoeoir 
StflmtT  euLpsQs  <suLps(g.  LSpaaeo^£j  Qeij^  uL^euLpiiauu^Lorr 
uSek  ^(SusuLpa(^  ^eodsesar ^Q ^rr®  QurT(r^iB^n(^^e5r  eSl&)i^Sy  is 
not  only  unscientific,  but  also  an  obstinate  clinging 
to  that  old  superstition  which  believed  the  ancients 
to  have  discovered  all  wnsdom. 


PLACE   OF   TAMIL   IN    PHILOLOGY  145 

According  to  Prof.  Whitney  changes  in  the  growth 
of  a  language  may  take  the  following  forms  : — 

I.  Alteration  of  the  old  materials  of  language,  which 
may  be  either  change  in  form,  or  change  in  meaning. 
A  word  may  change  its  form  to  any  extent  without 
change  of  meaning  ;  in  Tamil  sjbi-i  and  sdoeSI  mean 
learning;  ^eaaiQ  and  ^i&kiL^Lo,  a  piece;  rstr  and  i^rrs^,  the 
tongue,  &c.  It  may  take  on  an  entirely  new  meanmg 
without  the  change  of  form,  as  in  ju^Sulj  which  form- 
erly meant  '  withering  '  as  well  as  the  '  hearth  ',  but 
now  only  the  latter  ;  ^®  was  '  sheep '  and  *  victory  » 
in  old  Tamil,  but  now  only  the  '  sheep  ';  Q^trssiu.  was 
the  body  and  now  the  *  thigh';  QL^d(g  was  a  *  pit '  and 
now  the  *  east ',  &c. 

II.  Loss  of  the  old  materials  of  language.  It  may 
be  a  loss  of  complete  words  or  a  loss  of  grammatical 
forms  and  distinctions.  There  are  many  Tamil 
words  which  are  not  used  by  modern  authors,  so 
freely  as  the  ancients  did,  though  they  have  co  : 
down  to  us  in  poetical  dictionaries.  These  words 
may  therefore  be  said  to  be  practically  dead  to  the 
present  Tamilians.  But  yet,  there  are  other  kinds 
of  words  such  as  the  revenue  terms  like  SeoeurB^  ^sr&jfft, 
QesrearuD,  Qfimstru^,  srrir ^^sasuuS^ssiS' ,  &c.,  words  signify- 
ing certain  social  customs,  such  as  Qfi^mssilj^iTL^, 
^LDiDiTLULb,  s/]S^iJ1^^6\},&Cc  the  cxact  mcauings  o f  which 
are  now  lost.  Thus  with  the  change  of  customs  and 
political  institutions,  those  words  went  out  of  the  peo- 
ple's memory  and  were  for  a  practical  purposes  lost. 
As  for  the    loss  of  grammatical  forms,    we  may  find 

10 


146  TAMIL   STUDIES 

some  occurring  in  early  Tamil,  but  which  have  now 
become  obsolete  ;  for  example,  past  tense  in  q  as  in 
/F«(5L/,  future  in  (5  as  in  ^ji®,  instrumental  case  in 
^isk  as  in  iSskssBjbjDii^,  &c. 

III.  Production  of  new  materials — new  words  and 
new  forms.  Civilization  brings  with  it  new  thoughts 
and  new  ideas  which  require  new  words  to  express 
them.  Such  words  are  either  borrowed  or  coined 
for  the  nonce  out  of  the  existing  words  in  the  lang- 
uage, or  by  metaphorically  extending  the  meanings 
of  old  words.  Most  words  relating  to  religion  and 
philosophy  are  borrowed  from  Sanskrit ;  revenue 
terms  are  adopted  from  Persian  and  Arabic; 
administrative  terms  are  borrowed  from  English' 
besides  some  colloquial  words  like  'gate',  *  compounds 
'coat',  'tiffin',  'clean',  etc.,  used  in  daily  life.  There 
are  not  very  many  grammatical  forms  newly  intro- 
duced as  we  find  in  English  (if  we  compare  modern 
English  with  that  of  Bede  or  Chaucer),  because  the 
grammar  of  the  Tamil  language  was  written  so  early 
as  the  third  or  fourth  century  B.  C,  and  the  conser- 
vative instinct  of  the  Tamils  has  been  so  strong,  that 
new  grammatical  forms  either  by  coinage  or  by  loan 
have  been  jealously  guarded  against.  It  is  a  settled 
principle  that  when  a  language  borrows,  it  borrows 
mostly  nouns  and  adjectives  ;  verbs  are  rarely  taken 
from  other  languages  ;  and  particles  never. 

All  the  above  changes  were  due  to  the  operations 
of  the  principles  of  phonetic  decay  and  emphasis,  and 
analogy,  aided,  doubtless,  by  climate,  food   and   edu- 


PLACE   OF   TAMIL    IN    PHILOLOGY  147 

cation  of  the  society  but  not  of  the  individual.  These 
will  be  explained  fully  with  reference  to  Tamil  in  the 
following  pages. 

According  to  VI.  Hovelacque,  Tamil  is  one  of  the 
five  hundred  principal  languages  spoken  on  the  face  of 
the  globe  at  the  present  day.  Morphologically,  the 
existing  languages  are  divided  into  four  groups,  viz. 
isolating,  agglutinative,  polysynthetic  and  inflectional. 
The  morphological  classification  is  based  entirely  on 
the  form  or  manner  in  which  the  roots  or  the  final 
elements  of  a  language  are  put  together  to  form  words 
and  sentences.  In  the  isolating  languages,  like  Chinese, 
the  roots  are  used  as  words,  each  root  preserving  its 
full  independence,  unrestricted  by  any  idea  of  person, 
gender,  number,  time  or  mood  ;  and,  in  fact,  lan- 
guages of  this  kind  do  not  require  any  grammar. 
This  is  called  the  radical  stage.  In  Chinese,  nan^ 
male  ;  niu,  female  ;  whence  nan  tse —  son,  niu  tse  = 
daughter,  niu  jin  =  \vovna.n.  In  the  agglutinative  lan- 
guages when  two  roots  join  together  to  form  a  word, 
one  of  them  loses  its  independence  subjecting  itself  to 
phonetic  corruption.  This  is  called  the  terminational 
stage.  In  Tamil  maga,  isiiue,  becomes  by  the 
addition  of  n  and  /  (corruptions  of  avan  and 
aval)  magan  =  son  and  magal  =  da.ugh.ieT,  When 
words  blend  together  in  a  sentence  by  syncope 
and  ellipsis,  it  is  called  polysynthesis.  This  is  a 
feature  peculiar  to  American  languages.  Thus  in  the 
Algonquin,  the  sentence  Nadliolineen=bnng  us  the 
canoe,    is    made     up     of     naten=brmg,  amochol  = 


148  TAMIT   STUDIES 

canoe,  /  =  euphonic,  and  neen={o  us.  Languages  in 
which  relations  between  words  are  expressed  not  only 
by  suffixes  and  prefixes,  but  also  by  a  modification  of 
the  form  of  roots,  are  called  inflectional  languages. 
For  example,  in  Sanskrit  Vinsati,  twenty,  is  composed 
of  two  roots  dvi,  two,  and  dasati,  ten  ;  and  the  Sans- 
krit eti,  he  goes,  is  composed  of  two  roots,  i,  to  go 
and  ta,  the  demonstrative  pronoun. 

Some  philologists  do  not  make  much  distinction  bet- 
ween agglutination  and  polysynthesis,  thus  counting 
only  three  forms  of  speech  in  preference  to  four, 
which  is  the  view  accepted  by  recent  writers  on 
the  subject.  The  theory  that  languages  must  pass 
through  the  monosyllabic  and  the  agglutinating 
phases  successively  before  reaching  the  inflectional 
stage — a  theory  current  when  Dr.  Caldwell  wrote  his 
Comparative  Grammar  of  the  Dravidian  Languages — 
has  now  been  given  up.  An  isolating  dialect  does 
not  become  agglutinative,  or  an  agglutinative  one 
inflectional.  The  radical  feature  of  a  language 
explained  in  this  fourfold  classification,  besides  being 
innate  to  that  tongue,  is  expressive  of  the  racial  char- 
acter of  the  people  that  speak  it  ;  it  cannot  change 
from  one  class  to  another  though  it  can  be  modified 
or  altered  by  external  circumstances. 

To  the  agglutinative  group  belongs  Tamil,  while 
Sanskrit  is  the  most  ancient  cultivated  member  of  the 
inflectional  family.  Morphologically,  the  one  has  no 
connection  whatever  with  the  other.  Some  Tamil 
scholars  seem  to  expect  that  their  language  will,  in  the 


PLACE   OF  TAMIL   IN  PHILOLOGY  149 

ordinary  course, one  day  or  other,  reach  the  inflectional 
stage  and  claim  sisterhood  with  Sanskrit.  Their 
expectation  will,  indeed,  prove  a  baseless  dream  ;  and 
similarly,  the  attempt  of  some  Malayalam  scholars  to 
elevate  their  Dravidian  home-speech  to  the  dignity  of 
the  classic  inflectional  Sanskrit,  by  purging  it  of  its 
native  element  in  order  to  import  therein  en  bloc  the 
grammar  and  vocabulary  of  that  sacred  language,  may 
remind  one  of  the  '  Jackal  miracle  '  of  saint  Manikka 
Vachakar. 

Relying  on  the  traditions  narrated  in  the  Tamil 
pnranas,  the  non-Brahman  Saiva  pandits  of  the 
orthodox  school  hold  that  Sanskrit  and  Tamil  were 
created  by  god  Siva  as  his  twin  children,  and  in  proof 
of  their  divine  origin  they  cite  the  Vedas  and  the 
Devara  hymns.  The  *  Kanchipurana  '  and  the  '  Tiru- 
vilayadalpurana '  assert  that  Siva  taught  the  Tami 
grammar  to  Agastya,  as  he  had  in  former  days  taught 
the  Sanskrit  grammar  to  Panini. 
euu-QiDP  L^eaiuu  UfressBeaflsi^  iSij(^^^(T^sffl  m ^ p@'2essr uu!r ^ 

According  to  a  third  tradition  Subrahmanya  was 
the  teacher  of  Tamil  to  that  sage.  Sivagnanasvami,  a 
conceited  Saiva  monk  and  scholar  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  writes  in  his  '  Tolkapya-sutra-vritti  '  that 
the  Tamil  grammar  of  Agastya  was  the  only 
Tamil  work  that  had  come  into  existence  on  the  day 
of  the    creation    of    the    Tamil     language. — Q^ih^sL^u^ 


150  TAMIL   STUDIES 

^s^^tuQmnmQ p  imrssonm.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Jains  beheve  that  Agastya  learnt  his  Tamil  from 
Avalokita.  Following  the  traditions  current  in  their 
days,  the  poets  Kamban  and  Villiputturar  have  said 
that   the  language  itself  was     created    by   Agastya  : 

^s^^iumtJLuis,   Qg:^^Qs=iT6i)rr!resaria(^. —  Vil, 
All    these   would    only  amuse  the  school  children  of 
modern  days. 

But  Sanskrit  and  Tamil,  though  they  may  have 
been  the  oldest,  were  not  the  only  two  languages 
prevalent  m  the  Bharata  Varsha.  In  the  extreme 
south  we  have  now  Telugu,  Kanarese  and  Malayalam 
besides  minor  dialects,  each  being  considered  by 
its  speakers  as  valuable  as,  and  even  more  than^ 
Tamil.  The  Telugus  call  Tamil  aravam  or  'soundless', 
and  the  Kanarese  speak  oi  it  as  the  'stammerer's  lan- 
guage' (iigalu).  These  vernaculars  which  are,  however^ 
closely  allied  to  one  another  are  collectively  known 
as  the  'Dravidian  family'. 

No  definite  laws  for  the  permutation  of  vowels 
and  consonants  in  the  allied  words  of  these  lan- 
guages, like  those  of  Grimm  or  Vernor,  could 
be  framed  as  they  had  been  influenced  to  a  very 
considerable  extent  by  Sanskrit  before  their  gram- 
mars were  written.  Tamil  is  the  only  solitary  excep- 
tion. Though  Malayalam  has  been  the  most  un- 
fortunate of  the  family,  having  been  affected  most  by 
Sanskrit,  the  consonantal  interchanges  in  Dravidian 
words    between    it  and   Tamil    are   almost    trifling, 


PLACE   OF   TAMIL   IN    PHILOLOGY 


15  L 


except  such  as  we  find  between  the  refined  Tamil  and 
its  vulgar  form.  This  proves  the  lateness  of  its 
separation  from  Tamil,  We  give  below  a  table  to 
show  some  of  the  striking  changes  which  the  words 
undergo  in  Tamil,  Malayalam,  Kanarese,  and   Telugu. 


Tamil. 

Malayalam. 

Kanarese. 

Telugu. 

(1)  k.kai. 

k.  kai. 

§.  ^(^i. 

ch.  chey. 

(2)  ch.  sevi. 

ch.  chevi. 

k.  kevi. 

ch.  chevi. 

(1))  p.     pattn, 

p  patta, 

h,    V.    hattii, 

m.  padi. 

painpu. 

pampu. 

havn . 

pairu. 

(4)  V,  zh. 

V,  zh.  vazha. 

b,  1.  bale. 

•  •  • 

vazhai. 

(5)  r.     pertya, 

1.  valiya . 

. .  • 

d,  1.  pedda, 

valiya,  teri. 

telisi. 

(6)  zh.   ezhu. 

zh.  ezhu. 

1.  elu. 

d.  edit. 

The  degree  of  relationship  between  Tamil  and 
Sanskrit,  which  are  the  only  two  important  language 
known  to  the  Tamils,  has  been  variously  estima- 
ted. During  the  early  centuries  of  the  Christian 
era,  the  Tamils,  who  were  not  much  acquainted 
with  Sanskrit,  seem  to  have  always  held  that 
Tamil  was  an  independent  language  and  that  it 
had  nothing  to  do  with  Sanskrit.  They  did  not  attri- 
bute its  origin  to  Siva,  Subramanya  or  Agastya,  as  the 
imaginative  and  sectarian  scholars  of  a  later  date  have 
done.  But  when  they  came  under  the  influence  of 
Sanskrit  culture,  that  was  subsequent  to  the    seventh 


152  TAMIL   STUDIES 

or  eighth  century  A.  D.,  and  when  Sanskrit  puraiuis 
and  other  Sanskrit  religious  literature  were  in- 
troduced, the  views  of  Tamil  scholars  began  to 
change.  Most  of  them  were  acquainted  with  both 
Tamil  and  Sanskrit  ;  ye.t  they  had  greater  love  and 
reverence  for  the  latter,  as  their  Vedas  and  Puranas 
and  Agamas  were  written  in  that  language  ;  and  this 
partiality  or  rather  a  sentiment  verging  on  odiiiui 
theologicum  induced  them  to  trace  Tamil  f^rom  Sans- 
krit just  as  the  early  European  divines  tried 
to  trace  the  Western  languages  from  the  Hebrew. 
The  authors  of  '  Neminadam  '  and  *  Virasoliam'  and 
the  commentators  of  the  Tolkapyam  and  the 
Kural  countenanced  the  above  view.  Again,  in  the 
eighteenth  century  the  authors  of  'Ilakkanakkottu' 
and  'Prayoga  Vivekam',  both  of  whom  were  good 
Sanskritists,  boldly  asserted  that  Tamil  was  a  dia- 
lect of  Sanskrit  with  a  grammar  common  to  both. 
Swaminatha  Desika  writes. — 

jH&srnSiLjfB  ^iAlt^^jb  setreiS^ei)  LUQjpgti 

QmiT&srQ p  LunaS^iB  ^enB^fiL^  (i^eearQi—tT 

pztsipLuQeu  snespieu  !TfS<Si\ssii~.  QuuirQwy 

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

'j^&)ss6sar  QuDiTsisiQp  QtueisrQp  Qiuem^iis. 

He  thinks  that  savants  will  be  ashamed  to  say  that 

a  language  can    exist,    whose   distinguishing  feature 

is  the  possession  of  only  five  letters,  namely,  ob,  tg,  sw, 

p  and  <ow^  or  ct,  9,  £^,  p  and  ew,  and  wants  us  therefore 


PLACE   OF  TAMIL   IN   PHILOLOGY  153 

to  accept  that  the  grammar  is  one  and  the  same  both 
for  Tamil  and  Sanskrit.  This  is  the  logic  and  the 
philological  acumen  of  a  divine  andthe  head  of  a  non- 
Brahman  Saiva  monastery.  While  another  scholar 
and  a  Brahmnan  contemporary  of  the  above  has 
almost  upet  the  Tamil  grammar  by  his  indiscreet 
substitution  of  Sanskrit  terminology.  His  book,  after 
all,  is  a  logomachy  and  is  no  improvement  on  its  pre- 
decessors.      He    says, — a;L_QtD/rL^/i@,5     ^Ldii^QLDiTL^s(^ih 

Qeup^oSiLD'jjiT&iiuD  ^sifiii^  QqjQ p&sruasmrr  QiBnsSi  Qtueisrs. 

In  determining  the  affinity  of  any  two  languages 
the  points  that  must  be  considered  are, — (a)  the  simi- 
larity of  general  structure,  grammar  (both  in  form 
and  meaning)  and  signification;  and  {b)  regular  and 
uniform  interchange  of  phonetic  sounds  between 
the  languages  compared.  Of  these,  the  first  two 
relate  to  grammar,  and  the  rest  to  the  vocabulary  of 
a  language.  We  shall  at  the  outset  deal  with  the 
vocabulary  which  is  less  important. 

The  vocabulary  of  modern  Tamil  is  composed 
essentially  of  two  elements  only,  the  Tamilic  or  south- 
ern and  the  Sanskritic  or  northern.  There  are,  indeed, 
a  few  dozens  of  foreign  words  chiefly  relating  to 
commerce  and  adminstration,  introduced  into  the 
Tamil  language  during  the  past  two  or  three  centuries. 
Eliminating  all  the  Sanskrit  words  from  the  Tamil 
dictionary,  there  will  be  a  large  residue  of  native 
words,  which  must  have  been  the  vocabulary  of  the 
original  Tamils.    They  had    been  a  tolerably  civilized 


154  TAMIL   STUDIES 

race  before  they  came  in    contact    with    the    Aryans. 
They    had   and  still  have  their  own  terms  pertaining 
to    agriculture,     anatomy,    architecture,    astronomy, 
commerce,  ,  domestic     economy,     family    relations, 
fauna    and    flora,    language     and     literature,    medi- 
cine,   minerals,    politics,  religion,  war,  weights  and 
measures,    &;c.,    all    of     course     in    their    primitive 
stage.       «'T^     and     Qs^dj,    (^ituSsu     and     ^ihsm,    «b<5 
and    siiOj     magii    and    Qanm,     QfBe\)    and    urreo,    Qpjbpui 
and     U3.F*,      ^iroj    and     ^uum,  -  Q^ib(^     and     3,!T<ss)Lp , 
/-/6>j?  and  y,s35.9^,  siq^^^  and  Q<frr&),    uit   and   ^Ssjrjt,  Qieit 
and  <aus)S,  Qsueneifl  and  Qurrm,  ^'^p,  ^^iT  and  Qstr,    ^eS 
and  si^eij&r,  j>jLDLi  and  eSI<s\),  u)it  and  s!^(^s?  are  all  pure 
Tamil  words,  and  they  are  not  to    be    found    in     the 
Sanskrit   language.     In     fact,    every    word    of    daily 
usage  is  Tamil.  To    establish   any  linguistic    affinity, 
at    least    words    denoting  the    simplest  and  the  most 
ordinary    family     relationship     must     be     identical. 
For  example,  the  words    '  father  '  and    *  mother  '    in 
English   are     represented    by     pitri     and  niairi     in 
Sanskiit,     pater     and     meter     in   Greek,    pater   and 
mater '\w     Latin,     vater     and      mutter     in    German, 
pitar  3.nd  jnater  m   Zend,  and  so    on.     On  the   other 
hand,  the  corresponding  relations  are    expressed    in 
Tamil  by  appan  and  tay.     This  in    itself    is  sufficient 
to    prove   that    Tamil    has    no    philological    affinity 
with  either  Sanskrit  or  any  Indo-European  tongue. 

There  are,  however,  certain  words  apparently  of 
Tamil  origin  which  may  be  found  in  Sanskrit.  Dr. 
Caldwell  gives  a  list  of  some  thirty  words    which,  he 


PLACE   OF  TAMIL   IN    PHILOLOGY  155 

thinks,  Sanskrit  has  borrowed  from  Tamil.  They  are, — 

^isiT^  Sl^'^^,  Jtji—^,  ^miMT,  r^eesfly  a®(^,  a&drr ,  (^uf-t 
QsmLisai—j     i§iT,     ulLl^ssotiMj     urrstj),     ueom,    iSm,  ojeirsffl  &C. 

Some  are  common  to  both  languages  and  a  more 
rational  view  is  to  believe  them  to  have  come  from  a 
common  source.  They  are, — ^i^,  'j^rr,  «/_,  @l^,  (s/^, 
(short),  OcS®,  ^,  '51—,  Qedj^  USD,  u/r®,  uneo,  Qua^,  Qu3f> 
L^,  eueo,  &c.  The  following  canons  will  be  of  some 
help  to  detect  such  words. 

(1)  When  a  word  is  an  isolated  one  in  Sanskrit 
without  a  root  and  without  derivatives,  but  is  sur- 
rounded in  Tamil  with  collateral  derivative  words, 
that  word  is  of  Tamil  origin. 

(2)  When  a  word  is  not  to  be  found  in  any  of  the 
Indo-European  languages  allied  to  Sanskrit,  but  is 
found  only  in  Tamil,  that  word  does  not  belong  to 
Sanskrit. 

Words  of  this  kind  are  very  few  and  form  too  slen- 
der a  basis  to  prove  the  linguistic  affinity  or  othrwise 
between  Sanskrit  and  Tamil. 

Let  us  now  pass  on  to  grammar. 

Orthography  :  Sanskrit  has  46  letters  ov  Variias — 
lo  vowels  or  Svaras  and  33  consonants  or  Vyanjanas, 
or  47  mcluding  ^  which  occurs  in  the  Vedas.  Besides 
these  there  are  annswara  and  annnasika,  represented 
by  a  dot,  and  a  crescent  and  a  dot  respectively.  Thus 
there  are  in  ail  49  letters.  Whereas  we  have  in  Tamil 
only  12  vowels,  18  consonants  and  a  semi-vowel.  Of 
these,  two  vowels  and  four  consonants  (including  oo) 
are  peculiar  to  Tamil  and  are  not  to  be    found    in    the 


156  TAMIL   STUDIES 

Sanskrit  language;  deducting  these  six  we  have  25 
letters  which  are  common  to  both;  and  Sanskrit  has 
24  letters  the  sounds  of  which  are  not  represented  by 
any  letter  in  Tamil.  The  possession  of  peculiar  sounds 
like  if,  /D,  iSOT  and  o°o  exhibits  the  physiological  charac- 
teristics of  the  Tamil  people,  differentiating  their 
language  from  the  Aryan  tongues  :  and  the  very  fact 
that  Tamil  possesses  and  largely  employs  the  short 
sounds  ST  and  9  points  to  an  origin,  quite  independent 
of  Sanskrit.  The  short  ct  and  9  are  not  peculiar  to 
Tamil,  which  every  language  except  Sanskrit  posesses 
although  Swaminatha  Desikar  and  other  native 
scholars,  blindly  following  Sanskrit  grammarians, 
seem  to  think  otherwise.  In  Tamil  sel  is  to  go,  and 
s&l  is  a  kind  of  fish;  niel  is  to  chew  and  niel  is  above; 
kol  is  to  kill  and  kol  is  a  stick,  tol  is  old  and  tgl  i^  the 
skin,  noy  is  softness  and  ndy  is  sickness;  and  so  on. 

Dr.  Caldwell  states  that  the  diphthongs  S  and  sgarr 
had  no  place  in  the  Dravidian  languages  and  that  they 
were  placed  in  their  alphabets  solely  in  imitation  of 
Sanskrit.  He  further  asserts  that  S  in  Tamil  is  a  com- 
pound of  CT  and  @  but  not  of  ^  and  ^  as  in  Sanskrit, 
and  that  it  is  an  equivalent  of  si  in  Malayalam  and  of 
<5T  in  Kanarese.  As  for  e^arr  he  believes  that  it  has  no 
place  in  the  Tamil  alphabet  except  for  pronouncing 
Sanskrit  derivatives  only.  As  against  these  observe 
what  Tolkapyar  says. — 

^sir  ^sir  (oSiLDSiTaLDrr(^ua. — I.  54. 

r^&a  a_<55ir  QLDeirsiTinDiT(^i}i. — I.  55. 

U6sre!^0uS(Tr  Qlditl^  qp^soit(^ld. —  I.  59. 


PLACE   OF   TAMIL   IN    PHILOLOGY  157 

It  is  thus  unsafe  to  accept  Dr.  Caldwell's  view  in 
violation  of  the  above  rules,  as  there  are  pure  Tami 
word  in  S  and  ^<sir^  as  ^euesno,  e^/sinsSuuiM,  esijsiuso, 
Q^msaoj,  es)u^&),  QufsirsuLJo,  &c.  The  Tamil  S  becomes 
=gy  but  not  sj  in  Malayalam;  compare  ^'2e>j  and  ^&), 
3<osyrr  and    <«j,  S'Sev  and  /^su,  &c. 

Word  Formation: — The  peculiarities  of  structure 
of  Tamil  words  may  be  briefly  noticed  here.  In 
the  last  essay  something  has  been  said  of  the 
initial,  middle  and  final  letters  in  words.  That  will 
doubtless  help  the  reader  to  settle  for  himself  which 
words  are  native,  and  which  foreign.  The  following 
additional  rules  are   worth  his  careful   consideration. 

(1).  Double  consonants  at  the  beginning,  and  triple 
consonants  of  different  Vargas  or  classes  in  any 
position  are  not  allowed  in  a  Tamil  word.  Compare 
Sanskrit  trayi,  vaktram  and  vastraui. 

(2)  In  the  middle  of  a  word  double  consonants 
of  different  classes  are  not,  as  a  rule,  allowed  ;  words 
with  eiiLi,  Qjuj,  emtu,  essreij,  itu,  lduj,  woj,  &C.,  do  not  OCCur. 

(3).  The  doubling  of  the  same  consonant  is  very 
common  in  Tamil,  but  not  so  in  Sanskrit.  In  Tamil 
we  have  akka,  attai,  annan,  attaii,  appaii,  ainmai,  &c. 

(4)  No  [Tamil  word  can  begin  with  s=,  <ss)s=,  and 
0<?^sff;  but  Sanskrit  allows  these  initial  letters  as  in  -fLDLj, 
(S5)9^ajih  and  Q^erriTujui.  The  Tamil  words  s^lLl^  and 
s^uDifi^GO  are  a  later  introduction. 

(5)  Only  the  long  tun  can  come  at  the  beginning 
of  a  Tamil  word,  while  others  do  not.  In  Sanskrit 
we  have  uj&jewrr,  a^s^,  ^'-"^■,  (^(J-ifrsm  and  OajswOTru). 


158  TAMIL   STUDIES 

(6)  No  Tamil  words  will  end  in  i,  s=,  lL,  ^,  and 
u.  But  in  Sanskrit  there  are  words  like  p/itakf 
vach,  rat,  pat,  and  yup. 

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

and  J2/,  J)l,  Jljih,  ^17,  Jfjio,  jffasr,  ^,  ^eo,  ^6sr,  @,  ^su,  a_, 
sm,  e_LD,  S,  fflo«,  0,  0,  u,  mLD,  eSI,  emsu  and  /^,  and  srr®, 
urrQ,  jtjfTSij  and  ^'^esr.  Nouns,  verbs,  adjectives  and 
adverbs,  might  be  formed  in  this  way.  To  prevent 
hiatus  SI,  ii>  ox:  &5T  is  sometimes  added.  From  the 
verbal  root  Seo,  to  stand,  the  following  words  are  form- 
ed,— iB'^,  iS&)m,  fSeoeij  &c  ;  from  V  ^il,  to  kill,  we  have 
=sy®,  <=gj®,  sji—eS,  ^(SuLj,  j)jlL®,  ,jyi-ii),  j^i—eo,  ^i^ii(^,  &c; 
from  '^  jij/b,  to  cut,  we  get  =^j2/,  ^eap^  ^s)"ssi&i^  sjpu^, 
ji/^uLj,  ^jbjSLD,  j)f3)i0,  ^/Dso,  &c  ;  and  from  V  fBil,  to 
walk  or  dance,  are  derived  isi-,  tBi-^^&n,  rsi—ui-i,  issai—, 
isi—ims,  (elLl^ld,  &c.  The  nominal  root  ssim  (the  eye) 
becomes  mem,  to  see,  by  lengthening  the  vowel. 

in  Tamil,  roots  are  always  monosyllabic,  ending  in 
long  vowels,  or  in  a  short  vowel  and  a  consonant. 
There  are  42  single-letter  words,  which  must  essen- 
tially be  monosyllabic,  and  these  are  either  verbs  or 
nouns.  There  are  other  monosyllabic  nouns  like 
Q^treo,  s&),  mGrn,  unasr,  &c.  Compound  words  are 
made  up  of  simple  words;  tor  example,  u/fl-oj/r  (horse) 
is  a  compound  of  Lj^=to  run,  and  LDrT=a.  beast,  <«®- 
fiu/r(Zj  (tiger)  from  <s®=rough  or  cruel,  and  Q;/r(u=raouth. 
Mostly  such    compounds   are  epithets  or  metaphors. 


PLACE  -OF  TAMIL   IN   PHILOLOGY  159 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  examples  given  above 
that  the  formative  elements  or  terminations  are  all 
post-positions,  and  that  the  roots  rarely  change  their 
forms,  barring  the  shortening  or  lenthening  of  verbs 
as  in  «sOT-«/7-60OT,  eSQ-s^Q,  and  the  slight  consonantal 
changes  peculiar  to  Tamil  euphony. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  terminations  used  to  form 
derivative  bases  in  Sanskrit  are  of  two  classes  : — 

(1)  Krt  or  primary  affixes  which  are  added  to 
verbs  to  form  nouns,  adjectives,  &c.  For  example* 
karah  (the  hand)  is  the  noun  form  of  kri,  to  do  ;  cluir 
(to  steal)  becomes  chorayat,  stealing  ;  tikia  is  the  ad- 
jectival form  of  vach,  to  speak;  and  ishta  from  yaj, 
to  sacrifice,  &c..  Prepositions  are  prefixed  to  roots  to 
form  nouns,  &c.,  as  in  a-kash,  nis-chitya,  vij-kri,  &c. 
(2)  The  taddhita  or  secondary  affixes  are  add- 
ed to  substantives  to  form  secondary  nominal  bases. 
One  studying  vyakarana  is  a  vaiyakarani  ;  that 
which  IS  made  by  a  kulala  is  kaiilalakani  ; 
father  of  pita  is  pitamaha  ;  son  of  Dakshi  is  DaksJia- 
yanah  ;  son  of  Agni  is  Agneyah  ;  a  herd  of  hasttit  is 
hastikam;  belonging  to  Panini  is  Panineya  ;  one 
possessing  vakis  vachalah,  &c, 

A  comparison  of  the  terminations  or  affixes  used  to 
form  words,  and  of  the  methods  of  forming  them,  in 
Tamil  and  Sanskrit  will  convince  the  reader  that  they 
differ  in  both  languages.  The  taddhita  class,  espe- 
cially, is  characteristic  of  Sanskrit,  and  it  was  only 
the  lack  of  the  historic  sense,  so  common  among  the 
Tamil  grammarians,  that  led  the   author    of    Prayoka 


160  TAMIL   STUDIES 

vivekam  to  say  '  €S^iEms(^(3ui^uQuajQrreoeonih  ^^^^mj* 
In  consequence  of  the  differences  in  the  structure 
and  formation  of  words  their  coalescence  or  sandhi 
(T.  i-jsmiTf^.)  must  also  differ  in  the  two  lan- 
guages. This  difference  is  observable  chiefly  in 
vowel  changes.     The  Tamil  rule  of  sandhi  is, 

^.    ff:   S     <3JL^     LueueijLD     sj^^sTLLjuSiTQj i^     Qjojeifui. — Nan, 
The   short   &.  has   the  nature   of    a   consonant.    Ac- 
cording to    this  rule,     LD6S3fj+  J)jL^^z=LD€SsftuJLp<^  ;      ^ITIT  + 
^^g)!  =  ^!nTistjeer g)}  •  ue\}fT  +  ^?sw  =ue\)frisSl'2e\>'  imi  -f  &-!T&>=s 

LDIT£ijJT60  j    f5rT(^  + J>jrfl^  =  IB/TSffl^  ;      & gU     +     Jt/SST  =  & gVOlSSr . 

Whereas    according    to    svara-sandhi    they    should 

become  LDSsaiLui^^^  ^aams)!^  usO/rSsw  and  ldQ!TIT!T&). 
There  are  many  other  peculiarities  in  the  combina- 
tion of  Tamil  words  not  found  in  Sanskrit,  which  it 
is  in  possible  to  explain  in  this  essay. 

Simple  words  join  together  to  form  compounds. 
In  Sanskrit  there  are  six  classes,  namely,  (1)  Dvandva 
or  ^-LD(ss)LD^Qs!T(ssiSj{2)  Tatpurusha  or  QaipgiKsiaLD^Q^nissis 
(3)  Karmadharaya  or  usotl/^Q^/tsw*,  (4)  Dvigu  or 
(srssm^u^Q^TesiSy  (5)  Bahuvrihi  or  ^ssrQLOfTL^^Q^rr^s 
and  (6)  Avyayibhava  or  the  adverbial  compounds. 
Corresponding  to  these  we  have  in  Tamil  a  set- of  six 
compounds  known  as, 

^mQuiiTL^  Qmesreij^  Q^!TSS)S  njiT(7rf'(^ih. — Nan. 
^.^esiLD^Q^rresis   is  included  in    the    Karmadharaya  ; 
and    erem^u^Q^irssiri    or     Dvigu    of    Sanskrit     (Ex  : 
^jrnarr&ij  umssfi(t^UL^s\)uD)  is  contained  in  ^ujeanL^Q^iTema, 
uemLj^QsTsois  and  jtimQuorrL^^Q^rretss  of  Tamil.   Thus 


PLACE   OF   TAMIL    IN    PHILOLOGY  161 

eS^ear ^Q ^trsBs  alone  remains  to   be  accounted  for  and 
that  is  peculiar  only  to  Tamil. 

The    peculiarities   of    structure    and    formation  of 
words  in    Sanskrit   have    compelled  the  Tamils      to 
modify  them,!  when  borrowed,  so  as  to  suit   the  mor- 
phological    features     of    the   Tamil    tongue.      The 
words  thus  borrowed  are  of  two  classes — the  iatsajiias 
and  the  tatbUavas.     It  is  only  the   second    class   that 
undergoes  change  in  Tamil.     At  the  time  of  Tolkap- 
yar  the  Sanskrit  words  in  Tamil  were  very   few,   and 
he  felt  no  necessity  to  frame  rules  for  their   adoption. 
He  was  content^by  saying, — &€a)^ih^€m  eirfl^  uSeauji^ssr 
Qjes)!TiLiiTiT.     The    later    Tamil  grammarians,    however, 
observing  the  large  influx  of  Sanskrit  words  and  their 
use  in  a  variety   of   forms,  were   constrained  to  give 
fixity    to  them; by  providing    authoritative  rules  ;  and 
they    are  to  be  found    explained  in  the  ^^^I^uul^&)u> 
of    Virasoliyam    and    in    the    ufisSiujeo    of      Nannul. 
Their  main    object  was   to  evade    or   soften  difficul- 
ties in       pronouncing    two    consecutive    consonants 
in  a  word,  or  a'l'^word    beginning    with    a  consonant 
not    allowed^  by    the   Tamil   usage,    by   introducing 
vowels.      ThuslSanskrit  ratna  is  changed  mXo  o.raian- 
am  or  irattitiam,  sakshi    into   sakki  or  satchi ;    yaksha 
into  iyakkaii,    laksJiana   into    ilakkaua,    &c.     This   is 
evidently'a  stage-more  advanced  than  the    monosvl- 
labic  Chinese  which  converts  'Christ'  into  'Ki-jisu-tu' 
and  'Maharashtra'  into  'Mo-la-cha,'  but  far  below  the 
inflectional  Sanskrit,  which  evinces  'the  strength  and 
directness^of  character  and   scorn   of    difihcullies'    in 
the  Indo-Aryan  race. 
11 


162  TAMIL    STUDIES 

Etymology  :  There  are  four  parts  of  speech  or 
Qsjio  in  Tamil,  namely  Qutuir  (noun),  sS^esr  (verb), 
^sroi_  (particles)  and  a.^  (attributives).  It  is  an  ac- 
cepted principle  with  Tamil  grammarians  that  all 
parts  of  speech  are  ultimately  reducible  to  only  two — 
substantives  and  verbs  ;  and  this  is  also  the  view  of 
modern  philologists.     Says  Tolkapyar, 

Qs^aeoQleo&STU  u®u  QuinQiT  eSl'2esiQtjum 
Qj/'.aSlireaar    Qu-mu  eutBii,QQ  QiGsy^a. — II,  160. 

Of  these  the  noun  and  the  verb  require  no  explana- 
tion. ^5S)L^s=Qs=fr&)  means  the  middle  word — that  is  a 
part  of  speech  common  to  both  nouns  and  verbs. 
It  consists  of  all  particles,  terminations  or  post- 
positions which  go  to  change  or  modify  the  meaning 
of  nouns  and  verbs  with  reference  to  time,  place, 
subject,  action,  &c.  Thus  it  embraces  the  particles 
of  tense,  personal  terminations,  case  endings,  demon- 
strative letters,  conjunctions,  interjections,  euphonic 
expletive  particles,  and  in  fact  every  particle  that  has 
no  meaning  by  itself,  independent  of  the  noun  or 
verb  to  which  it  is  attached.  ^iBs^Qs^itso  treats  of  the 
various  qualities  of  nouns  and  verbs,  and  it  therefore 
includes  adjectives  and  adverbs.  The  metaphysical 
explanation  of  s^>f^3='^€=ai^  given  by  .Sivagnanamuni  is, 
— ^^'osnnjueanrLji)  Q ^ f7 i^ p u esm'^LDfr Si aj  Qu^Q^LLuom^tauJLfsaarn ^ 
^(J5Q#7«jo  o_n9iO<rffsu.  Elsewhere,  he  goes  on  to  say 
that  «i_,  <su/r,  QpsisSuj  Qfi3,S2isoSi^i  Q^ffi^ pu^emssu 
u^63w/r^^@  QfirpaeaassSm  o^ifls^Qs^rrSo  QeOiuiio.  This 
explanation  seems  to  me  very  obscure,    and    it  is  the 


PLACE   OF  TAMIL   IN    PHILOLOGY  163 

merit  of  his  commentary  to  make  it  more  abstruse 
and  unintelligible  than  the  text  itself.  It  will  thus  be 
seen  that  the  classification  of  words,  other  than  Qutu,T 
and  &9'2em,  into  ^^i^fQ^rreo  and  p^fl^Qraso  was 
neither  definite  nor  phik)Sophic^I.  These  words  have 
been  variously  classified  and  often  in  a  conflicting 
manner  by  later  grammarians.  For  instance,  the 
author  of  Prayoga-Vivekam  has  said    that  Q&neoQ&iio 

<si)'TLD  &^ifls^  Qs^fre\)QsOujfr  Qldsst  g  ^ssafls. 

The  differences  between  the  Tamil  and  Sanskrit 
parts  of  speech  may  be  briefly  stated  as  follows  :  — 

(1)  Like  all  other  classical  languages  Sanskrit  has 
three  numbers,  while  Tamil  has  only  two.  The  dual 
number  or  ^Q^smu)  must  have  existed  in  early  TamiL 
It  evidently  became  mixed  up  with  ussr^^o  or  the 
plural  number  and  so  vanished  out  of  Tamil 
giaiUinar.  g)f  or  it  which  means  'two'  was  the  dual 
termination,  and  «srr  for  the  plural.  Now 'T  is  reser'/ed 
as  an  honorific  termination  for  pluralising  '  high 
caste '  nouns  and  verbs,  and  ■sik  for  all. 

(2)  All  nouns  denoting  inanimate  objects  and 
irrational  animals  are  of  the  neuter  gender  {^oo pS'^essr), 
and  those  denoting  r  itional  beings  (like  man,  God, 
and  Nagas)  are  of  the  high-caste  or  superior  gender 
s_uj/f^3sOTr.  Whereas  in  Sanskrit  no  such  philosophic 
and  sexnal  distinctions  are  niade  ;  here  the  grammati- 
cal gender  is  only  '  a  secondary  accident  of  speech 
ornamental,  perhaps  from  an  aesthetic  point  of  view, 
but  practically  highly  detrimental.'  No  definite  rules 
could,  therefore,  be  laid  down  for  the  determination 


IM  TAMIL    STUDIES 

of  gender  in  Sanskrit;  soma,  the  'moon'  is  masculine,. 
ruchi,  '  taste  '  is  feminine,  and  j^uiran,  '  son'  is  neuter.. 
It  will  thus  be  seen  that  gender  in  Sanskrit  depends  on 
the  peculiar  structure  of  words,  but  not  on  the  sex  or 
the  intelligence  of  the  objects  expressed  by  them. 

(3)  Tamil  n^uns  are  inflected  not  by  means  of 
case  terminations,  but  b^?  means  of  suffixed  post- 
positions and  sepaiaie  particles.  The  inflectional 
base  m  ilie  oblique  cases  is  the  root  in  Sanskrit,  while 
in  Tamil  it  is  the  nominative,  except  the  first  and 
second  personal  pionouns  /s/rear^  S,  Sit  and  i§<sSit  which 
alone  ch  nge  their  forms.  For  example,  in  Sanskrit 
the  roots  vach  (speech)  and  raj  (king)  become  vak 
and  rat  in  the  first  or  nominative  case,  while  in 
Tamil  the  roots  Gspnei'  (word)  and  ado  (stone)  remain, 
the  sanie.  In  declining  nouns  the  same  case  termina- 
tions are  added  to  the  root  for  the  singular  and  to  the 
plural  terminations  for  the  plural  (e.  g.,  aeu^,  A/bs'Setr), 
But  in  Sanskrit  and  otiier  IndoGermanic  languages, 
the  case  endings  of  the  plural  differ  from  those  of 
tht  singul-:ir.  As  Dr.  Caldwell  rightly  observes, — 'the 
imitation  of  Sanskrit  was  certainly  an  error,  for  whilst 
in  Sanskrit  there  ?re  eight  cases  only,  the  number 
of  cases  in  Tamil,  Telugu,  &c.,  is  almost  indefinite,' 
being  limited  only  by  the  number  of  post- 
positions that  may  be  attached  to  the  noun. 
And  it  is  this  indefiniteness  that  has  given  an  endless 
trouble  to  the  Tamil  grammarian  Tolkapyar,  whohas 
devoted  three  complete  chapters  for  cases  only  ; 
and  these  have  been  supplemented  by  another  by  the 
au  thor  of   Ilakkanakkottu. 


PLACE    OF   TAMIL   IN    PHILOLOGY  165 

(4)  Tamil  has  no  relative  pronouns.  The  exis- 
tence of  two  pronouns  of  the  1st  person  plural,  one 
of  which  includes  and  the  other  exxludes  the  person 
addressed,  is  a  peculiarity  ot  Tamil,  affiliating  it  to 
Turkic  and  other  agglutinating  tongues  and  differenti- 
ating it  from  Sanskrit. 

(5)  There  are  six  tenses  and  four  moods  in  Sanskrit, 
while  Tamil  has  only  three  tenses  and  three  raoods^ 
The  existence  of  a  negative  and  a  passive  voice 
in  the  verbal  system  is  peculiar  to  Tamil,  the  latter 
being  expressed-  by  auxiliary  verbs  signifying  to 
'  suffer'.  The  subjunctive  and  the  optative  moods 
are  expressed  by  means  of  suffixed  particles,  and  the 
other  three  tenses  by  means  of  auxiliary  verbs.  There 
is  no  benedictive  mood  in  Tamil.  The  structure  of 
the  verb  is  strictly  agglutinative,  the  second  person 
singular  of  the  imperative  being  an  exception.  The 
view  of  Senavaraiyar  and  Sivagnana-muni  that — 
^  QiusisT^t})  ~i'(m^(^'sbr(3  iBs—eai  &-sanr  ^ot  ctott"  Sm pesr 
&je\)Si>^  Qp^ssfl'hso'iQetr  QiuiT'Sms^Qwgi  uirLLc^fTisaretjeiJfT^ 
fSssr/DesT  Qojmu^  ui—rr^ — does  not  seem  to  be  accep- 
table. 

(6)  In  Sanskrit,  adjectives  are  declined  like 
nouns,  which  they  qualify  in  gender,  number,  and 
case.  In  Tamil,  adjectives  which  are  only  nouns  of 
quality  (p^iBs^Q^ireo ),  have  none.  In  Sanskrit  the 
adjectives  have  degrees  of  comparison,  while  those 
of  Tamil  have  none  at  all.  The  Sanskrit  adjective 
priya  is  positive,  and  its  comparative  and  superlative 
are  priyas  and  preshta. 


166  TAMIL    STUDIES 

(7)  There  are  no  prepositions  or  conjunctions  in 
Tamil  except  p-w  which  is  only  a  continiiative  particle. 
It  is  the  peculiarity  of  Tamil  derivatives  that  none  of 
them  are  formed  by  prefixed  particles.  But  some 
might  say  that  in  ^auesr,  ^eudr,  &c,,  the  letters  j)j,  @ 
are  prefixes.  But  they  are  pronominal  words  or 
roots,  but  not  particles. 

Rhetoric  :  The  Tamil  rules  of  prosody  relating 
to  the  structure  and  division  of  syllable,  foot,  stanza, 
rhyme,  &c.,  are  diff(^rent  from  those  of  Sanskrit. 
Venba,  Asiriyappa,  Kalippa  and  Vanjippa  are  ail 
peculiar  only  to  Tamil.  The  treatment  of  Porul 
matter)  into  again  (subjective  or  amatory)  and  piirani 
(objective,chiefiy  warlike),  and  the  division  of  conduct 
into  five  ^'bssw  <<ic.,  are  not  to  be  found  in  Sanskrit. 

The  foregoing  arguments,  to  show  the  indepen- 
dence of  Tamil  fiom  Sanskrit,  may  be  summed 
up  in  the  words  of  Sivagnanamuni   as    follows:  ^tSu^ 

^LD  Qun(rp,LLunQ,un®S(mU',  (s^rSi(^^QisuLLS  Qp^sSliu  ^2sssru 
U!T(^un(Si.i(smLDj  Qeuemurr  ^su pfSeisr  U(^^s^ld  Qp^eSliu 
Qi3=djii^eifl&)s3GSBrQfiiJD  ^(smQ^iTissjsin  iS/osijLh  eui—QLDiTLpj'jSIp 
Qu/DuuL-fT.  Even  the  author  of  Prayoga  Vivekam  who 
has  attempted  in  the  early  chapters  of  that  work  to 
prove  the  identity  of  Tamil  and  Sanskrit  grammars 
is  obliged  to  admit  with  candour  the  essential  differ- 
ences between  the  two  languages  thus:  p'Bsmiq&soriT^^giju) 
<a53E37    ia?@,®J'(4U),   ^esmuneo    Quemune^    pssojit^^ld    <sSl'^esj(oS 


PLACE    OF   TAMIL   IN   PHILOLOGY  167 

With  such  authoritative  admissions  before  us,  the 
complete  independence  of  Tamil  from  Sanskrit  must 
be  accepted,  in  spite  of  the  futile  attempts  of  later 
Tamil  grammarians  to  trace  one  from  the  other.  All 
that  we  can  say  at  present  is  that  Tamil  occupies  the 
^ame  postition  in  ihe  Dravidian  family  that  Sanskrit 
does  in  the  Aiyan  —  that  is,  Tamil  is  the  oldest  and 
the  most  cultivated  of  the  Dravidian  or  South 
Indian  family  ot  languages. 

But  it  cannot  altogether  be  denied  that  Tamil  or  at 
any  rate  its  Dravidian  parent  and  the  Aryan  languages, 
though  they  do  not  possess  the  least  morphological 
ieatuies  in  common,  did  not  influence  one  another 
before  their  separation.  Dr  Caldwell  gives  the  follow- 
ing Indo-Europeanisms  as  discoverable  in  the 
Dravidian  languages  : — 

(1)  The  use  of  n,  ek,  as  in  Sanskric  and  Greek  to 
prevent  hiatus.  Ex  :  Skt.  a  +  adi  =  anadi  ;  Tam. 
in  +  a  =  ninci. 

(2)  I'he  existence  of  gender  in  the  pronouns  of  the 
third  person  and  in  verbs,  and  in  particular  the  exist- 
ence of  neuter  gender.     Ex  :   jiteiissr,    ^eueh    and  ^^. 

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

(4)  The  use  of  d  or  i  (^)  as  the  sign  of  the  neuter 
singular  of  demonstrative  pronouns,  or  pronouns  of 
the  third  person.    Ex  :  Skt.  iai  ;  Tam.  ^^.  &c. 


168  TAMIL    STUDIES 

(5)  The  formation  of  a  remote  demonstrative  from 
a  base  in  jy,  the  proximate  from  a  base  in  ^.  Ex  : 
Skt.  adah,  idmn  ;  Tarn.  =gy#7,  @jp. 

(b)  The  formation  of  preterites  by  d.  Ex  :  Skt. 
/'■/,  jita,     Tam.  'sun^  o;®^,  &c. 

(7)  The  formation  of  some  preterites  by  redupHca- 
tion.     Ex  :  Skt.  pash^  papacha  ;  Tam   u^^,  q^(5,  &c. 

(8)  The  formation  of  verbal  nouns  by  lengthening 
the  vowel  of  the  verbal  root.  Ex:  Skt.  nat-natya^  guh- 
gildam,  &c  ;  Tam.  uSissr-i^^m ,  /Hi^-s^i^,  &c. 

It  is  said  that  the  Drnvidian  languages  m  thei*"  turn 
exerted  an  equal,  if  nnt  greater,  influence  on  Sanskrit 
and  her  North  Indian  dialects.  This  is  what  every- 
body might  nauirally  expect,  considering  that  the 
Prakrit  dialects  came  into  existence  during  historic 
times  and  that  the  peoples  whose  mother  tongue 
they  are,  have,  from  remote  antiquity,  been  living  in 
the  midst  of  the  Dravidian  races.  Moreover,  all  those 
who  speak  them  are  not  Aryans. 

The  Dravidian  influence  on  the  grammar  of  the 
Indo-Aryan  languages  has  been  detailed  by  Dr  Cal- 
dwell as  follows  : — The  inflection  of  nouns  by  means 
of  separate  post-fixed  particles  added  to  the  oblique 
form  of  the  noun  ;  the  inflection  of  the  plural  by 
annexing  the  same  sign  as  for  the  singular;  the  use  of 
two  pronouns  for  the  first  person  plural — the  one  in- 
cluding and  the  other  excluding  the  party  addressed; 
the  use  of  post-positions  instead  of  prepositions  ;  the 
formation  of  verbal    tenses  by   means    of  particles  ; 


PLACE   OF  TAMIL   IN   PHILOLOGY  169 

the  situation  or  the  relative  sentence  before  the  indi- 
cative ;  the  situation  of  the  governing  word  after  the 
governed  ;  the  use  of  I,  err ;  and  the  preference  of 
cerebrals  to  dentals. 

Affiliation  of  Tamil  :  It  is  superfine  us  to 
mention  here  that  Tamil  is  the  oldest  member  of  the 
Dravidian  group  of  languages.  No  scholar  has  yet 
attempted  to  construct  the  primitive  Dravidian  lan- 
guage from  which  the  modern  Tamil,  Telugu,  Kana- 
rese  and  other  dialects  have  sprung.  A  comparison 
of  this  hypothetical  languai^e  with  the  other  groups 
of  the  agglutinative  family  might  yield  satisfactory 
facts  for  establishing  its  affiliation-  But  in  the 
absence  of  such  data  we  must  take  the  aid  of  ethno- 
logy and  such  linguistic  resources  as  may  at  present 
be  available. 

In  the  chapter  on  the  origin  ol  the  Tamil  people 
we  have  said  that  the  original  Dravidians  came  to 
India  from  Western  Asia  through  the  North-Western 
passes  on  the  Himalayas,  and  that  they  mingled 
with  the  aboriginal  races  of  Nagas  and  the  Negrito 
people  after  they  had  settled  in  the  extreme  south 
of  the  Indian  Peninsula.  Hence  the  language  of  the 
Dravidians  must  have  undergone  changes  as  a  result 
of  the  influence  of  the  crude  Australian  dialects 
spoken  by  the  Naga  and  Negrito  autochthones.  As 
however,  the  modern  Dravidian  languages  have 
not  yet  been  completely  analysed,  it  is  not  possible  at 
present  to  separate  the  Dravidian  from  the  aborigi- 
nal linguistic    elements.     But    this    much  seems   to 


170  TAMIL     STUDIES 

be  certain,  that  the  primitive  Dravidian  language  was 
influenced  by  Semitic  and  the  Aryan  languages 
on  the  one  side,  and  by  the  Finno-Hungarian  idioms 
on  the  other.  And,  but  for  some  broad  morpholo- 
gical pecuharities,  there  is  no  trace  of  the  Aus- 
tralian influence  to  be  found  in  the  Dravidian  lan- 
guages. From  what  has  been  said  in  the  first  essay 
and  from  what  follows,  it  will  be  plain  that  the 
Dravidian  languages  must  he  allied  to  the  Uralo-Altaic 
group,  though  they  cannot  be  geneologically  classed 
with  It.  No  other  theory  can  satisfactorily  account 
for  the  presence  of  Greek,  Keltic,  Hebrew  and  Finno- 
Hungarian  words  in  Tamil. 

The  following  grammatical  features  are  common 
to  the  languages  of  the  Dravidian  family  and  the 
Uralo-Altaic  group  : — 

(1)  Words  are  never  formed  by  prefixes  but 
always  by  suffixes  so  that  the  principal  root  may  in- 
variably stand  first.     Ex  :  /Fi_,  isi—is^,  isi—i^^,  &c. 

(2)  Declension  is  effected  by  agglutinating  secon- 
dary or  relational  particles  to  the  principal  root. 
Suffixes  are  added  to  the  root  or  to  the  plural  element, 
that  is  the  plural  sign  is  always  mtercalated  betw'een 
the  noun  and  the  post-position.  Ex:  ssd,  «eD?sw;  sjbs&r^ 

(3)  Consonantal  system  is  simple,  and  letters 
approaching  in  e^ound  the  Tamil  ^^  will  be  f(jund  in 
some  languages  of  the  Uralo-Altaic  group. 

(4)  The  adjective  which  is  ameie  qualifymg  noun 
comes  always  before  the   word  it  qualifies,   except  in 


PLACE   OF   TAMIL  IN    PHILOLOGY  171 

Basque,  and  the  degrees  of  comparison  are  expressed 
by  words  meanino  'more',  'less',  &c. 

(5)  Tenses  and  moods  are  formed  by  the  in- 
sertion of  certain  elements  between  the  root  and  the 
personal  ending.    Ex  :  Qs=&)-\-  p-{-^ek=Qfm(7rj'm. 

(6)  There  are  no  relative  pronouns  in  Basque  as 
in  Tamil. 

(7)  The  existence  of  two  pronouns  of  the  first  per- 
son plural,  one  of  which  includes  and  the  other 
excludes  the  person  addressed,  is  a  peculiarity  of  the 
Dravidian  languages. 

(8)  Use  of  continuative  particles  in  the  place  of 
conjunctions.  Ex:    Qs^ir^ih  Qs^aifi^th. 

(9)  The  crude  root  verb  is  capable  of  being  used 
in  the  imperative  of  the  second  person  singular. 
Ex:  iBi—,  Qj/7,  etc. 

(10)  There  are  only  two  numbers  in  Turkish. 

In  all  these  languages  the  so-called  cases  are  formed 
by  agglutination,  their  number  being  limited  only  by 
the  number  of  post-positions  that  may  be  attached  to 
the  noun. 

Till  very  recently  it  was  usual  with  comparative 
philologists  to  classify  all  languages  which  are  neither 
Aryan,  Semitic  nor  Hamitic  under  the  Turanian  or 
Scythian  or  Allophyiian  family.  But  it  has  now 
been  proved  that  there  cannot  be  such  a  family  as 
the  Turanian  or  Scythian,  as  no  two  languages  which 
are  brought  under  it  bear  the  same  geneological 
relationship  to  each  other  as  Sanskrit  bears  to  Latin 
or  Greek  in  the    Aryan  family,    except  that    they  are 


172  TAMIL    STUDIES 

morphologically  connected.  The  roots  of  each 
are  different;  so  are  their  grammatical  elements.  The 
explanation  for  this  difference  lies  in  the  fact 
that  the  Aryan  languages — Sanskrit,  Greek,  Latin, 
Keltic,  &c — separated  at  an  epoch  when  their  structure 
was  already  perfect.  On  the  other  hand,  the  so  call- 
ed Turanian  or  Scythian  languages  seem  to  have 
parted  when  their  structure  was  in  an  imperfect 
condition  ;  and  so  each  of  them  was  obliged  to  depend 
on  its  own  resources  or  on  borrowed  elements 
available  at  hand  to  complete  its  inner  structure.  It 
has  also  been  observed  that  in  the  course  of  formation 
and  growth  some  of  the  languages  of  the  Uralo- 
Aitaic  group  made  use  •  of  incorporation — a  feature 
peculiar  to  the  American  languages.  In  the  case  of 
the  Dravidian  languages,  their  development  and  ap- 
proach towards  the  incorporating  stage  must  have 
been  arrested  at  a  very  early  period  by  their  literary 
culture,  which  was  no  doubt  due  to  the  Aryan 
influence.  The  position  assigned  to  the  Dravidian 
•languages  by  M.  Hovelacque  in  tiie  linjJuistic  systems 
seems  to  us  quite  appropriate.  He  says, — '  they  must 
be  comprised  among  the  first  in  the  ascending  order, 
that  is  among  those  i'mmediately  following  the 
isolating  system,  and  anterior  to  Turkish,  Magyar, 
Basque  and  the  American  languages.' 

So  much  for  the  origin  of  Tamil  and  its  place  in 
the  linguistic  systems  of  the  world.  Coming  now  to 
the  history  of  the  Tamil  language,  it  may  conveni- 
ently be  divided    into  three    periods,  namely,    (1)  the 


PLACE   OF  TAMIL   IN    PHILOLOGY  173 

early  Tamil  comprising  the  period  between  the 
sixth  century  before  and  after  Christ  ;  (2)  the 
mediaeval  Tamil,  occupying  the  interval  between 
the  sixth  century  and  the  twelfth  century  ;  and  (3) 
the  modern  Tamil,  extending  from  the  twelfth  down 
to  the  present  day.  It  is  not  proposed  here  to 
deal  with  it  as  completely  as  the  importance  of  the 
subject  demands.  We  shall,  iiowever,  briefly  indicate 
the  characteristics  of  each  period  to  justify  the 
rationale  of  the  above  cla^^sification. 

Early  Tamil:  During  the  first  half  of  this  period 
the  prevailing  religion  was  animism  or  the  worship 
of  the  spirit  of  departed  heroes  and  ancestors.  It 
was  afterwards  supplemented  by  Buddhism  ;md  lastly 
by  Jainism.  Brahmanism,  though  it  had  already 
been  transplanted  into  the  Tamil  c(  untry,  was  very 
weak.  The  conflict  of  these  religions  for  supremacy 
had  not  yet  commenced.  All  the  four  religions  exist- 
ed side  by  side  and  were  tolerated. 

Early  Tamil  was  the  language  used  by  the  writers 
of  the  academic  and  the  classic  periods.  And  the 
peculiarities  of  this  Tamil  may  be  observed  in  the 
literature  of  those  times,  the  important  of  which  being 
the  Agananuru,  the  Purananuru,  the  Pattuppattu,  the 
Padirruppattu,  the  Silappadikaram  and  the  Manime- 
kalai.  The  standard  gram.mars  of  the  epoch  were  the 
Tolkapyam,  Pannirupadalam,  Usimuri,  &c.  In  our 
review  of  Padirrupattu,  the  special  characteristics  of 
the  early  TamU  will  be  described  at  some  length. 
We  shall,  however,  say  a   few  words  here  concerning 


174  TAMIL    STUDIES 

them  under  the  four-heads  of  vocabulary,    gram  na  r 
style  and  matter. 

According   to    the   late    Mr.    P.  Sundaram    Pillai's 
calculation  the  percentage  of  Sanskrit   words  in   three 
of  the  Ten  Poems  (Pattuppattu)  is  between  one  and 
two.     In   the  Nedunalva;lai   there  are  altogether    but 
twenty  Sanskrit  words,  and    in   the  Madnrai- Kanchi, 
a  poem  of  782  Hnes,  the  number  does  not  exceed  fifty - 
five.  And  in  fact  the  introduction  of  Sanskrit  words  is 
strongly    condemned  by    the    be^t     writers    of    the 
academic  period.     It  was  considered  by  them  as    the 
mark  of  an  imperfect  education.     Two  of  the  earliest 
Kanarese  poets  have  characterized  it  as  '  an  unnatural' 
union...'  or   as   the    '  stringing  of  pearls  along  with 
pepper-corns.' 

Words  of  foreign  origin  were  never  introduced, 
notwithstanding  the  commercial  intercourse  of  the 
Tamils  with  the  Greeks,  Romans,  and  Arabs,  whom 
they  indiscriminately  called  the  Yavanas.  Sanskrit 
words  were  very  sparingly  used  and  even  these  were 
mutilated  in  their  form  as  will  be  seen  in  the  following 
examples:  (lpq^^^im,  uns^ih,  ^^sm ,  ^ss^sn,  ^s^3=si>r,  fSjiuu), 
^uSifi^j,  p^<3!rQ,  (j.T^,  (&c.  Some  Tamil  roots  were  used 
in  sentences  without  formative  particles  as  snio  for 
arrpjpj,  Qsu^  for  QeuprS^  ^'Su,  i§)QJ,  a-ia/  and  cufr  for 
^miw,  ^5a}(si]^  s^smsn  and  ujn'ss)^.  Some  words  were 
used  in  senses  which  have  now  beom-s  obsolete 
For  example,  Qs^suso  meant  a  *  horse',  sosmi^  meant  a 
'he-buffalo,'  sefflgv  meant '  a  pig  '  and  Quirsbi  was  'iron' 
&c.  Relational  words  like  CT-iyo-o)a/  =  our  younger  sister, 


PLACE   OF   TAMIL   IN    PHILOLOGY  175 

■^dr'2esT=my  lord,  s7«a»,5  =  our  lord  or  father,  ^/5«ro^= 
your  father,  and  ^mr,  is^dit,  ^J'-^it,  have  all  become 
obsolete.  Some  classical  words  like  §>:-^iu,  to  '  die', 
(ipsQ,  to  'eat',  ^ibslL®,  'there',  grojdj,  '  slowly',  &c.  have 
now  become  slang. 

Sometimes  post-positions  were  added  directly  to 
the  roots  without  the  euphonic  particles  or  s^inflesnw 
Por     example,     nufBiimii      for    t^erfl'uisisiruj,  =§53537    for 

^eS^r,  •^s\)eOfr(^s  for  ^sU'Sewojrr^S;,  C^aretfti)  for  QslL 
i—fSQiufTixi,  ^uaQiDesr  for  s^iTQ^Qmssr,  ^lLu  for  ^(Suu,  Qlduj&) 
for  Quiujs^s^eo,  una®  for  LBfrLLQ^Soc.  The  plural  termination 
IT  is  very  sparingly  used  and  «^rr  never,  the  abstract 
terms  Qsuik^,  ^lar^,  &c.,  being  perferred  to  concrete 
terms  to  avoid  number.  The  use  of  distinctive  termi- 
nations for  the  seven  cases  is  not  strictly  adhered  to, 
one  or  two  post-positional  particles  like  @«3t  or  ^^^ 
being  used  for  all  the  seven  cases.  In  fact,  no 
finality  concerning  the  uses  ot  case  terminations  was 
attained  in  practice.  This  ^^^  or  g)sv)  is  a  peculiar 
particle  and  it  was  used  to  express  comparison  also  ; 
the  expression  usm'smu.uSljh  Quiti^  meant,  'greater  than 
it  vsras  before.'  The  present  tense  did  not  come  into 
existence.  The  indehnite  past  and  the  indefinite 
future  were  the  only  tenses  in  use  as  in  Hebrew  and 
other  languages.  Andst>me  of  the  tense  particles  like 
ff,  22ai^  (5^  L/,  -iLD,  tSlm  which  u'ere  then  in  use  have 
become  obsolete,  together  witli  a-sij?  for  a_LD  (as  in 
£f(^o.is^  for  ^(250).  The  post-position  S  was  added 
to  nouns  to  form  verbs  in  tiie  second  person  singular. 
The  phrase  snmsiBfTLJk>si  lueant  '  you  who  are  the  lord 


■176  TAMIL    STUDIES 

of  the  forest  country.'  The  formation  of  some 
causative  verbs  like  9(z^@-s?(i^i(a5,  Q^etfl-Q^erRji^  (to 
cause  to  become  clear).  Some  verbal  nouns  were 
formed  by  adding  to  roots  the  suffixes  which  are 
used  in  modern  Tamil  to  produce  different  senses, — 
©ifi@  (pit),  QfimLj  (strength),  ump  (flying),  ^sv)m 
(poverty),  t-jseo  (abode),  GwriLut^  Cyuig)*  '^'^H  (noun),, 
s^iTuu  (brightness),  and  so  on. 

Some  of  the  adverbial  and  other  particles  which 
were  freely  in  use  during  this  period  have  become 
obsolete.  They  are  ^so,  Q/iiT<m'2esT,  (si p^,\L£,ibgv,  mmp, 
^(^a=LD^  (gswff,  (dld:t^  ld^,  @@"'j  @^^,  a-'5<^,  etc. 

The  literature  of  this  period  is  all  poetry — simple 
blank  verse  in  chaste  classic  style  devoid  of  rhetorical 
flourishes,  figures  of  speech,  hyperbolic  descriptions, 
and  intricacies  of  later  prosody  which  mar  the  ex- 
cellence of  modern  Tamil  poems;  Asiriyappa,  Kalippa,. 
Venba,  and  Kuratpa  are  the  metres  mostly  used.  The 
descriptions  of  events  and  scenery  are  all  faithful  and 
true  to  nature. 

The  subject  matter  of  most  of  these  works  is 
the  panegyric  of  reigning  kings,  descriptive  of  their 
military  prowess,  their  liberality,  and  their  adminis- 
tration. Some  of  them  depict  poverty,  chiefly  of 
bards,  in  a  very  pathetic  manner.  Some  are  on 
morality,  while  only  a  few  relate  to  religion.  We 
subjoin  a  few  specimen  of  early  Tamil. 
(1)     ^eo&^isas)^  ^p^^&S  euBeisuMpk^smp^LD 

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


PLACE   OF   TAMIL   IN    PHILOLOGY  177" 

^sirefflev  su£iiiEi3e\}i   ^pi^Lps  ssaai® 

LD/DUi-i&S  u^eenT^^  uj^iLna  3itlLi^uj 

QiSTis^ssr  (SfrirQ  ^isiD^eiaaj  itjeirefflu 

QuiTi^i^iSosr  QfsusS  sitlLQu-Ost, — Puf.  160. 
(No  food  in  the  house  ;  the  soft-haired  babies  suck- 
ed in  vain  the  dried-up  breast  of  their  mother.  Dis- 
appointed, they  turned  up  the  empty  pots,  and  cried. - 
The  mother  hushed  them  with  tales  of  the  cruel  tiger, 
and  pointed  to  them  the  moon.  Wearied  and  troubl- 
ed she  told  the  starving  ones  to  let  their  father  see 
their  misery.) 

(2)        ■SniTLDS6)Lp    QfimtSp   SOiSUffli   Q^(lp^0UD 

eurrasrwoeips  (^Q^@  Q&5r®<Siiifl  Quit pui 
QiiT&jBSffl Ju  iSlssiL^iBfl  Uoo^QT^p  QiQr^Q^sl'oliun® 
Q(S''SiQsiiT  ^L.iEi(^  Qsrts^ijjsSfr  ev a uQ ut sSI i ^ 
Qfsvsif'^u'R  fisaB^iSp  siTsmi  QLDmriQs.  —  Pad.   83. 
(Like   the    white    paddy  birds    flyi  "g   beneath    the 
canopy  of  dark  winter  clouds  was  the  march   of  your 
army — the  white    banners  streaming  from    above  the 
herd  of    deadly    elephants,   thick  shielded-men    and 
chariots.     So  pleasing  was  the  sight.) 

Medieval  Tamil  :  It  embraces  the  Brahmanic 
and  the  sectarian  periods  of  Tamil  literature. 
The  early  part  of  it  was  one  of  struggle  for  pre- 
dominence  between  Brahmanism  on  the  one  hand 
and  Buddhism  and  Jainism  on  the  other,  in  which 
the  former  came  out  triumphant,  Buddhism  being 
deprived  of  following  in  this  land  and  Jainism  crippl- 
ed. From  this  time  forward  the  Brahman's  influence 
became  supreme;   temples     were    erected   for   their 

12 


178  TAMIL  STUDIES 

gods  ;  and  they  themselves  secured  fertile  villages 
for  subsistence.  Sanskrit  puranas,  local  as  well  as 
general,  were  written  and  translated  for  the  benefit  of 
the  Tamils.  Then  came  into  prominen  ce  a  split 
among  the  Brahmans,  which  led  to  the  formation  of 
the  Vishnu  and  Siva  cults.  The  latter  with  all  its 
attendant  horrors  of  death  and  destruction  became 
popular  among  the  warlike  Tamils.  The  literature 
of  this  epoch  consists  of  hymns  to  Siva  and  Vishnu 
and  of  the  accounts  of  the  life  and  adventures  of 
Siva  and  Subrahmanya,  Rama  and  Krishna,  and  Jina. 
The  standard  works  on  Tamil  grammar  during  this 
period  were  Tolkapyam,  Virasoliyam,  Nambi's  Agap- 
pcrul,  Neminadam,  &c. 

Sanskrit  words,  chiefly  relating  to  religion,  were 
largely  introduced,  and  some  of  the  Tamil  words 
and  rorms  current  in  the  preceding  epoch  gave 
way  to  new  ones.  Plurals  in  .^sir,  double  plurals 
in  ijs&r  and  mseir,  present  tense  particles  Qmgv  and 
@^  and  the  use  of  distinctive  case  terminations 
came  into  existence.  Some  adverbial  particles  like 
Qmm'^!tssT,  ^(S^^ld^  ^eo,  Q^tuuj,  &c.,  Completely  went 
out  of  use. 

For  poetry  or  metrical  composition,  which  was 
still  the  only  form  of  literary  production,  Asiriyam 
and  Venba  metres  were  not  so  much  in  favour 
as  ihe  Vrittam,  Tandakam  and  others  of  Sanskrit 
.prosody.  These  were  introduced  with  their  alan- 
■Maras  or  embellishments.  Rhyme  and  antadi  form 
were  introduced  to  render  the  recital  of  sacred  songs 


PLACE   OF  TAMIL   IN    PHILOLOGY  179 

easier.     As  for  their   style,    the    pure  simpHcity   and 
the  natural  beauty  of  the  academic  period  were  gone. 
Affectation  and  artificiahty  even  in  excess  were  consi- 
dered   a    Hterary  excellence.     As  it  was  a    period  of 
struggle  for  religious  supremacy  everyone  of  the  four 
sects  attempted  to  excel  the  rest  by  extoUing  and  ex- 
aggerating its    own  doctrines,  and     by     fabricating 
miracles    to    support  them.     Truth    was  thrown    in 
the     back    ground    and     its  place    was    taken  up  by 
mythological      accounts     of    pieter-natural     events, 
such     as     one     mij:;ht     find     in      the    puranas    and 
itiliasas.     Thus     Chintamani,      the    Ramayana,    the 
Skandapurana,  the    Tiruvilayadalpurana,  the  Periya- 
purana  and  the  Mahabharata  came  to  be  replete  with 
stories  of  this  kind.      However,  a  true  spirit  of  devo- 
tion and  piety,   though    blind  or   fanatical    it    might 
appear  to    us,  pervaded  the     writings    of     this    very 
troublous  period.     We  give  below  some  extracts  : — 

(1)  ^s^iBT  tef^eaariT  £UL^d^:BfT  (enuSiT  Q  JirrfisiT  (Sffli/JT  ufTsm<—QLDjb 
aiTisumiT  i,ifl<omsu  Qujsisi /06\)iTjb  SQ^Q^ok  Qsirir  ljsjt p  sir^ifiu 

(2)  etjfr(^S)(Xissar(^m)Q  sueffliurrQ  Q<!i]iT<s(fliLi{TQ. 
peir(es)Sl  tLjuSlimS  iLjssarsii>LO.LiLDiTiLi  uSesreiaLDiijLciTLLj 

eijiT(eB)8  S^arfssiiu  <in^'siQfiT6\)oS  ^iri^^^suQsw . — T,V. 

(3)  Qisuear/Sl  luiris&i]  Qios^i  euirds^ia 

L£iebjfSlu-\iS)  -a^'oiS  QujiTL-Lfi  arrdseinih 

Gunm g)i(^  s^ira^^  i^djQ uir qTj&t  QfJjtLjQLD. 


180  TAMIL   STUDIES 

(4)   GurrmesB  (SSj^ti  QuTQ^usmi—  ujuusmu. 
^sksirfl  i^(^(B  s/Tessfl  ^/reBsfiaSp 

^sisi ssx,(k  srr'^s  £iisi5T^^esr  ^&)'^(ciu. — Chili. 

lb)        ^€3OTi_?Sy   LLoSi^-iSiTfTL-Si    filTLD(3S)!T    'sS SITSSIB^ITIEIsd  [.^^' 

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

Modern  Tamil  :  To  the  Tamils  the  modern 
period  which  begms  from  the  thirteenth  century  \s- 
important  in  every  respect.  The  ancient  kingdoms 
of  the  Cholas  and  the  Patidyas  were  subverted.  A 
powerful  Telugu  empire  was  coming  into  existence 
on  the  banks  of  the  Tungabhadra,  which  before 
the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century  absorbed  all  the 
Tamil  kingdoms.  Then  came  the  Mahratta  and  the 
Musalman  hordes  from  the  north,  and  lastly  the  Euro- 
peans from  beyond  the  sea.  Though  the  Telugus  and 
the  Mahrattas  had  come  into  the  Tamil  countries  as 
fortune  seekers,  they  settled  there  permanently  being 
members  of  the  same  creed  and  nationality.  The- 
Musahnans  were  not  so  ;  they  plundered  the  country, 
forcibly  converted  some  of  its  people,  and  returned 
with  booty  leaving  behind  their  deputies  at  certain 
centres  of  strategic  importance  like  Arcot  and' 
Trichinopoly.     They  farmed  out  the  desolate  country 


PLACE  OF  TAMIL   IN   PHILOLOGY  181 

to  renters,\vho  oppressed  and  tortured  the  ryots.  Many 
had  to  sell  their  Jands  for  nominal  prices  to  escape 
persecution.  In  this  way  the  people  had  suffered  till 
the  country  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  British, 
whose  advent  was  a  god-send  to  the  poverty-stricken 
and  down-trodden  Tamils.  1  cannot  better  express 
the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  the  Tamils  which 
resulted  from  this  change  of  sovereignty  than  in  the 
words  of  Pugazhendi, 

strnQupp  Q^rToSisQinrr  assBtQupp  euiTsmQpsQLDiT 
lirrQup  ^'jjiTfB^  Sismpn&iQLDn — utrrrQupgu 

(The  king  regaining  his  dominions  enters  the  city 
with  his  consort.  With  what  shall  I  compare  the 
universal  joy  of  the  people?  Is  il  like  the  joy  of  the 
peacock  at  the  sight  of  the  gathering  clouds,  or  of 
the  face  that  has  got  back  its  eyes,  or  of  the  withering 
crop  that  quickens  mto  life  when  the  rain  falls  ?) 

Till  about  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century  the 
Tamil  countries  were  ruled  by  Hindu  governors. 
Brahmanical  influence  was  in  the  ascendent.  The 
learning  of  Sanskrit,  Tamil  and  Telugu  was  encour- 
aged. Several  original  works  in  all  these  languages 
were  written,  besides  innumerable  commentaries 
■in  Tamil  as  well  as  in  Sanskrit  on  ancient  works, 
-especially  on  the  Nalayira  Prabhandam, — all  tending 
to  harden  and  aggravate  the  sectarian  and  the  tribal 
animosities,  until  a  reaction  set  in  during  the  succeed- 
ing   period    of    Musalman    despotism.      Then    for 


182  TAMIL   STUDIES 

about  half-a-century  there  was  a  lull,  which 
was  followed  by  the  production  of  anli-Brah- 
manical,  Christian  and  Islamic  literatures.  And  it  was 
only  during  the  first  half  of  the  last  century  that  the 
vernacular  literature  began  to  revive  under  the 
fostering  care  of  the  British  administration. 

With  the  change  in  government,  religion  and 
social  customs  many  Tamil  words  had  gone  out 
of  use  giving  way  to  new  ones — -s/r®,  s^ppn^  and 
Qs.tlLi—ld  as  the  administrative  divisions  of  a 
country,  Qi?6\}eoiTUJth,  sair s^^sssuuffssi^^^  Qmearu)^  ^/SuSlsmp, 
Qs=s8<sm/o,  LDsmsmu),  &c.,    as     names    of  public   taxes, 

^LCiT^^LULO,  SlJfTfflujih^  smsS^smm,  S'LCLSlfH^,  &C.,  aS  official 
terms,  (^gliessS,  u^d(^,  _^isssfl^  Qpii^rfl,  SfreasBj  «i^(^*, 
and  other  w^ords  of  native  weights  and  measures  are 
fast  dying  out  except  in  out  of  the  way  villages,  along 
with  «/T<*,  ueaarih,  ^lL®,  enniraim^  and  Other  deno- 
minations of  old  coinage.  Most  of  the  revenue  and 
judicial  terms,  names  relating  to  office  furniture  and 
stationery,  and  generally  most  words  relating  to  the 
administrative  machinary  are  Arabic,  Persian  or  Eng- 
lish. The  religious  terms,  of  course,  are  all  Sanskrit. 

There  is  nothing  new  in  the  gammar  of  this  period, 
perhaps  with  the  exception  of  a  leaning  towards  a 
greater  use  of  Sanskrit  and  foreign  words  by  the 
educated  classes,  and  the  unconscious  creeping  in 
of  several  English  words  in  the  home-speech  of 
the  English  educated  Tamilians. 

Poetry  was  the  only  medium  of  literary  expres- 
sion of   thought   in   Tamil   till    about     the     begin- 


PLACE   OF  TAMIL   IN  PHILOLOGY  183 

rJng  of  the  last  century,  excepting  of  course, 
the  extensive  commentaries  and  copious  notes  on 
ancient  poems.  However,  the  natural  ease  and 
beauty  of  the  writings  of  the  academic  and  the 
liymnal  periods  were  gone  The  ss\}}iljsjo,  uj/tBso, 
^i^fT^,  lSsit'^^3lSIu^,  udsssB  and  «_'5ur  were  the 
different  kinds  of  poesv  adopted  for  shorter  litt^rary 
compositions,  and  the  Kavya(«T  j-9ij:i))f()rm  for  longer 
and  more  descriptive  A'orks  hke  tiie  puranas.  For 
these  quasi-rehgious  compositions  all  kinds  of  metres 
enumerated  in  the  grammar  books  on  prosody  were 
freely  made  use  of.  Learning  was  then  confined  to  a 
class  of  indolent  men  or  relijous  fanatics,  who  iiad 
no  other  work  than  this  sort  of  ex-rcise  in  prosodial 
gymnastics  and  who  depended  for  their  precarious 
subsistence  on  the  b  junties  of  kings  and  noblemen. 
Their  object  was  to  display  their  skill  in  versifying 
and  to  scare  the  ordinary  readers  by  making  their 
stanzas  obscure  by  the  use  of  obsolete  and  am- 
biguous words  as  the  following  examples  will 
show: — 

(1)      iSljiDL^n^^os^pQuLOLon  QsmtMLDaesr 
l3 a LD'^  J ^ ^ss) p  QuLCLorr  Q^ssruDLOTsisr 

iSljLDLfCr^^SlSp   GuLDLDfr  QvSTLCLDCtaSr 
l3!rLCjL^7^^SB)pQusiL£>ir  QsStLD  01^. —  T.    T. 


^T^ — D.  A. 


184  TAMIL   STUDIES 

.  A  word  before  closing  this  chapter.  The  evils  of 
competition  are  overtaking  even  the  Indian  people. 
Modern  industrialism  and  city  life  are  taking  away  the 
taste  for  healthy  reading,  while  forcing  him  to  work 
all  day  for  the  day's  meal  for  hunself  and  his  family. 
Let  it  not  be  said  that  the  scholars  of  this  country 
were  responsible  in  any  way  for  creating  a  literature 
which,  by  being  unsuited  to  the  needs  and  taste 
of  the  people,has  weakened  the  people's  appreciation 
of  good  literature  and  the  capacity  to  live  a  healthy 
life,  and  to  find  a  joy  in  it.  The  Tamilian  of  to-day 
-can  hardly  find  any  time  to  rack  his  brains  in  wading 
through  the  moth-eaten  pages  of  the  rigmarole  pura- 
nas  of  a  Kachiyappa  or  a  Minakshisundram.  We  have 
already  had  enough  and  more  poetry — sonnets,  idylls, 
dramas,  ballads  and  epics;  nay,  even  works  on  philo- 
sophy, religion,  ethics,  hisfory,  grammar,  dictionary, 
medicine  and  on  every  imaginable  subject  are  all 
poetry.  Poetry  and  versification  had  their  value 
in  the  past,  and  they  may  still  be  of  use  in  some 
cat-es.  For  our  literary  models  let  us  go  to  the  writings 
of  Sattanar  or  Ilango-adigal  whose  beauty,  simplicity, 
smoothness  and  grace  it  is  a  pride  and  glory  to 
approach  in  our  efforts.  But  communication  of 
knowledge  in  these  days  is  best  di)ne  in  prose 
not  poetry.  We  want  therefore  plenty  of  prose,  but 
not  Asiaiic  prose,  and  little  of  poetical  literature. 
The  prose  should  be  simple  and  idiomatic,  free  alike 
from  pedantry  and  baldness. 


VIII 

PERIODS  OF  TAMIL  LITERATURE 

Among  the  Dravidian  tribes  of  South  India,  the 
Tamils  were  ihe  first  to  cultivate  a  literature.  Their 
earliest  poems,  which  are  now  extant,  the  Aga-n.inuru, 
the  Pura-nanuru  and  the  anthologies  of  that  kind 
show  that  they  were,  like  the  ancient  Assyrians  and 
the  early  Germanic  tribes,  a  warlike  race.  Here  is  a 
type  of  the  ancient  Dravidian  woman  who  in  response 
to  an  enquiry  about  her  son  answered  thus: — 'I  know 
not  where  my  son  is  ;  but  he  will  anv-h  )w  suddenly 
appear  on  the  battle-field,  for  (pointing  to  her 
belly)  this  is  the  cave    that  gave    birth  to  that    ti-^er.  ' 

STCTTLDSSST 

ujirsaurQsfr  iev)6l^  LD/SKetu  Q^0ih 

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

sSeST  CD  <S>JUlSI(o(ir/'  iS^Qoj 

(o^(T(Ssr^Qjm  iorrQ^a   QuT'TS'setr ^^nQsar. — Pur.  86. 
The    dignity    they      attached    to    military    pursuits, 
the  chivalrous  attitude  towards  their    women,    their 
scorn  for  an  uneventful   life  and    natural  death,  and 


i86  TAMIL   STUDIES 

their  spirit  of  independence  and  adventure  are  patent 
in  every  song  of  the  above  collections.  All  these, 
however,  grew  weaker  under  the  influence  of  the 
Buddhist  and  ]aina  teachings,  and  were  eventually 
stamped  out  by  the  peace-loving  Brahmans,  who  in 
those  days  wielded  such  a  mighty  influence  on  the 
Tamil  nation  as  to  leave  an  indelible  mark  of  Aryanism 
on  everything  non-Aryan. 

Yet  in  every  department  of  Tamil  literature  we 
can  stiil  perceive  a  slender  vein  of  Dravidian  thought 
running  through.  Its  ground-work  is  purely  non- 
Aryan  and  its  super-structure  necessarily  Aryan;  be- 
cause, it  was  not  as  conquerors  that  the  Aryan  Brah- 
mans entered  the  Tamil  country,  but  as  teachers  of 
Vedic  religion  and  philosophy.  Unlike  Islamism 
which  carried  fire  and  sword  with  it,  wherever  it 
went,  the  Indo-Aryans  established  their  spiritual  su- 
premacy by  gentleness,  refinement  and  persuasive 
manners.  Musalmans  were  dreaded  by  the  con- 
quered, whereas  the  Aryans  were  honoured  and 
respected  as  the  '  andaiiar  '  or  the  possessors  of  ten- 
der qualities,  and  *  parpar'  or  the  seers  of  the  Vedas. 
The  early  Musalman  could  not  find  a  place  for 
anything  foreign  to  his  less  cultivated  taste  and  intole- 
rant militant  religion,  while  the  Aryan  assimilated 
and  absorbed  whatever  was  good  outside  his  racial 
culture  and  exalted  it  by  associating  it  with  his  higher 
civilization.  It  is  the  characteristic  of  a  conquering  and 
victorious  army  which  is  not  held  in  check  by  elevated-, 
national   traditional  culture     and   refined    sense    of 


PERIODS   OF   TAMIL  LITERATURE  187 

honour  to  disregard,  and  even  to  destroy  the  Hterary 
and  artistic  treasures  of  the  conquered  people.  Such 
was  the  attiiude  of  the  Muhammadan  invaders  when 
they  first  came  to  South  India.  So  we  find  in  the 
early  part  of  the  fourteenth  century,  when  the  Musal- 
man  hordes  poured  down  into  South  India,  the 
Tamils  had  to  lament  the  loss  of  almost  all  their 
literature.  All  the  libraries  were  ransacked  in  the 
country,  and  all  that  the  Tamil  genius  had  reared  for 
age*  were  committed  to  flames.  On  the  contrary  the 
Brahmans,  the  Jains  and  the  Buddhists  actively  work- 
ed to  found  universities,  literary  academies  and  libra- 
ries, and  added  refinement  and  stability  to  the  Tamil 
language  and  literature.  And  it  was  through  the  deep 
interest  and  tender  care  of  those  people  that  Tamilians 
were  inspired  with  new  thoughts  and  ideas,  and  their 
literature  enriched  with  new  forms  of  expressions. 
Again,  during  modern  times,  the  Musalmans  who  had 
learnt  to  live  on  friendly  terms  with  the  Hindus,  and 
the  Christian  Missionaries  who  had  come  into  South 
India  as  harbingers  of  western  civilization  have  also  in 
a  way  affected,  though  in  an  impt^rceptible  degree, 
the  Dravidian  life  and  thought.  Thus,  the  influence 
of  the  Aryans — both  Indian  and  European — was  es- 
sentially religious  and  philosophical.  All  these  will 
be  explained  later  on  in  their  proper  places. 

Indian  grammarians  have  divided  Tamil 
literature  into  three  classes,  namely — lyal  (belles 
letters),  Isai  (Music)  and  Nataka  (Drama).  As  this 
essay  is  concerned   mainly    with  the  literature  of  the 


188  TAMIL   STUDIES 

lyal  Tamil,  it  will  not  be  inopportune  to  first  briefly 
say  something  about  the  Isai  and  the  Natakam  or 
kutln,  before  we  proceed  to  our  subject. 

Tradition  says  that  Agastya  was  the  only  gramma- 
rian who  wrote  complete  treatises  on  the  grammar 
of  all  the  three  classes  of  Tamil,  but  none  of  them 
are  now  extant.  During  the  early  centuries  of  the 
Christian  era  attention  seems  to  have  been  paid  by  the 
Tamils  to  all  the  three.  They  had  their  own  dances 
and  music — vocal  and  instriimental.  They,  of  course, 
with  the  help  of  Brahmans,  developed  the  art  of 
dancing  to  a  high  degree  of  perfection  and  many 
treatises  were  written  on  this  fine  art  ;  even  their 
gods  had  their  characteristic  favourite  dances .  Music 
too,  was  in  a  state  of  perfection,  and  their  pans  or 
tunes  were  sui  generis  to  the  Tamil  race.  The  only 
ancient  Tamil  work  of  ihe  nature  of  the  drama  that 
has  come  down  to  us  is  the  Silappadikaram  (third 
century).  It  gives  a  vivid  description  of  the  stage, 
the  actor,  the  singer,  the  drummer,  the  flute-player, 
the  yazh-player  and  others  of  the  troupe;  and  contain 
beautiful  specimens  of  vari  {euift),  pattn  (uitlLSi), 
kuravai  (@j«a62j),  ammaiiai  (jfjuoiMn'^est) ,  usal  (siss^su), 
kandukain  (si^suo),  vallai  {eustrHsfr),  and  other  classes 
■of  musical  songs. 

A  brief  description  of  the  ydzh — a  stringed  musical 
instrument,  similar  to  the  guitar,  peculiar  only  to  the 
ancient  Tamils  may  not  be  uninteresting.  It  was  of 
four  kinds,  viz — (ouifliuiTLp,  manuurTiJ^,  s^Qsm—iuni^  and 
Qs=isiQaiTLLL^ajiTifi.  The  Per-yazh  had  21  strings;  aMakra- 


PERIODS   OF   TAMIL   LITERATURE  183 

yazh,  17  ;  Chakota-yazh,  16  ;  and  Sengottu-yazh,  7^ 
Perhaps  these  were  the  instruments  in  use  during  the 
days  of  llango-adigal.  And  the  Per  or  big 'yazh'  which 
is  supposed  to  have  been  in  use  in  the  days  of 
Agastya  had  become  extinct  even  before  the  third 
century  A.  D,  It  is  said  to  have  had  one  thou- 
sand strings, 

G^LoSsard/^L/L/  QiDiTLJuear  QanetrQe^. 
But  with  ihe  growing  influence  of  the  Jains  and 
Brahmans,  spiriluaHty  received  more  attention,  much 
to  the  detriment  of  the  physical  side  of  his 
development,  which  was  neglected  and  even 
condemned.  Self-mortification  and  abstinence 
from  pleasure  were  advocated  and  recommended 
as  the  high  road  to  saWation.  And  the  works  on 
music,  dancing  and  the  drama  written  by  ancient 
Tamils,  such  as  QuQ^rsTss^ir,  0013/5/(5(5(5,  u^^s^umr^iuuci, 
^iT&reusts)s,Quurr^^^  U(^s=LD!ri-i^  ^B^tTSfrarFiujthf  (^em^ 
^^u/isLD,8iC.,  (on  music)  and   uir^iJo,   Qpsneuio,  s^-ui^ii) 

£iia6mrnsrTL.s^suSip^6\),  &c.  (on  dramaturgy)  were  neg- 
lected and  left  to  shift  for  themselves;  and  by  the  time- 
ol  Adiyarkunallar    about    (1200  A.D.)    most  of  them. 
were    lost.     With    them    the   Dravidian    music     and 
dances    became  extinct.    No  one  can  now   say  what 
those /)(377s  and  dances  were  like.     Their    places  were 
gradually    taken    up  by  the    Indo-Aryan   raganis  and; 
naiyains. 

However,  these  aesthetic  arts  were  given  a  religi- 


190  TAMIL   STUDIES 

ous  tone  and  allowed  in  that  condition  to  prolong 
their  feeble  existence  for  upwards  of  ten  centuries 
from  about  the  seventh.  Their  sphere  of  exercise  was 
transferred  from  the  house  to  the  temple.'  The 
Saiva  md  Vaishnava  hymns  forming  the  Devaram 
and  the  Nalayira  Prabandam,  were  collected  and  set 
to  Diavidian  music  and  sung  in  Hindu  tem- 
ples. During  festivals  and  processions  of  gods, 
dancing  was  encouraged  and  plays  were  acted  to 
draw  large  crowds  of  devotees.  Hundreds  of  dancing 
girls  cr  gandharvis  were  attached  to  every  important 
temple.  This  was  the  origin  of  the  institution  of 
singing  by  Odnvans  and  Aralyans,  and  the  public 
representation  of  natakas,  pallns  and  kuravanjis  in 
Hindu  temples.  Of  these  the  first  alone  now  sur- 
vives. The  same  institution  was  carried  to  the  West 
Coast,  and  it  now  survives  in  the  Chakkiyar  kuttu. 
The  persons  concerned  in  this  institution  were,  as 
given  in  the  inscriptions  of  Raja-raja  Chola,  ibitisldiIj 
Lu oTs> y  s'fTS:saiS,  sfTssTunis^y  lSIi—ititssj,  siTLDiruQucsairajssr,  ernr^^ 
ujiDfTif n Luesr y  ^ifliLnstun^sunfr,  sai^ffsSl^  &C.  It  was  Only 
during  the  eighteenth  century  that  dram.a  and 
music  began  to  revive  ;  and  Arunachala  Kavi  (A.D. 
1712-1779)  the  famous  author  ot  Rama  Natakam  may 
be  justly  called  the  father  of  modern  dramatic 
literature,  and  under  the  Mahratta  Rajahs  of  Tanjore 

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


PERIODS   OF    TAMIL  LITERATURE  191 

a  fresh  impetus  was  given  to  music.  We  might  say 
that  both  these  arts  flourished  in  highly  developed 
forms  about  the  time  of  Surfoji  Raja  of  Tanjore  (1780- 
1830).  Subsequently,  plays  in  imitation  of  Shakes- 
peare's dramas,  Kirtans  and  Harikatas  were  written 
for  public  performances  and  music  came  to  be  ap- 
preciated and  patronized  by  the  middle  and  lower 
classes,  who  under  the  British  rule  were  rising  in  im- 
portance, and  the  arts  themselves  were  being  affec  ted 
by  democratic  influences.  This  is  a  subject  which  the 
writer  does  not  feel  competent  to  treat  adequately. 
The  reader  is  referred  to  the  interesting  book  of 
Mr.  Day  and  the  illuminating  contributions  of  Dr. 
Coomaraswamy. 

From  the  existing  Tamil  literature  it  is  not  possible 
to  determine  its  exact  range,  as  it  was  subje  ct  to  vicis- 
situdes, one  of  w'lich  we  have  already  mentioned. 
Several  works  by  Jains  and  Buddhists,  who  were 
among  the  earliest  to  encourage  the  growth  of  Tamil 
literature,  are  not  n  ,nv  forthcoming  ;  and  it  is  believed 
that  most  of  them  were  destroyed  when  Buddhists 
and  Jains  were  persecuted  during  the  seventh  and 
eighth  centuries.  As  we  have  said  elsewhere  *  a 
good  portion  ot  its  e<tensive  literature  preserved  for 
ages  on  palm  leaves  had  long  ago  been  consum- 
ed by  fire  and  white  ants...  And  such  as  had 
escaped  these  destructive  agencies  remained  locked  up 
in  the  dingy  cellars  of  the  lascivious  Mathadhipatis 
and  in  the  thatched  hjuses  of  penniless  pandits.' 
Even  if  all  the  writings  of    the    early   and  mediaeval 


192  TAMIL   STUDIES 

Tamil  authors  had  come  down  to  us  in  full  preserva- 
tion it  is  extremely  doubtful  whether  Tamil  literature 
would  be  as  extensive  as  its  Sanskrit  compeer.  And 
this  has  been  confirmed  by  Dr.  Caldwell  who  very 
truly  observes  that  'Tamil  literature  as  a  whole  will 
not  bear  a  comparison  with  Sanskrit  literature  as  a 
wh  oie.' 

Of  the  different  branches  of  knowledge  the  early- 
Tamils  appear  to  have  cultivated  only  the  polite 
literature.  They  knew  only  so  much  of  elementary 
arithmetic  as  was  absolutely  required  for  trading 
purposes,  and  higher  mathematics,  science,  philoso- 
phy and  theology  in  which  the  Indo. Aryans  excel- 
led all  other  civilized  nations  of  antiquity  were 
unknown  to  the  Dravidians.  Some  Tamil  scholars 
might  say  that  astronomy  was  not  unknown  to  their 
ancients  and  quote, — 

0<F@  (^rraSp^'S'  Qs=6\)eii(i^  t^fTuSpgfiu 
urftuLjuo  urfluL-jS=(^t^id^  LCGoan^&JQ^LD 

eunS^  tS'^  ^lummuQp  QLDmoSsiDQj 

iAl'SesT^Q^oir  QufTQi)  QpefiQa. — Pur.  30. 
One  or  two  of  them  went  even  to  the  length  of 
asserting  that  'Saiva  philosophy  and  religion  in  its 
original  elements  was  purely  Tamilian'.  Mr. 
Kanakasabhai  believes  that  '  in  the  ancient  Tamil 
classical  works,  the  terms  relating  to  music,  gram- 
mar, astronomy  and  even  abstract  philosophy  are  of 
pure   Tamil   origin',   and  that   'they    indicate   most 


PERIODS   OF  TAMIL   LITERATURE  193 

clearly  that  those  sciences  were  cultivated  by  the 
Tamils  long  before  the  arrival  of  the  Brahmans  or 
other  Aryan  immigrants'.  This  is  not  good  logic,  as 
these  terms  might  be  later  Tamil  translations  or  ad- 
aptations from  Sanskrit.  It  would  be  more  reasonable 
to  ask, — Did  the  Tamils  possess  any  literature  on  these 
subjects  before  the  arrival  of  the  Brahmans  ?  So  far 
as  we  know  they  had  none.  We  need  not  attempt  to 
refute  these  statements  seriatim,  but  shall  content 
ourselves  for  the  present  with  quoting  the  views  of 
Dr.  Caldwell  on  the  pre-Aryan  civilization  of  the 
Tamils.  'They  were  without  hereditary  priests  and 
idols  and  appear  to  have  had  no  idea  of  '  heaven  '  or 
*heir  or  the  'soul'  or  'sin'. ..They  had  numerals 
up  to  100  ;  ...but  no  acquaintance  with  sculpture, 
architecture,  astronomy,  astrology,  grammar  or 
philosophy'. 

The  existing  Tamil  works,  most  of  them,  are  either 
translations  or  adaptations  of  Sanskrit  originals.  There 
are,  however,  certain  compositions  which  are  not  so. 
The  five  major  and  the  five  minor  epics,  the  eight 
anthologies,  the  ten  major  and  the  eighteen  minor 
poems  belong  to  this  class.  Dr.  Caldwell  thinks  that 
'in  one  department  at  least,  that  of  ethical  apothegms 
it  is  generally  maintained  that  Sanskrit  has  been  out- 
done by  Tamil.'  But,  on  the  other  hand,  we  are 
inclined  to  think  that  the  existence  of  so  many  works 
on  the  ethics  of  daily  life  is  an  indication  of  the  low 
state  of  morality  among  the  early  Tamils.  Because 
u 


194  TAMIL    STUDIES 

it  was  the  Dravidian  whose  teeth  were  blunted  by  the 
eating  of  flesh, 

Qaje\)'?0i}ij^  uSrr<sij  QpmfiSm^^  LD(ipiiQ. — Pat,  II. ,117, 
that  required  the  advice, 

QurrQ^etreOso  ^eusiioaijSesrdo, — KuK 

And  the  following  extracts  will  show  that  most  of 
the  Tamil  kings  were  tyrannizing  over  their  subjects: — 

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

2.  Q'fS^'-jSs  QesrCc'Sijifim  Qsuk^gii^^  i-js\)uiQuiTe\). — Kal. 
The  early  Tamilians  considered  it  an  honour  and 
virtue  in  a  military  man  to  carry  off  other  men's 
wives,  to  devastate  the  enemy's  fields,  to  destroy  their 
houses  and  to  lift  the  cattle  of  neighbouring  tribes. 
A  people  with  such  principles  of  conduct  really  needed 
books  on  practical  morality.i 

The  ethical  code  of  the  Tamils  is  contained  chiefly 

in  the   eighteen   minor    poems   already    referred    to. 

None  of   the    works   on  morals   which    our   learned 

bishop    makes  so   much    of,   appear   to    have    been 

written  by  the  Tamils  before  they    had    come   under 

tiie  civilizing  influence  of  the    Indo-Aryans,    be    they 

Brahmans,  Buddhists  or  Jains.  It    is   even   supposed 

that  the  Kural  of  Tiruvalluvar  and  the  Acharakkovai 

of  Peruvayil-Mulliyar  are   adaptations  from    Sanskrit 

1.  The  fact  that  Brahmans  were  called  Qio^iuir  or  'truth  speakers' 
proves  that  lying  was  common  among  the  early  Tamil  speakin  g 
tribes. 


PERIODS   OF  TAMIL    LITERATURE  195 

Mahabharata,   Dharmasastras,  &c.,    as   will    be    seen 
from  the  following  extract  : — 

^0sueh(ei^eiJica)iT^th    Qu^^^iso    Qji^^&dirrT     iM^LoupfS 
^tSlLpiT  Q^^Q'asiQrj'    aiTuS^LD     ^uSi^^6\)fs(D<striT(SLh  Qurr0ii^ 

QuiT(r^LL    uj(^uitlLu).'SioST    ^pmQuiTQTf'SffissruQisKosr     eui—^sdnlr 
euLpi(^Ljup!]S  (cUJfr^'^eOfT!Ssr. ..-giip^^uufTeo  eSlsL^iiJias'Serr  ld^ 

Qi pQ (ri?(Slisi  (c)urr(TKii^ss)Sij^^  isui!^(Sf^suieo)iT  3^/01  ^ssrCol ireisr  u^ , 

Thus  it  is  evident  that  the  whole  of  Tamil  litera- 
ture is  permeated  with  Aryan  influence  and  that 
practically  there  was  no  literature  worth  the 
name  among  the  Tamils  before  the  migration  of 
Brahmans  to  South  India,  and  it  has  been  boldly 
asserted  by  M.  Hovelacque  that  'all  the  works  of 
which  it  is  composed,  down  to  the  smallest  fragment 
are  long  posterior  to  their  first  contact  with  the 
Aryans.' 

The  science  of  history  is  foreign  to  the  Hindus;  and 
a  history  of  literature  is  much  more.  They  made  no 
distinction  between  mythology,  tradition  and  history. 
Periods  of  time  were  of  no  consequence  ;  to  them 
past  and  present  in  the  growth  of  a  language  or  liter- 
ature were  an  eternal  now  and  meaningless.  The 
Tamil  scholars,  ancient  as  well  as  modern,  have  had 
no  idea  of  the  exact  range  of  their  literature.  The 
average  Tamil  scholars  were  mostly  poets  or  versi- 
fiers, and  their  acquaintance  with  literature  was  limi- 
ted to  some  standard  works  on  grammar,  vocabulary 


196  TAMIL   STUDIES 

and  ot  one  or  two  epic  poems  Karoban's  Rama- 
yanam,  Ativiraramapandya's  Naishadam,  Tolkapyam,. 
Pavanandi's  Nannul,  Amritasagarar's  Karigai,  Dandi 
Alankaram,  Uivakaram  and  Chudamani  Nigandu 
together  with  one  or  two  aniadis  and  kalanihakams 
met  all  the  requirements  of  these  versifiers.  This 
easily  earned  scholarship  and  consequent  self-com- 
placency, blinded  them  to  the  merits  of  many  impor- 
tant Tamil  works  written  by  Buddhists  and  Jains,, 
which  were  disliked  on  account  of  their  authorship. 
These  were  left  in  the  sun  and  rain  to  decay  or  to  be 
eaten  up  in  course  of  time  by  white-ants;  while  many 
more  were  consigned  to  the  floods  of  the  18th  of 
Adi  (August) 

But  such  a  charge  cannot  be  laid  at  the  feet  of 
Nacchinarkiniyar,  or  Adiyarkunallar  and  generally  of 
all  the  erudite  commentators  of  the  middle  ages. 
Their  study  was  extensive  and  their  exposition 
thoroughly  logical  ;  and  yet  the  critical  methods  of 
research  and  investigation  which  characterize  the 
inquisitive  scholar  of  modern  times  were  absolutely 
unknown  to  them  ;  for,  as  Dr.  Caldwell,  pertinently 
reroarkSjthe  critical  spirit  even  in  the  west  is  of  modern 
growth.  The  ancient  Hindus  did  not  cultivate  it, 
because  they  had  the  greatest,  perhaps  blind,  regard 
and  veneration  for  their  ancestors  and  their  works  ; 
and  implicitly  believed  as  sacred  truths  whatever  their 
elders  said,  absurd  though  they  might  be.  Further, 
the  Science  of  Philology  or  the  historical  and  scienti- 
fic study  of  languages  did  not   come   into    existence 


PERIODS   OF   TAMIL   LITERATURE  197 

then.  Literary  forgeries  passed  for  genuine  produc- 
tions ;  and  the  native  scholars  who  have  been  duped 
by  them  owing  to  their  creduhty  are  miserably 
incapable  of  detecting  them.  Even  the  so-called  Tamil 
scholars  of  the  present  day  who  profess  to  follow 
the  critical  and  historical  methods  in  their  researches 
cannot  discriminate  the  famous  Brahman  author  of 
Kurinjippattu  from  the  saintly  composer  of  the  Siva- 
Peruman  Tiruvantadi,  or  even  from  that  recent 
Dravidian  writer  of  an  anti-Brahmanical  song;  or 
the  author  of  Gnana  Vettiyan  from  the  immortal 
writer  of  the  Kural.  We  give  below  specimens 
from  three  different  poems  wrongly  attributed  to  one 
and  the  same  Kapiiar  by  Tamil  scholars  of  the  old 
orthodox  school  : — 

(1)  j)jpiBis<oSi[rib£i}  euujiwQuj  srrsSl pi^ piiQuj 
eamir^iTeo  QeusirsSl  Qpisf.^^,  Qs<^isSl 
uuib^vSBT  STQ^ikiseo  QiMjhu  SitulL 

Ljp^^&siap  (SuuSlifiuup  sfressflssr  <sijeo(c&) 
QiLioo(^ueaiL-  iu^^^  QsirdjSrQjp  L^HisS 

<ouiT(ev)d  QsiTiarisioseo)iu. — Pad.  VII.  64. 

(2)  Qurrsui^^  ^is^uS^riS  SpiSir  i^^est ^ ^n f[Qfiiif.Q m   tss^s 
uk^^  ^ih^fBiretrui   Saa paSesi piu!T<ssruiuls ^  uotrsLDi?^^ 
^ih^Lorr  LceiDipQuiTasT p  ld^^^ss^uQuit  Qns^k^^ 


198  TAMIL    STUDIES 

(3)       Q^asrfSeaffu  L/Ssvujsar  Q/i_^sjD^<s  Qs@ p 
uoDsp   Q&HT^u  uiriTUUfT  ^Qjireisr 
oji—^emsFU  utTrfuuiKom  QpmrBssiS^s  QsiQasr 
issai—oj^  Qsiremflu  l/'Ssouj  ^eurrm. — Agaval. 

No  doubt  this  must  partly  be  attributed  to  pre- 
judice, racial  feelings,  and  mistaken  faith.  With  the 
spread  of  Western  culture  and  the  study  of  scientific 
methods   they   seem  to   be   gradually    disappearing.. 

Mr.  Damodaram  Pillai's  Classification  : —  Among 
the  pandits  of  the  old  type  we  must  undoubtedly 
include  Mr.  Damodaram  Pillai,  the  learned  editor 
of  Tolkapyam,  Virasoliyara,  Kalittogai  and  other 
works.  Though  a  lawyer  and  judge  by  profession, 
his  zeal  and  admiration  for  his  native  literature  and 
his  Tamil  race  have  not  only  blurred  his  judgment  but 
also  carried  him  away  from  the  sacred  precincts  of 
historic  truth.  In  a  lengthy  introduction  to  his  edition 
of  Virasoliyam  he  has  attempted  to  give  a  brief 
history  of  Tamil  literature,  besides  making  some 
uncalled  for  remarks  on  the  non-Saivites  in  his 
violent  Jaffnese  style.  His  reputation  as  a  good 
Tamil  scholar  and  the  valuable  service  he  has  rendered 
to  the  Tamil  nation  by  his  publications  make  it  neces- 
sarv  to  notice  his  views  along  with  those  of  Dr. 
Caldwell  and  others.  According  to  him  there  were 
eight  periods  m  the  history  of  Tamil  literature 
namely : — 

I,  jijQuiT^antsoih  Before  Agastya.    There  was> 

(Pre-historic).     then  no  alphabet. 


PERIODS    OF   TAMIL  LITERATURE 


199^ 


II.  ^si^trsneoiJD  From  Ihe  date  of  theinven- 
(Alphabetic).     tion  of  the  alphabet  by  Agas- 

tya  to  the  period  of    comple- 
tion of  his  grammar. 

III.  ^&)ss6et!rsn&)u[i         The  period  of  composition 
(Grammatic),     of    Tamil    grammar     by  his 

twelve  disciples. 

IV.  ffQp^rrujsn&LD  Period  of  the    three  Tamil 

(Academic).     academies(B.C.  10,150  to  150). 

V.   ^iBrr^mraneoih  200    years.    After  the   des- 

('Lethargic),     truction  of  the  third  Sangam 

when    the     Tamil    literature^ 

was    not      patronised    (B.   C. 

150— A.  D.  50). 

VI.  s=weaBrsrT&}LD  300    years.     When  Chinta- 

(Jain).  mani,     Nannul,    Virasoliyam 

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

VI L    ^^ms^meoiM         800  years.     In  this   period 

(Puranic).     Puranas,     Naishada,     Rama- 

yana  and  other  works  of  that 

kind  were    written  (A.  D.  350 

—1150), 

VIII.    ^^earsneoLD         700  years.  When    the  Saiva 

(Monastic),     monks    of     Tiruvaduturai 

and  other  places   encouraged. 

the  study  of    Tamil    literature 

(A.  D.  11§0— 1850). 

The  above  classification  appears  to  us  on  the 
face  of  it  unscientific  and  historically  monstrous.  It 
is  marked  by  a  total  want  of  a  sense  of  proportion 
and  historical  acumen.  Coming  as  it  does  from  the 
pen  of  a  lawyer  of  English  training  it  is  really  pitiable. 
In  his  opinion  the  age  of  Tamil  literature  must    be  at 


JOO  TAMIL    STUDIES 

least  12,000  years  which  is  4  or  5  millenniums  older 
than  the  earliest  known  civilisation.  The  history  of 
Egypt  commences  from  not  more  than  3,000  years 
before  Christ  ;  that  of  the  Greeks  ascends  scarcely 
to  2,700  years  from  to-day.  It  serves  no  good  to 
enter  into  the  details  of  his  classification;  its  impioba- 
bilites  and  fanciful  dates  assigned  to  different  works 
will    be  brought  out  in  the  sequel. 

Mr.  Stir yanaray ana's    classification  : — To    pass   on 

from  the  dubious   field  of  blind  faith  and  tradition  to 

the  domain    of    reason  and  history,   we    find    in    Mr. 

Suryanarayana  Sastri    saner    views.     His  little  book 

on  the  history  of  Tamil    language  is  a   useful  attempt 

worth  imitating  on  a   larger   scale  by  Tamil  scholars 

trained  in  the     occidental    methods.     He  devotes   a 

■chapter  to    an    outline  history    of    Tamil     literature 

which  he  divides  into  the  following  periods  : — 

I.  Early.  B.  C.  8000  to    A.    D.     100. 

This  includes  the  age  of  the 
three  academies  or  Sangams. 

II.    Mediaeval.  {a)    First      half:     100—600 

A.  D.  The  five  major  and 
the  live  minor  epics,  Tiru- 
vachakam,  Divakaram,Muttol- 
layirara  and  other  works 
were  written  during  this 
period. 

(6)  Second  half  :  600—1400 
A.D.  Tevaram,  Kalladam, 
Tiruvoymozhi,  Agapporul, 
Purapporul,  Ramayanam, 

Nala  Venba  and  other  works 
were  written. 


PERIODS   OF   TAMIL    LITERATURE  201 

III.    Modern.  From    A.D.    1400.  Ativira- 

raraa  Pandiyan,  Villiputturar, 
Arunagiri,  Paranjoti,  Sivapra- 
kasar,  Tatvarayar,  Tayumana- 
var,  Viramamuni  and  other 
poets  jBourished. 

The  above  classification,  though  not  open  to  serious 
objections  Hke  the  preceding  one,  seems  to  us  some- 
what unsatisfactory  in  that  it  is  wanting  in  historical 
perspective  ;  nor  is  each  period  sufficiently  explana- 
tory of  tiie  spirit  and  influence  of  the  time  which  it 
professes  to  deal  with.  It  is  a  strange  mixture  of 
conflicting  traditions  with  historical  facts.  His  early 
period,  which  covers  a  long  interval  of  8100  years,  no 
historian  of  any  existing  literature  would  make  up 
his  mind  to  believe.  He  seems  to  accept  unreservedly 
the  traditional  account  of  the  Tamil  academies 
which  no  scholar  acquainted  with  the  modern 
critical  method  would  do.  His  mediaeval  period 
extends  over  a  pretty  long  period  of  1300  years, 
while  his  third  occupies  only  500.  It  is  not  under- 
stood on  what  established  data  he  has  based  his 
•classification,  no  distinguishing  land-marks  being 
assigned  to  it. 

Dr.  CaldivU's  Classification  '■ — In  his  introduction 
to  'A  Comparative  Grammar  of  the  DravicHan 
Languages',  Dr.  Caldwell  aims  at  giving  a  brief 
history  of  Tamil  literature.  He  divides  it  into  seven 
cycles  or  periods  citing  some  authors  or  works  as 
representative  of  each  cycle.     They  are, 

I.     The  Jaina   cycle    or   the   cycle  of   the    Madura 


202  TAMIL    STUDIES 

« 

Sangam  or  College,  from  the  eighth  or  ninth  century 
A.  D.  to  the  twelfth  or  thirteenth  century.  The 
important  works  of  this  period  were  Kural, 
Naladiyar,  Chintamani,  Divakaram  and  Nannul. 

II.  The  Tamil  Ramayana  cycle — the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury. Kamban,  Pugazhendi,  Ottaikkuttar  and  Auvai- 
yar  were  the  poets  of  this  age. 

III.  The  Saiva  Revival  cycle — the  thirteenth  and 
fourteenth  centuries.  The  Tevaram  and  the  Tiru- 
vachakam  were  composed  during  this  period. 

IV.  The  Vaishnava  cycle — about  the  same  period.. 
To  this  period  he  assigns  the  composition  of  the 
Nalayiraprabandam. 

V.  The  cycle  of  the  Literary  Revival — the  fifteenth 
and  sixteenth  centuries.  The  works  and  authors 
were  Vasishtam,  the  Saiva  Siddhantam,  Ativirarama- 
Pandyan  and  Villiputturar. 

VI.  The  anti-Brahmanical  cycle  in  which  the  com- 
positions of  the  Siddhar  School  came  into  existence — 
seventeenth  century.  Agastya,  Siva  Vakkiyar,  Tiru- 
mular,  Bhadragiriyar,  and  all  the  eighteen  Siddhas 
flourished  at  this  period. 

VII.  The  modern  school — the  eighteenth  and  nine- 
teenth centuries  in  which  Pattanattar,  Tayumanavar 
and  the  authors  oi  Prabhuhngalilai  and  Tembavani 
lived] 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  classification  that 
there  was  no  literature  in  Tamil  before  the  eighth 
century  A.  D.  Elsewhere,  the  same  writer  goes  on  to 
say  that 'the  Tamil  literature  now  extant  enables  us  to 


PERIODS   OF  TAMIL   LITERATURE  203 

ascend,  in  studying  the  history  of  the  language  only 
to  the  ninth  or  tenth  century  A.  D.'  And  in  a  third 
place  he  assigns  the  eighth  century  A.  D.  as  the  age 
of  Tolkapyam  with  the  following  remark: — 'Whatever 
antiquity  may  be  attributed  to  the  Tolkapyam  it  must 
have  been  preceded  by  many  centuries  of  literary 
culture,  it  lays  down  rules  for  different  kinds 
of  poetical  compositions,  which  must  have  been 
deduced  from  examples  furnished  by  the  best 
authors  whose  works  were  then  in  existence.  A 
rule  is  simply  an  observed  custom'.  Don't  we 
observe  in  these  statements  apparent  contradictions  ? 
Whatever  may  be  the  date  of  the  Tolkapyam, 
did  he  endeavour  to  learn  the  names  ot  the  best 
authors  who  had  furnished  examples  for  that  gram- 
mar? The  truth  seems  to  be  that,  when  his  great  work 
was  published  nearly  half-a-century  ago,  some  of  the 
earliest  Tamil  classics  like  the  Silappadikaram, 
Manimekalai,  Pattuppattu,  Purananuru  and  several 
others  were  unknown  even  to  many  Tamil  pandits  of 
those  days.  Moreover,  his  division  of  Tamil  literature 
into  cycles  and  his  determination  of  the  dates  of 
certain  important  Tamil  works  were  based  upon  some 
doubttul  inscriptions  of  a  Rajendra  Chola  or  a 
Sundara  Pandya  Deva  and  upon  a  misconception  that 
the  Alvars  were  the  disciples  of  the  great  Vaishnava 
reformer,  Sri  Ramanuja  Charya.  But  within  the  last 
thirty  years  epigraphy  has  progressed  so  far  and  has 
brought  to  light  so  many  important  facts,  literary,, 
social,    and   historical,   as  to   necessitate  a  complete 


204  TAMIL    STUDIES 

modification  of  almost  every  one  of  his  statements 
concerning  the  dates  of  Tamil  authors.  The  learned 
Bishop  has  devoted  several  pages  of  his  invaluable 
grammar  to  a  vain  discussion  of  the  age  of  >undara  or 
Kun  Pandya  of  Trignanasambandar's  time,  wrongly 
identifying  him  with  the  Sunder  Bendi  of  the  Muham- 
madan  historians,  in  order  to  bring  the  authors  of 
the  Devara  hymns  down  to  the  13th  century  A.  D. 
His  statement  that  'the  poetical  compositions  of 
seven  of  the  twelve  Alvars  or  Vaishnava  devotees, 
followers  of  Ramanuja,  which  are  included  in  the 
Nalayiraprabandam  are  still  more  numerous  than 
those  of  Manikkavachakar,  Trignanasambandar  and 
other  Saiva  devotees,'  might  be  a  clear  proof  of  his 
total  ignorance  of  the  magnitude  of  any  of  these 
sacred  hymns.  And  it  might  be  said  with  greater 
confidence  that  he  had  not  seen  or  even  heard  of 
several  works  in  the  Tamil  language.  I  do  not 
propose  to  enter  into  any  detailed  examination  of 
his  views,  as  they  have  already  been  sufficiently 
criticised  by  the  late  Mr.  Sundaram  Pillai  of 
Trivandram. 

Classification  of  Sir  W.  Hunter  and  others  \ — The 
most  prominent  among  the  later  writers  on  Tamil 
literature  is  Sir  W.  W.  Hunter.  He  writes  thus: 
•'The  Saivite  and  Vaishnavite  revival  of  the  Brahman 
apostles  in  Southern  India  from  the  8th  century 
•  onwards  stirred  up  a  counter  movement  on  the 
part  of  the  Jains.  The  Dravidian  Buddhists  and 
Jains  created   a  cycle  of   Tamil  literature    anti-Brah- 


PERIODS   OF  TAMIL   LITERATURE  205 

manical  in  tone,  stretching  from  the  9th  to  the  13th 
century.  Its  first  great  composition,  the  Kural  of 
Tiruvalluvar,  not  later  than  the  10th  century  A.  D.  is 
said  to  have  been  the  work  of  a  poet  sprung  from 
the  Pariah  or  lowest  caste.  The  Jain  period  of  Tamil 
literature  inchides  works  on  ethics  and  language  ; 
among  them  the  Uivakaram  literally  the  '  Day- 
making  Dictionary'.  The  period  culminated  in  the 
Chintamani,  a  romantic  epic  of  15,000  Imes  by  an 
unknown  Jain  author  ...Contemporaneous  with  the 
Jain  cycle  of  Tamil  literature  the  great  adaptation  of 
the  Ramayana  was  composed  by  Kambar  for  the 
Dravidian  races  ...  Between  that  period  and  the 
16th  century  two  encyclopaedic  collections  of  Tamil 
hymns  in  praise  of  Siva  were  gradually  formed... 
During  the  same  centuries  the  Vaishnavite  apostles 
were  equally  prolific  in  Tamil  religious  songs... 
After  a  period  of  literary  inactivity  the  Tamil  genius 
again  blossomed  forth  in  the  16th  and  17th  centuries 
with  a  poet-king  as  the  leader  of  the  literary  revival. 
In  the  ]7th  century  arose  an  anti-Brahmanical  Tamil 
literature  known  as  the  Sittar  school  ...  The  Tamil 
writers  of  the  18th  and  19th  centuries  are  classified  as 
modern.  The  hc^nours  of  this  period  are  divided  bet- 
ween a  pious  Sivaite  and  the  Italian  Jesuit,  Beschi.' 
The  above  extracts  from  Dr.  W.  W.  Hunter's  Gazet- 
teer will  clearly  show  that  he  has  simply  followed  Dr. 
Cadwell's  classification,  paraphrasing  it  in  his  usual 
racy  style.  It  might  be  said  here  once  for  all  that  all 
other   English  writers  on  Tamil    literature,  including 


206  TAMIL    STUDIES 

Dr.  Grierson,  Dr.  Rost  and  Professor  Frazer^,  have 
wittingly  or  unwittingly  followed  the  learned  Bishop's 
statements  and  propagated  the  obvious  errors  he 
had  committed,  and  did  not  take  the  least  trouble 
to  correct  them,  on  account  of  his  high  auth(>rity  and 
of  their  total  ignorance  of  the  extent  and  importance 
of  Tamil  language  and  literature.  To  these  may  be 
added  their  instinctive  slight  for  a  non-Aryan  race 
and  culture. 

Notwithstanding^  the  able  and  trenchant  criti- 
cism of  some  of  Dr. Caldwell's  theories  by  the  late  Mr. 
Sundaram  Pillai  in  his  '  Some  Mile-stones  in  the  His 
tory  of  Tamil  Literature',  some  European  scholars,  still 
draw  their  statements  largely  from  the  works  of  Drs. 
Burnell  and  Caldwell.  No  doubt,  European  sch'>lars 
have  done  excellent  service  in  the  cause  of  Compara- 
tive Philology  and  the  Indians  are  deeply  indebted 
to  them  for  the  study  of  their  languages  on  critical 
and  historical  methods.  But  so  far  as  a  thorough 
and  intimate  knowledge  of  the  Vernaculars  and  their 
idioms  are  concerned,  we  cannot  expect  them  all  to 
be  Beschis  or  Popes.  In  the  days  of  Drs.  Caldwell 
and  Burnell  the  science  of  epigraphy  was  in  its  in- 
fancy and  they  were  not  justified  in  being  dogmatic 
in  their   assertions   relating    to  historical  questions. 

1.  I  am  glad  to  find  tliac  Mr,  F'razer  has  corrected  most  of  his 
views  (in  1912)  agreeably  to  the  latest  researches  in  South  Indian 
Epigraphy  and  early  Tamil  literature;  and  I  believe  he  is  the  only 
European  scholar  who  is  up  to  date  in  his  Tamil  studies.  See  his 
-article  on  '  Dravida'  in  the  Encyclopedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics. 


PERIODS   OF  TAMIL   LITERATURE  207 

Within  the  past  quarter  of  a  centurv  epigraphy  has 
progressed  by  leaps  and  bounds,  and  the  facts  and 
theories  of  these  writers  require  considerable  revision. 
To  quote  from  these  writers  would,  therefore,  be 
exceedingly  unsafe.  One  example  from  the  Imperial 
Gazetteer  (New  Edition)  will  suffice.  In  Volume  II 
of  this  monumental  work,  Mr.  R.  Sewell,  while 
speaking  of  the  literature  of  the  Tamils,  writes  thus: — 
*  Several  Tamil  poets  of  this  age,  i  e.,  about  A.  D 
600 — 50  are  greatly  renmvned,  among  whom  may  be 
mentioned  the  Saiva  devotees  of  Tirunavukkaraiyar, 
Tirgnanasambandar  and  Sundaram  irthi  Nayanar  ; 
Manikka  Vasagar  also  belongs  to  this  period '  (p. 
330).  And  Dr.  Grierson  who  has  devoted  three  preci- 
ous paragraphs  in  the  same  volume  tor  this  ancient 
literature,  says — 'The  worship  of  Siviinthe  Tamil 
country  found  its  earliest  literary  expression  in  the 
Tiruvasagam  or 'Holy  word' of  Manikka-vas^gar  who 
lived  in  the  eleventh  century  (p.  425)...  A  later  and 
larger  collection  of  hymns  addressed  to  Siva  is  the 
Tevaram  of  Sambanda,  Sundara  and  Appa  (p.  426)... 
After  the  Jain  period  we  have  the  great  Saiva  move- 
ment of  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries  to 
which  we  owe  the  hymnologies  already  described 
(p.  435).'  It  is  not  our  object  to  decry  the  labours 
of  these  European  scholars;  but  it  is  to  be  regretted 
that  such  paragraphs  have  found  their  way  into  the 
pages  of  the  Imperial  Gazetteer  published  under  the 
authority  of  the  Government  of  India. 

Mr,  Vinson's  Classification  .- — The  only  other  Wes- 


208  TAMIL    STUDIES 

tern  student  of  Tamil  literature  whom  we  should  not 
pass  over  unnoticed  is  M.  Julien  Vinson  of  Paris.  *  I 
can  hardly  admit  ',  he  writes,  'that  Tamil  literary  age 
began  before  the  seventh  century  A.  D'.  He  further 
thinks  that  there  were  five  periods  in  it,  which  for  the 
sake  of  brevity  and  distinctness  we  subjoin  in  a  tabular 
form: — 

I.  6th  and  7th  Period  of  essays,  pam- 

centuries.  phlets  and  short  poems. 

II.  8th  century.  Period    in    which  the 

Jains  predominated. 

III.  9th  century.  Period    which  saw  at 

the  same  time  the  strug- 
gle between  Saivas  and 
Jains,  and  in  which 
Buddhists  came  from 
Ceylon. 

IV.  10th  century.  Period  in    which    the 

Saivas  were  the  undis- 
puted masters. 

V.  15th  and  16th  Period    in  which  ap- 

centuries.  pear  the  Vaishnavas. 

This  classification,  though  it  is  a  marked  improve-' 
ment  on  the  previous  one,  is  still  open  to  the  follow, 
ing  objections : — 

(1)  For  the  first  period  of  essays  and  pamphlets 
M.  Vinson  should  have  had  in  view  Aingurunuru,. 
PadirrupattUjPurananuru  and  other  anthologies  which 
were  collected  and  arranged  by  the  third  academy. 
He  must  have  either  overlooked  Tolkapyam,  (fourth 
or  third  century  B.  C),  Kural  (first  century  A.  D.), 
Silappadikaram  and    Manimekalai    (third  century),  or 


PERIODS    OF  TAMIL    LITERATURE  209 

discredited  the  dates  assigned  to  them  by  Indian  scho- 
lars. But  I  now  see  no  sufficient  reason  to  doubt 
the  chronology  of  these  ancient  classical  works  on 
grammar  and  ethics,  some  of  which  in  scientific 
accuracy,  in  originality  of  design,  in  beauty  of  ex- 
pression and  thought^  and  in  faithfulness  to  nature 
would  stand  comparison  with  the  best  works  of 
similar  kind  in  other  languages. 

(2)  The  second  and  third  periods,namely,  the  eighth 
and  ninth  centuries,  are  characterised  by  a  bitter 
struggle  between  Jainism  and  Brahmanism.  As  will 
be  seen  from  the  lives  and  works  of  Tirumalisai  and 
Tiruraangai  Alvars,  the  Vaishnava  Saints  had  an  equal 
share  with  the  Saivas  in  the  suppression  of  Jainism. 
It  is  not,  therefore,  correct  to  call  it  a  struggle  between 
Jamism  and  Sivaism.  It  may  be  that  very  few 
Buddhists  came  from  Ceylon  to  Chidambaram, 
and  had  religious  disputations  with  Manikkavachagar 
about  the  middle  of  the  ninth  century.  But  this  was 
only  a  minor  incident  which  left  no  permanent  im- 
press on  either  the  literature  or  the  religion  of  the 
Tamil  people.  Moreover,  it  was  Brahmanism — not 
Sivaism — that  had  attamed  its  supremacy  so  early  as 
the  ninth  century,  though  Jainism  had  still  a  linger- 
ing existence.  And  it  was  during  these  two  centu- 
ries that  a  great  number  of  the  Saiva  N ayanmars  and 
Vaishnava  Alvars  flourished  and  did  their  proselyti- 
zing work. 

(3)  During  the  fourth  period  (tenth  century)  not  only 
the  Saivas  but  also  the  Vaishnavas  were  left  undisput- 

14 


210  TAMIL     STUDIES 

ed  masters  in  the  religious  field.  It  also  witnessed 
the  collection  and  arrangement  of  the  sacred  hymns 
of  Appar,  Sambandar,  Sundarar,  Manikkavachakar 
and  other  Saiva  saints  into  eleven  Tirumurais  by 
Nainbiyandar  Nambi,  and  of  the  twelve  Vaishanava 
Alvars  into  Nalayira  Prabandam  (Book  of  4,000 
Psalms)  by  Sri  Nathamuni. 

(4)  M.  Vinson  assigns  to  the  fifth  period — fifteenth 
and  sixteenth  centuries — the  appearance  of  the 
Vaishnavas.  It  is  here,  we  tiiink,  that  his  ignorance 
of  the  history  of  Tamil  literature,  especially 
of  the  Vaishnava  religion,  is  most  marked.  He 
has  not  studied  or  rightly  understood  the  origin 
and  growth  of  the  Vaishnava  sect  m  South 
India.  Perhaps  he  was  misled  by  the  incorrect  state- 
ment of  Dr.  Caldwell,  that  the  twelve  Vaishnava 
saints  were  the  disciples  of  Sri  Ramanuja  Charya,  the 
great  reformer  of  the  twelfth  century.  We  may  men- 
tion that  the  fifth  period  of  M.  Vinson  is  distin- 
guished for  the  best  controversial  literature  on  the 
Vaishnava  religion  and  for  the  scholarly  commen- 
taries thereon,  in  the  Manipravala  or  composite  style 
peculiar  only  to  the  Jains  and  the  Vaishnava  Brah- 
man s. 

Proposed  Classification  :  None  of  the  Tamil  works 
bear  a  certain  date  ;  yet  they  are  not  wanting  in 
criteria  to  enable  the  reader  to  assign  to  ihem  a 
definite  period  in  the  literary  development.  For 
first  there  exists  a  difference  in  language  demarcating 
the  most  important  periods  ;  and  secondly  the  deve- 


PERIODS   OF   TAMIL   LITERATURE 


211 


lopment  of  the  literature  has  been  upon  such  lines 
(mainly  religious)  that  it  is  easy  to  say  from  content 
and  method  of  treatment  to  which  of  its  epochs  a 
particular  work  might  belong. 

We  shall  now  come  to  our  classification. 
The  following  table  gives  a  tolerably  accu- 
rate outline  of  the  important  stages  in  the  progress 
of  Tamil  literature.  As  has  already  been  explained 
religion  pervades  almost  the  whole  of  every  litera- 
ture in  India,  and  the  table  therefore  exhibits  the 
several  periods  of  the  religious  history  also. 


Period. 


Religion. 


Literature. 


Language 


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


A.  D.  150-500. 


A   D.  500-950. 


A.  D.  950-1200. 


A.D.  1200-1450 


A.D.  1450-1850. 


I.  Animistic.    ] 

II.  Buddhist.  J 

III.  Jaina. 

IV.  Bratimanic 

V.  Sectarian. 


VI. 


Reforma 
tory 


VII.  Modem. 


L  Academic  (Tol- 
kappvam,     K  u  r  a 
&c.)' 


II.  Classic  (Silap 
padikaram,  M  a  n  i  - 
mekalai,  Pattupattu 
&c.) 

III.  Hymnal 
(Tevaram,     Tiruva 
chakam,      Tiruvoy 
moli,  &c.) 

IV.  Translations- 
(Kam  ban's  Rama 
yana,  Kachiyappa's 
Skantham,  &c.) 

V.  Exegetical 

(Commentaries     by 
.\acchi-narkiniyar, 
Adiyarkunallar,  &c 


VI.  Miscelianeous 


I.  Early 
Grammar: 
Agastyam, 
Tolkapyam. 


1 

II.Mediaeval 
Grammar  : 
^Tolkapyam, 
I   Kalladam, 
Virasoliyam. 

J 

1 

j  III.  Modern 

Grammar  : 
^Virasoliyam 
and  Nannul. 


212  TAMIL    STUDIES 

I  do  not  claim  any  logicalexactitude  for  the  above 
division.  But  it  is  the  best  I  could  think  of,  and  it  re- 
presents the  different  stages  in  the  growth  of  Tamil 
literature  clearly  and  succinctly.  No  doubt  one 
period  overlaps  the  other,  and  it  would  be  impossi- 
ble to  draw  a  hard-and-fast  line  between  any  two 
periods. 

Tamil  literature  of  course  did  not  begin  only  with 
the  founding  of  Academies  as  indicated  in  the  table. 
This  was  preceded  by  what  may  be  called  the 
pre-academic  period.  But  to  attempt  any  account 
of  it  will  be  a  groping  in  the  dark,  as  all 
literary  evidence  we  now  possess  relates  either 
to  the  academic  or  to  the  post-academic  period. 
Some  Tamil  scholars  still  believe  that  Agastya 
invented  the  Tamil  alphabet.  This  is  certamly 
erroneous.  The  use  of  pure  Tamil  words  like 
<sT(^^^f  and  •sf-euujL  by  Agastya  proves  unmistakably  the 
existence  of  the  Tamil  alphabet  and  the  use  of  books 
among  the  Tamils  long  before  his  days.  And  even 
the  compilation  of  the  first  grammar  for  this  langu- 
age by  this  Aryan  sage,  after  the  Sanskrit  model,  is  an 
argument  in  favour  of  the  pre-existence  of  literature 
among  the  Tamils  of  antiquity.  That  literature  al- 
ways precedes  grammar  is  a  stern  philological  fact 
recognized  bv  Agastya  and  later  grammarians. 

eretreffieaftsar  Q jr)6SBr2essr  Quu^LJU^QuiTeo 
^lecsSiu^^eaBm  QnoQuQ  LSIeodsssariii. — Agat. 
^eoa,Qiu!Si  s<3ss\i—^p  86\}dsesaruSiLiihu&). — Nan, 


PERIODS    OF  TAMIL    LITERATURE  213 

It  is  therefore  almost  certain  that  some  sort 
of  literature  and  also  good  poets  must  have  existed 
before  the  academic  era  ;  but  nothing  can  at  present 
be  asserted  about  it  in  the  absence  of  any  literary  or 
other  records. 

The  Academic  Period  :  The  real  history  of 
Tamil  literature  begins  with  the  Tamil  academies 
which  lasted  from  B.  C.  500  to  A.  D.  500.  This 
millennium  might  perhaps  appear  to  be  a  very  long 
period  ;  but  during  the  first  half  of  it  none  of  the 
extant  Tamil  works,  probably  with  the  exception  of 
Tolkapyam  and  one  or  two  others,  were  written. 
Further,  when  we  consider  the  abnormally  long 
period  of  12,000  years  allotted  by  native  traditions  to 
the  three  academies,  the  above  is  almost  a  trifle.  Of 
the  three  academies  the  second  was  more  or  less 
continuous  with  the  first,  and  both  probably  existed 
sometime  between  the  fifth  century  B.  C.  and 
second  century  A.  D. ;  while  the  third,  and  the  most 
important  of  them  all  seems  to  have  lasted  till  A.  D. 
500.  Whether  the  three  academies  really  existed 
whether  they  did  any  useful  work  in  the  cause  of 
Tamil  literature,  how  long  they  lasted,  and  what 
poets  flourished  during  this  period — all  these  are 
questions  which  we  have  reserved  for  consideration 
in  a  subsequent  essay. 

To  understand  aright  the  general  spirit  of  the 
literary  productions  of  this  period  it  is  desirable  that 
there  should  be  some  previous  acquaintance  with  the 


214  TAMIL    STUDIES 

political,  social,  and  religious  condition  of  the  early 
Tamil  people.  Till  about  the  second  or  third 
century  A.  D.  there  were  only  three  principal  Tamil 
kingdoms,  namely,  Chera,  Chola  and  Pandya  each  of 
which  had,  of  course,  three  or  four  protectorates 
under  it  governed  by  feudal  chieftains.  They  were 
constantly  at  war  with  one  another  losing  or  annex- 
ing villages  and  districts  on  every  occasion,  till  at 
last  there  came  on  the  scene  a  foreign  race,  called 
the  Pallavas,  from  the  north-west,  and  usurped  the 
northern  Tamil  districts  then  belonging  to  an  illegiti- 
mate branch  of  the  Cholas.  Being  intruders  and 
people  of  foreign  extraction,  the  Pallavas  were  never 
recognized  as  Dravidians  by  the  Tamil  nation,  and 
consequently  they  are  not  even  mentioned  in  the 
Tamil  literature  of  those  times.  Nay,  the  word  '  Pal- 
lava  '  had  even    acquired  a  bad  sense, 

u&}6\f<sviT  sajeviT  u^siT  iS-fiT.—Ping. 

Caste  system  was  unknown  to  them.  The  Tamils 
were,  however,  divided  into  tribes  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  soil  in  which  they  happened  to  live.  A 
shepherd  of  the  pasture  land  might  become  a  tiller 
of  the  rice  field  or  a  fisherman  of  the  beach.  Of  the 
eight  kinds  of  marriages  mentioned  by  Manu,  marri- 
age by  capture  (Gandharvan),  Asuram  and  Rakshasam, 
seem  to  have  been  adopted  by  them  ;  and  yet  their 
women-kind  had  much  freedom.  They  ate  beef  and 
all  sorts  of  animal  food  and  drank  fermented  liquor. 
Thev    used    to     burv     or     burn     the     dead  ;     and 


PERIODS   OF   TAMIL   LITERATURE  215 

while  burying  them    the   weapons    of    the    deceased 
were  put  into  big  jars  along  with  the  corpse. 

(1)  Qp^LDiTU  Qun ^^ p  s^Qmeoj  (E^luldljiei 

<Si_Sa)<5   (oSITL^   ILIIT^^ 

^aL^iLi  QuQ^msn  Ql^ili^uj  (^am(S jd. — Pur.  364. 

(2)  sfiKSs  (^sSiQ luem 3"  Qs'SiQ ^anu  uaS(T^iEj 
s&r&ffiJjih  upih^^so. — Ihid.  240. 

The  early  Tamils,  like  the  ancient  Egyptians  and 
Romans,  worshipped  the  manes  of  their  ancestors, 
who  were  also  propitiated  with  offerings  of  meat 
and  liquor.  After  the  advent  of  the  Aryans  from 
Upper  India  this  animism  had  to  contend  against 
Brahraanism,  then  against  Buddhism  and  lastly 
against  Jainism.  Until  Brahmanism  came  out  trium- 
phant all  these  four  religions — animism,  Brahmanism 
Buddhism,  and  Jainism — had  been  struggling  for  exis- 
tence in  the  Tamil  country  ;  and  in  the  course  of 
this  long  struggle  the  first  was  merged  in  the 
second,  which  from  that  time  forward  began  to  ex- 
pand absorbing  every  thing  that  was  good  and  un- 
objectionable in  the  other  two.  An  effective  check 
was  .ilso  given  to  the  indiscriminate  eating  ot  meat 
and  habitual  drinking  of  liquor.  We  may  find  all 
these  described  in  the  literature  of  this  epoch. 

We  know  nothing  about  the  works  of  the  first  and 
second  academies  except  what  is  contained  in  the  brief 
accounts  given  in  Iraiyanar's  Agapporul.  The  names 
of  works  which  passed  through  the  third  academy 
will  be  found  given  in  the  following  oft-quoted 
verses  : — 


216  TAMIL    STUDIES 

(1)  ispfS'iisem  rB&ieo  (^^mQ^neas   etauuia^gti^ 
Qqt^^^  u^ P^uu^   ^^niEi(^u   rflum—6\) 

(2)  Qp(Trj(^^U!j(7^  fBT^  uaesafiiresar'S  Qp6\)'^ 

(3)  IB!T<3dlS).    /BITeSruieSsfi   IBfTi^pU  esi^i^i'bsssTQfU 

LJiTe\)s®siB  Qsneaieu  uj^Qllhl^  lluqp&ld 

Besides  the  eight  anthologies  or  collected  works,  the 
ten  major  and  the  eighteen  minor  poems  mentioned  in 
the  above  stanzas,  at  least  two  of  the  five  major  epics — 
Silappadikaram  and  Manimekalai — were  written  during 
this  period.  These  two  most  important  works  were 
left  out  of  account,  as  they  were  the  productions  of 
Buddhist  and  Jaina  authors.  The  famous  poets  of 
this  age  together  with  their  principal  works  are 
given  below  : — 

(1)  Tiruvalluvar  (Kural)  ;  (2)  Sittalai  Sattanar 
(Manimekalai)  ;  (3)  Ilango-Adigal  (Silappadikaram)  ; 
(4)  Kapilar  (Kurinjippattu,  Inna  Narpatu,  &c.);  (5) 
Paranar  (5th  Ten  in  Padirruppattu)  ;  (6)  Nallandu- 
vanar  (Kahttogai)  ;  (7)  Nakkirar  (Tirumurukarrup- 
padai,  Nedunalvadai)  ;  (8)  Mangudi  Marudanar 
(Maduraikkanji)  ;  (9)  Kalladanar;  (10)  Nallur  Nattat- 
tanar   (Siru  Panarruppada  i)  ;  (11)  Kadiyalur    Rudran 


PERIODS   OF   TAMIL    LITERATURE  217 

Kannanar  (Perumpanarruppadai)  ;  (12)  Napputanar 
(Mullaippattu)  ;  (13)  Perurakausikanar  (Malaipadu- 
kadam);  (14)  Gotamanar  (3rd  Ten  in  Paddirruppattu); 
(15)  Mudattamakanniyar  (Porunararruppadai)  ;  (16) 
Peyanar  (MuUai  Tinai  in  Ainkurunuru)  &c. 

To  these  should  be  added  Pannirupadalaiiij  Mar- 
kandeyanar  Kanchi,  Purapporul  Venbamalai,  Usimuri 
of  Idaikkadar,  Muttollayiram,  Nakkiiar's  Naladi-nul, 
Desikamalai,  and  the  works  on  prosody  by  Mahes- 
wara,  Avinayanar,  Kaiyanar,  Palkayanar,  Kakkai- 
patiniyar  and  Narrattanar.  Most  of  these  works  were 
lost  except  a  few  quotations  from  them. 

The  Hymnal  Period  :  During  this  period 
Brahmanism  came  into  conflict  with  Buddhism  and 
Jainism.  The  Brahmans  were  reinforced  by  bands 
of  Sanskrit  theologians  from  Upper  India,  and  the 
battle  spread  like  wild-fire  all  over  the  peninsula  and 
raged  very  hot.  The  Brahmans  and  Dravidians 
made  common  cause  against  them,  and  religious 
disputations  took  place  at  all  the  important  Brahman 
centres,  especially  Conjeeveram,  Chidambaram  and 
Madura.  Tirunavukkarasu,  Tirugnanasambandar  and 
Manikkavachakar  fought  for  Sivaisra,  while  Tiru- 
Malisai  Piran,  Tirumangai  Mannan  and  Vishnu 
Chittan  defended  Vishnuism.  The  combined  attack 
of  the  sectarian  leaders  did  not  go  in  vain.  Buddhism 
and  Jainism  were  routed;  and  Brahmanism  was  left 
in  entire  mastery  of  the  field.  And  to  ensure  its 
stability  in  the  Tamil  country  and  elsewhere,  the 
Brahmans  caused  hundreds    of  temples    to  Siva  and 


218  TAMIL    STUDIES 

Vishnu  to  be  erected  all  over  the  land.  Small  bands 
of  Brahmans  from  Upper  India  were  induced  by 
Tamil  kings  to  settle  here.  Endowments  of  tax-free 
lands  were  made  for  their  mamtenance  and  worship 
in  temples. 

Durmg  this  period  which  lasted  for  nearly  four 
centuries  and  a  half  (from  A.  D.  500  to  A.  D.  950)  the 
sixty-three  Nayanmars  of  the  Siva  sect  and  the  twelve 
Alvars  of  the  Vaishnavas  flourished.  Some  of  these 
devotees  who  were  also  fine  Tamil  poets  visited 
many  of  these  temples,  composed  and  sang  extempore 
hymns  before  the  deities.  Each  hymn  consists  of  ten 
or  eleven  verses  and  is  supposed  to  instil  piety  in  the 
mind  of  its  reader.  The  prominent  poet-saints  of  the 
two  sects,  who  have  left  behind  them  such  hymns, 
are  lirunavukkarasu,  Trignanasambandar  and  Sun- 
darar,  Tirumangaimannan  and  Nammalvar.  Other 
p'oetical  compositions  of  a  secular  and  sectarian  nature 
were  not  wanting.  The  best  of  its  kind  was  written 
by  Manikka  Vachakar;  the  other  writers  were  Ka- 
raikal  Ammai,  Kapila  Deva,  Parana  Deva,  Nakkira 
Deva,  Cheraman  F'erumal,  Kalladanar,  and  Nambi- 
yandar  Nambi.  It  may  be  remarked  here  that  the 
sacred  literature  of  the  Saivas  in  Tamil  poetry  was 
nearly  thrice  that  of  the  Vaishnavas,  the  hymns  of 
Sambandar  alon  e  being  nearly  as  voluminous  as  all 
the  works  of  the  twelve  Alvars  put  together.  AH  these 
prove  the  greater  popularity  of  Sivaism  among  the 
Tamil   people  of  South  India. 


PERIODS   OF   TAMIL   LITERATURE  219 

In  the  above  struggle  the  Buddhists  and  Jains 
were  not  quiet;  they  tried  in  their  own  way  to  popu- 
larize their  rehgion  by  appeaHng  to  the  hearts  of  the 
old  as  well  as  of  the  young.  The  most  useful  works 
on  theology,  ethics,  grammar  and  language  were 
written  by  them.  Three  of  the  major  (Kundalakesi, 
Valaiyapati  and  Chintamani)  and  five  of  the  minor 
(Yesodarakavyam,  Udayanakavyam,  Nagakumara- 
kavyam,  Nilakesi  and  Chulamanii)  epics,  Naladiyar, 
Pazhamoli,  Neminadam,  Karigai  (Prosody)  and  Chu- 
damani  Nigandu  belong  to  this  period.  The  Saivas 
compiled   the   Divakaram  and    Pingalandai  lexicons. 

Translations  from  Sanskrit  :  Now  that  the  Jains 
and  Buddhists  were  cleared  off  the  field,  the 
Brahmans  began  to  attend  to  their  own  religion. 
Poinding  more  leisure  and  greater  support  from  the 
Tamil  kings,  they  set  about  separating  the  various 
sects  w'hich  lay  embedded  in  Brahmanism  in  a  crude 
form.  The  Sanskrit  puranas  and  itihasas  furnished 
them  with  mighty  weapons  to  develop  and  streng- 
then the  different  sects.  And  in  order  to  popularize 
each  -ect  among  the  Dravidians,  the  Tamil  scholars 
and  theologians  found  it  necessary  to  translate  some 
of  the  most  important  works,  as  the  Jains  and  Bud- 
dhists had  done  before  them  to  popularize  their  own. 
The  Mahabharata  had  already  been  translated  by 
Perundevanar;  Kamban  and  Ottaikuttan  took  up  the 

1  This  Jain  work  was  composed  by  Tolamoli  Devar  probably 
in  the  reign  cf  the  Pandya  king  Jayantan  (A.  D.  650)  and  named 
after  his  father  Maravarman  Avani  Chulamani. 


220  TAMIL    STUDIES 

translation  of  Ramayana  ;  Kacchiyappa  translated  the 
Skandapurana  ;  and  Puliyui  Nambi  and  Paranjoti 
Muni  turned  into  beautiful  Tamil  verse  the  Haiasya 
Mahatmya.  Besides  rhe  translations  of  quasi-secta- 
rian works  Tamil  versions  or  adaptations  of  other 
Sanskrit  poems  were  also  undertaken.  Pugazhendi 
rendered  Naishadam  into  excellent  Tamil  Venba 
metre  ;  Dandi  wrote  for  Tamil  the  Alankara  Sastra, 
while  Buddha-Mitra  composed  his  Virasoliyam  on 
Sanskrit  model  and  Pavanandi  wrote  the  celebrated 
iSlannui  as  an  epitome  of  Tolkapyam. 

Again  it  was  during  this  period  which  lasted  from 
A.  D.  .  50  to  A.  D.  1200  that  the  sacred  hymns  and 
poems  of  Saivas  and  Vaishnavas,  which  had  till  then 
remained  scattered,  were  collected  and  arranged.  The 
Saivas  assisted  by  Nambiyandar  Nambi  (A.  D.  1025) 
compiled  the  Devaram  hymns,  the  Tiruvachakam 
and  other  poems  into  eleven  tirutnurais,  while  the 
Vaishnavas  assisted  by  Sri  Nathamuni  (A.D,  1025) 
gathered  their  hymns  into  a  single  volume  and  call- 
ed it  the  'Nalayira  Prabandam'  or  the  great  'Book  of 
4000  Psalms'.  Sekkilar  (A.D.  1135)  wrote  the  lives  of 
the  Saiva  saints  and  called  it  Tiruttondar  Puranam  ; 
while  ttie  Vaishnavas  wrote  their  Divyasuri  Charitai 
and  Guru  paramparai  about  that  time.  All  temples 
dedicated  to  Siva  or  Vishnu  were  being  regularly 
visited  by  the  respective  sectarians,  and  festivals 
were  instituted  and  celebrated  with  scrupulous  regu- 
larity. Theapotheosis  of  pious  votaries  was  made  com- 
plete and  their  images  were  set  up  in  temples  ;  and  to 


PERIODS   OF   TAMIL   LITERATURE  221 

enhance  their  rehgious  importance  Stala-puranas  in 
Sanskrit  were  written  by  learned  Brahmans,  some  of 
which  were  deftly  interpolated  in  one  or  the  other  of 
the  Eighteen  Puranas. 

It  was  also  the  period  of  the  Chola  ascendancy. 
From  about  the  seventh  to  the  begmning  of  the 
tenth  century  the  Pandyas  and  the  Pallavas  were 
powerful  in  Southern  India.  With  the  decline  of 
these  dynasties  the  Chola  kings  from  Aditya  I  (A.  D. 
895)  downwards  not  only  regained  their  strength, 
but  also  became  aggressive  and  carried  on  wars  with 
the  neighbouring  sovereigns.  These  formed  the  sub- 
ject matter  of  a  class  of  war-chants  called  parani  and 
lUa,  'Farani'  is  a  poem  descriptive  of  a  campaign  the 
hero  whereof  being  supposed  to  have  killed  at  least 
one  thousand  elephants  on  the  battle-field.  'Ula'  is  a 
poem  depicting  the  procession  of  a  royal  personage, 
his  country,  flag,  war-drum,  &c.  The  finest  poem  of 
the  former  class  is  the  Kalingattupparani.  It  was 
written  by  Jayamkondan  in  honour  of  one  Karunakara 
Tondaiman,  who  was  probably  the  general  of  Kulot- 
tunga  Chola  I  (1069-1118)  that  waged  war  successfully 
with  the  Kalingas  towards  the  close  of  his  long  reign. 
The  rhythm  of  the  poem  is  rapid  and  stirring  and 
best  suited  to  the  subject.  We  subjoin  a  stanza  from 
that  work  as  a  specimen  : — 

iS7®0a)®   Oo)®  Qua&sT    Qeu® ^^Q ^IT 
iflsQ&)iT&S  si—QeOfT&S  iiSsdsQeu, 

eS®(aSl<S    6j5®    Ulft    Slfld(^LQITth 


222  TAMIL  STUDIES 

And  the  best  *ulas'  are  those  composed  by  the 
famous  poet  Ottaikkuttan  on  Vikrama  Chola  (1118- 
1143)  and  Kulottunga  Chola  II  (1143-1146).  These 
together  with  the  one  on  Rajaraja  Chola  (1146-1163) 
are  known  as  the  Muvar-UJa.  The  following  oft- 
quoted  stanza  confirms  what  we  have  said  above  : — 

QeueaaruireiSjh  Ljs(Sifii^  uiressfidd^fr 

QiMa6mu(Ts>9  ^ijjiTSihusk  QsiT<ota^iLj&)fT 

euii^fT^s  QsitlLi—S  sk-^^^isr 
seamuiTuj  seo^Dus^^jb  @ !T LLsmt^njiT s<sir 

(oiJ<SS)<fUITL^S   <SntSfr\DLD3Ui 

ueamufTsu  usir^ii^m  uuf.ssrrs' 

THE  EXEGETICAL  PERIOD  :  From  the  table  it 
will  be  seen  that  this  period  of  Tamil  literature  was 
co-extensive  with  the  era  of  sectarian  reformation  and 
that  it  lasted  from  A.  D.  1200  to  A.  D.  1450.  The 
cleavage  between  the  Saivas  and  Vaishnavas  had 
become  permanent  and  each  of  them  crystallised 
into  a  distinct  sect.  Sri  Ramanuja  Charya  rose  and 
laboured  hard  to  strengthen  the  foundation  of 
Vishnuism.  Sri  Vedanta  Desika  and  Sri  Manavala 
Mahamuni  constructed  two  enduring  edifices  of 
different  designs  on  the  foundation  laid  by  Sri 
Ramanuja.  For  Sivaism  similar  work  was  under- 
taken by  Meykanda  Deva,  Arunandi  Siva  Charya, 
Maraignana  Sambanda  and  Umapati  Siva  Charya. 
The  Vaishnava  Acharyas    wrote    mostly   in    Sanskrit 


PERIODS   OF  TAMIL   LITERATURE  223 

and  their  works  are  now  being  studied  only  by 
Brahmans  ;  while  the  Saiva  Guravas  mentioned 
above  wrote  only  in  Tamil  as  their  writings  were 
chiefly  intended  (or  non-Brahmans. 

Further  the  same  table  will  show  that  we  have 
already  crossed  the  mediaeval  and  entered  the 
threshold  of  modern  Tamil.  From  the  close  of  the 
academic  to  the  beginning  of  the  exegetical  period 
there  was  an  interval  of  nearly  seven  hundred  vears. 
In  the  course  of  such  a  long  period,  it  is  almost 
impossible  for  a  living  language,  cultivated  though 
it  be,  to  remain  unchanged  either  in  its  grammar  or 
vocabulary.  Moreover,  there  had  occurred  immense 
changes  in  the  customs  and  manners  of  the  Tamils 
on  account  of  Brahmanical  influence.  The  classical 
works  of  the  academic  period,  especially  the  collected 
writings,  couM  not  be  easily  understood  even  by 
scholars  without  the  help  of  commentaries.  And 
this  want  was  supplied  by  Perasiriyar,  Ilampuranar, 
Senavaraiyar,  Parimelazhagar,  Nacchinarkiniyar, 
Adiyarku  Nallar  and  other  annotators.  Similar 
difliculties  were  experienced  by  the  Brahman 
Vaishnavas  in  understanding  the  Tamil  of  the 
Nalayira  Prabandam.  The  Vaishnava  Acharyas 
from  Nam  Jiyar  down  to  Periya  Jiyar  wrote 
elaborate  commentaries  on  them,  which  to  a  lay 
student  of  Tamil  would  be  more  difficult  than  the 
original  itself.  These  commentaries  were  not  intend- 
ed for  ordinary  Tamil  people,  but  only  for  the 
orthodox  Vaishnavas    thoroughly   conversant  with  the 


224  TAMIL    STUDIES 

Sanskrit  Upanishads.  Itihasas  and  Puranas.  Any 
one  can  at  a  glance  perceive  the  immense  diffeience 
between  the  easy  flowing  chaste  Tamil  of  Nachchinar- 
kiniyar  or  Parimelazhagar  and  the  mixed  style  of 
Periyavachan  Pillai. 

The  Modekn  Period  :  The  latest  stage  in 
the  history  of  Tamil  literature  has  been  called 
'  modern',  and  it  covers  the  interval  between  A.D., 
1450  and  A.D.  1850.  During  this  period  the  works 
produced  were  not  contined  to  any  one  subject  or 
department  of  literature.  They  embraced  Hindu 
theology,  philosophy,  ethics,  traditions  and  grammar. 
Islamism  and  Christianity  also  added  their  contribu- 
tions to  the  Tamil  literature,  of    this  period. 

Politically  this  was  an  important  epoch,  because 
it  witnessed  the  downfall  and  total  extinction  of  the 
ancient  dynasties  of  Tamil  kings  and  the  occupation 
ol  the  Tamil  nads  successively  by  the  Telugu  speak- 
ing Nayaks,  the  Mahratta  chiefs,  and  the  Musalman 
generals.  Naturally  these  people  had  no  sympathy 
for  Tamil  literature. 

Though  Tamil  had  thus  lost  state  patronage,  it 
did  not  want  supporters.  The  Saiva  monasteries 
richly  endowed  and  managed  by  Tarabirans  and 
Pandarams,  learned  in  the  Saiva  Agamas  and  Siddhan- 
tas,  were  coming  into  existence  ;  and  they  served  as 
seats  of  Tamil  learning  and  centres  for  the  propoga- 
tion  of  the  Saiva  cult  among  the  Tamil  Dravidians. 
Ilakkana-kottu,  Ilakkana  Vilakkam  and  Suravali 
Tolkapya-sutra-Vritti,     Nanneri,     Nitmeri-Vilakkam, 


PERIODS    OF   TAMIL    LITERATURE  225 

Prabhulingalilai  and  Dravida  Mahabhashyam  were  all 
written  during  this  period.  And  the  famous  ascetic 
Tayumanaswami  composed  his  sweet  religious 
and  philosophical  songs  ;  Ativira  Rama  Pandyan 
published  his  Naishadam  and  Vetriverkai  and  trans- 
lated the  Linga  and  Kurma  Puranas,  while  his  brother 
wrote  Kasikandam  and  other  works.  Among  the 
Vaishnavas,  Villiputturar  translated  theM  ahabharata 
and  Pillaiperumal  Aiyangar  wrote  his  eight  Prabhan- 
das.  Among  the  Muhamadans,  Umaru  Pulavar  wrote 
the  Sira  Puranam,  and  Javvadu  Pulavar  composed 
Muhiud-din  Andavar  Pillai-Tamil;  while  the  celebrat- 
ed Italian  Missionary  Constantius  Beschi  (Tam.  Vira- 
mantuuni)  rendered  the  biography  of  Jesus  Christ  into 
a  Tamil  epic  (Tembavani),  after  the  fashion  of 
Kamban's  Ramayanam,  and  published  it  in  A.  D. 
1769,  together  with  a  work  on  Tamil  grammar  en- 
titled Tonnul  Vilakkam.  In  1895  Mr.  H.  Krishna 
Pillai,  a  native  Christian  poet  of  Palamcotta,  translated 
Bunyan's  Pilgrim's  Progress  in  fine  Tamil  verse. 

This  period  is  marked  by  the  cultivation  of  Sans- 
krit learning  by  the  Vaishnavas  as  well  as  the  Smartas. 
Settling  on  the  fertile  banks  of  the  sacred  rivers  and 
streams,  and  congregating  in  agraharas  around  a 
Vishnu  or  Siva  shrine  hidden  beneath  shady  groves 
and  surrounded  by  extensive  rice  fields,  the  Brah- 
mans  formed  themselves  into  exclusive  communities, 
sometimes  venerated,  sometimes  disliked,  but  always 
administered  to  by  their  Dravidian  neighbours. 
Tutored  and   encouraged  by   the   Tambirans,     Pan- 

15 


226  TAMIL   STUDIES 

darams  an  a  such  Tamil  castes  as  the  Kammalas  and 
Lingayats,  who  claimed  equality  with  the  priestly 
class,  some  of  the  non-Brahmans  began  openly  to 
question  the  superiority  of  the  Brahmans  and  their 
authority  in  all  social  and  religious  matters.  And 
the  advent  of  Musalmans  and  the  appearance  of 
European  Missionaries  in  the  Tamil  land  during  the 
16th  and  17th  centuries,  whose  habits  and  social 
opinions  were  opposed  to  the  social  ideal  and  organi- 
sation of  the  Brahmans,  only  tended  to  aggravate 
this  animosity.  Such  was  the  spirit  and  tendency 
of  the  people  in  South  India  during  the  early  years 
of  the  latter  half  of  this  eventful  epoch. 

The  Anti-Brakmanical  School  :  The  Brahman 
supremacy  and  vigorous  exercise  of  the  powers, 
which  their  aggressive  culture  had  won  for  them  in 
earlier  years  had  their  reaction ;  and  the  circum- 
stances described  above  led  to  the  rise  of  an  anti- 
Brahmanical  or  the  Siddhar  school  of  pnilosophical 
rhyraists.  They  were  Yogis  as  well  as  medical  men. 
The  number  of  Siddhas  or  men  who  attained  siddhi  or 
the  'conquest  of  nature'  is  ordinarily  reckoned  as 
eighteen.  Most  of  them  were  plagiarists  and  impost- 
ors, while  some  assumed  the  names  of  the  great  men 
of  antiquity  like  Agastyar,  Kapilar,  and  Tiruvalluvar. 
Being  eaters  of  opmm  and  dwellers  in  the  land  of 
dreams,  their  conceit  knew  no  bounds.  On  the 
supernatural  powers  of  the  Siddhas  one  of  them 
writes  thus  : — 


PERIODS   OF   TAMIL   LITERATURE  227 

. . .  LD&sari-.&)Qpp^iii  eiasiLiiTek  meiop^^QQ&jfTth,  eurresr^sm^ 
iLjuD    eSleoeoirdj     eu"^ ^^(BQeuiTLD,  ...  Qp6eBrQi—ifliijLDdSevfid(^<sir 

^ireeBrt^eu(^Lh  QenLDLje^etam^  ^(T dQe^QQeuirth ,  QsulkBili  np<sst 
^s\)(5(^  Q,fL£)QuiTiosriea)d(^(oeiirrLDy  Q^ims^eisiT^  ^ssrs^aas^ 
Qfdj^eS(Sl(oisuiTUD,  ^uQuifiuj  eijeos^iosi^  aSdoeomopQ^iuCo'SiirTih, 

OT2/L_«3r  s^LDLDiTS  !B(7<Gt^LD  Qj IT i^(^(o  sij IT ih ,  ismssiar  QfiLemsiiS^ 
Qouek(7i^L-iruj  uitldQu. 

The  Siddhas  did  not  like  the  Brahmans  ;  and  they 
ridiculed  in  their  writings  the  Brahmans'  social  insti- 
tutions, religious  observances  and  Sanskrit  Vedas. 

(1)  (BLLL^a&)'?i30    Q  aUUQjQlLD&ST ^   IB!T^L^lLU(^   <f!r^^Qaj 

3i-piS<3iik^  Gldh ^uQmirQeaarek £i)  Q^ireo^LDm^trQiD^i—iT  1 
^Q^SQiBiT ^  Qeu^Qp  QLDQg^ssi^ujp  QeuiT^^ih 

QuQ^SSli^    L^Se^ti)  iSl^jbjS^LD    iSlTlTSafllTITaSI. 

eijiTaSQe\}(^i^^;gii§<ois)!T   Qujs'&Q&)eisr£i/Qs=rr&)^/]§'iT 
euffoSQeo  (^^UL^Qeufi  Qij)<ssnjLJu.s  si^euQ^rr? 
^LLu^ioa)p^&  ^issr p^eo'^jsn  ilhsh giiLSlmrgtiixi  Qeu^uuir 
^il.i^(oSips^&  Lu&i&iQQjir  LurrsSiaseir   uem^n/jS'iT? — Siv, 

(2)  ^lLu^iuit  LSlQe\)s^^^(oi5ariT  Qisisefrir 

^lLi^SS)L^S^  Qff-fT&STS,IT   ILKSiJioSnT^ear ^^ITIT 

upu&oir  ibitlLi^^ld  ufriruuiTifl'^iujiTiso. — Kap. 
Their  religion  was  theism;  sometimes  the  stress  they 
laid  on  the  siddhis  or  the  powers  a  man  can  acquire 
over  nature  gave  it  a  secularistic  colour  which  occa- 
sionlly  comes  very  near  atheism  and  may  be  mistaken 
for  it.  The  summiim  bonum,  the  highest  bliss  or 
the  paramananda  of  their  existence  was  to  apprehend 


228  TAMIL   STUDIES 

and  approach  that  eternal  light    which    they    termed 
'  paranjoti',  '  peroli',  *  pazh-veli'  or  '  vetta-veli.'     It  will 
be  seen  trom  the  above  extracts  that  their  language  is 
quite  modern  and  their  style  simple  and  at  times  slang . 
Prose  Literature:  If  we  omit  the  commentaries 
on  abstruse  early  poems,  the  whole    Tamil  literature 
including  theology,  philosophy,  grammar  and  diction- 
ary, is  all  poetry.  In  the  whole  range  of  Tamil  litera- 
ture prose  had  no  distinct  place.    For  a  long  time  the 
Tamils  made  no  distinction  between  prose  and  poetry, 
the  former  being  regarded  as  a  form  of  poetry.  It  might 
be    said    that  the    early  Tamils     did    not  recognize 
prose.     The   earliest    form    of  prose  composition    is 
what  we  find  in  the  Silappadikaram,  an  heroic  drama 
of  the  third  century    A.  D,  The  same  style  was  adop- 
ted later  in  the  Tamil  version  of  the  Mahabharata  by 
Perundevanar  and  in  the  Tagadur  Yattirai.     Both  of 
them    are  known    as  ©.s33jitfi«»L_  ^lIl-lj-tlL®  or    poems 
interspersed    with    explanatory  prose.    To   these  may 
be  added  the    commentary  on  Iraiyanar's  Agapporul 
written  by  some    unknown  author  (not  by  Nakkirar 
as    hitherto    believed)     during     the    early     part     of 
the  eighth  century.    And  from  the  excerpts  subjoined 
below   it  will  be  seen  that  they  are  a  sort  of    poetic 
prose    in    pure  Tamil,  sweet  and  rhythmic    like  the 
English  of  Hooker's 'Ecclesiastical  Polity'  or  Ruskins' 
'Modern  Painters'  : — 

aesaress^iT  Qs^nft ^^  QprBoSusd  QsuemQasBriLKT^siTeaLciLi  UDpSQpi—isiS 
ujiri—iianLDLLj      LDirsonoeaafi      ^ed3,^pgft      &j  i^^gjiiih     eu^QiQ^ira 


PERIODS   OF   TAMIL    LITERATURE  229 

^<S!r uQpeaarQi^esr  Los'Befr  QiSfTsQ  u)&jnDajiEjarr(c^  in&kressfieir 
LDfT^friasasHuuirQuj  ssasiemQtifk^nmsrrissBr  QjrrLUiTUin^uSQ&)(T^Loe!ir 
p^^  LDirajQJ^isar    jD6ar(yj<es)L^tu    urreO'fifl&a^    ismsiEi^eitleo 

(27'srr  speiaQJSssr^  ^tun    i§isi(^9Qajesr(oSu. — Stl. 

(2)  ^sueiiiT  &.LJL4^ffl(^i^  SlLprriT  LDS{es)SuiT'sisr  'Sl.q^^^'T  sesrin 
Q^STmuiTiobi  y      smu!Sissatsrfvat(ssr    t^'sisnrittS it issr  &ujiTLL<stDL^ULSlTiT!iJ^ 

QuaQ^^ssiiT ^^rr jh  ■semsasFiT  ajrriTii^  QloiuldlduSit  '^&Sits(^lo 
QmdjujiTuSesr  S-faatrdQsLLu-sBi^^^. — A^Clp. 

Till  we  come  to  the  exegetic  period  we  can  scarce- 
ly hear  of  any  prose  work.  The  Jains  and  the  Brahman 
Vaishnavas  had  some  of  their  Puranas  and  religious 
works  translated  or  written  in  prose  ;  but  they  were 
purely  sectarian  and  in  a  composite  or  Sanskrit- 
Tamil  style.  And  in  strange  contrast  to  it  the 
commentaries  of  Gunasagara,  Nachchinarkiniyar  or 
Adiyarkunallar  were  written  in  chaste  Tamil.  We 
give  below  two  extracts   from  these  works  : — 

(1)  smtusrrQ LuiT iuu(^Quj  uit^^t  ewsuDsrvj  s^i^^tssr  uoj 
esr^so)^  lueai—^e^LC  suiUseSsrr,f(y)ua   QsaQeo  QsiTe\)fr^sns\}QpL£) 

QstTLiirseuiTu.eSsi^anQp  lditSIlu  ^^fajiks(Gi^'S(r<ci}!T(^QiD&5r^ 
^Q^&^^€isr!T. — Chi  n  p.  "27. 

(2)  L^tjistvurr  ^ sQeo^  etutJauneuiG^mrs^eS^iTiJitTiL  uir^uu  ^!T^ 
uffLDtresar  eS&}3i,^6i5BrLDrTiiS(T^i^<srr<s!r  f8Se\)  Qeu^  ^iT^^^d(^LD 
Q&iQ^nu    LUTLDLDGSBiihseniTsar  ewiM(7^^,QsifoiTewui!TrrsimisiS(ef^S(^ih 

^6sBul9ssids. — Tat.  Sekh. 


230  TAMIL   STUDIES 

Coming  to  modern  times  works  written  wholly  and 
deliberately  in  prose,  not  reckoning  commentaries  as 
such,  commence  with  Beschi's  Vediyar  Ozhukkam. 
And  we  may  even  say  that  a  new  impetus  was  given 
to  prose  composition  only  during  the  early  part  of 
the  last  century  by  the  Tamil  pandits  of  the  early 
Madras  University,  of  whom  Tandavaraya  Mudaliyar, 
Viraswami  Chettiyar,  and  Saravanapperumal  Aiyar 
deserve  special  mention.  In  the  latter  part  of  the 
nineteenth  century  a  number  of  Tamil  prose  works, 
translations  as  well  as  original  productions,  were 
published  by  learned  Tamil  scholars.  The  labours 
of  the  late  T.  E.  Srinivasa  Raghava  Chariyar  and 
Arumuga  Navalar  may  still  be  in  the  memory  of 
every  lover  of  Tamil  literature.  And  the  foremost 
among  the  living  writers  of  Tamil  prose  and  scholarly 
commentaries  is  undoubtedly  Mahamahopadhyaya 
V.  Swaminatha  Aiyar  Avargal  of  the  Madras  Pre- 
sidency College,  who  may  be  styled  the  Nachchinar- 
kiniyar  of  the  present  day. 

A  prose  literature  worth  the  name  is  only  a  recent 
growth,  which  is  sufficient  to  account  for  the  absence 
of  prose  classics  in  Tamil.  The  influence  of  English 
literature,  the  great  increase  in  the  Tamil  reading 
public,  and  the  conditions  of  life  in  this  age  with  its 
forms  of  popular  government,  its  commercialism 
and  industrial  activities  favour  the  rapid  expansion  of 
prose  literature  ;  and  a  prose  style  also  has  begun  to 
form. 


IX 

THE  TAMIL  ACADEMICS 

One  of  the  chief  features  of  progressive  civilisation 
is  the  institution  of  literary  and  scientific  societies. 
In  Western  countries  they  began  to  be  established 
only  after  the  Renaisance.  Even  so  late  as  A.  D. 
1599  'modern  science  had  not  yet  been  born,  mathe- 
matics were  in  their  infancy,  the  literatures  of  the 
greai  modern  languages  were  only  beginning  to  be 
made  '.  The  eastern  nations,  on  the  contrary,  were 
in  their  own  way  so  far  advanced  in  civilisation  as  to 
found  literary  academies  and  to  hold  commercial  in- 
tercourse with  the  highly  civilized  Greeks,  Phoeni- 
cians and  Romans.  And  the  epigraphical  discoveries 
in  Southern  India  and  the  critical  study  of  early 
Tamil  works  have  disclosed  many  facts  tending  to 
confirm  the  very  high  antiquity  of  Tamil  literature, 
and  the  tolerably  advanced  state  of  Tamil  civilisation 
so  early  as  the  first  or  second  century  before 
the  Christian  era. 

The  ancient  classics  of  the  Tamil  people  frequently 
refer    to     sangams    or    societies   of     learned      men. 


232  TAMIL   STUDIES 

Tirumangai  Alvar,  a  Vaishnava  saint  who  lived  about 
the  latter  half  of  the  eighth  century,  speaks  of  'Sanga- 
muka-Tamir  and  '  Sanga.mali-Tamir  in  his  Feriya 
Tirumoli  (III.  v.  10).  Manikka  Vachakar,  one  of  the 
four  great  Saiva  Saints  of  the  ninth  century,  refers 
indirectly  in  his  Tirukkovai  to  a  Tamil  sangam  at 
Madura.  Allusions  to  the  Tamil  sangams  may  be 
quoted  from  the  works  of  other  poets.  One  of  the 
most  trustworthy  references  to  .the  founding  of  a 
Tamil  academy  prior  to  the  eighth  century  will 
be  found  in  the  copper  plates  discovered  at  Chin- 
namanur  in  the  Madura  district.  And  lastly  there 
are  references  to  the  Madura  College  in  the  Tiru- 
vilayadal    or   Madura  Stalapurana. 

The  Tamil  sangam  is  known  to  some  English 
scholars  as  the  *  Madura  College'  and  to  others  as  the 
'  Madura  University.'  In  Sanskrit  the  word  sangam 
means  an  association  (of  learned  men),  and  it  seems 
to  have  been  introduced  into  the  Tamil  language  by 
early  Buddhists  from  Northern  India,  no  Tamil 
word  having  existed  before  to  express  that  idea. 
Some  Tamil  scholars  are,  however,  of  opinion  that 
avai  which  was  in  use  in  the  days  of  Tolkapyar  to 
denote  such  an  association  or  assembly  is  a  pure 
Tamil  word.  But  avw,  savai  or  sahhai  is  also  a 
Sanskrit  word.  A  college  ordinarily  means  a  teach- 
ing institution,  and  a  university  is  also  a  body  of 
examiners.  The  Madura  sangam  was  an  examining 
association,  but  it  was  never  a  teaching  institute.  To 
designate    this  sort   of    society   another    word    now 


THE   TAMIL   ACADEMIES  233 

widely  current  is  '  academy'.  And  as  the  chief  func- 
tion of  the  sangam,  like  that  of  the  French  Academy, 
was  the  promotion  of  Tamil  literature,  the  name 
'academy  '  seems  to  be  appropriate  to  this  institution 
and  is  therefore  used  in  the  following  pages. 

According  to  Tamil  writers  there  were  three 
sangams  in  the  Pandya  country  at  different  periods- 
After  the  dissolution  of  the  last  of  them  spasmodic 
attempts  were  made  at  various  times  to  establish  n(?w 
Colleges  ;  but  none  of  them  were  very  successful. 
These  later  academies  did  not  attain  the  high  rank, 
distinction  and  influence  of  their  predecessors,  nor 
were  they  recognised  by  learned  Tamil  scholars  as 
of  such  importance  as  to  deserve  mention. 

A  full  account  of  the  three  academies,  their  dates, 
the  plaices  where  they  were  founded,  the  Pandya 
kings  who  patronised  them,  the  works  that  were 
approved  and  sanctioned  by  their  senatus  academicus, 
the  number  and  names  of  the  members  and  lastly  the 
influence  they  exerted  in  moulding  the  Tamil  lan- 
guage and  literature  will  be  given  below  ;  and  of  the 
rest  only  a  passing  notice. 

Before  entering  upon  the  discussion  of  the  ages 
of  the  academies  severally,  it  would  be  convenient 
at  the  outset  to  determine  approximately  the 
earlier  and  the  later  limits  of  the  period  during  which 
the  three  academies  existed.  It  is  admitted  both  by 
Indian  and  European  scholars  that  the  civilisation  of 
the  Tamil  nation  was,  in  the  main,  due  to  the  Aryan 
colonists  in  the  south,  and  that  the  first  academy  owed 


234  TAMIL   STUDIES 

its  origin  to  Agastya,  the  reputed  leader  of  the  first 
band  of  Brahman  immigrants  in  South  India.  The 
date  of  Agastya  is  lost  in  myth,  and  the  traditions, 
which  are  in  themselves  conflicting,  represent  him 
as  still  living  on  the  Pothiya  mountains  in  the 
Tinnevelly  district. 

Let  us  therefore  turn  our  attention  to  other 
sources  to  discover  his  date.  The  introduction 
of  the  Tamil  alphabet  seems  to  afford  us  the  best 
clue  to  get  at  this  date,  because  prior  to  it  no 
society  of  learned  men  or  any  seminary  could  have 
come  into  existence,  and  because  it  would  almost  be 
impossible  for  a  race  without  a  system  of  writing  to 
possess  a  literature.  Undoubtedly,  the  Sanskrit  Vedas 
had  been  in  existence  long  before  they  were  commit- 
ted to  writing  ;  but  the  case  of  the  Vedas  is  altogether 
different  from  that  of  the  Tamil  poems,  which  in  the 
opinion  of  J  Vinson,  were  *  essays,  pamphlets  and 
short  poems.'  The  Vedas  were  the  sacred  scriptures 
of  the  Aryans  and  were,  therefore,  handed  down 
orally  from  generation  to  generation  as  a  sacred 
trust  and  were  preserved  in  their  memory.  Even 
after  the  introduction  of  writing  in  North  India  the 
conservative  attitude  of  the  Brahmans  resisted  all  in- 
ducements to  write  down  their  Vedas  for  a  longtime 
which  have  been,  for  that  reason,  known  as  the  'un- 
written word',  or  the  eTQp^iraQefrsiS.  Whereas  among 
the  Dravidian  Tamils  there  was  no  such  priestly 
class,  and  none  of  their  earlier  poems  belonging  to 
the  earliest  or  the   pre-academic    period   was  held  in 


THE  TAMIL   ACADEMIES  235 

such  veneration  as  to  deserve  handing  down  by  rote 
hke  the  Vedas.  Amongst  the  ancient  TamiHans  there 
was,  no  doubt,  a  class  of  minstrels  called 
the  panans  {ufissarsar)  more  or  less  resembling  the 
troubadours  of  mediaeval  France,  whose  duty  it  was 
to  recite  songs  or  lays  of  fightmg  and  adventure 
before  kings  and  nobles  on  festive  and  other  occasions. 
But  most  of  these  men  were  illiterate  mendicants  and 
their  poems  and  songs  were  in  no  sense  religious. 
They  had  no  interest  in  preserving  in  the  memory  of 
the  people  the  heroic  tales  of  temporal  power  and  in 
transmitting  them  orally  to  their  posterity.  It  is  thus 
pretty  clear  '  that  the  earliest  literary  activity  of  the 
Tamilians  could  have  shown  itself  only  after  the 
introduction  of  writing  in  South  India,  which  must 
have  taken  place  long  before  the  fourth  century  B.  C. 
We  shall  not  therefore  be  wrong  if  we  look  for  the 
foundation  of  the  first  Tamil  academy  or  Sangam 
somewhere  between  the  sixth  and  fourth  centuries 
before  the  Christian  era. 

Having  tixed  approximately  the  upper  limit  of  the 
age  of  the  Tamil  academies,  we  may  now  proceed 
to  give  a  detailed  history  of  each  of  them  separately. 
In  order  to  follow  the  arguments  the  reader  is 
expected  to  possess  some  knowledge  of  the  history  of 
the  early  Pandya  kings,  a  brief  outline  of  which  will 
be  found  in  Appendix  I. 

Regarding  the  hrst  academy  the  following  particu- 
lars are  mentioned  in  Nakkirar's  commentary  on 
Iraiyanar's   Agapporul,    which,  though    meagre,  is  we 


236  TAMIL   STUDIES 

believe  the  only  earliest  source  of  information 
on  the  subject.  According  to  this  account  the 
members  of  the  first  academy  were  Agastya  (Presi- 
dent), gods  Siva  and  Subrahmanya,  Mudinagaraya  of 
Murinjiyur,  Nitiyin  Kizhavan  and  544  other  poets. 
The  number  of  authors  who  obtained  the  imprimatur 
of  the  College  for  their  works  was  4449.  Dakshina 
or  Southern  Madura  was  the  seat  of  the  University, 
and  it  is  also  stated  that  this  city  of  Madura  submerged 
in  the  Indian  ocean.  Its  patrons  were  eighty-nine 
Pandya  kings  from  Kaysina-valudi  or  Ugra  Pandya  to 
Kadum-Kon,  seven  of  whom  were  also  poets  Some 
of  the  works  which  were  approved  by  the  academy 
were  Paripadal,  Mudunarai,  Mudu-kuruku  and 
Kalariyavirai.  Their  grammar  was  Agastyam.  It  lasted 
for  4,440  years. 

If  the  above  facts  be  submitted  to  strict  historical 
criticism,  most  of  them  will  have  to  be  rejected  as  pure 
myths,  there  being  nothing  to  corroborate  them 
(either  in  Tamil  literature  or  in  the  contemporary 
annals  of  other  countries.  The  number  of  members 
of  the  academy  and  of  the  kings  who  patronized  it 
and  the  long  period  during  which  it  is  stated  to  have 
lasted,  are  all  incredible  and  cannot  be  verified.  The 
list  of  eighty-nine  Pandya  kings  is  not  to  be  found 
either  in  the  Puranas  or  in  any  other  extant  works 
Nor  have  any  of  the  writings  attributed  to  this 
academy  come  down  to  us  in  their  entirety,  excepting 
probably  a  few  doubtful  quotations  from  Agastyam 
and    one    or  two    others.     Apparently  all   these    had 


THE  TAMIL   ACADEMIES  237 

been     lost     long     before     the     tenth     or     eleventh 
century. 

The  only  authors  of  this  period  about  whom  any 
account,  however  scanty  it  might  be,  can  be  extracted 
from  Tamil  literature  are  Agastya  and  Murinjiyur 
Mudinagarayar.  The  rest  of  the  members  seem  to  be 
half  mythical  persons.  The  life  of  Agastya  is  clothed 
in  myth  ;  but  this  much  is  certain  that  he  was  a 
Brahman  of  North  India  and  that  he  led  the  first 
colony  of  Brahmans  which  settled  in  the  Tamij 
districts.  According  to  another  tradition  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Sanskrit  academy  at  Benares,  which 
was  presided  over  by  Vyasa,  the  compiler  of  the  Vedas, 
and,  after  quarrelling  with  his  colleagues  there,  he 
wended  his  way  down  to  the  Tamil  country  and 
established  the  first  Tamil  Academy  at  Madura.  It  is 
said  that  the  Tamil  language  is  indebted  to  him  for 
its  grammar.  He  was  the  first  to  introduce  the  worship 
of  Siva  and  the  science  of  medicme  among  the  South 
Indian  Dravidians.  Though  most  of  the  Tamil  works 
now  existing  on  chemistry,  physiology  and  medicine 
which  are  commonly  attributed  to  him  are  pure 
forgeries,  he  might  have  been  acquainted  with  the 
art  of  medicine  and  the  first  Rishi  to  teach  it  to  the 
Tamil  nation. 

He  is  said  to  have  had  twelve  students,  namely, 
Tolkapyan,  Athangottasan,  Duralingan,  Semputchay, 
Vaiyapikan,  Vayppiyan,  Panambaran,  Kalaramban, 
Avinayan,  Kakkapatiniyan,  Natrattan  and  Vamanan. 
It  is  believed  that  they  specialized    their   studies   and 


238  TAMIL   STUDIES 

wrote  works  on  music,  dramaturgy  and  prosody,  and 
that  the  lost  work  of  Agastya  embraced  all  the  three. 
The  twelve  desciples  wrote  each  a  chapter  on  Purap- 
porul  which  collectively  was  known  as  ussisffR(r^ui-.&)ih 
or  the  'Twelve  Chapters'.  Its  existence  is  doubted,  but 
in  its  place  we  have  now  the  '  Venba-Malai'  of 
Aiyanaridanar  which  is  said  to  have  been  based  on 
the  above  work.  According  to  Adiyarkunallar  Sik- 
handiyar  was  a  student  of  Agastya  ;  and  he  is  said  to 
have  written  Isainunukkam,  a  treatise  on  music, 
which  is  now  lost.  Quotations  from  the  grammatical 
works  of  his  students  Kakkapatiniyan,  Natrattanar  and 
Avinayanar  may  be  found  in  the  ancient  commenta- 
ries on  Agapporul,  Tolkapyam,  Yapparunkalam  and 
other  standard  books.  Chief  of  them,  Tolkapyar  was 
also  a  member  of  the  second  academy  like  his 
renowned  master.  About  tne  precise  date  of  Agas- 
tyar's  migration  to  the  South  nothing  definite  oan 
be  said,  but  as  has  been  pointed  out  above,  it  cannot 
be  earlier  than  the  fifth  or  sixth  century  B.  C. 

It  is  believed  that  in  the  first  Sangam  there  was  a 
poet  by  name  Vanmikiyar.  His  work,  the  name  of 
which  is  not  known,  was  considered  by  Nacchinar- 
kiniyar  as  the  best  of  its  kind.  From  this 
dubious  statement  and  similarity  in  names  a  vi^riter 
of  the  Neo.  Tamil  school  jumps  to  the  conclusion 
that  Valmiki,  Gautama,  Kapila  and  other  famous 
sages  and  Sanskritists  of  Upper  India  were  by  birth 
Tamilians,  and  that  after  they  had  become  famous 
they  were  admitted  as  members  of  the    Tamil    acade- 


THE   TAMIL   ACADEMIES  239 

mies.  It  is  not  worth  entering  into  any  controversy 
with  him  as  he  claims  to  himself  a  '  sense  of  truth 
and  critical  acumen  '  which  he  may  not  be  so 
charitable  as  to  concede  to    his   opponents. 

In  Purananuru,  which  is  an  anthology  or  a  collec- 
tion of  400  lyrics  compiled  by  some  poet  of  the 
third  academy,  there  is  a  sang  ascribed  to  Mudina- 
garayar  who  was  a  member  of  the  first  sangam. 
This  poem  is  a  sort  of  epistle  addressed  to  a  Chera 
monarch  named  Udiyan  Cheraladan.  The  poet 
here  extols  the  king  as  the  commissary  agent  or 
supplier  of  provisions  to  the  contending  armies  on 
the  battle  field  of  Kurukshetra  : — 

(iQujIT    Qu0LOf 

iSsDiB^'^d  QairesoTL^  Quitsowlj^ib  ^ihsmu 

This  informs  us  that  the  Chera  king  Udiyan  Chera- 
ladan, lived  at  the  time  of  the  Mahabharata  war,  i.e. 
about  the  10th  or  11th  century  B.  C.  Among  the  na- 
tions and  tribes  who  ^ught  in  the  great  war  of  the 
Pandavas  against  the  Kauravas,  the  Cherasand  the 
Cholas  did  not  actually  fight ;  but  as  allies  helped  them 
with  armies  or  supervised  other  details  of  the  company. 
Pandiya  king  Sarangadwaja,  a  friend  of  Sri  Krishna 
and  a  devoted  admirer  of  the  Pandavas,  drew  only 
one  contingent  of  troops  from  each  of  the  other  Tamil 
tribes.  Another  tradition  says  that  Arjuna  came 
to   Madura   and    married   the   daughter  of  a  Pandya 


240  TAMIL    STUDIES 

king.  Some  Tamil  scholars  endeavour  to  prove  the 
very  hi^h  antiquity  of  the  Tamil  civilization  in 
the  Pandya  country  by  quoting  such  references  from 
Valmiki's  Ramayana  and  Vyasa's  Mahabharata.  In 
his  Maduraikkanji  (40,  41)  Marudanar  of  Mangudi 
says  that  the  Pandya  country  was  in  existence  at  the 
time  of  Ravana,  king  of  Lanka,  and  that  the  Pandyas 
checked  his  invasion  with  the  help  of  their  family 
priest,  the  divine  Rishi   Agastya. 

But  it  must  be  remembered  that  neither  epic  was 
wholly  composed  by  any  one  person  and  at  any  one 
epoch.  Both  contain  interpolations  and  accretions, 
judging  from  which  the  dates  of  their  present  edition 
have  been  fixed  as  the  first  century  B.C.  and  350  A.D. 
respectively.  Moreover,  the  Ramayana  refers  only  to 
the  Greeks  (Yavanas)  while  the  Mahabharata  mentions 
them  as  well  as  the  Sakhas  (Scythians).  All  that 
can  be  inferred  is,  that  the  three  Tamil  kingdoms  in 
the  South  were  in  existence  from  very  ancient  times. 
No  one  doubts  this  fact,  as  these  countries  are  men- 
tioned in  the  edicts  of  Asoka  (B.  C.  250)  and  in  the 
commentaries  of  Katyayana  (fourth  century  B.  C). 

The  identilication  of  Dakshina  Madura,  the  seat  of 
the  first  Academy  has  been  a  controversial  point.  Re. 
garding  the  destruction  of  this  place  there  are  certain 
allusions  both  in  the  Madura  Stalapurana  and  in  the 
Silappadikaram.     The   learned    commentator   of  the 


THE   TAMIL   ACADEMIES  241 

latter  work  writes  as  follows  : — '  Between  the  rivers 
Knmari  and  Pahruli  there  existed  an  extensive  con- 
tinent occupying  an  area  of  700  kavadams  (a  Kavadam 
being  equal  to  ten  miles).  This  land  consisting  of 
forty-nine  Jiads  (inclusive  of  KoUam  and  Kumari),  i  n 
numerable  forests,  mountains  and  rivers  had  been 
submerged  in  the  Indian  ocean  as  far  as  the  peaks  of 
Kumari,'  by  a  terrific  convulsion  which  resulted  in 
the  upheaval  of  the  Himalayan  range.  Geological, 
ethnological  and  linguistic  researches  also  seem  to 
confirm  the  above  theory.  But  who  can  say  with  any 
authority  whether  the  submerged  country  had  a  town 
called  Madura  or  Kudal,  whether  it  was  governed  by 
precisely  eighty-nine  Pandya  kings,  or  whether  the 
Dravidian  inhabitants  of  this  terra  incognita  were  so 
far  civilized  as  to  establish  literary  academies?  What 
seems  to  be  reasonable  is  that  the  Madura  of  Agast- 
yar's  days  must  have  been  destroyed  by  an  unusual 
inundation  of  the  Vaiga  and  the  Kritamal  rivers, 
before  the  modern  town  was  built  at  the  present 
locality.  The  old  Madura  must  have  situated  five 
or  six  miles  south  or  south-east  of  the  later  one,  and 
about  the  same  distance  east  of  Tirupparamkunram 
hill  which  has  been  described  to  have  situated  exactly 
west  of  it-, 

LDfTL^LoeSI  iDgtiQjb   <9s_/_  ff)@(_QyuJ?63r. — Nak. 
This  hill    is  now  four  miles    south-west    of  Madura. 
And  it  is  for  the   above  reason  that  the  old  city  was 
called  the  south  or  Dakshina  Madura. 

About  the   second    academy  the    same   authority 

16 


242  TAMIL  STUDIES 

furnishes  the  following  information  : — The  members 
of  the  college  were  Agastya,  Tolkapyar,  Mosiyar, 
Sirupandarangan,  Vellur  Kappiyan,  Tuvaraikkoman, 
Kirandaiyar  and  fifty-two  other  scholars  ;  and  the 
works  of  about  3,700  poets  were  passed  by  this  aca- 
demy. The  seat  of  it  was  another  submerged  town, 
called  Kapatapuram.  It  was  patronized  by  fifty-nine 
Pandya  kings  from  Venderseliyan  to  Mudatirumaran, 
five  of  whom  were  also  learned  scholars.  The 
standard  works  ot  this  period  were  Kali,  Kuruku, 
Vendali,  Mapuranam,  Vyalamalai,  Bhutapuranam, 
Isainunukkam,  &c.    It  lasted  for  3,700  years. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  mterval  between  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  first  and  the  founding  of  the  second 
academy  could  not  have  been  long,  as  Agastya  and 
some  of  his  students  were  represented  at  the  latter 
College-board  also.  Consequently  the  second  must 
be  considered  a  continuation  of  the  first,  but  held  at 
a  different  place  after  the  destruction  of  the  original 
Madura  by  the  flood.  This  supposition  is  strength- 
ened by  the  statement  of  Adiyarkunallar  in  his  valu- 
able commentary  on  the  Silappadikaram,  that  one  of 
the  seven  Pandya  poet  kings  of  the  first  academy  by 
name  *  Makirti'  was  also  at  Kapatapuram,  as  a  patron 
or  royal  visitor  of  the  second  academy.  Kapatapuram 
which  in  Sanskrit  meant  the  'gate  city' ,  must  have 
been  a  village  situated  three  or  four  miles  east  of 
Madura,  occupied  temporarily  as  the  king's  resi- 
dence before  the  modern  city  of  Madura  was  built. 
Out   of   the    questionable    mention    of   this  Sanskrit 


THE   TAMIL   ACADEMIES  243 

■name  as  well  as  of  Manalur  (which  Sanskrit  scholars 
think  to  be  later  interpolations)  in  the  Rama- 
yana  and  the  Mahabharata,  some  Tamil  pandits 
are  endeavouring  to  make  much  capital  about  the 
great  antiquity  of  Tamil  culture  and  civilization. 
As  for  the  other  particulars,  we  may  dismiss  them  at 
present  as  more  fictions  than  facts. 

To  arrive  at  the  date  of  the  second  academy  the 
commentator  of  Silappadikaram  gives  us  an  indirect 
hint  in  his  preface  to  that  work.  While  speaking  of 
the  story  of  Udayana  he  says  that  it  was  composed 
in  imitation  of  the  classical  works  of  the  second 
academy,  and  refers  to  it  elsewhere  as  Perum-Kathai 
(Skt.  Brihat-Katha)-  Evidently  it  is  a  Tamil  rendering 
of  Gunadhya's  Brihat-Katha.  It  is  therefore  obvious 
that  the  poets  of  the  second  Sangam  must  have 
flourished  sometime  before,  or  contemporarily  with, 
Gunadhya.  In  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Buhler  the  age  of 
Gunadhya  goes  back  to  the  first  or  second  century 
A.  D.  He  served  as  minister  under  king  Satavahana 
(A.  D.  113)  of  the  Andhrabhritya  dynasty  at  Paithan 
on  the  banks  of  the  Godavari.  *  He  received,'  it 
is  said, 'seven  stories  in  the  language  of  the  Paisa- 
chas  (probably  ancient  Telugu)  from  Kanabhuti 
and  wrote  them  down  in  100,000  slokas  each  with 
his  own  blood.' 

One  of  the  poets  of  this  academy,  Mosiyar,  has 
contributed  about  fourteen  lyrics  to  Purananuru. 
Neither  the  kings  alluded  to  by  him,  nor  the  incidents 
described   therein    afford    any  clue  to  work   out   his 


244  TAMIL   STUDIES 

date.  He  was  a  native  of  Uraiyur  and  lived  in  the 
reign  of  the  Chola  king  Perunarkillil-  If  Dittan  the 
father  of  PerunarkilH  was  identical  with  Dathiya 
the  Tamil  usurper  of  the  Singhalese  annals  (B.C.  90), 
it  may  be  said  that  he  flourished  about  B.C.  75.  Again 
the  present  'edition  of  the  Ramayana  which  was  recas^ 
about  100  B.C.  mentions  in  its  geography  the  Pandya 
country  and  its  capital  Kapatapuram.  Nothing  further 
is  known  about  Tolkapyar,  whose  Tamil  grammar  is 
with  us,  than  that  he  was  a  Brahman  student  of 
Agastya  and  that  he  lived  m  a  village  near  Madura 
during  the  reign  of  the  Pandya  king  Makirti.  All  the 
works  of  this  academy  have  also  been  irretrievably 
lost,  except  the  grammar  of  Tolkapyar  and  a  few 
poems  which  luckily  found  their  way  into  the 
anthologies  compiled  at  the  third  academy. 

From  the  foregoing  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
first  and  the  second  academies  were  more  or  less 
continuous,  and  that  they  existed  occasionally 
sometime  between  the  fifth  century  B.  C.  and  the 
second  century  A.  D.  This  conclusion  seems  to  me 
irresistable  as  we  find  ino  references  to  the  Yavanas 
or  Romans  in  any  of  the  works  composed  by  the 
poets  of  these  academies,  especially  when  we  know 
that  in  the  heyday  of  the  early  Pandyas  there  was  a 
colony  of  Roman  merchants  two  or  three  miles  east 
of  Madura    from   the    second  to    fifth    century  A.D. 

So    much  for  the  first   two    academies.     We  shall 

1.  The  Killi   line  of   Cholas  appear  to  have  reigned  in   Uraiyur 
during  the  first  century  before  and  after  Christ. 


THE  TAMIL   ACADEMIES  245 

now  pass  on  to  the  third,  which  was  by  far  the  most 
important,  and  about  which  we  are  particularly 
concerned.  Almost  all  the  best  Tamil  classics 
we  now  possess  are  the  productions  of  this  last 
Sangam.  The  history  of  this  academy  should 
therefore  be  fully  gone  into,  as  there  are  ample  mate- 
rials in  the  shape  of  innumerable  literary  traditions, 
puranas,  and  casual  references.  But  the  difftculties 
also  proportionately  increase,  because  unfortunately 
no  two  of  them  agree.  An  academy  being  an  asso- 
ciation of  men  of  letters,  its  history  cannot  be  sepa- 
rated from  their  biographies;  and  it  would  be  our  work 
in  the  following  pages  to  collate  such  of  the  literary 
traditions  as  have  any  bearing  on  their  lives  and  to 
construct  a  tolerably  trustworthy  account  of  this  third 
Sangam. 

We  shall  first  give  the  traditional  account  mainly 
as  preserved  for  us  in  the  scholarly  commentary 
on  Iraiyanar's  Agapporul,  and  then  discuss  in  detail 
every  point  with  reference  to  the  latest  researches 
in  epigraphy. 

The  members  of  this  academy  were  Nakkirar 
(President),  Sittalai-Sattanar,  Kalladar,  Kapilar,  Para- 
nar,  Ugra  Pandya,  Mangudi  Maruthanar  and  forty- 
two  other  scholars.  Including  them  449  poets  obtain- 
ed the  sanction  of  the  senate  for  their  writings.  The 
seat  of  this  Sangam  was  Uttara  (northern)  Madura. 
It  was  patronized  by  forty-nine  kings  from 
Mudattiru-maran  to  Ugra  Pandya,  three  of  whom 
were  also  poets-     The  classical  works  of  this    period 


246  TAMIL    STUDIES 

were  Nedumtokai,  Kurumtokai,  Natrinai,  Ainkuru- 
nuru,  Paditruppattu,  Kurumkali,  Paripadal,  Kuttu, 
Vari,  Perisai,  Sitrisai,  Muttollayiram,  Akananuru 
and  Purananuru,  besides  many  minor  poems.  It 
lasted  for  1850  years. 

Concernin<4  the  foundation  of  the  third  Sangam 
nothmg  definite  can  be  said.  Tradition  says  that 
it  took  place  in  the  reign  of  one  Mudattirumaran^ 
and  this  seems  to  have  been  tacitly  accepted  by  the 
commentator  of  Iraiyanar's  Agapporul  and  Adiyar- 
kunallar.  The  name  Mudattirumaran  appears  to  be 
a  synonym  for  Kun  or  Kubja  Pandyan.  If  this 
identification  be  correct,  the  third  academy  must 
have  been  established  in  the  reign  of  Sundara  Pandya; 
that  is  about  670  A.D.  But  this  is  against  ail  tradition 
and  facts.  The  Tiruvilayadal  Purana  tells  us  that  it 
was  established  in  the  reign  of  one  Vamsa  Sekhara 
Pandya,  who  is  also  credited  with  the  founding  of 
the  Madura  city  after  the  'deluge'.  Neither  of  these 
Pandyas  is  mentioned  in  the  literature  or  in  the 
inscriptions  which  have  been  examined,  and  it  is 
therefore  impossible  to  ascertain  the  precise  date  of 
the  establishment  of  the  third  academy. 

It  has  been  said  that  Kalladar  l  and  Mangudi 
Marudanar  were  members  of  this  academy.  These 
two  poets  have  sung  the  military  exploits  of  Nedum 
Seliyan  of  Talaiyalankanam  fame.  If  these  poets  were 
contemporaries   of  this  king,  they  should  have  been 

1.  He  was  not  that  Kalladanar  who  wrote  'Kalladam'  and  'Kannap- 
par    Tirumaram'  (See  Appendix). 


THE   TAMIL   ACADEMIES  247 

living  in  the  latter  half  of  the  second  century  A.D. 
Again,  Sittalai  Sattanar  another  meinber  of  this  acade- 
my and  the  author  of  Manimekalai  also  lived  at  about 
the  same  time.  Had  all  these  poets  been  really  mem- 
bers of  the  third  academy,  it  must  have  been  founded 
during  the  first  century  A.  D.,  or  even  long  before  that 
time.  This  tradition  thus  militates  against  our  conclu- 
sion that  the  second  academy  existed  till  the  second 
century,  and  it  must,  therefore,  be  rejected  as  a  pure 
fiction. 

Again  according  to  the  Tiruvalluvamalai  one  of  the 
fortynme  professors  of  the  third  Sangarn  was  Perun- 
devanar,  the  famous  translator  of  the  Mahabharata; 
as  a  member  of  this  academv  the  compilation  of 
the  eight  anthologies  (CTilO^Q^/rea:*)  is  also  attributed 
to  him.  If  it  was  really  so,  a  learned  scholar  and  poet 
of  this  reputation  must  have  been  mentioned  by  Nak- 
kirar  (oi  whoever  he  might  be)  in  the  account  of  San- 
gams  given  in  iraiyanar's  Agapporul.  As  his  name  is 
not  in  the  list,  it  is  evident  that  he  was  not  a  member 
of  the  third  academy,  and  this  inference  is  clinched 
by  an  allusion  in  his  Bharatam  to  the  Pallava  king 
Nandivarman  who  won  the  battle  at  Tellar.  The  poet 
Perundevanar  must  have  thus  lived  at  the  latter  part 
of  the  eighth  century.  With  it  the  general  belief  that 
the  compiler  of  tiie  eight  anthologies  was  the  self- 
same Perundevanar  falls  to  the  ground,  unless  it  be 
that  the  third  academy  actually  jCxisted  about*  that 
period  and  that  its  forty-nine  professors  together  with 
Tiruvalluvar    were     his     contemporaries — all    which 


248  TAMIL   STUDIES 

are  absolutely  incredible  and  contrary  to  the  testimo- 
nies of  epigraphy  and  literary  history. 

The  list  of  the  forty-nine  Pandya  kings  under 
whose  auspices  the  third  academy  thrived  is  not 
given  anywhere  ;  but  the  name  of  the  last  (Ugra 
Pandya  or  Ugra  Peruvaludi)  alone  occurs  both  in  the 
stala'purana  and  in  Tamil  literature.  It  was  in  the 
reign  of  this  king,  according  to  one  tradition,  that  the 
third  Sangam  or  the  famous  seminary  of  learning  at 
Madura  came  to  an  end,  when  its  members  were 
completely  vanquished  in  a  poetical  contest  with  the 
low  caste  Tiruvalluvar.  But  Tiruvaliuvar  (A.  D.  80) 
lived  at  the  time  of  the  second  academy,  and  had 
therefore  nothing  to  do  with  the  third  Sangam  or  its 
destruction.  That  he  was  instrumental  in  bringing 
about  the  downfall  of  the  third  Sangam,  that  all  the 
forty-nine  members  of  it  eulogized  the  Kural  before 
they  were  drowned  in  the  "  golden  lily  "  tank,  that 
the  famous  Kapilar  of  this  academy  was  his  brother, 
and  that  he  was  a  Paraiya  by  caste — all  these  are  fig- 
ments of  the  Dravidian  imagination.  In  the  early  years 
of  the  Christian  era  there  was  no  Paraiya  caste  ; 
Kapilar  was  a  Brhaman  poet  of  Tirnvadavur  in  the 
Madura  district,  and  was  the  author  of  Kurinchipattu, 
Innanarpatu  and  several  other  poems  ;  none  of  the 
forty-nine  commendatory  verses  belong  to  the  same 
period,  nor  were  they  composed  by  poets  of  the  same 
nadu;  and  lastly  it  is  not  possible  to  believe  that  all 
these  poets  conferred  with  one  another  and  agreed  to 
extol  the  Kural  in  poems  of  the  Venba  metre  and  that  in 


THE   TAMIL   ACADEMIES  249 

the  first  century  A.  D.  The  subjoined  eulogistic  verse 
usually  attributed  to  Auvai,  the  renowned  sister  of 
Tiruvalluvar,  is  enough  to  discredit  the  truth  and 
antiquity  of  the  Tiruvalluvamalai: — 

Qpoi/T  ^uSqp  QpssBQiDir  L^iqisi — QsiretsiQi 

QiDiT0eijrT  ssQiDsk  ^emir. 
In  the  above  quotation  we  find  references  to  Appar, 
Sambandar,  Sundarar,  Manikkavachakar  and  Tiru- 
mular,  the  latest  of  whom  lived  in  the  second 
half  of  the  ninth  century.  There  are  several 
other  verses  of  this  sort  in  praise  of  the  Kural. 
This  stanza  makes  Tiruvalluvar  a  contemporary  of 
Manikkavachakar  !  What  we  are  inclined  to  think 
is  that  the  Tiruvalhivaraalai  or  the  'garland  of  Tiruval- 
luvar',like  every  other  account  relating  to  this  famous- 
moralist,  is  a  strange  mixture  of  doubtful  traditions 
and  absurd  fictions,  written  by  some  later  Dravidian 
author  of  the  ninth  century  to  popularize  the 
celebrated  work  of  Tiruvalluvar.  Thus,  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  tradition  which  attributes  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  third  academy  to  poet  Tiruvalluvar  and 
in  the  reign  of  the  Pandya  king  Ugra  Peruvaiudi, 
is  not  only  absolutely  unfounded,  but  also  contrary 
to  the  statement  in  the  Madura  Stalapurana  which 
ascribes  to  the  same  king  the  foundation  of  the  first 
Sangam  or  academy. 

For  the  extinction  of   the  third  academy   we    must 
look  elsewhere.    If  the   compilation    of    Purananuru 


250  TAMIL    STUDIES 

was  made  by  this  Sangam,  the  date  of  its  aboh- 
tion  could  be  easily  determined.  In  the  above  work 
we  find  a  poem  addressed  to  the  Chola  king  Kocchen- 
gannan  by  poet  Poigaiyar  i.  The  exact  age  of  this 
poet  is  not  known  ;  but  the  Chola  king  has  been 
referred  to  by  the  saints  Trignanasambanda  and 
Tirumangai  Alvar  (A.  D.  650-750)  as  the  builder  of 
several  temples  to  Siva  and  Vishnu.  For  this  pious 
act  he  has  been  canonized  as  a  saint  and  included  in 
the  hagiolugy  of  the  Saivas.  Granting  that  a  period 
of  about  a  century  had  elapsed  between  this  Chola 
king  and  Sambandar,  the  probable  date  of  Kocchen- 
ganan  would  be  about  A.  D.  580.  As  there  is  no 
reference  in  Sambandar's  work  to  the  Tamil  academy 
at  Madura,  where  the  Saiva  saint  must  have  stayed 
for  some  time  before  the  Jains  were  impaled,  and  las 
a  poem  addressed  to  this  king  is  found  in  Purananuru, 
there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  third  acad- 
emy came  to  an  end  during  the  second  half  of  the 
sixth  century. 

This  was  the  time  when  the  struggle  between 
Jainism  and  Brahmanism  was  very  vehement. 
The  kings  and  scholars  of  this  transition  period  in 
the  south  were  completely  absorbed  in  religious  con- 
troversies, and  they  hardly  had  any  time  to  de- 
vote to  literary  pursuits.  And  it  was  probably  at  this 
period  that  the  Pandya  country  was  conquered  and 
temporarily  held  by  the  Kalabhras  or  Kalambras,  till 

1.  This  poet  must   not  be  confounded  with  the   Vaishnava  saint 
Poigai  Alvar  who  lived  about  A.  D.  650, 


THE   TAMIL   ACADEMIES  251 

they  were  expelled  by  Kadunkon  about  the  beginning 
of  the  seventh  century.  All  these  religious  and 
political  disturbances  contributed  to  the  extinction 
of  the  third  academy. 

The  religion  of  the  members  of  the  three  academies 
it  is  not  easv  to  determine,  as  all  the  accounts  we  now 
have  are  from  the  Saiva  source,  and  none  from  Bud- 
dhists and  Jains.  However,  so  late, as  the  third  or 
fourth  century  A.D.  there  was  no  Sivaism  or  Vishnu- 
ism  as  understood  now.  But  there  was  Brahmanism 
or  the  religion  of  the  Vedas  ;  and  side  by  side 
with  it  there  were  also  jainism  and  Buddhism. 
The  members  of  the  first  and  second  Sangams, 
which  continued  up  to  the  second  century,  must 
have  belonged  to  different  persuasions.  Agastyar 
and  Tolkapyar  were  Hindus,  and  presumably 
professed  Brahamanism.  The  writings  of  Tiruval- 
luvar,  Kapilar  and  Paranar  do  not  show  that  they 
were  Saivas,  while  those  of  Nallanduvanar  and 
Nakkirar  show  that  they  were  ;  yet  ail  these,  except 
Tiruvalluvar  are  given  in  the  Saivite  accounts  as 
Saivas,  which  is  evidently  unwarranted.  One  at  least 
of  the  forty-nine  professors,  that  is  Sattanar,  was  a 
Buddhist. 

At  about  the  fourth  or  fifth  century  the  religious 
struggle  made  its  first  appearance.  Buddhist  and  Jaina 
scholars  must  have  seceded  from  the  Hindus  and 
started  Sangas  or  colleges  of  their  own  at  Madura  and 
other  places  for  the  advancement  of  Tamil  literature. 
One  was  started  by  Vajra  Nandi  in  A.D.  470  in  oppo- 


252  TAMIL   STUDIES 

sition  to  a  Hindu  college,  probably  the  third  Sangam, 
which  was  then  conducted  mainly  by  the  Saivas.  The 
five  minor  and  the  five  major  Kavyas  and  some  of 
the  eighteen  minor  ethical  poems  must  have  been 
passed  by  these  Buddhist  and  Jaina  Sangams  or  in- 
stitutions, which,  with  the  downfall  of  these  religions, 
must  have  come  to  an  end.  It  might  be  noticed  here 
that  the  word  sangam  (Sangha)  was  probably  of 
Buddhistic  origin. 

It  will  be  well  at  this  stage  of  our  enquiry  to 
examine  the  importance  and  value  of  the  earliest 
traditional  account,  which  is  attributed  to  Nakkirar 
and  upon  which  all  the  others  are  based,  so  far  as 
the  facts  revealed  by  epigraphy  and  early  Tamil  litera- 
ture enlighten  us  on  the  subject.  The  entire  period 
of  existence  of  the  three  Sangams  or  academies  is 
said  to  be  9990  years.  This  seems  to  us  fabulous. 
They  were  patronised  by. 

First    Sangam — 89     kings     from      Kaysinavaludi 

(A.D.  100)  to  Kadunkon  (A.D.  600); 

Second      do     — 59    kings    from    Vendercheliyan 

(A.D.     740)    to      Mudattirumaran 

(A.D.  650); 

Third         do     — 49  kings  from  Mudattirumaran  to 

Ugra  Peruvaludi  (A.  D.  100). 
Of  these  Kaysinavaludi  and  Ugra  Peruvaludi  might 
be  identified  with  Ugra  Pandya  of  early  Tamil  lite- 
rature. Mudattirumaran  might  be  the  same  as  Kun 
or  Kubja  Pandya,  and  identified  with  Nedumaran  of 
Nelveli   (A.  D.  650),     Kadunkon    lived  about  A.  D. 


THE   TAMIL    ACADEMIES  253 

600  and  Ter  cheliyan  was  a  title  of  Arikesari  Paranku- 
san  (A.  D.  735).  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  tradi- 
tional account,  which  must  have  originated  some- 
time after  the  second  half  of  the  eighth  century,  not 
only  gives  conflicting  details  about  the  three  acade- 
mies, but  also  throws  serious  doubts  as  to  their  relative 
ages  and  their  very  existence. 

Again,  the  illustrative  kovai  or  garland  of  verses, 
quoted  m  the  so-called  Nakkirar's  commentary  on 
Iraiyanar's  Agapporul,  frequently  refers  to  the  same 
Pandya  king  Arikesari  Parankusan  (Ter-cheliyan) 
and  his  military  achievements.  The  commentator, 
or  at  any  rate  the  author  who  committed  it  to  writing, 
unconsciously  betrays  himself  as  Nilakantanar,  the 
tenth  in  succession  from  Nakkirar  the  supposititious 
writer  of  the  commentary.  Allowing  twenty  years 
for  each  generation  of  studentship,  we  arrive  at  A.  D. 
750 — 160  or  590  as  the  age  of  Nakkirar  or  of  the 
composition  of  Agapporul  by  Iraiyanar.  But  even  this 
period  seems  to  be  too  modern  for  Nakkirar,  because 
the  language  and  subject  matter  of  Tirumurugarruppa- 
dai  show  that  he  could  not  have  lived  later  than  the 
fourth  century  A.  D.  In  this  connection  it  must  be 
observed  that  none  of  the  members  of  any  of  these 
academies,  (excepting  a  certain  writer  by  the  name  of 
Nakkirar)  refers  to  his  academy  or  Sangam.  Thus 
we  see  that  the  above  account  of  the  academies  is  a 
clear  fabrication,  like  all  other  pauranic  tales,  out 
of  the    names    of    some    Pandya   kings,-    poets  and 


254  TAMIL   STUDIES 

institutions  vaguely  known  to  the  Tamilians  of  those 
times  and  foisted  upon  Nakkirar. 

Several  attempts  in  later  times  were  made  to  estab- 
hsh  Tamil  Sangams.  The  one  referred  to  in  the 
Chinnamanur  grant  seems  to  have  been  the  first  and 
the  earliest  endeavour  after  the  dissolution  of  the  fam- 
ous third  academy.  It  was  probably  the  fourth,  and 
lasted  for  one  century  and  a  half  from  about  A.  D. 
600  to  A.  D.  750.  Though  it  was  not  so  famous  as 
the  third,  it  appears  to  have  done  some  useful  work 
at  least  by  way  of  collecting  and  preserving  rare 
Tamil  works  which  would  otherwise  have  perished. 
Perundevanar,  the  author  of  Bfiarata  Venba  must 
have  belonged  to  this  academyi,  as  his  name,  famous 
though  it  was,  does  not  appear  in  Nakkirar's  list 
of  the  members  of  the  third  academy.  Naladiyar 
(A.  D.  750)  and  some  other  poems  included  in  the 
eighteen  minor  works  (u^Q'SST^Stfisa,6ms(^)  should,  I 
think,  be  attributed  to  this  Sangam.  From  the  ex- 
pressions -fiEis^^iAii^  and  ■fiasQps^^uSi^  which  occur  in 
the  works  of  Tirumangai  Alvar,  I  am  inclined  to 
believe  that  the  great  Vaishnava  apostle  knew  this 
fourth  Sangam,  though  he  was  not  probably  its 
member. 

1.  According  to  the  astronomical  calculation  made  by  Divan 
Bahadur  Swamikkannu  Pillai  Avi,  from  a  reference  in  the  Silappa* 
dikaram,  the  poets  Ilango-adigal  and  Sattanar  must  have  flourished 
in  the  eighth  century.  If  so,  the  latter  author  must  have  been  a 
member  of  the  above  academy.  We  cannot  now  go  deepei  into 
this  question  or  accept  Mr.  Swamikkannu  Pillat's  theory,  until 
stronger  and  more  convincing  evidences  be  forth-coming. 


THE   TAMIL   ACADEMIES  255 

Anotlier  attempt  in  later  times  seems  to  have  been 
made  by  Poyyamoli  Pulavar  the  author,  of  an  erotic 
poem  known  as  the  Tanjaivanan  Kovai.  He  lived,  it  is 
said,  in  the  reign  of  oneVanangamudi  Pandyan  whose 
date  cannot  be  determined  at  present.  From  the  brief 
account  of  this  poet  given  in  the  Tamil  Plutarch,  it 
might  be  inferred  that  the  poet's  petition  to  the  Pan- 
dya  kinglto  establish  an  academy  did  not  meet  with 
the  royal  approbation.  But  at  the  time  of  Tiruttakka 
Deva  (about  900  A.  D.)  there  was,  it  is  said,  a  Sangam 
at  Madura,  and  one  Poyyamoli  was  an  admirer  of 
the  reputed  author  of  Chintamani.  If  this  Poyyamoli 
was  the  poet  alluded  to  above,  we  shall  have  every 
reason  to  think  that  he  did  partially  succeed  in 
founding  an  academy  which  was  probably  the  fifth. 

The  Pandya  and  Chola  kings,  some  of  whom  were 
lovers  of  Tamil  literature,  might  have  assembled 
societies  of  learned  men  at  different  times;  but  no 
history  of  them  has  come  down  to  us,  probably  because 
none  of  them  attained  the  high  rank  of  the  first  three 
academies.  Yet,  most  of  the  Tamil  kings  from  Paran- 
taka  Chola  (A.  D.  906)  downwards  appear  to  have 
encouraged  the  growth  of  Tamil  learning  by 
patronising  eminent  poets  who  adorned  their  courts 
and  by  showering  on  them  munificent  presents.  A 
few  of  them  like  Gandaraditya  (tenth  century) 
and  Ati  Vira  Rama  Pandya  (seventeenth  century) 
were  themselves  poets,  and  gave  an  impetus  in  later 
times  to  the  advancement  of  learning  in  the  Tamil 
country. 


256  TAMIL  STUDIES 

Before  proceeding  to  consider  the  work  done  by 
the  Tamil  academies  which  existed  at  various  times,  it 
is  desirable  to  give  a  brief  summary  of  their  history. 
The  early  Pandya  kings  were  the  foremost  to  en- 
co.irage  Tamil  learning  by  establishing  academies  at 
Madura.  Vague  and  exaggerated  accounts  of  some 
of  them  appear  to  have  been  handed  down  in  tradi- 
tions, until  they  were  committed  to  writing,  first 
by  the  commentator  of  Iraiyanar's  Agapporul,  and 
then  by  the  writer  of  the  Madura  Stalapurana, 
some  time  after  A.  D.  750.  Some  of  their  members 
seem  to  be  fictitious  persons,  while  others,  probably 
excepting  a  few,  do  not  appear  to  be  contemporaries. 
Their  constitution,  function  and  age,  as  described  in 
these  works  are  extremely  unreliable.  All  what  we 
can  now  say  is  that  the  Pandya  kings  maintained  a 
Tamil  academy  or  University  at  their  metropolis 
from  about  B.  C.  450  to  about  A.  D.  550,  and 
that  it  was  subject  to  varying  fortunes.  When 
the  Pandya  country  was  invaded  and  tempor- 
arily occupied  by  the  Kalabhras  during  the  sixth  cen- 
tury and  when  the  religious  struggle  had  already 
commenced,  the  last  Sangam  or  college  ceased  to 
exist  as  a  corporate  body.  From  this  time,  the  Jains 
had  their  own  Sangams,  which  were  more  or  less 
like  the  Jesuit  seminaries  of  the  middle  ages  ;  and  the 
Hindus  had  their  own  academy  which  might  have  been 
in  existence  during  the  early  part  of  the  eighth  century. 
It  was  at  this  last  Sangam  that  Perundevanar  translated 
the  Mahabharata  and  wrote  his  invocatory  stanzas  to 


THE   TAMIL   ACADEMIES  257 

the  eight  anthologies,  and  it  was  also  at  this  college 
that  the  eighteen  minor  poems  were  collected.  In  the 
face  of  the  above  references  to  the  Tamil  Sangaros  or 
academies  throughout  the  ancient  Tamil  literature,  it 
would  be  impossible  to  deny  their  existence  in  some 
form  or  other  before  the  eighth  century  A.  D. 

Having  said  so  much  for  the  history  of  the  various 
Tamil  academies,  we  shall  now  proceed  to  consider 
the  amount  of  influence  they  exerted  in  giving  shape- 
to  the  Tamil  language    and   literature. 

The  object  with  which  the  three  academies  were 
founded  was  threefold,  namely,  (1)  the  purification  of 
the  Tamil  language  by  the  writing  of  a  grammar  for  it 
and  by  enforcing  strict  adherence  to  its  rules,  (2)  the 
gradual  introduction  of  Aryan  civilisation  in  the 
Tamil  country,  and  (3)  the  regulation  of  literary 
patronage  so  as  to  promote  these  ends.  This  task 
was  first  taken  up  by  the  Brahman  sage  Agastya, 
of  course,  under  the  guidance  and  patronage  of  the 
Pandya  kings.  With  a  view  to  carry  out  these  plans 
the  preliminary  measures  adopted  were,  first  the 
assembling  of  a  large  body  of  literary  men  from 
different  parts  of  the  Tamil  land  ;  secondly,  the  forma« 
tion  of  a  literary  academy  with  Agastya,  the  tradition- 
al priest  of  the  Pandya  family,  as  its  president  ;  and 
thirdly,  the  promulgation  of  a  royal  mandate  prohibi- 
ting the  circulation  of  any  literary  production  before  it 
was  approved  by  the  academy. 

Language  has  life  and  growth,  and  when  left  to 
itself  sprouts  out  into  divers  dialects  like  the  branches- 

17 


258  •  TAMIL   STUDIES 

of  a  living  tree.  '  The  bit  and  bridle  of  literature  ' 
says  Max  Muller,  '  will  arrest  a  natural  flow  of 
language  in  the  countless  rivulets  of  its  dialects,  and 
give  a  permanency  to  certain  formations  of  speech 
which,  without  these  external  influences,  could  have 
enjoyed  but  an  ephemeral  existence.'  This  linguistic 
principle  was  clearly  understood  and  fully  recognised 
by  the  founders  of  the  Tamil  academies.  To  secure, 
"therefore,  permanency  to  the  Tamil  language  the 
boundaries  of  the  country  where  it  was  current  were 
roughly  described  and  the  particular  locality  in  which 
pure  Tamil  (Q5=/5^(^Lp)was  spoken  was  sharply  defined; 
then  the  form  and  pronunciation  of  letters  were 
settled  ;  rules  were  laid  down  to  distinguish  pure 
Tamil  words  from  those  of  foreign  origin,  and  to 
determine  the  structure  and  combination  of  words  in 
sentences.  These  and  many  other  restrictions  on  the 
free  grovvth  of  the  language  were  dealt  with  in  the  first 
Tamil  grammar.  Treatises  were  written  on  prosody, 
rhetoric  and  pond  (details  of  conduct  in  matters  of 
Jove  and  warfare).  Poetical  dictionaries  or  nikhandus 
were  compiled  in  order  to  give  fixity  to  the  form  and 
-meaning  of  words  in  the  language,  and  to  check  the 
indiscriminate  and  unlicensed  introduction  of  alien 
words  m  the  Tamil  vocabulary. 

The  canons  of  literary  criticism  were  severe 
and  were  applied  nnpartially.  In  this  connection 
there  is  a  tradition  pertaining  to  Sittalai-Sattanar, 
"a  noted  member  of  the  so-called  third  academy  and 
author  of  the  unrivalled  epic  Maniraekalai.    When  a 


THE  TAMIL   ACADEMIES  259 

new  poem  was  recited  by  its  author  before  the  learned 
assembly,  he  used  to  strikeihis  head  with  the  butt-end 
of  his  iron  stylus  whenever  he  found  a  flaw  in  it. 
The  wound  thus  caused  by  his  constanf  blows  grew 
into  a  purulent  sore.  (He  was  on  this  account  called 
Sittalai  or  '  pus-head'  Sattanar).  This  wound,  it  is 
said,  defied  all  curative  treatment,  but  healed  of  it- 
self on  hearing  the  Kural  of  Tiruvalluvar. 

p'^s,^^^^  ^rro^a^n^  ^p(^. 

In  this  way  the  Tamil  language,  which  passed 
through  the  crucible  of  the  three  academies,  was 
refined  and  given  to  the  Tamil  land  as  a  perfect  ins- 
trument for  the  expression  of  the  best  thoughts  and 
sentiments  of  its  people.  The  influence  of  these  aca- 
demies is  markedly  seen  in  the  Tamil  writings  which 
received  their  approval,  their  style  and  language  arid 
choice  of  words  differing  much  from  that  of  the  Tamil 
works  of  the  post-academic  period.  The  reader  may 
compare  with  advantage  the  Purananuru  or  Pattu- 
pattu  with  the  Tevaram  or  the  Tiruvoymoli. 

For  the  advancement  of  literature  and  acade- 
mies the  Tamil  kings  did  much.  Liberal  pre- 
sents in  the  shape  of  money,  elephants,  palanquins, 
chariots  with  horses,  lands  and  flowers  of  gold 
were  bestowed  upon  deserving  poets.  Titles  of  dis- 
tmction   like   ^^ffltuir  (doctor),   Ljeosuir    (pandit),  «a9<?- 


260  TAMIL   STUDIES 

ff-gi@s®)h^^  (emperor  of  poets),  etc.,  were  also  con- 
ferred on  them.  Poets  were  honoured  and  respected 
to  such  a  degree  that  even  kings  did  not  think  it 
dishonourable  to  act  as  their  palanquin  bearers.  To 
appease  the  wrath  of  a  poet,  a  Pandya  queen  is  said 
to  have  borne  his  palanquin  one  whole  night  in  the 
disguise  of  a  male  carrier.  Instances  of  the  Tamil 
kings  hontjuring  poets,  and  of  their  indirectly  encou- 
raging learning  are  only  too  many.  One  point,  how- 
ever, might  be  noticed  in  this  connection.  The  Tamil 
kings  of  Chera,  Chola  and  Pandya  were  liberal 
patrons  of  Tamil  literature.  In  the  Tamil  work 
entitled  Padirruppattu,  the  poet  Kannanar  of  Kun- 
nattur  is  said  to  have  received,  for  having  composed 
ten  poems,  a  grant  of  five  hundred  villages  and  the 
revenues  of  the  southern  districts  for  thirty-eight 
years;  the  poet  Kappiyanar  obtained  from  the  Chera 
king  a  gift  of  forty  lakhs  of  pon  (a  gold  coin 
valued  at  Rs.  2-8-0  each)  for  his  ten  poems  ;  and 
the  poetess  Nacchellai  was  given  by  another  Chera 
monarch  nine  iulams  (Tulam=600  Rs.  weight) 
of  gold  for  making  jewels  and  one  lakh  of  gold 
coins,  besides  the  honour  of  a  seat  by  his  side.  Such 
was  the  munificient  patronage  of  poets  by  the  Tamil 
kings. 

A  comparison  of  these  ancient  institutions  of  the 
Tamil  people  with  the  modern  Royal  Academy  of  the 
French  will  be  interesting,  since  both  of  them  were 
alike  in  their  constitution,  work  and  influence.  The 
French  Academy  was  established  in  A.  D.    1635,  that 


THE   TAMIL   ACADEMIES  261 

is  nearly  two  thousand  years  after  the  first  Tamil 
academy,  and  its  members  were  fixed  at  forty.  Its 
object  was  to  cleanse  the  language  of  the 
impurities,  which  had  crept  into  it  through  the 
common  people  who  spoke  it  and  *  to  render  it 
pure,  eloquent  and  capable  of  treating  the 
arts  and  sciences.... It  has  done  much  by  its 
example  for  style  and  has  raised  the  general  standard 
of  writing, ..though  it  has  tended  to  hr.mper  and 
crush  originality.'  It  has  been  remarked  by  a  Danish 
scholar  that  academies  of  the  kind  described  above 
operate  as  a  check  to  the  liberty  of  speech  and  gene- 
rally to  national  independence,  and  quotes  as  an 
example  the  absence  of  similar  institutions  among 
the  liberty-loving  British  race.  The  same  author 
continues  as  follows  : — '  In  England  every  writer 
is  and  has  been  free  to  take  his  words  where  he 
chooses,  whether  from  the  ordinary  stock  of  every 
day  words,  from  native  dialects,  from  old  authors, 
or  from  other  languages,  dead  or  living.  The 
consequence  has  been  that  English  dictionaries 
comprise  a  larger  number  of  words  than  those  of  any 
other  nation.' 

The  above  remarks  of  Dr.  Jespersen  apply  with  equal 
force  to  the  Tamil  people.  In  the  Tamil  language  there 
are  34  synonyms  for  the  word  '  wind,'  50  for  'water,' 
35  for  'cloud',  62  for  '  earth,'  60  for  '  mountains  ' 
&c,  The  ancient  Tamils  were  a  war-like  race  ;  they 
h  ad  their  war  songs  and  lyrics.  Though  the  blazing 
fire  of  independence   and   patriotism  was  put  out  by 


262  TAMIL  STUDIES 

the  magic  influence  of  the  peace-loving  Brahmans  of 
South  India,  the  native  bellicose  spirit  of  the  ancient 
Tamils  makes  its  appearance  at  times  among  the  pre- 
sent day  Maravar,  Kallar  and  Shanar  tribes  of  the 
southern  districts,  though  they  have  lost  the  grace 
and  dignity  of  the; real  warrior.  The  war-like  Nayars 
of  the  west  coast  are  also  the  descendants  of  ancient. 
Tamil  clans. 

The  Tamil  dictionary  is  very  copious  and  the  num- 
ber of  pure  Tamil  words  in  it  exceeds  that  of  any  other 
Indian  vernaculars.  Synonyms  are  plentiful.  Even 
slang  terms  acquired  classical  merit  and  were  made 
use  of  in  literature.  We  may  illustrate  this  usage  by 
a  concrete  example.  Kamban,  the  prince  of  Tamil 
poets,  coined  the  word  tumi  {^lAl)  in  his  Ramayana 
to  rhyme  with  timi  (^uS).  While  reciting  his  work  at- 
the  royal  court,  Ottaikuttar,  another  poet  of  almost 
equal  ability  and  younger  contemporary,  took  objec- 
tion to  its  use  and  demanded  his  authority  for  its 
currency.  Kamban  replied  that  it  was  a  cow-herd's 
slang;  and  Ottaikuthar  required  him  to  prove  it.- 
Thereupon,  Kamban  invoked  Sarasvati,  the  goddess 
of  learning,  who  in  the  disguise  of  an  Idaiya  woman 
uttered  the  word  Uwti  in  the  sense  of  a  'drop'  or 
'spray'  from  an  apartment  in  a  shepherd's  house,  so 
loudly  as  to  be  heard  by  the  two  poets  when  passing 
along  the  street.  This  story  clearly  shows  that  the 
coining  of  new  words  was  never  tolerated,  though  the. 
use  of  slang  and  obsolete   terms   was  freely   allowed. 

So  far  as  the  Tamil  language   was    concerned,  the; 


THE   TAMIL   ACADEMIES  2&Z^ 

influence  of  the  academies  was  mainly  conservative  ; 
but  it  never  arrested  the  growth  of  the  imagination 
or  fancy  of  the  Tamil  race.  On  the  contrary,  it 
afiorded  them  unlicensed  freedom  to  indulge  even  in 
what  would  appear  to  a  moderner  as  hyperboles  and 
anachronisms. 


X 

THE  TEN   TENS 

*  Padirruppattu  '  or  the  '  Ten  tens'  is  the  fourth  of 
the  eight  poetical  anthologies,  the  collection  and 
arrangement  of  which  are  attributed  to  the  third 
academy.  As  implied  by  the  name  it  had  originally 
ten  books,  of  which  the  first  and  the  last  are  now 
lost.  The  remaining  eight  books  were  composed  by 
eight  different  authors  in  commemoration  of  the 
military  exploits,  the  liberality  and  other  noble  quali- 
ties of  eight  Chera  kings  of  ancient  times.  It  is  said 
that  the  authors  of  these  books  were  given  enormous 
presents  by  these  kings.  Parts  of  this  work  might 
have  been  written,  so  early  as  the  end  of  the  second 
or  the  beginning  of  the  third  century  ;  and  Chera 
was  one  of  the  Kodun-Tamil  countries  according 
to  the  early  Tamil  grammarians.  The  work  under 
review  is,  therefore,  a  museum  of  obsolete  words  and 
expressions,  archaic  grammatical  forms  and  termi- 
nations, and  obscure  customs  and  manners  of  the 
early  western  Tamil  people  who  were  the  ancestors 
of  the  modern    Malayalis. 


THE   TEN   TENS  265 

The  second  book  which  was  written  by  Kannanar 
of  Kunnattur  is  addressed  to  the  Chera  king  Imaya 
Varman  Nedum  Seraladan.  In  the  epilogue  to  this 
book  we  are  informed  that  this  king  was  the  nephew 
of  Udiyan  by  Venmal  Nallini  and  Veliyan,  that 
he  engraved  the  'bow'  on  the  Himalayas  and  that  he 
conquered  and  subdued  the  far-famed  Aryans  and  the 
hard-tongued  Yavanas  (lohians).  He  was  the  uncle  of 
Senguttuvan,  a  contemporary  of  Gajabahu  I  (169-191) 
of  Ceylon.  Regarding  the  Andhra  king  Viliyakura  II 
(113-138  A.  D.)  Mr.  V.  A.  Smith  writes  that  '  he 
prided  himself  on  his  prowess  in  expelling  the  Sakas, 
Yavanas  and  Pahlavas  from  his  dominions  on  the 
West-coast.'  Further,  it  is  said  that  '  the  Scythians 
from  the  north  raided  southwards  and  there  was 
war.  In  an  inscription  at  Nasik  the  Andhra  Gotami- 
putra  is  stated  to  have  defeated  the  Sakas,  Yavanas 
and  Pahlavas,  the  Saka  chief  being  the  Kshatrapa 
Nahapana.  This  was  about  A.  D.  125.'  As  Imaya 
Varman — a  Chera  king  of  the  west  coast  and  the 
uncle  of  Senguttuvan — also  boasts  of  having  fought 
with  the  Yavanas,  there  is  every  reason  to 
believe  that  this  king  might  have  had  a  share  in 
the  expulsion  of  this  Greek  or  Ionian  people  from 
Western  India.  These  two  kings  were  probably 
contemporaries,  as  Imaya  Varman  Nedum  Serala- 
dan is  stated  to  have  reigned  for  fifty-eight  years. 
Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  this  Chera  king  and  the 
Brahman  poet  Kannanar  must  have  flourished  during 
the  first  half  of  the  second  century  A.  D. 


266  TAMIL   STUDIES 

The  third  book  was  composed   by  Palai  Gautama- 
nar     (the     ^emi—i^u^    uxsBpQiua&sr      of    Ilango-adigal) 
in  honour    of  the    Chera   king    Palyanai   Chelkezhu 
Kuttuvan,a  younger  brother  of  Imaya  Varman.     He 
was  a  pious   king  and    renounced    the  world  after  a 
reign  of  25    years.     He  is   stated  to  have   performed 
ten  Yagas   or  sacrifices  for  the  sake  of   Gautamanar, 
directed  his  purohit  Nedura.Bharatayanar  to  become 
an      ascetic,  and      to     have      given  away    his  king, 
dom    to  his  relatives.     He  is    further    said   lo    have 
decorated    the  temple    of  the    family    deity    on  the 
Ayirai  l    Hill.     Gautamanar    was    a  Brahman    poet 
who  is  believed  to  have  ascended  the  heaven  with  his 
consort  after  completing  the  tenth  sacrifice.  All  these 
facts  are  also  alluded  to  in  the  last  book  of  Silappadi- 
karam.     The   Chera  king    Palyanaichelkezhu-Kuttu- 
van  and  the  poet  Gautamanar  must,   therefore,  have 
lived  during  the  latter  half  of  the  second  century. 

Kappiyarru-Kappiyanar  was  the  author  of  the  fourth 
book,  which  is  addressed  to  the  Chera  king  Kalang- 
kaykkanni  Narmudi  Cheral.  He  was  born  to  Serala- 
dan  by  the  wife  of  Velavikkoman  Padman.  He 
conquered  Puzhi-  Nadu  and  defeated  Nannan.  He 
succeeded  Cheral  Adan  and  reigned  for  25  years. 
The  real  name  of  the  king  is  not  known,  and  the  one 
by  which  he  is  known  is  a    nom-de-plume  meaning 

1.  This  hill,  now  known  as  Aivar-malai,  is  near  Aiyampalayam 
in  the  Palani  taluk  of  the  Madura  district.  On  the  summit  of 
this  hill  there  are  many  Jaina  images  and  a  temple  containing  ins- 
criptions of  Varaguna  Pandiya  (A.  D.  862). 


THE   TEN    TENS  267 

'one  who  wears  a  garland  of  aefnasmb  and  a  crown  of 
plantain  fibre'.  Nothing  further  is  known  at  present 
about  this  king  and  the  poet. 

The  fifth  book  is  a  production  of  the  famous  poet 
Paranar  ;  and  the  hero  of  the  poem  is  Senguttuvan» 
nephew  of  Nedum-Cheraladan  by  the  Chola  prince 
Manakkilli.  This  Chera  king  was  a  contemporary  of 
Gajabahu  I  of  Ceylon,  of  the  Chola  kings  Uruva- 
Pahrer  Ilamset  Senni  and  Vel-Pahradakkai-Perunar- 
killi,  and  of  the  Pandya  kings  Nedu-Maran 
and  Verri  Vel-Seliyan.  He  was  an  ally  of  the 
Satakarnis  of  the  Andhra  dynasty,  and  with 
his  assistance  he  defeated  a  confederacy  of  the 
Aryan  chiefs — Kanaka,  Vijaya  and  others — on  the 
northern  bank  of  the  Ganges,  and  the  nine  rival 
princes  of  the  Chola  family  at  Nerivayil  near 
Uraiyur  and  fought  another  at  Viyalur  with  some 
unknown  chief,  and  subdued  Palayan  of  Mokur.  He 
was  the  elder  brother  of  Ilangko  the  reputed  author 
of  Silappadikaram  and  the  hero  of  the  third  book  of 
that  famous  work. 

Paranar  has  contributed  some  72  stanzas  to  the 
other  collected  works  of  this  period.  In  Tamil 
literature  his  name  is  found  invariably  connected  with 
Kapilar,  another  renowned  poet  and  contemporary. 
The  question  of  the  age  of  these  poets  will  be 
considered  later  on,  and  it  is  enough  for  the 
present  to  say  that  Senguttuvan,  the  Chera  king 
flourished  between  150  and  225  A.D.  His  reign 
extended  to  fifty-five  years. 


-268  TAMIL   STUDIES 

The  sixth  book  consisting  of  over  210  lines  was 
written  by  a  woman  named  Kakkai-Patiniyar 
Nacchellaiyar  in  honour  of  the  Chera  king  Adukot. 
pattu  Cheral  Adan.  He  was  the  nephew  of  Nedum 
Cheral  Adan,  by  the  wife  of  Velavikoman.and  a  liberal 
king  who  gave  away  cows  and  lands  to  Brahmans, 
and  ruled  his  country  justly  from  his  capital  at 
Tondi,  the  modern  Kadalundi  in  the  Malabar 
district.  If  he  was  a  cousin  brother  of  Senguttuvan 
noticed  above  he  must  have  flourished  during  the 
first  quarter  of  the  third  century  A.  D.  He  reigned 
for  thirty-eight  years. 

The  seventh  book,  addressed  to  Selvakkadungo- 
Azhi-Adan,  was  composed  by  Kapilar.  This  Chera  king 
was  the  nephew  of  Anduvan  Cheran  by  Porayan  and 
his  wife  Perundevi,  daughter  of  Orutandai.  He  was 
a  valiant  king  and  pious  devotee  of  Vishnu,for  whose 
worship  he  granted  the  village  of  Okandur  as  devada- 
yam-  He  fought  several  battles  and  performed  many 
sacrifices.  He  is  believed  to  have  reigned  25  years. 
Nothing  further  is  known  about  this  king  except  that 
he  was  a  predecessor  of  Senguttuvan,  and  that  he 
rrlust  have  flourished  before  A.  D.  150. 

Kapilar  was  a  Brahman  of  Tiruvadavur  in  the 
Pandya  country.  It  is  not  known  why  he  has  not 
composed  even  a  stanza  in  praise  of  any  Pandya 
sovereign  in  whose  dominion  he  was  born.  Perhaps 
he  had  migrated  while  young  to  the  hill  country  and 
settled  there,  as  all  his  extant  poems  are  descriptive  of 
upland   scenery     {(s/^(^^)    and    of   hill   kings     and 


THE    TEN    TENS  269' 

chiefs.  Other  poems  attributed  to  this  author  are, 
— one  book  in  Ainguru-nuru,  Kurinjippattu,  Inna 
Narpatu,  besides  some  poems  in  Narrinai,  Kurungkah, 
Agananuru  and  Purananuru.  He  did  not  errbrace 
any  particular  sect,  as  he  worshipped  all  the  puranic 
deities — Baladeva,  Vishnu,  Siva,  Vinayaka,  &c.  It  is 
not  therefore  safe  to  ascribe  the  authorship  of  certain 
sectarian  poems  on  Siva  or  Mutta  Nayanar  to 
Kapilar.  Further,  there  is  much  difference  in  the  style 
and  language  of  these  two  sets  of  poems  (vide,  p.  197). 
He  has  been  extolled  by  his  contemporaries  and 
successors  as  one  who  never  uttered  a  lie  {Quadjiurrmrr 
eSpsSeom)  and  as  one  most  upright  in  his  conduct. 

The  eighth  was  sung  by  one  Arisilkizhar  in  praise  of 
the  Chera  king  Perum-Cheral-Irum-Porai.  This  king 
was  a  nephew  of  Selva-Kadumko  the  hero  of  Kapilar's 
book  by  the  wife  of  Velavikkoman.  He  boasts  of 
having  overthrown  Adigaman  of  Takadur,  and  defeat- 
ed the  Pandya  and  Chola  kings  of  his  period  near  the 
KoUimalais.  It  is  said  that  he  was  a  contemporary 
of  Ugra  Pandya  and  that  he  reigned  for  seventeen 
years. 

The  ninth  and  last  book  is  a  production  of 
Perungunrur  Kizhar,  and  it  eulogizes  the  military 
achievements  of  the  Chera  king  Ilam-Cheral-Irum 
Porai.  He  was  the  nephew  of  Irum-Porai  noticed 
above,  by  Maiyur  Kizhan  and  his  wife  Venmal 
Anduvan  Sellai.  He  boasts  of  having  defeated  the 
Chola  king  Uruvap  Pahrer  Ilamchet  Senni  (father 
of    Karikala)   and   Palayan  Maran,   a   Pandya   chief, 


270  TAMIL   STUDIES 

and  destroyed  the  five  hill  fortresses  of  Vicchi.  It  is 
said  that  he  was  a  descendant  of  Mandaram  Cheral 
Irumporai  (ix.  8, 10)  and  of  the  kings  who  had  thrown 
lances  to  cross  the  ocean  and  decorated  the  patron 
deity  at  Ayirai.  The  author  Perumgunrur  Kizhar  was 
a  contemporary  of  Kapilar  and  praises  him  in  the  fifth 
agaval  of  this  book  as  follows  : — 

a.ffl;'3sw«i,/r/r<5   seu'SeauSQesr (^& 

esTioweSjbum^uj    iBs\)eSlsai^s  atSeom'. 

We  shall  now  consider  en  semble    the    dates  of  the 

Chera  kings  and  of  the  famous  poets   Kapilar,  Paranar, 

Palai  Gautaraanar,    Perumgunrur    Kizhar  and    Arisil 

Kizhar.  As  may  be  gathered  from  the  epilogues  to  this 

work  the  genealogies  of  the  early  Chera  kings  fall  into 

two  branches  thus  : — 

I.  II. 

Udiyan  Serai  Adan  Anduvan  Serai  Irumporai 


I  I  (A)  vSelva-Kadunko-Ali 

(1)  Imaya  Varman     (2)  Palyanai  Chelkelu  Adan  (r.  25  yrs.) 

alias.  Kuttuvan  [ 

Nedum  Serai  Adan  (r.  58  yrs.)  (B)  Perum  Serai  Irum- 
I  porai  (r.  17  yrs.) 

1  \  \  i  i 

(3)  Kalankay-  (5)  Adukot-  (i)  Sengu-  Ilango.  (C)  Ham  Serai  Irum- 
Kanni  Nar~      pattu  Serai       tuvan  porai  (r.  16  yrs.) 

mudi  Serai         Adan       (r.  55  yrs.) 

(r.  25  yrs)     (r.  35  yrs.) 

by  Padman  Devi.  '  by  Manakkilli  Devi. 
Of  these  the  only  king  whose  date  has  been  definite- 
ly  fixed   is   Senguttuvani    (No.   4   in  Table    I,  A.  D. 

1.  It  is  not  our  purpose  to  enter  into  the  controversy  whether  the 
Gajabahu  alluded  to  in  the  Silappadikaram  was  the  first  or  the 
second  king  of  that  name,  as  this  question  has  been  already  settled 
by  other  scholars. 


THE    TEN   TENS  271 

175-225)  ;  and  the  composition  of  Silappadikaram 
by  his  brother  Ilango  may,  therefore,  be  placed 
between  200  and  225  A.  D.  In  this  work  the  exploits 
of  the  Chera  kings  Nos.  1,  2  and  3  in  Table  I,  and  of 
C  in  Table  II  are  narratad  (Book,  xxviii,  11. 
135-148).  Consequently  all  the  kings  referred  to  in 
the  two  genealogies  must  have  been  the  predeces- 
sors of  Senguttuvan.  The  poet  Paranar  has  sung 
Senguttuvan  (No.  4)  and  his  maternal  uncle 
Nedum  Cheral  Adan  (No.  1)  besides  Uruva  Paher, 
Ilamchet  Senni  of  Pukar,  father  of  Karikala  Chola  of 
Kaveripatam  and  Vel-Pahradakkai  Perunar-Killi  of 
Uraiyur.  Summing  up  the  duration  of  the  various 
reigns  from  No.  1  to  No.  4,  as  given  in  Table  I, 
the  period  comes  to  more  than  a  century,  and  this 
could  not  surely  be  the  age  of  Paranar.  It  is 
therefore  clear  that  the  length  of  the  reign  of  each 
king  includes  the  period  of  their  viceroyalty  in  some 
part  of  the  Chera  country  before  their  accession  to  the 
Chera  throne,  and  ihat  almost  all  kings  given  in  the 
two  tables  must  have  reigned  between  A.  D.  125  and 
225. 

This,  I  believe,  is  the  period  of  Kapilar,  Paranar  and 
other  poets  mentioned ■  above.  It  was  the  custom 
in  these  provinces  as  in  the  north,  to  appoint  the  sons 
of  the  reigning  kings,  especially  the  heirs  apparent,  as 
Viceroys  of  different  provinces  or  Nadus  under 
their  sovereignty.  As  each  of  them  styled  himself  a 
Chera,  a  Chola  or  a  Pandya  king,  we  have  a  number 
of  such  kings   ruling  at  the  same   period  ;  and   there 


272  TAMIL   STUDIES 

were  as  many  as  nine  Chola  princes  at  Uraiyur  durii 
the  time  of  Senguttuvan  ;  and  this  is  one  of  th 
stumbling  blocks  in  fixing  the  genealogy  of  the  Tamil 
kings.  Further,  this  difficulty  is  enhanced  in  the 
case  of  the  Chera  kings  on  account  of  the  Marumak- 
katayam  law  of  inheritance,  which  had  been  then  as 
now  in  vogue  in  the  Malabar  coast  ;  and  it  has 
become  a  hopeless  task  to  determine  their  relation- 
ship on  account  of  the  temporary  unions  of  the 
patriarchal  and  matriarchal  royal  families  of  the  Pand- 
yas,  Cholas  and  Cheras.  It  was  one  of  the  causes  for 
constant  wars  between  them,  and  for  the  eventual 
separation  of  the  Cheras  from  the  other  Tamil 
dynasties. 

The  genealogy  of  the  Chera  kings  of  this  period 
given  by  Mr.  Kanakasabhai  in  his  Tamils  1800  years 
ago  is  as  follows  : — 

Athan  I  (40—55). 

I 
Athan  II,  m.  Sonai,  daughter 

of  Kankala  Chola  (55-90) 


I  I 

Senguttuvan  (90 — 125)  Ilango. 

I 
Yanaikkatchey  (125—135)- 

I 
Perumcheral  Irumporai  (135 — 150). 

It  will  be  seen  that  this  table  does  not  tally  with  our 
own,  and  it  is  not  possible  to  say  on  what  authority 
he  has  based  it.  But  at  any  rate  it  is  evident  that  he 
has  forgotten  the  fact  that  succession  in  the    Kerala. 


THE   TEN    TENS  273 

jntry  was    according    to    Marumakkatayam    law. 
;'iis  Senguttuvan  was  not  the  son  of  Athan  II  and  the 
^hola  princess  Sonai  as  he  has  given;  but  he  was  the 
nephew  of  Athan  as  the  following  lines  will  show: — 

Q^fiTmesr  LDosarsSeirbyfl  uS&sr p  Losear 

»  *  *  * 

«L_6k)  lS paQsaiLisf-uj   Qs=ia(^LL'il(oiJGsr 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Silappadikaram  informs  us 
that  Senguttavan  was  the  son  of  Seraladan  by  a  Chola 
princess — Q^uedtt ^p^a^  Qs^aLp^  m^s^i^ peauDii^ ear  Qa^ia 
(gtl®euair.  And  elsewhere  in  the  same  work  the  Chola 
king  Valavankilli  is  spoken  of  as  the  brother-in-law 
of       Senguttuvan — rSsisrstOLD^^earmajen-eu^Seirerft.      I     am 

inclined  to  believe  that  the  word  los&r  in  the  first 
quotation  from  Silappadikaram  should  be  oiasoT-,  as 
otherwise  the  parentage  given  to  some  of  the  Chera 
kings  in  the  Padirruppattu  must  all  be  false,  which  is 
improbable. 

In  the  Tamil  country  the  Aryan  Brahmans  had 
already  settled  in  small  numbers.  They  were 
patronized  by  kings  with  grants  of  land.  Some  of 
them  were  engaged  as  purohits  or  priests,while  others 
occupied  themselves  in  teaching  the  Aryan  religion 
and  philosophy  to  the  Tamils.  The  Tamil  poets  Kapi- 
lar  and  Palai-Gautamanar  were  Brahmans.  There 
were  also  poetesses  like  Nacchellaiyar  ;  and  educa- 
tion of  women  was  not  neglected  in  those  days. 
Besides  poets  of  both  sexes  among  Brahmans  and 
Vellalas,    there  was  a  low    class   of    minstrels  called 

18 


274  TAMIL   STUDIES 

Panans  (female  Patini),  who  lived  by  begging,  and 
whose  duty  it  was  to  recite  songs  before  kings  and 
chiefs.  They  were  rewarded  with  elephants,  chariots 
and  garlands  of  golden  flowers.  And  they  used  to 
accompany  kings  to  battles  and  visit  camps  in  the 
hope  of  sharing  with  the  victorious  soldiers  the 
booties  taken  in  wars. 

Rice,  sugar  and  ginger,  varagu,  kollu  and  tinai, 
cocoanut  and  palmyra  were  largely  cultivated.  Meat 
was  eaten  by  all  classes,  not  excepting  even  Brah- 
mans,  and  the  drinking  of  liquor  was  very  common. 
Soldiers  used  to  wear  garlands  of  ginger  and  flowers  in 
order  to  eat  that  pungent  root  at  intervals  while 
quaffing  liquor  (v.  2).  Rice  cooked  with  flesh  was 
the  favourite  viand  of  soldiers.  They  observed 
feasts  when  they  returned  after  success  in  wars,  or  on 
the  birthday  of  kings,  and  fasts  on  full-moon  days 
(vi.  1).  The  Brahmans  performed  Yagas  or  sacrifices 
for  the  benefit  of  kings.  The  God  Vishnu  at  Tri. 
vandrum  was  worshipped  by  all  people  of  higher 
castes  (iv.  i\  Females,  especially  the  class  called 
eSlp&SiuiT,  were  in  the  habit  of  tying  their  locks  of  hair 
divided  into  five  knots  like  the  Toda  women  of 
modern  time  (ii.  8).  Compare  with  this  the  following 
extracts  from  Kalittcgai  which  gives  a  graphic  des- 
cription of  the  coiffure  in  vogue  among  the  Dravi. 
dian  Tamil  woman  of  antiquity. 

(1)  6Too©<srot_  Q^itlLl^  smrdsaSesr  Qu p pssiOJLOUrr&d, 

(2)  ^^iTS  QiBfiS^^<s5r(oQr  ei]p&)eSa  i'Ssfrihuir 
eiesafi iBeas  uSss)u.uSlLi-.  e^eastviEJsemesdl. 


THE   TEN   TENS  275 

Kalangu  or  the  seeds  of  (guilandina  bonduce)  were 
Tjsed  for  counting  (iv.  2).  They  believed  in  omens 
and  auguries,  the  withering  of  leaves  in  the  silk- 
cotton  tree  being  considered  an  evil  foreboding 
(iv.lO).  They  believed  in  astrology  and  in  the  appea- 
rance of  eleven  suns  to  dry  up  the  universal  deluge 
(vii.2).  Chastity  was  considered  the  highest  virtue 
and  sign  of  'learning'  in  women  and  they  believed  in 
the  story  of  QTihiSm  or  arundhati.  Among  the 
Tamils  the  ordinary  custom  was  the  burial  of  dead 
bodies  (v.  4).  They  used  to  be  kept  in  big  pots  and 
buried  under  Vahni  (Prosopis  spicigera)  trees. 

Feudalism  was  prevalent.  The  Tamil  kings  and 
their  governors  of  provinces  were  constantly  at 
war.  Each  was  bent  upon  subduing  the  other 
and  becoming  the  overlord.  Thus,  at  the  battle 
of  Nerivayil  near  Uraiyur  as  many  as  nine 
Chola  princes  were  defeated  by  Senguttuvan, 
the  Chera  king.  A  part  of  the  Chera  country,  called 
the  Puzhi  Nadu  was  conquered  and  lost  alternately 
by  the  Cheras  and  Pandyas.  These  chiefs  had 
small  forts  with  deep  ditches  surrounded  with  forests, 
one  tree  among  which — like  the  sluJoli  (Eugenia  race- 
mosa)  of  Nannan  and  the  Qqjldlj  (Azadirachta  indica) 
of  Palayan — was  considered  sacred  to  the  ruler.  This 
was  one  of  the  vestiges  of  the  Australian  totemism. 
In  war  the  first  business  of  an  enemy  was  to  cut 
down  such  sacred  trees  and  to  make  war  drums 
out   of  the   wood,  to    burn    the  villages,    to  plunder 


276  TAMIL   STUDIES 

their  cattle  and  to  destroy  their  moats  and  ditches 
with  elephants.  When  a  fort  was  besieged  by  an 
enemy,  the  men  in  the  fort  used  to  fight  even 
without  taking  food  and  write  the  number  of  days 
thus  passed  on  the  fort-walls  (vii.8).  The  battlements 
were  filled  with  bows  and  arrows,  swords,  anklets 
and  wreaths  of  green  leaves  (vi.  3)  ;  the  two  last 
(worn  by  women)  for  distribution  among  the  coward 
soldiers  as  marks  of  shame.  It  was  also  the 
custom  to  pour  oil  on  the  head  of  the  van- 
quished leader  and  to  drag  him  by  both  hands  from 
behind.  The  victorious  kings  and  soldiers  used  to 
dance  with  raised  swords  on  the  field  of  battle  (vi.  6) 
and  then  give  grand  feasts  to  their  men  when  the 
severed  heads  and  bodies  of  the  departed  heroes  lay 
strewn  around  them.  This  was  seirQ^umeS  (camp 
feast)  and  ^smiimsss;^^^  (war  dance).  They 
knew  something  of  surgery  and  used  to  stitch 
the  wounds  received  in  battles  with  needles 
called  Nettai  or  Q«®  Qeu&r^Q  (v.  2).  Thev  had  their 
ov^n  military  rules  of  discipline,  and  always  prefer- 
red winter  for  military  operations  (ix.  2).  Plunder 
was  not  their  sole  object,  but  a  desire  tor  power  and 
authority  actuated  the  Tamil  kings  to  carry  on  wars 
with  the  neighbouring  chiefs.  Naval  fights  too  were 
not  unknown  to  them. 

The  standard  authority  on  grammar  for  this 
period  was  Tolkapyam.  The  following  peculiarities 
may  be  found  in  the  work  under  consideration.  The 
plural  of  high  caste  nouns  had,  /f,  while    the    neuter 


THE    TEN   TENS  277 

nouns  had  no  plural  at  all.  The  termination,  s^, 
was  not  in  use  then  though  Tolkapyar  mentions 
it  in  his  grammar.  In  the  matter  of  gender,  neuters 
like  ^iasu,  (?q;/5jp,  ^st,  ■srjbpuDj  &c.,  were  mostly 
in  use,  though  masculine  and  feminine  nouns  like 
QtBi^Qiurresr  and  ^tftiueir  are  met  with  occasionally.  The 
post-position  for  all  the  six  cases  was  ^sin-  or  '§!&),  but  (5 
for  the  dative  and  jy  for  the  genitive  were  also  used. 
In  QuirmssB^esTmeWy  S^esBpp^fi,  iii(T^ui3ssiuj!T'2esT  and 
©6\)ti)Ly/r)jj;@«-a)  we  find  @oir  stands  for  2nd,  3rd,  6th  and 
7th  cases;  and  in  the  phrase  L3u^(U(^mgiJ  the  termination 
=gy  is  a  genitive  particle.The  formation  of  verbal-nouns 
as  in  Q^n-soiu.  from  Q^rr®  to  attach,  in  ^Tsu&i  from  ^/r  to 
suffer,  in  usssfli^  from  uesS  to  bow,  in  ld&}iti-j  from  ld&iit 
to  blossom,in  jy'PuL/from  =gy®  to  kill,  in  Quinuuui  from 
Qu7iu  to  utter  a  lie,  in  jugVLj  (separation)  from  j>i^  to 
cut,  in  67^  from  sti£I  to  beat  or  throw,  in  ueap  from 
up  to  fly,  in  ^sap  from  ^^  to  tarrv,  and  in  uT/foysu 
from  ufTiT  to  see  ;  of  personal  nouns  in  /5/f  from 
verbs  ^t  {^(J^^it),  usit  (u^/f/B/f),  jij .a  and  jy/fl  {^rftsir};  con- 
crete nouns  from  verbs  ^■^ — ^Pf^,  Qsjot — Q^tremis. 
(booty),  jij3)i<ss)eu  (piece  of  cloth),  //  sSp  (powder) 
.■f  j2/,  ^jj/)  ;  and  of  abstract  nouns  from  verbs  as  supiM 
{dryness*,  otpso,  Qeueusufr^  &c.,  are  all  now  obsolete. 
Present  tense  was  not  in  use  at  this  period,  the  only 
tenses  which  were  frequently  used  are  the  past  and 
future.  The  particles  or  signs  of  past  tense  much  in 
use    were  c/  and  ^  ;    and   those   of  the    future    were 

€i\iM,  <S(5,  u  and  l/ Q.f0st}>  (we  will    go)  ^iri(^,  ^0U, 

urrQuj   might  be  taken  as  examples.     Causative   verbs 


278  TAMIL   STUDIES 

like  e^Qpd^  (to  cause  to  behave);  infinitives  in  fFiuir  as 
in  ^iP^LuiT  (to  give),  imperatives  in  Qmir  as  in  Q^mQinfr 
and  uSm  as  in  'S-<^L£lm  have  all  gone  out  of  use  along 
with  0)607,  Qsiresr,  Qu  sr  and  lomp  which  were  the 
adverbs  of  quality  greatly  used  by  the  early  Tamil 
poets. 

As  in  most  works  of  this  period  the  metre  used 
here  is  agaval. 

Tolkapyar  and  Pavanandi  have  provided  rules  for 
the  going  out  of  the  old  and  the  coming  in  of  new 
forms  and  words,  so  long  as  the  language  continues 
to  have  life  and  growth.  Ignoring  this  important 
principle  Tamil  poets  of  all  ages  have  slavishly  adopt- 
ed obsolete  terms  and  expressions  in  their  composi- 
tions. This  is  the  chief  cause  for  the  great  differ- 
ence between  the  language  of  poetry  and  the 
colloquial  dialect.  We  are  not  concerned  here  with 
the  obsolete  words  and  forms  as  they  have  been 
fully  explained  by  the  old  commentators  and  in  the 
glossaries  appended  to  those  classical  works.  We 
give  below  only  such  words  as  are  current  now  but 
have  undergone  change  in  meaning  by  the  influence 
of  the  psychological  principles  of  contiguity,, 
resemblance  and  contrast.  ^®  meant  '  victory  ' 
from  ^®  to  kill,  now  it  means  a  '  sheep  'or  'an 
animal  that  frisks' ;  (josarq  meant 'strength' and  now 
it  means  'front';  a»u@(G^aja)  meant  the  'people',  now  it 
means  the  'green  or  fertile  land;'  ^ar^^&)  meant 
'thinking',  now  restricted  only  to  'measuring'  ;  ^®ul^ 
meant  'withering  or    dying,'    now   it    means  'that  in 


THE   TEN   TENS  279 

which  anything  is  cooked',  hence  an  'oven'  ;  euirt^ieias 
meant  'property',  now  it  means  'living'  \QiuiTmi  meant 
'iron',  hence  any  useful  metal,  but  now  restricted  to 
'gold ';  seif^sii  meant  also  a  'pig',  now  only  an  'elephant' ; 
L/sa)  meant  'justice'  rsQsiirS'ietxsio.D,  now  only  'mid-day'; 
8Lfi3(^  meant  a  '  pit '  or  a  low  groui  id  from  Si^  '  below' 
and  (^  the  particle  of  direction,  now  it  means  the  'east/ 
which  was  believed  by  the  early  Tarailians  as  the 
low-lying  land  in  reference  to  the  Western  Ghats  ; 
Qsn®  meant  'cruelty'  or  'that  which  was  bent'  and  now, 
it  means  a  'branch'  of  a  tree;  s/bi-i  meant  '  learning  ' 
{s&)^i)  and  it  is  now  restricted  to  '  chastity  ';  ^i-ij>  in 
ussSli—LD  meant  time,  as  no  distinction  was  made  by 
the  early  Tamils  between  time  (Skt.  sireouo)  and  space 
(@t_ii))  or  they  had  no  term  to  express  the  notion  of 
time;  e^i^  meant  to  'spoil  or  injure'  generally,  now  it 
means  'to  break  or  cut  in  twain'  like  a  stick  ;  cSsmL^ULf 
meant  'death',  now  'living'  the  opposite  of  it;  Qetirnsoas 
meant  '  wealth,'  or  that  which  is 'liked',  and  now 
it  means  'hatred  ';  jifioseo  meant  'staying  or  tarrying' 
now  'leaving';  ^gui^  and  ^^esioj  (from  ^ ^/b-  to  cut) 
meant  'separation'  and  'a  piece  of  cloth',  both  of 
which  are  now  obsolete,  the  latter  word  being  ousted 
by  another  ^essR  of  similar  origin;  ^rreueo  meant 
'begging',  and  it  is  no  longer  used  in  that  meaning; 
Qs=Lju  is  a  very  old  word  common  to  Tamil  and 
Telugu,  but  it  has  become  classical  in  Tamil  and 
colloquial  in  Telugu. 

1.  In  Kanarese  the  name    for 'iron'    is  'Kabbonnu'  or    '  Karum- 
ponnu',  which  means  the  'black  gold.' 


280  TAMIL   STUDIES 

The  authors  of  this  collection  have  used  Sanskrit 
derivatives  (tadbhavas)  very  sparingly,  and  even  these 
relate  either  to  religion  or  mythology.  They  are 
^Q/,^  (sacrifice),  usS  (offering),  mi^jih  (spell),  sireoar 
(god  of  death),  utTsuD  or  us^n^ih  (devil),  ^/tlc  (garland), 
^(T-®^  (purification),  jyai/6?Rjr/f  (Rakshas  or  demons),  and 
^iftiuiT  (Aryas).  Thus  in  a  work  of  about  1,800  lines  only 
a  dozen  words  of  Sanskrit  origin  are  to  be  found,  and 
it  speaks  of  the  purity  of  the  Tamil  language.  It  can 
exist  without  the  least  help  from  foreign  languages, 
as  it  had  and  even  now  has  sufficient  elementary 
words  of  native  origin,  out  of  which  compounds  can, 
with  a  little  attention  to  phonetic  principles,  be 
formed  to  express  modern  thoughts  and  ideas. 


XI 

THE   VISHNUVITE  SAINTS 

The  study  of  the  azhvars  or  Vishnuvite  saints  is 
beset  with  several  difficulties.  On  the  one  hand, 
religious  fanatics  have  gathered  together  a  mass  of 
legendary  and  superstitious  accounts,  often  of  a  con- 
flicting and  sometimes  of  an  incredible  nature  ;  on 
the  other,  the  European  critics,  perhaps  aided 
by  the  sectarian  opponents  from  the  fold  of  the  Sai- 
vas  who  form  the  major  portion  of  the  Tamils,  have 
done  much  to  belittle  the  extent  of  their  influence 
and  the  results  of  their  work  among  the  Tamil  popu- 
lation. Foremost  amongst  them  was  Bishop  Caldwell, 
whose  opinion  always  carries  that  weight  ana  autho- 
rity which  a  life-long  and  sincere  devotion  to  the 
study  of  South  Indian  problems  has  secured  for  him. 
But  whatever  claim  to  infallibility  his  conclusions 
on  matters  of  language  may  carry  with  it,  il  is  but 
natural  that  his  inferences  regarding  social  and 
religious  movements  should  be  biassed  by  his  mis- 
sionary   leanings.     In     the    following    chapter     an 


282  TAMIL   STUDIES 

attempt  will  be  made  to  study  the  religious  activities 
of  the  Vishnuvite  Alvars  from  a  purely  historical 
stand-point,  and  special  care  will  be  taken  to  sub- 
stantiate statements  from  the  literary,  epigraphical 
and  other   evidences. 

All  over  the  contment  of  India  Vishnu  has  been 
worshipped  in  some  form  or  other;  but  mostly  in  his 
two  latest  incarnations  as  Rama  and  Krishna.  He  is 
an  Aryan  deity  transplanted  into  the  Dravidian  soil  by 
successive  bands  of  Aryan  settlers,  and  it  would  there- 
fore be  highly  interesting  to  give  at  the  beginning  a 
brief  outline  of  the  origin  and  development  of  this  cult 
in  the  land  of  its  origin.  The  mam  reasons  for  pre- 
facing this  essay  with  such  a  resume  are,  (1)  to  com- 
pare its  growth  both  in  the  Aryavarta  and  in  the  land 
of  the  Tamils,  and  (2)  to  guard  ourselves  in  the  course 
of  the  ensuing  discussion  against  certain  misapprehen- 
sions that  might  be  raised  by  the  orthodox  traditions 
of  the  Tamil  Vaishnavas. 

History  of  religions  in  India  tells  us  that 
the  worship  of  Vishnu  is  as  old  as  the  Vedas, 
and  that  the  doctrines  of  this  sect  had  already 
passed  through  at  least  two  stages — ^the  Vedic 
and  the  Puranic — before  they  attained  the  present 
form.  During  the  Vedic  period  the  religion  of  the 
Indo-Aryans  consisted  in  the  adoration  of  the  elemen- 
tal gods  like  Indra,  Varuna,  Agni  and  Marut,  and  in 
the  offering  of  sacrifices  to  Agni  or  the  lire-god. 
Vishnu  was  then  a  solar  deity  *and  held  an  inferior 
position  as  a  fiiend  or  comrade  of  Lndra.  This  epoch 


THE    VISHNUVITE   SAINTS  283 

was  immediately  followed  by  the  rise  of  Buddhism 
and  Jainism,  which  greatly  influenced  or  modified  the 
succeeding  period  of  Puranic  Hinduism,  when  the 
elemental  gods  of  the  Vedic  period  had  come  to 
occupy  an  inferior  position,  the  foremost  rank  having 
been  taken  up  by  Brahma,  Vishnu  and  Siva,  which 
were  believed  to  be  the  triple  forms  of  the  Supreme 
Being.  And  to  popularize  this  triad  three  classes  of 
Puranas  araountmg  to  eighteen  m  all  were  written  by 
the  Brahman  sages.  They  narrate  all  sorts  of 
legends  connected  with  each  of  the  above 
three  deities.  Each  Purana  is  devoted  to  the  praise 
of  One  or  another  of  these  gods  who  is  spoken  of  in 
that  work  as  supreme,  whilst  other  deities  described  in 
other  Puranas  are  slighted  and  their  worship  even 
forbidden.  They  also  prescribe  rules  for  the  worship  of 
gods  by  means  of  prayers,  offerings,  festivals,  and 
pilgrimages.  The  date  of  the  oldest  of  these  Puranas, 
probably  Vayu- Purana,  is  believed  to  be  from  about 
320  A.  D.  and  the  latest  to  be  of  the  eleventh  century. 
It  was  during  this  period  that  idol-worship  and  the 
building  of  temples  for  images  were  substituted  for 
the  Vedic  sacrifices,  which  latter,  however  continue 
to  this  day  in  a  feeble  form  among  the  Brahmanical: 
rites.  This  change  is  ordmarily  attributed  to  the 
overwhelming  influence  of  Buddhism  and  Jainism, 
which  at  this  period  were  in  a  state  of  decline  and 
their  humane  but  heretical  doctrines  had  ultimately 
degenerated  into  mere  idol-worship. 

In    ancient   times   the    Dravidian  Tamils    were  a 


284  TAMIL    STUDIES 

fighting  race.  From  Purananuru,Kalittogai,  Padirrup- 
pattu  and  other  collected  works  of  the  early 
Sangams  (academies)  we  further  learn  that  great 
honour  was  done  to  brave  men  as  is  shown  by  a 
number  of  memorial  stones  or  Virakkals  still  to  be 
seen  in  some  Tamil  villages  erected  to  commemorate 
their  heroic  deaths.  The  expressions  like  ^^sjS  ^ir&srp 
QjiuajiT,  sir(ir,9  s^am pQs^Q^,  etc.  bear  testimony  to  the 
martial  spirit  of  the  early  Tamils.  When  a  king  died 
of  sickness  without  losing  his  life  in  battle  his  body 
used  to  be  laid  on  a  bed  of  kusa  grass  and  split  up 
with  a  sword  believing  that  men  who  died  as 
warriors  could  go  to  heaven.  Heroes  who  died  in 
battle  were  buried  on  the  road-side  and  tomb  stones 
were  set  up  with  suitable  inscriptions  describing  the 
names  and  the  military  achievements  of  these  persons. 
Offerings  of  flower,  cooked  rice  and  liquor  were 
also  made  by  iheir  relations  and  friends.  Perhaps 
small  temples  were  also  erected  over  the  sepulchres 
and  worshipped,  h'ulan,  Katteri,  Nondi,  Karuppan 
and  other  deities  which  now  form  the  objects  of 
worship  by  low  caste  Sudras  and  Paraiyas  belong 
probably  to  this  category.  Thus,  the  religion  of  the 
ancient  Tamils  consisted  mainly  in  spirit  worship 
and  in  the  drinking  and  offering  of  liquor.  They  ate 
all  kinds  of  meat,  including  even  beef,  and  mdulged 
in  alcoholic  drinks. 

According  to  Tolkapyar,  the  earliest  Tamil  gram- 
marian, even  gods  were  classified  according  to  the 
mature  of  the  soil.     Thus,  Indra  was  the  god  of  fertile 


THE   VISHNUVITE   SAINTS  285 

and,  LDj^jsti) ;  Murugan  of  the  hills,  (^13(^9  ;  Durga  of 
the  desert,  u/t-^sw  ;  Vasudeva  of  pasture  land,  (josu^so  ; 
and  Varuna  of  the  sea-coast,  QiiL^io.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  all  these  deities  belong  to  the  Aryan 
pantheon,  nay.  the  first  and  the  last  were  purely 
Vedic  ^ods.  The  only  god  who  might  be  called 
Dravidian  was  Muruga,  as  he  was  almost  unknown 
under  ihat  appellation  to  the  people  of  North  India. 
Traces  of  this  traditional  classification  migt?t  still 
be  found  in  some  caste  names  like  Devendra  Pallan, 
Varunakulam  (fishermen)  and  Vasudevakulam 
(shepherds).  Such  was  in  brief  the  condition  of 
religion  among  the  Dravidians  when  the  early  bands 
of  Aryan  immigrants  settled  in  the   Tamil  country. 

Having  ^aid  something  about  the  state  of  religion 
among  the  Tamilians  in  the  remote  period,  we  shall 
now  proceed  to  notice  the  changes  that  were  brought 
about  by  their  contact  with  the  Aryans.  The  mate- 
rials for  this  section  will  be  drawn  chiefly  from  the 
Tamil  works  of  the  Sangam  period,  (A.  D.  150 — 550) 
and  from  the  inscriptions  published  up  to  date. 

The  earliest  Tamil  author  whose  date  could  be 
ascertained  approximately  was  Tiruvalluvar.  He 
flourished  probably  about  the  end  of  the  first  century 
A.  D.  and  in  his  Kural  we  find  no  traces  of  his  predi- 
lection to  any  particular  sect  or  religion.  He 
was  no  doubt  a  monotheist  and  he  is  now 
claimed  both  by  the  Jains  and  the  Saivas  as  their 
savant.  He  is  even  worshipped  by  the  Saivas  of  to- 
day as    one  of  their  saints   or    Nayanars.     We      shall 


286  TAMIL  STUDIES 

next  take  Kapilar.  He  was  a  Brahman  of  Tiruvadavur 
in  the  Madura  district  and  Hved  probably  during  the 
early  part  of  the  second  century.  Among  his  writ- 
ings we  find  poems  in  praise  of  Tirumal  (Vishnu), 
Baladeva,  Murugan  (Subrahmanya)  and  Siva.  With 
due  difference  to  the  profound  scholarship  of 
Mahamahopadhyaya  Swaminatha  Aiyar  and  of  the 
older  commentators  we  are  of  opinion  that  none  of 
the  Saiva  poems  included  in  the  eleventh  Tirumurai, 
with  the  single  exception  of  Tirumurugarruppadi, 
were  written  by  Kapilar,  Paranar  and  Nakkirar  of  the 
academic  period.  Though  a  Vedic  deity  Indra  was 
also  worshipped  at  this  time.  From  Silappadikaram 
and  Manimekalai  we  learn  that  annual  festivals  were 
also  celebrated  in  honour  of  this  god. 

(1)  (sSlesaressT^iT  ^'^su'BeaT  e^Qpii  ittlLu^u  , 
i3psiirr  ujrTS(oS)iU  QurftCoajfreisr  QaofTuS&s 

LDgfiQpS'f  QfQjQev  aressfi^si^  QstTuS^m 
eurreoaj'Serr  Qldsi^  aa/zxaflG'aj/raar  QsnuSl^ 
Se\)  (oLOSsft  Q'Si^QiLifTesr  QsmiS^m. — Sil. 

(2)  eu-f&iT^  ^i—i(ssis  Qmi^QujiT&si  (d%ituS^lL 
Qunnungui  QpufikisptBis. — Pur.  • 

Another  celebrity  of  the  later  Sangam  period,  Nak- 
kirar, informs    us  that  during   his  time  four    gods  of 
the  Aryan   pantheon  were  considered    as  holding  the 
foremost  rank  among  the  South  Indian  deities. 
(Sj pg^Qjeo  ^ujrfliu  QeufiSiDQ^  eireiSiTfeiBL- 
LDirjbp0iEl  sessB^f^  LDessfluSt—jb  Q^'^iii 
Q^ireon  (ssoeSlsaf  iBireOSu  (r^eir(ei^ih. — -Pur.  56, 


THE    VISHNUVITE   SAINTS  2S7 

They  were  Siva,  Vishnu,  Balarama  ind  Muruga. 
In  his  later  life,  however,  this  writer  became  a  Saiva 
and  composed  a  poem  in  praise  of  Murugan,  for 
which  he  was  canonized  as  one  of  the  Saints  of  the 
Saiva  sect. 

This  was  probably  a  period  of  eclecticism,  since 
the  Vedic  and  the  Puranic  gods  had  not  yet  been 
subjected  to  the  process  of  separation,  but  were  in  a 
nebulous  form.  Besides  the  four  gods  mentioned 
above  the  Vedic  deities  India,  Yama,  Varuna,  Soma, 
Aditya,  Rudra,  Vasu  and  Marut  had  been  adored  or 
respected  even  at  that  time  by  the  Aryan  immigrants. 
iMakkirar  tells  us  that  the  first  four  were  'great  gods' 
{mjbQuQ^iB  Q^Lueuua),  while  the  rest  were  divided  into 
thirty-three  deities  as  follows — Aditya,  12;  Rudra,  11; 
Vasu,  8  ;  and  Marut,  2.  These  were  subsequently 
increased  to  thirty-three  crores  during  the  Puranic 
period. 

iBfTeoQeiJSii  (0^0)0   (Beo^^i^  &pui3n) 
urreoQojsu  Q^eu(j^  lduu^  ui—itis^. — Mani. 

Greater  attention  was  also  paid  to  sacrifices  both 
by  the  Brahmans  and  kings,  the  latter  chiefly  provid- 
ing funds  for  their  performance,  as  they  had  believed 
that  the  prosperity  of  the  country  depended  mainly 
on  such  sacrifices.  The  following  quotations  will 
bear  testimony  to  the  prevalence  of  this  belief: — 

(1)  rSjiB^  uuis^sm  iTQ^tsiSL^  eirft^S'^ 
Qp^^  eiS<sfrd(^, — Pur. 


TAMIL    STUDIES 

(2)  Qeu&reiS  QpptB'jj  &jrrujajfreir  Qeuik^. — Pur. 

(3)  SiTisnesgr  Qisujeiii^iE}@LLi jQicemi^ssarLj  usvCsulISu). — Ib^ 

(4)  S-i5aiff<^iT60  Q&ieireS  Qpuf.^^  Qa&rsS. — Pad. 
v(5)    uji^eoBriT  Qsi^eSKSstLQu  LJi^eu  QiMrru^iuiT^ 

QeuareS  QeuLLiJ2esT lb. 

The  above  is  a  brief  account  of  Brahmanism  in 
the  Tamil  country  as  it  existed  and  was  known  to 
the  authors  of  the  Purananuru  and  other  classics  of  the 
pre-Puranic  period.  And  an  outline  of  the  Puranic 
Hinduism  which  follows  will  clearly  show  that  none 
of  the  Saiva  Nayanars  or  Vaishnava  Alvars  ever  held 
the  religious  v'iews  explained  in  the  above  works. 
This  one  fact  will  in  itself  suffice  to  prove  that  both 
the  Saiva  and  Vaishnava  Saints,  probably  with  the 
exception  of  one  or  two,  flourished  only  during  the 
Puranic  period,  viz.,  after  A.  D.  500. 

The  essential  features  of  the  early  Puranic  period 
were  the  setting  up  of  idols  and  the  construction  of 
temples  for  them.  The  Tamil  kings  of  this  period — 
chiefly  the  Pallavas,  the  Cholas  and  the  Pandyas — 
whose  purohits  or|spiritual  advisers  were  Brahmans, 
were  imbued  with  devotion  to  Vishnu  or  Siva.  It 
appears  that  Brahma  had  no  votaries,  as  his  name 
scarcely  occurs  in  the  academic  works.  Later  on, 
however,  he  was  united  with  Siva  and  Vishnu  to  make 
up  the  triad;  and  Indra  and  Baladeva  were  ousted 
from  the  Hindu  pantheon.  Still  Brahma  has  been 
occasionally  referred  to  in  both  the  Saiva  and  Vaish- 
nava hymns,  though  he  had  no  temples  to  reside  in  like 
his  friends  Siva  and  Vishnu;  and  even  now  he  has  only 


THE    VISHNUVITE   SAINTS  289 

one  temple  in  all  India,  and  this  is  at  Pushkaram  in 
Ajmei".  Vishnu  and  Siva  alone  were  honoured  with 
shrines,  were  regularly  worshipped,  and  were  given 
offerings  three  or  four  times  a  day.  To  propitiate 
them  people  observed  fasts  and  held  festivals.  Be- 
fore the  sixth  century  A.  D.  there  were,  however* 
only  very  few  templesi  dedicated  to  these  deities  and 
Muruga,  as  the  following  extracts  from  Pattuppattu, 
Padirrupattu,  Purananuru,  and  Silappadikaram  will 
show  : — 

(1)  Lj&refressH  iimQant^^  Q^eveu^LD  Qsu&rQeir^ 
QpQswtS&sr  QpQ^iQuu  (ip!T6eETL^^  Qfeoeu^ 
^ p^uu^  ^Q.iSuj  /5(T/_li_^jij   ^^ueO 

(2)  seatsiQuiTQT)  ^Slffls  SLDy?(^{rjb  giitpir^ 
ine\)Ei3jh  Qs^e^JSuasT  Qs=SiJL^  utrsS.  —  Pad, 

(3)  QpdscL  Qs^evsuiT  tssirojeOt^  Qs=ujjb(^.  — Puf. 

(4)  eSrfl^ssiad  sfreSifJ  eSlujiohQuQTfi  ^(tfjSi^ 

^Q^QJLDIT   LDrJlfu<5Sr    @L^k^    Q}0SS! 6SSI (LplJb 

^0LDrr6\}  (^m psi^ff-  0<f6i)(g  eSlirnQeo 

G)LiiTp0'LDes)n'Si  ^fT(^<sn<sfTti>  Qurr0is^  iSlm. — Sil. 
1.  Srirangam,  Tiruppati  and  Tirumal-kunram  (Kalla  Alagar^ 
appear  to  have  been  the  oldest  and  most  famous  of  the  Vaishnava 
temples  in  the  Tamil  country.  The  famous  temple  of  Varadaraja  at 
Conjeevaram  is  not  sung  by  any  Vishnuvite  Saint,  as  it  is  one 
of  modern  origin  like  those  at  Mannargudi  and  Melkota. 
19 


290  TAMIL  STUDIES 

Temple  building  on  a  large  scale  was  begun  during 
the  second  half  of  the  sixth  and  early  part  of  the 
seventh  centuries  by  Kocchengat  Chola,  Sundara 
Pandya  Deva  and  Mahendra  Varraa  Pallava.  They 
tolerated  all  sects  and  religions — Saiva  and  Vaishnava, 
Jainn  and  Buddha — the  last  of  which,  however,  was 
then  on  the  decline  at  least  in  the  extreme  south. 
Though  nominally  worshippmg  any  one  of  these 
gods,  the  kings  were  in  the  habit  of  invoking  the 
triad  in  their  grants.  In  the  same  family  the  father 
might  be  a  Saiva  whilst  his  son  professed  Vishnuism 
or  very  rarely  even  Jainism.  Thus  the  Cheia  king 
Senguttuvan  (about  A.  D.  250)  was  a  worshipper  of 
Siva  and  Vishnu,  while  his  younger  brother  was  a 
Jaina  ascetic  ;  the  Saiva  saint  Tirunavukkarasu- 
Nayanar  was  a  Jain  in  his  early  days  while  his  sister 
Tilakavati  was  a  Saiva  devotee  ;  and  the  Pallava  king 
Simha  Vishnu  (A.  D.  590)  was  a  staunch  worshipper 
of  Vishnu,  whilst  his  son  Mahendra  Varman  was  first 
a  Jama  and  then  an  orthodox  Saiva.  It  is  no 
wonder,  therefore,  that  when  Hwen  Tsang  visited 
Conjeevaram  in  A.  D.  640  there  were  in  that  city  100 
Buddhist  monasteries,  with  about  10,000  Brethren 
and  about  80  temples  the  majority  of  which  belonged 
to  the  Digambara  Jains.  And  he  goes  on  to  say 
that  in  Molokuta  (probably  the  Pandya  territory) 
the  people  were  ot  mixed  religions.  There  were  many 
remains  of  old  monasteries,  very  few  being  in  preser- 
vation. '  There  were  hundreds  of  Deva  temples 
and  the  professed  adherents  of  various   sects,    especi- 


THE    VISHNUVITE  SAINTS  291 

ally  the  Digambaias,  were  numerous'-i  Wr  see 
then,  at  the  early  half  of  the  seventh  century  that 
Buddhism  was  in  its  decline,  and  the  sects  of  Siva 
Vishnu  and  Jain  were  fighting  with  one  another  for 
ascendancy.  The  later  history  of  the  Saiva  and  the 
Jaina  cults  will  be  dealt  with  in  the  second  volume. 
As  the  subject  matter  for  our  immediate  considera- 
tion is  the  development  of  Vishnuism  we  shall  for  the 
present  part  company  with  our  Saiva  and  Jaina 
brethren. 

For  the  separation  of  the  Vaishnava  cult  and  its 
development  into  a  distinct  sect  in  tlie  Tamil  country 
the  Alvars  were  mainly  instrumental.  They  were  the 
Hrst  to  hymn  the  praises  of  Vishnu  and  to  propagate 
His  worship.  It  might  be  gathered  from  their  hymns 
that  allusions  and  reierencesto  the  miraculous  deeds 
of  Rama,  Krishna  and  other  incarnations  of 
Vishnu  were  drawn  largely  from  the  two  great  epics — 
the  Ramayana  and  the  Mahabharata — and  from  the 
Bhagavata  and  Vishnu  Puranas.  Their  hymns  were 
collected,  arranged  and  compiled  by  Sri  Nathamuni, 
probably  under  the  editorship  of  Nammalvar  into  a 
single  volume  called  the  *  Nalayira-Prabandam',  or 
the  '  Book  of  4000  hymns  ',  about  the  middle  of  the 
tenth  century  A.D.  Among  the  Tamil  Vaishnavas 
(especially  the  Tengalais)  this  collection  of  Tamil 
poems  is  being  regarded  as  sacred  as  the  Sanskrit 
Vedas.  Why  this  work  has  come  to  be  esteemed 
so  we  cannot  conceive.  It  is  neither   a  translation   of 

1.  Walters'  Hvven  Tsang,  Vol.  II,  p.  228. 


292  TAMIL   STUDIES 

the  holy  Vedas  of  the  Indo-Aryans,  nor  is  it  an 
exposition  of  their  contents,  rather  than  of  the  two 
great  epics  and  the  Puranas ;  and  what  is  more 
surprising  is  that  the  four  kinds  of  poetical  com- 
positions or  prahmidas  of  Nammalvar  and  the  six 
varieties  of  Tirumangai-alvar's  work  are  spoken 
of  by  the  Vaishnava  Acharyas  as  the  counterparts- 
of  the  four  Sanskrit  Vedas  and  their  six  Vedangas. 
This  theory  might  appear  false  when  it  could 
be  proved  that  Nammalvar  hved  two  centuries 
after  Kaliyan.  The  Devara  hymns  which  constitute 
a  more  voluminous  collection  of  the  non-Brahman 
Saivas  are  not  so  much  valued  by  the  Smartha  Brah- 
mans  of  the  Tamil  districts. i  This  disparity  m  the 
estimation  of  the  two  Tamil  works  of  exactly  similar 
nature  was  probably  due  to  the  anxiety  of  the  early 
Acharyas  to  I  make  the  religion  of  Vishnu  more  popu- 
lar among  the  Dravidians,  most  of  whom  were 
followers  of  Siva. 

The  collection  of^  hymns  and  religious  poems  by 
Appar,  Sambandar,  Sundarar,  Manikka  Vachakar  and 
other  Saiva  devoteesand  their  compilation  into  eleven 
tirumiirais  or  series  are  usually  ascribed  to  Nambi- 
yandar  Nambi.  In|the  ninth  book  entitled  the  Tiru- 
visaippa  we  find  a  hymn  composed  by   Gandaraditya 

1.  Concerning  this  the  Government  Epigraphist  writes  as 
follows: — "  Ihe  Saiva  creed. ..does  not  appear  to  have  paid  much 
attention  to  Sastric  karma,  but  taking  unsullied  devotion  to  Siva  as 
its  basis,  it  received  into  its  fold  all  classes  of  people  without  any 
distinction  of  caste.  This  catholicity  of  the  Saiva  faith  rendered 
it  not  very  popular^ with  the  orthodox  Brat'mans". 


THE   VISHNUVITE  SAINTS  29^3 

Chola  (A.  D.  948-960)  and  another  on  the  god  ot 
Raja  Chola's  shrine  at  Tanjore  which  was  built  to- 
wards the  close  of  the  tenth  century,  while  a 
third  by  Karuvur  Devar  refers  to  a  temple  built  by 
Gangaikonda  Chola  in  or  about  1015  A.  D.  If  the 
above  tradition  be  trusted  Nambiyandar  Nambi 
should  have  lived  about  1025.  As  it  is  said  that 
the  Periyapurana  of  Sekkilar  is  based  upon  one  of 
the  poems  ot  Nambiyandar  Nambi  (^(5^3^/7 63ar/_'f 
^Q^euissiT^),  Sekkilar  should  have  been  either  his  con- 
temporary or  his  successor.  He  was  a  minister  under 
a  Chola  king  and  had  the  title  of  Uttama  Chola 
Pallavarayan  conferred  on  him  as  a  personal  mark  of 
otttcial  distinction.  Inscriptions  inform  us  that  the 
term  Uttama  was  the  name  of  Rajaraja's  predecessor 
(A.  D.  970-985)  and  one  of  the  hirndus  of  his  succes- 
sor Kajendra  I.  (A.  D.  1012).  Several  shrines  are 
said  to  have  been  built  by  the  first  Uttama  Chola  and 
by  his  mother  Sembiyan  Mahadevi  (queen  of  Ganda- 
raditya).  But  it  is  said  that  the  Periyapurana  was 
written  under  the  patronage  of  a  Chola  king  named 
Anapaya,  which,  it  is  understood  from  an  inscription 
in  the  Tiruvalur  temple,  was  the  title  of  Kulottunga 
Chola  (A.  D.  1070— 11 18).  Taking  then  the  reign  of 
Kulottunga  Chola  as  the  latest  limit,  it  might  be  said 
with  tolerable  certainty  that  the  Saiva  poets  Nambi- 
yandar Nambi  and  Sekkilari  flourished  between 
1.  It  will  not  be  out  of  place  to  mention  here  that  Chintamani,  a 
Jaina  work  widely  studied  during  the  time  of  Sekkilar  may  have 
been  written  by  Tuuittakka  Deva  about  the  middle  of  the  tenth 
century  A.  D. 


294:  TAMIL    STUDIES 

A.  D.  1000  and  A.  D.  1150,  a  period  which  bad 
immediately  followed  one  of  great  Saiva  activity 
(A.D.  950—990).  Sri  Natha  Muni  of  the  rival  Vaishnava 
sect  was  also  a  contemporary  of  the  Saiva  poet  and 
compiler,  Nambiyandar  Nambi,  as  will  be  showm  in 
the  sequel,  and  he  should  have  been  inspired  by  the 
Saiva  revival  of  his  time  to  render  a  similar  service 
to  his  sect.  And  the  above  conclusions  seem  to  receive 
support  from  the  following  statement  of  the  Govern- 
ment epigraphist  : — '  We  do  not  know  of  any  epi- 
graphic  evidence  earlier  than  the  records  of  Rajaraja  I 
where  the  recital  of  the  sacred  Saiva  hymns  of  the 
Devaram  are  {sic)  referred  to  for  the  first  time  as  being 
instituted  by  him.  Rajendra  Chola  I  appears  to  have 
supported  the  cause  of  Saivaism  by  going  a  step  fur- 
ther than  his  father  and  setting  up  the  images  of  the 
famous  Saiva  vSaints  in  the  temple  of  Rajarajesvaram 
at  Tanjore.'i  It  is  therefore  pretty  clear  that  the 
practice  of  setting  up  images  of  the  Vaishnava  Saints 
in  Vishnu  temples  might  have  come  into  existence 
some  time  after   A.  D.  1025. 

The  Alvars,  who  were  elevated  by  the  Vaishnava 
Acharyas  to  the  rank  of  canonized  Saints,  are  twelve  in 
number;  and  they  are  being  worshipped  by  them  with 
greater  devotion  than  they  would  adore  their  god 
Vishnu  himself.  Strictly  speaking,  the  Alvars  were 
only  ten,  Andal    and    Madhiirakavi   being  left  out  of 

1.  Report  dated  28th  July  1900,  page  103.  Even  before  the  29th 
year  of  Rajarajachola  images  of  Sundara,  Sambandar,  Rajarajachola 
and  his  queen  Lokamahadevi  were  set  up  in  the  Tanjore  temple. 


THE   VISHNUVITE   SAINTS  295 

account.  From  an  inscription  in  the  Vishnu  temple 
at  Kumaralingam  (Madura  district),  it  will  be  seen 
that  all  the  ten  Alvp.rs  were  canonized  and  wor- 
shipped as  early  as  A  D.  1230.  And  for  making 
offerings  to  the  images  of  these  saints  set  up  in 
the  temple  of  Kalla  Alagar  at  Tirumalirum  Solai  in 
Kil-lraniya  Mutta  Nadu  lands  w-ere  granted  by  a 
certain  devotee  in  the  reign  of  Virarajendra  Deva 
(S.  S.  1153). 1  The  word  alvar  medns  'one  deep  in 
wisdom/  and  any  Alvai  is,  therefore,  respected  as  a 
mediator  to  secure  Moksha  or  salvation  for  the  wor- 
shippers of  Vishnu.  The  following  table  gives  the 
names  of  the  Alvars.  the  extent  of  their  contributions 
to  the  Nalayira  Prabandam,  their  birth  place  and 
the  number  of  Vishnu  shrines  celebrated  by  them  : — 


Pallava 


'1  Poigaiyar  100  Conjeeveram  7 

2  Pudaltar  100  Mahabalipuram  14 

3  Peyar  100  Mylapoie  13 

4  Tiiumalisaivar  216  Tirumalisai  20 


r"  5  Tiruppanalvar        10     Uraiyur  2 

Chola        <  6  Tondaradippodi     55     Tirumandangudi        1 

(.7  Tirumangaivar  1361     Tirukkurayahir        88 

Chera  8  Kulasekhara  105     Qui'.on  8 

r    9  Peiiyalvar  473  )  ^  •     ir      ff  16 

p       ,         MO  Andal  1/3  )               *  o 

t^andya  ^  ^^  Nammalvar  1296     Tirunagari  30 

l^-I  Madhurakavi  11      Tirukkolur  0 

The  arrangement  of  the  names  of  Alvars  adopted  in 
the  above  table  is  not  in  accordance  with  the  traditional 
chronology,  which  assigns  to  the  earliest    saint    4203 

1.  Epigraphist's  Report,  No.  665  dated  28tti  July  1910,  p.  17. 


296  TAMIL   STUDIES 

and  to  the  latest  2706  B.  C,  but  with  special 
reference  to  the  four  Tamil  kingdoms  in  which  they 
were  born. 

The  orthodox  Vaishnavas  believe  that  the  Alvars 
were  the  incarnations  of  the  sacred  weapons,  the 
sacred  ornaments  and  the  sacred  vehicles  of  Vishnu. 
Of  these  saints  Tiruppan  and  Madhurakavi  will  not 
detain  us  long  ;  because,  from  a  literary  stand-point 
their  contributions  are  almost  trifling.  The  respective 
merits  and  the  ages  of  the  remaining  Alvars  vi'ill 
therefore  be  discussed  in  the  following  pages,  leaving 
the  miraculous  incidents  connected  with  their  birth 
and  life  for  the  pious  edification  of  the  superstitiously 
orthodox  Vaishna\'^as. 

No  necessity  for  an  essay  ot  this  kind  should  have 
occurred,  had  there  been  at  least  one  reliable  and 
faithful  biography  of  the  Vishnava  Saints  ;  neither  in 
Sanskrit  nor  in  Tamil  was  there  a  single  biographer 
of  the  type  of  a  Boswell  or  a  Lockhart.  Legends  of 
some  kind  or  other  are,  however,  not  wanting  among 
the  Vaishnavas.  One  of  these  named  the  Guntpa- 
ramparai  or  the  'Genealogy  of  the  Gurus'  pro- 
fesses to  give  the  lives  of  the  Vaishnava  Saints 
and  Acharyas  ;  and  the  accounts  of  the  Alvars 
described  in  it  appear  to  have  been  written  after 
the  fashion  of  the  Periyapurana  of  the  Saivas,  the 
accuracy  of  the  contents  of  both  being  highly 
questionable,  as  they  are  replete  with  miraculous 
incidents  and  anachronisms.  We  cannot  expect  more 
than  these  from  the  religious  zealots  of  the  combative 


THE   VISHNUVITE   SAINTS  297 

sects,\vho  seem  to  have  compiled  them  from  distorted 
traditions  and  hyperbolic  accounts  which  had  come 
down  to  them  several  centuries  after  the  death  of  these 
saints.  Some  of  these  were  based  on  the  casual 
utterances  which  are  to  be  found  in  the  writings  of 
the  Alvars  themselves.  The  admissions  of  the  saints 
which  were  made  out  of  modesty  and  humility  were, 
m  certain  cases,  taken  for  real  facts,  and  afterwards 
woven  into  long  stories  with  embellishments  drawn 
chiefly  from  their  imaginative  brains.  Wherever 
traditions  or  autobiographical  statements  were  wanting 
the  biographers  also  were  silent.  Thus  the  lives  of 
Poigayar,  Peyar  and  Pudattar  are  almost  blank,  as 
there  are  no  personal  references  in  their  antadis, 
while  those  of  Tirumalisaiyar,  Tirumangai-Mannan, 
Tondaradippodi,  Periyalvar  and  Andal  are  com- 
paratively full. 

And  yet  to  impose  upon  the  credulous  disciples  the 
Vaishnava  Acliaryas  have  cooked  up  even  the 
horoscopes  of  their  saints  The  asterisms  in  which 
PudattaU'ar  and  Poigaiyalvar  were  born,  as  given  in 
the  Guruparamparai,  do  not  agree  with  those  assigned 
to  them  by  the  following  inscription  of  Vikrama  Chola 
(A,  D.   1118)  at  Kanchipuram  : — 

Q^IM    ^  QufTiUSmS    LUTl^oUfT(V^LD    L3/oi^^Q^d      QsLLaaU-lStTsk    S\([h 

QuQ^i^Q^euQfi^^  Qs=uj^0sir  &c.  But  it  is  said  in 
later  works  that  Poigaiyar  was  born  at  Kacchi  in 
Tiruvonam   and    Pudattar  at    Mamalla      in  Avittam. 


298  TAMIL    STUDIES 

The  following  lines  which  we  here  quote  from  the 
writings  of  the  above  saints  seem  to  have  furnished 
the  data  for  their  respective  biographies  :  — 

(1)  Tirumalisai    Alvar, — (^eomis&rnuj      ^iH rrsmts^Qeomsk 

p ^iih  l3  roiB^lQeO'sk  •  mirsQsiTem®  mrreaBu-LD  uiT'Ju.<osr. 

(2)  Tinimangai  Alvar. — Qs^LDQinQ^smisf-s,  ^e^2EsiQu(r^d 

Q ^  Q^iflsiosijLDfT(rF(TKiai](cLD   LDQFoiS  '    sm£i]Q<osr iev)(S<oar<ssr 

(3)  Toiidaradippodi  Alvar. — (^^^liissisrrsii^Q^    ^n^^ 

ULLu.(Lpi^(o<stj'2ioBT ,   QufT^QfT  QUbmgu  Qs^rreosSlu  q/F^ 

(4)  Periyalvar — (dsu^uulu^  Qsntsken-  <si}eOoi)sSLL(ii& ^ ^s^  ; 

j)jsaisfl(c  sinLis^uufr  (csirewLSLDiresr^isia^, 

(5)  Andal. — QumaQuj      uapst^p         u^erBsOsiri^surr^emu 

(?6U637  ssmi^rriL  LDmnDsQesr  ^  ajirH'SsarixiniiSln'iii  &C. 

Quotations  of  this  nature  might  be  multiplied 
indefinitely.  In  our  opinion  some  of  the  historical 
accounts  given  in  the  Periya-purana  are  comparatively 
more  trustworthy,  as  the  Saivas  do  not  assign 
fabulous  ages  to  their  Nayanars.  Most  of  the 
stories   relating    to    the    life    of    Tirumangai-Aivar, 


THE    VISHNUVITE    SAINTS  299 

especially  the  offer  of  treasure  by  Varadaraja  and 
the  making  of  arrangements  by  this  Alvar  for  the 
recital  of  Nammalvar's  Tiruvoymoli,  are  clear  in- 
stances 05  gross  anachronism. 

The  first  Alvars. 

It  is  a  common  belief  among  Tamil  scholars  that 
'north'  is  the  direction  of  prosperity  {ldieis&)  ^<ss>s'). 
We  shall  accordingly  begin  with  the  Pallava  coun- 
try, the  northern-most  kingdom  of  the  Tamil  people 
Another  reason  for  this  procedure  is  that  it  was 
from  Tondai  Nadu  that  social  and  religious  reforms 
extended  gradually  to  the  other  Tamil  kingdoms. 

In  this  country  of  the  Pallavas  were  born  the  first 
three  Alvars — Poigai,  Pudam  and  Pey.  Each  of  them 
was  the  author  of  an  aniadi  or  a  centum  of  verses  in 
the  Venba  metre  in  praise  of  Vishnu,  the  three 
poems  forming  a  portion  of  that  book  of  the 
Divya  Prabandam  entitled  the  lyarpa.  Their  princi- 
pal tenet  was, 

(LpssoneiiiriT  QpsufTuo  ^suQfjisfri^Lo 

Hence  the  miraculous  'sports'  and  performances 
of  Vishnu  wrought  during  his  incarnations  as 
Vamana,  Narasunha,  Rama  and  Krishna  form  the 
main  theme  of  iheir  hymns. 

The  age  of  these  Alvars  is  involved  in  hopeless 
obscurity.  Traditions  assert  th.it  all  the  three  were 
contemporaries  and    that    once    upon   a    time    they 


300  TAMIL   STUDIES 

all  met  together  at  Tirukkovalur  in  the  South 
Arcot  district.  But  for  this  one  incident  the 
Guruparamparai  gives  no  particulars  regarding  them. 
It  is  believed  by  some  scholars  that  Poigai  Alvar  was 
no  other  than  the  author  of  Kalavazhi.  If  there  was 
any  truth  in  this  supposition,  the  first  three  Saints 
must  have  lived  during  the  reign  of  the  Chola  king 
Kocchengannan  that  is  prior  to  the  sixth  century 
A.D.  But  the  above  hypothesis  is  not  countenanc- 
ed by  other  internal  evidences.  Of  the  two  Poigaiyars 
one  was  a  saint  and  the  other  a  famous  bard.  The 
saint  was  no  respecter  of  men  as  he  has  repeatedly 
said  that, 

(1)  eiiiTujeu'2esr  in&is\)^  suiti^^^it^  ; 

(2)  uiTi3i.^mfSmi-js(cLp    ut(E)qjisji  ; 

(3)  LDiTujsh'2esr  ujevsOiT6\)f  ^}sa/D   Quu^  QiD^^aQ^ssTtsa. 

On  the  contrary  the  other  Poigaiyar  appears  to  have 
been  a  court  poet  under  the  Chera  king  Kodai  Marpan 
and  earned  his  livelihood  by  eulogizing  the  Tamil 
kings  of  the  southern  districts,  in  proof  of  which  the 
reader  may  be  referred  to  stanzas  48  and  49  in  the 
Purananuru.  Again  the  language  of  these  two 
writers  differs;  and  we  have  no  faith  in  the  vague 
statements  of  the  old  commentators  regarding  their 
identity.  For  these  and  the  following  reasons  we 
are  inclined  to  believe  that  the  name  Poigaiyar  was 
borne  by  two  different  authors,  who  flourished  at 
different  periods. 

The  saints  Poigai    and    Pey    have    celebrated    the 
god  of  a  place  called  Vinnagaram: 


THK   VISHNUVITE    SAINTS  301 

(1)  Qeu/W'^L^Qpuo)   eSlssBtoemsQhLD   Qsuoosnei^LCiooSiT  s 
LiiEjQi—iEjSleO  limQsfTsu&i  QunmssraQFfiJo — sBrrm 

<STlir(fl^S0Qs®LD(TLlilL^!T. Poi.    11 . 

(2)  eSsmesoT'KTLD  QsuooSfrsSifl^'SisitT  iB'T  Qsuibsi—ld 

inem sum s IT    ldit  LrnTL-Qeut&KSSisf. — Pcy.  62. 

The  word  Vinnagaiam  is  a  corruption  of  Skt. 
Vishnu  Nagar  and  it  may  mean  any  house  of  Vishnu. 
But  from  the  manner  in  which  it  is  used  along  with 
Vengadam,  Vehka,  Koval,  Agaram  and  Velukkai  in 
he  above  quotations,  it  must  refer  to  a  particular 
shrine  in  the  Pallava  country  or  Tondai  Nadu,  There 
is  only  one  Vinnagaram  in  the  whole  of  that 
country  and  that  is  in  Conjeeveram.  Further, 
Poigaiyar  and  Peyalvar  were  more  or  less  local 
saints  and  their  peregrinations  were  confined  to 
Tondai-Nadu  and  to  some  of  the  most  renowned 
shrines  in  the  further  south,  namely,  Srirangam  and 
Kumbakonam  in  the  Choladesam  and  Tirumalirum- 
solai  and  Tirukkottiyur  in  the  Pandyamandalam.  For 
these  reasons  we  are  disposed  to  identify  the  Vinnagar 
referred  to  by  these  Alvars  with  the  Paramesvara  Vin- 
nagar of  Tirumangaiyar's  hymns.  As  it  is  explicitly  sta- 
etd  that  thegodof  this  place  is  in  the  sitting  posture,  it 
cannot  refer  to  Tiru- Vinnagar  (Uppiliyappan)  another 
important  shrine  of  the  same  name  in  the  Tanjore 
district.  According  to  Dr.  Hultzsch  the  Parames- 
vara Vinnagarami  was  built  by  the  Pallava  king  Para- 

1.  Mr,  S.  Krishnasamy  Aiyangar  finds  fault  with  Dr.  Hultzsch  for 


302  TAMIL    STUDIES 

mesvara  Varma  II  (A.  D.  690).  These  three  Alvars 
should,  therefore,  have  flourished  in  the  latter  half  of 
the  seventh  century  A.  D.  It  would  be  interesting  to 
note  here  that  the  god  on  the  Tirupati  Hills  (Tiru- 
vengadam)  had  the  appearance  of  both  Siva  and 
Vishnu  in  the  days  of  Peyalvar. 

Tipumalisai  Alvar. 

One  of  saints  who  is  stated  in  the  Guruparamparai 
to  have  lived  in  the  Dvapara  Yuga  and  to  have  had 
some  acquaintance  with  the  first  three  Alvars  was 
Tirumalisaiyar.  He  was  a  native  of  the  Pallava 
country  ;  and  his  Tiru-chanda-viruttam  and  Nan- 
mugan  Tiruvandadi  are  admired  for.  their  harmonious 
versification.  He  was  a  poet,  philosopher  and  ascetic 
(yogi).    His  real  name  is  said  to  have  been  Bhaktisara 

the  above  statement.  He  says  that  "this  is  not  a  necessary  inference, 
as  any  other  Fallava  paramount  sovereign  might  have  had  the  title 
Pallava  Paramesvara  and  the  foundation  when  contracted  might 
tiave  become  Paramesvara  Vinnagai  am,  t;.  g.,  Vidya  Vinita  Pallava 
Paramesvara m."  Ind.  Ant.  for  1906,  p.  229.  We  cannot  quite 
understand  what  he  means,  as  it  is  not  explanatory  of  the  point 
at  issue.  As  a  title  the  term  Paramesvara  like  Maharaja  is  so 
vague  that  none  of  the  Indian  kings  seem  to  have  had  it  except  as  a 
proper  name.  There  were  Brahman  settlements  known  by  special 
titles  of  kings  like  Manabharana-chaturvedi-mangnlam,  Gangai- 
kondan,  Gunabharesvaram  and  Madhurantakam.  In  these  cases  we 
could  say  with  certainty  what  kings  had  these  titles,  while  it  would 
be  next  to  impossibility  to  hit  upon  a  particular  sovereign  who  had 
the  title  of  'Paramesvara'  or  'Maharaja.'  Compare  the  names  of  the 
following  villages:  Varaguna-manjjai,  Gandaradityam,  Nandipuram 
Kulottunga  Cholai.allur,  &c.  In  all  these  instances  the  villages 
were  called  after  the  names,  not  titles,  of  kings. 


THE    VISHNUVITE    SAINTS  303 

which  we  think  was  only  a  title  and  he  is  beheved 
to  have  been  the  son  of  a  Rishi  named  Bhargava,  but 
brought  up  by  a  man  of  the  hunting  tribe.  This  latter 
statement  IS  borne  out  by  his  own  admission  which 
occurs  in  the  Tiru-chanda-viruttam  :  — 

His  writings,  however,  show  that  he  should  have 
acquired  equal  proficiency  both  in  Sanskrit  and  Tamil 
and  a  competent  knowledge  of  the  sacred  books  of 
the  other  sects  and  reHgions.  His  mastery  of  the 
Ramayana,  the  Mahabharata  and  the  Vishnupnranais 
displayed  in  both  his  poems.  He  was  throughout  his 
life  a  rancorous  opponent  to  the  baivas,  Jains  and 
Buddhists,  and  a  devout  worshipper  of  Vishnu  : — 

(1)   ^^(uiTiT  ■fu.emiTijjiT^^niT  ueij^^ir 

QfSujrTIT    &S1JU  ULLl—fTIT. 

^esmQLL(Ssr pssii—ibsp  eiiii(Lp  Lnir^rrsirea. 

Tirumalisai  Alvar  was  a  monotheist  as  he  himself 
admits  that  Q^Q^iasaed  Q^tsijQ^Q^sijQsmi^^usmiruuaiT^  and 
preached  that  that  one  god  was  Vishnu  while  the 
other  two  of  the  triad — Brahma  and  Siva — were 
created  by  him  : — 

(sirmQps^esT  fBarriTLUossrisiT  usai—^^iTssr   lEinssrQps^uD 

Further  he  was  a  pantheist  and  held  that  Vishnu 
is    omnipresent   and    pervades   the    whole    universe, 


304  TAMIL   STUDIES 

as  taught  by  the  etymological  signification  of  His 
name.      He  invokes  Vishnu  thus  : — 

(1)  semesBimQLDiLKSUiTeSS  n-psaQLnfT^emirs^&ii 

lurr ^ui[§ tu ^esr  nS  QiuuolS irir ^uai^  nSn'mcQissr, 

(2)  i§QujUL^eoQse^&irrui  i§ssieor(Tf)Qefr  iS jbuetsreuLX) 

And  yet  this  all  powerful  omnipresent  Vishnu  is 
neither  visible  to,  nor  cognisable  by,  man. 

(2)    STiEi^&r  Q-nkiseannoT^dso  iuir<S}iTsn<5aar  eusoeo'^iT  ? 

Then  to  whom  is  this  God  knowable  and  how 
are  we  to  perceive  Him  ?  Our  Alvar  says  in  reply  : — 

rBski-ieoeuL^   ^/Vih^  (^Tayrrsp  <9?i-.pQsiTe^ ^ 

^esnSleOesr/SijjfTL^ujfT'Sesi  luiTGJiTsiTtmr  isu&iei)Q [t, 

(Vishnu  who  wields  the  sacred  disc  will  be  cognis- 
able only  by  those  who,  after  having  closed  the 
narrow  paths  of  the  five  senses  and  sealed  their 
doors,  opened  the  broad  way  of  intelligence  litting 
the  lamp  of  wisdom  and  mellowing  their  bones  with 
a  heart  melted  by  the  intense  heat  of  piety.) 

As  regards  the  date  of  this  Alvar,  there  is  no  inter- 
nal evidence  in  his   writings  to   proceed    upon  with 


THE   VISHNUVITE   SAINTS  305 

any  degree  of  certainty.    But  from  their  general  tenor 
it  might  be  inferred  that  he    should  have   lived  at  a 
period  when    the  Jains,  Buddhists  and    Saivas   were 
fighting  with  one   another  for    religious  supremacy. 
This  age,  so  far  as   it  could  be  ascertained  was    the 
seventh  century  A.  D.,  when  the  great  champions  of 
the    Saiva    faith,    Tirunavukkarasu  and   Sarabandar, 
were  busily  engaged  in  the  work    of  religious  disput- 
ations.   Moreover,  there   is   a     tradition,    which     as 
we   have    pointed    above,    connects     him   with    the 
first    three   Alvars.  It  is   said  that    during   his    pilgri- 
mage to  Kumbakonam  he    stayed  for    some    time    at 
Chidambaram     or    Perumpuliyur.      As   he  has    not 
celebrated  the  Vishnu  god  of  that  famous  stronghold 
of  Sivaism,  it  is  almost    certain  that    in  his    days  the 
shrine  of    Govinda  Raja  did  not  come  into  existence. 
Tirumangai  Alvar  informs  us  that  this  god  was  set  up 
and  worshipped  by  a  Pallava  king  who   may  have,  in 
all  probabihty,  been    Nandivarma  I  or    Peramesvara 
Varma  II,  A.  D.  690.  Tirumalisai  Alvar  should,  there- 
fore, have  lived  at  least  half    a  century    before    Tiru- 
mangai Alvar,  that  is  in  the  latter  half  of  the  seventh 
century.    Again  in  the  93rd  stanza  of  |his  antadi  our 
Alvar  addresses  Vishnu, thus. 


The  expression  ^(^emuuam'^  reminds  us  of  the 
Pallava  king  Mahendra  Varma  I  whose  binulit  or 
title  was  *  Gunabhara ',  and  whose  inscriptions  are 
still  to  be  seen    an   the  rock   at    Trichinopoly.     He 

20 


306  TAMIL   STUDIES 

was  also  the  builder  of  the  Siva  temple  called 
Gunabharesvaram.  His  date  is  said  to  be  the  early 
part  of  the  seventh  century  A.  D.i  Being  a  stanch 
Vishnuvite,  our  Alvar  it  appears  was  also  perse- 
cuted by  a  Pallava  king,  very  likely  the  above 
Mahendra  Varma  1  or  Narasimha  Varma  II  (A.  D. 
675)  both  of  whom  were  devout  followers  of  Siva 
and  builders  of  several  temples  to  that  deity.  Taking 
all  these  circumstances  into  our  careful  consideration 
we  shall  not  be  unreasonable  if  we  assign  the  middle 
of  the  seventh  century  A.  D.  to  our  Alwar's  active 
work.  He  should,  therefore,  have  been  a  contempo- 
rary of  the  Saiva  saints  Tirunavukkarasu  Nayanar 
and  Sambandamurti  Nayanar. 

It  is  said  in  the  Guruparamparai  that  he  had  enter 
ed  into  all  the  religions  of  his  times  before  he  be- 
came a  Vishnuvite,  and  that  when  he  was  a  Saivite 
he  assumed  the  name  of  Sivavakkiyar.  There  is  such 
a  close  resemblance  in  the  metre  and  the  harmonic 
flow  of  the  poems  of  Sivavakkiyar  and  the  Tiruch- 
chanda  Viruttam  of  our  Alvar,  as  to  make  one  be- 
lieve that  both  the  poems  were  composed  by  one 
and  the  same  author.  Further,  some  of  the  stanzas 
occurring  in  both  are  almost  identical,  and  had  the 
present  Copyright  Act  been  in  force  then,  either 
of   them    should    have    been    prosecuted    under    it. 

1.  This  was  the  date  of  the  Saiva  saint  Tirunavukkarasu  Naya- 
nar, It  was  during  the  reign  of  this  Pallava  that  he,  formerly  a 
Jain,  was  converted  to  Sivaism  by  his  beloved  sister  Tilakavati 
who  was  a  Saiva  devotee. 


THE    VISHNUVITE    SAINTS  307 

(Compare  verses  1,  2,  3,  4,  17,  79  &c.  in  Tiruch- 
chanda  Viruttain  with  308,  237,  266,  265,  264,  268  &c. 
in  the  poem  of  Sivavakkiyar).  But  Sivavakkiyar  was 
a  theist  belonging  to  the  Siddhar  School  and  lived 
at  least  eight  or  nine  centuries  posterior  to  our  saint. 
The  style  of  Tirumalisaiyar  is  sublime  and  philoso- 
phic, while  that  of  Sivavakkiyar  is  insipid  and  at 
times  vulgar.  The  story  given  in  the  Guruparamparai 
connecting  the  saintly  Tirumalisai  Piran  with  the 
iconoclastic  Sivavakkiyar  must,  therefore,  be  a  later 
interpolation. 

Tipuppanalvap. 

We  shall  now  take  Tiruppanalvar  and  Tondaradip- 
podi  Alvar  for  consideration.  First  of  them  was  born 
of  a  Panan  family  at  Uraiyur,  while  the  second  was  a 
Soliya  Brahman  of  Tirumandangudi  in  the  Tanjore 
district.  The  Panans  were  an  inferior  caste  of  min- 
strels frequently  alluded  to  in  the  Fuiananuru,  Padir- 
ruppattu  and  other  works  of  the  academic  period.  In 
the  Census  of  1891  Panan  was  returned  as  a  sub-caste 
of  Paraiya  and  was  always  considered  very  low  in  social 
scale.  Like  Nandan  of  the  Saivites,  Tiruppan  Alvar 
was  a  devout  worshipper  of  Vishnu.  Yet  he  was  not 
permitted  to  enter  the  Vishnu  temple  at  Srirangam,  as 
he  belonged  to  the  lowest  out-caste.  There  is  a 
tradition  1o  the  effect  that  Ranganatha  commanded 
one  Lokasaranga,  a  sage,  to  bring  him  to  his  shrine 
on  his  shoulders.  In  consequence  of  this  story  our 
Alvar  is  known  also  as   '  Muni  Vahana.' 


308  TAMIL   STUDIES 

The  above  tradition  proves  the  superiority  of 
Bhakti,  and  emphasizes  the  fact  that  a  Vishnu  bhakta 
to  whatever  caste  he  might  belong  was  worthy  of 
greater  honour  and  veneration  than  a  Brahman  well- 
versed  in  the  four  Vedas.  The  sanVe  ider  is  conveyed 
in  the  following  lines  of  the  Brahman  saint  Ton- 
daradippodi  Alvar  :• — 

uaD^e\)fi  Q<snn(Lgs&)iT p^u  u&)SF^u  Qu^LDiriraeir 
®jlSI(^0O^  ^SurfsQefT&s  QmLDLLisf.  tu  rr  its  err  n  Sled 
QsifinsiL^lGi^iT   QsiT®(jSim  QsiremuSear. 

His  faith  in  the  god  Vishnu  had  taken  so  deep  a 
root  on  his  mind  that  he  became  intolerent  of  other 
sects.  He  expresses  his  hatred  against  other  religions 
especially  Buddhism  and  Jainism,  thus  : — 

(1)  L-i'?ffciijp    LDfT@£€mro  i-f^Qsn®  s^LD6amQLD6\)eoiTL£i 
s'?e\iujpd  s ppiDnkfih  s,n<osmuQ an  '^slLuQ hit  ^trek 
^'^cLigxu  LissinQ,;^s=iTQeu(5m  s^^^Luiki  sn'6miAl'2ioSiLurr 

(2)  QsugiiuQun(Sl  g:LD(am^(ip6ami—iT'6£i^uSe\)  ^irdSiuiTsessflesruiTex) 
QuiT^uuifiLLi  ewssaQuQeO  QufnsuQ^  QisrTiSj^rrQ 

^gjiuuQ^  SQFfLDikisessn^fT  lusfiBiSLOT  iBS(i^<sfrnQ(oBT. 

There  is  no  data  in  the  songs  of  these  Alvars  to 
determine  their  age.  But  we  shall  not  be  far  from 
the  mark  if  we  put  them  towards  the  close  of  the 
eighth  or  the  beginning  of  the  ninth  century  A.  D. 
It  is,  however,  said  that  there  are  references  to  these 
Alvars  in  the  Mukunda  Mala  of  Kulasekhara  Perumal. 


THE   VISHNUVITE   SAINTS  309 

The  real  name  of  Tondaiadippodi  was  Vipra  Nara- 
yana  and  he  does  not  seem  to  have  worshipped  or 
ever  uttered  the  name  of  any  Vishnu  deity  other  than 
Ranganatha  of  Srirangara.  His  Tirumalai  and 
Tiruppalli  Ezhucchi  form  part  of  the  Nalayitapra- 
bandam  to  which  Tiruppan  has  contributed  the 
decad  named  Amalan  Adippiran. 

Kulasekhara  Alvap. 

The  next  Alvar  in  our  Hst  is  Kulasekhara  Perumal. 
He  calls  himself  king  of  Kolli.  Kudal  (Madura), 
Kozhi  (Uraiyur)  and  Kongu  (Qsrrs'js\^  sa£u&)m ,3k,L-&) 
.■Brrtussin,  (oSfTj^sCosiTssi).  It  is  not  known  at  what  period 
the  four  Tamil  kingdoms  Chera,  Chola,  Fandya  and 
Kongu  were  under  the  sway  of  a  smgle  sovereign. 
But  this  much  is  certain  :  according  to  the  Kongu 
chronicle  and  inscriptions  the  Cholas  became 
powerful  once  more  in  A.  D.  890,  when  Vijayalaya 
and  Aditya  I  not  only  regained  their  lost  kingdom 
but  also  annexed  to  it  the  Kongu  country  (Salem  and 
Coimbatore  districts).  Kulasekhara  has  celebrated 
the  Vishnu  god  of  Chidambaram  and  refers  to  the 
shrine  at  Tiruvali  {^sSltssirss^iu^CoLu,  viii.  7).  We 
have  stated  before  that  the  Vishnu  shrine  at  Chidam- 
baram should  have  come  into  existence  in  the  latter 
half  of  the  seventh  century;  and  the  temple  at  Tiru- 
vali was  probably  one  of  those  built  by  Tirumangai 
Alvar  in  his  own  Nadu.  From  Keralolpatti,  a  work 
of    extremely    doubtful    authority,     we     learn    that 


310  TAMIL   STUDIES 

Kulasekhara  was  one  of  the  successors   of  Cheraman 
Perumal  who  died  about  A.  D.  825. 

Again  the  same  traditional  history  of  the  Kerala 
country  says  that  Kulasekhara  Perumal  organized 
the  kingdom  into  small  chieftainships  to  protect  it 
against  the  Mappillas  and  that  after  a  reign  of 
eighteen  years  he  went  to  heaven  with  his  bodv^ 
Kulasekhara  Alvar  niust,  therefore,  have  lived  between 
A.  D.  780  and  890.  But  in  accepting  this  date  there 
arises  one  difficulty,  that  is,  our  Alvar  calls  himself 
Kudal  Nayakan  or  the  Lord  ot  Madura.  At  this  period 
the  Pandyas  were  powerful  as  will  be  seen  from  the 
Chinnamanur  grants.  The  only  reconciliation  for 
this  discrepancy  would  be  that  Kulasekhara  was  a 
scion  of  the  Pandya  family  who  inherited  the  Kerala 
throne  under  the  mantinahkaiayam  system.  He  was 
known  in  the  Chera  country  as  Pandya  Kulasekhara 
Perumal. 

Kulasekhara  had  equal  proficiency  in  Tamil  and 
Sanskrit.  He  was  the  author  of  Mukunda  Malai  in 
Sanskrit  and  105  stanzas  in  Tamil  which  form  part 
of  tlie  Nalayiraprabandam.  His  Tamil  hymns  on 
Tirupati  and  Srirangam  are  exceedingly  pathetic  like 
the  Tiruvachakam  of  Tvianikkavachagar  and  can  melt 
even  sceptic  minds  ;  while  his  Alukunda  Malai  is 
equally  so.  The  similes  employed  by  huTi  in 
the  Vittuvakkodu  hymn  are  quite  appropriate  and 
convincing.  Like  the  previous  saints  he  was  also  an 
uncompromising  opponent  to  other  sects.     We  give 


THE   VISHNUVITE   SAINTS  311 

below  three  stanzas  from  his  poems  as  specimen  : — 

(1)  QisidjuSsx)  sufTi^is5)%5anu  (olLOiiiQajesi s  Q{ET(3fr(&^'^su 

emmuj&)QsiT6ssr  Qu.ijl^ieQ^  Qsarm pek  mrrg^sCcS . 

(2)  tSismpQuj^  ^smi—iufT^LD  iSlfrLD^  lAhi^jT^LD 
(y.es)piuiTuj  QuQ^QsuisfTsSSs  (gaa popisf-uun ■sbr  LDSsipivrT 

Q(B/6llUITLUS    Su.S(^LD     S'?l30'JL^fSa)l—QinioS)QQjQoSr. 

LDfTefTfT^  stTg^  QisiriuHTefr&siQuiTso  mmv^d/S'JeO 

Tipumang-ai  Alvar. 

The  third  Alvar  of  the  Chola  country  was  Kaliyan 
or  Tirumangai  Mannan.  He  was  the  foremost  of 
all  the  Vaishnava  saints  and  has  left  behind  the 
greatest  number  of  hymns  on  Vishnu  shrines. 
Further,  there  are  sufficient  materials  in  his  writings 
to  work  out  his  date  with  greater  certainty,  and  to 
arrive  at  the  conclusion  that  he  was  one  of  the  most 
learned  of  all  Alvars.  His  life  and  work  should, 
therefore,  be  given  here  with  fuller  details. 

Tirumangai  Alvar  was  born  of  a  Kalla  family  at 
Tirukkurayaiur  in  the  Tanjore  district.  His  parents 
named  him  Kaliyan  or  Kalikanri.  It  appears  that  he 
held  the  office  of  generalissimo  under  the  Chola  kings 
and  that  he  was  the  feudal  chieftain  of  a  small  district 


312  TAMIL  STUDIES 

or  a  group  of  villages  called  Ali  Nadu  in  the  north- 
eastern part  of  the  Chola  country.  His  head- 
quarters appear  to  have  been  Tirumangai,  and  from 
the  way  in  which  he  speaks  of  this  place  (^^sjwr^/f 
LDirL^ias&r  (^ifi^Q^LD^ssos)  it  must  have  been  an  important 
town  in  his  days,  though  it  could  not  be  identified 
with  any  of  the  existing  villages  in  the  Shiyali  taluk. 
He  married  the  daughter  of  a  certain  Vishnu  bJiakta 
who  belonged  to  the  Vaidya  class,  a  caste  much 
superior  to  his  own.  By  her  initiation  and  preaching 
Kaliyan  became  a  stanch  worshipper  of  Vishnu. 

Excepting  Tirumalisaiyar  and  Satagopan  he  was 
undoubtedly  the  most  learned  of  all  the  Vaishnava 
saints.  His  contributions  to  the  Nalayirapraban. 
dam  amount  to  1361  stanzas  and  consist  of  six 
separate  poems,  namely,  (1)  QuiBiu^QTpLDnL^,  (2)  ^q^ 
d(^^.ijSiT63arL^sth^  (3)  ^(n^QisQi  ^rresmL^su:),[4:)  &fSluu^(iT)U:>i~io^ 
(5)  Quifliu  ^(T^LDL^et)  and  (6)  ^Q^QsijQ^af^^/iS^'iems.  Even 
in  his  own  life  time  he  should  have  been  admitted  as 
a  famous  poet,  successful  controversialist  and  great 
donor  of  charities,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  following 
quotation  : — 

^06mLDITfFluj!rLLl—(lpdQuJSS)U.Uj!TIT   '^UJua 

Q3Tis!(^LDe\)iTd(^L0ioSiujiT  QeumtDiEisssQ suik ^im 

At  a  poetical  contest  he  was  given  the  title  of  iBfrp 
a(sSuQu(i^LDrren    or    the  '  Master    of   the    four  kinds    of 


THE   VISHNUVITE   SAINTS  313 

poetry';  and  as  to  the  excellence  of  his  works  Kurat- 
talvar   speaks   thus  :   ^l6Iu^  mm^ineo    ^sispser   ^(^<9?<5 

In  his  later  days  he  resigned  his  office,  perhaps  on 
account  of  some  misunderstanding  between  him  and 
the  Chola  king,  and  set  out  on  a  tour  of  pilgnmage 
from  the  Himalayas  to  Cape  Comorin.  P'or  the 
diffusion  of  Vishnuism  he  toiled  much  and  he  is 
even  said  to  hav'e  had  religious  disputations  at  Shiyali 
with  Trignansambandar,  the  greatest  of  the  Saiva 
Nayanars.  Some  sort  of  similarity  which  we  observe 
in  the  style  and  composition  of  Tirumangai  Alvar 
and  his  Saiva  rival  seems  to  countenance  the  above 
supposition.  Being  a  man  of  considerable  wealth 
and  influence,  Kaliyan  visited  all  the  Vishnu  temples 
of  his  time  and  sang  hymns  in  praise  of  the  Vishnu 
gods.  Thus  out  of  the  108  Vishnu  temples  approved 
as  holy  by  Acharyas  he  left  only  twenty  unvisited  ; 
and  these  twenty  shrines — including  SriviUiputtur  and 
Alvar  Tirunagari  (Kurugur) — were  visited,  a  century 
or  two  afterwards,  by  one  or  the  other  of  the  two 
later  Alvars  Vishnu  Chittan  and  Satagopan.  We 
shall  revert  to  this  question  when  we  come  to  speak 
of  these  saints. 

The  above  fact  proves  beyond  dispute  that 
these  twenty  temples,  with  the  exception  of  Padma 
nabha  at  Trivandram,  did  not  come  into  existence  at 
the  time  of  Tirumangai  Alvar.  Nevertheless,  Mr.  S. 
Krishnaswamy  Aiyangar  considers  the  celebration  by 
Kaliyan  of  most  of  the  Vaishnava  temples,  as  a  proof 


314  TAMIL   STUDIES 

of  the  comparative  lateness  of  this  saint's  existence. 
In  spite  of  our  regard  to  his  sagacity,  we  must  say 
with  greater  assurance  that  he  is  far  from  being 
correct  in  this  view.  The  paucity  ot  temples  cele- 
brated by  these  Alvars  does  not  prove  the  antiquity 
of  ihe  one  or  the  modernity  of  the  other.  Accord- 
ing to  his  theory  Tondaradippodi  Alvar  should 
have  been  the  earliest,  because  he  visited  only  one 
temple  ;  and  the  order  of  precedence  would  be  Hke 
this:  Tondaradippodi,  Tiruppan,  Poigai,  Kulasekhara, 
Andal,  Putam,  Pey,  Periyalvar,  Tirumalisai,  Nam- 
malvar  and  Tirumangai  Alvar  ;  surely  it  is  neither 
the  traditional  nor  chronological  order. 

In  those  days  of  difficult  communication,  of 
constant  wars  between  the  Tamil  kings  and  their 
feudatories,  and  of  the  fear  of  robbers  and  dacoits 
on  the  forest-clad  highways  and  foot-paths,  the 
circumstances  which  could  have  afforded  facilities  to 
a  pilgrim  in  visiting  a  larger  number  of  temples, 
were  wealth,  retinue  and  chiefly  one's  religious 
proclivities.  Tirumangai  Alvar  had  all  these,  as  he 
was  the  ruler  of  a  small  but  fertile  province 
or  nadn  besides  being  a  robber  chieftain  ;  he 
had  plenty  of  money  and  a  good  many  followers  to 
cater  for  him  in  his  peregrinations.  The  other  Alvars, 
probably  with  the  exception  of  Kulasekhara,  had 
none  of  these  accessories,  and  they  were  more  or 
less  local  saints.  Tirumalisai  and  Nammalvar  were 
yogis  and  did  not  care  to  visit  all  the  Vishnu  temples 
of  their  days.     The    former    did  not  mention    at    all 


THE   VISHNUVITE   SAINTS  315 

Tirumalirumsolai,  when  his  contemporaries  and 
predecessors  have  praised  it  ;  Tirumangai  Alvar  did 
not  visit  Trivandram  the  god  of  which  place  is  alluded 
to  in  Padirruppattu  ;  and  Nammalvar  has  not  sung 
Tirrukkottiyur,  Tirukkovalur,  and  Tiruvehka  which 
were  celebrated  by  the  earliest  Alvars.  Are  we  then 
to  infer  from  this  that  the  above  shrines  were 
not  in  existence  at  the  time  of  these  saints  ? 
Certainly  not.  The  theory  of  Mr.  S.  Krishnaswamy 
Aiyangar  that  *he  (Tirumangai  Alvar)  was  the 
latest  of  the  saints  is  amply  borne  out  by  the 
fact  that  he  celebrates  most,  if  not  all,  of  the  well- 
known  temples  to  Vishnu  in  India  while  others  cele- 
brate only  a  few,'i  is  therefore  evidently  absurd  as  it 
is  not  supported  by  actual  facts. 

Tirumangai  Alvar  expended  large  sums  in  building 
the  ihird prakara  or  wall  at  Srirangam,  which  has  been 
known  to  this  day  as  Tirumangai  Mannan  Tirumadil 
or  'the  sacred  wall  of  Tirumangai  Alvar ',  while  the 
inner  two  are  those  erected  by  Dharmavarma  and 
Mahendra  Varma,  the  latter  of  whom  was  a  Pallava 
king  who  is  believed  to  have  ruled  over  the  Chola 
country  also.  To  secure  funds  for  this  sacred  work 
our  Alvar  is  said  to  have  demolished  a  golden  image 
of  Buddha  at  Negapatam  which  was  in  his  days  a 
deserted  seat  of  Buddhism.  Like  his  predecessor 
Tirumalisai  Piran  our  Alvar  was  a  bitter  opponent 
to  the  Saivas,  Jains  and  Buddhists  as  the  following 
quotations  will  show  :  — 
1.  Ind.  Ant.  for  1906,  p.  229. 


316  TAMIL   STUDIES 

(1)  LSemu^iLnrir  LDsmstoL-Qtai^  l3 /dit uo'Bsai  ^ifl^k^ssm^uui 
S-6mi^ujfT<sk  siTuih^iT^^  QeurTQ^su^jnfi',  (2)  Qetiensfflajfjir  tSeisar 
i^iuaiT  Qurr^mnQ iTsisi fSenQira^Sl&sr p J  sehetr^eo',  (3^  Ljii^ 
iiSls\)  s^iMSsariT  lj^^it; 

He  taught  that  Vishnu  alone  was  God,  that  He 
created  Brahma,  Siva  and  all  other  gods,  that  He 
is  self-existent,  that  He  assumed  three  different  forms 
of  Brahma,  Vishnu  and  Siva,  and  that  He  pervades 
the  whole  Universe  : — 

(2)   ^<sm(GO)(oeo  ^(ohr^Q^suLO  uojih^    ^ai^iL^ 

And  to  realize  this  God  one  should  be  righteous* 
should  subdue  his  five  senses  and  fix  his  mind 
on  Him  with  love  and  devotion.  Bhakti  is  the  only  in- 
dispensable passport  to  attain  salvation  ;  and  one 
need  not  waste  his  energy  in  austere  penances  and 
self-mortification.  Thus,  as  a  commentator  has 
rightly  observed,  Tirumangai  Alvar  was  one  of  those 
devotees  who  suffered  their  souls  to  endure  the 
heat  of  the  sun  and  their  bodies  to  enjoy  the  coolness 
of  shade. 

To  understand  aright  the  spirit  and  teaching  of  his 
poems,  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  adventures  of 
KrisHna  and  Rama  and  of  the  stories  concerning  the 
earlier    incarnations   of    Vishnu    as    narrated    in   the 


THE    VISHNUVITE    SAINTS  317 

Puranas  and  the  two  great  epics,  is  expected  of  every 
reader. 

Now  coming  to  the  age  of  this  Alvar^  we  have 
ample  references  to  the  Pallava  and  the  Chola  kings 
and  to  the  political  events  of  their  times.  In  his  hymn 
on  the  god  of  Paramesvara  Vinnagaram  our  Alvar 
mentions  that  one  Pallava  king,  Pallava  Mallan,  defeat- 
ed the  Pandyas,  Q^asi^eii'2esT^  fought  a  battle  at  Man- 
nai  and  another  at  Nenmeli,  QiBmQuasSI.  We  have 
said  above  that  the  Vishnu  shrine  called  Paramesvara 
Vinnagaram  was  built  by  Parameswara  Varma  II 
(A.  D.  690).  Further  we  gather  from  the  Udayend- 
ram  and  Kasakudi  copper  plates  published  in  the 
Soutli  Indian  Inscriptions,  Vol.  II,  part  3,  that  the 
battles  at  Nenmeli  and  Mannaikudi  were  fought  by  the 
Pallava  king  Nandivarman  (A.  D.  720 — 760).  One 
of  them  informs  us  that  he  was  a  devout  worshipper 
of  Vishnu.  '  Nandivarman  who  worships  the  feet  of 
Hari,  who  split  (the  head  of)  the  opposing  Sahara 
king,  called  Udayana  in  the  terrible  battle  of  Nelveli, 
who  destroyed  Kalidurga  which  was  protected  by 
the  goddess  Kali,  and  defeated  the  Pandya  army  at 
the  village  of  Mannaikudi.'  Again  in  another  hymn 
on  the  god  of  Ashtabujam  at  Conjeevaram  our 
Alvar  refers  to  a  king  named  Vajra  Meghan  to 
whom  the  Pallava  king  did  homage — Q^frememL-iufr 
(eSiTissr  eusasTEii^  SemQfu^LDrr'SisoeutiSn-  QtDseisr.  This  was  one 
of  the  titles  (birudu)  of  Dantidurga  or  Dantivarma 
IJ,  a  Rashtrakuta  king  of    Malkhed    A.D.    7551  ;  and 

1.  Ind.  Ant.  xii,  p.  17. 


318  TAMIL   STUDIES 

he   is  said    to   have    *  completed    the    acquisition  of 
sovereignty  by  subjugating  the  Lord  ot    Kanchi.'i 

Again  our  Alvar  has  a  hymn  on  the  god  of  Nandi- 
pura  Vinnagaram.  This  temple  must  have  been  built 
by  the  same  Nandi  Varma,  as  among  the  South 
Indian  kings  hitherto  brought  to  light  there  appears 
to  have  been  before  the  time  of  Kaliyan  only  one 
sovereign  of  that  name.  Other  references  to  Pallava 
and  Chola  kings  are  : — 

(1)  smULnQuiTsin  ^LD  Qp^^ua    LastssflnfiEiQafreasririk^ 

(2)  ^e<TiEi(^  rismQfiu^tLnrff^iT  ^isi(^iB^eo 

Q^nsssT'oSii—  LDsmeareusar    ^ooaru^p  QeOiTQ^ev jb(^ 

£^IElQ  sir's    ISITL^IoS)S     <o](LgL-ssfj(r^uu 

(3)  ^0dQeO(S](g  ^Q^QiDiTL^euTQuwom  Q i—tr e^ S" /b(^ 

Q<fiEJSi^ss)osr    QarTS=Q-9=fTL^iom  Qs='Tt5^QsrraSls\]. 

It  has  been  said  in  a  previous  section  that  at  the 
time  of  Tirumalisai  Alvar  there  was  no  shrine  to 
Vishnu  at  Chidambaram.  The  Pallava  king  referred 
to  in  (1)  should,  therefore,  have  been  either  Mahen- 
dra  Varma  II  or  Paramesvara  Varma  II  both  of  whom 
were  worshippers  of  Vishnu  and  donors  of  great 
charities;  the  first  of  them,  Mahendra  Varma  II,  is 
said  to  have  done  meritorious  acts  for  the  benefit  of 

1  Bombay.  Gas.  Vol.  I,  part  2,  p.  389. 


THE    VISHNUVITE    SAINTS  319 

temples  and  Brahma ns,  and  the  second  was  the 
builder  of  Vinnagaram  at  Conjeevaram.  And  the  king 
alluded  to  in^^)  should  have  been  Mahendra  Varma  U 
(A.  D.  650)  as  he  is  stated  to  have  built  the  second 
prakara  or  wall  at  Srirangam.  Lastly,  the  Chola  king 
referred  to  in  (3)  was  Ko-Chengannan  who  has  been 
canonized  as  a  Saint  by  the  Saivites,  and  described 
as  Kocchengatchola  Nayanar  in  the  Periyapuranam. 
The  Saiva  saint  Tirugnanasambanda  also  refers  to 
this  king.  Like  his  distant  successor  Parantaka  I 
(Vira  Narayana  Chola  of  the  Kongu  chronicle)  he 
may  have  been  an  ardent  worshipper  of  Vishnu  in 
his  early  days  and  afterwards  changed  his  faith  to 
Sivaism,  as  the  apostles  of  both  sects  praise  him 
in  their  works.  \u  a  previous  chapter  {Vide,  p.  250) 
the  date  of  this  Kocchengannan  has  been  tentatively 
fixed  as  580  A.  D. 

l-n  his  Siriya  Tirumadal  our  Alvar  speaks  of  one 
Vasavadatta.  This  suggests  that  he  may  have  been 
acquainted  with  the  Sanskrit  play  of  that  name 
written  by  Subandhu  about  the  beginning  of  the 
seventh  century,  which  must  be  taken  as  the  earliest 
limit  of  his  date.  Again,  he  has  a  hymn  on  the  god  of 
Tirumokur  in  the  Madura  district.  Two  miles  near 
it  and  at  the  foot  of  the  Yanaimalai  there  is 
another  Vishnu  temple,  which  as  the  following 
inscription  will  show,  was  built  by  a  Pandya 
minister  in  A.  D.  770  and  endowed  with  a  rich 
agrahara  for  its  maintenance.  'Pre-eminently  charm- 
ing   in    manners  a  resident  of    Karavandapuram    the 


320  TAMIL  STUDIES 

son  of  Maran  and  a  learned  and  illustrious  member 
of  the  Vaidya  family,  Madhurakavi  made  this  stone 
temple  of  Vishnu.  The  same  Madhurakavi  the  wise 
minister  of  the  Pandya  named  Parantaka  also  gave 
away  to  the  first  born  (Brahmans)  this  immensely 
rich  agraharam.  When  3  871  years  of  Kali  had  passed 
on  the  day  of  the  sun  in  the  month  of  Kartigai 
this  image  of  the  god  was  duly  set  up  there'. 
Had  this  temple  been  in  existence  in  our  Alvar's 
time  he  must  surel}' have  visited  it.  As  there  are  no 
hymns  on  this  god  when  he  has  sung  the  deity 
at  Tirumokur,  it  is  almost  certain  that  our  Alvar 
must  have  visited  this  part  of  the  Pandya  country 
sometime  before  A.  D.  770. 

Taking  all  these  facts  into  our  careful  considera- 
tion we  cannot  help  concluding  that  Tirumangai 
Alvar  must  have  flourished  between  A.  D.  680  and 
760. 

Pepiyalvap. 

Let  us  now  pass  on  to  the  Vaishnava  Saints  of  the 
Pandya  country.  Periyalvar  or  Vishnu  Chittan  was 
a  Brahman  of  Srivilliputtur.  He  calls  himself  lj^sissij 
mssi  and  Lj^^iTsQsfTi^;  here  turn  and  Qsrrm  mean  simply 
an  influential  man  ;  and  in  our  Alvar's  time  Srivilli- 
puttur was  a  newly  created  Brahman  settlement.  At 
the  instance  of  Selva  Nambi  of  Tirukkottiyur  (a  Puro- 
hit  of  the  Pandya  king),  a  conference  of  theologians 
was  held  at  Madura.  And  in  the  religious  controversy 
which    took  place   there,   Periyalvar   is   said    to  have 


THE   VISHNUVITE   SAINTS  321 

ccMTie  out  succebsful  and  establislied  Vishnuism  in 
his  part  of  the  Tamil  country.  His  contributions, 
mostly  descriptive  of  the  life  of  Sri  Krishna,  number- 
ing about  416  stanzas  form  part  of  the  Nalayira- 
prabandam.  His  style  is  modern  and  contains  a  large 
admixture  of  colloquial  and  provincial  words  and 
many  Sanskrit  tadbavas.  He  has  not  said  one  word 
against  the  Jains  or  Buddhists,  probably  because  by 
that  time  these  two  religions  had  almost  died  out  in 
the  Pandya  country.  Nor  did  he  use  any  unpleasant 
words  against  the  Saivas,  a  fact  which  proves  that  it 
had  already  established  itself  firmly  in  the  Tamil 
country  and  that  the  two  rival  sectarians  had  been 
reconciled.  The  only  harsh  sentiments  he  gives 
vent  to  against  the  Saivas  and  which  also  explain  his 
religious  views  are  : — 

^Qa^   ffl;/7#(5^  Q,? uJtiJ   i^mjD  ,S(T^LCJ6\}',   (2)  ST0^^sQsfTlS 
ILj'olSU.LUIT^Lh    tSlTLD^iAli^ir^   LD/bgHlif   sS(5^d!0    L^Ln3fDsS 

To  determine  the  age  of  this  Saint  there  are  no 
clear  references  in  his  works.  But  the  following 
extracts  combined  with  the  tradition  that  he  lived  at 
the  time  of  the  Pandya  king  Sri  Vallabhadeva  must 
throw  some  light  on  his  date  : — 

(1)  Oa/r/E@/Ei  ^i—issa^(LjL£ — II,  vi,  2. 

(2)  QtB^LDfT/ossr  3^.1— jbQsrr (SOT. — IV,  ii,  7. 

('d)  QsrrLLL^iuirdsiTiosr  ^LS'icirear^/BaaJr, — IV,  iv    8. 

(4)  uQ^uu^s^^d  suu&iQuiifSji^  utTesaL^uuiT,-—W ,  iv  7, 
21 


322  TAMIL   STUDIES 

The  Vaishnava  commentator   Periyavacchan   Pillai 
explains  Oa'^®(5S(g(_isa)^  as  Kudandai  (Kumbakonam) 
which  belonged  to  or  was  in  the  Kongu   country.  In 
a  former  section  we  have  said  that  Aditva  I  conquered 
and  annexed  Kongu  in  or  about  890  A.  D.  We  learn 
further  from  other  sources  that   Kumbakonam  was  a 
temporary  capital  of  that  newly  conquered    country 
from  which  the  Chola  prmce  or  the  Yuva  Raja  ruled 
the  new  province.    The  second   quotation  informs  us 
that  the  Pandya  king  was    Nedu  Maran,    while    the 
third  tells  us  that  his  purohit  or  spiritual  teacher   was 
a  pious  Vaishnava  Brahman  who  bore    the    title    of 
Abhimana  Tungan.     (It  was  one    of  the    customs  of 
those  days  to  give  the  titles  of  a  king  to  his  favourite 
ministers  and  purohits.  Manikka  Vachagar   had    the 
title  of  Qjgt^ssreijm  i3!TLDLD!i!Ttu(ssrj    Sekkilar    was    called 
a-^^m  Q3'frL^uus\)s\)s)jfriTnjesr.)    The  word  Maravarman  is 
no  doubt    a  title  borne  by  all  kings    of    the   Pandya 
dynasty;  but  this  when  combined  with  the  name  Sri 
Vallabhadeva  and  the  eponym  Abhimana  Meru,  does 
certainly  refer  to  a  particular  Pandya  king.    From  the 
Chinnamanur  plates  referred  to  above  we  are  given  to 
understand  that  Raja  Simha  II  had  the  title  of  Abhima- 
na Mera  Mara  Varman,  that  he    was  a  grandson    of 
Maravarman  Sri  Vallabha  Deva,  and  that  he  was  killed 
by  Parantaka  Chola  in  A.  D.  910.  Among   the   well- 
known  temples  of  the  Pandya  country  Srivilliputtur  is 
one  that    was  not  visited  by  Tirumangai  Alvar  ;    and 
when  the  god  of  Tiruttangal,  a  village  some  eight   or 
nine  miles  distant  from  our  Alvar's    birth-place,  has 


THE    VISHNUVITE   SAINTS  323 

been  celebrated  by  Kaliyan,  he  has  omitted  this  impor- 
tant shrine.  Taking  into  account  all  these  facts  we 
are  inclined  to  believe  that  Srivilliputlur  or  the  'new 
village  of  Villi '  should  have  come  into  existence 
only  after  A.  D.  750,  and  that  our  Vishnu  C'hittan  or 
Periyalvar  should  have  flourished  between  A.  D.  840 
and  915  ;  that  is,  he  might  have  been  a  younger  con- 
temporary of  Kulasekhara  Perumal.  It  is  worthy 
of  note  that  this  Alvar  who  is  said  to  have  carried 
the  prize  {Sl^])  in  a  religious  contest  held  at  Madura, 
has  not  celebrated  Kudal  Alagar  of  that  city,  though 
it  has  been  referred  to  in  one  of  the  hymns  of 
Tirumangai  Alvar.  We  know  that  Madura  has  always 
been  a  stronghold  of  Sivaism,  and  it  is  quite  possible 
that  this  Vaishnava  temple  was  closed  temporarily 
by  the  bigotted  Saivites  of  that  city. 

On  the  authority  of  certain  expressions  like  un-m- 
<siDoU(a!^s3B7ffl;OT(y>?>@©  &c.  which  occur  in  the  Madras 
Museum  plates  of  Jatila  Varman,  the  Editor  of  '  Sen 
Tamil'  is  inclined  to  put  the  date  of  Vishnu  Chittan 
before  A.D.  770,  making  him  a  contemporary  of  Jatila 
Varman  or  Parantaka  I  of  the  Yanamalai  inbcriptions. 
If  this  was  so  our  Alvar  should  have  been  as  well  a 
contemporary  of  Tirumangai  Mannan  and  a  predeces- 
sor of  Kulasekara  and  Nammalvar.  But  this  was  not 
the  case  for  the  reasons  that  are  given  in  the  sections 
dealing  with  the  above  saints. 

One  of  the  Vaishnava  saints  was  a  lady  named 
Kodai.  She  is  also  called  Andal,  and  believed  to 
have  been    the    daughter    of    Periyalvar,  QuiBuunu^euniT 


324  TAMIL   STUDIES 

QupQ/oV^s  QuemtSI<ar'2err,  while  others  think  that  she 
was  a  toundliag,  but  brouglit  up  by  the  saint  Vishnu 
Chittan.  Her  contributions  to  the  Nalayirapraban- 
dam  consist  of  173  stanzas  ;  of  these  the  Tiruppavai 
has  been  considered  to  be  her  finest  poem.  She  was 
no  doubt  an  ardent  worshipper  of  Vishnu  and  all  her 
poems  are  an  exposition  of  Sri  Krishna's  stories.  It 
appears  that  she  remained  a  virgin  throughout  her 
short  life  and  spent  her  days  in  ministering  to  the 
deities  at  Srirangam  and  Tirumalirumsolai. 

In  her  Varanamayiram  she  describes  the  dreams  of 
her  marriage  with  Vishnu,  and  this  song  is  now  bemg 
recited  at  all  Vaishnava  Brahman  marriages.  It  must 
be  remembered  that  her  poems,  which  may  have  been 
largely  influenced  by  the  work  of  a  contemporary — the 
Tirukkovaiyar  oi  Manikka  Vachakar — have  an  esoteric 
significance.  The  marriage  described  by  her  was  the 
union  of  the  atuian  with  Faraniatman  or  God  and 
final  absorption  in  the  God-head.  The  devotion  and 
attachment  of  the  modern  Vaishnavas  to  Andal  is  so 
great  that  the  worship  of  the  local  deity  adored  by 
her  at  Srivilliputtur  has  been  eclipsed.  All  the  impor- 
tant festivals  at  this  place  are  celebrated  chiefly  in 
honour  of  this  lady  Saint. 

Nammalavap. 

Conspicuous  among  the  Vaishnava  Saints  was 
Nammalvar  or  Satagopan.  He  has  been  regarded  as 
an  incarnation  of  Senai  Mudaliyar,  the  mythological 
commander   and  foremost  devotee  of  Vishnu.     His 


THE    VISHNUVITE    SAINTS  325 

life  and   writings  deserve,  therefore,  to  be  considered 
at  some  length. 

He  was  born  of  a  Vellala  family  at  Tirukkurukur 
or  'Alvar-Tirunagari  in  the  district  of  Tinnevelly, 
to  one  Kari  of  that  place  and  Udaiya  Nangai  of 
Tiruvanparisaram  in  the  Chera  country.  His  parents 
gave  him  the  name  of  Maran  ;  and  Satagopan  was 
the  Sanskrit  title  probably  given  to  him  by  his 
spiritual  Giini.  iMoreovcr,  it  was  customary,  as  now, 
to  have  two  names — one  Tamil  and  tlie  other  Sanskrit. 
His  Tiruvoymoli,  Tiruvasiriam,  Tiruviruttam  and 
Tiruvandadi,  all  of  which  written  with  a  definite 
purpose  on  a  pre- conceived  plan  in  the  antadi 
form  and  amounting  to  1296  stanzas,  are  included 
in  the  Naiayiraprabandam.  His  songs  or  hymns 
relate  to  the  deities  of  some  thirty  places,  ot 
which  twenty-four  are  in  the  Pandya  and  the  Chera 
kingdoms.  He  was  an  ascetic  or  yogi  and  would 
seem  to  have  retired  from  the  world  in  his  35th  year 
to; perform  Yoga  or  meditation  under  a  tamarind  tree, 
which  exists  to  this  day  in  Alvar-Tirunagari.  Ulti- 
mately he  is  said  to  have  attained  eternal  bliss  or 
beatitude,  about   which  he  himself  says  : — 

He  had  two  disciples — Sri  Nathamuni  and  Ma- 
dhurakavi — to  whom  he  taught  his  Tiruvoymoli  and 
other  prabandams.  The  first  heads  the  list  of  the 
Vaishnava  Acharyas  while  the  second  has  been  ele- 
vated to  the  rank  of  a  Saint. 


326  TAMIL    STUDIES 

Like  all  other  alvars  Satagopan  was  a  Vishnuvite  of 
the  Visishtadvaitic  School  of  Vedanta.  He  believed 
that  Vishnu  alone  could  offer  Moksha  to  His  worship- 
pers, that  He  is  uncreated,  that  He  is  omnipresent  and 
that  Brahma  and  Siva  are  only  His  other  forms 
or  manilestations  assumed  for  the  sake  of  conducting 
different  offices.  He  proves  the  existence  of  God  by 
means  of  arguments,  teleological  and  metaphysical,  in 
the  fashion  of  Descartes  and  Spinoza,  and  gives  us  a 
clear  description  of  His  relationship  with  the  world  in 
his  first  two  padigams,  and  of  the  means  of  approach- 
ing Him  in  the  third.  About  the  nature  and  attributes 
of  God  he  says 

(1)  ^eam€ve\>esr  QlLJSsai&sans^&iesreijeotT  eueSlit!LD6\)e\)isin 

(2)  SuniL  Ssoss)iLi^  0iurijji  si7e\)rTLU  QtsQeu^r bW)Lu 

His  idea  (»f  fruition  or  communion  with  God  is 
explained  in  the  following  stanza  : — 

^SB\Q p  ojuQuaQ^  4£S'i_js7(?au  a?®  sSt-^frQu). 


THE    VISHNUVITE    SAINTS  3'i7 

He  did  not  recognise  caste  distinctions  and 
held  that  di\ me  knowledge  alone  could  make  a  man 
high  or  low  in  the  social  scale  : — 

(^eviBsifrisiQ)  SFa^ssir  isneSl^ixi  Si^L^m^  sr^^'Sesi 
iseOii^T  insf)e\)fr^  .SFssaTL^iTeir  feeari—iKsnrr  s<3(riT@^uD 

SSoi^'TIT   Jfll^lLifriT  ^UDISLp-LUfT   G STLLLDl^S^efT. 

The  question  of  the  age  of  this  Saint  is  very 
much  disputed.  Diverse  opinions  are  current.  The 
Vaishnava  Acharyas  take  him  to  the  begmning  of 
the  Kaliyug  or  B.  C.  3102  and  attempt  to  bridge 
over  the  wide  gulf  of  time  between  him  and  his  dis- 
ciple Nathamuni  (tenth  century  A.  D.)  by  asserting 
that  the  Alvar  was  his  teacher  in  his  archavatar  or 
'the  idolic  incarnation'  ;  while  some  of  the  English, 
educated  Vaishnavas  would  ascribe  to  him  the  open- 
ing years  of  the  Christian  era  as  his  probable  age. 
As  we  have  in  the  writings  of  Tirumangai  Alvar 
there  are  no  allusions  to  any  king  or  political  events 
m  the  works  of  Nammalvar  to  determine  his  date. 
There  are,  however,  several  other  indications  to  prove 
that  he  flourished  about  the  beginning  of  the 
tenth  century  A,  D.,  and  that  he  was  the  last  of  the 
Vaishnava  Saints.  We  shall  briefly  give  them  below 
and  leave  the  reader  to  judge  for  himself  whether 
the  above  conclusicjns  are  logical  or  otherwise 

(1)  The  Tamil  language  of  Nammalvar  differs 
from  the  Tamil  of  the  poets  of  the  Sangam  or  aca- 
demic period.  Our  i4/2;(;ir  makes  a  free  use  of  Sans- 
krit words  and  phrases  like  Sl^uS,    euirs^sih^  sesnuLD^  &.u 


328  TAMIL     STUDIES 

Qe\)irf6sresr ^    mn^fj    lS^<sii,    LD^rrQuirsihy  ^i^ir^jeoij},    ldits 

(ssiisu(^^k^ua  ;  while  none  of  these  will  be  discovered 
in  the  early  Tamil  writings.  The  use  of  plurais  in  seir 
and  double  plurals  in  ears&r  as  in  •ssinmiSm-jD&nssfr  and 
of  the  present  tense  in  Sl^  as  in  (S^LL9(nj"^  is  compa- 
ratively modern.  With  regard  to  the  use  of  S)^  as  a 
particle  of  present  tense,  the  learned  commentator 
Nacchinarkiniyar  observes  thus  :  &,eam8(}/DQemsurd&^ 
eiesru^  Ssu^iusi)  (Lpssafr^^i\)  '^i-%nso  enLpii^.  {Tol.  II,  204). 
These  were  never  used  by  the  early  Tamil  authors 
anterior  to  the  seventh  century  A.  D. 

Philological  variations  of  the  above  nature  in  a 
living  language  like  Tamil  afford  us  the  crucial  test  to 
determine  the  respective  ages  of  literary  works  of 
different  periods  ;  and  yet,  this  test  has  often  been 
completely  ignored  not  only  by  Tamil  pandits,  but 
also  by  the  early  commentators  of  I'amil  classics. 

(2)  At  the  time  of  our  Alvar  most  of  the  Puranas  had 
alre.idy  come  into  existence  and  when  he  speaks  of 
the  Saivas,  he  refers  to  Lin^a-Purana  by  name 
(IV.  X.  5).  It  is  only  the  Puranas  that  contain  rules 
for  the  worship  of  gods  by  means  of  prayers,  offer- 
ings, and  festivals.  Nammalvar  refers  to  some  of  these 
observances  in  the  following  lines: — 

The  above  quotation  distinctly  proves  that  the  obser- 
vance of  piiranic    rites  had  been  in  its  full  swing,  and 


THE   VISHNUVITE   SAINTS  329 

that  a  large  number  of  temples  to  Vishnu  and  other 
deities  had  already  come  into  existence  before  the 
days  of  Nammalvar. 

(3)  The  chewing  of  betel-leaf  ^  was  almost 
unknown  to  the  Hindu  populace  prior  to  A.  D.  500  ; 
because,  as  one  writer,  observes  its  use  is  not  mentioned 
by  any  author  before  the  sixth  century  A.  D.  Our 
Alvar  speaks  of  Qeu/b^^  a  more  modern  form  of  Qsneir 
sy/??isu  '  which  we  find  in  the  inscriptions  of  the  ninth 
and  tenth  centuries  A.  D,  The  author  of  Silap- 
padikaram  (second  century  A.D  )  does,  however,  refer 
to  its  use  thus, — 

But  we  doubt  whether  the  custom  had  been  so 
universal  in  the  days  of  Ilango-adikal,  as  it  was  in  our 
Alvar's  time. 

(4)  It  seems  that  at  the  time  of  our  Alvar  the 
struggle  between  the  Vaishnava  and  Saiva  sects 
on  the  one  hand,  and  Jainism  and  Buddhism 
on  the  other  had  come  to  an  end,  that  Brahmanism 
— Siva  and  Vishnu  cults — had  come  out  triumphant 
at  least  in  the  extreme  south,  and  that  a  sort  of  recon- 
ciliation had  been  effected  among  the  Saivas  and 
Vaishnavas.  While  Tirumalisai,  Tirumangai  and 
Tondaradippodi  Alvars  speak  very  vehemently  and 
pour  forth  their  invectives  a<:;ainst  the  non-Vaishnava 

1.  F.  R.  A.  S.  for  1908,  p.  910. 

^j^upcrT/OssSlil®. — Epig.  'nci.  Vol,  IX,  p.  90. 


330  TAMIL    STUDIES 

sects  and  religions,  Nammalvar  only  casually  men- 
tions in  one  place  the  Jains  and  Buddhists,  besides 
Brahma  and  Siva  as  only  other  manifestations  of 
Vishnu.  A  comparison  of  the  following  quotations 
from  Nammalvar's  works  with  those  cited  in  the 
previous  sections  will  clearly  prove  that  Jainisin  and 
Buddhism  had  already  died  out  in  the  Tamil  country 
and  that  Saivas  and  Vaishnavas  had  come  to  regard 
each  other  as  brethern  : — 

(2)    <SLS-SLDL^  Qsrrm&aps^  s=<oSiu.'^QoSiQiLi<ij^iJD  idrresrQp^s   su. 

Qjsms^(T^  eurrtwsCceurQiueur^ix)  ;  (3)  jfjiEi(^iuii  QpaiLLL3.!TiT<ssT 
LSlirL£iQu(T^i£fTesrei]em    li  j    (4)   LDira^sslefTLD^tLK^    (c^0(^   s^stai-^ 

(5)  It  has  been  said  before  that  Tirumangai  Alvar 
visited  all  the  V'aishnava  temples  of  his  time.  Those 
shrines  that  are  not  sung  by  him  are  celebrated  by 
Nammalvar,  the  most  important  of  which  being 
(a)  Tirukkuriigur,  (6)  Varaguna  Mangai  and  (c)  Sri 
varamangalam.  If  the  traditional  story  of  the  ortho- 
dox Vaishnavas  that  Tirumangai  Alvar  made  arrange- 
ments for  the  lecital  of  Tiruvoymoli  at  Srirangam  be 
true,  he  must  surely  have  visited  the  birth-place 
of  a  great  Saint  honoured  and  worshipped  by  him, 
and  sung  hymns  in  praise  of  the  god  of  that  village. 
But  we  see  nothing  of  this  in  his  work.  Again, 
Varaguna  Mangai  or  Varaguna  Mangalam  is  a  village 
named  after   the   Fandya  king  Varaguna.     So  far   as 


THE    VISHNUVITE    SAINTS  331 

the  epigraphical  researches  have  disclosed,  there  were 
only  two  kings  of  that  name,  and  the  earher  of  whom 
reigned  about  A,D.  820.  Further,  Srivaramangalam  or 
Vanamamalai,  wherein  there  have  been  from  tune 
immemoiial  an  impt^rlant  Vishnu  temple  and  a 
Vaishnava  Mutt,  came  inio  existence  in  the  reign  of 
the  Fandya  king  Ko-Maran-Sadaiyan  (A.D.  ^HO) 
under  the  circumstances  set  forth  in  the  following 
extract  from  a  copper  plate  grant  of  that  king. 
*  While  the  seventeenth  year  of  the  reign, of  Nedum 
Sadaiyan,...ihe  most  devoted  follower  of  Vishnu,  was 
current... he  gave  with  libations  of  water  the  village 
of  Velangudi  in  Tenkalavalinadu,  having  cancelled 
its  former  name  from  old  tunes  and  having  bestowed 
on  it  the  new  name  of  Srivaramangalam  to  Sujjata 
Bhatta',..  From  the  description  of  the  boundaries 
given  in  the  plates  it  is  clear  that  the  shrine  and  the 
famous  Mutt  should  have  been  built  towards  the 
end  of  the  ninth  century  A.  D.  This  village  is  only 
a  short  distance  from  Tirukkui  ungudi  another  well- 
known  shrine  where  Tirumangai  Alvar  spent  the 
remaining  years  of  his  life.  Yet,  he  has  not  said  one 
word  about  this  important  temple  anywhere  in  his 
hymns. 

{(j)  Sri  Villiputtur  which  is  one  of  the  famous 
shrines  of  modern  times  in  the  Tinnevelly  district  was 
not  visited  either  bv  Tirumangai  Alvar,  because  it 
was  not  in  existence  in  his  days,  '>r  by  Nammalvar, 
as  it  did  not  come  into  prominence  or  was  not 
known    to  the  Vaishnavas  outside  the  village.     Peri- 


332  TAMIL     STUDIES 

valvar  should  therefore  have  •  been  an  elder  contem- 
porary of  Satagopan  though  unknown  to  each  other. 

(7)  The  Dravidian  tune  or  pan  {usm)  is  invariably 
prefixed  to  all  the  padigams  (decads)  of  Nammalvar 
while  m  the  case  of  the  works  of  other  Saints,  especi- 
ally of  Tirumangai  Alvar,  it  has  been  found  wanting. 
Probably  the  names  of  tunes  assigned  to  theae  padi- 
gams  must  have  been  lost  during  the  course  of  the 
long  period  that  had  elapsed  before  their  collection 
and  compilation  by  Sri  Nathamuni.  Had  Tirumangai 
Alvar  flourished  three  or  four  centuries  later  than 
Satagopan,  as  the  Vaishnava  biographeis  allege  the 
pans  of  Tiiumangai  Alvar's  hymns  should  have  been 
preserved  «/or//on  with  greater  easiness.  But  the 
fact  was  otherwise.  We  cannot  understand  why 
\hese  pans  of  Tirmangai  Alvar  were  lost  while  those 
of  his  Saiva  contemporaries  and  predecessors,  Appar 
and  Sambandar,  were  handed  down  to  posterity. 
Perhaps  the  Aryan  Vaishnavas  had  not  cared  so 
much  for  the  preservation  of  the  sacred  writings  ot 
the  Dravidian  Saints  before  the  days  of  Nammalvar 
and  perhaps  in  imitation  of  the  Saivas,  the  Vaishnava 
Acharyas  may  have  got  into  their  head  the  idea  of 
collecting  the  works  of  Alvars  and  compiling  them 
intcj  one  sacred  volume,  probably  subsequent  to  the 
laborious  undertaking  of  Nambiyandar  Nambi  of 
the  Saiva  sect. 

[O)  From  the  Elephant  Rock  inscriptions  quoted 
above  we  see  that  the  builder  of  the  Vishnu  temple 
was  one  Kari  or  Madhurakavi,  a  son    of    Maran  and 


THE   VISHNUVITE   SAINTS  3i53 

a  minister  of  the  Pandya  king.  We  learn  further 
from  the  Guruparamparai  that  the  name  of 
Nammalvar  was  Maran,  that  he  was  a  saint 
from  his  childhood,  that  he  was  the  son  of  one  Kari 
a  Vellala  by  caste  and  that  one  of  his  disciples  was 
Madhurakavi,  a  Brahman  of  Tirukkoiur  in  the  Tinne- 
velly  district.  Obviously,  confounding  the  names 
Kari,  Maran  and  Madhurakavi,  which  occur  in  the 
inscriptions  as  well  as  in  the  Vaishnava  biography,  a 
recent  writer  in  the  Indian  Antiquary  jumps,  like  Flu- 
ellen,  to  the  conclusion  that  Kari  or  Madhurakavi 
was  the  son  of  Nammalvar  or  Maran  and  that  both 
of  them  were  contemporaries  of  Tirumangai  Alvar. 
According  to  this  perverted  view  Nammalvar  should 
have  lived  prior  to  A.D.  770.  We  cannot  understand 
how  the  Koil-olugu,  on  which  the  reviewer  relies  so 
much  for  his  data,  is  more  trustworthy  than  the 
Guruparamparai.  The  latter  work  unmistakably  asserts 
that  Madhurakavi  Alvar  was  a  Brahman  and  that  Nam- 
malvar was  a  celibate  saint.  Evidently  this  writer 
does  not  seem  to  have  read  either  the  Guruparam- 
parai, or  the  works  of  Nammalvar,  or  even  Mr.  V. 
Venkayya's  notes  on  the  Triplicane  Inscriptions  of 
Dantivarman  in  the  Ep.  Ind.  Vol.  VIII.  p.  290. 

Nammalvar  has  one  hymn  on  the  god  of  Tirumokur 
and  four  or  five  on  the  famous  shrine  at  Tirumali- 
rum-Solai  ;  but  he  has  left  none  on  the  Vishnu  deity 
at  the  foot  of  the  Yanai  Malai  or  the  Elephant  Rock 
which  lies  between  these  two  places.  Our  Alwar 
must    therefore    have    lived   either    before    or   long 


334  TAMIL    STUDIES 

after  A.  D.  770  ;  but  the  impossibility  of  the  first 
has  been  proved  in  the  previous  pages. 

The  rich  Agrahara  referred  to  in  the  inscription 
should  have  been  deserted  and  the  shrine  itself 
almost  neglected  at  the  time  of  Nammalvar,  as  it 
now  is,  owing  to  the  ominous  death  of  the  builder 
of  the  temple  before  its  completion  and  the 
unproductive  rocky  soil  of  the  surrounding  country. 
It  is  evident  that  a  sufficiently  long  period,  say  at 
least  one  century  and  a  half,  should  have  elapsed 
between  its  creation  and  total  abandonment;  that  is 
this  shrine  and  Agrahara  should  have  fallen  into 
ruins  only  some  time  before  A.  D.  900.  And  this 
must  have  been  the  period  of  our  Alvar's  existence. 

(9)  The  most  important  argument  in  favour  of  our 
theory  that  Satagopan  was  the  last  of  all  the  Vaishnava 
Saints  is  furnished  by  the  age  of  Nathamuni,  one  of 
his  two  esteemed  disciples.  Traditions  relating  to  his 
life  are  conflicting  and  even  scholars  do  not  agree 
on  this  point.  Mr.  S.  Krishnaswamy  Aiyangar  seems  to 
believe  the  statement  of  the  orthodox  Vaishnavas  that 
Nathamuni  was  born  in  A.D.  582  and  died  in  A.D. 
922.  He  goes  on  to  say  that '  it  would  certainly  be  in 
keeping  with  the  most  cherished  tradition  of  the 
Vaishnavas  that  arrangement  made  by  the  Alvar 
(Tirumangai  Alvar,  A.  D.  750)  for  the  recital  of 
Tiruvoymoli  of  Nammalvar  had  fallen  into  desuetude 
in  the  days  of  Nathamuni  and  he  had  to  revive  it  at 
Srirangam  after  much  ado'  i.    And,  Mr.  T.  Rajagopa- 

1.  Inci.  Ant.  1906,  p.  232. 


THE    VISHNUVITK    SAINTS  335 

lachariar  says  'that  the  sage  was  born  somewhere  in 
the  first  quarter  of  the  ninth  century  and  lived  just 
over   a   hundred  years'  ^. 

We  shall  now  examine  these  statements.  Guru- 
paramparai  or  the  lives  of  the  Vaishnava  Aciiaryas 
informs  us  (a)  that  Sri  Nathamuni  Was  born  in  the 
agrahara  of  Vira  Narayanapuram  in  the  district 
of  South  Arcot,  and  (bj  died  at  Gangaikoi\da  Chola- 
puram  in  Trichinopoly,  and  (c)  that  he  was  the 
grandfather  of  Alavandar,  who  died  at  Srirangam 
when  Sri  Ramanujacharya  was  about  25  or  30  years 
of  age.  Now,  here  are  three  points  to  be  carefully 
sifted  in  arriving  at  the  age  of  Nathamuni.  There 
are  also  other  traditions  making  him  a  contempo- 
rary of  Kamban,  but  these  are  not  trustworthy  and 
may  therefore  be  set  aside  for  the  present. 

(a)  As  regards  Viranarayanapurm  the  Kongu  chro- 
nicle says  that  '  Viranarayana  iParantaka  1,906-946 
A.D.)  was  a  great  devotee  of  Vishnu  in  the  early  part 
of  his  life  and  he  created  many  tax-free  Brahman 
settlements  one  of  which  was  called  after  his  own 
name  Viranaiayanapuram  '  2.  In  other  words  this 
agrahara  must  have  come  into  existence  some  time 
after  906  A.  D. 

(b)  Sri  Nathamuni  is  believed  to  have  died  at  Gan- 
gaikonda  Cholapuram  which  was  made  the  capital 
of  the  Chola  king  Rajendra    (A.  D.  1011-1044)   about 

1.  The  hid.  Rev,  1908,  p.  280. 

2.  Salem  Dt.  Manual.    Vol.  II.  p.  375     and  Madras  journal  of 
Sc.  &  Lit.,  Vol.  xiv. 


336  TAMIL   STUDIES 

the  year  1022.  Admitting  that  our  sage  died  about 
1025  A.  D.,  he  should  have  been  born  about  915 
A.  D.,  and  this  gives  him  an  age  of  110  years.  This 
is  sufficiently  a  long  age,  and  there  is  every  reason  to 
believe  that  he,  being  a  Yogi,  could  have  lived  for 
such  a  long  period. 

(c)  According  to  the  inscriptions  of  Bitti  Deva  or 
Vishnuvardhana  of  Mysore,  the  great  Vaishnava  re- 
former Sri  Ramanujacharya  was  living  in  1134  A.  D. 
Even  if  we  allow  him  an  unusually  long  age  of  115 
years,  it  is  certain  that  he  was  about  thirty  years  old 
in  A.  D.  1049,  which  must  be  assumed  as  the  year  of 
Alavandar's  death  ;  that  is,  he  may  have  survived  his 
grand-father  Natharauni  some  24  or  25  years.  Gran- 
ting that  Alavandar  lived  to  an  advanced  age  of 
eighty,  he  should  have  been  born  about  A.D.  969  when 
Nathamuni  was  about  54  or  55  ;  and  it  is  not  impro- 
bable for  a  man  of  this  age  to  beget  a  grandson.  We 
are  therefore  inclined  to  believe  that  Nathau7uni  was 
a  direct  disciple  of  Nammalvar  and  studied  Tiruvoy- 
moli  and  Yoga  philosophy  when  he  was  about  20  or 
25  years  of  age  under  our  most  revered  Saint.  In 
other  words  Nammalvar  must  have  been  alive  in 
A.D.  935.  Moreover,  it  is  said  that  about  the  writings 
of  Nammalvar,  Sri  Nathamuni  enquired  one  Paran- 
kusadasa,  a  disciple  of  Madhurakavi  Alvar  (afterwards 
his  fellow  student)  who  is  believed  to  have  been  born 
in  the  Dvapura  Yuga  ! 

Further  he  should  have  also  been    the  last    of  the 
Alvars,  as  one  of  our   early  Acharyas  distinctly   says 


THE    VISHNUVITE    SAINTS  337 

in  his  QirTL^p^(ff)!h(TuiiJD  that  Nammalvar  taught  the  4000 
hymns  to  Nathamuni — ibt^^s(^  [btreofniSuLoeiB^^irm 
(Suitl^Cdoj.  It  escapes  our  understanding  how  in  the 
face  of  this  clear  statement  Tirumangai  Alvar  could 
have  lived  after  Nammalvar. 

(10).  In  one  of  the  inscriptions  of  Rajaraja  Chola 
dated  about  1004  A.  D.  Kurugur  appears  as  the 
name  of  a  dancing  girl.  From  it  we  are  to  infer  that 
this  village  had  by  that  time  become  famous  as  the 
birth  place  of  Nammalvar.  This  we  suppose  was  due 
to  the  propogandist  work  of  Nathamuni  who  used  to 
visit  the  royal  courts  of  Chola  kings.  Further  it  was 
the  custom  of  those  times  to  give  the  names  of 
famous  villages,  of  renowned  Saints  and  of  reigning 
sovereigns  to  men  and  women,  out  of  reverence  or 
gratitude  as  the  following  proper  names  will  show: 
^@(75<ss_/f,  ^(T^rsrTisijssiTSr^  ■^■/'■gff'T^^  eSlQpuusajirujesr,  <3f-i^fr 
urresan^iu  ^■s^rriflujeisr  ;  and  this  sort  of  naming  first  took 
place  during  the  life  time  of  these  remarkable 
personages  or  when  those  noteworthy  occurrences 
were  quite  fresh  in  their  memories.  An  inscription  of 
the  same  Chola  king  calls  the  name  of  thedeily  of  the 
temple  at  Ukkal  asTiruvoymolidevar.  From  this  Dr. 
Hultzsch  seems  to  think  that  Nammalvar  'must  have 
lived  centuries  before  A.  D.  1000.'  But  for  the 
above  reasons  this  was  not  really  the  case. 

Some  scholars  might  think  that  a  considerably 
long  time  should  have  passed  after  the  death  of  these 
pious  reformers  before  their  deification  could  have 
taken  place.     But  this  was  not  at  all  necessary,  when 

22 


338  TAMIL  STUDIES 

we  consider  the  spirit  and  the  rehgious  movements  of 
this  period  of  sectarian  reforms  (A.D.  950-1150),  and 
the  halo  of  divine  glory  which  had  shone  even  in 
their  own  life  time.  We  are  told  in  the  biographies 
of  the  Vaishnava  Acharyas  that  copper  images  of  Sri 
Ramanuja  were  set  up,  in  obedience  to  his  orders, 
immediately  after  the  termination  of  his  earthly  exis- 
tence, and  that  Manavalamamuni  gave  away  his 
copper  water  pot  for  the  making  of  his  image  just  on 
the  eve  of  his  departure  to  the  other  world.  And  it 
has  been  said  above  that  the  custom  of  setting  up 
images  for  these  canonized  saints  came  into  vogue 
only  after  1000  A.D. 

The  above  arguments  must  irresistably  lead  any 
unbiassed  reader  to  conclude  that  our  Nammalvar 
should  have  flourished  in  the  first  half  of  the  tenth 
century  A.D.  which  is  full  two  hundred  years  poster- 
ior to  Tirumangai  Alvar.  It  is,  therefore,  clear  that 
the  traditional  stories  relating  to  these  two  Saints  in 
which  Mr.  S.  Krishnaswamy  Aiyangar  places  so  much 
faith  and  the  fabulous  difference  of  3500  years 
between  Nammalvar  and  his  direct  disciple  Natha- 
muni,  on  which  the  archavatar  theory  of  the  Vaish- 
nava Acharayas  rests,  must  be  rejected  as  pure  con- 
coctions of  Manavalamamuni  and  his  predecessors, 
devised  in  support  of  their  absurdly  cherished 
beliefs. 

To  summarise  the  results  of  our  discussions 
regarding  the  Vaishnava  Saints:  (1)  the  reformation 
of  the  Vaishnava  sect  began    in   the  Pallava  country 


THE    VISHNUVITE   SAINTS  339 

and  slowly  but  steadily  travelled  as  far  as  the  Pandya. 
desa  in  the  South;  (2)  the  'First  Alvars'  and 
Tirumalisaiyar,  all  of  Tondai  Nadu,  were  the  earliest, 
and  Nammalvar  of  the  Pandya  country  was  the 
latest;  (3)  Tirumalisaiyar,  Tirumangai  Mannan  and 
Tondaradippodi  Alvar  who  were  the  bitterest 
opponents  to  the  Saivas,  Jains  and  Buddhists 
flourished  when  the  two  latter  religions  were 
struggling  for  existence  in  the  Tamil  country;  (4) 
Nammalvar,  the  last  of  the  Vaishnava  Saints  and 
the  first  of  the  Acharyas  lived  when  the  two 
atheistic  religions — Jainismand  Buddhism — had  very 
nearly  died  out  in  the  Tamil  country  and  when  the 
Saivas  and  Vaishnavas  had  been  reconciled;  (5) 
Tirumalisaiyar,  Kaliyan  and  Nammalvar  were  the 
greatest  of  the  Vaishnava  Saints;  (6)  and  lastly, 
all  the  Alvars  flourished  during  the  pannmic  period, 
that  is  between  A.  D.  550  and  950,  when  temples  in 
honour  of  the  Brahmanic  deities,  Vishnu  and  Siva, 
were  being  built  in  all  the  Tamil  districts. 


XII 

THE  ORIGIN  OF  MALAY ALAM 

The  home-speech  of  about  seven  millions  of  people 
in  Southern  India   is  Malayalam.     It  is  at    present  an 
important  language  of  the  Dravidian  family  ;  and  yet, 
the  exact    relationship    which  it  bears    to  the    other 
members  of  that  family  is  a  subject  of    some  hot  dis- 
cussion among   ihe   Dravidian   scholars.     The   solu- 
tion of  this  problem    is  not    an  easy  matter.     Unless 
one  has  made, an   historical   study  of   the  Tamil   and 
Malayalam  languages  his  conclusion  must  remain  for 
ever  vague  and    indecisive.     Some  scholars  believe  it 
to  be  a  sister  of  Tamil  like  Telugu  or  Kanarese,  others 
regard  it  as  a   highly  developed  dialect  of  old  Tamil, 
while  a  few  Indian  scholars    of  Malabar  are  prone  to 
think  that  it  is  a  dialect   of  Sanskrit   and  that  it   had 
nothing  to  do  with  Tamil  from  its  very  origin.     The 
last^seems  an  extreme  view  prompted  by  a  false  sense 
of  patriotism  ;*and  the  subject  is  interesting   and  im- 
portant enough  to    deserve   an    examination  at  some 
length. 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  MALAYALAM  341 

The  etymology  of  the  term  'Malayalam'  which  pro- 
perly applies  to  the  territory  and  not  language,  seems 
obscure.  It  does  not  occur  either  in  early  or  mediae- 
val Tamil  literature.  The  people  of  the  West  Coast 
call  their  home-speech  as  Malayazhma  or  Malayayma. 
These  are  compounds  of  two  Malayalam  or  rather 
Tamil  words  mala,  a  '  mountain  '  and  dlam  or  dlma, 
'  government'.  The  latter  are  verbal  nouns  formed  by 
postlixing  the  noun  terminations  am  (jyti)  and  ma  or 
mai  (s»ld)  to  the  verb  dl  {^^)  to  rule.  '  Azhma  '  may 
be  a  mistake  for  *  alma  '.  It  is  not  right  to  accept  the 
meaning  that  Malayalam  is  a  *deep  (=^teti)mountainous 
region'. 

The  Chera  or  Kerala  country,  called  also  the  Malai- 
nadu  and  Malai-mandalam  in  Tamil  and  Malayalam 
works,  was  known  to  the  early  Greeks  as  Dimurike  or 
Tamilakam  and  '  Kerobothros'  or  the  Chera  country, 
and  to  the  mediaeval  nationsjas  *  Malabar '  (Skt.  Mala- 
var,  Ar.  Mala-barr)  or  the  'region  of  mountains.'  From 
about  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  up  to  the  early 
years  of  the  last  century,  Tamil  was  known  to 
Europeans  as  the  '  Malabar '  language.  But  it  has 
been  considered  by  Western  scholars  as  an  instance  of 
misapplication  of  the  term  'Malabar'  to  Tamil.  How- 
ever, I  am  inclined  to  think  otherwise,  though  with 
reference  to  the  present  condition  of  the  Malayalam 
language  it  might  be  an  undue  extension  of  its  signifi- 
cation. When  the  term  '  Malabar  '  was  first  applied 
to  Tamil  by  the  early  European  travellers  or 
missionaries  there  was  not,  as  will  be  shown  hereafter, 


342  TAMIL   STUDIES 

much  difference  in  the  colloquial  or  rather  the  vulgar 
forms  of  the  two  languages,  and  they  were  justified  in 
calling  both  as  the  '  Malabar  '  language. 

The  people  of  Kerala  or  Chera  Desa  in  the  third 
century  called  themselves  Tamilar  and  even  thought 
it  proud  to  be  known  by  that  *  sweet '  name  as  the 
following  quotation  will  show  : — 

siTiuQeup  pi^s<ss)&&  sesrs^th  eSeas^iu^iM 
Qs^isi^lL®  Qj<S!rpear  &ssieij^LJ  uSsi^ih. — Sil. 
The  work  which  we  have  reviewed  in  the  tenth 
essay  is  probably  the  earliest  literary  record  relating  to 
the  Chera  kings  and  their  subjects  whose  home-speech 
was  Tamil.  And  it  might  conveniently  be  taken  as 
containing  the  origins  of  the  Malayalam  language. 
Another  Tamil  work  of  about  the  same  period  is  the 
Ainkurunuru  or  the  *  Five  short  Hundreds'.  It  was 
written  by  live  different  poets  of  the  Kerala  country 
and  compiled  under  the  orders  of  the  Chera  king 
Yanaikkat-chey-Mandaram-Seral-Irum-porai.  A  third 
work  of  greater  importance,  but  belonging  almost  to 
the  same  period  is  Silappadikaram.  It  was  composed 
by  Ilango-Adikal.  a  younger  brother  of  the  Chera 
king  Senguttuvan,  and  forms  one  of  the  five 
Tamil  major  epics.  All  these  teem  with  '  Malabaricms ' 
or  usages  peculiar  to  Malayalam,  but  which  are  consi- 
dered as  slang  or  provincialisms  in  pure  Tamil.  Words 
like  6p&)eorr  (must  not),  Quir^^  (he-buffalo),  <5s>siQ@iih 
or  6a)«/^?sw  (camp),  euilisf.  (basket),  &c.,  which  occur  in 
these    Tamil  works  of   the    Kerala  country,  are  still 


THE   ORIGIN    OF   MALAYALAM  343 

current  in  the  spoken    language  of  Malabar  and  Tra- 
vancore  when  they  had  become  obsolete  in  Tamil. 
The  later  Tamil  authors  of  Kerala  were  Aiyanarita- 

nar,   Cheraman    Perumal  and    Kulasekara    Perumal- 
Aiyanaritanar     flourished    about      the    seventh     or 
eighth    century   A.     D,     He    was    a  prince     of    the 
Chera    dynasty    and  wrote    a    treatise   on  grammar 
entitled    the    'Venba-Malai,'     The    other   two  were 
kings  of   Malabar  and  flourished  during   the    eighth 
or    ninth  century.     For   their   literary   remains     we 
must   refer   the   reader  to    the  eleventh  'Tirumurai, ' 
of  the    Saivas,  to    Mr,  Govinda    Pillai's    '  History  of 
Malayalara  Literature'  and  to  our  chapter  on  the  Alvars. 
It  must,  however,  be  pointed  out  here  that  the  propor- 
tion of    Sanskrit  words  in    the  early    Tamil  works  of 
the  Chera  country,  namely,     Ainkurunuru,  Paditrup- 
pattu,    Silappadikaram   and    Venbamalai  is  compara- 
tively very  small,   while  in  the    later  writings   of  the 
Kerala  saints— Cheraman  and  Kulasekara — it  is  percep- 
tibly higher,  mainly  owing  to  Brahmanical  influence. 
Kulasekara    was  also    a    Sanskrit    poet.      The  latest 
Tamil    poet    who,    according    to    a    current   tradi- 
tion,   visited  Kerala    and     lectured    on     the    Rama- 
yana    before     large     audiances      was     the    famous 
Kamban  (A.  D.   1145-1205).     Lectures    in    Tamil   on 
the    Ramayana   were    evidently    popular    and    much 
appreciated     in     Kerala     during     this    period,     and 
it  is  interesting  to  note  that  even  today  Kambaramaya- 
nam  is  recited  and  commented  upon  by  special  mins- 
trels or  a  class  of  wandenng  preachers,  The  first  works 


344  TAMIL   STUDIES 

in  the  early  Malayalam  language  are  accordingly  the 
'  Ramacharitram  '  and  the  '  Ramayanam  '  which  are 
more  after  the  model  of  Kamban's  great  work. 

In  ancient  Tamil  literature  Chera  or  Kerala  is  in- 
variably spoken  of  as  a  Tamil  country;  and  from  the 
Tolkapyain  it  might  be  inferred  that  this  kingdom  had 
at  least  seven  Nadus  or  provinces,  namely — Venadu, 
Puzhinadu,  Karka  Nadu,  Sitanadu,  Kuttanadu,  Kuda 
Nadu  and  Malayama  Nadu,  in  all  of  which  Kodum  or 
vulgar  Tamil  was  spoken.  In  later  Tamil  literature 
Malabar,  Travancore  and  Cochin  are  called  Malainadu 
or  Malai-mandalam.  Hence  the  Chera  kings  were  also 
called  Puzhiyan,  Kuttuvan,  Kuda-Nadan,  Malayaraan 
and  Kolli-chilamban  (Lord  of  the  Kollimalais).  For 
sometime  the  Kongu  country  (Salem  and  Coimbatore 
districts)  was  under  them,  and  hence  the  people  of 
the  country  were  known  also  as  Kongans.  Two  Tamil 
inscriptions  in  a  Jain  temple  on  the  Tirumalai  hill 
inform  us  that  Adigaman  Ezhini  of  Tagadur  (Salem 
district)  belonged  to  the  Chera  or  Vanji  family.  Sita- 
Nadu  is  the  Nilgiris  and  it  is  needless  to  say  that  it 
was  within  the  Chera  dominion. 

The  names  of  villages  in  Malabar  and  Travan- 
core which  have  sufhxes  like,  seri,  iir,  angadi  (a 
bazar),  hodu  or  kod  (summit  of  a  hill),  kadii  or 
kad  (a  forest),  tod  or  tottam  (a  garden  or  canal),  padi, 
karai,  hirai,  knlam,  knricchi,  kalam,  vayal,  erl,  pattii, 
ktmdu,  tali,  irnppUy  &c.,  are  all  pure  Tamil  words  and 
indicate  that  they  were  originally  built  and  occupied 
by  the  Tamils.     The  names  of  Malabar  villages    like 


THE   ORIGIN   OF   MALAYALAM  345 

Mel  (west  or  upper)-muri,  A/e/-attur,  Ja^m^V-kadu,  and 
Kazhaui-'^d.vd.mb'a.  support  the  theory  that  the  ancient 
inhabitants  of  Kerala  were  Tamil  Dravidians.  Again, 
from  the  existence  of  Tamil  words  kizhakku  (east)  and 
merku  (west)  in  the  Malayalam  language,  Dr.  Cald- 
well argues  that  '  the  Malayalam  is  an  off.shoot  from 
Tamil,  and  that  the  people  by  whom  it  is  spoken 
were  originally  a  colony  of  Tamilians'.  This  argu- 
ment confirms  beyond  a  shadow  of  doubt  the  Tamil 
origin  of  the  Malayalam  people,  though  it  seems  to 
Mr.  Logan  fanciful  and  ingenious.  Prior  to  the  fifth 
or  sixth  century  A.  D.  the  Tamil  words  (^eaari^, 
(5L_i@j  (aji_<5(5  and  Q^/b(^  expressed  the  four  direc- 
tions, while  Sli^d(^  and  Qmp(^  then  meant  'down- 
ward '  and  '  upward.'  In  all  these  the  particle  ©  is  a 
dative  case  termination  meaning  '  direction.'  Later 
on  @ssari@  and  @£_i(5  became  classical  or  used 
only  in  literature,  and  their  place  was  taken  by 
Qipsi^  and  Qiop^  which  acquired  that  significance 
with  reference  to  the  position  of  the  Tamil  country 
lying  east  of  the  Western  Ghauts.  Notwithstanding 
the  strikingly  reverse  configuration  of  the  modern 
Malayalam  and  Tamil  countries,  the  Tamil  word 
@Lps(^  has  come  to  denote  the  'east '  on  both  sides  of 
the  Ghauts  and  in  both  languages.  This  is  no  doubt 
an  anomaly  and  can  be  explained  only  by  accepting 
that  the  early  inhabitants  of  the  Malayalam  country 
were  Tamil  immigrants  from  the  East  coast  districts. 
The  word  QiDp(^  has,  however,  retained  in  Mala- 
yalam   its  ancient  Tamil  meaning  '  upward  ',  and  its 


346  TAMIL   STUDIES 

modern  significance  is  expressed  by  a  Tamil  com- 
pound Liu^-i^rTuSI^  or  the  '  setting  sun.'  Doubting  the 
correctness  of  Dr.  Caldwell's  argument  Mr.  Logan 
suggests  that  the  terms  Qtpi(g  and  Qio/bcg  were  coined 
with  reference  to  the  rise  and  setting  of  the  sun. 
This  seems  to  be  very  ingenious,  because,  if  that  had 
been  the  case,  the  words  for  'east'  and  'west'  should  be 
cognates  and  found  in  all  the  Dravidian  languages; 
and  the  necessity  to  coin  a  compound  Tamil  word 
padi-jnayiru  in  Ithe  place  of  a  simple  one,  merkii,. 
should  never  have  been  felt  by  the  early  inhabitants  of 
Kerala. 

Among  the  towns  of  the  West  coast  Tondi  (modern 
Kadalundi),  Mandai,  Musiri  and  Vanji  occur 
frequently  in  early  Tamil  literature.  Tondi  was 
a  famous  sea-port  and  capital  of  a  division  of  the 
Chera  country  ruled  by  Poraiyan,  while  Vanji 
or  Karur  was  the  metropolis  of  the  other  division  ; 
Musiri  (Gr.  Mouziris)  was  a  famous  emporium  of  the 
West  and  centre  of  the  pepper  trade  in  India.  The 
following  quotations  from  ancient  Tamil  literature 
will  be  found  interesting  -. — 

(1)  Qs^iiiQsrr/b,  (^LLQeuanQ^'emL^. — Ain,  178. 

(2)  s<s\)ih^i^  QufT puiBs^iiy  SL^^Q^rrsBsfl  luit pS'SSi(TQsrri(^lB^ 
in'^eo^^rTJQpik}  su.pQTfnQp(s^  ^^suiJOuuJ^  (SUQ^iBjb^uLjib 
Hi5Si6\)iS)seir      eSesiQuir&diB^nir      (^LL®<sijeor  ^      (TpLp'a(gSL—esr 
QPlfisS&sr  Qpsr^. — Pur.  343. 

(3)  ^uj i)(S pas  (^iLQisum-  euQ^L^ssreO  eunuiSeoein^Q. — Pat.  3. 

The  above  are  cities  of  commercial  and  political 


THE   ORIGIN   OF   MALAYALAM  347 

importance.  Tamil  religious  literature  is  replete  with 
descriptions  of  Hindu  shrines  visited  by  the  Saints, 
who  composed  on  the  spot  hymns  about  them. 
Among  the  towns  of  religious  celebrity  come  first 
Gokarnara  and  Tirucchengunrur  (near  Quilon). 
These  are  seats  of  famous  Siva  shrines  which  were 
visited  by  the  Tamil  saints  Appar  and  Sambandar  in 
the  seventh  century.  Tiruvanjaikulara  seems  to  be  a 
later  one,  because  only  one  saint,  Sundarar,  a  con- 
temporary of  the  Chera  king  Cheraman  Perumal 
sang  of  it.  Among  the  Vaishnava  shrines  of  the 
Tamil-Malayaiam  country  Tirumuzhikalam,  Tiru- 
navoy,  and  Tiruvallavazh,  were  visited  by  Tirumangai 
Alvar  about  A.D.  750  ;  Nammalvar  (A.D.  920)  men- 
tions in  addition  to  these  Trivandram,  Tiruvan- 
parisaram,  Tirukatkarai,  Tirupuliyur,  Tiruchengunrur, 
Tiruvanvandur,  Tiruvattaru,  Tirukkadittanam  and 
Tiruvaranvilai.  Kulasekhara  Perumal  has  sung  only 
Vittuvakkod.  The  Vishnu  shrine  at  Tiruchengunrur 
could  have  come  into  existence  only  after  the  time 
of  Tirumangai  Alvar,  that  is  after  A.  D.  750. 

This  last  town  which  was  built  on  the  Chittar 
river  was  an  important  Brahman  settlement  in  the 
days  of  Nammalvar  (A-  D-  920)  wherein,  as  described 
by  him,  3,000  Brahmans  lived. — ^miri^  9iT  QfisunaSiTeuiT 
Q&j^lLutTiseiT  ;Sihu^  (VIII,  iv.  10.)  We  have  therefore 
every  reason  to  believe  that  the  Nambudri  i  (or  Na- 
mbi-sri,  Nambi-tiru  or  Nambi,  Tamil  ulclSI  meaning  'a 

1.  Compare     ^LJoi^rrireisr     which   has   become   in   Malayalam 
^thi^iriTeiir  and  ^tJounmLi^. 


MS  TAMIL   STUDIES 

noble  man')  Brahmans  settled  in  Malabar  and  Tra- 
vancore  between  the  sixth  and  eighth  centuries  of  the 
Christian  era.  According  to  Keralolpatti,  a  mythologi- 
cal account  of  the  Malayalam  country  composed  pro- 
bably by  a  Nambudri  Brahman  during  the  eighteenth 
century,  Brahmans  were  brought  down  by  Parasu- 
rama  from  the  Punjab  and  made  to  settle  first  at 
Gokarnam  in  South  Kanara,  where  they  were  made 
to  shave  their  hind  lock  and  to  grow  it  on  the  front, 
perhaps  as  it  is  said,  to  prevent  their  going  back  to 
their  origmal  home.  But  we  learn  from  other  sources 
that  this  king  was  Mayurasarma — the  founder  of  the 
Kadamba  family  and  not  Parasurama. 

The  date  of  Mayuravarma  is  about  the  early  part 
of  the  sixth  century.  The  Namburi  Brahmans  must, 
therefore,  have  settled  in  and  around  Gokarnam, 
during  this  period  and  their  migration  to  the  south 
from  this  centre  must  have  taken  place  during  the 
sixth  and  seventh  centuries.  The  example  of  Mayu- 
ravarma was  followed  by  the  Chola  and  Pandya  kings 
of  the  time,  who  invited  small  colonies  of  Brahmans 
now  known  as  the  Soliya  Brahmans. 

But  this  does  not  mean  that  there  were  abso- 
lutely no  Brahmans  in  the  Tamil  country  before  the 
sixth  century. 

The  country  was  deeply  plunged  in  Buddhism 
and  Jainism.  The  non-Brahman  Saivas  and  Vaish- 
navas,  of  course  instigated  by  the  few  Brahmans,^ 
were  contending  against  these  religionists.  There 
were     not     many    Brahman    religious    institutions  ; 


THE   ORIGIN    OF    MALAYALAM  349 

nor  were  there  many  powerful  inducements  for 
Brahmans  to  migrate  to  the  south.  Politically  the 
Tamil  countries  were  in  a  state  of  turmoil.  The 
Kalabhras,  the  Kadambas,  the  Pallavas,  the  Chalu- 
kyas,  the  Cholas,  the  Pandyas  and  the  Cheras  were 
fighting  with  one  another.  Religion  suffered  from 
the  ills  of  political  unrest.  There  was  no  definite 
state  religion  ;  each  king  professed  the  religion  which 
suited  liis  whims  and  caprices.  Better  days  dawned 
during  the  seventh  century  when  Brahmanism,  i^e., 
the  cult  of  Siva  and  Vishnu,  came  out  triumphant  in 
the  religious  struggle.  The  Tamil  countries  became 
more  or  less  quiet.  And  the  very  Brahmans  who 
had  served  as  messengers  and  domestic  servants 
under  the  wealthy  Dravidians,  as  now,  became  priests 
and  'purohits  to  the  Tamil  kings,  thus  securing  for 
themselves  a  wider  influence  in  the  countrj'.  All 
these  led  to  the  construction  of  a  large  number  of 
temples  to  Siva  and  Vishnu,  and  to  the  invitation  of 
more  Brahmans  from  the  Aryavarta  during  the 
seventh  and  the  early  part  of  the  eighth  century  A.  D. 
for  purposes  of  worship  in  temples  and  to  serve  as 
purohits  to   Dravidians. 

These  Brahmans  have  since  been  known  honori- 
fically  as  '  Nambis '  in  all  the  three  Tamil  coun- 
tries— Chera,  Chola  and  Pandya — in  contradistinc- 
tion to  later  Brahman  immigrants  usually  styled  as 
'Bhatta.'  The  former  wear  the  tuft  of  hair  in  front, 
while  the  latter  keep  it  at  the  back  of  their  head. 
They  are  called  the  Purva-sikhai  or    Puraschudakula 


350  TAMIL   STUDIES 

Brahmans.     All  the  Brahman  saints — Vaishnava  and 

Saiva — and    some  of    the  Brahman  ministers  under 

the    ancient    Tamil    kings  belonged    to  this  Purva- 

sikhai   or   the  '  front-locked'   Brahmans.     The   early 

Tamils  were  indebted    to   them  for  their  civiHsation, 

which    developed    steadily    under    the    influence    of 

the    later    Brahman    immigrants   from    the    north. 

These  later    immigrants   who    were  specially  invited 

by    Tamil    kings    from   the    middle    of     the    eighth 

century   downwards,    kept    themselves    distinct  as  a 

class  and  formed  no  social  alliance  with    the    Dravi- 

dians.  They,  therefore,  came  to  be  considered  superior 

to  the  Nambis,  Narabudris  i  or  the  Soliya  Brahmans. 

Most   of  the   land  grants  to    the    Bhatta  or   the  later 

colony  of  Brahmans  belong  to  this  period.     The  early 

or    Narabi    Brahmans     seem     to    have  entered    the 

Tamil-Malayalam     districts     from     the      north-west, 

while  the   Bhatta  or   later    Brahmans  appear  to  have 

taken  the  southern  route  through  the  Telugu  country 

When   the  Nambudri    Brahmans  settled   in  Kerala 

the  country  was  not  unmhabited.     All  the  lands  were 

not  wholly  theirs,  nor  were  they  the  solejeiimis  ;  and 

we  see  no  special  reason  why  it   should  be  so  only  in 

Kerala  when  such  has  not  been  the  case  in  the  Tamil 

or  Telugu    country.     From   the     Paditruppattu.   we 

learn    that    the  Chera  kings   lavished    presents  upon 

Tamil  poets  and  Brahmans  of  Malabar  and    Travan- 

1.  It  is  said  that  the  Cherumars  called  the  Narabudris  as 
♦  Chovvar'  which  may  be  a  corruption  of  Sabhaiyar  or  Savaiyar  a 
name  usually  applied  to  the  ordinary  or  plebeian  Brahmans  of  the 
Tamil  districts. 


THE    ORIGIN   OF   MALAYALAM  351 

core.  Imayavarman  is  said  to  have  given  500 
villages  in  the  district  of  Umbarkadu  to  the  Brahman 
poet  Kannanar  ;  Senguttuvan  the  revenues  of  Umbar- 
kadu to  Paranar  ;  Selvakkadunko  all  the  country 
within  his  view  from  the  top  of  the  hill  Nanra  to  poet 
Kapilar  ;  vi^hile  another  king  gave  a  portion  of  his 
country  to  Kappiyanar.  How  could  then  such 
enormous  land  grants  be  made,  had  the  country  been 
the  exclusive  property  of  the  Nambudri  Brahmans  ? 
Moreover,  all  these  had  occurred  before  the  Nambis 
or  Nambudris  settled  in  Malabar  and  Travancore. 
The  fact  seems  to  be  that  the  whole  Kerala  country 
belonged  to  its  kings,  and  they  had  a  right  to  dispose 
of  it  as  they  pleased.  And  out  of  reverence  to 
learned  Brahmans,  whom^  they  brought  from  Upper 
India  from  time  to  time,  lands  were  granted  free  ot 
tax  as  Brahmadayam  for  their  maintenance. 

But  the  total  neglect  of  the  native  Tamil  litera- 
ture by  the  Dravidian  inhabitants  of  Kerala,  their 
general  ignorance  and  their  respect  for  Nambudri 
Brahmans  gave  the  latter  an  undue  advantage  which 
in  course  of  time  showed  itself  in  the  Nambudri's 
exclusive  ownership  to  all  the  Kerala  country. 
And  to  support  ihe  theory  of  their  ownership,  the 
Nambudris  even  fabricated  false  traditions. 

The  Chera,  like  the  Chola  and  Pandya  countries, 
was  inhabited  by  all  the  early  Tamil  tribes  and 
castes.  The  identity  of  some  of  these  minor 
Malabar  castes  with  those  that  occur  in  the 
inscriptions    of   Rajaraja  Chola    (A.  D.    985 — 1013) 


352  TAMIL   STUDIES 

has  been  noticed  before,  Of  the  remaining  castes 
of  Kerala,  the  numerically  most  important  are 
the  Nayars,  the  Tiyans,  the  Iluvans  and  the  Cheru- 
mans,  none  of  which  are  now  to  be  found  in  the  east, 
though  the  names  of  villages  like  Vellancheri,  Ida- 
cheri,  Ayancheri,  Valayanad,  Parayancheri  and  Palli- 
puram  in  the  Kunimbranad,  Vailuvanad,  Ponnani 
and  other  taluks  of  the  Malabar  district  clearly  prove 
that  Kerala  was  once  inhabited  solely  by  the  Tamils. 
Then,  how  did  these  castes  come  into  existence  and 
how  are  they  ethnically  related  to  the  corresponding 
castes  of  the  Tamil  districts  ? 

About  a  thousand  or  more  years  ago  ail  the  modern 
Tamil  castes  were  not  in  existence;  the  Tamil  people 
were  divided  into  tribes  according  to  the  nature  of  the 
soil  in  which  they  lived  and  the  conventional  tribal 
names  like  the  Vellalas,  Maravas,  Idaiyans,  Mallars, 
Pallars,  and  Kuravas  survive  to  this  day  in  the  Tamil 
districts. 

The  word  Nayar,  like  Vellala  which  includes  a 
large  number  of  cultivating  castes,  is  a  vague  name, 
The  present  Nayar  caste  has  grown  by  the  gradual 
accretion  to  it  of  Chakkan  (oil-presser),  Vaniyan 
(trader  or  oil-monger),  Eruman  or  Kol-ayan  (Tamil 
shepherd),  Kanisan  and  Panikkan  (sub-division  of  the 
Tamil  Iluvans),  of  Pallichan  and  Urali  (Tamil 
Pallis),  and  lastly  of  the  Vellala  castes.  Among 
the  important  sub-divisions  of  Nayars,  'Sudran'  has  no 
meaning  ;  Agattucharna  and  Purattucharna  are  only 
later  innovations  introduced  after    Hyder's  invasion. 


THE   ORIGIN   OF   MALAYALAM  353 

Attikkuricchi  i  and  Vattakadan  are  only  territorial 
names,  Kiriyattils  alone  seem  to  be  the  descendants 
of  the  pure  Velirs  or  Vellaias  2  of  the  West  Coast. 
As  late  as  A.  D.  1320  we  find  the  Vellaias  as  the 
cultivating  caste  of  Malabar.  Thus,  none  of  the  an- 
cient Nayars  are  of  Telugu  extraction  as  believed  by 
some  scholars. 

The  armies  of  the  Chera  kings  were  recruited  from 
the  people  of  the  Kongu  country  who  were  a  race  of 
fine  stalwart  warriors: — (1)  ir-irmusaL^^QsmEisfTQ^rrQeu  ; 
(2)  Q&i^n^p(^  ^a'^LpiTisffl  (^nuSjb^'<f  QfirL^mtoae^&sT p 
ea)LD,i^si!r  Qsitesit  Qs^isJS'SfnhQaiiLL(Sd  siaaasuQuir  uufrn^s 
seem  QuitSlu  Qs'iEi(^LL®isuesr. — Si  I.  xxix.  1-3. 

And  this  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  some  of  the 
feudal  chieftains  of  Malabar  and  Travancore,  like  the 
Zamorin  of  Calicut,  belonged  to  the  Pogondan  sub- 
division 01  the  Coimbatore  Idaiyans.  'Kunnala-kon', 
one  of  the  titles  of  the  Zamorin,  is  a  pure  Tamil  ex- 
pression {kuriinila-kon)  meaning  '  chief  cr  king  of  a 
small  country,'  and  *  Konatiri  '  or  Konan-tiru,  or 
konan  is  a  title  of  the  Idaiyans  of  Coimbatore,  Madura 
and  Tinnevelly  districts.  In  Malabar,  Idaiyans  are 
called  Kol-Ayan3  and  Eruman  (bu£falo-men)  ;  and 
these  are  among  the  sub-castes  of  Nayars.  The  name 

1.  We  are  not  convinced  of  the  correctness  of  the  etymology  of 
'  Attikurichi'  from  Sanskrit  Asti  bone,  and  Tamil  kura  to  cut. 

2.  The  Cherumars  or  the  natives  of  the  soil  address  the  Nayars 
as  Ilankoil,  which  is  precisely  the  same  title  as  '  Ilankokkal  '  given 
to  the  ancient  Vellaias  of  the  Tamil  districts. 

3.  Kol  is  a  contraction  uf  'GoUa'  which  is  the  name  of  the 
Telugu  shepherd  caste,  while  'ayan'  is  that  of  Tamil  Idaiyans. 

23 


354  TAMIL   STUDIES 

£niwm;i  appears  in  the  Tanj  ore  inscriptions  of  the  e 
venth  century.  It  is  not  surprising  that  the  Tan 
Idaiyars  are  treated  as  a  sub-caste  of  Nayars,  when  w 
find  some  of  them  elevated  even  to  the  rank  of  Ksha- 
triya  Samantas.  The  Siviyar  (palankeen  bearers)  and 
the  Agattu-Charna  sub-divisions  of  the  Tamil  Idaiyani 
caste  are  note- worthy,  as  affording  a  connecting  Hnk 
between  Ihem  and  the  Samantas  and  Nayars  of  Mala- 
bar. The  words  (^^-^f  and  ©i—To/  and  Sli—rriis&r,  which  in 
the  Tamil  districts  signify  the  'young  ones  of  cattle', 
denote  in  Malabar  'children.'  This  shows  that  the 
Idaiyars  held  a  dominant  place  in  the  constitution  of 
the  Nayar  and  the  Samanta  castes,  Idaiyans,  especi- 
ally of  the  Kongu  country,  had  their  own  chieftams 
and  they  were  good  cavalry  men.  They  contributed 
soldiers  and  commanders  to  the  Chera  army  after  the 
conquest  of  the  Kongu  country  by  the  Chera  kings 
about  the  first  or  second  century. 

an&i)<su&>  L\iT(sS  ojeemi—QirnLLis^. — Pad'  88. 
(Defeated  the  Idaiya  chieftains  who  opposed  him 
and  routed  the  Idaiyans  of  the  swift-footed  cavalry.) 
The  word  Cheruman  or  Chituvan  means  a  small 
man,  and  the  Cherumans  were  really  so  in  compari- 
son with  the  robust  Kongu  Idaiyans  and  Vellalas 
who  constituted  the  Nayar  or  the  Nayakar  caste.  In 
a  Malayalam  deed  of  1523  A.D.  the  name  of  this  caste 
appears  as  Valli-Alar  or  Valli-Sattanmar,   but    not  as 

1.  It  will  be  curious  to  observe  that  in  one  sub-caste  of  Idaiyans 
in  the  Madura  district,  called  the  Pendukku -mekki,  the  Marumak- 
kattayara  law  of  inheritance  is  followed. 


THE   ORIGlisi   OF   MALAYALAM  355 

nerumars.   '  Valli '  seems  to  be  a  mistake  iui  'Villi', 
■'^ome  interesting  sub-divisions  of  this  agrestic    tribe, 
ike       Eralan      (ploughmen),      Idangai     (left-hand), 
Kaladi  (irrigators),  Pallan,  Paraiyan,  Rolan  (Irulan  or 
Villi),  VaJluvan  and  Vettuvan   are  found  among    the 
Tamil   Pallans    also.     Moreover,  the    customs    and 
manners  of  these  tribes  both  in  Malabar  and  the  Tamil 
districts,  including    their  laws  of  inheritance,    agree 
so  completely  that    one    might    conclude    that    the 
Cherumas  and  Pallans  belonged  to  one  and  the  same 
tribe  of    Naga-Dravidian  field  labourers  and  soldiers. 
As  for  the  Tiyans  and    lluvans    of   Kerala,  the  latter 
of    whom  are  found  in  the  Tamil    districts    as  well, 
we  feel  some  difficulty.     Whether  they  are  strangers 
or  autochthones  to    Southern  India  it  is  not  possible 
to  discuss  here.     That  the  great    numerical    strength 
of  the  Tiyans  of  Malabar  as  well  as  their  homogene- 
ous   nature    seem     strictly    to    point    to   the    latter. 
Further,  the  oxogamous  groups  of  the  North  Malabar 
Tiyans   and  the    Izhavans  of  Madura  and  Tinnevelly 
are  called  illams,  and  one  of   the  former  goes   by  the 
name  of  Pazhayar  which  is  a    Tamil    word  meaning 
*  toddy  drawers  '.     A    note    on  Tiyan    has,  however, 
been  appended  to  this  volume  and  it  will    give    some 
interesting  facts  concerning  this  question.     We  need 
not  go  further  into  this    problem  of    ethnical   affinity 
between  the  peoples  of  Kerala  and    the  two  other  an- 
cient Tamil  provinces.     None   of  the  early    Malabar 
castes    had      any    connection      whatever     with    the 
Telugus,  as  is  believed  in  some  quarters. 


3^6  TAMIL   STUDIES 

H  cii  all  (here  is  any  Indian  province  in  which  \itt\e 
or  no  real  archaeological  work  is  done,  it  is  Kerala^ 
Besides  the  publication  of  a  few  copper-plate  grants 
and  some  stone  inscriptions  at  irregular  and  long 
intervals  of  time  by  Burnell,  Gundert,  P.  Sundram 
pillai  and  others,  no  systematic  explorations  have  yet 
been  made  and  no  regular  epigraphicali  researches 
undertaken.  With  the  very  few  materials  at  our 
disposal  we  shall  attempt  to  trace  the  growth  of  the 
Malayalam  language. 

Some  scholars  seem  to  think  that  the  copper  plate 
grants   from    Malabar    should   not    be    utilised    for 
tracing    the   growth     of    the    Malayalam     language, 
as     the      grants     are    in     Tamil    and      the    donors 
were    Perumals   or    kings      of     foreign     extraction, 
invited    by    the   .-iumbudri   Brahmans    to  rule    the 
Kerala  country      They  are  also  of     opinion    that  the 
colloquial    Malayalam    was    quite    distinct    from  the 
language  of  inscriptions  and   that  *  the  early  poets  of 
(Malabar)  were  no  doubt  much  affected  by  influence 
of  the  early    Tamil   poets,    who  formed    a    literary 
school     and    developed    a    court      language'.     The 
difference      between     the    literary    Tamil    and      the 
colloquial    Tamil— a  difference  due  certainly   to  the 
antiquity  of  its  literature  and  the  settled    form  of    the 
language— cannot  be  a  reason  for  the  disparity  between 
the  colloquial  language  and  the    language    of    public 
documents.      For,    while    literature,    chiefly  classical 

1.  In    Travancore  the   archreological   Department    seems   to   be. 
doing  useful  work  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Gopinatha  Rau,  M.  A. 


THE   ORIGIN    OF    MALAYALAM  357 

literature,  is  intended  only  for  the  educated  few, 
copper-plate  grants,  stone  inscriptions  and  similar 
public  records  are  meant  for  all  classes.  A  com- 
parison of  the  inscriptions  of  Rajah  Raja  Chola 
(A.  D.  985-1013)  with  the  literature  of  that  period 
would  illustrate  the  above  principle.  The  Kerala 
inscriptions  cannot  be  an  exception  to  this  plain 
philological  truth.  Moreover,  how  are  we  authorized, 
in  the  absence  of  any  work  written  in  the  colinquial 
Malayalam  of  that  period,  to  say  that  the  colloquial 
Malayalam  was  quite  distinct  from  the  language 
of  inscriptions  ?  Do  the  Malayalis  really  possess 
any  literature  anterior  to  the  tenth  century 
A.  D.  written  in  the  so-called  Malayalam  language  ? 
If  at  all  there  be  any  record  written  in  colloquial 
Malayalam  it  must  be  the  inscriptions. 

As  for  the  Perumals  being  foreigners  to  Kerala,  we 
might  say  that,  till  about  the  ninth  century  A.  D., 
some  at  least  of  the  Kerala  kings  were  foreigners, 
because  they  inherited  the  Kerala  throne  by  right  of 
succession  in  accordance  with  the  Marumakkatayam 
law,  but  they  were  never  mvited  by  the  Nambudri 
Brahmans  as  these  would  have  us  believe,  in  order  to 
enhance  their  importance  and  establish  their  authority 
in  the  Kerala  country.  On  the  contrary,  many  Chola 
and  Pandya  kings  married  Kerala  princesses  and  their 
sons  became  lawful  heirs  to  the  Kerala  kingdom  : — 

(1)    QisQ^emQ'SareSlajii^QjpQsTnF^ihetS)^ 

to  eisT pLD3>iir  Qunseipojasr  Qu^iQ^uS'esr/DiDsesr 
Qfs\)Qjas(SiiB(DaiTiduiTL^!ijrT^ek. — Pad.  70, 


358  TAMIL    STUDIES 

(2)   (^L^QjirQaTLDT  Qis5r(S(ir)  Qs^sr&ta^ p(^^ 

(3)  The  Chola  king  Parantaka  I  (A.  D.  907-946) 
married  a  Kerala  princess. 

(4)  Kulasekhara  Pandya  took  with  him  ...  all  the 
forces  of  the  two  Kongu  countries  that  belonged  to 
his  mother's  two  brothers. — Mahawanso,  239. 

Matrimonial  alliances  among  the  three  Tamil 
dynasties  seem  to  have  continued  until  about  the 
down-fall  and  extinction  of  the  ancient  Pandya  and 
Chola  houses  between  the  11th  and  13th  centuries, 
when  the  influence  of  the  Nambudri  Brahmans 
began  to  extend  even  into  the  Kerala  royal  house- 
holds. The  latest  alliance  of  this  kind  was  between 
Ravivarma  alias  Kulasekhara  and  a  Pandya  princess 
in  A.D.  1299.  This  Kerala  king  defeated  Vira  Pandya 
and  was  crowned  on  the  banks  of  the  Vaiga.  He 
ruled  over  Kerala,  Pandya  and  Chola  countries  till 
about  1316.  Probably  this  was  the  period  when 
the  communication  between  Kerala  and  the  other  two 
Tamil  countries  began  to  decline  ;  and  this  was  the 
period  when  the  Nambudri  Brahmans  laid  the  foun- 
dation stone  for  the  ill-planned  tottering  edifice  of 
the  Malayalam  tongue,  by  their  closer  touch  with  the 
Nayar  and  other  high  caste  Dravidian  families. 

The  statement  that  the  early  Malayalam  poets  were 
affected  by  the  early  Tamil  poets  seems  rather  surpri- 
sing, the  term  'early'  not  referring  to  the  same  age,  as 
both  are  of  unequal  antiquity.   Malayalam  had  scarce- 


THE   ORIGIN    OF    MALAYALAM  359 

ly  any  literature  worth  the  name  before  the  middle 
of  the  thirteenth  century,  whereas  Tamil  literature 
dates  from  the  opening  years  of  the  Christian  era. 
Tamil  has  a  grammar  written  three  centuries  before 
Christ,  whereas  Malayalam  had  none  till  so  late  as 
A.  D.  1860.  Tamil,  at  least  the  literary  phase  of  it, 
had  been  well  defined  and  formed  two  millenniems 
ago,  while  Malayalam  is  even  to-day  in  a  state  of  for- 
mation. It  is  inconceivable,  therefore,  how  the  early 
Malayalam  literature  could  have  been  influenced  by 
the  early  Tamil  poets,  particularly  when  we  remem- 
ber that  all  social  intercourse  between  Kerala  and  the 
Tamil  country  had  ceased  at  least  one  century  before 
the  birth  of  the  Malayalam  literature,  unless  it  be 
that  early  Tamil  literature  was  the  literature  of  the 
early  people  of  Kerala  also'. 

The  statements  of  Dr.  Caldwell  that  the  separation 
of  Malayalam  *  from  Tamil  evidently  took  place  at  a 
very  early  period,  before  the  Tamil  was  cultivated 
and  refined',  and  that  Tamil  'bids  fare  to  supersede  the 
Malayalam'  are  thus  opinions  which  need  stronger 
evidence  before  they  could  be  accepted. 

Returning  now  from  our  digression  to  the  copper- 
plate grants  of  Malabar,  we  find  in  the  Mamballi  in- 
scriptions of  Sri  Vallavan  Kodai  (A.  D.  973)  the  lan- 
guage used  is  pure  colloquial  Tamil  interspersed  with 
a  few  Malabaricms  like  esarsrr  for  ^&r<sfr,  s^fsitsiirek  for 
s'lsisiTssr,  sji-LD  for  ^i—ld  &c.  Verbs  are  inflected  as  in 
^iLL^sQsiTiS^^iTesr  1  ;  and  the  datives  of  =gy(3o^  and 
1.  The  word  jfjLLi^  in  the  expressions  ^LLi^dQsfT(S^^e\)  and 


360  TAMIL   STUDIES 

jt/sum  as  =gy(i^^OT2;i@  and  ^sums(^  but  not  as  ^Qp^im^ 
and  j)j<sijm^  as  now.  And  in  the  Kottayam  plates  of 
Vira  Raghava  Chakravarti  (A.  D.  1320)  the  language 
is  also  Tamil  freely  intermixed  with  Malabar  idioms 
like  eurr^eo  for  eijrruS6\)^  uisL(^(^rT^  for  ut^(^rruS gii ,  spsirsfr 
and  e^smL^iTuiSleo  for  p-en-'Sir    and  ^owl-ZtSsu,  ^(i^iiidn^sfr    for 

^(75«^0(3»r,  <srQ^iBis&!Bifl  for  sjQp.i^Q^&fl  &c.  ;  and  verbs 
were  still  inflected.  We  find  also  caste  names  like 
Qsv<sir'SfnTsfnT,  ff-Lpsuir,  gis^a^rt  and  '^'uh.  All  these  will  be 
made  more  clear  in  the  following  section  which 
deals  with  the  linguistic  evidence  of  the  growth 
of  the  Malayalam  language. 

To  illustrate  the  development  of  the  Malayalam 
language  and  the  peculiarities  of  each  period  of  its 
growth,  typical  selections  are  given  below  from  Panik- 
kar's  Ramayanam,  Krishna-gatha,  Adhyatma  Ramaya- 
nam  and  Nala  Charitam,  each  of  which  may  be  taken 
as  representing  a  particular  period  in  the  growth  of 
the  Malayalam  language  together  with  short  expla- 
natory and  philological  comments: — 

(1)   G)siT6aaru.&Si(cidrfl(7Fi6m(S  ^fQ^em®    luefsoiQi^rrefft'SuniTii^ 
^likiiBjLD,  (^i^etruiTrrQiDn®  QpS)6\>(^s\)^,s)i—  iAliBiss\)(currQs\)^  Ljsm 

^iLi^uQugti  's  "ot  correctly  understood  in  Malabar.  The  Mala- 
bar Gazetteer  explains  jijLLts^uQugii  (attiperu)  as  '  a  parcel  of 
rights'.  Prof.  Wilson  thinks  that  atti  is  the  less  accurate  reading 
of  otti  (s?^^)  a  mortgage.  I  think  both  are  incorrect.  Atti  is  a 
pure  Tamil  word  meaning  '  poured'  and  it  corresponds  to  the  Skt. 
Udagapurvam.  Attiknduttal  is  to  give  by  pouring  water  and  atti 
pent  is  the  acceptance  of  a  gift  made  as  above.  During  the  17th 
century  its  exact  meaning  was,  however,  forgotten  and  the  redun- 
dant expressions  like  iQ a iT(B3f^is/.  ^iLu^uQugjiuD  ii(iT)ih  Qsir®^ 
^ftasT  came  into  use. 


THE   ORIGIN   OF   MALAYALAM  361 

■fiTiT^^  SibQi5it0  Qisj^^-f  Q<fii&ieSliBfrm 
lieossiTiT  QeusasftLDiT  QrreoeotrCSirrrQui. 
euiTUJLJurriTih^  Sk^siiiar  siriruuirewth  QsiTeasi®m  str 
a^n  uuiretvih  QiniSiiS&)  Q^it^Q^uQuitq^ld. 
(3)    ^(nj>uSlauD  sl3  s^rriLDtrir  QurrssmiD 
e^Qnit^&UL^  fsiTiLisiB  LDrrQiriTQu). 

airQsi^  QfiQ'SuS^  sesarQ  sSero  ldujiJdlissb' l^h sir . 

(g)^!i  iTiT^QfBuQurTQe\}  u ^ p<omea a ^Q ^a L- ^ 

QufT^^QuDiri  iS&isSi  £iSQu.<sa6saiLDrT(Sfr 

^IT^^  iBi—S(^tJD  euesaru^is  s^nir ^^ld  (^uSeo  (geOenLn 

^QaiistTe^ii)  asi^uurrSS  ^UfTiwQTjQLDrt  (cS(em(ct3ir. 
The  first  quotation  is  from  the  Rjimayana  of  Kan- 
nassa  Panikkar  (A.  D.  1350).  It  does  not  appear 
that  there  was  any  real  literature  in  Malayalam  before 
this  period.  The  language  of  this  work  is  wholly 
Tamil,  with  of  course  Malayali  pecuHarities.  In  this 
extract  (^i^sfrumriM  and  qsmi—i^Qs'Si^emeisr  are  the  onlv 
two  Sanskrit  compounds,  and  the  rest  are  all  Tamil 
words.  The  grammatical  terminations  ^ebr^  s?®,  ^^^, 
^eiT  and  the  tense  particles  are  all  Tamil.  And  the 
only  Malayalam  usages  are  euiriri^  for  eunirih^,  @i_  for 
@6a5i_,    QuaQeo  for    Qune\)   and  ^ifiQs  for  j)j((f,Qs  ;  and 


362  TAMIL   STUDIES 

^lEits^uD  (dense,  thick)  is  only  a  vulgar  form  of  Tarn.  ^^}t 
ii^.  Most  of  the  Tamil  words  used  in  this  extract, 
which  are  still  current  in  Tamil,  have  become  obsolete 
in  Malayalam  giving  way  to  words  of  Sanskrit  origin. 
Here  the  verbs  are  always  inflected  and  the  practice 
of  dropping  the  personal  endings  has  not  yet  come 
into  existence.  It  is  a  translation  of  a  Sanskrit  work 
and  Sanskrit  words  and  expressions  are  freely  used  to 
the  extent  of  about  50  per  cent,  though  the  grammar 
is  throughout  Tamil.  On  account  of  these  peculiar- 
ities which  bring  it  closer  to  Tamil,  the  author  has 
been  styled  by  Malayalam  scholars  rightly,  perhaps 
wrongly,  the  Chaucer  of  Malayalam  literature. 

The  second  extract  is  from  the  Krishnappattu  of 
Cherusseri  Namburi  (A.  D.  1550).  The  author  uses 
only  one  Sanskrit  word  [Qeues!^)  in  the  first  quotation, 
which  is  written  in  pure  colloquial  Tamil.  The  only 
Malayalam  peculiarities  are  ^mQm-  for  ^sarSisw,  ^iiisj 
for  jijiki(^  and  Qs^nios^i^'sir  for  Qs=!t^(SS)&t.  A  Tamilian 
may  not  use  <=gyt£^  and  Qs^uaQto  in  poetry,  because 
they  are  colloquial  and  considered  slang  in  Tamil. 
In  the  second  passage,  the  writer  uses  two  Sanskrit 
words  s!TiTuurTerui}){cotton)  and  s^iruuirewi  (coat),  which 
no  Tamil  writer  will  ordinarily  use.  The  rest  are 
Tamil  words,  some  being  slightly  modified.  sruQuiTQffih 
is  sTuQuTQfi^ixi,  ^iri^  is  ^iri^.  Though  the 
author  w^as  a  Brahman  Sanskrit  scholar  he  has  not 
used  so  many  Sanskrit  words  as  Kannassa  Panikkar, 
because  the  work  was  primarily  intended  for  females 
and    ordinary  readers.     The    Krishnagatha  is  written 


THE   ORIGIN   OF   MALAYALAM  363 

in  the  colloquial  Tamil  or  a  Tamil  dialect  of  the 
Kerala  country  known  as  Malayalam.  In  this  work 
verbs  are  mostly  inflected,  while  neuter  verbs  have 
invariably  dropped  their  inflexional  terminations. 
The  clipping  of  personal  endings  in  verbs  must  have 
already  commenced  during  the  early  part  of  the  16th 
century.  And  the  forms  of  T  amil  words  used  here 
are  mostly  those  that  we  find  in  the  vulgar  conversa- 
tion of  the  uneducated  Tamilians.  Q.fuS.fSf-  for 
Qs'iLsSl^^,  us^Qs^iTi—Lb  for  u-femfuut—LDy  Qeii^ii&n<5w  for 
Qsu^jiGiLDsirp  &c.  He  has  largely  used  colloquial 
Tamil  words  like  =sv@<9r«,  lds^s!',  LnnLg.,  Q^&snsmeo, 
Qssua;L,  ^^oblh,  &c.  which  have  become  obsolete  in 
modern  Malayalam.  The  dative  case  in  sototj;  or  is^ 
has  also  come  into  usage  along  with  other  Tamil 
grammatical  forms.  The  author  is  now  gratefully 
remembered  by  all  the  non-Brahman  classes  of 
Kerala  as  the  pioneer  of  liberal  education  ;  he  was 
the  first  Brahman  who  wrote  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Sudra  castes  in  their  own  tongue,  the  Malayalam, 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  Nambudris  despised 
their  dialect  ;  and  he  is  justly  called  the  '  Morning 
Star'  of  modern  Malayalam  literature. 

The  next  author  we  have  to  consider  is  Tunjat 
Ezhuttachchan  who  flourished  about  A.  D.  1650.  All 
"his  works  are  translations  from  Sanskrit,  and  he  has 
freely  used  Sanskrit  words  and  expressions,  more 
abundantly  than  any  other  writer  who  preceded  him» 
He  was  the  first  to  use  the  Sanskrit  case  endings  as 
in  orodisi,   sthalopante,  and   adverbs    like    ittham,  Hi, 


364  TAMIL   STUDIKS 

pii7-a  &c.;  relative  pronouns  like  tat,  mat,  tava,  &c.  He 
has  even  added  Sanskrit  case  terminations  to  Tamil 
nouns  as  in  ■^Qir,  <^&i£Ql^  ;  and  locatives  in  ii^eo  (cor- 
rectly, (H(5  +  ^eo  =  in  the  place)  make  their 
first  appearance.  Awkward  combinations  of  Sans- 
krit and  Tamil  words  like  &^^siiiJdl^^  amTQeusmeisslil, 
Qj<T^Q6ij6wQs'iLi±ii^  &c.,  and  the  arbitrary  construction 
of  Tamil  words  so  as  to  obscure  their  derivations  as 
in  ^(giasjsjr,  sTQ^iQiBsirsffl ,  s_^ujt®«,  erQpi^jbgti,  &c.,  were 
introduced  by  this  writer.  He  followed  no  rules  of 
grammar  or  vocabulary,  because  there  was  no 
grammar  neither  before  nor  after  him  in  the  Mala- 
yalam  language.  It  is  in  his  works  that  we  find 
uninflected  verbs  largely  used,  though  occa- 
sionally appear  verbs  with  personal  endings.  It 
would  be  difBcult  for  any  one  to  read  his  works  with- 
out a  good  knowledge  of  Sanskrit.  To  him  the  study 
of  Malayalam  meant  the  study  of  Sanskrit.  We  might 
boldly  say  that  Ezhuttachchan  was  the  first  Malayalam 
writer  who  gave  a  death  blow  to  Tamil  his  mother, 
tongue.  For  this  act  of  vandalism  he  is  admired 
by  the  people  of  Malabar  as  the  '  Father  ol  the 
Malayalam  classical  literature.' 

The  latest  writer  we  have  to  deal  with  is  Unnayj 
Variyar  who  lived  about  A.D.  1750.  His  Nalacharitam 
is  an  admirable  production.  Though  he  was  a  good 
Sanskrit  scholar  like  Ezhuttachchan, he  has  not  spoilt 
his  work  by  introducing  into  it  too  much  Sanskrit.  His 
setting  of  Sanskrit  slokas  is  choice  and  his  use  of  the 
Manipravala  style    is  graceful.     In  the   two    passages 


THE   ORIGIN    OF   MALAYALAM  365- 

given  above  there  are  only  about  half  a  dozen 
Sanskrit  words,  while  the  rest  are  pure  Tamil. 
The  negative  particle  ^,  the  case  post-positions 
]^eo,  ^m,  ST  or  S,  Qp  (a.<sroi_aj)  and  verbal  endings 
LDiTsk,  unm,  ^su  (cgjsfr  in  G'«(63a;(2'sff)  are  all  Tamil,  In 
QLD(Si^isires)<es^Qsfr  the  particle  «wsar  is  only  a  contraction 
of  Qsinir),  Sm^  or  ^ssreoT-  which  is  a  sign  of  the 
present  tense;  similarly  sototj/  is  an  abbreviation  of  ©sir 
ff)^.  rhus  if  the  Sanskrit  passages  are  not  taken  intO' 
account,  his  vocabulary  and  the  structure  of  his  com- 
position are  mainly  Tamil. 

It  may  be  assumed  that  grammar  and  dictionary 
tend  to  contribute  to  the  fixity  and  permanence  of  a 
language.  The  early  Tamil  inhabitants  of  Kerala 
were  mostly  merchants,  cultivators  and  soldiers  ,  and 
they  did  not  care  for  literary  excellence  or  even  to 
improve  their  mother-tongue.  Nor  did  the  later 
Malayalis  care  to  write  one,  because  the  Dravidians 
were  most  of  them  uneducated  and  the  Brahmans 
cared  little  for  a  Dravidian  tongue.  That  work  was 
reserved  for  a  foreigner— Dr.  Gundert, who  was  at  once 
their  Agastya  and  Divakara.  Owing  to  the  curious 
mixture  of  the  agglutinative  Tamil  with  the  inflec- 
tional Sanskrit,  the  work  of  bringing  out  a  satisfactory 
Malayalam  grammar  has  become  a  super-human 
task.  The  language  has  not  yet  reached  its  classic 
stage;  and  it  is  still  in  a  state  of  formation.  Neither 
its  grammar  nor  its  vocabulary  is  settled;  and  the  very 
fact  that  it  still  retains  the  peculiar  Tamil  letters  ifi  and 
P  proves  its  very  late  separation  from  Tamil. 


S6Q  TAMIL    STUDIES 

Grammar  : — To  determine  what  words  are  of  pure 
Tamil  origin  and  what  not,  we  have  definite 
grammatical  rules  giving  the  letters  which  should 
come  at  the  beginning,  middle  and  end  of  words. 
This  is  not  possible  in  the  case  of  Malayalam  which 
has  freely  borrowed  words  from  Sanskrit  and  foreign 
languages  and  incorporated  them  in    its    vocabulary^ 

The  coalescence  of  letters  or  sandhi  in  Malayalam, 
owing  to  the  influence  of  Sanskrit,  follows  wholly 
neither  the  rules  of  Sanskrit  nor  of  Tamil.  Some- 
times the  one,  sometimes  the  other  is  followed,  and 
in  some  cases  neither.  Sanskrit  rules  are  sometimes 
applied  to  Tamil  words.  The  expression  sS&iQpiB(^- 
Q^frs=s=,  if  the  Tamil  rules  are  applied,  must  be 
eSlssi(ipfS<ir,(^(o)<suns'3'  and  Q3'fT^&>+  '^eoeo  will  become 
Qs'iTeoeiaSeoso  and  not  Qs^rriosSeoeo,  iior  are  they  ac- 
cording to  the  Sanskrit  rules.  Lja)4- ^i_Lb  will  be  in 
Tamil  ueoeSt—m  and  not  uQe\)i—Lh  as  in  Malayalam. 
In  the  last  example  the  Sanskrit  rules  are  appli- 
ed to  pure  Tamil  words.  Many  of  the  Tamil 
sandhis  which  existed  in  early  Malayalam  or  Tamil 
have  now  become  obsolete,  as  in  sSssmt—eoiJD,  sresati^ms', 

Qioppais)  (now    QiO^^Jih),    Qurrpgui^    {Qurre\)^^)i^),  &c. 

In  Malayalam  aar  +  #  becomes  @#=,  is  +  s  becomes 
tws,  &r  +  ^  becomes  sjr^^  or  ^^,  but  these  are  not 
allowed  by  the  Tamil  rules  of  sandhi.  The  Malaya- 
lis  cared  more  for  ease  and  always  tried  to  avoid 
difficulties  instead  ot  facing  them  boldly.  Hence, 
they  have    abbreviated    several  compounds  :    thus, 

Qfuj^    +   Qsireirefr    +     ^ud    has    become     Q'fuuQ^aefnTuD^ 


THE   ORIGIN   OF   MALAYALAM  367 

QsiJuuj  +  Qeiiem(BlLc  =  QfubQtju6m(Sy  c^/E3@  +  Seor^  +  j)jisiiE/i^, 
Quas  -j-Qeu6m®m  =  (oUiTssmLD  and  SO  on. 

Most  of  the  differences  between  Tamil  and  modern 
Alalayalam  as  regards  grammatical  endings  and 
formation  of  words  are  attributable  to  this  principle 
of  laziness  or  phonetic  decay  ;  and  the  dropping 
of  personal  suffixes  in  finite  verbs  is  partly  due 
to  this  cause  and  partly  to  their  redundancy.  In 
the  Tamil  sentence  isnm  ^i<i^(c^6w,  either  isfrem  or  sjosr 
in  ^tsf-^Q^m  may  be  safely  omitted  without  impair- 
ing the  idea  expressed  by  that  sentence.  Thus, 
Malayalam  may  be  said  to  be  passing  through,  like 
English,  the  analytical  stage.  In  Malayalam  jtjisf.3=s? 
will  be  vague  without  the  nominative  which  should 
be  made  explicit. 

From  the  early  Malayalam  literature,  which 
extended  down  to  the  sixteenth  century,  we  find  that 
verbs  were  inflected,  and  that  the  pronominal  termi- 
nations disappear  in  the  succeeding  two  hundred 
years.  In  a  Malayalam  sale  deed  of  1756  A.  D. 
expressions  like  STQp^sQssrrSl^^n-eisr  and  erQ^^s^^Qsireear 
i—!T<ssr  were  freely  used.  In  the  Tamil  of  the  infant 
and  the  illiterate  the  idea  of  *I  beat'  is  expressed  even 
to  this  day  by  masr  ^t^s^Qs^  (Cor.  jijis^.^Q^'m)^  '  you 
beat  '  i  jtji^s^Qs^  (Cor.  ^u^^^irdS),  and  '  he  beat  '  ^euear 
^^li<F/T  (Cor.  ^tsf.^^!T<ssr)_  Thus,  the  subjects  ibtisst^  f§  and 
^QjsOT  are  clearly  given  out  and  the  personal  endings 
^6sr,^uj  and  ^dr  are,  as  a  rule,  contracted  or  dropped. 
In  the  East  coast,  however,  this  Tamil  of  the  popu- 
lace  has   been  constantly   subjected    to   corrections 


368  TAMIL   STUDIES 

and  modifications  with  reference  to  the  approved 
literary  Tamil  of  the  learned  section.  The  same 
process  was  certainly  in  operation  among  the 
early  Tamils  of  the  Kerala  country  who  were 
mostly  illiterates  ;  but  since  these  grammatical  and 
lexicographical  forms  were  left  unrestrained  by 
any  fixed  rules,  and  since  this  process  of  phonetic 
decay  was  aided  by  the  indifferent  attitude  of  the 
Nambudri  Brahmans  who  were  quite  ignorant  of 
literary  or  classical  Tamil,  they  had  come  to  be  even- 
tually accepted  as  correct  usages  in  their  later  corrupt 
Sanskritized  Tamil  or  Malayalani  literature. 

This  was  how  the  personal  terminations  of  Tamil 
verbs  were  dropped  in  Malayalam.  There  are  yet 
some  traces  of  verbal  inflexions  in  the  second  person 
plural  as  in  Q^.TaroS/sar  and  in  the  first  person  plural  as 
in  ^anui — we  will  give,  &c.  It  is  not,  therefore,  cor- 
rect to  SHV,  as  some  Malayalam  scholars  seem  to  assert, 
that  there  are  no  traces  of  inflexions  in  the  colloquial 
Malayalam  or  that  Malayalam  verbs  were  never  in- 
flected. 

We  may  explain  the  vagaries  of  Malayalam  language, 
which  IS  technically  called  the  "levelling"  of  inflec- 
tions, and  its  grammar  by  taking  one  or  two  specific 
instances  : — 

(1)  riij^'S'S^  j^^isjseO  ^(r^ik^..,^$l 

(2)  ^d6^i(5«/5^  jSGfBiuiT^tftLDuiT, — Kcr, 

In  the  first  quotation  the  termination  *i^'  serves 
different  purposes  ;  i^  in  ^(5/5^  is  a  modified  form  of 


THE   ORIGIN   OF   MALAYALAM  369 

Tamil  .i^  (particle  of  past  tense)  ;  i^  in  ^^is^  is  a 
contraction  of  6k(g  (dative  case  suffix) ;  m^  in  Qujis^  is  an 
abbreviation  of  <sTesTjoi;2Hid  i^  in  Qs^treo^ni^  is  a  modi- 
fication of  Qimpg),  (^mear^  or  a_«arg»  (present  tense). 
In  the  second  example  (^isfs^  is  the  same  as  Qsbtjd^, 
but  here  the  neuter  inflexional  ending  is  retained. 
We  have  reasons  to  believe  that  the  high-caste  per- 
sonal endings  in  verbs  were  gradually  dropped  in 
Malayalam,  the  neuter  endings  taking  their  place 
regardless  of  gender;  and  these  also  in  course  of  time 
disappeared.  There  are  many  such  grammatical 
irregularities  and  fluctuations,  but  only  a  few  are 
quoted  here  as  illustrations. 

Vocabulary  : — The  same  uncertainty  exists  in  the 
matter  of  vocabulary  also.  It  has  no  dictionary  like 
the  Divakaram  and  the  Pmgalandai  of  Tamil  or  like 
the  Amarakosh  of  Sanskrit.  The  following  are  some 
of  the  irregularities  which  might  be  noticed  in  the 
Malayalam  vocabulary. 

(1)  The  same  word  is  used  in  various  forms.  For 
example,  the  Tamil  word  «go(5  (areca-nut)  appears  in 
Malayalam  as  <4(jp«  and  seuwEi  ;  <s(t^@  (vulture)  as  sq^ 
ffly/5,  sQps^  sQ^iBisj ;  muSSgn  (rope)  as  suu^  and  sl^ss  ; 
uQj)^^    (cotton)  as  uiFl^^  and  uir^^l  &c. 

(2)  Words  of  different  origin  appear  in  the  same 
form.  Tamil  s-qjit  becomes  ^j  which  is  apt  to 
be  confounded  with  s^itld  (margin)  ;  Tamil  ^ivs/s 
as  sjia,  while  szi-sii  means  sighing  ;  Qqjs&oss  (heat) 
as  Qojs^  and  saeuds  (to  put)  also  as  Qeuds ;  ^&ft 
is  a  '  temple'   as  well  as  to  '  sprinkle'   (Q^afi)  &c., 

24 


370  TAMIL   STUDIES 

(3)  Sometimes  ^,  p  and  ir  are  indiscriminately  used 
as  in  j)\s^^s  and  sj^pM"^,  ^pe^  and  a_irei/  &c.  This 
is  very  common  in  the  vulgar  Tamil  of  to-day- 

(4)  Compounds  are  so  contracted  and  joined  to- 
gether that  none  of  its  component  words  can  be  iden- 
tified. Tamil  Q^uj  +  iSsiap  becomes  in  Malayalam 
Q^Qjp  ;  ji/dQ  ^^iB  is  'agnihotri',  'patteri'  is  'Bhattasri' 
&c. 

(5)  Vowels  which  necessitate  the  use  of  the  lips  are 
usually  changed  or  omitted;  ^0  becomes  ^(fl\    ^eear^ 

S-ffl  (as  in  ?>-(flujn(Sl)  ;     ^Ss«,  ^eo  •    ^.uSituli,     e^irULj  ;     i-jpeii 
(  pigeon)  uiTfieii  ;  &c. 

(6)  Probably  for  the  same  reason  when  two  vowels 
of  the  same  class  come  together  either  of  them  is 
altered.  Thus  sisn-  becomes  ©(SO)®/ ;  si— it,  Qc^ireij ;  ueoir, 
lSsu/tq/,  &c.     In  all  these  examples  the  final  is  short  or 

(7)  Sanskrit  words  when  adopted  are  so  far  distort- 
ed by  the  Dravidian  Malayalis  that  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  discover  their  correct  forms: — chite  is  '  jata  '; 
chattam,  '  srarddham  ';  kotamba,  '  godhuma  ';  chetu, 
'  Sakatam';  chirta,  '  Sridevi';  vakkanam,  'vyakyanam'; 
z;^/i,  '  bali ' ;  so  forth.  It  cannot  be  ascertained  on 
what  principle  mesham  becomes  niedam  and  vesham 
as  vezham^  which  in  Tamil  means  an  'elephant'.  The 
unnatural  partiality  of  the  Kerala  people  to  Sanskrit 
has  induced  them  to  derive  some  pure  Dravidian  words 
from  Sanskrit  ;  us^^eo  or  ua^&ouo  ^'few  (green  leaf)  ^is 
derived  from  Sanskrit  patram;  u>(S)  or  u)lL(B  (honey) 
from  Sanskrit   madhu  ;  aom  from   Sanskrit  mashi  &c. 


THE    ORIGIN   OF   MALAYALAM  371 

(8)  Surds   in  most  cases   are  changed   into    nasals. 

(5(55©  becomes  @@g^ ;    <^ssigii,  (^m^  ;    ibitwlj,  (s^itldli  ; 

U(G5(G^  ;'&C. 

This  change  is  noticeable  in  the  early  Tamil  works 
of  the  Chera  poets.  Malayalam  has  a  softer  and 
more  nasalized  sound  than  Tamil-  And  this  may  be 
due  to  the  climatic  conditions  in  the  Kerala  country, 
which  has  an  unusual  rain-fall  of  116  inches  in  a 
year.  The  peculiarities  of  the  Malayalam  language 
may  be  stated  curtly  thus  :  •  it  is  the  home-speech  of 
a  Brahman-oppressed  Dravidian  race,  whose  vocal 
organs  were  affected  by  an  incessant  cold'.  Highly 
cultivated  languages  like  Sanskrit  or  Tamil  are  always 
free  from  such  confusions  which  characterize  the 
lower  stages  of  a  human  speech. 

We  shall  conclude  this  short  essay  with  a  state- 
ment of  the  circumstances  which  led  to  the  origin 
of  the  Malayalam  language.  It  must  not  be  difficult 
to  determine  them  as  the  change  has  taken  place 
within  the  past  six  or  seven  hundred  years. 

(1)  Tne  natural  facilities  for  communication  bet- 
ween the  East  and  the  West  coasts  of  the  Indian 
Peninsula  were  very  little.  The  lofty  ranges  of  the 
Western  Ghats,  with  only  a  few  passes  between,  and 
the  impenetrable  and  extensive  forests  down  the 
sides  cut  off  the  two  regions. 

(2)  The  marriage  connections  between  the 
Chera  and  the  two  other  Tamil  dynasties  had 
ceased  partly   on  account   of  the   extinction    of   the 


372  TAMIL   STUDIES 

ancient  line  of  the  Pandyas  in  the  twelfth  and  of  the 
powerful  Cholas  in  the  thirteenth  century,  and  partly 
owing  to  the  wars  of  succession  which  resulted  from 
a  conflict  of  the  ordinary  and  the  nepotic  laws  of 
inheritance.  The  latest  alliances  on  record  are  the 
marriages  of  the  father  of  Kulasekhara  Pandya. 
(A.  D.  1190)  with  a  Kongu  or  Chera  princess 
and  of  ihe  Chera  king  Ravi  Varma  or  Kulasekhara 
(A.  D,  1300)  with  a  Pandya  princess.  To  this 
should  be  added  the  union  of  the  aggressive 
Nambudris  with  the  Chera  princesses  to  prevent 
foreign  intervention  in  their  social  and  political 
affairs. 

(3)  The  study  of  Tamil  literature  was  neglected  in^ 
the  Chera  country  owing  to  the  dominating  influence 
of  the  Nambudri  Brahmans,  which  kept  the  non- 
Brahman  Dravidians  of  the  country  perfectly  ignorant 
of  their  rich  literature,  and  owing  t(3  the  extinction  of 
the  ancient  Chera  line  of  kings  who  patronized  it. 

(4)  The  introduction  of  Judaism,  Christianity  and 
Muhamadanism  direct  from  Western  Asia  at  a  very 
early  period,  the  frequent  internal  troubles  among  the 
feudal  chiefs  of  Kerala,  and  the  constant  wars  be- 
tween them  and  the  Pandyas  and  Cholas  for  nearly 
four  centuries  from  the  eighth  gradually  tended  to 
diminish  their  intercourse.  The  Chola  king  Ko-Chen- 
gannan  is  said  to  have  defeated  the  Chera  Kanaikkal 
Irumporai  and  taken  him  prisoner.  This  forms  the 
subject  of  '  Kalavali  Forty  '  of  the  poet  Poigaiyar. 
During  the  middle  of  the  eighth   century  the  Pandya 


THE    ORIGIN    OF   MALAYALAM  373 

"king  Parankusan  or  Ko-Maran  Jatavarman  defeated 
the  Chera  kings  in  a  series  of  battles  at  Vilijnam,  Pul- 
andai,  Kottar,  Chevur  and  other  places.  Ail  these 
are  mentioned  by  the  commentator  of  Iraiyanar's 
Agapporal.  We  need  not  enumerate  here  the  other 
wars  in  which  the  Cheras  suffered  defeat,  as  they  are 
given  in  the  South  Indian  Inscriptions. 

(5)  The  customs  and  manners  of  the  Nambudri 
Brahmans  and  their  sexual  connection  with  the  Su- 
dras,  which  in  course  of  time  spoiled  both  Sanskrit 
and  Tamil,  were  looked  upon  with  disfavour  by  the 
East  Coast  Brahmans  or  BJiattas,  who  always  regard- 
ed the  former  as  an  mferior  class  on  that  account, 
though  to  a  lesser  degree  than  they  did  the  Nambi 
or  the  'front  locked'  brethren  of  their  own  country. 

(6)  For  this  reason  none  of  the  later  religious  re- 
formers— Ramanuja,  Madhva  and  others — did  not 
care  to  introduce  their  reforms  in  Kerala.  In  a  vast 
country  of  14,250  square  miles  there  were  in  the  days 
of  the  Tamil  Samts  (650-950  A.D.)  only  one  Siva 
shrine  and  thirteen  Vishnu  temples,  whereas  during 
the  same  period  there  were  at  least  300  temples  dedi- 
cated both  to  Siva  and  Vishnu  in  a  small  area  of  3,259 
square  miles — we  mean  in  the  Tanjore  district. 
Hinduism,  as  it  was  understood  and  practised  in 
the  North  and  East,  was  evidently  at  a  great  discount 
in  Kerala  during  that  period.  Even  now  pilgrims 
from  the  Tamil  land  rarely  visit  these  shrines  in 
Malabar  and  Travancore,  exceptmg  one  or  two,  as 
they  are  praciically  unknown  to  Hindu  devotees. 


374  TAMIL  STUDIES 

(7)  Last  of  all  comes  the  climate  of  Kerala  with  its 
incessant  rain  throughout  the  year  and  its  dampness 
and  heat  on  account  of  the  proximity  of  mountains, 
which  make  the    country    uninhabitable  for  the  East 

Coast  people. 

To  summarize:  Tamil,  Vadugu(Telugu)and  Karuna- 
tam  (Canarese)  are  the  only  Dravidian  languages  which 
are  mentioned  in  the  early  Tamil  works.  Malayalam  as 
a  distinct  language  does  not'appear  in  any  Tamil  work 
anterior  to  the  fifteenth  century.  From  the  fact  that 
Tamil  has  not  been  influenced  to  such  an  extent 
like  the  other  two,  and  that  it  alone  has  a  grammar 
and  literature  from  the  earliest  times,  we  have  very 
strong  reasons  to  believe  that  it  is  the  oldest  of  the 
South  Indian  vernaculars.  We  are  not  prepared  to 
accept  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Rice  that  '  Kannada  was 
the  earliest  to  be  cultivated  of  all  the  South  Indian 
languages',  as  he  himself  says  in  another  place  that 
none  of  the  extant  works  in  Canarese  go  earlier  than 
the  ninth  century.  It  is  quite  natural  to  scholars, 
who  liavemade  a  special  study  of  some  particular  ver- 
nacular, like  Dr.  Gundert,  Mr.  Logan  or  Mr.  Rice  to 
speak  highly  of  it  to  the  disparagement  of  the  other 
languages  of  the  same  group.  But  to  get  a  compa- 
rative estimate  of  them  it  would  always  be  safer  to 
follow  the  views  of  Dr.  Caldwell,  who  has  made  a 
critical  study  of  all  the  Dra  vidian  languages  without 
any  bias  towards  any  one  of  that  group.  The 
map  will  explain  graphically  the  order  of  migra- 
tion of   the   several    Dravidian   races  and  the  decree 


THE   ORIGIN  OF   MALAYALAM  375 

of  relationship  among  their  languages.  The  gram- 
mar and  vocabulary  of  Tamil  and  Telugu  are  quite 
different,  and  the  age  when  they  had  parted  from  each 
other  goes  back  to  pre-historic  times.  These  conside- 
rations would  favour  our  regarding  them  as  sister  lan- 
guages. And  the  greater  affinities  of  grammar  and 
vocabulary  which  exist  between  the  early  Canarese 
and  the  early  Tamil  seem  to  point  out  that  the  for- 
mer was  the  first  born  daughter  or  rather  the  youn- 
gest sister  of  Tamil  ;  and  this  seems  to  receive  an 
additional  support  from  the  fact  that  the  northern 
limit  of  Tamil  (Tirupati)  whicli  is  bounded  by  Telugu 
has  for  the  last  two  thousand  years  remained  unal- 
tered, while  its  north-western  boundary  had  even 
before  the  fifth  century  A.  D>  been  encroached  by 
Canarese  from  Dvarasamudram  and  Coorg  down  to 
the  Coimbatore  district. 

As  regards  MaUyalam  which  was  scarcely  in  her 
womb  prior  to  the  thirteenth  century,  we  might  say 
without  any  fear  of  contradiction  for  the  reasons  set 
forth  above,  that  it  is  the  latest  dialect  of  Tamil  which 
has  come  largely  under  the  influence  of  Sanskrit,  It 
is  to  be  observed  that  at  no  period  in  historic  times 
Sanskrit  was  a  spoken  language,  and  it  is  most  unlikely 
that  it  could  have  been  so  among  a  non-Aryan 
people  as  the  inhabitants  of  Malabar  and  Travancore 
Many  Sanskrit  words  and  idioms  they  might  have 
borrowed  ;  but  both  in  genius  and  in  structure  Mala- 
yaiam  remains,  in  spite  of  its  Sanskritic  saturation,  a 
Dravidian  tongue  in  close  alliance  with    other    chief 


376  TAMIL   STUDIES 

non- Aryan  languages  of  South  India.  And  in  the 
words  of  a  Travancore  statesman  'one  could  hardly 
help  concluding  that  Malayalam  is  nothing  more  than 
old  Tamil  with  a  good  admixture  of  Sanskrit  words'; 
or,  as  Dr.  Caldwell  has  said  in  one  place,  '  it  might 
perhaps  be  regarded  rather  as  a  very  ancient  dialect 
of  the  Tamil  than  as  a  distinct  language'.  This  must 
be  the  opinion  of  all  impartial  scholars,  and  it  must 
no  longer  be  a  matter  of  dispute  whether  Malayalam 
s  an  "  old  and  much  altered  off-shoot"  of  Tamil 
or  its  sister  language,  because   it  is    evidently  neither. 


CONCLUSION 

A  line  drawn  from  Mercara  on  the  west  to  Tirup- 
ati  on  the  east  marked  the  northern  hmit  of  the 
ancient  Tamil  country;  that  portion  of  the  Indian 
Peninsula  to  the  south  of  this  line,  with  the  sea  on 
the  three  sides  was  called  per  excellence  the  Tamil- 
akam  or  Dravida-desa.  It  was  inhabited  by  three 
distinct  races — the  Nagas,  the  Dravidians  and  the 
Aryans.  The  non-Aryan  Tamils  belong  to  this  great 
Naga-Dravidiati  race. 

Evidence  points  to  Nagas  as  the  aboriginal  inha- 
bitants of  this  country.  They  were  divided  into 
two  sections — the  earlier  or  the  savage  section,  and 
the  later  or  the  semi-civilized  section.  The  former 
belonged  to  the  Negrito  race  and  the  latter  to  a 
mixed  one.  Apparently  both  migrated  to  India  from 
the  south  when  it  was  connected  by  land  with 
Australia,  the  earlier  tribes  being  driven  to  the 
interior  hills  and  forests  and  the  later  immigrants 
occupying  the  east  coast  from  Cape  Comorin  to 
Vizagapatam  and  extending  as  far  as  Nagpur  in  the 
Central  Provinces.     These    were  the  vanaras  and  the 


378  TAMIL    STUDIES 

rakshasas   of   the    Ramayana.     It    is    by    no    means 
easy  to  say  when  these  races  entered  India. 

Then  came  the  Dravidian  Tamils,  the  word 
'Dravidian'  being  used  in  this  work  chiefly  in 
a  restricted  sense  to  denote  only  the  Velir  or  the 
Vellala  tribe  of  the  ancient  Tamils,  who  were 
regarded  as  Kshatriyas,  Vaisyas  or  Sudras  accor- 
ding to  their  occupations,  and  this  seems  to  be  coun- 
tenanced by  Manu's  definition  of  'Draivda'  as  a  man 
of  an  out-cast  tribe  descended  from  a  degraded  Kshat- 
riya.  The  Dravidians  were  like  the  Brahuis  and 
the  Todas  a  fine  stalwart  race  probably  of  the 
Aryo-Mongolian  extraction.  They  were  not  dark 
complexioned,  but  their  colour  has  been  described 
in  early  Tamil  works  as  that  of  the  tender 
mango  leaf.  Their  original  home  was  somewhere 
in  Asia  Minor  where  the  ancient  Accadians  lived. 
They  had  entered  India  by  the  North-western  passes 
long  before  the  Aryan  migration.  During  the  time 
of  the  Mahabharata  War,  say  about  the  fifteenth 
century  before  Christ,  they  lived  in  Upper  India, 
occupying  small  detached  areas.  Immediately  after 
the'Great  War'  the  Dravidians  trekked  south  wards  by 
the  way  of  western  India  halting  for  a  time  at  Dwara- 
samudram  in  the  Mysore  (buffalo)  Province.  From 
thence  ihey  proceeded  in  three  separate  bands  to  the 
east,  south  and  west,  and  established  three  small 
kingdoms  known  as  the  Chola,  Pandya  and  Chera. 
The  Cholas  and  Pandyas  had  very  often  to  contend 
with  the  half-civilized    Nagas,  while  the  Cheras  seem 


CONCLUSION  379 

to  have  quietly  taken  possession  of  a  country  along  the 
West  coast  almost  uninhabited  by  any  semi-civilized 
section  of  the  Naga  tribe.  In  the  east  the  close  con- 
tact of  the  Nagas  and  Dravidians  led  to  a  fusion  of 
races.  In  the  west  that  could  not  have  happened  at 
so  early  a  period.  And  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the 
Nayars  of  Malabar  and  Travancore  are  not  the 
modern  representatives  of  the  ancient  Nagas,  but 
hybrid  descendants  of  the  early  Naga-Dravidians 
and  Aryans.  The  original  Dravidians  were  a  war- 
like race  of  hunters  and  cattle-breeders,  and  their 
partiality  to  the  buffaJo  may  be  observed  in  the 
Todas  of  the  Nilgiris,  a  pure  Dravidian  tribe,  who 
must  have  found  their  way  on  these  mountains  simul- 
taneously with  the  other  tribes  at  the  time  of  their 
dispersion  from  Dwarasamudram,  probably  about  the 
ninth  or  tenth  century  before  Chrisi. 

Lastly  came  the  Aryans,  who  were  mostly  Brah- 
mans.  The  earliest  band  of  them  might  have 
migrated  to  the  Tamil  country  about  the  fifth  or 
sixth  century  before  Christ;  and  from  this  period 
down  to  the  fourth  or  fifth  century  A.  D.  a  thin 
stream  of  Aryan  emigrants  seems  to  have  flowed 
southward.  Sometimes  it  assumed  larger  proportions, 
which  it  did  when  a  large  number  of  them  came 
from  the  north-west  and  spread  evenly  in  all  the 
Tamil-Malayalam  districts.  These  Brahmans  are 
known  as  Nambis  in  the  Tamil  districts  and  as 
Nambudris  in  the  Malayalam  or  Chera  country.  All 
these  Brahmans  keep  the  lock  ot  hair   on    the   top  of 


■380  TAMIL   STUDIES 

their  head.  Their  migration  took  place  between  the 
sixth  and  seventh  centuries  A.  D.,  when  Buddhism 
and  Jainism  were  receiving  mortal  blows  from  the 
federal  army  of  the  Aryo-Dravidian  theologians,  and 
when  innumerable  temples  began  to  be  erected  for 
the  Brahmanical  gods  in  the  Tamil  districts.  The 
latest  band  of  the  Brahman  settlers  were  known  as 
the  Bhattas,  and  their  migration  from  the  north- 
eastern Telugu  country  must  have  taken  place  bet- 
ween the  eighth  and  tenth  centuries,  that  is  sometime 
after  the  downfall  of  the  great  empire  of  Harsha- 
vardhana.  Before  the  arrival  of  the  Bhatta  Brahmans 
the  Nambis  or  Namburis  of  the  west  coast  had 
developed  themselves  into  an  exclusive  and  influen- 
tial community  m  the  midst  of  the  uncultured  Kerala 
Dravidians  with  peculiar  social  and  religious  customs. 
The  Bhatta  Brahmans  who  had  formerly  lived  on 
the  banks  of  the  sacred  Ganges,  Godavari,  Kistna 
and  Cauvery  did  not  care  to  cross  the  Western  Ghats. 
Few  families  did,  however,  go.  They  are  still  known 
there  as  Bhattatiris,  while  the  latest  Bhatta  immi- 
grants from  the  Tamil  country  are  called  simply 
Pattar.  The  Brahmans  of  the .  East  coast,  though 
they  consider  themselves  purer  in  blood,  are 
generally  darker  in  complexion  (like  the  Brahmans  of 
Bengalj  than  the  easy  going  wealthy  and  mfragam- 
ous^    Namburis,     which    is     no    doubt    due    to    the 

J.  I  have  called  them  'infragamous'  as  there  has  been  a  kind  of 
social  sanction  to  the  loose  marital  connection  of  the  younger 
male  members  of  the  Aryan  Brahmans  with  the  women  of  the 
Dravidian  castes  in  the  Kerala  country. 


CONCLUSION  38i 

climatic  conditions  and  the  hardships  they  had  been 
subjected  to  during  the  previous  ten  centuries  of  resi- 
dence on  the  scorching  plains  of  the  unprotected 
East. 

There  was  no  caste  system  among  the  Nagas  and 
the  Dravidians.  It  is  an  institution  introduced  by  the 
*COw-loving'  Aryan  settlers.  The  Tamils  or  the  Naga- 
Dravidians  were  first  divided  into  tribes,  not  castes, 
according  to  the  territory  wherein  they  happened  to 
live  when,  the  earliest  Aryans  colonized  the  Tamil 
country.  The  numerous  Tamil  castes  of  modern 
times,  with  the  exception  of  a  handful  of  Vellalas, 
must  have  grown  out  of  a  few  territorial  tribes  of 
Nagas.  The  Velirs  or  Vellalas  alone  were  Dravidians. 
The  Viswa-Brahmans  and  the  Dravida  Kshatriyas  had 
no  place  in  this  system. 

The  home-speech  of  all  these  people,  including  the 
Brahmans,  is  Tamil.  It  is  ignorance  of  the  elemen- 
tary principles  of  philology  on  the  part  iof  Tamil 
pandits  that  has  led  them  to  attribute  divine  origin 
to  their  mother  tongue.  Tamil  is  an  ancient  member 
of  the  Dravidian  family.  What  language  the  Nagas 
spoke  we  have  no  means  to  find  out.  Tamil  belongs 
to  the  agglutinative  group  of  languages  and  it  has  no 
relation  whatever  with  the  inflectional  Sanskrit.  We 
may  however  find  some  remote  affinities  between  it 
and  the  Indo-European  languages — both  in  their 
grammar  and  vocabulary — a  fact  which  indicates  that 
the  Tamils  lived  with  the  Aryans  in  Upper  India 
before  their  downward  march  to  the  Dekhan.     Tamil 


382  TAMIL  STUDIES 

is  a  living  tongue  ;  and  so  the  early  Tamil  differs 
slightly  from  the  mediaival  and  the  modern  forms  of 
it.  Owing  to  its  great  antiquity  and  its  classic 
perfection  with  a  settled  grammar  and  vocabul- 
ary, so  early  as  the  second  or  third  century 
B.  C,  literary  Tamil  differs  very  much  from 
the  colloquial  ;  and  colloquial  Tamil  differs  from 
the  vulgar  Tamil  which  gave  birth  to  the  Malayalam 
language  about  the  eleventh  or  twelfth  century  A.  D. 

The  phonetic  system  of  Tamil  is  very  defective  ; 
and  though  defective,  it  has  three  sounds  .*.,  p  and 
ifi  which  are  peculiarly  its  own  and  which  are  not 
to  be  found  in  any  other  language.  It  had  an  alpha- 
betic writing  called  the  Vatteluttu,  which  the  people 
borrowed  direct  from  the  Phoenician  or  Himayaritic 
merchants  six  or  seven  hundred  years  before  Christ  ; 
and  it  was  supplanted  by  the  Grantha- Tamil  charac- 
ters during  the  ninth  or  tenth  century  A.  D.  when 
Brahman  influence  was  at  its  zenith  in  the  Tamil 
country.  The  first  extant  grammar  of  the  Tamil 
language  was  written  by  a  Brahman  about  B.  C.  350. 

We  have  no  data  to  settle  what  the  religion  of  the 
Nagas  and  Dravidians  was  before  the  arrival  of  the 
Brahmans  in  Southern  India.  As  early  as  the  tenth 
century  there  were  in  each  village  a  Pidari  or  a 
Sasta  (Tam.  fir^^&sr)  temple  besides  one  or  more  for 
some  of  the  puranic  gods,  then  known  as  Sri  Koil.  All 
the  Siva  and  Vishnu  shrines  whose  glories  were  sung 
by  the  Nayanars  and  Alvars,  belong  to  the  latter  class. 
The  ancient  Naga-Dravidians  appear    to    have   been 


CONCLUSION  383 

animists  or  demonolators  when  they  first  came  in 
contact  with  the  Aryans.  Till  about  the  third  or 
fourth  century  A.  D,  Brahmanism  of  the  Vedic  type, 
Vat-Jh'sm  and  Jainism  were  professed  in  the  Tamil 
districts.  Or,  as  Dr.  Pope  has  'said  the  prevailing 
religion  of  this  period  was  a  most  remarkable  mixture 
of  Saivism,  Jainism,  Buddhism  and  the  ancient 
demonolatry'.  I  must  add  to  these  Indraism  and 
Vishnuism.  During  the  puranic  period  when  Brah- 
manism came  out  triumphant,  that  is  between  the 
fifth  and  eighth  centuries,  the  cults  of  Siva  and 
Vishnu  alone  survived.  Siva  is  said  to  have 
nipped  the  head  of  Brahma,  given  a  kick  to 
Yama,  knocked  out  the  teeth  of  the  Sun,  and  so  on  I 
Such  was  the  fate  of  the  Vedic  deities. 

All  the  extant  Tamil  works  on  religion  and  ethics 
bear  clear  marks  of  Aryan  influence,  and  it  would  be 
obviously  untenable  to  hold  with  Dr,  Pope  that  the 
Tamils  have  developed  a  religion  of  their  own  in- 
dependent of  Brahmanism  from  the  earliest  period 
and  that  'Saivism  is  the  old  pre-historic  religion  of 
South  India  essentially  existing  from  pre- Aryan  times.' 
It  is  urged  by  the  same  scholar  that  evil  spirits  and 
blood-thirsty  gods  were  worshipped  by  the  early  war. 
like  Naga-Dravidians  with  rude  and  cruel  ceremonies; 
and  before  the  time  of  Sankaracharya  even  human 
sacrifices  seem  to  have  been  offered  to  them.  But  this 
shamanism  or  demonolatry  was  surely  no  Saivism,  any 
more  than  hydrogen  is  water.  Though  it  had  some  of 
its  essential  elements    similar  to    those  of  the   Vedic 


384  TAMIL   STUDIES 

Rudraism.  Moreover,  the  words  Siva  and  Siddhanta 
are  not  of  Dravidian  origin.  The  Saivism  or  the 
Saiva  Siddhanta  of  the  modern  non-Aryan  Tamilians 
may  therefore  be  defined  as  an  eclectic  rehgion  cV,u^- 
posed  of  the  hydrogenous  demonolatry  of  ancient 
Naga-Dravidians  and  the  oxygenous  Rudraism  of  the 
Vedic  Aryans  colligated  together  by  later  philosophic 
Brahmanisra  of  the  Pauranic  period. 

The  sixty-three  Nayanars  or  Saiva  Saints  including 
Appar  and  Trignana  Sambandar  seem  to  have  flouri- 
shed between  the  sixth  and  ninth  centuries;  and  the 
Saint  Manikka  Vachakar,  who  is  out-side  that  bead- 
roll  flourished  about  A.  D.  875.  It  was  after  the 
twelfth  century  A.  D.  that  the  Saiva  Siddhantam  of 
the  Dravidian  Tamils  was  given  a  philosophic  basis 
in  imitation  of  the  great  systems  of  Sankaracharya 
and  Ramanujacharya  ;  and  its  authors  were  again 
Saiva  Brahmans. 

The  cult  of  Vishnu  was  equally  powerful  and  not 
less  ancient  than  Sivaism.  It  has  been  in  existence 
since  the  Vedic  times.  But  this  humanitarian  religi- 
on did  not  attempt  to  take  converts  from  among  the 
demonolatrous  Naga-Dravidian  tribes  of  hunters  and 
warriors,  nor  was  it  in  their  nature  to  embrace  such  a 
catholic  religion  despite  the  teachings  of  the  Vaishna- 
va  alvars  or  saints,  who  with  the  Saiva  Nayanars 
actively  worked  for  the  expulsion  of  Buddhism  and 
Jainism  from  the  Tamil  country.  Nammalvar  was 
tlie  last  of  the  Vaishnava  Saints,  A.  D.  925;  then  came 
a  line   of    Vaishnava   acharyas   or  religious   teachers 


CONCLUSION  385 

commencing  from  Sri  Nathamuni  (A.  D.  905 — 1025) 
and  ending  with  Manavala-Mamuni  (15th  century}. 
It  is  to  Ramanuja  and  Vedanta  Desika  (14th  century) 
that  Vaishnavism  owes  its  stability  and  greatness, 
while  the  other  acharyas  only  popularized  it 
by  their  lectures  and  comments.  Thus,  Dr.  Pope's 
statement  that  the  '  Vaishnava  system  has  been  a 
formidable  rival  of  Saivism  since  the  twelfth  century,' 
and  Dr.  Caldwell's  assertion  that  the  alvo.rz  were 
the  disciples  of  Ramanuja  are  either  perversions  of 
the  true  history  of  Vaishnavism,  probably  put  into 
their  heads  by  interested  Tamil  Saivas,  or  hasty  and 
one-sided  views  formed  without  regard  to  historical 
accuracy. 

In  Tamil  there  is  no  literature  unconnected 
with  ethics  or  religion  and  there  is  no  ethics  or 
religion  in  India  without  the  Aryan  influence.  The 
earliest  literary  work  in  Tamil  to  which  any  definite 
date  could  be  assigned  is  the  Kural  of  Tiruvalluvar^ 
which  goes  up  to  the  opening  years  of  the  Christian 
era.  There  must  have  surely  existed  some  works 
anterior  to  that  period,  since  the  age  of  *he 
first  Tamil  grammar  is  believed  to  be  the 
third  or  fourth  century  B.  C,  and  the  Tamilians 
have  been  acquainted  with  the  art  of  writing  at  least 
from  the  sixth  or  seventh.  Bat  none  of  the  pre- 
Tolkapyam  works  are  now  extant,  probably  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  short  poems  included  in  the 
Agananuru  and  the   Purananuru. 

The  history  of    Tamil    literature   may  be   divided 

25 


386  TAMIL   STUDIES 

into  six  periods,  namely, —  the  academic  (B.  C.  500 — 
A.  D.  150)  ;  the  classic  (A.  D.  150—500)  ;  the  hymnal 
(A.  D.  500—950)  ;  the  translations  (A.D.  950—1200)  ; 
the  exegetic  (A.  D.  1200 — 1450)  and  the  modern  or 
miscellaneous  (A.  D.  1450 — 1850),  Original  works  in 
Tamil  are  not  very  many  and  they  can  be  counted  on 
one's  finger's  ends.  The  bulk  of  its  literature  comp- 
rises metrical  translations  from  Sanskrit  itihasas  and 
puranas.  Short  ethical  poems,  like  Eladi  and  Tiri- 
kadukam,  intended  for  school  children,  and  the  huge 
mass  of  religious  hymns  and  songs  of  the  Saiva  and 
Vaishnava  devotees  are  honourable  exceptions. 
There  was  no  prose  literature  before  the  last  century, 
if  the  prose  commentaries  on  ancient  authors  be 
excepted. 

Alone  among  the  Dravidian  languages  Tamil 
possesses  a  literature,  ancient  as  well  as  interesting. 
Every  Tamilian  must  esteem  it  a  grand  and  noble 
heritage,  which  he  can  call  his  own  onlv  by  approach- 
ing the  study  of  it  in  a  scientific  spirit.  Let  us  all  join 
hands  lovingly  in  the  sacred  task  of  reconstructing 
the  best  history  of  this  people  and  their  language,  and 
tracing  the  continuity  of  their  development.  And  in 
this  let  us  follow  the  examples  of  Dr.  Latham,  Pro  . 
Skeat  and  others,  whose  work  for  their  English 
language  and  literature  stands  unrivalled. 


APPENDIX  I 

THE    EARLY    PANDYA   KINGS 

The  materials  for  writing  a  history  of  the  Pandyas  will 
be  found  in  (1)  current  traditions  and  legends,  (2)  some 
of  which  are  distorted  and  interlarded  with  miracles  in 
the  local  puranas,  (3)  in  early  Tamil  literature,  and  (4) 
inscriptions.  Of  these  the  first  and  second  are  unreliable, 
chieliy  owing  to  their  antiquity  and  the  variety  of 
narrow  channels  through  which  they  had  passed  before 
they  attained  the  present  form.  The  local  puranas, 
most  of  them  being  obviously  mythical,  put  us  on  the 
wrong  scent,  and  in  some  cases  operate  as  counter-acting 
agents  in  our  researches.  The  third  is  entitled  to  some 
credence  ;  but  on  account  of  the  repetition  of  some 
names  and  the  absence  of  dates,  they  have  to  be  corro- 
borated by  other  independent  testimony.  Inscriptions 
alone,  when  they  are  not  forgeries,  yield  accurate  and 
reliable  data,  as  they  cannot  easily  be  tampered  with 
like  the  puranic  or  other  records. 

It  is  intended  in  this  note  to  compare  and  contrast 
Tamil  traditions,  legends  and  local  puranas  with  early 
literature  and  inscriptions  and  show  their  worthlessness 
ior  historical  purposes.    As  the  annals  of  Tamil  literature 


388  TAMIL   STUDIES 

prior  to  the  eleventh  century  is  shrouded  in  obscurity^ 
it  will  be  useful  to  take  for  consideration  the  history  of 
the  Pandya  kings  from  the  earliest  times  up  to  A.D.  950. 
The  earliest  available  information  about  the  Pandya 
kings  is  that  which  is  contained  in  the  Pattuppattu,  the 
Agananuru  and  the  Purananuru.  From  the  various 
names  of  Pandyas  which  occur  in  these  poems  Mr, 
Kanakasabhai  has  constructed  the  following  genealogical 
table  : — Nedum  Seliyan  I  (50-75) — Verri  Vel  Seliyan 
(75-90)— Nedum  Seliyan  II  (90-128)— Ugra  Peruvaludi 
(128-140) — Nanmaran  (140-150).  The  exact  relation- 
ship of  these  kings  and  the  data  on  which  this  table  is 
based  are  not  clearly  understood.  At  any  rate  Ugra 
Peruvaludi  in  whose  reign  Tiruvalluvar  and  Auvai 
flourished  could  not  have  succeeded  Nedum  Seliyan  II 
who  won  the  battle  of  Talai-Alankanan.  Further,  the 
dates  assigned  to  these  kings  seem  to  be  half-a-century 
too  early.  His  table  has,  therefore,  been  slightly  modified 
and  improved  as  given  below.  It  is  only  tentative  and 
must  remain  so  until  epigraphy  discloses  new  facts  some 
day  or  other  :  — (1)  Vadimbalamba  Ninra  Pandya,  B.  C 
450— (2)  Nilandaru  Tiruvir  Pandya,  B.  C.  350— (3) 
Palsalai  Mudukudumi  Peruvaludi,  B.  C.  25 — (4)  Ugra 
Peru  Valudi  A.  D.  125— (5)  Nedum  Seliyan  I,  A.  D.   150 

(6)   Verrivel  or  Ham  Seliyan,    A.  D.  175— (7)    Nedum 

Seliyan  II,  A.  D.  200— (8)  Nanmaran  I,  A.  D.  225— (9) 
Maran  Valudi,  A.  D.  250— (10)  Nanmaran  II,  A.  D,  275 
—(11)  Peruvaludi,  A.  D.  300.  The  name  of  the  first  king 
means  '  he  who  survived  the  deluge'.  According  to  the 
Mahawanso  a  tidal  wave  from  the  Indian  ocean  washed 
off  the  southern  shores  about  B.C.  450.  The  above  may 
be  a  reference  to  this.  In  the  reign  of  the  second  Pandya 


APPENDIX    I  389" 

the  Tamil  grammarian  Tolkapyar  lived.  The  third  and 
the  most  famous  among  the  early  Pandyas  was  Palsalai 
Mudukudumi  i  Peruvaludi.  He  was  a  great  patron  of 
learning  and  Brahmans  and  performed  many  yagas  or 
sacrifices.  He  might  have  been  the  king  who  sent  an 
embassy  to  Augustus  Caesar  in  B.  C.  25  ;  and  this  fact 
has  been  alluded  to  in  the  Velvikudi  grant  as  '  going  as 
ambassador  to  the  gods'.  Ugra  Peruvaludi  is  said  to 
have  engraved  the  fish  on  the  Himalayas.  Nedum  Seli- 
yan  I  constructed  many  tanks  for  irrigation,  which  fact 
has  been  commemorated  in  a  poem  by  Kuda  Pulaviyanar, 
He  committed  suicide  for  having,  without  a  proper 
enquiry,  ordered  the  decapitation  of  Kovalan  an  innocent 
merchant  of  Kaveripatam  at  the  instigation  of  a  crafty 
goldsmith.  The  merchant's  wife  Kannaki  committed 
sati  and  was  deified  as  a  Goddess  of  Chastity.  To 
appease  her  wrath  tlie  king's  son  Verri  Vel  Seliyan 
sacrificed  one  thousand  goldsmiths.  Nedum  Seliyan  II 
while  yet  a  boy  defeated  the  two  Tamil  kings  and  five 
chieftains  at  Talaiyalamkanam.  Sattanar  the  famous 
author  of  Manimekalai  and  a  stanch  Buddhist  lived  in 
the  reign  of  Nanmaran  I  and  the  poet  Nakkirar 
flourished  probably  in  the  days  of  Nanmaran  II. 

With  ttie  discovery  of  the  Chinnamanur  copper  plates 
in  1906  and  of  the  Velvikudi  grant  in  1908,  the  mist  that 
enveloped  the  early  history  of  the  Pandyas  may  be  said 

1.  The  custom  of  keeping  a  tuft  of  hair  on  the  head  was  pure- 
ly Indo-Aryan.  In  Southern  India  no  non-Aryan  tribe  or  caste  had 
it.  Hence  the  early  Brahman  settlers  were  called  ©OuShj®  Offsr^ajt 
(Kal.  71).  This  Pandya  king  was  perhaps  the  first  Dravidian  who 
adopted  this  Aryan  custom  on  account  of  his  having  performed 
many  yagas  or  sacrifices  like  the  Brahmans. 


390  TAMIL   STUDIES 

to  be  disappearing.  They  have  brought  to  light  several 
facts  hitherto  unknown,  and  furnished  valuable  data  to 
fix  the  different  stages  in  the  progress  of  Tamil  Hterature. 
The  genealogical  table  which  has  been  constructed  from 
the  materials  supplied  by  them  goes  up  to  the  beginning 
of  the  seventh  century,  causing  a  lacuna  of  nearly  three 
hundred  years  between  it  and  the  one  given  above. 
Perhaps  this  was  the  period  of  the  Jaina  ascendancy;, 
and  the  Jains  might  have  been  instrumental  to  the  occu- 
pation of  the  Pandya  country  by  the  Kalabhras  or  the 
Jaina  rulers  from  the  Carnataka  country. 

Before  giving  the  actual  pedigree  of  Pandya  kings,  the 
plates  proceed  to  mention  the  achievements  of  the  real  or 
mythic  kings  in  the  past  without  mentioning  their  names.. 
Among  these  may  be  stated, — the  churning  of  the  ocean 
for  nectar,  appearing  on  the  throne  of  Indra,  mastering, 
the  Tamil  language,  bringing  back  the  sea,  obtaining  the 
titles  of  Puzhiyan  and  Panchavan,  founding  the  city  of 
Madura,  excelling  pandits  in  learning,  leading  elephants 
into  the  Bharata  country  after  the  death  of  the  great 
charioteer,  absolving  Vijaya  from  the  curse  of  Vasu,. 
engraving  the  fish,  the  tiger  and  the  bow  on  Mount 
Meru,  constructing  many  tanks,  defeating  two  kings  at 
Talayalankanam,  translating  the  Mahabharata  and 
establishing  the  College  of  poets  at  Madura.  To  these 
the  Sanskrit  portions  of  the  bigger  Chinnamanur  plates 
and  the  Velvikudi  grant  add  that  Agastya  was  their 
family  priest,  that  one  of  the  Pandyas  induced  Ravana 
to  sue  for  peace,  that  one  of  them  went  as  ambassador 
to  the  gods  and  that  the  god  Brahma  requested  the 
Pandya  who  had  survived  the  'deluge'  to  take  up  the 
protection  of  the  three  worlds. 


APPENDIX   I  391 

Then  comes  the  following  genealogy  :— 

Mudukudumi  Peruvaludi. 

I 
Kalabhra  occupation. 

I 

1.  Kadungon  A.  D.  600. 

.         I 

2.  Maravarman  Avani  Chulamani,  A.  D.  620. 

I 

3.  Jayantan  or  Sendan,  A.  D.  650. 

I 

4.  Maravarman  Arikesari,  fought  at  Nelveli,  A.  D.  680. 

I 

5.  Jatavarman  Ranadhiran  A.  D.    710. 

I 

6.  Arikesari  Parankusan   Rajasimha  I,  Ter    Seli\an  or 

I  Termaran,  A.  D.  735. 

7.  Jitila  Varman  Parantakan  Srivara,  A.  D.  770. 

I 

8.  Rajasimha  II,  A.  D.  785. 

1 

9.  Varaguna  I,  A.  D.  810. 

I 

10.  Srimaran  Sri  Vallabha  Deva,  A.  D.  835. 


II.  Varaguna  Varman        12.   Parantakan  Viranarayana 

A.  D,  862 — 3.  A.D.  885  m  a  Kerala  princess. 

I 
13.   Rajasimha  III,    Abhiman- 

a  Meru;  defeated  by  Paran- 

taka  Chola  in  A.  D.  910. 

Among  these  kings  Palsalai  Mudukudumi  Peruvaludi 
was  a  remote  ancestor  of  Kadungon.  The  name  of 
Kadungon  occurs  in  the  commentary  on  Iraiyanar's 
Agapporul  as  the  last  king  in  whose  reign  the  first 
Sangam  was  abolished.     In  the  reign  of   Jayantan  {Tarn, 


^92  TAMIL  STUDIES 

Sendan)  Chulamani  a  Jaina  Tamil  classic  was  composed 
by  Tolamoli  Devar  in  memory  of  the  king's  father 
Maravarman  Avani  Chulamani.  Maravarman  Arikesari 
(No.  4)  who  boasts  of  having  won  the  battle  of  Nelveli 
(QrBeoCDeueSla3&}  Qeum piDir pm)  must  be  identified  with 
Sundara  or  Kun  Pandya.  Had  the  impaling  of 
8000  Jains  by  Trignana  Sambanda — art  event  so 
much  exaggerated  and  described  with  pride 
in  the  Saivapuranas — been  an  accomplished  fact  it 
must  have  been  referred  to  in  the  plates.  Arikesari 
Parankusan  had  the  title  of  Ter  Seliyan — a  name  which 
occurs  in  the  above  commentary  as  Ven-Ter  Seliyan  and 
as  the  founder  of  the  second  Sangam.  Jatila  Varman 
Parantakan,  known  to  the  Tamils  as  Komaran  Sadaiyan, 
was  a  famous  king  and  the  donor  of  the  Velvikudi 
grant.  He  had  the  title  of  Srivara  and  granted  the 
village  of  Srivara-Mangalam  in  the  Nanguneri  taluk, 
Tinnevelly  district,  to  a  Magada  Brahman  named  Suj- 
jata  Bhatta.  He  was  a  devout  worshipper  of  Vishnu. 
His  minister  Marankari  built  a  temple  and  an  agra- 
hara  in  A.  D.  770  to  God  Narasimha  at  the  foot  of  the 
Elephant  hill  or  Yanaimalai  near  Madura.  Varaguna  I 
might  have  been  the  builder  of  the  Vishnu  temple  at 
Varaguna-Mangalam.  His  grandson  was  a  staunch 
Saivite,  converted  probably  to  that  faith  by  his  minister 
and  Saiva  saint  Manikka  Vachakar,  while  his  great- 
grandson  Rajasimha  III  or  Siivallabha  Deva  was  a  Vaish- 
nava  owing  to  the  influence  of  the  Vishnuvite  Selva 
Nambi,  his  purohit  and  religious  preceptor.  In  the 
reign  of  this  last  Pandya  lived  the  Vishnuvite  saints 
Pe  riyalvar  and    Andal. 

Some  of  these  facts  will   be   found  stated  in  early 


APPENDIX   I  393 

Tamil  literature  and  in  the  Madura  stalapurana.  The 
copper  plates  refer  also  to  the  founding  of  a  college  of 
poets  at  Madura  and  the  translating  of  the  Mahabharata. 
The  first  has  been  considered  in  our  essay  on  the  Tamil 
academies.  As  regards  the  Mahabharata  which  in  the 
opinion  of  Prof.  Macdonell  attained  its  complete  form 
in  Sanskrit  about  A.  D.  350.  there  appears  to  have  been 
more  than  one  Tamil  translation.  All  the  Tamil  versions 
must  have  therefore  been  made  subsequent  to  A.  D. 
400.  The  first  of  these  versions  is  probably  the  one 
referred  to  in  the  grants.  The  translator's  name  is  at 
present  unknown  and  the  very  existence  of  the  work  is 
doubtful.  Whether  it  was  identical  with  the  Bharata- 
Venba  of  Perundevanar  (A.D.  750)  or  altogether  differ- 
ent cannot  be  ascertained  owing  to  the  paucity  of 
information.  Provisionally,  however,  it  maybe  assumed 
that  the  Bharata-Venba  of  Perundevanar  was  a  second 
translation.  The  third  was  by  the  Saivite  Aranilai  Visakan 
Trailokyamallan  Vatsarajan  of  Arumbakkam  (1)  in  the 
reign  of  KulottungaChola  III  (11781215).  This  translation 
of  the  epic,  though  it  does  not  survive  to  this  day,  might 
have  been  undertaken  when  Kamban  was  engaged  in 
translating  the  Ramayana.  The  fourth  rendering  of  the 
epic  into  Tamil  was  by  Villiputtur  Alvar,  a  Vaishnava 
poet  of  the  fifteenth  century.  It  is  only  a  fragment  or 
an  epitome,  but  completed  by  Nalla  Pillai  in  A.D.  1732- 
1744. 

So  far  the  history  of  the  early  Pandyas  from  Tamil 
literature  and  inscriptions.     From  both  the  sources  the 

(1)     Madras  Government  Epigraphist's  report,  dated  2nd  July 
1906,  p.  74. 


394  TAMIL  STUDIES 

number  of  Pandya  kings  does  not  exceed  twenty.  Oil- 
the  other  hand,  the  Madura  Stalapurana  gives  a  long 
list  of  some  seventy-three  Pandyas  beginning  with  Kula- 
sekara  and  ending  with  Madhuresvara,  besides  another 
list  of  some  forty- one  ^legitimate  Pandyas.  The  pur  ana 
narrates  miraculous  events  connected  with  the  local 
deity.  Most  of  the  names  in  the  lists  seem  to  be  fanciful 
or  mythical,  corroborated  neither  by  literature  nor  by 
inscriptions.  Before  proceeding  to  compare  and  ex- 
amine them  it  will  be  necessary  to  give  an  outline 
of  the  salient  points  from  the  Halasya  Mahatmya 
so  far  as  they  relate  to  the  Tamil  academies  and  the 
early  poets,  first  according  to  the  order  of  the  '  sacred 
sports'  or  the  deeds  of  Siva  and  secondly  according  to 
the  succession  of  the  Pandya  kings. 

I.  The  51st  *  sport'  was  the  establishment  of  the 
Madura  College  during  the  reign  of  Vamsasekara 
Pandya  ;  (52),  in  the  reign  of  Champaka  Maran  the 
pride  of  Nakkirar  was  subdued  by  Siva  ;  (53  and  54) 
Siva  directs  Agastya  to  teach  Tamil  grammar  to  Nak- 
kirar ;  (55)  Nakkirar's  commentary  on  Iraiyanar's 
Agapporul  recited  before  the  dumb  Brahman  child, 
Rudra-Sarman  ;  (56)  refers  probably  to  Tiruvalluvar's 
contest  with  the  members  of  the  academy  ;  (57-61) 
miracles  concerning  Manikkavachakar  which  occurred  in 
the  reign  of  Arimardhana  Pandya  ;  and  (62,  63),  the 
Jains  were  persecuted  by  the  Saivite  apostle  Trignana 
Sambanda  during  the  reign  of  Kubja,  Kun  or  Sundara 
Pandya. 

II.  The  fourth  king  was  Ugra  Pandya.  He  is 
said  to  have  performed  ninety-six  Asvamedha  or  horse 
sacrifices,   and    he   was  the   founder   of  a   Sangam    or 


APPENDIX  I  395> 

academy.  The  seventh  was  Vikrama  Pandya.  In  his 
reign  the  elephant  that  came  to  destroy  Madura  at  the 
machination  of  the  fains  was  metamorphosed  into  a  hill 
by  Siva  with  the  help  of  Narasimha.  In  commemora- 
tion of  this  event  the  Pandya  king  built  a  temple  for  the 
Vishnu  God  Narasimha  in  the  Yanamalai  hill.  '  Qlosuq^ 
miT&fBs^(ssi^  aSa^^^i^issr  (S&}LfiS(^mi3so'.  The  tenth  in 
succession  was  Anantaguna  Pandya.  In  this  reign  Sri 
Rama  visited  Madura  while  searching  for  his  wife  Sita. 
The  nineteenth  was  Varaguna.  He  went  to  Tiruvidai- 
marudur  in  the  Tanjcre  district  to  expiate  his  sin  of 
hrahma-halti.  The  forty-sixth  was  Vamsasekhara  in 
whose  reign  the  third  academy  was  established,  Nakki- 
rar,  Paranar,  Kapilar  &c,  being  its  members.  Nakkirar 
composed  the  <sias'^utT^  siretr^^uir^ujipiT^,  Rudra- 
sarma  listened  to  Nakkirar's  commentary  on  Iraiyanar's 
Agapporul.  The  sixty-first  was  Arimardhana.  The 
saint  Manikkavachakar  flourished  in  this  reign.  The 
last  but  one  and  the  seventy-second  king  in  the  list  was 
Kubja  or  Kun  Pandya.  In  his  reign  8000  Jains  were 
impaled  by  Trignana   Sambandha. 

Stripping  the  above  miraculous  events  of  their  mytho- 
logical garb  and  considering  them  together  it  will  be 
seen  that  they  are  most  of  them  stern  historical  facts  ; 
only  the  order  of  time  has  not  been  observed.  The 
'sacred  sports'  of  Siva  at  Madura  are  narrated  in  three 
or  four  Sanskrit  puranas  namely,  Uttara  Maha  Purana, 
Kadamba  Vana  Purana,  Sundara  Pandyam  and  Halasya 
Mahatmyam — all  which  were  composed  sometime  after 
the  tenth  century  A.  D.  out  of  the  current  traditions  and 
legends.  And  their  Tamil  translations  must  have  been 
made  long  after  that  period.     These  accounts  differ   as 


396  TAMIL    STUDIES 

regards  the  order  and  description  of  'sports'.  Some  of 
the  accounts  are  conflicting  in  other  respects.  The 
Tamil  names  of  kings  are  sanskritized  and  are  not 
arranged  in  chronological  order  as  will  be  seen 
later  on.  Thus,  the  Tiruvilayadal  Purana,  like 
all  other  puranas,  is  a  compilation  of  traditions, 
miracles  and  other  stories,  all  jumbled  together  regard- 
less of  any  time  sequence  and  without  any  order.  It 
would,  therefore,  be  extremely    injudicious  to   use  them 

for  historical  purposes  without    caution. 

The  only  king  who  is  mentioned  in  Tamil  literature 
as  having  performed  many  Yagas  or  sacrifices  is  Palyaga 
(salai)  Mudukudimi  Peruvaludi,  He  was  an  ancestor  of 
Nedum  Seliyam  of  the  Talai  Alanganam  fame.  He 
must  therefore  have  flourished  about  the  beginning  of 
the  Christian  era.  Nowhere  is  it  laid  down  that  Qgra 
Pandya  conducted  any  sacrifices  ;  but  one  Ugra  Pandya 
or  Ugra  Peruvaludi  is  said  to  have  attended  a  Rajasuya 
sacrifice  performed  by  the  Chola  king  Perunarkilli  who 
lived  about  the  first  century  A.  D.  The  fourth  king  in 
the  list  is  Vikrama  Pandya  in  whose  reign  the  Narasimha 
temple  at  the  foot  of  the  Anaimalai  hill  was  built.  From 
the  inscriptions  discovered  in  that  temple,  we  learn 
that  it  was  constructed  by  Maran  Kari,  a  minister  of  the 
Pandya  king  Parantaka  or  Nedum  Sadaiyan  in  A.  D, 
770  (No.  7).  The  age  of  Manikka  Vachakar,  who  is 
said  to  have  lived  in  the  reign  of  the  61st  king  Arimar- 
dhana,  but  actually  in  the  reign  of  Varaguna  the  19th 
Pandya  king,  was  the  second  half  of  the  ninth  century  ; 
and  the  date  of  Trignana  Sambanda  has  been  determined 
to  be  the  latter  half  of  the  seventh.  As  he  is  believed 
to  have  been  a  contemporary  of  Kun  or   Sundara   Pan- 


APPENDIX    II  397 

dya,  who  is  known  in  Tamil  religious  literature  as 
Nedumara  Nayanar  of  Nelveli,  he  might  be  identified 
with  No.  4,  Maravarman  Arikesari  (A.  D.  680)  given  in  our 
genealogical  table.  Thus,  we  find  the  paur ante  accounts 
of  these  historic  facts  are  grossly  anachronous  and  at 
variance  with  those  which  one  might  glean  from 
early  Tamil  literature  and  the  epigraphical  reports. 


APPENDIX  II 

NOTE  ON  AGASTYA'S  GRAMMAR 

Quite  recently  there  has  appeared  a  small  book,  entitled 
Per-Agattiya-Tirattu,  which  profesesto  be  a  collection  of 
aphorisms  from  'the  great  grammar  of  Agastya.'  It  con- 
tains, besides,  a  set  of  rules  which  Pandits  believe  were 
composed  by  Kazharamban  at  the  bidding  of  his  revered 
teacher  Agastya.  Both  these  collections  of  excerpts 
seem  to  be  for  the  following  reasons  forgeries  foisted, 
like  so  many  other  works,  upon  that  great  mythical  sage. 

1.  The  style  is  simple  and  very  modern  ;  it  contains 
too  many  Sanskrit  words;  and  the  difference  between  the 
language  of  this  work  and  that  of  Tolkapyar,  his  direct 
disciple,  is  patent  in  every  one  of  its  Sutras. 

2.  In  the  days  of  Agastya  the  number  of  Sanskrit  words 
in  Tamil  must  have  been  very  small,  and  the  necessity 
for  framing  rules  for  the  loan  of  Aryan  words  could  not 
have  been  felt,  as  it  was  in  the  days  of  Buddhamitra  and 
Pavanandi.  It  was  on  this  account  that  Tolkapyar 
did  not  give  any  definite  rule  under  that  head,  except 
in  a  vague  manner  thus  : — 


398  TAMIL   STUDIES 

On  the  other  hand,  this  Per-Agattiya-Tirattu  devotes 
one  whole  chapter  of  some  24  Sutras  to  Sandhis  and 
word  formation,  which  have  been  explained  in  the 
seventh  essay  as  the  pecuHar  characteristics  of  Sanskrit. 
Evidently  it  includes  in  the  Tamil  vocabulary  of  Agastya's 
age  pure  Sanskrit  words  and  foreign  or  desiya  words 
borrowed  by  modern  Tamil  as  the  following  aphorisms 
will  show: — 

(1)  (^Srru)   ^    ^  toT  6?Q7   QmrTL^ITUD. 

(2)  ujsinh  j)j  ^  &.  s«E  ep  e^eir  siji—^th. 

With    this   compare   the  corresponding   sutras  in  (a) 
Tolkapyam  and  (b)  Nannul. 

(a)  (1)  <:^  <ST  6?  S7OT2/  QpuSiT  (^sird^^rftuj. 
(2)  ^QeufTL^eOeO^  uusaQp^eorr^. 

(j)    (1)    ^   ^   CT    ^(SjQsiJfr  U.IT(^(^LD(ip^ei). 

(2)  j)j  SL  ^-  2J^  ^  ^ST  iuisiQp^eo, 
3.     The  author  of  this  grammar  seems     to  think    that 
the  Tamil  letter  Aydam,  o°o,  is  borrowed    from   Sanskrit 
as  will  be  inferred  from  the  following  sutras. 

[a)  QpjS^iiSliT  QLodjiuirdj^  (ifiuuiTQi€S)oSTQjr).  (7) 

(b)  'oT  e^susiiLD  Lppssreijih^iS  QL^(W^Q^esra.  (54) 

It  is  usual  to  say  that  tp,  «w,  /d,  and  sbt,  which  are  pur- 
posely placed  last  in  the  Tamil  alphabetic  system  to 
indicate  their  speciality  to  that  tongue,  and  the  letter 
oo,  which  has  neither  the  sound  of  visar^a  nor  that  of 
jihvamulya  but;  a  sound  peculiarly  its  own,  are  the 
distinguishing  marks  of  Tamil.  To  call  Aydam  a  Sans- 
krit letter  is  absurd.  Moreover,  the  author  of  this  work 
seems  to  derive  Tamil  from  Sanskrit. 

4.     The    Quifie<a^g=(^^^!!u>    attributed     to     Agastya's 


APPENDIX  399 

disciple  Kazharamban  purports  to  give  us  an  outline 
history  of  the  Tamil  language.  It  is  divided  according 
to  this  writer  into  eight  periods,  namely,  (1  )  Pre-alpha- 
betic,  (2)  Alphabetic,  (3)  Grammatic,  (4)  Academic,  (5) 
Monastic,  (6)  Jaina,  (7)  Pauranic,  and  (8)  Modern. 
This  classification,  which  on  the  face  of  it  is  unhistorical 
and  anachronous,  has  been  adopted  with  but  slight 
modification  by  Mr.  Damodaram  Pillai  in  his  introduc- 
tion to  Virasoliyam  ;  and  it  has  been  criticized  at  some 
length  in  the  eighth  essay.  The  last  or  modern  period 
may  be  taken  to  commence  in  the  fifteenth  or  sixteenth 
century  A.  D.  A  classification,  which  refers  to  phases 
of  literary  activity  of  the  sixteenth  century,  to  have  been 
made  by  a  disciple  of  Agastya  in  the  second  or  third 
century  B.  C.  is  a  hard  pill  to  swallow,  even  should  it 
come  from  the  best  of  scholars.  But  Tamil  Pandits 
will  readily  believe  it  to  be  the  work  of  a  disciple  of 
Agastya.  And  the  reader  can  easily  understand  that 
this  work  is  a  clear  instance  of  forgery.  What  seems 
probable  and  believable  is  that  Per-Agattiyam  is  a  com- 
position of  a  learned  member  of  one  of  the  Saiva  mutts 
or  monasteries  in  the  Tanjore  or  Tinnevelly  district 
written  for  the  use  of  the  Saiva  students  of  Tamil,  who 
may  have  had  in  the  beginning  a  prejudice  against  the 
use  of  Nannul  (being  the  work  of  a  Jain)  though  it  was 
decidedly  the  best  grammar,  and  that  it  may  have  come 
into  existence  long  after  A.  D.  12.50. 

5.     In  the    prefatory  sutra  to    Tolkapyam  it  is  said  of 
its  author  Tolkapyar  as  follows  : — 
^iSiy^sk.^  iBeo^&)s^^ 


400  TAMIL  STUDIES 

(ifii5^^s\}S6sin(B  Qpsapuui—  Qiajessressflu 
LfeoiQ^ir^^Q^rrasT 

QsstTeosiTULSiLKsnr. 

For  the  purpose  of  dealing  with  the  Tamil  letters,  words 
and  rhetoric  as  used  in  the  ordinary  speech  and  in  poetry^ 
the  author  clearly  says  that  he  observed  the  usages 
of  the  Sen-Tamil  men  {Qs^i^uSL^iu/beiasJ:  QewssSuuSs^LD) 
and  carefully  studied  the  early  literature  {Qpi^^&isem®) 
before  collecting,  collating  and  arranging  facts  for  me- 
thodical treatment  in  his  grammar  {Qpsapuui—QajesaressFlu 
L^&)iQ^!T(^^Q^!T&sT)  after  the  model  of  the  Sanskrit 
Aindram.  He  has  not  said  anywhere  in  his  grammar 
one  word  about  Agastya,  his  reputed  teacher.  It  has 
been  at  least  the  Tamil  custom  for  an  author  to  begin 
his  work  with  a  salutation  for  his  teacher  or  Acharya. 
In  this  case  the  teacher  was  a  divine  Rishi  and  the  sup- 
posititious writer  of  the  first  Tamil  grammar.  Both  of 
them  flourished  at  the  same  period.  It  is  not  under- 
stood why  Tolkapyar  should  have  taken  so  much  trouble 
to  observe  the  usages,  to  study  the  Tamil  authors,  and 
to  deduce  therefrom  the  grammatical  rules,  or  why  he 
should  have  recited  his  work  for  the  approval  and  edi- 
fication of  the  academy  before  a  fellow  student — Athan- 
gottasan — while  Agastya  was  its  president.  Was  it  to  pick 
up  flaws  in  his  master's  great  work,  and  was  he  such  an 
ungrateful  pupil  ?  Tamil  pandits  would  easily  believe 
that  the  two  divine  rishis  were  always  at  loggerheads- 
But,  all  these  throw  serious  doubts  as  to  whether 
Agastya  had  really   written  a  Tamil  grammar  and   whe- 


APPENDIX  III  401 

ther  Tolkapyar  was  ever  his  disciple.  The  com- 
ment on  the  prefatory  sutra  by  Sivagnana  Swami 
in  confirmation  of  the  facts  that  Agastya  had 
learnt  his  Tamil  from  Siva,  that  he  had  been  the  author 
of  the  first  grammar  of  the  Tamil  language  and  that  it 
had  served,  betore  it  was  lost,  as  the  model  for  all  the 
later  works  on  grammar,  seems  to  me  very  unsatisfactory 
and  even  fanciful.  No  man  has  ever  seen  the 
Agastya's  grammar  ;  and  the  statement  of  Mr.  Damoda- 
ram  Pillai  that  it  was  a  jumble  of  rules  relating  to  the 
three  kinds  of  Tamil  is  purely  a  creation  of  his  power- 
ful imagination.  What  I  am  inclined  to  believe  is 
that  every  myth  and  tradition  connecting  Agastya  with 
the  Tamil  language  should  have  come  into  existence 
subsequent  only  to  the  seventh  or  eighth  century  A.  D. 

APPENDIX   III 
THE  AGE  OF  MANIKKA  VACHAKAR 

The  only  Tamil  poet  whose  date  has  called  forth  a 
good  deal  of  controversy  from  pandits  and  scholars  is 
Manikka  Vachakar.  It  is,  in  my  humble  opinion,  mainly 
due  to  their  sectarian  bias,  their  superstitious  belief 
in  the  pauranic  stories,  their  want  of  confidence  in 
epigraphy  and  their  incorrect  understanding  of  the 
historical  trend  of  the  Tamil  language,  literature  and 
religion.  One  writer  thinks  that  Manikka  Vachakar 
belonged  to  a  period  subsequent  to  the  third  academy, 
another  puts  his  date  long  anterior  to  it,  while  a  third 
brings  it  down  to  the  thirteenth  century.  Dr.  Pope,  the 
Editor  and  translator  of  Manikka  Vachakar's  works, 
believes  that  he  lived  '  somewhere  about  the  seventh  o; 
26 


402  TAMIL   STUDIES 

eighth  century  of  our  era,'  while  yet  in  another  place  he 
writes  that  his  date  '  may  reasonably  be  assigned  to  the 
tenth  century.'  Thus  the  age  of  Manikka  Vachakar 
remains  still  unsettled.  It  is  not  intended  to  waste  some 
more  ink  and  paper  by  launching  into  any  elaborate 
discussion  [or  by  seriously  attempting  to  refute  their 
arguments,  but  to  briefly  indicate  certain  grounds  for  a 
correct  determination  of  his  date. 

(1)  The  traditional  order  of  enumerating  the  four 
famous  Saiva  saints — Appar,  Sambandar,  Sundarar  and 
Manild^a  Vachakar  and  the  position  assigned  to  Tiruva- 
chakam  and  Tirukkovai  in  the  Saiva  tirumurais  seem  to 
support  the  view  that  the  last  mentioned  poet-saint 
lived  later  than  Appar.  And  this  theory  is  confirmed  by 
the  fact  that  Manikka  Vachakar  and  Kalladar  have 
described  in  their  works  a  considerably  larger  number 
of  Siva's  sports  than  that  referred  to  by  Appar  or 
Sambandar,  who  must  have  visited  Madura — the 
far  famed  capital  of  the  Paniyas  and  a  stronghold  of 
Saivism  in  the  South. 

(2)  As  a  rule  the  best  annotator  would  quote  illus- 
trative passages  from  the  contemporary  writers  or 
from  those  who  preceded  the  author  whose  work  he 
annotates.  The  commentator  of  Manikka  Vachakar's 
Tirukkovai — Perasiriyar,  Nacchinarkiniyar  or  whoever 
he  might  be — cites  authorities  from  Iraiyanar's 
Agapporul,  Tolkapyam,  Kural,  Kalittogai,  Appar's 
Tevaram  and  Naladiyar.  Since  the  authors  of  all 
these  works  had  lived  long  before  Manikka  Vacha- 
kar, he  must  have  understood  that  Appar  was  his 
predecessor. 

(3)  In  his  Koil-padigam  Manikka  Vachakar    speaks  of 


APPENDIX  III  403 

Ponnambalam  or  the  'Golden  Hall'  at  Chidambaram. 
According  to  traditions  this  hall  was  first  built  by 
Hiranya  Varman,  probably  a  Pallava  king,  during  the 
sixth  century  ;  and  we  have  no  reason  to  believe  that 
this  shrine  was  in  existence  before  the  days  of  the  Chola 
king  Kocchengannan  who  is  said  to  have  built  several 
temples  to  Siva  and  Vishnu,  and  also  gilded  the  hall  at 
•Chidambaram. 

Q^fLoQu/resresressBi^  & p puoueo ;S^s> ^. — T.  T.    82. 
This  Chola    king  lived  probably  in  the  latter  half  of  the 
sixth  century. 

(4)  ManiUka  Vachakar  refers  to  Pey  Ammaiyar, 
the  Saiva  lady  saint  and  poetess  of  Karaikal,  who  could 
not  have  flourished  earlier  than  the  sixth  century  for 
the  simple  reason  that  the  andadi  form  of  Tamil  poem,  in 
which  her  ^(n^^ iTLL<sisL^u)5sefft£ifT'?e\)  and  j>jpi-^^^^(f^eui5^rT^ 
were  written,  did  not  come  into  use  before  that  period, 
as  explained  by  Nacchin  irkiniyar  in  his  commentary  on 
the  Tolkapyar's  siitra   ^iQ^iQ^^n^ui, 

(5)  A  careful  and  candid  study  of  the  present 
work  will  convince  the  reader  that  the  religious 
doctrines  expounded  by  Manikka  Vachakar  in  his 
Tiruvachakam,  the  general  tenor  of  his  writings  and  his 
contempt  for  other  religions  and  sects  may  not  enable 
him  to  take  the  poet's  age  beyond  the  hymnal  period, 
i.  e,  A.  D.  500—950. 

(6)  One  of  the  'sacred  sports'  of  Siva  at  Madura  was 
the  send-off  of  the  Pandya  king  Varaguna  to  His  loka 
or  heaven;  and  this  act  of  divine  grace  has  been  alluded 
to  by  Manikka  Vachakar: — 


404  TAMIL   STUDIES 

Again  in    his  Tirukkovaiyar  he  refers  to    that  king 
thus  : — 

...  6uj^e!rar(65)/5 

Q^mesrOiQesr p^(^'^pp\s>ue<i^^tT&sr.  (306) 

..,    QppuaU6\}L£LIS(lp 

LDUjQeOfnEjQ0iEiaefflajrr2issTena3)<3SSfQir.   (327) 

It  is  thus  evident  that  our  saint  lived  in  or  after  the 
reign  of  Varaguna  Pandya.  Epigraphical  researches 
have  up  to  now  brought  to  light  only  two  Pandya  kings 
of  that  name,  the  earlier  of  whom  lived  in  the  first 
quarter  of  the  ninth  century.  And  the  Varaguna  alluded 
to  by  Manikka  Vachakar  must  have  been  the  Varaguna 
Varman  mentioned  in  the  Ambasamudram  inscriptions 
{Ep.  bid.  Vol.  IX.,  Pt.  ii).  He  was  a  devout  worshipper 
of  Siva  and  granted  donations  of  money  and  land  for  his 
worship  in  many  Siva  temples. 

But  the  Halasya  Mahatmya  informs  us  that  Manikka 
Vachakar  lived  in  the  reign  of  one  Arimardhana  Pandya 
who  was  forty-second  in  succession  from  the  only  Vara- 
guna given  in  the  Mahatmya  list.  This  is  one  of  the 
many  shocking  anachronisms  which  one  may  find  in  the 
above  slala-purana. 

(7)  In  the  sacred  sports  of  Siva  at  Madura  as  narra- 
ted in  this  purana,  the  'jackal  miracle'  which  is 
erroneously  connected  with  Manikka  Vachakar  and 
which  is  stated  to  have  occurred  in  the  reign  of  Arimar- 
dhana Pandya,  the  sixty- first  in  the  list,  comes  after 
the  sport  of  turning  into  rock  the  Elephant  -that  came 
to  destroy  Madura  in  the  reign  of  the  seventh  Pandya, 
and  the  hearing  of  Nakkirar's  commentary  on  Irai- 
yanar's  Agapporul  by  the  dumb  child,  Rudra  Sarman,  in 
the  reign  of  the  forty-sixth   king.     The  slender  data  on 


APPENDIX   III  405 

which  the  first  of  the  above  sports  rests  did  actually 
take  place  in  the  reign  of  Jatila  Varman  Parantakan» 
A.D.  770.  Nakkirar's  commentary  contains  an  illustra- 
tive kovai  addressed  to  the  Pandya  king  Arikesari  Paran- 
kusan  who  reigned  about  A,  D.  740. 

It  is  admitted  by  Tamil  pandits  that  the  Tiruk- 
kpvai  of  Manikka  Vachakar  was  composed  in  accor- 
dance with.the  rules  given  in  Iraiyanar's  Agapporul, 
and  that  our  saint  must  have  read  Nakkirar's  comment- 
ary. The  date  of  Iraiyanar's  Agapporid  could  not  be 
earlier  than  A.  D.  650.  and  that  of  the  commentary  by 
Nakkirar  about  A.  D.  740.  Manikka  Vachakar  must  have 
therefore  lived  after  A.D.  740.  If,  now,  we  admit  that  the 
sports  or  miracles  are  narrated  chronologically  in  the 
stalapurana,  the  '  Jackal  miracle ',  coming  after  the 
metamorphosis  of  the  Elephant,  must  have  happened 
after  A.  D.  770.  Thus  even  according  to  the  writers  of 
the  Madura  Stalapiirana,  Manikka  Vachakar  must  have 
lived  after  A.  D.  770. 

(8)  The  religious  propagandism  of  Manikka  Vacha- 
kar, his  visit  to  Ceylon  and  his  conversion  there  of  many 
Buddhists  and  their  king  which  are  narrated  in  the 
Vadavur  Slalapurana,  are  confirmed  by  Rajaratnakari  of 
Ceylon.  This  occurred  in  A.  D.  819  or  more  correctly 
about  A.  D.  869. 

(9)  The  language  of  Manikka  Vachakar  and  the 
various  metres  employed  by  him  do  not  take  us  so  far 
back  as  the  sixth  or  seventh  century.  Sanskrit  words  and 
phrases  like  ^'jumiresrmj   ^^QhhldiI),    Qs=iTiriosrj    Q^itujld,    siSld 

and  LLiT^rreij^irLD  were  not  used  by  the  poets  of  the  acade- 
mic period.     The  resemblance    between   the   works   of 


406  TAMIL   STUDIES 

Periyalvar,  Andal,  Nammalvar  and  Manikka  Vachakar 
in  thought,  language,  style  and  form  is  so  close  as  tO' 
suggest  their  being  contemporaries  more  or  less.  The 
above  Vaishnava  saints  lived  between  A.  D.  850  and  925. 
(10)  In  the  Tiru-tonda-togai  [^(j^^Q^fremi—^Qstrecos) 
of  Sundarar,  the  last  of  the  sixty-three  Saiva  saints,  who 
lived  about  the  first  quarter  of  the  ninth  century 
no  mention  is  made  of  Manikka  Vachakar,  Yet  like 
the  Vaishnava  acharyas  who  twisted  and  miscon- 
strued texts  to  fix  the  beginning  of  the  Kaliyug  as  the 
age  of  Nammalvar — the  last  of  their  saints — some  of  the 
more  recent  pandits  and  scholars  have  attempted  to  put 
the  date  of  our  Saiva  saint  long  anterior  to  that  of  Appar 
and  Trignana  Sambandar,    interpreting  the  expression 

QU!TUJUJI^<SS)1£>  tlS6\)e\)IT^    L/6UQJ/f     111   thC  ^(TJ^O^ffSJOTi—^O^ffSOS 

as  a  reference  to  the  saint,  and  supporting  it  by  two  vague 
allusions  found  in  the  following  lines  from  Appar's 
Tevaram  : — 

(1)  isifiesiujs  (^^<oS)ir  Q<Fuue)jiT^i}). 

(2)  @L_(jotg(5/5^.ySsaT  QjiT<s=S'^&QsiTeaaii—rTiT. 

Here  the  first  quotation  proves  nothing,  as  the 
miraculous  transformation  of  Jackals  into  'horses'  though 
traditionally  connected  with  Manikka  Vachakar,  is  an 
old  'floating  myth',  like  many  others  of  that  kind.  It 
was  one  of  the  many  miracles  performed  by  Siva,  and  to 
which  our  saint  himself  refers    thus, 

There  is  a  reference  to  this  miracle  in  the  Kalladam 
also.  Had  Kalladanar,  its  author,  lived  posterior  to  Ma- 
nikka Vachakar,  which  seems  to  me  to  be  more  probable, 
5he  Jackal  miracle  should  be  taken   as  one  of  the   many 


APPENDIX   III  407 

floating  myths  current  during  the  hymnal  period  of 
Tamil  literature  (A.  D.  600_.950),  as  he  has  not  mention- 
ed Manikka  Vachakar  in  that  connection. 

In  the  second  quotation  the  word  6u(rs=sm  has  been 
misinterpreted  as  Manikka  Vachakar,  and  in  support  of 
this  fanciful  meaning  the  pandits  quote  two  Sanskrit 
puranas  whose  authority  might  be  as  questionable  as 
that  of  Halasya  Mahatmya  and  other  puranas.  Here 
Qjrrs^aetr  (Skt.  vachakaYmeans  a  '  servant  '  or  'messenger' 
and  nothing  more. 

Now  coming  to  the  Tiru-tonda-togai,  it  might  be  asked 
— Why  should  Manikka  Vachakar  alone  be  referred  to 
in  this  indirect  and  vague  fashion  while  the  other  sixty- 
one  saints,  some  of  whom  were  comparatively  less 
notable,  have  been  mentioned  by  their  names  or  titles  ? 
There  is  no  answer  to  this  question.  Both  Sundarar  and 
Manikka  Vachakar  were  Brahmans  of  the  same  sect;  and 
the  latter  was  the  minister  of  a  Pandya  king  and  a  great 
religious  disputant  who  did  much  for  the  propagation  of 
Saivism.  If  Sundarar  had  to  refer  to  him,  he  would  have 
with  pride  mentioned  the  name  of  this  saint  instead 
of  using  this  round-abont  expression,  which  may  be 
applied  to  any  sincerely  pious  poet.  He  must  have  also 
read  Appar's  Tevaram  and  noticed  in  it  the  incident  of 
the  'Jackal  miracle'  as  well  as  the  word  eun-^sesr.  If 
Manikka  Vachakar  had  really  lived  before  Sundarar 
and  if  the  latter  saint  had  interpreted  eurrs^ssor  to  mean 
Manikka  Vachakar,  could  he  not  have  referred  to  our 
saint  at  least  by  that  holy  name  in  his  Tiruttondattogai? 
This  clearly  shows  that  Sundarar  had  never  heard  of  the 
name   of   Manikka  Vachakar — the  fourth  great  saint  of 


408  TAMIL   STUDIES 

the    Saivas,   because    he   had  not  yet  been  born  in  this 
world. 

Nambiyandar  Nambi,  the  Vyasa  of  the  Dravidian 
Vedas,  has  correctly  understood  the  expression  Qurrdjujt^ 
<ss}LDaS6\)sorr^  ueosij IT  to  mean  collectively  the  forty -nine 
professors  of  the  third  academy  at  Madura. 

uiTsaariT  rssSiTiTQfi^  (^pu^Q^iT(Ssru^  usOLfsoQeaair. 

Do  the  modern  Tamil  scholars 'claim  to  be  more 
learned  and  better  informed  in  this  matter  than  Nambi- 
yandar Nambi  who  lived  within  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years  after  Sundarar  or  Manikka  Vachakar  ? 

It  has  been  urged  by  a  recent  writer  that  Nambiyandar 
Nambi  has  misunderstood  the  above  expression,  and  that 
he  has  wrongly  calculated  the  total,  forgetting  that  the 
'traditional  sixty-three'  was  the  number  of  the  individual 
saints  sung  by  Sundara  Murti.  A  grand  discovery  indeed  ! 
But  was  our  poet  so  ignorant  of  the  rudiments  of  arith- 
metic as  to  merit  the  critic's  condemnation  ?  Has 
Sundara  Murti  or  any  writer  anterior  to  Nambiyandar 
Nambi  stated  that  the  number  of  individual  saints  was 
sixty-three  ?  And,  if  not,  how  could  he  call  it  '  tradi- 
tional' ?  Perhaps,  he  forgot  that  most  of  the  names  of 
the  Saiva  saints  were  almost  unknown  before  the  time  of 
Nambiyandar  Nambi,  who  for  the  first  time  collected 
and  arranged  the  Devara  and  other  Saivite  hymns,  and 
that  their  apotheosis  was  mainly  due  to  his  works.  If 
we  add  Sundara  Murti,  as  our  poet  has  rightly  done,  to 
the  62  individual  saints  enumerated  in  the  ^Q^iQ^rresmL^ 
^Q^aesis  we  get  the  now  traditional  63.  But,  if  we  take 
the  above  expression  to  mean  Manikka  Vachakar, we  get 
in  all  64    which  is   not  the  traditional  number  of    Saiva 


APPENDIX  III  409 

saints,  as  we  cannot  by  any  means  omit  Sundara   Murti 
from  the  list. 

It  is  therefore  plain  beyond  any  shadow  of  doubt 
that  the  saint  Manikka  Vachakar  must  have  been  an 
elder  contemporary  of  Periyalvar  and  Andal  of  the 
Vaishnava  sect  and  lived  in  the  reign  of  the  Pandya 
king  Varaguna  II  (A.  D.  870),  that  is  two  centuries 
later  than  Appar  and  Trignana  Sambandar,  half  a 
century  later  than  Sundarar  and  about  one  generation 
earlier  than  Nammalvar.  And  this  is  the  view  accepted 
by  every  student  of  epigraphy. 

KALLADANAR. 

The  Kalladam  is  an  erotic  poem  of  some  one  hundred 
agavals,  describing  mostly  the  '  sacred  sports'  of  Siva  at 
Madura.  Its  author  Kallada  Deva  Nayanar  was  a  Saiva 
poet  of  the  pauranic  or  hymnal  period.  Tamil  pandits 
very  often  confound  him  with  Kalladanar,  an  earlier 
poet  of  the  academic  age.  The  former  was  a  Saiva 
devotee  and  author  of  ^Q^sseamemuu  Q^stiH^lQ^iMpLJa  and 
a  commentary  on  the  Tolkapyam  besides  the  Kalladam, 
while  the  latter  was  a  bard  and  wrote  only  a  few 
eulogistic  verses  on  the  Pandiya  king  Nedum  Seliyan, 
second  century  A.  D.  Thus  Kallada  Deva  Nayanar  and 
Kalladanar  were  two  distinct  poets  like  Poigai  Alvar 
and  Poigaiyar. 

Both  must  have  been  natives  of  Kalladam,  once  a 
flourishing  sea-port  near  Ouilon  on  the  West  Coast.  In 
the  days  of  Manikka  Vachakar,  it  was  probably  the  seat 
of  a  Saiva  shrine,  seiie\}iTu.^^-i  seok^ssfl^(rF,etfl — T.V.  II. 
11,  which  must  have  come  into  existence  during  the 
ninth  century  A.  D.,  as  no  mention  is  made   of  it  in  the 


410  TAMIL   STUDIES 

Tevaram  oi  Appar  or  Sundara  Murti.  It  would  only  be 
a  vain  subterfuge  of  pandits  if  it  was  said  that  their 
hymns  on  that  place  had  been,  lost  along  with  several 
others  at  Chidambaram. 

In  the  Kalladam  one  may  find  references  to  Tiru- 
valluvar,  Nakkirar,  Kannappar,  Chakkiyar  and  Murti 
Nayanar,  Concerning  the  last  it  says, — 

(oSTQ^sffs^firirk^  f§<^sir(T^LLueasBijj0S)L-UU.   (57) 
This  event  happened,  as  we  have  said  in  Appendix  I^ 
about  the    beginning  of  the  seventh  century,  which  must 
be  taken  as  the  earliest  limit  of  the  age  of  Kalladam. 

Again  the  same  work  refers  to  the  commentary  of 
Nakkirar  on  Iraiyanar's  Agapporul  and  to  the  commend- 
atory verses  of  the  forty-nine  professors  of  the  third 
academy  on  the  Kural  of  Tiruvalluvai. — 

(1)  LOIT p^UOL^'oiliilQ^   LDUJISI(^  gH SU'hsO 

su.&)QpQ^Q^^s  sssiiraSeOomsu^^^CcUaeo.  (3) 

(2)  ^0rB^u9i^sS !T<om  Qu(Ti^i^uSi^uu^eiJ6\) 
eurrsSluSpdsLLisiT  (sSitnaaetr^^ssr&sr.   (52) 

(3)  ^k^'^essmuQ^enn ^  suQufT^'siTQp^'Sems 
(^gHQpesflQ ^ pei^iJo  QuQ^Qf^ pi-^eOQiirs 

QiiHr(cL^(LpMlUUJ0lil  QsiT ^ pUUQ^SS^LD.    (65) 

(4)  SFLcajssemssff  LO^QjL^3h.(frj' 
^&)@uje03k.(BLJ  Qu!T(f^effl^Qaj<oi!rp 
eijisiT(&T)Sii<s5r pema>(^  sijefriTsaSLii-jsOQjirQfi'oST 
Qp^pssSuiTL^Lu  QpsiLLQuQ^LDrr&sr.   (15) 

The  above  quotations  show  clearly  that  the  Kalladam' 


APPENDIX  IV  411 

is  a  repertory  of  old  traditions,  ghoulish  [legends  and 
mixed  miracles  relating  to  the  Saiva  religion  and  litera- 
ture, narrated  in  such  a  torm  as  to  allure  the  Dravidian 
mind.  It  is  one  of  those  religious  books  which  are 
highly  valued  by  the  Tamil  Saivas  ;  and  it  has  given 
rise  to  the  proverb — si50&)itl-ld  s^jnenQies)®  m&i&nji—nQii. 
(Venture  not  to  argue  with  one  that  has  studied  the 
Kalladam). 

They  prove  further  that  the  author  of  Kalladam  was 
not  unacquainted  with  Nakkirar's  commentary  on  Irai- 
yanar's  Agapporul  and  that  he  must  have  lived  several 
years  after  Perundevanar,  one  of  the  forty-nine  pro- 
fessors of  the  Madura  College.  In  our  essay  on  the 
Tamil  academies  it  has  been  sliown  that  this  commen- 
tary on  Agapporul  was  written  sometime  after  A.  D.  750 
and  that  Perundevanar,  the  reputed  author  of  the  Tamil 
Mahabharatam,  lived  somewhere  about  A.  D.  785. 
Further,  the  number  of  sports  played  by  Siva  at  Madura 
came  to  be  definitely  fixed  as  64  during  the  time  of 
Kalladar,  while  it  was  not  so  in  the  days  of  the  last  four 
great  saints  It  is  thus  pretty  evident  that  Kallada 
Deva  Nayanar  lived  between  A.  D.  850  and  950,  and  that 
he  may  have  been  a  younger  contemporary  of  Manikka 
Vachakar  whose  Tirukkovayar  served,  according  to  a 
traditon,  as  the  model  for  his  Kalladam. 

APPENDIX  IV 

NOTE  ON  THE  WORD    TIYAN. 

The  word  Tiyan  designates  a  class  of  toddy  drawers 
in  Malabar,  Travancore  and  Cochin,  and  it  is  com- 
monly supposed  to   be  a  synonym  for  Izhuvan,  which    is- 


412  TAMIL   STUDIES 

the  name  of  another    caste   of  palm-cultivators  found  in 
the     Tamil     and     Malayalam     countries.     The     tradi- 
tions current  in  Malabar  represent  them    as   immigrants 
from  Ceylon,  and  in  accordance  thereto  the  words   Tiyan 
and  Izhuvan  are  derived  by  the    old-school   philologists 
of  Malabar    and   their  European  supporters,    like  Drs. 
Caldwell  and    Gundert  and  Mr.  Logan,    from  'dvipam' 
(an  island)    and    Simhalam  (Ceylon),     This  etymology, 
though  advocated  by  such  high  authorites  and  confirm- 
ed  also     by    Malabar    traditions,    seems   to    be   rather 
fanciful  and    devoid  of   any    historical   or   ethnological 
foundation.     It  is    needless    to  mention  here   the   utter 
worthlessness  of    Keralolpatti    and  Keralamahatmya  as 
historical  records.     For    the    purposes   of  ethnological 
investigations    no  reliance    can  be  placed   on    either  of 
these,  because  they  are  only  later   compositions  of  the 
Nambudri  Brahmans  of  Malabar,  who    de  facto  had   in 
their  hands  the  destiny    of  the    Chera    kingdom.     It  is 
not  the  only  instance  in  which  the  Malabar  people  have 
shown  their  primitive  knowledge  of  the  modern  sciences 
of  language  and  ethnology.  'Embran'  is  derived  from  he- 
brahman  ;    'Nambi'  from  nainbu,  to  believe;  'Kuric'chan' 
from  kun,  to    mark, 'Variyar'  irom  varuka  to  sweep  and 
so  on.     Of  course,  these  etymologies  were  supported  by 
strange  traditions,  short  or   long,    which  the   Nambudri 
Brahmans  were  ever  ready  to  invent.     For  these    vaga- 
ries of  etymology  the  language  is    responsible,  not    the 
people.     The  mother-tongue  of    the    non-Aryan  tribes, 
of  Malabar  was    purely  a  Tamil  dialect,   and  about  fifty 
per  cei?t.  of   the    words  found    in  the    Malayalam  voca- 
bulary are  of  Tamil  origin.     As,  however,  Sanskrit   had 
and  even  now/  have  an  undoubted  preference  in  matters 


APPENDIX  IV  413 

social  and  religious,  the    natural   tendency    has  been  to 
derive  the  Tamil  words  from  SaRskrit. 

The  arguments  advanced  by    the   upholders    of    the 
'Simhala'  or  'Dwipa'  theory  are, — 

(1)  'The  Keralolpatti  says  that  at  one-time  five  arti- 
ficers having  provoked  the  Perumal's  wrath  emigrated, 
and  found  refuge  in  Ceylon,  from  whence  they  were 
brought  back  by  the  intercession  of  foreigners,  and  in 
their  train  came  the  caste  of  cocoanut  tree  cultivators'. 
(2)  The  cocoanut  tree  is  not  indigenous  to  India 
but  was  introduced  by  the  southern  islanders  of  Ceylon. 
It  is  suggested  by  some  that  the  connecting  link  bet- 
ween the  words  Tiyan  and  Dvipan  survives  in  'Divar' 
of  Canara.  One  writer  goes  even  to  the  length  of 
tracing  the  Kadamba  chiefs  of  Humcha  to  the  children 
of  the  islanders,  'Divara  Makkalu'.  (3)  Mr.  Logan  points 
out  that  since  cocoanut  is  not  mentioned  in  the  list  of 
exports  from  Malabar  given  in  the  Periplus  in  the  first 
century  A.D.,  it  is  probable  that  the  palm  was  intro- 
duced by  theTiyans  (Dvipans)  and  Izhuvans  (Simhalese) 
from  Ceylon  before  the  sixth  century  A.D. 

As  to  the  first  argument  it  may  be  remarked  tffat 
the  South  Indian  Inscriptions  inform  us  that  the  toddy- 
drawing  classes  of  the  country  from  Cape  Comorin  to 
Tirupati  were  called  Izhuvans.  In  none  of  the  ancient 
works  Sanror  or  Shanan  is  used  to  denote  the  modern 
caste  of  Tamil  toddy-drawers.  Granting  then,  that  all 
the  Shanans  of  the  Tamil  country  and  the  Tiyans  and 
Izhuvans  of  Malabar  and  Travancore  are  the  deecendants 
of  the  original  immigrants  from  Ceylon,  we  have  at  pre- 
sent nearly  two  millions  of  this  guild  following  the  same 
trade  and  occupation  in  both  the  countries.  The  popula- 


414  TAMIL   STUDIES 

tion  of  Ceylon  according  to  the  Census  of  1891  was  near- 
ly three  millions.  Although  there  had  been  several  in- 
vasions and  occupations  of  the  northern  part  of  Ceylon 
alternately  by  the  Cholas  and  Pandiyas,  the  annals  of  that 
island  from  the  first  century  to  the  ninth  do  not  speak  a 
word  about  any  irruption  or  civil  war  that  could  have 
led  to  the  evacuation  of  the  island  by  nearly  two-thirds  of 
its  useful  inhabitants.  We  read  in  the  Mahawanso  that  a 
branch  of  the  Pandiyans  was  ruling  for  a  short  period 
in  Ceylon.  Moreover,  the  relationship  between  the 
Singalese  and  Keralas  wa^',  in  fact,  so  little  that  it  is 
scarcely  possible  that  such  a  large  immigration  directly 
from  Ceylon  to  Malabar  could  have  taken  place  during 
that  remote  period.  In  the  copper  plate  grants  of  the 
Syrian  Christians  the  names  Izhuvan  and  Tiya-alvan, 
occur  ;  and  it  is  evident  that  the  Tiyans  (not  Dwipans  or 
Tivans)  were  then  (A.  D.  132o)  an  organisedguild  with 
headmen  or  alvans^a.nd  that  the  Izhuvans  were  iateri  m- 
migrants  from  the  Tamil  country.  The  difference  in  the 
customs  observed  by  the  two  toddy-drawing  castes  con- 
firms the  truth  of  the  statement.  The  Izhuvans  follow  the 
Makkatayam  rule  of  inheritance  while  the  Tiyans  of 
North  Malabar  follow  the  nepotic  law  of  Bhutal  Pandiya. 
Being  later  immigrants,  the  Izhuvans  of  Malabar  are 
regarded  by  the  Tiyans  as  of  very  interior  status,  just  as 
their  Cherumas  and  Pulayas  hold  the  Paraiyas  of  the 
Tamil  country  in  low  estimation.  The  name  Izhuvan  is 
derived  by  Dr.  Caldwell  from  Simhalam,  Sihalam,  on  the 
analogy  of  the  Greek  wordlndoi  from  Sindhu.  There  can 
be  no  necessity  for  thus  dragging  a  SansJirit  word  through 
many  stages,  when  there  is  already  in  the  Tamil  langu- 
age the  simple  word  Singalam. 


APPENDIX  IV  415 

With  regard  to  the  second  argument,  it  may  be  said 
that  the  word  in  'Divara  Makkalu'  is  not  '  Divara'  or 
Divar,  but  it  is  'Deva  or  Devara'  an  ordinary  title  assum- 
ed by  the  South  Indian  kings  ;  The  Kadamba  kings 
had  it;  the  Kalian  and  Marava  castes  of  Madura  still 
have  it;  and  a  section  of  the  Todas  called  the  Palais 
style  themselves  *Der-mokh'  or  the  sons  of  God.  The 
Kadambas  are  said  to  have  been  toddy-drawers, because 
toddy-drawing  was,  and  even  now  is, the  special  occupa- 
tion of  several  primitive  tribes  who  are  found  in  various 
parts  of  India  bearing  different  local  names.  As  sub- 
jects of  the  Kadimba  kings,  the  palm  cultivators  of 
Canara  assume  with  pride  the  name  'Devara  makkalu;' 
the  Kalians  and  Maravasare  called  Tevans  or  Devans, 
because  their  ancestors  are  believed  to  have  been  kings, 
and  in  the  last  Census  several  of  them  have  returned  their 
caste  name  as  'Tevan'  simply  ;  the  Palais  are  called 
'  Dermokh  *  because  they  are  the  high  priests  of  the 
Todas.  According  to  the  'Dwipa'  theory  all  these 
castes  and  tribes  may  be  said  to  be  the  descendants  of 
the  '  islanders  '!  The  important  caste  of  toddy-drawers 
who  bear  the  name  of  Tiyan  or  Dvipan  in  Malabar 
is  considered  in  their  land  of  nativity,  Ceylon,  as  stran- 
gers or  'Duravar',  How  then  can  we  say  that  the 
palm  cultivators  and  toddy  drawers  of  South  India  are 
immigrants  from  Ceylon  ?  It  is  probable  that  a  few 
families  of  toddy-drawers  may  have  returned  from  Ceylon 
with  the  aitificers,  but  not  in  such  large  numbers  as  to 
give  a  territorial  name  to  an  immense  caste  consisting  of 
two  millions  or  moie  members  and  living  in  various 
parts  of  Southern  India. 

Now  coming  to  the   third  argument,  it  may  be  urgad 


416.  TAMIL   STUDIES 

that  either  the  cocoanut  might  have  been  omitted  to- 
be  mentioned  by  an  oversight,  or  might  not  have  been  an 
article  .of  export.  In  Southern  India  it  was  certainly 
valued  and  much  used  by  the  Tamils  for  drink  and  food 
during  the    first  century  A.  D. 

At  any  rate  this  argument  is  not  strong  enough  to  sup- 
port the  theory  of  the  migration  of  such  a  numerous 
caste  from  the  tiny  island  of  Ceylon.  It  is  also  contrary 
to  the  general  law  of  migration  from  the  north  to  south 
India  during  the  historic  times. 

The  argument  from  the  Tamil  name  of  the  cocoanut 
palm  is  more  imaginary  than  real.  The  word  letigu 
found  in  the  Dravidian  languages,  as  tenkaya  in  Telugu 
and  tengina  in  Canarese,  is  derived  from  the  root  tern  or 
ten  which  means  '  honey' or  ,' sweetness.'  Tengu  is  the 
sweet  or  honey  tree  and  not  the  southern  tree  as  some 
philologists  would  have  us  beheve.  And  ten-disai  is  the 
sweet  direction  where  Tamil  or  the  'sweet'  tongue  is 
spoken.  This  direction  is  called  in  Tamil  ten  with 
reference  to  the  habitat  of  the  Tamihans,  just  as  mel 
(merku)  and  kil  (kilakku)  denote  'west  and  east'  with  re- 
ference to  the  lofty  mountains  of  their  country.  Since 
ten  (/•)  ku  and  tengu  are  derivatives  of  the  same  root  ten^ 
it  is  not  fight  to  say  that  tengu  (cocoanut)  is  derived 
from  terku  and  call  it  par  excellence  the  'southern  tree',, 
as  if  there  had  been  no  cocoanut  trees  in  India  before 
the  introduction  of  that  useful  palm  from  Ceylon  by  the 
Tiyans, 

What  then  is  the  etymology  of  the  terms  Izham,  Izha- 
van  andTiyan.  'Izham'  means  the  land  of  Kubera  or  the 
Indian  god  of    gold   (Izham)  for   which   the   island   of 


APPENDIX   JV  417 

Ceylon  or  Lanka  was  renowned  in  the  Puranas.  This 
word  is  quite  distinct  from'Izham'  which  means  'toddy.' 
The  latter  is  derived  from'Izhu,'  to  draw,  and  it  may  be 
found  in  Telugu  as  'Idiga'.  It  is  highly  probable  that 
'Izham'  has  come  to  denote  toddy  also,  as  a  number  ot 
synonyms  for  toddy  indicates  the  high  importance  of 
this  beverage  which  was  esteemed  in  early  times  as 
valuable  as  gold.  On  these  grounds  we  are  far  from 
agreeing  with  Dr.  Caldwell  and  other  scholars  in 
tracing  the  word  'Izham'  or  'Izhavan'  from  'Simhalam' 
which  had  already  found  its  way  into  the  Tamil  langu- 
age in  the  form  of   Singalam. 

Similarly  we  would  derive  Tiyan  from  ti-an,  which 
means  a  'sweet  man,'  or  one  whose  occupation  is  the 
manufacture  of  the  //or  'sweet'  drink.  It  is  an  occupa- 
tional but  not  a  territorial  name  applied  to  this 
class  of  toddy  drawers.  When  most  of  the  Drvidian 
castes,  like  Nayadi,  Pulayan,  Cheruman,  Kammalan  and 
Panikkan,  who  are  supposed  to  carry  pollution  with 
them,  possess  Dravidian  names,  why  should  Tiyant  and 
Izhavads    alone    be  called    by    Sanskrit   appellations  ? 


27 


INDEX 


(Names  of  Tamil  authors  and  luorks  are  printed  in  Italics. 


Aborigines,  19,  377. 

Academies,  the  traditional 
account  <if  the,  252;  later, 
254;  work   of  the,  257. 

Accadian,  its  affinity  with  Tamil, 
34,  121. 

Accent  in  Tamil,  135. 

Adiyarknnallar,  annotator,  189. 

Adjectives,      not    declined,  165. 

Agappornl,  Nakkirar's  commen- 
tary on  Iraiyanar's,  253,  405. 

Agastya,  45,  150,  390  ;  age  of, 
118;  grammar,  188,  397;  priest 
of  the  Pandyas.  52  ;  students 
of,  237. 

Agglutinative  languages,  147. 

Ainknruiniru  an  early  Chera- 
Tamil  anthology,  342. 

Alapedai      or     prolation,     133. 

Alphabet,  the  Tamil,  113  et  seq. 

Alvars,  or  Vishnuvite  saints, 
218 ;  names  of,  295  ;  the 
'first,'  299. 

Ambalakkaran,  a  caste,  69. 

Ambalavasis,  a  caste,  103. 

American  languages,  172. 

Anaimalai  inscriptions,  319. 

Andal,  a  lady  saint,  323. 

Anthologies,  Tamil,  when  com- 
piled, 254,  257. 

Anthropometry,  doubted,  14. 

Anti-brahman  leal  literature,  22  5. 

Appar,  a  Saiva  Saint,  2l7,  305. 

Archaeology,  16. 

Arisil  ktzhar,  a  lamil  poet,  209. 

Ariuiachala  kavi,  190. 
Aruniindi  Sivacharya,  a  Tamil 

poet  and  philosopher,  222. 
Artizans,    social  position  of,  74. 
AryanSj-original  home  ol  the,  35; 

conquest  of  South   India,  51. 
Aryan  theory  of  the  Tamils,  20 
Asoka,  126. 
Assyrians,  41  • 


Ativira    Rama  Pandya,  a  poet 

king,  225,  255. 
Atti-peru,  meaning  of,  359  f.n. 
Augustus  Caesar,  an  embassy  to, 

389. 
Ayirai  hill,  266, 

Bedar_  a  caste,  101. 

Beschi,  Father,  225  ;    on  vowel 

signs,  131. 
Retel-leaf,  use  of,  329. 
Bharatam^  when  tr.^nslated,  247 
Bhatta  or  later  colony  of  Brah- 

mans,  349,  380. 
Biographies  of  saints,  296. 
Bitti   Deva,      of    Mysore,    111, 
Brahma-Aryan,  a  title,  65. 

Brahmans.  civilizing  the  Tamils, 
42  ;  invited  by  Tamil  kings, 
59  ;  their  cxclusiveness,  89  ; 
their  influence  in  Tamil  liter- 
ature, 186  ;  in  Malabar,  348  ; 
when  migrated,  379. 

Brahmanism,  early,  285-288;  in 
Kerala,  373. 

Brahmi  characters,  115  ;  used 
by  Brahmans  and  Buddhists, 
126  ;  and  Vatteluttu  compar- 
ed, 123  ;  all  South  Indian 
•alphabets  traceable  to,  127  ; 
except  Vatteluttu,  128, 

Brahuis,  a  Dravidian  tribe,  50, 
378  ;  and  the  Dravidians,  Dr. 
Grierson  on,  37,  38. 

Bray,  Mr.  Denys,  33  ;  on  the 
Dravidians,  37 

Brihat  Katha,  243, 

Buddhamitra,  a  Tamil  gramma- 
rian, 119,128  ;  on  mispronun- 
ciation, 137. 

Buhler.  Dr.  G.,  on  Vatteluttu, 
120,  243. 

Burnell,  Dr.  A.  C,  116  ;  on 
Vatteluttu,  120. 


420 


INDEX 


Caldwell.  Dr.  33,  412;  on  the 
word  '  Dravida ',  5;  on  the 
aborigines,  19;onTamil  civili- 
sation, 50;  on  the  Paraiyas,81; 
on  the  Tamil  alphabet,  120; 
on  Tamil  diphthongs,  156;  on 
Tamil  literature,  201—204;  on 
the  Alvars,  281;  on  Malavalam 
345,  359. 

Case  terminations,  164. 
Castes,  Tamil,  58;  regional  clas- 
sification  of,  62;  in  Kaja  Raja 
Chola's  time,  66;  origin" of,  67; 
increase   of,   7.S;  disputes,    74; 
the  right  and  left-hands.  95. 
Caste      system,     61  ;   Veilalar's 
position  in,  61;  introduction  of, 
75;    among  the    Naga-Dravi- 
dians,  381. 
Cattle-lifting,  before  a  war,  40. 
Ceylon  and  Tiyans,  415. 
Chakkiyar  Kuttu,  190. 
Chera     custom?,     early,  275. 
Chera   kings,    dates  of    certain, 

265;  genealogy  of,  270. 
Cherumars  and  Pallans,    names 

of   castes,  354. 
Chidambaram,     temple  at,  318. 
Chinese,  161. 
Chintadripetta,  93. 
Chijita,nani,  a  Jaina  work,  219 

293;  age  of,  255. 
Chtidamani      Nigandu.      Tamil 

dictionary,  219. 
Chulaviatu,  a  poem,  219,  392. 
Coimbatore,  derivation  of,  31. 
Combination     of     letters,    140. 
Commentators,      Tamil,      196  • 
names  of,  223;Vaishnava,  223.' 
Commentaries,  need  for,  223. 
Communication     between      the 

East  and  West  Coasts,  371. 
Compound      words   in     Tamil 
158;  and  in  Sanskrit,  161. 

Conjeeveram,  religions  at,  290. 

Consonants,  Tamil,  134;  soften- 
ing of  Sanskrit,  161. 

Copper  plate  grants,  115  ,•  early 
Malabar,  356. 

Cow,  its  importance,  73. 


Cox,  Prof.  H.,  quoted,  15. 
Critical  spirit,  196. 

Damodaram  Pillai's  division   of 
Tamil  literature,  198-200,  399, 
Dancing  women,   190. 
Dandi,  a  grammarian,  220. 
Dead,  disposal  of    the,  39,  214. 
Dependant  letters  in  Tamil,  133. 
Der-mokh,  415. 
Deva  Nagari  alphabet,  29. 
Devar  (Aryans),  10. 
Devara-makkalu,  a  title,  415. 
Devar  a  hymns,  190;  and   Divya 

prabandam,  compared,    292. 
Divakaram  of  Sendan,  a  Tamil 

dictionarv,  65,219. 
Dots,  use  of,  in  Tamil  letters,  122. 
Drama,  187;  works  on  the,  189, 
Dravida,    explained,    1;  Manu's 
definition,    5;  Dr.    Caldwell's 
use  of ,  5;  etymology  of,  6;  and 
Cauda  contrasted,  3 
Dravidas,  the  five,  2;  the  custom 
of,  3;  proper,   4;  Nambudries 
not  included,  4/.  ». 
Dravidins,    61;  in  Upper   India, 
36;    not    a     dark    race,    378; 
civilisation  of,  60  ;  religion  of 
early,    283  ;    various  theories 
concerning,  17  el  seq;  connec- 
tion with  Australians,  18. 
Dravidian,  linguistic  and  ethno- 
logical applications,  37;  family 
and    IJralo-AltaJc    languages, 
170,    171  ;   languages,   degree 
of     relationship    among    the, 
374  ;  their  influence   in  Sans- 
krit, 168,  169  ;  interchange  of 
letters  in,  151  ;  migration,  not 
by  sea,  47  ;  thought,  186. 
Drinking,  74. 
Dual  termination,  163. 
Dvarasamudram,  378. 


Early    Tamil,  173-177. 
Enadi  Nayanar,   a  Saint,  66. 
Ethical  literature,  193-195. 
Etymology,  Tamil,  162. 
Exegetical  period,  222-224. 


INDEX 


421 


Eyinas,  an  ancient  tribe,  12,  76. 
Ezhuttaccliaii,  a  poet,  361. 


Faction  disputes,  not  in  Mala- 
bar, 98. 

Final  letters  in  words,  139. 

First  academy,  described,  235  ; 
age  of,  239. 

Food  and  the  caste  system,  73. 

Forbes,  Capt.,  on  the  North 
Indian  Nagas,  27. 

Frazer,  Mr.  J.  G.,  20(;. 

French  academy,  compared 
with  Sati^aiu,  260. 

Gait.  Mr.  G.  A.,  quoted,  15. 

Gandaraditya,  a  king,  255,  292. 

Gandharvam,  a  form  of  mar- 
riage, 101  ,•  gandharvis,  dan- 
cmg   women,    190. 

Gatitnniaiiar,  a  poet,  217.  20(5. 

Gender,  rational,  103. 

Geosraphy,  the  Tamil's  igno- 
rance of,  142 

Guana  Vcitiyaii,  a  Tamil  work, 
197. 

Grammars,  the  Tamil,  114. 

Grantha-Tamil  characters,  114  ; 
why  introduced,  128  ;  rules  lor 
naturalisation  of,  128, 

Grierson,  Dr.,  17,  39  ;  on  Tamil 
literature,  207. 

Gunabhara,  a  Pallava  king,  305. 

Gunadhya,  age  of,  243. 

Giiniparamparai,  or  the  lives  of 
Vaishnava  reformers,  220. 

Haddon,  Dr.,  19. 
Haeckel,  Dr..  18. 
Hill  tribes,  68. 

Hinduism,  history  of,  282,  285. 
Hiranya  Varma,  a  king,  402. 
History,  foreign  to  Hindus,  195. 
Hovelacque,  Dr.,  35,  172,  195. 
Hunter,  Sir  W.  W.,  on    Dravi- 

dian  migration,    23,   108  ;    on 

Tamil  literature,  204. 
Huxley,  Prof.  T.,  18. 
Hymnal  period,  217. 


Idaiyan,  history  of,  71,  76,  103  ; 
in  Malabar,  353, 

llakkaiia  Vilakkam,  224. 

llakkana  Kottn,  224. 

Ilango-Adigal,  a  Jaina  poet,  216. 

Images  of  Saints,  338. 

Indo-Europeanisms  in  Tamil, 
167,  168. 

Inflection  of  verbs  in  Malaya- 
lam,  368. 

Initial  letters  in  words,  138. 

Inscriptions,  on  social  position 
of  certain  castes,  75,  77  ; 
giving  a  Paraiya's  decision, 
80;  on  the  Kaikolas,  S2  et. 
seq  ;  use  of  Vatteluttu  and 
Grantha-Tamil  in,  127. 

Interchange  of  letters  in,  136. 

Ir    or  r,    as    plural  suffix,  163. 

Irrigation  tanks,  43  ;  the  system 
borrowed  from  the  Baby- 
lonians, 43. 

Islamism  and  Brahmanism,  186. 

Isolating  languages,  147. 

lyakkan  or  Yaksha,  a  Marava 
chieftain,  55. 

lyal  Tamil,  187. 

Izham,  meaning  of,  416. 

Izhavas,  a  caste,  66,   72,  77,  413. 

Izha-putchi,  a  tax,  72. 

Jains,  position  of,  in  the  caste 
dispute,  110  ;  a  right-hand 
caste,  112. 

Jaina,  Sangam,  foundation  of, 
251  ;  Tamil  works,  219. 

Jespersen,  Dr.,  quoted,  261. 

Johnston,  Mr.  C.  J.,  86  /.  n. 

Kacchiyappa,  a  Tamil  poet,  220. 

Kadars,  a  forest  tribe,  13,22.56. 

Kadunkon,  a  Pandya  king,  25?. 

Kaikolan,  65,  95 ;  as  temple 
servants,  97  ;  were  Eyinas, 
82;  origin  of,  82,  83  ;  not  good 
weavers,  83. 

Kalabhras, foreign  invaders,  250. 

Kalingam,  meaning  of,  83. 

Kaliiigaltnpayani,  a  poem,  221. 

Kalittogai,  an  anthology,  216. 

Kalladanar,  3,  216;  age  of,  409. 


422 


INDEX 


Kalian,  a  caste,  29,  69. 
Kamban,  219,  262  ;  date  of,  54  ; 

lectured  in  Malabar,  343. 
Kammalas,   thread  wearing  bj, 
75,  77,  108  ;  in  Malabar,  104  ; 
origin    of  the,  85,-88  ;    their 
version  of  caste  disputes,  97. 

Kanakasabhai,  Mr.  V.,his  etymo- 
logy of  the  word  Tamil, 7  ;  his 
theory  of  Mongolian  origin, 
13,  25,  192  ;  on  Early  Chera 
kings,  272;  on  the  Pandiya 
kings,  388. 

Kanchipuram, description  of,  76; 
origin  of  caste  disputes  at,  99. 

Kannappa  Nayanar,  a  saint,  29. 

Kaimassa    Ramayanam,  360. 

Kapilar,  4  5,  216,  z68,  270, 
271;  as  name  of  three  different 
poets,  197;  not  a  Paraiya,  248. 

Kappiyanar,  a  poet,  266. 

Karaikk alaniinai ,  a  saint,  403. 

Karaiyan,  a  fishing  caste,  72. 

Karanam,  a  caste,  75. 

Katantra,  a  grammar,  118. 

Kaveripatam,  destruction  of,  60. 

Kayslna  Valudi,  age  of,  252. 

Kazluirambliaii,  a  student  of 
Agastya,  397. 

Keane,  Dr.,  A.H.,  19;  on  Tolka- 
pyam,  138. 

Kerala,  a  Kodum-Tamil  country, 
264,  341  ;  Nambudris  owner- 
ship oi,  350- 

Khonds,  a  hill  tribe,  90. 

Kings,  duties  of  Hmdu,  108. 

Kocchengannan,age  of,  250,319. 

Kodum-Tamil,  where  used,  142. 

Kol-Ayan,  a  shepherd  caste,  353. 

Koliyaiis,  weavers,  80. 

Konatiri,  meaning  of,  353. 

K'jftayam  plates,  360. 

Krishiiagata,  a  poem,  360. 

Kshatri\as,  59,  103. 

Kudumi'or  tuft  of  hair.  389. 

Kulabckliaralvdr,  a  Chera-Tamil 
saint.  309,'343. 

Kuji(ialakesi,n  Jaina  work,  219. 

Kunnalakon,  meaning  of,  353. 

Rural,  113;  Sanskrit  miluence  in 
the,  194. 


Kurichan,  a  hill  tribe,  91. 
Kurumbas,    a     tribe,    13,  69. 

Language,  no  safe  test  of  race, 
13;  changes  in  its  growth, 
145;  morphol  jgical  classifi- 
cation of,  147. 

Left-hand  castes,  95. 

Lemurian  theory,  the,  2i,  33. 

Letters,  number  and  order  in 
Tamil,  132,  137;  peculiar  to 
Tamil,  134;  combination;  117; 
'levelling'  in  Malayalam,  368. 

Linguistic  affinity,  153. 

Literary  forgeries,  very  common 
in  Tamil,  197. 

Loan  words,  how  to  delect,  155. 

Locality  and  communities,  73. 

Logan,  Mr.,  on  the  derivation 
of  '  Kizhakku,'  345,  412. 

Long  CT  and  9,  51,  61. 

LydeUker,  Prof.,  18. 

Macdonell,   Prof.  A.  A.,  118. 

M'Crindle,  Mr.  J.  VV.,  44 

Madigas,  leather  workers,  101. 

Madura,  the  Soulliern,  240; 
seat  of  Tamil  learning,  256  ; 
Sangams,  232;   purana,  394-6. 

Mahabharata,  1  ;  interpolations 
in  the,  51;  its  popularity,  52; 
translated,  256,  393  ;  date  of 
the  war,  239. 

Mahawanso,  on  the  caste  dis- 
putes, 102. 

Mahishya'^,  a  mi.xed  caste,  75. 

Makkalpravidians),  10. 

Malabar,  a  Kodum-Tamil  coun- 
try, 344;  castes  and  the 
Tamils,  351;   temples  in,  a47. 

Malaiman,  a  caste,  101. 

Malaspir,  a  hill  trmc,  56. 

Mala>alain,  a  dialect  of  Tamil, 
9,  375;  not  an  iiiflectiQnal 
language,  149;  meaning  of, 
341;  early  literature  in,  357  ; 
and  vulgar  Tamil,  367;  gram- 
mar, 365,  366-369  ;  levelling 
process  in,  368  ;  vocabulary, 
369-371  ;  why  separated 
from  Tamil,  371-6. 


INDEX 


423 


Mamballi,  copper  plates,  langu- 
age of,  359. 

Manavalamainiini,  a  Vaishnava 
reformer,  22J,  385. 

Mangudi-kisliar,  a  poet,  78  ; 
Marudanar,  21(5. 

Maiiikka  Vachakar,   392;  et  seq. 

Maniiiickalai,  :i  Chera-Tamil 
epic,  39. 

Manipravala,  229. 

Maran,   etymology  of,  31. 

Maravas,  a  caste,  11,  70. 

Maratgruinasiiinhauda,  a  Saivite 
philo^opner,  222. 

Marayan,  a  caste,  00. 

Marriage,  ti:e  Rakshasa  form 
of,  55  ;  among  the  early 
Tamils,  214  ;  connection 
amoiiiit  the  Tamil  kings,  372. 

Marumakkatayam  hw,  103. 

Mathematics,  Tamil,  192, 

Mauryan  alphabet,  ]25. 

Max  Muller,  quoted,  258. 

Mayura  Varma,  a  king,  348. 

Medi.-eval    Tamil,    177-180. 

Meykaiuia  Deva,  a  Saivite 
philosopher,  22-2. 

Middle  letters  in   words,  140. 

Modern  Tamil,  180-;  83;  charac- 
ters, 129,  why  ;mgular,  131. 

Mo.iern,  Tamil  prose,  230. 

Molony,  Mr.J.C,  on  Tamil, 135. 

Monastic  learning,    224. 

Mongolian  theory,  24. 

Moods,  165. 

Mostyar,  a  Tamil  poet,  243. 

Mutattama    Kaiitiiyar,    217. 

Mudukudumi  Heravaludi,  a 
Pandiya  king,  388,  391. 

Mudattirumarnn.  a  king,  252, 

Mukundamalai,  a  poem,  310. 

Mussalmans,  attitude  towards 
foreign  literature,  186,  187, 

Music,  187;  works  on,  189;  his- 
tory of,  189,  191. 

Musiri,  an  ancient  town,  346. 
Muttatasa,   feudal  chiefs,  69. 

Muttiriyans,  a  caste,  69. 

Muttollayiram,  a    poem,  217. 


Nacchiiiarkiniyar,      a      Tamil 

commentator,   45,     118,     123, 

328  ;     on   Vowel-consonants, 

129. 
Nagas,    10  ;    their    connection 

with   the  Pallis,  10  f.n.]  with 

the  Cholas,  11;  described,  27; 

in  S.  India,  28,  G9;  tribes,  61. 
Naga-Dravidians,  377. 
'Nagakiimara  kavyam,    a    Jaina 

work,  219. 
Naidatam,  a  Tamil  classic,  225. 
Nakkirar,  216,  395;  his  account 

of  Academies,   252. 
Naladiyar,  date  of,  69,  219,  254. 
Nalayiiaprabandam,  291. 
Nallandni'aiiar,        author       of 

Kalittogai,  216. 
Nambis    or     Nambudris,   early 

Hrahmans  of  Tamil    country, 

349,  379. 
Nambudris,    103;    meaning   of 

347;  not  the  sole  Jenmis,  350; 

influence  of,  358 ;  and  Bhatta 

Brahir.ans,  373. 
Nanihiyandar    Nanibi,  a    .roet, 

220,  407;  age  of,  293. 
Name  giving,  337. 
Naiiimalvar,  a  Vishnuvite  Saint 

65 ;    Sanskrit    words    in    his 

works,  128;  life  and    writings 

of,  324;    age   of,    327-338;  on 

the     Chera    temples,  347. 
Naiiiml,i\  Tamil  grammar,  161. 
Napputanai',  a  poet,  217. 
Nasalisation  in  .Malayalam,  3'!. 
Nathamuni,  220,  291;  327,  334. 
Nattaltanar,  a  poet,  216. 
Nayadis,  a  low  caste,  90. 
Nayanars  or  Saiva  saints,  218. 
Nayars,  103;  composition  of  the 

caste,  352. 
Negritos,  56. 

Neniinadam,  a  grammar,  219. 
Nelson,  J.  H.,  Ill, 
Nilakcsi,   a   Jaina  or   Buddhist 

work,  269. 
Nouns,  162;  of  quality,  162. 


'^acch'Jlaiyar,  a  poetess,  268.         Occupation  and  castes,  73 


424 


INDEX 


Orthography,  Tamil,  113;  Sans- 
krit and  Tamil  compared,  155. 
Otiaikkutlau,  a  poet,  84,  220. 

PadirruppatUi,  a  Chera-Tamil 
work,   342. 

Pall  an,  a  low  caste,  70,  71. 

Pallava,  meaning  of,  65,  69,  70, 
214;  not  liked  by  Tamil  kings, 
105;  downfall  of  their  king- 
dom, 106. 

Palli,  a  caste,  70. 

Pansor  Tamil  tunes,  188,  332, 

Panans,  11,  54,  102,  235. 

Panchalas,  the  {see  Kammalas) 

Pandya  kings,  48  ;  early,  387  ; 
genealogy  of,  391. 

Panini,  a  grammarian,  117. 

PannJriipadalani,  a  work,  217. 

Panntrupattiyal,  136. 

Paranar,  a  poet,  216,  267,  271. 

Paraiyas,  etymology  of,  78  ; 
origin  of  the  people,  77; 
their  former  greatness,  79-81; 
Dr.  Caldwell  on  the,  81,  101. 

Parani,  a  war  song,  221. 

Parts  of  speech,  162;  difference 
in  Tamil  and  Sanskrit,  163. 

Particles  (Idai-chol),  162. 

Pattanavan,  a  fishing  caste,  72. 

Pavanandi,  on  letters,  113,  128. 

Pazhamoli,  a  poem,  219. 

Per-arayan,  a  title,  65. 

Periyalvat ,  320;  age  of,  321. 

Periyavacchan  Ptllai,  a  Vaish- 
nava  commentator,  322. 

Pcrnnipaiiarnippadai,  76. 

Perinuievatiar,  a  Tamil  poet, 
219;  age  of,  247,  254. 

Periingimrur  Kizhar,  269. 

Perunkaiisikanar ,  a  poet,  217. 

Philology,  principles  of,  143. 

Phonetics,  Tamil    deficient,  134. 

Pidaran,  caste,  ()i>. 

Pillai  Pcrnmal  Aiyangar,  225. 

Pingala  Nigandii,  a  Tamil  Dic- 
tionary, 219. 

Poigaiyar,  a  poet,  250. 

Poli  or  change  in  letters,  136. 

Poll-tax,  107. 

Polluting  castes,  65. 


Polysynthetic  languages,  147. 
Pope,  Dr.,  on  Saivism,  383,  401. 
Poyyamozhi  Piilavar,  a  poet,  255. 
Prabhtdmga  lila,  a  poem,  225. 
Prayoga  Viveliam,  153. 
Pre-academic   period   of    Tamil 

literature,  212. 
Pie-Aryans,  the  three  types  of,  61 
Presents   to  Tamil  poets,  260. 
Pronouns,  relative,  165. 
Pronunciation,    of    a-,  133;  of  to 

(Zh),  134, 
Prose  literature,   228-230;    need 

for,  184. 
Pugazheiidi,  a  poet,  220. 
Puranic  Hinduism,  288. 
Purapporul  Vcnbamalai^  a  poem, 

55,  217,  343. 

Quantity  in  Tamil  letters,  133. 

Racial  varieties,  data  for  de- 
termination of,  13. 

Kajaraja  Chola's  inscriptions,  77, 
83;  castes  of  his  time,  66. 

Rakshasas,  the,  9,  378;  ancestors 
of  Paraiyas,  Pallas  etc.,  54; 
Rakshasam,  a  form  of  marri- 
age, 55,  104. 

Rama,  a  tvpical  Aryan,  53. 

Ramanuja    Chary  a,  111,  222. 

Ramayana,  the,  51. 

Rangacharya,  Prof.  M.,  on  caste 
disputes,  101. 

Ravanii,  52  ;  not  a  Dravidian 
Tamil,  53. 

Relations,  Tamil  words  to 
denote,    105. 

Religion,  broke  up  castes,  73, 
74  ;  in  the  academic  period, 
251  ;    of  the  Tamils,  382. 

Rhetoric,  166. 

Rhys  Davids,  Dr.,  on  the  Tamil 
alphabet,   119. 

Rice,  JMr.  L.,  102. 

Right-hand  faction,  92  ct-  scq  ; 
castes,  95;  army  mentioned  in 
inscription,  106,  107. 
Risley,Sir  H.H.,  12,13,  17,  24,32. 
Roman  colony  at  Madura,  48,  244. 
Rudran  Kannaiiar,  a   poet,  217. 


INDEX 


425 


Sacred    hymns,      collection    of 

Tamil,  292. 
Saints,  the  Tamil,  218. 
Saiva  activity,  early,  292-294. 
Saiva  mutts,  learning  in  224. 
Saiva    philosophy,     not   Dravi- 

dian.    192. 
Saiva  Siddhantam  defined,  384. 
Saivisro,  383. 
Sakkai,  a  caste,  66. 
Sakti  workship,  96. 
Sambandam  or  marriage,  103. 
Sandhi  or  coalescence,  160. 
Sangam,  references  to,  231,  392; 
meaning  of,  23;  origin  of,  234; 
age    of  the    second,  241,  243  ; 
Buddhistic  origin,  2.52. 
Sankaracharya,  2. 
Sanskrit  compounds,  159;  poets 
and     Tamil    Sangams,    238  ; 
and  Tolkapyam,  128. 
Saitanar,  2l6,  389  ;  a    Buddhist 

poet,  251,  258. 
Sekkilar,  age  of,  220,  293. 
Selva  Kamhi,  a  Brahman,  320. 
Sembadavan,  caste,  72. 
Semman,  leather-workers,  8.5. 
Sen-Tamil,  where  spoken,  141. 
Sewell,  Mr.  R.,  on  South  Indian 
people,   20  ;      on     the    Tamil 
alphabet,  124. 
Shanan,  a  caste,  71. 
Ship,  Tamil  words  for  the,  48. 
Siddhar  school  226. 
Sil appadikaram ,    an  early  Che- 

ra  Tamil  work,  342. 
Siva giianatpu 111,   on  letters,  133; 
on  usage,  144  ;    on  the  origin 
of  Tamil.  149. 
Sivavakkfyar    and    Tirumalisai 

Alvar,  306. 
Smith,  Mr.  Vincent,  39,  49,  265. 
Social  life  in  Kerala,  274. 
Soligas,  a  forest  tribe,  56. 
Sourashtras,  a  weaver  caste,  60. 
Srivaramangalam,  331. 
Sutidaraiiiiirti  Nayanar,  407, 
Suryanarayana  Sastri,  200. 
Swaminatha  Desika,    on    Tamil 
and  Sanskrit,    152;    on  Tamil 
letters,  156. 


Tamil,  the  word  explained,  G; 
Mr.Kanakasabhai's  derivation, 
7;  affinity  with  Uralo-Altaic 
languages,  14,  34  ;  an  agglu- 
tinative language,  148,  381  ; 
changes  in,  145  ;  the  Divine 
origin  of,  149;  not  the  only 
Dravidian  language,  150  ;  its 
relationship  with  Sanskrit, 
152,  153;  and  Sanskrit  com- 
pared, 163,  166;  affiliation  of, 
169,  172;  history  of  early,  173; 
mediaeval,  17  7;  modern,  180; 
peculiarities  of  early,  267-280; 
Nambudris"  attitude  to,  368. 

Tamils,  the  three  racial  types 
among  the,  10,  56;  a  warlike 
race,  41,  185,  261  ;  their  cul- 
ture, 42;  their  foreign  trade, 
47-50;  in  Sanskrit  epics,  51; 
probable  date  of  their  migra- 
tion, 47;  their  acquaintance 
with  the  Romans,  48;  and  the 
Assyrians,  121  ;  their  com- 
merce with  the  Egyptians, 
121;  rehgion  of  the,  215,  382. 

Tamil-akam,  boundaries  of,  8. 

Tamil  alphabet,  history  of,  114; 
when  introduced,  115;  before 
Agastva,  122;  Mr.  R.Sewell  on 
the,  124;  defective,  124,  134; 
origin  of,  136. 

Tamil  castes,  67. 

Tamil  civilisation,  240;  Mr. 
Kanakasabhai  on,  192;  Dr. 
R.  Caldwell  on  early,  19.3; 
due  to  Agastya,  237. 

Tamil  Dictionary,  copiousness 
of.  261. 

Tamil  kings,  and  the  Mahabha- 
rata  war,  44;  are  Kshatri\-as, 
61  ;  of  Malabar,  357;  none 
in  Rama's  time,  54. 

Tamil  learning,how  encouraged, 
255,  253. 

Tamil  ]etters,origin  of,  136,  382. 

Tamil  literature,  extent  of,  191; 
division  of.  187;  posterior  to 
Aryan  contact,  195  ;  Mr. 
Damodaram  Pillai's  division 
of,  198-200;    Mr.     Suryanara- 


426 


INDEX 


yaiia's,200,201;Dr.  Caldwell's 
201— 20i;  Dr.  Hunter's,    204 
M.  Juhen    Vinson's,   207-210 
proposed    division,     211-213 
periods    of,  386,    399  ;    pre- 
academic  period,       212  ; 
academic  period,  213;  hymnal 
period,  217;  exegetical  period, 
222-224  ;  modern  period,  224, 
226;  and  by  Namhudri's,  372. 

Tamil  research,  the  new  School 
of,  46,  51. 

Tamil  Scholars,  self-sufficiency 
of,  195. 

Tamil  words  inSanskrit,  154, 161. 

Tamil  works,  approved  by  the 
Sangam,  216. 

Tayamanaswami,  65. 

Tembavatii,  a  poem,  225. 

Temple  building  begun,  290. 

Tengu  or  cocoanut,   415. 

Ten  Tamil  Idvlls,  The,  88. 

Ten  Tens,  the,  264. 

Ter-Chelian,  age  of,  king,    253. 

Tevan,  a  title,  415. 

Third  Sangam,  described,  245  ; 
dissolution  of,  248,  251. 

Thomas,  Mr.  E.,  on  the  Indian 
alphabets,   ll9. 

Tiruchengunrur,  a  Brahman 
centre  in  Kcala,  347. 

Tirumalisal  Alvar,  302-307. 

Tirumangai  Alvar,  29,  311  ; 
age  of,  317. 

Tiriimurais,  a  collection  of  Saiva 
religious  hymns,  220. 

Tirunakkurasar,  same  as  Appar. 

Tiriippaii alvar,  307. 

Tinittakka   Deva,  255. 

Tiriittonda-Togai,  a  list  of  Saiva 
Saints,  406. 

Tiruialluvar,  an  ethical  poet, 
216,  285;  malai,  247-249. 

Tiyans,  a  Malabar  caste,  103, 
411.  and  Izhavans,  oo5,  417. 

Todas,  13,  38,  379. 

Tolkapyar,  age  of,  116,  400;  des- 
cribes only  Vatteluttu,  122, 
126;  Mr.  A.  H.  Keane  on,  138; 
on  final  letters,  139. 

Tomb  stones,    40. 


Tondaradifpodi  Alvar,  307. 
Topinard,  Dr..  18. 
Toti,  meaning  of,  SO. 
Trade  with  Babylon,  iT  f.ii,  43. 
Traditions,  16;  value  ot,  3S7. 
Translations,  Tamil,  219. 
Travancore,      a     Kodum-Tamil 
country,  344. 

Turkic  and  Tamil,  165. 

Trignana  Sambanda    fJayanar 
a  Saiva  samt,  396,  207. 

Udayanakavyam,  a  poem,  219. 

Ugra  Peruvaludi,  a  king,  249; 
age  of,  252. 

Ula,  a  kind  of  poem,  221,  222. 

Umapati  Sivacharya,  a  Saivite 
divine,  222. 

Umaru  Pulavar,    a  poet,  225. 

Unnayi  Variyar,  a  Malayalam 
poet,  361. 

Uralo-Altaic  languages  and 
Tamil,  14;  group  and  the 
Dravidian  family,  170. 

Usimuri,  a  work  on  Tamil  pro- 
sody, 217. 

Vaidya,  an    extinct  caste,  64. 

Vaikhanasa  Dharmasutra,  87. 

Vajra  Nandi,  a  Jain  teacher, 251. 

Valaiyapaii,  a   Jaina  work,  219. 

Vali  and  Sugriva,  56. 

Valluvas,  Paraya  priests,  99. 

Vanamamalai  Mutt,  331. 

Vanniyan,  a  caste,  69. 

Vanaras,  the,  51,  56,  377. 

Vannans,  a  caste,  77. 

Varagunamangai,  330. 

Variyan,  a  Malabar  caste,  66. 

Vatteluttu,  114  ;  history  of,  116  ; 
introduced,  119;  Dr.  Burnell 
on,  120;  Drs.  Buhler  and 
Caldwell  on,  120  ;  and  other 
alphabets  compared,  123  ; 
independant  origin  of,  121; 
borrowed  from  Semites,  124; 
Tolkapyar's  description  of, 
126  ;  not  borrowed  from 
Brahmi,  128,    131. 

Vedan,  a  hunting  caste,  29,  101. 

Vedas,  unwritten,  234. 


INDEX 


427 


Vedanta  Desika,  222,  385. 

Velaikkarar  (infanfrj'),   106. 

Vellallas,  the,  38,  61;  etymology 
of  tiie  name,  42;  their  posi- 
tion in  the  caste  system,  61  ; 
account  of,  63-65;  in  Mala- 
bar, 353. 

Velirs  (Vellalas),  61,  62. 

Veiibainahn,  a  Chera-Tamil 
work.     (See  Piirapporul.) 

Venkayva,  Mr.  V.,  on  the  Tamil 
alphabet,   125. 

VillifiUtiirar,  a  poet,  225. 

Vira  Fukka  Raya,  112. 

Virakkals  or  tombstones,  40. 

Vinson.  M.  Julien,  207-210. 

Virasoiiyavi,  65  f.  n.;  161,  220. 

Vishnuism,  earlv  history  of,  288; 
Dr.  Pope  on,  385, 

Vishnu  temples,  ancient,  289. 

Vishnuvardhana,  4  king,  336, 

Vocabulary,  Tamil,  153;  Malaya- 
lam,   369-371. 


Vowel-consonantal   signs,    129- 

131. 
Vulgar   Tamil   and    Malavalam, 

367. 

Wars  with  the  Cheras,  372. 
West-coast      towns    in      Tamil 

literature,  3-16. 
Whitney,  Prof.    W.  D.,  on    the 

growth  of  lanjjuage,  145-147. 
Word-formation   in    Tamil   and 

Sanskrit,  157. 
Words,  rules  for  Tamil,  137-140  ; 

coining  not  allowed,  262. 

Yakshas  or  Rakshasas,  54. 
Yanadis,  a  forest  tribe,  88. 
Yavanas,  59/.  ;/.,  244,  265. 
Yazh,  described,  IciS. 
Yesodarakavyani ,  a  poem,  219 


Zh  (iP),  30,  134. 


The  End. 


The  Guardian  Press,  Madras. 


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