Tamil Studies
Tamil Studies
Tamil Studies
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TAMIL STUDIES
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TAMIL STUDIES
OR
AND LITERATURE
BY
M.
SRINIVASA AIYANGAR,
M.A.
FIRST SERIES
MADRAS
AT THE GQARDIAN PRESS
'
1914
D3
T3S7
To
Tbe
SIR
VConourable
k.cy.o.,
C.s.i.,
HAROLD STUART,
i.c.s,
Tb'S 9olun)e
3s by Hind pern))SSion roost reSpectfutty
Pedicatecf
By
(Cs a
^bs ^utbor
2n5ien5io
PREFACE
A
want.
popular hand-book
to
the
history,
from
made
of
results
past
researches,
present
of
before the
the
early
civilisation.
The
point of
modern
criticism, traditions
and legends
caution.
with
great
They
of
are based
chiefly
upon
materials,
of
which
study
in the course
my
Tamil
literature,
ethnology
Sir
and epigraphy
Harold Stuart
Indian
Civil
W.
Francis, both of
the
Madras Censuses
Gazetteers.
Some
light
of
the
theories explained
and
altera-
the
of
further discoveries
and
Vlll
PREFACE
investigations.
Any
criticism
calculated
of
to
the
book
will
be thankfully received.
especially
My
to the contributions
the
Indian Antiquary
are extensive.
list
of the
work
due
to
is
foot-notes
are
given separately to avoid numerous and references. My sincere thanks Rao Bahadur M. Rangacharyar, M.A.^
volume,
and
to
Mr.
P.
Subba Rao,
manuscript and
Elements
Caldwell, Bishop.
Chitty,
District
Comparative
Grammar
of
Simon
Casie.
Colbrooke, H. T.
Gazetteers
the Dravidian Languages. The Tamil Plutarch. Miscellaneous Essays. (New Edition.^
Epigraphia Indica.
Farrar,
Canon F.W.
Forbes, Capt.
Francis, W. Gesenius, Dr. Grierson, Dr.
Gundert, Dr. H.
Hebrew Lexicon. The Languages of India. The Linguistic Survey of India. The I\Ialayalam Grammar.
Malayalam Dictionary. Hasting's Encyclopcedia of Religion and Ethics. Hovelacque, M. The Science of Language, Hultzsch, Dr. E. South Indian Inscriptions.
Hunter,
Sir
W. W.
Non-Aryan Languages
Imperial Gazetteer.
of India,
Haberlandt, Dr. M.
Imperial Gazetteer Indian Antiquary. Journal of the Royal Liddei and Scott. Kanakasabhai, V.
Ethnology.
of India
(New
Edition).
Asiatic Society,
London.
Keane, A. H. Letourneau,
ENGLISH WORKS CONSULTED
Macleane, Dr.
Madras Christian
Max
Muller, F.
J.
M'Crindie,
W.
Manual of Administration. College Magazine, The The Science of Language. Ancient India &c.
Nagamiah, V. Nelson, J. H.
Nesfield,
J.
C
U.
Oppert, Dr. G.
The Aboriginal
Pope, Dr. G.
Quatrefages, A.
Rangacharya, M.
H.
H.
Sayce, A. H.
Comparative
Seignohos, Ch.
Seshagiri Sastri, M.
Smith, Vincent A.
Report on Sanskrit and Tamil Manuscripts, Nos. 1 and 2. Early History of India Asoka.
;
H. A. Taylor, Meadows.
Stuart, Sir
Thurston, E.
Tylor, E. B. Vaidya, C. V. Wallace, A. R.
The
Whitney,
W. D.
The
Life
and
Growth
of
Language.
Wijesinha, L. C. Williams, Monier,
The Mahawanso.
Sanskrit Dictionary. Glossary of Indian Terras.
Wilson, Prof. H. H.
INTRODUCTION
It
is
with
very
great pleasure
that
have,
in
volume
of really interesting
on subjects
Tamil
The
history
is
in
no way
less
edifymg or
of the inhabitants of
is
throughout highly
The
progress of Tamil
restlessness
civilisation
from
its
primitive rude
its
and
day
ordered sense of
humavarious
and
exalted moral
and
religious
aims of a
later
undoubtedly the
momentous
It is
stages of deve-
human communities.
Accordingly
of the
vitality
Tamil people,
Jainism
gave
rise in
well
their
as
later
Brahmanisra
sweet, practical
and
in more than one respect heart-enthralling culture, of which the great Tamil classics, together with their noble Saiva and Vaishnava hymnology not to
XU
INTRODUCTION
their
mention
temples
constitute
and possessed
of
culture, must indeed be always fascinatand innumerable avenues of enquiry and research are certain to open out before the watchful eyes of the
ing;
and edifying
trained
this
and sincerely earnest student trying to help on work of historic up-buildingand exposition. Here
field of research, criticism
in this
and
construction,
there
is
ample scope
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
content
and written
records of various
kmds
are
also available
in quantities large
enough
to satisfy
the hunger of
many
truth, or literary
beauty or linguistic
is
development.
The
field for
cultivation
both
wide
and
well are
endowed; but
earnest
and
capable
labourers
have no doubt
to
an eye-
opener
many
inhabitants
of the
own
country.
am
many
far
from
saying
all
the
has
expressed on so
INTRODUCTION
found
It is
XIU
all.
to
relating to the
elements of what
to
may
undergo more or less rapid modifications as more and more materials become available for examination and subsequent structural utilisation and employment.
tempta-
on
insufficieni or inaccurate
data as well as
to
to
preconceived
conclusions.
My
of
reading of the
volume
Tamil
such
Studies,
has led
me
end-
eavoured to avoid, as
pitfalls,
and has calmly and courageously exercised his judgment in the free and clear light of unbiassed reason. That he has had adequate equipment for
dealing
problems, which he
well
has
handled
comes out
enough from
well
they are so
is
the necessary
precursor
research.
The
gathered his
put them
together in
is
the spirit of
the architect
of
and
by
the interpreter,
assuredly worthy
of the
imitation
of the
many more
students
history
Tamil
M,
RANGACHARYA
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE.
Preface
...
...
...
...
... ...
vii
Introduction
Essay
I.
...
xi
Dravida and the Cauda contrasted Dr. Caldwell's use term Dravidian linguistic sense etymology Dravida' the word Tamil exot the word ancient limits plained the Tamil country the Tamils a mixture ot three races according Tamil literature Risley's theory examined determining racial varieties lor data anthropometry archaeology language and literary traditions The The Tamil People Essay place of the Dravidians the human family different views of ethnologists Kisley, Hasckel, Topinard and Keane Caldwell's aborigines- theories concerning the Dravidian mithe early the Lemugration Aryans evidence from ethnology rian theory from geography Dr. Hunfrom philology theory the Mongolian or Norththeory Kanakasabhai's arguments Eastern conclusion... examined the Nagas The Tamil People Essay (5)The North-Western origin from evidence philology Mr. Bray's views about the Brahthe Brahuis, Todas and the uis the archaeological evidence the Vellalas Dravidians and Assyrians the word Vellala literary evidence probable explained date of migration sea route improbable commercial relation with the West no early the ship the Aryan conquest Tamil words
meaning
name
Dravida
'
explained
its
ethnological
of
its
social significance
'
its
to
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
II.
(continued).
in
(1)
(2)
(a)
(b)
(c)
ter's
(4)
(3)
...
17
III.
(continued).
(a)
(b)
(c)
lor
XVI
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE.
of the
South according to the Sanskrit epics the Rakthe theories of the neo-Timil School
the
shasas and
religious
Vanaras'
customs
Summary
Castes.
their
...
social
...
and
...
33
Essay IV.
ing
The Tamil
castes
the three types of pre-Aryans the caste system introduced by the Aryans but it was regional the Vellalas not included their occupations the occupational castes Tamil and Malayalam castes compared how the modern castes sprung from the territorial the the Naga tribes tribes the hill tribes Maravas and Eyinas the Parayasand Idaiyas the the fishing castes the Pallas and Shanars the caste the Kammalas dissolving factors svstem created disputes the tribal quarters in their origin of the Paraiyas ancient towns former greatness origin of the Kaikolas the Tamils not good weavers the Panans and other castes origin of the Kammalas the food ... origin of caste pollution of the Eyinas
Brahmans
the
58
Essay V.
The Tamil
Castes.
the caste system bred discontent and quarrels castes enumeratright and left hand disputes ed the caste privileges Kammalas and Kaikothe social traditional origin of the division las Kammalas and Kaikolas ot the position origins and Pallis or Vanniyas suggested M. Rangacharya's theory examined Prof. the distinction not found in Malabar (1) polidisputes tical origin (2) supported t5y social
'continued). The
and
(3)
confirmed by religion
Essay
Its The Tamil VI. tance the ten heads under which Tamil letters are treated the Vatteluttu and the Grantha- Tamil characters the age of Vatteluttu date of the Tolkapyam by whom the alphabet was introduced the two opposite
92
TABLE OF CONTENTS
XVll
PAGE.
Caldwell and Buhler examined arguments m support of . Thomas's not derived from Brahmi Vatteluttu theory and Brahmi were in use simultaneously why supplanted by Grantha-Tamil- which was developed from the Pallava characters how much of modern Tamil characters adapted vowel-confrom Vatteluttu the shape of sonants described why the modern Tamil the number characters are an^^ular in form and order of letters pronunciation letters accent and emphasis origin peculiar toTamil of letters interchange of letters of similar sounds how to determine pure Tamil words initial letters and middle letters... 113 final letters
theories
views
of
Essay VII.
The Place
spoken^ the Tamil's knowledge of geography principles of philology changes Tamil an agglutiin the growth of a language native tongue can never become inflectioKal it traditional origin is one of the Dravidian ianjiuages Sanskrit and Tamil compared as regards their vocabulary Tamil words in orthography Dr. Caldwell's views Sanskrit examined word structure word formation coalescence in words or Sandlii compound or words phrases etymology differences between Tamil and Sanskrit prosody in the two languages other peculiarities of Tamil the Indo-Germanic affinity the Dravidian influence on the Sanskrit dialects affiliation of Tamil the Dravidian and the Uralo-AItaic languages causes for the difference position in the linguistic system early Tamil (vocabulary, grammar, style and matter) mediaeval Tamil modern Tamil needtor prose literature. 141
Where
of Tamil in Philology.
Literature
of race^
insepa-
XVlll
TABLE OF CONTENTS
the three classes of Tamil rable from religion music and the drama the extent literature mostly of polite literature translations the ethical literature no Tamil literature without
the exegetical period and the modern period the anti-Brahmanical School prose literature Essay IX. The Tamil Academies. Introduction references to Tamil academies explanation
trom Sanskrit
(6)
absence of critical among the Tamils examination of Damodaram Suryanarayana's of Caldclassification of other western scholars of well's cycles M. Julien Vinson proposed classification the pre-academic period the academic period (3)the hymnal period translations
spirit
Pillai's
history of
literature
wan-
of
(1)
(2)
(4)
(5)
...
...
...
185
Sangam and aval the scope of the upper limit of the Sangam the essay described Agaslperiod the first academy yar and his students their works the date of the location of Dakthe academy discussed shana Madura the second academy described first its date the a continuation of the importance of the third academy described when established and where its members (Thiruvalluvamalai, a forgery) how and
of the terms
its wtien broken value of encouraged by Tamil demies literature account of the acadekings summary mies refinement of the Tamil language how liberal presents to poets poetical works passed
the
the
French
academy and
-..
the
...
sangams
...
compared
Essay X.
...
...
231
the dates
TheTenTens. Description
of the several
kings
difficult to
of certain ancient
of the Chera get their dates description [Tamil customs the political
books
of the
work
TABLE OF CONTENTS
xix
PAGE.
condition
the
...
style
and
lan-
264
Introduction
Essay XI
religion
rai
The Vaishnava
of the early
Saints
Tamils Brahmanization of the Tamils growth of Brahmanism among the beginning of the Vaishnava the Tamils the Guruparampathe Vaishnava saints sect
Alvars or Saints iheir dates Tirumalisai Alvar his age Tiruppan Alvai and Tondaradippodi Alvar Kulasekhara Alvar and bis date Tirumangai Alvar his date Periyalvar and his date Andal Nammalvar, the age of the last of the Vaishnava saints Nammalvar conclusion ... ... ... 281
first
the
Essay XII.
tion
of the terms Malayalam and M^dabar people of Kerala were Tamils the which was a early Tamil poets of Kerala Tamil country (1) geographical evidence (2) from religious literature the Nambis Or Nambudris and the Bhatta Brahmans (3) ethno-
etymology
logical
(5)
formative causes conclusion 340 Conclusion. The Tamil people the Tamil Brahmans the Tamil alphabet and language the Tamils Tamil religion Exvocabulary
...
literaryevidence Kannassa Ramayanam Krishnappattu Eluttacchan Unnayi Variyar linguistic evidence grammar
(tt)
evidence
(4)
archaeological
evidence
(a)
(b)
ot
literature
hortation
377
Appen
... ...
... ...
Index
ABBREVIATIONS Iraiyanar. P. T. Periya Tirumozhi. Agap. Agapporul Pey. Peyalvar. Agat. Agattiyam. Ping, Pingalandai Akam. Akananuru. Poi. Poigai Alvar. Cher. Cheraman Peruinal. A. Porunararruppadai. Chin Cintamani. Pur. Purananuru. D. A. Dandi's Alankaram. P. V. M. Purapporul VenbaEp. Ind. Epigraphia Indica. malai. Ind. Ant. Indian Antiquary. eview. Ind. Rev. Indian Sikandiyar. Silappaciikaram. R. A. S. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, London. F. P. or Sirupanarruppadai. Kal. Kalittogai or Kalladam. Kam. Kamban's Ramayanam. Sivavakkiyar. Kap. Kapilar. South Indian InscripKur. Kural. Mani. Manimekalai. Tat. Sek. Tatva Sekharam. T. T. Tirugnana Sambaiidar's Mut. Muttanayanar Antadi. Tevaram, or Tiruttondar Nak. Nakkirar. Tiruvandadi. Nan. Nannul. Ned. Xedunalvadai. T. v. Tiruvachakam. Tol. Tolkappiyam. Nig. Chudamani Nigandu. Pat. Pattuppattu or Pattinappalai. Vil. Villiputtur Alvar.
of P.
*'
Sik.
Sil.
J.
S.
Sir.
Siv.
S.
I.
I.
tions.
are Dravidians
did they
come to South
in
Indian ethnology.
point
of
pology or
last
is
literature, and it cannot be said that the word has been pronounced on the subject. It
in
not intended
to put
forth
to bring together
all
the
theories bearing
to ex-
amine them in the light of the evidence furnished by ancient Tamil literature and the labours of reputed scholars and savants. The word Dravida is widely used as a synonym
for
its
Tamil and
origin
at the outset
it
is
desirable
to explain
to Sanskrit pandits
name
;
of a particular tract of
counin
Southern India
and
it
is
so
defined
the
of the
Mahabhaalong
The country
called
'Dravida' extended
2
the east
to
TAMIL STUDIES
coast
of
interior.
also loosely
Wilson
in
and
Sir
Monier-Williams
give
three senses
country
in
which the word is used (1) the which the Tamil language is spoken; (2)
(3)
a class of Brah'.
five
Dravidas
In accepting
meaning western scholars and Indian pandits the seem to agree. As regards the second, differences of Dravida was opinion exist. Whether the name
applied to
all
the
peoples living in
or
that
country
or only to a
particular caste
tribe
remains to
be
settled.
And
the Tamil
called
'
themselves
great
men
were,
and even
of
now
as
are,
known
to
the other
Brahmans
India
Dravidas.
Sankaracharya
(A. D. 820),
who was
and
This
Tamilin
Trignanasambanda, a Brahman
poet, as
Saivite Saint
Tamil
use of
Dravida
Sisii
(Dravida child).
to-day.
the
speaking
Brahman
Presidency
who
is
has settled
down
the
Bombay
the
word is affixed to the name of the person, e. g., Chintaman Dravidy Natesa Dravid. But the Tamilspeaking non-Brahmans are known by their caste
titles
Mudaliyar,
Pillai,
and so on.
Similarly,
the
THE TAMIL PEOPLE
Teliigus of the
north
call
the
Tamil
Brahmans
clearly
mans are called Sudralu or Dakshanadi-Sudralu. These show that in practice the ethnological: application of the
to
restricted
and limited
particular
Brahmans.
The
significance of
the
word Dravida
in
the
now
to
be explained.
of
in
the
history
the
Indo-
Aryan people,
the
and practices which became a marked feature of They had 3 separate ritualistic that community.^ system their social code was different from that of ^ and their laws also were the northern Brahmans
; ;
Dramidachar and other early commentators on the Brahmasutras, some Aryan reformers and law-givers he. longed to the Dravida Brahman community.
1.
Baudhayana,
Dravida Brahmans are Omission to perform any of them entails degradation or even excommunication. A Dravida Brahman
of the five
cannot eat
the
fish
or
meat,
non-Brahman without losing his caste. A married woman cannot wear white cloth, and when tying it she must pass it between her legs. A widow should remove not only her
hands
of a
ornaments but
also
her hair, a
custom prevalent
in
the
Tamil
century A. D. as will be
:
OjuSinrsi sd(giJ)u:)Qm(oBr
[Trans
Observed the
soft,
black-sand-like
women
4
different.
TAMIL STUDIES
These
were generally known as Dravifar as these habits of life, customs,,
dasampradaya. So
Marathi and'
The Dravidas
Brahmans. The use of the name for other Brahman communities is an instance of extension of its meaning and application. The term was extended to all
Brahmans observing
dnsampradaya.
In
the Dvaviddchdrains,
or
Dravi-
North
India
the
On
the
observance
of the
above
the purity
Aryan blood.
Among the Dravida Brahmans, the Nambudris ot Malabar form an exception. They seem to have retained some of the original trans- Vindhyan or Gauda customs and resisted the healthy
reforms of Sankara, Ramanuja and Ananda Tirtha. Their enforced polygamy, their free intercourse with the non-Aryans
and a few of their nnacharas or unaryan customs raise some doubl as to the pur-ty of their Aryan descent, a doubt which occurred to our minds in spite of the somewhat rigorous social
customs obtaining among them to-day and their fair complexion, which are no doubt due to climatic conditions and their ways
of living.
Yi
'>
more
rigid
social
rules
of
came
the
to
fact
be distinguished as
that
Pancha Gaiidas.
this
From
the
Malayalam-speaking Brahmans,
classifica-
it may be inferred that the division of Brahmans Pancha Dravidas and Pancha Gaudas had taken place long before the evolution of the Malayalam
into
language
in
From what
that the
it
would be
later
clear
term
first,
signifi-
cance
at
acquired
'
on.
The
definition of
the
word
Dravida
*
lexicons
as a
man
of
'
out-cast
is
open
to
question.
The
genesis
of
the
Dravida castes
and
be accepted as
literally
is
one of those
dealing with
sociologists
of
caste
by
which the
between
tribes
the troubles
and
conflicts
of the
non-Brahmanical
whom they
To
of the
imposed
is
their culture
and
civilization
Dr. Caldwell
due
meaning
term Dravida.
When
the comparative
first
started
by
affinities
between
to lead
him
to the conclusion
they
were
allied
TAMIL STUDIES
group.
He
called
these
languages
of
South India
His extension
of the
word
as a generic
is
of languages
convenient and
and by
itself
is
unreliable to
Thus
name Dravidian
well as
of
or Dravida to
Brahman
as
non-Brahman, inhabiting the extreme south the Peninsula is unwarranted, inaccurate and misTlie derivation of the
leading.
It is
purely of
of
It
Sanskrit
pound
land).
word Dravida is doubtful. origin and may be a comto run, and vid, a piece (of
which one runs as
might mean
last
a place to
being the
itself
place to
when
of India.
This
Dravida
is
a corruption
or
But whether
this
bold
pro-
of the
word Tamil
is
not very
clear,,
silent
on
this
points
Mr. Da-
modaram
of
this
Pillai>
Is
it
possible
for
THE TAMIL PEOPLE
language to have no native
7
to it by Aryans, especially tongue of a tolerably civilised race which had a cultivated literature and which had commercial
rela-
West
He
and
i^i^) lonely,
'
believes that
'
peerless
:
language.
In the Pingalandni
is
explained thus
We
find
tantil
'sweetness'
in
Tamil
and
that
;
used
in this
Q^^mp^i^^
very not by
itself
(the honeyed-)
and ^esm
(the
cool-Tamil)
is
often
word Tamil
in
However,
fol-
lowing the
Prakasika and a few other Indian scholars explain Tamil as meaning the sweet language. This connotation ot sweetness
seems
the
to
among
Tamil
Naishadam speaks of his heroine as one the sweetness of whose speech was sweeter than Tamil, ^uSl^^ uSeafliu^(^
writers, for
royal
QisFnpoapiueon&r.
it
to
be an
seems
to
be rather fanciful.
It
may
not perhaps be
.8
TAMIL STUDIES
derivation.
pound
like
of ta)n
The word Tamil may be taken as a com+ izh tain is a reflexive pronoun which
;
has given
rise
to a very interesting
class
of
words
tani;
(younger
sister),
akkai (elder
sister), iajn-pi
iam-piran
&c.
izJi
(which
is
the root
means sweetness. which is sweet " or the sweet language. It may be observed that this word is used
Tamil w'orks
their country.
to
abode of the Tamil-akam was not, The extent Tamils'. however, alwa3's the same. Tolkapyar, a Tamil gramTamils as the Tamil-akain or the
of
this
'
C,
Ilango-
on music, roughly
fix
the
may
be seen
tBsO^
eosij).
Tol.
(The
Kumari.)
(2)
good world
of
the
Tamils which
lies
QueireuQfiii
ot
the
Tamils bounded by
i^ismGS)^
Stk.
ot
(Tamil
limits
Ven-
The Tamil-akam or the land of the Tamils thus seems to have extended east and west from sea to sea, ^nd north and south from the Tirupati hills to Cape Comorin, and to have also included the modern
states
of
Travancore
Malabar.
in
district of
who were cut off from the main body and who were much under the control of the Brahman hierarchy, developed a dialect of their own, a patois of Kodum-Tamil and Prakritic Sanskrit, which has been known as Malayalam since And this the beginning of the thirteenth century.
The Tamils
isolation
some
Tamils
of
the
ancient
bemg
better prein
the west
coast than
the
The loss of this western strip from the Tamilakam was, however, soon made up for, new districts
;
were added to
time of
from
it
of
Parantaka
or
even
an earlier date. They may be found also in Burma, Sumatra, Java and wherever they could lind food and labour.
10
All
TAMIL STUDIES
the
Tamil
speaking
inhabitants
of
the
easily distinguish
the Dravi-
The
physical
and
forest tribes,
such as the
the
population
of
Southern
India.
This
and
of
tradi-
The
well-known
devar
classification
rational
beings
inakkal
71
{^ujit^^ssst)
(^mss^),
and narakar
{(bctsit)
or
a'gar
(iB IT sit)
the aborigines
who
(Narakam). Even so
aboriginal
when
was
of the
have struggled hard to maintain their sturdy indeto preserve their racial
integrity."
pendence and
1.
For
remarks of the Madras Government Epigraphist ; '' The mythical account of the Epic hero Arjuna marryinj; a Nag:t queen and similar stories current about the early Chola kings in Tamil liteiature, combined with what is stated of
With
this
compare
the
the
the
first
Pallava kingt;
contirrti
p
THE TAMIL PEOPLE
11
we find in the early Tamil works that the Nagas are described as a race of dark people with curly matted
hair.
The
a tribe of
naked nomads
probably a sec-
tion of the
Nagas
living in
an eastern Island.
They
eua(Siu&iLiLpi^
SmssBQ^LDQuQarTsa^Q&oa.
P. A.
Q&)mpiu!TS<ss)SLj u^eSQiBirsQ
jfjppuo urriT^^ev
(^fEJs(SiEj ssmLDp(Si}iT.
Kal.
(The cruel-eyed, curly-haired and able-bodied Maravas (robbers) with tiger-look and banded bows
waiting on the roads to harass the travellers).
i^i)
QonmrSQeup
Sleir&fld(g
iBiTsiBiriireir
Qsutrdsr
Maili.
Pilivalai,
the daughter of
Naganadu, bore
for
Killi
(Chola)
who
From the
first
quotation
we
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
;
that
the
original
rulers of Southern
Report dated
28-7-1911.
13
TAMIL STUDIES
Nagas even so
early as
It
the
first
or second
from Pattuppattu or the Ten Tamil Idylls and the Mahabalipuram inscriptions of Rajendra Chola (A. D. 1012-1044) that there were among the Nagas at least
four sub-divisions,
viz.,
Oli-Nagan,
Mugali-Nagan,
Paraiyas,
The
to
who
a seventh
of the
Tamil population
be the descendants
call
and who
will
be shewn hereafter
of the ancient
Eyina
tribe dislike to
themselves
modes
of
dispo-
among
practised
at
the
same time
clearly
race.
These
the
facts
go
to
in
Tamil country
at least
(whatever
may be
their
names), the
Aryan immigrants.
Though
was a
free
inter-
and though some isolated instances of the fusion the second and third are noticeable, the existence
three different types
Sir
all
is
of
of
clear.
Herbert
Risley,
however,
Dravidians
people
considers
that
the South
Indians are
dark-comlong head,
plexioned,
short-statured
with
broad and thick-set nose and long fore-arm. Doubtless this description applies to some of the hill and
13
caste
Hindus,
but
it
as
of
be admitted that
are
three types
physical
districts
character
observable in
the three
the
Tamil
races
corresponding to
complexion,
different
already noticed.
the
Aryans
with a
somewhat
small
lips,
fair
Secondly,
the
of
the
Nilgiris, tall,
nose,^
thick
prominent
thirdly,
receding fore-
And
lips
we have
aborigines
like
the
Kadars, with
African face,
flatfish
Kurumbas with
prominent
matted
large
mouth,
outstanding
and prognathous. Although there must have been intercrossing and shuffling of races from a time long anterior to the Christian era, it is
doubtful
extremely
whether any
at
tribe of
its
the
pure
into
way
Tamil
country,
as
Mr. Kanakasabhai
seems
the
to think.
The
(c)
only
data
available
for determining
(b)
Language,
Anthropometry,
Prehistoric
arch;^eology
and
(d) Traditions
and
customs.
None
of these, however,
can independently
oneway
or the other.
will
No
comparative philologist
is
now admit
that language
Languages have
14
their rise,
TAMIL STUDIES:
known
Keltic
IS
are
forgotten,
foreign
languages
Thus
of
Cornwall
;
peared in Prussia
a
Accadian, the
home speech
Minor, was
Semites.
Coming
to our
own
country,
we
find
the
Brahman
settlers in the
The
entire
population
of
the
Tamil-akam
aborigmes,
Tamil or
speak
either
an
allied
No
a
suc-
first
Tamil with the Uralo- Altaic languages. Some philologists, however, seem to think We that he was not quite successful in the attempt.
distant affinity of
shall discuss this question
(b)
some
more
fully in its
proper place.
much
as
confi-
dence
m
of
the absolute
certainty
of
the nasal
and
Sir
cephalic indices, of
tests
hair
and colour
Sir
permanent
Risley,
racial
distinction.
Herbert
Topinard
rely
on
the
form
of
the head as a
character that
is
not liable to
selection.
artificial
These
however,
do not agree
respects.
among
themselves
certain
important
15
Flower,
Lydekker and
to the
Huxley
classify
mankind according
of the
hair,
while
others
these colour,
all
these data
eminent
gether
scientists.
to-
all
articlethat appeared in
for 1911.
the
Modern
Revieiv {Calcuita)
He
'
closely allied
and
apart/
we
it
find
almost every
cephalic index.'
As
tance.
Rome says 'the method of method only in appearance and it inevitably leads to errors and can produce no satisfactory results.' Professor Ridgeway thinks these osteologiProfessor Sergi of
a
indices
is
'
cal
differences
all
are
but
in
foundations of sand.'
And
the
above
a writer
asserts
that
numerous head measurements collected with endless assiduity by anthropologists have been shown to be
worthless.
Thus we
is
see
of
that
neither
the
cephalic
much
value
in
determining
as
said of hair
and colour,
these can be
food
and other artificial means and methods. It would therefore be unwise on the part of anthropoloto
gists
correctly
interpret
these or
physical differences as
indications of
inferioritv
IG
TAMIL STUDIES
a
otherwise of
India,
race,
especially
in
country like
past an inter-
for ages
autochthonous, Turanian,
con-
The evidence of
weapons,
are
pre-historic arch^eology
sists
of
implements, and
in the earth,
which
thic
found buried
monuments
in
kistvaens.
like the dolmen, cromlech {and the Such remains abovuid in Tamil districts.
But
of archaeology
now been
undertaken.
inference
problems.
(d)
The
fourth source
for
from
which
racial
we may
varieties
derive
some help
determining
consists
and ancient customs described Some of them may have been in early Tamil works. distorted, exaggerated or even wrongly stated. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata in Sanskrit, the Tolkapyam, the Purananuru, the Pattuppattu, the
of traditions
Kalittogai
in
of
evidence. But
these will
and
this
And
be attempted
II
original
place in the
the Dravidians
are
still
and
their
subjects of discus-
The
been held by
will
anthropologists
in review.
'
connection
be
passed
The Dravidian
least
race,'
says
Dr.
Grierson,
'
is
commonly
or
at
considered to
of
be the aborigines of
India,
India
Southern
and we have no
aboriginal
says,
information to
inhabitants of
*
show
the South.'
Herbert Risley
it
may
safely be
said
present
geographical
distribution^
the
marked uniformity of physical characters among the more primitive members of the group, their
languages,
of
a
their
stone
monuments
and
retention
primitive
inhabitants of India of
whom we
have any
knowledge.'
It
will
18
TAMIL STUDIES
not take the
ques-
The former
and
of the origin
and the latter as a leading Indian ethnologist tries to 6nd out some connection between the Dravidians and tlie Australians; but he is opposed
the philologist
;
in his
conclusion by Sir
W.
Turner,
who
has found
no
cranial connection
and dispersion of the Dravidians, Sir H. Risley comes back to the same ground on which his colleague stood.
According
sians,
H deckel,
development
of
between them.
Professor
in the
smooth-haired division
Europeans, asorigin.
suming
While
in the
white division of
India they are
man and
largely
observe that in
Southern
mixed with a Negrito element. This last point is supported by Dr. Topinard who says that the remnants of the black people are at the present day shut up in the mountains and that the
ancient inhabitants of the Deccan were identical with
the Australians,
a cross
19
autocthonous
that
Lastly, Dr.
Keane thinks
able to prove
the Dravidians
preceded the
Aryan-speaking
aborigines of
Hindus and
is
'
who
'
The
tirst
Scholar
who
Dr
Caldwell; and he
tlie
condition
of
serfs
and jungle
tribes.
He
is
of the
dark
complexioned Paraiyas,
and the several come from northhill and forest tribes could have western Asia, which has been peopled by the fair complexioned Semitic tribes. There is no philological
evidence to show
well does not
tell
who
the aborigines
v.'ere.
Dr. Cald-
us that there
were no people
Southern India before the advent of the Dravidians. If there were no people, the Dravidians should be
regarded as
the
aborigines
He
and
leaves
all this
an open question.
was, however
Drs.
taken up by ethnologists.amongst
whom
Haddon
the
Keane
are
decidedly
of
opinion
that
20
TAMIL STUDIES
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
who
says that
of
'
at
some
India
Southern
were
overcome
driven to
the mountains
by hordes of and
then
where
their
the Dravidians
their
are not
what was
they
original
route did
to
come
into
Southern
According
one theory, they were the earliest or the first Aryan Another theory places their home somein the ** submerged Continent" in the Indian where Ocean whence they are supposed to have migrated northward to India. According to some, their original home was somewhere in Central Asia and
settlers.
they entered
India (a)
or
by the
north-east through
(b)
by
(a)
the north-
by
(b) the
at
sea
Each
of these
may be
considered
some
length.
some
to
THE TAMIL PEOPLE
the Aryan immigrants
21
aware
this
theory
advocated by
any ethnologist.
some
are
affinity
Indo-European
for a
was believed
in
some
to
the ancient
Gauls or
Celts,
which had
India,
to
whom
these
attributed,
were Aryans
foreigners
((i?(?6\)i^^j/r//?aj/f.
social, linguistic
theoiy.the
original
home
of
the
of
now submerged
the
to
continent
This continent
is
supposed
Madagascar
in
Africa
If
on
the
Australia
on the other.
so,
been adduced:
Ethnology
:
The system
of
totems
prevailing
42
TAMIL STUDIES
the half-civilized castes and
of
tribes
among
of
India,
the
equally
to the
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
:
some Munbeen
and
in
certain
Australian
dialects
have
But
is
it
may
Munda
language
quite independent
the Dravidian
tongue and
mav be doubted whether the poor similarity in respect of the numerals alone will be enough tC) establish the
theory under discussion.
Geography
this
head has
it
will
be said about
However,
in
may
it
not
be out of place
mention here
support of
a tradition
which had
currency
among
That
is,
(^ riflsQsrrQfsi 0srT(SrEJ^L^6\)
Qaam&r.
Sil.
(The
cruel
sea
swallowed up the
of
{^)
P.ihruli
river
of mountains).
And
above
the
commentary
runs thus
:
Adiyarkunallar on the
lines
^ssneoi^
^eufr
miL^
23
ut^so
isrTiM S7tp
(^sisrp
istrQiii
(5ji^
<s]i^
@/5^ isrrpu^
strQih
Q^ni,bru^
(^LDtFloia,iTs\)s\).Jj
(tppsSlm ussr
LD'2e\) iBrrQiii
'B^iLjih u^iLjti)
slSo
QanmsrQirriSl^oOfrp
QuofrojQLDvSTQr/'Qfri^a
S//,
198.
Cape Comorin
spoken
of in
early
Tamil
mountain and even as a sea. And the ancient Tamils, who weie acquainted with the Island of Java and generally with tiie Eastern
literature as a river, a
in
vast
But, the
geography of
the
submerged continent
change
of
as given in
And
the
their
Pandya
country from South Madura to North Madura (the modern Madura) seems to indicate the Tamilian's theory
of
Hunter's Theory In his account of non-Aryan races Dr. W.W. Hunter thinks there
'
the
are
two branches
of
the Dravidians
the
Kolarians and
The former
entered India by
Vindhya
split
and
There they were conquered into fragments by the main body of Dravitable land.
their
dians
who found
way
into the
Punjab through
2i
TAMIL STUDIES
Yet
in
:
scholar
writes
as
follows
It
would appear
that
later times. Other non-Aryan races from the north pushed them onwards to the present Dravidian country in the south of the peninsula...
The
India
extrusion
of
the
Dravidians
before
the
from northern
arrival
had
taken place
of
the
Aryan-speaking races.
distinguished
The Dravidians
later
are
to
be
from the
Indus and
in
non-Aryan immigrants,
in
whom
found
possession
of
the
valleys of the
Ganges.
These
later
non-
Aryans were
out
their turn
subjugated or
pushed
by the and
Aryan
'serfs'
(Dasyus)
settlers.
the
Indo-Aryan
the south,
on
first in
the Sanskrit
the
Aryan hero
As
Sir
Southern India
theory
is
H. Risley has remarked, the basis of this obscure and neither philology nor ethnology
it.
supports
It
will
be shown
in
the sequel
that
the
the
non-Aryan immigrants and that they were not the Aryan hero Rama. The Mongolian Theory According to
:
25
from Tibet or Nepal, or by the way of Assam and the Tennaserim provinces. This theory has been very
strongly supported by Mr. Kanakasabhai in his Tamils
Eighteen
Hundred years
ago.
According
lo
him
were
the
aboriginal inhabitants of
Villavas and Minavas.
Southern India
the Nagas
the
a
They were
called
conquered by
highly civilised
race
who
hailed
and from them the Aryans learnt their alphabet which thencefortli was known as Deva-Nagari. He is of
opinion that
the
Maravas,
Eyinas, Oliyas,
in
Oviyas,
Paratavas mentioned
the Tamil
works
of the
to the
above
Naga
were
race,
hostile to
the Dravidian
in
called
Nagas their turn conquered by a Mongolian race the Tamralitti.s or the Tamils who had
Subsequently, these
migrated
from
They came
to
whom
the
who founded
the Vanavar, a
Pandya
kitigdom.
The second
tribe of the
mountainous
the Chera
and the
the four
Kongu country,
of
the
origin
26
TAMIL STUDIES
Further on, the same writer observes as follows:
came
and
into
Southern India
in separate tribes
were fewer
number than
to
the aboriginal
modified
as
into
the language
zli
(i-g)
now known
Tamil.
exist
The
in
peculiar letter
which does
not
by the Tamil immigrants. This letter occurs in the Tibetan languages. It indicates most clearly that the primitive home of the Tamil immigrants must have
been
in the
Tibetan plateau'.
all
And
in
support of his
theory that
the
many words
gn (a), jn (gj) atjd n (soar) in Tamil, Burmese and Chinese, and tlie siinilarity between Malayalam and the Mongolian languages, clearly confirm the North-eastern or the Mongolian origin of the Tamil
people.
In attributing a
Mongolian origin
to the
Tamils
Mr. Kanakasabhai
relies partly
similarity of
He seems
works and
to
misinterpret
some passages
and
it
Tamil
as to support
would be fallacious and unwarrantable to draw any inference from words and Tamil, Mranmar and Maran, like Tamra-litti Koshan or Kushan and Kosar &c., which are similar
his preconceived theories
only in sound.
He has
27
It
anthropology.
is
more
fully.
He
Minas
aborigines of
and the Minavas were the Southern India, citing the Bhils and the
India in
of Central
is
Villav^an
There
the
is
no caste or
tribe
Tamil districts. Further, the Bhils and the Minas do not speik a
Dravidian language.
name
How
they
were
ethnically
belonged he
aboriginal
race
from
whom
the
Aryans
enquire
who
the
these Nagas were. There were Nagas in Northern India as well as in Southern India, About
former
Capt. Forbes
writes as follows in
is
his
Languages of Further
ledged that prior
into
to
India: 'It
the
irruption of
India
valley of
from the west across the Indus, the the Ganges was occupied by various races
origin.
:
of Turanian
The
of
Arvans came
in
contact
one
fierce
whom
the
other a
wealth,
people
who
lived
in
and possessed
fair,
whom
they
28
TAMIL STUDIES
'
Serpent
of
of
Scythia.
Under
Turanian
of
tribes
and
scattered
remnants
either
the
black
or
aboriginal race,
who were
exterminated
inaccessible
is
forests
known about
Nagas except what is mentioned in the Aianimekalai and the occasional references in the
Pattuppattu and in
the inscriptions.
In
the early
tribe
name
of this
of
the
good country
of
netherworld).
iBSS
S^ITITSamiT I'STSIT SJfTL^LD'^eO.
Sll.
or
tlie
is
whom
were naked
nomads
They spoke
language not understood by the Tamil people. From this description it might be easily surmised that the
country referred to was Ceylon and that the people
Nilan and
Nagan were
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
S.P.P.
tribe.)
(The
fine cloth
Nagan
was
the
name
famous
it
of
Veda
chieftain
Saiva
saint
and Kannappa
Nagas
by Mr.
else-
Nayanar.
From
;
these
will
civilised as
represented
Kanakasabhai
of
hunters from
the
whom,
as
we have shown
seems,
therefore,
where,
recruited their
that
name
given by the
Aryans
to
any
aboriginal tribe in
it
the south
were
from
the
Nagas
of
by Capt. Forbes in the above extract. The South Indian Nagas were probably the aborigines, while their North Indian namesake were Turanian or Scythian immigrants from Central Asia
are described
Dr.
G.
on
Indian
certamly
opposed
that the
to the
bold assertion
it
Aryans learnt
is
Nagari'
derived
from nagar, a
30
^
TAMIL STUDIES
'
the
name
of a tribe,
Nj^gari or the
as he seems to think Deva Nagari was the alphabet Aryan city folk.
Mongolian
tribe
quite
independent
'
aboriginal.
Nagas and
cites
Dravidians
the
and
of
in
existence
the
Tibetan
the
Tamil and in some of the languages, but which does not occur in
(zh) in
'
other
Elimi-
Tamils
from
were.
the
of the
Tamil
districts,
one
would be anxious
gines
in his letter
know who
these
Dravidians
Were they his Villavar and Minavar aborior some other tribe which had its existence only
imagination? Then, adverting to the
tp
peculiar
we must say that it did exist in the ancient and Telugu languages though it had disappeared owing to the continuous Sanskrit influence for centuries. In modern Kanarese and Telugu by m (1) and it has been dropped or its place taken
Kanarese
i_ (d).
this letter
(y)
has
sometimes
sound
of
err
(1)
or
tu
or
is
even
it
omitted as in
modern
colloquial
Tamil.
And
might further be remarked that ^e which has the sound approaching the English zh (as in pleasure) or the French J (as in J'ai) may be found in some of The mere the languages of the Uralo- Altaic group.
fact therefore that
it
is
found
to
prevail
equally
in
31
is
by
itself
insufficient to
establish
many and
so strong
is
arguments
the
slightest
to
Further, there
not
affinitv
between
resem-
least
Mongolian
tribes.
that
'
Tamra-litti
'
had no
more or
less
akin to
the
Eyinas (Paraiya)
is still
of the
preserved in
tore)
sribe.
the
that
Koya
or Kosar
not connected
with
powerful and
speaking
barters
;
hill
it is
tribe of
a title
name.
account of
their earliest
Western nations.
from Mani
in
(to
The
word
to
beat with a
the
Madura Tiruvilayadal-Purana,
it
order
connect
And we may
greater
barter,
or
32
TAMIL STUDIES
The weightiest
H.
Risley.
of
all
come from
the
pen of Sir
He
says
'It is
and conspicuously long_ headed type should have come from the one region of the earth which is peopled exclusively by races with With this broad heads and yellow complexion.
a large
body
of a very black
we may
This objection
to admit
that
too
much
the inhabitants of
the
human
species.
Of the
several theories
set forth
above, those of
neither
by science.
Hunter's
The
feeble
support which
William
theory
has
name shows what little substratum of probability there is under it. The Lemurian theory can cover, if
at all,
of Mr.
Kanakasabhai
philological
originality.
musings
In
show
ideas
the
made may
to
collect
constitute
of this
what appears
to be a
interesting question.
Ill
).
The one other theory that remains to be considered is that a large number of emigrants from Western Asia came into the country either by a
direct
sea-route or
passes,
mountain
the
Lemurian
origin,
The
original
home
of these
have lived
western
passes.
its
much
Sir
to be said in
apparent objections
by Mr. D. Bray,
shall
H.
We
as
in the
case
other
theories
it
the
argu-
ments regarding
Lingttistic
philology, archaeology
and
:
literary tradition.
evidence
Dr. Caldwell
thinks
that
34
the Dravidian
TAMIL STUDIES
languages
may be
affiliated
morpho-
logically to the
Uralo-Altaic or
the Finno-Tartaric
family
of
Tungu-
To
the
fully
civilised
Assyria,
pomts of resemblance in grammar and vocabulary between Accadian and the Dravidian languages, comes to the conclusion 'that the Dravidian race though resident in India from a period long
prior
to the
commencement
that
of the
Christian
era,
from thence after parting company with the Aryans and the Ugro-Turanians, and leaving a colony in Baluchistan, they entered India by
and
the seed
plot
way
of the Indus.'
In
the
language
of
the
Behistun
tablets
(Accadian)
we
find
/,
largely
used the
consonants
termination
d, n\ the genetive
and dative ikka or im (Tam. =^ii) mw); and the second person pronoun ni, nin (Tam. There are other points of linguistic affinity i,Sasi), between Tamil and the Altaic languages and the reader is referred to Dr. Caldwell's invaluable Comparative Grammar which ought to be in the hands of
a
j>i
as in na^
nina,
;
or inna,
ordinals ending in
The conis
nection
of
the Tamils
with
Asia Minor
further
35
confirmed by the identity in form and meaning of several important words in the Semitic, Altaic and Tamil languages. For example, Tam. akkan, Ugr.
iggcn
= t\dQv
sister
Tam.
appl,
aiinai, Fin.
anya = moihtT\
;
Tam. appan,
^^/^z
Fin.
amma, Samoy.
= mother
;
//)= father
;
Tarn.
Fin.
Tam.
attaly
;
Tam. am, Vogoul. am=yes Tam. Tam. kattn, Hung. 4itivai, Mordvin. ava=moihQx *o/=to bind, to tie Tam. kel, F"in. kitl-en=to hear Tam. ko, Behistun tablets, ko=3. king Tam. kozhi^ Vogoul. kore=3. cock; Tam. ti, Samoy. /i=Hre Tam. towl=skin Tam. jnayiru (the sun) tol, V';goul. ;i_yar=summer; Tam. pidi,F\n. pidan=to catch; Hung. TBm.pira, Fin. pera=iiiter; Tam. uianai, Sam. maii= a house; Tam. may-am, Lap. io/'=a tree Tam. velich;
am, Hung.
affinities
velega=\\gh\. &c.
We may
also,
trace
similar
with
Turkic languages
both
in
gram-
ces
considerations
such
coinci-
dences do not seem to be so purely accidental as to vitiate our conclusions, as there are other collateral
evidences to strengthen
them,
notwithstanding
*
the
opinion
of
M. Hovelacque that
Dr.
Caldwell has
Dravidi-
an
affinity.'
It
was
for a
somewhere
in Central Asia,which
was
86
TAMIL STUDIES
home
of
the
Dravi-
after
parting
when company
way
of the Indus'.
He
some Dravidian
Aryans lived
Central Asia.
Dravidians and
dispersal
from
But scholars are now agreed that the original home of the Aryans was somewhere in the Scandinavian Peninsula and that no traces of any
can
be found
in
Aryan influence
language.
the
Accadian
determine
And
this
to
Southern India.
the
As pomted
out by
Dr. Caldwell*-
should
left
have taken
Central
Asia
of the
and
settled in the
Punjab,
Aryans.
India
The migration
have
of the
Tamils to Southern
long
after
should
taken
place
their
Upper India with the Sanskrit-speaking Aryans and it will be shown in the sequel that the Dravidians had separated from the Aryans in the trans-Vindhyan Aryavarta sometime after the Mahabharata war about the eleventh century B. C. The North-Western origin and migration of the Dravidians receive an additional support and confirmation from the Brahui language which has
sojourn in
;
37
in Baluis
Dravidian tribe
The
latest verdict
I.
on that language
In his
that
Denys Bray,
C. S.
'it
is
has freely
Baluchi,
;
absorbed the
spite
alien
vocabulary of Persian,
but in
inroads
its
word
of advice so that
we may not
identify
'
the
He
says
We
can
faith of
our fore-
from philology
further
is
to
without
ado that
race of Baluchistan
whose speech
that
it
India
is itself
Dravidian
in
fact the
we
to
may
affect
from North
South or
from South
to North.'
*
The term
Dravidian
'
for
an
speech
at the present
day
non-Aryan
tribes
who
speak an
To
it
avoid
further
confusion
and misapprehension
for
all
A^idian
and forest
38
tribes,
TAMIL STUDIES
the
who had
hi^h class
Tamils the
and the Chetti castes brown complexioned, fairly good physique and of martial habits like
Veilalas
less
Asia.
now
represented by
Todas
of the Nilgiris,
and the
later
Quxsnetr OiCOTsrr
G)eusir(ofrfT&r<our,
(A Kalian
became
the
Agambadiyan be-
as ethnological evidences,
contradiction
between
them.
its
We
mayis
3^
do not belong to the Dravidian race but are anthropologically Iranians. And the existence of such
words as (worm)
;
ba,
eumii,
vay, (mouth)
pii,
Lj(Lp,
puzhu,
;
bei, emoj,
bil,
<a5<rj,
vil
inits,
;
Qp^(St
urreo,
mukku
(plural
(nose):
(?^srr, tel
(scorpion)
palh^
^eir,
tungu,
irat,
(sleep); gcil,
kal;
termilnation)
i^iT'sm'Si,
irandu,
(two)
fsrrasr
&c.,
like,
/ nnrnto bareva,
^ih
QmrrQ
irresistably lead
us to the
same con-
clusion.
Arachceologlcal Evidence
:
at
Gehrareh near
one of
many
indications con-
necting archaic Indian civilization with that of Babylonia and Assyria,which suggest
cal speculations.'
tempting ethnologi-
The author
of
rates five
methods
of disposing of the
among
about the
(2) ex-
third century A. D.
They were
cremation,
posure
in
and
(5)
covering
it
jars, {^"i^).
m-Qisu!T ffKSQeuira
Q^it(S(^l^u uQuQuair
uQ UlT
IT
So
far as
we know,
in
who
ex-
this
fashion
40
Persians.
TAMIL STUDIES
The Tamil
Dravidian, in his
in
march towards
with
India, must
have lived
Persia,
and moved
districts
*
tomb
set
stones
called
up on
the
battle,
chiefly in
of the
The names
are
their exploits
which were decorated with garlands of peacock Usually small feathers or some kind of red flowers. canopies were put up over them.
(1)
&-^ld(?u...
uS i-.ldl9
nriiT
QsiT&refrrT^ QgU'SuL^u
(2)
ulLQl^itit
Quaj0
LDtTjD/D^
Qldqp^
We
of
such an epitaph
King Parakesari Varman who conquered Madura when cattle were lifted at Muttukur by the Perumanadigal, Vadunavaran Varacian Tandan having
recovered them
fell.'
A
1.
Purapporul Venbamalai
will doubtless
In ancient
THE TAMIL PEOPLE
Tamils were,
ferocious
race
like the
41
of
bows and
slaying, ravaging
and
pillaging. Like
believed in evil
spirits,
astrology,
They cared
little
for death.
will
(2)
Qmaa^uij euenisfTLLemL-s
(3)
3k.ifTiT
Qp'^emQairen'^Fv
s'lrp^
(4)
Qpisf.^ 3,'^iu
QuiSlp \3ih^Si%sci^^ni^^
^lLl
Sil.
Garlanded
with
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
crowned heads
these
of fallen
with
With
flayed
in
compare some
compaigns.
'
passages from
I
the
Assyrian stories of
my
I
presence and
their skins.
their transfixed
form
of garlands
... I
42
raised
TAMIL STUDIES
mountains of bodies before his
I
villages
destroyed,
I
desolated,
it
burnt
country desert.
debris'.
changed
into hills
And
considered by
independent
Aryan
for
and
in fact of
art.
It is
enough
them that the earliest grammarians of Tamil were Brahmans, their first spiritual instructors were Brahmans, and iheir first teachers of philosophy were also Brahmans. The first Tamil grammarian, an Aryan sage,
found the customs,
of the
polity
Aryans that
he thought
for the
it
a description of
posterity
;
them
information
their
and with a view, no doubt, to satisfy the incorrigible and refractory early Tamils and to give them a permanency at least in books, he codified and varnished them with a thin veneer of Aryan religious sanction. These now form the subject matter of the
third
book
of the
Tolkapyam.
We
tribe.
and dominant
*
so,
How
a
could
warlike
be
The term
'
Vellalan
is
ordinarily derived by
43
a ruler,
vellam, flood,
and
alaii,
it
hence a
while
others
derive
from vdlanmai,
occurs
in
cultivation.
right early
form
word
of
is
Vellan and
In
;
it
Tamil
are
vcl,
inscriptions.
allied
to
it
the
god
but
;
war
;
among
(now
vel-akkaraii,2i foot-soldier
obsolete,
found
help
in
;
the inscriptions
;
of
Raja-raja Chola)
vcly
vel-anmai, truth
and
to
Vell-alan, a cultivator.
The
last
be
met with
in early
Tamil
literature,
the others
we hear the sound of the war-drum. Compare the word padai [usmiJ) which meant an army, a weapon of
war and a plough
;
and
it
from
ploughing weapon.
all
the
modern
cultivating castes
the
Bants,
the
were
of
like
{(i)
The
artificial irrigation
by constructing
scale
large
reservoirs
and canals
the early
on an extensive
Tamils.
was encouraged by
Piir.
who
one
who has
This
in
established a
system, says
44
(b)
TAMIL STUDIES
The
kings of
all
the three
Tamil dynasties
other of
the
traced
their ancestry
to
one or the
Pandavas and
styled themselves
the
Panchavans';
themselves
Emperor.
Pandavas
Great War,
L^wLjisrjb
ULpsGiu
LjSfTiTiBsiT
Qisuis,m.
Sil.
city of
his
Cauveripatnain the
who from on
')
'
throne
great food
QuQ^(^QfiTpgn
tAl(^u^u)6uesi!rLurr^QsiT(S)^Q ^mu.
Pur.
fell.)
(Thou
art
the
king
that
till
one hundred
'
districts in Upper would be improbable and imposthat the Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas, had they
when somewhere
(jnly
they were
because,
it
actually been
in
the south
at
the
way
to
the Punjab through impenetrable and mountains. And in support of the above statement we may quote an extract from Mr. J. The kingdom of W. M'Crindle's Ancient India. Pandion, which was situated on the southern extremiin
forests, rivers
'
Kuruksheha
founded by an Aryan
45
regions
whose ancestors
had
This
occupied the
may
be inferred both
from the name of the king and that of his capital which was called Madura after the celebrated city
which adorned
of old, as
it
does
still
the
banks of
is
The kingdom
mentioned by Pliny
Peripins of the
'In
his
commentary on
to the
tradition
repaired
to
which Dwarka
(Tatn.
Tuvarapati)
him
eighteen
moved
to
the South
with
There, he had all the forests and built up kingdoms settling therein all the people he had brought with him. One of the princioalities thus founded bv him was Dwarasamudram in
the Mysore State.
Kapilar, a
Brahman
poet probably
A. D,,
The Aruvalars seem- to have been Kummbas. They were not Hked by the Vehrs
evident from the bad meanings which these Tamil words acquired
in later times and from the following quotation.
f^gu^fT irrSs^
esiituirfr.
the Vadugas,
Arnvalas, Karnatas
46
TAMIL STUDIES
chief of this place as the forty-ninth in descent
from
^eussnT luiremQ
pu^
!
Qeue(fl(rf,<3(r
Pur.
(O The Velir of Velirs that governed Tuvarai Dwarasamudram for forty-nine generations.)
about
B.'J.
and
this
may
be assumed as the
Southern India.
fifteen
years a
new school
of
and castemen of the late lamented proand antiquary, Mr. Sundaram Pillai of Trivandram. Their object has been to disown and to
disprove any trace of indebtedness to the Aryans, to
exalt the civilisation of the ancient Tamils, to distort
in the
name
and to pooh-pooh the views of former which support the Brahmanizalion of the scholars,
literature,
and
Tamil
race.
They would
had ever
not even
in
admit
that the
early Tamils
lived
of
Upper-India by the
writes thus
: '
One
them
It is
my
from the
days,
and
from
;
whom
47
that
they did
settle in
the
further
entered India
South
India
up
to
the
Vindhya, which
sable,
at that
and
arts,
and
sciences,
at the
time they
came
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
;
agricultural race
the
alone,
date,
merchants. As a matter
last,
Prof. Sayce
of fact
that
these
very lately
com-
1.
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
48
TAMIL STUDIES
Tamils.
the
following quotations
cueuissriT
show:
sgOld
^i^
<sS^esr LDrremasr
pepper.)
unssisu
SajpfSiu
eSl^esr LofTsm
easQiLii^
sssfleoi/Diu Q:?ajQs^iTifli^.
Ned.
(Poured
oil in
the
the Yavanas.)
(BasTseotJD
^k^
^eaarsLDj^ Q^jsso,
Pur.
fine
When
come
had be-
closer the
Romans began
cities.
to settle in
some
of
A Pandya
king in return
He
name occurs both in Tamil hterature and inscriptions. The Roman settlement in Madura probably continued
till
about
4.50
A. D. There
in the
was
also a
Greek colony
at
Kaveripatam
second century A. D.
in
ship
'
are
navay
Skt. Nav,
Ion..
THE TAMIL PEOPLE
Kalon
(a
49
wooden
Tamil words,
and
or
tliey
Greeks
who
We know
that
and
it
Tamil countries
but
we do not
find
any foreign countries for the purpctse of commerce, though in later times they had ships and were experts in navigation. Their voyages, however, seem to have been
said
anywhere
show
ia_LO?s ulSIjdibs
insmfiiLjil)
QuiTisar^iEi
ldQ^ib
QaeisrsL-eo
Qp^^w
(^ssarsL^p ^Qq^isi
sfSjioiDS tsufrfftiLjisi
aaeSfflu
ulu^
Pat.
of the
and
agil
of
the Western
ghats,
pro-
As
*
Mr.
Ancient
Smith has rightly observed, Tamil literature and the Greek and Roman
Vincent
in
the
first
to
distinc-
tion
50
TAMIL STUDIES
atid
East.
to
confine taemseives
crossed the
Bay
of
'
except
Ceylon,
and
no
word
expressive of
We
just
might
in his
But he
might be correct
they had
with
regard
to the
Tamils before
come
in contact
Upper India or
in the
extreme
it
In this connection
of the capitals
may
of the a-icient a
fact
inland towns,
which
been
the
sea-faring
Again
if
we
Tamils
the
of the
how
are
we
to
Brahuis
a tribe allied to
Tamils
in
Aryan early Tamil language? History and elements in the traditions are against it, philology is against it, and
Baluchistan?
are
to explain the
And how
we
in fact everything
is
against
the
it.
Some
glimpses of
51
and the on
Ramayana.
minute
by thetn
details
Neither of them
come down
to
us in
its
original
have been
till
made from
time to time to
the
seem Mahaand
bharata
to
the
Ramayana
up
to the
second or third
many contradictory
statements
be hazardous
statements, or to cite
them
in
as
and the geography of the tracts they has been done recently by the memSchool of
is
New
The
present
writer cannot
name
Rama
'
from Tam.
Inil,
darkness
Svayamvaram was
among
the aborigines,
'
and
to
Rakshasas were monotheists' and worshipped Siva and Siva only with incense and flowers while the Aryan worship
'
;
proclaim from
the
house-tops that
the
of natural
phenomena and
their
unmeaningsacrifices
52
TAMIL STUDIES
to be
Rakshasas of
it is
sacreligious.'
our
forth
the interest
of scientific truth
to
set
what we have gleaned from the two great epics and the
writings of
the ancient Tamils.
epics, the
Mahabharata alone
Som.e of the
sacred work.
Mahabharata
tioned therein
stories
like Sri
Rama
occur
the academic
period prior to the hfth or sixth century A. D. the other hand, the
to
On
that period as
quasi-historical composition.
Kaveripatam,
after
it
it
Kannaki, compares
to
by Rama and
And Ravana
Kanji (A. D.
is
of
Madurai
Pandya,
150).
He
matic
their
skill
by Ravana.
Q(yrj>m (i/>^ siei\L- LS(5sr6miT Qldlu
53
in
Again both the names Rama and Havana occur an example for the logical method of immediate
Rama won
'
is
what
is
called mitchi)
Thus we
and that early Tamils
Ravana was not a TaraiHan he and Rama had been regarded by the
see that
as pure
historical personages,
till
we
to
come
Saints
to
the
{^u^suirn)
impetus given
to
Brahmanism
as an
in
Upper
India,
began
the
deify
Rama
of
Avatar of
in
Vishnu.
And
Ramayana
which Rama is described as a great national hero a typical Aryan of noble, pure and
Valmiki,
sublime
life
worthy
of
divine
respect
in
appears
to
imitation of
Ramayana did not secure such a hold on the Tamil mind as the Mahabharata. The following extract from the Kuram grant of the Pallava king Paramesvara Varma I. (AD. 660) will be to the point
the
(One share
matitapam.)
to the
was one century later that the first Tamil ^translation of the Mahabharatha was made by
it
And
54
TAMIL STUDIES
Perum-Devanar, the celebrated compiler of the Eight Tamil anthologies. The Ramayana was translated for the first time in A. D. 1185 by the immortal
Kamban.
Now
to
It
the
Ramayana
is
quasi-historical
epic
poem which
were living
in
the
Indian Peninsula.
The
interpolations.
modern recensions of that epic are only later The Tamil kingdoms did not come
Rama's
time.
These provinces
whom
Vanaras (monkeys) on
familiar
un-
founded with the Rakshasas ; but it is not correct, as the Asuras were a section of the fair-skinned Aryans, now represented by the Parsis, while the Rakshasas
were a dark-complexioned cannibal race
ters
of
hun-
modern Andamaners and the Australian aborigines. The Yakshas of Ceylon and the Rakshasas ot Southern India belonged to the same race of people called Yatudanas in the Vedas and Nagas in the later Buddhistic and other liteThey might have been the ancestors of the ratures. Pallas, Idaiyas, Maravas Paraiyas, and modern
and fisherman
like the
Kallas.
It
will
THE TAMIL PEOPLE
Marava
chieflains
55
lyakkan or Yakshan.
Aryan
They were demonalators and hated Siva, an deity, and their king Havana who treated Siva
with contempt had his ten heads cut off by that deity,
Q^rrOieiriT
tLirrememixLqLiD
ud^eumLjih QsiT^e\}^^i
u&9LL!i ^iruumrsLiT
esiQcihsisi^'oai/iS
ii6\)ixii-i!reiiieu)Qir.
The custom
prevalent
lias
of carrying
;
off
women
for
wives was
come
j^CAual
among them hence this kind of marriage to be known as Rakshasam. This form of alliance which is very common among some of
hill
the
modern
tribes
and
girl
largely
tl
practised
by
the ancient
Tamils has
left its
trace in
'
e social rules
called
*
the 'be.eging
for a
ira^l L.ff^<5/7(g^
and
c^ve
Qu
l^
^&}.Thty
Qsesi^LD
in
the king
who begged
the gift
Qeuemi
(They
a bitter
in the fort
refusing the
hand
of
damsel to
foe.)
This kind of marriage by capture seems to have led to frequent bloody quarrels between neighbouring villages. As to their cannibalism and excess of,
flesh-eating
and drinking
of liqucr
more
will
be said
56
in the
TAMIL STUDIES
following pages.
So much
for the
Rakshasa
We
key
the
shall
allies
of
the Vanara or
mon-
the early
Tamils of
actually monkeys.
poet of that
Qs=LbQpsLj
QuQ^iEiSi'^.
Piir.
In reality they were not monkeys,but only an aboriginal race, darkcomplexioned, short statured, but strong
and
of
monkey-like
roots
appearance
like
the Negritos.
and
fruits;
with
whom
they ahviys
disliked.
This
the Vanaras
the
modern
hill
and
forest
the
and the Irulas. We have said before that these hill and forest tribes had their own kings like Vali and Sugriva, the monkey chieftains of the Ramayana. All that we have discussed in the preceding pages may be summarized thus. The present population of the Tamil districts is composed of four distinct races, namely (1) the Negritos, (2) a mixed leiotrichi race allied to the Veddahs of Ceylon and the aborigines of Australasia, whom, for the sake of brevity, we may
all the
Nagas,
first
(3)
the
(4)
the
Aryans. The
two
57
Ramayana
had
had
their
original
home
in
entered India
Of these
the Negritos
must have
driven to the
hills
and
after
be given as
we have no
data for
it.
Thirdly,
came
the
who carved
Their
home Seems
to
have been
Asia-Minor,
and Ihey entered India by the North-Western gate long before the arrival of the Aryans; and before they marched southward both the races should have lived together in Northern India at least for some centuries. And lastly, came the Aryans not as conquerors but as teachers of religion and philosophy Dravidians, mostly on the the semi-civilized to
invitation of their kings.
58
TAMIL STUDIES
IV
of the
South Indian
to
inscriptions
of
from
time
time,
small bands
Brahmans from Northern India were invited by the Tamil kings and made to settle in their countries. Even at that remote period the Dravidians were snfliciently civilized and the Brahmans felt no necessity to bring with them either the Kshatriyas or the
Vaisyas.
extensive
We
immigrations,
times,
of
other
course,
races
country.
Of
we
leave out of
'Skilled artisans
city
ants of Javaii, the first Greeks with whom the Hindus became acquainted, and ill the ancient Tamil and Sanskrit period denoted the Greeks in general. In subsequent times, when the Greeks were succeeded by the Arabs, it was the Arabs that were denoted by this name; so that in the later Sanskrit of the Vishnu Purana We ai e to understand by the Yavaiias not the Greeks but the Arabs of more widely the inhabitants of both sliores of the Pei'sian Gulf, as that work speaks of the national custom of the Yavaiias shaving their heads entirely without leaving a lock. The name Sonagan by wliich these Muhammadans of Arab descent are sometimes called in Tamil, is merely a corruption of the Skt. Yavana or Yavanaka " See Ind. Ant, for 1876, p. 110.
'60
TAMIL STUDIES
Kaveripatam before
its
of
We
castes
do not nickide
recent
immigrants of
as
the Telugu and Sourashtra weavers who followed the Vijayanagar Governors, the stray Kshatriyas and Vaisyas v.'ho hailed from the North during the Mogul
rule,
comparatively
times
such
and the
of
who came
in
the
train
the
We
are
concerned
is
who
'
Viswa-Brahmans,'
'
Arya
Vaisyas,'
Tamil tribes
and
castes
ancient
Tamil
literature
and
Broadly speaking, the Brahmans and the Sudras of the Tamil country belong each to a distinct race. In a way each had its own system of thought, religion, and ethical and social rules, so that an attempt to engraft the one on the other must look strange and This fact has rightly been grasped by preposterous. the English educated portion of the non-Brahman
castes,
who,
to
vouring
^sation.
assert
is
an indigenous
;
This
only natural
61
if
and suppoit
of scholars
they
confine
that there
were
country,
the
and Forest tribes, (2) Nagas and (3) the Vtlir or the Vellala tribes. For want of a better name these are called collectively
namely,
(1) <lie
Dravidians,
though,
strictly
speaking,
the
'
Dravidian
'
should be applied
the latest
India.
*
only
to
Vellalas,
who were
Southern
of
the pre-Aryan
mimigrants
in
Sometimes
the
moie
significant
compound
Naga
Aryans
there was
no caste
earliest
system
in
the
Tamil
tried,
country.
The
before
Brahman
settlers
however, to intro-
duce
their
four-fold
much oppos-
No
classed as
Brahmans.
The Tamil
of
their
These
Velirs
The Brahmans
got
their
moon or the tire. This rendered Vellalas who had to oscillate betthe
was with
constitu-
and
forest tribes
and
the Nagas,
who
52
ted the bulk of the
TAMIL STUDIES
South Indian population. They could
Naga
classification
on
an altogether
different principle,
soil
in
which depended on the nature of the which the tribes happened to live.
TRIBE.
j t
REGION.
1.
Neijtal or maritime,
Paravas, Nulayas
and Valaiyas.
Mallar (Pallar)
Idaiyar
2.
3.
Marutam
or
fertile.
&
Kadaignar.
Mnllai or pasture.
Palai or desert.
4.
5.
Knriujl or
hilly.
Vedar and
Villiyar.
non-Aryan
refer
Tamil
tribes
is
Velir or
the
Vellala caste.
must, therefore,
The
ans,
earliest
that there
among
As a
1.
furnished
statesmen and
Tlie
Soil as five
or
as four
iiilaiiis
making
Palai
common
to
63
the
Tamil
of
kings.
Its
members were
like
recipients
high
titles
Kizhan,
;
and
such
Tamil
names
as
Kudal-udai.
Arisil
kizhan and
Kalinga-rayan appear
Karkatta Vellalas.
now
as the
go trie
names
ot the
They have
thirteen ot
in
ninety-
six gotras or
exogamous
septs,
which end
sixty-
Rayan and
of the
title
;
The
first
designates the
Vellalas
originally
belonged
the second
is
the
conferred
while the
villages
names
of
of
which
special
they
distinction
of state.
Most
these gotric
in the ancient
Tamil
to
inscriptions.
at
No
traces of
the
be found
and
it is
in the
We
the
Vellala caste as a
whole appears
will
following extract
srHi!jtT(eu)sr
show
QwiL^surflio
of the
Qsustrrrssr
L0(3^-E/G'QjswyT53r.i
Most
Konga
Vellalas
preceding statement were formerly Vettuvans. will show that the Coimbatore District contains an
unusually
casts
The
large
number
ot
Vellalas
fact
which
pure
Dravidian or
Vellala origin.
1.
.^outli
Ill, p. i5.
64
TAMIL STUDIES
of
The occupations
as given below,
the
cultivating
section
were
S-Qp^ LJiumQsrrem
u(ips)e\}iTU
Qi^rr&9iSss3!r QiurrmLSu
u^miLD
usri^
QpQp^essnT
M,
(3)
P.
(5)
V.
(1)
tilling,
(2i
cow-breeding,
trade,
(4)
studying
fire,
the
(G)
Vedas,
giving
worship
of
sacrificial'
and
aims.
spoken
of as Bhu-Vaisyas.
was and has been done by the Mallars (Pallars)^ Maravas and others; cow-breeding by the Idaiyas and
Kurumbas
by
all
trade in
grains
Chettis
the
worship
do not appear
have
at
any time been practised by the non-Brahman Tamils, except probably by an extinct section of the VellaVaidyas.' This name which as the las known
'
dated
70
A.D.
'
Bengal or with the class of native physicians called Pre-eminently Vaidyan as is sometimes done.
'
'
charming theson of Maran, and a learned and illustrious member of the Vaidya family, Madhurakavi made thisin of
manners, a resident
Karavandapura,
stone
temple of Vishnu'.
V
(
Vatteluttu
"^
o 3 l7 r) -tb t( d:p + ^
*T
Lfr
U -^
<W
M^
^J
9>
GO
^*
0'p!>_'^C) ly
J5
3 3*^
S3-
:r7.
THE TAMIL CASTES
ters
65
versed
'
in
the
Vedas.
as ministers
'
will
Tayumanswami
Vellala caste.
In the
to this section of
the
Sendan-Divakaram, a work
century, the
probably of
the
eleventh or twelfth
occupations of
tilling, (2)
cow-breedings
playing on
ments,
(5)
weaving, &c.,
many inferior castes like the Kaikolas and mcluded here in tiie great Vellala tribe. And agreeably to it the word 'Kaikolan' makes its first appearance m this work as a caste name, and 'Pallava' is expunged therefrom, taking in the word 'Kavandan'
Obviously,
Pallis
are
to denote
man
The Brahmans
depended upon the Idaiyans for the supply of milk, ghee and butter, which were necessary for their subsistance
and
sacrificial oblations,
and
to live within
They had
remov-
Izhavas and
Vellalas were,
sei'vice to
giving ahns,
Brahmans.
6
Virasoliyam, 85.
66
TAMIL STUDIES
Kammalas. What a strange fitting of these nonAryan tribes to the procrustean bed of the Brahmanical caste system
!
to the early
Tamil
literature
and
inscriptions,
we
five
find
the
following
names
of
Ambattan,
Kani
or
Izhavan,
Kammalan
Kaviti,
or the
artizans,
Kaniyan,
Vannan, Vannattan, Valluvan, Variyan and Velan. All these castes now exist in Makibar though their occupations have since undergone slight change
while in the Tamil
districts Kani,
Kaviti,
Marayan,
Tanjore
disappeared.
inscriptions
Most
of
of
these
occur
(A.
in
the
Rajaraja Chola
D. 9851013).
;
an astrologer
;
Kaviti,
an
Marayan, a
of
a temple
Pidaran
the
reciter of
the
Devara-hymns, audit
;
corresponds
to the present
;
day O'duvan
a high class
Sakkai
is
a
;
temple actor
Variyan
dancer
in
Vannattan
is
washerman
and
Velan
an overseer
in
temples
a
;
Subrahmanya the hill deity Ambaltan was a medicine man and now a barber Panan was a low caste minstrel and now a tailor Panikkan was a teacher or instructor in gymnastics and now the name of a mure advanced section of the Izhava or Shanan caste to which also belonged Enadi Nayanar the famous Saiva saint and athletic
honour
of
;
;
67
Shanan has taken the place the Tamil districts, for reasons which
Many
of
regional
classifica-
For a better understanding of the process of formation and growth of the numerically strongest Tamil castes which account for more than 80 per cent, of the Tamil population, we shall exhibit
them
in the
subjoined table.
trihes.
[
Original
(1)
Modem
ParaVan,
\ (
castes.
Paravan and
Valaiyan.
Karaiyan &c.
Pallan, Shanan, Panikkan.
(2)
Mallar (Pallar).
Idaiyan.
(3)
Idaiyan.
Maravan,
Agambadiyan,
Kaikolan,
^^
il\
Maravan and
P^i'-^'Y''^"'
'
KamPalli
Fvimn ^y^"^"-
< ^''^"'
j
Kurumban,
(5)
^
Kuravan, Irulan, \^TT'' J'h^''"' Malasar J","^^"' Kadai, Vedan^ndVilliyan.^^^l'^y'^"' ^and mmor hill tribes.
^
The other important castes like Ambattan, Vaniyan and Vannan were originally occupational guilds
consisting of peoples from various tribes, which have of time hardened into distinct in course castes*
Even now
in
barbers and
Malabar the Brahmans have their own washermen, while the Nayarsand Tiyars
.68
TAMIL STUDIES
*
Vaniyan
a
*
'
is
another form of
Vanijyan
'
which means
and
merchant.'
do
I,
Group
Some
of
them
like
the
and the Malayamans are emigrants from the plains. During the dynastic convulsions and terrible civil
wars of the early Tamil period, several bands of the
who were driven from the low lands took on high mountains and in inaccessible forests, which had from the earliest times been under the rule of petty refractory chieftains called Kuru-nila-Mannar.
Naga
tribes
shelter
tells
tory chiefs on the Vengadam (Tirupati) hill, Kollimalais, Malainad, Tomimalai, Kudirai-malai and Mudiram. Some of them are eulogized by ancient
Tamil poets
of
of
as the
most benevolent
hill chiefs.
of
rulers
while
the
seven
third-ratei Vallals
{<sumsfr&))
or grantors
been the
kings,
one or another
in his
Tamil
like their
who had
helped Sri
Rama
the Census of 1891 supplemented by the latest ethnological researches should lead
one to the
irresistible-
1. Three grades of donors are mentioned in Tamil literature. Those who give any present unasked belong to the first class;, and those who offer what is asked belong to the second class
;
those
who
to the:
bird class.
69
Kalian,
Ambalakkaran, Muttiriyan,
Kurumban and Vanniyan belonged to the race of Nagas who inhabited the Northern Tamil districts,
which constituted the ancient Pailava country or Tondaimandalam, When the power of the Pallavas about the sixth and seventh was in its zenith, that
is.
-centuries A.
D.,
their
conquests extended
,
to
the
and
it
the Muttiriyan
Chola
caste
country
Tanjore
Palii
and Trichinopoly.
nor
Kallani
As a
name
Tamil
neither
occurs in
early
literature or inscriptions,
was known as Pallava, and Mallava (uajevjaj/f Qmm, P. T.). The Pallava army was recruited from this martial tribe of Pallis or Kurumbas, and some of
sive tribe
them were
kings.
also feudal
some
of
them claim
all
their
style
descent from
Sambu
or
Siva, while
Pallis
themselves Vahni
Palii or
Kshatriyas,
tribe,
One
section
of
the
(Tel.
Pallava
called the
Muttarasar
first
Mutracha) ruled
ries
of the
in the
Chola country,
of
as feudato-
Pandya kings during the eighth century A.D. It was during this period that Naladiyar was composed under the ausThe Pallavas pices of the Muttarasa governors. were the hereditary enemies of the three Tamil kings Chera, Chola and Pandya and their subjects
Pallava and then
the
1.
There
is a
doubtful
it
Agananuni, and
70
TAMIL STUDIES
in the
southern
districts^
*
rogue'
of the Pallava.
subjects
tries
who
settled in the
or thieves.
race, as
belonged
to the
Naga
one subdivision
agavadam, Nagapasam or Nagavamsam and the occurrence of such names as Mugali-Nagan, Oli-Nagan
and Sanka-Nagan
in
the
will
Pagodas) inscriptions
as
second
districts
the Pallavas
to
Tamil
Tamil works.
and were never mentioned favourably m ancient As regards their connection with the
Kurumbas and Pallars enough has been said by Mr. (now Sir) H. A. Stuart in the iMadras Census Report
of 1891.
Maravan and Eyinan occur very often in ancient Tamil works, and they are said to have been skilful
bowmen and soldiers^ The Maravas were and even now are very numerous in the Pandya country, and
the habitat of the Eyinas appears from
time
immeand
the
tenth
century, the
Kaikolas
of
the former
will be-
THE TAMIL CASTES
Mdaiyan'
in
literally
71
means a 'Middleman,' because he came to occupy the middle or the pasture land. He had to live next to the Eyinas on whom he depended for the
the
regional
grouping
As
late as the
tenth
man
ot
any other
tribe
might become
an Idaiyan or cowherd by following that profession. The Kallaand Samban sub-divisions of this caste connect
latter
them with
the
Kalians and
is
Paraiyans.
sub-division which
by
far the
not only
Sambu
but also
the Cheri
residence to
of the
Eyinas or Paraiyas
very suggestive:
in ancient Dravi-
dian villages.
The
is
Idaiyan of old
LDiT'Sf^U^dsms
LD u^ <su ij uS SO)
I Lu ear.
Pui'.
down)
lips, dirty
and garland
of green leaves.)
There was no such caste as Pallan, but in its stead we tind in early Tamil literaluie IV'allan and Kadai,
gnan, the
latter
appearing as a sub-division
are
of
the
Pallan caste.
They
found chiefly
in
the
Pandya
Vanniya
caste of the
Tondainadu. These
disputed and
that
The
it is
1.
origin of the
lei
Shananismuch
literature in
found nowhere
In this
in
Tamil
form
CLrnection
72
TAMIL STUDIES
late as
As
as Izhavans,
levied
Shanans were known and a tax called tlie Izha-piitchi was by Tamil kings on all toddy-drawers. They
the 13th century the
and
were surely a polluting caste in those days as now, it would therefore be absurd to derive it from
sun,
is
Sanron, the
as
of
the
to a
Shanar caste
attempting to
According
If
this
be correct, they
section
of
may be
the
regarded as a more
the Veddahs.
And
if
Izham
is
taken to
mean
life
toddy,'
t
>
of Pallars, allied
the settled
of
palm
the
other
continues a nomadic
it
huntmg
in
In either case,
is
to
castes are
most numerous
Ceylon the abode of the Veddah, Yaksha or Naga tribes. The caste names Valaiyan (net-man), Sembadavan,
are adjacent to
Pattanavan and
Karaiyan
do not occur
is
in
early
Tamil books.
Sembadavan
boatman,
vilhige,
Patta-
navan
is
an inhabitant of a sta-coast
is
and
any
of
Karaiyan
man
o^.
the beach.
The absence
of
district
Tinnevelly
is
noteworthy.
caste
returned
their
name
race
Native
Christian
'
All these
Naga
who
lived
on
the
South
Indian sea-board.
73
principal
as
castes
or
among
from
non-Aryan Tamils
might be
inferred
Within the
tenfold,
the Pallas and Paraiyas). hundred years they have increased on account of various causes which will be
last five
explained below.
and (4) locality. The Dravidians of antiquity like the Vedic Aryans used to eat beef, pork, venisjn, mutton and even Brahmans of fish, and as late as 250 A. D. South India appear to have been meat-eaters. But
occupation,
religion,
of Jainism, the
Brahmans
had ceased long before the Pauranic period to eat any animal ford, and some of their Dravidian neighbours followed
suit.
may
be ob.
the Brahmans changing its from meat eating to vegetarianism. Killing of animals was condemned as a sin, the gravity of which
their
increased according to
usefulness
to the
Brah-
and
religious
offerings.
products,
panchagacyain, which
were
and
sacrifice,
is
and
the killing
still
being
considered
rise
one
It
has given
to
an
74
TAMIL STUDIES
all
grants,
sin of
having slaughtered a
black
cow on
The Dravi-
liquor
and the manufacture and sale of was not considered a mean occupation by the
Tamils.
'
ancient
*
The
simple
fact that
the
word
the
toddy
has
at least eighty
equivalent words in
Tamil
was only
advent of
the
Jains
and produ-
came to be shunned as polluting castes. The five artizans, potters and weavers were
requisitioned by
all
much
castes
bring them
And
with the
social
these
classes
began to
for
improve.
The Brahmans
tions,
high
titles,
and
fabricated
tiiem divine
the
humoured them and made them willing workers new social organisation. Thus, the seeds of
subsequent quarrels and dissensions were sown.
in
all
All
The power
tribes
of a religion
is
to
rend asunder
large
and races
The want
of easy
75
in the
of
any kind
Tamil
larger
up
of
castes
crystallisation of the
smaller
communities.
The
system
in
of
the
Indo-Aryan caste
the Brah-
the Dravidian
for
social troubles
many
mans
of
imposition
own
social
organization,
the
As already
serious
of
and
among
to
the
artizan
decide with
inscription'
reference to their
An
of Kulottunga Chola,
Kam-
malas are entitled to wear the sacred thread. In support of their decision allowing the Rathakaras
(Kammalas)
the
the
to perform
'
Brahmans had
sons of
first
to
grant
that
they were
Mahishyas
by
Karani
of a
women.
of
A
male
Mahishya is the and a Vaisya female, and male and a Sudra female. In
offspring
Kshatriya
a
Karani
Vaisya
the Dravidian
country
Brahmans
get so
many
Kshatriyas
forth by
illicit
unions about
Report,
dated the
'76
TAMIL STUDIES
It will be a huge task to attempt to trace the origin and development of every Tamil caste. We shall therefore take only the Eyinas or Paraiyas, which is
perhaps the third largest of Tamil castes, and examine what other castes have evolved from them and how
they
managed to secure their present social-position. But, by way of introduction, it is highly desirable to
present before the reader a description of the consti-
tution of an ancient
town or
of
village,
in
which the
is
regional
classification
tribes
explained above
clearly discernible.
We
cribed in
town were the Brahman' quarters where neither the dog nor the fowl could be seen'; they were flanked on the one side by the fishermen's {sn'^js^^ff) streets and on the other by those of traders (susssflaiT), and these were surrounded by the cheris of the Mallas or Pallas (&,L^e>jiT) and toddy-drawers {amea^Suoiefflir). Then, far removed from them were situated at one extremity of the city the pallis of the Idaiyans; and beyond
these lay the isolated piini-clietis of the
their
chiefs.
Eyinas and
streets
Next
to th.e
Malla
{^.l^suit)
were
and the
Ilam.Tiraiyan.
By
the
end
of the tenth
of certain tribes
The
Idai-
account.
77
toddy-
were
still
regarded
sites
polluting
castes
of
and
assigned
separate
these
by the side
illustrated
the
Paraiyas.
And
may be
The
II.
i-L).
The
Kammalaits
The temple
banks,
the village the
of Pidari
and
the
its
pond and
court,
the
granary,
Vellalas,
burning
the
ground
of
say.
the Paraiyas,
(lb. 55).
the Paraicheri,
relative
Izhacheri
What
held
social
rank
each
these
castes
we
carinni
now
But it is tolerably certain that the Paraiyas, Kammalas, Izhavas and Vannans were
definitely
all
at
present
in
Malabar
specially
and
in
Travancore.
arrangement
is
noteworthy,
Of the six servile tribes Paraiya, Pulaiya or Cheruma, Mala, Holaya, Palla and Madiga which
of the
population of the
Madras Presidency, the Paraiya is by far the most important and interesting. They are found chiefiy
78
in
TAMIL STUDIES
the districts
of
and Tanjore tribe had formerly hved and where numberless cromlechs and kistvaens abound to this very day. The term Paraiyan as a caste, or more
Arcot, Chingleput
correctly
an
occupational,
Kilar,
name
first
occurs in a
poem
of
Mangudi
s&)&.)^
'
second century A. D.
siihuQsmek
(^u^u^uSe\)'2e\}.
Pltr.
Here
Tudiyan
means
the
peculiar to the
;
or jungle
is
a minstrel
'Paraiyan'
All
a drum"
these are
mer and 'Kadamban' is a hill man. occupational names and seem to refer
of the Kurinji
this
(hill)
to four sections
or
Besides
casual
reference,
we do not
in
find
the
name
to
early
Tamil
literature
we come down
the
which! period it evidently obtained currency as a It is commonly derived from caste denomination.
parai, a
drum by
native
writers.
This etymology though plausible and tempting seems unsatisfactory, as it is inconceivable that the beating of
and
the
drum-beating section of that caste forms only j}^ih part of it. The more accurate 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
79
assign-
more
According
the
least
to
the inscription
in
already referred
to,
Paraiyas
were divided
ancient
times into at
two
Ncsavu (weaving)
&c.
Panan
Some
of the
most
Valluva,
Jambu, Virabahu, Panikka, Koliya, Kurava and Ambu. The Valhivas are the
dents
of
religious
This
may
if
we
only
rememas
'
barber caste)
officiate
Nambudri
Valluvas
or Vedic'
Brahmans
of
IMalabar.
The
were also
!Bmusap
ujsmnoiB^eariT.
Kci^ll.
drum from
KottiU
beat of
a fort
Kottakarmn
is
a granary, for
in
ancient
as in the
money
mythical
;
Saiiibn
is
is
one of
is
commanders
Panikkan
;
teacher
Kunivan
80
is
TAMIL STUDIES
a
hill
man
and Ambit
to
is
an arrow.
The
Eyinas-
these point
their
vestiges
thereof
still
survive
form
in
of rights
and
privileges
which cling
to
them
of a
the
village
organization.
The
settlement
land dispute
by
the
his councillors
to a
regarding
at
temple
Mudepakavar
final
is
was deemed
were the
to
clear
and absolute.i
or
The Eyinas
hunters of the
of
of
earliest
the
Naga-Dravidian
tribes
the forests
ranya
as
for
purposes
of
the
clearing of jungles
came
engaged
digging of
up into the tdii {tondit, to As early as the third or fourth century A. D. they had their chieftains reigning at Ambur, Vellore and other places. The Eyinas had well supplied granaries {kotlakaram) and strong forts they had deep ditches and lofty walls {eyil) with musicians and dancers (Panans) to amuse them when out of work; they had priests (Valluvans), carpenters,
;
81
not.
The
Paraiyas, or
the
modern
independent of every
belonged
other'.
The
period
They were
all
aldermen
this
is
of
the
villages
even
now
recognized by
referring
old custom of
And
in
almost
tlie
ancient village
Paraiyas
the
ceremonies of a
communal
part.
nature, the
play
an important
For
at
example, on
Paraiyan has an
god's
procession
precede the
holding a
the
white
umbrella.
detailed
in
account of
existing
customs
observed
various places
cannot, however,
So much
the
But with
advent of
the
came
change
food
in the constitution
the
Paraiya
tribe,
their
and
occupation
It
lias
sorts of pursuits.
The
social standing
men
w^ho
Brahmans
for
rose
high
in
high
^2
caste
TAMIL, STUDIES
Hindus. Of course, learned Brahmans discovered decent Hindu pedigrees for the low but
highly serviceable tribes and
seal
of
sanctity in the
The
Kaikolas,
Virabahu, one of
name of pnmnas. who trace their descent from the nine commanders of god
some
of
them
have
very
recent-
of
Hindus.
Five reasons
(1)
may
be adduced
in
They
are chiefly
found
are
Brahmans
Kaikolan
'
The
word
is
simply
the
Tamil
Virabahu', a mythological
hero from
whom
said
It
is
that
were formerly
soldiers
like the
monkey-faced
king
ing was taught to them by Tiru-Valluvar at the command of Subrahmanya, the patron deity of the Kaikolas
trioes.
Two
of the
Tillaistanam
made by Samara
'
Kesari-terinja Kaiko-
Vikrama-Singa-terinja
Kaikolar
and
Virachola
terinja-Kaikolar'.i
1.
They were
natives of Tanjore
and
Epi^jraphisl's
83
I.
D. 90G-949).
Other inscriptions
of
a later
date
Perumpadai.
*
Kaikolar,' like
Velakkarar
'
and
Viliiyar
'
(archers),
I,
which occur
(terinja)
in the inscriptions of
Rajaraja Chola
of
by Parantaka, whose
Rajaraja
I.
One
above regiment
as
was a Kadikavan Kalian. They were known also Sengundar or the Red Lancers.'
'
(4)
In
the inscriptions of
{iarJ) of the
Rajaraja Chola,
(A. D-
though the
Parai-tari,
Tusa-tari
(washerman) and
In ancient
Tamil
a
called
eS^^siT
^LLQstaiT.
^u^iuiT QufT^uQuLuiT
to
pi/i<^.
788.
It
Will
be interesting
learn
that
the
earjy
to
good
weavers.
They had
Telugu neighbours for cloths of Thus superior cloths have come to be finer texture. In the Tamil country called in Tamil kaUngam,
their
depend upon
coarse weaving was done by a section of the Paraiyas or Eyinas. Dissatisfied with the quality of the work
.turned
out
84
TAMIL STUDIES
Telugu
districts of
Kammihow
weave
finer cloths.
Since the
is
earliest
in a
mention of
highly
to
Kaikolan as a caste
inscription of
name
class
found
Conjeevaram
it
the
fourteenth
of
century,
is
weavers began
be
some
stand-
Kulottunga
Chola (1150
And
it
Again, to
take
another
instance,
the
Panans-
were
minstrels
under the
ancient
of the latter in
most of them findway into Kerala.theLand of Charity, for a liveThe descendants of these emigrants are now
Malabar and Canara as devil-dancers and
found
in
basket-makers.
On
bread as
is
which
They are also called Mestris,. a Portuguese word introduced by the early
tailors.
workmen.
The low
origin of th&
85
that caste
who Hve
their
the
name
of
The Semman
is
almost
unknown
It
out-
was
once
numerous
Tamil leather-workers,
Since the immig-
{Ljs<sfrnoQ^fr/r)_^^esriT
Nig.).
ration of the
kiliyans,
sometime
tury, the
their
Semmans have
almost entirely
adopted,
given
up
and
traditional
occupation, and
in villages
like the
and
tailoring
towns.
We shall
status has
furnished to us by
whose
social
past nine
centuries a
thorough
which
dreamt
of
by
their
humble
The Kammalas
gods, and in
the sacred
many
parts
of the
Brahmans and
to the
Brahmans.
Without going
of the
their origin
we
shall
undoubted Naga
86
tribes,
i
TAMIL STUDIES
forming an advanced section
of, or closely
Eyinas
of the
Tamil country.
code
The Dharma
Sastras, a social
to the
common
in the
to all
Kammalas
Hindu
out by
said
and
this fact
that
the artisans
classes
a
It
generally
the
a
supposed,
even
in
Upper
celestial
India, that
all
artisan castes
begotten
architect of the
of
Sudia
woman
Visvakarma, from
whom
the Kolis
They worship
(3)
Sakti
and
village deities
and
in a
late
are, as a village.'
rule,
as A. D..
allowed to
live
within
blow con-
houses with
mud
or
chunam,
And
it
appears that
1. With this compare what Mr. Charles Johnston, I. C. S, sajs on the subject: 'It is probable that among them [black Dravidians] first grew up the system of trade guilds which gradually developed into hereditary caste of artisans and craftsmen, the chief of which are the workers in gold, brass, iron, stone and wood'. The black Dravidians' are our Nagas.
THE TAMIL CASTES
87
they were regarded as slaves and given from time to
In Kerala (Malabar
and Travancore),
a country
caste rules
maintained
several
centuries,
in the
the
Kammalas
and are
(probably
occupy
low position
social
scale
district
Kammalas
of the ele-
venth century.
sacred
They
wear the
Presi-
castemen, except
custom
late
still
followed in
fourteenth
the
Tamil
the
As
as
the
century
Kammalas and
Kottayam
it is
This
we
learn
from the
plates of Viraraghava
:
Chakravarti wherein
stated thus
(We have
malas as
given the
five
Kamdis-
slaves.)
The Kammalas
tricts
of
must
h^ive
mentioned
in
in
the early
to,
difference
circumstances
which
1
will
47.
^8
retained
their
TAMIL STUDIES
original
'
distance
pollution/
to
while
claim
Brahmans.
of burying their
The custom
absence
dead, partiality
and
to
the entire
of
Vishnu
worship
seem
Naga tribes. Thus it will be seen that the claims of the Kammalas for Brahmanhood are not based upon any recognised Veda, Sastra, Itihasa or Purana, and
their
that
arguments
in its
toto ccelo
any
period of
Indian history.
Now
hunters, the
'Ten Tamil
Idylls'
say that they ate pork and the flesh of the wild
cow
and
freely
sruSismiT
^i^
QiSuiLLcrTQssrjjS^sms^u
Pill'.
rice boiled
with
the
flesh
of
the
by the Eyinas.)
^maesr
(^lLl^sst <ss)LDSu(ruQu^i^(sSliT^
Sir.
(Thou
Eyina
shall
women
in the
the
hot
rice
Even
of
we
see
no
change
Some
which
them
connects
89
To
the
eating of the
Hindus the cow is a sacred animal as Vahana of Siva, the killing and which are abominable. Not less hateful is
intoxicating
drinks.
It
use of
was
filthy
therefore
liquors
From
recommendation
in the social scale
of
the
above
practice.
The
Kaikolans, Panans,
Semmans and
good
relation
Kammalas
we can
see the
the revolution
tribes
the organisation
seems
to
even
to
enter
perusal
careful
Nandan's
Life'
will
give our
readers
some
idea as to
how
were treated by the Tamil Brahmans. The influence is of the Brahmans is now gone and their power
;
crippled by the stronger Anglo-Saxon race, who have assumed, as Leyden naively remarked, the
character
of
Kshatriyas
in
the
estimation of
the
subdued
are
still
looked
down
thougii
as
social
system
admitted to
Hindus
that
first
in
religion.
Among
fered
suf-
90
Paraiyans,
TAMIL STUDIES
labouring
all
They had
They,
to
work
in the
fields
having any
toiling
access to
the
Brahman
fields,
which were once their own but were wrested from them by the Tamil kings to encourage and
support
the
Brahman
became
as
it
advisers
and
their
religious
institutions,
of
their rice
fields.
Their masters
change
slavery
of
which, however,
of
the dog-eating
are supposed
pollution,
Navadisto
Malabar, the
Paraiyas
carry
that
with
them a
high
degree of
so
and the
be
Khonds
by
pollution
It
is
of
Vizagapatam think
they
a
will
defiled
is
?
the
mere touch
according
of
to
Paraiya.
What
notion
then
the
Hindu
something imaginary, flowing out of the social gravitation which exists between an Aryan
The degree
of the pollu-
The
Parai-
least inclined to
adopt
a
them, and
high
consequently
their
approach
within
caste
Hindu.
The
best
91
Malabar,
corresponding
to the
Kuravas
of
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.
chapter
it
has been
shown
of the
that
among
the
Aryans
that
most
Tamil castes
of
modern
Vellalas,
to
times,
ot the
could be
of
five
Nagas and
that
it
some
the
hill
and
the
forest
tribes
took
at least
present
position
;
social
economy
of
of
the
country
that
the
present
diversity
castes
was
of
the countries
in-
inhabited by them
and
that the
Brahmans were
the
is
which
a
all
matter
This applies to
The introduction and expansion of the caste system ;among the Dravidian Tamils had in course of time
bred discontent, jealousy and mutual hatred in their
social
life,
which
'
in the
end culminated
left
in
the
dis-
putes of the
right
and
hand
factions,' into
which
this
was
divided.
A.nd
inception.
About
i(1449
the
middle of
the fifteenth
the
century
of
A. D.)
in
the
the
inhabitants of
kingdom
Padaividu
North
Arcot
District
appear to
THE TAMIL CASTES
have
of
LLju)
93
irrespective
isjeoiisias
been
divided into
three factions
their
nationality,
creed or occupation
^L^iKiss)3iLjii)
LDsrr^sisr(ip}i
(the
t.
<?.,
right-hand,
the
left-hand
the Brahmans).
is
November
1G52, that
of
within
St,
fif-
Fort
George,,
certain
Madras were
disturbing
the
fighting
for
and
public
peace and
East India
Company were
obliged
to
to
call
on the
draw up an agree-
ment settling all the diflferences between the righthand and left-hand castes. Some sixty years after this, the same tragedy was enacted once more at
Chintadripetta,
a suburban colony of
artizans
and
merchants, the dispute arising out of the right claimed by certain Chetties or traders to
recite
Sanskrit
idol of Vignesvara.
Now
coming
century,
the
contest was
fought with
renewed vigour among the impoverished inhabitants of Seringapatam. This town, shortly after it had
fallen into
the
hands
of
the
English,
was found
mainly by
by the upholders of the left. And it the faction feuds were so rampant
British
is
there,
the
of
to
the necessity
within
-94
TAMIL STUDIES
at
quarrel ensued
district,
It
Dummagudam
in
the
Godavari
which, however was immediately put down. was on the occasion of a marriage in the Kamsali the ring-leader being a Madras Paraiyan. caste,
Moreover,
this jealousy in
and prosecutions
forces
in
extended
its
evil
influences
even
caste
among members
system
of the
same
has only
divided
the
people
into
It
it
has attracted
the attention
of ethnologists
sufficient light
on
An
not,
it is
and
its
subsequent growth
;
will
and it is hoped, be uninteresting to the reader not without some confidence that the following explanation based on a rather prolonged and careful
is
offered, in the
belief
that
it
at least the
And
in
an accurate
his-
account
of each
is
and
highly desirable.i
some
of the
But the
lists
found
Chapter
of the
Madras Census Report for 1891, and in the Caste Glossary appended to the Report on the Census of 1901.
THE TAMIL CASTES
95
we
have examined
castes,
<*ive
several
which
be
noticed
later
on.
Nevertheless,
we subjoin
tolerably
of
correct
state-
ment which
exhibits the
names
their
important
followed
caste
traditional
occupations
by the
these
thereof prior to
:
division
into
social factions
Occupation
Right-hand.
Balija,
Left-hand.
f Beri Chetti,
I
Traders.
Banajiga,
Devanga
and
Kaikolan.
Weavers.
Seniyan.
Artizans.
Nil.
Kammalan,
Kamsali, Panchalas.
Leatherworkers
Madiga or
Chakkilian. (females)
(Males.)
Field labourers
J
]
[
and
soldiers.
Malaiman, Nattaman, Bedar, Falh (females), f Vedan or Vettuvan^ Palli (Males) [ Pall an, Paraiyan, Mala
(_and Holeya.
iy
Of these the Mala, Holeya and Paraiyan were raostand the Kaikolans were soldiers. held labjar^rs
;
As
a rule,
)st
of
and hunters
All the
96
other South
TAMIL STUDIES
Indian
castes
not
mentioned
in
the
Brahmans
a neutral
will
be curious to note
in
which
is
no other part
still
;
may
be found
but
among
Bengal
of the
this religious
does not
seem
to
non-Brahmanical
castes of the
Madras
Presi-
dency.
The members
in the
of the
twelve pillars
five
drums on certain ceremonial occasions, the on horse-back or the carrying of a monkey flag. These privileges are claimed by the right-hand castes
big
ride
on all public and festive occasions, and whenever any of these privileges are exercised by a member of
the left-hand faction, fights usually occur.
of
the
Canarese pro-
districts
and the
Malas of the Andhra country are the strenuous supporters of the right-hand division.
They
are assisted
by the
weavers
Holeyas
in the
in
hand
division
commanded throughout
THE TAMIL CASTES
97
the indefatigable assistance of the Madigas or Chakkilians.
But
degraded
classes, this
enemy
of public
appeared from the land several centuries ago. J Yet SLich a distinction, notwithstanding Dr. Macleane's statement to the contrary,
is
not
maintained
with so
much
zeal
and
pertinacity in
tricts as in
the Canarese
India.
Southern
their
The
about the
indignity
many
Kaikolas have,
or rather
in
order
social
the
clinging to
the
left-hand faction,
be.
come within the last six centuries dancers and singers in Hindu temples as the following Kanchipuram inscription will show
:
(S. /. /. I.
122.)
[May
sell
or
lease, service to
mortgage the head-ship, the right of god (dancing, &c.), and weaving.]
in asserting
that
they are
Naga
all
that
the above
by
ing
Kali,
been
side
which
India
is
Further,
by the
later settlers
T
98
TAMIL STUDIES
districts, this inter-caste
Canarese
quite
unknown to the Malaiyahs, and even now it exists only among the weavers and Canarese immigrants.
Thus
as a
is
practi-
Paraiyas,
in
occasionally
is
encouraged by
obscur-
this distinction
it is
involved
ity;
clear that
though countenanced, and even sometimes fomented covertly, by the later Aryan immigrants in the south. Many traditions, however, have been manufactured
either by the Brahmans to elevate the status of the low but serviceable tribes of the Dravidian race, or by the busy and ingenious artizans, who scarcely let slip an opportunity to elevate their low position.
And in among
cal
proof of
the
it
we
give
Kammalans. The
it
and
mutilated though
not altoit
gether devoid of an
to
historical interest,
as
seems
of
this
suggest
the
probable
'
age
and
origin
endless dispute.
The Panchalas
(artizans) say
they
were the hereditary priests for the royal family During the reign of Parimalan, of the Cholas.
them from Accordingly he murdered the their spiritual office. king while out hunting and raised his illegitimate son This event was followed by unpleasto the throne.
oust
influence in the
99
The people
;iU
refused to cultivate,
and
should be
carried
called
the
right-hand
this,
neigh-
king as captive,
dismissing
the
and left-hand
castes.'
Another old
castes took
says
the
right-hand and
left-hand
dess Kali at
command
seat of so
it
of the god-
many
said,
religi-
is
exists
callIt
day special
for the
two
parties
ed
is
the
eueosaasLDsmiULD
and
^L-iW'SSiSLDsmL^ULh.
further
has a
the
the pagoda at
origin
queer
distinction
it,
of
castes.
Though both
it
parties referred to
this
neither of them,
appears,
could produce
important document
in
the
course
factions.
of
It
litigation
Kammalas
its
l
prefer-
that
we can infer at present from the above some Dravidian castes such as the
or pnrohits to tha
Tamil kings
July 1910.
100
TAMIL STUDIES
ment of the Dravidian castes into two grand divisions (the right and left hands) took place at Kanchipuram
under the royal
connection
it
command
of
a
to
Chola king.
In this
would be well
and former
social position
made concerning
factions.
*
One
it
who were
strang-
South India
'.
Another writer
us that
it
is
a dispute
artificers
and the
while
a
agricultural, mercantile
and other
'
classes
third
observes that
tlie
distinc-
from the land-owners and their heads of one class, and the Brahmans, serfs being the the artisans and other interlopers, form the other '.
tion arises primarily
The
last
view
in
is
Census
Mysore (1891)
who
goes on
to
is
say
irreconcilable faction
due
between the
more powerful traders. This is, no doubt, borne out by the alternative names of the factions, Desa (foreign) and Peta or Nadu (native) which are curBut the quarrel rent only in the Mysore State. throughout the presidency and is not is fqund
101
to
to
it
a western origin.
effort are
combined
why
should the
at
enmity
inscrip-
We
leain
from
the
Brahmans adhered
them
left
as partizans.
namely, the
the
the
right-hand division.
of the
The very
the inclusion
Telugu and Canarese Madigas and Bedarsand the Tamil Pallars and Pallis in the left-hand faction
to
goes
side
this dispute
from out-
the
Karnataka,
Pallava
and Pandya
countries
and the exclusion from it of the corresponding Tamil castes Malaiman, Vedan and Paraiya seems to point out the Chola kingdom as the land
of its origin.
To
call
into
existence such
powerful
and
been
suffice.
It
has, therefore,
organization during
He says that
'in their
families
mother seems
to
to
and
mother
daughter
'.
And
in
proof of
the
102
TAMIL STUDIES
among
(1)
Dravidians he
adduces two
'
facts
In
the
name
and the maternal uncle is the same for the mother-in-law and the paternal aunt is the same
in-law
(2)
'.
'The
division
is
unknown
'
in
Malabar, because
matriarchal
its
people
never
passed
from the
to the
patriarchal condition'.
of the right-hand side
The
to
eighteen
communities
seem
seem
to
is
have opposed
a 'doubtful
it'.
that there
passage in the
to refer to
it,
Mahawanso
if
and
so,
';
the
would seem
it
to be of great antiquity
'
and
the
in support of
when
her
is
said (according to
one version)
of
castes
and
five
different clans
workmen
to the
doubt very
in
much
of
arguments
has
been
shown
in
the
last
essay
that
among the ancient Dravidians like that which we find amongst them in modern times. Then how did the 18 panas or castes of the right-hand and the 9 panas of the left come
there
was no
caste system
103
B.
C.
?
sixth century
The above
concoction
tradition, therefore,
seems
to us a post facto
of
of
the
Canarese
people;
and
in
the
the
whole range
Tamil
is
literature,
especially of
to this
vital
no reference
it
'ancient'
though
is
was
the
of
such
importance.
of
Further, there
not
slightest vestige
the
Kerala
and
in the Pendiikkii
Meykki sub-caste
of the
Idaiyans
of the
Madura
the
District.
else,
In
and the
hill
and
civilisation,
no exceptions
from
the
the
Here the
transition
is
patriarclial
to
in various stages.
all
Most
other
of the polluting
castes and
aboriginal
in
tribes
follow
parts of
the
Makkatayam
while
the
system as
the
India,
who may
both the
of
be said to be in a
Makkatayam and
inheritance.
of the
of
the
is
Marumakkatayam system
the
This
Nayars and
castes.
it
to a desire to imitate
custom
(by
higher
Among
is
the
non-polluting
distance) castes
Kshatriyas
still
have
Nam-
104
TAMIL STUDIES
It
is
Marumakkatayam system.
thus clear
that the
have
come
Brahmans
patriarchal
into the
Kerala country,
and
that the
South India
since
the earhest
historic entirely
times.
the
due to
or
in that
Brahmans
at
work
this
of
essiy to
determine.
As
it
for the
this division
from Kerala,
find
its
may
way amongst the non-Brahman castes of that country on account of the iron-hand of the Nambudris, which kept them down under its strong grip. Further, the people of Kerala led a
life,
comparatively simple
of
as at present
there
was no building
large
skilful
demand
for
The Kammalas, therefore, never aspired for Brahmanhood, nor did the Nambudris invest them with the sacred thread as the Brahmans in the other
parts of India did.
The forms
of
marriage
prevalent
among
as
the
sotraii)
we have
tie
shown was so
in a
previous essay.
it
And
among
the
at
marriage
tlie
loose that
could be broken
see
will
of
either party as
we now
the
lowest castes.
105
was no
had
no
&c.,
of a 'father-in-law'
The
sister,
early Dravidians
words
their
for
father's
mother's
brother,
relationship
being confined
sister.
only to father,
the
Thus
term niaina
not a
that
it
(Tam.
miTLDrr)
meaning
meant
in
which
is
also
Dravidian word,
so vague
and
indefinite
sister,
mother-in-law,
father's sister
and the teacher's wife. Similarly akka and aminai are both mother and elder sister aiyan, Then, these father-in-law, mother's brother, etc.
;
one
in
way or
a very
rela"
Dravidians were
Turning now
we
find
from
obvious causes.
The
first
is
over-
throw
of the powerful
kingdoms
embraced
the
modern
hereditary enemies
Cholas
;
Pallava
the
the
Kanchi-
106
TAMIL STUDIES
inscriptions of
puram
Kampana Udaiyar
will
show,
Choliyan edict.
About the ninth century A. D. the Pallavas were defeated by the Chola and Chalukyan kings in a series of battles, after which the vast empire
was broken up
into small
principalities
such
as Gangaipadi,
Agam,
Nadu,
11am
Rettaipadi,
Gangaipadi,
Kollam,
Kalingam,
(Ceylon),
Madura and
of his
other
countries.
To-
have marshalled
which he had
at different quarters to
the one
him
vic-
for
composed
of
new
from the
Pandya,
the
had
formerly
The
Nattaman,
the
right-hand infantry),
Pallis,
while the
latter
made up
of the Pallans,
MadiThis
we
think,
107
correctly
right-hand
division.
The
Pallans,
formed the Pandiyan army, the PalHs constituted the Pallava army, while the troops of Kalingam
Mallar,
and other countries were recruited chiefly from the Bedars and Madigas or Chakkiliyans. The male members of these military classes were
put in
the
left-
who could
The
taken up arms against Rajaraja were treated as belonging to the right-hand faction.
inscriptions of Ra-
army though not so strictly as in his father's time. The expression us\)iiiss)suuifiLbusioL-si&r which occurs therein means the 'old troops of the right-hand' as
by
his
of the
And by
1065) a poll-tax
of both factions
was
levied
on
all
members
use the
who were
was
in a
position to
implements
origin of the
of war.
division
purely of
a military
or
political nature.
the
distinction
originated in
the reign
of
Chola king
of the Kalinga country, and we know of Chola kings than Rajaraja and Rajendra temporarily subjugated Chola, v^rho invaded and Kalingam. For these reasons the present writer is
no
earlier
strongly
mclined
distinction
The second
1.
115.
108
TAMIL STUDIES
factions,
was
the
the
of
higher
in
ancient
One of the six principal duties of Hindu kings being the preservation
and observances as dictated by
of
caste rules
it
the Sastras,
is
the established
custom by any member of a caste or tribe would have met with tl:e severest punishment. The Kammalas
were, as stated above, a guild of
origin,
Dravidian or Naga
the
holdmg
Aryan
caste system.
They
artificers
and
the
were
in
constant
demand by
eleventh
Brahmans and
other
classes.
temple-building
centuries
epoch
the
tenth
the
these people,
Hindu kings not only patronized but also appointed them permanently
and
repair of the temples they
had
way
their
institutions
with the
And
as
Sir
W.
W.
Hunter
itself
observes,
'
compromise with
five
the
descent to
castes,
which everywhere
else
rank as Sudras'.
But with-
began
to
clamour
for a
still
109
many were
persecuted,
rest
many were
division.
were
The other
position
are
castes
which
strive for a
higher social
the
Kaikolas
former of
whom
and the Devangas, the claim direct descent from Virawearing the sacred thread, fight
This kind of struggle for Brahin
latter,
Brahmanhood.
is is
it
manical rank
Canara, but
strongest
almost
unknown
the neigh-
bouring
of
district of
South
the
the
Census
1891
as
Gnnda
(pot)
Brahmana
artisans as Visva-,
Deva-, Surya-,
and Snhrahnicinya
Vaisya
as
Brahmana
the
Kshatriya and
Brahmana
;.
Mafanga Brahmana. Encouraged by the novel and anti-Brahmanical doctrines of Basava, which did away with all
and the Madigas (leather-workers)
the
caste
distinctions,
the
servile
classes
styled
doing have adopted uncouth nomenclature from the Sanskrit and Canarese The names of the Lingayat septs are vocabularies.
themselves
;
Brahmans
and
in so
legion, but
some may be given here Chikkamane Sampradaya Brahmana, Dhuli Pavada Brahmana, Gaudalike Jangama Brahmana, Hirihasube Banajiga Brahmana, Sthavara Jangama Brahmana, &c. It is this, we believe, that has misled Sir W. W.
:
110
TAMIL STUDIES
of the
non-Brahmanical ryot
Brahmans, who
out
of
jealousy
and
kings, to
men
in
almost
all
of
of respective
It is
as judges for
this
settling
is
disputes.
that
feud
is
very
strong
in
the
where
there
large
number
of Lin-
gayats.
In addition to the
Dr. Oppert
suggests
of
third
one.
He
says
'
the
fair
imminent decay
prospect to
the
the
Jaina
power opened a
slow
to take
Brahmans of which they were not advantage. They gathered round them
opponents,
who
represent-
ed
,
.
same
in
The
influence of Jains
the
population,
Brahmana
This
is
cause,
Because
firstly,
Brahman supremacy
century A.D.
had almost been over in the south before the tenth and had this been the only cause for the division into rival hands, it would have taken But it is not mentioned place prior to that period.
;
in
date.
Secondly,
111
Brahmanism and
curious
that
Jainism
was
the
essential
cause of this
division, the
artizans
logical inference
would be
most
of
would have adopted the Jaina faith, and the the Brahmans and Jains would have respectively espoused the right and left hand factions. But the
census
statistics of
Brahmans occupied,
as
but
it
had not
lost its
struggles
of
between
the
Brahmans
in putting
and
and
the zeal
the
down
he
Jainism
Sri
countries.
Ramanuja had
in
succeeded
converting
therefore
religion
Jainism,
an anti-Brahmanical
cause
the
have acted as
third
for
division
into
The
supposition,
or
no connection with
remarkable
very near the
feud
mark
their
Panchalas in
Brahmans and
112
TAMIL STUDIES
We
contrary,
right-hand
although
find
expect
to
them
is,
the left-hand.
inscrip-
The
tion
says a Mysore
1368,
for a
that
the
of
were fighting
the
use
castes,
when
in the
promise between the Jains and the Brahmans, and ever since that time the Jains have been admitted as
belonging
to the
right-hand party.
To summarise: the distinction into right-hand and left-hand castes, now mamtained by the agricultural
classes
on the one side and by the artizans on the other, originated in the Chola country about 1010 A. D., the
it
had
exis-
anti-
Brahmanical doctrines
tence in
to put
of
the struggle
exis-
Or,
more
the
briefly, this
faction dispute
is
the out-
come
of
political, social
and
religious jealousies
eleventh
era.
of
South
India
of
during the
Christian
centuries
the
VI
Tamil
literature
the
Kiiral
Tiru-
Numbers" and
two eyes
of
humanity.
SoemQemr&sru euiTQ^
QpiiSlir<i(^,
Klir.
to
these
two
as
hi
Tamil
'
picture,
and as a mark
It is
distinction
writing
or
semQssmQp^^ or
numbers,
ctsot
long account'
in contra-distinction to
is
or ssms(^.
letters
Kanakhi
or
knowledge, as
Samaya-kanakkan', a
thelogian.
ortho-
graphy
under
letters
twelve-heads,
namely,
number,
middle
sound,
in
name, order,
origin,
(in
form, quantity,
initial,
and
final
words), similarity
114
wordbuilding
TAMIL STUDIES
and combination, i Including his famous Nannul there are about half.a-dozen authoritative treatises on grammar which were written at different times
;
The fact seems to be that the native grammarians knew has led some of their little of it, and their ignorance
the Tamil alphabet has been studiedly avoided.
commentators
to
historical import.
some
length,
touching very
briefly
on the other
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
Tamil country one introduced by the Brahmans and the other indigenous to the Tamil race. The former is known as the Grantha-Tamil alphabet, and it was the parent
the
latter
is
called
by
pal?e-
ographists
alphabet.
the Vatteluttu
or the
Chera-Pandya
Malabar and
varieties,
Scholars
The Tamil
districts including;
Travancore abound
1.
in inscriptions of
both
The
(1)
classification of letters
(c-tifoj),
by some early
(Quiuf), (3)
Tamil
into
graphic
(2)
Nominal
phonetic (9^)
and
i\) conceptual
(tyi^ei)
115
writings
in the
of
Madura But the introduction of all these did not take place The Vatteluttu or the at one and the same period. original Tamil alphabet was supplanted by the Grantha-Tamil or the modern Tamil characters in the Tamil kingdoms at different periods, which were perhaps conterminous with the migration and settlement
and Tinnevelly.
of the
Brahmans
in these countries.
In
the
Pallava
first
proceeding to
the
southern
districts,
the
Pallava characters
an
off-shoot of
the
Brahmi or
at
were
in
use prior to A. D.
We
earliest
what period the Vatteluttu was in use there. The Chola inscriptions belong only to the tenth century, and all of them are in the Grantha- Tamil
characters,
which appear
of the
to
be a
later
development
centuries.
copper-plates
seventh
and eighth
may
alSo be
met
most
of these
belong
Pandya
kings.
It is
not
therefore possible in
when
was ousted
by the Grantha-Tamil
characters
country,
in
In the Pandya in the Tanjore District. on the other hand, we have inscriptions both scripts going up to the eighth century A.,D.,
it
will
appear that
Vatteluttu
came
116
nto
TAMIL STUDIES
desuetude
that country
first quarter of the tenth century. In Travancore and Malabar the Vatteluttu survived some centuries
the
longer.
now
to consider
Vatteluttu are,
(1)
the date of
(2)
its
introduction
it
into
whether
was borrowed
by the Tamils
tics,
direct
or
or was only an earlier modification of the Asoka Brahmi characters as some scholars seem to think. The earliest Vatteluttu inscriptions known to us belong to the eighth century A. D. and do not go further back and the earliest description of that alphabet is what we find in the grammar of Tolkapyar. It is said that Agastya was the first Tamil gramma;
rian
but
his date
or the
existence of his grammar, except that Tolkapyar was his student, even which seems extremely questionable.
The
date of the
introduction of the
present be
In his
Vetteluttu
alphabet cannot
for the
carried earlier
'
of
Tolkapyar.
Sanskrit
Tolkapyar, assuming
that there
was no
Tolkawriter^
Tamil
period and
that
the
predomi-
the time,
according to
this
in Southern India.
117
Rishi and belonged to the Jamadagni tribe and the contemporary scholar, Athangottasan who passed
his
work
also a
Brahman deeply
Colophon
In the
to the
Tolkapyam
grammar
When
ject in
the epoch-making
work
of Panini
had long
the sub-
authority
on
follow Indra's
study and
the
Tamil
language
not
is
inexplicable, unless
the
Southern
Hindus
Tolkapyar's
the sixty-four
predecessors
quoted by
field of
which
is
Panini
by the
best
authorities.
Again,
that,
at
it
will
be seen
of
the time
in the
middle
{&tiij)
of
which
letter
(iBtn)
mya,
vya and
[imsu)
Q ^n&srgviJo.
I,
24.
iLSooSireafl
p pm QunLQupmQp.
27.
I,
28.
1-18
TAMIL STUDIES
these sidras Nacchinarkiniyar writes
(^p^rrisi
Commenting on
thus,
^ikiEiesTLD ^SiflujiT
Qs^iL^sSm j^ssireo^^
Not
the
of
single
is
word
of
the
in
kind referred to
the
in
the sutras
to
be found
existing
Tamil
literature.
is
any magnitude
that
the
Kural
TiruvaL
luvar
first
century A.D.,
current
and the
period
w^ere
should have
been
at least three or
that work.
much
the
to
For these reasons, it would not be too suppose that Tolkapyar flourished before
is five
grammarian
of
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
Andhra king Satavahana, served as a model As this is native grammar of the Dravidians.
work
This view
las,
Q^fejsiuiSiui: (s^^!r(^(54^
and
^jt reSiuiSirsfrSerisloWowing
the
Com-
mentaries of^sTiAyir
follow
sozr/f
and
G*a(SB>/riu/r.
B^Sif^rsQafiinir,
119
and
if
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
of
Tolkapyam and Virasoliyam, appears to favour the view that Katantra was not imitated in the former
Thus
then the introduction of
the
Vatteluttu
work.
century
B.
C, and
in
this
approximates the
to
earliest date
the
introduction of
As
or the
to
who
first
western
whether the Southern Dravidians not quite easy to settle* Northern Aryans
Semitics
it
is
On
this
point
western
scholars
hold
contrary
opinions, Dr.
scholar, thinks
Rhys Davids,
*
the learned
Bhuddhist
that
all
tends to
all
;
show
it
not Aryan at
that
And
the
same
e<ilarged
on
script to
India,
it
gradually
became
ments
This
is
and adapted
to the
special requiredialects.'
and colloquial
and
antiquary, Mr. E.
Thomas.
120
to
TAMIL STUDIES
think that Vattehittu had an independent source
to
alphabet of
and
grammarians
India.
of
came
this
Southern
Drs.
view
Caldwell, Buhler
and Grierson
as
will
be
shown
or
on) that
or
the
Vatteluttu
alphabet
the
was
borrowed
Asoka
rather adapted
of
from
India.
Brahmi
alphabet
Upper
'The older Mauryan alphabet', says Dr, Buhler, 'was used over the whole of India.' He says
further
'from
palaeographical
point
as
to
of a
view,
cursive
the
Vatteluttu
may be
described
relation
script
the
Tamil
that
as the
modern alphabets
...
''
of the clerks
it
and merchants
to their originals
Perhaps
may be assumed
of time
by
development
of
the
Tamil
is,
and the
of the
Grantha
scripts.
Owing
to the small
number
however,
'
by no means certain.' Dr. Caldwell asserts that the Tamil characters were borrowed from the earliest Sanskrit, and the language of the Tamilians was
committed
the
first
to writing
on or soon
this
of
colony of Brahmans.'
of
'
He
even goes to
the
length
that the
confirming
hypothesis
by
saying
oldest
known
the Vatteluttu)
THE TAMIL ALPHABET
and short
that
e,
121
srand
o,
9 which
in
is
one
of the
arguments
may be adduced
of that
favour of the
theory of the
derivation
alphabet
alphabet of Asoka.'
far as
we
Buhler,
support of
Drs.
the
theory
advocated by Mr. E.
Thomas,
to rest
independently of the
has
been shown
in a
previous
were a
whom
they lived in
Babylonia
ed with the
would, therefore,
have brought
with
them the
alphabet
when
they
migrated to India.
And
it
is
it
Indo-Aryans
neighbours.
borrowed
from
of
their
Dra vidian
Aryans
in
Long
South
before the
India,
settlement
the
had commercial intercourse with the Egyptians and oiher Western nations, as will be inferred from the existence of Tamil
the
Tamils
words
like
agil (a fragrant
wood)
132
in the
TAMIL STUDIES
Hebrew
had no
In fact,
among
the Dravi-
caste
system^
their
grammar
to
Tolkapyar,
it
them
The
words
like ezliuttii
(letters),
came
to
the
The
gratuitous
the language of
the
colony of Brahmans',
therefore,,
the ground.
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
days.
if
no such
distinction
was observed
in his
While writing about the formation of the letter m, w the grammarian.Tolkapyar clearly defines that,. s^ilQuut^miSfftLLi(T^eiiii^LDQu>. What he meant by this rule was that the form of />, u (Vatteluttu ^ ) should be
THE TAMIL ALPHABET
carefully distinguished
123
(Vatteluttu
from
that of ni,
ld
which received an inner dot. Here the right hand tail of u was joined in later times with the inner dot,
which was quite natural
leaves with an iron stylus,
rightly observed
(ev)iT.
in cursive writing
on palm
has
as
Nacchinarkiniyar
i^en-efflssuju
lls!TiJd
s^ilQugn
laSsrr^^ '^Q^^
In the Brahmi,
and LD were written as Asoka script which in form approached the Vatteluttu LD, but that was ph. and not in. It will thus be seen
that there
is
Vatteluttu and
Asoka p and
nor can
we
I,
and
which may after all be only accidental, both borrowed from the same Semitic source, as being will be seen from the comparative table of the ancient alphabets given below
cli,
:
English
124
If
and
of
developed
like
its
alpha-
bet
from Brahmi
of
North India
the
the
other
it
cultivated
languages
Dravidian family,
its
place
that
in
before
grammar was
and
complete
languages,
And
in
itself
case, the
tendency should
sister
have
shown
and
an
in
efficient
alphabetic
system
as
the
Telugu
Kanarese-
On
the
other
hand, the
of
charac-
ter
nearly
for
is
2,000
origin.
years
point
are
a different
to
source
that this
its
We
glad
observe
I.C.S.
by Mr. R. Sewell,
meagre
character
He
writes
thus
'
The
and
perhaps,
Araroic or
Among
the
Dravidian races
of
from
Kanarese
Brahmi
in
of
Upper
India.
is
The
prin-
consonants
peculiar only
and
is
found
It
it
Western
for
signs, as in the
Hebrew and
125
between
Tamil and
Aryan languages
in their vocabulary,
between the
one had
which the Tamils claim for their sweet' language and its grammar all these seem to favour the
divine origin
The
light
latest epigraphical
Pandya country of tht Rai Bahadur V. Venkayya, Epigraphist to the Government of India, believes that this discovery in the Madura and Tinneveliy districts proves beyond doubt that the Mauryan alphabet was in use all over India', and that this
the
existence
in the
Brahmi or Asoka
inscriotions,
'
seems
to
him
'
to militate
'
the
indigenous origin
of the Vatteluttu
alphabet.
We
state-
do not
'
for a
moment
question
Dr.
Buhler's
ment that the older Mauryan alphabet was used over the whole of India'; but it is extremely doubtful
whether
by the
Jains,
fact
this
literates
we know
present
in use
And
yet,
do we not
alphabets?
scores of
Indian
in a
The ubiquity
of
an alien alphabet
and of
126
its
TAMIL STUDIES
necessity for the aboriginal
inhabitants of that
soil.
History informs us that Emperor Asoka sent Buddhist Missionaries to the three
B.C. 250,
that there
and there
is
very
little
show
to
were Buddhists
in these
prior
that date.
The Brahmi
It
inscriptions alluded to
above
are believed to
period.
has been
shown above
350,
it
that Tolkapyar
is,
flourished
anterior to B. C.
that
at
least a
As
has
grammar
but
is
applicable
to
Brahmi or Asoka alphabet, it is evident beyond any shadow of doubt that Vatteluttu alone was in use among the Tamils before the introduction ot Buddhism in their country. The Brahmi was evidently used only by the Buddhist monks and missionaries, and perhaps by Brahmans
characters,
not
the
also.
its
own
against any
others, until
by
all
classes in
Brahmi alphabet was universally used the Tamil country before the days of
The mere
all
in use
Vatteluttu,
bet
Indian alphabets.
Vatteluttu
The
Moplahs
;(Koleluttu)
characters
while
the
127
or four
by
Again,
Varman,
Sri
for the
modern Grantha-
may
be
traced
to
the
B rah mi
like
script
of
Upper
hidia.
Had
Vatteluttu
been borrowed
the
developed
from the
difficult to
Brahmi,
other alphabets of
India from
earliest
would be
Tamils alone
in
their
This anamoly
is
nowliere to be found
this
outside the
Tamil country.
And
one
fact,
com.
the
set forth
in
Brahmi
characters
rhe Chera and Pandya countries marie use of the Vatteluttu alphabet And, notwithstanding the divergence of opinion
among
us to
Tamil
alphabet
128
(Vatteluttu)
TAMIL STUDIES
other
directly
Upper Indian alphabet, but had been introduced from Western Asia by Tamil merchants,
who
deve-
was
ters in or
But for the mighty influence of the Aryan Brahmans, such an ancient and original alphabet might have survived among the Tamils as amongst the Musalman Moplahs of Malabar. Before the introduction of the
of
was extremely limited and even those words appeared in the Tamil garb or in the form of tadbhavas. Thus, we find in
Sanskrit words in the Tamil language
;
the
Tirtivoymoli
of
Nammalvar
^/j^^treir,
tamilized
,
Sanskrit
sSiSIq^^lo^
words
like ujbursiruesTy
isSi^LDiMj
^q^is^^s^Sw
^ffrTss^&nr,
large
influx
of
Sanskrit
words
and
tadbhavas
and
tatsamas
in
consequence
the
phy among
countries
rules for
the
Tamils, the
Grantha-Tamil characters
became
tlie
a matter of
necessity.
words
in the
in
grammars
Pavanandi,.
the former of
whom
the eleventh
and
letters
of
the Grantha-
THE TAMIL ALPHABET
129
pear
Tamil alphabet, the consonants em, ^,15 and lu only apto have been adopted or borrowed from the
Pallava characters, the rest being
of the defunct
moditied
survivals
ins-
Vatteluttu.
In
the Yanaimalai
(A.
criptions of the
D. 770),
we
find
some
Pallava-Grantha characters
mixed up with the Vatteluttu. For example, in the Tamil word Loirpm the Vatteluttu imit, m, is used, and in the Sanskrit word wk^iB the Pallava or the Brahmi
and the
y, uj of
>,
the
earlier
Vatteluttu
appears
plates of
uj,
like
the Telugu
like
while
in the
Museum
the
Jatavarman
the
modern
tripartite letter
r^.
Minor
differences in
the forms of
Vatteluttu
themselves
may
be noticeable in inscriptions
from
different quarters.
The
tacking
of
vowel signs
to
the
consonants
was regular
in Vatteluttu,
is
Tamil which
two alphabets. The vowel-consonants of GranthaTamil are exactly after the formation of the Nagari
that most of the vowel signs, S, 9, 55 and f^en- stand detached from ^, <ST, This may be made intelligithe Tamil consonants.
characters, excepting
as for
<5j,
ble
by
commenting
;
on the following
note
of
Nacchinarkiniyar
QupgUih
QanCSl
QupguiJo
i^msffl
Qup^ih
Lji^brftu^iEi
Qs!tiJd
Quppmr.
(5,
<si_
(ip^s^aj<oBT
sit,
Q !^!sSle^iEj(^ QuppesT.
isiti
Qs, Qs
Quppesr.
Qp^&Sujesr QsrrQ
Quppesr.
(Lp^(S^ujicST L\&r<siB
130
TAMIL STUDIKS
LDSIILD
&.LLQugil
L^SasiBsGitJU
Qj'^eTT^^
STQ^0^:T. QaiTjQarr^
QlSllTy
I.,
Q.sa'S^-^i^mQuppsm. 'Tola
17.
Here,
<oSlsow(^
means
curve,
is
Qm
is
a loop or curl,
L/sffafl is
a vertical stroke.
Thus
in
the consonant i
in
has received
a nether one.
The
it.
letter
Qs
is
formed by
vowel
ot
pre-
first
was
atit.
consonant, though
is
now
separated from
it
The
peculiar, and
clearly proves
The
letter
Qsa
is
of a
]oop and a
.^),
vertical
succeeding the
for
purpose, either in
the
Grantha-Tamil or
of
^dsireo^^rrir
the
Vatteluttu characters.
The statement
L/ffsr/?aaj
Nacchinarsiredirs
kiniyar that
eiQ^0(es)iT
j^iq^Qs
Qlupp
In
always
it
vertical
^
is
and the
a
vowel-consonants
have
received
put after
surely un^yrametrical,
though not more anomalous than the joining of such parts of a_ to consonants (as in o, #, and ^) as fit in
131
evi-
afford unimistakable
Tamil alphabet.
written
Long
which
aai
and
stroke
the
^m
were originally
to of
a.
with
&-],
a
s?]
vertical
added
course
9 thus
centuries
in
and few
of a rr. The short or was formerly distinguished by means of a dot over it. As late as A. D. 1740, no distmction was made between the short and long vowel -co nso.
the long
s?
nantal signs of
ct
and
?,
Q,
Q-fr.
been the
first
to
make
this
reform by rounding
The
the
in sa)s is a
in the
Gran,
and
two
letter
one above
by
side.
like
The
the
written with
'
three
dots
is
English
symbol
for 'therefore
and
it
a consonant.
The
called
Vatteluttu or the
on account
of
its
the
modern
Telugu
alphabet,
would
leaves with
an
iron
plates
cutting
on stones or
angle
<?,
copper
with
^, m
in
with a
chisel.
top
horizontal
later
stroke
in letters like a,
found
132
TAMIL STUDIES
1050.
inscription prior to A. D.
iu,
The
letters /_, u, m^
of
(j;,
and tp had no angles on either side, because each them had only a curve at the bottom like c, ^,'^
a;
ID
and
a
P.
In the Vatteluttu
the vowel
s.,
z^
;
was
u
id
and ld was a u with an inner dot Hence &., u, eu, and simply another form of almost alike both in form and sound.
half
en,
sij.
is
are
So much
for
the
form
of
Tamil
letters.
Let us
now
take
their
number,
order,
and pronunciation.
There are thirty-one letters ; twelve vowels and eighTolkapyar teen consonants and one semi-vowel.
shortened @ and s_ making them As there are no separate signs to express these two sounds, the number of Tamil letters should be taken as onjy thirty-one. Of the twelve
thirty-three.
vowels,
67
ge,
=gy,
and ^,
it-,
sss,
and
strictly
speaking
and
epsfT
are not
;
and they maybe represented by =gy+@ or ^ and . ^ + Lu and =gw + 2- or +=gyia/. The letters are called primary vowels, hence they are placed first
s^i^ajsarrio
<=gy,
ct, sj
and
S, 9,
are considered
in
Sanskrit
secondary or
^ and com-
pound vowels formed by the union of ^ and ^ and ^ and a- respectively. With this compare the exam+ s^^^LDasr=i5Qa!T^ [BIT + ^iB^!iiok = fBQMii^!reisr ple,
;
i5[r
^inm.
CT
It Will
thus
short
in
and 9
is,
in Sanskrit.
The arrangement
in
of
Vowels
Tamil
therefore, exactly
model.
Tamil.
Of these
133
(?,
I,
^,
are
nasals
ra, (Sj,
tg
em,
an-
ld
and
esr
and
are
is
liquids.
their
arrangement
l^,
sir,
also that
that
p and
last.
are letters
is
different
music
of
in
other to the
enunciation
letters
in
speech.
We
is
j)jsfrQuss)u.,
prolation
or
the
increase
to
e.
which
applicable
only
and
Sivagnana
Swami, the uncompromising critic of ^^MssemeSlmssiM says, the shortened ^ and a. are indicated by a dot The but the truth of his statement is questionable. dot was never used either in the Tamil inscriptions
;
is
used
in
Malayalam
to
denote a
final
short q_ which
this
=gy
and
as in 6)QJcaicw
is
S and
epsir
being diphthongs,
the
first
their quantity
shortened at times,
in
all
ning of
gets
and the second only at the beginwords. But this does not satisfactorily
in
and
ek.
s^aaQuQg^^ or dependant
quantity occur
letters
as the
only
in
words,
but never
in isolated letters
themselves
134
TAMIL STUDIES
to consonants,
in
Coming
^^
(Sjeaw^
sih^sih
and
Q.rLDL9iusar
and
in
Malayalam they
for
LDrrihsiTtL^
nasals as in mainarr
^(^i^ for ^Q^i^ and so and <? even when not preceded by on. Sometimes nasals get the soft sound similar to the Arabic
(3;^(^ for igj^,
<
gliayii
(y^
as
in
Qs'(^^3,
and u^^^
respectivel3^
fifteen
Thu*
This
for the
consonant sounds, or
forty
is
certainly a defect.
first
But
some
might say
that the
that
when
introduced,
remaining
nine
during
later times
owing
Indo-
Aryans- This
may be
accepted as
if
partly
correct, as
to
we
find to
this day,
one
is
careful
enough
obthe
serve, slight
variations in
the
pronunciation of
peculiar
oo is
to
Tamil are
oo, ip,
p and
no
ear.
midway between
pm.
It
is
Sanskrit
found
other
to
Indian
suggest
European
languages,
of
and
seems
some connection
the
The
letter
tp
of
to
in
Tamil and
pronounce.
of the
terriIt
ble bugbear
Europeans
zj, zh, rl,
has
some
&c.
;
European
zy,
135
tip
pronunciation
is
to
apply
the
of
the
tongue as far back as you can to the palate and pronounce a rou<^h r in which a sound of 2 will mingle.'
This
siUra^
is
only an
Even
correctly,
the
Tamils
in
cannot pronounce
districts they
this
letter
srr,
and
it
some
it
substitute
lu,
and
enj
for
or omit
altogether.
classes,
I
In
Madras
in
ew are
used by the
en-
lower
is
while
and Madura
uj
preferred.
presume
J.
that
it
Molony
and
led to his
compliment
call
Few
the
would
that
Tamil beautiful
yet
its
stubborn
tlieir
The letter p has the sound of a rough r and jb p that of tr. The sounds of m and sot are almost identical and it may be supposed that the second m is redundant. But their origin shows a slight variation and justifies the
necessity
for
iot
the
is
existence
of both,
because
/5
is
dental while
In
a palatal letter.
is
Tamil no
distinction
made between an
is
accent,
only one
word
ing
in the Tamil language which changes its meanby the accent or intonation, that is ^q, iapii^
136
TAMIL STUDIES
the accent
falls
is
When
and
if it
'die'
In-
tonation
of
three kinds,
rising
level
in use.
tone
or CT^^si),
is-sSl^eo,
and
is
tone or
In
Of
the
first
i-,
two are
that
fsu.
when
accent
rising
falls
on
it
tone,
falls
denotes a
accent
on or pronounced
root.
falling
tone
it
becomes
a simple
In
phrases and
alters their
sentences,
emphasis on particular
Thus, the
stupid
words
meanings.
either *a
phrase
^/iS^BevT^sijek
may mean
man' or *aman
said
in
Panniru-pattiyal
Tamil
Tolkapyam
all
the letters
It
says the twelve vowels were created by the eighteen consonants by Siva, Vishnu,
Brahma and
Muruga, Indra, the Sun, the Moon, Kubera, Yama and Varuna at the rate of two each. This is a
curious piece of information to a
It
modern
philologist.
shows
that these
were
the
Hindus
of
e.
about A. D. 500.
letters
is,
Tamil the
interchange of
is
which have
perhaps, due
It
allowed. This
wrong pronunciation and defective hearing. occurs mostly at the end of words, sometimes
the beginning
cgy
at
and middle
in
also.
These
;
letters are,
for
as
^amsk
for
j)jsa) [t ojisst
for
is
as
137
^smd^ ^jsk for ,^jdr ^ for ^ as in l3^^ m for as in Qsojld for QiB.3=ua ssr, for LD, and err as in .4<5\)^-a6AJ:ii, ^pio-^ piJo, uo^e^Ln^m &c. The Malayalam languaj^e wliich may be taken as a highly differentiated dialect of Tamil
for
;
<5^
6\J
/f
interchange
technically called
against
or
QufrsSI.
must be warned
iingrammatical
confounding
usages
with
the
vulgar
pointed
out by
of the
Buddha-Mitra
^^6s(t
as prevalent in
different parts
Tamil country
&-efrd(^
even
ewsif^
in
his
days
eSii^ii^
/f/tsi/?
QsneiB
eun^Setr
GT.5srei\ii,
ul^]ej(^
^L^sms
^L^ss)LD eimeijLD...S(^leo^<9^/b/iSear
Q'Sjs^iFi'2ei>
Q^^^^ff^
S&)it eui^iEi(^U!T.
srssrei^uD^
Qp^&it
<s#'5ij)#
sresrisijLD^
i^prSiUiJoQuir^
S&)^
^<f
&&)IT QJL^'5J(^^IT.
Qf5S\)e^<isiT SiSST
p^
(cSiL^isa
S^p^
mp^ih
eresT^
uueorr^
U'TiLi^
le\)^^,f
Se\}iT
qji^ieii^ouit.
sresreijtx)^
^uutsf.sQsn pp
(sresrei^iitf
^ uUis^sQsrT p p
<si
&5r iSi^LD y
Q-f^^Seaui
STSSTeijlMy
^^^ssfr&i
LdSiT
eulTSSiUUUlUUO QsfT'dSQfii-LsSiU.
^QlT
OTSSrai/LO,
iSp
Vir. p. 64.
Rules are
given
in
Tamil
of
grammar books
pure
to
Tamil
are
origin
and
what
are
borrowed.
They
highly
both single
in the
and compound
the
but
all
are
not
used
building up of
at
Tamil words.
Some
some
letters
may come
beginning,
while
138
others
at the
TAMIL STUDIES
end
of
The grammarian l Tolkapyar took only the Tamil words and framed his rules accordingly, while other grammarians have included in them such of the Sanskrit words as have been adopted in the Tamil vocabulary. The differenwords.
ces between the
will
be
forty-two
one-letter
words, long
and
they
are
long
vowels
or
vowel-consonants.
letter
Short
except
or
vowels
with
cannot
form
single
words
of
consonants.
Among words
may
The
to
two
any
more
letters,
any word
begin
with
one of
the twelve
tf,
vowels or
the
twelve
<?=,
vowels3j<?=
consonants
/5,
u and
at
LD.
letters
and
(J^
this
Qeutr
let-
come
in
words
of Sanskrit origin.
According
Tolkapyar
;
(ejt,
but to and 0@/r may commence a word Bhavanandi adds (gj. The letters etj, g^, Qisui and
are not allowed at the
ter in the
lu
beginning,
ujit
is
the only
series that
can come
at the
first
commencethree
ment
1.
of
Mr.
pure Tamil
A. H.
words.
writes
The
short
Keane
'The
first in
Tamil,
known
and
perhaps,
thft
very oldest
is
Tamil
work
strict
extant, ..The
Tolkapyam,
in
itself,
however,
rather a treatise
in
on grammar
sense
;
composed
Tamil,
the
cov.-
must
still
be
of
sidered as an Aindra
the
work
of a
is
disciple
the
This
clearly derived
from
wrong
source.
139
and
;
?>-
demonin
prefixes
and
is
the
only
letter
the
which may begin a word with them as jiii'rsmih and ^isiiEii^ LD but these words have no independent existence without this combination. Thus,
^itsEimti)
;
there are in
all
94
letters
a pure Tamil
FINAL LETTERS
either
Any vowel
by
at
itself
or
come
will
the end of
except ct, 9 and gssrr combined with consonants will usually a- and ^jm a Tamil word
;
j,
qj.
<S7
will join
According
to
Virasoliyam,
letters,
ct
em,
5?.
uj,
IT,
So,
/^,
<iff,
and
ek^
and
(ct,
all
vowels except
eu.
and
To
these
in
may
be added
and
There
is
only one
word
(Cj (s_//?(^),
two words
obsolete.
in
eu (^<aj, ^<su,
words are
end
in
esr
all
now
(Qun^i and QeurFlii) ^eu and Gis&j). These Among the words which
in i
in
QufTe\9
They
,
are
Q^SioSr,
sSLfiSSTj (^uSlsSl
IMuS'Sk ,
^tgOT^ ULpi^
</_/r(Ssr,
and eumnm. In the @ series all except Q(^^Q(^, G(^a, Qi^rr, and 0@srr may be at the end of words. Generally, ^, sn', <a/ and e/, may not be final letters. There are
only
in
^, namely,
s_5f (.(srj)
and
is
(2/3* ((g5-/B@),
in
l/
which
^4
in
&- in
is
the shortened
or
(^n)r5!uje^siTu>.
Thus
ac-
letters that
may
140
TAMIL STUDIES
at the
come
end
of
Tamil words.
But as Nacchinarof
Qld,
u?, nj, Qtu,
kiniyar
Q(^, Q^,
ui/,
Q/d,
and
Q^rt;)
are not
to be
found
in
MIDDLE letters:
letters .
-sf,
words the
conwill
^, u,
ra,
and
ld
coming
after the
it
sonants
not
uJ,
IT
and
ifi
and
tg
come
after short
and
ld
may
The
;
follow
lL,
p,
k)
and
<ar
and
after &>
and
srr.
After nasal
and
<a;
their
u>, lu
corresponding surds.
The seven
em and
sot.
letters ,
?=,
(Gj,
and
11
may
join with
Combinations and
Loau
ldiu, &)iu,
enm, diuj
were
tolerated in
now
obsolete.
,
And
dj,
the consonants
/5,
and
tp
may
precede
u,
Lo, uj
and
su.
subjects,
namely,
the
word-
and word-combination
be dealt with
in
{QeneiSujiTdsLh
and
VII
PLACE OF TAMIL
Tamil
race
is
IN
PHILOLOGY
the
inhabiting the
extreme south of
Indian
spokei>
to
its
Peninsula.
The
its
area within
in a
which
it
is
now
has
been given
previous essay.
Owing
antiquity and
which the Sen-Tamil was spoken is and his commentators unanimous on this point. Senavaraiyar and are not
locality in
The
Nacchinarkiniyar give
SeOLDireu^,
S(7^siirflsir
<ssi<Sii<oSiuuujiT
its
boundaries thus,
fijyi_<5@u3
Qs=i^iSl^^
p^^
in
QLps(^LD
iBQ^siiiBrnQisi p(^ld(tui.
The "pure
Maruvur on
the east
bounded by the north, the Vaiga on the south, and Karuvur on the west).
the
tract
According to Tamil saints and poets the Sen-Tamil land seems to have been the modern district of
Madura
this
seems to
me
to
be more accurate
in as.
.142
TAMIL STUDIES
as the
much
district
and
Kodum-Tamil nadus
or dis:
which
are
enumerated
Qit^lSIso
Qiesor.
An
instead of
Venadu
and Punal-Nadu.
must
be
remembered that the ancient districts of Kuttam, Kudam, Karka, Ven and Puzhi were in the Travancore State and in the modern district of Malabar Aruva and Aruva-vadatalai were in the Chingleput and North .^rcot districts Sitam was the Nilgiris Maladu or Malai-Nadu was in South Arcot Panri was on the north-west of Madura and Podunga
; ;
and Oli were probably somewhere in the ancient Ramnad country. It cannot therefore be said that
Tondaimandalam, or even the Chola Desam was the land of pure or SemTamil, in spite of the claims put forward by some
either
the Cheta
country, or
the
honour.
entirely
ignorant
is
of
betrayed
which surrounded
twelve,
lam,Kupam, Konkanam, Tulu, Kudagam, Karunatam, Kudam, Vaduku, Telugu and Kalingam. According to
PLACE OF TAMIL
Keralolpatti, Kapaiii
IN
PHILOLOGY
143
speaking
and Cape Coinorin. KoUam (Ouilon) and FCupam, which formerly constituted the modern State of Travancore, must have secountry lying between Kunnatii
parated from the
Kodam-Tamil Nadus,
;
before the
and yet, without knowing West Coast, he has given Kuttam, Kudam, Ven and other Nadus which formed
province
in
part of that
the
list
of
Kodum-Tamil
districts
But
his
ignorance
later
geography
is
not so
great as that
of
Tamil
scholars
who have
Bengal,
included in the
list,
countries like
Arabia,
Burma, China,
euiEisisi
Philology
is
mainly an
is its
historical science,
is
because lanof
guage which
subject matter
the
work
man,
and
is
it
implies change
of a society
and not
of
to trace the
in
pressed
has
life,
co-extensive
it.
with
the
state
of
living
language
Tamil is in a condition of constant change, which cannot be arrested by a scholar, poet or gram-
144
TAMIL STUDIES
The condition
of
Tamil
any other Hving language) one thousand years ago was not what it had been a thousand years
(or
still earlier.
And
its
grammar, which
is
essentially
an
In
;
any language^
this
literature
and
in
funda-
grammarians,
terms thus
:
who have
explained
it
unmistakable
lAliviMueo.
ail.
grammar
grammar follows
change
the literature.)
They have
in a living language,
and provided
for
popular accepta-
tion of innovations.
new
word.)
Ncin.
is
Thus
StflmtT
Q^rreoeoir
euLpsQs
to
have discovered
all
wnsdom.
PLACE OF TAMIL
IN
PHILOLOGY
in the
:
145
growth
language
may
which
may be either change in form, or change in meaning. A word may change its form to any extent without
change
of
meaning
It
in
Tamil
sjbi-i
and
rstr
sdoeSI
mean
the
^i&kiL^Lo,
a piece;
and
i^rrs^,
tongue, &c.
may
take
on an
entirely
new meanmg
which form'
ju^Sulj
meant
'
withering
;
'
as well as the
hearth
*
',
but
now
the
^
*
was
'
sheep
'
'
and
';
victory
in old Tamil,
but
now
only the
sheep
Q^trssiu.
*
thigh'; QL^d(g
was a
pit
'
was and
now
II.
east
',
&c.
It
may
forms and
freely as
distinctions.
There
are
many Tamil
:
used
by modern authors, so
they have co
down to us in poetical dictionaries. These words may therefore be said to be practically dead to the
present Tamilians.
of
But
yet, there
are
other
kinds
words such
as the
revenue terms
,
&c.,
words
signify-
customs, such
as Qfi^mssilj^iTL^,
f
are
now
Thus with
political institutions,
ple's
mcauings o which of customs and those words went out of the peothe
change
for a practical
purposes
lost.
As
for the
grammatical forms, we
may
find
146
TAMIL STUDIES
early Tamil, but
for example,
which have
now
past tense in q as in
future in (5 as in
^ji,
instrumental
case in
^isk as in iSskssBjbjDii^,
III.
&c.
Production of
new
materials
new
forms.
Civilization brings
with
new thoughts
and new ideas which require new words to express them. Such words are either borrowed or coined for the nonce out of the existing words in the language, or by metaphorically extending
of old words.
the
to
philosophy are
terms
are
Sanskrit
revenue
Arabic;
from
are
Persian
and
*
administrative
borrowed from English' besides some colloquial words like 'gate', compounds
'coat', 'tiffin', 'clean', etc.,
used
in
daily
life.
There
duced as
many grammatical forms newly introwe find in English (if we compare modern
of the
grammar
C, and
the conser-
either
by coinage or by loan
It is
it
settled
when
a language
;
borrows,
borrows
from other languages and particles never. All the above changes were due to the operations
of the principles of phonetic
PLACE OF TAMIL
IN
PHILOLOGY
the individual.
147
These
be explained
fully
following pages.
According
five
to
VI.
Hovelacque, Tamil
is
one
of
the
of
Morphologically, the
viz.
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
gender,
number,
this
time or
mood
and, in
fact,
lan-
guages of
This
is
;
kind
the
;
do not
require
In
tse
any grammar.
Chinese, nan^
niu
tse
called
radical stage.
male
niu, female
whence nan
son,
= \vovna.n.
its
independence subjecting
This
is
itself to
phonetic corruption.
stage.
In
of
Tamil
maga,
/
isiiue,
becomes by
of
the
addition
aval)
and
(corruptions
avan
and
magan = son
and
words blend together and ellipsis, it is called polysynthesis. This is a feature peculiar to American languages. Thus in the Algonquin, the sentence Nadliolineen=bnng us the canoe, is made up of naten=brmg, amochol =
148 canoe,
/
TAMIT STUDIES
= euphonic,
and
and neen={o
which
by
the
relations between
prefixes,
suffixes
us. Languages in words are expressed not only but also by a modification of
form
inflectional
is
languages.
For example,
of
krit eti,
composed
of
two
roots,
to
go
and
ta,
of
speech
preference
to four,
which
the
view accepted
by recent writers on
languages must
pass
the subject.
The theory
that
through
stage
the
monosyllabic
and the
agglutinating
Comparative
has not become
inflectional.
Dravidian Languages
agglutinative
of
now been
An
agglutinative,
or an
one
The
radical
feature
language
speak
it
it
cannot change
from one
class to another
though
it
can be modified
To
the
is
Tamil,
while
of the
Sanskrit
member
inflectional family.
Some Tamil
PLACE OF TAMIL
IN
PHILOLOGY
149
Sanskrit.
Their
;
dream
grammar and vocabulary of that sacred language, may remind one of the Jackal miracle of saint Manikka
'
'
Vachakar.
Relying on the traditions
pnranas,
the
narrated
in
the
Tamil
of
non-Brahman Saiva
pandits
the
god Siva
and
in
proof
the
divine
origin they
*
Vedas and
and the
'
Devara hymns.
vilayadalpurana
'
The Kanchipurana
assert that
Tiru-
Tami
grammar
to Agastya, as
he had
the Sanskrit
grammar
to Panini.
iSij(^^^(T^sffl
m ^ p@'2essr uu!r
According
to a third
tradition
Subrahmanya was
Sivagnanasvami, a
conceited Saiva
century,
the
monk and
his
'
writes in
Tolkapya-sutra-vritti
that
Tamil
grammar
of
of
Agastya
was
the
only
creation
the
Tamil
language.
Q^ih^sL^u^
150
TAMIL STUDIES
imrssonm.
^s^^tuQmnmQ p
Jains beheve that
On
the
Agastya learnt
his
Tamil
from
Avalokita.
days, the
that
in their
Kamban and
itself
the language
was
created
by Agastya
^s^^iumtJLuis,
All
Qg:^^Qs=iT6i)rr!resaria(^.
Vil,
these would only amuse the school children of modern days. But Sanskrit and Tamil, though they may have
oldest,
been the
prevalent
the Bharata
the
extreme
each
as,
being
considered by
speakers
as
valuable
call
and
one
known
vowels
lan-
No
the
permutation
of
and consonants
guages,
like
the
of
allied
words of
or
these
those
Grimm
Vernor,
to
their
could
a
influenced
very
before
gram-
mars were
tion.
written.
Tamil
is
most un-
words
between
it
trifling,
PLACE OF TAMIL
except such as
its
IN
PHILOLOGY
15 L
we
find
vulgar form.
This
We
show some
undergo
in
of the striking
Tamil.
152
TAMIL STUDIES
when
Sanskrit puraiuis
and
other
Sanskrit
the
religious
literature
were
in-
troduced,
of Tamil scholars began to them were acquainted with both Tamil and Sanskrit ye.t they had greater love and reverence for the latter, as their Vedas and Puranas and Agamas were written in that language and this partiality or rather a sentiment verging on odiiiui theologicum induced them to trace Tamil f^rom Sanstried krit divines just as the early European the Hebrew. to trace the Western languages from The authors of Neminadam and Virasoliam' and the commentators of the Tolkapyam and the
views
of
change.
Most
'
'
Again,
in
the
century
the
authors
of
of 'Ilakkanakkottu'
whom
were good
to
Sanskrit with a
grammar common
LUQjpgti
(i^eearQitT
both.
Swaminatha Desika
jH&srnSiLjfB
writes.
setreiS^ei)
^iAlt^^jb
pztsipLuQeu sn espi eu
!TfS<Si\ssii~.
QuuirQwy
Qiuem^iis.
He
is
ashamed
to say that
a language can
whose distinguishing
ew,
feature
sw,
ob, tg,
p and
or
ct,
9,
^,
p and
PLACE OF TAMIL
to accept that the
for
IN
is
PHILOLOGY
153
grammar
Tamil and
Sanskrit.
This
the
logic
and the
acumen of a divine andthe head of a nonBrahman Saiva monastery. While another scholar and a Brahmnan contemporary of the above has almost upet the Tamil grammar by his indiscreet
philological
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.
(a)
the simi-
of
general structure,
grammar
and
(both in form
regular
signification;
{b)
and
two
the
sounds between
vocabulary of
with
Of
rest to the
a language.
We
deal
vocabulary which
less
important.
is composed two elements only, the Tamilic or southern and the Sanskritic or northern. There are, indeed, words chiefly relating to a few dozens of foreign commerce and adminstration, introduced into the Tamil language during the past two or three centuries. Eliminating all the Sanskrit words from the Tamil
The vocabulary
of
modern Tamil
essentially of
large
residue
of
native
a tolerably civilized
154
race before they
TAMIL STUDIES
came
still
in
contact
their
with
the
Aryans.
have
own terms
family
pertaining
agriculture,
,
anatomy,
language
architecture,
astronomy,
relations,
commerce, domestic
fauna
cine,
and
flora,
economy, and
course
literature,
medi-
minerals,
&;c.,
politics,
all
religion, war,
in
weights and
primitive
measures,
stage.
of
their
and Qs^dj, (^ituSsu and ^ihsm, b<5 QfBe\) siiOj magii and Qanm, and urreo, Qpjbpui and and U3.F*, ^iroj and ^uum, Q^ib(^ and 3,!T<ss)Lp and y,s35.9^, siq^^^ and Q<frr&), uit and ^Ssjrjt, Qieit and <aus)S, Qsueneifl and Qurrm, ^'^p, ^^iT and Qstr, ^eS
'T^
-
/-/6>j?
and si^eij&r, j>jLDLi and eSI<s\), u)it and s!^(^s? are Tamil words, and they are not to be found
Sanskrit language.
In
fact,
all
pure
the
daily
in
every
word
of
usage
at
is
Tamil.
To
establish
the
any
linguistic
affinity,
least
words denoting
family
most
'
ordinary
relationship
'
father
represented
by
pater
Latin,
and
vater
meter
mater
'\w
and
must be identical. and mother in pitri and niairi in in Greek, pater and mutter in German,
'
On
the
other
in
expressed
Tamil by appan and tay. This in itself is sufficient to prove that Tamil has no philological affinity
with either Sanskrit or any Indo-European tongue.
There
are,
Tamil
origin
in
Sanskrit.
Dr.
Caldwell gives a
of
some
thirty
words which, he
PLACE OF TAMIL
thinks, Sanskrit has
^isiT^
IN
PHILOLOGY
155
are,
(^uf-t
a(^,
a&drr ,
ojeirsffl
QsmLisaij
ulLl^ssotiMj
urrstj),
ueom, iSm,
&C.
Some
are
common
is
to
both
languages
to
rational
view
to believe
them
common
L^, eueo,
source.
They
'51,
are,
^i^,
/_,
(short), OcS, ^,
uneo,
Qua^,
be
of
&c.
will
some
When
in
is
word
is
an isolated one
derivatives,
in
Sanskrit
is
but
sur-
rounded
that
Tamil
of
word
Tamil
(2)
When
in
word
Indo-European languages
found only
Sanskrit.
but
is
Tamil, that
to
Words
of this
letters ov Variias
and 33 consonants or Vyanjanas, which occurs in the Vedas. Besides these there are annswara and annnasika, represented by a dot, and a crescent and a dot respectively. Thus
lo vowels or Svaras
or 47
mcluding
there are in
ail
49
letters.
Whereas we have
in
Tamil
Of two vowels and four consonants (including oo) are peculiar to Tamil and are not to be found in the
156
TAMIL STUDIES
we have 25
which are common to both; and Sanskrit has the sounds of which are not represented by any letter in Tamil. The possession of peculiar sounds and oo exhibits the physiological characlike if, /D,
24
letters
iSOT
teristics of
the
Tamil
people, differentiating
:
their
fact
sounds
of
and 9 points to an origin, quite independent Sanskrit. The short ct and 9 are not peculiar to
although
scholars,
Swaminatha
blindly
Desikar
and other
sel is to
native
following
Sanskrit
grammarians,
go,
seem
s&l is
to think otherwise.
In Tamil
is
and
i^
to
chew and
is
niel is
tgl
above;
the
kol is to kill
and
old and
skin, noy
is
softness
and ndy
in the
in their
He
CT
in
Tamil
is
com-
pound
<5T
@ ^ and ^ as in Sanskrit, and that it is an equivalent of si in Malayalam and of in Kanarese. As for e^arr he believes that it has no
of
and
but not of
pronouncing
what Tolkapyar
^sir ^sir
r^&a
a_<55ir
says.
(oSiLDSiTaLDrr(^ua.
QLDeirsiTinDiT(^i}i.
I.
54.
I.
55.
I.
59.
PLACE OF TAMIL
It is
IN
PHILOLOGY
157
Dr. Caldwell's
are
view
in
pure
Tami
esijsiuso,
word
in
S
sj
and
in
^<sir^
as
^euesno,
e^/sinsSuuiM,
Q^msaoj,
=gy
es)u^&), QufsirsuLJo,
&c.
but not
Malayalam; compare
and
^&),
3<osyrr
and
<j, S'Sev
and
/^su,
&c.
peculiarities of structure
Word
of
Formation:
The
Tamil words may be briefly noticed here. last essay something has been said of the initial, middle and final letters in words. That
In
the
will
words are
native,
Double consonants
consonants of different
Sanskrit trayi, vaktram
(2)
Vargas or classes in
a Tamil word.
vastraui.
any
Compare
and
In the middle
of a
words
is
with
eiiLi,
Qjuj,
emtu,
essreij,
(3).
The doubling
in
of the
same consonant
In
very
common
we have
(4)
0<?^sff;
Tamil
and
and
No
[Tamil
s=,
<ss)s=,
(S5)9^ajih
s^uDifi^GO
and
Q^erriTujui.
(5)
tun
come
at
the
beginning
In
of a
not.
Sanskrit
we have
and
OajswOTru).
158
(6)
u.
TAMIL STUDIES
No Tamil words
in
will
end
are
in i,
s=,
lL,
^,
and
But
Sanskrit there
words
like
p/itakf
and yup.
As in Sanskrit, Tamil words are either simple Simple words are formed from or compound. roots, which are either nominal or verbal, by the
addition of formative particles, like o, *, , ^,
i-i
and
sm,
urrQ,
J2/,
J)l, Jljih,
^17, Jfjio,
jffasr,
e_LD,
S,
fflo,
0, 0, u, mLD,
^'^esr.
^, ^eo, ^6sr, @, ^su, a_, eSI, emsu and /^, and srr,
this
jtjfTSij
and
adverbs, might
hiatus
SI,
ii>
be formed in
To prevent
ox: &5T is
sometimes added.
From
kill,
the
&c from V
;
^il, to
we have
&c;
^(SuLj, j)jlL,
,jyi-ii),
j^ieo, ^i^ii(^,
from
'^ jij/b,
to cut,
we
get
=^j2/,
^eap^
;
^s)"ssi&i^ sjpu^,
fBil,
&c
isi-,
and from V
tBi-^^&n,
to
rsiui-i, issai,
&c.
The nominal
becomes mem,
long
to see,
vowels, or in a short
single-letter
There are 42
tially
be monosyllabic, and
nouns.
Q^treo,
nouns
u/fl-oj/r
like
&c.
Compound words
tor
are
example,
(horse)
run,
and
LDrT=a.
beast, <-
(tiger)
from <s=rough or
cruel,
and
Q;/r(u=raouth.
PLACE -OF TAMIL IN PHILOLOGY
It
159
will
be seen
from
that
the
examples
given above
all
and
lenthening of verbs
slight
eSQ-s^Q,
to
and the
consonantal
changes peculiar
Tamil euphony.
On
(1)
two
classes
verbs to
form nouns,
adjectives, &c.
jectival
is the noun form of kri, to do cluir becomes chorayat, stealing tikia is the adform of vach, to speak; and ishta from yaj,
;
to sacrifice, &c..
add-
nominal bases.
;
which
vaiyakarani
is
that
;
kulala
;
kaiilalakani
is
pitamaha
is
son of Dakshi
;
DaksJiais
yanah
son of Agni
Agneyah
a herd of hasttit
is
hastikam;
belonging to
Panini
Panineya
one
to
in
A comparison of the terminations or affixes used form words, and of the methods of forming them,
Tamil and Sanskrit
differ in
will
both languages.
The taddhita
and
class,
it
espe-
was only
the
of
common among
author
Tamil grammarians,
Prayoka
160
vivekam to say
'
TAMIL STUDIES
S^iEms(^(3ui^uQuajQrreoeonih
^^^^mj*
structure
and formation
(T.
i-jsmiTf^.)
of
words their coalescence or sandhi must also differ in the two landifference
is
guages.
This
observable chiefly
rule of sandhi
is,
in
vowel changes.
^.
ff:
The Tamil
LueueijLD
<3JL^
sj^^sTLLjuSiTQj i^
Qjojeifui.
Nan,
Ac^ITIT
The
short
&.
cording to
this rule,
g)}
^^g)! = ^!nTistjeer
LDITijJT60 j
f5rT(^
+ + J>jrfl^ = IB/TSffl^
ue\}fT
^?sw
;
=ue\)frisSl'2e\>'
imi
-f
&-!T&>=s
& gU +
usO/rSsw
Jt/SST
= & gVOlSSr
should
ldQ!TIT!T&).
Whereas according
to
svara-sandhi
they
become
tion of
is
LDSsaiLui^^^
^aams)!^
and
peculiarities in the
in Sanskrit,
combina-
which
it
Simple
to
form compounds.
(1)
namely,
Dvandva
or
Tatpurusha or
or
QaipgiKsiaLD^Q^nissis
Karmadharaya
usotl/^Q^/tsw*, (4)
Dvigu
or
^ssrQLOfTL^^Q^rr^s
and
(6)
Corresponding
we have
in
Tamil a
set-
of six
compounds known
^mQuiiTL^ Qmesreij^
^.^esiLD^Q^rresis
is
Q^!TSS)S
njiT(7rf'(^ih.
Nan.
;
:
included in
or
the
of
and
erem^u^Q^irssiri
Dvigu
^jrnarr&ij umssfi(t^UL^s\)uD) is
contained
in ^ujeanL^Q^iTema,
Thus
PLACE OF TAMIL
eS^ear
IN
PHILOLOGY
161
^Q ^trsBs
is
that
The
structure
and formation
of
to words in Sanskrit have compelled the Tamils when borrowed, so as to suit the mormodify them,! The of the Tamil tongue. features phological
are of
two classes
the
iatsajiias
that and the tatbUavas. undergoes change in Tamil. At the time of Tolkapyar the Sanskrit words in Tamil were very few, and he felt no necessity to frame rules for their adoption.
It is
class
He was
content^by saying,
Qjes)!TiLiiTiT.
The
later
Tamil grammarians,
however,
of forms,
were constrained
to give
;
them; by providing authoritative rules and they are to be found explained in the ^^^I^uul^&)u>
fixity
to
of
Virasoliyam
and
in
the
ufisSiujeo
of
Nannul.
Their main
ties in
or
soften difficul-
pronouncing
a'l'^word
two
consecutive
consonants
in a
word, or
not
by introducing
o.raian-
vowels.
ThuslSanskrit ratna
is
changed mXo
;
am
or irattitiam, sakshi
laksJiana
yaksha
into iyakkaii,
into
ilakkaua,
&c.
This
is
monosvl-
which converts
and 'Maharashtra'
inflectional Sanskrit,
below the which evinces 'the strength and directness^of character and scorn of difihcullies' in the Indo-Aryan race.
11
^
162
TAMIL STUDIES
:
Etymology
Qsjio in
of
speech or
(verb),
sS^esr
It is
^sroi_ (particles)
and a.^
(attributives).
an acthat
all
cepted
principle
two
and
this
is
also the
view of
modern
philologists.
Says Tolkapyar,
Qs^aeoQleo&STU
Qj/'.aSlireaar
160.
part of
It
means the middle word that is a speech common to both nouns and verbs.
of all
particles,
consists
terminations or
post-
positions
which go
to
of
Thus
embraces
the
particles
demon-
euphonic
expletive particles,
and
in fact
no meaning by
verb to which
itself,
independent of the
verbs,
noun or
the
therefore
it is
attached.
^iBs^Qs^itso treats of
various qualities of
nouns and
and
it
adverbs.
The metaphysical
is,
explanation of
^^'osnnjueanrLji)
s^>f^3='^=ai^
given by .Sivagnanamuni
Q^
f7
i^ p u esm'^LDfr Si aj Qu^Q^LLuom^tauJLfsaarn
^(J5Q#7jo o_n9iO<rffsu.
that
i_,
<su/r,
QpsisSuj
Q^ffi^ pu^emssu
QeOiuiio.
u^63w/r^^@ QfirpaeaassSm
This
is
explanation seems to
me
very obscure,
and
it
the
PLACE OF TAMIL
merit of his
IN
PHILOLOGY
it
163
commentary
to
make
more abstruse
It will
and
and
itself.
thus be
into
^^i^fQ^rreo
and
p^fl^Qraso
was
been variously
classified
and often
a conflicting
manner by
<si)'TLD
later
grammarians.
For instance,
the
that Q&neoQ&iio
Qldsst g ^ssafls.
The
(1)
differences between
Sanskrit
:
parts of speech
may be
has
Like
all
Sanskrit
number
It
or ^Q^smu) must
have existed
in
became mixed up with ussr^^o or the plural number and so vanished out of Tamil giaiUinar. g)f or which means 'two' was the dual termination, and srr for the plural. Now is reser'/ed
evidently
it
'T
as
'
high
caste
(2)
nouns and
All
verbs,
and sik
for
all.
nouns denoting
irrational
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
No
definite rules
down
IM
ruchi,
It
'
TAMIL STUDIES
is
masculine,.
is
is
'
son'
neuter..
will thus
of
case
means
of suffixed
post-
positions
and sepaiaie
oblique cases
is
particles.
is
The
inflectional
base
in
ilie
it
Tamil
the
nominative, except
/s/rear^
and
S, Sit
and
i<sSit
which
For example,
raj
in
Sanskrit
(king)
become vak
in
and
rat in the
first
or
Gspnei'
(word) and
(stone) remain,
But
tht
in
IndoGermanic languages,
differ
the case
from
those of
singul-:ir.
As Dr. Caldwell
rightly observes,
'the
the
number
of
almost
indefinite,'
being
limited
that
this
only
by
be
the
number
to
post-
positions
may
attached
the
noun.
And
it is
whohas
;
devoted three
complete chapters
for
cases only
PLACE OF TAMIL IN PHILOLOGY
(4)
165
Tamil has no
relative
pronouns.
1st
The
exis-
addressed,
a peculiarity
ot
Tamil,
affiliating
it
to
from
Sanskrit.
in Sanskrit,
three
raoods^
The
being
'
negative
peculiar
in the verbal
system
Tamil, the
latter
expressed- by
auxiliary
verbs
signifying
to
The subjunctive and the optative moods are expressed by means of suffixed particles, and the other three tenses by means of auxiliary verbs. There The structure of is no benedictive mood in Tamil.
suffer'.
the verb
is
strictly agglutinative,
an exception.
The
view
of
Senavaraiyar and
~i'(m^(^'sbr(3
Sivagnana-muni that
&-sanr
QiusisT^t})
iBseai
^ot
to
ctott"
Sm pesr
accep-
&je\)Si>^
fSssr/DesT
Qp^ssfl'hso'iQetr
QiuiT'Sms^Qwgi
uirLLc^fTisaretjeiJfT^
Qojmu^
In
uirr^
be
table.
(6)
Sanskrit,
adjectives
declined
like
qualify in gender,
number, and
of
adjectives
),
quality
(p^iBs^Q^ireo
have none.
Sanskrit
the
comparison,
while those
adjective
superlative
at
its
all.
The
Sanskrit
priya
positive,
and
comparative and
are priyas
and
preshta.
166
TAMIL STUDIES
prepositions or conjunctions in (7) There are no Tamil except p-w which is only a continiiative particle.
It is
none
of
them
are
are
formed by prefixed
in ^auesr,
particles.
But some
j)j,
^eudr, &c,,
the letters
Rhetoric
The Tamil
rules
of
prosody relating
foot, stanza,
to the structure
of
Sanskrit.
are
ail
Asiriyappa, Kalippa
and Vanjippa
of
The treatment
and the division found in
to
Porul
conduct
indepen-
<<ic.,
are not to be
Sanskrit.
show
as
the
summed
up
in the
words
of
Sivagnanamuni
follows: ^tSu^
^LD
U!T(^un(Si.i(smLDj
Qeuemurr
^su pfSeisr
U(^^s^ld
Qp^eSliu
Qi3=djii^eifl&)s3GSBrQfiiJD
^(smQ^iTissjsin
iS/osijLh
euiQLDiTLpj'jSIp
Qu/DuuL-fT.
Even
the author of
has attempted
in the early
chapters
work to grammars
ences between the two languages thus: p'Bsmiq&soriT^^giju) Quemune^ pssojit^^ld <sSl'^esj(oS ia?@,J'(4U), ^esmuneo <a53E37
PLACE OF TAMIL
IN
PHILOLOGY
167
With such
be accepted,
spite
later
Tamil grammarians
that
to trace
is
we can
in
say at present
^ame
does
the
the Aiyan
that
of
is,
Tamil
is
the oldest
and
most
cultivated
ot
the Dravidian
or
South
Indian family
languages.
that
But
any
it
Tamil or
at
rate
morphological
common,
did not
Dr Caldwell
Indo-Europeanisms as
:
discoverable
the
Dravidian languages
(1)
The use
hiatus.
of
n, ek, as in
:
prevent
in
Ex
Skt.
a + adi
the
anadi
Tam.
of the
+ a
(2)
ninci.
I'he existence of
gender
in
pronouns
^eueh
third person
and
in verbs,
and
:
in particular
jiteiissr,
the exist-
ence
(B)
of
neuter gender.
Ex
and ^^.
in
The existence of a neuter plural, as in Latin, short ^. Ex: T. euiB^sm, Lat. templa (temples).
(4)
The use
of
d or
(^)
as
the sign
of the neuter
singular of demonstrative
the third person.
pronouns, or pronouns of
;
Ex
Skt. iai
168
(5)
TAMIL STUDIES
The formation
jy,
of a
a base in
Ex
Skt. adah,
(b)
/'/,
idmn
Tarn.
=gy#7,
@jp.
d.
Ex
Skt.
(7)
preterites
;
by redupHca&c.
tion.
(8)
Tam
u^^, q^(5,
The formation
of verbal
nouns by lengthening
gildam,
It is
&c
Tam.
uSissr-i^^m
/Hi^-s^i^, &c.
thei*"
turn
exerted an equal,
and her North Indian dialects. This is what everybody might nauirally expect, considering that the
Prakrit dialects
came
the
into
existence
during
historic
tongue
in
those
who
The Dravidian
dwell as follows
:
on the grammar
of
of the
The inflection
particles
;
nouns by means
to the
of separate post-fixed
added
of
oblique
form
of the
noun
the
inflection
the plural by
two pronouns for the first person plural the one including and the other excluding the party addressed;
the use of post-positions instead of prepositions
;
the
;
formation of verbal
tenses
by means
of particles
169
word
after the
governed
the
use
of
I,
err
cerebrals to dentals.
Affiliation of
Tamil
is
It
is
superfine us
to
mention here
that
Tamil
the oldest
member
scholar
of the
No
has yet
and other
dialects
have sprung.
A comparison
family
its
for
establishing
But
in
the
absence of such data we must take the aid of ethnology and such linguistic resources
as
may
at
present
be available.
In the chapter
on the origin
original
ol
the
Tamil
people
to
we have
Dravidians
came
the
Himalayas, and
that
people after
of the
in
Indian Peninsula.
Hence
crude
influence
of the
Australian
dialects
As languages have
not possible at
the
aborigito
is
from
nal linguistic
elements.
But
this
much seems
170
TAMIL STUDIES
by Semitic
side,
and
the
Aryan languages
on the one
on the
gical
other.
and by the Finno-Hungarian idioms And, but for some broad morpholothere
is
pecuharities,
no trace
of
the Auslan-
tralian influence to
guages.
From what
first
essay
the
follows,
will
be
plain
that
No
other theory
can
satisfactorily
account
Hungarian words
in
Tamil.
features are
common
languages of
:
Uralo-Altaic group
(1)
Words
are
never
formed by
isiis^,
prefixes
but
in-
always by
root
may
variably stand
(2)
Ex
/Fi_,
isii^^, &c.
Declension
relational
effected
by agglutinating seconto
dary or
particles
the principal
root.
Suffixes are
that
is
added
the
post-position.
Ex:
(3)
Consonantal system
in e^ound the
is
simple,
^^
and
letters
approaching
Tamil
will
be f(jund
in
some
(4)
which is ameie qualifymg noun comes always before the word it qualifies, except in
The
adjective
PLACE OF TAMIL
IN
PHILOLOGY
171
'less',
&c.
Tenses and
moods
:
are
formed by the
in-
personal ending.
(6)
Ex
Qs=&)-\-
There are no
relative
pronouns
Basque
as
in Tamil.
(7)
The
existence of
son
plural,
one of
a peculiarity of the
Dravidian languages.
(8)
Use
of continuative particles
in
the
place of
conjunctions. Ex:
(9)
in
Qs^ir^ih Qs^aifi^th.
The crude
etc.
root
verb
is
the
person
singular.
Ex:
iBi, Qj/7,
(10)
in
Turkish.
In
all
by agglutination,
the
number being
limited only by
number
of post-positions that
may
be attached to
the noun.
Till
very recently
it
philologists to classify
Allophyiian
But
it
has
now
brought
under
it
bear the
Aryan
family,
except that
they are
172
morphologically
TAMIL STUDIES
connected.
The
roots
of
each
The
fact
explanation
that
for
this
difference
lies
in
the
the
Aryan languages
Keltic,
&c
separated
perfect.
Sanskrit,
Greek,
Latin,
at
was already
parted
On
was in an imperfect them was obliged to depend on its own resources or on borrowed elements It available at hand to complete its inner structure.
their
when
;
structure
of
condition
and so each
of
the languages
of
the Uralo-
feature
American languages. In the case of the Dravidian languages, their development and approach towards the incorporating stage must have
peculiar to the
been arrested
culture,
at a very early
period
by
to
their
literary
to
the
Aryan
systems
influence.
The
position assigned
the
Dravidian
they must
languages by M. Hovelacque in
tiie linjJuistic
seems
that
to us quite appropriate.
He
says,
'
be comprised
is
among the first in the ascending order, among those i'mmediately following the
and anterior
to
isolating system,
Turkish,
Magyar,
Tamil and
its
place in
to
Coming now
may
conveni(1)
periods, namely,
the
PLACE OF TAMIL
early
sixth
IN
PHILOLOGY
period
173
the
the
Tamil
comprising
before
the
between
;
century
and
after
Christ
interval
(2)
mediaeval
the
sixth
Tamil,
occupying the
between
;
and
here
(3)
the
to
the twelfth
down
to
present
it
day.
It
is
not
proposed
deal with
as completely
as the
importance of the
to
justify
subject demands.
the
We
characteristics
of
each period
cla^^sification.
the
rationale of the
above
the
first
half of this
period
the
spirit of
departed
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
supremacy
exist-
had not yet commenced. All the four religions ed side by side and were tolerated.
Early Tamil was the language used by the
of
writers
peculiarities of this
academic and the classic periods. And the Tamil may be observed in the literature of those times, the important of which being
the
Agananuru, the Purananuru, the Pattuppattu, the Padirruppattu, the Silappadikaram and the Manimekalai. The standard gram.mars of the epoch were the
the
Tolkapyam, Pannirupadalam,
review of Padirrupattu,
the early
Usimuri, &c.
In our
the special
characteristics of
TamU
We
shall,
will be described at some length. however, say a few words here concerning
174
TAMIL STUDIES
of vocabulary,
gram na
the
late
Mr.
P.
of the
Ten Poems
(Pattuppattu)
is
two.
poem of 782 Hnes, the number does not exceed fifty And in fact the introduction of Sanskrit words is strongly condemned by the be^t writers of the
five.
academic period.
It
as
the
mark
of an imperfect education.
Two
it
of the earliest
'
as
an unnatural'
the
'
pepper-corns.'
Words
of foreign
origin
were never
introduced,
the
intercourse of
Arabs,
whom
Yavanas.
Sanskrit
form as
will
be seen
,
in the
following
fSjiuu),
examples:
(lpq^^^im, uns^ih,
(&c.
^^sm
^ss^sn,
^s^3=si>r,
Some Tamil
i)QJ,
in sentences
arrpjpj,
without
formative particles as
a-ia/
Qsu^
^5a}(si]^
and
for
^miw,
used
and
ujn'ss)^.
in senses
For example,
'he-buffalo,'
Qs^suso
meant a pig and Quirsbi was 'iron' &c. Relational words like CT-iyo-o)a/ = our younger sister,
sefflgv
'
'
PLACE OF TAMIL
^dr'2esT=my lord,
s7a,5
IN
PHILOLOGY
175
= our
is^dit,
your
father,
and ^mr,
have
like
'
all
become
to
'
obsolete.
Some
classical
words
>:-^iu,
die',
now become
slang.
Sometimes post-positions were added directly to the roots without the euphonic particles or s^inflesnw
Por
example,
nufBiimii
for
t^erfl'uisisiruj,
=53537
for
^eS^r,
for
IT
^s\)eOfr(^s
for ^sU'Sewojrr^S;,
C^aretfti)
for
QslL
Qlduj&)
ifSQiufTixi, ^uaQiDesr
^(Suu,
Quiujs^s^eo,
The
plural termination
is
and
^rr
never, the
abstract
terms Qsuik^,
being perferred
to concrete
The use
is
of distinctive termistrictly
not
adhered
to,
particles like
@3t or ^^^
no finality concerning the uses ot case terminations was attained in practice. This ^^^ or g)sv) is a peculiar particle and it was used to express comparison also
the
seven
cases.
In
fact,
the expression
it
usm'smu.uSljh
vsras
before.'
The
come
into
existence.
The
indehnite
and the
indefinite
Hebrew and
in
other languages.
ff, 22ai^
(5^
L/, -iLD,
use
a_LD
have
(as in
become
to
obsolete, together
^(250).
for
f(^o.is^ for
The
post-position
in tiie
was added
nouns
to
form verbs
snmsiBfTLJk>si
The phrase
lueant
176
of
TAMIL STUDIES
forest
the
country.'
The
formation of
some
9(z^@-s?(i^i(a5,
Q^etfl-Q^erRji^ (to
cause to become
clear).
Some
verbal
nouns were
formed
ifi@
by adding
to
roots
QfimLj
(strength),
ump
(flying),
'^'^H
^sv)m
(poverty),
t-jseo
(noun),,
Some
were
of the
in
freely
obsolete.
They
(dld:t^
p^,\L,ibgv,
mmp,
^(^a=LD^ (gswff,
@@"'j
@^^,
is
a-'5<^, etc.
The
literature of
this period
all
poetry
simple
style
devoid of rhetorical
of later prosody which mar the exmodern Tamil poems; Asiriyappa, Kalippa,. Venba, and Kuratpa are the metres mostly used. The
and
intricacies
cellence of
all faithful
and
The
subject
matter of
most
of
these
works
is
and
their
adminisof
Some
in
of
them
bards,
very pathetic
manner.
Some
are
on
morality, while
We
subjoin
(1)
^eo&^isas)^
^p^^&S
euBeisuMpk^smp^LD
^L^
^
PLACE OF TAMIL
^sirefflev suiiiEi3e\}i
LD/DUi-i&S
IN
PHILOLOGY
ssaai
177"
^pi^Lps
u^eenT^^ uj^iLna
(SfrirQ
3itlLi^uj
itjeirefflu
QiSTis^ssr
^isiD^eiaaj
Puf.
160.
(No food
ed
in
in the
house
Dis-
The mother hushed them with tales of the cruel tiger, and pointed to them the moon. Wearied and troubled she told the starving ones to
their misery.)
(2)
SniTLDS6)Lp
let
their father
see
QfimtSp
(^Q^@
SOiSUffli
Q^(lp^0UD
Quit pui
QiQr^Q^sl'oliun
eurrasrwoeips
Q&5r<Siiifl
QiiT&jBSffl Ju iSlssiL^iBfl
Uoo^QT^p
uQ ut sSI i
Qfsvsif'^u'R
fisaB^iSp
siTsmi
QLDmriQs.
flyi "g
Pad.
83.
(Like
the
white
paddy
birds
beneath
of
the
canopy
your
army
the white
above the
and
sight.)
Medieval Tamil
and
the
sectarian
it
The
early part of
was
one
of
struggle
for
pre-
one
in
hand which
From
this
were
erected
for
their
178
gods
;
TAMIL STUDIES
and they themselves
secured
fertile
villages
for subsistence.
Sanskrit puranas,
local as
well
as
and translated
into
the Tamils.
Then came
prominen ce
split
among
the
the Brahmans, which led to the formation of Vishnu and Siva cults. The latter with all its attendant horrors of death and destruction became
popular
of this
among
the
warlike Tamils.
of
The
literature
epoch consists
the accounts
hymns
to
Siva
and Vishnu
and adventures of Krishna, and Jina. The standard works on Tamil grammar during this period were Tolkapyam, Virasoliyam, Nambi's Agappcrul, Neminadam, &c.
and
of
of the life
Rama and
Sanskrit words,
largely
chiefly relating
to
religion,
were
introduced,
and some
of the
Tamil
words
and rorms current in the preceding epoch gave way to new ones. Plurals in .^sir, double plurals in ijs&r and mseir, present tense particles Qmgv and
@^
of
distinctive
case
terminations
particles like
came
into existence.
Some
adverbial
&c.,
Qmm'^!tssT, ^(S^^ld^
^eo, Q^tuuj,
Completely went
out of use.
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
Maras or embellishments.
Rhyme and
antadi form
recital of sacred
songs
179
PLACE OF TAMIL
easier.
IN
PHILOLOGY
As
for
their
style,
the
and
artificiahty
even
in excess
it
were consiperiod of
As
rest
was a
aggerating
miracles
the
own
doctrines,
and
by
fabricating
in
to
support them.
back ground
and
its
taken up by
events,
mythological
accounts
mij:;ht
of
such
as
one
find
the
the
puranas
and
the
itiliasas.
Thus
Chintamani,
Ramayana,
to
be replete with
spirit of
it
However, a true
writings
devo-
tion
and
piety,
us,
might
very
:
appear to
this
troublous period.
(1)
We
give below
some
extracts
^s^iBT
tef^eaariT
UL^d^:BfT (enuSiT
Q JirrfisiT
(Sffli/JT
ufTsm<QLDjb
SQ^Q^ok
Qsirir ljsjt
sir^ifiu
(2)
eijiT(eB)8
S^arfssiiu
<in^'siQfiT6\)oS
^iri^^^suQsw
T,V.
(3)
Qisuear/Sl luiris&i]
Qios^i euirds^ia
LiebjfSlu-\iS)
Gunm g)i(^
180
(4)
TAMIL STUDIES
GurrmesB
(SSj^ti
QuTQ^usmi ujuusmu.
^/reBsfiaSp
^sksirfl i^(^(B
s/Tessfl
^sisi
ssx,(k
Chili.
[.^^'
lb)
^3OTi_?Sy LLoSi^-iSiTfTL-Si
'sS SITSSIB^ITIEIsd
Kain.
modern
Modern Tamil
period
To
the Tamils
the
which begms from the thirteenth century \simportant in every respect. The ancient kingdoms
of the
subverted.
existence
on the
before
all
fifteenth
century absorbed
the
Tamil kingdoms.
Then came
Musalman hordes from the north, and lastly the Europeans from beyond the sea. Though the Telugus and the Mahrattas had come into the Tamil countries as
fortune seekers, they settled there permanently being
members of the same creed and nationality. TheMusahnans were not so they plundered the country, forcibly converted some of its people, and returned
;
at
certain
importance
like
Arcot
and'
Trichinopoly.
PLACE OF TAMIL
to renters,\vho oppressed
IN
PHILOLOGY
181
and tortured the ryots. Many had to sell their Jands for nominal prices to escape persecution. In this way the people had suffered till
the country passed into the
hands
of
the
British,
whose advent was a god-send to the poverty-stricken and down-trodden Tamils. 1 cannot better express the happiness and prosperity of the Tamils which
resulted
from
this
change
of sovereignty than
in the
euiTsmQpsQLDiT
Sismpn&iQLDn
utrrrQupgu
his
city
With
shall
il
compare the
joy
of the
like the
peacock
gathering
its
clouds,
or
of
life
when
by
in
the rain
falls ?)
the
Hindu
governors.
the ascendent.
The
aged.
these
languages
were
besides
in
innumerable commentaries
Sanskrit on
in Tamil as well as
-especially
to
ancient
works,
tending
tribal
all
ing
Musalman
despotism.
Then
for
182
TAMIL STUDIES
half-a-century
there
about
was
lull,
which
was
only
followed
by
the
production
of
anli-Brah-
And
it
was
during the
first
vernacular
literature
began
to
revive
under the
social
With the change in government, religion and customs many Tamil words had gone out
use giving
as
of
way
to
new ones
-s/r,
s^ppn^
of
and
a
Qs.tlLild
the
administrative
divisions
country,
Qi?6\}eoiTUJth, sair
as
names
of public
taxes,
^LCiT^^LULO,
SlJfTfflujih^
smsS^smm,
_^isssfl^
S'LCLSlfH^,
&C., aS official
SfreasBj
terms,
(^gliessS,
u^d(^,
of
Qpii^rfl,
i^(^*,
along
with
ueaarih,
^lL,
enniraim^
names
relating to office
and
relating to the
The
all
Sanskrit.
There
nothing
new
in the
gammar
of this period,
perhaps with the exception of a leaning towards a greater use of Sanskrit and foreign words by the
educated classes, and the unconscious
of
creeping in
of
several
English words
in
the home-speech
literary
expres-
thought
in
Tamil
till
about
the
begin-
PLACE OF TAMIL
rJng
the
of IN
PHILOLOGY
excepting
of
183
course,
the
last
century,
copious notes on
natural
ancient
poems.
periods
However, the
the
ease
and
the
uj/tBso,
academic
and
were
gone
udsssB
The
and
ss\}}iljsjo,
^i^fT^,
lSsit'^^3lSIu^,
_'5ur
were
the
litt^rary
and more
descriptive A'orks
hke
tiie
all
puranas.
For
kinds of metres
enumerated
freely
in the
made
use
of.
class of indolent
men
who
this sort of
ex-rcise in prosodial
for
their
who depended
precarious
and noblemen.
in versifying
skill
and
to scare the
stanzas
obsolete
and amwill
biguous
words
as
the
following
examples
show:
(1)
iSljiDL^n^^os^pQuLOLon QsmtMLDaesr
l3 a LD'^ J
^ ^ss) p
QuLCLorr Q^ssruDLOTsisr
01^.
T. T.
^T^
D. A.
184
.
TAMIL STUDIES
this chapter.
The
evils of
away the taste for healthy reading, while forcing him to work all day for the day's meal for hunself and his family.
Modern
and
Let
it
were responsible
which,
of the people,has
of
any way
by being unsuited to
literature
the
to find
and the capacity to live a healthy a joy in it. The Tamilian of to-day
We
have
sonnets,
idylls,
dramas, ballads and epics; nay, even works on philosophy, religion, ethics, hisfory,
grammar, dictionary,
subject are
their
all
medicine
poetry.
and
on
every imaginable
versification
Poetry and
past,
had
value
in
and they may still be of use in some For our literary models let us go to the writings cat-es. of Sattanar or Ilango-adigal whose beauty, simplicity, smoothness and grace it is a pride and glory to But communication of approach in our efforts.
the
knowledge
not poetry.
in
these
days
is
best
di)ne
in
prose
We
of prose, but
literature.
of
poetical
The
VIII
the Dravidian
first
tribes
of
to cultivate a literature.
now extant,
that
kind
show
ancient Assyrians
and
is
the early
Germanic
Here
woman who in
answered thus:
for
response
'I
know
her
'
not where
appear on
belly) this
my
the
is
son
is
battle-field,
the cave
that gave
STCTTLDSSST
ti-^er.
ujirsaurQsfr
iev)6l^ LD/SKetu
Q^0ih
sSeST CD
<S>JUlSI(o(ir/'
iS^Qoj
Pur.
86.
The
scorn
dignity
they
attached
to
military
pursuits,
women,
their
an uneventful
life
and
natural death,
and
i86
their spirit of
in
TAMIL STUDIES
independence and adventure are patent
collections.
All
these,
in
the
Aryanism
on everything non-Aryan.
Yet
can
stiil
in
we
perceive a
Its ground-work is purely nonAryan and its super-structure necessarily Aryan; because, it was not as conquerors that the Aryan Brah-
running through.
mans
Vedic
of
and philosophy. Unlike Islamism which carried fire and sword with it, wherever it
went, the Indo-Aryans established their spiritual su-
premacy by gentleness, refinement and persuasive manners. Musalmans were dreaded by the conquered, whereas the Aryans were honoured and
respected as the
der qualities, and
'
andaiiar
'
The
early
place
for
and
intole-
the Aryan
assimilated
and absorbed whatever was good outside his racial culture and exalted it by associating it with his higher civilization. It is the characteristic of a conquering and
victorious
army which
is
and
refined
sense
of
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
when
the Musal-
into
South India,
all
the
their
to
All the
all
were ransacked
in
the
for
country, and
that the
On
Brahmans, the Jains and the Buddhists actively worked to found universities, literary academies and libraries,
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.
who had
and
South
into
way
the
affected,
though
in
an impt^rceptible
degree,
the Dravidian
of
life
and thought.
and
Aryans
both
was
eswill
sentially religious
All these
grammarians
three
classes,
have
divided
Tamil
(belles
this
into
Isai
namely
lyal
(Music)
essay
is
literature of the
188
lyal Tamil,
it
TAMIL STUDIES
will
not be inopportune to
Isai
first
briefly
say something
kutln, before
about the
to
we proceed
our subject.
gramma-
who
the
wrote
three
extant.
complete
treatises
on the grammar
but none of them
of
of
all
classes of Tamil,
are
now
the
Tamils to
all
the three.
They had
their
own dances
the
art of
and music
with the
vocal and
a
help of Brahmans,
developed
dancing to
treatises
and many
even
.
were written on
in
their
gods had
too,
dances
Music
was
a state of
perfection,
and
their pans or
The only
drama that
the stage,
work
to
of ihe nature
of the
has
come down
It
us
is
century).
the
drummer,
vari
{euift),
the
flute-player,
specimens of
(@ja62j),
pattn
,
(uitlLSi),
(siss^su),
kuravai
ammaiiai
(jfjuoiMn'^est)
usal
{eustrHsfr),
A brief description
ancient Tamils
four
kinds, viz
of the ydzh
musical
may
not be uninteresting.
manuurTiJ^,
It
was
of
(ouifliuiTLp,
s^Qsmiuni^
strings;
and
Qs=isiQaiTLLL^ajiTifi.
aMakra-
183
Chakota-yazh, 16
and Sengottu-yazh, 7^
in
And
been
which
of
supposed
to
have
use
in the
days
Agastya had
century A. D,
become
It is
extinct
said to
thou-
sand
strings,
G^LoSsard/^L/L/ QiDiTLJuear
QanetrQe^.
But with ihe growing influence of the Jains and Brahmans, spiriluaHty received more attention, much
to
the
detriment
of
the
physical
side
of
his
development,
which
was
neglected
and
even
condemned. Self-mortification and abstinence from pleasure were advocated and recommended as the high road to saWation. And the works on music, dancing and the drama written by ancient
Tamils, such as
QuQ^rsTss^ir,
0013/5/(5(5(5, u^^s^umr^iuuci,
^B^tTSfrarFiujthf
uir^iJo,
^iT&reusts)s,Quurr^^^
U(^s=LD!ri-i^
(^em^
and
Qpsneuio, s^-ui^ii)
iia6mrnsrTL.s^suSip^6\),
lected
ol
and
lost.
(1200 A.D.) most of them. With them the Dravidian music and dances became extinct. No one can now say what those /)(377s and dances were like. Their places were gradually taken up by the Indo-Aryan raganis and;
Adiyarkunallar about
were
naiyains.
However, these
aesthetic
arts
were given a
religi-
190
TAMIL STUDIES
condition to
prolong
existence for upwards of ten centuries from about the seventh. Their sphere of exercise was The transferred from the house to the temple.' Saiva md Vaishnava hymns forming the Devaram
and the Nalayira Prabandam, were collected and set Diavidian music and sung in Hindu temto During festivals and processions of gods, ples.
dancing was encouraged and
plays
were acted
of
to
of devotees.
Hundreds
dancing
of
temple.
public
in
pallns
and kuravanjis
alone
Hindu
vives.
temples.
Of these the
institution
first
now
sur-
The same
it
was carried
to the
West
Coast, and
now
survives in the
in
Chakkiyar kuttu.
were, as
ibitisldiIj
this institution
siTLDiruQucsairajssr,
ernr^^
ujiDfTif n Luesr
y
^ifliLnstun^sunfr,
sai^ffsSl^
&C.
It
during the
eighteenth
to revive
;
century that
dram.a
music began
be
justly
the
father
of
literature,
Tanjore
Hindu drama, like that of the Greeks, was 1. It is derived from, and formed part of, their religious ceremonies. Lassen considers the Indian drama to be of native growth, while Weber thinks it was influenced by the Greek dramas performed at he court of Greek (Bactrian) kings.
said that the
191
We
might say
highly developed
of Surfoji
plays in imitation of
for public
preciated
classes,
performances and music came to be apand patronized by the middle and lower
the British rule were rising in im-
who under
by democratic
writer does
influences.
feel
This
is
a subject
to treat
which the
not
is
competent
adequately.
The
Mr.
reader
referred to the
interesting
book
of
Day and the illuminating contributions of Dr. Coomaraswamy. From the existing Tamil literature it is not possible
to
determine
its
exact range, as
it
situdes,
one
of w'lich
we
have already
Several
works by
not n
Jains
among
that
literature, are
most
of
Buddhists
and
Jains were
and
*
eighth
centuries.
its
we have
said
elsewhere
leaves
and white
And
such as had
Mathadhipatis
the
dingy
and in the thatched hjuses of penniless pandits.' Even if all the writings of the early and mediaeval
192
TAMIL STUDIES
to us in full preserva-
would be
this
Sanskrit compeer.
And
very
has
who
a whole will
literature as a
not
bear
oie.'
wh
Of the
different
to
early-
Tamils appear
literature.
They knew only so much of elementary arithmetic as was absolutely required for trading
purposes, and higher mathematics, science,
philoso-
phy
which the Indo. Aryans excelwere led all other civilized nations of antiquity unknown to the Dravidians. Some Tamil scholars
and theology
in
might say that astronomy was not unknown ancients and quote, 0<F@ (^rraSp^'S' Qs=6\)eii(i^ t^fTuSpgfiu
urftuLjuo urfluL-jS=(^t^id^ LCGoan^&JQ^LD
to their
iAl'SesT^Q^oir QufTQi)
QpefiQa.
Pur.
purely
30.
One
original
or
two
of
to
the length of
religion in
its
philosophy and
elements
Tamilian'.
Mr.
Kanakasabhai believes
classical works, the
that
'
in
terms relating to
music, gram-
most
193
that
of
is
the
Brahmans or
This
So
we know
these
We
refute
statements seriatim,
views
of
of
the
and
'
and appear
or
;
to
'
heaven
or
*heir
the 'soul' or
...but
up
to 100
architecture,
astronomy,
grammar
or
philosophy'.
The
are,
existing
of them,
are either
There
so.
The
five
minor
epics,
the
eight
the eighteen
minor
poems belong
'in
it
one department at
apothegms
is
done
by Tamil.'
hand,
on
life is
state of morality
among
194
it
TAMIL STUDIES
teeth were blunted
by the
eating of flesh,
Qaje\)'?0i}ij^ uSrr<sij
QpmfiSm^^
LD(ipiiQ.
QurrQ^etreOso ^eusiioaijSesrdo,
KuK
show
that
And
1.
most
of
2.
Q'fS^'-jSs QesrCc'Sijifim
Qsuk^gii^^
it
i-js\)uiQuiTe\).
Kal.
The
early
in
Tamilians considered
a military
an honour and
off
virtue
man
to
carry
fields,
other men's
to destroy their
tribes.
houses and to
lift
the cattle of
neighbouring
A people
books on
The
ethical
is
contained chiefly
in the eighteen
None
of
the
minor poems already referred to. works on morals which our learned
bishop makes so
much
of,
appear to have
Indo-Aryans,
It
been
influence of the
Jains.
Brahmans, Buddhists or
even supposed
Sanskrit
The
fact that
Brahmans were
called
Qio^iuir
common among
the
early
Tamil speakin g
PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE
Mahabharata, Dharmasastras, &c., as
will
195
be seen
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
u^
Thus
ture
is
it is
whole
practically
was
no
literature
worth
the
name among the Tamils before the migration of Brahmans to South India, and it has been boldly
asserted
by M. Hovelacque
works of
fragment
with
the
which
it is
composed, down
posterior
to the smallest
are long
to their first
contact
Aryans.'
and a history of literature is much more. They made no distinction between mythology, tradition and history.
science of history
is
The
to
them
liter-
and present
in the
growth
of a
language or
now and
meaningless.
The
have had
no idea
fiers,
of the exact
range of their
literature.
The
versi-
poets
or
and
was limi-
196
TAMIL STUDIES
ot
and
Karoban's
Rama-
yanam, Ativiraramapandya's Naishadam, Tolkapyam,. Pavanandi's Nannul, Amritasagarar's Karigai, Dandi Alankaram, Uivakaram and Chudamani Nigandu
together with one or two
aniadis and kalanihakams
versifiers.
met
all
the
requirements of these
This
placency, blinded
tant
them
to the merits of
many imporJains,,
on account of
their
authorship.
up
in
many
the
floods of
the 18th of
But such
all
charge cannot be
laid at the
feet of
erudite
commentators
extensive
;
of
Their
study
was
and
exposition
thoroughly logical
and
yet the
critical
methods
of
which
characterize the
unknown
growth.
to
them
for,
modern
it,
The
ancient Hindus
regard
and veneration
and
and
their
works
be.
Further,
come
into
existence
PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE
then.
tions
;
197
and the native scholars who have been duped by them owing to their creduhty are miserably incapable of detecting them. Even the so-called Tamil
scholars of the
present day
who
profess
in their
to
follow
researches
of
Brahman author
from
that
Peruman
Tiruvantadi,
or
even
recent
Dravidian writer of
the author of
writer
of
an
anti-Brahmanical song; or
Gnana
Kural.
Vettiyan
the
We
give
from three different poems wrongly attributed to one and the same Kapiiar by Tamil scholars of the old
orthodox school
:
(1)
j)jpiBis<oSi[ribi}
euujiwQuj
QiMjhu SitulL
Ljp^^&siap
(SuuSlifiuup
sfressflssr <sijeo(c&)
QiLioo(^ueaiL-
iu^^^
QsirdjSrQjp L^HisS
<ouiT(ev)d QsiTiarisioseo)iu.
Pad.
VII. 64.
(2)
i^^est
^ ^n f[Qfiiif.Q m
tss^s
uk^^
^ih^fBiretrui
uotrsLDi?^^
^ih^Lorr LceiDipQuiTasT
p ld^^^ss^uQuit Qns^k^^
198
(3)
p
TAMIL STUDIES
Q^asrfSeaffu
L/Ssvujsar
Q/i_^sjD^<s
Qs@
uoDsp Q&HT^u
uiriTUUfT ^Qjireisr
^eurrm.
Agaval.
No doubt
spread of
must partly be attributed to preand mistaken faith. With the culture and the study of scientific Western
this
to
be gradually
disappearing..
:
Damodaram
Pillai's Classification
Among
and other
profession,
we must undoubtedly
the learned editor
Kalittogai
include Mr.
of
Damodaram
Pillai,
Tolkapyam,
Virasoliyara,
works.
his zeal
and
his
also carried
Tamil race have not only blurred his judgment but him away from the sacred precincts of
he has attempted
literature,
of Virasoliyam
to
give
brief
history
of
Tamil
for
besides
making some
in
uncalled
violent
remarks
style.
on the non-Saivites
His
reputation
as
a
his
Jaffnese
good
Tamil scholar and the valuable service he has rendered to the Tamil nation by his publications make it necessarv
to
notice
his
Caldwell and
eight
others.
According
to
him
Tamil
there
were
periods
:
the history
of
literature
namely
I,
jijQuiT^antsoih
(Pre-historic).
no alphabet.
199^
^si^trsneoiJD
(Alphabetic).
From Ihe date of theinvention of the alphabet by Agastya to the period of completion of his grammar.
of
III.
^&)ss6et!rsn&)u[i
(Grammatic),
IV. ffQp^rrujsn&LD
twelve disciples.
(Academic).
V. ^iBrr^mraneoih
('Lethargic),
200 years. After the destruction of the third Sangam when the Tamil literature^ patronised (B. C. was not
150 A.
VI.
s=weaBrsrT&}LD
D. 50).
(Jain).
300 mani,
years.
When
Nannul,
ChintaVirasoliyam
^^ms^meoiM
(Puranic).
800 years. In this Naishada, yana and other works kind were written (A.
Puranas,
period
Ramaof that
D. 350
1150),
VIII.
^^earsneoLD
(Monastic),
the Saiva Tiruvaduturai and other places encouraged. the study of Tamil literature (A. D. 110 1850).
monks
700 years.
When
of
The above
face of
is
it
classification
appears to
us on
the
unscientific
and
Coming
Tamil
as
it
it
is
literature
must be
at
JOO
least
TAMIL STUDIES
12,000 years which
earliest
is
4 or 5 millenniums
older
than the
known civilisation. The history of Egypt commences from not more than 3,000 years
before Christ
to 2,700 years
;
that
of
the
from to-day.
serves no
its
good
to
impioba-
to different
works
will
be brought out
Mr.
classification
To
pass
on
from the dubious field of blind faith and tradition to the domain of reason and history, we find in Mr.
Suryanarayana
Sastri
saner views.
His
a
little
book
on the
history of Tamil
language
scale
is
useful attempt
worth imitating on a
trained in the
larger
by Tamil scholars
occidental
methods.
of
He
devotes a
literature
:
Tamil
Early.
B. C. 8000 to A. D. 100. This includes the age of the three academies or Sangams.
{a)
II.
Mediaeval.
First
half:
100600
Second half
6001400
Kalladam, A.D. Tevaram, Tiruvoymozhi, Agapporul, Ramayanam, Purapporul, Nala Venba and other works were written.
201
Modern.
From A.D. 1400. Ativirararaa Pandiyan, Villiputturar, Arunagiri, Paranjoti, Sivaprakasar, Tatvarayar, Tayumanavar, Viramamuni and other poets jBourished.
though not open
wanting in
of the time to serious
The above
classification,
what unsatisfactory
perspective
;
in that
it is
historical
nor
is
tory of
tiie spirit
and influence
with.
It is
which
it
professes to deal
strange
mixture
of
His early
interval of
8100 years, no
historian of
his
any existing
account
literature
would make
up
mind
to believe.
He seems
of
to accept unreservedly
the
traditional
the
Tamil academies
with
the
which
critical
no
scholar
acquainted
modern
period
method
his third
would do.
His mediaeval
of
It is
long period
1300 years,
not under-
based his
classification,
no distinguishing
Classification
'
land-marks being
assigned to
Dr.
to
it.
CaldivU's
In
of
at
his introduction
'A Comparative
Dr.
Grammar
He
the
DravicHan
a
brief
Languages',
Caldwell aims
literature.
giving
it
history of Tamil
divides
into seven
or
works
as
The
Jaina
or the cycle of
the
Madura
202
TAMIL STUDIES
Sangam
A. D.
to the
century.
The
Kural,
important
works
period
were
tury.
The Tamil Ramayana cycle the thirteenth cenKamban, Pugazhendi, Ottaikkuttar and AuvaiThe
Saiva Revival
cycle
the
thirteenth
and
The Tevaram and the Tiruvachakam were composed during this period. about the same period.. IV. The Vaishnava cycle
fourteenth centuries.
To
this period
he
assigns the
composition of
the
Nalayiraprabandam.
V.
The
the fifteenth
and
sixteenth
cycle in
came
Siva
Agastya,
Vakkiyar, Tiru-
and
all
the eighteen
Siddhas
nine-
will
that
there was
no
literature
in
Tamil
before
the
eighth
century A. D.
now extant
enables us to
203
language only
in
D.'
And
a third
Tolkapyam with the following remark: 'Whatever antiquity may be attributed to the Tolkapyam it must
have been preceded by
culture,
it
many
rules
centuries
for
of
literary
lays
down
different
kinds
of
poetical
compositions, which
deduced from
authors whose
rule
is
examples
an
furnished
existence.
simply
custom'.
Don't we
Whatever may be
authors
the
date
of
the
Tolkapyam,
ot
names
the
best
who had furnished examples for that grammar? The truth seems to be that, when his great work was published nearly half-a-century ago, some of the
earliest
Tamil
classics
like
the
Silappadikaram,
and several others were unknown even to many Tamil pandits of those days. Moreover, his division of Tamil literature into cycles and his determination of the dates of certain important Tamil works were based upon some
doubttul
inscriptions of
a
Rajendra Chola
or a
a misconception that
the
last
brought to
social,
light
many important
as to
and
historical,
necessitate a
complete
204
TAMIL STUDIES
every
modification of almost
one
of his
statements
concerning the dates of Tamil authors. The learned Bishop has devoted several pages of his invaluable
grammar to a vain discussion of the age of >undara or Kun Pandya of Trignanasambandar's time, wrongly identifying him with the Sunder Bendi of the Muhammadan historians, in order to bring the authors of the Devara hymns down to the 13th century A. D.
His statement that
'the poetical
compositions of
Nalayiraprabandam are
other Saiva
total
sacred hymns.
And
in the
it
works
Tamil
do not
views, as
they
the
sufficiently
Pillai
criticised
by
Mr.
Sundaram
of
Trivandram.
Classification of Sir
W. Hunter and
Hunter.
others
The
thus:
later writers
on Tamil
Sir
W. W.
He
writes
in
Southern
India
onwards
part
of
stirred
up
counter
the
Jains.
Jains created
a cycle of
205
tone,
Its
stretching great
to the 13th
first
composition, the
Kural
of
is
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'.
in the
unknown
the
Jain
Jain cycle of
Tamil
adaptation of
for the
Dravidian races
Between
Siva
that
period
and
of
the
Tamil
hymns
in
praise
of
During the same centuries the Vaishnavite apostles were equally prolific in Tamil religious songs...
After a period of literary inactivity
in the
Tamil
known
...
The Tamil
are classified as
Sivaite
the
Italian
Jesuit, Beschi.'
The above
extracts
from Dr. W.
W.
Hunter's Gazet-
show
in
his usual
all
that
all
literature,
including
206
TAMIL STUDIES
Professor
Frazer^, have
propagated
the
obvious errors he
least trouble
had committed, and did not take the to correct them, on account of his high
of their total ignorance of the extent of Tamil language and added their instinctive
literature.
To
these
may be
slight for a
non-Aryan race
and
culture.
Notwithstanding^ the
able
and trenchant
criti-
of some of Dr. Caldwell's theories by the late Mr. Sundaram Pillai in his Some Mile-stones in the His tory of Tamil Literature', some European scholars, still draw their statements largely from the works of Drs. Burnell and Caldwell. No doubt, European sch'>lars have done excellent service in the cause of Compara-
cism
'
tive
them for the study of their languages on critical and historical methods. But so far as a thorough and intimate knowledge of the Vernaculars and their idioms are concerned, we cannot expect them all to
to
be Beschis or Popes.
In
was
in its in-
being dogmatic
assertions
glad to find
relating
Mr,
to historical questions.
has corrected most
researches in
of
am
(in
tliac
F'razer
latest
his
views
South Indian
is
Epigraphy
literature;
and
believe he
the
only
up
to date in his
Tamil
studies.
See his
on
'
PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE
207
bounds,
and the
facts
and
To
quote from
these
writers
would, therefore, be
the Imperial
exceedingly unsafe.
Gazetteer
of this
In
Volume
II
Mr.
R.
Sewell, while
Several
age,
e.,
about A.
D
be
600
mentioned the Saiva devotees of Tirunavukkaraiyar, Tirgnanasambandar and Sundaram irthi Nayanar
;
Manikka Vasagar
330).
also
belongs to this
period
'
(p.
And
Dr. Grierson
who
ous paragraphs
literature, says
in the
country found
its
expression in
the
of
Manikka-vas^gar
(p. 425)...
who
and
the
century
later
is
larger collection of
hymns addressed
to
Siva
Sambanda, Sundara and Appa (p. 426)... After the Jain period we have the great Saiva movement of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries to which we owe the hymnologies already described
of
(p.
Tevaram
435).' It is
decry the
is to
labours
of these
that
be regretted
their
way
into the
Government
.-
of India.
Mr, Vinson's
Classification
The only
other
Wes-
208
tern student of
TAMIL STUDIES
Tamil
literature
whom we
Tamil
D'.
it,
should not
*
is
M. Julien Vinson
'that
of Paris.
',
he writes,
literary age
He
which
further
for the
we subjoin
in a tabular
form:
I.
II.
8th century.
9th century.
III.
Period in which the Jains predominated. Period which saw at the same time the struggle between Saivas and
Jains,
and
in
Buddhists Ceylon.
IV. 10th century.
came
which from
Saivas
V. 15th and 16th
centuries.
Period
in
which ap-
a marked improve-'
is still
open
to the follow,
For the
first
M. Vinson should have had in view Aingurunuru,. PadirrupattUjPurananuru and other anthologies which
were collected and arranged by the third academy.
He must
or third century B.
century A. D.),
Silappadikaram and
Manimekalai
(third century), or
209
But
now
see
no
sufficient
grammar and
ethics,
some
which
in
scientific
accuracy, in originality
of design, in beauty
of
ex-
faithfulness
to
nature
works of
(2) The second and third periods,namely, the eighth and ninth centuries, are characterised by a bitter struggle between Jainism and Brahmanism. As will
lives
and works
of Tirumalisai
and
suppression of Jainism.
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 impress on either the literature or
the religion
of
the
was Brahmanism not that had attamed its supremacy so early as Sivaism the ninth century, though Jainism had still a lingerAnd it was during these two centuing existence.
Tamil people.
Moreover,
it
number
of the Saiva
N ayanmars
and
their proselyti-
undisput-
210
TAMIL STUDIES
field.
It
also
witnessed
hymns
of Appar, Sambandar, Sundarar, Manikkavachakar and other Saiva saints into eleven Tirumurais by Nainbiyandar Nambi, and of the twelve Vaishanava Alvars into Nalayira Prabandam (Book of 4,000 Psalms) by Sri Nathamuni.
(4)
M. Vinson assigns
sixteenth
here,
of
to the fifth
period
and
of
centuries
the
tiiink,
is
fifteenth
of
appearance
the
Vaishnavas.
the
It is
we
history
Tamil
religion,
literature,
especially
of
the Vaishnava
most marked.
the
sect
He
South
state-
understood
origin
and
India.
growth
of
of
the
Vaishnava
that
of Sri
ment
saints
Vaishnava
period of
distin-
for
the
commen-
man s.
Proposed Classification
bear a certain
criteria
:
None
they
of the
Tamil works
wanting
in
date
yet
are
not
to
definite
first
period
the
literary
211
lopment
of the
literature
it
is
We
The
of
shall
now
come
to
our
a
following
table
gives
tolerably
in the
accuprogress
important stages
Tamil
in
literature.
religion pervades
ture
India,
and the
exhibits
the
Language
B. C. 600-200. B. C. 200-A. D
150.
I.
Animistic.
L Academic (Tolkappvam, K u r a
&c.)'
I.
II.
Buddhist.
Early
Grammar:
A. D. 150-500.
III.
Jaina.
II.
Classic
(Silap
i
Agastyam, Tolkapyam.
-
padikaram,
mekalai, &c.)
Man
Pattupattu
D. 500-950.
IV. Bratimanic
III.
Hymnal
II.Mediaeval
Grammar
Rama
I
A. D. 950-1200. V. Sectarian.
(Kam ban's
yana,
Virasoliyam.
J
Kachiyappa's
Skantham, &c.)
A.D. 1200-1450 VI.
Reforma
V.
Exegetical
1
j
and Nannul.
A.D. 1450-1850. VII.
Modem.
VI. Miscelianeous
212
I
TAMIL STUDIES
do not claim any logicalexactitude
But
it
for the
of,
above
and it represents the different stages in the growth of Tamil literature clearly and succinctly. No doubt one
division.
is
the best
could think
it
draw
a hard-and-fast line
periods.
Tamil
This
was
will
preceded
be
pre-academic period.
of
it
the
dark,
relates
as
all
literary
evidence
we
now
still
possess
either
to
the
Some Tamil
invented
the
that
is
Agastya
certamly
like
Tamil
use
alphabet.
of
This
erroneous.
<sT(^^^f
The
sf-euujL
pure Tamil
words
and
among
And even
is
the compilation
grammar
an
argument
in
among
That
literature
al-
a stern
later
philological
fact
grammarians.
jr)6SBr2essr
Quu^LJU^QuiTeo
LSIeodsssariii.
^lecsSiu^^eaBm QnoQuQ
Agat. Nan,
213
is
therefore
almost certain
also
that
some
sort
of
literature
and
existed
be asserted about
other records.
it
in the
absence of any
literary or
The
the
real
history
of
with
Tamil academies
which lasted from B. C. 500 to A. D. 500. This millennium might perhaps appear to be a very long
period
;
but
during the
first
half
of
it
none
of the
probably
or
two
were written.
long
when we
consider
the
abnormally
almost a
Of
less
the three
continuous with
sometime between
second century A.
the
;
century
B.
C.
and
most
A. D.
D.
the
till
important of them
500.
all
seems
to have lasted
Whether the three academies really existed whether they did any useful work in the cause of Tamil literature, how long they lasted, and what
poets flourished
questions
in a
during
this
period
all
these
are
for consideration
subsequent essay.
aright
To understand
literary
the general
it
spirit
of
the
is
desirable that
there should be
214
political,
TAMIL STUDIES
social,
and
Till
Tamil
people.
about
the
second
or
third
which had,
under
it
of course,
three
or four
chieftains.
protectorates
governed by feudal
They were
till
and
districts
on every occasion,
a foreign race,
at
there
called
usurped the
illegiti-
northern Tamil
then belonging to an
in
'
the
Tamil
lava
'
Pal-
bad sense,
u^siT iS-fiT.Ping.
to
Caste system
was unknown
them.
The Tamils
to
live.
the
become
beach.
tiller
Of the
mentioned by Manu, marriage by capture (Gandharvan), Asuram and Rakshasam, seem to have been adopted by them and yet their
;
They
ate beef
and
sorts of
Thev used
animal food and drank fermented liquor. and to burv or burn the dead
;
PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE
while burying
215
deceased
of
the
Qun ^^ p s^Qmeoj
(oSITL^ ILIIT^^
^aL^iLi
QuQ^msn
Pur. 364.
(2)
uaS(T^iEj
upih^^so.
Ihid. 240.
ancient Egyptians and
of
The
their
ancestors,
who were
and
liquor.
also
propitiated
with
offerings of
meat
After the
this
advent of the
Aryans from
Upper India
animism
against
had
to
contend against
Buddhism and lastly against Jainism. Until Brahmanism came out triumphant all these four religions animism, Brahmanism
Brahraanism, then
Buddhism,
tence
this
in
the course
in
of
long
the
first
was merged
the
ex-
pand absorbing every thing that was good and unobjectionable in the other two.
An
effective
ot
check
was .ilso given to the indiscriminate eating and habitual drinking of liquor. We may
these described in the literature of this epoch.
meat
find all
We know
first
and
Agapporul.
works which passed through the be found given in the following oft-quoted
:
verses
216
(1)
ispfS'iisem
rB&ieo
TAMIL STUDIES
(^^mQ^neas
etauuia^gti^
Qqt^^^
u^ P^uu^
^^niEi(^u rflum6\)
(2)
Qp(Trj(^^U!j(7^
fBT^
uaesafiiresar'S
Qp6\)'^
(3)
IB!T<3dlS).
/BITeSruieSsfi
IBfTi^pU esi^i^i'bsssTQfU
LJiTe\)ssiB Qsneaieu
uj^Qllhl^ lluqp&ld
in
The famous
principal
works
given below
(1)
Tiruvalluvar
;
(Kural)
(2)
Sittalai
Sattanar
;
(Manimekalai)
(4)
(3)
Ilango-Adigal
(Silappadikaram)
Kapilar
(Kurinjippattu,
in
;
Inna Narpatu,
;
&c.); (5)
Padirruppattu)
(7)
;
(6)
Nallandu-
(Kahttogai)
Nakkirar (Tirumurukarrup(8)
Nedunalvadai)
;
Mangudi
(11)
Marudanar
(Maduraikkanji)
(9)
Kadiyalur
Rudran
217
Kannanar (Perumpanarruppadai)
(Mullaippattu)
;
(12)
Napputanar
(Malaipadu-
(13)
Perurakausikanar
kadam);
(15)
in
Ainkurunuru) &c.
Mar-
To
these should
be added Pannirupadalaiiij
Nakkiiar's Naladi-nul,
by
MahesKakkai-
Avinayanar,
Kaiyanar,
Palkayanar,
of these
patiniyar
lost
works were
this
During
period
Brahmanism came into conflict with Buddhism and The Brahmans were reinforced by bands
from Upper India, and the
all
of Sanskrit theologians
raged
very
hot.
The
against
the important
Manikkavachakar fought
Malisai
for
Sivaisra,
Mannan and Vishnu Chittan defended Vishnuism. The combined attack of the sectarian leaders did not go in vain. Buddhism and Jainism were routed; and Brahmanism was left in entire mastery of the field. And to ensure its
Piran,
Tirumangai
stability
in
of temples
218
TAMIL STUDIES
all
Vishnu to be erected
of
Small bands
Brahmans from
made
Tamil kings
lands were
in temples.
to settle here.
for their
Durmg
centuries
sixty-three
this
period which
lasted for
nearly
four
and
Nayanmars
Some
of these
devotees who were also fine Tamil poets visited many of these temples, composed and sang extempore hymns before the deities. Each hymn consists of ten or eleven verses and
is
supposed to
instil
piety in the
mind
two
of
its
reader.
The prominent
left
poet-saints of the
behind them such hymns, Trignanasambandar and Sundarar, Tirumangaimannan and Nammalvar. Other p'oetical compositions of a secular and sectarian nature
sects,
who have
are lirunavukkarasu,
The best of its kind was written Manikka Vachakar; the other writers were Kaby
were not wanting.
raikal
Nakkira
Deva, Cheraman
and Nambi-
yandar Nambi.
sacred
may
hymns
of
all
Sambandar alon
e being nearly as
voluminous as
Tamil people
of
South India.
219
the
own way
to
popu-
rehgion by
appeaHng
on theology,
written
ethics,
by them.
(Yesodarakavyam,
and Chintamani) and five of the minor NagakumaraUdayanakavyam, Chulamanii) epics, Naladiyar, kavyam, Nilakesi and Pazhamoli, Neminadam, Karigai (Prosody) and Chudamani Nigandu belong to this period. The Saivas compiled the Divakaram and Pingalandai lexicons.
Valaiyapati
Now
were
cleared off
to
the
the
Brahmans began
Poinding
to attend
their
own
religion.
more
leisure
set
embedded
Brahmanism
and
in
in a
crude
form.
The
Sanskrit puranas
itihasas furnished
to develop
and streng-
And
it
order to popularize
each
-ect
among
necessary to translate
as the Jains
some
and Budhad done before them to popularize their own. dhists The Mahabharata had already been translated by Perundevanar; Kamban and Ottaikuttan took up the
most important works,
1 This Jain work was composed by Tolamoli Devar probably in the reign cf the Pandya king Jayantan (A. D. 650) and named after his father Maravarman Avani Chulamani.
220
translation of
TAMIL STUDIES
Ramayana
;
Skandapurana
and Puliyui
Nambi and
Paranjoti
Muni turned
rian
into
Mahatmya. Besides rhe translations of quasi-sectaworks Tamil versions or adaptations of other Pugazhendi Sanskrit poems were also undertaken. rendered Naishadam into excellent Tamil Venba
Dandi wrote for Tamil the Alankara Sastra, while Buddha-Mitra composed his Virasoliyam on Sanskrit model and Pavanandi wrote the celebrated iSlannui as an epitome of Tolkapyam. Again it was during this period which lasted from
metre
;
A. D.
hymns and
till
poems
then
Nambiyandar Nambi (A. D. 1025) Devaram hymns, the Tiruvachakam and other poems into eleven tirutnurais, while the Vaishnavas assisted by Sri Nathamuni (A.D, 1025) gathered their hymns into a single volume and callSaivas assisted by
the
ed
it
the 'Nalayira
Prabandam' or the
it
great
'Book
of
4000 Psalms'.
while
Tiruttondar
Puranam
All
and festivals and celebrated with scrupulous reguwere larity. Theapotheosis of pious votaries was made comand to plete and their images were set up in temples
by
the
respective sectarians,
instituted
PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE
221
in
enhance
their rehgious
importance Stala-puranas
which were
deftly interpolated in
was
of
the
Chola
ascendancy.
the
From
tenth
Pandyas and the Pallavas were powerful in Southern India. With the decline of these dynasties the Chola kings from Aditya I (A. D.
895)
downwards not only regained their strength, but also became aggressive and carried on wars with
These formed the submatter of a class of war-chants called parani and
lUa, 'Farani' is a
poem
descriptive of a
campaign the
killed
at least
is
have
battle-field.
'Ula'
poem
the
war-drum, &c.
is
The
finest
poem
It
of
former
class
the Kalingattupparani.
was
written by Jayamkondan in honour of one Karunakara Tondaiman, who was probably the general of Kulottunga Chola I (1069-1118) that waged war successfully
The rhythm
best
that
of the
poem
:
is
rapid
and
stirring
and
suited
to the subject.
We
work
as a
specimen
6j5 Ulft
Slfld(^LQITth
222
TAMIL STUDIES
the
best *ulas'
composed by the famous poet Ottaikkuttan on Vikrama Chola (1118These 1143) and Kulottunga Chola II (1143-1146). together with the one on Rajaraja Chola (1146-1163) The following oftare known as the Muvar-UJa. quoted stanza confirms what we have said above
are those
:
And
QiMa6mu(Ts>9 ^ijjiTSihusk
QsiT<ota^iLj&)fT
seo^Dus^^jb
!T
LLsmt^njiT s<sir
(oiJ<SS)<fUITL^S <SntSfr\DLD3Ui
ueamufTsu usir^ii^m
uuf.ssrrs'
From
the
table
it
be
was
from A. D. 1200 to A. D. 1450. The cleavage between the Saivas and Vaishnavas had become permanent and each of them crystallised
it
lasted
Sri
Ramanuja Charya
the
Sri
rose
and
of
laboured
hard
Sri
to
strengthen
foundation
Vishnuism.
Manavala
of
Sri
Mahamuni
different
constructed
enduring
edifices
designs
on the foundation
laid
by
Ramanuja. For Sivaism similar work was undertaken by Meykanda Deva, Arunandi Siva Charya, Maraignana Sambanda and Umapati Siva Charya. The Vaishnava Acharyas wrote mostly in Sanskrit
223
and their works are now being studied only by while the Saiva Guravas mentioned Brahmans above wrote only in Tamil as their writings were chiefly intended (or non-Brahmans. Further the same table will show that we have the mediaeval and entered the already crossed
;
From
the close of
the
academic to the beginning of the exegetical there was an interval of nearly seven hundred
In the course
of
period
vears.
such
long period,
it
is
almost
be, to
grammar
or
vocabulary.
customs and manners of the Tamils on account of Brahmanical influence. The classical works of the academic period, especially the collected
changes
in the
writings,
couM
not be
easily
understood
even
by
help
of
commentaries.
And
Senavaraiyar,
Adiyarku Nallar
difliculties
and
other
Similar
were
in
experienced
by
the
the
Brahman
of
Vaishnavas
Nalayira
understanding
Tamil
the
Prabandam.
Jiyar
from
Nam
to
lay
more
than
the
ed
for
ordinary Tamil
but
224
Sanskrit
TAMIL STUDIES
Upanishads.
at
Itihasas
and
Puranas.
Any
one can
immense
diffeience
between the easy flowing chaste Tamil of Nachchinarkiniyar or Parimelazhagar and the mixed style of
Periyavachan
Pillai.
:
The
'
Modekn Period
of
it
The
interval
latest
stage
in
the history
Tamil
literature
has
been
called
modern', and
covers the
between A.D.,
the works
During
this period to
any one
subject
or
Tamil
this
literature, of
this period.
the
Tamil nads successively by the Telugu speaking Nayaks, the Mahratta chiefs, and the Musalman Naturally these people had no sympathy generals.
ol the
for
Tamil
not
literature.
lost
state
patronage,
it
The Saiva monasteries richly endowed and managed by Tarabirans and Pandarams, learned in the Saiva Agamas and Siddhanand they served as tas, were coming into existence
want supporters.
;
seats of
tion of
Tamil learning and centres for the propogathe Saiva cult among the Tamil Dravidians.
Ilakkana
Ilakkana-kottu,
Vilakkam
and
Suravali
Tolkapya-sutra-Vritti,
Nanneri,
Nitmeri-Vilakkam,
225
all
Mahabhashyam were
And
;
the famous
ascetic
religious
Tayumanaswami
composed
his
sweet
and philosophical songs Ativira Rama Pandyan published his Naishadam and Vetriverkai and translated the Linga and Kurma Puranas, while his brother and other works. Among the theM ahabharata and Pillaiperumal Aiyangar wrote his eight Prabhanwrote Kasikandam
Vaishnavas,
Villiputturar translated
das.
Among
the Sira
Muhiud-din Andavar Pillai-Tamil; while the celebrated Italian Missionary Constantius Beschi (Tam. Viramantuuni) rendered the biography
a
of Jesus Christ into
Tamil epic
(Tembavani),
after
the
fashion
it
of
in
A. D.
grammar
en-
Tonnul Vilakkam.
Pillai, a native
Tamil
verse.
of Sans-
marked by
the cultivation
by the Vaishnavas as well as the Smartas. on the fertile banks of the sacred rivers and streams, and congregating in agraharas around a Vishnu or Siva shrine hidden beneath shady groves
Settling
and surrounded by extensive rice fields, the Brahmans formed themselves into exclusive communities,
sometimes venerated, sometimes
administered
to
disliked, but
always
by
their
Dravidian
neighbours.
Pan-
226
TAMIL STUDIES
castes as the
Kammalas and
priestly
who claimed
of
equality
with the
some
the advent of
non-Brahmans began openly to Brahmans and their And social and religious matters. Musalmans and the appearance of
the
European Missionaries in the Tamil land during the 16th and 17th centuries, whose habits and social opinions were opposed to the social ideal and organisation of the Brahmans, only tended to aggravate this animosity. Such was the spirit and tendency
of the
during the
early years
The Brahman
of
and
vigorous exercise
the
powers,
had
their
reaction
stances
an
anti-
of
pnilosophical
They were Yogis as well as medical men. The number of Siddhas or men who attained siddhi or
the 'conquest
of
of
nature'
is
ordinarily reckoned
as
them were plagiarists and impostors, while some assumed the names of the great men of antiquity like Agastyar, Kapilar, and Tiruvalluvar. Being eaters of opmm and dwellers in the land of dreams, their conceit knew no bounds. On the supernatural powers of the Siddhas one of them
eighteen.
Most
writes thus
227
. .
LD&sari-.&)Qpp^iii
eSleoeoirdj
eiasiLiiTek
meiop^^QQ&jfTth,
eurresr^sm^
iLjuD
eu"^ ^^(BQeuiTLD,
... Qp6eBrQiifliijLDdSevfid(^<sir
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
Q aUUQjQlLD&ST ^
IB!T^L^lLU(^ <f!r^^Qaj
^Q^SQiBiT
QuQ^SSli^
eijiTaSQe\}(^i^^;gii<ois)!T
Qujs'&Q&)eisri/Qs=rr&)^/]'iT
^LLu^ioa)p^&
Qeu^uuir
Siv,
(2)
^lLi^SS)L^S^
upu&oir ibitlLi^^ld
ufriruuiTifl'^iujiTiso.
Kap.
can acquire
man
for
it.
colour which occacomes very near atheism and may be mistaken The summiim bonum, the highest bliss or
a secularistic
of their existence
the
paramananda
was to apprehend
228
TAMIL STUDIES
that eternal light
*
and approach
'
paranjoti',
'
peroli',
pazh-veli' or
vetta-veli.'
It
will
is
modern and their style simple and at times slang Prose Literature: If we omit the commentaries
literature
grammar and
diction-
ture prose
whole range of Tamil literaFor a long time the Tamils made no distinction between prose and poetry, the former being regarded as a form of poetry. It might
In the
had no
distinct place.
be
said
that the
early Tamils
did
not recognize
earliest
in the
form
A. D,
of prose
composition
is
style was adopMahabharata by ted later in the Tamil version of the Perundevanar and in the Tagadur Yattirai. Both of
The same
them
are
known
with
as
.s33jitfiL_
^lIl-lj-tlL or
poems
interspersed
explanatory prose.
To
these
may
(not by Nakkirar
early
hitherto
during
the
part
of
And from
below
prose
it
will
in
the
'Modern
Painters'
aesaress^iT Qs^nft
ujiriiianLDLLj
^^ QprBoSusd QsuemQasBriLKT^siTeaLciLi
^ed3,^pgft
&j i^^gjiiih
UDpSQpiisiS
LDirsonoeaafi
eu^QiQ^ira
PERIODS OF TAMIL LITERATURE
^<S!r uQpeaarQi^esr
Los'Befr
229
in&kressfieir
QiSfTsQ
u)&jnDajiEjarr(c^
p^^
(27'srr
LDirajQJ^isar
jD6ar(yj<es)L^tu
urreO'fifl&a^
ismsiEi^eitleo
speiaQJSssr^ ^tun
iisi(^9Qajesr(oSu.
Stl.
'Sl.q^^^'T sesrin
SlLprriT LDS{es)SuiT'sisr
t^'sisnrittS it issr
&ujiTLL<stDL^ULSlTiT!iJ^
ajrriTii^
QloiuldlduSit
'^&Sits(^lo
QmdjujiTuSesr S-faatrdQsLLu-sBi^^^.
A^Clp.
Till
ly
we come
we can
scarce-
The
and
in
in
a composite or
Tamil
style.
And
of
strange
contrast
the
commentaries
give
(1)
Gunasagara, Nachchinarkiniyar or
We
uoj
QsaQeo
QsiTe\)fr^sns\}QpL)
QstTLiirseuiTu.eSsi^anQp
lditSIlu
^^fajiks(Gi^'S(r<ci}!T(^QiD&5r^
^Q^&^^isr!T. Chi n
(2)
L^tjistvurr ^
p.
"27.
sQeo^
etutJauneuiG^mrs^eS^iTiJitTiL uir^uu
f8Se\)
^!T^
uffLDtresar
eS&}3i,^6i5BrLDrTiiS(T^i^<srr<s!r
Qeu^
^iT^^^d(^LD
Q&iQ^nu
LUTLDLDGSBiihseniTsar ewiM(7^^,QsifoiTewui!TrrsimisiS(ef^S(^ih
^6sBul9ssids.
Tat.
Sekh.
230
TAMIL STUDIES
to
Coming
such,
written wholly
and
commentaries as
say that a
the
early
Madras University, of whom Tandavaraya Mudaliyar, Viraswami Chettiyar, and Saravanapperumal Aiyar
deserve special mention.
In the latter
of
part
of
the
nineteenth century a
translations as
well
number
as
original
were
published by learned Tamil scholars. The labours of the late T. E. Srinivasa Raghava Chariyar and
still
be
in
the
memory
the
of
And
foremost
among
V.
commentaries
undoubtedly Mahamahopadhyaya
of
the
Madras
Pre-
sidency College,
who may be
styled the
Nachchinaronly a recent
name
is
growth, which
sufficient to
The
in the
life
Tamil reading
with
its
in this age
its
forms
of
popular
government,
commercialism
and
prose literature
and
begun
to
form.
IX
the institution
and
scientific
societies.
In
only
the
Renaisance.
Even so
late as
A. D.
1599 'modern science had not yet been born, mathematics were in their infancy, the literatures of the
greai
made
in
modern languages were only beginning to be The eastern nations, on the contrary, were their own way so far advanced in civilisation as to
'.
found
literary
academies and
to
Romans.
India
And
Southern
and the
study of
early
Tamil
facts
tending to
literature,
Tamil
Tamil
civilisation
as
the
first
or
second
century
before
The ancient
refer
classics of the
to
sangams
or
societies
learned
men.
232
TAMIL STUDIES
saint
who
lived about
muka-Tamir and
Tirumoli
'
Sanga.mali-Tamir
in his
Feriya
(III. v. 10).
Tamil sangam
Madura.
sangams may be
quoted from the works of other poets. One of the most trustworthy references to .the founding of a
Tamil academy prior to the eighth century will be found in the copper plates discovered at Chin-
Madura district. And lastly there are references to the Madura College in the Tiruvilayadal or Madura Stalapurana. The Tamil sangam is known to some English scholars as the Madura College' and to others as the Madura University.' In Sanskrit the word sangam means an association (of learned men), and it seems
namanur
in
the
'
to
early
Northern
India,
no Tamil
idea.
word having
existed before to
express that
of
Some Tamil
opinion that
days of Tolkapyar to
or
assembly
is
pure
Tamil word.
Sanskrit word.
is
also a
college ordinarily
is
means
a
a teach-
also
body
of
examiners.
The Madura sangam was an examining association, but it was never a teaching institute. To
this
designate
sort
of
society
another
word now
233
academy'.
And
French Academy,
the
of
Tamil
literature,
name
seems to be appropriate to
to
this institution
According
sangams
After
Tamil writers there were three Pandya country at different periodsthe dissolution of the last of them spasmodic
in the
attempts were
Colleges
;
made
none
at
but
of
successful.
These
later
rank,
distinction
and influence
predecessors, nor
learned Tamil
scholars as
full
founded,
the
Pandya
were
kings
who
patronised
that
of the
guage and
rest
members and lastly the moulding the Tamil lanbe given below and of the
;
ages
academies
outset
severally,
to
it
would be convenient
approximately
admitted both
the
the
determine
earlier
and the
by
academy owed
234
its
TAMIL STUDIES
reputed
in
leader of the
first
band
Brahman immigrants
is
South India.
The
him
the
date of Agastya
lost
in
traditions,
which are
as
still
in
themselves
conflicting, represent
in
living
on the
Pothiya mountains
Tinnevelly
Let us
district.
therefore
turn
his
sources to
of
discover
The introduction
afford
us the best
to
it
clue
get
at
this
date,
because prior
no
society of learned
men
or any seminary
it
could have
come
into existence,
and because
would almost be
writing to
had been
different
in existence
;
ted to writing
altogether
in the
from
J
that of the
opinion of
Vinson,
were
essays,
pamphlets and
short poems.'
of the
Aryans
therefore,
handed down
as
orally
trust
from generation
generation
in their
a sacred
memory.
resisted
Even
all
of writing
in
Brahmans
ducements to write down their Vedas for a longtime which have been, for that reason, known as the 'unwritten word', or the
eTQp^iraQefrsiS.
Whereas among
priestly
the
Dravidian
class,
and none
the earliest or
to
in
235
down by
rote
no
doubt,
{ufissarsar)
class
of
minstrels
called
the panans
more or
France,
less
resembling the
whose duty it was to recite songs or lays of fightmg and adventure before kings and nobles on festive and other occasions. But most of these men were illiterate mendicants and their poems and songs were in no sense religious. They had no interest in preserving in the memory of the people the heroic tales of temporal power and in transmitting them orally to their posterity. It is thus
troubadours
of mediaeval
pretty clear
'
that the
earliest literary
itself
activity
of
the the
Tamilians could
have shown
only after
introduction of writing in
We
foundation of the
Having
we may now proceed give a detailed history of each of them separately. to In order to follow the arguments the reader is expected to possess some knowledge of the history of the early Pandya kings, a brief outline of which will be found in Appendix I.
age of the Tamil
academies,
Regarding the
lars
hrst
academy
in
the following
particu-
are
mentioned
Iraiyanar's
236
believe
TAMIL STUDIES
the
only
earliest
source
to
of
this
information
on
the
subject.
According
account the
members
dent),
of the
first
academy were
Agastya (Presiof
poets.
The number
of authors
who
Dakshina
University,
and
in
it is
Madura submerged
the Indian
ocean.
Its
Pandya kings from Kaysina-valudi or Ugra Pandya to Some Kadum-Kon, seven of whom were also poets of the works which were approved by the academy Mudu-kuruku and were Paripadal, Mudunarai, Kalariyavirai. Their grammar was Agastyam. It lasted
for 4,440 years.
If
the above
facts
be submitted to
will
strict
historical
criticism,
most
of
them
myths,
(either
corroborate
them
Tamil
literature or
in the
contemporary
of
annals of
of the
other countries.
of the
The number
kings
members
it
academy and
who
it
patronized
is
stated to have
of
either
and cannot be verified. The eighty-nine Pandya kings is not to be found in the Puranas or in any other extant works
writings
attributed
to this
two
others.
Apparently
all
these
Agastyam had
237
or
long
before
the
tenth
eleventh
century.
whom
any
might
are
Agastya and
Murinjiyur
The rest of the members seem to be half mythical persons. The life of Agastya is clothed in myth but this much is certain that he was a Brahman of North India and that he led the first colony of Brahmans which settled in the Tamij
Mudinagarayar.
;
districts.
According
to another tradition he
was
member
of the Sanskrit
academy
at
Benares, which
of the Vedas,
wended
his
way down
first
to
the
Tamil country
at
and
It is
established the
said that the
its
Tamil Academy
is
Madura.
Tamil language
indebted to
him
for
of
grammar. He was the first to introduce the worship Siva and the science of medicme among the South
existing
are
Indian Dravidians.
now
which
art of
commonly
him
are pure
forgeries,
Rishi to teach
it
to
the
Tamil nation.
He
is
Vayppiyan,
Panambaran, Kalaramban,
Vamanan.
and
their
studies
238
TAMIL STUDIES
work
of
Agastya embraced
all
the three.
The twelve
known
the
'
as
ussisffR(r^ui-.&)ih
Its
existence
is
doubted, but
of
place
we have now
is
Venba-Malai'
Aiyanaridanar which
the above work.
said to
and he
is
said to
have written
Isainunukkam,
lost.
treatise
on music,
which
works
is
now
and
Avinayanar may be found in the ancient commentaries on Agapporul, Tolkapyam, Yapparunkalam and
other standard books.
also a
member
of
the
second
academy
like
his
renowned master.
tyar's
About tne
precise date of
Agas-
cannot
be
earlier
It is
than the
fifth
or sixth century B. C.
first
Sangam
there
was a
of
poet by
name Vanmikiyar.
as
His work,
the
name
which
kiniyar
is
Nacchinar-
kind.
in
From
a
this
names
to the
vi^riter
Neo.
conclusion
that Valmiki,
other
famous
birth
were by
become famous
Tamil acade-
members
of the
THE TAMIL ACADEMIES
mies.
with
It is
239
controversy
of
him
as he claims to
sense
truth
and
critical
acumen
'
which
is
may
not
be
so
charitable as to concede to
In Purananuru,
tion
his
opponents.
which
an
anthology or a collec-
of
third
400 lyrics compiled by some poet of the academy, there is a sang ascribed to Mudina-
garayar
This
here
who was a member of the first sangam. poem is a sort of epistle addressed to a Chera monarch named Udiyan Cheraladan. The poet
extols
the king
as
supplier of provisions to
the battle
field of
Kurukshetra
(iQujIT
Qu0LOf
^ihsmu
This informs us that the Chera king Udiyan Cheraladan, lived at the time
of the
Mahabharata war,
i.e.
Among
the na-
who ^ught
;
in the great
war of the
Pandavas against the Kauravas, the Cherasand the Cholas did not actually fight but as allies helped them with armies or supervised other details of the company. Pandiya king Sarangadwaja, a friend of Sri Krishna and a devoted admirer of the Pandavas, drew only one contingent of troops from each of the other Tamil
tribes.
Another
tradition
says
that
Arjuna
of a
to
came Pandya
240
king.
TAMIL STUDIES
Some Tamil
scholars endeavour to
of
prove the
in
very hi^h
the
antiquity
the
Tamil
civilization
Pandya country by quoting such references from Valmiki's Ramayana and Vyasa's Mahabharata. In his Maduraikkanji (40, 41) Marudanar of Mangudi says that the Pandya country was in existence at the time of Ravana, king of Lanka, and that the Pandyas
checked his invasion with the help of
priest, the divine Rishi
their family
Agastya.
But
epoch.
it
must be remembered
that
neither
at
epic
Both contain interpolations and accretions, judging from which the dates of their present edition
have been
fixed as the first century B.C.
respectively.
them
as well
as
(Scythians).
All
can be inferred
is,
Tamil
kingdoms
No
one doubts
menin the
C. 250)
and
commentaries
of
The
the
identilication of
seat of
first
Academy
Silappadikaram.
in the
of the
THE TAMIL ACADEMIES
latter
:
241
work writes as follows Between the rivers Knmari and Pahruli there existed an extensive con'
tinent
(a
Kavadam
i
KoUam
and Kumari),
numerable forests, mountains and rivers had been submerged in the Indian ocean as far as the peaks of Kumari,' by a terrific convulsion which resulted in the upheaval of the Himalayan range. Geological,
ethnological and
linguistic
researches also
seem
to
who
it
Madura
or Kudal, whether
precisely eighty-nine
Pandya
kings, or whether
literary
academies?
What
seems to be reasonable
yar's days
is that the Madura of Agastmust have been destroyed by an unusual inundation of the Vaiga and the Kritamal rivers,
before the
locality.
the
present
five
situated
or six miles
to
west of
LDfTL^LoeSI
iDgtiQjb
<9s_/_ ff)@(_QyuJ?63r.
Nak.
of
This
hill
it is
is
now
four miles
south-west
Madura.
And
for the
Dakshina Madura.
academy
the
same authority
242
TAMIL STUDIES
:
The
;
members
Mosiyar,
and the
works
of
demy.
The
called Kapatapuram.
It
Mudatirumaran,
scholars.
Kali,
of
whom
were
ot
also
learned
The
standard works
Vendali,
this
period
were
Kuruku,
Isainunukkam, &c.
It
will
aboli-
tion
of the
of the
second
academy could not have been long, as Agastya and some of his students were represented at the latter
College-board
also.
must
at
but held
of the original
is
Madura by the
ened by
able
flood.
This supposition
strengthhis valu-
in
the seven
commentary on the Silappadikaram, that one of Pandya poet kings of the first academy by
*
name
which
Makirti'
was
also at
Kapatapuram, as a patron
city'
must have
of
been a
village
situated
three or four
miles east
Madura,
occupied temporarily as
city of
the
king's resibuilt.
Madura was
of
Out
of
the
questionable
mention
this Sanskrit
243
name
think
as well as
to
of
be
later
the
Rama-
yana and the Mahabharata, some Tamil pandits are endeavouring to make much capital about the
great antiquity
of
civilization.
at
As
present as
more
fictions
To
arrive at the
academy the
commentator
While speaking of the story of Udayana he says that it was composed in imitation of the classical works of the second academy, and refers to it elsewhere as Perum-Kathai
(Skt. Brihat-Katha)-
Evidently
it
is
a Tamil rendering
of
Gunadhya's Brihat-Katha.
poets
of
It is
therefore obvious
that the
the
second Sangam
must have
flourished
Gunadhya.
A. D.
(A.
sometime before, or contemporarily with, In the opinion of Dr. Buhler the age of
to
the
first
or
second century
Paithan
it
He
on
is
Godavari.
He
received,'
chas
(probably ancient
Telugu)
from
Kanabhuti
and
his
wrote them down in 100,000 slokas each with own blood.' One of the poets of this academy, Mosiyar, has
about
fourteen
lyrics
contributed
to
Purananuru.
244
date.
TAMIL STUDIES
He was
of
a native of Uraiyur
and
lived in
If
the
Dittan the
Dathiya
may be said
Again
recas^
capital
known about Tolkapyar, whose Tamil grammar is with us, than that he was a Brahman student of Agastya and that he lived m a village near Madura
during the reign of the Pandya king Makirti. All the
works
lost,
of this
except the
poems
academy have also been irretrievably grammar of Tolkapyar and a few which luckily found their way into the
at
anthologies compiled
From
first
the
foregoing
will
be seen
that
the
less
continuous,
and
that
they
fifth
existed
occasionally
century
B. C.
and the
me
as
we
find ino of
or
Romans
in
any
poets of these
that in the
academies, especially
of the
heyday
early
colony of
of
century A.D.
the
first
two academies.
We
shall
The
Killi
first
line of
during the
245
far the
now
pass
on
to the third,
which was by
most
important,
and
about
all
which
the
the
of
we
best
are particularly
concerned.
Almost
possess are
Tamil classics
this last
we now
Sangam.
rials in
productions of
this
The
history
therefore be fully
gone
into, as
traditions,
difftculties
But the
because unfortunately
asso-
no two
of
them
agree.
An academy being an
its
ciation of
men
of letters,
history cannot
be sepa-
traditions as have
any bearing on
their
lives
and
to
Sangam.
We
as
account
mainly
preserved
for
us
in the
scholarly
commentary
in
on
in
Iraiyanar's Agapporul,
detail
every
researches
epigraphy.
The members
nar,
of
this
academy
were
Nakkirar
Ugra Pandya, Mangudi Maruthanar and fortytwo other scholars. Including them 449 poets obtain-
The
from
Sangam was
by
Uttara (northern)
forty-nine
Madura.
was
patronized
kings
of
three
whom
period
The
classical
works
of this
246
TAMIL STUDIES
Nedumtokai, Kurumtokai, Natrinai, AinkuruPaditruppattu,
Perisai,
were
nuru,
Vari,
Kurumkali,
Paripadal, Kuttu,
Sitrisai,
Muttollayiram,
Akananuru
It
and Purananuru,
besides
Sangam
that
nothmg
it
definite
can be
said.
Tradition
says
of
one Mudattirumaran^
accepted
and
tacitly
by the
commentator
kunallar.
Iraiyanar's
The name Mudattirumaran appears to be a synonym for Kun or Kubja Pandyan. If this identification be correct, the third academy must
have been established in the reign of Sundara Pandya;
that is about 670 A.D. But this is against ail tradition and facts. The Tiruvilayadal Purana tells us that it was established in the reign of one Vamsa Sekhara
Pandya,
the
who
is
is
also credited
after the
with
the founding
of
Madura city
'deluge'.
in
Neither of these
in
it
Pandyas
mentioned
the
literature or
the
is
inscriptions
therefore impossible to
of
has
been
said
that
Kalladar
Marudanar were members of this two poets have sung the military exploits
Seliyan of Talaiyalankanam fame.
If
of
Nedum
were
these poets
contemporaries of
1.
He was not
that Kalladanar
who wrote
par
247
of the
and the author of Manimekalai also lived at about same time. Had all these poets been really members of the third academy, it must have been founded
the
my
during the
first
sion
that the
till
the second
century, and
fiction.
Again according to the Tiruvalluvamalai one of the fortynme professors of the third Sangarn was Perundevanar, the famous translator of the Mahabharata;
as a
member
If it
of this
of
also attributed
was really so, a learned scholar and poet of this reputation must have been mentioned by Nakkirar (oi whoever he might be) in the account of San-
gams given
not in the
of the
third
in
iraiyanar's Agapporul.
As his name
is
list, it is
member
clinched
academy, and
in his
by an allusion
Bharatam
to the
Pallava king
Nandivarman who won the battle at Tellar. The poet Perundevanar must have thus lived at the latter part of the eighth century. With it the general belief that the compiler of tiie eight anthologies was the selfthat the third
same Perundevanar falls to the ground, unless it be academy actually jCxisted about* that
period and that
its
Tiruvalluvar
were
contemporaries
all
which
248
TAMIL STUDIES
and
literary history.
The
list
of
the forty-nine
third
but the
name
of
Pandya
or
stala'purana
Tamil
literature.
It
was
in
the
Sangam or the famous seminary of learning at Madura came to an end, when its members were
in a poetical
completely vanquished
But Tiruvaliuvar
the time
of the
Sangam
in
or
its
bringing
all
the
it
in the
tank, that
famous Kapilar of this academy was his brother, and that he was a Paraiya by caste all these are figments of the Dravidian imagination. In the early years of the Christian era there was no Paraiya caste
Kapilar was a
Brhaman poet
of
Tirnvadavur
in the
and was the author of Kurinchipattu, none of the and several other poems Innanarpatu forty-nine commendatory verses belong to the same period, nor were they composed by poets of the same nadu; and lastly it is not possible to believe that all these poets conferred with one another and agreed to extol the Kural in poems of the Venba metre and that in
district,
;
Madura
THE TAMIL ACADEMIES
the
first
249
century A. D.
attributed to
is
The subjoined
Auvai, the
to discredit
eulogistic verse
sister of
usually
renowned
Tiruvalluvar,
enough
the truth
and
Qpoi/T
QsiretsiQi
QiDiT0eijrT
ssQiDsk ^emir.
we
find references to
Appar,
Sambandar,
mular,
half of
Sundarar,
of
the latest
the
whom
century.
sort
lived in
the
are the
second
several
ninth
of this
There
of
other
verses
in praise
Kural.
Manikkavachakar
is
What we
are
inclined to think
luvar', like
moralist,
is
doubtful
later
traditions
and absurd
author
of
written
by some
Dravidian
the
the
ninth
of
century to
popularize
it
celebrated
work
Tiruvalluvar.
Thus,
will
be
attributes the
destruc-
of
to the statement
ascribes to the
same
Sangam
or academy.
of
the third
the
compilation
250
TAMIL STUDIES
this
was made by
of
its
aboh-
above work
we find a poem addressed to the Chola king Kocchengannan by poet Poigaiyar i. The exact age of this
poet
is
not
known
but
the Chola
king has
been
by the saints Trignanasambanda and Tirumangai Alvar (A. D. 650-750) as the builder of
referred to
several temples to Siva
and Vishnu.
For
this
pious
had elapsed between this Chola king and Sambandar, the probable date of Kocchenganan would be about A. D. 580. As there is no reference in Sambandar's work to the Tamil academy at Madura, where the Saiva saint must have stayed for some time before the Jains were impaled, and las a poem addressed to this king is found in Purananuru,
of about a century
there
is
third
acad-
emy came
This
half of the
sixth century.
was the time when the struggle between and Brahmanism was very vehement. The kings and scholars of this transition period in
Jainism
the south were completely absorbed in religious controversies,
and they
hardly
to
de-
And
Poigai Alvar
who
251
the beginning
religious
Kadunkon about
All
the
seventh
century.
these
to
and
the
extinction
of the third
academy.
The
it is
religion of the
members
all
of the three
academies
the accounts
we now
or
have are from the Saiva source, and none from Buddhists
and
Jains.
However, so
late, as
the third
religion
of
the
Vedas
and
side
by side
with
there
were also
of
jainism
and Buddhism.
Sangams,
The members
have belonged
the
first
and second
persuasions.
which continued up
to
to
must
different
Agastyar
and
luvar,
Tolkapyar
Kapilar
Saivas,
were
Hindus,
and
presumably
professed
Brahamanism.
The
writings of Tiruval-
were
and Paranar do not show that they while those of Nallanduvanar and
;
yet
ail
these, except
the
Saivite
accounts as
which
is
evidently unwarranted.
is
One
at least
Sattanar, was a
Buddhist.
At about the fourth or
struggle
fifth
made
scholars
started
its first appearance. Buddhist and Jaina must have seceded from the Hindus and
Sangas or colleges
of their
own
of
at
Madura and
literature.
advancement
Tamil
in
A.D. 470
in
oppo-
252
sition to a
TAMIL STUDIES
Hindu college, probably the third Sangam, which was then conducted mainly by the Saivas. The five minor and the five major Kavyas and some of
the eighteen
minor
ethical
must have come to an end. It might be noticed here that the word sangam (Sangha) was probably of
Buddhistic origin.
It
will
be well
at
this
stage
of
our enquiry to
of
the
earliest
account, which
all
is
attributed to Nakkirar
so far
as
and
early
Tamil
litera-
on the
subject.
of existence of the
three
said
to
Sangam
do
89
59
(A.D.
kings
from
Kaysinavaludi
600);
(A.D. 100) to
Kadunkon (A.D.
from
to
Second
kings
740)
Vendercheliyan
Mudattirumaran Mudattirumaran
to
(A.D. 650);
Third
do
49 kings from
Ugra Peruvaludi (A. D. 100). Of these Kaysinavaludi and Ugra Peruvaludi might be identified with Ugra Pandya of early Tamil literature. Mudattirumaran might be the same as Kun
or
identified with
Nedumaran
of
Nelveli
D. 650),
Kadunkon
lived about A. D.
253
Arikesari Paranku-
Thus
it
verses,
quoted
the so-called
Iraiyanar's
Pandya king Arikesari Parankusan (Ter-cheliyan) and his military achievements. The commentator, or at any rate the author who committed it to writing,
unconsciously
betrays himself as Nilakantanar, the
supposititious
commentary.
as the
Allowing
twenty years
at A.
D.
750
160 or 590
age of Nakkirar or
of the
modern
for Nakkirar,
because
show
that he
later
it
than the
fourth century A. D.
In this connection
must be
of these
members
of
any
name
is
of
academy or Sangam.
of the
Thus
a
we
above account
all
academies
tales,
other pauranic
kings,-
out
of the
names
of
some Pandya
poets and
254
institutions vaguely
TAMIL STUDIES
known
to the
Tamilians of those
made
to estab-
The one referred to in the Chinnamanur grant seems to have been the first and
It
fourth,
and
600 to A. D. 750.
the third,
at least
it
Though
to
it
appears
have belonged to
this
though
of the
(A.
it
was, does
of
members
Naladiyar
Sangam.
From
the
exin
pressions
the
-fiEis^^iAii^
works of
to
apostle
knew
this
its
fourth
member.
1.
According
made by Divan
in the Silappa*
Bahadur Swamikkannu
in the eighth century.
from a reference
so,
member
of the
above academy.
We
cannot
now go
Pillat's
Mr. Swamikkannu
theory, until
stronger and
255
made by Poyyamoli Pulavar the author, of an erotic poem known as the Tanjaivanan Kovai. He lived, it is said, in the reign of oneVanangamudi Pandyan whose date cannot be determined at present. From the brief
account
of this poet given in the
Tamil Plutarch,
it
might be inferred that the poet's petition to the Pandya kinglto establish an academy
the royal approbation.
But
at the
time of Tiruttakka
it is
said, a
Sangam
this
Poyyamoli
have every
succeed in
fifth.
to above,
we
shall
think that
he did
kings,
partially
some
of
whom
were
Tamil
literature,
might have
assembled
societies of learned
men
at different
times; but no
them has come down to us, probably because none of them attained the high rank of the first three academies. Yet, most of the Tamil kings from Parantaka Chola (A. D. 906) downwards appear to have encouraged the growth of Tamil learning by
history of
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
work done by
it
summary
of their history.
Pandya kings were the foremost to enco.irage Tamil learning by establishing academies at Madura. Vague and exaggerated accounts of some of them appear to have been handed down in traditions, until they were committed to writing, first by the commentator of Iraiyanar's Agapporul, and then by the writer of the Madura Stalapurana, some time after A. D. 750. Some of their members seem to be fictitious persons, while others, probably
excepting a few, do not appear to be contemporaries.
The
in
All
what
we
a
can
now
that the
Tamil academy
or
University
metropolis
550,
from about
that
B. C. 450 to about
A. D.
and
the
arily
tury
it was subject to varying fortunes. When Pandya country was invaded and temporoccupied by the Kalabhras during the sixth cenand when the religious struggle had already
commenced,
exist as a
had
their
Sangam or college ceased to From this time, the Jains corporate body. own Sangams, which were more or less
the last
and the
Hindus had
in existence
It
their
was
at this last
the
257
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
The
object with
the purification of
of a
grammar
its
for
it
and by enforcing
strict
adherence to
rules, (2)
the
the
gradual introduction
of
(3)
Aryan
civilisation
in
the regulation
of
literary
This task
up by the Brahman sage Agastya, under the guidance and patronage of the of course, Pandya kings. With a view to carry out these plans was
first
taken
the
preliminary
of a
measures adopted
large
were,
first
the
body of literary men from assembling secondly, the forma different parts of the Tamil land tion of a literary academy with Agastya, the traditionand al priest of the Pandya family, as its president thirdly, the promulgation of a royal mandate prohibi;
any
literary
production before
it
was approved by the academy. Language has life and growth, and when
itself
left
to
258
TAMIL STUDIES
'
of a living tree.
The
'
bit
and bridle
arrest
of
literature
'
says
Max
Muller,
will
natural
its
flow
of
dialects,
and
have
This linguistic
principle was clearly understood and fully recognised by the founders of the Tamil academies. To secure, "therefore, permanency to the Tamil language the boundaries of the country where it was current were roughly described and the particular locality in which pure Tamil (Q5=/5^(^Lp)was spoken was sharply defined; then the form and pronunciation of letters were settled rules were laid down to distinguish pure Tamil words from those of foreign origin, and to determine the structure and combination of words in sentences. These and many other restrictions on the free grovvth of the language were dealt with in the first Tamil grammar. Treatises were written on prosody, rhetoric and pond (details of conduct in matters of Jove and warfare). Poetical dictionaries or nikhandus were compiled in order to give fixity to the form and -meaning of words in the language, and to check the indiscriminate and unlicensed introduction of alien words m the Tamil vocabulary.
;
The canons
and were
there
"a
of
literary
criticism
were
severe
applied nnpartially.
a tradition pertaining
In
to
this
connection
is
Sittalai-Sattanar,
noted
member
of
academy and
When
259
recited
by
its
whenever
he found a flaw in
it.
The wound
Sittalai
(He was on
this
account called
or
'
wound,
it
is
of
it-
p'^s,^^^^
In this
^rro^a^n^
^p(^.
way
which passed
the
three academies,
as a
was and
and given
its
to the
Tamil land
of the
perfect ins-
best thoughts
The
in the
demies
is
markedly seen
Tamil writings which and language arid much from that of the Tamil
works of the post-academic period. The reader may compare with advantage the Purananuru or Pattupattu with the
Tevaram
or the Tiruvoymoli.
For the advancement of literature and acadeLiberal preTamil kings did much. in the shape of money, elephants, palanquins, sents flowers of gold chariots with horses, lands and
mies the
poets.
Ljeosuir
(doctor),
260
ff-gi@s)h^^
TAMIL STUDIES
(emperor of
poets), etc.,
ferred on them.
even kings
not
think
it
To
said
borne
his
disguise of a male
Instances
of the
Tamil
might be noticed
Chera,
of
in this
Pandya were liberal In the Tamil work entitled Padirruppattu, the poet Kannanar of Kunnattur is said to have received, for having composed ten poems, a grant of five hundred villages and the
kings of
Chola
and
patrons
Tamil
literature.
districts
for
thirty-eight
Chera
king
gift
of
forty
lakhs of
pon
(a
gold coin
;
valued
at
Rs. 2-8-0
and
monarch
of gold for
nine
iulams
(Tulam=600
and
one
of
of a seat
Rs.
weight)
of
making jewels
lakh
gold
honour
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
in A.
D.
1635, that
261
is nearly two thousand years after the first Tamil academy, and its members were fixed at forty. Its
object
was
to
cleanse
the
language
it
*
of
the
impurities,
through
to render
the
it
common
pure,
arts
who spoke
and
has
it
and
of
eloquent
capable
treating
the
its
and
sciences.... It
style
done
much
to
by
example for
of
writing, ..though
It
has tended
hr.mper and
crush originality.'
to national
independence, and
of
quotes as an
similar institutions
race.
among
British
:
continues as follows
is
'
In
free
to
The same author England every writer take his words where he
stock
of every
dialects,
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.'
synonyms
for the
for
'
word
'
35 for
'cloud', 62
earth,'
60 for
'
mountains
;
'
&c,
The
their
they
h ad
lyrics.
Though
the blazing
fire of
262
TAMIL STUDIES
Brahmans
of
spirit of the
ancient
the pre-
appearance
at
times
among
southern
though
and dignity
Tamil
clans.
The
war-like Nayars
The Tamil
dictionary
is
numEven
Synonyms
classical merit
use of in
literature.
a concrete example.
poets, coined the
illustrate this usage by Kamban, the prince of Tamil word tumi {^lAl) in his Ramayana
We may
to
rhyme with
timi (^uS).
While
reciting his
work
at-
use and
demanded
replied that
his
it
authority for
its
Kamban
who
an Idaiya
woman
or
uttered the
'spray'
word Uwti
sense of
a 'drop'
from an apartment
a shepherd's house, so
when passing
the.
along the
coining of
street.
So
far as the
concerned,
the;
2&Z^
but
or
it
never arrested
of
the
of
fancy
the Tamil
On
afiorded
them unlicensed freedom to indulge even in what would appear to a moderner as hyperboles and
anachronisms.
Padirruppattu
poetical
'
or the
'
Ten
tens'
is
the fourth of
the eight
anthologies, the
are
attributed
collection
to
and
arrangement of which
the third
As implied by the name it had originally ten books, of which the first and the last are now lost. The remaining eight books were composed by
academy.
eight different
authors in
commemoration
and other noble
of
the
qualisaid
Chera kings
of ancient times.
It is
work might
and Chera Kodun-Tamil countries according The work under to the early Tamil grammarians. review is, therefore, a museum of obsolete words and expressions, archaic grammatical forms and terminations, and obscure customs and manners of the
beginning of the third century
of
was one
the
early western
Tamil people
who were
the
ancestors
265
written by
Kannanar
Kunnattur
is
Varman Nedum Seraladan. In the epilogue to this book we are informed that this king was the nephew of Udiyan by Venmal Nallini and Veliyan, that
he engraved the 'bow' on the Himalayas and that he
conquered and subdued the far-famed Aryans and the hard-tongued Yavanas (lohians). He was the uncle of
Senguttuvan, a contemporary of Gajabahu
of Ceylon.
I
(169-191)
II
(113-138 A. D.)
he
his
dominions on the
'
Further,
it is
said that
the Scythians
an inscription
putra
stated to
Nahapana.
Varman
with
a Chera
this
uncle of Senguttuvan
the
Yavanas,
king
every
reason
a
to
in
believe that
share
the expulsion
of this
Western
dan
India.
These
two kings
were probably
fifty-eight
contemporaries, as
is
it
stated to
will
half of the
second century A. D.
266
TAMIL STUDIES
third
The
nar
(the
of
Ilango-adigal)
in honour of the Chera king Palyanai Chelkezhu Kuttuvan,a younger brother of Imaya Varman. He
was
a pious
reign of 25
He
is
stated to have
performed
ten Yagas
become
lo
an
ascetic,
and
to
have
given away
further
said
his king,
dom
Ayirai
to his relatives.
He
is
have
decorated
l
the temple
Hill.
of the
family
deity
on the
poet
who
is
book
of Silappadi-
karam.
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
He was born
He dan by conquered Puzhi- Nadu and defeated Nannan. He succeeded Cheral Adan and reigned for 25 years.
Velavikkoman Padman.
The
real
name
is
of the king
is
by which he
1.
known
of
is
This
hill,
now known
taluk
as Aivar-malai,
near Aiyampalayam
in the Palani
the
Madura
(A.
district.
On
the
summit
of
many
Jaina images
and a
862).
criptions of
Varaguna Pandiya
D.
267
who wears
this
fifth
;
crown
at
of
plantain fibre'.
Nothing further
is
known
present
about
book is a production of the famous poet and the hero of the poem is Senguttuvan nephew of Nedum-Cheraladan by the Chola prince Manakkilli. This Chera king was a contemporary of
Paranar
The
Gajabahu
killi,
of
Uruva-
and
Verri
of
the
Pandya
kings
Nedu-Maran
an
ally
and
his
Vel-Seliyan.
of
He was
a
of
the
Satakarnis
the
Andhra dynasty,
and
of
with
the
assistance
chiefs
he defeated
confederacy
and others on the northern bank of the Ganges, and the nine rival princes of the Chola family at Nerivayil near Uraiyur and fought another at Viyalur with some
Aryan
Kanaka, Vijaya
unknown
was the
that
chief,
He
elder brother of
of Silappadikaram
famous work.
collected
works
is
of
this
period.
In
Tamil
literature his
name
of
Kapilar, another
The
question
be
considered
present to
flourished
enough for the say that Senguttuvan, the Chera king between 150 and 225 A.D. His reign
later
on,
and
it
is
extended to
fifty-five years.
-268
TAMIL STUDIES
sixth
The
written
book
a
consisting of
over 210
lines
was
by
woman named
Kakkai-Patiniyar
Adukot.
He was
the
nephew
to
of
Nedum
king
lands
Brahmans,
at
and ruled
Tondi,
district.
country
justly
from
in
his capital
the
modern
Kadalundi
the
Malabar
noticed
first
of Senguttuvan If he was a cousin brother above he must have flourished during the
He
reigned
to
Selvakkadungo-
Anduvan Cheran by Porayan and Orutandai. He was a valiant king and pious devotee of Vishnu,for whose worship he granted the village of Okandur as devadahis wife Perundevi, daughter of
yam-
He
many
sacrifices.
He
is
Nothing further
is
known about
this
he was a predecessor of Senguttuvan, and that he rrlust have flourished before A. D. 150.
Kapilar was a
Brahman
of
Tiruvadavur
in
the
Pandya country. It is not known why he has not composed even a stanza in praise of any Pandya Perhaps sovereign in whose dominion he was born. he had migrated while young to the hill country and settled there, as all his extant poems are descriptive of upland scenery {(s/^(^^) and of hill kings and
269'
this author are,
one
book
in
He
as
he worshipped
the puranic
It is
Baladeva,
poems
on Siva
is
or
Mutta
Nayanar
to
Kapilar.
Further, there
of these
much
sets of
and language
two
poems
(vide, p. 197).
He
has been
extolled
by his
contemporaries
lie
and
successors as one
who
never uttered a
{Quadjiurrmrr
in his
conduct.
in praise of
The
a
eighth
This king
of Kapilar's
wife
Velavikkoman.
He
boasts
of
having overthrown Adigaman of Takadur, and defeated the Pandya and Chola kings of his period near the
KoUimalais.
of
It is
said that he
was
contemporary
years.
The ninth and last book is a production of Perungunrur Kizhar, and it eulogizes the military achievements of the Chera king Ilam-Cheral-Irum
Porai.
He was
Sellai.
the
nephew
boasts
of
Irum-Porai noticed
his
above, by Maiyur
Kizhan and
of
wife
Venmal
(father
chief,
Anduvan
He
Chola king Uruvap Pahrer Ilamchet Senni of Karikala) and Palayan Maran, a Pandya
270
hill
TAMIL STUDIES
five
fortresses of Vicchi.
of
It is
was
a descendant
10)
Irumporai
(ix. 8,
and
of the
The author Perumgunrur Kizhar was contemporary of Kapilar and praises him in the fifth
:
seu'SeauSQesr (^&
iBs\)eSlsai^s
esTioweSjbum^uj
atSeom'.
We
shall
now
consider en semble
of the
the
dates 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
:
II.
Anduvan
Serai Irumporai
(A) vSelva-Kadunko-Ali
I
(1)
Imaya Varman
alias.
Adan
(B)
(r.
[
25
yrs.)
Kuttuvan
Nedum
I
Serai
Adan
\
(r.
58
yrs.)
Perum
porai
(r.
i
1
(3)
(i)
mudi
(r.
Serai
(r.
Adan
35 yrs.)
'
(r.
25 yrs)
by Padman Devi.
by Manakkilli Devi.
definiteI,
fixed
1.
It is
is
Senguttuvani
(No. 4 in Table
A. D.
Gajabahu alluded
second king
of that
in
the Silappadikaram
this question has
was the
first
or the
name, as
by other scholars.
271
and the composition of Silappadikaram Ilango may, therefore, be placed between 200 and 225 A. D. In this work the exploits of the Chera kings Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in Table I, and of
by
his
brother
in
Table
II
are
narratad
all
(Book,
xxviii,
11.
135-148).
Consequently
the
kings referred
to in
The
and
poet
his
Senguttuvan
(No. 4)
uncle
Nedum
1)
besides
Uruva Paher,
Summing up
1 to
to
the duration
of the various
from No.
No.
4,
as given in
Table
I,
the period
comes
more than
age
a century,
of
and
this
It
could
not
surely be the
Paranar.
is
length of
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
and
Nadus under them styled himself a Chera, a Chola or a Pandya king, we have a number of such kings ruling at the same period and there
Viceroys
of
different
provinces or
of
their sovereignty.
As each
272
TAMIL STUDIES
were as many as nine Chola princes at Uraiyur durii the time of Senguttuvan and this is one of th stumbling blocks in fixing the genealogy of the Tamil
;
kings.
Further,
this
difficulty is
enhanced
in
the
Marumak-
katayam law of inheritance, which had been then as now in vogue in the Malabar coast and it has
;
become
their
relationof
unions
the
and matriarchal royal families of the PandCholas and Cheras. It was one of the causes for
of
the
other
Tamil
period
The genealogy
ago
is
of the
Chera kings of
this
Athan
(4055).
I
Senguttuvan (90
I
125)
Ilango.
Yanaikkatchey (125135)I
150).
tally
will
be seen that
it is
this table
does not
with our
own, and
what authority
evident that he
he has based
But
at
any
rate
it
is
jntry
;'iis
273
law.
was according
Marumakkatayam
of
nephew
of
Athan
show:
Losear
*
L_6k) lS paQsaiLisf-uj
Qs=ia(^LL'il(oiJGsr
On
that Senguttavan
of Seraladan
by a Chola
Qa^ia
princess
(gtleuair.
And
king Valavankilli
of
Senguttuvan
rSsisrstOLD^^earmajen-eu^Seirerft.
am
first
the
word
los&r in
the
be
oiasoT-,
as
be
false,
which
is
improbable.
Tamil country the Aryan Brahmans had in small numbers. They were already settled patronized by kings with grants of land. Some of them were engaged as purohits or priests,while others
In the
occupied themselves in teaching the Aryan religion and philosophy to the Tamils. The Tamil poets Kapiwere Brahmans. There lar and Palai-Gautamanar Nacchellaiyar and educawere also poetesses like
;
tion of
women was
not
neglected
in
those
days.
of
minstrels called
274
TAMIL STUDIES
Panans (female Patini), who lived by begging, and whose duty it was to recite songs before kings and chiefs. They were rewarded with elephants, chariots and garlands of golden flowers. And they used to accompany kings to battles and visit camps in the hope of sharing with the victorious soldiers the
booties taken in wars.
and ginger, varagu, kollu and tinai, cocoanut and palmyra were largely cultivated. Meat was eaten by all classes, not excepting even Brahmans, and the drinking of liquor was very common.
Rice, sugar
order to eat
that
pungent root
Rice
soldiers.
at
intervals while
quaffing liquor
the
favourite
(v. 2).
cooked
with
flesh
was
viand of
They
observed
or on
feasts
when
and fasts on full-moon days The Brahmans performed Yagas or sacrifices for the benefit of kings. The God Vishnu at Tri. vandrum was worshipped by all people of higher
castes
(iv.
i\
called
eSlp&SiuiT,
divided into
like
the
Toda women
of
modern time
extracts
8).
Compare with
from
Kalittcgai
dian Tamil
(1)
woman
of antiquity.
6Too<srot_ Q^itlLl^
smrdsaSesr
Qu p pssiOJLOUrr&d,
(2)
^^iTS
e^eastviEJsemesdl.
275
counting (iv. 2). They believed in omens and auguries, the withering of leaves in the silktree
cotton
(iv.lO).
being considered an
evil
foreboding
They
deluge
virtue
highest
and sign
the
story
women and
or
they believed in
QTihiSm
arundhati.
Among
of
the
dead
They used
to be kept
in big
pots
and
The Tamil
were
kings
and
at
provinces
constantly
the the
as
Each was bent upon subduing and becoming the overlord. Thus, at
war.
of
other
battle
Nerivayil
princes
near
Uraiyur
as
many
by
nine
Chola
were
defeated
Senguttuvan,
part of the
alternately
chiefs
by the
Cheras and
These
had
one
of
tree of
mosa)
sluJoli
(Eugenia raceThis
(Azadirachta indica)
to the ruler.
Palayan
Australian totemism.
to
business
trees
an enemy was
to
cut
down such
sacred
and
the villages,
276
their
cattle
TAMIL STUDIES
and
to destroy
their
with elephants.
When
in
a fort
fort
the
even
days
The battlements
the two
last
were
filled
and
wreaths of
as
to
marks
pour
of
oil
shame.
It
was
of
also
the
custom
behind.
on
the
head
the
van-
hands from
to
6)
The
victorious kings
and then
give grand
feasts to their
men when
seirQ^umeS
the
strewn around
feast)
them.
This was
(camp
and
^smiimsss;^^^
(war
dance).
They
the
knew something of surgery and used to stitch wounds received in battles with needles called Nettai or Q Qeu&r^Q (v. 2). Thev had their
ov^n military rules of discipline, and
always prefer-
military
operations
(ix. 2).
Plunder
wars
was not
power and
were
Naval
fights too
unknown to them. The standard authority on grammar for this period was Tolkapyam. The following peculiarities may be found in the work under consideration. The
not
plural of high caste
nouns had,
/f,
while
the
neuter
277
termination, s^,
had
in
no
use
plural at
all.
The
then
though
^st,
Tolkapyar
mentions
in his
grammar.
(?q;/5jp,
In the matter of
srjbpuDj
gender, neuters
like
^iasu,
&c.,
were mostly
in use,
nouns
or
like
QtBi^Qiurresr
and
^tftiueir
are
post-position for
for the dative
all
but
(5
and
In QuirmssB^esTmeWy
6\)ti)Ly/r)jj;@-a)
we find
and
is
as in Q^n-soiu.
suffer, in
from Q^rr
to attach, in ^Tsu&i
from from
^/r
to
usssfli^
from uesS
to
bow,
in
ld&}iti-j
ld&iit
from
Qu7iu to utter a
cut, in 67^
lie,
in jugVLj (separation)
from
to
stiI
to beat or throw,
up
to fly, in
ufTiT
^sap from
see
;
^^
to tarrv,
from
crete
of
personal
.a
nouns
and
from
con-
verbs ^t
jy/fl {^rftsir};
nouns
Q^tremis.
(booty),
.f j2/,
jij3)i<ss)eu
// sSp (powder)
as supiM
^jj/)
and
of abstract
{dryness*,
otpso,
Qeueusufr^ &c.,
now
obsolete.
at this
The
c/
much
in
use
i\iM,
were
<S(5,
and
l/
and those
(we
of the
future
were
u and
Q.f0st}>
will
go) ^iri(^,
^0U,
urrQuj
Causative verbs
278
like
TAMIL STUDIES
e^Qpd^ (to cause to behave); infinitives in
in
fFiuir
as
Q^mQinfr
and uSm
with
as in 'S-<^Llm
0)607,
adverbs of
poets.
gone out of use along Qsiresr, Qu sr and lomp which were the quality greatly used by the early Tamil
have
all
As
here
in
is
most works of
agaval.
this
period the
metre
used
coming
this
in
of
new
have
life
and growth.
Ignoring
important
principle
Tamil poets
the the
of all ages
This
is
chief cause
differ-
ence between
the obsolete
language
of
poetry
and
the
colloquial dialect.
We
have been
works.
fully explained
glossaries
appended
We
but
give
as are current
now
the
psychological
principles
contiguity,,
'
resemblance
and
kill,
contrast.
meant
'
victory
'
means a sheep 'or 'an (josarq meant 'strength' and now animal that frisks' it means 'front'; au@(G^aja) meant the 'people', now it means the 'green or fertile land;' ^ar^^&) meant
from
to
it
;
now
'thinking',
now
^ul^
meant 'withering or
dying,'
now
it
means
'that in
279
which anything is cooked', hence an 'oven' euirt^ieias meant 'property', now it means 'living' \QiuiTmi meant 'iron', hence any useful metal, but now restricted to 'gold '; seif^sii meant also a 'pig', now only an 'elephant' L/sa) meant 'justice' rsQsiirS'ietxsio.D, now only 'mid-day'; below' 8Lfi3(^ meant a pit or a low groui id from Si^ and (^ the particle of direction, now it means the 'east/ which was believed by the early Tarailians as the
' ' '
low-lying land
in
Qsn meant 'cruelty' or 'that which was bent' and now, it means a 'branch' of a tree; learning s/bi-i meant {s&)^i) and it is now restricted to chastity '; ^i-ij> in ussSliLD meant time, as no distinction was made by
'
'
'
sireouo)
and space
of
it
or they had
no term
time;
e^i^
meant
now
means 'to break or cut in twain' like a stick cSsmL^ULf meant 'death', now 'living' the opposite of it; Qetirnsoas meant wealth,' or that which is 'liked', and now it means 'hatred '; jifioseo meant 'staying or tarrying'
'
now
'leaving'; ^gui^
^ ^/b- to
cut) of
meant which
'separation' are
and
'a
piece of cloth',
both
now
by another ^essR of similar 'begging', and it is no longer used in Qs=Lju is a very old word common
Telugu,
but
it
meaning;
has
become
for 'iron'
classical
colloquial in Telugu.
1.
In Kanarese the
name
is
'Kabbonnu' or
'
280
TAMIL STUDIES
of this collection
The authors
relate
religion or
mythology.
They
are
(spell),
sireoar
(god of death),
utTsuD
^(T-^ (purification),
^iftiuiT
(Aryas).
Thus
in a
work
Tamil language.
It
can
exist
without the
least
help
as
it had and even now has sufficient elementary words of native origin, out of which compounds can,
with
little
attention
to
phonetic
principles,
be
formed
to express
ideas.
XI
THE VISHNUVITE
The study
beset
religious of the
SAINTS
is
with several
On
the one
hand,
of
together a
mass
the
and sometimes of an incredible nature on the European critics, perhaps aided by the sectarian opponents from the fold of the Saiflicting
;
other,
vas
who form the major portion of the Tamils, have done much to belittle the extent of their influence
lation.
results of their work among the Tamil popuForemost amongst them was Bishop Caldwell, whose opinion always carries that weight ana authority which a life-long and sincere devotion to the
and the
to
infallibility
his
conclusions
it,
il
on matters
religious
of
language
his
may
carry with
is
but
natural that
inferences
regarding social
and
an
his mis-
sionary
the
following
chapter
282
attempt will be
TAMIL STUDIES
made
of the Vishnuvite
stand-point,
stantiate
and
special
be taken to subepigraphical
literary,
and other evidences. All over the contment of India Vishnu has been worshipped in some form or other; but mostly in his two latest incarnations as Rama and Krishna. He is an Aryan deity transplanted into the Dravidian soil by
successive bands of Aryan
settlers,
and
it
and development
land of
its
origin.
The
mam
reasons for
pre-
facing this essay with such a resume are, (1) to compare its growth both in the Aryavarta and in the land
of the Tamils,
of the
and
(2) to
guard ourselves
in the
course
Tamil Vaishnavas.
of
History
the
religions
of
in
is
India
as
this
tells
us
that
worship
that
Vishnu
at
least
old
sect
as
the
Vedas,
and
the
doctrines
of
had already
passed
through
two
stages
^the
Vedic
present
of
before
the
Indo-Aryans consisted
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
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
rank having
Siva,
been taken up by
which
of
And
Puranas araountmg
the
all
were written by
all
Brahman
sages.
They
with
is
narrate
sorts
of
legends
connected
of
each
of
the
to
above
praise
in
three deities.
of
Each Purana
these
devoted
the
One or another
gods
who
is
spoken of
other
their
worship even
forbidden.
They also prescribe rules for the worship of by means of prayers, offerings, festivals, and gods pilgrimages. The date of the oldest of these Puranas,
probably Vayu- Purana,
320 A. D. and the
It
is
believed to be
from about
latest to
was during
and the
day
in a feeble
is
This change
ordmarily attributed
of
to
the
overwhelming influence
which
their
at this
Buddhism and
state
Jainism,
period were
in a
of
decline
and
humane
ultimately
Dravidian Tamils
were a
284
fighting race.
TAMIL STUDIES
From
Purananuru,Kalittogai, Padirrupcollected
pattu
and other
works of
the
early
Sangams (academies) we further learn that great honour was done to brave men as is shown by a number of memorial stones or Virakkals still to be seen in some Tamil villages erected to commemorate their heroic deaths. The expressions like ^^sjS ^ir&srp
QjiuajiT, sir(ir,9
testimony
to
the
When
king died
life
in battle his
body
up
as
in
used
with
to
be laid on a
split
sword believing
were
names and
also
up with suitable inscriptions describing the the military achievements of these persons. Offerings of flower, cooked rice and liquor were
made by
iheir
relations
and friends.
the
Perhaps
sepulchres
and worshipped,
h'ulan,
Katteri,
Nondi, Karuppan
the
and
now form
objects
of
and Paraiyas
in spirit
belong
worship
Tamils
consisted
and
all
in the
in alcoholic drinks.
According
marian,
mature of the
Tamil gram-
even gods
soil.
were
classified
according to the
fertile
285
;
Murugan
of
Durga
(josu^so
of
;
the desert,
u/t-^sw ;
Vasudeva
all
of pasture land,
It
and Varuna
remembered
pantheon,
that
and the last were purely god who might be called Vedic ^ods. The Dravidian was Muruga, as he was almost unknown under ihat appellation to the people of North India.
nay. the
only
Traces of
this
traditional
classification
migt?t
still
be found in some caste names like Devendra Pallan, Varunakulam (fishermen) and Vasudevakulam (shepherds). was in brief the condition of Such religion among the Dravidians when the early bands of Aryan immigrants settled in the Tamil country. Having ^aid something about the state of religion
among the Tamilians in the remote period, we shall now proceed to notice the changes that were brought about by their contact with the Aryans. The materials for this
section will
of the
be drawn chiefly
from the
Tamil works
Sangam
550)
He
inscriptions published
up
to date.
The
earliest
ascertained
approximately was
century
we
find
no traces
or
of his predi-
any
particular
a
sect
religion.
He
now
was
no
doubt
both
monotheist
and
he
is
claimed
savant.
He
is
by the Jains and the Saivas as their even worshipped by the Saivas of to-
We
shall
286
next take Kapilar.
in the
TAMIL STUDIES
He was
Brahman
of
Tiruvadavur
Madura
find
district
second
Among
his
writ-
ings
we
Baladeva,
due difference
the
profound
scholarship
of
Mahamahopadhyaya Swaminatha Aiyar and of the we are of opinion that none of the Saiva poems included in the eleventh Tirumurai,
older commentators
with
the
single exception
of
Tirumurugarruppadi,
were
also
and Nakkirar
of the
academic period.
Though
a Vedic deity
Indra was
worshipped
at this time.
From Silappadikaram
festivals
also celebrated in
(1)
(sSlesaressT^iT
were
LDgfiQpS'f
eurreoaj'Serr
QfQjQev
Qldsi^
aressfi^si^
QstTuS^m
QsnuSl^
aa/zxaflG'aj/raar
QsmiS^m.
Sil.
(2)
Qunnungui QpufikisptBis.
Pur.
Sangam
Another celebrity
kirar,
of the later
period, Nak-
the
foremost rank
(Sj
among
Q^'^iii
Q^ireon (ssoeSlsaf
iBireOSu (r^eir(ei^ih.
-Pur. 56,
THE VISHNUVITE
They were
In his later
Siva,
life,
SAINTS
2S7
Vishnu,
however,
and composed a poem in praise of Murugan, for which he was canonized as one of the Saints of the
Saiva sect.
since
not
yet
been
nebulous form.
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
were divided
into
Aditya, 12;
Rudra, 11;
Vasu, 8
and
Marut,
2.
iBfTeoQeiJSii
urreoQojsu Q^eu(j^
lduu^
uiitis^.
Mani.
to sacrifices
Greater attention
both
on such
sacrifices.
Qp^^
eiS<sfrd(^,
Pur.
TAMIL STUDIES
(2) Qeu&reiS QpptB'jj &jrrujajfreir Qeuik^.
(3) (4)
Pur.
usvCsulISu).
Ib^
Q&ieireS
v(5)
uji^eoBriT
Qsi^eSKSstLQu
lb.
QeuareS QeuLLiJ2esT
The above
is
a brief account
it
of
existed
and was
Brahmanism known
in
to
pre-Puranic period.
And an
outline of
the Puranic
Hinduism which follows will clearly show that none of the Saiva Nayanars or Vaishnava Alvars ever held
the religious v'iews explained
in
the
above works.
both
This one
prove that
Puranic period,
viz., after
A. D. 500.
The
Puranic period
and the construction of temples for them. The Tamil kings of this period chiefly the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Pandyas
whose purohits or|spiritual advisers were Brahmans, were imbued with devotion to Vishnu or Siva. It
appears that
scarcely
Brahma had no
in
votaries,
as his
name
occurs
the academic
works.
Later on,
up the triad; and Indra and Baladeva were ousted from the Hindu pantheon. Still Brahma has been occasionally referred to in both the Saiva and Vaishnava hymns, though he had no temples to reside
his friends Siva
in like
THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS
289
one temple in all India, and this is at Pushkaram in Vishnu and Siva alone were honoured with Ajmei". shrines, were regularly worshipped, and were given
offerings
three
or four
times a day.
fasts
To
were,
propitiate
and held
festivals.
Be-
century
A. D. there
however*
Muruga,
as the following
extracts
from Pattuppattu,
will
Padirrupattu,
show
(1)
Lj&refressH
Qfeoeu^
^ p^uu^
(2)
^Q.iSuj
/5(T/_li_^jij
^^ueO
giitpir^
Pad,
Puf.
(3)
QpdscL
(4)
@L^k^
^0LDrr6\}
(^m psi^ff-
0<f6i)(g eSlirnQeo
G)LiiTp0'LDes)n'Si ^fT(^<sn<sfTti>
1.
Qurr0is^ iSlm.
is
Sil.
Srirangam,
(Kalla Alagar^
appear to have been the oldest and most famous of the Vaishnava
temples in the Tamil country.
of
Varadaraja
it
at
Conjeevaram
of
is
not sung
one
modern
19
290
TAMIL STUDIES
a large scale
sixth
was begun during and early part of the seventh centuries by Kocchengat Chola, Sundara Pandya Deva and Mahendra Varraa Pallava. They tolerated all sects and religions Saiva and Vaishnava, the last of which, however, was Jainn and Buddha
the
Temple building on
second half
of the
then
on the decline
kings were
at
least
in the
extreme south.
of
these
the habit of
invoking the
their grants.
In the
Thus
the Cheia
a
king
worshipper of
his
the
Saiva
Tirunavukkarasu-
Nayanar was a Jain in his early days while his sister Tilakavati was a Saiva devotee and the Pallava king Simha Vishnu (A. D. 590) was a staunch worshipper of Vishnu, whilst his son Mahendra Varman was first It is no a Jama and then an orthodox Saiva. wonder, therefore, that when Hwen Tsang visited Conjeevaram in A. D. 640 there were in that city 100
;
Digambara Jains. And he goes on to say Molokuta (probably the Pandya territory) the people were ot mixed religions. There were many
that
in
remains
vation.
few being
in preser-
There
were
especi-
THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS
ally
291
the
Digambaias,
were
the
numerous'-i
Wr
of
see
Buddhism was
ascendancy.
in its decline,
and the
sects
Siva
for
The
later
dealt with
As the subject matter for our immediate consideration is the development of Vishnuism we shall for the
present
part
Saiva
and Jaina
brethren.
For the separation of the Vaishnava cult and its development into a distinct sect in tlie Tamil country the Alvars were mainly instrumental. They were the Hrst to hymn the praises of Vishnu and to propagate His worship. It might be gathered from their hymns that allusions and reierencesto the miraculous deeds
of
Rama,
Krishna
and
other
incarnations
of
from the two great epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata and from the Bhagavata and Vishnu Puranas. Their hymns were
largely
collected, arranged
and compiled by
of
*
Sri
Nathamuni,
into a
Nammalvar
volume
of
called the
the
'
Book
4000 hymns
Tengalais)
',
tenth
century A.D.
Among
Tamil Vaishnavas
of
(especially the
poems
Vedas.
so
is
Tamil being regarded as sacred as the Sanskrit Why this work has come to be esteemed
conceive.
It
is
this
collection
we cannot
1.
neither
228.
a translation of
II, p.
292
the holy Vedas
TAMIL STUDIES
of
the
Indo-Aryans, nor
is
it
of the
is
an two
and what
more
surprising
positions
varieties
of
the four
kinds of poetical
comsix
or prahmidas of
of
Nammalvar and
work
are
the
Tirumangai-alvar's
spoken
by
the
of the
appear false when it could Nammalvar hved two centuries The Devara hymns which constitute after Kaliyan. a more voluminous collection of the non-Brahman Saivas are not so much valued by the Smartha Brahmans of the Tamil districts. i This disparity m the
This
theory
might
be proved
that
the early
Acharyas
lar
to
make
the
more popu-
among
Dravidians,
most
of
whom
were
followers of Siva.
The
collection of^
hymns and
religious
poems by
Nambi-
yandar Nambi.
visaippa
1.
we
find a
this
Concerning
follows:
"
Government
Epigraphist
writes
as
Ihe Saiva
basis, it
received into
its
fold all
distinction of caste.
it
29^3
ot
to-
wards the close of the tenth century, while a third by Karuvur Devar refers to a temple built by
in
or about
1015 A. D.
If
the
trusted
Nambiyandar
As
it
Nambi
said
that
about 1025.
is
the Periyapurana of
the
poems
ot
^Q^euissiT^), Sekkilar
He was
title
a minister
under
king
of
Pallavarayan conferred on
otttcial distinction.
him
as a
Inscriptions inform
name
of Rajaraja's predecessor
of his succes-
sor Kajendra
I.
1012).
Several
first
shrines
are
Uttama Chola and by his mother Sembiyan Mahadevi (queen of Gandaraditya). But it is said that the Periyapurana was
by the
written under the
named
Anapaya, which,
in the
of
Kulottunga
Chola
latest limit,
might be said
Nambibetween
may have
yandar
1. It
Nambi and
be out
Sekkilari
flourished
will not
of place to
been written by
century A. D.
Tuuittakka
Deva about
the
of the tenth
294:
TAMIL STUDIES
and
A. D. 1150,
a
A. D. 1000
period
which
bad
activity
Muni
of the rival
Vaishnava
poet
was
also a
contemporary
of the
Saiva
and
compiler,
the sequel,
Nambiyandar Nambi, as will be showm in and he should have been inspired by the
And
seem
to receive
ment epigraphist
where the
'
We
epiI
sacred
hymns
of
the
Devaram
instituted
are
{sic)
first
I
time as being
by him.
Rajendra Chola
appears to have
supported the cause of Saivaism by going a step further than his father
and
setting
up the images
clear
of the
famous Saiva
at Tanjore.'i
vSaints in
It is
therefore
that
the
some time
A. D. 1025.
The
Alvars,
who were
elevated by the
Vaishnava
in
number; and they are being worshipped by them with greater devotion than they would adore their god
Vishnu himself.
only ten, Andal
1.
Strictly
speaking, the
Alvars
left
were
out of
and
his
up
in the
Tanjore temple.
THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS
account.
at
295
From
the
an inscription
in
the
Vishnu temple
it
Kumaralingam
all
(Madura
district),
will
be seen
that
ten Alvp.rs
wor-
shipped as early as
offerings
to the
D. 1230.
And
for
set
making
up
in
in
Tirumalirum Solai
by a
devotee
the reign of
Virarajendra Deva
The word alvar medns 'one deep in 1153). 1 wisdom/ and any Alvai is, therefore, respected as a mediator to secure Moksha or salvation for the worshippers of Vishnu. The following table gives the names of the Alvars. the extent of their contributions to the Nalayira Prabandam, their birth place and the number of Vishnu shrines celebrated by them
:
'1
Pallava
2 3
Poigaiyar Pudaltar
100 100
100
Peyar
4 Tiiumalisaivar
r"
216
14 13 20
2
1
5
6
Chola
<
(.7
Uraiyur
Tirumandangudi
Tirukkurayahir
Qui'.on
) )
88
8
Chera
r
8
9
Kulasekhara
Peiiyalvar
105
p t^andya
,
MO
^
Andal
^^
Nammalvar
Madhurakavi
of the
ir
*
ff
16
o
l^-I
Tirunagari Tirukkolur
of Alvars
30
The arrangement
the above table
is
names
adopted
in
saint
4203
28tti
296
TAMIL STUDIES
to
and
the
latest
2706 B. C,
but
in
with special
kingdoms
believe
which they
were born.
sacred
weapons, the
Vishnu.
will
Of these
saints
;
Tiruppan and
because, from
Madhurakavi
not
detain us long
a literary stand-point
The
respective
vi'ill
merits and
the ages
of the
remaining
Alvars
and
life
orthodox
No
occurred, had
faithful
at least
one
reliable
;
and
neither in
Sanskrit
nor
in
Legends
of
some
among
the Vaishnavas.
One
of these
named
of
ramparai
fesses
or the
give
;
'Genealogy
of
the
to
the lives
the
and Acharyas
described in
and
the
accounts
the
Alvars
it
written after
Saivas,
the
the
both
being
highly
with
miraculous
We
THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS
sects,\vho
traditions
to
297
seem
to have
and hyperbolic accounts which had come them several centuries after the death of these saints. Some of these were based on the casual utterances which are to be found in the writings of the Alvars themselves. The admissions of the saints which were made out of modesty and humility were, m certain cases, taken for real facts, and afterwards woven into long stories with embellishments drawn
down
chiefly
from
their
imaginative
brains.
Wherever
lives
were wanting
the
of
Thus
Pudattar are
almost
in their
blank, as
antadis,
no personal references
Periyalvar
while those of
Tirumalisaiyar, Tirumangai-Mannan,
Tondaradippodi,
paratively
full.
com-
And yet
Vaishnava
to
have cooked
up
even
the
horoscopes of
their saints
The
asterisms in
which
in
them by
Vikrama Chola
(A, D. 1118) at
Kanchipuram
Q^IM
QufTiUSmS
LUTl^oUfT(V^LD
L3/oi^^Q^d
QsLLaaU-lStTsk S\([h
QuQ^i^Q^euQfi^^
later
Qs=uj^0sir
&c.
But
it
is
said
in in
works
that Poigaiyar
was born
at
at
Kacchi
in
Mamalla
Avittam.
298
TAMIL STUDIES
lines
The following
Tirumalisai
Alvar,
(^eomis&rnuj
^iH rrsmts^Qeomsk
mrreaBu-LD uiT'Ju.<osr.
p ^iih
Q^
l3 roiB^lQeO'sk
mirsQsiTem
Qs^LDQinQ^smisf-s,
LDQFoiS
'
^e^2EsiQu(r^d
Q^iflsiosijLDfT(rF(TKiai](cLD
smi]Q<osr iev)(S<oar<ssr
(3)
Toiidaradippodi Alvar.
(^^^liissisrrsii^Q^
QUbmgu
^n^^
q/F^
ULLu.(Lpi^(o<stj'2ioBT
QufT^QfT
Qs^rreosSlu
(4)
Periyalvar
j)jsaisfl(c
(dsu^uulu^
sinLis^uufr (csirewLSLDiresr^isia^,
(5)
Andal.
QumaQuj
uapst^p
u^erBsOsiri^surr^emu
(?6U637
ssmi^rriL LDmnDsQesr
ajirH'SsarixiniiSln'iii
&C.
Quotations
indefinitely.
of
this
nature
might
be
of
multiplied
In our opinion
in the
some
the historical
accounts given
more
stories
trustworthy,
the Saivas
do
not
assign
of
fabulous
ages
to
their
Nayanars.
life
Most
the
relating
to
the
of
Tirumangai-Aivar,
299
treasure
by Varadaraja and
clear in-
the
making
of
of
recital
The
It is
first Alvars.
common
is
belief
among Tamil
of
scholars that
{ldieis&) ^<ss>s').
'north'
the direction
prosperity
We
try,
shall
the northern-most
for
kingdom
of the
is
Tamil people
that
it
Another reason
this
procedure
was
that social
first
three Alvars
them
three
was the author of an aniadi or a centum the Venba metre in praise of Vishnu,
of verses in
poems
forming a portion of
that
book
the
Their princi-
Hence
of
the
performances
Vishnu wrought during his incarnations as Vamana, Narasunha, Rama and Krishna form the
main theme
of iheir of
hymns.
Alvars
assert
is
The age
obscurity.
these
involved
in
hopeless
Traditions
th.it all
the three
were
they
time
300
all
TAMIL STUDIES
met
together
district.
at
Tirukkovalur
for
this
in
the
South
the
Arcot
But
one
incident
Guruparamparai gives no particulars regarding them. It is believed by some scholars that Poigai Alvar was no other than the author of Kalavazhi. If there was
any truth
must have
in
this
supposition, the
reign
to
is
first
three Saints
of the
Chola king
century
Kocchengannan
that
is
prior
the
sixth
not countenanc-
one was
saint
a saint
famous bard.
as
The
was no respecter
men
he has repeatedly
said that,
(1)
eiiiTujeu'2esr
in&is\)^ suiti^^^it^
ut(E)qjisji
;
(2)
(3)
uiTi3i.^mfSmi-js(cLp
LDiTujsh'2esr ujevsOiT6\)f
^}sa/D
Quu^
QiD^^aQ^ssTtsa.
On the
contrary the other Poigaiyar appears to have been a court poet under the Chera king Kodai Marpan
and earned
reader
his
livelihood
may
be
referred
to
the language of these two and we have no faith in the vague statements of the old commentators regarding their identity. For these and the following reasons we
Purananuru.
Again
writers differs;
borne by two
different
authors,
who
flourished at
different periods.
The
god
saints Poigai
of a place called
301
s
eSlssBtoemsQhLD
Qsuoosnei^LCiooSiT
limQsfTsu&i QunmssraQFfiJo
sBrrm
<STlir(fl^S0QsLD(TLlilL^!T.
Poi.
11
iB'T
(2)
eSsmesoT'KTLD QsuooSfrsSifl^'SisitT
Qsuibsild
inem sum s IT
ldit
LrnTL-Qeut&KSSisf.
Pcy. 62.
The word Vinnagaiam is a corruption of Skt. Vishnu Nagar and it may mean any house of Vishnu. But from the manner in which it is used along with Vengadam, Vehka, Koval, Agaram and Velukkai in
he above quotations,
only
it
must
in
refer
to
particular
one
Vinnagaram
is
the
whole
of
that
in
Conjeeveram.
Further,
less
Peyalvar
were more or
of
local
and
their
peregrinations
to
were confined
to
Tondai-Nadu and
some
the
most renowned
Kumbakonam
solai
these reasons
referred to
we
by these Alvars with the Paramesvara Vinnagar of Tirumangaiyar's hymns. As it is explicitly staetd that thegodof this place is in the sitting posture, it
cannot
refer to Tiru- Vinnagar (Uppiliyappan)
another
name
in
the
Tanjore
According
to
Dr.
Hultzsch
the
Parames-
Mr,
S.
Krishnasamy Aiyangar
302
TAMIL STUDIES
II (A.
mesvara Varma
D. 690).
would be
Tirupati
of
(Tiru-
both
Siva and
Tipumalisai Alvar.
One
to
of saints
who
is
stated in the
Guruparamparai
to
have lived
in the
have had
three
of
Alvars was
the
He was
his
a native
Pallava
country
and
mugan Tiruvandadi are admired for. their harmonious versification. He was a poet, philosopher and ascetic His real name is said to have been Bhaktisara (yogi).
the above statement.
as
He
is
t;.
1906,
it is
p.
229.
We
cannot
the
quite
not
explanatory of
like
point
is
As a
title
the term
Paramesvara
Maharaja
it
so
seem
to
have had
except as a
special
kings
Manabharana-chaturvedi-mangnlam,
while
Gangai-
we
would
be next
the
title
to impossibility to hit
of
who had
Nandipuram
villages
all
these
instances the
were
names, not
titles, of
kings.
THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS
which we think was only a
to
title
303
is
and he
beheved
brought up by a
statement
IS
man
borne out by
occurs
in the
Tiru-chanda-viruttam
show
that he should
have
and a competent knowledge of the sacred books of His mastery of the the other sects and reHgions. Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Vishnupnranais
displayed
life
in
He was throughout
baivas,
Jains
:
his
a rancorous
opponent
to the
and
&S1JU
ULLlfTIT.
^esmQLL(Ssr pssiiibsp
eiiii(Lp
Lnir^rrsirea.
monotheist as he himself
while the
two
of
the
:
triad
Brahma
and Siva
were
created by
him
(sirmQps^esT
fBarriTLUossrisiT
usai^^iTssr lEinssrQps^uD
whole universe,
304
as taught by
the
^
of
His
TAMIL STUDIES
etymological signification
:
name.
(1)
He
semesBimQLDiLKSUiTeSS n-psaQLnfT^emirs^&ii
lurr
nSn'mcQissr,
(2)
And
yet
this
all to,
powerful omnipresent
nor cognisable by, man.
Vishnu
is
neither visible
(2)
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^
(Vishnu
who
wields the
cognisthe
able only by
those
of
who,
having closed
the five senses and sealed their opened the broad way of intelligence litting the lamp of wisdom and mellowing their bones with a heart melted by the intense heat of piety.)
narrow paths
doors,
is
no
inter-
writings to proceed
upon with
305
of certainty. that
But from
might be inferred
period
when
fighting with
one another
it
religious
when
the great
champions
work
a
of religious
disputas
Moreover, there
tradition,
which
him with
the
three Alvars.
It is
said that
during his
pilgri-
mage to Kumbakonam he stayed for some time at Chidambaram or Perumpuliyur. As he has not
celebrated the Vishnu god of that famous stronghold
of Sivaism,
it
is
almost
certain that
in his
days the
Govinda Raja did not come into existence. Tirumangai Alvar informs us that this god was set up and worshipped by a Pallava king who may have, in all probabihty, been Nandivarma I or Peramesvara
shrine of
Varma
fore,
II,
have
century
before
Tiru-
mangai
century.
Alvar, that
seventh
our
Again
The
title
still
expression
^(^emuuam'^
reminds
us of the
Pallava king
was
20
to be seen
an the rock
at
Trichinopoly.
He
306
TAMIL STUDIES
also
was
the
builder of
the
is
Gunabharesvaram.
part of the seventh
His date
to be the early
century A. D.i
it
Vishnuvite,
our Alvar
cuted
by a
Pallava king,
1
above
(A.
Mahendra
Varma
or
Narasimha Varma
devout followers
D.
675) both of
whom
were
of
Siva
and
all
Taking
we
be unreasonable
if
we
of the seventh
work.
He
rary of the
Tirunavukkarasu Nayanar
said in the
all
Guruparamparai
that he
had enter
he
be-
ed into
came a Vishnuvite, and that when he was a Saivite he assumed the name of Sivavakkiyar. There is such a close resemblance in the metre and the harmonic
flow of the
poems
of Sivavakkiyar
and the
Tiruch-
make one believe that both the poems were composed by one and the same author. Further, some of the stanzas
chanda Viruttam of our Alvar, as to
occurring in both are almost identical, and had the
present
of
in
force
then,
either
it.
them
1.
should
have
of the
been
prosecuted
under
nar,
formerly a
Tilakavati
his
beloved
sister
THE VISHNUVITE
SAINTS
307
(Compare verses 1, 2, 3, 4, 17, 79 &c. in Tiruchchanda Viruttain with 308, 237, 266, 265, 264, 268 &c. But Sivavakkiyar was in the poem of Sivavakkiyar). a theist belonging to the Siddhar School and lived
at least eight or
The
style of Tirumalisaiyar
of
Sivavakkiyar
insipid
and
at
times vulgar.
The
Guruparamparai
Piran with the
be a later
Tipuppanalvap.
We
of a
shall
now
Panan family
at
Brahman of Tirumandangudi in the Tanjore The Panans were an inferior caste of mindistrict.
Soliya
strels frequently alluded to in the
Fuiananuru, Padir-
Census
of 1891
as a sub-caste
of Paraiya
and was always considered very low in social scale. Like Nandan of the Saivites, Tiruppan Alvar was a devout worshipper of Vishnu. Yet he was not permitted to enter the Vishnu temple at Srirangam, as
he belonged to the lowest out-caste.
tradition 1o the effect
There is a Ranganatha commanded one Lokasaranga, a sage, to bring him to his shrine on his shoulders. In consequence of this story our
that
Alvar
is
known
also as
'
Muni Vahana.'
308
TAMIL STUDIES
tradition
The above
proves
the
superiority
of
might belong was worthy of honour and veneration than a Brahman wellThe sanVe ider is conveyed versed in the four Vedas. in the following lines of the Brahman saint Tonto whatever caste he
greater
daradippodi Alvar
uaD^e\)fi Q<snn(Lgs&)iT
p^u
u&)SF^u
Qu^LDiriraeir
QsiT(jSim QsiremuSear.
His
faith in the
root on his
sects.
god Vishnu had taken so deep a mind that he became intolerent of other
Jainism, thus
He
especially
(1)
Buddhism and
L-i'?ffciijp
LDfT@mro i-f^Qsn
s^LD6amQLD6\)eoiTLi
s'?e\iujpd
^'^cLigxu
(2)
QsugiiuQun(Sl
QuiT^uuifiLLi
g:LD(am^(ip6amiiT'6i^uSe\) ^irdSiuiTsessflesruiTex)
ewssaQuQeO QufnsuQ^
QisrTiSj^rrQ
^gjiuuQ^
There
the
is
no data
in the
songs of these
Alvars to
mark
if
But we shall not be far from we put them towards the close of the
A.
D.
Alvars
the
Mukunda Mala
of Kulasekhara
Perumal.
309
The real name of Tondaiadippodi was Vipra Narayana and he does not seem to have worshipped or ever uttered the name of any Vishnu deity other than His Tirumalai and Ranganatha of Srirangara.
Tiruppalli Ezhucchi form
part
of
the
Nalayitaprathe
bandam
to
which Tiruppan
has
contributed
Kulasekhara Alvap.
The
next Alvar in our Hst
is
Kulasekhara Perumal.
He
calls
himself
king
of
Kolli.
Kudal (Madura),
sau&)m ,3k,L-&)
(Qsrrs'js\^
the four
It is not known at what period Tamil kingdoms Chera, Chola, Fandya and
Kongu were under the sway of a smgle sovereign. But this much is certain according to the Kongu
:
and inscriptions the Cholas became powerful once more in A. D. 890, when Vijayalaya and Aditya I not only regained their lost kingdom but also annexed to it the Kongu country (Salem and
chronicle
Coimbatore
the Vishnu
districts).
god
of
Chidambaram and
to
the
7).
We
latter
Chidam-
Alvar in his
of
work
that
authority,
we
learn
310
TAMIL STUDIES
825.
of
the
Kerala
kingdom
the
protect
it
and that after a reign of eighteen years he went to heaven with his bodv^ Kulasekhara Alvar niust, therefore, have lived between
against
Mappillas
one
difficulty, that
is,
our Alvar
calls
himself
ot
Madura. At
this period
the
for
Chinnamanur
grants.
The only
reconciliation
this discrepancy
would be that
Kulasekhara
was a
who
known
in
Perumal.
Kulasekhara had equal proficiency in Tamil and
Sanskrit.
He was
the author of
Mukunda Malai
in
form part
Nalayiraprabandam.
His Tamil
hymns on
like
Tiruvachakam
of Tvianikkavachagar
;
The
similes
employed
by
huTi
in
the Vittuvakkodu
hymn
are
quite appropriate
and
give
uncompromising opponent
to other sects.
We
311
:
THE VISHNUVITE
SAINTS
Q{ET(3fr(&^'^su
emmuj&)QsiT6ssr Qu.ijl^ieQ^
(2)
LDSsipivrT
Q(B/6llUITLUS
Su.S(^LD
S'?l30'JL^fSa)lQinioS)QQjQoSr.
LDfTefTfT^
stTg^
QisiriuHTefr&siQuiTso mmv^d/S'JeO
Tipumang-ai Alvar.
The
or
all
Tirumangai
the
Mannan.
of
behind the
shrines.
greatest
number
hymns on Vishnu
greater certainty,
work out
of
and
to
was one
of the
most
learned
all
Alvars.
His
life
Tirumangai
Tirukkurayaiur
Kalla family at
Tanjore
district.
It
His parents
or Kalikanri.
appears that he
of a small district
312
TAMIL STUDIES
Ali
Nadu
in the north-
the
Chola
country.
His head-
which he speaks of this place (^^sjwr^/f LDirL^ias&r (^ifi^Q^LD^ssos) it must have been an important
the
in
way
town
in his days,
though
it
could not be
identified
with any of
the
Vaidya
class,
caste
much
By
he was
saints.
undoubtedly the most learned of all the Vaishnava His contributions to the Nalayirapraban. dam amount to 1361 stanzas and consist of six
(1)
QuiBiu^QTpLDnL^,
(2)
^q^
^(n^QisQi
^rresmL^su:),[4:) &fSluu^(iT)U:>i~io^
and
(6) ^Q^QsijQ^af^^/iS^'iems.
Even
great
in his
own
life
donor of
quotation
charities, as will
:
^06mLDITfFluj!rLLl(lpdQuJSS)U.Uj!TIT '^UJua
Q3Tis!(^LDe\)iTd(^L0ioSiujiT
title
of
iBfrp
or
the
'
313
and as
works Kurat^(^<9?<5
talvar
speaks thus
^l6Iu^
mm^ineo
^sispser
perhaps on
Chola king, and set out on a tour of pilgnmage from the Himalayas to Cape Comorin. P'or the
the
diffusion
of
Vishnuism he
toiled
much and
of the
he
is
disputations at Shiyali
greatest
Saiva
Nayanars.
in the
Some sort of
similarity
style
and composition
seems
a
to
of
and
and
countenance the
of
all
supposition.
Being
man
considerable wealth
the Vishnu
of his time
in praise of the
Vishnu
gods.
as
Thus
holy by Acharyas he
these twenty shrines
only twenty
unvisited
and
or
Alvar Tirunagari
(Kurugur)
century
two afterwards, by one or the other of the later Alvars Vishnu Chittan and Satagopan.
shall revert to this question
two
We
when we come
beyond
to speak
of these saints.
The above
nabha
the
at
fact
proves
dispute
that
Padma
at
S.
Krishnaswamy Aiyangar considers the celebration by Kaliyan of most of the Vaishnava temples, as a proof
314
TAMIL STUDIES
existence.
In spite
of our regard to
his sagacity,
is
we must
temples
the
say
with greater
assurance that he
far
from being
cele-
The paucity
of the
ot
antiquity
other.
Accordshould
be Hke
ing to
theory
earliest,
Tondaradippodi Alvar
of
precedence would
Tirumalisai,
;
Andal, Putam,
Namneither
surely
it is
those
days
of
difficult
communication,
of
constant
their
feudatories,
and of the fear of robbers and dacoits on the forest-clad highways and foot-paths, the circumstances which could have afforded facilities to
in
a pilgrim
visiting a
larger
number
of
temples,
were wealth,
proclivities.
chiefly one's religious retinue and Tirumangai Alvar had all these, as he
was
or
the
ruler
of
small
a
but
fertile
province
;
he had plenty of money and a good many followers to The other Alvars, cater for him in his peregrinations. probably with the exception of Kulasekhara, had none of these accessories, and they were more or less local saints. Tirumalisai and Nammalvar were yogis and did not care to visit all the Vishnu temples
besides
nadn
being
robber
chieftain
of their days.
The former
at
all
315
when
his
it
;
contemporaries
and
have praised
of
which place
is
alluded
in
Padirruppattu
and Nammalvar
earliest Alvars.
Tiruvehka
which
Are we then
shrines were
these
saints
?
from
not.
this
at
that
the above
not
existence
the
time
of
of
S.
Certainly
The theory
*he
saints
Aiyangar
latest
that
of
the
fact that
he celebrates most,
to
not
all,
of the
well-
known temples
is
Vishnu
is
in
building
day as Tirumangai Mannan Tirumadil or 'the sacred wall of Tirumangai Alvar while the
to this
',
known
Dharmavarma and
latter of
who
is
believed to
whom
country
also.
is
To
work
image
days a
our Alvar
of
a golden
in his
Buddha
deserted
seat
Buddhism. Like
his
predecessor
Tirumalisai
Piran
quotations will
1.
show
316
(1)
TAMIL STUDIES
LSemu^iLnrir
sehetr^eo',
(3^
Ljii^
s^iMSsariT
He
is
God,
that
He
He
other
gods, that
He assumed
Siva,
:
three different
forms
of
and that
He
pervades
^ai^iL^
And
to realize
this
be
fix
is
righteous*
his
should subdue his five senses and on Him with love and devotion. Bhakti
dispensable
passport to
attain
in
mind
salvation
and one
austere
as
Thus,
rightly observed,
Tirumangai Alvar was one of those devotees who suffered their souls to endure the heat of the sun and their bodies to enjoy the coolness
of shade.
To understand aright the spirit and teaching of his poems, a thorough knowledge of the adventures of KrisHna and Rama and of the stories concerning the
earlier
incarnations of
Vishnu as narrated
in
the
THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS
Puranas and the two great epics,
reader.
is
317
expected of every
Now coming to the age of this Alvar^ we have ample references to the Pallava and the Chola kings and to the political events of their times. In his hymn
on the god of Paramesvara Vinnagaram our Alvar mentions that one Pallava king, Pallava Mallan, defeated the Pandyas,
nai
Q^asi^eii'2esT^
fought a battle
at
Man-
and another at Nenmeli, QiBmQuasSI. We have said above that the Vishnu shrine called Paramesvara
Vinnagaram was
(A. D. 690).
built
by Parameswara Varma
plates published
in
II
Indian
Inscriptions,
II,
battles at
Nenmeli and Mannaikudi were fought by the Pallava king Nandivarman (A. D. 720 One 760).
of
of
them informs us that he was a devout worshipper Vishnu. Nandivarman who worships the feet of
'
Hari,
who
split
(the
head
of)
the
opposing Sahara
king, called
Udayana
who
destroyed
Kalidurga
another
hymn
our
on
the
god
the
of to
Ashtabujam
a
Conjeevaram
Alvar
refers
king
whom
(eSiTissr
of
IJ,
1.
the
titles
(birudu)
of
Dantidurga or Dantivarma
a Rashtrakuta king of
Ind. Ant.
xii, p.
and
17.
318
TAMIL STUDIES
is
he
said
to
have
completed
the
acquisition of
Kanchi.'i
pura Vinnagaram.
Again our Alvar has a hymn on the god of NandiThis temple must have been built
by the same Nandi Varma, as among the South Indian kings hitherto brought to light there appears
to
one
sovereign of that
to Pallava
Qp^^ua
LastssflnfiEiQafreasririk^
(2)
Q^nsssT'oSii LDsmeareusar
^IElQ sir's
ISITL^IoS)S
<o](LgL-ssfj(r^uu
(3)
^0dQeO(S](g ^Q^QiDiTL^euTQuwom
Q<fiEJSi^ss)osr
QarTS=Q-9=fTL^iom Qs='Tt5^QsrraSls\].
It
that
at
the
to
was
no
shrine
Vishnu
dra
at
Chidambaram.
II
referred
Mahenof
Varma
or Paramesvara
Varma
and
both
whom
great
II, is
donors
of
them,
part
2, p.
Mahendra Varma
389.
I,
319
the
Vinnagaram
is
Conjeevaram.
And the
king
Mahendra Varma U
built the
D. 650) as he
stated to
have
second
and described
also refers to
I
Periyapuranam.
The
(Vira
Saiva saint
Like
Tirugnanasambanda
his
this king.
distant
of the
successor Parantaka
Narayana Chola
Kongu
chronicle)
he
in
ardent worshipper of
Vishnu
praise
p.
Sivaism, as the
in
both
sects
him
250)
their works.
\u a
tentatively
580 A. D.
Siriya
his
of
one
Vasavadatta.
acquainted
written by
with
play
Subandhu about
beginning
the
he has a hymn on the god of Tirumokur in the Madura district. Two miles near and at the foot of the Yanaimalai there is it another Vishnu temple, which as the following inscription will show, was built by a Pandya minister in A. D. 770 and endowed with a rich
limit of his date. Again,
agrahara for
ing
in
its
maintenance.
resident of
'Pre-eminently charm-
manners a
Karavandapuram
the
320
TAMIL STUDIES
illustrious
member
Vaidya family,
temple of Vishnu.
minister of the
Pandya named
away
rich
to
the
first
born (Brahmans)
immensely
had passed
of
agraharam.
of of
When
the
on the day
this
sun
the
month
set
Kartigai
there'.
image
this
the
god
in
was duly
up
Had
temple been
surel}'
existence in our
it.
Alvar's are
time he must
have visited
As there
no
hymns on
at
this
god when he
it
Tirumokur,
is
this
the
Pandya country
A.
D. 770.
our
careful
considera-
we cannot
help
Pepiyalvap.
Let us
now
the
Pandya country.
a
Brahman
and
of Srivilliputtur.
He
mssi
an influential
man and
;
in
Brahman
settlement.
At
Nambi
of Tirukkottiyur (a Puro-
the
Pandya
king), a
conference of theologians
was held at Madura. And in the religious controversy which took place there, Periyalvar is said to have
ccMTie out
321
in
and
establislied
Vishnuism
Tamil country.
life of Sri
His contributions,
Krishna, numberof the
stanzas
form
is
part
Nalayiralarge
prabandam.
admixture
of
His
style
colloquial
many
Sanskrit tadbavas.
He
by
two
religions had
the
Pandya country.
Nor
it
itself
the
rival sectarians
sentiments he
^Qa^
ffl;/7#(5^
,S(T^LCJ6\}',
(2)
ST0^^sQsfTlS
ILj'olSU.LUIT^Lh
tSlTLD^iAli^ir^
LD/bgHlif
sS(5^d!0 L^Ln3fDsS
To determine
extracts
are
no
clear references in
works.
But
the
following
combined with the tradition that he lived at Pandya king Sri Vallabhadeva must throw some light on his date
the time of the
:
II, vi, 2.
IV,
ii,
7.
^LS'icirear^/BaaJr,
IV,
iv
8.
(4)
uQ^uu^s^^d
suu&iQuiifSji^ utTesaL^uuiT,-W , iv 7,
21
322
TAMIL STUDIES
which belonged
was
in the
Kongu
country. In
I
conquered
in or about 890 A. D. We learn from other sources that Kumbakonam was a temporary capital of that newly conquered country from which the Chola prmce or the Yuva Raja ruled
further
the
new
province.
Nedu Maran,
bore
of the
while
the
was
of
a pious Vaishnava
Brahman who
(It
the
title
Abhimana Tungan.
those days to give the
was one
customs
of
titles of
Manikka Vachagar had the title of Qjgt^ssreijm i3!TLDLD!i!Ttu(ssrj Sekkilar was called a-^^m Q3'frL^uus\)s\)s)jfriTnjesr.) The word Maravarman is no doubt a title borne by all kings of the Pandya dynasty; but this when combined with the name Sri Vallabhadeva and the eponym Abhimana Meru, does certainly refer to a particular Pandya king. From the Chinnamanur plates referred to above we are given to understand that Raja Simha II had the title of Abhimana Mera Mara Varman, that he was a grandson of Maravarman Sri Vallabha Deva, and that he was killed by Parantaka Chola in A. D. 910. Among the wellknown temples of the Pandya country Srivilliputtur is and one that was not visited by Tirumangai Alvar Tiruttangal, a village some eight or when the god of nine miles distant from our Alvar's birth-place, has
ministers and purohits.
;
323
impor-
all
these
facts
we
'new
of Villi
'
existence
and 915
of
that
is,
temporary of
note
the prize
Kulasekhara Perumal.
Alvar
worthy
Madura,
that this
{Sl^])
who
is
said
to
have carried
though
of
has been
referred
to
in
one
that
of
the
hymns
Tirumangai Alvar.
that this
We know
is
quite
possible
On
the authority of
certain expressions
in
like un-m-
<siDoU(a!^s3B7ffl;OT(y>?>@
the
Madras
of
'
Museum
Tamil'
is
plates of
Sen
making him
I
contemporary
of Jatila
Varman
If
or Parantaka
of the
Yanamalai inbcriptions.
was so our Alvar should have been as well a contemporary of Tirumangai Mannan and a predecessor of Kulasekara and Nammalvar. But this was not
this
the case for the reasons that are given in the sections
One
Kodai.
of the
She
is
Vaishnava saints was a lady named also called Andal, and believed to
QuiBuunu^euniT
324
TAMIL STUDIES
QuemtSI<ar'2err,
QupQ/oV^s
was a toundliag, but brouglit up by the saint Vishnu Her contributions to the NalayiraprabanChittan.
dam
no doubt an ardent worshipper of poems are an exposition of Sri Krishna's stories. It appears that she remained a virgin throughout her short life and spent her days in ministering to the deities at Srirangam and Tirumalirumsolai.
In her
of
song
is
now bemg
It
must
be remembered that her poems, which may have been largely influenced by the work of a contemporary the
Tirukkovaiyar oi Manikka Vachakar
significance.
have an esoteric
the
Faraniatman or God and The devotion and attachment of the modern Vaishnavas to Andal is so great that the worship of the local deity adored by her at Srivilliputtur has been eclipsed. All the imporunion of the atuian with
final
are
celebrated
chiefly in
honour
of this
lady Saint.
Nammalavap.
Conspicuous among the Vaishnava Saints was
Nammalvar
or Satagopan.
He
commander and
His
THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS
life
325
therefore, to
be considered
at
some
He was born
to
a Vellala
in
family at Tirukkurukur
district
or 'Alvar-Tirunagari
the
of
Tinnevelly,
one Kari
of
that
place
Tiruvanparisaram
the
Sanskrit
in the
Maran
it
probably
spiritual Giini.
iMoreovcr,
was customary,
tlie
as
now,
to
other Sanskrit.
His Tiruvoymoli,
Tiruvandadi,
all
Tiruviruttam
a
and
antadi
definite
purpose
on
pre- conceived
the
to
the
Naiayiraprabandam.
to
His
songs or
hymns
relate
some thirty places, ot which twenty-four are in the Pandya and the Chera kingdoms. He was an ascetic or yogi and would seem to have retired from the world in his 35th year to; perform Yoga or meditation under a tamarind tree,
the
deities
of
which
exists to
is
this
day
in
Alvar-Tirunagari.
attained eternal
:
Ulti-
mately he
said
to
have
bliss or
beatitude, about
He had two
dhurakavi
disciples
Sri
Nathamuni and
heads the
list
Mathe
ele-
to
whom
other prabandams.
The
first
of
326
Like
all
TAMIL STUDIES
other alvars Satagopan was a Vishnuvite of
He
believed
offer
Moksha
to
His worship-
pers, that
He
is
uncreated, that
Siva are
He
is
omnipresent and
that
Brahma and
only
He
God by
in
means
of
means
of
approachattributes
ing of
(1)
Him
God
he says
eueSlit!LD6\)e\)isin
^eamve\>esr QlLJSsai&sans^&iesreijeotT
(2)
si7e\)rTLU
QtsQeu^r bW)Lu
His idea
(f
fruition
or
communion
:
with
God
is
^SB\Q p ojuQuaQ^
4S'i_js7(?au
a?
sSt-^frQu).
THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS
3'i7
He
did
not
recognise
caste
distinctions
and
make
man
high or low
in
(^eviBsifrisiQ)
SFa^ssir isneSl^ixi
Si^L^m^
sr^^'Sesi
iseOii^T
insf)e\)fr^ .SFssaTL^iTeir
feeariiKsnrr s<3(riT@^uD
SSoi^'TIT
Jfll^lLifriT ^UDISLp-LUfT
G STLLLDl^S^efT.
age
of
this
The question
of
the
Saint
is
very
much
the
disputed.
Diverse
The
of
begmning
attempt to
bridge
his dis-
Nathamuni
was
teacher
;
in
his
archavatar or
of the English,
while
some
his
educated Vaishnavas would ascribe to him the opening years of the Christian
era as
probable
age.
As we have
in
the
writings of
Tirumangai
determine
Alvar
the works of
are,
Nammalvar
about
his date.
There
that
he
the
beginning
of
the
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)
of
from the Tamil of the poets of demic period. Our i4/2;(;ir makes a krit words and phrases like Sl^uS,
use of
Sans&.u
euirs^sih^
sesnuLD^
328
TAMIL STUDIES
Qe\)irf6sresr ^
(ssiisu(^^k^ua
;
mn^fj
lS^<sii,
LD^rrQuirsihy ^i^ir^jeoij},
ldits
while
none
of
these
will
be discovered
seir
in the early
Tamil writings.
plurals in ears&r
The
use of plurais in
and double
ratively
as in ssinmiSm-jD&nssfr
is
and compa-
modern.
of
With regard
tense,
to the use of
S)^ as a
particle
present
the learned
:
commentator
204).
&,eam8(}/DQemsurd&^
Philological
variations
of
of
and
yet,
this
test
been
completely ignored not only by Tamil pandits, but also by the early commentators of I'amil classics.
(2) At the time of
alre.idy
come
5).
into existence
and when he
Lin^a-Purana
speaks
of
the
(IV.
Saivas,
X.
he
It
refers
to
by
name
offer-
is
for the
ings,
prayers,
and
Nammalvar
refers to
some
of these
rites
had been
and
THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS
that a large
deities
329
number
of temples to
had already
come
into
existence
days of Nammalvar.
was
almost
to A. D.
500
use
is
not mentioned
A. D.
sixth
century
Our
of Qsneir
'
which we
tenth
centuries
its
use thus,
But we doubt
Alvar's time.
(4)
It
whether
the
was
in
our
seems
that
at
the
time of our
Alvar the
sects
struggle
between the
Vaishnava
and Saiva
on the one hand, and Jainism on the other had come to an end,
and
that
Buddhism Brahmanism
cults
had
come
out triumphant
among
the
Saivas
and
and
Tirumalisai,
Tirumangai
Tondaradippodi Alvars speak very vehemently and pour forth their invectives a<:;ainst the non-Vaishnava
1.
^j^upcrT/OssSlil.
Epig.
'nci.
Vol, IX,
p. 90.
330
sects
TAMIL STUDIES
and
religions,
Nammalvar only
as
casually
men-
tions in
Brahma and
Vishnu.
only
other manifestations of
A comparison
will
of the following
quotations
in
from Nammalvar's
previous sections
works
the
clearly
Buddhism had
and
that Saivas
to
(2)
<SLS-SLDL^
Qsrrm&aps^
s=<oSiu.'^QoSiQiLi<ij^iJD idrresrQp^s
su.
Qjsms^(T^
eurrtwsCceurQiueur^ix)
li
j
(3)
jfjiEi(^iuii
QpaiLLL3.!TiT<ssT
LSlirLiQu(T^ifTesrei]em
(4)
LDira^sslefTLD^tLK^
(c^0(^
s^stai-^
(5)
It
visited
all
Those
him
are celebrated by
Nammalvar, the most important of which being (a) Tirukkuriigur, (6) Varaguna Mangai and (c) Sri varamangalam. If the traditional story of the orthodox Vaishnavas that Tirumangai Alvar made arrangements for the lecital of Tiruvoymoli at Srirangam be surely have visited the birth-place true, he must of a great Saint honoured and worshipped by him, and sung hymns in praise of the god of that village.
But we
see
nothing of this
in
his work.
Again,
village
far
Varaguna Mangai or Varaguna Mangalam is a named after the Fandya king Varaguna. So
as
331
whom
reigned about A,D. 820. Further, Srivaramangalam or Vanamamalai, wherein there have been from tune immemoiial an impt^rlant Vishnu temple and a
in the reign of
Fandya king
Ko-Maran-Sadaiyan
set
(A.D.
^HO)
forth
in
the following
of that
from a copper
plate
grant
king.
of the reign, of
Nedum
of Velangudi
its
in
Tenkalavalinadu,
having cancelled
former
it
on
the
name from old tunes and having bestowed new name of Srivaramangalam to Sujjata
Bhatta',..
From
the
it
description
is
of
the boundaries
given
in
the plates
and the
is
towards the
only
century A. D.
This village
known
from Tirukkui ungudi another wellwhere Tirumangai Alvar spent the remaining years of his life. Yet, he has not said one word about this important temple anywhere in his
a short distance
shrine
hymns.
famous shrines of modern times in the Tinnevelly district was not visited either bv Tirumangai Alvar, because it was not in existence in his days, '>r by Nammalvar, as it did not come into prominence or was not
{(j)
Sri
Villiputtur
which
is
one
of the
known
to the
village.
Peri-
332
TAMIL STUDIES
unknown
to
each other.
is
or
pan {usm)
invariably
padigams (decads) of Nammalvar while m the case of the works of other Saints, especially of Tirumangai Alvar, it has been found wanting.
prefixed
much
Nammalvar
and perhaps
the Vaishnava
their
works
of
them
one sacred volume, probably subsequent to the laborious undertaking of Nambiyandar Nambi of
[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
3i53
Pandya
king.
We
learn further
from
Guruparamparai that the name of Nammalvar was Maran, that he was a saint from his childhood, that he was the son of one Kari
by caste and that
Obviously,
a Vellala
one
of his disciples
in the
was
Tinne-
confounding
the
names
in the
Kari,
Maran and
Madhurakavi,
which occur
inscriptions as well as in
conclusion
that
Kari or Madhurakavi
was the son of Nammalvar or Maran and that both of them were contemporaries of Tirumangai Alvar. According to this perverted view Nammalvar should
have lived prior to A.D. 770.
We
cannot understand
reviewer relies so
how much
Guruparamparai. The
more trustworthy than the work unmistakably asserts that Madhurakavi Alvar was a Brahman and that Nammalvar was a celibate saint. Evidently this writer does not seem to have read either the Guruparamparai, or the works of Nammalvar, or even Mr. V. Venkayya's notes on the Triplicane Inscriptions of
data,
is
latter
Dantivarman
the
god
of
Tirumokur
Tirumali-
five
at
but he has
Yanai Malai or the Elephant Rock between these two places. Our Alwar
lived
either
before
or
long
334
after A.
TAMIL STUDIES
D. 770
;
of
the
first
The
should
to
in
the
inscription
itself
almost neglected
the
time of
Nammalvar,
of
as
it
now
of
is,
owing
temple
to the
ominous death
its
the
builder
the
before
completion
and
the
unproductive rocky
It is
soil of the
surrounding country.
long period, say
at
evident that
sufficiently
half,
total
least
between
this
creation
and
abandonment;
that
is
shrine
and
fallen
into
ruins
in
favour of our
Vaishnava
one
of
two esteemed
this point.
are conflicting
on
in
He
it
would certainly be
of
in
keeping with
the
made by
the
Alvar
(Tirumangai Alvar, A. D. 750) for the recital of Tiruvoymoli of Nammalvar had fallen into desuetude
in the days of
to revive
it
at
Srirangam
1.
after
much
ado'
i.
Inci.
Ant. 1906,
p. 232.
335
the
first
quarter of
We
shall
now examine
(a)
these
statements.
Guru-
paramparai or the
informs us
lives of the
Vaishnava Aciiaryas
Nathamuni Was born in the agrahara of Vira Narayanapuram in the district of South Arcot, and (bj died at Gangaikoi\da Cholapuram in Trichinopoly, and (c) that he was the
that Sri
grandfather of Alavandar,
who
died
at
Srirangam
carefully
when
Sri
of age.
Now, here
be
sifted in arriving at
the
age of Nathamuni.
There
are
making him
contempo-
rary of
Kamban, but
trustworthy and
may
(a)
As regards Viranarayanapurm
'
the
Kongu
chro-
and he created
many
'
tax-free
Brahman own
this
2.
In other
words
into existence
some time
D.
is
Nathamuni
gaikonda Cholapuram
of the
1.
capital
about
280.
2.
Vol. II. p.
375
Sc.
&
336
the year 1022.
TAMIL STUDIES
Admitting that our sage died about should have been born
1025 A.
D.,
he
about 915
This
him an age
a
of 110 years.
is
sufficiently a
every reason to
According
Deva
or
Vishnuvardhana of Mysore, the great Vaishnava reformer Sri Ramanujacharya was living in 1134 A. D.
Even
years,
if
it
we
is
certain that he
was about
he
in A. D. 1049,
of
Alavandar's death
that
is,
may have
survived his
grand-father Natharauni
ting
some 24
or 25 years.
Granof
that
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
We
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
been
alive
in
is
said
Nammalvar,
Sri
the last
of the
THE VISHNUVITE SAINTS
in his
QirTL^p^(ff)!h(TuiiJD
337
the 4000
that
Nammalvar taught
ibt^^s(^
hymns
(Suitl^Cdoj.
to
It
Nathamuni
escapes
[btreofniSuLoeiB^^irm
our understanding
how
in the
D.
Kurugur appears
the
we are to infer that this village had by that time become famous as the birth place of Nammalvar. This we suppose was due to the propogandist work of Nathamuni who used to visit the royal courts of Chola kings. Further it was the custom of those times to give the names of famous villages, of renowned Saints and of reigning sovereigns to men and women, out of reverence or gratitude as the following proper names will show:
of a
name
dancing
girl.
From
it
^@(75<ss_/f,
^(T^rsrTisijssiTSr^
^/'gff'T^^
eSlQpuusajirujesr,
<3f-i^fr
urresan^iu ^s^rriflujeisr
and
life
this sort of
naming
these
first
took
place during
the
time
of
remarkable
inscription of
An
calls the
name
of thedeily of the
temple
Ukkal asTiruvoymolidevar.
before
A.
From
But
this Dr.
centuries
D. 1000.'
for
the
above reasons
this
Some
scholars
that a considerably
But
this
was not
at all necessary,
when
338
TAMIL STUDIES
spirit
we consider the
even in
own
life
time.
We
are told
in the
biographies
Sri
of the
Ramanuja were
immediately
tence,
after
and
that
Manavalamamuni gave away his for the making of his image just on
And
it
irresistably
lead any
full
Tirumangai Alvar.
faith
which Mr. S. Krishnaswamy Aiyangar places so much and the fabulous difference of 3500 years between Nammalvar and his direct disciple Nathamuni, on which the archavatar theory of the Vaishnava Acharayas
coctions
devised
beliefs.
rests,
must be rejected
their
as
pure concherished
of
in
Manavalamamuni and
support of
his predecessors,
absurdly
To summarise
the
results
of
(1)
our discussions
the
reformation
339 Pandya.
South;
all
of
and Nammalvar
latest; (3)
of
and Tondai Nadu, were the earliest, the Pandya country was the
(2)
the
'First
Alvars'
Tirumalisaiyar,
Tondaradippodi
Alvar
who
two
opponents
flourished
to
the
Saivas,
and
Buddhists
when
the
Nammalvar, the
the
first
last
of
the
of
the
Acharyas lived
when
the
two
the
atheistic religions
had very
when
were the and lastly,
Saivas and
reconciled; (5)
Nammalvar
(6)
of
Vaishnava Saints;
that
honour
Brahmanic deities, Vishnu and were being built in all the Tamil districts.
XII
Southern India
is
Malayalam.
It is at
present an
;
and
yet,
which
it
bears
to the
other
members of that family is a subject of some hot discussion among ihe Dravidian scholars. The solution of this problem
is
not
an easy matter.
Unless
historical
Malayalam languages
vague and
as a to be a sister of
his conclusion
must remain
for
it
indecisive.
Some
scholars believe
Tamil
like
regard
it
had
very origin.
The
interesting
and imat
portant enough to
length.
deserve
an
examination
some
341
mediae-
The people of the West Coast call their home-speech as Malayazhma or Malayayma. These are compounds of two Malayalam or rather
Tamil
literature.
and dlam or dlma, government'. The latter are verbal nouns formed by postlixing the noun terminations am (jyti) and ma or
'
mountain
'
mai
(sld)
to the verb dl
*
{^^)
'.
to rule.
'
Azhma may
'
be a mistake for
alma
It is
is
meaning
region'.
that
Malayalam
a *deep (=^teti)mountainous
The Chera
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' *
'
From
How-
am
it
the
Malayalam
language
cation.
to
might be an undue extension of its signifiWhen the term Malabar was first applied
'
'
Tamil
by
the
early
European
travellers
or
shown
hereafter,
342
TAMIL STUDIES
difference in the colloquial or rather the vulgar
justified in
'
much
Malabar
'
language.
in
The people
it
of Kerala or
Chera Desa
that
: *
the third
proud
to
be
known by
sweet
'
name
as
the
show
Sil.
in
the
tenth
probably the
earliest literary
record relating to
and
it
their subjects
whose home-speech
was Tamil.
And
Another Tamil work of about the same period is the Ainkurunuru or the Five short Hundreds'. It was
*
written by live different poets of the Kerala country and compiled under the orders of the Chera king
Yanaikkat-chey-Mandaram-Seral-Irum-porai.
third
the
work of greater importance, but belonging almost to same period is Silappadikaram. It was composed
by Ilango-Adikal. a younger brother of the Chera forms one of the five king Senguttuvan, and
Tamil major
epics. All these
teem with
'
Malabaricms
in
pure Tamil.
Words
<5s>siQ@iih
(must
(camp),
not),
euilisf.
Quir^^ (he-buffalo),
(basket), &c.,
or
6a)/^?sw
which occur
in
these
Tamil works
of
the
still
'
343
Tamil.
The
nar,
later
Tamil authors
of Kerala
were Aiyanarita-
Aiyanaritanar
eighth
about
the
seventh
of
or
the
century A.
D,
He was
a
a prince
Chera
entitled
dynasty
the
and wrote
treatise
'Venba-Malai,'
The
ninth century.
refer
For
their
literary
remains
we
must
of the
the
Saivas, to
Mr, Govinda
Pillai's
'
History of
tion of
words
in
the early
Tamil works of
comparaof the
Ainkurunuru, Paditrupis
writings
it is
percep-
mainly owing
to
Brahmanical influence.
was also a Sanskrit poet. The latest Tamil poet who, according to a current tradithe Ramalectured on tion, visited Kerala and yana before large audiances was the famous Kamban (A. D. 1145-1205). Lectures in Tamil on
Kulasekara
the
Ramayana were
in
evidently
popular
this
appreciated
it is
Kerala
during
period,
Kambaramayaspecial minsfirst
nam
recited
trels or a class of
wandenng
preachers,
The
works
344
in the early
'
TAMIL STUDIES
Malayalam language are accordingly the Ramacharitram and the Ramayanam which are more after the model of Kamban's great work.
'
'
'
In ancient
Tamil
literature
Chera or Kerala
is
in-
Tolkapyain
at least
it
this
Kuda
or
in all of
which
Kodum
In later
Tamil
literature
Hence
Kuda-Nadan, Malayaraan
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
hill
Nadu is the Nilgiris and it is needless to say that it was within the Chera dominion. The names of villages in Malabar and Travancore which have sufhxes like, seri, iir, angadi (a kadii or bazar), hodu or kod (summit of a hill),
kad
(a forest), tod or tottam (a
ktmdu,
tali,
all
and occupied
villages
like
by the Tamils.
The names
of
Malabar
345
Ja^m^V-kadu, and
of
(east)
and
merku (west)
Tamil, and
in the
'
that
Malayalam language, Dr. Caldthe Malayalam is an off.shoot from the people by whom it is spoken
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 directions, while Sli^d(^ and Qmp(^ then meant 'downward and upward.' In all these the particle is a dative case termination meaning direction.' Later @ssari@ and @_i(5 became classical or used on only in literature, and their place was taken by Qipsi^ and Qiop^ which acquired that significance with reference to the position of the Tamil country
'
'
'
Western Ghauts.
Notwithstanding
of
the
modern
Malayalam and Tamil countries, the Tamil word come to denote the 'east on both sides of This is no doubt the Ghauts and in both languages.
@Lps(^ has
'
an anomaly and can be explained only by accepting that the early inhabitants of the Malayalam country
were Tamil immigrants from the East coast
districts.
The word
yalam
its
QiDp(^ has,
upward
',
and
its
346
TAMIL STUDIES
modern significance is expressed by a Tamil compound Liu^-i^rTuSI^ or the setting sun.' Doubting the correctness of Dr. Caldwell's argument Mr. Logan suggests that the terms Qtpi(g and Qio/bcg were coined with reference to the rise and setting of the sun. This seems to be very ingenious, because, if that had been the case, the words for 'east' and 'west' should be
'
cognates and
found
in all the
Dravidian languages;
a simple
felt
by the
early inhabitants of
Among
frequently
West
coast
Tondi (modern
Vanji
Kadalundi),
in
Mandai,
early
Musiri
and
a
occur
the
Tamil
literature.
Tondi was
of
division
Chera country
ruled
by
Poraiyan,
while
Vanji
;
emporium
Tamil
of the
West and
will
(1)
(2)
The
literature
be found interesting
Qs^iiiQsrr/b,
-.
(^LLQeuanQ^'emL^.
Ain, 178.
luit pS'SSi(TQsrri(^lB^
s<s\)ih^i^
in'^eo^^rTJQpik} su.pQTfnQp(s^
Hi5Si6\)iS)seir
^^suiJOuuJ^
(^LL<sijeor ^
(SUQ^iBjb^uLjib
eSesiQuir&diB^nir
(TpLp'a(gSLesr
QPlfisS&sr
Qpsr^.
Pur.
343.
(3)
Pat.
3.
The above
and
political
THE ORIGIN OF MALAYALAM
importance.
347
replete with
Tamil
religious literature
is
descriptions of
Hindu shrines visited by the Saints, who composed on the spot hymns about them. Among the towns of religious celebrity come first Gokarnara and Tirucchengunrur (near Quilon). These are seats of famous Siva shrines which were visited by the Tamil saints Appar and Sambandar in
Tiruvanjaikulara seems to be a
because only one saint, Sundarar, a contemporary of the Chera king Cheraman Perumal sang of it. Among the Vaishnava shrines of the
Tamil-Malayaiam
country Tirumuzhikalam,
Tiru-
Nammalvar (A.D.
these
920)
men-
addition
to
Trivandram,
Tiruvan-
Tiruvanvandur,
Tiruvaranvilai.
Tiruvattaru,
Tirukkadittanam
and
The Vishnu shrine at Tiruchengunrur could have come into existence only after the time
Vittuvakkod.
of
is
after A.
D. 750.
town which
was
built
on
the
Chittar
river
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
Compare
in
Malayalam
^thi^iriTeiir
and ^tJounmLi^.
MS
TAMIL STUDIES
in
Brahman during the eighteenth century, Brahmans were brought down by Parasurama from the Punjab and made to settle first at Gokarnam in South Kanara, where they were made
bably by a Nambudri
to shave their
to
grow
their
it
on the
front,
perhaps as
their
it is
prevent
going
back to
we
learn
Mayurasarma the founder of the Kadamba family and not Parasurama. The date of Mayuravarma is about the early part of the sixth century. The Namburi Brahmans must, therefore, have settled in and around Gokarnam, during this period and their migration to the south from this centre must have taken place during the The example of Mayusixth and seventh centuries. ravarma was followed by the Chola and Pandya kings of the time, who invited small colonies of Brahmans now known as the Soliya Brahmans.
that this king was
But
lutely
this
does
not
mean
that there
were abso-
no Brahmans
in the
sixth century.
The country was deeply plunged in Buddhism and Jainism. The non-Brahman Saivas and Vaishnavas,
of course
instigated
were contending
were
not
against
these
many Brahman
349
for
Brahmans
to
Politically the
state
The
Kadambas, the Pallavas, the Chalukyas, the Cholas, the Pandyas and the Cheras were Religion suffered from fighting with one another. the ills of political unrest. There was no definite
state religion
;
suited
Better days dawned when Brahmanism, i^e., the cult of Siva and Vishnu, came out triumphant in the religious struggle. The Tamil countries became more or less quiet. And the very Brahmans who
liis
whims and
had served as messengers and domestic servants under the wealthy Dravidians, as now, became priests and 'purohits to the Tamil kings, thus securing for
themselves a wider
these
led to
influence
in
the countrj'.
All
of
the construction
of a large
number
more Brahmans
for
from
the
Aryavarta
during the
purohits to Dravidians.
fically
tries
These Brahmans have since been known honorias Nambis in all the three Tamil coun'
'
Chera, Chola
and Pandya
in
contradistinc-
tion to later
'Bhatta.'
Brahman immigrants usually styled as The former wear the tuft of hair in front,
latter
while the
keep
it
at
the back of
their head.
They
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'
The
early
civiHsation,
which
the
developed
steadily
later
later
Brahman
These
and formed no
the
Dravi-
came
i
to be considered superior
Nambis, Narabudris
of the
or the Soliya
Brahmans.
Most
or
The
early
Narabi Brahmans
seem
to
have entered
the
the
Tamil-Malayalam
districts
from
north-west,
to
Brahmans appear
settled
have
When
the
Nambudri Brahmans
in Kerala
were
not wholly
theirs,
and
we see no special reason why it should be so only in Kerala when such has not been the case in the Tamil
or Telugu
country.
From
the
Paditruppattu.
learn that the Chera kings lavished presents Tamil poets and Brahmans of Malabar and Travan1.
It
we upon
is
said
that the
Cherumars
called
the
Narabudris as
a
of the
Chovvar' which
may be
name
Tamil
Brahmans
351
given
Imayavarman
is
said
to
have
to
500
Umbarkadu
poet Kannanar
Senguttuvan the
;
kadu
to
Paranar
Selvakkadunko
the
country
to poet
hill
Nanra
Kapilar
vi^hile
another king
country
to
Kappiyanar.
How
such
enormous land grants be made, had the country been the exclusive property of the Nambudri Brahmans ?
Moreover,
or
all
before the
Nambis
Nambudris
fact
The
of
it
seems
its
to be that the
whole
out
Kerala country
right to dispose
of reverence
belonged to
as
kings,
they
pleased.
And
lands
to
learned Brahmans,
Brahmadayam
But the total neglect of the native Tamil literature by the Dravidian inhabitants of Kerala, their general ignorance and their respect for Nambudri
Brahmans gave
in
the latter an
course
of time
showed
to
itself
all
exclusive
ownership
Kerala
country.
And
to
Nambudris even
The Chera,
castes.
like the
all
was inhabited by
The
identity
some
that
of
these
and minor
the
Malabar
castes
of
with
those
occur
985
in
inscriptions
Rajaraja Chola
(A. D.
1013)
352
TAMIL STUDIES
Kerala, the
numerically
most
to be
important are
the
Cheru-
found
in the east,
though
the
names
of villages like
Vellancheri, Ida-
puram
and PalliKunimbranad, Vailuvanad, Ponnani and other taluks of the Malabar district clearly prove that Kerala was once inhabited solely by the Tamils. Then, how did these castes come into existence and
cheri, Ayancheri, Valayanad, Parayancheri
in
the
how
castes of the
Tamil
districts
About a thousand or more years ago ail the modern Tamil castes were not in existence; the Tamil people
were divided into
soil in
tribes
according
which they
like the
lived
names
Vellalas,
Idaiyans, Mallars,
Pallars,
districts.
day
in the
Tamil
The word Nayar, like Vellala which includes a number of cultivating castes, is a vague name, The present Nayar caste has grown by the gradual
large
accretion
to
it
of
Chakkan
(oil-presser),
Vaniyan
(Tamil
(trader or oil-monger),
Eruman
or Kol-ayan
Tamil
Pallis),
Iluvans),
of
of
Pallichan
the
and
Urali
(Tamil
and
lastly
Vellala
castes.
Among
no
meaning
later
p
THE ORIGIN OF MALAYALAM
Attikkuricchi
i
353
and Vattakadan are only territorial names, Kiriyattils alone seem to be the descendants
the pure
late as
of
Velirs or
Vellaias 2 of the
West
Coast.
as the
As
A. D.
race of
;
warriors:
(1)
ir-irmusaL^^QsmEisfTQ^rrQeu
(^nuSjb^'<f
Q&i^n^p(^
Qsitesit
^a'^LpiTisffl
QfirL^mtoae^&sT
ea)LD,i^si!r
Qs^isJS'SfnhQaiiLL(Sd
seem QuitSlu
Qs'iEi(^LLisuesr.
siaaasuQuir
uufrn^s
Si I. xxix. 1-3.
fact
And
this is
confirmed by the
that
some
of the
and Travancore, like the Zamorin of Calicut, belonged to the Pogondan subdivision 01 the Coimbatore Idaiyans. 'Kunnala-kon', one of the titles of the Zamorin, is a pure Tamil expression {kuriinila-kon) meaning chief cr king of a
feudal chieftains of Malabar
'
small country,'
and
Konatiri
'
or Konan-tiru,
or
konan
is
title
of the Idaiyans of
districts.
Coimbatore, Madura
are
and Tinnevelly
called Kol-Ayan3
In Malabar, Idaiyans
;
and
these are
1.
'
among
The name
to cut.
We
Attikurichi'
2.
The Cherumars
which
is
the Nayars
'
as Ilankoil,
same
title
as
'
Ilankokkal
given
the Tamil
districts.
is
Kol
is
the
name
of
the
Telugu shepherd
23
while 'ayan'
is
354
TAMIL STUDIES
niwm;i appears in the Tanj ore inscriptions of the e venth century. It is not surprising that the Tan
Idaiyars are treated as a sub-caste of Nayars,
find
triya
when w
some
of
Samantas.
them elevated even to the rank of KshaThe Siviyar (palankeen bearers) and
Hnk
in
of
Mala-
The words
(^^-^f
and
iTo/
and
Slirriis&r,
which
'young ones
of cattle',
dominant place in the constitution of and the Samanta castes, Idaiyans, especially of the Kongu country, had their own chieftams and they were good cavalry men. They contributed soldiers and commanders to the Chera army after the
the Nayar
Chera kings
or second century.
Pad'
88.
(Defeated
and routed the Idaiyans of the swift-footed cavalry.) The word Cheruman or Chituvan means a small man, and the Cherumans were really so in comparison with the robust
Kongu Idaiyans
Nayar
or the
and
Vellalas
who
constituted the
Nayakar
caste.
In
name
of this caste
not as
observe that in one sub-caste of Idaiyans in the Madura district, called the Pendukku -mekki, the Marumakkattayara law of inheritance is followed.
will to
be curious
THE
nerumars.
'
ORIGlisi
OF MALAYALAM
to
355
iui 'Villi',
Valli
'
seems
be a mistake
Idangai
'^ome
ike
tribe,
Eralan
(ploughmen),
(left-hand),
among
the
Tamil Pallans
Moreover, the
customs
and
agree
the
manners
districts,
of these tribes
both
in
including
so completely that
one
might conclude
Cherumas and
tribe of
same
Naga-Dravidian
Tiyans and
are
As
of
for the
lluvans
whom
feel
found
in the
we
some
difficulty.
or autochthones to
to discuss here.
of the
Southern India
is
not possible
numerical strength
ous
nature seem
point
to
the
latter.
oxogamous groups of the North Malabar Tiyans and the Izhavans of Madura and Tinnevelly are called illams, and one of the former goes by the name of Pazhayar which is a Tamil word meaning
Further, the
*
toddy drawers
'.
A note on Tiyan
volume and
it
has, however,
will
been appended
to this
give
some
need
We
affinity
of Kerala
Tamil provinces.
castes
had
is
any
connection
with
the
Telugus, as
believed in
some
3^6
TAMIL STUDIES
cii
all
(here
is
in
which
is
\itt\e
or no real
archaeological
of
work
is
done,
it
Kerala^
and some
pillai
stone
inscriptions at
and long
intervals of time
by Burnell,
Gundert, P. Sundram
With the
shall
very few
materials
at
our
we
Malayalam language.
Some
tracing
as
scholars
seem
copper plate
utilised
grants from
the
Malabar
should not
of
in
be
for
growth
are
the
the
grants
were
invited
Perumals or kings
by
the .-iumbudri
foreign
extraction,
to rule
Brahmans
the
They are also of colloquial Malayalam was quite language of inscriptions and that
Kerala country
*
opinion
distinct
that the
from the
school
much affected by influence early Tamil poets, who formed a literary and developed a court language'. The
between
the
literary
difference
colloquial
antiquity of
Tamil
and
the
Tamil a
its
to the
of
literature
and the
settled
form
the
language cannot be a reason for the disparity between and the language of public
For,
documents.
1. In
while
literature,
chiefly classical
to
be.
THE ORIGIN OF MALAYALAM
literature,
is
357
few,
intended only
for
the
educated
and similar
classes.
A com-
parison
(A.
of
the
inscriptions
of
D.
985-1013)
with
would
illustrate the
above principle.
an exception
Moreover,
The
to
this
Kerala
plain
inscriptions cannot be
philological truth.
in the
how
are
we
authorized,
colinquial
in the
Malayalam
of
the colloquial
Malayalam was
inscriptions
literature
?
quite
distinct
from the
really
language
possess
Do
the
Malayalis
to
any
A.
anterior
the
tenth
century
?
If at all
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,
but
they were
as these
Brahmans
enhance
in the
would have us
their
Kerala country.
On
the contrary,
many Chola
:
and Pandya kings married Kerala princesses and their sons became lawful heirs to the Kerala kingdom
(1) QisQ^emQ'SareSlajii^QjpQsTnF^ihetS)^
to
eisT pLD3>iir
Qunseipojasr Qu^iQ^uS'esr/DiDsesr
Qfs\)Qjas(SiiB(DaiTiduiTL^!ijrT^ek.
Pad.
70,
358
(2)
TAMIL STUDIES
(^L^QjirQaTLDT
Qis5r(S(ir)
Qs^sr&ta^ p(^^
(3)
The Chola
king Parantaka
(A.
D. 907-946)
the
... all
forces of the
his mother's
two Kongu countries that belonged to two brothers. Mahawanso, 239. Matrimonial alliances among the three Tamil
continued until about the
Pandya and
when
began
holds.
the
influence
of
the
Nambudri Brahmans
Kerala
royal
house-
The
Ravivarma
in
alias
and was crowned on the banks of the Vaiga. He Pandya and Chola countries till about 1316. Probably this was the period when the communication between Kerala and the other two
ruled over Kerala,
to
decline
and
this
was the
founof
when
stone
the
Nambudri Brahmans
laid the
edifice
families.
The statement
affected
by the
term
of
early
sing, the
'early'
both are
359
any
literature
whereas Tamil literature from the opening years of the Christian era. Tamil has a grammar written three centuries before
of the thirteenth
dates
Christ,
till
so late as
it,
A. D. 1860.
the literary
phase of
millenniems
Malayalam
literature
is
even to-day
in a state of for-
mation.
It is
inconceivable, therefore,
how
the early
Malayalam
ber that
all
social intercourse
at least
Malayalam
literature
also'.
literature,
be
Tamil
was the
literature
of the
The statements
of
from Tamil evidently took place at a very early period, before the Tamil was cultivated and refined', and that Tamil 'bids fare to supersede the
Malayalam
*
Malayalam'
Returning
are thus
now from
we
find
in the
Mamballi
in-
(A.
guage used
a few
is
Malabaricms
1
for
^&r<sfr,
s^fsitsiirek
for
s'lsisiTssr, sji-LD
Verbs are
inflected as in
=gy(3o^
^iLL^sQsiTiS^^iTesr
1.
and
The word
^LLi^dQsfT(S^^e\) and
360
TAMIL STUDIES
jt/sum as =gy(i^^OT2;i@
^Qp^im^
plates of
and
is
j)j<sijm^ as
now.
And
in the
Kottayam
language
Tamil
freely
like
eurr^eo for
e^smL^iTuiSleo
eijrruS6\)^
spsirsfr
and
for
p-en-'Sir
and
find
^owl-ZtSsu,
^(i^iiidn^sfr
;
for
^(75^0(3r,
<srQ^iBis&!Bifl
for
sjQp.i^Q^&fl
&c.
caste
and verbs
were
still
inflected.
ff-Lpsuir,
We
gis^a^rt
also
'^'uh.
names
like
Qsv<sir'SfnTsfnT,
and
be
made more
deals
of the
clear
in
the
following section
which
evidence of the growth Malayalam language. To illustrate the development of the Malayalam language and the peculiarities of each period of its growth, typical selections are given below from Panikwith the linguistic
kar's
Ramayanam,
Krishna-gatha,
nam and
the
as representing a particular
growth of
short expla-
^fQ^em
luefsoiQi^rrefft'SuniTii^
iAliBiss\)(currQs\)^
^likiiBjLD,
(^i^etruiTrrQiDn QpS)6\>(^s\)^,s)i
Ljsm
^iLi^uQugti
bar
Gazetteer
Prof.
rights'.
's
The Mala'
a parcel of
accurate reading
(s?^^) a mortgage. I think both are incorrect. Atti is a pure Tamil word meaning poured' and it corresponds to the Skt. Udagapurvam. Attiknduttal is to give by pouring water and atti pent is the acceptance of a gift made as above. During the 17th century its exact meaning was, however, forgotten and the redundant expressions like iQ a iT(B3f^is/. ^iLu^uQugjiuD ii(iT)ih Qsir^
of otti
^ftasT
came
into use.
^
THE ORIGIN OF MALAYALAM
361
Q<fii&ieSliBfrm
euiTUJLJurriTih^
a^n uuiretvih
(3)
QiniSiiS&)
Q^it^Q^uQuitq^ld.
QurrssmiD
e^Qnit^&UL^
fsiTiLisiB
LDrrQiriTQu).
airQsi^
(g)^!i iTiT^QfBuQurTQe\}
u ^ p<omea a ^Q ^a L-
QufT^^QuDiri
iS&isSi iSQu.<sa6saiLDrT(Sfr
^IT^^
^QaiistTe^ii)
asi^uurrSS ^UfTiwQTjQLDrt
is
(cS(em(ct3ir.
The
first
quotation
of
Kan-
D. 1350).
of
does not
appear
The language
and
two Sanskrit compounds, and the rest are words. The grammatical terminations ^ebr^
^eiT
Tamil
s?,
^^^,
and the tense particles are all Tamil. And the only Malayalam usages are euiriri^ for eunirih^, @i_ for @6a5i_, QuaQeo for Qune\) and ^ifiQs for j)j((f,Qs and
;
362
^lEits^uD
TAMIL STUDIES
(dense, thick)
is
Most of the Tamil words used in this extract, which are still current in Tamil, have become obsolete in Malayalam giving way to words of Sanskrit origin. Here the verbs are always inflected and the practice
ii^.
of
into existence.
a translation of a Sanskrit
work
freely used to
grammar
On
ities
which bring
it
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
Tamilian
and Qs^uaQto in poetry, because may not use they are colloquial and considered slang in Tamil. In the second passage, the writer uses two Sanskrit words s!TiTuurTerui}){cotton) and s^iruuirewi (coat), which no Tamil writer will ordinarily use. The rest are
Tamil words, some being
is
sTuQuTQfi^ixi,
^iri^
^iri^.
Though
the
Sanskrit
and ordinary
readers.
The Krishnagatha
is
written
THE
in the
ORIGIN OF MALAYALAM
363
the
colloquial
Kerala country
known
dialect of
In
this
work
inflected, while
dropped
inflexional
terminations.
The
must have
commenced during the early part of the 16th century. And the forms of T amil words used here are mostly those that we find in the vulgar conversaalready
tion
of
the
uneducated
for
Tamilians.
Q.fuS.fSf-
for
Qs'iLsSl^^, us^Qs^iTiLb
Qsu^jiGiLDsirp
u-femfuutLDy
Qeii^ii&n<5w
for
&c.
like
He
has largely
lds^s!',
used
LnnLg.,
colloquial
Q^&snsmeo,
in
Tamil
Qssua;L,
words
^^oblh,
=sv@<9r,
modern Malayalam.
has also
The dative
usage along
case in
sototj;
or is^
come
into
with
other
Tamil
grammatical forms.
The author is now gratefully remembered by all the non-Brahman classes of he was Kerala as the pioneer of liberal education the first Brahman who wrote for the benefit of the
;
Sudra castes
in
in
their
fact
own
that
is
tongue,
the Malayalam,
spite
of the
;
the
their dialect
Star' of
and he
justly
is
Tunjat
All
Ezhuttachchan
who
"his works are translations from Sanskrit, and he has freely used Sanskrit words and expressions, more
who
preceded him
case endings as
He was
the
first
in orodisi,
sthalopante,
and adverbs
like
ittham, Hi,
364
pii7-a
TAMIL STUDIKS
&c.; relative pronouns like
tat,
He
has even
Tamil
their
nouns
rectly,
first
as in ^Qir, <^&iQl^
(H(5
and
+ ^eo
appearance.
Sans-
krit
and
Tamil
words
as to
,
amTQeusmeisslil,
Qj<T^Q6ij6wQs'iLiii^ &c.,
of Tamil
words so
by
or
in ^(giasjsjr, sTQ^iQiBsirsffl
&c., were
introduced
this writer.
He
followed no rules of
there
grammar grammar
vocabulary,
because
was
no
find
him
in the
MalaoccaIt
yalam language.
uninflected
sionally
is
in
his
works
used,
that
we
verbs
largely
though
appear
verbs with
personal
endings.
would be difBcult for any one to read his works without a good knowledge of Sanskrit. To him the study of Malayalam meant the study of Sanskrit. We might boldly say that Ezhuttachchan was the first Malayalam writer who gave a death blow to Tamil his mother,
tongue.
For
this
act
of
vandalism he
'
is
admired
ol the
Father
The
is
latest
writer
lived
we have
to deal
with
is
Unnayj
Variyar
who
work by introducing
is
into
is
it
too
much
Sanskrit.
His
setting of
Sanskrit slokas
Manipravala style
graceful.
two passages
365-
above
negative
there
are
dozen
Tamil.
Sanskrit
words,
while
particle
are
pure
The
]^eo,
LDiTsk,
^m,
ST
or S,
Qp
in
unm, ^su
(cgjsfr
are
is
all
Tamil,
In
QLD(Si^isires)<es^Qsfr
the particle
or
^ssreoT-
wsar
only a contraction
is
of
Qsinir),
Sm^
if
which
sign
of
the
sototj/ is
an abbreviation of sir
rhus
com-
may be assumed
The
early
that
grammar and
dictionary
of a
fixity
and permanence
of
language.
Tamil inhabitants
literary
Kerala
,
and
later
excellence or
even to
improve
their
mother-tongue.
Nor did
the
the
uneducated and
tongue.
Brahmans
That work was reserved for a foreigner Dr. Gundert, who was at once their Agastya and Divakara. Owing to the curious
for a Dravidian
inflec-
work
super-human
its
yet
reached
formation.
settled;
classic
stage;
its
still
in a state of
Neither
and the very fact that it still retains the peculiar Tamil letters and P proves its very late separation from Tamil.
its
grammar nor
vocabulary
is
ifi
S6Q
TAMIL STUDIES
:
Grammar
Tamil
origin
we have
letters
definite
which should
end of words.
come
This
at the
is
beginning,
middle and
which
its
vocabulary^
The coalescence of letters or sandhi in Malayalam, owing to the influence of Sanskrit, follows wholly neither the rules of Sanskrit nor of Tamil. Sometimes the one, sometimes the other is followed, and Sanskrit rules are sometimes in some cases neither. Tamil words. The expression sS&iQpiB(^applied to
Q^frs=s=,
if
the
Tamil
rules
are
applied, must
'^eoeo
be
eSlssi(ipfS<ir,(^(o)<suns'3'
and Q3'fT^&>+
Qs^rriosSeoeo,
will
become
they
will
Qs'iTeoeiaSeoso
and not
iior
are
acin
cording to the
Sanskrit
be
as
in
Malayalam.
pure
Tamil
words.
Many
the
have
now become
obsolete, as in
sSssmteoiJD, sresati^ms',
{Qurre\)^^)i^), &c. (now + s becomes In Malayalam aar + # becomes @#=, tws, &r + ^ becomes sjr^^ or ^^, but these are not allowed by the Tamil rules of sandhi. The Malayafor ease and always tried to avoid lis cared more Hence, difficulties instead ot facing them boldly.
Qioppais)
QiO^^Jih),
Qurrpgui^
is
they have
abbreviated
Qsireirefr
several
Qfuj^ +
+ ^ud
367
j)jisiiE/i^,
+ Qeiiem(BlLc = QfubQtju6m(Sy
c^/E3@
+ Seor^ +
Quas -j-Qeu6mm = (oUiTssmLD and SO on. Most of the differences between Tamil and modern
Alalayalam
as
of
regards
grammatical
endings
and
formation
of
of
words
or
laziness
phonetic decay
in
finite
personal
this cause
suffixes
verbs
to
and partly
to
their
In
sjosr
or
^tsf-^Q^m
idea
may be
ing the
expressed
by
to
that
sentence.
Thus,
be passing
In
through, like
analytical stage.
be made
From
extended
the
early
Malayalam
which
find that
down
we
nations disappear
years.
in
the
In
Malayalam
deed
of
1756 A. D.
and
erQ^^s^^Qsireear
were
freely used. In
the
*I
Tamil
is
of the
infant
and the
to this
illiterate
the idea of
masr
beat'
expressed even
'
day by
jtji^s^Qs^
^t^s^Qs^
(Cor. jijis^.^Q^'m)^
you
beat
'
(Cor. ^u^^^irdS),
and he beat
'
'
^euear
ibtisst^ f
and
^6sr,^uj
and ^dr
are, as a rule,
corrections
368
TAMIL STUDIES
and modifications with reference to the approved literary Tamil of the learned section. The same
process
early
was
certainly
of
;
in
operation
Tamils
the
Kerala
mostly
illiterates
lexicographical
forms
were
left
by
any
fixed rules,
and since
this process of
phonetic
of the
of
attitude
quite ignorant
come
to be even-
This was
how
the personal
terminations of Tamil
Malayalam.
some
plural as in Q^.TaroS/sar
in ^anui
and
in the first
It is
we
will give,
&c.
rect to SHV, as
some Malayalam
no traces of inflexions in the colloquial Malayalam or that Malayalam verbs were never in-
flected.
Malayalam language,
inflec-
and
grammar by
instances
(1)
(2)
^d6^i(5/5^
first
jSGfBiuiT^tftLDuiT,
Kcr,
is
In the
quotation the
;
different purposes
i^
in
^(5/5^
form
of
369
past
tense)
i^ in ^^is^ is a m^ in Qujis^ is an
;
abbreviation of
fication of
<sTesTjoi;2Hid
i^
in Qs^treo^ni^ is a
modi-
In
the
same
as Qsbtjd^,
is
ending
retained.
perin
We
sonal
verbs
Malayalam,
disappeared.
irregularities
the
neuter
place
regardless of gender;
and these
are
time
are
There
and
quoted here as
illustrations.
:
Vocabulary
exists in the
Amarakosh
of Sanskrit.
The following
are
some
the irregularities
in the
Malayalam vocabulary.
forms.
For
sq^
;
(areca-nut) appears in
;
Malayalam as
ffly/5,
<4(jp
;
and
muSSgn
seuwEi
<s(t^@ (vulture) as
sQps^
sQ^iBisj
(rope)
as
suu^ and
sl^ss
uQj)^^
(2)
(cotton) as uiFl^^
and
uir^^l &c.
form.
be
appear in the same becomes ^j which is apt to confounded with s^itld (margin) Tamil ^ivs/s
of different origin
s-qjit
Words
Tamil
as sjia,
while
szi-sii
means sighing
(to put)
'
Qqjs&oss
(heat)
;
as Qojs^
is
and
24
saeuds
also as Qeuds
^&ft
'
temple'
as well as to
sprinkle'
(Q^afi) &c.,
370
(3)
TAMIL STUDIES
Sometimes
^,
p and
ir
as in j)\s^^s
is
&c.
This
of to-day-
Compounds
gether that
tified.
and joined tonone of its component words can be idenTamil Q^uj + iSsiap becomes in Malayalam
are so contracted
ji/dQ
Q^Qjp
&c.
(5)
^^iB
is
'agnihotri', 'patteri'
is
'Bhattasri'
usually
S-ffl
changed or omitted;
?>-(flujn(Sl)
;
^0
becomes
^eear^
i-jpeii
(as in
^Ss, ^eo
^.uSituli,
e^irULj
pigeon)
(6)
uiTfieii ;
&c.
of the
same class come together either Thus sisn- becomes (SO)/ ; si altered.
&c.
In
all
them
;
is
it,
Qc^ireij
is
ueoir,
lSsu/tq/,
short or
(7) Sanskrit
far distortdiffi-
would be
chite
is
'
jata
';
srarddham
chirta,
'
';
kotamba,
'
godhuma
';
chetu,
Sakatam';
'
Sridevi';
vakkanam, 'vyakyanam';
be ascertained on It cannot so forth. what principle mesham becomes niedam and vesham as vezham^ which in Tamil means an 'elephant'. The
z;^/i,
bali
'
Sanskrit
from Sanskrit
derived
(green leaf)
u)lL(B
^is
or
(honey)
aom from
371
Surds
in
(5(55
becomes @@g^ ;
(^m^
ibitwlj,
(s^itldli ;
U(G5(G^ ;'&C.
This change
of the Chera
is
poets.
Malayalam has
softer
this
and
more
due
And
116
may be
in
inches
The
peculiarities
of the
:
Malayalam language
the home-speech of
race,
may be
a
it
is
whose vocal Highly cultivated languages like Sanskrit or Tamil are always free from such confusions which characterize the
Brahman-oppressed Dravidian
organs were affected by an incessant
cold'.
lower stages of a
human
speech.
We
ment
of the
to
shall
conclude
this short
essay
with
a state-
of the
Malayalam language.
must not be
difficult
Tne
communication
of the
bet-
Indian
very
little.
The
forests
down
the
The marriage
and
the
connections
between
dynasties
of
the
Chera
Tamil
had
the
372
TAMIL STUDIES
owing
to the
a conflict of the
inheritance.
nepotic
laws of
The
the
marriages
(A.
of
father
of
Kulasekhara Pandya.
D.
of
1190)
ihe
with
and
Chera king
a
(A. D,
1300) with
should
be
added
the
the
aggressive
to
princesses
social
prevent
political
intervention
in
their
and
The study
of
Tamil
literature
was neglected
in^
owing to the dominating influence the Nambudri Brahmans, which kept the nonof the country perfectly ignorant
Brahman Dravidians
the ancient
and owing
t(3
the extinction of
Chera line of kings who patronized it. The introduction of Judaism, Christianity and (4) Muhamadanism direct from Western Asia at a very early period, the frequent internal troubles among the
feudal
chiefs of
Kerala,
from the eighth gradually tended to diminish their intercourse. The Chola king Ko-Chengannan is said to have defeated the Chera Kanaikkal This forms the Irumporai and taken him prisoner.
four centuries
subject
of
'
Kalavali Forty
'
of the
poet
Poigaiyar.
of the eighth
373
the Chera kings in a series of battles at Vilijnam, Pulandai, Kottar, Chevur and are mentioned by
the
these
commentator
Iraiyanar's
Agapporal.
We
wars
in
The customs and manners of the Nambudri Brahmans and their sexual connection with the Su(5)
dras,
which
in
course of time
spoiled
both Sanskrit
and Tamil, were looked upon with disfavour by the East Coast Brahmans or BJiattas, who always regarded the former as an mferior class on that account,
though
to a lesser degree than they did the
Nambi
own
country.
For this reason none of the later religious re(6) formers Ramanuja, Madhva and others did not
In a vast
the Tamil
same period
miles
square
we
it
mean
in
the
Tanjore
district.
Hinduism,
the North
in
as
in
discount
from the Tamil land rarely visit these shrines Malabar and Travancore, exceptmg one or two,
they are praciically
as
unknown
to
Hindu
devotees.
374
(7)
TAMIL STUDIES
Last of
all
comes
incessant rain throughout the year and its dampness and heat on account of the proximity of mountains, which make the country uninhabitable for the East
Coast people.
To summarize: Tamil, Vadugu(Telugu)and Karunatam (Canarese) are the only Dravidian languages which are mentioned in the early Tamil works. Malayalam as
a distinct language does not'appear in any Tamil
anterior to the fifteenth century.
work
From
to
such an extent
other
two,
and that
it
alone has a
times,
is
and
literature
from the
earliest
that
it
We
are not
'
opinion of
Kannada was
the earliest to
be cultivated of
languages',
as he
none
of the extant
works
It is
in
Canarese go
natural
earlier
than
quite
to scholars,
who liavemade
nacular,
a special study of
some
particular ver-
like Dr.
speak highly of
to the
of
them
of
it
Dr. Caldwell,
who
has
made
study of
all
the
map
will
explain
several
graphically the
tion of
the
375
among
their
languages.
The gram-
Tamil and Telugu are quite and the age when they had parted from each
of
sister lan-
guages.
And
early
of
grammar and
vocabulary
which
and the
Tamil seem
first
mer was
gest
the
born
;
sister of
Tamil
additional support
limit of
and this seems to receive an from the fact that the northern
north-western
century
A. D>
before the
fifth
Canarese from
her
say
womb
we might
which
It
has
is
come
largely
of Sanskrit,
to
be observed that
could
no period
so
in
it
historic
is
times
have
been
among
Many
idioms
they might
borrowed
yaiam remains,
saturation, a
Dravidian tongue
in close alliance
with
other
chief
376
TAMIL STUDIES
of
South
India.
And
in
the
words
of a
hardly
in
one
place,
'
it
language'.
This must
be the opinion of
all
impartial scholars,
of dispute
and
of
it
must
whether Malayalam
altered off-shoot"
it is
Tamil
sister
language, because
evidently neither.
CONCLUSION
A
ati
line
on the
drawn from Mercara on the west to Tirupeast marked the northern hmit of the
that
portion
line,
of
the Indian
sea
with the
on
was
akam
or Dravida-desa.
races
distinct
the
Nagas, the
Aryans.
Naga-Dravidiati race.
of
this
country.
earlier
into
two sections
the later
the
and the
mixed one.
the
south
when
the
it
was connected by
tribes
land
to
with
the
Australia,
interior
earlier
being
driven
and the later immigrants occupying the east coast from Cape Comorin to Vizagapatam and extending as far as Nagpur in the Central Provinces. These were the vanaras and the
hills
and
forests
378
rakshasas
of
TAMIL STUDIES
the
Ramayana.
It
is
by no means
easy to say
when these races entered India. Then came the Dravidian Tamils, the
being
used in
to
this
word
in
'Dravidian'
a
work
chiefly
restricted sense
tribe
Vellala
of
the
who were
regarded
as
Kshatriyas, Vaisyas
this
Sudras accor-
seems to be coun-
man
the
Brahuis and
the
race
probably of
Aryo-Mongolian
in
Tamil
works
as
the
tender
mango
in
leaf.
Their original
Asia Minor where the ancient Accadians lived. They had entered India by the North-western passes
Upper
India,
after
Immediately
way of western India halting for a time at Dwarasamudram in the Mysore (buffalo) Province. From
thence ihey proceeded
east,
in three separate
bands
to the
CONCLUSION
379
any semi-civilized
led to a fusion of
Naga
tribe.
races. In
have happened
are
at
so early a period.
And
am
of
Nayars
of
Malabar and
of
Travancore
the early
not the
modern
hybrid
representatives
but
descendants
Naga-Dravidians
and Aryans.
like race of
The
hunters and
buffaJo
cattle-breeders,
and
in tribe,
their
partiality to the
may
be
observed
the
Todas
Dravidian
who
simultheir
time
of
mans.
sixth
came the Aryans, who were mostly BrahThe earliest band of them might have
country
or
down
fourth
fifth
A. D. a thin
stream of
have flowed
southward. Sometimes
assumed
larger proportions,
which
it
did
when
large
number
of
them came
from the north-west and spread evenly in all the These Brahmans are Tamil-Malayalam districts. known as Nambis in the Tamil districts and as
these
Nambudris in the Malayalam or Chera country. All Brahmans keep the lock ot hair on the top of
380
their head.
TAMIL STUDIES
Their migration took place between the
sixth and seventh centuries A. D., when Buddhism and Jainism were receiving mortal blows from the federal army of the Aryo-Dravidian theologians, and
to
be erected for
the
Tamil
band
of the
Brahman
settlers
and their migration from the northeastern Telugu country must have taken place between the eighth and tenth centuries, that is sometime
the
Bhattas,
after the
downfall
of the great
empire
the
of
Harsha-
Nambis
or
Namburis
of
west
coast
had
community
lived
on
sacred
Ganges, Godavari,
to cross the
Kistna
Western Ghats.
are
still
Few
They
latest
known
there as Bhattatiris,
while
the
Bhatta immi-
grants from
Pattar.
the
The Brahmans
the
they
consider
themselves
purer
blood,
are
of
Brahmans
due
to
Namburis,
which
loose
is
no doubt
the
male members of the Aryan Brahmans with the women Dravidian castes in the Kerala country.
the
CONCLUSION
climatic conditions
38i
The Tamils
or the Naga-
Dravidians were
first
when, the
earliest
country.
times,
modern
Vellalas,
of
must
territorial tribes
of
The home-speech
Brahmans,
is
of
all
Tamil.
It is
on
the part
iof
Tamil
origin
them
to attribute
is
divine
an ancient
the
member
Nagas
has no
What language
of
Tamil belongs
it
group
languages and
We
it
may however
and the
the
find
some remote
affinities
between
in
Indo-European languages
both
their
fact
Upper India
Tamil
before their
downward march
Dekhan.
382
is
TAMIL STUDIES
a living
slightly
it.
tongue and so the early Tamil differs from the mediaival and the modern forms of
;
Owing
so
to
its
great
antiquity
and
or
its
classic
perfection
ary,
with
early
a settled
as
the
century
B. C, literary
the colloquial
;
Tamil
differs
very
much
differs
from
from
of
Tamil
is
very defective
and though defective, it has three sounds .*., p and which are peculiarly its own and which are not to be found in any other language. It had an alphaifi
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
century A. D.
zenith
in the
when
Tamil
Tamil
Brahman
country.
The
first
extant
the
B. C. 350.
We have no data to settle what the religion of the Nagas and Dravidians was before the arrival of the Brahmans in Southern India. As early as the tenth
century
there were in
each village a
Pidari
or a
for
or
more
some
known
have been
CONCLUSION
animists or demonolators
383
first
when they
Till
came
in
Aryans.
about
the third or
fourth century A. D,
Brahmanism
the
Tamil
Or, as
was
Saivism,
Jainism,
I
Buddhism
demonolatry'.
must add
to these Indraism
and
Vishnuism.
manism came
fifth
is
between the
of
and eighth
alone
the
Siva and
to
Vishnu
survived.
of
Siva
said
have
to
I
nipped the
head
Brahma,
given
kick
Yama, knocked out the teeth of the Sun, and so on Such was the fate of the Vedic deities. All the extant Tamil works on religion and ethics bear clear marks of Aryan influence, and it would be
obviously untenable to hold with
Dr,
Pope
their
that the
Tamils have
developed
religion of
own
in-
the earliest
period
is
the old
pre-historic
religion of
times.'
evil
spirits
and
essential elements
similar to
those of the
Vedic
384
TAMIL STUDIES
Moreover, the words Siva and Siddhanta
Dravidian origin.
Rudraism.
are not
of
The Saivism
or
the
may
of the
philosophic
Brahmanisra of the Pauranic period. The sixty-three Nayanars or Saiva Saints including
Appar and Trignana Sambandar seem to have flourished between the sixth and ninth centuries; and the
Saint
is
out-side that
It
bead-
roll flourished
A. D. 875.
was given
and
its
philosophic basis
of the
great
;
systems of
Sankaracharya
again
and
Ramanujacharya
cult of
authors were
Saiva Brahmans.
The
less
Vishnu was
has been
in existence
religi-
But
this
humanitarian
on did not attempt to take converts from among the demonolatrous Naga-Dravidian tribes of hunters and warriors, nor was it in their nature to embrace such a
catholic religion despite the teachings of the Vaishna-
va alvars or
actively
saints,
who
Nayanars
worked for the expulsion of Buddhism and Nammalvar was Jainism from the Tamil country. tlie last of the Vaishnava Saints, A. D. 925; then came
a line of
CONCLUSION
385
commencing from Sri Nathamuni (A. D. 905 1025) and ending with Manavala-Mamuni (15th century}. It is to Ramanuja and Vedanta Desika (14th century)
that
Vaishnavism owes
the
its
stability
and greatness,
popularized
it
while
other
acharyas
only
by
their lectures
statement that
and comments. Thus, Dr. Pope's the Vaishnava system has been a
'
formidable
rival of
and Dr.
Caldwell's
were
the disciples of
the true history
their
Ramanuja
of
are either
perversions of
Vaishnavism,
Saivas, or hasty
to
and
historical
accuracy.
In
Tamil there
is
no
literature
is
and there
Tamil
is
unconnected no ethics or
Aryan influence.
to
The
work
in
which any
definite
the Kural
of Tiruvalluvar^
which goes up to the opening years of the Christian era. There must have surely existed some works
anterior to
first
that
period,
since
is
the
age
to
of
*he
the
Tamil
grammar
believed
be
third or fourth
century B.
C,
writing at least
of the
from the
exception
sixth
or seventh.
are
Bat none
pre-
Tolkapyam works
now
of a few short poems included in the Agananuru and the Purananuru. The history of Tamil literature may be divided
25
386
TAMIL STUDIES
into six periods, namely,
A. D. 150)
(A. D.
;
the
hymnal
;
500950)
the translations
(A.D. 9501200)
the exegetic
(A. D.
1200
or
Original works in
The bulk
literature
from Sanskrit
like
compitihasas and
and
Tiri-
puranas.
Eladi
kadukam, intended
mass
of religious
Saiva and
exceptions.
Vaishnava
the
devotees
honourable
ancient
prose
commentaries on
the
authors be
excepted.
Alone
among
Dravidian
languages
as
Tamil
interesting.
it
grand
and noble
all
which he can
it
call his
own
task
onlv by approachLet us
join
in a scientific spirit.
hands lovingly
in
the sacred
of reconstructing
development.
And
in
.
us follow the examples of Dr. Latham, Pro and others, whose work for their English language and literature stands unrivalled.
Skeat
APPENDIX
The
of
Pandyas
will
(2) some which are distorted and interlarded with miracles in the local puranas, (3) in early Tamil literature, and (4)
be found
and legends,
inscriptions.
Of these the
to
first
chieliy
owing
their
antiquity
the present
form.
The
puranas,
them being obviously mythical, put us on the wrong scent, and in some cases operate as counter-acting
most
agents
in
our researches.
;
The
third
is
entitled
to
credence
but on
of
some some
when
reliable data,
like
they
cannot easily
be tampered with
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.
literature
388
TAMIL STUDIES
is
shrouded
in
obscurity^
will
the
Pandya kings from the earliest times up to A.D. 950. The earliest available information about the Pandya
is that which is contained in the Pattuppattu, the Agananuru and the Purananuru. From the various names of Pandyas which occur in these poems Mr,
kings
Nedum
Seliyan
(50-75)
II
Verri
The
Vel
Seliyan
Nanmaran
(140-150).
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
and improved as given below. It is only tentative and must remain so until epigraphy discloses new facts some day or other (1) Vadimbalamba Ninra Pandya, B.
:
450 (2)
Palsalai
Nilandaru
Tiruvir
Pandya,
B. C.
B.
25
C.
350 (3)
(4)
Ugra
150
Seliyan
I,
A. D.
Ham Seliyan, A. D. 175 (7) Nedum (6) D. 225 (9) II, A. D. 200 (8) Nanmaran I, A. Seliyan D. 250 (10) Nanmaran II, A. D, 275 Maran Valudi, A.
(11) Peruvaludi, A. D. 300. The name of the first king means he who survived the deluge'. According to the Mahawanso a tidal wave from the Indian ocean washed The above may off the southern shores about B.C. 450.
'
be a reference
second Pandya
APPENDIX
389"
The
great
third
and
among
the early
Mudukudumi
learning and
sacrifices.
Peruvaludi.
He was
patron of
who
;
sent
an
embassy
Augustus Caesar
to in the
in B.
C. 25
and
'
this fact
Velvikudi grant as
going as
said
to
ambassador
yan
to
the
gods'.
Ugra Peruvaludi
is
fish
on the Himalayas.
Nedum
Seli-
many tanks for irrigation, which fact has been commemorated in a poem by Kuda Pulaviyanar, He committed suicide for having, without a proper
constructed
enquiry, ordered the decapitation of Kovalan an innocent
merchant
goldsmith.
sati
of
Kaveripatam
deified as
tlie
and was
Goddess
of
Chastity.
To
king's
Nedum
Seliyan II
boy defeated the two Tamil kings and five Sattanar the famous at Talaiyalamkanam.
Buddhist lived
poet
in
Nanmaran
and the
Nakkirar
II.
Nanmaran
With
in 1906
ttie
discovery of the
Chinnamanur copper
in
plates
and
ly Indo-Aryan.
on the head was pureno non-Aryan tribe or caste had Hence the early Brahman settlers were called OuShj Offsr^ajt it. This Pandya king was perhaps the first Dravidian who (Kal. 71). adopted this Aryan custom on account of his having performed many yagas or sacrifices like the Brahmans.
The custom
of
keeping a
tuft of hair
In Southern India
390
to
TAMIL STUDIES
be disappearing.
to light several
The
them goes up
to the
beginning
hundred years between it and the one given above. Perhaps this was the period of the Jaina ascendancy;, and the Jains might have been instrumental to the occupation of the
Pandya
kings, the
mythic kings
in the past
Among
these
may be stated,
ocean
of
city of
leading elephants
charioteer,
curse of Vasu,.
engraving
bow on Mount
and
these
Talayalankanam, translating
the
Mahabharata
To
and the
to sue for to the
Velvikudi
grant
add
that
up the
APPENDIX
Then comes
391
Mudukudumi
I
Peruvaludi.
Kalabhra occupation.
I
1.
Kadungon
.
A. D. 600.
I
2.
A. D. 620.
3.
4.
Maravarman
I
5.
Jatavarman Ranadhiran A. D.
I
6.
7. Jitila
Varman Parantakan
I
Srivara, A. D. 770.
8.
Rajasimha
II,
1
A. D. 785.
9.
Varaguna
I,
I
A. D. 810.
10.
II.
Varaguna Varman
12.
Parantakan Viranarayana
A. D, 862
3.
A.D. 885
13.
a Kerala princess.
I
Rajasimha
a
III,
Abhiman-
Among
Mudukudumi Peruvaludi
was a remote ancestor of Kadungon. The name of Kadungon occurs in the commentary on Iraiyanar's Agapporul as the last king in whose reign the first Sangam was abolished. In the reign of Jayantan {Tarn,
^92
TAMIL STUDIES
classic
of
was composed
Maravarman Avani Chulamani. Maravarman Arikesari 4) who boasts of having won the battle of Nelveli
(QrBeoCDeueSla3&}
Qeum piDir pm) must be identified with Kun Pandya. Had the impaling of by Trignana Sambanda art event so
and
described
with
much
in
exaggerated
pride
fact
it
the Saivapuranas
been
an accomplished
must have been referred to in the plates. Arikesari Parankusan had the title of Ter Seliyan a name which
second Sangam.
of
Jatila
Varman
was
the
Velvikudi
grant.
village
He had
of
the
title
of
Srivara
in
Srivara-Mangalam
district,
Tinnevelly
to a
jata Bhatta.
He was
770
to
a devout
Vishnu.
hara
in A. D.
God Narasimha
at
Elephant hill or Yanaimalai near Madura. Varaguna I might have been the builder of the Vishnu temple at
Varaguna-Mangalam.
Saivite, converted
His
grandson
probably
to that faith
and Saiva
saint
grandson Rajasimha
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
APPENDIX
Tamil
393
The literature and in the Madura stalapurana. copper plates refer also to the founding of a college of poets at Madura and the translating of the Mahabharata. The first has been considered in our essay on the Tamil
academies.
in the
complete form
All
to
A. D.
The
first
of
these
versions
is
name is at unknown and the very existence of the work is doubtful. Whether it was identical with the BharataVenba of Perundevanar (A.D. 750) or altogether differreferred to in the grants.
present
The
translator's
ent cannot be
ascertained
owing
to
it
the
paucity
of
information.
that the
Provisionally, however,
maybe assumed
Bharata-Venba
translation.
The
third
Trailokyamallan Vatsarajan
Arumbakkam
(1)
in
the
though
it
this day,
might
have been undertaken when Kamban was engaged in translating the Ramayana. The fourth rendering of the
epic into Tamil
was by
Villiputtur
It is
Alvar, a Vaishnava
only
fragment or
A.D. 1732-
Pillai in
So
literature
(1)
and inscriptions.
From both
report, dated
2nd July
1906, p. 74.
394
TAMIL STUDIES
of
number
list of
Oil-
Madura Stalapurana
gives
long
of
some
forty-
narrates
deity.
Most
names
in the lists
seem
be fanciful
or mythical, corroborated
inscriptions.
amine them
of
will
the
salient
points
to
sacred
and secondly according to the succession of the Pandya kings. I. The 51st sport' was the establishment of the
sports' or the deeds of Siva
*
Madura Pandya
pride of
College
;
during
reign
the
of
reign
of
Vamsasekara
the
54)
(52),
in the
Champaka Maran
;
(53
and
grammar to Nakkirar Nakkirar's commentary on Iraiyanar's (55) Agapporul recited before the dumb Brahman child, Rudra-Sarman (56) refers probably to Tiruvalluvar's contest with the members of the academy (57-61)
Siva directs Agastya to teach Tamil
;
Pandya and (62, 63), the were persecuted by the Saivite apostle Trignana
;
Sambanda during
Pandya.
II.
Kun
or
Sundara
said to
fourth king was Ugra Pandya. He is have performed ninety-six Asvamedha or horse sacrifices, and he was the founder of a Sangam or
The
APPENDIX
academy.
395>
In his
at
the
machination of the fains was metamorphosed into a hill by Siva with the help of Narasimha. In commemoration of this event the
for the
'
Qlosuq^
in
aSa^^^i^issr (S&}LfiS(^mi3so'.
The
tenth
succession
In this reign
Sri
Rama
The
visited
He went
marudur
to expiate
sin of
in was whose reign the third academy was established, NakkiNakkirar rar, Paranar, Kapilar &c, being its members. composed the <sias'^utT^ siretr^^uir^ujipiT^, Rudrasarma listened to Nakkirar's commentary on Iraiyanar's Agapporul. The sixty-first was Arimardhana. The The saint Manikkavachakar flourished in this reign. last but one and the seventy-second king in the list was Kubja or Kun Pandya. In his reign 8000 Jains were impaled by Trignana Sambandha.
hrahma-halti.
The
forty-sixth
Vamsasekhara
and considering
has
them
together
it
will
be
;
stern
historical
facts
observed.
The
Madura
narrated in three
Maha Purana, Kadamba Vana Purana, Sundara Pandyam and Halasya Mahatmyam all which were composed sometime after
or four Sanskrit puranas namely, Uttara
and
as
And
their
made long
These accounts
differ
396
TAMIL STUDIES
'sports'.
other
respects.
Some of The
seen
like
of
kings
are
sanskritized
chronological
the
is
order
as
be
on.
Thus,
puranas,
Tiruvilayadal
a
Purana,
of
other
compilation
all
traditions,
caution.
in
The
(salai)
only king
who
is
mentioned
Tamil
literature
is
as having
sacrifices
Palyaga
Mudukudimi
He was
an ancestor of
Nedum
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 The fourth king in first century A. D.
the
list is
Vikrama Pandya
in
temple
the
at the foot of
the Anaimalai
that temple, we learn Maran Kari, a minister of the that it was constructed by Pandya king Parantaka or Nedum Sadaiyan in A. D, 770 (No. 7). The age of Manikka Vachakar, who is
inscriptions
discovered in
said to
have lived
king Arimar-
dhana, but actually in the reign of Varaguna the 19th Pandya king, was the second half of the ninth century
and the date of Trignana Sambanda has been determined As he is believed to be the latter half of the seventh. to have been a contemporary of Kun or Sundara Pan-
APPENDIX
dya,
II
397
who is known in Tamil religious literature as Nedumara Nayanar of Nelveli, he might be identified with No. 4, Maravarman Arikesari (A. D. 680) given in our genealogical table. Thus, we find the paur ante accounts
of these historic
facts
variance
with those
anachronous and at which one might glean from and the epigraphical reports.
are
grossly
APPENDIX
II
of Agastya.'
It
con-
composed by Kazharamban
teacher Agastya.
seem
to
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
;
his direct
its
Sutras.
number of Sanskrit words been very small, and the necessity in Tamil must have for framing rules for the loan of Aryan words could not
In the days of Agastya the
have been
it was in the days of Buddhamitra and was on this account that Tolkapyar did not give any definite rule under that head, except in a vague manner thus
felt,
as
Pavanandi.
It
398
TAMIL STUDIES
the other
On
hand,
of
this
Per-Agattiya-Tirattu devotes
to
some 24 Sutras
Sandhis and
in
the
words
as the following
aphorisms
(^Srru)
(2)
ujsinh
j)j
^^ ^ &.
toT
6?Q7 QmrTL^ITUD.
sE ep
e^eir
siji^th.
sutras
in (a)
6? S7OT2/ QpuSiT
(^sird^^rftuj.
^QeufTL^eOeO^ uusaQp^eorr^.
(1)
(2)
^^
j)j
CT
^(SjQsiJfr U.IT(^(^LD(ip^ei).
SL ^- 2J^
^
oo,
^ST
iuisiQp^eo,
3.
The author of this grammar seems to think that from Sanskrit is borrowed Aydam,
e^susiiLD
Lppssreijih^iS
QL^(W^Q^esra. (54)
It is
tp,
w, /d,
and
sbt,
posely
placed
last in
the Tamil
alphabetic system to
and the letter which has neither the sound of visar^a nor that of jihvamulya but; a sound peculiarly its own, are the To call Aydam a Sansdistinguishing marks of Tamil. Moreover, the author of this work krit letter is absurd.
indicate their speciality to that tongue,
oo,
The
Quifie<a^g=(^^^!!u>
attributed
to
Agastya's
APPENDIX
disciple
399
us an
Kazharamban purports
Tamil language.
to give
It is
outline
history of the
divided according
(1
)
namely,
Pre-alpha(5)
(3)
Grammatic,
Pauranic,
(4)
Academic,
(8)
Monastic,
(6)
Jaina, (7)
and
Modern.
but slight
introduc-
it is
unhistorical
Damodaram
;
Pillai in his
Virasoliyam
and
it
may
be taken to
century A. D.
The last or modern period commence in the fifteenth or sixteenth A classification, which refers to phases
of
made by
a disciple
is
Agastya
pill to
in the
second or third
century B. C.
hard
swallow,
come from
will readily
the
best of scholars.
it
believe
to
Agastya.
this
And
is
the
work
a clear
forgery.
What seems
is
that Per-Agattiyam
of
com-
member
one
or monasteries in
the
Tanjore or Tinnevelly
who
was
in the
it
12.50.
In the
prefatory sutra to
:
Tolkapyam
said of
its
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
{Qs^i^uSL^iu/beiasJ:
early literature
{Qpi^^&isem)
facts for
and arranging
me-
grammar
the
{QpsapuuiQajesaressFlu
Aindram.
He
been
his
one word about Agastya, his reputed teacher. It has at least the Tamil custom for an author to begin
work with
salutation
or Acharya.
was
same
of the first
Tamil grammar.
period.
It
is
Both
of
them
stood
flourished at
the
not
undertrouble
why Tolkapyar
much
to observe the usages, to study the Tamil authors, and to deduce therefrom the grammatical rules, or why he
should have recited his work for the approval and ediAthanfication of the academy before a fellow student
it
gottasan
its
president.
Was
to pick
up flaws
was he such an
ungrateful
Tamil pandits would easily believe rishis were always at loggerheadsBut, all these throw serious doubts as to whether Agastya had really written a Tamil grammar and whepupil
divine
APPENDIX
ther
III
401
disciple.
Tolkapyar
the
was ever
his
The com-
ment on
in
prefatory
sutra
by
Sivagnana Swami
confirmation
learnt his
facts of the that Agastya had Tamil from Siva, that he had been the author
of the
first
grammar
it
of
and
that
it
the model for all the works on grammar, seems to me very unsatisfactory and even fanciful. No man has ever seen the
later
had
served, betore
was
Agastya's
grammar
it
ram
ful
Pillai that
three kinds of
and the statement of Mr. Damodawas a jumble of rules relating to the Tamil is purely a creation of his power;
imagination.
What
am
inclined
to
believe
is
that every
myth and
tradition
subsequent only
to the
APPENDIX
III
their
sectarian bias,
stories,
their
superstitious belief
of
in the pauranic
their
want
confidence in
of the
epigraphy and
their
incorrect
understanding
that
to
Tamil
thinks
language,
religion.
One
to a
writer
belonged
brings
period subsequent
while a third
Dr. Pope, the
down
works,
somewhere about
the seventh o;
26
402
TAMIL STUDIES
era,'
tenth century.'
remains
still
unsettled.
some
their
elaborate
attempting to
refute
The
traditional
order of enumerating
the
four
famous Saiva saints Appar, Sambandar, Sundarar and Manild^a Vachakar and the position assigned to Tiruva-
in the
And
this
theory
is
confirmed by
by Appar or
Sambandar,
far
who
South.
must
have
visited
a
Madura the
stronghold of
famed
capital of the
Paniyas and
annotator
Saivism
(2)
in the
As a
trative
passages
from the
from those who preceded the author whose work he The commentator of Manikka Vachakar's annotates.
Tirukkovai
he
might
or
whoever
Appar's
of
all
Iraiyanar's
Agapporul,
Tolkapyam,
Naladiyar.
Kural,
Kalittogai,
Tevaram and
kar,
Since
the
authors
long
before
he must have
understood that
predecessor.
(3)
In his Koil-padigam
APPENDIX
III
403
at
Ponnambalam
According
to traditions
hall
was
king,
was
king Kocchengannan
who
is
said to
have
several
Chidambaram.
Q^fLoQu/resresressBi^
T. T.
82.
ManiUka
Vachakar
earlier
refers
to
Pey
Ammaiyar,
who
could
for
which her ^(n^^ iTLL<sisL^u)5sefftifT'?e\) and j>jpi-^^^^(f^eui5^rT^ were written, did not come into use before that period,
as explained by Nacchin irkiniyar in his
commentary on
of
the Tolkapyar's
(5)
siitra
^iQ^iQ^^n^ui,
candid
the
careful
and
study
the
present
work
will
convince
reader
that
the religious
in
his
doctrines
expounded
by
Manikka
Vachakar
Tiruvachakam, the general tenor of his writings and his contempt for other religions and sects may not enable
him
i.
hymnal
period,
e,
A. D.
500950.
of the 'sacred sports' of Siva at
(6)
One
Madura was
His
loka
or heaven; and
to
by Manikka Vachakar:
404
Again
thus
:
TAMIL STUDIES
in his
Tirukkovaiyar he refers to
...
that king
6uj^e!rar(65)/5
QppuaU6\}LLIS(lp
LDUjQeOfnEjQ0iEiaefflajrr2issTena3)<3SSfQir.
(327)
It
is
thus evident
reign of
Varaguna Pandya.
name,
the
earlier of
Epigraphical
researches
to light only
two
Pandya kings
first
whom
And
the
lived in the
Varaguna alluded to by Manikka Vachakar must have been the Varaguna Varman mentioned in the Ambasamudram inscriptions
quarter of the ninth century.
{Ep. bid. Vol. IX., Pt.
ii).
He was
of
a devout worshipper
for his
of Siva
worship
many
Siva temples.
But the Halasya Mahatmya informs us that Manikka in the reign of one Arimardhana Pandya forty-second in succession from the only Varawho was
Vachakar lived
guna given
in the
Mahatmya
list.
This
is
one of
the
find in the
Madura
as narra-
ted
this
purana,
the
'jackal
miracle'
Manikka
which is stated to have occurred in the reign of Arimardhana Pandya, the sixty- first in the list, comes after the sport of turning into rock the Elephant -that came
to destroy
Madura
seventh
Pandya,
commentary on Iraiyanar's Agapporul by the dumb child, Rudra Sarman, in The slender data on the reign of the forty-sixth king.
and the hearing
of Nakkirar's
APPENDIX
which the
first
III
405
did actually
of
Varman Parantakan A.D. 770. Nakkirar's commentary contains an illustrative kovai addressed to the Pandya king Arikesari Parankusan who reigned about A, D. 740.
take place in the
It
is
admitted
by Tamil
pandits
that
the
in
Tirukaccor-
kpvai of Manikka
Vachakar was
composed
dance with.the
rules given in
Iraiyanar's
Agapporul,
and
ary.
The date
of
and
that
of the
commentary by
narrated chronologically in
miracle
',
stalapurana,
the
of
'
Jackal
coming
after
the
metamorphosis
after A. D. 770.
the
Elephant,
the
Madura
The
Stalapiirana,
religious
of
Manikka Vacha-
Ceylon and
conversion there of
many
the
in
Vadavur Slalapurana,
Ceylon.
about A. D. 869.
(9)
The language
of
Manikka
Vachakar
and
the
back
words and
siSld
phrases
Q^itujld,
and
LLiT^rreij^irLD
of the acade-
mic period.
the
works
of
406
Periyalvar, Andal,
TAMIL STUDIES
in thought, language,
and form
is
so
close
less.
as tO'
more
or
The
Tiru-tonda-togai
last of
first
[^(j^^Q^fremi^Qstrecos)
Sundarar, the
who
lived
about
the
quarter
of
the
ninth
century
no mention is made of Manikka Vachakar, Yet like the Vaishnava acharyas who twisted and misconstrued texts to
fix
the
age of Nammalvar
last of their saints some more recent pandits and scholars have attempted
the
of the to put
Appar
thC ^(TJ^O^ffSJOTi^O^ffSOS
it
and supporting
lines
by two vague
Appar's
allusions
found
:
in
the following
from
Tevaram
(1)
Here
the
first
quotation
proves nothing,
as
the
connected
with
Manikka Vachakar,
is
an
It
many
was one
of the
many
which our
There
also.
is
the
Kalladam
Had
Kalladanar,
its
Ma-
me
to as
be more probable,
one of the
many
APPENDIX
floating
III
407
of
Tamil
ed Manikka Vachakar
the
word
6u(rs=sm has
in
been
support of
meaning the pandits quote two Sanskrit puranas whose authority might be as questionable as Here that of Halasya Mahatmya and other puranas.
Qjrrs^aetr (Skt.
vachakaYmeans
'
servant
'
or 'messenger'
Now
coming
to the Tiru-tonda-togai,
it
might be asked
alone be referred to
one
saints,
and vague fashion while the other sixtysome of whom were comparatively less
been mentioned by
their
notable, have
names or
titles ?
There
is
no answer to
this question.
Manikka Vachakar were Brahmans of the same sect; and Pandya king and a great
who
did
much
name
Saivism.
If
Sundarar had
the
to refer to
of
saint
instead
may be
have also
He must
it
read Appar's
Tevaram and
well
noticed in
as
the
incident of
eun-^sesr.
the
word
If
Manikka Vachakar had really lived before Sundarar and if the latter saint had interpreted eurrs^ssor to mean Manikka Vachakar, could he not have referred to our saint at least by that holy name in his Tiruttondattogai? This clearly shows that Sundarar had never heard of the
name
of
Manikka Vachakar
408
the
Saivas,
TAMIL STUDIES
because he had not yet been born
the
in
this
world.
Nambiyandar Nambi,
<ss}LDaS6\)sorr^ ueosij IT
Vyasa
of
the Dravidian
mean
collectively
at
the
forty -nine
academy
Madura.
usOLfsoQeaair.
uiTsaariT rssSiTiTQfi^
(^pu^Q^iT(Ssru^
modern Tamil scholars 'claim to be more learned and better informed in this matter than Nambiyandar Nambi who lived within one hundred and fifty years after Sundarar or Manikka Vachakar ? It has been urged by a recent writer that Nambiyandar
the
Do
Nambi
forgetting
that the
of the individual
!
saints
rudiments of arith-
to merit the critic's condemnation ? Has Sundara Murti or any writer anterior to Nambiyandar
Nambi
tional'
?
number
of individual saints
was
sixty-three
And,
if
not,
how
could he call
it
'
tradi-
the Saiva saints were almost unknown before the time of Nambiyandar Nambi, who for the first time collected and arranged the Devara and other Saivite hymns, and If that their apotheosis was mainly due to his works. we add Sundara Murti, as our poet has rightly done, to
the 62 individual saints
enumerated
in the ^Q^iQ^rresmL^
^Q^aesis
we
64
which
is
not
But, if we take mean Manikka Vachakar, we get the traditional number of Saiva
APPENDIX
saints, as
III
409
Murti
from the
It is
therefore plain
elder
contemporary
Periyalvar
in
and Andal
of
of
the
the
reign
that
the
Pandya
is two centuries Sambandar, half a century later than Sundarar and about one generation earlier than Nammalvar. And this is the view accepted by every student of epigraphy.
D.
870),
later
KALLADANAR.
The Kalladam
Madura.
poet
of
Its
is
an erotic
poem
'
of
hymnal period. Tamil pandits very often confound him with Kalladanar, an earlier poet of the academic age. The former was a Saiva devotee and author of ^Q^sseamemuu Q^stiH^lQ^iMpLJa and
the pauranic or
and wrote
only a few
on the Pandiya king Nedum Seliyan, second century A. D. Thus Kallada Deva Nayanar and
Kalladanar were
two
Alvar
and Poigaiyar.
Both must have been natives
the days of
of a
11,
of
Kalladam, once
West
Coast.
In
seat
II.
Manikka Vachakar,
it
Saiva shrine,
seiie\}iTu.^^-i seok^ssfl^(rF,etfl
T.V.
it
no mention
is
made
of
in the
410
TAMIL STUDIES
oi
Tevaram
Appar
or
find
references
to
says,
(oSTQ^sffs^firirk^ f<^sir(T^LLueasBijj0S)L-UU.
(57)
I^
which must
of
limit of the
age
the
of
Kalladam.
Again
the
same work
refers
to
commentary
to the
commend-
of Tiruvalluvai.
gH SU'hsO
su.&)QpQ^Q^^s
(2)
sssiiraSeOomsu^^^CcUaeo. (3)
(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
The above
quotations
show
APPENDIX
is
IV
411
a repertory
of
old
and
mixed
ture,
and
litera-
mind.
one
of those
religious
;
by the Tamil Saivas and it has given si50&)itl-ld s^jnenQies) m&i&njinQii. rise to the proverb (Venture not to argue with one that has studied the
highly valued
Kalladam).
They prove
not unacquainted
with
years after
Perundevanar, one
fessors of the
Madura
it
College.
In
Tamil academies
tary
commenA. D. 750
and that Perundevanar, the reputed author of the Tamil Mahabharatam, lived somewhere about A. D. 785.
Further, the
number
it
of sports
played by Siva
64
at
Madura
came
to
be definitely fixed as
Kalladar, while
was not
is
great saints
It
thus
pretty
evident
that
Kallada
Deva Nayanar lived between A. D. 850 and 950, and that he may have been a younger contemporary of Manikka
Vachakar whose Tirukkovayar served, according traditon, as the model for his Kalladam.
to
TIYAN.
is comwhich isIzhuvan,
it
monly supposed
be a synonym for
412
the
TAMIL STUDIES
of another
name
caste
of palm-cultivators found in
the
Tamil
and
Malayalam
countries.
The
tradi-
Malabar represent them as immigrants from Ceylon, and in accordance thereto the words Tiyan and Izhuvan are derived by the old-school philologists
tions current in
of
like Drs.
This etymology,
though advocated by such high authorites and confirmed also by Malabar traditions, seems to be rather
fanciful
and devoid
It is
of
foundation.
needless
worthlessness of
historical records.
Keralolpatti
investigations
de facto had in Chera kingdom. It is not the only instance in which the Malabar people have shown their primitive knowledge of the modern sciences of language and ethnology. 'Embran' is derived from hebrahman 'Nambi' from nainbu, to believe; 'Kuric'chan' from kun, to mark, 'Variyar' irom varuka to sweep and so on. Of course, these etymologies were supported by
Nambudri Brahmans
Malabar,
of the
who
their
Nambudri
the
to invent.
is
responsible, not
people.
of
The mother-tongue
of
the non-Aryan
Malabar was purely a Tamil dialect, and about fifty per cei?t. of the words found in the Malayalam vocabulary are of Tamil origin. As, however, Sanskrit had and even now/ have an undoubted preference in matters
APPENDIX
social
IV
413
has been to
and
religious, the
natural tendency
the upholders
of
the
ficers
'The Keralolpatti says that at one-time five artihaving provoked the Perumal's wrath emigrated,
and found refuge in Ceylon, from whence they were brought back by the intercession of foreigners, and in their train came the caste of cocoanut tree cultivators'.
(2)
The cocoanut
tree
is
not
indigenous
to
India
ween
of
in
'Divar'
Canara.
tracing the
One writer goes even to the length of Kadamba chiefs of Humcha to the children
Logan
the
points
list
is
not mentioned in
of
the
first
palm was introduced by theTiyans (Dvipans) and Izhuvans (Simhalese) from Ceylon before the sixth century A.D. As to the first argument it may be remarked tffat
century A.D.,
it is
us that
the
toddy-
drawing classes of the country from Cape Comorin to Tirupati were called Izhuvans. In none of the ancient works Sanror or Shanan is used to denote the modern Granting then, that all caste of Tamil toddy-drawers. the Shanans of the Tamil country and the Tiyans and Izhuvans of Malabar and Travancore are the deecendants
of the original
we have
The
at pre-
same
trade
and occupation
in
popula-
414
tion of
TAMIL STUDIES
Ceylon according to the Census of 1891 was near-
ly three millions.
in-
from the
first
irruption or
useful inhabitants.
We
Ceylon.
between the
little
Singalese
and Keralas
to
wa^',
in
fact,
so
that
it is
from Ceylon
Syrian
the
Christians the
;
names Izhuvan
occur
and
it is
evident that
(A.
D. 132o) an organisedguild
headmen
were
iateri
m-
The
difference in the
customs observed by the two toddy-drawing castes confirms the truth of the statement.
the
Makkatayam
Being
their
later
rule
of
inheritance
Tiyans of
Bhutal Pandiya.
Malabar are
Tamil country
Cherumas and Pulayas hold the Paraiyas of the The name Izhuvan is in low estimation.
many
stages,
when
there
is
APPENDIX
With regard
that the
to the
in
IV
it
415
second argument,
is
may be
'
said
word
it
'Divara Makkalu'
not
Divara' or
title
Divar, but
is
assum-
The Kadamba kings kings the Kalian and Marava castes of Madura still had it; have it; and a section of the Todas called the Palais style themselves *Der-mokh' or the sons of God. The Kadambas are said to have been toddy-drawers, because
ed by the South Indian
toddy-drawing was, and even
parts of India jects of the
tion of several primitive tribes
Kadimba
palm
cultivators of
Canara assume with pride the name 'Devara makkalu;' the Kalians and Maravasare called Tevans or Devans,
because their ancestors are believed
to
and in the
caste
'
last
Census several
of
the high
Todas. According
castes
to
the
'Dwipa'
theory
these
and
tribes
the
'
islanders
who
is
bear the
may be said to be the descendants of '! The important caste of toddy-drawers name of Tiyan or Dvipan in Malabar
gers or 'Duravar',
How
?
then
palm
cultivators
few
with the
aitificers,
but
not in such
to
numbers
in
as to
give a territorial
name
two
millions
or
various
Now
coming
to
third argument,
it
may be urgad
416.
TAMIL STUDIES
might have been omitted tobe mentioned by an oversight, or might not have been an
article .of
export.
In Southern India
it
was
certainly
valued and
much used by
first
during the
century A. D.
At any rate
caste
this
argument
of the
from the
It is
also contrary
to south
to the general
Tamil name
real.
of
the cocoanut
letigu
The word
in the
and
ten
tern
or
,' sweetness.' which means Tengu is the sweet or honey tree and not the southern tree as some And ten-disai is the philologists would have us beheve. sweet direction where Tamil or the 'sweet' tongue is
honey' or
spoken.
This direction
kil (kilakku)
is
called
in
Tamil
just
east'
ten
with
the
Tamihans,
as mel
re-
(merku) and
with
country.
Since
ten^
ku
and
same root
is
is
that
tengu
(cocoanut)
derived
and call it par excellence the 'southern tree',, as if there had been no cocoanut trees in India before the introduction of that useful palm from Ceylon by the
from
Tiyans,
then is the etymology of the terms Izham, IzhaandTiyan. 'Izham' means the land of Kubera or the van Indian god of gold (Izham) for which the island of
What
APPENDIX
JV
417
Ceylon or Lanka was renowned in the Puranas. This word is quite distinct from'Izham' which means 'toddy.' The latter is derived from'Izhu,' to draw, and it may be
found in Telugu as
'Izham' has
'Idiga'.
It is
come
to
denote toddy
indicates
number
times
far
ot
of
synonyms
this
for toddy
the high
in
importance
early
as
valuable as gold.
On
these grounds
we
are
from
agreeing with
tracing the
Dr.
Caldwell and
other
scholars in
word 'Izham' or 'Izhavan' from 'Simhalam' which had already found its way into the Tamil language in the form of Singalam. Similarly we would derive Tiyan from ti-an, which means a 'sweet man,' or one whose occupation is the
manufacture
tional
class of
of
It is
an occupato
this
but
not
name applied
most
carry
of the
toddy drawers.
When
to
Drvidian
Panikkan,
who
are supposed
with
Izhavads alone
be called
by Sanskrit appellations
27
INDEX
(Names of Tamil authors and
Academies, account
Aborigines, 19, 377. the
<if
traditional
the,
252;
later,
Rama Pandya, a poet king, 225, 255. Atti-peru, meaning of, 359 f.n.
Ativira
to,
Ayirai
hill,
266,
on vowel
Agastya,
age of, 45, 150, 390 118; grammar, 188, 397; priest students of the Pandyas. 52 of, 237. Agglutinative languages, 147. Ainknruiniru an early CheraTamil anthology, 342. or prolation, 133. Alapedai Alphabet, the Tamil, 113 et seq.
;
;
signs, 131. Retel-leaf, use of, 329. Bharatam^ when tr.^nslated, 247 Bhatta or later colony of Brahmans, 349, 380.
Brahmans.
42 59
; ;
Alvars,
or
218
'first,'
299.
caste, 69.
Ambalakkaran, a
Ambalavasis, a caste, 103. American languages, 172. Anaimalai inscriptions, 319. Andal, a lady saint, 323. Anthologies, Tamil, when compiled, 254, 257.
their influence in Tamil literin Malabar, 348 ature, 186 when migrated, 379. Brahmanism, early, 285-288; in Kerala, 373. used Brahmi characters, 115
;
by Brahmans and Buddhists, 126 and Vatteluttu comparIndian 123 all South ed,
;
Brahuis, a Dravidian tribe, 50, 378 and the Dravidians, Dr. Grierson on, 37, 38. on the Bray, Mr. Denys, 33 Dravidians, 37 Brihat Katha, 243,
;
ciation, 137.
Buhler. Dr.
120, 243.
G.,
on Vatteluttu,
Asoka, 126.
Assyrians, 41
Burnell,
Dr.
A.
C, 116
on
Vatteluttu, 120.
420
Caldwell.
INDEX
Cox, Prof. H., quoted,
Critical spirit, 196.
15.
'
Dr. 33, 412; on the Dravida 5; on the aborigines, 19;onTamil civilisation, 50; on the Paraiyas,81; on the Tamil alphabet, 120; on Tamil diphthongs, 156; on Tamil literature, 201204; on the Alvars, 281; on Malavalam
word
',
Damodaram
Pillai's
division
of
345, 359.
Case terminations,
164. Castes, Tamil, 58; regional classification of, 62; in Kaja Raja Chola's time, 66; origin" of, 67;
Tamil literature, 198-200, 399, Dancing women, 190. Dandi, a grammarian, 220. Dead, disposal of the, 39, 214. Dependant letters in Tamil, 133. Der-mokh, 415.
Deva Nagari
alphabet, 29.
increase of, 7.S; disputes, 74; the right and left-hands. 95. system, 61 Caste Veilalar's position in, 61; introduction of, 75; among the Naga-Dravi;
Devar (Aryans), 10. Devara-makkalu, a title, 415. Devar a hymns, 190; and Divya prabandam, compared, 292. Divakaram of Sendan, a Tamil
dictionarv, 65,219. Dots, use of, in Tamil letters, 122. Drama, 187; works on the, 189, Dravida, explained, 1; Manu's definition, 5; Dr. Caldwell's use of 5; etymology of, 6; and Cauda contrasted, 3 Dravidas, the five, 2; the custom of, 3; proper, 4; Nambudries not included, 4/. . Dravidins, 61; in Upper India, dark race, 378; 36; not a civilisation of, 60 religion of various theories early, 283 concerning, 17 el seq; connection with Australians, 18. Dravidian, linguistic and ethnological applications, 37; family
, ; ;
dians, 381. Cattle-lifting, before a war, 40. Ceylon and Tiyans, 415. Chakkiyar Kuttu, 190. Chera custom?, early, 275.
Chera
Cherumars and
of
castes, 354.
names
at,
Chidambaram,
temple
318.
Chinese, 161. Chintadripetta, 93. Chijita,nani, a Jaina work, 219 293; age of, 255.
Chtidamani
Nigandu.
Tamil
and
IJralo-AltaJc
;
languages,
Coimbatore, derivation
of, 31.
languages, degree 170, 171 of relationship among the, 374 their influence in Sans;
names
of,
223;Vaishnava,
223.'
krit, 168,
169
;
Commentaries, need for, 223. Communication between the East and West Coasts, 371. Compound words in Tamil 158; and in Sanskrit, 161.
290. Consonants, Tamil, 134; softening of Sanskrit, 161. Copper plate grants, 115 early Malabar, 356.
at,
,
Dvarasamudram,
Early
378.
Conjeeveram, religions
Tamil, 173-177.
Saint, 66.
Enadi Nayanar, a
Cow,
its
importance, 73.
INDEX
Eyinas, an ancient tribe, 12, 76.
Ezhuttaccliaii, a poet, 361.
421
;
Idaiyan, history of, 71, 76, 103 in Malabar, 353, llakkaiia Vilakkam, 224.
not in
Mala-
Tamil,
age
of,
239.
Food and
verbs
in
Malaya-
Initial letters in
words, 138.
;
French
academy,
compared
Gait. Mr. G. A., quoted, 15. Gandaraditya, a king, 255, 292. Gandharvam, a form of marriage,
101
gandharvis,
dan-
cmg women,
Inscriptions, on social position castes, 75, 77 of certain giving a Paraiya's decision, 80; on the Kaikolas, S2 et. Vatteluttu and use of seq Grantha-Tamil in, 127. Interchange of letters in, 136. Ir or r, as plural suffix, 163. Irrigation tanks, 43 the system Babyborrowed from the lonians, 43. Islamism and Brahmanism, 186. Isolating languages, 147.
; ;
Geosraphy,
rance
of,
the
Tamil's igno-
lyakkan
or Yaksha,
Marava
142
Guana
197.
Vcitiyaii, a
Tamil work,
Grammars,
introduced, 128 rules lor naturalisation of, 128, Grierson, Dr., 17, 39 on Tamil literature, 207. Gunabhara, a Pallava king, 305. Gunadhya, age of, 243. Giiniparamparai, or the lives of Vaishnava reformers, 220.
; ;
why
Izham, meaning of, 416. Izhavas, a caste, 66, 72, 77, 413. Izha-putchi, a tax, 72.
Jains, position of, in the caste right-hand dispute, 110 a caste, 112.
;
Jaina, Sangam, foundation 251 Tamil works, 219. Jespersen, Dr., quoted, 261. Johnston, Mr. C. J., 86 /. n.
;
of,
Haddon,
Dr., 19.
Hinduism, history of, 282, 285. Hiranya Varma, a king, 402. History, foreign to Hindus, 195. Hovelacque, Dr., 35, 172, 195. Hunter, Sir W. W., on Dravidian migration, 23, 108 on Tamil literature, 204.
;
Kadunkon, a Pandya king, 25?. temple 65, 95 as servants, 97 were Eyinas, not good 82; origin of, 82, 83
;
; ;
Kalingam, meaning
of, 83.
Hymnal
Kaliiigaltnpayani, a poem, 221. Kalittogai, an anthology, 216. Kalladanar, 3, 216; age of, 409.
422
Kamban,
INDEX
Kurichan, a
hill tribe, 91.
Kalian, a caste, 29, 69. date of, 54 219, 262 lectured in Malabar, 343. Kammalas, thread wearing bj, in Malabar, 104 75, 77, 108 origin of the, 85,-88 their version of caste disputes, 97.
;
;
Kurumbas,
tribe,
13, 69.
Language, no safe test of race, 13; changes in its growth, 145; morphol jgical classification of, 147.
Kanakasabhai, Mr. V.,his etymology of the word Tamil, 7 his theory of Mongolian origin, 192 on Early Chera 13, 25,
; ;
Lemurian theory,
Letters,
in
kings, 272; on the Pandiya kings, 388. Kanchipuram, description of, 76; origin of caste disputes at, 99. Kannappa Nayanar, a saint, 29. Kaimassa Ramayanam, 360. Kapilar, 4 5, 216, z68, 270, 271; as name of three different poets, 197; not a Paraiya, 248. Kappiyanar, a poet, 266. Karaikk alaniinai a saint, 403.
,
Malayalam, 368.
Tamil, 197.
Karaiyan,
Karanam, a
Katantra, a
caste, 75.
grammar,
118.
Madura,
seat of
the
Soulliern,
240;
pyam,
138.
Kerala, a Kodum-Tamil country, Nambudris owner264, 341 ship oi, 350Khonds, a hill tribe, 90. Kings, duties of Hmdu, 108. Kocchengannan,age of, 250,319. Kodum-Tamil, where used, 142. Kol-Ayan, a shepherd caste, 353.
;
popularity, 52; translated, 256, 393 ; date of the war, 239. Mahawanso, on the caste disin the, 51;
its
Makkalpravidians),
try,
10.
and
the
Koliyaiis, weavers, 80. Konatiri, meaning of, 353. K'jftayam plates, 360. Krishiiagata, a poem, 360. Kshatri\as, 59, 103. Kudumi'or tuft of hair. 389.
in, a47.
Malaiman, a
Malaspir, a
9,
Kulabckliaralvdr,
saint. 309,'343.
Chera-Tamil
Kuji(ialakesi,n Jaina work, 219. Kunnalakon, meaning of, 353. Rural, 113; Sanskrit miluence in the, 194.
375; not an iiiflectiQnal language, 149; meaning of, 341; early literature in, 357 ; and vulgar Tamil, 367; grammar, 365, 366-369 ; levelling process in, 368 ; vocabulary, separated why 369-371 ; from Tamil, 371-6.
INDEX
Mamballi, copper plates, language of, 359. Manavalamainiini, a Vaishnava reformer, 22J, 385. Mangudi-kisliar, a poet, 78 ;
Nacchiiiarkiniyar,
a
423
Tamil
commentator, 45, 118, 123, 328 ; on Vowel-consonants,
129.
Marudanar,
Maniiiickalai,
epic, 39.
21(5.
et seq.
Chera-Tamil
Manipravala, 229.
Marayan,
Marriage,
of,
a caste, 00.
ti:e
;
10 f.n.] with the Cholas, 11; described, 27; in S. India, 28, G9; tribes, 61. Naga-Dravidians, 377. 'Nagakiimara kavyam, a Jaina work, 219. Naidatam, a Tamil classic, 225. Nakkirar, 216, 395; his account of Academies, 252. Naladiyar, date of, 69, 219, 254.
Pallis,
their
connection
Rakshasa form
the
early
Nalayiiaprabandam, 291.
author of Nallandni'aiiar, Kalittogai, 216. early Nambis or Nambudris, Hrahmans of Tamil country,
349, 379.
55
among
Marumakkatayam hw,
Mauryan alphabet,
103.
103; meaning of 347; not the sole Jenmis, 350; influence of, 358 ; and Bhatta Brahir.ans, 373. Nanihiyandar Nanibi, a .roet,
Nambudris,
philosopher,
22-2.
Middle
Monastic learning, 224. Mongolian theory, 24. Moods, 165. Mostyar, a Tamil poet, 243.
220, 407; age of, 293. giving, 337. Naiiimalvar, a Vishnuvite Saint 65 ; Sanskrit words in his works, 128; life and writings age of, 327-338; on of, 324; the Chera temples, 347. Naiiiml,i\ Tamil grammar, 161. Napputanai', a poet, 217. Nasalisation in .Malayalam, 3'!. Nathamuni, 220, 291; 327, 334. Nattaltanar, a poet, 216.
Name
Pandiya king, 388, 391. Mudattirumarnn. a king, 252, Mukundamalai, a poem, 310. Mussalmans, attitude towards
foreign literature, 186, 187, Music, 187; works on, 189; history of, 189, 191. Musiri, an ancient town, 346. Muttatasa, feudal chiefs, 69. Muttiriyans, a caste, 69.
218.
Neniinadam,
Nelson,
J.
Occupation and
castes, 73
424
INDEX
Polysynthetic languages, 147. Pope, Dr., on Saivism, 383, 401.
Poyyamozhi Piilavar,
a poet, 255.
Prabhtdmga
PadirruppatUi, work, 342.
a
lila,
poem, 225.
Chera-Tamil
Pall an, a low caste, 70, 71. Pallava, meaning of, 65, 69, 70, 214; not liked by Tamil kings, 105; downfall of their kingdom, 106. Palli, a caste, 70. Pansor Tamil tunes, 188, 332, Panans, 11, 54, 102, 235. Panchalas, the {see Kammalas) Pandya kings, 48 early, 387 ; genealogy of, 391. Panini, a grammarian, 117. PannJriipadalani, a work, 217.
;
Pie-Aryans, the three types of, 61 Presents to Tamil poets, 260. Pronouns, relative, 165. Pronunciation, of a-, 133; of to
(Zh), 134,
need
Panntrupattiyal, 136.
Quantity in Tamil
;
letters, 133.
of the origin people, 77; their former greatness, 79-81; Dr. Caldwell on the, 81, 101. Parani, a war song, 221. Parts of speech, 162; difference in Tamil and Sanskrit, 163. Particles (Idai-chol), 162. Pattanavan, a fishing caste, 72.
Racial varieties, data for determination of, 13. Kajaraja Chola's inscriptions, 77,
83; castes of his time, 66.
9,
128.
Rakshasam, a form of marriage, 55, 104. Rama, a tvpical Aryan, 53. Ramanuja Chary a, 111, 222.
Ramayana,
the, 51.
Per-arayan, a title, 65. Periyalvat 320; age of, 321. Periyavacchan Ptllai, a Vaish-
Dravidian
Tamil, 53.
Relations,
Tamil
words
to
Perinuievatiar, a Tamil poet, 219; age of, 247, 254. Periingimrur Kizhar, 269. Perunkaiisikanar a poet, 217. Philology, principles of, 143. Phonetics, Tamil deficient, 134.
,
Pidaran, caste,
Pillai
()i>.
denote, 105. Religion, broke up castes, 73, 74 in the academic period, of the Tamils, 382. 251 Rhetoric, 166. Rhys Davids, Dr., on the Tamil alphabet, 119.
; ;
Risley,Sir H.H., 12,13, 17, 24,32. Roman colony at Madura, 48, 244. Rudran Kannaiiar, a poet, 217.
INDEX
Sacred hymns, collection of Tamil, 292. Saints, the Tamil, 218. Saiva activity, early, 292-294.
Saiva mutts, learning in 224. Saiva philosophy, not Dravidian.
192.
425
Tamil, the word explained, G; Mr.Kanakasabhai's derivation, 7; affinity with Uralo-Altaic an agglulanguages, 14, 34 tinative language, 148, 381 changes in, 145 the Divine origin of, 149; not the only its Dravidian language, 150 Sanskrit, with relationship
;
Sambandam
or marriage, 103.
Sangam, references to, 231, 392; meaning of, 23; origin of, 234;
age of the second, 241, 243 Buddhistic origin, 2.52. Sankaracharya, 2.
;
and Tamil Sangams, 238 and Tolkapyam, 128. Saitanar, 2l6, 389 a Buddhist
;
152, 153; and Sanskrit compared, 163, 166; affiliation of, 169, 172; history of early, 173; mediaeval, 17 7; modern, 180; peculiarities of early, 267-280; Nambudris" attitude to, 368. Tamils, the three racial types among the, 10, 56; a warlike race, 41, 185, 261 ; their culture, 42; their foreign trade, 47-50; in Sanskrit epics, 51; probable date of their migration, 47;
Sembadavan,
caste, 72.
merce with
leather-workers, 8.5. Sen-Tamil, where spoken, 141. Sewell, Mr. R., on South Indian on the Tamil people, 20 alphabet, 124.
;
Semman,
124, 134;
Shanan, a caste, 71. Ship, Tamil words for the, 48. Siddhar school 226. Sil appadikaram an early Chera Tamil work, 342. Siva giianatpu 111, on letters, 133; on the origin on usage, 144 of Tamil. 149. Sivavakkfyar and Tirumalisai
,
;
civilisation, Tamil 240; Mr. Kanakasabhai on, 192; Dr. R. Caldwell on early, 19.3; due to Agastya, 237. Tamil Dictionary, copiousness
of.
261.
Alvar, 306.
Tamil kings, and the Mahabharata war, 44; are Kshatri\-as, 61 ; of Malabar, 357; none
in Rama's time, 54. Tamil learning,how encouraged,
255, 253.
Tamil ]etters,origin of, 136, 382. Tamil literature, extent of, 191;
Swaminatha
Aryan
of,
division of. 187; posterior to Mr. contact, 195 Damodaram Pillai's division
;
198-200;
Mr.
Suryanara-
426
INDEX
Tondaradifpodi Alvar, 307. Topinard, Dr.. 18.
Toti,
yaiia's,200,201;Dr. Caldwell's 201 20i; Dr. Hunter's, 204 M. Juhen Vinson's, 207-210
211-213 periods of, 386, 399 ; preacademic period, 212 ; academic period, 213; hymnal period, 217; exegetical period, 222-224 ; modern period, 224, 226; and by Namhudri's, 372. Tamil research, the new School
division,
of, 46,
proposed
43.
Traditions, 16; value ot, 3S7. Translations, Tamil, 219. Travancore, a Kodum-Tamil country, 344.
Turkic and Tamil, 165. Trignana Sambanda fJayanar a Saiva samt, 396, 207.
51.
self-sufficiency
Tamil Scholars,
of,
195.
219. 249;
Tamil words inSanskrit, 154, 161. Tamil works, approved by the Sangam, 216.
age of, 252. Ula, a kind of poem, 221, 222. Umapati Sivacharya, a Saivite
divine, 222.
Tayamanaswami,
65.
Tembavatii, a poem, 225. Temple building begun, 290. Tengu or cocoanut, 415. Ten Tamil Idvlls, The, 88.
Umaru Pulavar,
poet, 361. Uralo-Altaic
a poet, 225.
Ten Tens,
the, 264.
Ter-Chelian, age of, king, 253. Tevan, a title, 415. Third Sangam, described, 245
;
and languages Tamil, 14; group and the Dravidian family, 170. Usimuri, a work on Tamil prosody, 217.
248, 251. Thomas, Mr. E., on the Indian alphabets, ll9. Brahman Tiruchengunrur, a centre in Kcala, 347.
of,
dissolution
Vaidya, an
Vaikhanasa Dharmasutra,
Tirumalisal Alvar, 302-307. Tirumangai Alvar, 29, 311 age of, 317. Tiriimurais, a collection of Saiva
;
religious
hymns, 220.
Variyan, a Malabar caste, 66. history of, 116 introduced, 119; Dr. Burnell on, 120; Drs. Buhler and and other Caldwell on, 120 alphabets compared, 123 ; independant origin of, 121; borrowed from Semites, 124; of, Tolkapyar's description borrowed from not 126 ;
; ; ;
on
final letters,
139.
101.
Tomb
stones,
40.
INDEX
Vedanta Desika, 222, 385. Velaikkarar (infanfrj'), 106.
Vellallas, the, 38, 61; etymology of tiie name, 42; their position in the caste system, 61 account of, 63-65; in Malabar, 353. Velirs (Vellalas), 61, 62.
;
427
129-
Vowel-consonantal signs,
131.
Wars with
West-coast
towns
in
Tamil
literature, 3-16.
Chera-Tamil
Whitney, Prof. W. D., on the growth of lanjjuage, 145-147. Word-formation in Tamil and
alphabet, 125.
VillifiUtiirar, a poet, 225. Vira Fukka Raya, 112.
Words,
Sanskrit, 157. rules for Tamil, 137-140 coining not allowed, 262.
54.
Yakshas or Rakshasas,
Zh
(iP),
30, 134.
The End.
The Guardian
Press, Madras.
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