c

Introduction

It is a matter of great disappointment that the µIndigenous History of India¶ is not yet
compactly written by any unbiased author. Indian history is shrouded with the
'projection¶ of the history of the Northern parts, rather than the history of the whole o f
India. When scholars discuss the matters of Culture or Civilization, they give all
details of the Socio-Cultural aspects of the northern regions of India, even before
1500 BC, and it is normally seen that the regions, south of the Vindhyas, are totally
rejected. But, right in the middle of the discussion, we observe that they narrate all
the glories of a civilization similar to South India, without mentioning its name. In
short, the scholars are inclined to take all the meritorious aspects of the South -Indian
culture, put it in the pocket of the North -Indian treasure-bag and project it through a
multi-faceted lens to the world of Aryan culture, whereas a basic analysis of Indian
history reveals that the very roots of Indian history, including the North, re sts strongly
bound to the South India. Even some of the Western scholars too are seen victims to
the Aryan thought process. The root cause for this unfortunate happening is
analysed to be the Arya-Dravida issue still prevailing in India. Any historian coul d
easily find out that the present face value of culture existing in South India is the
photo-copy of the same Civilization which was existing in India even some 30,000
years ago or earlier. This continuity of civilization, the scholar would never find in any
other parts of the globe. It simply continues. There are people still living here with
comparatively µless change¶ in them, in their character, nobility, attitude, system of
living, nature of hospitality, their art, culture, knowledge, literary profici ency, and also
the mind to keep up the system of law with a sense for justice. These aspects have
been proved even by the analysis of their genetic features. Those are the type of the
people presently concentrated in the Southern parts of India, but spread all over
India, known by the name NADARS.

The first historian of the world, Ú rodotus, mentions about them; the modern
µGenetic Analysis¶ declares their antiquity; various Temple Depictions(Madurai
meenakshi, Kanarak, Java) declare their history; The etymological, archaeological,
Ithihasic, Puranic and the Literary analysis, properly done, connect the NADARS
from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. The only µCaution¶ that we have to take is not to
become prey to the µConventional¶ understanding and analysis of history , but take a
µCritical¶ approach with the help of all the available data of literary, archaeological,
linguistic and the modern Genetic analysis, all put together to make an independent
opinion of a new and Basic true history of India. This is what the His tory of Nadars is.
It may look strange and µNovel¶ to some of the viewers. For example: the modern
world and the present literature look down about the culture of the µToddy Tappers¶
of India, who are termed in Sanskrit as Tvashtri or Vrishnis, whereas the earliest
Inscription found in India (6th century BC) is that of a ³Toddy Tapper´ in the old Tamil
script, written on an earthen µKalassa¶ as ³Naackan Uurra´ . A good comparative
analysis proves that this µOnce Great Palmyrah Culture¶ can be seen depicted in our
Jaina and the later Hindu Temples. This is proved by the statement of Herodotus
that they were great Sailors, Warriors and Continental Tradesmen. This µRoot
Culture¶ of Martial and Literary Civilization can be still found in the NADARS of the
World who are also known as Santors, meaning, Noble people.

The Nadars in Early Sangam Period : 9990 to 5550 BC

There are great controversy in fixing up the Sangam periods of the Tamils. Three
Sangams are recorded in Tamil literatures. Literary reports are found to indicate that
there had been five major Uuzhies (Deluges) by which destructions took place to the
Tamils and they had to shift their capitals to different places like Ezhuthenganadu,
Ezhukurumpanai naadu, Kavaadapuram, Manavoor, Korkai, Then Madurai, V ada
Madurai, etc. Tamils consider that Kumari Kandom which was once connected to the
African Continent and a vast landscape, now lying submerged under the Oceans,
was their ancestral home. The Tamils were lovers of songs and literature. There
were several poets in the Courts of the Tamil Kings. In the Sangam period, there
was no µCaste system¶ as we see today. You could find poets of any tribal origin in
the King¶s Royal Court. Only the land was divided into four types as Marutham (Plain
land), Mullai (fore sts /gracing land), Neithel (Sea -shores) and Paalai (Sandy land). A
mixed terrain, Kurunji, was occupied by Vedar or hunters. The land with people was
called ³Nadu´. The Chief to protect the land was called Naden(Elangulam) Kaalai ,
Uuran, Kurumpara Naden, Chenon, etc(Elamkulam). When Kingdoms were formed
µNaden¶ was designated as Ko = the King or the µRuler¶ otherwise called ³Naden´
In the Samgam period there was no such caste -systems. The people used to go for
hunting deer, bull or wild animals. They used to go for fishing. They brought the prey
into the community, baked it on fire made on µSandalwood¶ spreading its good smell
all over the village; ate the meat with soft drinks got from short and tall Palm -trees.
The strong and courageous used to tap the s weet juice of the Palmyrah palm and
cherished it with the meat or other cooked food. The same man may go for hunting,
or to catch fishes for his need. The children used to drink Palm -juice in the tender
yellow leaf of the Palm-tree, folded as a cup. Their houses were roofed by dry leaves
of Palmyrah-Palm or Coconut Palm. The children cherished the tender palm-fruits
and later made little carts with them and played around, a practice till followed in the
South. They used to climb over the heaps of Paddy stac k or run behind the playing
deers, or run to the nearby river, taking bath, jumping into the waters, singing songs,
or playing flutes. The people were a happy jolly lot living life to its full. Agriculture too
was known to them. We find the women folk take cooked rice or porridge for their
husbands to the field and also they used to drive away the birds coming to spoil the
seeds or crops. There was little difference between the hunter, or the man who
ploughed the land, or the toddy tapper who brought the sw eet Amrit from the tall
heavenly tree or the man who looked after the cattle or the one who made the
earthen pots. If they caught a big shark from the Sea, they would eat its meat and
take its huge Bone, plant it in the open field and sing songs around it, and even
worship it as their lucky god. It was a happy one community for quite a long time.
Their µRuler¶ rather the µChief¶ was called ³NADEN´ (the present NADAR) or he was
also addressed as ³KALAI¶, all sons of the same soil of the Palmyrah -Culture.

This great Palmyrah-Culture is seen passing through the Ages, all over the globe. It
is seen in the National Flag of Bhishmar (flag of Palm -Tree) one of the Martial
Heroes (Asans) of the Indian Epics. It is marked in the life of Lord Rama. It is seen
with the great god of Indians, the Vrishni -Kula Krishna. The Culture is found depicted
in a number of temples of India. It is seen in one way or the other in several
kingdoms of India in the South and also among the Rajputs, extending to the North.
It is found marked in the Jaina and Buddhist Culture (Depiction found in Java: Art of
Indian Asia). It was seen in the great paintings done by King Ravi Varma of
Travancore, picturing Shakunthala (18th century AD - unfortunately this palm-tree
from his original painting is being hidden in the later reproductions by the killers of
history in the recent years - example: the painting now kept at Trivandrum Temple
Museum). Even in the early 1700 -s, the great Wooden Palace of the world, the
Padmanabhapuram, (earlier name, Puth upparakkal Palace) of Kalkulam, in
Kanyakumari district was roofed by good Palm -leaves. It was replaced by the
modern µCeramic Tiled Roof¶ only in c.1870, by C.M.Vaidyanathan Asan (a Nadar)
as the Palace Contractor. (Kanyakumari Aspects & Architects). In t he ancient Indian
Army of the Tamils and the Cholas, there were three Regiments based on the Palm -
tree products (History of Cholas).

In the world history also there is a strong reflection of this Palm Culture. The ancient
Israel had a settlement of Warrior Class called Palmachin and their commando units
were called ³Palmach Brigade´ (Introducing Israel). They were dependant on the
µDate Palms¶ equivalent to the Ittanatt branch of the Nadars. According to Herodotus,
the originators of the Phoenicians were Th e Purple trading Toddy Tapers from South
Kerala(Herodotus- 408 BC). They were also called the ³Palm -Asians´. These
Palmasians were responsible for establishing the µPalmyra¶ city of Italy (Herodotus -
400-408 BC). Symbolical to the µFish -Flag¶ of the Tamil Pandya Kings, early
Israelites had a ³Fish -Gate´ for them. Moreover, early history of the Jews shows that
along with the seven candle sticks and the Trumpet of their symbols, there was
depicted a bifurcated ¶Lulub¶ (Auluvachy - male) ie., the a small branch of the male
flower-stalk of Palm-Tree, was attached to it (St. Thomas in India - A Critical View).
So we see in history that the Palmyrah Culture of the great Sangam Period of the
Tamils is spread over various Nations of the world and it is not to be igno red at all,
whereas it deserves a deeper research in itself. A study of the present NADARS
show that they were the Masters of this great Culture in a Multifaceted Arts and
Sciences.

However, the Periods of Sangam Age is variably disputed. The Tamil enthusi asts
take it even to 175,000(Prehistoric India) back from now, but the Aryan enthusiasts
pull down it to the 1st century AD to 4th or even 8th century AD. We need µTrue¶
researchers to settle this dispute of Age. But, the modern science of Genetic Studies
have proved that the Age of NADARS, like the Parimalaikallars are about 150,000 to
170,000 years ago, and the archaeological finds of µHuman Inhabitation in Southern
India¶ estimated to be around 60,000 years or more. If this factor is taken for good,
we can assume that the argument put forward by the Tamil enthusiasts are gaining
more percentage of acceptability than the other. If so, the Age of NADARS too will
go many hundreds of years more than what now is considered, as Rulers or
Chieftains. The SPECIAL alleles found in the blood group of the NADARS also
vouch for this. If so, we can strongly, with scientific evidences, say that the Nadars
had a very glorious time even before the great Sangam Periods of the Tamils.

Nadars from Dravidian King Manuvaivasva t to Bharata War: ( 3100 BC-1950 BC)

A King namely µManu Niithi Kavalan¶ is referred to in the history of the Nadars, in
their Palm-leaf Text, Valamkaimaalai. This king is referred to in the history of the
Cholas also. In fact, the Choladesa has been the meeting place of the North and
South for several centuries for several reasons. This period, 3100 BC - 1950 BC is a
very critical one in the history of India. This is a period coming more closer to the
events of world history, or rather, the world is beginn ing to know about India (it is
around c. 970-931 BC(The Bible), that the King Solomon of the Bible sends his
emissaries to collect Tusks, fine woods, Sweet-smelling franklins from the Chera
country, and valuable Pearls and Peacocks from the Pandya Nadens, probably from
Ophiir). This period is also considered to be the period prior to µAryan Invasion¶. This
is also a period in which the famous Bharata War is supposed to have been fought,
involved by the whole of India, consisting of 56 kingdoms from South to North, and
East to West (History and culture of Indian people). One Inscription namely the
Aihole Inscription points out the period of war to be around 3102 BC. (History and
Culture of Indian People). But for many reasons 1500 -1000 BC is taken as the
period of Bharata War by historians. Although the epics tell us that the King of Chera
country, probably, Perunchottu Udayanar or Perumchottru Cheral Athen, had
supplied the entire food for the warriors, not much is mentioned about his fame,
kingdom, and other history of the South. We have to be thankful at least this much is
mentioned about the Chera Nadans of that period. In fact, the history of the whole of
the Athen Kings is buried under the sands of time.

Fortunately, we have some history from the King Manuvaivasvat downwards. He

was a Dravidian King, and was opposing the foreign invasions. But, the history we
have today has made Manuvaivasvat and all the kings down from him, including the
great King Ramachandra and the King Krishna as Aryan characters whe reas we
have many information from the literature that these kings were Dravidians, and
Tamils from the Nadar (Santor) Clan. A number of epithets used for these kings, in
literature, prove this. There is one book, namely Amarar Puranam which explains the
origin and dynastical relations of these kings of this period and later, linked up to the
history of Nadars as members of the Naden dynasty. It is difficult to explain that how
those original Tamil / Prakrit or Pali records were destroyed when Sanskritisati on
took place in a still later period. Historical research reveals that Manuvaivasvat was
the ancestor of Yayathi - Naishidha -Yadu«etc., who were the ancestors of the
Naden Kings with whom were thriving many Chedi Kings (Dynastic chart given in
The History and Culture of Indian People), along with still more branches of clans of
Nadans. For more details the book, The Dravidian Lineages - Nadars through the
Ages, may be referred to.

Nadars in the Indus Valley Period: 3000 BC ± 1500BC

In the context of the available data on Indian history, the period in between 3000 BC
and 1500 BC is a very remote one. For such a longer period, we have only some
references of Tamil literature and some oral history based on folklores or just
Puranic stories. Apart from it we have only the seals of Indus Valley which were
found out only around 1920 AD. Before finding out such seals, many have written
history on some presumptions. The earliest source of history for India is only the
Data got from the Jatakas and such Jaina or Buddhist literature in Pali language.
The Sanskrit language which claims to be the earliest language of the world, could
not give us any Inscriptional data before 2nd or 4th century AD, whereas the Tamil
language and the Prakrit, which is now almost proved to be a form of Thamizhi (Prof.
Velayudha Perumal Chellam) gives us inscriptional samples even beyond 6th
century BC. Modern researchers and linguists have almost proved, or at least have
formed the opinion that the so called Vedic Language and Vedic Literatu re, all been
the original Tamil or Dravidian materials which have been just rendered in a newly
coined language in a very later stage. Of course, there are too many objections to
the acceptance of this theory. But this theory is going to form the foundatio n of new
evidences going to come on the basis of modern scientific analysis in the future. So
we are not to neglect it right away. Now the point is, why these things are referred to
here in the context of the history of Nadars? Yes these factors are brough t to our
notice, because, it is on solving these problems, that the history of Nadars would rest
upon. Anyway, the scientists or the historians have to account for the antiquity of the
Nadars as proved by the Genetic Science.

Sometime ago it was believed that the Incas, or the Red-Indians (Native Americans)
had no history at all. But it has been proved now or, rather claimed now, that they
had almost a history of 40,000 years, if not more. This is calculated roughly from the
organic contents in the soil aki n to animal and human inhabitation in this areas
where they had lived. But, at the same time it has been strongly suggested and
almost proved that those µNative Indians¶ were the early immigrants from north -
eastern parts of India or Asia through a Mongolia n belt, crossing over Bering Land
Bridge which got exposed during the Ice Age from c.75,000 BC to c.8000 BC,
entering Mexico and southwards, etc, or through the Pacific coasts. If it is accepted
so, the question arises, where was their origin? There is ano ther theory, as believed
by some branch of the aboriginals of America that they were a branch of the Vedar
(Hunting groups) of India. In the Sangam Age, we had such Vedars who were very
much linked up with the Nadars called Vettuvan. So the theory of Afric o-Lamurian
origin of Nadars co-existing with these Veder or Vettuvar helps to solve this problem.
The results of genetic analysis also suits this phenomenon.

Archaeological findings have proved that the human inhabitation in northern India is
lagging behind almost by 3000-5000 years, than compared to Southern India. The
period of Indus Valley civilization is almost fixed to be as around 3000 -1500 BC. So,
logically, the Lamurian people, through Southern parts of India, and also through the
eastern parts, have moved farther northwards much earlier than 3000 BC and had
formed a great Civilization there which had thrived at least for 5000 years. The fact
that µTamil Linguistic Pockets¶ still existing in Northern regions like Baluchistan,
Kashmir, etc., strengthens this movement of the Tamils to the northern and to far
eastern regions in such a remote period. Incidentally, one Inscription given by a
Kashmiri King in a Pandya / Chera territory of the Tamils, at Cheraman Devi in the
present Tamilnadu, (of course, i n a later period) also helps to strengthen this
argument.
It has been the opinion of some of the researchers who had conducted physical
verification of the soil of some regions of the Himalayas that the huge percentage of
sandy soils present there lead to infer the region was once occupied by the Ocean
on a very remote period. Whether the Indus Valley had been destroyed by such a
deluge is to be further thought out and confirmed. However, the Scripts found in the
Indus Valley Seals, to the extent of deciph ering done, is learnt to be early Dravidian
or Tamil. Many Tamil words have been found there like µArasan, Ko, Perumal, Niithi,
Velan «etc.(Prof. Mathivanan), also help us to confirm, or at least to think that the
Tamils were occupying those regions in the se period. Calculating the Culture,
Mastery of Arts, Science, literary evidences equipped with the scientific evidences of
antiquity, all vouch for the NADARS existing in the whole of India during these
period. This is supported by the historical report du ring the times of Alexander the
great that one branch of NADARS namely the Ganas (Kana) have strongly resisted
his advance farther in India, for the strong presence of Nadars in the period in
question., as Warriors or even as Rulers.

Nadars Through the Aryan Invasion (1500 BC - 600 BC)

As a matter of fact there are some sections of people considering NADARS as

Aryans. This confusion is the result of the political upheavals of this particular period.
The exact nature of the Aryan attack or its nature and di rect effects are not recorded
anywhere. Aryans, as such are known to have their character of destroying the
enemies and desolating the areas by cutting down even the trees and natural
resources and burning them all, wherever they win their wars is known to the world
historians (History and culture of indian people). The great Dravidian character of
µPeace-Loving nature is known from its people, their philosophy and their religious
principles of non-violence held high till this dates. The great Indus Valley Civilization
is a good example to this. It is not possible to think that the Aryan invasion was done
in a single day or in a single attempt. This should have continued for a period of time.
It is also possible, that the Aryan people had tried to negotiate, persuade and win
over the at least a section of the indigenous people to exploit their treasure of
knowledge by alluring or by threatening and by using such forms of tactics. The
invading Aryans are not known to have possessed any art of writing , if at a ll they
knew, it, they would have transcribed all the knowledge of the Dravidians at least
within one hundred to two hundred years, as the British had done in India, later. But
the writings and popularizing the Aryan language starts only after the 6th or 7 th
century AD, productively.

So in the meantime, it is probable that the Aryans had at least some mixing with the
indigenous people and this might have developed a new breed of rulers in the
northern provinces and the major indigenous Nadans have receded t o the southern
regions in slow pace, finally reaching the most southern regions of their early
ancestors in the later period of history. Thus we get a concentrated Nadar population
in the Southern tips of Kerala and Tamilnadu State whereas their kindred gr oups are
thrown scattered over a span of vast areas in the northern regions to the east and
west. This becomes very evident when we analyze the history and ancestry of the
rulers of the kingdoms like Kaikeya, Ujjaini, Bihar, Pataliputra, Takshila, etc., wh ere
the earlier Nadans were ruling before the Aryan invasion. These people are now
known by different names because, as days went on, Aryans had the habit of
changing the language system of that location slowly, to suit their politics, as they did
at last in Kerala (16th century AD). Hence, by 600 BC the Aryans thought they could
wind up with their monopoly over the aboriginals, but, never had a one hundred
percent acceptation from the indigenous people. Those who have remained out of
the fold of the Aryans, had established their kingdom in the nearby forests and also
with their kindred groups in the southern parts. This period, reaching 600 BC is
considered to be the end of Vedic age. As a matter of fact it should be considered as
the ¶end of the uncorrupte d Tamil Age¶ because it is only after this period that new
implementation of the Aryan propaganda slowly taking shape, after slowly getting
acquainted with the Dravidian Arts and Sciences (the process is not yet complete,
but still continues in Kerala).

Nadars in the times of Sri Buddha and Mahavirra: (5th & 6th century BC)

Plainly speaking, it is only from the times of Shri Buddha and Mahaviira that we get
some light on Indian history. The earlier periods are shrouded with myths, diversions
and mutilations. In the history of Buddhism and Jainism too we do not have the total
history. Unfortunately the writers of history were mostly Aryan supporters and there
was religious and political struggles and rivalries going on between the so called
Sanskritised Vedic groups of Aryans and the aboriginal rulers, the Kshatriya groups
of this period. Mahavira was only the 24th Thirthankara of the Jains, starting from
Saint Adinatha. We do not have the full history of the other 23 Thirthankaras, except
the list of them. There are disputes among the scholars about the place of birth of
Adinatha, some pleading for the Northern provinces and many suggesting a
Southern origin for him. It is known that each Thirthankara is born at the interval of
about 250 years. Calculating in this order, it would have been morr than 6000 years
now that Adinatha was born. Those remote histories are almost lost for us.

Lord Mahaviira was born in a Kshatriya family of Nadars (Nata-putta) of Northern

India, near Patna (Vaisali), in the Jnatrika or Lichchavi Gotra of Nyaya Clan of
ancient Mahavamsam (of Nadars), in Ku ndagrama. He is also called 'Nayaputta'
after the code of Dhamma, for which the Nadars are given the title jnayasthan or
jnatri (Dravdian Lineages, History and culture of Indian people)in pali and 'Nayanar'in
Tamil (State Manual of Travancore), enlisted among the 63 Sages. He is from the
Kshatriya race to whom Sri Buddha, Emperor Asoka, etc., were belonging to.
Mahavira had lived 72 years, from 599BC (12.4.599), and had Revolutionized the
Religious Thought Process of the whole of India, through His teaching s of Ahimsa
and Non-Violence and Dhyana. Jainism preached by Him was accepted by almost
all the Kings of India at a time, till it was inhumanly butchered by the Aryan invaders
through Sanskritisaion during and after 8th century AD, when 8000 Nadar Jains we re
sent to the gallows in a single day. There are symbols of Jainism even today in the
South India, at Chitharal Hills, Kazhugumalai, Nagercoil, and different parts of Kerala
where most of the Ezhava brothers were once fully Jains, like the Nadars. The wor ld
famous Tamil Poet, Thiruvalluvar Nayanar, is considered as a Jain poet. He is
known among the Jains as ³Kundakunda Acharya´. Like Sri Buddha, Mahavira also
was one of the Nine branches of Litchchavi -Mallas(History and culture of Indian
people). King Bimbisara married a woman named ³Chellana´, from the family of the
mother of Mahavira. The relation of Nadars with the Lichchavis and the Jnatrikas are
explained in the book: The Dravidian Lineages, Nadars Through the Ages, duly
quoted from the 20 volumes of The History and Culture of the Indian People(
especially, vol.II.).
The Aryans did not recognize the Kshatriyahood of either Sri Buddha or Mahavirra.
But, the foreigners had finally to succumb to the strong standing of the aboriginals.
The problem for the temporary upper hand on the Mahavira¶s tribe by the Aryans
was the µdisunity¶ among the Kshatriyas. This disunity can be seen repeatedly
reminded by Sri Buddha, as well as one of the later Aye Kings, Ko -karunthadakan in
Southern India. Even the Kshatriyah ood of Lord Krishna was disputed in the
beginning by the Aryan invaders. But, when he was found invincible, they accepted
him not only as their king, but also as their god. As among the present Southern
Nadars, the Gana (Kana) was one of the Nine branches of the Kshatriya Lachchavis
of Jnatrika Gotra of Mahavira¶s family. During the times of Mahavira and Sri Buddha
(in spite of their differences in certain principles of Henayana / Mahayana, the
Nadars thrived strong for quite a long time with all prosperity . During this period, we
had lots of Jaina and Buddhist Pallis or Aramas were established through out the
Southern provinces. Even before this, the Nadars had in the South great linguistic
and literary scholars like Athencottu Asan, and Tolkappiyanar (9th century BC).

Nadars in Bimbisara, Asoka, Sunga periods ( 545 BC -273 / 75 BC)

Saint Mahavira¶s parents were Sidhartha, a wealthy µNobleman¶ and mother, Trisala,
sister of Chetaka, an eminent Lichchavi princess of Vaisali. They were Jnatrikas or
Nata-putta (children of Nata). They were closely related to the Youdheyas ( war
professionals). They were called Bahudhanyakas. Skanda (Kandan -Murugan) or,
Karthikeya was their god (History and Culture of Indian People, vol.II). King
Bimbisara was related to these tr ibes. Bimbisara married a Lichchavi princess
related to the mother of Mahavira (Nirayavalli Sutra). Historian B.C.Law explains:
³Indian traditions represents them as Kshatriyas. The ruling Clan of Lichchavis was
firmly established during the days of Mahavi ra and Gautama Buddha´. They were
one of the a great µRepublican¶ tribes of the Gana or Kana branch of Nadars. They
were related to King Prasenajit and the ³Mallas´. The Nadars too had the title
³Mallas´(Warrior or Wrestlers) which they used to write in th eir land dealings and
governing strength of arms (The Dravidian Lineages«). There were nine important
families (branches) of µMallas¶ and eighteen Gana -rajas (Kana) divisions. Like the
Lichchavis, the Mallas also claim their origin from Ikshavakus, the anc estors of
Nadars. In pali language, Ikshavaku is termed as Okkaka(History and culture of
indian people). The µkindred groups¶ of the Lichchavis are called ³Voharika´. It is
termed as ³Voharikarar´(share-holders), as still used in Vilavancode region where
the Nadars are almost 85 percent now. Uravainmurai is another equivalent term for
Voharika as used among the major Nadar groups of South India, in the Tamil
language. King Bimbisara was known by the name, ³Sreniya Bimbisara´ as the
Gramani Nadans of Southern India. They were known in the Northern Provinces as
³Ratnins´. According to the Jatakas, the Lichchavi assembly consisted of 7,707 rajas
or members who had a ceremonial consecration, like the King in a kingdom, each
member with the title of a µrajaµ as p revalent among the Nadar Uravinmurai.
According to the Census Report of India -1901 AD, the number of Gana (Kana)
equivalent Republican group in Travancore was 1,771. Although the number has
been reduced in terms of period and political restraints, the prin ciple still continued
even to the later period, in spite of many hurdles and omissions.

Certain things are to be noticed here. It is not a straight cut history, which is
impossible in the context of large scale mutilations done to Indian history. We are st ill
to go to dig up the south Indian history. Yet, the south Indian connections are very
clear to make a suggestion for a µOne Race Rule¶ in the ancient India. The Mallas,
and the Lichchavis trace their origin from the Ikshavaku (Okkaka), like the Nadars.
The important µgod of war¶ for them is ³Skanda´ who is originated in the South India,
even from the Sanga period. He is the god of Nadars from the Mullai regions of the
Sangam period. Originally he was a µHill-godµ. Modernism has given him many up
gradations. He is called in Tamil, Kanthan. He is also called Murugan or Karthikeyan.
Karthick or Karthikeyan are terms known to the tribes of Bimbisara. Further, they are
also called by the name, Bahudhanyaka. As a matter of fact, the north Indian authors
probably do not know the real meaning of this. So, sometimes they are confusing.
This is a term used for war-like Nadars (or Santors). This is specified in their book of
history of the Nadars, the Valamkaimaalai. Valamkai Uyir Kondor is the title used by
the ruling tribe of the Nadars. ³Panayan´ (having the flag of Palm -Tree - like
Bhishmar) is another title. These titles can be seen used in Inscriptions also
(Thanchai Peru-udayar Koil Inscriptions). There are many inscriptions and even
Copper Plates, also to this usage. Mallas or Malla Marthandan are titles used by the
Nadars even few decades ago. There is another branch of Nadars called the
Gramani. This is equivalent to the Ratnins of northern India. The common ancestor
for these tribes Ikshavaku or Okkaka. Historian B.C.Law connects the Sri Buddha,
the Lichchvis, Mallas, the Ganas ,etc., with the Vajjis, otherwise written as Vrijian,
Vajjian. They are related to the Vrishnis to which the king Vasudeva Krishna
belonged to. Among them, three important branches are marked. They are the
Madhovira (Madhera or perhaps, the Modhva), Adamvira (Admera) and Lankhavira
(Lakvira) (H.C.vol.II). From these their relations with the South, even up to Sri Lanka,
Athen-ur, and the connection with the tribes like Tvashtri or Talayi ns (Panayan or
Palm-flag holder) are revealed. Historically they are connected also to the modern
Mattamayurakas of Rohtak (B.C.Law). Mayurakas are connected with Kartikeya or
Skanda of the Tamil Sangam period. To quote few lines from one of the important
works Indian Socio-Political history:

³While the period of the great Nadar king, Bimbisara is reckoned as 544 -493 BC, the
Nanda dynasty is considered around 364-324 BC, and then comes the prominent
Moriyas or Guptas in 324-300 BC. All these periods, the pe ople on the background
as a strong race are the Vratya Kshatriyas, the Vajjis, Lichchavis, etc. Although
efforts are seen to vanquish the origin of the Mauriyas, Chandra Gupta is known to
have been born to a village headman, a Gramani Nadar. He is also ter med as Vrisha
or Vrishala., an epithet of Nadars, meaning, Chief among kings.´ (The Dravidian
Lineages«).

Thus Chandra Gupta who had the Moriya or Skanda -Kartikeya traits of the South,
begets one of the famous kings of India, Bindusara (Simha Sena), who ga ve India
the noble of the Nobles, a Santor king, µSanta -Asoka¶. He was a symbol of Peace to
the World. Because of the great royal principles of Voharika or Uravinmurai, Asoka
was successful in establishing 84,000 Stupas or Viharas in the capitals of 84,000
kingdoms which he managed as the Chief, from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. It is no
wonder that we find such huge number of Edicts all over India, the Message of
Peace given by Asoka, in places like Arcot, Trichinapally, Ramnad, Madura,
Thirunelveli, Travancore, Coorg, Malabar and countries like Chera, Chola and
Pandya, including Sri Lanka..

³The Yaudheyas take their root from Atri-Ikshvaku-Nabhaga-Nabhanadishtha-

Budha-Pururavas- Ayu-Nahusha-Yayati-Anu-Anavas-Usinara-Nriga-Yaudheya. The
Vrishni Nadars as well as Krishna, trace their origin from Yadu, as : Yadu -Kroshtri--
Yadavas-Vaidarbha-Satvatas-Vrishnis. The Chedis and Bhojas take their root
fromVaidarbhas and Satvatas respectively, whereas the Kurus, Pandavas, Matsyas
are traced out from Puru. Vrishni kula Kri shna is a Yadava. In Tamil he is known as
Ayar Kula or of Idaya. This is recorded in some writings as Hida. This is connected
with their predecessor ¶Nahusha (Nada), who is the descendant of Ayu (Aye)´
(Taken from The History and Culture of Indian People, vol.I, II, III, IV, quoted in The
Dravidian Lineages«)

Period of Asoka is calculated to be around 273 -236 BC. This is the golden period of
Lichchavi or Vajji-kula Nadars. Late comes the degraded Sungas, during the period
calculated to be around 187 -75 BC., and the decline of the aboriginal dynastic
nobility starts. The story of the rebel soldier, Pushyamitra is known to history. The
strength of his group is getting the foundation, perhaps, from the atmosphere created
by the Persian invasions around 500 / 37 0 BC, with lot of infiltration to the northern
parts of India than to the South. Perhaps, history of a king supported by the tactics of
Aryan politics starts from here, with a large group opposing it, and many siding with
him to form a future diversified b ranches of dynasties in India, and the southern links
are slowly beginning to be buried down. This creates a situation to project a north -
India oriented history in our country., many of the Nadar groups receding to the
Eastern and Southern parts.

Nadars in Later Chera, Chola, Pandyas (1st century AD -10th century AD)

The Chera, Chola and Pandyas are known to be existing from the Sangam period .
Their history is vanished almost to the thin air, except some references here and
there. We have many references in the 1st, 2nd and 4th centuries about the history
of the Southern Nadars. Karikaala Chola is one of the major kings ruling in this
period. There is a bunch of writings about him. There are many wars fought for this
king by the Yaudheya Nadars. This is rec orded in the Palm-leaf Text,
Valamkaimaalai. Even in this period there are wars fought in Ujjaini, and places in
the South like Sri-Lanka. There are references that the Nadar Heroes named Vijaya
(Visaiyan) are taking the word of Ahimsa to the southern part s of Ceylon. Certain
wars are also described with the Sri -Lankan, king, at Anuradhapuram [may be in a
different occasion]. In the 4th century AD, according to history, a branch of Nadars
are going pilgrimage to Java and finally making settlement there and establishing a
kingdom there. One king named Santan is referred to in history in the 4th century AD
(The History and Culture of Indian People -1-20).

1st century is marked by many international incidents like the visit of St. Thomas,
one of the disciples of Jesus Christ. Twelve Royal families from the Chera country
are observed to have become Christians at the instance of St. Thomas, who had
strted preadhing right from Taxila, in the Court of Gondophorus, and traveled North -
East, and Southwards. (St. Thomas in India- A Critical View). But the conventional
belief is that it was the Nambutiris who had become the first Christians. But the
modern researches show much different from such mythical conclusions, because,
the writing of Keralolpathy is a book of myth which is getting devalued these days
from the view points of modern genetic and archaeological research. In this period,
lots of new philosophies are coming up grown in the new atmosphere of the
influence of Christianity and the earlier principles of Jaini sm and Buddhism, of their
non-violence and Dhamma. The great Tamil epic Thirukkural is supposed to be one
among them. It is even proposed that the Vedantha of Saivisim, Vaishnavism etc.
had been influenced by this new age. However, Aryan influence is becom ing more
and more during these period, going down and down as we reach the 7th and 8th
century AD. In 7th century a Promoter of Aryanism is born in Kerala,. He is the
famous / ill famed Adi Sankara (788-820), who was known to be responsible for
bringing the µCaste System¶ in India. He travelled from Kanyakumari to Kashmir , like
the Chanakkya who travelled from the South to the North, during the period of
Chandra Gupta, which made a turning point in Indian history. This influence has
gone to the extent that 8000 Jains were sent to the gallows in a single day, (during
the period of Thirunavaukkarasu) and thousands and thousands of Nadar Sanmargis
and their Jaina and Buddha Viharas were hunted and destroyed. This has caused
the beginning of degradation of the Basic Culture of Nadars and the Civilization of
the country, from whence on the manipulations of history, Laws, etc., are started.
This originates in the Andhara country during the times of ³Prabhakar³ a Brahmanic
Aryan activist who was thirsty of the blood, tooth and flesh of the Nadar Saints of
Jainism . He is known to have adviced to popularise even open immoral dealings -
prostitution among the bhikkunis - (Elamkulam Kunjan Pillai). During these periods,
the economy and the language of the country were a lso degenerated. The people
who lived without much of disparity were divided into many Caste -groups. The
original method of ³King -Priest ³ phenomenon had been changed to priority to first
Priest, and then µto the King¶ or Kshatriya gradation (History and c ulture of Indian
people Volume 1 to 4). Things slowly began to go up -down. Commoners were
objected from learning. It should be ascertained that many of the Nadar kings had
supported this new ideologies in which, the King, as Kshatriya was offered lot of
specialties, luxuries and many sensualities for his pleasures at the cost of the
subjects, who were once his own partners (Uravinmurai), but, now turned to be
somebody little lower, as a trick of the Aryan design.

During the 8th and 9th century AD, although we see lot of new progress on the basis
of a mixed culture is coming up for Nadars and the general population of the country,
the essence of things are seen going on the influence of Brahmanic method. The
famous Aye kings are seen struggling to keep up the ir independence, suppressed,
and intimidated by the Cholas, influenced by the new Brahmanic priestly class on the
basis of Mantric or Achara regulations. This is seen in one of the inscriptions at the
famous Parthipasekarapuram temple in South India, in th e present Kanyakumari
district. There was a big Univeristy under the Aye Nadans. As the regulations were
changed up to the gluttonous habit of the Aryans, it finally lost its identity and the
Ayes were almost dissolved with the Perumals and the Thiruppappu Nadans of
Travancore. The Perumals of Malabar and Eraniyel have become just co -existent
with their kindred groups, sometimes coming up to power and sometimes remaining
dormant as it reached about the 10th century AD.

Nadars in Muslim Invasion period (11th / 15th century AD)

An analysis of history shows us that the history of Nadars, although buried, it is

somewhat going straight till the beginning of 11th century AD, but lot of new turnings
happening around and after the 11th century AD. As a matter of fac t, takes a turn, a
tarnishing turn, almost from 10th century, although it had begun from 7th century AD.
The Persian invasion of 500 / 370 BC , in the north, tarnishes the real Indian color of
culture, civilization and politics in India as a whole. But the South India was
somewhat safe with a greater unity among the Chera, Chola and Pandyas,
especially between the Cheras and the Pandyas, till the Tamil country was attacked
by the Muslim invaders. However, the downfall of Nadar kingdom happens during
the invasion of Moguls from 11th to the 13 century AD. During these period, it is
seen that a number of servants of Nadars are turning their back to the Nadars in
their friendship with the new invaders thereby betraying their own salt. To show such
betrayals, at least there are two inscriptions dated 1453 AD, issued in the middle of
Tamilagam. This is almost a period that a new system of Devadasis in the temples of
the country are being introduced. This is a Brahmanical tactics to promote some of
the lower level communities who had sided with the Brahmanical norms and the
whims of the new invaders to help, thrash down the Nadar rulers. Lot of sensual
appeals have been promoted during this time in the south, as it was already started
by the Chandlean kings of Madhya Pradesh around the 10th century AD and the
middle of 11th century AD, like in the Khajuraho temple depictions. The Chandella
Nadans were the Ittanat branch (Iitta -Natta = Inthappana oriented Nadars) of 39
branches of Nadar tribe of South (as in Travancore ). They are of the Khejur-Palm or
Date-Palm flag holders or artisans. As in the north, in the south also moral
deterioration has started after the Muslim invasions and Erotic sensuality had been
promoted to the destruction of the Basic aboriginal Root -Culture and Civilization of
the Jainistic nature. Slowly the temples have begun to flow into the hands of the new
Brahmanical allies.

Influenced by this new cultural turning, even rivalries among the traditional
brotherhood of the Chera Chola Pandyas had occur red, and there developed a great
war that lasted for more than one hundred years between the Cholas, and Pandyas;
and Cholas and the Cheras (Rejendra Cholan, Raja raja Cholan period). After the
war, although some new matrimonial relations have been maintai ned by the Cholas
and the Cheras, the country was again reduced to smaller bits, controlled by little
Chieftains. Only a few Nadars had independent kingdoms, like the Kothais and the
Tiruppapur of south Kerala. But the rivalry fire was continued to be kind led by the
new forces that by another one hundred years, the larger kingdom of the Nadars
were almost lost, except among the Aivar Rajakkal of the south.

The fall of the Nadars - (16th-18th century AD)

History records that the major wealth and treasures of Nadars were taken in several
carts by the Muslim invaders. The repeated Mugul invasions to the Tamil country has
opened the way for the entry of the Vijayanagara lords and finally the Nayaks into
the Nadar Kingdom, especially after the period of Soundara Pandyan. Most of the
royalties from the Nadar groups have either surrendered to the Nayaks or taken side
with the Brahmanical supremacy, and only certain minor Chieftains, here and there
were hiding in some forest tracts, and some escaping to the ancestral brothers in the
nearby Chera Country, Mysore, etc. Many families have even followed pseudo
names for the hiding. A few conservative Nadan families have tried to re -organise
and resist the enemies in order to re-capture powers. Alwar Naden, Kali Kaatha
Perumal Naden, Navab Kumara Marthandan Nadar were a few among them. Here
some have been betrayed or killed, but Kalai kaatha Perumal Naden has accepted
Catholic Christian religion and worked for social causes, paving way for the new way
of Social Revolutions.

It is to be recorded here that �Tamil� was the undisputed language in the

Chera country all along. But, it was the tactics of the Sanskritised groups of Aryans
to change the language of the country or the regions, before implanting their new
social ideologies. So, it was in the 16th century AD, that the Nambutiri groups of
Kerala formed a new language for Kerala, called the Malayalam. Initially, it was a
mixture of Sanskrit and Tamil, added with new vocabularies. It was known by the
name, Manipravalam. But, when it has become to the middle of 17th century AD, the
new language, Malayalam has been created by the Aryan force and their Agents,
through Ezhuthachchan and Kunjan Nambiyar. With this new language, Malayalam,
the new lords, the Nambutiris (a mixed fallen Brahmo-kshatriyas) have become the
supreme law givers of the country. This period has seen the worst of eradication of
the real history of the Nadars. Yet, the real Royal orders were recorded in Copper
plates and Inscriptions in the original �Vi llavan Code� language of the Nadars.
This is proved in many of the inscriptions of south India. This period had seen the
great down fall of the Nadars in Kerala as well as in the Tamil country. Kerala was
the worst affected country for the Nadars, and th e Christian Missionaries had made it
a good �Fishing-field � from the Nadar community. Hence the original Jains,
Hindus, Muslims from the Nadar community have started becoming Christians in
large numbers, and the major group in the southern Kanyakumari and Thirunelvelly
districts. Yet, as back as 1798-1810, one of the famous Perumal kings from the
Nadar tribe who ruled the land was Udaya Martanda Kulasekhara Perumal of
Eraniyel, whose descendants are still alive, of course, without kingdom, but with
certain records of their royalty.
Social Struggles of Nadars - (1600-1900 AD)

As a matter of fact, the struggles of the Nadars, analyzed from the available history,
has started from the attack of Alexander the great, around 326 BC, when the group
of Sangha or Gana (Kana) branch of Nadars had resisted his advance. Nadars who
had a strong philosophy of µPeace Loving¶ attitude like the great Buddhists and Jains,
were not for any war. But, when compelled to war, they never retreated, a racial
character that they even today hold to the ground. There might be hundreds of
struggles. But, their brutal fall was inflicted through their own brethren. The Chola
kings who were instigated to fight against the principles of non -violence of the Nadar
kingdoms in the 10th and 11th century AD, repeatedly had taken against the brother
countries, the Pandyas and the Cheras. These wars had gone for more than one
hundred years, and the consequences had crushed them with abolishing (being
compelled) of their faith in Buddhism and Jai nism. When we know that Mahavira a
son of a Nadar (Nata-Putra) tribe of Lichchavis, from the gotra of Sri Buddha, (The
History and Culture of Indian People, vol II, III) it is not any wonder to say that the
history of the Nadars are not to be taken so ligh tly. South India was embraced by
Jainism and the way of character that the Nadars adhered to even this day, are proof
for it. Instigated by Brahmanic (new or modern Arya) religion, the Chola king
compelled the extermination of 8000 Nadar Jain saints in a s ingle day by sending
them to the gallows. This is followed by the destruction of almost all the Jain shrines
from South India. But, it is very strange to observe that in the South, Kanyakumari
district, they secretly or sometimes, openly held to their fait h and rituals even up to
1918, a proof of this is seen in the inscription lying in the Chitharal Thiruchanathu
Jain temple built during Asokas period, and renovated in the 9th century AD, by King
Ko-Karunthadakkan, an Aye Nadan. Rudiments of depiction in S ri Nagaramman
temple at Nagercoil too is an example to this. The earliest relics are still observed in
the Kazhugumalai temple at Madurai.

After the Chola expedition the other brothers, the Pandya and Chera Nadans, we
observe that they go in a multi -religious forms, sometimes following Saivism, or
sometimes as Vaishnavites, and sometimes as the Nagas etc. Even though there
had been marriage alliance between the Cholas and the Chera kings, the later days
were in friction and sometimes in rebellion.

As the invasions of the Moguls came to the Southern Pandya country around 12th
century AD, there had occurred many debacles for the Nadars, especially betrayed
by their accountants and advisers, siding with the new arrivals. The in -fights among
the royal brothers like that of the Sundara Pandyan, had invited newer problems to
them and finally came the fatal Nayaks to establish their power in the Nadar oriented
Pandya territory. This has a great impact on the Cheras also. We find that lots of
fleeing from the Tamil Pandya country to the Chera land, during the period of Nayaks
from 1566 to around 1700 AD. One inscription dated 1493 from Kallidaikurchi,
informs us that this is the after-effect of the Muslim invasion and the process starts
even from the period around 149 3, instigated by the Pillamar or the Vellala
community, who, till then had remained subjugated to the Nadar Supremacy.

By the beginning of 18th and 19th century AD, although we find that some Chieftains
are still having their good establishments, the newly formed political situation with the
presence of the British , French, the Dutch,. etc., have engulfed the power of the
NADALVARS. Now, by the beginning of the 20th century AD, the Nadars are
reduced to a economically backward community, being snatched off their lands and
wealth by the Palayakkara (Nayaks), 1600 -1700 AD, the Ettuviittil Pillamar, (through
Velu Thampy Dalawa (1801-1809) who killed many number of Nadar land owners
and confiscated their wealth in a very large number and had given to his allied
groups of Nairs and Pillamar that the world had not seen before (The Dravidian
Lineges). This age is followed by the imposition of taxation (HEAVY AS 120 TYPES
OF TAXES ON THE NADARS) SO THAT THEY CAN NEVER THINK OF COMING
BACK TO POWER FOR GENERATIONS. This period is the most DARK PERIOD in
the history of the Nadars, their true history being marred and buried. Further, they
were attacked even in sociological norms, by humiliating , creating new rules that
they shall not enter into the temples, can not wea r cloths on the upper part of the
body, and must perform uliyam ( free service without wages), etc.,. These all indicate
the heavy punishment imposed on a vanquished ruler who had been captured by the
victor, as was seen imposed on tribes like the Israelites, or as envisaged in the
French Revolutions. Those were such sorts of evils that the Nadars had to fight in
the latter 19th and 20th century AD. We are to remember that it was during these
periods that the history of India was written being initiated by many foreign powers
like the British and the Dutch. Naturally, the Nadars have missed many of their
historical fabrics being recorded in the texts. It was this period that Edward Thurston
has studied the Castes of India and wrote the great book Castes and Tribes of India.
He was guided by many of the Brahmanic (modern) groups who have misguided the
history to a great extent.

Although elaborate studies are not conducted on the Nadars of the Northern States,
their conditions too had been reduced to that of a backward position. The Aryanism
and the latter 'modern' Brahmanism, have reduced the Nadar Kshatriyas to poverty,
except the few families in power who were boosted by the Brahmins to get free gifts
of huge lands and wealth for them. By this time the temple s have all become the
total play grounds for the Brahmins, and many of the aboriginal Kshatriya castes had
been ousted by them saying they were unclean or unworthy of gods and µworshipµ. At
the same time, the Brahmins took hold of another earlier lower com munities as the
Shudras,{Nairs} or Pillai, etc., and upgraded them to the position, closer to them in
order to give a thrashing blow to the fallen true kshatriaya Nadans. This has
happened to the Sens, Bhoumick (Lords of Soil), Choudhuries (Chiefs), Mandel s
(like the Gramani Nadans), Kalal (Kalar), or Jayaswals (Madhvas) Gouds, Bhants,
Idigas, Bhandare, Kavara, Villa as (Bhills), Alwars, Ahlvalia, and many of the Jaina
and Buddhists, and even to the Sikh communities of the North also. Hence leaders
like Guru Nanak, Mudisoodum Perumal, Bhoole, Shinde, Sri Narayana Guru,
Ambedkar,Chattambiswamigal, Iyyankaali, etc., have come up to revolutioise the
society in the country.

But the Nadars had shown the face of Revolt as early as 1559,1660, through Alwar
Naden, Kalikaatha Perumal Nadar, etc., who had defied the laws of the Nayaks and
fought to enter the temple. But, it took almost 200 years for them to fight back all the
odds, before they could finally get their rights registered through legal declaration in
the 20th century AD. Saint Ayya Vaikundaswamigal was arrested, put in jail, even
put under the den of Lions, and also in a chamber of brimstone, but, his holy
Sainthood prevailed him to come out successful in his stand for Revolutionary
freedom. He even defied the written conditions of the King to make comprise with
him to quit the Revolutions. Then the movement was followed by Sri Narayan Guru,
and after a few decades, by Chattambiswamigal for nthe cause of the Shudras. .
These revolutions have shown the path f or Dalit leaders like Babasahib Ambedkar
and many others in the later years.Christian missionaries also have helped Nadars in
the process

Turning Down the History

There was a time in India when the ruling king, (Ko), 'Naden' or the Kshatriyas were
considered on the top ranks of reverence and power, and then only came the 2nd
rank to the Brahmin (ancient or traditional Priest). But, as the Aryan Brahmins took
charge of the affairs, ousting the traditional King -Priests of the normal ways, slowly,
the Brahmins (Modern) took charge of the top rank saying themselves that they are
the representatives of god (or as the newly invented HEAD -BORN) and hence they
are to be ON THE TOP OF ALL THE RANKS. But, in the earlier tradition, it was the
king himself, or his representative from the kindred groups, who were officiating as
the Priests,(as we see in the early traditions of King Desaratha or Rama of ancient
times) for Homa, Yagna, and the other rituals, etc., and he was the top ranking
authority. Aryanism (Modern Brahmanism) has reverted the traditional system of
ranking and brought crucial change into the system of governess and thereby in
history also. Recording of these sort of secondary development of ranking was given
more projection only through the later literature. But, Buddhism and Jainism have
held the traditional ranking grades till very late, than the so called Vedic Texts. These
sort of critical history is seldom recorded or even totally omitted or eradicated in the
11th or 14th century AD, through repeated versions of Manusmriti; and the modern
Brahmins created a group of people to follow and implement their law by supporting
and lifting up a new rival class, or the Sudras from the lower levels, against the true
Kshatriyas. These new groups have got support for them even from the new
outsiders, like the Mugals, British or the Dutch, in the later period. Such analytical
history had not been written yet to highlight the real facts of events of history in India.
Even in Independent India, the rudiment po wer of Indian Kshatriyas (mainly their
wealth) are being used for mobilizing certain µNew Agenda¶ at the cost of the larger
Kshatriyas population, or the common people using the µWealthy Kshatriyas¶.

To keep the people uneducated or ignorant of the affairs , was the success of the
Aryan Brahmins as preached by Manusmrithi. In addition to this, they also wanted to
spread enormous superstitions like 'Head -born, Thigh-born, Surya-kula, Moon Race',
and so on. They said it was a sin for a Shudra to listen to the Vedas or to pronounce
them, or even to learn letters. At the same time, they took the µWealthy Shudras¶ in
their hand to procreate through their women folk, making new generations to fight
the cause of the Aryans as they did among the Nairs of Kerala in th e period from the
15th to 19th century AD. It was against this practice of µimmoralising Nair Women¶
that Sri Chatampi Swamigal has agitated and fought for the cause of the Nair
hereditary rights (the Nambutiri Brahmins never gave heir rights to their chil dren born
in Sudra -Nair women), because they never had the possibility to know their fathers,
as their women were, under the influence of the Brahmin Nanbutiries, who, one after
the other, were engaged with the same woman, with the consent of her family h eads
(Elamkulam Kunjan Pilla). This has created a new race, as a matter of fact, a series
of castes like the Sal-Shudra, Nair, Menon (children born in Nair women for the Arya
Brahmin). Because of this practice, the Nairs could not get girls for their men a nd
they had to lead a fight organized by Chattambi swami gal, in 1920, for their rights
(Elamkulam, Travancore State Declaration, etc.). Although Arya Brahmins
procreated children in the Shudra or Nair women, or the Pillai, they did not give the
right of heir to the children. The Brhamins followed the patriarchal system whereas
the children of Brahmins in the Nair women could follow only matriarchal system like
the other Shudra caste. It was only around 1920 -s that they got their rights registered
by the government through a separate declaration. But the Nadars, as any other
Kshatriya groups of India had their Patriarchal system from the very beginning of
their history. But, there are incidents that the Nadars chose or selected a male
member from the kings¶ sister¶s children, when there was no µMALE CHILD
AVAILABLE¶ in the Royal family. King Martanda Varma (1729 -1758) was an example
to this. There are many other examples also. But, with the help of the Brahmanical
(modern) writers, the Sal-Sudras (Nairs and Pillais) made an impression that Kerala
was traditionally a Matriarchal country. This was only a camouflaging of true history.

In order to get the upper hand to the Aryan Brahmins (modern), the Aryans blindly
declared that all the Indian inhabitants were ³S hudras´ unfit to hold Kshatriyahood.
They could go to any extent of lies. According to the recorded history, the Aryan
invasion or the period of the Brahmin race (modern) starts from 1500 -1000 BC. But
according to the Aihole Inscription, the famous Bharata War, a vital Event of Indian
history had occurred in 3102 BC, almost a thousand years before the advent of the
Aryan Brahmins. The great Dravidian king, µManuvaivasvat¶ was living in India in c
3100 BC. The Dravidian Sage, ³Yayati´ (Nada) was living in In dia in c 3000 BC. The
most highly projected king of the Aryan Brahmins, Lord -King µRama¶ was living in
India around c1950 or calculated in between 2350 -1950 BC, in India (Dravidian
Lineages). The Dravidian Sage, Valmiki was living around the period c2350 -1950
BC. (The History and Culture of Indian People -Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1956). The
Vrishni Kula Nadar King: 'Krishna¶ was living in India in 1950 -1400 BC. Yet, the
newly arrived Aryan Brahmins declared him and the indigenous Indians were µunfit to
rule the land¶ because they all were ³Mlechchas´ or unclean in front of their sight and
the Brahmins (modern) invented a new method in 19th century AD, in Kerala, to
µCLEAN¶ the Indian rulers to become a Kshatriya by passing him through the mouth
of a COW MADE OF PURE GOLD AND MAKE HIM PASS THROUGH ITS
GENITAL and the GOLDEN COW is to be given free to the Arya Brahmin. The king
becomes a 'Pure' Ksdhatriya fit to rule the land, and the country is called, GOD¶S
OWN COUNTRY for the feast made to ten thousand Brahmi ns in the specially made
Uttupurahs (feasting Halls). There are several hundred of such Uttupurahas in
Kerala. What was the principles involved behind all these ritual formalities except the
pure exploitation of the wealth of the land by land or gold? When they wrote history,
they made the aboriginal Vrishni Kula Nadar King, Krishna a Demon(History and
culture of indian people) and a Mleccha. But, when they saw the resistance from the
Vrishnis otherwise called the Panayans (Tanjore Peruvudayar Inscriptions) , they
have accepted him in the group of µAryan gods¶ later. These are the juggleries done
to the Indian history and to the history of the Nadars by the Aryan invaders. The so
called 'Nairs of Kerala' are known to have had no noble history or special
nomenclature, except as 'Shudras' in all their records, till 1920, and no history books
written as an upper class till a few decades ago, but, now, a series of 'upper -class'
claims are given by them from the last 40-50 years. As they are mostly a mixed
breed of Nambutiris and Pillais in Sudra women, they get all the support of the
'Modern Brahmins' and their allied groups. The last ten or twenty years are filled with
such fake editing and literary projections far from truth(A peoples revolt in
Travancore). For example, their Caste-Leader of the sixties, Sri Mannathu
Padmanabhan, is a son of a Nambutiri Brahmin, and they feel proud on it to declare
it to the public, whereas the NADARS would never welcome such a Brahmin
(modern) in their household, not to speak of any pride at all. There are incidents that
the Nadas have 'Killed' their daughters whenever such demand or attempt made
from such 'super-quarters' (The Draidian Lineages - Nadars Through the Ages).

But, now , when new researchers have done 'Sweating Researc hes¶ and brought out
many of the hidden truths to light, the same Aryan Brahmins (modern) forsake all
their old claims of ³High Born Aryan Origin´ and try to become as indigenous as any
of the Parayas or Pulayas or any µforest tribe¶ of India to establish his citizenship
here with its glorious past. They have invented some µFake Researcher, even joining
hands with a Westerner¶ to pull along the soft Neck of the COW OF THE INDUS
VALLEY by applying the modern Computer and elongating its head to make it A
HORSE, an Aryan HORSE, TO ESTABLISH HIS SUPREMACY, WITH THE
SUPPORT OF THE WESTERNER, because he knows that anything told by an
outsider will be accepted by the Indians. That is the sort of training given to them for
generations together through the verses of Manusmriti Of course, the µThought
Banks of Indians¶ are becoming more prone to analyze the facts before accepting it
totally

Pending Court Cases on Nadar Palaces, Forts/ Properties

More than Seven Court Cases are recorded in South Travancore alone and the
number will go to dozens if we make a search for more of the other States also. As
the Cases are still pending in Courts, we need more details to make it public.
However, the following Court Cases may be just indicated:

1. The Trippapu Puthupparakkal Pand aravagai Vannichi Valli Case

2. The Thachchanvilai Anandapadmanabhan Case

3. The Chithambara Chiravai Case of Niila Martandan Nadar

4 The Sri Kerala Kothai Nadan Case

5 The Cheraman Perumal Trust Case

6. The Paulose Nadar Versus Nambutiri Case, «

7. The Thomman Thiruppappu Pallivagai Case, etc..

Nadar Antiquity ± Genetic Research

The most scientific analysis of genetics done recently by a very reputed organization
gives the following information about the Nadars:

³South India is one of the oldest geophysica l regions mainly occupied by Dravidian
language-speaking people. Here a random panel of 61 unrelated Nadar healthy
individuals from Tamil Nadu State were analyzed and compared with other
populations of India and the world. HLA -A, B and C alleles frequencies and their
haplotype frequencies were determined by high -resolution typing of genomic DNA.
The analysis revealed that the Nadar caste of South India have several characters
shared with East Asian populations consistent with the demographic history of Sout h
India, as well as specific features including several unique alleles such as A*03011,
A*31011, B*15011, B*3501, B*51011, Cw*02022. In addition, haplotypes such as
A*31011- Cw*02022-B*3501, A*03011-Cw*04011-B*4406 and A*2402101-
Cw*04011- B*51011 are of high frequency in both these populations but are rare or
absent in other populations of India and the world. The study suggests that a
comparatively lesser degree of genetic admixture occurred between the South Indian
and North Indian racial groups than that between South Indian and East Asian
groups´. (Shankarkumar U., Sridharan B. Pitchappan RM)

Another report of genetic analysis on the Nadars gives the following information:

³The hierarchical cluster analysis for DRB1 data from the Indian caste and
population groups showed that the Nadars cluster with Kashmiri Brahmins and North
Indians. The present study shows that the Nadar caste has several unique alleles
and haplotypes at high frequency that are rare or absent in other populations of India
and the world´ (Shankarkumar U, Sridharan B).

As a matter of fact, the antiquity of this race as reported on the basis of genetic
analysis done to a Nadar woman from Kanyakumari district and same stock of
Dravidian root, one of Piramalaikallar, is given to be 1,50000 t o 1,70000 years
(having an African route). Even if some one would have any aversion for an µAfrican
link or Lemurian link¶ of origin, we are to accept the scientific facts. To confirm
whether it is a ¶Lemurian Link¶ or otherwise is our problem. However, th ere are many
scholars and historians suggesting for a Lemurian origin. This is very much
supported by the very ancient Tamil literature also. But prompt archaeological
surveys are yet to be undertaken officially, except the detection of the µAdam¶s
Bridge¶,etc.

The above Scientific Genetic information reveals the following facts:

1. South India is one of the oldest geophysical region occupied by the Dravidian
speaking people in the world

2. The Nadars are comparatively a µless corrupted¶ race

3. The Nadars have certain µunique¶ characteristics in them which are too less or
absent in any other races of the world. This character has given them the title:
³Santors´ (Noble born, High Born, Double -Born or Dhwaja, etc.).

4. Nadars, with their µkindred groups¶ have the remotest origin in the world.

5. Nadars are linked up with the Kashmiri Brahmins (Pundits) and the North -East
Asian Tribes.

If our historians focus the history of India with these view -points in mind, it is possible
to straighten the history of India from its present zig-zag camouflaged projection. All
the first four points shown above need no elaborate clarifications. But the 5th point
certainly requires some clarifications, about the real µConcept of Brahmins¶ in India.
This is a word widely confused to divert the whole Indian history, because, its real
meaning and the hidden µoverlapping¶ racial concept is not properly analyzed or
understood by the historians. Of course, it is very difficult to analyze it too. In order to
analyze it, we need to know the earliest linguistic and martial history of India,
perhaps , even of the globe. Here, it is meant to differentiate between the modern
³Brahmin´ and the ancient ³King -Priest´ as was during the times of Dessaratha or
Rama or the earlier times. The word Pattar (Bhatta), Pattaraka, etc., are
misrepresented from the inscriptions by the scholars of archaeology and others.
Unless we get it straightened, the real meaning of Brahmin (modern) and the ancient
King-priest (Padakar, or Pataraka¶ can not be understood . This is a sensitive work
which needs dedicated hard efforts. Bhadaraka (Pattaraka) comes from the original
Paadakar, in Pali, Patarak, means a Master, or Asan in ancient Tamil. This word has
been wrongly interpreted to be a Brahmin in modern writings. Su ch misconceptions
have to be changed to get the real root -history of Indian People. When that is done,
it would take the Kashmiri Priests to the roots of the Samgam Nadars spread to
Kashmir and Baluchistan where the roots of Tamil is detected by linguists.

About the origin of the Phoenicians, the modern DNA analysis reports:

³Before going into the origin of the Phoenicians, two things musts be made clear.
The Phoenicians do not have their origin in Europe or in Africa. They were neither
European nor were they black Africans. Their origin is in the eastern Mediterranean,
as recent DNA studies prove, they belong to the ancient Mediterranean sub -starum.
Some trace them back to as far away as India about 10,000 BC or suggest that they
migrated to Phoenicia from elsewhere; however, none of these stories are proven or
provable through archaeology, and genetics spoke the final word. Further, the
Phoenician colonies which spread all over the coastline of the Mediterranean and
even the Atlantic coasts were inhabited by Phoenician Semitic speaking immigrants.
No one can claim that the Phoenicians of North Africa were black or the Phoenicians
of Spain, Gibraltar, Sardinia, Sicily, Malta...etc. were European. Statues, Busts, and
artwork of the Phoenicians are found all over this website and upon close
observation one can clearly see how closely they resemble the inhabitants of the
shores of present day Medite rranean. There are some who use the Bible for
genealogical reference and actually believe Biblical characters such as Noah, Shem,
Ham...etc. really existed and thereafter the Semites came from Shem and the
Hamites from Ham...etc. These claims are categorically rejected and have no basis
in purely scientific genealogical studies of ethnic origins of races (Extract from DNA
analysis).

The history of Nadars are a very valuable and interesting subject for study and to do
proper research which is bound to shed b rilliant lights on many hidden areas of
social as well as Indian history. One Robert Hardgrave Jr. from the United States of
America, has done research on the Nadars of Tamilnadu. And one Dennis
Templeman has done on the Northern Nadars (of only Tamil regi on). And one
Immanuel had done on the Dravidian Lineage -the Nadars through the Ages (a
comprehensive work on the Nadars of South India linking them with their branches in
North India, for the first time. It is to be noted here that his Research works go in
parallel with the 'Genetic Analysis done by the modern Scientists). Earlier, one
famous linguist, Bishop Caldwell has done some works on the Nadars, in which he
could get only a superficial information about the Nadars, from a period when the
Nadars were deprived of their power and wealth. This book was questioned and he
withdrew it in the end. A.L. Basham missed many details of Indus Valley and its real
people, going much inclined to the half mind of the Asiatic Societies of Bengal,
sponsored by the East India Company. Romila Thapar, and R.K.Majumdar got the
points, but the µNadar Aspects¶ or the old ³King -Priest´ factor and the modern
µBrahmanical pundits¶ were not properly analyzed and identified. There are more
than 100 books on Nadars, one of the earli est 'Civilized branches of human tribes'
whose antiquity goes from 1,50,000 to 1,70,000 years from the genetic analysis of
the modern Age of Science. It would be really be very interesting and enterprising to
do proper µResearch¶ on these Nadars of India.

FEW NADAR PERSONALITES

1. Tolkappiyar (First Linguistic Grammarian of the World)

2. Cheraman Perumal Nayanar (One of the Emperors in the lines of Perumals, an

epithet to the Nadars)

3. Kalankaaikanninaar Mudi Cheral (One of the many famous kings of Vrishni Kula
Nadars)

4. Cheral Athen (A great Chera King who made expedition to the north)

5. Sundara Pandyan (one of the later Pandya kings who brought troubles on the
Tamil country on dispute of crown)

6. Kali Kaatha Perumal Naden ( A Noble Nadan who stood for Social Rights for the
Nadans)

7. Alvar Naden (a Noble Nadan who fought for the Social Rights)

8. Ayyan Thiruvadi Thiruppappu (From the early dynasty of Chera kings, a reputed
Warrior)

9. Kumara Viira Marthandan Naden (a Noble Nadan who fought for the Socia l Rights
of later Nadars)
10. Niila Marthandan Nadan Chirava (A Noble Nadan who had supplied army to the
Travancore kings, but fought many Court Cases later)

11. Chithambara Chiravai Thiruvadi (Noble Warrior of Nadan family who helped the
Travancore kings in the later days)

12. Dharma Raja (King of Travancore (1758-1798 who had issued many Copper
Plates to the Nadar families)

13. Udaya Marthanda Kulasekhara Perumal (King of Travancore from 1798 -1810)

14. Mooka Naden (a Social Revolutionary who Entered into the Madurai Meenakshi
Amman Temple, but was punished by the Aryan Brahmanical propagators, but
fought the case)

15. Viira Marthanda Varma Maharaja (An adopted Nadar from the Royal family,
founder of modern Travancore, relative of Great Warrior, Anandapadm anabhan
Nadar

16. Thiruppapu Anandapadmanabhan (Relative of King Martanda Varma, Warrior,

who helped to make modern Travancore, Owner of Thachanvilai Copper -Plate)

17. Saint Ayya Vaikunda Swamigal (Noble born, was ill -treated as Channar Swamy,
put to jail, brimstone, Lion¶s Den, came out unharmed, tore of the kings rule of
µConditions¶ of subjugation, preached µEquality to all, in the age old principles of
Asoka the great, a path-maker for all modern Revolutions)

Books and Palm-Leaf Texts, Copper Plates on Nadars.

(many of the books are µRare¶ not easily available).

1. 1850: Robert Caldwell - The Tinnevelly Shanars (the first book to confuse Nadar
history and finally, the book was withdrawn by him for his incomplete conclusions -on
popular demand)

2. 1871: H.Martin Winfred - Shandrar Marapu

3. 1874: S.Winfred - Shandrar Kula Marapu Kattalai

4. 1880: Samuel Sargunar - Dravida Kshatriya

5. 1883: Ponnusamy Nadar - Pandya Kula Vilakkam

6. 1883. Samuel Sargunar - Bishop Caldwell and the Tinnevelly Shanars

7. 1889: Shanmuga Gramani - Shandraragiya Sooriya, Chandra Paramparai

8. 1889. Y.Gnanamuthu Nadar - Shanars are Kshatriyas

9. 1892. K.Shanmuga Gramani - Pallihal Vayappu

10.1900. Manicka Kavairayar -Sivakasi Prabandham

11. S.B.Nayaka Nattar (P.V.Pandion) - A short Account of the Chantrars or Tamil

Xatras

12. 1902: K. Kannayira Nadar - Tamil Kshatriya Kula Vilakkam Vinavidai

13. 1910. Dr.A.C. Acirvatham Nadar and T.T.Thomas Nadar - Shanrar Ethnography

14. 1910. T.Vijaya Doraisamy Gramani - Arya Kshatriya Vilakkam

15. 1911. P.V.Pandion - Chandror Sangam

16. 1911. P.V.Pandion - A Memorial from Nabbi P.V.Pandion, on Behalf of the Nadar
Community to J.C.Malony, Esq.,.I.C.S, Superintendent of Census Operation,
Madras, 1911.

17. 1911. A.N.Sattampillai Aiya - The Chantro-Memorial , a Pettition of the Chantra

(Nadar ) Community«about their caste misspelt ³shanar´ found in Ethnography«

18. 1914. Sathiyanatha Kavirayar - Shandrar Puranam

19. 1918. B.J.M. Kulasekhara Raj - Nadar Caruaru - A Brief Account of Nadar Race

20. 1922. T.Viojayadoraisamy Gramani - Namathu Kula Thozhil Yaathu

21. 1923. T.Vijayadoraisamy Gramani - Kshatriya

22. 1924. Bhupathi Chinna Lakshmana Raja - Shanar Kshatriya

23. 1926. T.Vijayadoraimsamy Gramani - Namathu Kula Thozhil

24. 1927. T.Vijayadorasamy - Nadar Ennum Sol Araadchi, Arasa Kulathai kurithu
Ezhuthiya oru

25. 1927. S.A.Veerasamy Naidu - Nadar Kulathilaha Nattamil Kalanjiyam

26. 1931. T. Massilamani Nadar - Pandiya Deya Aaditya Vamsa Sarithiram

27. 1937. Ramalinga Gurukkal and V.A.Kumariya Nada r - Nadar Mannarum Nayaka
Mannarum

28. 1956 K.Kochukrishnan Nadar, Kerala - Nadar Charitram

29. 1968. Manavalakkuruchi Dass - Yar Intha Nadargal

30. 1969. Robert L. Hardgrave Jr. - The Nadars of Tamilnad -the Political culture of
acommunity in change

31. 1996. Dennis Temple man - The Northern Nadars of Tamilnad

32. 1998. K.G.M.Raj. Kerala, - Nadar Charitram BC 2000 Mudal AD 1921 Vare,

33. 2002. M.Immanuel - The Dravidian Lineages- The Nadars Through The Ages

34. 2003 Elamthottasm Sukumar -Santor Puranam (Based on famous book of C.

Cornalius- Amarar Puranam)

35. 2005. M.Immanuel - Anatomy of a Folklore -King Viira Martanda Varma & a Spy

36. 2006. M.Immanuel - Kanniyakumari -Aspects and Architects

37. 2009. M.Immanuel - Saint Thomas in India - A Critical View

There is a continuous flow of books on the History of Nadars, ever since the question
was raised by Bishop Caldwell. The earlier Palm-Leaf Text is Vlamkaimaalai. This
has been re-edited and discussed and criticized by Dr.Ramachandran, an
archaeologist and some others. There are several other texts and Books. The
important Copper Plates now under Critical View is The Famous ³Thachachanvilai
Copper Plate´ given to Thiruppapu -Anandapadmanabhan, a relative of King
Martanda Varma. They have the records from Madras archaeological dept. certifying
the ownership of 12 other Grants.. The other Plates are the Thanjavur plates,
Dharmaraja¶s Copper plates given to the Puthupparakkal family, which is in the Court
Case, yet to be released .

We are in the process of consolidating the books about Nadar history which are
currently available for sale. There are about 100 books about the Nadars, but most
of them are out of print and non -available. We would invite persons to send us
copies or help re-print such rare books.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

A SMALL HISTORY- A UNKNOWN HISTORY

Before 300 BC whole of the kerala area was under the Pandian Kingdom. The Chera
Kingdom was founded by the Bana people at about 300 BC , who perhaps came to
kerala from Karnataka. Chera means the people who came and joined. The king
Cheraman Perumal was otherwise called Bana Perumal. The formation of chera
kingdom at Northern Kerala divided the Pandiyan kingdom in the middle.

Thus in the early years of Christ Kerala had three Pandian Principalitie s.
1)Southern Ay Nadu (the present day Travancore ) 2)Maranadu -area extending
from Palaghat to Gudalur and Wayanad including Ezhimalai 3) Pulnadu Kasaragod
and South Kanara

The arrival of new warrior castes from the north who were more related to
Kurubas( a dravidian people who were living at the central India who mixed with the
Scythian,Parthian and Aryan invaders in the early centuries after Christ), through the
Konkan coast along with their Sanskrit spea king Brahmin masters in 800 AD,
radically transformed Northern Kerala. The Thulu Nadu records mention that a tribe
called Nayar who followed marumakkathayam and fiercely protective of Brahmins
came from north along the konkan coast,and residing at Thulunad u (South
Kanara)around 800 AD. They suddenly disappeared from South Kanara around 800
AD. It is understood that Nayars came to Kerala around 800 AD. The names Nair
and Kuruppu suggest that they are more related to the Kurubas than ancient Tamils
of the Chera kingdom. The ancient Pana and Valluvan tribes were either
exterminated or assimilated by the Nair warriors. The Nairs who perhaps married
among the indigenous Vellala,Valluvan and yadava tribes. The Nairs of Valluvanad
preserved many ancient traditions including the Chaver tradition exhibited at the
mamangam festival. The custom of Marumakkathayam a form of matrilineal lineage
was brought inside Kerala by the Nairs. They joined the second Chera Kingdom
around 800 a.d. gradually the ancient chera kingdom was broken and shared by
local Princes .The last Chera King, Ravivarma Kulasekhara of Kodungalloor (Trichur)
converted himself to Islam and went for a pilgrimage to Mecca in the 12the century.
The Chera Kings were replaced by the Namboothiri brahmins aroun d 1400s when
they intermarried among the Royal dynasty. The Nairs migrated to Venad around
1100-1200s and succeeded in colonising it. The native yadava rulers of
Venad(Travancore) were replaced by Chera rulers. Gradually all the traces of
Pandiyan ancestory disappeared though some elements and Pandiya Sakhas
existed as late as 18th century. Kollam, Pandalam, Mavelikkara had been the
Pandian minor capitals. Nairs turned out to be quite aggressive to Nadars though
much less severe degree than the Muslims and Naickers. Some nairs especially
Kurups were always friendly with Nadars and sided with them. The Nadar Kalaries
and learning persisted in the southern districts Trivandrum, Quilon and Kanyakumari
Districts. They talked either Tamil or a dialect of Maniprav alam an ancient form of
Malayalam.

The Nadars/Shanars though they assisted the Venad King Marhtanda Varma
in 1725 to regain the throne. Brandan Chanan alias Ananda Padmanabhan Nadar
who was a member of the Pagode Kalari Family that time helped the king in the civil
war in which the Ettuveetupillaimar tried to kill Marthanda Varma. In latter
periods(1725-1800) the Nadars were tortured by the Nair/ Vellala combine. Often
they were sold as slaves. Many of them got converted to Christianity. Many Nadars
like Suyampulingam Nadar, Kasi, Duraiappa Nadars became robbers, a kind of
country Robinhoods who hid in the hills and harassed the caravans. Suyampulingam
Nadar finally was killed by the British regiment at Maruthuvamalai. Before the British
shot him he managed to throw his four year old daughter inside the compound of a
British Misssionary who converted her and named her Dona, after whom the village
Donavur was named in the later periods.

In a period when only Namboothiri women were allowed to cover the upper
part of their body, Nadar women started covering their chest at 1859 leading to fierce
protesting by the other communities especially Nairs. This lasted for more than five
years. The British never understood Nadars history or their Pandiyan
lineage.Leaders like Soundara Pandiyan nadar were actively involved in the
establishment of Dravidian movement.

Very few of the Nadars still have memory about their Pandiyan past. The
people with family names Maran,Rayan,Sivanthi,Pandiyakula etc. perhaps were
more related to the Pandiyan dynasty than others.Even now the single majority
community at Trivandrum is Nadars.

A kannada speaking sub group among Bunts called Nadavas who reside at
South Kanara District of Karnataka also regard themselves as descendents of
Pandiyan kings including Bootha Pandia and Deva pandiya. Like Nadars of Kerala
and Tamil Nadu they have titles like maran and rayan. At Karnataka the Pandiyan
kingdom existed at the Mangalore and Kasaragod area. They are believed to have
intermingled with the Hoysal a dynasty of Karnataka who were Jains like early
Pandiyas. The Jain community as well as the Bunts of Karnataka could descend
from the ancient Pandiyan kingdom. Some Billavas might have acquired Pandiyan
blood by marriage as they have the Pandian title Alw ar or Alwa.

The Kerala¶s Ezhavas and Edigas (Ezhiyas) are not related to Nadars
ethnically and all the apparent similarity could be due to inter -mixing in the recent
times. Ezha nadu in ancient Malayalam and Tamil means Srilanka. The Puthalam
Nadu described by Ibn Pathutha at the North western Srilanka was a Pandiyan
kingdom and could be the place of origin for these communities. The Puthalam
kingdom perhaps collapsed around 1350s. The Pandiyan dynasty of Nadars who
ruled in Sri Lanka in ancient times was also called Ezhavas and should not be
confused with the modern Ezhavas.

The title Panikkan was given to people who were masters in martial arts by
the Pandiyan kings. Like Nadars many Ezhava families have the Panikkan title
indicating their link and perhaps the origins from the ancient Pandiyan kingdom. Like
Nadars they were also saivites. The Thiyyas were fierce warriors and their Kalaries
are said to resemble closely nadar Kalaries though technically superior than the
Southern Kalaries.
 In the Modern times the following communities have the ancient Pandiyan
lineage. 1)Nadars 2)Nadavas (Bunts) of Karnataka 3)Some Muslims from Karnataka
still have Nadar as family name.They claim to have converted before four hundred
years

Etymology

The community which was previously known as Shanars, till the 19th century,
came to be known as the Nadars. The title Nadar is believed to be derived from the
Nelamaikkarars, the aristocrats and highest of the old Nadar community. The title
Nadar was exclusively used by the Nelamaikkarars. Nadars claim that the original
name of the community was Shantror or Shandrar (which means noble one) which,
in course of time, was corrupted to Shanar. However, there are very little evidences
to support all these claims. [3]

2. History

2. 1. Before 19th century

The origin of Nadars as a social group is unknown. However Hardgrave states

that the Teri palmrya forests of today¶s Tiruchendur district must have been the origin
of the Nadars [11] .The renowned Nadar historian,Samuel Sarugunar, claim ed that
the Nadars are the descendants of the ancient rulers of Cheran,Cholan and Pandyan
kingdoms and that when Nayak rulers captured the Pandya country, they divided the
country into several Palayams(divisions) and appointed Palaiyakkars as rulers. The
Nayaks rulers of Tamil Nadu ,as per the claims of Sargunar, imposed
Deshaprashtam (ostracism) on the ancient Pandyas (Nadars),to ensure that their
rise wouldn't ever happen. [2] [3] [12] [13] [14] These claims are ,however, not
baseless. The traditions followed by the Nelamaikkarars and the existence of the
ruins beneath the Teri palmrya forests of Tiruchendur and ancient Pandyan capital
city of Korkai, where the Nadar population is predominant, suggest they could very
well be the heir of the Early Pandyas. [15] [16] The two incriptions at Kalladaikurichi
suggest that in medieval times the Nadars served as administrators and accountants
both in Chera and Pandya countries. [13] [14] . However, there is little evidence to
suggest that the Nadars were indeed the descendants of the ancient
Chera,Cholaand Pandya kings. [14] This belief, that the Nadars had been the kings
of Tamilnadu, became the dogma of the Nadar community in the 19thcentury. [17]

2. 2. Nadars of the 19th century

See also: Nadan (Nadar subcaste) and Nadar climber

The Nadars were a community mostly engaged in the palmyra industry,

including the production of toddy. Few subsects of the Nadar community were
traditionally wealthy landlords and money lenders. [18] [19] Majority of the Nadars
lived south of Thamiraparani river. Nadars living in south of Thamirabarani River till
the tip of Cape Comorin constituted 80 to 90% of the population ,in the Teri palmrya
forests of Tiruchendur, and had various living conditions. [20] While majority of the
Nadar population consisted of landless,poor laborers(Nadar climbers), a small
portion of the community called Nelamaikkarars or Nadans owned vast tracts of land.
Historical records and accounts indicate they possibly worked as tax collectors under
the Pandyas. These Nadans or lords of the land either held their position directly
under Nayak ruler in the region of Tiruchendur or as petty lords under the poligars.
They commanded high respect in these regions from the rest of the population.
Nadar climbers, the minority Vellalars and Brahmins showed deference to these
Nadans. Nadan men rode horses and their women rode in covered palanquins. [21]
The position held by these Nadans was unchallenged by their dependent climbers.
In these regions the Nadars were the most do minant caste and their interaction with
other communities was minimal [22] . Nadar climbers also populated other regions of
Tamil Nadu where a few palmyra trees grew. In areas of Tamil nadu where the
Nadar climber population was not more than a few familie s in a village, they faced
descrimination from the majority caste. [23] Due to their association with toddy, the
Nadars were considered lower than other middle castes, but relatively higher than
the low castes, and were also prohibited to enter temples bui lt by castes above them
in the caste system. Even though associated with toddy, the Nadars abstinently
avoided to consume it as the most punctilious Brahmins [24] . The Nadars were
schismatic about their position in the caste hierarchy and firmly claimed t hat they
were wrongly placed in the caste system due to the Nayak invasion.The position of
the Nadars in the caste hierarchy was actually never accepted by them and they
were very caste conscious. [25]

2. 3. Nadars of Travancore

See also: Upper cloth controversy

Presumably the Nadars of Southern Travancore migrated to Travancore from

Tirunelveli in the 16th century after the invasion of Tirunelveli by the Raja of
Travancore. Like their Tirunelveli counterparts, the Nadars of Travancore were
mostly palmrya climbers. However a significant number of Nadars in Travancore
were subtenants to Nair landlords or Vellalar landlords. These Nadar tenants called
themselves Nadans and a score of these Nadans also directly had control over the
lands. These Nadans enjoyed special privileges under the Raja and claimed that
they were superior to the climbers. The climbers of Travancore fared a little better
than their Tirunelveli counterparts, but, however, suffered severe social disabilities
,unlike their Tirunelveli counte rparts, under the rigid caste hierarchy of Travancore.
As Swami Vivekananda stated, Kerala was like a mad asylum of castes. The Nadar
climber women wear not allowed to cover their bosoms, as most of the non - Brahmin
women of Kerala, to punctuate their low status. However the aristocratic Nadan
women, their counterparts, had the rights to cover their bosom. Uneasy with their
social status, a large number of Nadar climbers embraced Christianity and became
upwardly mobile. Though they improved their status wit h the aid of Christian
missionaries, the outcome of the conversion was not according to the point of view of
the missionaries. The Christian Nadar climber women, along with the Hindu Nadar
climber women, wore the upper jacket in the manner of upper class w omen and also
their Tamil counterparts, inorder to improve their social status. In turn they were
discriminated and even abused by upper class men. One of the Nadan families of
Agastheeswaram, instead of supporting their depressed counterparts, supported t he
upper class men and claimed that only their women had the right to wear a
uppercloth. However after a brutal struggle(Upper cloth revolt) with the powerful
authorities of Travancore and also with the aid of the British Christian Missionaries,
the depressed Nadar women won themselves the right to wear their upper cloth, as
their Nadan counterparts. [26]

2. 4. Northern Nadars

See also: Sivakasi riots of 1899

A few Nadar traders migrated to northern Tirunelveli and Virudhunagar to

settle down in these regions. In course of time, these Nadars became commercially
skilled and therefore became upwardly mobile in the late 19th century. Mercantilism
played crucial roles in facilitating their upward mobility. Part of this change in the
Nadar community resulted in some of them converting to Christianity , both
Catholicism and Protestantism. However, a majority of almost 90% remained
Hindus. [27]

The British rule then in the southern districts introduced new frontiers of trade
and commerce .The Nadars took this opportunity and made it their greatest
advantage. They established sophisticated pettais (fortified compounds) and
Urvinmurais(Local Nadar association) to ensure safety for their goods. The member
of Uravinmurai,the muraikkarar, would contribute a portion of his in income to the
association as common good funds or mahimai(means to glorify oneself) to use the
facilties of the pettas in order to improve the association and in turn aid the Nadar
community [28] . As the wealth of the Northern Nadars increased, they gradually
began to adopt the customs of the North Indian Kshtriyas inorder to improve their
social status as well. This process is known as Sanskritisation. They also tried to
disassociate themselves from their Nadar climber counterparts and many began t o
adopt the title µNadan¶, a title which was before only used by the aristocratic
Nelamaikkarars. To punctuate their wealthy and powerful position in the society, the
Nadars of Sivakasi hired Maravars as their palanquin bearers [29] . The upward
mobility and kshatriya pretensions of the Nadars of Six towns of Ramanad caused
resentment among, castes above them, the Vellalars and especially the
Maravars,the caste just above the Nadars. As a result, a series of conflicts, such as
the Sivakasi riots of 1899, ha ppened between the Nadars and the Maravars.
However, the Sankritisation movement was a failure and the Nadar climbers
,wholived as minorities, were still discriminated by the majority castes. [30] However
these confrontations aided the community to protes t for
the required rights and privileges, with integrity, and
also test how much other communities were willing to
buy the claims of the Nadars' high status. The Northern
Nadar leaders then sought to unite their community by
encouraging intermarriages with in the five major Nadar
subcastes and also uplift the depressed palmrya Nadar
climbers. They also sought to maintain amiable
relationships with other communities. This led to the
formation of the Nadar Mahajana sagham in 1910.

u
   u

   



        


The Founder of Nadar Welfare Association was Mr.P.R. Pratap Chander, the
man with honesty, self confidence, politeness and more importantly his helping
tendency for all kind of peoples. He was the Founder and President of Nadar
Welfare Association.
Members
Sudhakar - Associative Head.
Rajesh
Manoj
Mohan
History
History of Pandiyan kingdom is the history of Nadars. Nadar oral tradition
exists among few who were once ruling Pandiyan Kingdom. The Nadar History is
scattered in bits of information in the Nadar households starting from Thanjavur to
Kanyakumari to Trivandrum. Many records in Palm leaves have decayed and lost in
the recent times. A common custom among Nadars is that only the eldest son is told
about the ancient history.Majority of the Nadars from southern Travancore and
Tamilnadu embraced Christianity between 1800 to 1830 period.
Nadar community descends from the Nadalvar Kulam of ancient Pandian
Kingdom. The lords of Pandia dynasty were called Maran, Maranadar/Mara
Nadalwar.Nattar, Rayan, Nadar, Kshatriya Nadar, Nadan, Nadavaru Nadava, Alwar,
etc Karukkupattayathar (Elite guards),Kodi Marathar (who defend the flag),Sivanthi
(Elite Suicidal army) Panicker (one who trained in Martial arts) are some other titles.
Gramony or Gramaniar was the village head. Asan (Teachers of Martial arts,
medicine, arts and history). Vaidyar (practitioners of indigenous medicine). The
soldiers were called Chanar (chan=Iron,those who carried iron implements when iron
was rare)( Sanar, Shanar) Pullu Kai Chanar are hired soldiers who threw spears.
(Pullu = spear or stake). Modern Nadar (caste) community descends from all the
elements of Pandiyan kingdom - from kings and soldiers.
A highly knit group of Nadars lived in the town of Thirumangalam, near
Madurai, Tamilnadu, the last capital of the Pandiyans, called Pandiyakula Kshatriya
nadar, PKN in short. This acronym is quite well known in and around Madurai for its
educational institutions.
Pandiyan Kingdom of Mara Nadars evolved at the banks of Tamraparni river
before millennia. The Capital was shifted to Madurai in the later times. The Royal
house of Mara Nadars was at Tenkasippatinam with minor capital at
Sivakasippatinam. From Tenkasi they could control the affairs of southern Kerala
too. The Pandiyan country was divided into Nadu, Valanadu, Kottam and Kuttam. (
Desam in later periods ). The Nadu was ruled by Nadalvar (Nadu + Alvar ) who was
a close relative of the King. Each Nadalvar maintained their own temple, collected
tax and maintained a contingent of army.
Nadar Uravin Murai and Pettais (Fortified storehouses) further increased the
prosperity of Business community of Nadars in the 19th century. The Nadar
Mahajana Sangham which was founded in 1910, was another milestone. T he
Dekshina Mara Nadar Sangham is another community organization founded around
the same period.
Nadar Kalaries and Kalarippayittu ( Kalam = Battle field + Ari = Cutting +Paittu
= Training ) The Nadar Kalaries (martial schools) where compulsory training in
martial arts, military training was given when a boy completed his 14th yr. The
teachers of Martial arts were called Asans or Panickens. Adimura is a type of
Kalarippayatu was practiced by the Nadars of South Thiruvidankur.
Sembulingam alias Swampulingam Nadar ( Chembulingam) a Kshatriya
Nadar became a country Robin Hood,a bandit,after the local feudal lords abused and
killed his wife. He took his revenge and later periods used to rob the rich to help the
poor. He and his fellow brigands, Kasi Nadan, Durai yappa Nadar became bandits.
They hid at the jungles of Western ghat at Travancore and robbed the Caravans
passing that way. Maruthuvamalai near Kottaram, Kanyakumari, became their secret
hideout. The gold and money thus acquired was distributed among the p oor and
destitute of Travancore. Chempulingam removed a tile from the roof of poor and
dropped gold and money through the hole. The legend of Chembulingam became a
folklore. Chembulingam was met by missionary Amy Carmichael an Irish national at
jungle. Though Chembulingam was not converted he was quite impressed by the
lady missionary. On one account the Brigand, when he was chased by the police,
leaped and crossed a 30 foot wide well and escaped. He never killed females,
according to the old Pandiyan rules . Instead he used to lock together the long ears of
the ladies with a mankapootu (lock in the shape of a mango). When he realized that
escape was not possible Chembulingam went to the compound of the Irish
missionary and left his four year old daughter in the compound. Finally the British
police killed all his friends one by one. After they killed Kasinadan, Chempulinkam
allegedly lost all his will to live. He stood on the hill of Maruthuvamalai and gestured
the police to shoot him. Chembalingam's daughter was raised as a Christian named
Dona. The town Donavaur was named after her.
Some ancient Palm leaf scripts do exist among many families of southern
Kerala and Southern Tamil Nadu. Some of the Nadars' ancient books of Kerala are
written in Manipravalam, a Sanskrit mixed language, derived perhaps from the Jain
Period of Pandiyan kingdom. After independence the Asan families are not teaching
their children this language. So , many of these books are lost or not readable.
Unless efforts are made to preserve these books, there is a risk of losing all the
books of Nadars, which may shed light on the ancient Pandiyan Kingdom.
Many Nadars always knew that they originally belonged to Pandiyan dynasty.
Like jews they had a group consciousness. Nadars have been living in the familiar
ancestral home land which they knew well for thousands of years.Nadars have been
in the forefront in business and education. They are forging ahead ± economically
and socially.
Nadars of Tamil Nadu and Kerala and Nadava of Karnataka descent from
ancient Pandiyan kings.Some Karnataka Muslims with the surname Nadar who claim
to have converted before four hundred years.
On the basis of the foregoing and the records available in many houses in
Azhagappauram, it is established that the present -day Nadars of Azhagai are the
descendants of ancient Pandiya Kings. Religion -wise, they were all Hindus originally,
and most of them embraced Christianity at different points of time, from the 17th
century. It is recorded that the first settlers arrived in Azhagappapuram 340 years
ago. Others followed at regular intervals.
 Nadars
The Nadars are the heirs of the fallen ancient pandyas. Considered to be a
proud, ancient warrior caste and the initial rulers of the ancient Pandiya Nadu
(Pandyan Kingdom) the Nadars are well known for their bravery throughout the
southern part of Tamil Nadu. The ancient capital city of Pandiya Nadu, Korkai, is
predominantly occupied by the Nadars. After successive invasions from the north by
the Kalabhras and other Vadugas(Nayaks) on the Pandiyan kingdom, the Nadars
were forced out of power and almost became extinct in the 18th century. The
community which was known as 'Shanans' till the 19th century came to be known as
Nadars. The title Nadar is believed to be derived from the N adans, the aristocrats
and the highest of the old Shanan community. The aristocrats among the Nadars in
those days were known as Nadans and the poor among the caste, who did toddy
tapping for a living, were known as Shanans.The poor among the Nadars(Shanan s)
during early times possessed no agricultural lands due to the Nayak invasion.
Nadars are believed to be closely related to the Villavars, an ancient Dravidian
warrior community which founded many Dravidian kingdoms as Cheran and
Pandyan in the prehistor y.
Ris of t Nadars aft r t Nayak invasion

After the Nayak invasion, the Nadars were almost wiped out and most of the
Nadars lost their wealth due to the invasion. It is believed that the Vishwanatha
Nayak imposed Deshaprashtam (ostracism) on the Pandya king, Chandrasekera
Pandyan and his family members. But due to their perserverence, they fought a fine
battle with poverty and casteism and regained their social and economic power
within a span of two centuries. The rise of the Nadars began in the early 19th
century. Mercantilism played crucial roles in facilitating their upward mobility. The
British rule then in the southern districts intoduced new frontiers of trade and
commerce.The Nadars took this opportunity and made it their greatest advantage.
They began to excel rapidly in trade and commerce. The Nadar traders were
frequently bothered by the bandits sent by their rival castes. They established
sophisticated pettais (fortified compounds) to ensure safety for their goods. Some
times they even used their skills in fighting to chase away these ban dits. To enhance
their cohesiveness and consistent progress in business, the Nadars established
saghams (oraganisation) such as the Nadar Mahajana Sagham and Dakshinamara
Nadar Sagham in the early 20th century.
Eventually the rise of the Nadars was an unstoppable movement. As
described by the renowned historian Hugald Grafe, the Nadars rose from nothing
and occupied places formerly reserved for Brahmins.
î ristian Nadars
In 1680, the first congregation of Nadars was started at Vaddakankulam with
the conversion of a Nadar woman and church was built in 1685. A permanent
mission was established in 1701. 40% of the Nadars in TamilNadu are Christians.
Some Nadars accepted Christianity out of will and some accepted it due to their
aversion to Brahminism.
In t fi
d of conomics
The Nadars of Tamil Nadu are predominant in the southern most part of
Tamil-Nadu. Ever since the 19th century, they have developed a keen interest in
trade and commerce. The Nadars are hard working people. In the early stages, most
of the Nadars mainly focussed in trading farm products. They sold all their products
at best prices. By storing the agricultural products in a warehouse, they distributed
them for both wholesale and retail all over Tamil Nadu. The major products they
dispensed were rice,pulses,edible oils,sugar and other important,primary farm
products. Gradually, they formed a strong link between the farmers and consumers.

As technology and economy advanced, the Nadars changed their business

pattern accordingly. In the next stage, they concentrated in trading products
,relevantto building industries, such as cement,iron hard ware, roofing materials etc.
They also gradually started their advancement in education. Their progress in
business is just one of their acheivements. Nowadays, the Nadars are almost
prominent in every known field; especially politics and business
Important industri s and busin ss s run by t Nadar
After upgrading their economic status, the Nadars continued with their
advancement and erected a networ k of educational institutions. Most of these
institutions were contrived to educate the poor and offer free education. The
community realised the powerful future education can offer and utilised this foresight.
They were even able to successively establish a bank (Tamilnadu Mercantile Bank)
in that period. The Nadars are major manufacturers of edible oil like coconut oil,
groundnut oil, sesame oil etc, in India. Notable edible oil companies such as V.V.D,
Gold winner,Idhayam are run by a Nadar.
Another important field which is dominated by the Nadars is fireworks. There
are a number of prominent firework industries in Sivakasi. They are all operated and
efficiently managed by the Nadars of Sivakasi. Standard, Ayyan, Anil, etc in Sivakasi
are some of the important firework companies in India .The chemicals and other
pyro-technical requirements are also products they manufacture .
Vi

avar
Villavars[1] were the primary rulers among the Dravidians who once ruled the
whole of India[citation needed]. Villavars wer e archers or Bowmen who once
emerged from the hunting clans of India. The Bhil tribals, The Billavas of Tulunadu of
Karnataka, The Villavar Clans of Kerala who founded the Chera Kingdom all are
Villavars. The Nadars or Nadalvars of the Pandyan kingdom is e ither a sub group of
Villavars or a closely related group. The Ezhavas or Illavas of Kerala also could be
descendents of this Villavar tribe of Kerala. The Villavars of Kerala and Illavars of Sri
Lanka after whom Eeelam or Heladipa is named were relatives. Alwar, Alvar, Aluvar
or Alva are the titles shared by all the Villavar tribes.
Chera dynasty

For district of Kuala Lumpur, see Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, the town in Spain,
see Chera, Valencia, for the town in Selangor, see Cheras, Selangor.
UUUUU
Cheras
 Chera territories
Official language Tamil
Capitals Karur (Vanchi Muthur)
Government Monarchy
Preceding state Unknown
Succeeding states Gangas, Zamorins, Kochi, Travancore, Hoysala,
Vijayanagara
The Chera dynasty (Tamil: UUUUU) was one of the ancient Tamil dynasties
that ruled southern India from ancient times until around the fifteenth century CE.
The Early Cheras ruled over the Coimbatore, Karur and Salem Districts in South
India, which now forms part of the modern day Tamil Nadu (Kongu Nadu). The other
two major Tamil dynasties were the Cholas in the eastern Coromandel Coast and
Pandyas in the south central peninsula. These dynasties began ruling before the
Sangam era (300 BCE - 200 CE) during which the Tamil language, arts and
literature flourished.

The Sangam Chera capital was Vanchi Muthur (otherwise called Karuvur,
modern Karur).[1] , their area included western and south area of Tamilnadu and
also controlling areas closer to the region from Malai Nadu or hill country (modern
Kerala). Chera rulers warred frequently with their neighbouring kingdoms. They
sometimes inter-married with the families of the rival kings as a means of political
alliances. Throughout the reign of the Cheras, trade continued to bring prosperity to
Tamil Country (part of which is modern north Kerala), with spices, ivory, timber,
pearls and gems being exported to Egypt, Rome, Greece, Phoenicia, Arabia,
Mesopotamia and Persia.Evidence for extensive foreign trade from ancient times is
available throughout the Malabar coast, from the R oman, Greek and Arabic coins
unearthed from Kollam, Kodungallur, Eyyal (near Trissur) in Northern Kerala
.Muziris, has been referenced by ancient writers, such as the author of the Periplus
of the Erythraean Sea to be an inland port probably near Kodungall ur. Sangam
Cheran coins and inscriptions are found only in Karur, Erode and Coimbatore region
of modern Tamil Nadu (Kongu Nadu).
 While Cheras had their own religion (Hinduism), other religious traditions
came to this area during the period of the Chera ki ngs. Jainism came to Kongu Nadu
by the second century BCE.

Contents

1 History
1.1 Sangam Cheras
1.2 Bhakti era Cheras
2 Notes
3 References

History

In early Tamil literature the great Chera rulers are referred to as Cheral,
Kuttuvan, Irumporai, Kollipurai and Athan. Chera rulers were also called Kothai or
Makothai. The nobility among the Cheras were called Cheraman in general. The
word Kerala, of possible Prakrit origins, does not appear in Sangam Literature.
Ashoka's edicts mention an independent dynast y known by the name Ceraputta,
who were outside Ashoka's empire. The unknown author of Periplus of the
Erythraean Sea mentions Chera as Cerobothra whose capital is Karur, while Pliny,
the Roman historian of the first century, calls it Caelobothras. It is b elieved that
religiously the Cheras were Shaivites.[2] The kings of the dynasty referred to
themselves as Vanavar.[3]

Sangam Cheras

The only source available for us regarding the early Chera Kings is the
anthologies of the Sangam literature. Scholars now generally agree that this
literature belongs to the first few centuries CE.[4] The internal chronology of this
literature is still far from settled. The Sangam literature is full of names of the kings
and the princes, and of the poets who extolled them . Despite a rich literature that
depicts the life and work of these people, these are not worked into connected
history so far. Their capital is stated to be modern Karur in Tamilnadu and were also
called Kongars.

Pathirruppaththu, the fourth book in the Ettuthokai anthology mentions a

number of Chera Kings of the Chera dynasty. Each King is praised in ten songs sung
by the Court Poet and the Kings are in the following order:

Nedum Cheralathan,
Palyane Chel Kezhu Kuttuvan,
Kalankai Kanni Narmudi Cheral,
Kadal Pirakottiya Vel Kezhu Kuttuvan,
Attu Kottu Pattu Cheralathan,
Chelva Kadunko Azhi Athan,
Thakadur Erintha Perum Cheral Irumporai,
Kudako Ilam Cheral Irumporai.
The first two kings were the sons of Uthiyan Cheralathan and Veliyan Nallini.
The third, fourth and fifth kings were sons of Nedum Cheralathan, while the mother
of fourth King (also known as Chenkuttuvan) was Chola Princess Manikilli. Chelva
Kadunko Vazhiyathan was the son of Anthuvan Cheral Irumporai and Porayan
Perumthevi. Perum Cheral Irumporai was the son of Vazhiyathan and Ilam Cheral
Irumporai was the son of a Chera ruler Kuttuvan Irumporai (son of Mantharan Cheral
Irumporai).[citation needed]

Archaeology has also found epigraphic evidence regarding these early

Cheras.[5] The most important of these is the Pugalur (Aranattarmalai) inscription.
This inscription refers to three generations of Chera rulers Adam Cheral Irrumporai,
his son Perumkadungo, and his son Ilamkadungo. The charter was issued when
Perum Kadungo was the ruler monarch and Ilam Kadungo was appointed prince.
Athan refers only to a crowned King of Chera dynasty who accepted this title at the
time of coronation. Athan Cheral Irumporai was the son of Perum Cheral Irumporai.
It therefore follows that Perumkadungo was the son of a crowned King of the Chera
Dynasty. Perum Kadunko means that he was the Senior Ko (Senior ruler) of
Kadunadu, located in the Tamilnadu side of the Sahya Mountains.
 'Purananuru' refers to Udiyan Cheral, who probably ruled in the first ± second
centuries CE. It is said that he fed the rival armies during the war of Mahabharata.
Imayavaramban Neduncheralathan, another Sangam age king claimed to have
conquered up to the Himalayas and to have inscribed his emblem in the face of the
mountains. Senguttuvan was an other famous Chera, whose contemporary Gajabahu
II of Lanka according to Mahavamsa visited the Chera country.[6]

The early Cheras controlled a large territory of Kongu Nadu. The also ruled
the kodunthamizh regions of Travancore (Venadu) and the Malabar (K uttanadu)
west coast through vassals. They were in contact with the Satavahanas in the north
and with the Romans and Greeks.[7] Trade flourished overseas and there was a
considerable exchange of gold and coins, as seen by archaeological evidence and
literature. The Romans brought vast amounts of gold in exchange of 'Kari' (Pepper)
from Malainadu. [2]

Bhakti era Cheras

Little is known about the Cheras between c. third century CE and the eight
century CE. An obscure dynasty, the Kalabhras, invaded the Tami l country,
displaced the existing kingdoms and ruled for around three centuries. They were
displaced by the Pallavas and the Pandyas in the sixth century CE. A Pandya ruler,
Arikesari Parankusa Maravarman (c.730 ± 765CE), mentioned in a number of
Pandya copper-plate inscriptions, was a prominent ruler during this period. He claims
to have defeated a prominent Chera king. The name of the Chera king is not known,
however from the details of the battles between the Pandya and the Chera, the
Chera territory ceded seems to have included the entire Malabar and Travancore
(Kuttanadu and Venadu) and the southern Pandya country from Kanyakumari to
Thirunelveli the seat of the Cheras being in Karur Kongu Nadu. The Chera kings
took the title of Perumal during this peri od and patronised the Vaishnavite sect.
Kulasekara Alwar who ruled in the 8th century became a devotional Vaishnavite
poet. Pallavas also mention in their inscriptions about their battles with the Cheras.
Pulakesin II, in his Aihole inscription mentioned " Pulikesin II, driving the Pallava
behind the forts of Kanchi, reached as far south as the Kaveri river, and there
caused prosperity to the Chola, Chera and Pandya".[8]

In the reign of Pandya Parantaka Nedumjadaiyan (765 ± 790), the Cheras

were still in Karur and were a close ally of the Pallavas. Pallavamalla Nadivarman
defeated the Pandya Varaguna with the help of a Chera king. Cultural contacts
between the Pallava court and the Chera country were common.[9] The Saivite saint
Cheraman Perumal and the oth er is the Vaishnavite saint Kulasekhara, were famous
in the Hindu religious movements. Kulasekhara became one of the celebrated Alvars
and his poems came to be called the Perumal Thirumozhi. Cheraman Perumal ruled
around the eighth and the ninth centuries. In this Kulasekhara calls himself Kongar
Kon (the king of the Kongu people) hailing from Kollinagar (Karur). Adi Shankara
was his contemporary. Kongumandala Satakam also says that Cheraman Perumal
went to Kayilai with Sundarar from Kongu Nadu.

D


 

UUUUUUUUUc
The Dandyan kingdom (Tamil:

c
UUUUUUUUU) was an c
Extent of the Pandya Territories c. 1250 C.E.c
ancient Tamil state in South India of
ë 
 


unknown antiquity. The Pandyas were one 
 
c


c
of the three ancient Tamil kingdoms    c



c

(Chola and Chera being the other two) who  

 
c c

ruled the Tamil country until end of the 15th D



 c
  c
century. They initially ruled from Korkai, a  c




 







c
sea port on the southern most tip of the   c
c

c

Indian peninsula, and in later times moved

to Madurai.

The early Pandyan dynasty of the Sangam literature went into obs curity
during the invasion of the Kalabhras. The dynasty revived under Kadungon in the
early 6th century, pushed the Kalabhras out of the Tamil country and ruled from
Madurai. They again went into decline with the rise of the Cholas in the 9th
century and were in constant conflict with them. The Pandyas allied themselves
with the Sinhalese and the Cheras i n harassing the Chola empire until they found
an opportunity for reviving their fortunes during the late 13th century.
 The Pandyas entered their golden age under Jatavarman Sundara
Pandyan (c.1251) who expanded the empire into Telugu country and invaded and
conquered the northern half of Sri Lanka. They also had extensive trade links with
the Southeast Asian maritime empires of Srivijaya and their successors. During
their history, the Pandyas were repeatedly in conflict with the Pallavas,
Cholas, Hoysalasand finally the Muslim invaders from the Delhi Sultanate. The
Pandyan Kingdom finally became extinct after the establishment of the Madurai
Sultanate in the 16th century.

The Pandyas excelled in both trade and literature. They controlled

the pearl fisheries along the south Indian coast, between Sri Lanka and India,
which produced one of the finest pearls known in the ancient world. Tradition
holds that the legendarySangams were held in Madurai under the ir patronage,
and that some of the Pandya kings were poets themselves.

ërigin
The origin of the word ³Pandya´ has been a subject of much speculation.
Some scholars believe that it descended from the ³Pandavas´ of Mahabharata, while
others argue that the na me could be derived from the word ³Pandi´ the original name
of the Tamil country.[1]
Historians have used several sources to identify the origins of the early
Pandyan dynasty with the pre-Christian Era and also to piece together the names of
the Pandyan kings. Unfortunately, the exact genealogy of these kings have not been
authoritatively established yet.
Sourc s
Main artic
 Ear
y Dandyan Kingdom
Sangam Lit ratur
Various Pandya kings find mention in a number of poems in the Sangam
Literature. Among them Nedunjeliyan, 'the victor of Talaiyalanganam', and
Mudukudimi Peruvaludi 'of several sacrifices' deserve special mention. Besides
several short poems found in the Akananuru and the Purananuru collections, there
are two major works - Mathuraikkanci and the Netunalvatai (in the collection of
Pattupattu) give a glimpse into the society and commercial activities in the Pandyan
kingdom during the Sangam age.
 It is difficult to estimate the exact date of these Sangam age Pandyas. The
period covered by the extant literature of the Sangam is unfortunately not easy to
determine with any measure of certainty. Except the longer epics Silapathikaram and
Manimekalai, which by common consent belong to the age later than the Sangam
age, the poems have reached us in the fo rms of systematic anthologies. Each
individual poem has generally attached to it a colophon on the authorship and
subject matter of the poem, the name of the king or chieftain to whom the poem
relates and the occasion which called forth the eulogy are also found.

It is from these colophons and rarely from the texts of the poems themselves,
that we gather the names of many kings and chieftains and the poets and poetesses
patronized by them. The task of reducing these names to an ordered scheme in
which the different generations of contemporaries can be marked off one another
has not been easy. To add to the confusions, some historians have even denounced
these colophons as later additions and untrustworthy as historical documents.
Any attempt at extracting a systematic chronology from these poems should
take into consideration the casual nature of these poems and the wide differences
between the purposes of the anthologist who collected these poems and the
historian¶s attempts to arrive at a continuous histor y.
Epigrap y
The earliest Pandya to be found in epigraph, is Nedunjeliyan figuring in the
Minakshipuram record assigned from the second to the first centuries BCE. The
record documents a gift of rock-cut beds, to a Jain ascetic. Punch marked coins in
the Pandya country dating from around the same time have also been found.
Pandyas are also mentioned in the Pillars of Ashoka (inscribed 273 - 232
BCE). Asoka in his inscriptions refers to the peoples of south India as the Cholas,
Cheras, Pandyas and Satiyaputras as recipients of his Buddhist proselytism.[2][3]
These kingdoms, although not part of the Mauryan Empire, were in friendly terms
with Asoka:
"The conquest by Dharma has been won here, on the borders, and even six
hundred yojanas (5,400 ±9,600 km) away, where the Greek king Antiochos rules,
beyond there where the four kings named Ptolemy, Antigonos, Magas and
Alexander rule, likewise in the south among the Cholas, the Pandyas, and as far as
Tamraparni (Sri Lanka)." [4]
 Kharavela, the Kalinga king who ruled during the second century BCE, in his
Hathigumpha inscription, claims to have destroyed a confederacy of Tamil states
(µ¶Tamiradesasanghatam¶¶) which had lasted 132 years, and to have acquired a large
quantity of Pearls from the Pandyas.[5]
]or ign Sourc s
The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (c. 60 - 100 CE) describes the riches of a
'Pandian Kingdom':
...Nelcynda is distant from Muziris by river and sea about five hundred stadia,
and is of another Kingdom, the Pandian. This place also is situated on a rive r, about
one hundred and twenty stadia from the sea.... [6]
The Chinese historian Yu Huan in his 3rd century text, the Weilüe, mentions
The Kingdom of Panyue:
...The kingdom of Panyue is also called Hanyuewang. It is several thousand li
to the southeast of Tianzhu (Northern India)...The inhabitants are small; they are the
same height as the Chinese...[7]
The Pandyan kingdom is also mentioned in Megasthenes's Indika as "the
portion of India which lies southwards and extends to the Sea".[8]
The Roman emperor Julian received an embassy from a Pandya about 361. A
Roman trading centre was located on the Pandyan coast (Alagankulam - at the
mouth of the Vaigai river, southeast of Madurai).
Pandyas also had trade contacts with Ptolemaic Egypt and, through Egypt,
with Rome by the first century, and with China by the 3rd century. The 1st century
Greek historian Nicolaus of Damascus met, at Damascus, the ambassador sent by
an Indian King "named Pandion or, according to others, Porus" to Caesar Augustus
around 13 CE (Strabo XV.1-4, and Strabo XV.1-73).[9][10]
In 1288 and again in 1293 the Venetian traveler Marco Polo visited the
Pandyan kingdom and left a vivid description of the land and its people. Polo
exclaimed that:
"The darkest man is here the most highly esteemed and considered better
than the others who are not so dark. Let me add that in very truth these people
portray and depict their gods and their idols black and their devils white as snow. For
they say that God and all the saints are black and the devils are a ll white. That is
why they portray them as I have described."
Úistory
Although there are many instances of the Pandya kingdom being referred in
ancient literature and texts, we currently have no way of determining a cogent
genealogy of these ancient kings. In order to maintain verifiability of this article, the
names of these early Pandya Kings have been omitted. We have a connected
history of the Pandyas from the fall of Kalabhras during the middle of the 6th century.
The following lists of the Pandya kin gs are based on the authoritative A
History of South India from the Early Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar by K.A.N.
Sastri, OUP, New Delhi (Reprinted 1998).
Ear
y Dandyas
Main artic
 Ear
y Dandyan Kingdom
The following is a partial list of Pandyan emperors who ruled during the
Sangam age:[11][12][13]
Nedunj Cheliyan I ( Aariyap Padai Kadantha Nedunj Cheliyan )
Pudappandiyan
Nedunj Cheliyan II ( Pasumpun Pandiyan)
Mudukudumi Paruvaludhi
Nedunj Cheliyan III ( Talaiyaalanganathu Seruvendra Nedunj Cheli yan )
Nan Maran
Maran Valudi
Musiri Mutriya Cheliyan
Ukkirap Peruvaludi
]irst Empir
After the close of the Sangam age, the first Pandyan empire was established
by Kadungon in the 6th century defeating the Kalabhras. The following is a
chronological list of the Pandya emperors is based on an inscription found on the
Vaigai riverbeds.
Kadungon 560 - 590
Maravarman Avani Culamani 590 - 620
Cezhiyan Cendan 620 - 640
Arikesari Maravarman Nindraseer Nedumaaran 640 - 674
Kochadaiyan Ranadhiran 675 - 730
Arikesari Parankusa Maravarman Rajasinga 730 - 765
Parantaka Nedunjadaiyan 765 - 790
 Rasasingan II 790 - 800
Varagunan I 800 - 830
Sirmara Srivallabha 830 - 862
Varaguna II 862 - 880
Parantaka Viranarayana 862 - 905
Rajasimha III 905 - 920
After the defeat of the Kalabhras, the Pandya kingdom grew steadily in power
and territory. With the Cholas in obscurity, the Tamil country was divided between
the Pallavas and the Pandyas, the river Kaveri being the frontier between them.
After Vijayalaya Chola conquered Thanjavur defeating the Muttarayar
chieftains around 850, the Pandyas went into a period of decline. They were
constantly harassing their Chola overlord s occupying their territories. Parantaka
Chola I invaded the Pandya territories and defeated Rajasinha III. However Pandyas
reversed this defeat to gain back most of their lost territories.
Mnd r t î o
as
The Chola domination of the Tamil country began i n earnest during the reign
of Parantaka Chola II. Chola armies led by Aditya Karikala, son of Parantaka Chola II
defeated Vira Pandya in battle. The Pandyas were assisted by the Sinhalese forces
of Mahinda IVPandyas were driven out of their territories and had to seek refuge in
the island of Sri Lanka. This was the start of the long exile of the Pandyas. They
were replaced by a series of Chola viceroys with the title Chola Pandyas who ruled
from Madurai from c. 1020.
The following list gives the names of th e Pandya kings who were active during
the 10th and the first half of 11th century. It is difficult to give their date of accession
and duration of their rule. Nevertheless their presence in the southern country
require recognition.
Sundara Pandya I
Vira Pandya I
Vira Pandya II
Amarabhujanga Tivrakopa
Jatavarman Sundara Chola Pandya
Maravarman Vikrama Chola Pandya
Maravarman Parakrama Chola Pandya
Jatavarman Chola Pandya
 Srivallabha Manakulachala (1101 - 1124)
Maaravaramban Seervallaban (1132 - 1161)
Parakrama Pandiyan (1161 - 1162)
Kulasekara Pandyan III
Vira Pandyan III
Jatavarman Srivallaban (1175 - 1180)
Jatavarman Kulasekara Devan (1180 - 1216)
Dandya R viva

The 13th century is the greatest period in the history of the Pandyan Empire.
Their power reached its zenith under Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan in the middle of
the 13th century. The foundation for such a great empire was laid by Maravarman
Sundara Pandya early in the 13th century.
Maravarman Sundara Pandya (1216 - 1238)
Sundaravaramban Kulaseka ran II (1238 - 1240)
Maaravaramban Sundara Pandiyan II (1241 - 1251)
Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan (1251 - 1268)
Maaravaramban Kulasekara Pandyan I (1268 - 1308)
Sundara Pandyan IV (1309 - 1327)
Vira Pandyan IV (1309 - 1345)
Z nit fo

ow d by t nd of Dand yas
The Pandyan kingdom was replaced by the Chola princes who assumed the
title as Chola Pandyas in the 11th century. After being overshadowed by the
Pallavas and Cholas for centuries, Pandyan glory was briefly revived by
Maravaramban Sundara Pandyan and ( probably his younger brother or son) the
much celebrated Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan in 1251 and the Pandya power
extended from the Telugu countries on banks of the Godavari river to the northern
half of Sri Lanka. The revival of the Pandyan dynasty was to coincide with the
gradual but steady decline of the Chola empire, with the last two or three Chola kings
who followed Kulothunga III were either very weak or incompetent. The Cholas of
course did not lack valour but had been unable to stop the revival of t he Pandiyan
empire from the times of Maravaramban Sundara Pandyan, the revival of the
Kadava Pallavas at Kanchi under Kopperinchunga I and indeed the growing in power
and status of the Telugu Cholas, the Renanti and the Irungola Cholas of the Telugu
country for the last three-named had been very trusted allies of the Cholas up to
Kulothunga III, having helped him in conquering Kalinga. In fact the marital alliance
of Kulothunga III and one of his successors Raja Raja III with the Hoysalas did not
prove to be of any advantage, though initially at least Kulothunga III took the help of
the Hoysalas in countering the Pandiyan resurgence. Kulothunga III had even
conquered Karur, Cheranadu in addition to Madurai, Ilam and Kalinga. However, it
ultimately proved that his strength was because of the support from Hoysalas whose
king Veera Ballala II was his son-in-law. However, Veera Ballala II himself had lost
quite a bit of his territories between 1208 -1212 to his local adversaries in Kannada
country, like the Kalachuris, Seunas etc. The resurgent Pandiyans under
Maravarman Sundara Pandiyan went to war against Kulothunga and first at Kandai
and then near Manaparai on the outskirts of modern Tiruchirappalli, the Pandiyans
routed the Chola army and entered Tiruchy, Srir angam and Thanjavur victorious in
war. But it appears that in the Tiruchy and Srirangam areas, there was renewed
control of the Cholas, presumably with the help of the Hoysalas under Vira
Someswara with the Hoysalas later shifting their allegience to the P andyans either
during the last years of Maravarman Sundara Pandyan or the early years of his
successor Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan.
Jatavarman Sundara Pandiyan was a very brave, ambitious warrior king, who
it appears wanted to completely subjugate the Chola s. It appears while he initially
tolerated the presence of the Hoysalas under Vira Someshwara with his son
Visvanatha or Ramanatha ruling from Kuppam near Samayapuram on the outskirts
of Srirangam. This was because other feudatories of the Hoysalas were al so growing
in power and threatening the Hoysala kingdom itself. Besides, the Muslim invasion of
the Deccan had started under Malik Kafur. The challenged Hoysalas did have
foothold in and around Tiruchy and Srirangam for a few years and seemed to have
indulged in some temple building activity at Srirangam also. But Jatavarman
Sundara Pandiyan, who challenged Rajendra III in 1276 -79, seems to have first
concentrated on strengthening himself with the help of the Hoysalas. He first
vanquished the Kadava Pallava s under Kopperinchungan -II, who had challenged the
Hoysala army stationed in and around Kanchi and killed a few of their commanders.
This alliance of the Hoysalas and the Pandiyans seems to have antagonized
Rajendra Chola III who veered away from the Hoysalas. For a while the Kadava
Pallavas and the Cholas came together, despite an earlier Chola, Raja Raja III
having been held in captivity by Kopperinchunga II and his release being secured by
the Hoysalas.
Jatavarman Sundara Pandiyan seized the opportunity with the Hoysalas
being in Tiruchy and not having any ally, the rapidly weakening Cholas seeking
alliance with the Kadava Pallavas who were themselves being threatened by the
Telugu Cholas. In 1254 (or 1260) Jatavarman first dragged the Hoysalas into war b y
routing his son Ramanatha out of Tiruchy. Vira Someshwara Hoysala who had given
the control of the empire to his sons had to come out of his slumber and tried to
challenge Jatavarman and between Samayapuram and Tiruchy, the armies of Vira
Someshwara were routed with Vira Someshwara losing his life in this battle. This
ended the presence of the Hoysalas in Tamil country. Jatavarman did not stop here,
he went inside Kannada country after conquering Tiruchy and occupied parts of
Hoysala territory up to the Konkana coast and established his son Vira Pandiyan as
ruler of those territories. Temporarily at least the Hoysalas were in disarray in
Kannada country itself.
Next the Pandiyan prince Jatavarman concentrated on completely wiping out
the Chola empire. Raja dhiraja III had interfered in an earlier Pandiyan war of
succession and defeated a confederation of Pandiyan princes. The predecessors of
Jatavarman Sundara Pandiyan had suffered at the time of the Chola invasion and he
wanted to take revenge. This was his opportunity. Rajendra III had been counting on
Hoysala assistance in case he was challenged by the Pandiyans keeping in mind the
earlier marital alliance of the Cholas with the Hoysalas. Unfortunately for Rajendra
III, the Hoysalas had lost all pretension s of trying to pose as a major regional power
in Kannada and Tamil countries as they had been wiped out of Tamizhagam and
indeed lost territories inside Kannada country itself to Jatavarman Sundara
Pandiyan. Initially, Jatavarman consodlidated the Pandiyan hold on Tiruchy and
Srirangam and marched towards Tanjore and Kumbakonam. The Chola capital of
Gangaikondacholapuram too was not far from reach. During the years 1270 -1276 it
appeared that Rajendra III ruled mainly in and around Gangaikondacholapuram and
Tanjore. Tiruchy and Srirangam had been lost to the Cholas for ever at least from
1254 AD. Though Rajendra III had been opposed to the Hoysalas due to their
alliance with the Pandiyans, with new hostilities emerging between Hoysalas and the
Pandiyans, Rajendra III had hoped for renewed friendship and military alliance with
the Hoysalas. When challenged by Jatavarman Sundara Pandiyan, the brave but
tactically naive Rajendra III marched against the Pandiyans between Tanjore and
Tiruchy, hoping for assistance and participation in war from the Hoysalas. However,
the already vanquished Hoysalas were more keen on preserving their own skin and
did not prefer going to war and in the process, risk another defeat by the resurgent
Pandiyans. Rajendra III was hopelessly isolated and was thoroughly routed and
humiliated in this war, which is variously dated as between 1268 -1270. The known
rule of Jatavarman Sundara Pandiyan is of course, up to 1268 only. Probably
Rajendra III fled the battlefield and had continued in obsc urity up to 1279 but without
any of the erstwhile Chola territories. By 1280 AD, the Pandiya empire was no more.
(to continue)
On the death of Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I in 1308, a conflict
stemming from succession disputes arose amongst his sons. Sundara Pandya and
Vira Pandya fought each other for the throne. Soon Madurai fell into the hands of the
invading armies of the Delhi Sultanate who were making the most of corruption and
anarchy in the subcontinent. Pandyas and their descendants were confined to a
small region around Thirunelveli for a few more years and after the 17th century C.E.
we hear no more of them.
After Madurai fell into the hands of the invading armies of the Delhi Sultanate,
the Pandyas sought the help of Vijayanagar Empire. The Vij ayanagar Empire
replaced the Delhi Sultanate in Madurai and appointed Nayak governors to rule from
Madurai.
£ov rnm nt and Soci ty
rad
Megasthenes reported about the pearl fisheries of the Pandyas, and indicated
that the Pandyas derived great wealth from its trade. [14][15]
R
igion
Religiously the ancient Pandyas were Jains with a strong influence of the
Dravidian religion. Aruhakkadavul was the major God. The later day Pandyas after
600 AD were Hindus who claimed to descend from Lord Shiva and Goddess P arvati.
Pandyan Nedumchadayan became a staunch Vaishnavite.[16]
Travancore

For the suburb of Travancore in Melbourne, Australia, see Travancore,

Victoria.
 Travancore or Thiruvithaamkoor (Malayalam: UUUUUUUUUUUUUU ("Thiru
(respectful prefix which suggests either royal or divine) + idham (wish) koor (loyalty)
in malayalam.)[Tiruvitāńkūr], UUUUUUUUUUUUU [TiruvitāU kūr],
UUUUUUUUUUUUUU [TiruvitāńkoU]) was a princely state in India with its capital
at Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram). The state comprised most o f south Kerala and
the modern Nagercoil and Kanyakumari districts of Tamil Nadu and it had a 19 -gun
salute in the British Empire. Its flag was red with a silver dextrally coiled sacred
conch shell (Turbinella pyrum Linnaeus). Travancore was merged with the other
Malayalam-speaking state of Cochin on 1 July 1949 to form Travancore -Cochin, and
later with the Malabar district of Madras State on 1 November 1956 to form the south
Indian state of Kerala. The Last Maharajah was Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma
and the last Dewan was PGN Unnithan.

  


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The region was ruled by the Ay Dynasty during the Sangham age (circa 300 BC ±
600 AD) and was the scene of many battles between the Kulashekaras and the
Cholas during the second Sangham age (circa 850 ±1400 AD), when Vizhinjam,
the capital, was sacked by the Cholas. Later the area was termed Venad, and the
rulers were weak, facing external threats from Nayaks of Madurai, Nayak
dynasty or facing internal rebellions from the powerful feudal land lords ( Ettuveetil
Pillamar and the Yogakaar).

Eig t nt c ntury

Mart anda Varma

The history of modern Travancore begins with Marthanda Varma who inherited
the kingdom of Venad, and expanded it into Travancore during his reign 1729±
1758. He signed a treaty with the British East India company and with their help
destroyed the power of the eight feudal land lords ( Ettuveetil Pillamar) and
the Ettara Yogam who supported the Thampi sons of the previous king Rajah
Rama Varma, Travancore Royal family follows the Nair "Marumakkathayam"
system,so inheritance are going through the sister's children. In successive
battles, he defeated and absorbed the kingdoms right up to Cochin
including Attingal, Kollam, Kayamkulam, Kottarakara, Kottayam, Changanassery,
Meenachil, Poonjar and Ambalapuzha. He succeeded in defeating the Dutch East
India Company during the Travancore±Dutch war, the most decisive engagement
of which was the Battle of Colachel (10 August 1741) in which the Dutch
Admiral Eustachius De Lannoywas captured. On January 3, 1750 AD, (Makaram
5, 725 M.E.), he dedicated his kingdom to his tutelary deity Sri. Padmanabha
(Lord Vishnu) of Trivandrum (the Trippadidaanam) and from then on the rulers of
Travancore ruled the kingdom as the servants of Sri. Padmanabha
(Padmnabhadasan). In 1753, the Dutch signed a peace treaty with the Maharajah.
With the battle of Ambalapuzha (3 January 1754) in which he defeated the union
 of the deposed kings and the Raja of Cochin, Marthanda Varma crushed all
opposition to his rule. In 1757 AD, a treaty was concluded between Travancore
and Cochin, ensuring peace and stability on the Northern border. He organised
the tax system and constructed many irrigation works. Admiral Eustachius De
Lannoy, who was captured as a Prisoner of war in the famous Battle of
Colachel was appointed as the Senior Admiral (Valiya kappithan)and he
modernised the Travancore army by introducing firearms and artillery. Ayyappan
Marthanda Pillai served as the "Sarvadi Karykar" ( Head of the Army( Nair
pattalam). Marthanda Varma introduced titles such as î
  and
honours such as

    to honour the Lords and his relatives who

had remained faithful to him during his problems with the Ettuveetil Pillamar. His
able minister during his en tire military career was Ramayyan Dalawa.

0 arma Raja

His successor Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma who was popularly known
as Dharma Raja, shifted the capital
in 1795 fromPadmanabhapuram to Thiruvananthapuram. Rama Varma's period is
considered as a golden age in the history o f Travancore. He not only retained the
territorial gains of his predecessor Marthanda Varma, but also improved and
encouraged social developments. He was greatly assisted by a very efficient
administrator, Raja Kesavadas Pillai, who was the Diwan of Travancore.

During his reign, Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore attacked Travancore in
A.D.1791. The Travancore forces withstood the Sultan for 6 months, defeating
him twice, and then the Maharajah appealed to the British East India Company for
aid, starting a precedent which led to the installation of a British resident in the
country. The British resident, Colonel Macaulay, managed to engage the ruler in
treaties which effectively made the state a protectorate of the East India Company
and ended its autonomy resulting finally in the revolt of Velu Thampi Dalawa. Tipu
Sultan was defeated and he did not trouble Travancore anymore till his death in
1799 during the Fourth Mysore War. The Dharma Raja improved trade in the
country. During his reign ho wever the districts of Kalakkad and parts of
Shencottah were annexed to Arcot.
¦a
arama Varma

On his death in 1798, Balarama Varma took over at the age of sixteen. During his
reign Velu Thampi emerged as an able p
or minister. Initially, the Dalawa and
the English East India Company got along well. A mutiny of a section of the army
in 1805 against Velu Thampi was put down by British troops, at his own request.
But the demands by the Company for the payment of compensation for their
involvement in the 1791 Travancore -Mysore war led to enmity between the Diwan
and the Resident. Velu Thampi and the diwan of Cochin, Paliath Achan,
organised an ill-fated revolt against the British in A.D.1809. Initially, the rebellion
was successful. However, the Company defeated Velu Thampi at battles near
Nagercoil and Kollam in AD 1810, and the Maharajah, who till then had refused to
take any active open part in the fight, turned against Velu Thampi. Following these
two defeats, Velu Thampi organised a guerilla struggle against the Company, but
committed suicide to avoid capture by the Company's soldiers. Paliath
Achan surrendered to the British and was exiled to Madras and later to Benaras.
After the mutiny of AD 1805 against Velu Thamp i, most of the Nair battalions of
Travancore had been disbanded, and after Velu Thampi's revolt, almost all of the
remaining Travancore forces were also disbanded, with the Company underta king
to serve the Raja in cases of external and internal aggression. Interestingly, the
root cause of the revolt, namely the compensation demanded by the Company for
their involvement in the 1791 Travancore -Mysore war, was finally never ever paid
by Travancore.

a t and ar
y 20t c ntury

Balarama Varma was succeeded by Rani Gowri Lakshmi Bayi in AD 1810±1815

with the blessings of the British. When a boy was born to her in 1813, the infant
was declared the King, but the Rani continued to rule as the regent. Col. Munro
served as her Diwan. On her death in 1815, Maharani Gowri Parvati
Bayi continued as regent. Both of the regencies saw great progresses in social
issues and in education. Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma assumed the throne
in 1829. He was a famous exponent ofCarnatic and Hindustani music. He
abolished many unnecessary taxes, and started an English school and a charity
hospital in Trivandrum in 1834.
During the Sangam age, the caste restrictions were not strict. However, following
the Chera-Chola wars of the 11th century, the social structure of the region
changed and remained so up to the mid-nineteenth century. In Travancore, the
caste system was more rigiourously enforced than in many other parts of India.
The rule of discriminative hierarchical caste order was deeply entrenched in the
social system and was supported by the government which had transformed this
[1]
caste-based social system into a religious institution. In such a context, the
belief of Ayyavazhi apart from just being a religion, served also as a reform
movement in uplifting the downtrodden section of the society, both socially and as
well as religiously. The ritual corpus of Ayyavazhi conducted a social discourse.
Its beliefs, mode of worship and religious organis ation seem to have enabled the
group to negotiate, cope with and resist the relation of authority. [2] The hard tone
of Vaikundar towards this was perceived as a revolution aga inst the
government.[3] So the king Swathi Thirunal Rama
Varma imprisoned Vaikundar but later released him. [4]In fact, it is notable that
after the release of Vaikundar, the caste-based administration of the kingdom
underwent a considerable change.

The next ruler Maharajah Utharadam Tirunal Marthanda Varma AD 1847 ±1860 ,
following the recommendations of the protestant clergy of C.M.S. and L.M.S.
associations, abolished slavery in the kingdom in 1855, and restrictions on the
dress codes of certain castes in 1859. His acts on these social issues won him
praise and was copied by the neighbouring State of Cochin. The maharajah
started the postal system in 1857 and a school for girls in 1859. He was
succeeded by Ayilyam ThirunalAD 1860±1880, during whose rule, agriculture,
irrigation works and road ways were promoted. Humane codes of law were
enforced in 1861 and a college was established in 1866. He also built many
charity hospitals including a lunatic asylum. The first systematic Census of
Travancore was taken on May 18, 1875. he also introduced vaccination in the
country. Rama VarmaVisakham Thirunal ruled from AD 1880±1885. He became
the first Indian Prince to be offered a seat in the Viceroy's Executive Council and
also authored a number of books and essays. He reorganised the police force,
and abolished many oppressive taxes.
 The reign of Sri Moolam Thirunal Sir Rama Varma AD 1885±1924 saw the
establishment of many colleges and schools. When Jawaharlal Nehru visited the
area in the 1920s, he remarked that the education was superi or to British India.
The medical system was reorganised and Legislative Council, the first of its kind
in an Indian state, was established in 1888. The principle of election was
established and women too were allowed to vote.

Sethu Lakshmi Bayi ruled as the regent from AD 1924 ±1931. She abolished
animal sacrifice and replaced the matrilineal syst em of inheritance with the
patrilineal one. She ended the Devdasi system in Temples and was commended
by Mahatma Gandhi for spending almost 40% of state revenue on education.

The last ruler of Travancore was Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma AD 1931±
1949. He made the temple entry proclamation on 12 November 1936, which
opened all the Kshetrams (Hindu temples in Kerala) in Travancore to all Hindus, a
privilege reserved to only upper caste Hindus till then. This act won him praise
from across India, most notably from Mahatma Gandhi. He also started the
industrialisation of the state. However, his minister Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer was
unpopular among the general public of Travancore. When the British decided to
grant independence to India, the minister declared that Travancore would remain
as an independent country, based on an "American model". The tension between
the local people, led by the Indian National Congress and the Communists, and
Sir. C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer led to revolts in various places of the country. In one
such revolt in Punnapara-Vayalar in AD 1946, the Communists established their
own government in the area. This was brutally crushed by the Travancore army
and navy leading to hundreds of deaths. This led to further disturbances in the
State, leading to more killings. The minister issued a statement in June 1947 that
Travancore would never join India, and subsequently, an attempt was made on
the life of Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer followin g which he resigned and fled to
Madras, to be succeeded by Sri PGN Unnithan. After these events, the Maharajah
agreed to join India and Travancore was absorbed into th e Indian union.

Dostco
onia
ravancor
 The movement for the unification of the lands where Malayalam was spoken as
the mother tongue took concrete shape at the State People's Conference held
in Ernakulam in April 1928, and a resolution was passed therein calling for ë 

("United Kerala"). On July 1, 1949 A.D., the State of Travancore-
Cochin was established, with the Maharajah of Travancore as the Rajapramukh of
the new State. A number of popular ministries were elected and fell and in A.D.
1954, the Travancore Tamilnadu Congress launched a campaign for the merger
of the Tamil speaking regions of Southern Travancore with the neighbouring area
of Madras. The agitation took a violent turn and some police and many local
people were killed at Marthandam and Puthukkada, irrepairably alienating the
entire Tamil speaking population from merger into Kerala. Under the State
Reorganisation Act of 1956, the four southern taluks of Travancore, namely
Tovala, Agasteeswaram, Kalkulam and Vilavancode and a part of the Chencotta
Taluk was merged with Madras state. The State of Kerala came into existence
onNovember 1, 1956 A.D. with a Governor, appointed by the President of India,
as the head of the State instead of the Maharajah.

The Maharajah was stripped of all his ranks and privileges accor ding to the
twenty-sixth amendment of the Indian constitution act of July 31, 1971 A.D.[1] He
died on July 19, 1991 A.D.

Mniqu f atur s

When one looks at the history of Travancore since its formation, and that of the
geographical territory that comprised it before that, one is struck by some of its
unique features. The religious and social tolerance was one of the notable
features. The firstsynagogue, the first church and the first mosque of the Indian
sub-continent were set up here. They are the KodungallurSynagogue[2], the
St.Thomas Church, Kodungallur [3] and the Cheraman Juma
Masjid, Kodungallur [4] respectively. TheJewish community considers this to be
the only place on earth where they were not persecuted in some way or
other.Christianity reached here before it reached many of the leading europ ean
'Christian' territories, and that too brought here by one of the disciples of Jesus
Christ - St. Thomas - who is believed to have reached here in 52
AD. Muslims consider this land to be one of the very few places where their
 messenger - Malik Dinar - met with no resistance. Not only that, the reigning king
is said to have adopted the faith. This tolerance of different faiths was equally
applicable when it came to social and ideological matte rs too. Every political
ideology and social reform was welcomed here. The universality of education and
the now historic temple entry permission for those considered as 'untouchable'
throughout India, were unique to this part of the sub -continent.

Travancore was also characterized by the popularity of its rulers. When the kings
of Travancore 'declared themselves as servants of Lord Vishnu and ruled His
State according to His wishes' it was not a mere lip service. The kings of
Travancore, unlike their counter-parts in the other Native States of India, utilized
only a small portion of their State's resources for their personal use. This was in
sharp contrast with some of the North Indian Rajas. When one hears of a Raja in
the north-west who consumed more than half of his State's revenues, the
simplicity and frugality of the Rajas of Travancore are highlighted. Since they
spent most of the State's revenue for the benefit of the public, they were naturally
much loved by their subjects. This was so even in the context of the high -
handedness of some of their Dewans.

Ku
as k ara 0ynasty - ru
rs and r igns

ñ 1. Rajah Rama Varma 1721-1729

ñ 2. Anizham Tirunal Marthanda Varma 1729±1758
ñ 3. Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma (Dharma Raja) 1758-1798
ñ 4. Balarama Varma 1798-1810
ñ 5. Gowri Lakshmi Bayi 1810-1815 (Queen from 1810-1813 and Regent
Queen from 1813-1815)
ñ 6. Gowri Parvati Bayi (Regent) 1815-1829
ñ 7. Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma 1829-1846
ñ 8. Uthram Thirunal Marthanda Varma 1846±1860
ñ 9. Ayilyam Thirunal Rama Varma 1860±1880
ñ 10. Visakham Thirunal Rama Varma 1880±1885
ñ 11. Sree Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma 1885±1924
ñ 12. Sethu Lakshmi Bayi (Regent) 1924±1931
ñ 13. Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma 1931±1949
0 wans (Drim Minist rs) of ravancor

ñ Ramayyan Dalawa
ñ Martanda Pillai
ñ Raja Kesavadas 1789-1798
ñ Odiery Jayanthan Sankaran Nampoothiri 1798-1799
ñ Velu Thampi Dalawa 1799-1809
ñ Oommini Thampi 1809-1811
ñ Col. John Munroe 1811-1814
ñ Devan Padmanabhan Menon 1814 -1814
ñ Bappu Rao (Acting) 1814 -1815
ñ Sanku Annavi Pillai 1815 -1815
ñ Raman Menon 1815-1817
ñ Reddy Rao 1817-1821
ñ Vencatta Rao 1821-1830
ñ Subbarao 1830-
ñ Krishna Row
ñ T. Madava Row
ñ Seshayya Sastri
ñ Nanoo Pillai
ñ Ramiengar 1881-1887
ñ T. Rama Rao 1887-1891
ñ S. Shungrasoobyer 1892-1898
ñ K. Krishnaswamy Rao 1898-1904
ñ V.P. Madhava Rao 1904-1906
ñ P. Rajagopalachari 1906 -1914
ñ Krishnan Nair 1914-1920
ñ M. E. Watts 1925-1928
ñ C. P. Ramaswami Iyer 1936-1947
ñ PGN Unnithan 1947-1947

Venad

For general context, see History of Travancore.

 Venad (véNAd),(UUUUUU) was one of the eighteen kingdoms of the ancient
Cheran empire periodically though it was under the suzernity of Madurai Pandiyan
kingdom before 880 AD when the Pandiyan power declined. Pliny in 1st century AD
recorded that the Pandiyan kings representative invited him to places south of
Thrissur (Kodungalloor) which was under the suzerainity of the Pandiyan king
offering spices.The Pandyan kings had their capital at Nelkinda (Nelcynda)(Niranam)
while Thiruvattuvai Nadu(Thiruvalla)Quilon and Pandalam were minor capitals. The
Ay Vel rulers were Vassals under Pandyan kings. Venad included most of modern
day Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram districts of Kerala State, and the Kanyakumari
District of Tamil Nadu State India. Trivandrum which was established by
Nedumchadaya Pandyan when he converted a Jain Temple as a Vaishnavaite
temple and Consecrated Sri Padmanabha Swami Idol at 785 ad. This kingdom was
the forerunner to the modern Kingdom of Travancore established b y King Marthanda
Varma who annexed many erstwhile kingdoms of Southern Kerala like Ilayidathu
Swarupam (Kottarakkara), Desinga Nadu (Kollam), Pandalam, Kayamkulam,
Chempakasseri (Ambalappuzha), Thekkumkur (Kottayam), Vadakkumkur (Vaikkam),
and some parts of Kochi to Venad.

Origin

The name veNad originates from land of Ay vel or vEL nAd . The ancient
rulers of were believed to be Ay veLs (Ay =Shepherd Vel=King). It is also said that
Vezham in ancient Tamil was elephant so Vezha Nadu meant Elephant country . The
Sangha literature mentions about three sets of seven Vallals, Philanthrophists. Out
of the last set of seven Vallals (Kadaiyezhu Vallals)three of them lived in the present
day Kollam and one at Trivandrum area (100 ad). The Sangham literature talks
about the murder of Pari the ruler of Quilon. Paris friend the poet Kapila married the
slain Ays daughters off to Thirukovilur (Kollam)prince and also built a temple for Pari
at Parippalli.The places Ayur (Ay), Oyur (Oy) and Kariavattam (Kari) were named
after Ay vels too. The term Venad is found earliest in the [[Tharisapalli plates]] of 892
AD which gifted lands to the Nestorian Metropolitan Mar Sapir Easo by Venad king
Iyenadikal Thiruvadikal. There has been lot of manuscripts which lead to the
conclusion of a land ruled by VeLs.
 History

The Chera power was re-established in Kerala by Kulasekhara Varman about

800 A.D. the founder of the royal dynasty of the Kulasekhara Empire,also called
Kulasekhara Azhvar (the vaishnavaite saint) revived or second Cheran empire. After
the fall of Mahodayapuram in 1122, the capital of the emperor was relocated to
Kollam to regroup. Though the Cholas supported the early Later Chera kings by
making the Venad kings accept the suzernity of the Imperial Mahodaya Cheras and
thus started the Kerala Perumal Vazcha (900 AD to 1100 AD) after 1100s the Cholas
became increasingly hostile to the Cheras. In the ensuing battles Cheran armies
defeated the Chola using chaver (suicide squad of nair warriors) tactics, eclipsing the
Cholan power in South India for good. Unfortunately for Cherans -and Keralam- a
hundred years of war and loss of the imperial capital took its toll. The imperial power
broke down soon after the war and all thirteen kingdoms became independent.
Venad beacame one of the more powerful of these successor kingdoms. Though
Venads Yadava (Ay Vel) kings absorbed some elements of Chera blood they
succeeded in defeating Cheras when they occcupied Purak kad and
Kodungaloor(1180 AD)the strongholds of Imperial Cheras. At the height of its glory,
the kings of Venad conquered most of South India. Sangramadheeran alias
Kulasekhara Ravi Varma crowned himself Tribhuvanachakravarthi ruler of
Chera,Chola and Pandi ya kingdoms at 1312 at Kancheepuram. After 1300s the
Venad rulers gradually mixed with Namboothiris and sometimes with Nairs and
adopted Marumakkathayam - Matrilineal descendency.The original Ayar or Yadava
Clan itself believed to have mixed with the Quilo n Nairs. In the 18th century the
newly crowned young prince Marthanda Varma (1706 -1758), who was in his
twenties, defeated the Thampi sons of the King Rajah Rama Varma and Eight Nair
Lords popularly called Ettuveetil Pillamar (Pillai's of the Eight Noble H ouses).
Marthanda Varma not only united the kingdom, but destroyed other kings of
Southern Kerala and expanded it to the north to include half of modern -day Kerala.
He named it Thiruvithamkur (Travancore) after the Thiruvithamkode branch of Venad
royal family from which he hailed. Marthanda Varma rebuilt the Anandha
Padmanabha Swami Temple in 1730 ad. He defeated the Dutch in the Colachel War
in 1741. But he maintained good relations with the English East India Company for
tactical reasons.
During the Mabar sulthans of Madurai Travancore paid annual tribute. During
the Madurai Naicker period (1550 to 1801)yearly tribute was paid by the Travancore
kings which was collected by a General of the Madurai Naicker who annually visited,
the capital Padmanabhapuram.
Thiruvithamkur or Travancore became a subsidiary of the British at the end of
18th Century, and remained a princely state with its own government under the
Maharaja.On India becoming independent, Travancore joined the Indian Union in
1947 and later became a part of the State of Travancore -Cochin in 1949 which in
turn became part of the state of Kerala when it was formed in 1956.
Vi

avars and M navars (minavar)
The Kalitokai, an ancient Tamil work, mentions the association of the Villavars
and their allies Meenavars (fishermen) who fought a fierce battle (around 500BC to
1000 BC) against Nagas. The Nagas though Non Aryan lived in the North India and
had heavy Aryan mixture. When the Villavars and Minavars were defeated by the
Nagas in the Central India, the Present day Maharashtra, Chatthisgarh and
Madyapradesh area was lost to the Villavars and Nagas occupied it. In the later
days, Naga hordes moved southwards and infiltrated Southern India. [2]
 Nagas
Main artic
 Naga p op

Nagas are Non Dravidians and non-Aryans and among the early inhabitants
of India. They could be people from the Nairi or Naharin kingdom who migrated to
India before thousand year BC. They differed culturally from the Classical Dravidians
though they might have looked dark. Nagas f ounded numerous kingdoms in the
North India who were friendly with the Aryans in the ancient times. Nahusha who
became Indra, the king of Devas or Aryans was a Naga. However the Nagas, the
proud rulers of ancient North India lost their position in the Arya n dominated areas,
after they became Buddhists and were pushed to the lower echelons of the society.
After the defeat of Villavars and Minavars at the Central India by Nagas some clans
of Nagas moved into south India and got assimilated by the Dravidians.
Maravar, Eyinar, ë
iyar, ëviyar, Aru -Va
ur and Darat avar
Maravar, Eyinar, Oliyar, Oviyar, Aru-Valur and Parathavar are believed to
have Naga origins. Some Nagas founded kingdoms in Sri Lanka which was in turn
renamed Nagadipa. They colonised Greater India , Indo China and South Asian
countries and moved as fare as Philippines while establishing numerous kingdoms.
Nagas seem to be more related to the Kalabhras or Kalapirars or Kalavar who
invaded the Pandyan kingdom around 350 AD.
Scyt ian îonn ction of t Nagas
After theSaka or Indo-Scythian people who invaded India in the second
century BC some Nagas mixed with the Scythians especially at North India. They
adopted the Matriarchy, Polyandry and other Scythian customs. Naga -Scythian tribe
of Ahichatra, in Uttarpradesh near Nainital was invited by King Mayuravarma of the
Kadamba dynasty in 345 AD along with their Brahmin overlords to settle down at
Shimoga in the North Karnataka. During the Rashtrakuta invasions of Kerala and
Tamil Nadu in the eighth and ninth centuries the same Naga tribe, the Nairs or
Nayars found firm roots in Kerala. Keralolpathi, Keralamahatmiyam and Kerala
Purana state the story of Naga migration from north to south in the first millennium.
 Vi

avars of K ra
a
After the arrival of Nagas the Villavar culture who cherished Patriarchy and
Monogamy was replaced by Matriarchy with Polyandry as the norm. Soon around
the 12th century the Chera dynasty came to an end when the last Chera King along
with his relatives became a Muslim. In the lat er periods the Nagas dominated Kerala
while the Villavar tribes were pushed down to occupy a lower stratum.
 Nort Indian Vi

avars
Rajputs regard the Bhils though tribals one among them. The North Indian
Villavar clans might have been assimilated by th e Rajputs. Until recently during the
coronation of Rajput princes their foreheads had to be smeared by the blood drawn
from the thumb of a Dravidian Bhil tribal to authenticate their authority.
¦ i
M nas of Rajastan
In the ancient times Rajasthan was ruled by a dynasty of Meenas which had
the emblem of Fish like the Pandyan kingdom of the south. The Meena kingdom
ruled the east of the river Jamuna roughly corresponding to the modern Jaipur and
Alwar (ruler) areas. The meena kingdom (Fish kingdom) was call ed Matsya Kingdom
in Sanskrit was mentioned in the Rig Veda. The Bhil Meenas could correspond to the
Dravidian Villavar (Chera) and Meenavar (Pandya Kingdom)respectively and may
descend from indigenous Dravidian rulers (Alwars) originally. Most of the Bhil
Meenavas were aryanised even during the Vedic Period (1500 BC) and were
considered as Vedic Tribes and had adopted Indo Aryan languages but a minority of
the Bhil (tribal) Meenas still talk Dravidian as their mother tongue. Bhils and Meenas
are included in theKshatriya Varna. In the later days the Bhils and Meenas mixed
with the Pardeshis or Rajputs who were Scythian, Hepthalite or other Central Asian
clans. The Scythian mixed Meenas and Bhils remain as Rajput subclans while the
Meenas and Bhils who were displaced by the Scythian invaders and Muslims have
mixed with the tribal Bhils and form the Bhil (tribal) meenas who still talk a Dravidian
tongue and still considered as Rajputs. Bhil meenas are also found in parts of North
eastern India and Sind area of Pakistan.

]at of t M navars
Meenavars might have mixed with Parada or Paratarajas or Parvata Raja
Kulam, an Indo-Scythian clan and got alienated from the Villavar and Nadalvar
(Nadar) clans. Mudirajus or Mutharaiyar a Kalabhra aristocracy who once ru led
Chera, Chola and Pandyan kingdoms as Muvendars regard Paratas as one of their
own clan. Now at the present day, Meenavar caste has been spread up to eight
divisions, the major tribes are Maravar and paravar(parathavar), who were ancient
rulers of land and seas of Pandya kingdom. Parataraja
Respected Sir
Permit me to introduce myself, my name is S.L.Shibu Perumal. President of
OHIROS. We are the representative of HINDU NADAR Community. Our traditional
profession is ³toddy collection from Palmyra tree, processing it to sweet cake and
selling the stuff´.
The Community:-
We are belongs to so called ³Other Backward Community (OBC)´. Due to the
influence of Christianity vast majority of Nadar community members are converted to
Christian. LMS of South Indian United Church is our Christian Brother hood. Do you
know the Nadar Community is seen only at Trivandrum District of Kerala. The root of
Nadar community is at Tamil Nadu. At Kanya kumari district there are five or more
MLA¶s are belongs to Nadar. There also we can see the most of the members are
converted to Christianity.
Influence of ANA:-
 ANA (Akhilendia Nadar Association) is the one of t he important associations
stands for Hindu Nadar wing of the community. Kerala Hindu Nadar Samajam, Hindu
Nadar Samajam, KNMS, Hindu Nadar Corporation is the other associations at our
community. Totally in South India the total community members are more t han one
Million including the members of Tamil nadu by Tamil nadu census report.
Influence of Christianity: -
The Christianity have a vital role at Nadar community, once with the help of
Christianity Nadar brothers can awake from ignorance and isolation, so the influence
of Christianity is remarkable. There are more than 20 foreign missionaries are
working among Nadar community. Roman Catholics, Latin Catholics, Syrian
Catholics, Penthacostal Mission, Ceylon Penthacostal Mission, Many Charismatic
groups, Marthoma Church, Church of South India etc, are some of the missionaries.
Of which church groups CSI or SIUC is the important group, they have even a
Medical college, known as Somarval Medical College at Karakonam,Trivandrum
(Dist). There are so many educational institutions and training centers are under
SIUC church group. Most of the Hindu brothers are forced to converting to
Christianity due to the influence of these facilities and job chances.
Traditional Job of Nadar community: -
Climbing Palmyra tree and collecting toddy, selling it and making sweet cake
from toddy are the traditional communal job of Nadar community. But when we trace
the history of Nadar community we can understand that this community is not at all
so called ³backward class´ and the real traditional job of the community is not at all
toddy collection. The Nadar community is ³psychologically suppressed royal class´
they have the long tradition of administration from 2000 BC onwards at Tamilnadu
and ancient Kerala I am ready to show so many records to prove it. In ³Kamba
Ramayana´ there is the story of ³Chantor´ community this is the ³Channar´
community another name of Nadar Community. At the glorious period the royal
people also resort to climb Palmyra tree for collecting toddy in order to g ive ³Pooja´
to Sakthi or Deity Durga. Then that practice becomes a lively hood for latter period.
The well known Chola Royal Dynasty of Sangham period at Tamilnadu was really
³Nadar Community´.
 2

They are known by the surname ³Perumal´ that means ³King ´ at Tamilnadu
most of the Nadar members are known by the surname ³Perumal´ Meaning of the
word ³Nadar´ is really ³Nade Andavar´ the meaning is ³God of the Land´.
Psychological Suppression of Nadar Community: -
The suppress of Nadar Community begin by Eight h century that means during
the period of Sri Sankaracharya the Brahmin domination begins. From that period
which is approximately 1000 yrs ago the psychological suppression of Nadar
community begins. All the available Kerala History data deliberately dist orted so as
not to trace the incoming Nadar generations mind to the reality that they are Royal
People. About 150 yrs ago that means about one generation ago the suppressed
Nadar do not have the right to proper dressing, At Travancore they even conduct
mutony for use ³blouse´ the famous ³marumarakkal samaram´ is really the after
effect of this suppression. At Sucheendram Temple, Thiruvatar Temple,
Padmanabha Swami Temple at East Fort, Trivandrum there are strong evidence of
link with Nadar Community and Tem ple daities. And most of the evidences are
dislocated or hided by so called ³Savarna Communities´. There are so many
scanned copies of evidences available in my hand which is written in old Malayalam
which can not send due to unavailability of space and we will plan to upload in our
web site we are going to create soon.
Present Caste Sytem and Nadar Community:-
At present Caste System of Kerala designed so as to retain the Brahmin and
Nair domination for ever. They are ³forward communities´ and all other co mmunities
are ³backward´ According to Hindu Mythology ³Nair´ community and sub castes are
really belongs to ³Sudras´ that means servants. According to Manusmrithy Sudras
are born from the leg finger of Brahma. But by the course of time with the help of
Brahmin they elevated to the position of ³Savarna´ and clever fully wipe out from all
the records of Kerala History their real individuality. We can not trace the reality that
Nairs are the ³most backward community´ according to Hindu Mythology from any
records of Kerala History. The present position of Nadar Community is among OBC
(Other Backward Community). The reality of collecting toddy from Palmyra is now
projecting as the ³Tradition Job´ of the Nadar Community. And most of the
community members are unaware of the reality that they are Royal People and they
familiar with the job of toddy collection.
Chance of Wipe out Caste Sytem with Nadar Community: -
At any how this is not at all the time to say and bother about past losses and
gains. Now if we can utilize the ignorance about the individuality of Nadar
Community we can easily wipe out the social evil of Kerala Society. That means if
we arrange marriages between All Backward Community, and Scheduled Caste with
Nadar community we can gradually exterminate Caste System to a great extend,
that is my own opinion to wipe out caste barriers.
OHIROS and Nadar Community:-
On the light of possible chance to remove Caste System with Nadar
Community we are organize a Charitable Society. That is Overseas Hindu Royal
Society. The real motive of this Society is to liquidate all the Scheduled Caste
Community members to Nadar Community by inter caste marriage with Nadar
Community. Then step by step all other Backward Communities and finally so called
³Savarna Communities´. It will take even generations of time to complete liquidation
of all communities.
Help Desk to Inter Community Marriages: -
Any lower community members like intercommunity marriage with Nadar
please contact at the above address or E -mail ID. We are ready to help you. I also
like to say that most of the Nadar Community members are now live in poverty and
unemployment.